Developing Your Musical "Ear"

One of the best pieces of advice that one of my guitar teachers ever gave me was to always be working on developing my musical "ear"--that is, he encouraged me to work on 'hearing' notes in my head before actually playing them on my guitar.

This is a skill that takes some time to develop, but one that also pays HUGE dividends in the long run.  Even if you are a beginner student, a good way to practice your lessons is to say or sing the names of the notes as you play them on your guitar's fretboard.  Over time, you will see that you too will be able to hear those notes in your inner "musical ear," and it will become almost second nature to you.

And you don't have to be a great singer to do this training--in the privacy of your rehearsals and lessons, be intentional about this training.  Eventually, you won't even have to sing the notes aloud, as your inner musical "ear" will be doing that silently inside of your head.

In the video link below, I demonstrate an easy technique for developing your ear.  Happy Pickin'!

Developing Your Musical 'Ear'

"Two-torial" #7--Cleanliness is next to Guitar Godliness!

Today's post and video are about the importance of keeping your guitar strings wiped down following every rehearsal, lesson, or performance session.

You may not realize it, but every time you play your guitar, your fingers leave behind traces of oil and perspiration which, along with the natural humidity in the air and airborne pollutants, begins to corrode your guitar strings.

Eventually the strings corrode, get "grungy," sound dull, and become way more likely to break!

By simply wiping down your strings and neck after every playing session, you will greatly extend the life of your strings,and they'll stay bright sounding.

As you can see in the video link below, any soft cloth will do; most music stores sell microfiber guitar cloths, but even a good old cotton T-shirt will work just fine.

Happy pickin' and cleanin'!  The video link is below:

Keep Those Strings Clean!

What about those dots?

You may have always wondered what those dots on your guitar's fretboard represent--so let's talk a little about that today!

On a guitar, those dots represent certain intervals of the 12-tone musical scale that you are probably already familiar with--but they also help greatly in helping orient you as you play chords, scales, barre chords, lead solos, and the like.

I don't know the history of how those dots came to be placed, but I can point out what they represent:

Third fret dot--represents a minor third up from the open string

Fifth fret dot--represents a perfect fourth

Seventh fret dot--represents a perfect fifth interval from the open string

Ninth fret dot--represents a major sixth interval, but no one really knows why it's there.  You'd miss it, however, if it weren't there!  :)

AND, the all-important twelfth fret double-dots (or similar design):  This is your octave on the open string, and very important as a place marker!

There's more info in the video link below:

The Dots on my Guitar's Fretboard

Happy Pickin'--and give those dots some love today!

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Musical experts say that it takes at least 10,000 hours of rehearsal to master the instrument that you are trying to learn, and while that sounds like an UNATTAINABLE number, if you sit and do the math, you'd be surprised just how quickly 20-30 minutes of rehearsal per day adds up!

Along those lines, I wanted to talk a bit about some other ways you can rehearse, even when you're not physically at home with your instrument.  For example, you might work a lot of hours, or spend time on a bus or school bus, or maybe you're on vacation, and couldn't pack the guitar--but you can do these exercises:

VISUALIZATION
That's right--just visualizing notes, or chord charts, or scales uses the same nerve paths in your brain that you would use if the instrument was in your hands.  If you are on your lunch break, for example, just picture a few chord charts in your head, and picture which fingers you would use on each string.  You will be amazed at just how much you do retain, and how much easier the fingerings are when you do get back to your instrument.

LISTENING
There is music all around us--in elevators, grocery stores, and while you're on hold on the telephone.  Listen to the music, and again, visualize the melody you are hearing, or the chord change that is taking place.  Listen for the "pulse" of the rhythm, and count the measures out in your head.

LOOKING
Make yourself a small copy of the chords or scales you are working on, and carry it with you in your purse or wallet.  Again, when you have some time at work or during your commute, pull those "flash cards" out and study them.  Once you get back to your instrument, you can put into practice what you have studied!

Here's a video where I talk a little more about visualization;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnv1vehidOk

Enjoy--and Happy Pickin' (and Practicin') !

Relative ("Desert Island") Tuning Your Guitar "Two-torial" #4

As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to expand a little bit on how to tune your guitar to itself (relative tuning), especially if you are someplace where you don't have access to a keyboard or tuning device.  I also call this "desert island" tuning.

It's pretty simple, actually, in that you start with the lowest string, making sure it's not too slack or too tight--from there you go to the fifth fret of that lowest string and play the tone.  That tone is what your next open string (the fifth string) should be tuned to.

That fifth fret system works for every string except for when you are trying to tune the second string--in that case you must use the FOURTH fret of the third string in order to get the correct tone.  Don't ask me why--I didn't design the order of the strings or their tones!!  :)

I have posted a new video to talk more about this method (click on the link below), and also below is a handy graphic that might help you as well.

"Two-torial" #4--Relative Tuning Your Guitar

Happy Picking Everyone!

"Two-torial" #3--Options for Tuning Your Guitar

To me nothing sounds as wonderful as a properly-tuned guitar--and nothing sounds worse than an out of tune guitar...!!  In the video linked below, I will talk about the major options you have for tuning your guitar:

1) Tuning to a keyboard or piano (which assumes that the piano has been tuned!).  Using this method, remember that on the piano, the note E just above middle C is the E that your high E-string should match.  You then work backwards down the keyboard to tune your B, G, D, A, and low E strings.

2) Clip on tuners seem to work the best for me, especially at a band rehearsal or gig.  They clip to your guitar's head-stock, and "read" the vibrations from the string.  So, even if you are trying to tune in a noisy bar between sets, you still get an accurate tuning.  Many new guitars also come with these vibration tuners built in!

3) There are many FREE apps for your smartphone or tablet that also serve to tune a guitar.  You play a note, and the microphone on your phone/tablet sends it to the app.  The app then tells you to raise or lower the pitch of each string.

4) Finally, there is relative tuning, which I also call "desert island" tuning.  It's a way to tune the guitar to itself, even if you don't have access to a tuner or keyboard.  I will cover that next week in my next "two-torial."

Here's the link to the video!  Enjoy--and play on!  (in tune, of course).  :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUGFB6MlisU

"Two-torial #2" --Using a capo on your guitar

In this second installment of my "two-torial" video series, I explain a bit about the reasons to consider using a capo on your guitar.  Many songs have been written and performed on capoed guitars--especially by such notable artists as James Taylor, George Harrison, and the Everly brothers, to name a few.

As I mention in the video, a capo is a great tool to use when:

1) the song you are playing is in a "guitar-unfriendly" key

2) you need to change the key of a song to better suit your vocal range

3) you want to utilize and explore the unique tonal changes that come with raising the overall pitch of your guitar.

Happy pickin'--practice hard, and I'll see you in a week.

Here's the link to the video     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7m_r5XDAS8

P.S.  I want to quote a 10-year old student of mine who informed me that "practice makes perfect, and practice makes permanent."  Smart kid!