Here’s another Mini Guitar Lesson by Mike Jones from Killer Guitar Tips.

Great guitar players do not just happen out of thin air. Great guitar players have practiced their art and practiced on a regular basis! But be WARNED… Many people practice the wrong things. They actually practice BAD habits. In order to progress you need to practice the right things. I know this sounds blatantly obvious but many, many people get this wrong. They practice things that they actually like which could be reinforcing their bad habits they have already acquired.

YOU’RE in the minority! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You’re in the select 5% of people who will be practicing the CORRECT methods and techniques that will catapult your guitar playing into hyperspace.

So stay tuned…

Let’s get straight on with this mini guitar lesson…

We will start with a really cool chord progression that’s great to play pentatonic riffs over when you are jamming with a friend, it will make you sound like a great player with no effort whatsoever!

So here it is, it’s real easy… Play one bar of each chord A, G, D, and A. Now keep on playing these chords over and over while your friend makes up a solo using the Am pentatonic scale at the fifth fret!! It sounds great.

Why not swop parts and get your friend to play the chords while you solo over this sequence in Am. Just listen to yourself sounding like a top pro player!

Now now have a progression you know that will fit in at any jam night or venue. You will be able to get up with a friend and sound like a real pro guitarist. It just takes a little practice ideally with your friend.

Another great little progression that goes along with this nicely and is the backbone of many great songs is a 4 bar sequence that repeats itself over and over again and is commonly known as the ‘turnaround’.

Lets take a closer look at this so here goes:

Play the 1st bar G, the second is Em, the 3rd is C and the last is a bar of D.

Play the rhythm of 4 beats to a bar and repeat this turnaround to your hearts content.

Again this is a superb jam sequence. Why not get your friends to jam along to it in the key of G. You play the rhythm and they solo over the top then change around, you solo they play rhythm.

Oh, and dont forget that my full guitar audio/video program is loaded with lots of amazing chord sequences that will allow you to lay down great sounding rhythm guitar that will astound your friends and rock your audience.

How To Play Hammer Ons And Pull Offs On Your Guitar.

If you recall in the last mini guitar lesson I showed you how to move the pentatonic pattern 1 round the neck. In this article we will expand on that to bring a technique called the “hammer on”.

Let’s take pattern 1 at the 5th fret (Am) as an example.

A “hammer on” is played by holding down the 6th string at the 5th fret and proceed to pick it. Now hit your 4th finger hard down onto the 8th fret hard enough to make the string hit the fret and sound out as loud as if you’d picked it!

In order to master thus technique you need to practice. Practice playing the hammer on on all the strings in the scale pattern… This is known as “hammering on”!!!

Once you are able to play the “hammer on” quickly you will build up your speed over time and find that you will be able to play notes quickly without having to pick the strings individually. This will speed up your overall playing ability…

Try to practice your guitar playing EVERY day, even if you only pick it up for a few minutes, your fingers will become more and more on auto pilot…

Following on from the “hammer on” we are now going to take a look at the “pull off” The “pull off” is another ‘must know’ technique and runs side by side with the “hammer on”. This is a technique you have got to master if you wish to progress to becoming a great player!

Again using pattern 1 at the 5th fret (Am) hold down the 8th fret with your 4th finger and also the 5th fret with your first finger on the 6th string.

Now pick the string sounding the note at the 8th fret (C)

Here’s the best bit: Flick the string with your 4th finger whilst the note is still ringing (pull off) to sound the note at the 5th fret (A), Do not use your plectrum at all.

Make sure you practice this on all the strings up and down pattern 1.

This killer technique combined with hammer on’s is regular feature in great sounding solos.

Practice until your fingers bleed! Only joking!!!!

About The Author – Mike Jones: Mike has been teaching and playing guitar as a pro for over twenty years. He has created an amazing guitar tutoring course created using his very own amazing speed learning techniques to get the beginner through to accomplished player in the shortest possible time. For more information and receive some super FREE tips and tricks visit his website at: guitar lessons

Death metal guitarists really have a way with flying all over the guitar neck during a brutal song. They can give you a lesson in going between chords and riffs effortlessly while putting on a great show too.

Even though some of the methods and tricks for playing death metal guitar chords are challenging, they are important to learn since most of the skills are easily transferable to rock and jazz playing. If you want to develop better skills of pounding out awesome chords for metal, try these 6 effective tips to play metal guitar chords.

1. Put your fingers near the frets when pressing on strings. When you first started playing the guitar, you may have learned to place your fingers in between the frets on the fret board. Something you may have not learned is that your chords are more effective when they are nudged up against the lower fret marking of the fret your finger is occupying.

2. Put your fingers in a position that prepares them for the next riff. Throughout a death metal song, you’re going to encounter chords and riffs of varying difficulty, so you need to be prepared. Be mindful of where you play each chord so that you can be in the best position to execute the next riff that’s coming.

3. Transition your chords smoothly by sliding. As brutal as metal might sound to the audience, it is still an action of creating a very continuous sound between a group of musicians. Help that consistency along by sliding between each chord in a very smooth style.

4. Prepare for more calluses. If you’re playing death metal guitar, you’re most likely playing in one of the drop tunings of ‘D’ or ‘C’. With these tunings you’ll be laying your index finger across three strings at a time to create power chords. You’ll find out soon enough that more calluses will begin to form along the length of your finger.

5. Play your chords ugly and proud. Contrary to other lessons you may have learned about other guitar genres, death metal is as ugly and evil as it gets. Don’t be afraid to create dark chord progressions of only three chords that are adjacent to each other. If you can get them to grind, then you have made something brutal.

