“The first person who showed me that I could be a maker of music was one of my best friends. It’s like, you can’t see yourself doing something until you see somebody else doing it. Other people were encouraging me singing, but this was the first time that I could see myself writing songs and playing guitar.” – Cam

If you closely watch some of the top guitarists in the world, irrespective of whether they play classical or heavy rock, they all have one thing in common and that is a simple yet strong technique, meaning that they are properly applying all those basic requirements for playing great guitar.

Good technique is the only way and most proficient way to play guitar, putting your hands and fingers in the right place at the right time. Below are some tips on how to develop a good guitar playing technique.

Practice Standing Up and Sitting Down: Playing your guitar hanged across your shoulder is a very different posture to sitting down. On a chair, you tend to guess to see what your hands are doing (avoid this habit). And when you practice standing, everything changes to a different position. Make sure you have a good guitar strap and adjust it to a comfortable length, and regularly practice playing the guitar sitting down and standing up.

Take it slow and steady: Do not think about playing your guitar fast or trying to know how fast you can play. Good technique is about precise finger placement and hitting the right notes every time, particularly when it comes to scales and playing complicated bar chords. Concentrate on playing the guitar right and speed would come automatically.

Practice with a Metronome: Use metronome while practicing for better timing and rhythm. Although it will feel a bit obstructive at first, a metronome will make you a more consistent guitar player. Practice every day strumming your guitar with a metronome, and you will notice significant improvements in your timing in a short duration of time.

Get one-on-one Lessons from an expert: Lessons are not just for beginners. Every guitar player has a soft spot which should be taken care of before it becomes a major problem and a good instructor may help you with it. It is never too late to learn from a professional guitar instructor. And if you are not sure of one, then contact GuitarConfidence.com.

Guitar Confidence’s trainer Rex has over 40 years of experience as a musician, music instructor, arranger and performing artist. He has been a guitarist in San Francisco Bay Area and New York City recording and performing with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Wild Cherry, The Drifters, Tammy Wynette, Jackson Brown, The Pointer Sisters, Tower of Power and many others.

Rex’s guitar teaching system is great for beginners and accomplished guitar players. And, if you are located in the Greater East Bay Area, you have the option of having your lesson in the convenience of your own home. Guitar Confidence provide private in – home guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, banjo and mandolin lessons throughout the East Bay including: Benicia, Berkeley, Clayton, Concord, Crocket, Danville, Dublin, Fairfield, Hercules, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Vallejo, & Walnut Creek, CA.

“When I die, I want people to play my music, go wild and freak out and do anything they want to do” – Jimi Hendrix

Consistently being named as the greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine and almost every other publication that has ever compiled such a list, Jimi Hendrix combined matchless brilliance, an improvisational spirit, and touching soul every time he picked up the Guitar.

In a brief career, Jimi Hendrix expanded all the explosive possibilities of the electric guitar. He was a master at mixing different type of music to produce a new musical sound out of his electric guitar. His innovative and creative method, often experimenting with amplification created astral-quality feedback and roaring distortion. Considering Jimi Hendrix could not read or write music, it is astonishing that his rise in the music industry took only four years. His musical passion had influenced and is still influencing some of the greats from David Bowie, Robert Smith and Freddie Mercury to moderns like Matt Bellamy, Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme.

Below are some of my personal favorite of Jimi Hendrix:

Voodoo Child (Slight Return): This song was released as a single just after the death of Hendrix and it shot to Number One in the UK. It did not even crack the Hot 100 in America, but it has been since played on classic rock radio around 10 billion times.

Purple Haze: The opening track on the US version of his debut LP, Purple Haze presented Jimi and his backing band with 2:50 of scorching, fuzzed-out and psychedelic glory.

Little Wing: A stunning guitar solo, it was the first time that Jimi recorded his guitar through a Leslie speaker, creating the wave-like echo sounds that make it’s guitar parts so distinct.

Machine Gun: Recorded during the Vietnam War, it one of the most frenetic anti-war songs of the era. At the end of the song, it sounds just like an actual machine gun, and drummer Buddy Miles’ background vocals sound like the screams of a war.

The Wind Cries Mary: It was written by Jimi, the band spent hours, working in the studio on the song, but finally decided to with the very first take. It was the third single of the group.

Jimi Hendrix only lived to the age of 27, but in this short span, he created a remarkable collection of songs that continue to make Jimi Hendrix as one of the most popular stars in the world of rock music.

