Archive for September, 2011

The Martin DX1 – Good Looking Guitar

Martin DX


The Martin DX1 is a very nice guitar to look at. In fact this guitar is full of features that make it a very good buy. However, this is probably the reason that really gives it an edge. This guitar will look very nice on stage

The Martin DX1 is a beautiful guitar. It is obviously not an utter knockout when compared to other guitars on the market. However, for the amount it’s going for, it’s stunning. It’s dressed in a satin finish and has chrome tuners and chrome hardware. This makes for a very pretty guitar that definitely has some stage presence.

This Martin Dreadnought is very well designed for great sound and ease in play. It is a 6-string acoustic-electric guitar. The great sound is in part thanks to its dreadnought design. The neck shape has been wonderfully crafted to create ease in play. You can get exactly what you want as your hand glides around the Richlite fretboard.

There are few to no better value guitars on the market than this acoustic-electric. This guitar sounds like a classic martin professional guitar and is certainly built like one! But for half the price. The X series is a testament to the mission of Martin to bring affordable, quality guitars to the market.

This Martin Dreadnought is strong in sound and build. As is the same with most guitars that come out of the martin factory, this guitar is incredibly well made. Patented high-pressure laminate line the back and side whilst a solid sitka spruce top gives you great resonance. And what a sturdy neck. Layers of wood are pressed together under extremely high pressure in a process known as stratabonding. This is then carved and finished in a conventional manner. The end result is a very strong neck with incredible tone.  A mortise and tenon join means the neck is connected to the guitar in a very strong way, further adding strength in sound.

The guitar features professionally installed Fishman electronics. These electronics are wonderfully sensitive. The Sonicore pickup technology with a Fishman sonitone system has an easy to reach volume and tone control inside the sound hole. The guitar is much easier to play thanks to this nifty design.

For what its worth, this is one lovely lady. This guitar contains a lot of characteristics that are worth noting. It is incredible value and no matter what your needs it would be hard to find better than this. The Martin DX-1 is a stunning guitar.

If you have been to a concert, you most likely are very much aware of what it means when one mentions the phrase guitar improvisation. Improvised music is the technique of capturing what one is feeling by permitting your inner sentiment to speak through the instrument. It is the most creative, communicative and a showcase of precision, skills, techniques and creativity that leaves the audience in awe.

The key factor is familiarizing with all parts of the instrument and being able to use the techniques effectively. In general there are two techniques in guitar improvisation, these are horizontal and vertical techniques. In horizontal technique, a guitarist plays a solo based on his current scale while in vertical technique he gets to play one base on his current chord.

In order to achieve this, a person should first identify with the scales, the practice does not involve playing random notes hoping to create a good sound. In guitar playing a person should refer to certain scale notes which are used as a structure of the tune. Hence identifying the right kind of scale to use with the chord sequence can help a person acquire a mileage out of the technique.

These practicing scales help in building ones muscle memory and lead the fingers. Secondly one should learn the Arpeggios. These are series of notes which structure a chord. However, unlike a chord these notes are not played simultaneously but one after another in a series. The notes are very important and one does not require a lot of efforts to identify the notes.

After getting familiar with the scales one should move on to experiment with a jam track. Listen to how the notes sound over the track gradually experimenting other techniques of playing the notes and use the ears to select what sounds nice. The best way to kick start this is with blues soloing. This is because the twelve bar blues progression is consistent thus it makes it simpler to memorize. This can help one learn how to anticipate the chord changes.

Moreover, there are lesser wrong key notes in blues thus when a person is playing a wrong note it will not cause a lot of damage. The next step is structuring of decent licks. Here a person should make out licks on a paper and learn how to play them.

Guitar improvisation necessitates patience, time, dedication and a lot of practice. But most of all one should learn how to listen.

If you’de like to learn more about playing the guitar please visit – Guitar Improvisation

or, to find out about the best online guitar course, read this – Review of Jamorama

Teach yourself Acoustic Guitar Lessons

Jamorama - Learn GuitarTo learn to play acoustic guitar can be plenty of fun and also a very satisfying experience. Guitar is among the least complicated musical instruments to understand in the beginning stages because you can play tunes without needing to learn much theory. Guitarists utilize a lot of shapes when they play meaning that the same fingering moved up and down on the fretboard can give you various scales and chords.

First of all , you usually learn are “open chords”. As we previously said you won’t need to learn them by knowing which notes you are pressing, like you would do when using a piano, but you’ll learn a shape, a fingering.

