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Where Did The Guitar Tab Go?
On February 11, 2010 we received a letter from lawyers representing the NMPA and the MPA instructing us to remove guitar tab and lyrics from this page. You can read more about their complaint here.

Recent Articles

Avoiding Avoidance

Numerous guitarists underachieve because they shirk regular practice. Gerald Klickstein describes how musicians can counter avoidance and keep their creativity rolling.

Improve Your Guitar Teaching

Sometimes the desire to fix every problem a student may have all at once may cause even more problems. Tom Hess describes how to break down a bad habit so that both teacher and student can tackle it in easy, manageable steps.

Solving Timing and Rhythm Problems

Whether you are a guitar teacher or a self-taught guitar player you are likely to come across problems related to playing in time and interpreting rhythm. In this series of articles TeachGuitar.com’s Nick Minnion looks at where these problems spring from and what can be done to address them.

The Ears Have It

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.

Pentamodal Idea

Guitar Lessons | Paul Tauterouff

The pentatonic scale is, without doubt, one of the guitarist’s chief tools. Modes, on the other hand, can be confusing. Paul Tauteroff shows how guitar players who are already familiar with the pentatonic scale can learn and utilize the modes in their lead guitar playing.

Auto Correct In Guitar Practice

Is it better to practice a piece slowly at first or quickly? Teachers and players usually recommend slowly, but there are instances where fast might work. Jamie explores why both methods work, but more importantly details how to recognize and determine when one method is better than the other.

Getting Past ‘Up and Down’ – Part 2: “Turning Notes into Strokes”

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.

Respecting Others While You Practice

Practicing the electric guitar can be problematic in the best of situations, and downright hard when you have to worry about your volume levels. Mark Mills returns to the pages of Guitar Noise with a very cool solution that lets you practice at a more than reasonable volume while not disturbing either your family or your neighbors.

How To Practice For Maximum Guitar Speed

How many times have you done something absolutely fast in practice only to flub it in a “real” situation, like playing with your band or just jamming with your friends? Tom outlines and explains seven simple steps to help you work on developing your speed on the fretboard straight away and also to be able to keep that speed you perfect in practice when you perform.

Hello In There – John Prine – Songs for Intermediates #29

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.

Recent Featured Topics

Current Topic: Strumming for Beginners

David Hodge with GuitarWhen you’re just starting out on guitar it can seem like your hands have a mind of their own. Maybe even two minds, since you have two hands. And beginners aren’t the only ones who sometimes have trouble figuring out strumming and rhythm patterns. These lessons and podcasts aim to simplify the whole issue surrounding strumming patterns. This is something that anyone can get good at with the right amount of practice and effort.

January 2010: Singing and Playing Guitar

Singing and Playing GuitarA lot of people pick up the guitar in order to play and sing songs with other people. Singing is something that anyone can learn to do. Much like learning guitar, it’s a physical activity that you can improve with the right practice. These lessons look at singing and playing guitar at the same time. Not only is this something you can do, but with proper practice, you can even learn to do it quite well.

December 2009: Christmas and Holiday Songs for Guitar

Holiday Guitar SongsChristmas only comes once a year, but you can learn how to play these holiday classics any time. These lessons and arrangements make learning Christmas carols fun and easy. With these songs in your repertoire you will have a greater sense of structure and melody that will help you learn many other songs and develop an ear for writing your own songs.

November 2009: Chord Melody Arrangements

Chord MelodySince we’ve posted a number of chord melody lessons of late, it seemed like a good idea to make “Chord Melody” a “topic of the month.” As with most of our topics, Guitar Noise has lessons at almost all levels, from beginners just getting started to intermediate and advanced students who want to try out creating their own chord melodies. So take a closer look at all the lessons on this page. It will hopefully get you psyched to try out this style of playing.

October 2009: Blues Guitar Lessons

B.B. King and LucilleThis month we’re putting the spotlight on learning to play blues guitar. Beginners may want to start with the easy songs for beginners lessons that will swiftly bring you up to speed on the 12 bar blues, the shuffle and playing lead. We also have many blues lessons from other GN contributors, such as Paul Andrews, Alan Green, Darrin Koltow and others.

