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Guitar NeckSo You Want To Learn Guitar? Well, you've come to the right place. If you are just starting to learn to play the guitar, looking for Good Learning Tools like, How to Tune a Guitar, or Searching for Guitar Tabs, Guitar Sheet Music, Maybe just trying to improve your Guitar Playing Skills, we have what you're looking for.

Playing Guitar is a very rewarding experience, Most people Start out trying to learn to play the guitar with Some Songs from their favorate Bands, but Most People seemed to always have trouble learning the Chords and notes. If you have tried tried reading off a Fingering chart and then look at the book and then try to figure out where your fingers go on the Guitar. I'm Sure you had trouble, and that's why I Created the Easy Guitar Tool.Guitar Pickups

The Easy Guitar Tool is an easy to use tool the attaches to the Guitar Neck, it allows you to read sheet music or Tabs and Easily place your finger in the right places. The Easy Guitar Tool Lists Each Note on the Neck and an Easy to Read Color Reference Chart for every Chord. Click here to see how it works.

Easy Guitar Tool

The Easy Guitar tool is the Best way to Help you learn Guitar.

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You will learn to play the guitar like a pro in no time!

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Guitar News

Guitar Dreamz
Updated : Sun, 17 February 2008 15:24:21

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Guitar Blog

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Guitar Resources-Guitar tablature and chords

TablEdit Tablature Editor

Seattle Guitar Lessons

Project Guitar.com-The Internets data base for working on solid body electric guitars

Guitar Tips

Music Blog Top Sites

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Guitar Lessons, Guitar Tabs at Guitar Dreamz

Guitar

About this blog

I have been a music lover since childhood. Over the years I have come across a good many number of musical instruments and loved all of them. But the instrument which fascinated me the most was the Guitar. I loved its crisp woody sound and the way it is played. Since then I developed an interest for the instrument and started my endeavour in knowing it better. I am still in the process of knowing it and have a long way to go.
By this time I am sure you must have figured out the reason behind building this blog. Here I will showcase some of the facts of Guitar, some useful tips and other guitar related resources, which I have seen and learnt in all these years, from various other websites mainly for guitar lovers.
Please go through my blog and let me know what you feel about it. Any suggestions or comments would be highly appreciated. Thank you.
Please note that all the content of this blog are taken from various other websites which I have found useful for guitar lovers



The Indian Version of the Summer of 69 done by the students of Manipal University. You'll love it !!





Check out this mindblowing guitar battle of Victor Wooten !!



Choosing Your Guitar

Here are some important things to keep in mind when you're buying a new guitar:

1) Electric or acoustic?

One of the first things to decide is whether you want an acoustic or an electric guitar. I recommend that beginning guitarists buy an acoustic first. The main reason for that is that it's harder than you think to get an electric guitar to sound good. The nicest guitar in the world won't sound good if you plug it into a cheap amplifier. It also won't sound the way you expect it to. Most of the electric guitars you hear in recorded music are being played through an effects box -- or, more likely, a whole rack of them. If you start with an electric guitar, you'll also need to buy effects and an amplifier, and that can get very expensive. If you're just starting out and you're not even sure you're going to keep playing, you shouldn't spend that kind of money.
When you buy an acoustic guitar, you don't have to worry about all those extras. You just have to worry about finding something that feels and sounds good. Keep in mind that you can always buy another guitar later. Once you've been playing for a while, you'll know a lot more about what you want, and you'll be able to choose more wisely.

2) Don't buy cheap guitars.

If the guitar you buy doesn't feel good and sound good to you, you won't play it. I know many more people who have a guitar they never play than I do actual guitarists. That happens because a lot of people think, "Well, I don't know if I'll stick with this, so I won't buy a really good guitar." They buy the cheapest guitar they can find and think they're being practical. In reality, that's not practical at all. A cheap, badly made guitar is no fun to play. If a guitar is no fun to play, chances are very good that it will end up living in the back of your closet, right next to your lawn darts and your hula-hoop.
This doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money. There are a lot of good, inexpensive guitars out there.
If you're worried that you won't get your money's worth, remember that if you buy a good guitar and you never play it, you can always sell it and get most of your money back.

