Happy New Year! I was wondering if you have any guitar goals planned for the coming year? Perhaps the mere thought of this may seem like a set-up for failure. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Establishing goals can be a simple way to measure your progress and realize your dreams of becoming a great guitar player!
NEWS UPDATE:
There is a
Free Online Chord Chart now available at Jamplay.com. It’s well layed out and makes a great resource to have on hand whenever you are practicing.
There are several New Educational Guitar Books now available at ABC Learn Guitar.com. Take a peek. There are books on how to play various popular guitar styles such as Celtic, Bluegrass, Classical, Rock and more.
MUSIC TRIVIA:
Did you know…?
The world-famous rock band known as Led Zeppelin got their name from a comment made by Rolling Stone’s drummer, Keith Moon, prior to the band’s formation. Back in early 1966 Jimmy Page thought it would be a good idea to form a supergroup that would feature
Keith Moon on drums, John Entwhistle of “The Who” on bass and Jeff Beck on Guitar. There was only one small problem… they didn’t have a good lead vocalist. This, combined with a few other difficulties, prompted Moon to say the group would “take to the air like a lead balloon.” After Moon made this sarcastic remark Entwhistle suggested they call their band “Lead Zeppelin”, so he is credited with originating the name.
Free Led Zeppelin Tab Here…
In 1968 Jimmy Page formed another band featuring himself on guitar, Robert Plant on vocals, John Paul Jones on bass guitar and John Bonham on drums. He kept the name Enwhistle had suggested earlier but shortened it to “Led Zeppelin.” This supergroup went on to sell over 300 million albums world-wide and was recognized by Rolling Stone magazine as the “biggest band of the 70s”. Today “Led Zeppelin” is considered to be one of the most important and influential bands in the history of Rock and Roll.
More Led Zeppelin Classics…
TOPIC OF THE DAY:
Guitar Goals
Do you ever feel frustrated with your guitar playing? Does it seem like you’re only making a little progress even though you practice regularly?
If this is the case, it may be that you simply need to establish some concrete goals. By doing this you will be able to focus your attention on obtaining a specific end result.
So one of the questions you need to ask yourself is…
What do I want to achieve as a guitar player?
Now I realize that this is a big question and it may have multiple answers. So, to help bring it into perspective, I want you to take a moment and think about some of the guitar players you admire. Who are they, and what do you like about their playing?
This should shed some light on what style(s) of guitar you are interested in learning. Once you have your starting point figured out you can begin to focus on some of the techniques and other aspects that will be involved with playing it.
For instance, let’s say you like the way Jimi Hendrix played lead guitar. Afterall, many guitarists can play his licks, but few are really able to capture the same feeling he could bring out of a guitar. That’s because Hendrix was a natural in the areas of innovation, phrasing and expression.
So, one of your goals might be to learn as much as you can about phrasing and expression when it comes to creating your own lead
guitar licks. Above all, don’t be afraid to experiment with new sounds and ideas.
If you like fingerstyle guitar, like I do, then you might want to spend some time developing your “right hand” techniques through playing arpeggios, tremelos, and other exercises.
Another goal might be to simply learn a specific song, lick or instrumental piece that you really like. This is something I often l do and find to be very rewarding.
When I was first learning to play the guitar, for example, I really liked a song called Mood For A Day that was on the album “Fragile” by Yes. I was able to figure out some of the beginning part by ear by listening to the album, but didn’t get much further. Since I couldn’t read music back then it never even occurred to me to buy the guitar notation. So, I wound up putting it “on hold” for some indefinite, unknown time in the future.
Some years later I came across the guitar notation for Mood For A Day and bought it. By this time I had taught myself how to read music and so my renewed goal became to learn how to play this piece, which I did. This really gave me a sense of purpose when I practiced and, in the end, a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment as a guitar player.
So, as far as New Year’s resolutions go, I suggest you establish some short term and long term goals as a means to improve your guitar playing. Here is a pdf file with some ideas to help you get started…
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