Secrets to Guitar

I was recently watching a video of the late Stevie Ray Vaughn. He was playing a cover of the Jimmi Hendrix classic ‘Voodoo Child’. Even though Stevie could have just played the song the exact same way that he played it, he made it different by adding his own signature guitar style into the song.

How did he do that? By just letting it come to him. If you haven’t been playing guitar for a long period of time you may find this hard to grasp onto, but when you have really achieved ‘Guitar Greatness’, you should be able to sit down with any musician, start jamming and pour your emotions out through your playing. That’s exactly what Stevie Ray Vaughn did, and that is why he was and is so famous and called a legend.

People think that the guitar is an instrument that anyone can master, but it takes someone with a mixture of determination, musical sense, perseverance and roughness. If you don’t have those qualities the good news is that you can create them. You create these by simply playing your guitar as much as possible, creating your own sound while also learning the styles of the greats that played before you.

weissenborn guitar build

The mando-bass, has 4 single strings, rather than double courses, and it is tuned like a double bass. These were made by the Gibson company in the early twentieth century, but appear to have never been common. Most of the mandolin orchestras will prefer to use the ordinary double bass, rather than a specialized mandolin family instrument.

The piccolo or sopranino mandolin is a rare member of the mandolin family, tuned one octave above the tenor mandola and one fourth above the mandolin; the same relation as that of the piccolo or sopranino violin to the violin and viola. The instrument scale length is typically about 9.5 inches (240 mm).

Learn How To Read Guitar Tabs

If you are learning guitar you have probably heard about tablature, or tabs. As a new guitar player you are anxious to start playing songs, and you have been told that tabs are the easiest way to learn. That is good news. You do not need to spend weeks or months learning music theory.

Guitar tablature is a system of musical notation which is very popular with guitarists. With guitar tabs a composer can express most musical ideas on the acoustic or electric guitar in a clear, straightforward way.
If you want to start playing guitar right away, grab the tabs for your favorite song and take a look at what the tab consists of:

E---3------------------

B----------------------

G----------------------

D----------------------

A----------------------

E----------------------

You will probably believe me when I tell you that the tab is a representation of the neck of the guitar. You find out which frets to put your fingers at by following the numbers printed along the strings. If there is a number 3 on the top string, that means you put your finger at the third fret on the top E string - the thinnest string on the guitar. You have just played the note G. No problem. The guitar is your oyster.

Now let us move onto tabs for guitar chords. Here is an E Major chord:

E---0-------------------

B---0-------------------

G---1-------------------

D---2-------------------

A---2-------------------

E---0-------------------

Learn How to Easily Read Guitar Tabs

With all those technical quarter notes and treble clefs, who really has time to learn guitar chords and riffs without spending days, weeks or even months taking private music lessons? Music notation is intimidating, but there is a simple solution to the problem – guitar tablature. Known as tab to professional musicians, it is almost like a diagram that shows guitarists exactly where to place their fingers. Tab presents amateurs and professionals alike with an easy way to learn new guitar chords or even a complete song. Let’s break down the basics.

Where to begin with guitar tabs

Think of it this way - if you can read a map, then you can also learn guitar chords from tab. Tab consists of six horizontal lines, representing the strings of the guitar (similar to a guitar chord chart, only sideways). The low E string is represented by the bottom line, and the other strings follow in succession the highest E. Players simply follow symbols on the lines indicating what string should be pushed, and in what location (fret). For example, if the number one appears on the top line, it indicates that a finger should be placed on the highest guitar string, in the first fret. When multiple numbers appear simultaneously, it indicates that certain strings should be pushed at the same time, in the fret indicated by the numbers provided.

Taking guitar tabs to the next musical level

Most tab will indicate the chord symbol above the lines and fret numbers, so that more advanced players can read along with what they already know. Advanced tab notation may consist of complex instructions from the author. For example, sometimes a guitarist will slap their finger down forcefully on top of a string, creating a different sound. This technique, known as a hammer-on, is often indicated by appearance of the letter h in tab.

Unfortunately, tab does not have a set of standardized rules, and there are many variations. There is also little direction for rhythm and timing, but it will work well for musicians who have a good ear, and a preexisting idea about how something is supposed to sound before they play it. It is best to start by picking out a well known, simple folk melody that is easily identifiable, and then move on to more complex patterns including chords and riffs.

Guitar tabs for every musician

Tab is not only an excellent way to learn new guitar chords; it is also used to notate scales, riffs, or entire songs. Guitarists who wish to try their hand with classical pieces, but do not read standard notation can experience the joy of tackling and mastering challenging pieces. Many publishers create albums of classical pieces which include standard notation, chords, and tab. Every genre is available in tab on the Internet or for purchase in a music store.

One of the greatest aspects of tab is that once you learn how to read it, the notation can be applied to many stringed instruments like the mandolin or bass. The possibilities for a blossoming musician are endless with this simple system. From chord charts to power ballads and sonatas, tab will expand your repertoire to include an unlimited number of pieces.

For advice on how to select the perfect drum set, cymbal, conga, bongos, djembe, acoustic guitar, electric guitar or other musical product, please see our Buyer's Guide and Advice pages.