3) Play everything.

The best way to find out what features and feel you like is to play as many guitars as you can get your hands on. Play your friends' guitars. Go to guitar shops and play everything there. Take notes. There are a lot of factors to consider.
Don't be swayed by popular brand names. Just because a guitar has a name you've heard of on it doesn't mean it's a good guitar. It also doesn't mean it's right for you. It's best not to go shopping with preconceived notions about which guitars are "the best." Every individual guitar is different. Every manufacturer turns out the occasional dud -- and the occasional gem. Don't be a snob and refuse to look at unknown brands. You might miss out on something special.

What is it made of? Some cheap guitars have tops made of plywood. You don't want that, because over the years the guitar will pull itself apart. (It also won't sound very good, since plywood isn't known for its fine resonant qualities.) For acoustic guitars, a spruce or cedar top is ideal. Most acoustics you see will use one of these two for the top. As long as it's real wood, though, if you like the sound, it's probably fine. The back, sides, and neck can be just about any solid wood; mahogany and curly maple are both popular and attractive.
Electric guitars can be made of almost anything, but again, avoid plywood. Very hard woods are better, both because they're more durable and because they'll improve the guitar's sustain. Good electric guitars are usually heavy as a result. Ash, maple, and walnut are all popular.
The fretboard is usually either rosewood or ebony. (Fender Guitars puts lacquered maple fretboards on many of its models, which seem to hold up well.) Ebony is preferable, because it's extremely hard and won't wear as easily, but rosewood is perfectly fine. If the fretboard has been painted or stained, it's probably bad news.

Is it well-made? Look carefully. The frets should be even, and none of them should stick out more than the others. Many acoustic guitars have binding around the edges of the body. That's a good sign, but it isn't strictly necessary. Run your hands all around the edges of the body. If it feels like the wood doesn't quite meet properly in some places, don't buy that guitar. Hold the guitar up and sight down the neck. The fretboard may be either flat or slightly curved side-to-side, but if it doesn't look even, the neck may be twisted or warped. (This is something you're more likely to find in used guitars than new ones.) From the side, the neck should look straight. The tuning machines should work smoothly. (That isn't a primary concern, since you can replace them easily, but it gives you a clue about how meticulous the manufacturer is.) On an electric guitar, all the switches and knobs should work smoothly.

Does it feel good? This is the most important consideration. It's even more important than the guitar's sound. A guitar sounds different from behind than it does to your audience anyway. The thing you'll be most aware of is how it feels.

Is the neck a comfortable width? Different guitars have necks of varying widths. Classical guitars have very wide necks. Electric guitars usually have narrow necks. Most steel-string guitars' necks are somewhere in between. If you have thick fingers, a wider neck will make it easier for you to play. If you have small hands, a narrow neck is more comfortable.

Are the strings at a comfortable height from the frets? This is called action. Most people prefer a guitar with "low action," meaning the strings are relatively close to the frets. Low action makes a guitar easier to play.

Is the body a comfortable size? This is something a lot of people overlook. Most steel-string acoustic guitars have what's called dreadnought style bodies. These are big guitars, and if you're a small person they can be quite uncomfortable to play. When you sit down with the guitar in a normal playing position, you should be able to reach the soundhole easily, without having to stretch. If it's even a little uncomfortable, it will affect your playing. People play best when they're relaxed and comfortable. If the dreadnought body is a problem for you, consider a smaller guitar.

If it's an electric or acoustic/electric guitar, are the controls in a convenient place? Some guitar makers put controls in places where you might accidentally hit them while you're playing.

Does it sound good? Have someone else (a salesperson or a friend) play the guitar for you. Just because it sounds good to you when you play it doesn't mean it will sound good to your audience. What "sounds good" means is subjective, of course. If you like the sound, it sounds good.

