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Little Rock Jams - A Guitar Teachers Blog
Best place to get tab ... and a piece of advice for you youngsters out there!
Subscribe to my feed! It’s free, easy to do and makes me happy!
IGBlog posted a great article on the recent announcement that Alfred Publishing has allowed Guitar World Tabs to publish tabs by their roster of artists like Green Day and Led Zeppelin.
However, it appears that there are some rough edges still that need to be worked out with the system. To find out what those are, you just have to read his post.
In the meantime, I want to show you my my main source of tab.
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Yep, that's right, about 10 years of Guitar World and Guitar One magazines here at the studio!
The rest ... Guitar World, Guitar One, Guitar Player, Guitar for the Practicing Musician, Guitar, Guitar Technique and Total Guitar are all at home - not enough room in the studio to hold them all!
For all of you buying guitar magazines now, or for those of you that work your butt off and win a years subscription from the coolest guitar studio in the world (you know who you are)
Follow this advice:
Never, never, never, never, never, never, throw away a guitar magazine!!!!
Say it with me: I will never throw away another guitar magazine! No matter how much my wife yells at me!
I'll celebrate 15 years of marriage this August. Here is a wedding pic from that wonderful day!
From day one of our marriage, my wife has always asked,
"Why do you keep all those old guitar magazines? Do you see me keeping my People and Cosmo magazines?".
To which I reply,
"It's the tabs baby, it's the tabs".
So, while you may not be able to buy a new Gibson Corvus guitar anymore, which crosses your mind as you look through that September 1984 Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine, you can still open the tab for Breaking the Law and jam with Judas Priest!
The moral of the story is this...
Finding tab on the net has never been easier. But net tab is full o' holes as it is mostly user created. So start your own collection of magazine tabs that are likely to be more spot on that internet tabs. Just find a good place to put them so that your wife will stay out of your hair!
guitar guitar lessons guitar tab guitar world guitar one guitar for the practicing musician total guitar guitar technique tablature judas priest guitar magazines
IGBlog posted a great article on the recent announcement that Alfred Publishing has allowed Guitar World Tabs to publish tabs by their roster of artists like Green Day and Led Zeppelin.
However, it appears that there are some rough edges still that need to be worked out with the system. To find out what those are, you just have to read his post.
In the meantime, I want to show you my my main source of tab.
Yep, that's right, about 10 years of Guitar World and Guitar One magazines here at the studio!The rest ... Guitar World, Guitar One, Guitar Player, Guitar for the Practicing Musician, Guitar, Guitar Technique and Total Guitar are all at home - not enough room in the studio to hold them all!
For all of you buying guitar magazines now, or for those of you that work your butt off and win a years subscription from the coolest guitar studio in the world (you know who you are)
Follow this advice:
Never, never, never, never, never, never, throw away a guitar magazine!!!!
Say it with me: I will never throw away another guitar magazine! No matter how much my wife yells at me!
I'll celebrate 15 years of marriage this August. Here is a wedding pic from that wonderful day!
From day one of our marriage, my wife has always asked,
"Why do you keep all those old guitar magazines? Do you see me keeping my People and Cosmo magazines?".
To which I reply,
"It's the tabs baby, it's the tabs".
So, while you may not be able to buy a new Gibson Corvus guitar anymore, which crosses your mind as you look through that September 1984 Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine, you can still open the tab for Breaking the Law and jam with Judas Priest!
The moral of the story is this...
Finding tab on the net has never been easier. But net tab is full o' holes as it is mostly user created. So start your own collection of magazine tabs that are likely to be more spot on that internet tabs. Just find a good place to put them so that your wife will stay out of your hair!
guitar guitar lessons guitar tab guitar world guitar one guitar for the practicing musician total guitar guitar technique tablature judas priest guitar magazines
Guitar Faces - "Another" Jared Leto Pic
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.JPG)
Hey everyone...
Here is another Jared Leto guitar face pic, courtesy of my wife (again).
Now, we all know from our Jared Leto April Fools Day post that his guitar skills are in question ...
