Ravi Singh, Author at Guitar Confidence

Best practices of renowned guitarists you need to emulate

April 27, 2020 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

As a guitarist, you will face many challenges and difficulties. Good practice habits will help you to face these challenges and make the progress you wish for. Poor practice habits, on the other hand, lead to frustration and disenchantment, and ultimately you are likely to get a discouraged practising guitar.

Good practice habits are easy to apply. Here are four habits that will ensure you get the most out of your guitar practice and avoid the pitfalls of boredom, frustration or injury.

They Practice Regularly

An instrument is a lifetime commitment. A successful musician realizes that there’s never enough to learn. Too many guitarists make the mistake of thinking that learning a few chords and throwing on the right shirt is going to buy them a sustainable career. Playing an instrument is not about placing fame above passion. Successful guitar players fall in love with practising to the point where practice doesn’t feel like practice.

They Constantly Seek Out Inspiration

We all have our heroes, those players who we aspire to be like. It’s extremely important to have people who you can draw inspiration from. When you’re feeling inspired, it’s a lot easier to reach your goals as a musician. Successful musicians know this and regularly draw inspiration from their favourite artists. At the same time, don’t compare yourself to other musicians. Be your own unique artist.

Have a routine

To have regular, short, focused practise sessions you need to know what to work on in advance. If you come to your guitar practise sessions with only a vague idea of what to work on you will waste time figuring it out.

Set aside a regular time to plan out your practice in advance. Identify the skills and knowledge you want to acquire and set practice activities for them. You can plan as far or as little ahead as you want. At a minimum, it’s a good idea to map out at least one week’s practice.

They Play With a Good Rhythm Section

This point may seem slightly bizarre, however, your performance as a guitarist is strictly dependent on your rhythm section. The key ingredient that successful bands get right is a good drummer and bass player. In some cases, an excellent rhythm section can determine whether your band is going to stick out or blend in with the herd.

They Maintain Their Gear

Maintaining your instrument is important – sometimes more than most guitar players realize. If you gig on a regular basis, a string change is necessary at least once a month to maintain the optimal tone and playing ability. Keeping your fretboard clean is also extremely important. Dirty fretboards compromise your tone and playing ability. It’s important to give your fretboard and guitar body a good cleaning on a regular basis to remove sweat and dirt.

How to Improve Your Guitar Learning Skills with Online Classes

April 20, 2020 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

If you are looking forward to learning guitar in the comfort of your living room, you can get help from online classes. Currently, numerous guitar schools have dedicated guitarists who take beginners through learning guitar, step-by-step. After a series of online sessions, a beginner may be able to hit various chords and perhaps even play along with a certain tone. Besides learning guitar at your convenience, online guitar classes persuade you to free up more time to learn how to play the guitar. Below are a few ways that will prove helpful in improving your guitar learning skills with online classes.

Dedicate Specific Practice Time

All renowned guitarists are known for their dedication to practice. They had a specific time of the day when they would spend ample time with their guitar, especially as beginners. It will be prudent to set a fixed time for everyday practice. Regular practice will help you learn more, get motivated and obtain solid progress. Without a doubt, you will learn various chords and different styles of holding your guitar from online guitarists. If it gets hard to keep up with practice schedules, put reminders on your mobile device or computer.

Play Along with the online guitarist

Learning to keep up with a beat is an essential skill you need to acquire as a guitarist. When learning online, follow the illustrations of the guitarist and ensure you play along. This requires a lot of keenness. In case the guitarist is too fast, you can save the online video so that you can replay it and play along at your own time. Practice playing along as much as you can. It is worth noting that this actually starts very slow. However, it becomes faster and effective when you continue practising.

Find the Right Guitar Teacher

Nowadays, almost everyone is claiming to be a guitarist. Some people have even unethically conned guitar beginners in the disguise of being online guitar instructors. As a beginner, it is wise to research vastly to obtain the best online guitar teacher. You can also make sure that the online teacher has a forum where you give feedback on your progress. A good online guitar trainer will give room for feedback and understand the weaknesses that he or she needs to help you manoeuvre.

