Guitar Tips

Enjoy these guitar tips. If you are in the San Francisco area and want guitar lessons, please visit my lessons page.

Guitar Tips

1. Stopping That Horrible String Noise
2. "Cheat" Chords
3. Playing "By Ear"
4. Improving Your Rhythm
5. Practice Time
6. Feel The Power of The Capo
7. Get Horizontal
8. It's a Volume Business
9. Don't Lose Your Pick
10. Gaining Confidence Up The Neck
11. Choosing the Right Guitar -- For Those with Smaller Hands

Guitar Tip #1

Stopping That Horrible String Noise

Do you sometimes hit a string you didn't want to hit, distracting from the notes that you meant to play?

A big breakthrough for me was realizing it wasn't so hard hitting the notes on the guitar, but it was sometimes hard to stop it from making notes or noises I didn't want.

To stop unwanted string noise:

• If you play electric, always practice with your amp on so any string noise is audible
• Try covering strings you're not playing with either the palm of your picking hand, or a finger of your fretting hand
• Practice strumming across only the strings you need for each chord, instead of playing all six strings every time.
• Don't try to just cover it up with effects, that only makes more noise!
• Record yourself so you can hear what's really going on.

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Guitar Tip #2

"Cheat" Chords

Do barre chords (aka "bar chords") challenge your fingers? Would you like to find an alternative to always playing barre chords?

A long time ago I was introduced to the "cheat" chord, a variation on barre chords. Now the word "cheat" might sound bad, but the Beatles used them and so did R&B great Steve Cropper and many others. Cheat chords have a distinctive, punchy sound, too, one that is worth exploring.

To make a "cheat" chord:

• Make like you're going to play an A Chord by barring an E Chord at the fifth fret.
• Instead of barring across all six strings, just barre the top two (B and E) with your first finger. Leave the rest of your fingers in the same positions as for the regular barre chord.
• Don't strum the low E. Just strum across from the fifth or fourth string to the first string.
• Leave that bottom note on the sixth string for your bass player!

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Guitar Tip #3

Playing "By Ear"

You CAN learn to figure out your favorite songs.

To get started, learn to recognize the common chord progression that most popular songs are made up of.

• There are a million songs that go G-Em-C-D (Every Breath You Take).
• How about G-D-Em-C?(No Woman No Cry, So Lonely)
• Try Em-D-C for your basic rock anthem.

Get these chords under your fingers and these sounds in your ears and you're on your way.

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Guitar Tip #4

Improving Your Rhythm

This one is easy. Get a metronome. Amazing how many players never do!

While it's fun to play along with a drum machine or a CD, that won't help your rhythm, because you're feeling the beat of the drum machine or the CD. The metronome just gives you a simple pulse, you have to add the feel all by yourself. Sure it's harder, but it's not impossible, and it will help.

• Start with using the metronome to knock out four beats per measure.
• Try going at a real slow tempo. This is actually harder than a medium tempo.
• Try playing with the metronome hitting beats 1 and 3. Then try using the metronome for beats 2 and 4 (trickier, but worth it).
• Play real songs with the metronome, not just scales and exercises.

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Guitar Tip #5

Practice Time

The thought of having to practice for two hours every day stopping you from starting guitar? Well it shouldn't! Because you can make significant progess with as little as 30 minutes of practice five or six times a week.

• Focus on one or two items in your practice sessions.
• Don't do a weekend marathon catch-up. Better to do a short practice seesion five or six times a week.
• Take a long-term view. You're going to play guitar for many years, so you don't have to learn it all it once. It's amazing how much progress you can make in a few months if you keep at it.

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Guitar Tip #6

Feel The Power of The Capo

Using a capo is a great way to get some different sounds out of your acoustic guitar. By clamping the capo across the frets, you can use your "first position" chords (with open strings) far up the neck.

Folk singers have been onto capos for a long time, because capos make it easy to change the key of a song, without having to do a lot of barre chords. Capos are also great if you're playing with another guitar player. Having one player use a capo gives a lot of contrast and depth to the sound, since the player using the capo is playing in a higher range.

Don't get one of those elastic wrap-around capos. They don't do a very good job of holding down the strings (which is what a capo is supposed to do).

Get a clamp style capo. There are several on the market from makers such as Shubb and Dunlop. These work great.

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Guitar Tip #7

Get Horizontal

Find yourself reaching far up the neck for the next note or chord? All that reaching up and down the neck can make your playing sound choppy, even throw off your timing. Usually that next note or chord is close by if you learn to think horizontally, across the strings instead of up and down.

Learn as many different ways to make a chord as possible so you know what's available.

Make sure you can play scales or riffs across the strings, moving the position of your fretting hand as little as possible.

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Guitar Tip #8

It's a Volume Business

One the best ways to improve your sound is to vary your volume, alternating between loud and soft. Unfortunately, a lot of players use the same volume the whole time.

• Try alternating volume while your doing practice work on scales, exercises and songs.
• If you play loud all the time, loudness has no real impact, other than to wear down your listeners. Save the volume peaks for the appropriate places in each song.
• If others are playing too loud, instead of turning up, set a new tone for everyone by playing softer.

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Guitar Tip #9

Don't Lose Your Pick

OK, this a small guitar tip, but an important one. Guitar players are always losing their picks. A teacher of mine when I was just a kid showed me this trick, and I've used it ever since.

• When you're done playing, put your pick in between the 6th and 5th strings at the top of the neck. It'll be there next time you pick up your guitar.

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Guitar Tip #10

Gaining Confidence Up The Neck

For most guitarists, the area from the first fret to about the eighth is comfortable for soloing. But of course, there's still a lot of fretboard left. Here's a good trick for improving your playing way up the neck.

• Have a recording you can play over, could be a favorite artist or a recording of yourself playing chords or a song.
• Take a capo, or even a piece of tape. Put it on at the 9th fret.
• Now solo. You can't just revert to the comfortable confines below the eighth fret, can you? That's the idea.

Try this one for a few practice sessions. Challenge yourself by moving the capo or tape even higher up the neck. I guarantee you will gain confidence in playing far up the neck.

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Guitar Tip #11

Choosing the Right Guitar -- For Those with Smaller Hands

A lot of guitar students get thwarted by simply having a guitar with a neck that's too big for their hands. One size doesn't fit all. But there are choices out there. When shopping for a guitar:

• Find stores in your area that have a large selection of guitars. A store with a small selection may try to sell you what they have, not necessarily what you need.
• You are going to spend a lot of time with that new guitar. Don't let anyone pressure you into buying. Take your time, try lots of guitars, learn as much as you can before you spend your money.
• Yamaha is a good brand if you have small hands. Yamaha acoustic guitars have thinner, easy-to-play necks, and Yamaha makes quality guitars at all price levels.

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