The Guitarist Blog

The song "The Scientist" is the second single from the British alternative rock band Coldplay's second album - A Rush of Blood to the Head. In class we will play this song with a capo at the 3rd fret. If the Bm7 chord is difficult for you, just replace it with a D chord. At first, keep the strum simple.  Four down strums (one on each beat) is all you need. I suggest you download the song into your itunes (see link below). Here is a video you can practice with.  I am strumming down on all four counts.  In between the counts (the "and") I am hitting a bass note.  On beat four I am playing Down, Down Up (4 and a).

This is a Pete Huttlinger arrangement of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Here's our class version of the intro to Lyin' Eyes.  I play the intro twice in the video (slow and then slower).  Hope this helps!

Finally getting around to a demonstration of the intro to Time of Your Life. Watch the down and up strokes closely.

Play along with me to Mario Giuliani's study, Allegro.

A student in my class just gave this to me.  Very funny! Everyone should play the same piece. If you play a wrong note, glare at one of the other players. Carefully tune your instrument before playing.  Then if you play out of tune, you can at least do it with a clear conscience. If everyone gets lost except you, follow the ones who are lost. If a passage is difficult, slow down.  If it is easy, speed up.  Everything will even itself out in the end. When everyone else stops playing, you should stop also.   Do not play any notes you may have left over. A wrong note, played timidly, is a wrong note.  A wrong note, played with authority, is simply your interpretation of the phrase.

I really like this creative arrangement of And I Love Here by The Beatles.  The intro has a bit of a Latin feel.  This arrangement was composed by Pete Huttlinger.  I plan to teach another one of his Beatles arrangements, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, in class soon (video coming soon, too)!

A large percentage of our new students are people that have never played guitar before. In fact, they are so new to the guitar that they don't even own a guitar yet! We want your buying decision to be confident and easy. Buying a guitar from us is a little different then if you buy it from somewhere else. Why? Because we are also going to teach you how to play it. What teacher would want their students trying to learn on a guitar that is difficult to play? When a guitar arrives, we unpack it and give it a look over. You would think that when you unbox your guitar it would be ready to play. Not necessarily. When guitars are shipped they may travel through different climates, i.e. humid to hot and dry. This can cause the neck to be curved or bowed. At The Guitarist, we take the time to set the neck so that the strings play easy all along the fretboard. (Be careful ordering a guitar online. It is not uncommon that this adjustment will be necessary and it needs to be mad...

From the Indian Film RockStar, here is the intro to Jo Bhi Main (played two times through). One of my students brought this song in during a lesson and I just thought it was a great riff.  So, here it is for all my students and friends from India! I should have the tab available soon.  If you would like it, please send me an email request. Please post your questions and comments.

Here's a demonstration of Sheryl Crow's Soak Up The Sun (acoustic style). I am playing the intro and verse four times.  Hope this helps with your practice!

Be sure to read this lesson.  Your first week of practice is critical.  Be sure to make an effort to find a comfortable sitting position, to play on the very tips of your fingers, and to hold the pick properly. Read through this lesson, try all the exercises, and go over the Right Hand and Left Hand Check List.

I love those Takamine guitars! Read article here.

Here's a great "Campfire" strum for Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. D       D U    U     D     D U     U D = Down U = Up Here is a video of the melody.  You can play this for the intro to the song and you can play it as the interlude between the verses.  I'll add another video soon with the chord strums between the melody notes. And here's a video adding one simple strum on beat two of each measure.

Grab your classical guitars and join me as I play Maria Elena.  If you have comments/questions, please post.  I'm happy to help.

Here's a video demonstration of the song Anonymous.  Found in Lesson Fifteen of the book "I've Always Wanted to Play Guitar."

Two Apps I highly recommend. Capo - This app will allow you to slow down any song with out changing the pitch and without diminishing the sound quality.  Let say you're practicing the Groovin' Blues (from my method book) and it's just too fast.  No problem.  Drop it into your Capo app and slow it down to a more manageable speed. Garage Band - There is so much you can do with this app!  You can play to drum beats,  easily add chords to strum along with, record your playing, and much, much more. Type the app in the search box below and get them on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.  If you are taking lessons with me (Rich) I will be happy to show you how to use them to make your practice time more productive and fun!

I am really enjoying this book!  If you're wondering if you can learn to play the guitar later in life, you may want to read this.