Record-Listen-Learn-Improve

Currently, you can be able to record or download any online material. Online guitar classes are not an exception. You will be able to use your iPhone, iPad, computer or any recording device to record and use the recording to practice as many times as possible. Moreover, you can also record yourself while practising and send the video as feedback to your online tutor. This way, you can get tips on how to improve.

If you are learning how to play the guitar online, evaluating your progress is vital. It keeps you focused and helps you know whether you are getting value for your time and money. Besides, it helps you to rate your progress, keeps you going and gives you the confidence to achieve your guitar objectives.

New Year Resolutions – Starting the New Year with Guitar Lessons

December 22, 2019 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

It is time that some of us are considering making New Year’s Resolutions! Possibly, one of your major resolves is learning how to play the guitar. Even so, you are at crossroads on whether or not to join guitar lessons. Undoubtedly, you may know quite a few guitarists who have taken lessons to become the best. In contrast, several among the best guitarists may have not taken lessons.

Even so, they may play with a similar ability. However, taking guitar lessons helps you gain competence within a short period. Without formal training, playing guitar may become hard especially for most beginners. If you will begin guitar lessons next year, here are some tips to consider for gradual and perfect progression.

Schedule a Regular Practice Time

Often, people commit to practicing playing the guitar every day. Some even intend to play the guitar at least five times a week but end up failing to meet the target. Perhaps, other commitments keep on getting in the way. Nonetheless, practicing schedules will work better if you carefully examine daily routines. That will help you to create a practicing schedule that does not clash with anything else. Consider guitar-practicing sessions to be like other priorities and never fail to undertake them. That way, you will be serious with gaining excellent guitar playing skills. The process will not stop and your improvement as a guitar player will be significant.

Set Achievable Goals

You will agree that some of your resolutions never come true, year in, year out. It is illogical for you not have asked yourself the reason for this. Well, it is because most of them are not achievable! This year, we want you to have goals that are more realistic. For your guitar lessons and practicing sessions, set achievable goals. Make simple milestones that may include mastering a chord or singing and playing along with your favorite song. That is very achievable and reminds you that you are making progress. Gradually make other challenging goals when you achieve the previous ones.

Use a Metronome

Sometimes, a metronome can be frustrating little devices. However, they make you a better guitar player over time. Metronomes often work like a mirror and will tell you whenever you make mistakes that you cannot notice easily. Once you go offkey or miss chords, the metronome will obviously identify the mistake. It is a great way to chart your guitar prowess progress. You will get a chance to rectify your mistakes and become better. It is essential to note that there is no excuse for not having a metronome with all the smartphone apps at hand.

Take Guitar Lessons

At the age of 14, Joe Satriani was under the mentorship and training of the world’s greatest guitarist of all time, Jimi Hendrix. Currently, he is one of the most famous guitarist cum musician in the United States. That implies that every great guitarist got guitar lessons in their journey to greatness! Therefore, it is time for you to be enrolled in a guitar lesson. You will get help and steadily rise to fame through guidance and commitment to a learning path.

Why Holidays Are Always the Best Time To Acquire a Guitar

November 26, 2019 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

Black Friday and festive season sales always dominate the adverts when it gets to this time of the year. As we approach the final month of the year, super sale deals come our way faster than we even anticipate. Whereas most people may think that this happens only with electronics, music instruments are not an exception. Right now, musicians are expecting to see an absolute bounty of amazing deals.

The sheer volume of these juicy deals for musicians gets overwhelming. For this reason, this article looks forward to assisting you with some of the reasons why you need to bag home your dream guitar. Below are the reasons why holidays are the best time to acquire a guitar.

Discounts

For marketers of musical instruments, the holiday season means something different than it does for everyone else. They get a moment to share their love for music with other people, without necessarily singing or playing the instruments. At this time, all they have is generosity and sentimental sharing. They share with customers the joy of music by offering discounts for almost every instrument. Of course, everyone likes paying less. For this reason, you should take advantage of the countless offers that come our way during the festive season.

