Dave Kain

Improvising over jazz standards can be a very difficult thing to do. Once you learn all your scales, arpeggios, licks etc., you may find yourself in a rut with what to do with all the harmonic knowledge you have learned. For me, an incredibly important as aspect of improvisation that is overlooked is phrase placement. Where you start and end your phrases can take your solo from a predictable, boring and safe one to a strong assertive and climatic one.

When I am improvising, I am extremely aware of what, where and when I am starting any and all phrases. Becoming conscious of this is going to be more difficult if you don’t know the tune very well. So, applying this concept may be too difficult if you are still struggling with the harmonic elements of any tune you wish to use this idea on.

Breaking The Barline-Phrase Placement is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

StrumSchool.com

For those people who want to learn guitar and are completely starting from scratch — I’m talking the people that don’t even know that the guitar has six strings — it can be be difficult to try and figure out exactly where to begin. Surely, youTube, Fretterverse, and plenty of books and DVDs have plenty of information to use, but there aren’t many places where you can actually sit down from the absolute beginning.

If only there was a website that catered to the Day One guitarist…

Enter StrumSchool.com

StrumSchool.com is a new website catering explicitly and exclusively to the absolute beginning guitarist. This free site (though you do have to put up with advertisements) offers video lesson instruction ranging from the parts of the guitar, chord voicings, reading tab, etc.

StrumSchool.com

The site is not complicated at all, and that’s a huge plus. The video lessons are incredibly clear and easy to understand, and the teaching is very good; exactly what beginners need.

A blog on the site, labeled “Inspiration” is aptly named. If you’re looking for motivation or something “cool” to check out, just click on the link and start reading.

A “Donations” page is also on the site. (Hey, everyone’s gotta generate some cash, right?) Since all of the material on the site is available for free, you can show your support for their ongoing efforts by throwing a few greenbacks their way.

It will be interesting to see how the site develops. They are obviously new, but the quality of the lessons are very, very good and any new guitarist would be hard pressed to not get an awful lot out of the site.

I wish these guys lots of luck; the more guitarists we have on this planet, the better!

Learn Guitar with StrumSchool.com is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

NeckFx – Adding Visuals to Your Next Gig is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

While you may be familiar with open-position chords, and other closed-position triads across the neck (where all three notes fit within one octave), few players explore triads beyond these standard voicings and applications.

In this article I will introduce you to spread-voicing triads. We’ll look at how they are built, apply them to chord-scale exercises and dig into using these voicings to develop right-hand control and dexterity. So, let’s dig in to spread-voicing triads!

Spread Triads

Spread triads are built by taking a normal, closed-position triad, and raising one or more of the notes by an octave. In this lesson we will focus on raising just one note at a time, but if you want to take things further you can try moving both up to see where it takes you in the practice room.

In the first bar you can see a closed-position C major triad. This triad is built Root-3^rd-5^th, and in bar two, the third (E) has been raised up an octave to produce a triad that is now spelled Root-5^th-3^rd. Try playing the first bar followed by the second bar to begin to notice the difference in timber between these two voicings.

The third bar in the example features a triad where the fifth has been raised an octave. So, it has the same interval order as the first bar, Root-3^rd-5^th, but the fifth is now placed one octave higher than normal. Play through the first bar, followed by the third bar, to begin to get this new sound in your ears and under your fingers.

Once you have checked out all three voicings, you can begin to practice all three together. As well, you can take this approach to any key, sticking with major triads if you like, or to other triads such as minor, diminished and augmented voicings. The approach is always the same, start with a closed-position triad and then raising one or more notes to create the spread version of that triad.

As well, you can apply spread voicings to any string set, so triads on the 6-5-4 strings or the 3-2-1 strings, as well as to any inversion, such as first or second inversion. Once you start to take these spread voicings into different keys, different chord qualities, different string sets and different inversions, you can really see the exponential quality of this approach to playing three-note chords.

Spread Triad Scales

One of the ways that I like to practice triads is by running a particular voicing through a chord scale. A chord scale is exactly what the name implies. It is a scale featuring all the chords that are a part of the particular key you are practicing. In the case of the example below, I have taken a C major scale, C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C, and harmonized the scale by placing a triad on top of each note in the scale. This produces a C major chord scale as such:

C Dm Em F G Am Bdim C

I then played through each of these triads, moving the scale across the 5th string, using the first version of a spread voicing from the example above, Root-5^th-3^rd. I kept this fingering for each chord in the scale, which allows me to not only learn the C major chord scale, but I am practicing three different triads in the course of one exercise, major-minor-diminished, at the same time.

