Guitar Noise

Welcome to the first of a new series of articles entitled Into the Blue, which will explore the style, sound and key players within the Blues genre. This series will be pitched at an intermediate level and will build on techniques and practices that many players will be well aware of. But, of course, we’ll still start off slowly, making sure we leave nothing to chance.

Paul Andrews makes a long awaited return to Guitar Noise with the sequel to his February lesson on power chords. Here you’ll find the lowdown on augmented and diminished power chords, plus examples from everyone from Bush to Hendrix to Metallica to Eminem.

RSI, or Repetitive Strain Injury, commonly affects musicians owing to the repetitive nature of playing music. The wrist and neck areas are especially at risk to the guitarist and beginners (especially those learning on their own) are particularly susceptible to these injuries. Paul gives us some tips as well as exercises to help properly warm up and to hopefully avoid RSI problems.

Paul Andrews returns to the pages of Guitar Noise with a primer on power chords, complete with practical examples from the music of Green Day, Nirvana, Blur, Blink 182 and (gasp!) The Kinks.

First time contributor Paul Andrews gives us a basic guide to key signatures, including how to recognize and (easily) memorize what you need to know about them.