Now don’t get me wrong, talent is always a factor in a great musician, but we seem to forget that these guys (and gals) have spent years of their life sitting in their bedrooms practicing. Often the word practice is enough to make budding players cringe because practice isn’t fun right? I disagree. Practice can certainly be frustrating if you are working on something particularly difficult, but the reward is always worth the struggle. But I digress; let’s look at some ways to make practice more productive and more importantly, fun!

1. Get in the right headspace

Practice only seems like a chore if you treat it like one. Remember that first time you played “Smoke on the Water” and felt like a rock star? Keep those kinds of accomplishments in mind when you practice something new. I find the best way to keep track of your accomplishments and stay encouraged is by setting goals for yourself. Not in terms of time spent, but in knowledge gained.

For instance, instead of saying “I’m going to practice 1 hour every day this week”, say “I’m going to learn to play the rhythm part to this song this week.” As you check off goals on your list, keep up with the list of things you accomplish. Keep a notebook or a word document on your computer that reminds you what you have done. Keeping up with the list of songs you know is a great idea for the future, should you ever decide to join a group that does cover tunes. You can immediately say with confidence: “I know all the songs on this list.” It makes that first rehearsal a lot more manageable.

2. Use a metronome

Metronomes don’t seem hugely exciting, but it is absolutely THE most important tool for a guitar player who wants to play with other musicians. Rhythm is paramount to a great sounding band and it’s very easy to train! Go buy a metronome from your local music store for $20.00. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, just something that can keep a steady beat. When you practice a scale, pick a note group (let’s say quarter notes) and play that scale in quarter notes up and down 3 times. Then do the same thing with eighth notes, sixteenth notes, etc. As you practice the scale, you are training your ears to recognize beats at the same time.

The metronome works like a strength trainer by letting you start slow and then gradually work your way up. It’s a good idea to keep track of your progress in tempos as well. Even if you only manage to go up one beat per minute a week, eventually you will be considerably more fluid than you were before. The real trick here is that as you are training your ears and your chops, you are becoming more in tune with the musicality of rhythm. Nothing can really teach you “feel”, but immersing yourself in rhythm will go a long way to helping you lose yourself in the song, which in my opinion is the ultimate achievement as a musician.

3. Keep the guitar in your hands and under your fingers

To be a great player, your guitar needs to be an extension of your body. Playing notes, chords and rhythms has to feel like second nature. The easiest way to do that, in my experience, is to simply keep the guitar in your hands. If you have a favorite T.V. show that you watch every week, just pick up your guitar and strum some chords while you watch. No amps, nothing fancy, just keep the neck in your hands. If you have free time, pick up the guitar for five minutes and play anything you want. If you walk by your guitar and think it looks cool on the stand, pick it up and play one scale up and down, then put it back.

Essentially, you want to familiarize yourself with the instrument. Picking it up and playing should feel just like putting on a pair of shoes: you just do it and don’t think twice about it.

4. Make your practice musical

Remember that metronome I had you buy? Turn it on to 4/4 time signature at 120 bpm and let it click for a minute. No guitar, just listen to the click. Then after you have let it sink it, pick up the guitar and try improvising something. I don’t necessarily mean a lead lick or anything in particular, so long as you keep it in tempo with the click. Noodle until you find something you think sounds cool, and then do that for a minute or two. Then try to make a slight variation on that, just change one note or add one rest somewhere. Then think to yourself “where does this want to go next?” Change keys, or play an entirely different part, so long as you stay on tempo. The idea is that you want to exercise the creative parts of your brain. The most memorable guitarists are always the ones who do something unique, so allow your mind to wander and discover something new. Half the fun of playing a musical instrument is that there is no wrong answer.

5. Don’t let it stress you

No matter what, do not let playing your instrument stress you out. Even if you have been working on learning something for a year and you haven’t figured it out, don’t let it bother you. If you are having trouble with something in your life, let guitar be a relaxing activity to take your mind off of it. If you are having difficulty learning something on the guitar, just leave it and come back to it later. In fact, if it ever feels like your instrument is unpleasant to play, then just put it down and don’t even look at it for a few days. Your brain needs time to process things you learn and commit them to long term memory, so it is ok to take a break!

I hope these five tips help you on your journey of musical discovery. Remember to be patient with yourself and above all, have fun!

The post Practice Makes Perfect: 5 Tips for Improving your Practice appeared first on Infinite Guitar.