Try playing through this example as is. Then, when you are comfortable, play through the C major chord scale using the second spread voicing from the previous section of this article. Then take it to different keys, different string sets and different inversions. The sky really is the limit with how far you can take this lesson in the practice room.

Right Hand Exercise 1

As well as using spread triads to develop your left hand and harmonic knowledge, they are great for developing your right-hand technique, especially finger independence.

In the following three exercises I have laid out different ways that you can bring your right hand into the equation when practicing spread-triad chord scales. In the first example I split the triad into two parts, the upper voice and the lower two together. This is a great way to begin putting more focus on the melody line in your chordal playing, as well as train your right hand to think of chords as a collection of individual lines rather than a chunk of notes.

For all of these exercises, practice playing the single note louder than the other two. This will further develop your ability to separate notes within a chord voicing, as well as build volume control in your picking hand.

Right Hand Exercise 2

In the second version of this exercise you will be separating the middle voice from the outer two. This is the hardest of the three exercises, so you might want to practice those ones first before attempting to take this one into the woodshed.

Right Hand Exercise 3

The final exercise separates the lowest note from the upper two. This is probably the easiest exercise to do because we tend to play bass notes louder than the upper notes naturally. If you want to take this exercise to the next level, reverse the accents. So, play the single note quietly and the other two notes loud, putting more focus on developing your thumb, which is something that we could all spend more time on in the practice room.

Spread triads may not be as common as their closed-position relatives, but they are a great way to quickly and easily expand your chord vocabulary, while sticking to three-note chords in the process. Check these voicings out in the practice and see what you think of these cool sounding three-note chords.

Do you have a favorite voicing for spread triads or an experience with these chords in your own playing? If so, please share it in the comment section below.

Expand Your Harmonic and Fretboard Knowledge by Utilizing Spread Voicing Triads is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Teles are sexy!

The Fender FSR American Standard Hand Stained Ash Telecaster is a very special guitar and should be treated as such. In fact, FSR stands for “Factory Short Run,” and this limited edition guitar has been released from Fender’s iconic Corona facility. So, this Tele isn’t going to be aimed at you’re average Joe guitar player; it’s more of tycoon collector’s item with only 250 models available worldwide. However, saying that it’s surprisingly cheap, baring in mind what it is, and could possibly be a purchase to anyone who’s been looking for something to cure the dreaded mid-life crisis or a sure investment that even in the current climate, won’t depreciate in value. The American Standard Telecaster is the first guitar to be released in this range, and if this is anything to go by then they’ll sell like hotcakes.

One of the most unusual features, and I’m sure its already grabbed you’re attention, is its “hand stained ash finish.” The switched body from Alder to Ash isn’t totally unfamiliar; George Harrison played an Ash Telecaster and it was all the rage back in the 50’s. However, the hand-rubbed satin lacquer finish is slightly more unusual. In typical Fender style, the matte finish was chosen for practical and aesthetic reasons, and is expected to age magnificently, so it may even appreciate in value. This finish is translucent to emphasise the dramatic wood grain of the ash, which looks awesome and basically means that no two guitars are exactly the same.

The guitar’s maple neck, unfortunately, isn’t as exciting with a modern ’C’ profile, but it is available with a maple fretboard (mahogany stain model) and rosewood fretboard (wine red stain model). The necks are finished with a satin back and the hardware is contrasting chrome.

Still sexy...

Now, remember that it’s not just a pretty face, and it is a Fender Telecaster, so rest assured it sounds awesome. The switch from Alder to Ash really adds a light, sustained snap to the tone that gives a strangely familiar sound. The American Standard Bent Steel Saddle Bridge gives stable intonation and tuning. It has two American Standard Tele Single Coil pickups, which are wired with a single volume, no-load tone control, and a 3-way selector switch to ensure a typical Tele twang.

It’s also very versatile in terms of playability and, unless you intend to play death metal, pretty much has all of the bases covered. I think this is very important because if you’re spending this amount of money on one guitar, you certainly want it to be able to play anything it can. In terms of actual notes, at the lower end of the scale the tones sound really broad and firm, but also offers really bright, pleasant highs. It really comes into its element when cutting or playing distorted tones! So, if this more you’re cup of tea it’s definitely worth looking into or maybe just an ash guitar.

