Guitar Noise

This issue has to be a bit short and my apologies in advance for that. For whatever reason every deadline in the universe seems to be today, so I’m trying to finish up everything at the same time which means, of course, that nothing is getting completed.

Exciting news this week as David’s new book “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing Rock Guitar” hits bookstores on March 2. We’ve got a brand new contest where you can win a copy, along with all the usual news and lessons.

To celebrate the arrival of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing Rock Guitar in stores Tuesday, March 2, we’re giving away fifteen copies of it between now and the end of May.

Even Gordon Sumner’s mom and kids call him “Sting” so I guess we will, too! Read our artist bio of this Rock Hall of Fame and Songwriter’s Hall of Fame artist.

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #108 of Guitar Noise News! We have three new lessons to tell you about, plus some more book recommendations. We also answer a reader question sent by email.

As the tutorial resources you have at your beck and call get more and more sophisticated, it gets harder to remember that learning guitar is all about playing guitar. That means if you want to be able to play your instrument, you have to go through all the “grunt work” – that means practicing. And for many players the biggest aspect they need to work on is not using their eyes.

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #107 of Guitar Noise News! I’d like to get in an early wish for a “Happy Chinese New Year” to you all! The Year of the Tiger starts February 14, which is not only Valentines’ Day, but also the day before our next newsletter.

If you know how to read notation, specifically the rhythm values of notation, you never have to worry about figuring out strumming patterns because everything is spelled out for you. In this lesson, we’ll use the main guitar parts from Jack Johnson’s song “Taylor” to demonstrate how easy strumming can be.

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #106 of Guitar Noise News!As more of the (seemingly endless) book deadlines are passing, I’m thinking that it’s long past time that we’ve had a Guitar Noise Seminar of some sort. So I’m thinking that it might be good to start scheduling maybe one or two for this spring, say possibly early May or early June.

Here is a beautiful song from songwriter extraodinaire John Prine. This is another arrangement that most beginners can handle, plus we get into some discussion about choosing keys and chord voicings when creating arrangements. And you also get to hear how easy it is to turn this into a simple two-guitar arrangement.

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #105 of Guitar Noise News! I’m actually writing this newsletter up on Christmas Day, so I’d like to take a moment to wish everyone a “Happy Christmas,” although it will be a belated one by the time you read this.

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.

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.

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #104 of Guitar Noise News! It truly seems like yesterday that 2009 was just starting, bright and full of promise. And now we are just about two weeks away from kicking off 2010. But lots of things have happened in the past year, even though we might have to think a minute or two about it.

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #103 of Guitar Noise News! Since the holidays are once again upon us, it’s a bit of a no-brainer to guess that the Guitar Noise “topic of the month” for December is “Holiday Songs for Guitar.” The first of December also means a new face for our featured artist for the month. Jimi Hendrix gets the nod for December. This month we pay tribute to this man whom many consider to be an important influence to anyone who plays electric guitar.

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.

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #102 of Guitar Noise News! We have three new lessons this week (although one isn’t quite ready just yet). David also answers a beginner question he received by email along with all the regular site news.

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #101 of Guitar Noise News! Though he was traveling to Chicago this past week, David still managed to clear three new lessons for publication. Check them out along with all the latest site news.

Mark Knopfler is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977 with his brother David. After Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler continued to record and produce albums as a solo artist under his own name. Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits have sold in excess of 120 million albums to date.