A fretted plucked stringed instrument, usually having 6 strings.
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5answers
9k views
What is the first scale one should learn on guitar
The title really sums it all up but I'll try expand it slightly. Lets say I'm learning guitar and would like to improve my guitar work. Which of the scales should I learn first and why?
11
votes
4answers
696 views
What is a string skipping exercise?
What is a string skipping exercise? I've heard about this exercise a lot, including on this website. What is it? What skills does it develop? Can you give an example?
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5answers
741 views
Will hanging a guitar by its headstock damage it?
I like to leave my guitars out, otherwise I don't play them. I have a couple of wall hangings and stands all over the place too. Will hanging a guitar from the wall damage it at all? Warp the neck? ...
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9answers
440 views
Is there a technique to help you memorize the notes on the guitar?
The title says it all. Is there no escaping memorizing the neck note by note, or is there a nice technique for this?
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5answers
2k views
How to hide a flat pick in the right hand when switching to finger picking, Warren Haynes style
Watch any Warren Haynes video on YouTube and you'll notice that he often likes to mix it up and play solos with a pick but mid-way switch to using his fingers.
...
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votes
3answers
1k views
What is true bypass?
What is true bypass on a pedal? What are it's advantages? What are it's disadvantages?
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7answers
902 views
Should the picking hand little finger be resting on the guitar?
I notice I tend to rest the little finger of my picking hand on the body of my guitar, typically on the edge of the sound-hole, for greater accuracy and steadiness of the picking hand.
After extended ...
11
votes
3answers
297 views
How can I move beyond learning songs?
I can competently learn and play chord progressions and simple runs on the guitar but I do not feel like I understand the instrument. My playing progresses by memorizing songs.
However, I know that ...
11
votes
2answers
378 views
Properly fingering jazz chords?
I've seen these come up in a few places (Crazy Train and a couple of Jimi Hendrix songs come to mind offhand), however I've never figured how to work them in fluidly;the fingerings always seem ...
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votes
3answers
6k views
What's a good strategy for adjusting pole pieces?
One thing I fiddled with for a short bit once upon a time is adjusting the pole pieces on my Humbucker/P-90 equipped guitars. As a matter of fact, doing just that was the only way I could get my P-90 ...
11
votes
3answers
219 views
Basic Punk Rhythm Guitar--Snare Feels Like Down Beat
I'm a pretty good guitarist, and I can play some tricky rhythms (weird time signatures, syncopation, some of the easier djent stuff) but I've always had trouble when my drummer starts to play anything ...
11
votes
5answers
3k views
How can I minimize going out of tune when using the whammy bar?
Perhaps my selection of musicians is biased, but usually when I see a whammy bar used, it's usually with a locking tremolo bridge like a Floyd Rose. Everybody else seems to take the whammy bar out and ...
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votes
6answers
1k views
What are some techniques to control feedback in a musical setting?
I was always intrigued with the way Ted Nugent/Adrian Belew/Jeff Beck/Jimi Hendrix/SRV were able to control feedback and make it musical - are there guitar/amp settings and techniques that can make ...
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7answers
2k views
How do you mic a guitar amp?
How do you go about mic'ing a guitar amp for live performance? Would you do anything different if you were mic'ing the amp for studio recording? Is there anything specific I should look for in a ...
11
votes
3answers
157 views
What to look for in an independent luthier?
I've long been considering looking for an independent luthier to build me a custom guitar. I have a pretty specific idea of what I want the guitar to be, but I don't know how to find the right ...
10
votes
7answers
723 views
How do I properly stretch my newly strung strings?
I came across this string stretcher device. It claims to properly and evenly stretch new strings and maintain tuning.
I never really made a point to properly stretch newly strung strings. Can anyone ...
10
votes
4answers
115 views
How can I develop a regular rehearsal programme?
I've been learning scales and chords, and tried a few songs. It sounds nice and by practising, I'm becoming faster and more comfortable. I also use the things I learn to improvise and jam. But I get ...
10
votes
3answers
627 views
What is the (Practical) theory behind applying chords for a Song?
I love playing Guitar. I can play the lead for any song by listening to it. But often in our prayer meeting people sing different songs in different keys. I can track the major they sing, but I am ...
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8answers
5k views
Why does my thumb hurt when I play bar chords?
Certain chords cause my thumb to be sore. How can I play in a way to prevent this?
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votes
5answers
1k views
How do I choose my first guitar for self-learning?
Let's say I've never played the guitar, or I've only learned to pluck a string and play a chord but have forgotten most of it. Now, I've become interested and would like to try it out. I don't want to ...
10
votes
4answers
811 views
Valve (tube) amps and clean tone
Is there any difference in clean tone sound between a valve/tube amp and a solid state amp? i.e., does having a valve in an amp affect the clean channel, or only the distorted channel?
Apologies for ...
10
votes
6answers
2k views
Memorizing notes on guitar fretboard
I have 2 questions, which are somehow interrelated.
Learning which-note-corresponds-to-which-fret-position was told to me as an extremely important task for any guitarist who want to get better at ...
10
votes
4answers
392 views
How to embrace the metronome after years of bad habits?
Background
I have been dabbling in guitar for over 20 years. I have decent dexterity, technique, and musical theory. However, I don't count time and never use a metronome. I always sound like a weak ...
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votes
5answers
589 views
Selling my guitar
I want to sell a guitar, but I would like to know:
Where are good places to sell a guitar? Online? Guitar stores?
What is a good way to work out the value of the guitar?