Remember…

1. Analyze the accuracy of both hands. The idea is to find a way to make them work together smoothly. Take your time and DON’T force it.
2. Practice using subdivisions. Set the metronome low and increase by subdivision. This way you’re covering not only increments of speed, but also musical situations seeing as each subdivision will “feel” different against the tempo. This is a great way to add to your musical vocabulary.
3. Use a stopwatch. As you practice using subdivisions try cycling them by 20 seconds or so. Kind of like a long distance sprinter. 20 seconds on (fast) 20 seconds off (slower). This is a good way to develop muscle memory fast!

The post Shred Lick Lesson from “AJ’s Licks of The Month” appeared first on Infinite Guitar.

Back to Basics

If you live in the UK and cast your mind back to 1993, you may remember the campaign fronted by Tory leader John Major labelled ‘Back to Basics’ with which the prime minister wanted(apparently) to address core governmental issues which had been allowed to erode over previous years. I want to point out at this juncture that my ‘Back to Basics’ will actually work. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

Alrighty then!

Very much as it is essential to do revision during academic study, it is essential that we, as musicians, ‘revise’ our progress and make an informed decision as to what plan of attack we take next to ensure the best possible progress in the shortest time frame. During this assessment, which I’m sure all of you out there do at some point (for the word ‘sure’ read ‘hope’!), it is imperative that we identify any possible bad habits that we may have subconciously picked up along the way so that they can be eradicated.

I first began to play the classical guitar during the mid 90’s and didn’t actually have a teacher for 2 years. When I began to study with Professor Brightmore, a superb teacher and player, it became apparent that I had picked up a variety of bad habits which were actually hindering my progress. We spent some time going ‘back to basics’ which enabled us to isolate particular problem areas and deal with them accordingly. Although at the time it was not easy dealing with it, I am so glad that we did. Hopefully, you will be too.

A Few Words on Problem Solving

I always follow a very simple rule when problem solving which can be used in any situation and not just to improve your guitar skills. This rule is extremely important and should be memorized and recalled at every possible opportunity. The rule is broken down into 3 distinct points which must be understood:

1. Realize that there is a problem

2. Realize what the problem is

3. Find a solution to the problem

Once you have addressed all three points you will no longer have that particular problem. This rule is very much based on common sense, however, it is surprising how common sense can break down when there is no element of structure.

Remember, if you have any questions you can find me in the forums along with all of the other instructors.

Fret-Hand Efficiency

During the past 10 years as a guitar teacher, I have experienced a wide ranging degree of capability amongst students. Some were naturally gifted players while others had to work much harder to achieve their goals. Despite this, I would say that 100% of my students did not exercise maximum left hand efficiency whilst playing and consequently he/she would exert far too much energy on fairly simply chord shapes and scales and as a result make mistakes and/or run out of steam far too early. I feel that this basic function should be understood and implemented fairly early on so that common problems such as dead or inaccurate notes or tension in the left hand can be eradicated.

Measure Your Fret-Hand Efficiency

I first came across this neat way of gauging left hand efficiency while I was immersed in studying the classical guitar. In fact, there are some extremely useful principles which I initially discovered during my classical studies which, when applied to the study of electric guitar, adapt exceptionally well. I will be including some of these throughout my series of columns.

Start by fingering the g note on the 3rd fret of the 6th string and play the note as you would normally. Take a mental note of how much pressure you are applying to the string to produce the note. Now release your finger from the fretboard all while making a mental note of how much pressure you applied to make the note sound cleanly. Now place your finger back on the same note but do not apply any pressure to the string yet (the finger should be touching the string but not applying any pressure). Now SLOWLY and steadily begin to apply pressure to the string in small increments. Keep doing this until you reach the EXACT point that you are able to produce a good clean note. I’d wager a bet that you are probably applying half the amount of pressure that you initially applied to get the note. Well, it doesn’t take Einstein to work out that there is some serious wasted energy here! The general premise of this exercise is to be as efficient as we possibly can be so that we only use the EXACT amount of exertion needed at any given time. If this method is applied correctly, with practice, you will begin to develop a completely new command over your instrument.

The first step forward is to apply this energy saving principal to our daily practice regime.