(I didn't say it, the other guitar player in his band did - read the comments in the April Fools day post for article link)
So no complaining this time about "aren't guitar faces supposed to be of people who actually play guitar???"
Here's to keeping the peace in the Little Rock Jams household ...
Hope ya enjoy, honey!
guitar guitar lessons guitar faces jared leto 30 seconds to mars guitar lessons in little rock
Hey everyone...Here is another Jared Leto guitar face pic, courtesy of my wife (again).
Now, we all know from our Jared Leto April Fools Day post that his guitar skills are in question ...
(I didn't say it, the other guitar player in his band did - read the comments in the April Fools day post for article link)
So no complaining this time about "aren't guitar faces supposed to be of people who actually play guitar???"
Here's to keeping the peace in the Little Rock Jams household ...
Hope ya enjoy, honey!
guitar guitar lessons guitar faces jared leto 30 seconds to mars guitar lessons in little rock
Beginner Guitar Packages
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I would say that 5-10% of our incoming students are children that do not have a guitar. In this case, the children want to learn how to play and the parents are willing to take them to lessons, but neither child nor parent is sure what kind of guitar to buy, acoustic or electric.
Another valid concern parents have is how much to pay for a guitar, especially considering the unknown of whether the child will "stick with it".
In this post, I'll give you a few guidelines on what kind of guitar is best for your child and then post a few guitar packages that are both price friendly and good quality.
What kind of guitar should I buy, acoustic or electric?
This simple question has a different answer from every person you ask!
There are those that believe that everyone should start with an acoustic guitar. The thought being that if you can make a good sound on an acoustic, and play a song on an acoustic, you'll be much better off when you pick up the electric guitar. The reasoning is that many people cover up mistakes and/or sloppy playing on electric guitar with effects like distortion and overdrive.
Another reason for choosing an acoustic over an electric is simplicity. No cables, no amps, just you and your guitar.
Valid reasons...
On the flip side though...
Most children that take up guitar do so because they like current popular music and love the thought of strapping on an electric guitar and rocking the crowd!
Face it, electric guitars and amps are way cooler than acoustic guitars (to the kids).
Other valid reasons include, electric guitar strings are much easier on the fingers than acoustic guitar strings since they are usually a lighter gauge and easier to press down. Electrics can reproduce sounds similar to what they hear on their favorite songs whereas an acoustic has one sound, Country / Folksy type music.
(before the flames begin folks - that statement was made with the understanding that a beginner is playing, not a master like Phil Keaggy)
So, both acoustic and electric are valid choices for a beginner guitar. And if that is the case, then let your child help you decide what they want.
For example, if your child loves Country music, they'll probably enjoy playing their acoustic guitar. On the other hand, if your child likes Pop or Rock music, they'll want an electric.
The point is this -
Get the guitar they desire, acoustic or electric. In doing so, they are likely to pick it up and play it more often once the "newness" wears off and the work begins (aka practice). keeping the guitar in their hands is a large part of the battle in their growth as a musician..
What to buy?
Kids these days have it great!
Gear manufacturers today take all the guess work out of buying your instrument by putting everything you need into one tidy package.
Guys and Gals my age had to pick out a guitar, pick out an amp, get a cable ... had no idea what a tuner was other than something that swam in the ocean. We forgot the strap and had to go back to the store to get one. Didn't even care about extra strings (until we broke one the first night seeing how high we could get the note to go).
Today, you get everything in one box! Which makes things on the parent much, much easier.
Here are our recommendations on acoustic and electric guitar packages!
Acoustic Guitars
Ibanez
Fender
Epiphone
Michael Kelly
Daisy Rock - for the ladies
Electric Guitars
Behringer
Daisy Rock - For the ladies
Epiphone SG
Yamaha
Epiphone Les Paul
Laguna
guitar beginner guitar guitar lessons fender epiphone laguna daisy rock acoustic guitar electric guitars guitar tuner guitar lessons in little rockphil keaggy ibanez
I would say that 5-10% of our incoming students are children that do not have a guitar. In this case, the children want to learn how to play and the parents are willing to take them to lessons, but neither child nor parent is sure what kind of guitar to buy, acoustic or electric.
