How To Get Better At Guitar - 7 Essential Tips

The following tips are the result of 'lightbulb' moments. Those times when you realise what you've been doing something completely wrong for the last 20 years!

If you can learn from these tips, you should improve as a guitarist much more quickly than you would if you had to learn the slow way. I know for myself, I'm on a journey the same as everyone else and I need to go through this checklist regularly and see how I'm going.

Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded - Jimi Hendrix

These are essential tips that can help you to get better at guitar and go to the next level as a player.

1. Play With Lots Of Different Musicians

Play with as many different people as possible. If possible, play with people better than you. That's how you keep learning. You can practice all of your techniques, theory, rhythms, etc on your own and then forget all that when you get in a room with other musicians. You are PLAYING music, not thinking music. Play from your heart and your hands, not your head. Don't forget to watch and listen to how others are playing and responding to each other.

2. Never Stop Learning New Songs

Learning new songs will guarantee to keep you out of any rut you may be in. A song can take you away from your normal style and expose you to something new. Don't forget the music on TV and movies. People that write music for movies and commercials are professionals - they know their stuff. Lots of stuff to learn. Movies especially... Trying to create a mood? Soundtracks are designed for just that. Lots to learn compositionally.

3. Find Your Part In The Song

Find where you sit in the song and then play your part. What is your role in the song? The bass can play in the octaves you can't (or at least, shouldn't). Don't try to take over. You shouldn't ever fight your drummer. Let them lay the foundation, and you just decorate. Don't try to be the "star". Find the pocket and do things to make the band sound better.

4. Practice Not Playing

Have you ever tried to not play anything for an entire verse or pre-chorus? It can be harder than you think. Remember, silence is your friend. It makes music sound organic instead of like a sprint or unstoppable robot! Don't always be in a rush, and don't be afraid to let a rhythm or a solo "breathe" between notes and strums. Keyword: Breathe.

5. Effects Don't Cover Mistakes

Don't rely on effects. A classic mistake is using too much delay. If you listen to a professional recording carefully, you'll notice that a lot of the guitar parts don't actually have much delay at all. Yet, when we play live, it can be an easy but bad habit to use too much delay.

Also, don't use too much distortion; too many pedals; too much "cover up". I found that learning to play clean with no pedals really helped me both with my technique and my overall tone. A lot of guys hide behind pedals and when you take them away they are very sloppy or cant find their touch. Try to play without them more often and master your playing so that when you add a pedal into the mix it only adds to your overall tone.

6. Practice Every Day!

How many guitar teachers have said that practice is the number 1 tip for improving. But remember, don't just practice, you need to practice the right things. Other wise you'll just be wasting time. 'Noodling' is not as productive as 'drilling'. Also, practicing unplugged is usually more productive.

Don't forget to practice to a click. Try to play in time, both rhythmically and with single note lines.

Be productive. If time is a problem for you and you only have 30 minutes a day, just plan it: 10 minutes on arpeggios, 10 minutes on chord voicing, 10 minutes on melody work, or something like that.

7. Find melodies in the scales.

To get away from going mindlessly up and down a scale pattern, try to start concentrating more on playing inspired melodies. This is where the magic of music exists. Find your own melodies within the scales and let that shine in the song. This is another reason why some people don't like super-fast shredders that simply go up and down the scales really fast. It can start to sound boring and 'same-old-same-old'.

Million-mile-an-hour chops leave me cold. Vocalists don't go didididididi. Why should guitars? - Jeff Beck

Have Fun!

In summary, remember to have fun! Or at least look like you're having fun; smile, move around, interact, have energy. The more fun you can have, the more others will have fun around you.

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing -Dale Carnegie

Hi, I'm Danny Dyson and I'm the writer and creator behind RockYourGuitar.com.

I have been playing guitar for over 20 years now and love it more every day.

Rock Your Gutiar is a blog aimed at those interested in learning how to master guitar, growing as a musician, and keeping up to date with the latest news in the guitar world.

Hope to see you soon! http://www.rockyourguitar.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Danny_Dyson

The Best Tips For You On How to Sing Better

Just like the other performing arts, singing is a field that requires you to constantly challenge yourself and push yourself to the limits. There is no point in doing the same comfortable exercises over and over again because these will only cause your voice to stagnate with time, so that you will see little to no improvement.

The secret to keeping yourself out of a singing rut is by advancing to more complicated and challenging exercises and techniques, as well as experimenting with other music genres. If you expand your field of music study, you will be able to achieve a more comprehensive identity as a singer.

Refrain from being snobbish by sticking to your musical preferences and tastes. You will need to widen your music horizons. One way to do this is by singing accompanied by musicians who share the same interests as you. Not only is this experience important in terms of performance, it will also give you an idea on how to fit in rhythmically with a group.

The three main factors that will determine the type of singer that you will become in the future are natural ability, practice and resourcefulness.

At the start of your singing lessons, you should be made to undergo basic voice exercises, including warm-ups, scale exercises (singing the simple keys C, G and D), tremolo and arpeggios.

As you progress, you will want to sing certain songs. Whether you have an instructor or you are self-taught, you will have to break up the song in order to learn it by section.

When you reach the intermediate level, you should already consider challenging yourself more. Do not limit yourself to the C, D and G scales and mid-song key changes. Go on to exercising difficult scales with more accidentals. Whereas during the beginner stage you break the song up into sections, this time, try organizing the song yourself. You should also start practicing your improvisation by now, so that you can apply all the techniques and skills that you have acquired. One way is by experimenting on how different scales can work together, such as the G scale with the E minor scale.

As a growing singer, it is very important to not just limit yourself to your musical tastes. Listen to a wider variety of music, and take special note of the differences in styles and techniques. You can learn something new just by listening to other genres like classical, pop, rock, country, Latino and opera. Music is a worldwide phenomenon. In the 21st century alone, you will see singers experimenting with various musical styles, creating a fresh fusion sound.

Right from the start, you should have a good understanding of rhythm. What's the point of being a fantastic singer if you have no sense of rhythm? If you have problems keeping in time with the music, buy a metronome. This will help you to become more conscious of the time signature of any song that you would like to perform.

Download the FREE EBOOK on How to Sing Better in 90 Days and it will be big help in your singing lessons! Learn to Sing almost professionally in NO TIME

Get it while it is available! Learn how to sing better Today!

While it is not crucial to learning, it will help to have some kind of gauge on your progress as a singer. Set specific time frames for learning and mastering techniques before advancing to the next level. Also, set reviews for the basics that you have learned in previous lessons. This will enable you to keep a solid foundation as you progress through your singing career.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacaranda_Flagg