Everyone who is a musician has, at some time or another, heard the phrase “Practice Makes Perfect”, but this is a complete falsehood.

While guitar practice is vitally important to improving your playing, it should not be practice makes perfect, but rather, practice makes permanent. The fact is that if you have always practiced something incorrectly, then you will always play it incorrectly as the habit becomes ingrained.

My primary objective is to provide you with effective practice tips that will help you improve your guitar playing style while keeping you safe.

You are probably wondering what could possibly be unsafe about practicing your guitar.

That is an excellent question.

I have noticed a common trend among veteran players that I am familiar with. Many of them suffer from hand and wrist fatigue. Many have had to endure wearing braces while playing because after years of playing the wrong way, they have developed carpel tunnel.

Anyone who has ever held a guitar can understand how playing the instrument can create strain on your hand and wrist. Therefore, taking the necessary time to practice the proper way is something you should strive for sot hat you can avoid this painful condition. Your musical abilities will benefits, also, but the main goal is to get your hands into the right shape.

After all, if you were a brand new weight lifter you wouldn’t go straight for the five hundred pound weights. You would begin with much lighter weights.

You wouldn’t take the chance of serious injury by starting any other way. The same is true of playing the guitar, proper training, conditioning and warm up are necessary to stay in top playing shape so that you can enjoy playing for many years to come.

Exercise 1 – Stretching is key

Before you play the first note, or even think about touching the guitar, you should spend five minutes simply stretching your hand. Stretching will prepare your hand for playing as it gets blood flowing to your hands and will help your muscles and tendons to relax. You will be amazed at how much endurance you will have for playing when you take the time to stretch. Blood moves oxygen, and your muscles are hungry for oxygen. Take the time to stretch your entire hand from your fingers, to your wrist and forearms.

Exercise 2 – Timing is everything

A metronome should be your constant companion when you are practicing. Timing is everything in music, and playing to the steady tick of a metronome will help you develop your timing. Great timing is the single most important aspect that all musicians share. Having a great sense of timing is what sets great guitarists apart from amateurs.

It’s foolish to think that you would not benefit from the use of a metronome or do not need one.

Exercise 3 – Chromatic scales serve a purpose

Chromatic scales are done automatically, with little thought behind them, but they will condition your hands. Using chromatic scales is simply the easiest way to improve dexterity, and increase speed because they will make hitting the right note a very natural action.

At one time, I could spend hours doing nothing more than the following chromatic exercise, and it improved my speed a agility greatly.

If you want to be able to rip through your music accurately and quickly, make a point of practicing these scales on a daily basis.

E|—————————————–1-2-3-4———-|
B|———————————1-2-3-4——————|
G|————————-1-2-3-4————————–|
D|—————–1-2-3-4———————————-|
A|———1-2-3-4——————————————|
E|-1-2-3-4————————————————–|

Reverse it after you play it

E|-1-2-3-4——————————————|
B|———1-2-3-4———————————-|
G|—————–1-2-3-4————————–|
D|————————-1-2-3-4——————|
A|———————————1-2-3-4———-|
E|—————————————–1-2-3-4–|

When you are practicing, be sure to use alternate picking.

Once these exercises are completed, move everything up on fret and practice some more. Continue moving up the frets and practicing them for speed, accuracy and agility.

Try to work your way up through all 11 frets, and then move back down again.

When you start feeling a burn, complete the exercise you are on then take the time to stretch your arms, wrists and fingers thoroughly before you continue practicing.

Following these tips will improve your playing, prevent painful carpel tunnel, and give you the confidence you need to play any venue.

The subject of music theory continues to intimidate even the best musicians, but that should not be the case. I used to believe that I would need to learn to sight-read sheet music in order to become a professional player.

But I found out that is untrue.

Having a basic knowledge of music theory is necessary, but it is possible to earn a full time income as a musician without knowing how to read music.

That is because most leading music producers and studios do not use sheet music.

Instead, they use the Nashville System, which is known as the number system.

Music theory actually boils down to numbers rather than notes. Even today, I cannot tell you what note I am hitting at any time. If I look, I can quickly tell you, but I only think about the numbers as I play — not whether I’m playing a C, D, or E.

This number system is very popular since it allows you to transpose music fast. Unlike using traditional sheet music, you do not have to spend hours re-charting notes.

The number system gives musicians performing live a way to communicate quickly, which leads them to create impromptu compositions.

Just what is this number system, and how is it used?

The number system works from the major scale.

Based on the C Major key, the notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C.

You should play it that way on the guitar:

E|————————————————–|
B|————————————————–|
G|————————————————–|
D|——————-9-10—————————|
A|———-8-10-12———————————|
E|-8-10-12——————————————|

Forget what the notes are for the moment, and play the notes in the order listed, counting to 8.

