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, […]
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 […]
An Introduction to Traditional Irish Guitar
GUEST POST – I thought I might offer a few words in this post about a guitar genre that rarely gets the spotlight outside of its own community of players, namely that of guitar accompaniment in traditional Irish music. Now when I say “traditional Irish music ” – or “trad” for short – I’m referring […]
How To Sing And Play Guitar At The Same Time
GUEST POST – Learning to sing can be a tricky task at the best of times, but when you also add playing guitar to the mix it’s easy for your playing or singing to go a little haywire as you focus on those fancy licks or that high note. This tutorial will show you a […]
30 Great Songs for Absolute Beginner Guitarists (+ Video Lessons)
Here are 30 songs that you can tackle as a beginner. They sequence up from very simple to slightly more complicated. They cover a variety of genres and styles. Most importantly, you’ll be playing real music within a very short period of time. And I have to come clean: I didn’t come up with this […]