If you are inspired by Jimi Hendrix and want to learn guitar just give “Guitar Confidence” a call. Our instructor Rex has now been doing mobile guitar lessons for many years and brings the joy of guitar to anyone who wants to learn. We travel to over 30 cities in the East Bay and South Bay areas; including Danville, San Ramon, Dublin & Pleasanton.

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” – Plato

Listening to some of your favorite songs can promptly rejuvenate you, but did you know that music has health benefits too. We are surrounded by music, we listen to a romantic song when we are in love, play inspirational music to increases the motivational level of sportsperson and even play sad music when we are not ok so that it goes with the mood.

Music not only lifts your mood but also has a positive effect on your well-being. I’m Rex, a guitar instructor and founder of Guitar Confidence. Here are a few benefits of music and how it helps us in our well-being.

Music acts as a pain reliever: Music therapy can help with pain management. It helps patients suffering from pain in a physical, mental, and emotional way. Peter Vuust, of the Center for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience at Aarhus University, Denmark in a study in 2013 provided musical therapy to patients who suffered from fibromyalgia which causes chronic pain in the muscles and joints. Surprisingly he found that these patients experienced less chronic pain after listening to some of their favorite music. Peter Vuust puts forward two concepts for this effect; one music can trigger the release of opioids in the brain which actually is morphine produced by the body which reduces the feeling of pain. The second concept is that when a patient’s favorite music is played it distracts the attention of the patient from pain which decreases the pain.

Music reduces stress: Music can free you from stress, whether it’s your boss or neighbors that give you anguish, grabbing your guitar or any other musical instrument can help relieve stress. According to a study at Mind-Body Wellness Center and Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Applied Biosystems stress can be reduced on a genomic level by playing a musical instrument. Rocking out actually reverses your body’s response system to pressure. Playing guitar is a form of relaxation as it acts as a form of natural medicine. Playing guitar improves your focus, all your energy and focus gets concentrated on one and one thing only the instrument and the music it produces, relieving you from your everyday pressure. So, if you are looking to escape from your day to day pressures then you should learn guitar today.

Playing guitar can improve memory: Playing guitar can sharpen the mind based on a Scottish study which says that if you play guitar you apparently will have sharper brain function which can help guard against the mental decline in the future. Music and memory go hand in hand, learning guitar makes you use both parts of your brain which in turn boosts memory power. Intuitive thinking runs all the way to how guitarists learn. According to researchers at Vanderbilt University, guitarists get a better grasp of a song by looking at someone playing it, unlike other musicians who learn through sheet music.

Pumped up songs helps during workout: If you enjoy your exercise with your music then you would be pleased to know that workout and music make a very good team. According to a research at Brunel University, it has been found that listening to music while workout increases the endurance of body by up to fifteen percent.

Keeps the brain healthy: Music is a great medicine for brain and reverses it’s aging. Research conducted have found listening to music improve cognitive function. “If you want to keep your brain engaged throughout the aging process, listening to or playing music is a great tool. It provides a total brain workout.” – Charles J. Limb, M.D., Johns Hopkins otolaryngologist

Both listening and playing music has great benefits, music can reduce stress, blood pressure; and improve the quality of sleep, mood of people, mental alertness, and memory.

Why not learn and play music, and at the same time enjoy the healthy benefits of music.  If you want to learn a musical instrument visit guitarconfidence.com. Guitar Confidence covers over 30 cities in the East Bay and South Bay areas; including Benicia, Berkeley, Clayton, Concord, Crocket, Danville, Dublin, Fairfield, Hercules, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Vallejo, & Walnut Creek, CA.

A brief background on Guitar Confidence, we provide lessons for Guitar, Ukulele, Banjo, and Mandolin. We are confident that you will find our unique teaching style and vast experience perfect for taking your learning skills to the next level.  And, if you are located in the Greater East Bay Area, you have the option of having your lesson in the convenience of your own home! That is we will come to your home and provide private in-home guitar, banjo, ukulele, and mandolin lessons.

“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music” – Billy Joel

For decades different music genres like classical, jazz, rock, blues, hip hop, country, rap, bluegrass, folk, metal, etc. have evolved and ruled the heart, mind and soul of people. Music is a great force which can bring people together and create international peace, love and brotherhood.