Maximizing Fret-Hand Efficiency

Remember that each fret has it’s own ‘sweet’ spot where we can apply the minimum amount of energy to produce a resonant, clear note which is completely free from buzzes and other unwanted sounds. You will, more often than not, find this spot directly behind the fretwire that seperates the frets. Poor left hand positioning is a very common problem amongst guitarists yet it is a problem which is very easily rectified. Once you find the sweet spots you will be amazed how little energy you need to exert to get great sounding results.

Remember less = more. I cannot emphasize that enough.

This article was originally published on Infinite Guitar in 2007 for the Economy of Motion tutorial.

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After I had been playing guitar for about 7 years, I developed a severe case of finger tendonitis (also known as flexor tendonitis) in my left hand. The scary thing was, it came to me much more suddenly than gradually. It came out of nowhere. The same fingers that use to be fast and nimble, were all of the sudden cursed with sharp pains every time I pressed on the fretboard.

Needless to say, it was a depressing phase of life. My passion for music was soon replaced with frustration. When I finally had to acknowledge that the pain wasn’t going away, I began researching what I could do to fix it. I even saw multiple doctors. However, every single source was telling me that there was only one way to cure it…

I had to stop playing, completely.

Stop playing for how long? Well, at the time, that was undetermined. Tendons are one of the slowest healing parts of the body, and each doctor recommended I take at least a year off from playing. The only way to cure tendonitis is to stop doing whatever is causing it. So as hard as it was, if I ever wanted to play the guitar again, I knew I had to quit playing for at least a year.

After that, save for the select few times I couldn’t resist, I didn’t touch the guitar for a whole year. Since then, I have healed for the most part and gradually gotten my “chops” back, but it has not been easy. I definitely learned the hard way, but I’m writing this because I want to make sure you don’t go through the same thing.

First, let’s analyze the things I did wrong:

1. I had bad posture. Having bad posture once in a while is bad enough, but playing for hours and hours everyday with bad posture is infinitely worse. I would slouch in my chair, lean my left arm on my left thigh, all while being oblivious to the fact that I’m setting myself up for a downfall.

2. I never warmed up. When I practiced, I would pick up the guitar and immediately start playing difficult and strenuous passages, without giving my fingers a chance to warm up properly. Bloodflow matters.

3. I never stretched my arms or fingers. Talk about setting myself up to get hurt!

What characteristic do all 3 of these faults have?

Ultimately, it’s laziness.

Yup, I was a lazy bum. I was foolish when it came to these mandatory aspects of guitar playing. I never had formal teaching, so maybe that’s why I didn’t pay too much attention to this stuff, but my ignorance made me pay a big price.

So how can you be pro-active in making sure you don’t get tendonitis?

Keep Good Posture

Don’t slouch your back at all. Why do most elderly people hunch their backs as they get older? Because their backs are literally breaking down. You don’t want to speed up that process on your own back by slouching. Sit up straight when you play.

Don’t lean your left elbow (assuming you are play the fretboard with your left hand) on your left thigh. Unfortunately, so many people do this. Doing so puts an excessive amount of pressure on your elbow and it can lead to different problems in the elbow, forearm, wrist, or even fingers. Angle the guitar neck upwards to where you aren’t tempted to lean on your thigh.

Warm Up

Don’t play fast or hard until your hands are warmed up. Proper blood circulation is key to preventing injury. Imagine a sprinter that fails to jog or get the blood flowing before a race. That sprinter is bound to injure himself. The same can happen to a guitar player. So whether it be with scales, chords, arpeggios, etc., play something slowly and gently until your hands are warmed.

Stretch

Stretch before you play. There are plenty of stretches to help loosen and relax your arms.

These two tutorials will help give you stretching ideas:
Health and Safety for Guitarists
Stretching & Warm-Up

Keep a Healthy Diet and Exercise

At the risk of sounding like your mom, eat your fruits and veggies. I’m no health expert, but I know that supplying your body with proper vitamins and nutrients will help keep your joints and tendons strong while helping prevent nutrition deficiencies. Also do your best to exercise and get some decent cardio in your routine.

Be sure to start these good habits if you haven’t already. I hope this scared you a little, because tendonitis is, well…scary. No one is immune to it, but you can definitely take solid steps to avoiding it if you implement healthy, sound habits. The bottomline is this: if you aren’t pro-active in protecting yourself, then you are pro-active in damaging yourself. Be wise, learn from my mistakes, and have a long and healthy guitar-playing life!

The post Guitarist Tendonitis – How to Avoid It appeared first on Infinite Guitar.

