By Bruce Lamb

http://www.TheGuitarWorkShop.com

A guitar is probably the most popular string instrument of today. One common thing about modern teenagers who want are creative, have an artistic setup or just want to be ‘cool’; is that they love guitar as a playing instrument. The guitar has generally six strings and is popularly one of the two broad classifications: acoustic and electric, though it can have much more strings attached to it and can come in various types such as a Hawaiian guitar and it can have many mechanisms such as a double neck guitar etc.

But those are for advanced users! Typically a guitar may look stylish, trendy or cool, but guitar lessons for beginners can be tricky. If you want to learn to play guitar for a living or simply as a hobby and you are serious about it, you need to know that playing guitar is not easy, contrary to what it looks on the screen for the greatest guitar players playing it as a piece of cake.

Construction

In case of guitar lessons for beginners, it is important to understand the general construction of a guitar. The guitar has three main parts: the body, the neck and the strings; although number of strings, length of the neck and size of the body tends to vary from guitar to guitar. Strings are attached on the fretboard (a piece of wood on the neck) and some frets run orthogonal to the strings; while each fret produces different sounds. Read the rest of this entry »

By Bruce Lamb

Casextreme.com

Most airlines are now charging for the first checked bag a minimum of $25.00 and the second $35 and third bag is charged much more so customers are bringing bigger bags more than ever on board with them so these days the overhead compartments are at a premium. It’s a gamble traveling with a guitar and each guitar traveler will have to play there own hand by asking them selves these questions.

1. Q. How many bags including my guitar will I travel with?

A. Do the math two checked bags can cost you now $60 depending on the airline
carry on space is getting harder to get.

2. Q. Will the airline allow my guitar on board in a gig bag and will there be enough
Room?

A. The airline my have a policy to allow your guitar on board when you call them up
but it only depends if there is enough room, or how many regular bags are in the
overhead at the time you board. It is entirely up to the crew members on the plane.
They may take your guitar and gate check it which means your guitar goes onto the
pile of luggage below. Most damage to guitars on planes is from being damaged
due to excess weight on top of the guitar pushing the top or bottom of the case in
cracking the back or sound board of the guitar.

3. Q. Will they let me on with my hard shell case a bigger gamble? Read the rest of this entry »

By Bruce Lamb

www.TheGuitarWorkShop.com

Taking guitar music lessons can cost a lot of money and making sure you are getting your money’s worth is necessary. Learning a new instrument like guitar or taking vocal lessons will benefit you or your child but here are some tips on how to ensure you are getting the most out of your lessons.

Do make sure you are choosing a reputable school or instructor. It’s true with the saying, “You get what you pay for.” If you find individuals advertising their musical expertise teaching their lessons from their home studio, it’s ideal to ask for references. As a business, they should be able to lead you to clients who can give you their experience taking lessons with them. It’s a safe move especially if you have never heard of them before.

Going through the yellow pages or searching online will give you a head start on what lessons or schools have been running for awhile now. They usually have specialized programs and have been in business practically forever. When you talk to them over the phone, they are knowledgeable and helpful. Music schools that have a long standing can usually be costly and their lessons run year long.

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By Bruce Lamb

www.TheGuitarWorkshop.com

With the diversification of instruments and musical styles, it stands to reason that there are an equally diverse amount of possible gigs. What instrument you play may limit your success. Some of the more basic ones will be covered here but do not limit your horizons by not trying out other avenues that may present themselves. I will mention several types of instruments in the following article. If any are unfamiliar to you, may I suggest a trip to your local library where taped samples of the various styles and sounds may be observed.

The Guitar is now possibly one of the more requested and versatile instruments that can play so many types and styles of music. Most commonly used in restaurants, cocktail lounges, parties, one-man-shows, and any type of show where the guitarist also is required to sing, such as a coffee shop. Sometimes they may have an electronic drummer and possibly bass pedals for rhythm. Happy hour gigs will sometimes use a guitarist, but more commonly it is a keyboard artist.

Playing keyboard is probably one of the most versatile instruments around, since it will fit in to most musical styles and arrangements.

Finding solo gigs such as small parties, cocktail lounges, waiting areas, restaurants, receptions, churches, studio recording, classical, ragtime, jazz, airports, backup for singers is a good place to get started.

