The Little Finger Myth

So, today we going to focus our attention on something that I think is very much overlooked in guitar playing circles- the little finger. …wait…what?! I hear guitarists talk all the time about “taming” their pinky fingers and trying to stop them flying all over the place! Technical efficiency and economy of effort depend on [...]

February 2, 2012 at 4:41 pm | Guitar Technique and Exercises | No comments

String Skipping Tips

Just a reminder of the main things to be thinking about when working on string skipping (i.e. when you’re using a pick and need to cross or change strings in the middle of a lick, solo or riff). At the end of the video, I take you through some exercises that you can use to [...]

January 16, 2012 at 8:51 pm | Exercises | No comments

Slippery Legato Lick

I describe this lick as “slippery” because when you’re playing it, it really feels like your fingers are just “Slipping” off the notes! Legato can be great to get that very fluid and smooth sound out of a guitar- and this lick is no exception. Oh, and one more thing, you won’t need your pick [...]

January 11, 2012 at 6:39 pm | Exercises | No comments

Improvisation on Nothing…

Here’s an interesting video from a Jazz musician called “Stefon Harris”. I wont spoil it too much, just to say that he gives some good insight into how improvisation really works. You see, there are no mistakes in improvisation, as long as everyone is listening and aware of what’s going on around them. Everyone just [...]

January 9, 2012 at 8:00 pm | Developing Your Ears, How to | No comments

More ways to make Exercises Fun!

January 4, 2012 at 3:32 pm | Exercises | No comments

Have you “hit a Wall”?

So, what am I talking about today? Well, you know those times when you keep practising and practising, but it just feels like you’re getting nowhere? No matter how hard you try, or how long you play for, you just don’t feel like you’re improving? That’s when you’ve “hit a wall” and can’t go any [...]

December 15, 2011 at 3:43 pm | Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

Are Technical Exercises a Chore?

This was originally supposed to be part of the Ways Exercises can be Fun series, but I’ve decided that this point is important enough to warrant taking over an entire post to itself! Don’t worry, there is a post coming up with the rest of the (now only 4) ways that technical exercises can be [...]

December 14, 2011 at 10:18 pm | Exercises, How to | No comments

5 Ways Exercises can be more fun!

Technical exercises. We all know they’re pretty much essential if you want to build up finger strength, independence, and overall dexterity! I’m sure, if you read this blog regularly, I’ve already convinced you about their merits… …but they can be…well…boring sometimes, don’t you think? So here’s my top ten ways to make those boring exercises [...]

December 7, 2011 at 5:32 pm | Guitar Technique and Exercises | No comments

String Skipping “Slalom”

Here’s another guitar technique exercise for you, as I haven’t posted one of these in quite a while! Sometimes when practising, it’s helpful to focus on one specific technique…and so sometimes I’ll create an exercise that focuses right in on perfecting that technique. If the exercise is really good, and I think it could help [...]

November 23, 2011 at 3:08 pm | Exercises | No comments

The last Five Things You should know…

This is a follow on from previous posts, so if you haven’t read “Are You making these Mistakes” and the next post “Making more Mistakes?“, then I suggest you go back to them…although the order in which you read these posts doesn’t really matter. Today I’m going to tell you about the last 5 (of [...]

September 28, 2011 at 11:00 pm | Guitar Technique and Exercises | 2 comments

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