Lick 1

This one (as are all three of today’s licks) is in Em. It starts out with some spread interval hybrid picking, leads into some more “confined” Em shapes, and then extends into a Michael Romeo-esque string-skipped pentatonic tapping line.

The rhythm values are rather sporadic and random as this lick is meant to “float”, as opposed to be locked into any specific 16th note rhythm. Don’t pay too much heed to these values (5’s, 6’s, 7’s, etc.) as they are only written this way to keep the transcribed measures nice and even.

This article was originally published on Infinite Guitar in 2012 for the Feen’s Trick Bag! tutorial.

The post Lick #1 from “Feen’s Trick Bag!” appeared first on Infinite Guitar.

I am a composer and have been composing ever since I picked up the guitar. At first, I was actually more interested in writing music than merely learning the guitar. From the beginning, I had this perspective that music was something I wanted to share with others. There is much satisfaction when you witness other people enjoying and relating to your own music. And I’m guessing you are reading this because you have a slight to strong interest in the subject of songwriting. So please allow me to take you on a little informational tour, reaching deep into the core of music. We’ll discuss various elements of songwriting and delve into how you can improve as a songwriter.

Inspiration

Inspiration. Without it, music (and most things in this world) wouldn’t exist. Every existing piece of music has been developed because a human being was inspired to write it. A high achievement, the death of a loved one, blossoming love, deteriorating love, a religious experience, difficult seasons, a new adventure…these are only a few of life’s circumstances that can inspire song. So whether it be inspiration from a significant circumstance, or inspiration from the sole desire to write and enjoy music in general, it is inspiration nonetheless. And it is the key ingredient to songwriting.

You need to find what really inspires you. You might not think much of it, but it needs to be taken seriously if you want to write effective and influential music. I’m assuming you want to write music that impacts people. Nobody cares much about the songs that go in one ear and out the other.

I am always surrounded by music. I hear plenty of songs within the span of a day. And I can tell a huge difference from songs whose artists have found their true inspiration, from songs whose artists’ only seemingly inspiration was to write radio-friendly tunes that we’ve already heard from fifty other artists. In other words, originality, and the ability to impact listeners are the ultimate signs that a musician has truly figured out how to channel their inspiration into music.

The main thing that I want you to remember is this…you will only find fulfillment in your music if you follow your heart. As cheesy as it sounds, that is what will make you happy, that is what will make your music original, and most importantly, that is what will make your music memorable to someone else. It may be memorable to just one person, or maybe millions of people, but that shouldn’t matter, as long as you’re writing music that truly stems from what inspires you.

How Do You Start?

Everyone has their own unique methods and styles to their songwriting. If you’re just starting to compose your own music, you may have to experiment a little before you really find your preferred and most effective method. If you’re a seasoned composer, keep reading, you may find some new ideas that you can apply to your routine.

As mentioned before, once you have your inspiration, you’re ready to start creating your own music. It is now time to literally speak your inspiration through your musical instrument.

Composing a song is indeed a “block-building” process. You build one part, and feed off of it to build another part, and so on until it’s finished.

Initially, try writing the song from the intro to the outro, in sequential order. However, that may fail and you might try starting with the chorus. I sometimes like writing choruses first as it gives me a good sense of the overall context and theme that I should strive for with the rest of the song.

Also, don’t rush the process. Take your sweet time. Not doing so will jeopardize the quality of your song.

Find a quiet writing environment. All musicians have the common requirement of silence around them while they are composing music. If you find yourself not thinking clearly because of distractions, try isolating yourself from those distractions.

Song Structure

The structure of a song has to do with how you put certain parts in a certain order. A very typical song structure usually goes something like this:

Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Outro.

The structure of a song is very important. Just as with books or movies, songs need to be put in a certain order for them to flow properly and make sense. That said, I of course don’t believe there is a certain structure that should be applied to every song out there. Every song is different.

The bottom-line is that you need to find the right structure that fits in with the feel or message of your song. Is it a song with which you want to hook the listener right away? Try having your chorus at the beginning. Do you need there to be more “tension” raised before you go to the chorus? Try adding a pre-chorus that appropriately sets a nice “launching platform” for the chorus. Is it a song with which you feel you have to reinforce the chorus’ message one more time? Try adding a double chorus.