Ensured Stock

Throughout the year, the chances are that we tend to settle for the available stock at stores. That implies that we, at times, opt for the second-best quality. However, this does not have to happen during the festive season. Usually, stores are packed to the brim with a stock of everything that is anticipated to sell in high volumes. In most instances, customers rarely end up wasting their money with items of low quality.

Additionally, buyers are never left with the option of buying something completely different from what they wanted for lack of stock. With that said, musicians will hardly ever lack the guitar of their choice during the festive season. Actually, they have a variety of choices to select from during this season.

Free accessories

Over 80% of musicians who buy their instruments during the festive season report that they have a high quality. Moreover, they are offered with their respective accessories. For a guitar, you may get a dealer offering frees accessories including picks, stands, straps, etc. this is considered to be a great offer since it will save you money. These gifts will mainly come during the festive season.

Guaranteed Delivery Times

According to a recent survey, many people who want to buy a musical instrument search for it on the internet before visiting physical stores. It is relieving when the store can deliver the item. This goes a long way to reflect on how buyers of musical instruments do. Most buyers would like it if they would get the option of getting a guitar being delivered to their premises. During the festive seasons, most dealers offer free delivery services. You will not have to worry about getting that guitar you saw being sold by a dealer in another state. Be certain that such sellers will be willing to deliver them regardless of the location of their buyers.

Tips for Buying the Best Guitar This Holiday

November 20, 2019 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

Certainly, buying your first guitar involves considering several factors, including the kind of music you want to play. Our experts have compiled some facts to help you avoid making a hasty decision and purchasing the first guitar you come across. The information will also help evaluate the kind of guitar you want to buy within a specific budget. If you are keen for more info, check out our comprehensive guitar-buying guide below.

Get the Right String Action

String action is the measurement of the space between the guitar strings and the surface of the fret. If the action is too high, it will be difficult to play the guitar. Besides, it may get very painful for a beginner’s fingers. When you are buying a new guitar this holiday, look for one with low action. Ideally, it should range between 1-2.7 millimeters for electric and acoustic guitars. For nylon-string classical guitars, the string action should be 3-3.6 millimeters. You can have the string action of your new guitar adjusted or set up professionally

Buy the Guitar, Not the Brand

The most experienced guitar players around the world recommend that one should not buy a guitar based on the brand name. Notably, some guitars are may be of very high quality but from an unknown brand.

On the other hand, a guitar may be from a known brand but with very low-quality material and accessories. That implies that one must be vigilant to check the quality of the guitar and not the brand. If you are not sure, you can ask for referrals from guitar teachers or seasoned musicians.

Budget for the Accessories

Once the actual guitar is purchased, one may forget about obtaining the extras needed due to anxiety and excitement. Some accessories that may be required to make playing guitar effective including an amp, guitar cases a stand, among others. When buying your guitar, you need to obtain some of few common accessories that are budget-friendly for beginners. You need to select picks of the right material and thickness that can help you strum or pluck without using your fingers all the time. When choosing straps, it would be best to check the length depending on the desired length or type of guitar that you have acquired.

Be Ready To Spend

You can spend all the money in the world on a guitar. Even so, your first guitar as a beginner does not have to cost that much. Typically, a good guitar for a beginner should range between $200 and $500. When buying a guitar this holiday, check to ensure that you get a discounted price that is between the recommended price ranges. Even so, avoid buying a cheap guitar that is probably costing less than $150. It is prudent to note that expensive guitars are more durable, have better tone, and are easier to play. Therefore, you could spend more than the range suggested here. The more you spend, the better your guitar will be.

Tips on How to Play the Guitar While Singing Along

November 3, 2019 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

It is no secret that singing and playing guitar at the same time is a much-coveted skill. Nonetheless, many guitarists will attest to the fact that much of it remains a mystery. Notably, a good sense of timing and the ability to keep up with the rhythm is essential. That is similar to having the aptitude to synchronize two different actions. However, all this can be mastered just like everything else you learn about playing the guitar. For a beginner, it would be best to learn how to play guitar and before practicing how to play and sing simultaneously. Otherwise, you can use the following tips to obtain proficiency.