Open chords really are a blend of fretted notes and open strings and althought they’re the fundamentals they are extremely helpful even for a professional player. One of many cool things about open chords is that many tunes have already been written using them and as soon when you can change without problems between chords you will have ability to access a huge repertoire rendering the whole learning procedure a thrilling time.

Open chords possess a unique sound and are also used by both novices and pros in numerous genres of music and that is certainly why you’ll usually see guitarist make use of a Capo to shift these shapes in different places on the fretboard to get different chords.

It may need 2-3 weeks usually to memorize every one of the open chords and learn to switch correctly between them but once that’s completed you can start working on the strumming hand and become familiar with a few basic rhythms to add some life to your tunes.

Again this is not too tricky. All that you should do is make sure that you learn how to play on the beat employing a down stroke first and you can begin incorporating some up strokes on the up beat.

Although it might seem very easy let me tell you that to teach yourself to play guitar can became an utopia unless you don’t follow two essential steps! First in order to learn these basic concepts you will have to put in time and effort. It’s important to have a good practise program – we suggest the very least of 30 minutes per day – and adhere to it for a 5/6 days a week.

Lastly you must have a great learning program/course that can explain to you what you need to learn step by step so that you can maximize your efforts. If you only have 30-60 minutes a day there’s hardly any room for wasting time on random exercises.

Clearly playing the guitar is an art and will require a lots of work to master the instrument but these basic concepts are everything you must know to teach yourself to play guitar and will get you started right away.

For much more tutorial and education with regards to Strumming Patterns go to this site for complimentary acoustic guitar lessons.  Or if you have a preference for a good Italian web site simply just visit Manuale Di Chitarra.

How To Play Electric Guitar: A Beginners Guide

It is not difficult to learn how to play electric guitar but playing well is a skill that does not happen quickly and takes a lot of practice. Following the simple steps outlined here can help you improve quickly.

If you have never played before or have never taken any kind of lesson, you should start by learning to tune the guitar. There are many resources available to you. If you have disposable income, you can purchase an electric tuner. This machine will pick up the string vibration and tell you exactly when it is in tune. It is better, however, to learn how to tune by ear. This can be accomplished by using any of the guitar tuning websites available on the internet for free.

Once you have the tuning down, it is time to learn some chords. Learning the basic chords A, C, D, and G will give you a foundation solid enough to allow you to play several easy songs. Learning a song so early in the game will give you a feeling of proud and help you continue on the road ahead.

It is also imperative that you become a good picker to become a great musician. The easiest way to develop picking skills is to learn the scales. It will allow your fingers to becoming used to the placements on the fret board for each note and it will get your picking hand used to where the strings are.

If there is the option, do not hesitate to take some beginners lessons from a local supplier. This will not only help you learn by professional instruction, but it will also give you a specific schedule. You may prefer learning on your own but you might find that you will benefit from making a schedule for yourself. People who make schedules are more likely to use their time effectively and are faster to learn.

There is an unlimited number of resources available for free from the internet. A quick search will uncover teachers who developed videos to help you learn anything from the beginner level to the most complex. There are also many resources available that will give you the chords to your favorite songs as well as instruction on strumming rhythm.

If you do not read sheet music, it’s quite alright. You do not need to know how to do this (even though it would be ok if you did). Some people find that learning how to read tabs helps them to learn songs faster but it’s not recommended. Most of the instruction that you will find refers to the name of the chords and the name of the strings so it is important to get this information from the beginning.

Jamorama Guitar Lessons for Novice

Jamorama guitar lessons are step-by-step lessons and tutorial for beginner who wish to learn how to play guitar, whether beginners guitar or electric guitar. Maybe, you were frustrating when you began learning guitar. Especially when you could have no guitar instructors and no clue how to play guitar.

That’s why Jamorama guitar lessons were created. Is Jamorama scam, not likely.

If you’re in doubt about Jamorama guitar lessons, do a few Google searches for “Jamorama review” or in your favourite search engine. I don’t think you’re going to be able to find a single negative review, Jamorama guitar lessons are that good.

Consider This Jamorama Story by Jon Coursey, Jamorama Co-Founder

I have a confession to make about learning guitar. It certainly didn’t come easy to me. After learning a number of chords and strumming patterns on my own I was still going to require some extra instruction if I ever wanted to play guitar really well. That’s when I turned to a great guitarist friend of mine, Dave McKinnon, for a little help.

Dave began by teaching me guitar basics, helping me to get my chord know-how up and even helped me to tighten up my strum. Dave is definitely a analytical, questioning kind of guy, so I threw the question of a better technique to learning the guitar. That got Dave a bit fired up.

Basically, Dave spent 4 full weeks researching as many different methods of learning to play the guitar as he could find. Briefly, he could find no viable alternative methods to learning guitar that did anything to overcome the down sides I’d been experiencing.