The list can go on and on as far as how songs can be ordered in a way that presents a well-paced and effective musical story. However, in the beginning of your writing process, don’t get too caught up in determining the song structure. Doing that would be like naming the chapters of a novel before it’s been written. Let it form organically. Your main focus should be to tell your musical story how you want it to be told, and in the order that you think best. Don’t have a strict “radio-friendly” structure that you stick to religiously. There’s nothing wrong with a set structure, but it can limit your song’s uniqueness, as well as your own creativity, if you obsess too much about it.

My best advice about how to put your song in order is this: Make sure that your song determines the structure, rather than a structure determining your song.

Song Style

As it is with song structure, the style needs to reinforce the message of the song. For example, romantic songs usually sound soft and delicate, because that style is designed to produce tender and heartfelt emotions. On the other hand, a song about a controversial political issue might be better represented by a heavy rock style instead of a soothing ballad. Music, even without lyrics, is a form of communication. Certain styles of music produce certain emotions inside an individual. This mysterious fact epitomizes the sheer power that music possesses. So make sure that the style of music you choose lines up with the emotions that you want to invoke within the listener.

Whatever style you choose, make sure you incorporate effective dynamics. What are dynamics? In the musical sense, dynamics have to do with the variation of volume in music. Tempo (speed) can also tie in with dynamics. It is critical in effective songwriting to implement a healthy dose of change within the song. If a band plays at the same volume through an entire song, odds are that the listener will lose interest and get bored, or even worse…annoyed. Think about it in terms of a movie. If the whole hour and a half is full of non-stop action sequences without having at least one quieter scene with dialogue, then that is going to guarantee most viewers a 90-minute headache. Granted, some people wouldn’t mind this type of movie, just as some people might not mind a song with monotony, but most people would be turned off. Most songs have some sort of breakdown, where there is a temporary detour from the overall volume and tempo of the rest of the song. So if you want to keep listeners interested, give them a balanced dosage of change in your song.

Composing/Recording Software

If you’re like most of us songwriters, you don’t always have a band at your disposal every time you get inspired to write a song. You need composing software with virtual instruments.

There are a ton of options out there, and before you commit to buying, it’s important that you research and try out demos to see what works best for your computer and your workflow.

I personally use and love Cubase. Of all the DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) I’ve tried, Cubase is what makes the most sense to my workflow. Very simple composing tools, slick interface, decent customizability, and good performance with my PC. That’s just me though, there are many options and I’d recommend spending a good few weeks trying different ones out before purchasing. Believe it or not, the DAW you chose will absolutely impact your songs! Make sure the one you purchase provides the most relaxing environment possible for you.

Conclusion

Here’s the best advice to be given regarding songwriting…never stop writing music. If you compose consistently, you will keep improving.

Songwriting is a beautiful art. However, it is also a learned art. The more you write, the more you’ll get a feel for your own original style. I think it’s safe to say that nobody wants to be unoriginal. So keep writing until you find out who you are musically and where you want to go musically. Once you get to that point, writing songs will become ever more fulfilling for you.

Good luck with your songwriting endeavors! Lock in your inspirations, then go write the best songs in the world.

The post Songwriting appeared first on Infinite Guitar.

The goal of the ”Pentatonic Finder” tutorial is for you to be able to improvise freely across any key changes, anywhere on the neck, and learn how to conceptually visualize scales and keys, and using scale superimposition.

Before launching head on into this tutorial, I must advice you to first backtrack and review my other improvisational tutorials in the right order (for the best results). The order in which they are supposed to be followed are:

Unlocking the Fretboard

Pentatonic Finder

Note Targeting

Timing and Note Value Alteration

With that said and done, you also need to know your boxes and sometimes think “inside the box”. Sounds contradictory? Read on, and all shall be revealed young Jedi!

What the Pentatonic Finder in essence is about, is to learn how to not only see one scale all over the neck, and how the boxes in that key is interlinked and “all over”, but to learn to see and have immediate access to ALL keys at the same time, regardless of where on the neck you might be. Sounds pretty useful right? Imagine now that you are in the key of A, improvising in the Amin pentatonic, and say you are currently in the 1st position. Then the progression changes key to E. What would most inexperienced players do then? They would jump up to the 12th fret, Emin pentatonic 1st position right? Well, as useful as this might be, this tutorial will enable you to switch keys without leaving your current position of the neck, thereby further expanding your improvisational freedom and flexibility.

