by Lloyd English | Feb 13, 2014 | News, Theory and Harmony
One day while on a break from teaching I was browsing around in a music store when someone asked me if I knew of any good books that explained scales for the guitar. In fact, despite being right there in a store full of books I couldn’t suggest one that I...
by Lloyd English | Feb 2, 2014 | Beginner Guitar, Guitar Lessons
I remember as a young guitarist I knew how to use a guitar capo, but thought a capo was for cheating if you didn’t know all of your chords. As a matter of fact I remember it being referred to as a “cheater” by many players. Some of the first guitar capo designs...
by Myles English | Jan 26, 2014 | Articles, Beginner Guitar
Tab is a representation of the 6 strings of the guitar. The numbers in the Tab system correspond to the frets on the guitar and not to fingering numbers. Guitar Tablature is designed specifically for the guitar, it cannot be used for other instruments. As shown in...
by Ray Hickey | Jan 25, 2014 | Articles, Uncategorized
Years ago, as a novice guitar instructor, I dreaded the moment an older and more advanced guitarist might contact me looking for lessons. I knew it was inevitable. The seeds of this foreboding had been planted several years earlier when a story was circulated about a...
by Ray Hickey | Jan 15, 2014 | Beginner Guitar, Guitar Lessons
The electric guitar has been around for about 80 years, the steel string acoustic for about 150 years, and the nylon string classical for over 300. It should therefore come as no surprise that classical guitarists have figured out a thing or two about guitar...
by Lloyd English | Jan 11, 2014 | Beginner Guitar, Theory and Harmony
The major scale sound is the most common scale sound in the music of the Western World. The word scale means a ladder of notes and in the case of major scales that ladder is made up of distances of tones and semitones. A tone is the distance of 2 frets and a semitone...
by Lloyd English | Jan 10, 2014 | Recording, Uncategorized
In this age of home recording there are a lot of players experimenting with getting a big phat guitar sound in their own mixes. Someone on tight budget asked me today what type of mic they should use for recording their guitar amplifier. So, the question is: “I want...
by Lloyd English | Jan 6, 2014 | Guitar Lessons, Uncategorized
There are many alternate tunings for the guitar and they can have some lovely and powerful results both musically and technically. Dropped D tuning is great to start with and is a perfect choice as the gateway to a host of new tuning possibilities. A well set up and...
by Lloyd English | Jan 4, 2014 | Articles, Uncategorized
As a young player I had owned several Les Pauls and heard about the release of the new line of Les Pauls, the Professional and the Personal. The promo for the line revolved around this being the ultimate Les Paul that was ideal for recording . It was said to have the...
by Lloyd English | Dec 31, 2013 | Uncategorized
When you practice do you spend a lot of time looking for what you need? Where are my picks? Have you seen my music? Where’s my Guitar? Where’s my Ipad. May I use this chair? Can I use your Ipod player? Where’s the music stand? Is there a tuner...
by Lloyd English | Dec 29, 2013 | Beginner Guitar, Uncategorized
Why should I bother learning to read music for Guitar? Jimi Hendrix couldn’t read music. I have heard that a lot over the years and on the face of it that logic seems to make sense. Here is another side to that same question. A number of years ago we produced a...
by Lloyd English | Dec 28, 2013 | Articles, Beginner Guitar
As a kid I wasn’t very disciplined and wasn’t particularly good at practicing. When I started playing at age 12 I would just pick up my guitar and try to figure stuff out by ear. Most of my progress was a result of learning by watching friends and...
by Lloyd English | Dec 27, 2013 | Beginner Guitar, Guitar Lessons
Are you wondering how to tune a guitar by ear or with a tuner? Today we’re going to discuss both methods and give you a good understanding of what exactly tuning is. A guitar string is brought up to a specific “tension” or “pitch” by turning the guitar machine...
by Lloyd English | Dec 26, 2013 | Theory and Harmony
Every year before the Christmas season I use some favorite seasonal songs to teach the concept of the secondary dominant chord and do ear training. Christmas songs are perfect because everyone knows the melodies and melodies indicate harmony. Many of you will already...
by Lloyd English | Dec 25, 2013 | Guitar Lessons, Theory and Harmony
One of the most misunderstood of all musical terms is “Modes”. The overly simplified and confusing explanation I have heard over and over is that Modes are the same as the notes in a major scale except they just start in different places. That is a very...