September 2009: Teaching Guitar

Teaching GuitarHave you ever wanted to teach guitar but then thought you might not be qualified? This month we will dispel a lot of the myths about what it takes to teach guitar. Be sure to look up the articles, both here and on our sister website, musiccareers.net, written by some great teachers who are also GN contributors, such as Darrin Koltow, Tom Hess, Tom Serb, Alan Green, Nick Torres and many more.

August 2009: Learn How to Play Guitar Solos

Learn how to Play SolosThis month we’re featuring the many articles here at Guitar Noise that deal with “Soloing and Improvisation.” There are articles from many past GN contributors, such as Josh Urban and Gilbert Isbin and Randell Young and Mark Yodice as well as a wonderful piece from our favorite guitarist from the Netherlands, Arjen Schippers. Not to mention all eight parts of the current series, “Turning Scales into Solos.” You’re bound to learn something!

July 2009: Music Theory

Theory Without TearsOver the past ten years many talented writers and teachers have supplied Guitar Noise with many great lessons on music theory. They range from basic introductory overviews, such as “The Musical Genome Theory” trilogy of lessons to articles on specific topics, such as extended and altered chords. Let’s approach music theory and how it relates to the guitar with a simple idea: music theory is actually simple and fun. It’s not rocket science.

June 2009: Alternate and Open Tunings

Alternate and Open TuningsWhat we guitarists consider “standard tuning” has been around pretty much since the fifth and sixth strings were added to the instrument in the late 1700’s. And, artists being artists, “non-standard” or “alternate” tunings have existed for just about as long. For the sake of our discussions, we will divide guitar tunings into three categories – standard, open, and alternate. On this page you’ll find some great articles and lessons on alternate and open tunings, including some wonderful song lessons and arrangements.

May 2009: Songwriting for Beginners

Songwriting for BeginnersThe combined work of guitar playing songwriters like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and George Harrison over the past fifty years makes songwriting for beginners seem daunting. Still, songwriting can be incredibly accessible and fun even for beginners. Let’s take a closer look at some of the songwriting resources on our site.

April 2009: Playing Live

Playing LiveOne of the most important things about learning guitar is to remember it’s supposed to be fun. Whether you are playing live in a band or just jamming with a few friends, it’s all about having a good time. This month we’re going to take a closer look at performing and playing live. You’ll find all sorts of tips and encouraging stories about “gigs and jams” on these pages.

March 2009: How to Buy a Guitar

How to Buy a GuitarBuying a guitar, or any musical instrument for that matter, can be an emotional ordeal. We’d like to share some helpful advice on what to think about before shopping for a new instrument. If you arm yourself with a little knowledge before heading to the store and you’ll likely enjoy your time there a lot more. We have tons of articles and advice on buying guitars and equipment. Many of the questions you may be thinking of asking might have already been answered here.

February 2009: Getting the Most out of your Practice

Getting the Most out of your PracticeA very common complaint among guitar players is not being able to find the time to practice their instrument. This month’s topic is all about maximizing and using your practice time. On these pages you’ll find links to some of the many wonderful articles and lessons we have here at Guitar Noise about practicing, written by a wide range of contributing authors. You’re bound to find a lot of interesting material that will help you better organize your time and ultimately achieve the results you’re after.

In the News

From Acoustic Guitar Magazine: Think "guitar lesson blog." Lead editor, senior columnist, and Acoustic Guitar contributor David Hodge is responsible for much of Guitar Noise's content, which includes a wealth of song transcriptions, technical playing advice, and other tips for getting the most out of your favorite instrument.

By Dan Apczynski, www.acousticguitar.com, November 2008

From This is London: One of the most comprehensive online guitar teaching pages, guitarnoise.com invites qualified tutors to submit their own pages. Anything but amateur, the contributors have put obvious time and energy into providing the best advice for everyone from the absolute beginner to somebody looking to start composing their own tunes. There's even advice on buying a new instrument.

By Tim Ingham, Metro, www.thisislondon.co.uk, 2 February 2004

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