6. Partially palm-muted chords make the guitar growl. If there are sections in a song that seem like they need to strike hard but with some eerie reverberation, then maybe you want a partial palm mute. Get into a palm-muting position with your strumming hand, release the pressure by 25%, and then strike a chord for a hard hit followed by a low hum.

Death metal has a very rigid and brutal style about it, and mastering its characteristics is how you truly master the genre. Put these tips to some good use and see if you can really amp up the power and control of your chords.

Kyle Hoffman has performed in a number of successful bands as an experienced guitarist with enthusiasm in the rock and metal genres. To learn his valuable tips on learning fast electric guitar for FREE, visit his popular guitar blog, How To Guitar Tune!

In this article we are going to learn how to play hammer on’s and pull off’s.

In the last article/mini guitar lesson you learned how to move the pentatonic pattern 1 around the neck. In this lesson we will expand on that to bring a technique called the “hammer on”.

For example let’s take pattern 1 at the 5th fret (Am).

A “hammer on” is played by holding down the 6th string at the 5th fret and proceed to pick it. Now hit your 4th finger hard down onto the 8th fret hard enough to make the string hit the fret and sound out as loud as if you’d picked it!

You need to practice playing this on all the strings in the scale pattern… and it is known as “hammering on”!!!

Once you are able to play the “hammer on” quickly you will build up your speed over time and find that you will be able to play notes quickly without having to pick the strings individually. This will speed up your overall playing ability…

Try to practice your guitar playing EVERY day, even if you only pick it up for a few minutes, your fingers will become more and more on auto pilot…

To add to the “hammer on” we will now have a go at a technique called the “pull off” and is the next killer technique you must try to master on your road to becoming a great player!

We will start off again using pentatonic pattern one at the 5th fret (Am). Hold down the 8th fret with your 4th finger and also the 5th fret with your first finger on the 6th string.

Now pick the string sounding the note at the 8th fret (C)

Now here’s the clever bit : whilst the note is still ringing flick the string with your 4th finger (pull off) to sound the note at the 5th fret (A). Do not use your pick at all!

Make sure you practice this on all the strings up and down pattern 1.

These great and widely used techniques (hammer on’s and pull off’s) is a regular feature in fantastic sounding solos.

Practice until your fingers bleed! Only joking!!!!

About The Author – Mike Jones: Mike has been teaching and playing guitar as a professional for over two decades. He has created an unique guitar tutoring professionalgram created using his very own unique speed learning techniques to get the beginner through to accomplished player in the shortest possible time. To find out more and receive some super FREE tips and tricks visit his website at: guitar lessons

Jamorama is a complete guitar course aimed primarily at novices. It combines video and audio with written instructions, to make learning to play the guitar both diverting and easy.

The team at Jamorama has spent thousands of hours developing almost one hundred fifty video exercises and examples to assist the student hear, see and understand the quality information provided in the glossy two ebooks series. Two additional exclusive computer games are included by the Jamorama team.

Ben Edwards is a highly-respected master guitar player, a trained instructor, and an internet entrepreneur. Ben played lead guitar for a popular down-under band called DegreesK, and nowadays he loves helping other people learn how to play guitar.

Jamorama is recognized to be the best low cost learn guitar course in the market – Why is the price so low? Ben Edwards wants as many people to use Jamorama as possible because it works and he enjoy spreading the gift of music!

In just a matter of weeks, with a little hard exercise, you’ll be amazed at what you’ll be playing. There’s a big bonus here in that you’ll not be tired with those repetitive drills to practice.

The videos are all professionally made, and you’ll find that the exercises are all fun and interesting. A few of the themes that will be covered include how to read chords, playing progressions, reading guitar tabs and primary notation, and rhythmic strumming techniques, just to name some of the subjects.

You are able to basically try it out free of charge to see if it’’s what you desire. If you aren’t satisfied with it for any reason you can actually get a full money back refund with absolutely no questions inquired.

Jamorama is an immensely helpful programe that makes your guitar learning fast and fun and also brings dollops of excitement to your playing. This is one guitar course that’s really facile to accompany and can easily guide you to master the instrument in a matter of time.

Jamorama is the ultimate kit to learn how to play guitar online

This article teaches you a nice little chord change for you to use over and over again. It can be used in many different situations adding another item to your bag of tricks that you should be building up over time. Even if you are not yet at a level to be able to play this piece you still need to keep it as you will be able to refer back to it when you are at a level to be able to play it. Your bag of tricks you will be building over time will be invaluable in times to come and will help tremendously in your quest to becoming a great player. This sequence is really effective but it does assume you have some understanding of playing the guitar.

Clarifying what I have just mentioned as I feel it is really important to understand is that if you are not yet at a standard to be able to play this sequence – don’t panic! Store this tip in your bag of tricks and at a later date when you ability improves you will be able to pull it out to use at will. From the FREE articles I will be posting over the coming weeks you will be able to throw lots of tricks into your bag to be used whenever you choose.

Ok, give this a whirl:

Play one bar with all down strokes and on the beat using an ‘A major’ chord in the open position using your 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers.

Next lift off your 3rd finger to reveal the open B string (this chord is called Asus2) and play one bar.

Now, hold down using your 4th finger the ‘B string’ at the 3rd fret (1st and 2nd finger remain unchanged at the second fret throughout this sequence) and play one bar, this is an Asus4 chord. Then finish with one bar of ‘Amajor’ to complete this four bar sequence.

And thats it!

This is a really nice sounding sequence and can be used by the relative beginner. It arises in many, many songs and sounds really effective. Give it a whirl.