Joining or accompanying another musical act or being part of a trio for another group of singers in any style is a joy.

It is not uncommon to have two keyboard artists playing in the same group. While one plays piano, the other may simulate a variety of other woodwinds, brass, flute, stringed instruments or special sound effects. Most times the player will be coordinating the arrangements as the group is playing, all without the use of a musical chart. Keyboard players are the most versatile musicians in the industry, so they have a lot more opportunities to work and are a valuable source of referrals and recommendations for bookings.

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By Bruce Lamb

www.TheGuitarWorkshop.com

I have had the amazing pleasure of taking guitar lessons on finger style guitar blues and ragtime, lap style and Slide Guitar lessons from one of the best teachers out there and her name is Mary Flower. I have also had the pleasure of producing three DVD’s for her in their different styles of guitar mastery.

I first met Mary Flower at the guitar seminars work shop that was run by two other astounding guitar player Woody Mann, and Bob Brozman and I also want to mention Trevor Lawrence who pretty much ran the back end of the workshop and is also a great player.

The three DVD’s I produced for Mary teach three different styles of blues guitar. The first one in on playing blues guitar in the Key of E. The second DVD is playing Ragtime Style of Blues guitar. The third DVD is playing guitar in Dropped D Tuning.

Many blues guitarists feel that the key at E is both the most accessible and expressive key for deep blues sounds. Blues in E is a sound as old as the blues themselves. In this video, Mary shows you how to reach deep into the blues bag by teaching the licks and tricks that have kept this genre interesting and fun.

Going beyond mere role demonstration, she also explores the 12-bar blues structure and offers tips on creating your own arrangements. Starting with the Delta style where the thumb pounds out ifs steady, compelling bass, Mary shows you how to add single notes, up-the-neck bends, moveable chords, and powerful boogie-woogie patterns. Then she walks you through a plethora of blues turnarounds, the figures that add color and spice o your arrangements when you use them as fills between vocal lines.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Bruce Lamb

http://www.TheGuitarWorkShop.com

In order to make a living on a regular basis, you will need to play your guitar well. The better you are at your respective instrument, the more demand there will be for your services, and the more opportunities will present themselves. The better that you can read music, the more bookings will be available to you. This is virtually a mandatory requirement for the higher paying professional gigs.

You should have an extensive song list in the style that you play. If you can sing and the more tunes that you can accompany vocally, the better. If two equal musicians audition for the same gig, the one that can sing the lead in more of them will usually get the booking .If you have this ability to play by ear it will also increase the amount of work you can get.

Make sure that your equipment is set for the appropriate volume levels and is properly tuned. Get to the gig early and get your equipment set up. Go to the gig before you actually have a date to get started and listen to the room. Get a feel for the audience and maybe ask who ever is playing at the gig about there amp settings while they are on a break.

You must always make certain that you are on time and dressed for the gig. Always be polite and remember the more people that like you at the booking, the more chances you will get another by referral. Always try to understand and know what will be expected of you and provide it.

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By Bruce Lamb

http://www.TheGuitarWorkShop.com

In general, a freelance musician or guitar player is one who is not working for any one particular place of employment and is usually not restricted to an individual job. They work when they want, where and as often as they wish. If you decide to be one, you’ll be responsible for your own taxes, like any other self-employed person. To freelance, you should have a higher skill level and that may be developed by playing with groups, school bands, and other musical ensembles. During this time, the talents necessary to make it in the business can be developed, songs can be learned, and getting used to working with others will give you a lift up along the ladder to success. This is the period of time necessary to learn the tunes that other successful groups are playing.

You can find a place to work anywhere that people get together. It could be a social event, a party, or someone’s home. If there is a floor there, musicians can set up to play. You can get a booking on a ship, in a shopping mall, at a club, church, shopping center, parking lots, on a bus, department stores, offices, at the beach, sports stadiums, trade shows, virtually anywhere people congregate or listen to music.
One very important aspect of making money in this business is to try to book gigs yourself, or have one member of your group appointed to get the word out and handle all aspects of the bookings.