Before turning the page to the actual tutorial however, I would like you to find a deck of cards that you are comfortable writing on with a marker (or cut some squares of paper, approx. 2×2”). Another neat thing about the Pentatonic Finder exercises is that you can do this together with a fellow guitarist and really put each other through the paces and push each other to new heights! So get a friend, sign him up to Infinite Guitar as well, and start pushing your boundaries!

Ready? Let’s go!

Part 1, A to D

So, to start off with, we need a chord progression to play over that changes keys. For arguments sake let’s say the progression is A7, D9, C9, G7. Remember, we want to treat this chord change as 4 separate keys, not all part of the same key of A and just play the Amin blues scale on top of it (which could work as well, but that’s not the topic of this tutorial). I will also play a simple improvisational example over each of the changes, staying strictly within the minor blues scale. A tip here is to sing along with your playing, to help your ear grow accustomed to the changes, but also to force your fingers to play more melodically and not just scalar passages up and down (which no one finds very interesting for very long).

Next, we will choose a area of the neck within which you must stay. Choose an area spanning 6-7 frets, no more than that. I have chosen frets 4-9 for this tutorial.

So, the object is to stay within the confines of this area when the key changes, and superimposing the pentatonics on top of one another, being able to see any key and the corresponding box simultaneously.

Now, record yourself, or have your friend play 4 bars each of these chords round and round (more on the friend or deck of cards approach later on). Then let’s start improvising!

For the first 4 bars of A7, we will need to find the correct box in A within frets 4-9, and which one would that be? You guessed it, box 1, as depicted below.

An explanation of the colors here. I will use different colors to pinpoint different scale degrees throughout the following tutorials (much as I did in the Unlocking the Fretboard tutorial, only several other degrees, hence the different look of the fretboard diagrams this time. The color mapping is as follows:

*The Diamond-shaped dots represents the root, regardless of color.

*The Blue dots (when several colors are used) represents the root as well.

*The Green dots represents the b5 (“blue” note) added to the Minor Pentatonic that turns it into the Blues Scale.

*The Orange dots represents the third degree (minor thirds in this case).

*The Red dots represents the b7 degree (dominant seventh).

We won’t be using all of these in this tutorial, (only the root and b5) but we will in the following ”Note Targeting” tutorial, so familiarize yourself with the color mapping straight away, so you’re not too confused later on.

Then, when we come to the next chord in the progression, D7, what box must we utilize? Correct again, (darn you’re good!) the 4th box in D.

So, in the moment when the change is imminent (in bar 4), try to visualize that 4th box of D, while still playing in A. This is tricky at first, since it often throws you off in your playing to play in one key, whilst thinking of another. If in trouble, I recommend you go through my ”Timing and Note Value Alteration” tutorial, since timing is an invaluable life-saver in this situation! Also, if you’re going to be able to pull off my advanced tapping tutorials, where you need to be able to think not only in these two boxes when changing keys, but in 2-3 positions of each key, in two hands simultaneously all over the neck, you must have this down or you will crash and burn. So you see, even this simple exercise will pay off even in very advanced two-handed improvisation flowing all over the neck later on. This is what I mean by thinking conceptually about technique and theory, to be able to use the concept of the Pentatonic Finder exercise in ANY style or playing situation!

Here is what you should be visualizing when the change comes, the first box of A, superimposed by the 4th box of D. I have omitted the color mapping here for obvious reasons. Look at what notes the two scales have in common and chose a note to target for the change. Initially, the root is a good place to start, since that will really make your key change obvious. Later on, in the ”Note Targeting” tutorial, we will look at other target notes to use, and after that also tension notes.

Part 2, D to C

Next, we will look at the next change in the progression, which will be from D9 to C9. We were in the 4th box of the Dmin Blues Scale, so which box must we utilize to keep ourselves within the 4-9 fret area? Right you are, the 5th box in C it is!

And here is what you should visualize over the change, D 4th position, superimposed by C 5th position

Part 3, C to G

Well, you know the drill by now. Time for the change between C and G. Here’s the correct box in G, which will be the 2nd.

And here’s C superimposed by G.

Part 4, G to A

And finally, here’s the change between G7 and A7. You already know that the 1st box of A is what goes, so without further ado, here’s G superimposed by A

Now What?

Now that you have that down, it’s time to take it to the next level. You should now start practicing this method, choosing new areas of the neck to cover. Say you choose to cover the area of 10-15th fret. If we are in the same progression, A, D, C, G, then what would the corresponding boxes be? Answer is A=4th, D=1st (you could also use the second, your choice, they both fall within the area), C=2nd and G=4th.