I think it’s also safe to say that this guitar isn’t for everyone, especially considering the price tag. But, for the aspiring guitarist, could you think of anything better to spend you’re money on? It’s part of a beautiful range and many are likely to be snapped up by collectors.

Also, given its exclusivity, if you’re interested you’re going to have to act fast!

Fender FSR American Standard Hand Stained Ash Telecaster is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

AIRS - A Rock Opera

I can remember a moment, not so long ago, when the music world collectively sighed at the prospect of the Internet and what effect it would have on “the biz.” CD sales dropping, people buying songs instead of full albums, the inundation of thousands — if not millions — of bedroom musicians and bands being thrust onto the same playing field as the big boys. It was a time of worry for many.

But what most everyone seemed to miss was perhaps the single greatest advantage of the Internet: the power of bringing people together. Such was the case for Germany’s Steve Brockman and American George Andrade, who met online, became friends, and collaborated on the 2012 release of a concept CD: AIRS – A Rock Opera.

Brockmann/Andrade is the collaborative writing team of multi-instrumental recording artist and composer Steve Brockmann (Bredstedt, Germany) and freelance writer/editor George Andrade (Fall River, MA, USA). They met on the discussion forum for prog rock band Spock’s Beard.

In 2008 (or thereabouts), George approached Steve with the idea of writing an album from a subplot to a novel that he had planned to write based loosely on the “punishment” of the Manisses Indians on Block Island, Rhode Island, for the “accidental” murder of the captain of a trading vessel by a chieftain’s son and the subsequent “claim by right of conquest” and resettlement thereafter.

The Story

Brockman

On a small circular island in the Atlantic, Owen Doane has rolled through a stop sign and driven a car carrying two tourists – a mother and her 9 year old daughter — from the road to strike a stone wall. The accident caused the girl to suffer injuries that paralyzed her from the waist down, confining her life to a chair and thereby forcing Owen’s father, Derrick Doane, to suffer the collapse of his company that had been built upon the Doane family heritage of pulling stone from fields before harvest and building walls after milling grain since they had first settled Manisses Island in 1664. Owen returns home from prison to mend the walls and fences that he has destroyed and soon learns to speak of wind and air – not stone and mortar – and through the help of those he’s injured understands that our hearts are on strings.

The Music

It’s always a pleasant surprise when a CD has one of your favorite singers on it. In my case, that singer is Paul Adrian Villarreal (Sun Caged, Wooden Badger). Reminiscent of Kansas with hints of Eric Martin thrown in, Villarreal has an incredible voice that just blows me away every time I get a chance to listen to him. “Fateful Days” sets up the CD rather nicely, with some nice piano work and PAV’s great singing.  There are several vocalists on AIRS, not just to single PAV out, with each playing a different character of the story. Two of the singers didn’t really do it for me, but your mileage may vary.

Andrade

What surprised me the most (pleasantly) about the CD is the wide variety of styles and influences Brockman draws from to write. I can hear hints of everything from Kansas, Iron Maiden, Opeth, Pain of Salvation, and lots of European metal. At first you would think Kansas and Opeth wouldn’t necessarily gel together, but let me tell you… it works, and in Brockman’s case it works very well!

There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your feet, with excellent guest contributions from Spock’s Beard’s Dave Meros (bass) and Alan Morse (guitar), Jochen Ohl (drums), and others. I often found myself wondering where the music would go next, because I knew it wouldn’t be what I expected and yet I knew it was going to be good.

The Sweet Spot

When you right a CD’s worth of music, you can consider it a big success if you are able to piece together a few songs in order that really knock it out of the park one right after the other; the “sweet spot,” if you will. On AIRS, that sweet spot is actually three songs: Hannah, The Great Salt Pond, and Grounded II.

Hannah’s quirky opening chord progression, Salt Pond’s massively awesome gospel chorus (and another amazing vocal contribution from PAV), and the 80s-era thrash metal of Grounded II make for the highlight of the CD’s 70+ minutes. There is something about how these three very different songs work off each other that puts a smile on my face.

If you’re looking for something different to listen to, AIRS might be what you need. If you’re looking for a good dose of metal, rock, gospel, and thrash, AIRS can very well give you that fix.

Brockman-Andrade: AIRS – A Rock Opera is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Get Me Out Of Here!