There are many different types of bookings for the right music. Generally, you should see what type of atmosphere that particular establishment is trying to specialize in and play accordingly. If you are with a country band it would not make sense to book in a rock and roll c lub or blues club and vice versa.

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By Bruce Lamb

www.TheGuitarWorkShop.com

If you have been playing guitar for any length of time you have most likely thought how much fun it would be to play in front of a real audience. Now what I mean or my definition of a real audience is playing in front of people you don’t know. Many people find it is easier to play in front of people they don’t know rather than play in front of their own family and peers. Many times your peers and family can be very critical and brutally honest when it comes to critiquing someone’s playing abilities.

If you are one of those persons who has the musical skills necessary to play one or more instruments and have grown up around people who played guitar or other instruments you may have acquired the desire to perform in front of other people early on in your life. On the other hand you may not even know it because it is an unconscious desire. Many people don’t even begin to play guitar whether it’s from fear of embarrassing them selves or don’t think they cold possibly be as good as others in the household or the immediate area they are in.

Weather its an acoustic guitar or electric guitar starting to play in front of people will improve your playing each and every time you do. If have the desire to become a professional musician or work in a related field I encourage you to just do it and get over any fears that are holding you back. My intent here is to give you an insight into how you can achieve those goals and subsequently may even earn a comfortable living or at least some spar change. Its an amazing thing when your playing and someone drops a buck into your guitar case for the first time.
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By Bruce Lamb

www.TheGuitarWorkshop.com

If you want to learn to play guitar there is nothing holding you back and all the information you need for learning guitar is out there and can be found by using the internet. If you want to learn blues guitar, rock guitar, country western guitar, Fingerstyle guitar, flat picking guitar, or Hawaiian Slack Key, you just have to get started. The key to learning guitar is practice, practice and more practice learning guitar is different from learning to play a violin or a trumpet. If you want to learn to play guitar you have to make a personal commitment.

My theory of learning to play guitar is try and pick a guitar that sounds great to begin with. This unfortunately means a guitar that cost more. If you strum several guitars in a guitar shop find the one that sounds best to you. Try and find a guitar that has great action. What this means is that the strings are close to the frets which are the little metal bars that go across the neck of the guitar. If you have great action or strings that are close to the neck you won’t have to push very hard to make a solid sound with out squeaks. .

Many people start out with a nylon stringed guitar. These types of guitars are primarily used to play classical music. Which is usually played using just your fingers and not using a guitar pick. This is called finger style guitar playing. The thing about using a classical style guitar is the neck of these type of guitars are quite thick across and the strings are spaced further apart to accommodate the rapid finger style of playing.

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 Tunings of Hawaiian Slack Key  from

http://theGuitarWorkShop.com

 by Bruce Lamb

If you have read one of my earlier articles on how I got started playing guitar and in particular Hawaiian Ki ho ‘alu Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar I mentioned how us young teenagers livinge in Hawaii on the Island of Oahu would gather on the corner at night under a big mango tree and share our different music. I also mentioned we would play the popular music that was on the radio. Acoustic Blues was always my favorite style of music:

  I liked the deep pre-war acoustic stuff that was mainly played by some of the older black community. I think the only reason you could find this music in Hawaii at that time was that the late nite DJ was a black Guy.  And as it turned out most of the lyrics and progressions were remade by the hot new bands at theat time. Bands like the Rolling Stones were doing some of those old black songs like I can’t get now satisfactions, and I followard her to the station.  Also Eric Burden and the animals were also redoing old blues songs. Ok I know I’m showing my age now at 60 years old and it’s hard top believe that those songs by these new artist are over 45 years old now.

  Then i mentioned that the Hawaiian guys would always end the evening with a more traditional style of music by retuning their guitars. I could never get them to show us how or what they did but there was a siolent code between them.  While one guy was talking story or noodeling around with his guitar the other guy would be retuning. before long they were both in this new tuning. I think it gave them great satisfaction in keeping this secret from us.  As it turned out both guys would be in tune and would begin to play and sing Hawaiian songs. It was so enchanting and captivated me and I really wanted to try and play along but I could never figure out why my guitar was always so out of tune all of a sudden. It took me almost the entire summer to realize my old Stella guitar could be tuned in this magical type of tuning. Read the rest of this entry »