4) What else do you need?

a) A case. A flight case or hardshell case is best. Cardboard cases and nylon gig bags don't provide nearly as much protection.
b) A strap. Pretty much any strap will do, but it's a good idea to buy a strap lock at the same time.
c) Something to tune with. Since you're just starting out, a pitch pipe or electronic tuner will make things easier for you.
d) Strings. The strings that are on the guitar when you buy it have been on it too long already. You need to change them. To start out, (for electric or steel string
guitars) buy "light gauge." They're reasonably easy to play, but aren't so thin you'll break them right away.
e) Picks. Buy a lot. You're going to lose them. To start out, get an assortment of sizes, shapes, and thicknesses, and try them all. Decide what works best for you.
f) Music. Unless you're already taking lessons, the best way to start out is to buy a book of songs with simple chord diagrams.

Anatomy of a Guitar


Anatomy of a guitar
(Image courtesy http://www.maximummusician.com/)

Body: The main part of the guitar, which connects to the guitar neck. This is also where the pickups and bridge are located.

Bridge: This is an area on the face of the guitar where the strings are connected to the face.

Frets: Vertical metal wires that sit vertically on the guitar neck.

Headstock: The area of the guitar at the end of the neck where the strings are tuned.

Neck: The long narrow part of the guitar where notes are fretted. Located between the body and headstock of the guitar.

Nut: The point on the guitar neck where the strings touch the neck and join the headstock.

Pickup Switch: A switch located on the body of the guitar used to select different pickups for different tones and sounds.

Pickups: A magnet wrapped in wires that sits on the face of an electric guitar, underneath the strings. When the strings move, it interferes with the magnetic field of the pickup, and that impulse is sent to the amplifier. The impulse is then modified at the amplifier.

Tremolo (aka Whammy Bar) :A bar connected to the bridge of the guitar. By moving the tremolo bar up or down, you can move the bridge, thus changing the pitch.

Tuning Pegs:The pegs located at the headstock, which are used to tune the guitar. The machine heads have gears that can tighten or loosen the string when turned.

Volume and Tone Control:Control knobs on the body of the guitar used to adjust guitar volume and tone.

Tuning your Guitar


Tuning your guitar is probably the most basic, but most important thing you should do before playing your guitar. Its probably easiest to just buy a guitar tuner, they cost about $20 and they're really the quick and easy way to tune your guitar with 100% accuracy. However, if you don't have a guitar tuner and you want to tune your guitar, here is the method that I use...there are many others, but I find this to be the easiest to understand.
We start at the 6th string, this is the fattest string on your guitar, and when played open its an E note. You will need either a harmonica, pitch pipe, tuning fork, or any other instrument so you can hear the note. All you do is turn the tuning peg until the note on the guitar sounds like the E note that you've just played. Once you have that first note you proceed in an orderly manner tuning one string after another. Press down on the 5th fret of the 6th string...then play the 5th string open. The 6th string with the 5th fret pressed down is the same note as the 5th string played open. Turn the tuning peg until the 5th string sounds like the 6th string with the 5th fret depressed.
Now the pattern continues and you press down the 5th fret on the 5th string...then play the 4th string open. Once again, tune until these two notes sound the same. Then move onto the next string...Press down on the 5th fret of the 4th string and tune the 3rd string to this note. Once you get to the third string there is a different pattern...you press down on the 4th fret of the 3rd string and then tune the 2nd string to this note. Finally you press down the 5th fret of the 2nd string and tune the open 1st string to this note.
There you have it, a tuned guitar, as a sidenote, you can tune your guitar without having the 6th string in tune with E...this just will mean that your guitar is in tune with itself, but you would need to tune it to the E if you wanted to play with other musicians.
This is also called standard tuning [E A D G B E] and is used by most guitarists, however, this is not the only way to tune your guitar. You can tune it in any variety of ways...but for the beginner this is the tuning that you'll most likely always use.

Weekly Lessons

This section will contain easy but useful lessons for beginners. It will be updated on a weekly basis. So please do keep coming back for newer lessons.

This week's lesson
To learn to play guitar is difficult and easy at the same time. The guitar is a fascinating instrument. It is very difficult to master in some areas but you will also find wells of easy to play but nice sounding treasures among the strings. In this learn to play guitar article I will give some examples of easy to play guitar chords and progressions. I will use guitar tab to help you find the notes on your guitar. In this article i will only use the first four strings on the guitar. In the guitar tab staff notation I will also use only the first four lines. The first string is the thinnest string on the guitar or the E-string. The first guitar tab progression will be in the key of D. The chords of the progression is Dmaj7 and Em7.

