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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?

A. Probably not!

4. Q. Should I buy a flight case for my guitar if I only travel one or two times a year?

A. To protect your guitar you should have a case made for air travel. Regular hard
shell cases are for transporting around town in your car etc. and not designed
for other people who don’t own the guitar. They really don’t know how fragile the
guitar is inside the case and may not know they are abusing it. They think that its
bullet proof because its inside a hard case.

5. Q. How do I know what to look for in a Good Flight case that will protect the best?

A. There are 4 things that break guitars in cases finding a case that avoids the
following problems would be the best case to travel with when flying on airlines.
Shock waves, such as what happens when a guitar case is mishandled or is
dropped or thrown and hits a hard surface. And crushing in the sides of the case
as mentioned above. And excess weight, the heaver the case the more shock it
transmits when it hits a hard surface.

Shock snaps the head stock off the neck of the guitar. The tuning keys add extra
weight to the neck and if the case is dropped and hits a hard surface the momentum
of the sudden stop and added weight to the headstock snaps the neck. This is very
common problem when traveling by air.

Most so called flight case builder use the same materials like plywood, or fiber
glass to build extremely stiff and heavy cases and haven’t re-thought or invented
or improved on the original idea. They continue to build these cases and
they don’t add enough padding inside the case to absorb shock. The excess
weight that is built in also causes the case to break it seems and snaps the hinges.
And because of the stiffness and excess weight they don’t flex enough and can’t
absorb any shock.

When picking a flight case at the very least start with this test if possible. With the
heal of your palm of your hand push against the top of the case with a guitar inside.
Most case will flex if you put pressure on the case just over the bridge of the guitar
inside. If you can feel any flex at this point it is not really a good case for air travel.
If anything hit the case at that point will destroy the top of your guitar near the
Bridge and probably case a crack in the sound board.

With the guitar inside the case make sure there is a tight fit with no movement.
Make sure the head stock has padding over and also underneath so it won’t move
or rattle around.

In closing a guitar flight case needs to be able to be light in weight, flexible to help absorb shock if possible and have more than just enough padding inside. The only solution for this is the material and design would have to be slightly larger than a traditional guitar case to provide all of these features. This type of case could also have extra room inside to hold other things like clothing etc. we have seen this type of case and to our knowledge is the only one of it kind. It is called the Clam Case and can be seen online.

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.

One of the most fun ways to get started playing in front of people is to pull out your guitar where ever you are and start playing. Now I don’t mean just anywhere, like indoors at public places like the library but outside in a park. I started playing at an outside car show where I had my 58 Desoto on display. You will find that most people will just walk by smiling and really won’t give it any thought anyway.

Playing in front of people should be done immediately. Don’t hesitate to start this exercise just as soon as you can put two or three chords together. It’s ok to have your music or song book open in front of you on the ground or on a music stand because people will know you are learning and quite frankly most people will feel envious of you because you are doing something that they only wished they could do.

Try and pick an easy song that is not too radical for the crowed or people you are playing around. This is your call and you have to be the judge. Don’t start out playing something that the people you are around don’t really want to here. It’s like when I go to the gym and they are playing rap music I don’t really want to hear it so it cuts my work out short and I get mad at my self. Just because you can play the song well it doesn’t mean you should be playing it.

One of the very first songs that I learned to play was the song Black Bird by the Beatles. As it turned out this song and many others is very easy to play and it really sounds difficult to the ear but once you find a cool song keep playing it over and over again. I got really good at it and it was the only song I played for a very long time. Most people just walk by and don’t stay around for the next song. Playing the same song over and over again will give your fingers the strength they need and flexablity to make changing from one chord to the next smoothly with a fluid motion. And another thing your finger tips will start to develop calluses that will help the soreness in your fingers to go away and you will be able to practice and play longer.

The most important thing here is to get over your fear of playing in front of who ever is in the area. Get over this useless emotion. I heard it said once that embracement is the least useful emotion so get over it and enjoy your guitar more by playing it in front of people. It will help you grow much faster at this beautiful hobby. And who knows you may earn some money at the same time.

www.TheGuitarWorkShop.com

When you first start or begin to learn how to play the blues it is a very good idea that your first know what type of blues you want to learn to master. There are several types of blues that have been developed in this country. Many regions around the United States have their own style of blues guitar playing. There is Chicago Style of Blues, there is Texas Style of Blues, The Delta Style, also New Orleans Style of Blues Guitar, and the Piedmont Style of Blues that comes for the mid east coast up to Delaware style.

A very first and most important thing in my opinion is knowing what a progression is. The blues is comprised of a kind of pattern or order of notes that are played. This is the blues progression patterns. The blues progression is a one, four, five progression (1-4-5-). I’ll try to describe what this means so pay close attention. There are seven major notes in playing music. These notes are A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Now here is where it gets kind of tricky. If some one says they are going to play the blues in the key of A, this simply means that the A is the (One Chord) or the very first chord in the song. The next chord to be played in the song would be the ( Four Chord) or the second chord that would be played. And then the next chord is the (Five Chord) this is the 1 4 5 progression.

Looking at the 7 major chords A, B, C, D, E, F, G, start counting from the left you will notice the first chord is the A chord the fourth chord is the D chord and the fifth chord is the E chord. Now lets look at a song in the key of E. Can you figure out what the progression is?

Starting with the E Chord as the first chord in the song it would be the one chord. Now counting from the E Chord and using it as the number one chord you count F chord as the 2nd chord in the major scale, then the G chord would be the 3rd chord in the major scale then the next chord in the song would be the A chord or the four chord in the song. Now to complete the 145 progression the 5 chord would be the B chord. So the 145 progression in the key of E would use these 3 chords. They are the E, A, B chords.

Start practicing using these chord progressions, keep playing them over and over and try to develop a smooth strum or plucking when you practice them. Its far better to practice chord over and over again with out pausing from on chord to the next. I guess what I am trying to say is play them until they become fluid with out stopping to find the next chord. After a while you will start to here the music and you can move on to new and better things.