It seemed that everyone teaching use rather boring drills to teach us how to play guitar. The majority of people we talked with didn’t have a better method of learning or teaching guitar!

We spent months doing extensive research, working with multiple talented guitar instructors to write down, film, and test then re-work our course. Finally there was a guitar course that made learning the guitar easy.

Jamorama guitar lessons offer you an excellent idea so that you can learn and master your instrument within your comfortable home for only a fraction of those price you’d pay out tutor or subscription site. You could download every single piece of Jamorama guitar lessons to help you to start learning to play and master the guitar anytime you want. You will find eBook, audio and video in the downloadable Jamorama guitar lessons. Jamorama guitar lessons are the most effective beginner guitar lessons.

The Gibson Hummingbird – A True Favourite


The Gibson Hummingbird is one of the most loved guitars of all time. It has survived as a regular artist favourite since the 60’s which is really no surprise. It is timeless because its sound is.

The Gibson Hummingbird is an acoustic-electric guitar that has been loved by many musicians and artists over the years. This guitar has become the icon of the Gibson range since its release in 1960. It is not uncommon to see this guitar in the hands of legends like Gram Parsons and Keith Richards. It was Gibson’s first square-shoulder dreadnought.

This Gibson acoustic electric provides the musician with wonderful versatility. It is a guitar that can play almost any style. It sounds beautiful cranking out first-position chords and just as sweet flat-picking up the neck. No matter what you want this guitar for, whether it be blues, rock and roll or anything in between and all around, it will deliver sensational sound.

The body of the Gibson hummingbird is beautifully and intelligently crafted to sound incredible and be easy to use. It is bound with 6 ply on the top and 4 ply on the back. Selecting the right wood and how to dry it out are two of the most important processes for Gibson. The top of the guitar is made from Sitka spruce. The sides and back are made from mahogany. This is what gives this guitar its incredible sound. This build gives a well-balanced midrange, rich lows and a very clear treble range. The Gibson hummingbird is a square shoulder dreadnought and this allows easier access to the upper parts of the fingerboard.

One of the key features of the Gibson Hummingbird is the brace. It is incredibly well constructed to give incredible sound. It is so well constructed that it would usually only be found in limited runs. As in all Gibson guitars the bracing is hand scalloped. This focuses the sound of the instrument into its centre giving excellent sound projection. Each and every sound range is improved by this ‘X’ shaped brace.

The pickup system in the Hummingbird is a design that shows how considerately this guitar has been built. It is an L.R Baggs element ES. It’s very durable and fitted to the guitar very intelligently. It has a low profile under saddle element, which is more stable than standard ribbon pickups. To remain out of the way and unobtrusive, the volume control is mounted just inside of the sound hole. This intelligent pickup system gets rid of many internal components.

The fingerboard is sturdily constructed and gives quality sound. It has traditional binding over the fret ends, like many classic Gibson acoustics. The processes and materials used to construct it are second to none. Rosewood, a very resilient wood, makes up the fingerboard. This choice of wood allows the Hummingbird great stability and provides each chord with respective clarity and bite. Inserted in a way that needs no filler and ensures no gaps, the inlays are made from real mother of pearl.

Gibson is a company responsible for quite a few renowned guitars over the years. The Gibson Hummingbird is no exception. The classic sound and wonderful versatility allow it to survive through generations. The Gibson Hummingbird guitar is one of the most loved guitars of all time.

The Taylor 314ce Acoustic/Electric Guitar
The Taylor 314ce has second to none projection. It has some features that make it sound loud and clear. An excellent pickup system and shape, to name only a few. There aren’t many acoustic-electric guitars on the market that project like this one.

This guitar has a very good pickup system in the Expression Electronics System. A more organic sound is achieved through this system than other systems. It has dynamic sensors and tone controls that are very sensitive. This sensitivity allows them to almost perfectly capture string vibrations. The system gives the guitar great stage credentials.

The Taylor Guitars 314ce Grand Auditorium Acoustic Electric Guitar has a very specific sound. Many love the sound of this guitar. It has the classic Taylor sound but with a little something extra. It has been described as having a more modern, rock acoustic sound. It contains a mid-range of clarity and a balanced treble range. The bass is not at all booming but it is indeed very full.

The Taylor 314 sounds wonderful and is very easy to play thanks to its very solid design. The body is excellently built. The top is made from solid sitka spruce. Lovely African mahogany is used for the sides of the guitar and also the back. This choice of woods combine to give that wonderful, open, balanced tone that Taylor guitars are so famous for. The left hand can clutch the neck with the greatest of ease thanks to the excellent craftsmanship that has gone into it. The guitar is easier to play than most, thanks to this design. This also improves your playing. The strings are also very perfectly spaced to allow equally for fingerstyle and flapicking. This gives the guitar some added versatility.