Music is probably the best creation by man, and is probably the most powerful thing on this planet. Can you imagine how life would have been if there were no music? Well, I don’t even want to think about it, life without music would have been tragic. Music has been wired into the very existence of our life for centuries. Music keeps us going actually, and a life without music would be the last thing on earth we would have wished for. Music makes this world lively and active, it brings cheers and happiness in our life. An artist playing a musical instrument and the person who listens to it, both equally enjoy the music. Music is one of the most cherished human experiences and everyone enjoys some sort of music. Music can not only be enjoyable it can also have a positive effect in our life in various ways.

You become cooler with music, “Mozart effect” which refers to a set of research results indicating that listening to Mozart’s music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as “spatial-temporal reasoning”. In short it will make you smarter. It is, also, said that music training at an early age helps develop certain parts of brain which are involved with language and reasoning.

Music improves creativity, according to a HuffingtonPost article, music is a great way to enter “mind-wandering mode,” which can unlock creativity. This article talks about Levitin, a professor of neuroscience at McGill University, according to whom there are two primary modes of brain operation: Either you’re paying attention to something very closely and you’re deeply engaged in a task, or you’re in “mind-wandering mode”. It’s in this “mind-wandering mode” where most of the creativity takes place, and we’re able to come up with innovative solutions to problems.

Music reduces stress and anxiety, the calming effect of music is a well-established fact. It has a unique link to our emotions, and hence it is very effective in managing stress. According to a study at Mind-Body Wellness Center and Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Applied Biosystems stress can be reduced on a genomic level by playing a musical instrument.

Music, the universal language, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet in the 19th century said that music is “the universal language of mankind.” Because of the kind of effect music has in our life, music has crossed boundaries to unit people from different countries, background and cultural heritage. There is nothing like music to take you to a place in time. Music bridges the cultural divide: a study conducted by Researcher Thomas Fritz from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany has shown that regardless of culture or previous exposure, people in Cameroon were accurately able to recognize three emotions in Western music – happiness, sadness and fear.

Music is everywhere, and it can set the ambiance in any room by only changing the style and sound of it. Soft music in a restaurant creates a great romantic ambience for a couple, while loud and inspirational music increases the motivational level of athletes before a match.

So, if you want to add music to your life by learning to play an instrument, then just visit my website guitarconfidence.com and give me a call. I’m Rex and I have been doing mobile guitar lessons for many years. I will come to your home and give you private guitar lessons at your home. Guitar Confidence covers over 30 cities in the East Bay and South Bay areas; including Danville, San Ramon, Dublin & Pleasanton.

Come join us and feel the music within you!

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” – Bob Marley

Ukulele is a globally popular instrument and a great way to enjoy music together anywhere anytime. For its dainty size, the ukulele can make a powerfully cheerful sound, and it’s an instrument both beginners and expert players can learn and easily carry around.

A brief background on Ukulele Confidence, we provide ukulele lessons and we are confident that you will find our unique teaching style and vast experience perfect for taking your learning skills to the next level.  And, if you are located in the Greater East Bay Area, you have the option of having your lesson in the convenience of your own home! That is we will come to your home and provide private in-home ukulele lessons.

Although the ukulele is still associated with traditional Hawaiian music and culture, the development of different types of ukulele has led to the popularization of the instrument in many different musical settings. Over the past twenty years, the ukulele revival has maintained momentum, with a number of ukulele players becoming very popular well into the new millennium. The 1990’s ukulele revival has also led to the instrument being used increasingly in popular (pop) music performances and recordings, as well as being a common instrument for performing covers of popular music too.

The ukulele has also been widely celebrated for its increasingly social side. The ease of strumming along to sung melodies and playing together has made this little instrument a popular choice as a second instrument, and has also led to the formation of ukulele clubs, orchestras and social groups around the world. Ukulele performers often encourage concert goers to bring along their own ukulele and join in for a song or two, and group learning of the ukulele is increasingly popular. The ukulele has also been more widely used as a beginners’ instrument for children in recent years.

Our master trainer Rex has over 40 years of experience as a musician, music instructor, arranger and performing artist. He has been a musician in San Francisco Bay Area and New York City recording and performing with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Wild Cherry, The Drifters, Tammy Wynette, Jackson Brown, The Pointer Sisters, Tower of Power and many others. His formal education was at Berklee College of Music, Boston MA where he majored in music arranging & composition. Mr. Bell studied classical guitar at New England Conservatory, Boston MA. He has studied under musical greats, e.g., Ron Parker, Harry Lahee, George Barrey, Warren Nunes, Don Haas and Judy Davis.

So what are you thinking about! Come along and book your free ukulele lessons. We guarantee you it will be great fun.