Here is the guitar tab:

1. --2---0---
2. --2---0---
3. --2---0---
4. --0---0---

The guitar chord progression above can be used as a little intro in a song in the key of D. It can also end a song or be used as a break between verses in a song. You can repeat the progression to make it last longer.

The next example will use the first chord and a Gm6 as the second chord. This little passage can also be used as an intro in a song if you like it:

1. --2---0---
2. --2---3---
3. --2---3---
4. --0---0---

The following example will use just one chord, the D chord and it will be moved two frets up. When you move the chord up it will not be D anymore. It will change into a E7 or if you want E/D. This means that you play an E-chord with the note D as a bass note.

The chords in this guitar chord progression will be D and E7. Try it!

1. --2---4---
2. --3---5---
3. --2---4---
4. --0---0---

When you move the chord up the two frets you don't need to lift you left hand fingers. Just release the pressure of your left hand fingers a bit and slide up to the new position.

This method of sliding to new positions can be used when you change between chords. Many times you can keep one or more of your fingers on your fingerboard and slide when you change to new chords. This will make it easier to find the chord and will speed up the chord change.

Our last little guitar chord progression will use the same progression with just a different way to play the E7 chord.

Remember that all these chord progressions can be repeated over and over as intros or something else in the key of D on your guitar.

1. --2---0---
2. --3---0---
3. --2---1---
4. --0---0---

Observe that you can slide with you first finger that you hoopefully have pressed down on the second fret of the third string when you play D. When you change to the second chord you can slide to the first fret.

The above progressions use the open D-string as a fundament so to speak and this bass note creates an illusion of peace in the chord progressions. In tonal music this bass note is called a pedal point.

If you like finger picking on your guitar I will give you a pattern that can be used with these chords. I will use the common classical guitar symbols for the right hand fingers. P denotes the thumb, i the first finger, m the middle finger and a the ring finger.

1. --a-----------a---
2. ----------m-------
3. ------i-----------
4. --p---------------

I hope you will find this little learn to play guitar lesson helpful. There are a lot of chord progressions that sounds nice but are very easy to play. In other words, I will be back!


Biographies of famous Guitarists


Here is a short biography of Carlos Santana:

Carlos Santana, Guitar God.

Carlos Santana
born: 20-07-1947
birth place: Autlan, Mexico


Born in Autlan, Mexico, Carlos Santana was influenced by the traditional music of his native country from a very early age. His unique fusion of Latin music and rock’n’roll eventually led to fourteen gold, and nine platinum, albums.

As a child, Santana’s father, an accomplished mariachi violinist, instructed him in music. In 1955, the family moved to the border town of Tijuana, and Carlos took up the guitar.

In 1961, Santana relocated to San Francisco, to join his family who had gone ahead of him a year previously. There, Santana was immersed in an exciting climate of change - political, cultural, and artistic.

1966 saw the debut performance of the Santana Blues Band, and such was the speed of their rise that, by 1969, the band was playing at the legendary Woodstock festival. In the same year their first album was released, entitled 'Santana'. It went double platinum, but was exceeded by their next record, 'Abraxas', which went quadruple platinum during 1970.

Carlos Santana’s achievements are as varied as his musical influences. He wrote the score to the film 'La Bamba', and in 1987 took part in the Rock’n’Roll Summit - the first ever joint US and Soviet rock concert. He also supports numerous civic and humanitarian causes, such as Blues for Salvador, San Francisco Earthquake Relief, and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Santana Band was the first group to receive the CBS Records Crystal Globe Award, for international album sales exceeding five million, and in 2000 Santana collected eight Grammy awards, with the song 'Smooth' winning both Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and the album 'Supernatural' picking up the prize for Album of the Year.


Famous guitarists


(Click on the pictures to visit thier respective websites)





















Steve Vai

Santana

John Petrucci

Mark Knopfler

Joe Satriani

Jimi Hendrix

Eric Clapton

Eric Johnson

Don Felder

Charlie Christian

B.B King



Famous guitar brands
Guitar Lessons, Guitar Tabs at Guitar Dreamz.

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