Another valid concern parents have is how much to pay for a guitar, especially considering the unknown of whether the child will "stick with it".
In this post, I'll give you a few guidelines on what kind of guitar is best for your child and then post a few guitar packages that are both price friendly and good quality.
What kind of guitar should I buy, acoustic or electric?
This simple question has a different answer from every person you ask!
There are those that believe that everyone should start with an acoustic guitar. The thought being that if you can make a good sound on an acoustic, and play a song on an acoustic, you'll be much better off when you pick up the electric guitar. The reasoning is that many people cover up mistakes and/or sloppy playing on electric guitar with effects like distortion and overdrive.
Another reason for choosing an acoustic over an electric is simplicity. No cables, no amps, just you and your guitar.
Valid reasons...
On the flip side though...
Most children that take up guitar do so because they like current popular music and love the thought of strapping on an electric guitar and rocking the crowd!
Face it, electric guitars and amps are way cooler than acoustic guitars (to the kids).
Other valid reasons include, electric guitar strings are much easier on the fingers than acoustic guitar strings since they are usually a lighter gauge and easier to press down. Electrics can reproduce sounds similar to what they hear on their favorite songs whereas an acoustic has one sound, Country / Folksy type music.
(before the flames begin folks - that statement was made with the understanding that a beginner is playing, not a master like Phil Keaggy)
So, both acoustic and electric are valid choices for a beginner guitar. And if that is the case, then let your child help you decide what they want.
For example, if your child loves Country music, they'll probably enjoy playing their acoustic guitar. On the other hand, if your child likes Pop or Rock music, they'll want an electric.
The point is this -
Get the guitar they desire, acoustic or electric. In doing so, they are likely to pick it up and play it more often once the "newness" wears off and the work begins (aka practice). keeping the guitar in their hands is a large part of the battle in their growth as a musician..
What to buy?
Kids these days have it great!
Gear manufacturers today take all the guess work out of buying your instrument by putting everything you need into one tidy package.
Guys and Gals my age had to pick out a guitar, pick out an amp, get a cable ... had no idea what a tuner was other than something that swam in the ocean. We forgot the strap and had to go back to the store to get one. Didn't even care about extra strings (until we broke one the first night seeing how high we could get the note to go).
Today, you get everything in one box! Which makes things on the parent much, much easier.
Here are our recommendations on acoustic and electric guitar packages!
Acoustic Guitars
Ibanez
Fender
Epiphone
Michael Kelly
Daisy Rock - for the ladies
Electric Guitars
Behringer
Daisy Rock - For the ladies
Epiphone SG
Yamaha
Epiphone Les Paul
Laguna
guitar beginner guitar guitar lessons fender epiphone laguna daisy rock acoustic guitar electric guitars guitar tuner guitar lessons in little rockphil keaggy ibanez
Whammy bar tricks for all you whammy bar grasshoppa's ...
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Dragonforce is making some serious waves on the metal front lately. Herman Li and Sam Totman are the guitar duo responsible for melting your ears with their monster riffs and solos.
Melted ears = good thing when listening to metal!
Here is a video of Herman demonstrating some very cool whammy bar tricks.
So while you'll never use the "bomb" or the "race car" in a song, they are fun to play!
Enjoy!
guitar guitar lessons dragonforce herman li sam totman guitar lessons in little rock metal guitar whammy bar little rock guitar lessons
Dragonforce is making some serious waves on the metal front lately. Herman Li and Sam Totman are the guitar duo responsible for melting your ears with their monster riffs and solos.
Melted ears = good thing when listening to metal!
Here is a video of Herman demonstrating some very cool whammy bar tricks.
So while you'll never use the "bomb" or the "race car" in a song, they are fun to play!
Enjoy!
guitar guitar lessons dragonforce herman li sam totman guitar lessons in little rock metal guitar whammy bar little rock guitar lessons
New Poll - Non Musicians, why did you not learn how to play a musical instrument?
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Hey Everyone!
