March 22nd, 2010
The D Minor chord is not too different from the D Major we have previously looked at. This is a rather sombre sounding guitar chord but used in the right way can also be a lifting chord in a simple chord progression.
Just like when you play a D major you will only need to play the first four strings of the guitar DGBE. Place your first finger on the first fret on your high E string next place your third finger on the third fret of your second string (B string) and finally place your second finger on the second fret of your G string.
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March 20th, 2010
Violining works by removing the attack from a plucked guitar note. It is a simple Guitar techniquethat requires you to be able to access your guitars ‘volume pot’ straight after you pick a note. This is easier with a Stratocaster than a Les Paul so if you can’t reach your volume pot whilst playing a note you may have to hammer on the note rather than pluck.
With this technique timing is key. You need to time the action of your pot manipulation, it will becom,e easier with practice and soon you’ll be able to feel your way to get the right sound. Adding a little reverb, delay or sustain to this technique will give you the best results.
Start with your volume pot turned down so that no sounds fromk the guitar can get through. Play your note and then just a short moment afterwardsslowly but smoothly turn your volume pot towards full. Notice how the sound is a smooth tone, as I mentioned earlier this is because you have removed all the initial attack from the note. You then want to turn your pot back down before hitting the next note. When playing a chord make sure you play all the notes before turning up your volume pot.
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March 17th, 2010
There are a number of different guitar slides on the market. These include brass slides, chrome, steel, glass (including bottleneck),porcelain and carbon fibre. For the purpose of this article we are going to look at the more readily
available slides (and the best ones to start with)
Slides can be bought in all shapes and sizes from small ring sizes that just cover one or two strings to finger length slides that cover the whole width of the guitar neck. Guitar slides also come in different widths to better fit the finger you use for slide guitar. Some players use their second finger and some their forth finger. The best thing about playing slide guitar with your forth finger is that you can inter change between regular guitar styles and slide guitar quickly.
Chrome slides are one of the cheapest slides to buy, like all slides you can buy you can get a number of different of different sizes and widths. Although the chrome slide is flashy in appearance it doesn’t give a a large sound, the sound is bright but thin and doesn’t have much of a sustain. On the positive side the chrome slide does pick out and promote the harmonics of the notes played.
Brass Slides are about the same as their chrome counterparts in price but, the brass slide has a warmer sound and and a greater level of sustain
Slides that are made from glass, whether it be a bottle neck or one made specifically for the purpose, are slightly more expensive, a little harder to find in stores and of course not as robust (by that I mean ‘Don’t drop it’) However the glass slide has a much purer tone than Brass or chrome. First of all the glass slide create a very low level of string noise as you slide up and down the neck and also glides seamlessly. You will also probably find you are more familiar of the glass/bottleneck slide and the weight of the slide helps you hold a better contact with the strings. the only downside is it doesn’t pick out as many harmonics as the Brass or Chrome slides.
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March 17th, 2010
Getting slightly more complex now the C major chord will give your fingers a bit of a stretch. Just like when you play an A major or minor you need to make sure that you only play your first five strings ADGBE and not your low E (6th string)
Place your first finger on the first fret of the B string, leave the G string unfretted and put your second finger on the second fret of your D string. Finaly put your third finger on the third fret of the A string.
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March 17th, 2010
In Lesson three we looked at the guitar chord of A major so now lets look at its depressed counter part. A minor uses the same three fingers as A major and with this chord you still ONLY play the same 5 stringe ADGBE hwever we do need to move those fingers. 
Put your first finger on the first fret of the B string your second finger on the third fret of your G string and finally your third finger on the third fret of your D string.
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March 16th, 2010
A lovely bright chord A major is equaly simple as it is complex in sound. All three finger used in this guitar chord need to be placed con the same fret. Place your first finger on the second fret of you forth string (D String) your second finger then needs to go on the second fre of the G string (3rd string) and finally put your third finger on the second fret of the B string (second string)
With this chord you only need to play 5 strings ADGBE do not strum your 6th string (Low E) as this note will clash with the other notes of your chord and will make the chord sound terrible.
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March 15th, 2010
The guitar chord for today is D major. A nice sounding little chord D major is a little more difficult to play and you will need to make sure that you fret each of the notes in the chord correctly in order to achieve the D majors bright sound.
Place your second finger on the second fret of your high E string then your third finger on the third fret or the B string. Now you need to put your first finget onto the second fret of your third string (G string) The most important part of playing a D chord is making sure that you only play the four highest (in pitch) strings DGBE.
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March 11th, 2010
The secon chord to look at is just as easy as the E Minor. Once again you only need to use two fingers. The guitar chord of G Major is usually a four fingered chord, difficult to manover into at first, so thats why you should start with Easy G.
Place your fourth (little) finger onto the third fret on the high E string and your third finger onto the third fret of your B string. Now all you need to play are you highest four strings DGBE. Avoid contact with your low E and A strings as these will be used in a full G chord. See the picture for how this should look.
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March 9th, 2010
The first guitar chord we are going to learn is E minor. E minor is a simple teo fingered chord with a fantasticly rich sound. The reason E minor will be the first chord we look at is because not only does it only require two fingers but it is also a very forgiving chord because you can play all six of the guitar strings at once.
Now lets play the chord. Place your first finger on the second fret of your A string (this note is a B) Secondly place your second finger on the second fret of the D string (this note is an E) That’s it. How simple now strum away to your hearts content. (extra note: have a look at how similar thios is to an E Major and try alternating between the two)
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March 7th, 2010
The power chord can be found in most rock songs and if you are learning from guitar tabs you will see that the power chord features in hundreds of rock and pop songs alike. The power chord is a very simple chord to play and requires you to use only three fingers. Another name for a power chord is a fifth chord so a C power chord is also a C5
To play the power chord make sure you are tuned to EADGBE (standard tuning) The note of the power chord you play is defined by the note on which you place your first finger. This is called the ‘root‘ note of the chord. We are going to play a power chord in G (a G5)
Place your first finger on the G (third fret) of your low E string. next place your third finger on the D of your A string (fifth fret) and let your fourth finger fall onto the G of your D string (also on the fifth fret) See the picture for an idea of how this should look.
This is the shape of a power chord and it will remain the same along all the notes of your Low E and A strings right the way up and down the fretboard. Just for example if you wanted to play a C power chord, all you would need to do would be to move this chord shape down a string to the third fret of your A string.
Simple, but you will be able to play along to a huge number of your favourite rock songs using only this chord shape. Practice moving this shape up and down your fretboard and also change your ‘root’ note between the E and A strings.
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