Oh minor pentatonic scale, how I love you. You are easy to learn and you sound at least reasonably good in a great many musical situations. Blues and rock music would not be what they are without you, and lots of my favorite players use you all the time. But minor pentatonic scale, I also loathe you. I have heard you sounding just awful in the most inappropriate of musical situations. You are overused to the point of ridicule, yet you seem to have no shame.

Can’t you just go away every once in a while?

This is a snapshot of my love/hate relationship with the minor pentatonic scale. Some of the coolest riffs and solos of all time make use of the minor pentatonic, and I truly believe that there are a truckload of fantastic songs yet to be written using it. So how is it possible that this musical Swiss Army Knife can make me so angry? Because the minor pentatonic scale’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness.

What is its greatest strength, you ask? I’ve already mentioned it: It’s easy to learn and sounds at least reasonably good in a great many musical situations. The same qualities that make it such a wonderful tool also make it ripe for abuse. Let’s examine further.

The pentatonic scale is created by taking a diatonic scale and eliminating the half steps. In the case of the minor pentatonic scale this means getting rid of the second and sixth degrees of the diatonic scale. Why is this important? Consider:

• Solos that are made up of only scale runs or only of arpeggios sound like exercises. Traditionally, scales are made up of seconds while chords/arpeggios are made up of thirds. The pentatonic scale sounds cool because it’s a hybrid of seconds and thirds. This means that simply by running up and down the pentatonic scale we can create some cool sounding stuff in a variety of musical contexts.
• Half steps in scales are tricky to work with because, from a voice leading standpoint, they “pull” very hard for an appropriate resolution. The inclusion of an ill-advised half step within a solo will sound avant-garde at best and downright sickly at worst. The pentatonic scale eliminates this risk by getting rid of half steps altogether. Problem solved!

Fantastic, right? We’ve got a scale that’s easy to learn that also helps us avoid things that will make us sound bad. So what’s the problem?

The problem is that the pentatonic scale doesn’t force us to think. It doesn’t force us to understand what’s going on in the accompaniment. It doesn’t really force us to know anything at all about music. We can shut our ears off, let our fingers go wherever they want to go within the scale pattern, and there’s a fairly good chance that we’ll land on our feet.

For beginners and intermediate players, this is great, because it lets us sound at least somewhat like we know what we’re doing, which in many cases prevents the kind of discouragement that might cause us to give up the instrument. Where it becomes a big, big issue though is when we get too comfortable inside our little pentatonic cocoon of not having to know anything.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard/seen the question, “How do I break out of the pentatonic box?” The implicit assumption is often that there are some other magic notes that can be added to the pentatonic scale so we can continue sounding good without really knowing anything. This assumption is dead wrong.

The best way to break out of the box is to start studying the accompaniment. Learn the notes in the chords you’re playing over. Play different notes against those chords and see how they sound. Remember which notes you like against which chords and which notes you don’t like. You will start to realize that there are notes in some of the accompaniment chords that are already outside the box. Use them in your soloing.

In addition to helping you break out of the box, studying the chord tones of the accompaniment will help your playing inside the box sound better. In other words, instead of just playing random pentatonic runs, start targeting specific notes against specific chords.

Your fingers can’t hear, so don’t let them decide what notes you’re going to play. Start using your ear… start using your brain… and you won’t be trapped in the box anymore.

Trapped In The Box – Why The Minor Pentatonic Scale Remains A Crutch is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Anyone Can Fake It; You Can, Too!

I remember about 15 years ago I was offered an interesting one-night gig. A co-worker of mine had a band that was playing a show that evening. That morning, their guitar player severely cut his hand in a bizarre weed-whacking accident. (I kid you not.) As this was a pretty important show for them, the thought of cancelling was more or less out of the question. They asked me to fill in, to which I said “no problem!” I figured it couldn’t be all that bad to fill in.

But there was a catch. (Isn’t there always?)

I had to learn 15 songs in 4 hours!

We’re not talking jazz standards either, folks, we’re talking 14 completely original songs and 1 cover song by the Rolling Stones (of who I have never actively listened to). I could have turned it down, as obviously learning that amount of material in such a short period of time was insane. But I didn’t. Do you want to know why? Because you have to Fake It ‘Til You Make It!

Perhaps I had no business doing the gig. I really wanted to help my friend out, I consider myself a capable guitarist (even at the time) and my ego back then always got the better of me in thinking I was so good that I could handle the songs without a problem. But learning so many songs in such a short amount of time could have also potentially screwed my friend’s band out of a good opportunity. If I played horribly that night, any number of things could have happened to prevent them from achieving their goals.