Master the guitar part

When learning to play along with a song, get to grips with the guitar part first. This includes listening to the tuned of the song and possibly trying to play along with the original recording. Of course, you can be able to notice the guitar tunes in a song as an instrumentalist. That will give you a good sense of when chord switches and when to strum in harmony with the lyrics. In case you struggle with any particular part, work on it until you get it right.

Start with a simple song

It is vital to start with a simple song regardless of whether or not you are an experienced guitarist. Do not forget that the main aim is building up the ability to multitask and not trying to prove that you are a superhuman. Playing a hard song on guitar while singing along will prove futile at the start. Instead, choose a song with three or four chords. Know the song in terms of where the specific chords appear. In a nutshell, try getting familiar with the melody and inflections. Sing over the record and practice as many times as possible.

Practice with a metronome

To have better timing and rhythm, it will be best to practice using the metronome. Even though it may feel a bit deterring, the metronome will make you a more consistent player. This instrument provides a steady beat that helps a guitar player keep up with the rhythm timings of a song as you play. Spending ten minutes every day practicing a simple strumming pattern with a metronome will be helpful to master the beats. You will notice significant advances in your timing within a few weeks.

Know the syllables when the chords switch

Discover when certain syllables of a word are sung and play the correct notes. This is part of what it takes to learn how to play the guitar and sing at the same time. It mainly includes listening to the song severally and noticing different syllables in each word. Syllables are distinctive sounds that create words phonetically. Knowing the exact syllables in the lyrics helps in playing along with the chords in a song.

Hum the vocal melody while you play guitar

You can ease the process of singing and playing the guitar by humming the melody of a song. It will make you focus more on the notes and individual chords and play along with them more easily. Also, it makes you memorize the melody more so that you can freely and perfectly play along with the tone.

How to Structure Your Child’s Guitar Practice to Make Practicing More Feasible

October 20, 2019 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

Playing the guitar offers a life-time full of fun and learning. Children also benefit from learning how to play the guitar. Playing the guitar while young enhances the development of cognition skills. That can be carried over to school plus achieving greater success in other aspects of a child’s life. However, some parents fail to create a feasible guitar-practicing timetable. Consequently, this makes it hard for children to enjoy practicing how to play the guitar. In this article, we aim to help parents with the best approaches to ensuring that children remain motivated and focused while practicing.

Start with the basics

This will start with choosing the right guitar for your child. The market has a variety of guitar sizes to fit smaller bodies. For instance, quarter size, half size, and three quarter size guitars are a great match for children between the ages of four to eleven years. Full size may be suitable for children above the age of twelve years. Notably, getting the wrong guitar size may cause pain in the hands and arms. That may lead to significant frustration and the child will start avoiding the guitar practice sessions.

Get a teacher for your child

Getting the best guitar teacher can propel your child in developing the right attitude towards practice. Besides, teachers have a special way of making learners grasp concepts faster and swiftly than when leaning alone. The guitar teacher will understand your child’s weaknesses and strive to look for viable remedies. Be assured that lessons with a teacher will remain interesting and fun. The teacher will also choose interesting songs to keep practice vibrant and challenging songs to improve playing skills.

Motivate your child to Practice

Keeping a child motivated is one of the greatest hurdles you can ever encounter as a parent. This is a challenge that you will need to overcome for fruitful guitar practicing of a child. However, there are ploys you can use to support your child to avoid struggles and stress that can easily step in. It would be better to refrain from making your child feel as though practicing is a punishment. Encourage your child to practice as many times as possible to obtain flawlessness. More practice will help in developing dexterity, fine motor skills, and hand strength.

Timing and Length of the practice session

Children are less likely to recognize the long-term gains they will acquire from their efforts in anything they do. It would be best for a parent to remind a child about the benefits of persistence. Make the practice sessions more appropriate. Do not make the sessions too short or too long. Additionally, avoiding periods that the child is very tired will also prove to be helpful. Note that a practice session that kicks off with learning and ends with success is highly worthwhile and motivating to a child.

