Hammond Music

Posts Tagged ‘beginner guitar lesson’

The success of a band is much more than just musicianship or having a group of good musicians, there are many other factors as well.
Today I’m going to outline some of these factors to help you steer clear of the pitfalls and problems that every band encounters when it’s on the road to success.

The first thing to consider is group direction. Even way before anyone picks up their instruments, your group should discuss and agree what direction you see your group going.
Keep in mind that a band can go in a few different directions.
For example, a “60/40″ band will play two types of music: 60 percent will be traditional pop songs, and 40 percent will be Top 40 tunes. A band that has chosen to take this direction can expect to get most of its jobs at dances, hotels, weddings, and other events of a similar nature. One advantage to this choice is that the band is assured a steady income. This type of band will most likely be recognized primarily at the local level.

Alternatively, you might want to play primarily original material and set your sights on a recording contract and tours. Unfortunately, a band in this direction won’t make a lot of money until they are well known.

When you’re just starting out, you’ll gain a lot of experience, and money for better gear, by being a “60/40″ group. But whatever type group you decide upon, be sure to have everyone agree on the number of musicians, the types of instruments to play, and the style of music you would like to perform. For example, will it be a guitar band?

You’ll all need to really enjoy the music that you’re going to be playing. In order to gauge a music style’s popularity, as well as get a feel for which genre you would like to perform, it is a good idea to listen to other established groups’ live performances. And once you have chosen your style, don’t change it. It will soon become clear that your audiences are dwindling, and that’s because you’re playing to a niche market. Just remember your band’s music won’t be for everyone, and it’s better to perform well and give great shows to small crowds than to lower your standards and play average shows for large audiences.

Another very important thing to consider is your group’s structure. Basically, a band is composed of two sections: the rhythm section and the lead section. The players in the rhythm section are the bass guitarist, the drummer and the rhythm guitarist. The job of the “Rhythm Section” is to lay down the beat of the music you are playing. The drummer and bass player work together to set up the beat; the rhythm guitarist fills out the beat to make the rhythm full and complete.

The lead guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist makes up the “Lead Section.” The “Lead Section” is responsible for embellishing the beat set by the “Rhythm Section.”

Each member of the band needs to remember to play their own important part in the music. The key is to work as a team so that you can create a smooth sound.

If your group wants to make a memorable impact on the music scene, you will need to rehearse — again and again and again. You’ll probably spend more time in rehearsal than doing anything else (except sleeping). It’s very important for a band to be organized and each member to be faithful to the group, as bands often split up over commitment troubles. In your rehearsals, establish a goal for each session and keep records of what you’ve accomplished.

It’s true that rehearsal is essential for a band’s success, but I can’t stress enough the importance of playing for an audience. The amount of experience you will gain from performing on stage is 20 times greater than just practicing in the rehearsal room. Develop a good stage presence and decide what kinds of things you want to say to your audience. Connecting with your audience is also very important. Besides your music, these things are also something you and your band should practice in the rehearsal room.

Remember, it’s not all group work — there are some things you need to practice by yourself. It’s your responsibility to the other band members to work on maintaining and improving your skills, and to know your parts as well as possible even before you get to the rehearsals. Practicing band music outside of your rehearsals will really pay off in the number of hours of rehearsal time you’ll save.

It all comes down to one important thing when establishing a tight, successful band and that is unity. If a band unites to work as one, it will make remarkable achievements.

Although the words are similar, the word capo in this instance doesn’t mean a trigger-happy Mafia leader, although the word did originate from its Italian counterpart “capo tasto”, which literally means: head of finger board. Alternatively, the capo is an innocent contraption or implement fastened to a stringed instrument such as a guitar in order to elevate its pitch.

Although available in various brands, the most prevalent types are the elastic capos, which are the most affordable and most widely used by guitarists, the nylon capos, and the steel string capos.

Although capo’s look a little odd and a bit technical for the non-guitar player, a capo is very simple to attach onto a guitar. It is put on any one of the frets of a guitar neck. A fret is a little ridge on the finger board of a stringed instrument. They are usually placed in equal intervals apart from each other on the handle of the guitar that sticks out from the main body.

To employ the capo, simply affix the apparatus to any of the frets and affirm that the clamp is able to hold down all of the strings. Check for any type of pulling of the guitar strings because it might make the guitar to sound off-key.

A particular type of capo, the third hand capo, is a device that can smoothly secure all the guitar strings in place. You can use these third hand capos to play chords that could be out of reach for your fingers, or play in different keys.

If you have tried to sing along when you’re learning to play guitar then you know that there are some songs which are either too high or low pitched for you to play and it’s difficult to reach the proper pitch. Capos will help you to adjust the guitar’s pitch, putting it within your range.

Everyone of every skill level uses capos on their guitars, and people who are just starting out can also use them to play more easily. Although convenient for their use, capo’s can also be a disturbance to some players due to the fact that they can sometimes hinder proper hand movements during normal use.

Although capo’s can be used with all stringed instruments, they are most commonly used on guitars. There exists both acoustic and electric guitars, but no matter which one you have, you’ll play it the same way.

Even though most guitars sport 6 strings, there are also guitars that have 12 strings, regardless, the method of playing the instrument by strumming or plucking remains the same. A pick is utilized on occasion, though, to perform the plucking or strumming. The guitar is held steady with the left hand so that you can play a note or a chord with your right.

It is imperative for a guitar player to have the following elements: 

1. More Strings – You should always be prepared for a string to snap, as it can happen at any time, so be sure to have spares. You should also change your guitar strings every two months or so even if they’re not broken.
However, if you play your guitar more frequently than the typical guitar player, you should attempt to replace strings more often than once every two months for the health of your guitar.

2. Picks – You can go through these fairly quickly, so get a lot of them. Guitar players who only carry one pick and lose it will most times pick up an alternative such as a piece of hard plastic, although a professional pick is always the better choice.

3. Capo-the capo is a rather critical tool for guitar players because it enables them to play a higher pitch if a tune avers to be too high or too low. You don’t want to end up frustrating yourself, so do yourself a favor and go out and invest some money in a good capo.

Guitar instructors counsel their pupils, particularly beginners, to utilize an electric guitar tuner in order for them to concentrate on learning how to play the guitar. Just like basic tuners, capo’s are essential to all guitar players because they can easily fix those strums that may sound odd with regular strumming.

If possible, try to buy the most reliable capo that you can find, even if it’s more pricey than the other ones. Obviously, the first step in any of this is to get a guitar if you don’t already have one.

The following are some guidelines to buying and maintaining the guitar that is right for you:

Make sure that you get a guitar that is well within your price range, as you obviously want to afford it.

You must find the guitar you pick to be comfortable and easy to play for you. Most experts say that guitars with their strings closer to their fret boards are easier to play.

When you’re just starting out with guitars, you’ll also want to get capos and other such accessories.

You should also keep your guitar rust-free by washing your hands and making sure they’re completely dry prior to playing it. Keep in mind that the guitar strings are susceptible to rusting, so maintain them.

Changes in weather and humidity can also effect the guitar, so get a good, secure care for it.

if you’re keen to get better at playing guitar then check out this Learn and Master Guitar review by the Green Guitar Guy.