Archive for August, 2010

Guitar Tuning Basics

Guitar tuning is an essential thing learn of you want to learn how to play the guitar. it is no good playing on a guitar that is out of tune, that is why, before you learn anything else, learn how to tune first, it’s a protocol. So if you want to learn how to tune, I have some juicy bits of information that you might want to learn, these are all reliable information about how to tune your guitar. This would definitely save you from the trouble of searching for information elsewhere. And by the time that you finish reading this article, you will be enlightened about how to tune your guitar.

So how do you tune your guitar? The easiest method is to buy an electronic tuner. Then plug in your guitar there. Play first the 6th string, and turn the tuning pegs until the dial on the tuner is in the middle. Do the same with the rest of the strings. You could also try relative tuning as long as your low E string is in tune. Play the A on the 6th string and based the open A of the 5th string on it. Do the same with the rest of the strings.

John Lennon’s Toilet in Auction

People would exchange anything for money these days…

Well, here we are gain spotting both the usual and the unusual. The Legendary Guitarist and Singer Songwriter, John Lennon had a recently found toilet and is now on auction at Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts together with some of his rarest albums to date.  The rare stuff from Lennon includes the lavatory from tittenhurst park, where he lived between 1969 and 1972, plus a mono copy of two virgins. This stuff would go on sale this Saturday.  The toilet might reach 1000 pounds or maybe it won’t.

My thoughts: well, that’s John Lennon ain’t it? You can possibly sell a toothpick that Lennon used, he’s on of the most popular symbol and personality in the world of all time. You can’t possibly diss people selling his artifacts for it would definitely be a collector’s item. For me, if I had the chance to choose one from his stuff, I’ll get the Rickenbacker that he uses on the Beatles early years. The black and white one. I don’t care if it sounds not so good, as long as it comes from him, that’s good enough for me.

Picking Hand and Fingering Hand

The tendency is we put too much emphasis on our fingering hand, practicing it most of the time. Yes, we could do some amazing speed riffs with our finger hand by hammer ons and pull offs but when it’s picking time, we suck.

If you couldn’t pick each note you play with your fingering hand as fast as how you do it with hammer – ons and pull offs, then that is not good indeed. Knowing how to pick the precise strings and picking it note for note is also essential.

We could apply alternate picking or economic picking with that. At first, if you are not used to it then it would be a bit difficult at first. But the idea is to pick each and envy note that you are going to play without hammering and pulling off. That’s what’s up. Now, if you could perfect doing that then you would actually double your fingering speed while using hammer – ons and pull offs as well as alternate picking and economic picking techniques. It might take some time to whip out a perfect one but with constant practice and the sufficient amount of dedication and determination, you would come out clean.

PERFORMING 101

In performing, the number one negative force that is preventing you from performing well on stage is stage fright.  Conquering it and completely removing it from your system is the number one thing that we should first take care of.  It prevents you from becoming your best on the stage, leading to poor performance and tons of mistakes.  We don’t want that especially on our first gig; because we want to leave a good impression to the people would show up on our shows.  That is why we should learn how to conquer stage fright.

First, the number one contributor on stage fright is stress and anxieties.  If you are so stressed before a performance, your brain is so worked out and you could not think properly.  And then negative thoughts would enter your head resulting to poor stage performance.  The best method to conquer this is to be mentally and physically prepared before a scheduled performance.  Do a run through on all of your routines, and your guitar parts on your songs before your set.  This would give you confidence that you know you what you are doing and you know what you will do on stage.  As simple as this you would conquer stage fright.

SINGING TIPS

I know that you should be dealing with guitars, but face it, what you’re playing your guitar you might be also singing too.  So it’s better to improve both of your skills at once.  It’s not asking too much, you could have any skill that you want and that you could acquire as long as you could do it.  So here are some tips.

Vocal warm up exercises

There are basically three things they could do to warm up your voice.  You can do this every day and even before your performance.  First you can do a breathing vocal warm up exercises.  Just exercise your lung and your diaphragm.  You could also do lip rolls and other multiple vocal exercises.

If you want to improve your singing voice you should learn how to monitor your breath to improve your singing voice.  Do not expand your chest as it is a process of incorrect breathing.  Instead, while inhaling you should expand your stomach.  To do this, you should use your diaphragm muscle.  To strengthen your diaphragm muscle as well as your stomach muscle, try doing crunches.  It’s nice to have a good posture because it plays a key role in improving your singing voice.

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