Make a collection of videos

One of the best and effective ways to engage kids is making short videos for learning purposes. They can easily copy the moves or recall what was learned during a lesson. You can get short videos with teachers showing simple strumming moves. This can go a long way in enhancing the practice of the right playing techniques.

Practical Tips for Guitar Beginners to Stay Focused and Inspired

September 20, 2019 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

For guitar beginners, the first few weeks of playing the guitar are very exciting. Learning how to play the guitar is deemed as the first step towards emulating the renowned musical icons. In addition, most beginners find it enjoyable to play their favorite jams, even though it is usually with an inconsistent rhythm. Nonetheless, the problem sets in when the first flushes of excitement and remaining focused have started fading away. This happens when one notices that they have quite a long way to go. Below are things that will open your thinking and renew your energy towards guitar playing to remain focused and inspired.

Build a Practicing Habit

This may sound like the usual cliché. However, this is the way to go! Creating a constant habit is an ultimate guide to having a regular and successful practice. Regular practice creates an addictive but effective interest that motivates one’s practice behavior. It makes a beginner want to pick up the guitar every time they have a leisure moment. It would be best to stick to the schedule even if one does not feel motivated. Having a practicing habit ensures that one does not procrastinate. With time, it will become a routine and practicing will be consistent and productive.

Set Limits

Even with a practicing schedule in place, it is prudent to set time limits. Without time limits during practicing, playing the guitar will turn into a demotivating affair especially for a beginner. That is because when playing for long sessions, one will notice flaws and varying rhythms that may put them off. Therefore, the most feasible solution is to set limits in every session. To build a good practicing habit, one can create a schedule to practice for not less than fifteen minutes each day. Setting limits helps in avoiding the likelihood of getting distracted and leaving the practice session halfway. It also facilitates maximum productivity and saves time.

Engage a Proficient Teacher

We are living in an era where one can learn how to play the guitar through online videos. In spite of this, one should consider getting a guitar teacher. Progress will be quicker and there is a high tendency to gain more experience, guidance, and skills from a teacher. A guitar teacher saves you from making regular mistakes. That propels you towards achieving your goals quicker. It is imperative to note that the teacher helps in structuring a learning process that will aid in gradual improvement.

Listen to Lots of Eminent Music

Listening to great music inspires one to pick the guitar and play along. That motivating factor has made many beginners turn into pros. Most beginners report that it reminds you why you need to start practicing – ‘to become the next Jimi Hendrix’. Listening to music while strumming the guitar helps beginners to keep their enthusiasm and learning zeal alive. It stimulates the sense of improvement when you remember that the instrumentalist was in your position at some point. This motivation and passion instilled by listening to music when playing the guitar have proven to be fruitful by many guitarists.

Five Essential Things Every Guitar Player Should Strive to Achieve to Become a Pro

September 10, 2019 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

Similar to other skills, prowess in playing guitar is not achieved instantaneously. Becoming a pro guitarist is a gradual process that requires one to improve continually towards gaining mastery. It is a dream of every beginner to become a professional guitarist. For most beginners, they aspire to get their bread and butter through playing the guitar. However, the music industry is not hospitable to anyone who thinks that getting to the top will be a walk in the park. To survive the music business, one must strive to distinguish themselves from thousands of instrumentalists readily available to grab any chance. For that to happen, a beginner has to consider the following essential things in their quest to master the guitar.

Be Familiar with Guitar Anatomy

It is unexpected for one to become a guitarist if they do not know the anatomy of a guitar. Remarkably, one should have the details of a guitar on their fingertips. It would be best for one to familiarize themselves with the different parts of the guitar. You should know all the parts from the bridge to the headstock. That may take some time but becoming proficient at it would imply that one is gaining mastery. Whether you are playing an acoustic or electric guitar, understand everything about the guitar. Moreover, master how to hold your guitar in the right position. This helps in enhancing and making guitar training easy and enjoyable.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

This may seem repetitive. Nevertheless, practicing remains the most essential way for anyone to improve his or her guitar-playing knack. Beginners need to practice as many times as possible. Additionally, they need to make ample time for their practicing sessions. To be effective and productive, one needs to set up a practice schedule that will translate into a disciplined habit of practicing. Learning guitar is a commitment that beginners need to take seriously to make it to a professional level.

