by admin on July 12, 2009
What Is String Bending?
String bending is the act of picking a note on your guitar and bending the string upwards or downwards to get a higher pitch.
Why do we need to learn how to bend strings?
The answer is because it brings character to our songs. Rather than just picking a higher note up in a scale, bending the string allows us to reach the same pitch or note ( from a lower note ) in a smooth fashion. You’ll hear plenty of string bending in Country Western and Folk guitar music. It’s used very often in Rock as well.
Learn How To Bend Strings
Here’s a tip for you. Many beginner guitar players tend to bend the strings using their fingers to push the strings up, then they complain that their fingers hurt or they don’t have enough strength to do their bends. That’s just wrong technique. Instead, keep your fingers rigid and twist your wrist to get the string to bend. This gives your bending a lot more strength and takes the pressure off your fingers, creating a much nicer tone over all.
Here’s a pretty decent Youtube video that teaches views the basics of bending.
Guitar Lesson: Bending Strings
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bending strings,
Guitar Tutorials,
lesson
by admin on July 11, 2009
For those of you beginners who want to learn to shred, practicing with the end in mind is crucial to your success.
Today, I came across a great little blog post titled ”
Terry Syrek on Concentration ” from The Practice Room blog. I thought this particular article would be really apply to beginner guitar players such as yourselves, as well as intermediate players.
( For those of you who do not know who Terry Syrek is, just Youtube him. He’s one of the best shredders and improvisation guitarists I’ve come to know. He’s also released a book called ” Shred Is Not Dead ” – A DVD / book tutorial combination course covering shredding and building up your chops ).
This really great post talks about being efficient with your guitar practice sessions, and really putting your 100% concentration on the licks, scales or songs you’re trying to learn, as opposed to letting your mind wander off while you practice.
Now come to think of it, I think this is true. When I first started learning to play the guitar, I was mentally going through licks or scales that I would play – While I was practicing and also when I wasn’t.
Anyway, check out the article and apply what you read to your guitar practice.
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DVD Tutorial,
guitar practice,
Guitar Tutorials,
Terry Syrek
Beginner guitar basic hand positions for fretting and strumming
Here is a beginner guitar tutorial for hand positioning on a guitar. We will quickly cover what your left and right hands will be doing
Your fretting hand is the one that puts pressure on the string and hold chords while your strumming hand will pluck the guitar strings or strum them using a pick.
Fretting Hand
First of all, have you thumb pressed up against the middle of the back of the guitar neck.
When your thumb applies force to the back of the guitar neck, it helps you anchor your hand firmly to allow your fingers to move freely on the fretboard.
A lot of beginners position their thumbs too high up on the top edge of the neck and this is bad technique. Why? Firstly, it makes it difficult to play the bass string properly. Secondly, your other fingers will have problems holding chords properly and they will have to apply more force in order for the notes to sound correctly. And in doing so, reduces your finger movement’s speed.
Strumming Hand
When you are strumming on the guitar, you need your forearm to be relaxed and loose. Only your forearm and wrist should have movement while the upper arm should remain firmly anchored to the guitar body.
Rest your inner part of your elbow on the top edge of the guitar body so that your forearm hangs naturally downwards pointing towards the strings. If in a seated position, try to position your body to be more upright to avoid possible shoulder injuries from playing guitar for extended periods of time – Take some breaks between practice sessions!
If you are playing on an acoustic guitar, strumming directly over the “hole ” will produce the richest, most resonating notes. And if you’re playing on an electric, playing over on of your pickups will be best on most occasions unless you’re trying to achieve a certain type of sound.
For more beginner guitar tutorials, be sure to check this website frequently.
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beginner guitar,
Guitar Tutorials,
strumming
Hey there! Mark here. Thanks for visiting. Feel free to drop me an email with any questions that you might have. To know more about me, click on the "About Me" link.
