Guitar Noise

This is kind of a “two in one” lesson with a look at rhythms and string muting as well as some work on simple barre chords and the importance of good positioning when it comes to playing riffs, even very simple ones like those used in this song! And I’ve also included a “barre chord free” arrangement for those whose barre chords still need practice.

Creating memorable live performances can help you get more gigs and can bring more people to those gigs. Here are some great tips from Tom Hess on how to rehearse for all the aspects of performing live.

Coming up with single guitar chord melody arrangements can be a lot of fun, if for no other reason than sometimes you end up with something totally different than what you first set out to do. Case in point – this lesson on the old Christmas carol Away in a Manger.

Today, I’d like to offer up a fingerstyle / chord melody take on I’ll Be Home for Christmas, a song from the 1940’s that’s been sung by almost everyone, it seems. Hopefully our Guitar Noise arrangement will become part of your holiday song repertoire.

In his latest article, Tom explores some of the problems that beginners tend to have making and changing guitar chords. Whether you’re a guitar teacher or just someone starting out on the guitar, you’ll find some very valuable tips here on how to go about practicing chord changes.

Sometimes a simple sounding fingerstyle acoustic guitar part takes a bit of thought and tinkering to create. David looks at how to go beyond the chords offered up on a typical Internet tab sheet in order to get more of the flavor of the original recording of this great Mark Knopfler song.

Many guitarists consider practice and performance to be distinct activities. Gerald Klickstein, author of the new book The Musician’s Way, shows how they can be combined into an inclusive creative process.

Quite often, guitarists solo as if they are paid by the note, totally ignoring phrasing and melody, two key aspects of soloing. Tom Hess gives us a terrific lesson on phrasing, complete with video!