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votes
3answers
780 views
Tips on playing with wah-wah for beginners
I love the sound of a guitar played through wah wah as much as the next guy, but I have some problems picking that skill up. I would love if anyone can either give me some tips on how to start using ...
10
votes
1answer
326 views
What does it mean to play in an 'arpeggiated' style on the guitar?
I sometimes hear a guitar player described as having an 'arpeggiated' style, such as Peter Buck of R.E.M.
I know that an arpeggio is the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 8th of a scale, but exactly what does it ...
10
votes
1answer
256 views
What do the 2 “push/pull” knobs on my guitar do?
I have a Dean electric guitar (couldn't find it on their website, sorry) with a 3 position switch, 2 knobs, and 2 double humbuckers. I know what the switch does, but am confused about the knobs.
I am ...
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votes
5answers
349 views
Breaking out of pentatonic scales for guitar riffs
I've been playing guitar for about 9 years now. From a young age, my teachers focused a lot on pentatonic scales. So that's what I'm defaulting to when improvising, soloing, writing stuff, etc.
...
10
votes
3answers
433 views
The skinny on neck constructions. Is it all about tone?
I recently went from a Peavy bolt-on classic bass to Warwick Thumb NT.
The tone difference is completely out of this world, and comparatively, so was the price.
I want to understand the ...
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votes
2answers
889 views
How to begin learning the CAGED Method
What is the best way of approaching the CAGED Method. What are some good resources for beginning to learn this method.
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votes
5answers
944 views
Tips for playing outdoors in cold weather?
A few years ago our church band had a gig playing early in the morning to a volunteer crew to get them pumped for the day ahead. It was about 7AM and in the 30s F. It's a good thing I was only playing ...
10
votes
2answers
96 views
What is this technique called?
In this video, scroll to around 1:24. Andy McKee puts his right hand on 12th fret (Not sure) and pulls out his left hand from 3rd or 4th fret producing a peculiar sound. What is this technique ...
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votes
7answers
296 views
Is it necessary to learn the names of fret notes?
I know the names of the notes up to about the fifth fret on each string. I play from sheet music occasionally, but mostly from tabs - so is it necessary to learn the names of the notes for each fret ...
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votes
5answers
261 views
Learn guitar chords?
I like to play guitar and I'm quite good playing tabs. However, I don't know the chords and I would like to learn them and to play them easily. Any tips on where to learn them on internet or tips to ...
9
votes
5answers
645 views
Guitar chords high on the neck
Apologies, this is an incredibly vague question, but any help would be appreciated.
When watching skilled acoustic guitar players, I regularly see them playing chords high on the guitar neck (ie ...
9
votes
5answers
418 views
Becoming a good guitar teacher
I am thinking of starting guitar teaching and, of course, I am aiming to become a good guitar teacher. I don't think it will happen in the near future, because I don't have enough skill level yet, but ...
9
votes
2answers
210 views
What do they mean by 'This amp has a lot of headroom'?
Do they mean how loud it will go without getting distortion?
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votes
6answers
5k views
Fingers Too Short for Barre Chords?
My wife is learning the guitar and is getting pretty good. She gets frustrated though because she can't play barre chords. She claims that her fingers are literally too short to ever be able to play ...
9
votes
6answers
161 views
How do you care for your guitar?
A guitar that is used regularly will sooner or later show signs of wear and tear. How do you best care for your guitar and make sure it stays as good as it is for as long as possible?
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votes
5answers
2k views
What are the objective differences between the guitar and the piano?
The guitar and the piano are two of the most popular instruments which allow multiple notes to be played simultaneously.
The acoustic quality of the two instruments are, of course, different, but ...
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votes
2answers
337 views
What is an “open tuning”?
I know that Keith Richards has been known to use open tunings on some songs, but what is an open tuning exactly and when/why would you use it?
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votes
2answers
2k views
How to work out a strum pattern?
Annoyingly most guitar players seem to 'just play' a rhythm/strum pattern and it sounds like a song.
What advice can the community here give someone who is trying to go beyond playing 4 downs to ...
9
votes
10answers
324 views
What are good warm-up exercises for guitarists?
I do not generally warm up, but then I don't really stretch my playing as much as my ear when I practice. But I know I should.
What are some good exercises to do before I start getting into the ...
9
votes
8answers
2k views
Are there alternatives to developing calluses when learning guitar?
As a musician, I come from a mostly vocal and piano background, but I was gifted a decent acoustic guitar many years ago and haven't really gotten into learning it due to practicing being rather ...
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votes
6answers
1k views
My fingers ache after practice. What can I do about it?
I have played the guitar since 2006 and I had no trouble all that time. Recently I noticed that my fingers ache after practice. What can I do with that?
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votes
4answers
305 views
Free exercise books
I've asked a question here: What is a string skipping exercise?.
A follow up question: Are there some good free exercise books available on-line for the post-beginner stage? A link to a good ...
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votes
2answers
3k views
Why is an amplifier's effects loop useful?
When should you plug gear into your amplifier's effects loop and not into the standard input?
9
votes
2answers
175 views
How can I easily manage different tunings?
This is probably appropriate for a range of instruments, and I have seen mentioned in other questions that professional musicians can cope easily with transpositions, different instruments that play ...
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votes
4answers
1k views
Right hand accuracy
I've realized, that I have a big problem with right hand accuracy, when using a pick, especially, when I play arpeggios and have to skip a string or a couple of stings. Sometimes, I hit the wrong ...
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votes
4answers
2k views
How can I effectively secure guitar strings to the tuning pegs?
One of the bigger problems I face when restringing my guitars is properly securing the strings to the pegs.
How should I wind the strings around the pegs before tightening them to prevent the string ...
