Presenting your sound in a live setting presents a unique set of challenges when being amplified through a PA. In the old days, acoustic guitars were primarily amplified directly using a microphone. This works well for acoustic ensembles, but when drums or electrified instruments are added to the mix, acoustic amplified instruments are quickly drowned…
Reading a guitar TAB sheet is an important skill when learning guitar. In this post, I wanted to cover a basic introduction to the guitar TAB sheet and some fundamental concepts that will allow you to read most any TAB within 5 minutes. Let’s get to it! Time Signature There are several different ways to…
I often refer to guitars as “living, breathing things” because they are susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity which can affect the playability of your guitar and the ability to keep your guitar in tune. For these reasons, it’s important to have a good, solid guitar tuner for your particular musical situation. Much like…
Do you know how it feels to play the blues? If you’ve seen a great blues guitarist perform or listened to Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson or B.B. King, you already know the feeling of blues guitar. But how does the beginner guitarist even start playing the blues? Playing the blues with feel takes dedicated…
Years of playing guitar has taught me the hard way about what to do, and what NOT to do with an acoustic guitar. I believe these rules apply whether you are playing on stage or just picking at home. Primarily, these considerations are aimed at reducing wear and tear on the instrument, preventing damage and…
Do you use a metronome when practicing guitar? Like the guitar pick and the capo, the metronome is one of the most valuable tools the guitarist has at their disposal. It provides objective feedback on tempo and timing and is a valuable tool to develop a solid sense of rhythm and timing. If you’re like…
Your guitar strings are one of the biggest factors that determine the quality of the overall sound and play-ability of your acoustic guitar. Electric guitar players tend to select nickel strings in a lighter gauge that do not have a wound G string. Acoustic guitar players prefer a heavier gauge with a wound G string…
The bluegrass guitar capo is one of the most important tools you have in your guitar case for controlling your tone. The capo allows the bluegrass picker to play out of the G position in almost any key. This gives you access open strings while soloing and flatpicking melodies at speed. Norman Blake points out…
Pickers will tell you, their choice of guitar flatpicks are largely a matter of personal preference. Like the guitar itself or your choice of capo, musicians usually go with what feels best for their personal style of playing and the tonality of their particular instrument. In this post, I’ll go over a few of my…