The Taylor 314ce is a lovely piece of craftsmanship. It is shaped as a Grand Auditorium Cutaway. There are many benefits to this shape and size. For the sound, it adds fullness and voice. Compared to the dreadnaught and Jumbo design, it is probably a little better. These designs are much more tiring than the Grand Auditorium Cutaway design and make it much harder to play for extended lengths of time.

This guitar is very beautiful. The woods used in its design as well as some other excellent choices have made for one classy looking guitar. A lovely satin finish adorns the top, back and sides of the guitar. This is completed with a lovely ebony bridge and fret board. This stunning look is furthered by a gloss top, pearl inlays and chrome Taylor tuners. At the end of the day this is one of the best looking guitars available.

The Taylor 314-ce has been very well built and designed. Its pickup system is very good. The shape is a good choice. Indeed, there are many factors that give this guitar its sound. The Taylor 314ce sound projection truly is second to none.

Some Explanations About Learn Guitar Scales Online

Learning Scales

I remember watching people play guitar back before I learned how to play guitar myself and was blown away as it seemed like magic to have their fingers running up and down the fretboard and string making such awesome music.

However, with access to the internet today it’s now become easier than ever to learn how to play the guitar.

Start With Some Scales

You should begin to learn guitar scales first. When you learn guitar scales, you are learning how to create individual notes using the strings along with your fingers on certain places on the frets. When you learn how to play guitar scales, you may then move on to guitar chords, which is using mixtures of notes to really create tunes utilized in songs. You can learn all of this on the internet. Get ready for lots of practice because that’s what it’s going to take to learn how to play the guitar.

Finding a Site

There are several sites online which will teach you ways to play guitar. Again, begin to learn guitar scales first. After you get the scales down, you will have no problem finding those scales to utilise them together with one another so you can start to play real music. There are several free sites on the web that may teach you the best way to play guitar. The one major drawback to learning from the PC rather than learning from one on one instruction from a teacher is you can pick up unpleasant habits if you aren’t monitored. That’s why you must read the instructions carefully and make sure you’re practicing perfectly. Only 1 finger out of kilter, or your hand positioned wrong on the fret bar can make a nasty habit which will impede your guitar playing progress.

Practice Is Essential

When you first pick up the guitar and learn to hold it, it can seem very awkward. Then, when you begin to learn guitar scales, you’ll see that it takes a lot of getting used to in order to get the notes just right. You should prepare to practice a lot, such as an hour or two a day, if you hope to grasp guitar playing. Don’t worry if you mess up at first. So long as you practice and keep at it, you will be playing the guitar in almost no time. Just don’t go to fast in your training. Start to learn guitar scales first and then progress from there.

Shortly , you will be playing guitar and you may remember back to how clumsy the guitar felt in your hands and how threatened you were with learning the best way to play that all those feelings will appear mad.

Jamorama Review – Learning How To Play Guitar

Jamorama - Learn GuitarJamorama is the online guitar site if you’re ready to learn how to play guitar proficiently. Jamorama is a very in-depth course containing all that you will need to successfully learn how to play your guitar.

The thing I liked the most, before becoming a student was the statement, No Prior Knowledge Required, because that was me.

Starting as an extreme beginner like I was, well Jamorama is perfect for you then because it will take you right from knowing nothing. It starts with the very basics for those who need it and will take you right to the advanced level of guitar playing.

Jamorama Creator Ben Edwards

Ben Edwards JamoramaJamorama’s creator Ben Edwards from the successful Australian band named Degreesk who have toured all over the world.

They have even hit Canada’s west coast as part of their tour.

Ben’s the guitar teacher for those with the desire to learn how to play guitar online and will teach you step by step methods for better learning.

What I like about Ben’s teaching is that it is easy to follow which usually means less frustration. Plus 200,000 happy students can’t be wrong.

Jamorama is different.

  • The best step-by-step guitar lessons on the internet!
  • Download to your computer in a few minutes
  • No previous knowledge needed
  • For both acoustic and electric guitar
  • Step-by-step, skill building
  • Real play along tracks
  • Video Demonstration

Bonus, you can even download your lessons so you can take them with you where ever you go, even to guitar jams. I like sharing what I learn with friends and it makes for very interesting jams.

The included video lessons are high quality and they were really helpful to me to hear and see exactly what I needed to be doing. Unlike other guitar courses, the guitar playing drills aren’t boring and repetitive and Ben does a good job of making them fun to play.