Instead of thinking C, D, E, F …

Simply refer to each note as its number. For example, the octave would be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

You only need to know the key to be able to improvise as you go.

But learn the major scale, because the 2 chord, 4 chord, etc. is always in the same position regardless of the key. Then you can both play and transpose music any time.

So, instead of telling you to “play C-F-G,” I would say “Hey, we’re in the key of C, and we’re doing a 1-4-5 progression.”

I may say “switch the keys to Eb” unexpectedly. And if I do, you don’t have to scramble to figure out which chords to play. You will know where the 1 chord, 4 chord, and 5 chords are.

Then I might suddenly decide to change the music by going to the 6 chord. To do so in the key of G, I would only have to say the number 6. With the conventional method, I would have to tell you to go to E minor.

By mastering the number system you can better communicate with other musicians, and that means you’ll be making better music.

When it comes to great soloing, the pentatonic scale is something you must master. The pentatonic is the easiest scale to learn, and it’s the basis for 90 percent of the licks you can do.

There are only five basic notes in the pentatonic scale, and you don’t have to know them to play them.

This particular scale is movable — it can go all over the fretboard, be used in any key and in any playing situation. But that’s not all.

The pentatonic scale has a “box” shape that guitarists are familiar with, but it’s the pentatonic modes that I want to tell you about.

Essentially, no matter where you are on the fretboard, you can launch into a solo using these modes. Once you get control of the pentatonic’s various shapes, you will have unlimited soloing ability, and your fretboard will take you to brand new places.

I will guarantee that if you practice these shapes every day for a week, your guitar skills will improve.

If you aren’t accustomed to reading tabs, do this: imagine that your guitar is laying face up in your lap. You’ll have a bird’s eye of the fretboard, and you’ll know which fret to play based on the numbers on the strings.

Let’s get started.

In the key of G, for example, the minor pentatonic standard box shape would look like this:

-

E|———————3-6—————————————–|
B|—————–3-6———————————————|
G|————-3-5————————————————-|
D|———3-5—————————————————–|
A|—–3-5———————————————————|
E|-3-6————————————————————-|

Continue to practice and expand your understanding, getting to know the modes of the G minor pentatonic. As soon as you master the fingerings, it will be easy to transpose the modes to other keys.

E|———————6-8—————————————–|
B|—————–6-8———————————————|
G|————-5-7————————————————-|
D|———5-8—————————————————–|
A|—–5-8———————————————————|
E|-6-8————————————————————-|

E|—————————–8-10——————————–|
B|————————8-11————————————-|
G|——————7-10——————————————-|
D|————8-10————————————————-|
A|——8-10——————————————————-|
E|-8-10————————————————————|

E|——————————-10-13—————————–|
B|————————-11-13———————————–|
G|——————-10-12—————————————–|
D|————-10-12———————————————–|
A|——-10-13—————————————————–|
E|-10-13———————————————————–|

E|——————————-13-15—————————–|
B|————————-13-15———————————–|
G|——————-12-15—————————————–|
D|————-12-15———————————————–|
A|——-13-15—————————————————–|
E|-13-15———————————————————–|

And when you do that you’ll be back to the first “box” shape octave, on the 15 fret.

With these patterns in your skill set, you’ll find that you can play better and faster than you ever have.

Anyone who has spent a lot of time playing solos knows it is quite easy to find yourself in a pentatonic rut. There is a reason why the pentatonic scale is referred to as a box scale.

There are only five core notes, which have been being played in every combination thinkable, so there is no wonder why finding fresh solo ideas is so difficult.

Due to this, many people try to find other scales or modes to use for a fresh approach. Unfortunately, it is hard for a guitarist to learn something new.

In my opinion there has never been a class of people more devoted to their art, yet so unable to change.

It is very hard for a person who knows how to play great to be able to go back to the basics and start over again. This is what is required to learn a new scale and a new theory.

This is the precise reason I developed my style of playing.

As I have said over and over again, a person will learn more from a one hour jamming session they he/she will in an hour of practicing alone.

With this in mind, I do the following anytime I want to play outside of the box or learn new playing styles and techniques:

I find a master.

I locate someone who already plays the way I want to learn, and I copy how they play. I take time to fully understand their solos.

Doing this helps me in two ways. First, it helps you to build a collection of songs you are able to play; and you can use this to widen your musical horizons.

Anytime you find yourself in a pentatonic rut, try the following:

1. Obligate yourself to playing melodic. Only allow yourself to play the melody of your song. Doing this makes you concentrate on writing a solo that is angled toward the tone of your piece, and not simply a replica of all your other solos.