--- This poll does not apply to you musicians out there ---
It is targeted to those that do not play, like parents, casual readers, entrecard friends, etc.
I'm interested in why more people do not play a musical instrument. Like our last poll on practicing, you can vote more than once in this poll if multiple answers apply!
Thanks!
Hey Everyone!
--- This poll does not apply to you musicians out there ---
It is targeted to those that do not play, like parents, casual readers, entrecard friends, etc.
I'm interested in why more people do not play a musical instrument. Like our last poll on practicing, you can vote more than once in this poll if multiple answers apply!
Thanks!
U.K. Guitar Idol Competition and FREE BACKING TRACKS !!!
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According to Google Analytics, we've had about 600 of our fellow guitar players visit the blog from the United Kingdom.
So for those of you "across the big pond", here is some cool news for you.
All Out Guitar, Guitar Buyer and Lick Library are promoting the 2008 Guitar Idol Competition for all of you in the U.K. As the website puts it "There are thousands of pounds worth of prizes up for grab!"
Aren't you all on the Euro now?
Anyway...
What caught my attention is the free backing tracks!
To help judge the competition more on a skills basis, they've supplied 13 sweet backing tracks for you to play over to show your tone, chops and lead skills. Rock, Jazz, Blues and Metal are all covered. No bluegrass or polka tracks, much to my surprise!
So pick your favorite track, record your screaming solos and submit it!
If you win, be sure to thank Little Rock Jams when they interview you. A shameless plug request never hurt anyone LOL.
For those of us not in the U.K., we can have fun soloing over these free backing tracks.
Have fun everyone!
guitar guitar lessons little rock guitar lessons lick library all out guitar guitar idol free backing tracks backing tracks guitar lessons in little rock euro pound united kingdom rock guitar blues guitar jazz guitar metal guitar polka bluegrass
According to Google Analytics, we've had about 600 of our fellow guitar players visit the blog from the United Kingdom.So for those of you "across the big pond", here is some cool news for you.
All Out Guitar, Guitar Buyer and Lick Library are promoting the 2008 Guitar Idol Competition for all of you in the U.K. As the website puts it "There are thousands of pounds worth of prizes up for grab!"
Aren't you all on the Euro now?
Anyway...
What caught my attention is the free backing tracks!
To help judge the competition more on a skills basis, they've supplied 13 sweet backing tracks for you to play over to show your tone, chops and lead skills. Rock, Jazz, Blues and Metal are all covered. No bluegrass or polka tracks, much to my surprise!
So pick your favorite track, record your screaming solos and submit it!
If you win, be sure to thank Little Rock Jams when they interview you. A shameless plug request never hurt anyone LOL.
For those of us not in the U.K., we can have fun soloing over these free backing tracks.
Have fun everyone!
guitar guitar lessons little rock guitar lessons lick library all out guitar guitar idol free backing tracks backing tracks guitar lessons in little rock euro pound united kingdom rock guitar blues guitar jazz guitar metal guitar polka bluegrass
Eddy Arnold passed away today...
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Eddy Arnold, May 15, 1918 - May 8, 2008, passed away this morning after a long illness.
For those of you that enjoy country music, you probably recall some of his hits like "Make the world go away", "Then you can tell me goodbye" and "Lonely again".
The Calgary Herald posted a nice obituary on his life and accomplishments. You can check it out here...
In looking for a video of him singing one of his hits, I found that Chet Atkins played on many of his records. I also found a gem of a video when I came across a duet with him and Hank Garland. So apparently, Eddy had an eye for talented guitar players!
Most of you have probably heard of Chet Atkins, but not Hank Garland. Hank is one of the unsung hero's of Country Swing guitar. The guy had chops, tone and taste.
So check out the video below and then hit the Hank Garland website for more information on a great player.
guitar guitar lessons eddy arnold hank garland chet atkins
Eddy Arnold, May 15, 1918 - May 8, 2008, passed away this morning after a long illness.For those of you that enjoy country music, you probably recall some of his hits like "Make the world go away", "Then you can tell me goodbye" and "Lonely again".