One of my favourite parts of Jamorama have to be the Jam Tracks and there are currently 26 Jam Tracks which help me with my strumming. I think strumming and chord changes. Strumming is the thing I worked the hardest at as I don’t have a lot of rhythm.

The jam tracks have been the most valuable to me although the without the rest of the course I wouldn’t be playing guitar today.

I loved learning to read music and today I can look at a chord and my brain and fingers work together to form it quickly. I have even learned songs directly from the radio, always thought I was tone deaf but Jamorama proved me wrong. Learning to play guitar with Jamorama has changed my life more than anyone will ever know.

Here is some info directly from Jamorama. What’s in the Jamorama package:

  • 2 Ebooks, Jamorama Beginners and Jamorama Advanced.
  • 12 months worth of lessons
  • 148 video lessons and exercise
  • 26 Jamorama Jam tracks
  • Bonus GuitEarIt – Ear training Game (value $49)
  • Bonus Jayde Musica Pro
  • Bonus Guitar Tuner Pro
  • Bonus Jamorama Metronome

Jamorama worked for me where books just didn’t cut it so I would put Jamorama at the top of my list of places to learn how to play guitar online.

I would suggest you start by joining the Jamorama Newsletter. You will also receive a free Beginner Guitar Course with 10 Lessons or 9 Part Intro to Lead Guitar. Just signup, for free and see what Jamorama can do for you. I am sure you will soon be praising Jamorama like I do today.

If you don’t care to read the entire page, although well worth the read, you can scroll to the bottom where you will see the sign up form for the Jamorama Newsletter.

Without Jamorama I would still be hiding in my room frustrated with my guitar.

When you have finish the free course I am sure you will see the value in going for the entire Jamorama guitar course, at just $39.95, Jamorama is almost a steal. I say almost because stealing is bad, K.

You also have plenty of time to know Jamorama will work for you as they give you a full 60 day, 100% money back guarantee. So if you are really serious about learning the guitar, you really have no reason not to check Jamorama out.

Jamorama - Learn Guitar

electricguitarlessonsPeople eager to learn how to play electric guitar today are turning to the world wide web for lessons over hiring someone to come to their home.

I tried learning to play guitar before the Internet was available and it didn’t work out so well because I was just too shy or scared to look stupid in front of anyone. I was so happy when the time came I was able to learn how to play electric and acoustic guitar online.

You will find all kinds of lessons online, you will even find a variety of formats for learning. Also some guitar lessons are free while others are paid guitar lessons. My first piece of advice, if you’re paying is to find a place you can get a refund because not all guitar lesson sites are equal.

You may also find some sites are great and do a good job of teaching while you may also find that some just don’t have their facts straight or things are just too confusing for the beginner guitar player.

Free Guitar Lesson Sites

Most free sites aren’t structured well and usually hold info that will help you learn but the information isn’t in order and again can just make you frustrated, even though they are completely free.

These free sites may have some songs and show you how to play them, even some trips and tricks but the theory is sorely lacking and it’s the theory that helps you learn how to put things together to be able to play tunes on your own.

The thing with free sites is that the owners don’t have the incentive to create a good site for people like you and me to learn how to play electric guitar.

Paid Guitar Lesson Sites

Paid electric guitar lessons are usually more structured and even offer support which means if they want to keep their subscribers, paid clients, they need to keep them happy.

Like I said at the beginning, you need to be sure, if you’re going with a paid site, that you can get your money back if it doesn’t meet your expectations. I don’t just do this for learning how to play guitar. I actually do this for anything I want to learn online. If it sucks I want my money back.

Free Guitar Lessons Aren’t Always Free

I tried the free guitar lessons some years ago and they weren’t all that helpful. I nearly just gave up learning how to play electric guitar. Things weren’t explained and I found myself guessing at a lot of things.

I did learn some things using free sites but found I was more frustrated with my level of playing. I should have been a lot better and should have known more about what I was doing, that’s when I tried a few paid lessons and soon realize where I went wrong.

Well I didn’t really go wrong anywhere it was the site owners on the free guitar lesson sites who had things wrong and then I was learning mistakes. Heck I can make mistakes all by myself, I don’t need someone to be teaching me mistakes.

So in conclusion my suggestion is to go for paid acoustic or electric guitar lessons online and leave the free sites for maybe collecting songs in the future. I use a lot of free sites to get songs with chords on them but I learned how to play electric guitar first.

The site I am suggesting today, for learning to play electric guitar is Jamorama.

 Page 1 of 2  1  2 »