2. Put some music on that you have never heard before. Find some music that has never been played around you before. You may even want to find some that is in a totally different genre than you typically listen to. Go to a music store and look through the world sections of music. This will give you the opportunity to find a piece that makes you think outside your music box.

It is true that what you listen to has an effect on what you play. Every song you hear is stored in the back of your mind as a musical idea. With this in mind, make yourself listen to a totally new and original song at least once a week.

Don’t limit yourself to simply listening to it, try to play it. This method can help you to break through your typically thought process when playing your guitar.

Anyone who is new and desires to have a new element added to his/her play quickly, it is wise to take the time to listen to and learn to play the two songs listed below.

I advise people that if they want to become a great guitarist, it is vital to learn these two songs. They will allow you to learn how to use melody, timing, and careful phrasing outside the normal pentatonic scale, while allowing you to fully master playing the pentatonic scale.

The two songs I am referring to are:

1. Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd and 2. Europa by Santana.

Anyone who can learn to play these two songs accurately is on the right path to becoming a wonderful guitar player.

The last time we posted we discussed methods for adding the Aeolian scale to your pentatonic that were easy and how to apply your new knowledge of scales. As you may recall, the Aeolian scale a naturally occurring minor scale. It is a fact that minor scale and chords give music a darker and sadder tone.

We will now discuss the Dorian scale, which will allow you to incorporate a happier feel. This scale can be used in funk, jazz, and major based chord progressions. I truly enjoy using this over good jump blues or using it to put some new kick into some funk music.

It is important to understand that you do not have to give up what you already know, simply add these to your repertoire.

When you continue to use a pentatonic base and add these new modes, you will discover you have a lot more flexibility and spice in your playing style.

A good song to listen to the Dorian in use is Black Magic Women by Santana. You may even want to listen to Planet Caravan by Toni Lommi.

With this in mind, let’s discuss the key of A.

Below you will find an A Minor pentatonic scale:

In order to keep this post short, I am only going to discuss the D, G, B, and high E strings. You can play the other strings as octaves of these notes.

E|——————————-5-8—————————–|

B|————————-5-8———————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|————-5-7———————————————–|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

A closer look at the Dorian Scale:

Do incorporate this scale, you only need to add 3 notes to the pentatonic scale above.

E|———————————–5-(7)-8———————|
B|————————-5-(7)-8——————————-|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|———(4)-5-7———————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

A note in brackets are the added notes.

When you add all the notes together, the scale will look like this:

E|——————————– -5-7-8———————–|

B|————————-5-7-8——————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————-|
D|———–4-5-7———————————————|
A|—————————————————————|
E|—————————————————————|

Now you can solo just like always, only now you have new notes to use as passing tones, which will allow you to rock with new modes that only took a short time to learn.

Commonly used in today’s modern world of contemporary music are two modes of the major scale. Sometimes these modes can seem quite difficult to grasp. Have no fear, though, because you have come to just the right place!

If you learn to include them as you play your guitar, soon you will find that playing them can be easy and enjoyable.

Of course, anyone who plays regularly understands that your greatest solos are derived from the pentatonic scale. Well, jazz and classical hard-cases may disagree … and we’ll let them be wrong! Simple fact!

It seems that as people reach and intermediate guitar playing ability, they tend to look for some cool riffs away from the pentatonic scale. This is a mistake.

Just like ripples in a pond, so it is with intertwining music. You need not look away from the pentatonic scale to play new music. It’s simply not necessary.

In this blog, I’ll explain the two most frequently played modes. I’ll go into more detail about the Aeolian here, and save the Dorian for part 2. I’ll show you that you can pick up these pentatonic scales in no time, and with minimal effort, to start incorporating them immediately into your style of play.

Branching out into a more dynamic and compelling sound is a piece of cake as long as the pentatonic remains as your true center.

We’ll begin now with the A key.

Let’s take a look at the pentatonic A Miner scale -

E|——————————-5-8—————————–|
B|————————-5-8———————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|————-5-7———————————————–|
A|——-5-7—————————————————–|
E|-5-8———————————————————–|

In the interest of simplicity for this blog, I’ll go over strings G, B, and high E. All the other strings will play off these note’s octaves anyway.

E|——————————-5-8—————————–|
B|————————-5-8———————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|—————————————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

So, we begin by taking a deeper look at the modes – the first one of course being the Aeolian. Many musicians see it as the normal minor scale. We’re going to simplify things even further buy utilizing the pentatonic.

We’re just going to put in three new note to the pentatonic scale shown above.

E|——————————-5-(7)-8————————|
B|————————-5-(6)-8——————————|
G|——————(4)-5-7————————————-|
D|—————————————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

Notice that the new notes are shown in brackets.

