Playing a musical instrument can be a rewarding and fascinating experience, especially if you are the kind of person who is passionate about composing and performing your own songs. However, some musical instruments can require a lot of equipment to play, particularly if you want to create unique and powerful sounds that are filled with…
Don’t get me wrong, learning all your favorite songs by the bands that got you into guitar in the first place can be incredibly rewarding, as can writing your own music, but at a certain point, you can ignore improvisation no longer. As you advance as a guitarist, you won’t just be playing in a…
There are so many ways to tune a guitar. This is what makes them such a versatile instrument. Just a few tweaks of the tuning pegs can change the whole dynamic of a guitar’s sound. Changing it from standard tuning to something more unique opens up almost boundless opportunities for unique pieces of music. However,…
Ukulele strings are made from nylon, meaning that they are fairly hard-wearing. This means that you should not have to change them often. It is still an important skill to learn, particularly if you plan on becoming an expert uke player. There are a few steps involved in the string changing process. You will need…
To keep your bass guitar sounding great, you will need to practice basic maintenance. This is because the wooden parts of the bass are held under tension from the metal strings, so can sometimes need adjustment to ensure that they’re able to be played in tune. Adjustments are typically covered under the general term “setup”….
If you have recently decided to start playing the drums, then chances are you have already picked out your favourite drum set and had it delivered to your home. When you first see a drum set in a music store it can look beautiful, complex and even impressive – however, once it has been delivered…
There are not many instruments that are as versatile as the guitar. Along with its smaller size, it is one of the most portable instruments too. However, it doesn’t matter how easy it is to carry or play if it isn’t tuned properly. As with all stringed instruments, a guitar requires proper tuning to sound,…
Your guitar strings are one of the most important parts of your instrument. Without them, you cannot play anything and the guitar is essentially useless. They are in contact with your fingers constantly which means that they can get very dirty. There are many different oils on your fingers that can transfer to the strings…
Learning to play the guitar can be a challenging task. There are a number of rudiments and techniques of guitar playing you’ll need to pick up and practice. Understanding how to strum a guitar correctly, however, should be the number one priority of any beginner learning to play the instrument. Yes, studying scales, open position…
Learning the guitar will be one of the best things you will ever do. Just picking up this instrument and playing a few chords can strum away negative emotions. Whether you’re angry, sad, or in a great mood, the guitar can be your trusted friend through life. When it comes to playing the guitar, you…
Diagnosing and Curing that Irritating Rasp That Comes out of Nowhere. Unless a bee flew into your sound hole last time you were having a wholesome jam outside, that irritating sound you’re hearing is the dreaded fret buzz. Plaguing every guitarist at numerous points of their playing lives, fret buzz occurs when the string you’re…
Scientists claim they don’t know what’s in a black hole, but I’m pretty sure it’s all our missing picks. We guitarists are renowned for losing them in sofas, through sound holes, in washing machines…literally anywhere, but the fingerpicking technique allows us to keep on playing when our pick reserves inevitably run dry. No matter what genre…
When it comes to playing a string instrument, you may have heard of fingerpicking before. It is a fantastic technique to learn when you are comfortable playing chords and strumming. It is the natural progression that will allow you to get the most out of your instrument. While fingerpicking is most commonly associated with guitars,…
It may seem like a bit of a hassle, but it’s important to regularly change your guitar strings. Not only do germs build up on the strings (and feel pretty gross to touch), but old strings just sound worse, are difficult to tune, and are more likely to break – a nightmare when you’re playing…
Your garden variety guitar has six strings, which is why the term “six string” has transitioned from an adjective into a noun over the years. Now if someone says, “Hey Johnny, bring your six string over next time you come around”, Johnny won’t be left wondering “Six string what?”. They’ll know to bring their guitar…
One of the most common questions we get asked is ‘how long does it take to learn guitar?’ It’s often posed by people who’ve had a lifelong interest or passion in learning to play the guitar but haven’t got the time, or in some situations, the dedication to set aside to learning it themselves. Unfortunately,…
Deciding to learn a new instrument is a big undertaking, as it requires putting in a lot of time and effort. However, it can also be incredibly rewarding and you shouldn’t let the hours spent learning an instrument put you off. It can be a lot of fun! Below, I’ll answer the question of how…
While it may seem a difficult instrument to learn, the truth is that it’s not hard to pick up the basics of a banjo rather quickly. In fact, with enough practice and dedication, you could even play a song within a month! What separates the newbies from the seasoned players is the way the latter…