The Calgary Herald posted a nice obituary on his life and accomplishments. You can check it out here...
In looking for a video of him singing one of his hits, I found that Chet Atkins played on many of his records. I also found a gem of a video when I came across a duet with him and Hank Garland. So apparently, Eddy had an eye for talented guitar players!
Most of you have probably heard of Chet Atkins, but not Hank Garland. Hank is one of the unsung hero's of Country Swing guitar. The guy had chops, tone and taste.
So check out the video below and then hit the Hank Garland website for more information on a great player.
guitar guitar lessons eddy arnold hank garland chet atkins
Andy Summers, The Police and Me!
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Have you ever had one of those dreams that was both the most incredible and the most horrific dream you could imagine?
That happened to me last night!
I didn't eat anything spicy before I went to bed, not sure why I had this crazy dream
But I digress...
So, there I am in the dressing room at Madison Square Garden talking to Sting and Andy Summers about getting the gig in The Police - which is only one of THE GREATEST BANDS EVER!!!!!
I don't know where Stewart was, probably filming something.
So anyway, I'm thinking we're there to rehearse for the show. It turns out, we're there for a quick sound check. Thank god they were playing Every Breath You Take and Roxanne, songs every guitar player my age knows.
I know you're asking about right now why do the Police need another guitar player, they have Andy Summers. Well, Andy switched to keys and they needed a guitar player to fill his spot. That's all I know. And I'm putting that together because Andy was playing the keys during soundcheck with a special guest (read on....)
I faked my way through the sound check, which was very cool because Stevie Wonder and David Robinson (aka The Admiral) were both on stage with us. Stevie was on keys of course, not sure what David was doing except being very tall.
So, after the sound check, my mind was racing....
"How did I get this gig when I haven't learned the tunes?"
"How can I sneak out of here without being seen?"
"Will I be able to change my name and live a normal life after this?"
"Hey, I said brown M&M's only!"
At this point, I go up to Andy and ask him if he could possibly run through the songs we were going to do that night so that I could, ahem, write out a set list.
Also, would he mind telling me what key each song was in and the chord progressions (yes - I guess I thought I could learn their back catalog in the 2 hours before the show)
He finally started catching on when I asked which effects he used on the songs, when to switch and if I could read the manual on his custom pedal board to learn more about the effect chain.
He pulled me aside and gave me a stern lecture on why they hired me for the gig, I can't let them down, Sting's crazy and he'll kill you if he knows you're not ready, etc., etc., etc.
This is where I woke up in a cold sweat - but still thinking how awesome that dream was.
So, what can we take from this dream?
Besides not eating snickerdoodles right before bed ....
When it is time for any performance - be it a gig, recital or even playing your lesson material for your instructor - you should put the time and effort into getting the material under your fingers and in your ear before the big day.
By putting the work in before hand, you have two likely scenarios. Both of which are good.
First, you will nail the material and have a great time playing.
Second, you may not nail it ... there may be a mistake here and there... but you will have given it your best effort and know that you did the best you could.
Either way, you will do just fine.
Just don't be like me and have to run from Sting because I couldn't play every song from Zenyatta Mondatta
!
guitar guitar lessons The Police Andy Summers Sting Stewart Copeland Zenyatta Mondatta guitar lessons in little rock madison square garden little rock guitar lessons roxanne every breath you take
Have you ever had one of those dreams that was both the most incredible and the most horrific dream you could imagine?That happened to me last night!
I didn't eat anything spicy before I went to bed, not sure why I had this crazy dream
But I digress...
So, there I am in the dressing room at Madison Square Garden talking to Sting and Andy Summers about getting the gig in The Police - which is only one of THE GREATEST BANDS EVER!!!!!
I don't know where Stewart was, probably filming something.
So anyway, I'm thinking we're there to rehearse for the show. It turns out, we're there for a quick sound check. Thank god they were playing Every Breath You Take and Roxanne, songs every guitar player my age knows.
I know you're asking about right now why do the Police need another guitar player, they have Andy Summers. Well, Andy switched to keys and they needed a guitar player to fill his spot. That's all I know. And I'm putting that together because Andy was playing the keys during soundcheck with a special guest (read on....)