Learn To Play Musical Instrument

If you want to learn a musical instrument, you are in luck. There is a vast variety of musical instruments which can be learned easily and at low cost with the help of the scores of music instruments available. However, if you are a beginner, you may get confused by the array of choices. You may worry about which instrument to choose, how much time the lessons will take, the costs and many other factors. This article will guide you on the correct selection of the instrument so that you may not have to regret your choice later.

First of all consider your interest which is of course what will keep you to the end of the lessons. Unless you are interested in the instrument you are trying to learn, you will never really master it. So think about the type of music and instrument you like. Check out different options and pick the one you feel is best for you.

Next point to consider is the cost. It is possible that the music you want to learn is too costly for you. May be the instrument costs a ton or the tuitions are too expensive. Thus, try to select one that suits your budget. Also, consider taking tuitions that are offered in groups in order to reduce costs. If money is not a factor, you could opt for private tuitions that can offer you a lot of flexibility in timings.

Another thing to consider is the amount of time the lessons take. If you have a time crunch or are not a patient sort, you may not be able to finish learning a difficult musical instrument. There is no short cut to learning music. You may have to work very hard to be able to understand and work with any new instrument.

You must be really involved in the training and be enthusiastic. You may not grasp the ABCs of the musical instrument immediately, so you need to be patient. Also, expose yourself to a lot of recordings by good players. You could also do the home recording of your own music to check on your progress.

An important point could be the physical restrictions that certain musical instruments pose. If you are small, you may find certain musical instruments too heavy. Also, certain instruments require longer fingers or other such natural characteristics. Usually, the music teacher will be able to judge and guide you on proper selection. You could also borrow an instrument from an acquaintance to check how well you could do with it.

Know Your Pearl Drums Better

Drums are one of the most popular of musical instruments. Drummers all over the world have been making the effort to create a drum set that would truly suit the appetite of music lovers all over the world. One of the primary characteristics of a drum is that it can produce indefinite low and high-pitched sounds constantly.

Pearl rock was based on anti-establishment rock music genre in the mid 70s,The pearl drummers made a name for them with playing with the shorter version of the rock. The right pearl drum kit gear depends on features like playing style, personal penchant, monetary funds, and moving options of the drummer. The hardware part was constituted by the cymbals and tom-tom stands and was considered an integrated part of the base drum kit. Drums and cymbals are considered the breakable part of the collection as it goes through rigorous wear and tear.

One or two electric guitars, an electric bass, a drum kit, the vocals constitute the distinctive punk rock instrumentation. During the mid 1970s people who did not have too much ability in music tried to express themselves through the new form of rock music. The anti institutional based drumming was quick to catch the attention of the public.

Punk drummers like to change their tuning with particular music intervals. This makes the distance between the tuned notes of one drum with the other consistent. As it is not based on any chromatic notes so the punk drummers can have any start point with the punk drums. Although there are many tuning opinions, the bulk of them revolve around the major chords. In addition, the time factor for the whole music length was shorter than the regular rock so the start with the punk drums was fast.

A drum key or a similar kind of device is used to tune the drum set. The tension of a drumhead is changed to tune it. The difference in tuning between same elements of a drum kit and other percussion element is quite significant. Punk drums are no different.


Alternating with the hi-hat cymbals will help you keep the speed but make sure you are not changing the beats. You can create interesting fills with fast music. Listening to good drummers will help you in building your own creative ways. One of the chief ingredients of the punk music is energy, so beating the punk drums with vigor would help in being attuned with the speed of the music.

Live Music - Browse the LMFM listings and check out featured artists, live gig reviews and recommended live bands and artists playing near you in the UK and Ireland.

Playing The Guitar First Time

Looking for a new guitar can be confusing if you are only just learning to play the instrument. Strolling down to your nearest guitar shop will help you determine the different designs, but it will not help you to decide on which guitar to pick. The first time I had received my first acoustic guitar was when I was seventeen. I had no idea how to play it, nor did I know that the strings needed changing or that the frets were a little worn down.

To me it was all about having a guitar and finally being able to learn to play - the trouble is how would I learn how to play? What would I need to do to maintain my guitar and what strings do I need to buy to replace my existing ones? The truth is, I had asked all my friends and decided to visit the nearest guitar shop and gain some helpful tips from them. I soon learnt that I needed to but very specific strings and found they came with varying thickness.

The point is there is no 'beginner' guitar, apart from sticking to a six-string guitar, which can be acoustic or electric. Acoustic guitars tend to need harder strumming, I find, but if you do buy an electric guitar, you will need to buy a good Amp to go with it.

Getting a guitar is about playing and making music with it, so for those who are learning to play for the first time should endeavour to learn more about the guitar itself as well as learning how to play it. So now, you have the guitar you find yourself strumming away to painstaking noises, scratches and distorted tunes. You think to yourself, that maybe you should take another trip to the guitar shop and perhaps buy a guitar playing guide for beginners. Alternatively, you could buy a DVD tutorial, audio CD with an accompanying book or look up for music teachers.

In the nine years, that I have had my guitar I have to this day not learnt how to read or play music, because I learnt how to read guitar tabs. This is a much simpler and easier version of reading music notes. Instead of learning your notes and their tones, you are learning which fret to place your fingers and what string to play that note. They are easy to read and with a short practise, you will be picking it up in no time.