Here is where the deck of cards comes into play. You take out all the non-clad cards and write all the 12 chromatic notes on them, they mix them up, and “deal” yourself a progression, record it and get going!

The friend-approach is different. Here you will agree to a starting point, and an area, let’s say A and the 4th-9th fret as we have worked with. Then your friend will play 4 bars of each, but when he has played 2 bars for you, he calls out the name of the key to which he will change after 4 bars, so you have time to think and prepare. This approach is much more random and much harder of course, but a truly great exercise!

If you have some sort of computer or synth-program that can generate random chords, you could possibly work something similar out there, but nothing ever replaces playing with someone else, since while it is your time to play the chords, you can listen and learn by observing what you friend does.

The next step is to take this all over the neck! You will improvise freely across the whole neck, using everything you learned in the Unlocking the Fretboard tutorial. But when the change comes, you must stay in the area of the neck where you currently are, and make that superimposed change then and there, before continuing ripping up the neck.

I wish you good luck with all of this, and I hope to see you again in the next part of my improvisational series, the Timing and Note Value Alteration tutorial.

Keep your groove on!

This article was originally published on Infinite Guitar in 2008 for the Pentatonic Finder tutorial.

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Note: In the diagrams below, standard notation appears directly above the tablature for reference.

The Guitar Strings

First thing we should know is how the guitar strings relate to tab. Take a look at the image below. You’ll see six horizontal lines. Those lines represent the guitar strings. At the bottom, you’ll see the Low E(6th string), then the A(5th string), then the D(4th string), then the G(3rd string), then the B(2nd string), then at the top you’ll see the High E(1st string). Be sure to memorize which lines represent which strings.

Playing Notes

Next, let’s look at how notes will be indicated in tablature. Check out the image below. See those numbers on the Low E and A strings? Those numbers represent what frets to play on the strings. So, as we go in order from left to right, we’ll see that the first note we play is “0” on the Low E string. Then we’ll play another “0”. Anytime you see a “0”, that simply means you play the string open without pressing on any frets. When we get to the third note in the tab, we see a “2” on the A string. That means that you’ll play the 2nd fret of the A string. Then for the fourth note, you’ll play the same thing.

If you look under the tab, you’ll see the indicated pickstrokes. The first note will be picked with a downstroke, the second note will be picked with an upstroke, and so on.

Legato

So we have the basics now, but how do we recognize legato (hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides) in tab? In the image below, we have three measures displayed. In each of those three measures, there is a different form of legato being used.

1. The 1st measure is indicating that hammer-ons be used. See how there is a tie symbol connecting the 5th and 7th fret notes? That means that we’ll be using legato to play those notes. First you’ll play the 5th fret note with a downstroke, then you’ll hammer-on the 7th fret note.

2. The 2nd measure is indicating that slides be used. Again, you’ll see the tie symbols connecting the notes, in addition to forward and backward slashes. A forward slash indicates an upward slide. A backward slash indicates a downward slide. With the first two notes, you’ll slide up from the 5th fret to the 7th fret. Then with the next two notes, you’ll slide down from the 7th fret to the 5th fret.

3. The 3rd measure is indicating that pull-offs be used. Again, you’ll notice those ties. First you’ll play the 7th fret note with a downstroke, then you’ll pull-off to the 5th fret note.

Chords

We can also read chords in tablature. With all the above examples, there was only one note being played at a time. However, when you’re playing chords, the notes will be stacked on top of each other vertically. Observe the image below and you’ll see how chords can be written in tab. So any time you have notes vertically lined up in tab, that means you need to play those notes at the same time.

Alrighty! That sums up the working fundamentals of tablature. It’s pretty basic, which is exactly how it’s meant to be. If you’d like to go beyond basic tab and start learning how to read standard notation, click here to check out the “Music Reading for Guitar” tutorial.

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These arpeggios should be practiced in all positions. Following the cycle of fourths can be useful here. Play each of the four arpeggios off the following notes (in the order written): C,F,Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb,B,E,A,D,G. If you can’t complete an arpeggio due to lack of frets, simply go as far as your fretboard will allow.

This exercise should be practiced with a metronome at a comfortable tempo. Coordination first. Then speed. Good luck!

This article was originally published on Infinite Guitar in 2007 for the Triad Arpeggios lesson.

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