Ah the F chord, the bane of every beginner guitarist’s existence. Mastering the F chord is one of the greatest challenges in learning to strum basic guitar chords. However, much like bar chords, the key to mastering the F chord is finding the right position for your hand. No superhuman strength is needed. Let’s take...
Being a guitarist is a lot like being an athlete. A certain amount of practice has to go toward general maintenance of your playing on both a physical and mental level. You have to do exercises that will keep your skills in a state of readiness, so that when the time comes to go out...
One thing I emphasize with all of my guitar students is the importance of using a metronome when practicing. Most of my students are initially resistant to the idea of using one. Some remain resistant to it, while others eventually embrace the metronome as a practice tool. I can usually see a clear distinction in...
A great way to supplement your guitar practice is by doing strength training exercises to strengthen the fingers in your hands. Assuming you’re already putting in the time needed with practice on the guitar, strength training can help you along the way. Having more strength in your fingers makes the things you need to do...
This is the third part in my ‘Breaking Down the Blues’ series. In part one, I went through the blues progression, common variations of it, and how to put it together in any key you want. Part two covered the blues scale, it’s most common patterns on the neck of the guitar, and how to...
Bar (or barre) chords often present a huge difficulty to beginner guitarists. Almost every student I have struggles to some extent when they are first learning to use bar chords in the songs they play. Even though it can be tough to get a grip on these types of chords, they are incredibly important to...