In the vast pantheon of Irish Ballads, there are those you almost never hear, those that are quite common, and those that have been done so often you may never want to hear them again, or at least you’ll want to give them a rest for a while. That said , almost all of them […]
Gypsy Jazz Picking (Rest-Stroke Picking)
Today I’d like to chat about the style of picking used in gypsy jazz guitar, otherwise known as ‘rest stroke’ picking. This picking technique is what allows gypsy jazz guitarists to produce such a strong sound on their instrument, and once mastered, is a real asset to your guitar playing. To get started using this technique, […]
5 Acoustic Guitar Fixes Using Super Glue
There are three or four different types of glue on your acoustic guitar right now, and one of them is super glue. While your acoustic guitar is a piece of woodworking mastery, and luthiers used refined techniques (and a host of tools!) to shape, bend, fit, and smooth those beautiful tone woods together… at the […]
A Very Useful Gypsy Jazz Arpeggio (with TAB, picking, & fingering)
Today I’d like to share with you a very useful shape. One of the most versatile arpeggios you can learn as a gypsy jazz guitarist is shown below. The great thing about this shape is that you can use it to improvise over three chord-types. For instance, in the example given above, if you treat the 3rd fret on […]
10 Vocal Tips Just for Guitarists
Can I tell you a secret? As a vocal coach, some of my favorite students are guitarists. That’s because without learning to play guitar, I never would have become the singing teacher I am today. I actually didn’t even care about my voice until I started playing and singing in the train stations of San […]
Top 5 Delay Pedals for Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar
Acoustic fingerstyle guitar players use delay pedals to expand their sound and create unique sonic atmospheres. As with all guitar effects for acoustic guitar, a little goes a long way. But that little bit can be magical. Just to set the stage, the definition of “delay” in music (straight out of wikipedia) is: …an audio […]
