What are fundamental acoustic guitar techniques? Basic strumming, flatpicking, and fingerpicking are all techniques that provide a solid foundation on the instrument. Legato moves like hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides also fall under the umbrella of fundamental technique. The lessons here are perfect for beginning and intermediate guitar players.
This acoustic guitar lesson on fingerpicking arpeggios will benefit your rhythm and lead playing as well as your compositional ability and overall musicianship
Learn to use your fretting hand with maximum efficiency by understanding how that hand works mechanically and how it should interact with the fingerboard.
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Start with chord shapes you already know. Learn a handful of fingerstyle picking patterns and then begin incorporating arpeggios into your vocabulary.
THE PROBLEMYou’re dissatisfied with your rhythm playing. THE SOLUTIONSummarize the range of sounds you can get from your right hand—basically discuss the problem and emphasize that there are ways to fix it. Then break those problems down in a list (with music examples) of specificexercises or techniques that you can add…
Let’s start working on some chord shifting by changing between G and C chords on each beat (Example 6). Allow your fingers to change as slowly as necessary for a smooth transition. If the open strings continue to ring out as you swap chord fingerings, don’t worry about it for…
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This exercise includes the fretting hand, and is designed to aid in coordination—the goal is to get both hands working together. The first four measures of this exercise require the use of the index finger of your fretting hand. Use the tip of your fretting-hand index finger to fret each…
When switching between some chords, like A and D, you are able to pivot around the index finger, holding it down while you move your other fingers around it.
A step-by-step guide to using the fundamentals of music to unlock both the fretboard and your creativity.
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Here are some ways that you can learn to keep a steady, uninterrupted pulse when playing guitar.
Look at some sus-chord symbols commonly seen in popular music and learn how to play them on guitar.
A dozen four-week workouts each designed to engage both your fingers and your mind.
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They say good things come in threes. Musical expressions are no exception to this rule.
Some of your favorite classic songs from artists like James Taylor and Bob Dylan rely heavily on suspended chords for embellishment.
Learn to create dynamic accompaniment parts in any setting.
Even if this is review for you, it’s always a good idea to revisit the basics—not only to further solidify the foundation upon which all else is built, but to provide new insights as you examine something familiar with fresh eyes and skills.
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THE PROBLEM Rhythm is a shaky area for you. You have a difficult time communicating a rhythmic idea unless you can play it; you have a tendency to fall into familiar, repetitive rhythms. THE SOLUTION Learn the fundamentals of rhythm, then work through exercises designed to improve your rhythmic cognition. Music…
By taking a basic melody and changing the rhythms, pitches, and articulations, you can make some hip variations.
Introducing accents into your strumming/rhythm patterns can make even well-worn chord progressions sound fresh.
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The G7 chord, as you might guess, is closely related to G...
For 3/4, or waltz time, people tend to consider the first beat of each measure as the only strong beat, followed by two weak beats on two and three.
Pentatonic scales are an effective and generally manageable way to get started, and many guitar players derive much of their approach from this basic framework.
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Use a little music theory to learn how major and minor triads are built and to start connecting chord shapes. With an awareness of how these chords work, you’ll be primed to play songs as diverse as the Who’s “Substitute” and Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”—and to create your own chord progressions and solos.
This Weekly Workout will show how to synchronize the hands through a variety of exercises, concepts, and articulations
Let's focus on getting your picking hand synced and steady with some simple single-note exercises.
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Learn to keep a steady, uninterrupted pulse.