But something in the back of my mind told me that I needed to get up there and play — success or failure be damned.

I learned the songs as best I could and played reasonably well, right up until we got to the last song of the set… the Rolling Stones tune.

Oy Vey!

Crash and Burn or Live and Learn?

As we started playing the song, I completely blanked! I mean, I couldn’t even remember what the first chord of the song was. (That’s pathetically sad if you consider it was a Rolling Stones tune; the old bags themselves didn’t know more than four chords, so at the very least I would have had a 25% chance of getting the first chord correct.) I found myself turning the volume on my guitar down more and more, so by the time the song was over I barely had the volume pot open at all. The sound guy was soooooo pissed at me! (But who cares about sound guys?!?!) It would have been really easy for me to just duck off the stage, and in some ways I did, but overall the experience was very helpful to me.

What happens when you get up there and completely bomb out? Well, essentially nothing happens. You do the best you can, you get embarrassed, people talk shit about you, and life goes on. Do you stop playing music altogether, or shy away from any future gigs? F*&$k no! You press ahead like the Spartans, against seemingly impossible odds, and you kick ass! In essence, it’s not really “Crash and Burn or Live and Learn,” it’s “Crash and Burn AND Live and Learn.” Turn the burn into a chance to learn. (Ugh, that was bad; sorry, folks!) But in all seriousness, completely crapping out on a gig will actually help you to get better. If you take that experience and analyze what you did wrong, you have a much better chance of not screwing up in the same way in the future.

All the Great Ones Fake It

Do what with THIS guy? Hell no!

You don’t really think porn stars love sex that much, do you? Beautiful girls having sex with Ron Jeremy? There’s just no way. Similarly, if you listen to your favorite jazz performer (I use jazz because of the heavy improvisational component) a lot, you will notice they often play the same devices time and time again in their solos. In some small cases it’s because it’s a part of their signature sound; in other cases it’s because it’s a “crowd pleaser.” But in most cases it’s because the guy simply ran out of ideas! He backed himself into a musical corner and couldn’t find a way out of it, so he faked it until he could squirm out and into a new direction.

I remember going to a duo gig starring a very famous musician and a less-well known but still respected player in the area. I had never heard this “other” guy play before, but I figured if he was playing with Famous Guy he’s probably pretty damn good.

Let me just say that after 5 seconds of hearing him play I determined that he had absolutely NO business being on that stage, with or without Famous Guy. He was awful; simply the worst musician of the genre I had ever heard.

But you know what? He faked it so well that the rest of the audience absolutely loved him! His playing was shit, but he played with such passion and energy that the entire audience (save for me and perhaps two other people) completely ate his shtick up. When I thought about it more, after comparing myself to him as guitarists are always wont to do, I realized that this guy may suck, but at least he’s the one up there playing with Famous Guy. On top of that, I paid to see him play. He got my hard-earned money, so who’s the fool?

You Should Fake It, Too!

Now, I’m certainly not advocating you rip off your audience. However, even if you don’t have the confidence, technique, ear, talent, patience, or courage right now, you need to put on airs until you do. You need to give the appearance that you have it all together, because in doing so your confidence, technique, ear, talent, patience, and courage will eventually catch up to you and it will be as if you had it all along.

So get out there, grab the world by the balls, and fake it ’til you make it!

Fake It ‘Til You Make It is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

But can you play guitar?

Kids these days.

Seems like every generation says the same thing about the younger ones. “When I was your age, yadda yadda yadda” is something we always hated to hear growing up, but now seem to find ourselves saying it more and more.

I’m not here to lecture anyone on sociology, the trouble with kids these days, every kid gets a trophy, blah blah. What I am here to talk about, however, is the responsibility I think we – as guitarists who have “been there and done that” – have to the younger players out there today.

Okay, so what am I really talking about here. Well, the way I see it, one of the things kids today – especially kids who want to be musicians – are lacking these days, are good mentors. No, I’m not saying good role models like you have to take them to church and encourage them to do their homework. I’m talking about showing the younger kids how to really master their instrument; getting back to the “good old days” where you learned by watching, listening, and emulating.

The Internet is great, backing tracks are cool, and there are certainly tons and tons of excellent books and DVDs on the market. But there is no better way to learn than by getting one-on-one attention from someone who has truly been there and done that.

Okay… So What Can We Do?