Add Variety in a Practicing Routine

Another crucial principle for beginners is adding a variety to a practicing routine. Having the same few drills in every session is focal towards gaining skills and reinforcing chord retention. However, it is not good to foster learning experience for beginners. That implies that new techniques are important in enhancing the mastery of guitar skills. Besides, it will make a practicing routine more fun and eliminate the boredom that could make you lose interest in practicing. To slot in a variety of rhythms, chords, and strums, try playing songs from different genres. Alternatively, one can practice different styles of playing the guitar.

Participate in Live Performances

After a measurable time of practicing and learning the art of playing the guitar, find a gig. Start small with small audiences to help in learning to play in front of live audience gallantry. That will cultivate live performance skill that is essential in making one a pro. Ideally, one is able to learn mistakes and improve their performing skills. Most guitarists recommend this as the best way to become a better musician. If you do not find any other musicians to play with, play solo. Gaining performance experience is the best teacher.

Constantly Evaluate Your Progress

There is no learning experience without evaluation. Before a practicing session, write down your expected outcomes. Indicate the songs, scales, chords, and riffs you are working on. During the session, identify your flaws and struggles and the best way to solve the issues. Ask people around you for their honest opinion concerning your ability to play guitar. Take corrections and criticism positively and make necessary improvements.

How to Learn Guitar Chords Quickly and Perfectly

August 20, 2019 by Ravi Singh Leave a Comment

It is evidently clear that learning chords may be daunting at first, even if you love learning and playing the guitar. You will not become Eric Clapton or Steve Vai within a week. However, you will enhance your skills if you have the determination and zeal to become a better guitarist. Changing chords while keeping up with a steady rhythm pattern may be one of the biggest challenges to a beginner. Initially, chords will flood your brain and can you may easily forget the names and positions of all of them. If you need to learn how to play the guitar like a pro, you need to start memorizing simple chords before anything else. Below are tips that will help you learn guitar chords quickly and perfectly.

Start by Learning Guitar Chords Slowly

Most of the guitarists that play on stage and in videos play really fast. It is only human to feel compelled to practice playing your guitar fast, perhaps, because that is what everyone else seems to be doing. However, the best way to learn guitar chords is slowly, especially as a beginner. You have to teach your fingers what to do and the chord to strike before thinking about speeding things up. Playing faster will naturally come later when your brain and fingers know what they are doing. Appreciate the fact that you can only run when you learn how to walk.

Do not Neglect the Difficult Chords

Often, playing some chords is difficult than others are. Nonetheless, it would be best not to shun the hard chords because they are a pain to learn. Even though it can be frustrating, spend more time on them. Practice these regularly and the musical doors will open to a lot more songs and some impressive playing. Believe you me; you will not regret it practising the “hard” chords. The best gold must endure the hottest furnace!

Print out chord diagrams

Chord diagrams display exactly where you should put your fingers and what fingers to use. In addition, the diagrams will help you understand what the chord shape is supposed to look like. For a beginner, trying to refer to these when you are stuck will help you visualize what the chord should look like when you play it. This is as opposed to Youtube videos and other Wikihow articles that may just be unmatched with your playing skills. You may stick chord diagrams somewhere where you will see them every day, as you practice.

Get a teacher

A professional guitar teacher will not only teach you the correct finger positioning and techniques. They will motivate you to keep on practicing what you learn in lessons. It may fascinate you to see how much you actually play when a teacher is telling you what to do. Learning guitar should not only be in lessons. You should make the habit of practicing a home. At Guitar Confidence we can help you to become the best guitarist. We will ensure that we take you through the path of learning chords quickly and perfectly.

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