I faked my way through the sound check, which was very cool because Stevie Wonder and David Robinson (aka The Admiral) were both on stage with us. Stevie was on keys of course, not sure what David was doing except being very tall.
So, after the sound check, my mind was racing....
"How did I get this gig when I haven't learned the tunes?"
"How can I sneak out of here without being seen?"
"Will I be able to change my name and live a normal life after this?"
"Hey, I said brown M&M's only!"
At this point, I go up to Andy and ask him if he could possibly run through the songs we were going to do that night so that I could, ahem, write out a set list.
Also, would he mind telling me what key each song was in and the chord progressions (yes - I guess I thought I could learn their back catalog in the 2 hours before the show)
He finally started catching on when I asked which effects he used on the songs, when to switch and if I could read the manual on his custom pedal board to learn more about the effect chain.
He pulled me aside and gave me a stern lecture on why they hired me for the gig, I can't let them down, Sting's crazy and he'll kill you if he knows you're not ready, etc., etc., etc.
This is where I woke up in a cold sweat - but still thinking how awesome that dream was.
So, what can we take from this dream?
Besides not eating snickerdoodles right before bed ....
When it is time for any performance - be it a gig, recital or even playing your lesson material for your instructor - you should put the time and effort into getting the material under your fingers and in your ear before the big day.
By putting the work in before hand, you have two likely scenarios. Both of which are good.
First, you will nail the material and have a great time playing.
Second, you may not nail it ... there may be a mistake here and there... but you will have given it your best effort and know that you did the best you could.
Either way, you will do just fine.
Just don't be like me and have to run from Sting because I couldn't play every song from Zenyatta Mondatta
!guitar guitar lessons The Police Andy Summers Sting Stewart Copeland Zenyatta Mondatta guitar lessons in little rock madison square garden little rock guitar lessons roxanne every breath you take
Hey 9Rules - Pick Me !!!!
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Hey folks!
Here are the top April posts as clicked on by you - the greatest readers in the world!
For the 9Rules guys - Check out these posts, pick up a guitar and rock! (you can roll too, but that's your call...)
Most Popular Posts at Little Rock Jams - April 2008
guitar guitar lessons blues guitar jared leto presidential candidates hillary clinton barack obama john mccain pentatonic scale guitar scales learning songs by ear rock guitar april fools relic guitars circus monkey
Hey folks!
Here are the top April posts as clicked on by you - the greatest readers in the world!
For the 9Rules guys - Check out these posts, pick up a guitar and rock! (you can roll too, but that's your call...)
Most Popular Posts at Little Rock Jams - April 2008
- Jared Leto workshop confirmed - a great April Fools day joke! Many, who will not be named, fell hard for it!
- A very important lesson about the blues - This one is still going strong! Read on to learn what it takes to play the blues!
- Free guitar lessons for presidential candidates - Hillary, call me babe - you need some PR now! Barack - let's get down with some cool funk. John - i'm guessing you're a Yardbirds kinda guy! (p.s. thanks to all that helped promote this post via your blogs, myspace, facebook, twitter, etc.)
- Little Rock Jams is rated E for excellent - A little blog to blog love from my buddy at IGBlog.
- Are you a great musician or a circus monkey? - Learn your craft, think about the music. Don't just do something because a book or tab or teacher tells you to.
- This is just wrong in so, so many ways - The evils of the "Relic" guitar industry.
- Pentatonic Power - the third installment in working that old standby, the pentatonic scale, in new and interesting ways.
- What is the difference between funk and blues? - an interesting discovery from our funk workshop.
- Is your child ready for music lessons?- Tips for the parent to help them determine if their child is ready for music lessons.
- 3 tips for learning a rock song - Brian gives you his thoughts on tearing apart a rock tune and putting it back together.
guitar guitar lessons blues guitar jared leto presidential candidates hillary clinton barack obama john mccain pentatonic scale guitar scales learning songs by ear rock guitar april fools relic guitars circus monkey