I’m putting a call out to all of you; all of us, really… the seasoned players that have had a guitar in their hands for a long time, to get involved. Get involved by showing the young guns what they need to know. Start a guitar community.

A Guitar Community?

Yes. Just think back to when you were coming up. How cool would it have been to show up to a session once every other week or once a month and jam with cats older than you, ask them questions, steal licks from them, and be so inspired that you went home and shed until your fingers bled? I know I would have.

In a time when our youth are being medicated for false diagnoses, we should be giving them an opportunity to benefit from our experience. Is it ADHD or just a lack of going outside and doing stuff instead of playing XBox and Facebook all damn day long?!?!

Okay, okay, I know… I promised I wouldn’t lecture, but the sad truth is that kids today really need our help.

How We Can Help

First, find some friends and talk to them about starting a guitar community. Just one day a month, get together and jam. Have someone come up with a topic and let them do a mini lecture. Get some jam tracks and play along. Talk to your community centers, Boy Scouts, and local music stores. Tell them what you want to do and encourage them to help you reach out to the young players.

Once things start to take off, and trust me, they will if you stick with it, you’ll reap rewards that you never though were possible. There is nothing greater than seeing the passion on a kid’s face when they are playing and really enjoying the guitar. You’ve been there yourselves; you know what I’m talking about.

So what are you waiting for? Start a guitar community!

Start a Guitar Community and Save the World is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

It's not easy to sing and play at the same time

For many people, myself included, the guitar is not just an instrument; it’s an accompaniment. I have always enjoyed expressing myself through music, in particular by singing. Not long after I really started getting interested in music in my teens, I decided to purchase an acoustic guitar at the age of 19. At the time, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to achieve. Naturally I started by learning basic chord shapes and progressions, mostly from my Oasis chord book (and still love a bit of Brit-pop today!).

Once I had a basic progression down, I would record it and then try to layer the lead sections over the top using my brother’s electric guitar – I was useless. My timing was always off and I couldn’t play quickly enough. Whilst this can be rectified in time through lots and lots of practice, it didn’t take long for me to realise that the most intriguing and ultimately satisfying part of playing guitar for me, was the ability to sing along with the chords I was strumming.

This was tough to master, and I would like to share with you five techniques which helped me learn how to play and sing simultaneously.

Try to Minimise the Pain

You can’t comfortably sing if you are struggling to play. Make sure that you keep your fingernails short and that the skin on the end of your fingers has toughened up. If you are in pain, you will more likely be concentrating on this than anything else, and I found that if there was something hampering my playing, my voice and timing would go to pot. Also, sometimes you need to step back and take a break. I was practicing for 4-5 hours at a time which was very intense on my fingers, posture and vocals.

Have a Conversation

What you need to do is separate your hand from your brain. When trying to sing and play at the same time, many people strum the guitar in emphasis along with what they are trying to sing. There needs to be a disconnect between your hand and your brain. To do this, start by just having a conversation with a friend whilst strumming. Concentrate on the conversation, not your playing. Don’t try to play anything in particular – just play what you know. This will help to sever that connection between your brain and your hand, meaning that neither is dependent on the other.

Get Your Playing Down

My timing naturally sucks, and this tip can be useful to all musicians – practice with a click track (metronome). If you never play with a drummer, there is a good chance that your playing is not consistent with anything other than itself. This isn’t good if you’re performing a solo song. Practice both playing and singing individually with a metronome, which will help to train your natural rhythm. This, in time, will make playing and singing simultaneously much easier.

Work on Your Vocals Independently

To complete the singer/guitarist package you need to be expressive in your singing. Strengthening your voice is a great way to improve vocal projection. Take in deep breaths and release slowly 10 times in a row. Do this in the shower to take in the steam and air out your lungs. Lie down on the couch with a weight (i.e. a large book or similar) on your diaphragm and take large breaths… in and out… this all helps to strengthen the muscles which control your voice. Obviously this is the tip of the iceberg, but I encourage you to look further into vocal training as this will make you a better all-round performer.

Jam With Others

Sometimes this can be hard to orchestrate and no, a drum machine or metronome is not the same! Find people to play with; guitarists, singers, bassists, drummers… Humans make mistakes and have ideas just like you, and having a jam session with other musicians can be a really good way to train your skills. You don’t need to be the best guitarist in the world; you just need to have a passion and desire to progress your skills. Who knows, you may even decide to form a band of your own some day!

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