Now, by playing all these notes in unison, you attain this scale:

E|———————————–5-7-8———————–|
B|—————————5-6-8——————————-|
G|——————4-5-7—————————————-|
D|—————————————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

So play your solo as you usually do, but now try the new notes mixed in as passing tones. You see … now you’re rockin’ out with modes without hardly any effort at all.

The ultimate superstar in making this scale work fantastically is David Gilmour. He displays how it applies famously to any rock music built in minor.

I still remember the day I made the decision that I was going to play guitar for the rest of my life. I was 11, flipping through the TV stations, and came across the Stevie Ray Vaughn PBS special.

When I heard Voodoo Child Slight return for the first time, I locked myself in my room for the next year, armed with nothing more than an $8 acoustic I got at a garage sale.

I learned the hard way. Hours a day, with my cassette player; listening, stopping, figuring out a note, hit play again, stop, rewind, figure out the next note, and so on.

I grew up dirt poor and couldn’t afford guitar lessons. At that time, $80 a month (the average for guitar lessons) was not even an option.

I justified my position by saying that I don’t need a guitar teacher showing me how to play like him, I’ll play the way I want to play!

And I was an idiot.

There was nothing I loved more than the guitar. Blues, Rock, Jazz, anything that I could listen to and get some emotion, and one thing that I know is true, if you love something you need to invest everything you have into it.

I used to say with pride that I was self taught, and that I could play by ear. However,  after almost two decades of playing, if I could give people just one piece of advice it would be TAKE FREAKIN’ LESSONS!

I used to spend 8 hours a day, 7 days a week trying to figure stuff out, and it wasn’t until a year and a half later when I started to play in bands that everything clicked.

You’ll learn more in one hour jamming then you will in a year and a half of isolated practice, and that’s a fact. Why should you spend hours a day trying to “figure stuff out”, when you could have someone that knows how to play show you the exact same thing in 5 minutes?

Also, the 2nd biggest piece of advice I would give is to always, always, always invest into jam tracks. Like I said, you can learn more in an hour jamming, then years of  ‘running scales’.

I never could afford lessons, and now with the internet that’s not even an issue anymore. You can get world class training from some of the industries best teachers for less than the cost of ONE conventional lesson. That’s crazy!

So if you wanna be a great guitar player fast, then I would highly suggest checking out Jamorama. You can download a free lesson, but the thing I love is that you have world class teaching, and some of the best jam tracks I’ve ever heard in one place.

If you want a complete guide to playing guitar fast, then you will not be disappointed!

If you are one of all the millions that are taking guitar lessons, we have the best news for you. You won’t have to spend lots of hours reading books and trying to do things that you don’t understand. With online lessons you’ll have all that you need really well covered. Just see it by yourself, do a little search on the web and you’ll find out that there are tons of sources available and that all that you need to learn is out there.

Becoming a guitar hero it isn’t a one day achievement. All those players that you admire and look up to, surely have been working for a long period of time improving their playing. You have to build your skills in order to get better and better with the time. And one option to do that is taking online guitar lessons, which are for sure.

With private instructions you’re taking that risk. Maybe your teacher is an amazing player, who can really make the guitar sound good. But being a great player does not mean necessarily that he’s a good teacher or that at least he can teach. Maybe he is a self taught and you may get his bad playing habits without knowing it.

The advantages of online lessons are many. For instance, if you see this player perform a great solo, you’ll also be able to actually see what this guy is playing on a tablature diagram. Even you can start to try it along the video. All of these tools are brought to you so you can develop one specific skill and do that with the format that fits you best. If you’re more comfortable learning by video, you’ve got it. If you need to see in a diagram or sheet music what is he playing, you’ve got that too!

Also, you can learn at your own pace. This means that if can’t make it in the afternoon, you can easily take your lessons at night without worrying about the time. You can take your lessons over and over again until you accomplish the lesson that you were taking. That’s an outstanding difference with private lessons, where you got to be on time to take your class. Even if you’re too tired to do it.

Testimonials are another great step to take. The people that have taken its courses may give you the best advices about if this site is the right for you. Guitar lessons are very often too complicated to tell if they worked or not, it’s all about the person who is taking the lessons.

Let’s say that you’ve been busy one week and that you had not the time to practice. Then you have to take your lessons and, obviously, pay for it. Then you’d be paying one lesson two times. No one wants to be charged two times for something that you’ve already seen one week earlier.

If you allow me a recommendation, EasyMusicLessons.com has almost all the tools that you need in order to become a really decent player. This lessons site provides you tons of information taught by lifetime experienced professional musicians. So, take a look on that site and watch the lessons preview in order to know more about it.