This is just an easy lesson on playing some bluesy rhythm guitar in the open position. Its really just a jumping-off point for our next series of lessons on playing in the open position but since most of that will be about soloing I thought we'd get started with a little rhythm.
If you aren't sure what a 12 Bar Blues you should work your way through this lesson first:12 Bar Blues Lesson #1
It's been a few months since we've had new entries here (if I can get some technology issues worked out we'll have some new lessons in the next week or so) but I wanted to let you all know about my newest venture...in addition to the online stuff (www.markweinguitarlessons.com and www.mwglforums.com) I own a teaching studio in Orange, CA that has a small retail music store in it.
This month I am opening "MWGLstore.com", our new online storefront! For the time being we are not selling instruments or amplifiers, but I have prices equal to or better than most of the big online retailers for Guitar strings and accessories.
Here is a partial list of the brands that we carry:
Ernie Ball D'Addario Planet Waves Korg Yamaha Martin Gibson Fender Dunlop GHS Dean Markley Kyser Reflection EMG Hal Leonard Danelectro Rhythm Tech
We're starting small (a little over 60 products at the moment) but we can special order quite a bit at very compettetive prices if we don't have what you're looking for and we're adding new products every month!
Check us out at www.MWGLstore.com and use the coupon code "mwgllaunch" at checkout for an additional 10% off your purchase in the month of May. We also offer free shipping on orders $200 or more!
We also have a special regular discount for registered members of www.mwglforums.com...sign up over there and send me a PM from your account for that discount code, too!
Work through each pattern slowly and with a metronome set as slow as you need it to be to execute each passage accurately before you try to speed things up.
This is the second in my series of lessons on Sweep Picking...if you haven't done the Sweep Picking Primer Lesson go back and do that before you work on this one!
In this lesson we are just learning some common shapes for sweeping major and minor chords, and why we alter the note that we do in order to change from major to minor.
This is the first lesson on "Sweep Arpeggios"...we are just getting the basic technique down and learning a few basic arpeggio shapes.
An "Arpeggio" is just a chord played one note at a time instead of all together in a strum. When we "sweep" the arpeggio we are playing the chord with one note per string and we're moving the pick the same direction through each string until we run out of strings in the pattern and then we "sweep" the other direction....
Here are a few players that are known for their sweep picking...
As always you can find lessons, gear reviews and more on my forum at MWGLForums.com!
This is a compilation of videos and an article I wrote about keeping your hands healthy. Video #2 is actually brand new and is a demonstration of an exercise from Jody Fischers 30-Day Guitar Workout (Book & Dvd) (30-Day`)
Part 1:
Part 2
Overuse Injuries
This thing saved my career (see #3 below)
NO, really... it did. After years of gigs, teaching, practicing guitar, going to the gym and then finally doing most of the construction on our studio, my hands quit on me. Pain and loss of function made performing hell and practicing difficult (and unpleasant). It really seemed that my Guitar playing career was done for. Repetetive stress injuries are something that most professional musicians have to deal with at some point in their life. Even non-pro's have to deal with the issue, even if the cause is not guitar related. I have had students who spend their days in front of a computer, work with their hands or play tennis obsessively....all kinds of ways to wear your hands out.
I have always been afraid of getting any kind of surgery done on my hands. I have never met anyone who has had this kind of surgery done who is better for it. Especially guitarists. So I spent many years taking lots of Motrin and I just lived with the problem. When things became unmanageable I finally went to our family doctor (and ex-guitar student), so he appreciated my concerns more than most doctors would) and he had a couple of non-invasive solutions for me:
1 - Active Release Technique (ART)PAIN PAIN PAIN. It really hurts when they do it but it seems to work pretty well, and there are no drugs and no surgery. Basically, the Doctor breaks up the knots and scar tissue by pushing REALLY HARD on the muscle as you move it through its range of motion. I think that there is a similar technique called "Rolfing", but I have never experienced that...
2. Stretching Warming up by playing slowly and stretching your hands is pretty important. It keeps you from having problems in the first place. Here are links to a few resources I found on the internet showing some stretches: http://www.shelterpub.com/_fitness/_office_fitness_clinic/hwf.pdf
3. The Wax BathThis has helped me the most. I soak my hands in the melted Paraffin Wax almost every day. The deep heat keeps the muscles flexible, the blood flowing and moves acid build-up out of the muscles....combined with daily stretching not only do I not have the pain in my hands and forearms that I once did, but my reach on the fretboard is HUGE. I can play some pretty wide stretches on the Guitar that I could only dream about before.
If I stretch and soak on a regular basis I don't have a problem. If I neglect my routine the problems return. I'd like to continue playing music for the rest of my life, so I keep up my daily regimen.
The hardest part about helping students with this is that they might do the stretches, but seeing the doctor or buying the wax bath is something that most won't bother with. Adults have a lifetime of injuries stored in their bodies...hands especially. Sometimes the hardest part for someone 40+ years old is just getting their flexibility back in order to play Barre chords and stretches that are wider than one position. These 3 things have really worked wonders for me...hopefully some of you will try them with similar results!
Here is a link to the wax bath that I actually use....I like the bigger version with the 6lb capacity because it fits my hands more completely...
This is another lesson on how to organize your Minor Pentatonic scale to break out of the old "5 box pattern" prison. This lesson is just about getting each of these under your fingers and then in the next lesson we are going to do more in the way of applications.
If you haven't done my previous lessons on the Minor Pentatonic Scales you can find them here:
This lesson is a continuation of our "One String Minor Pentatonic Scale" lesson. If you haven't worked through that one already you should go back and do it first or this lesson won't be quite as useful!
What we are doing is learning our minor pentatonic scale up the neck on two strings at a time, and I have some sample licks for you to use as well. In the video I only explore two "string sets" or pairs of strings but in the notation I have them written out for all 5 sets of adjoining strings.
This lesson is about deconstructing your Minor Pentatonic scale and learning to solo on just one string at a time. What we are trying to do is break down the walls between each of your "box patterns". When I limit myself to one string while I am improvising it usually makes me play a little more melodically since I can't really rely on most of my stock licks and ideas.
Another way to work with this is to limit yourself to 2 strings at a time, either adjoining or giving yourself a string or two in between to jump over...you will find yourself playing all kinds of new phrases just by being out of your comfort zone!
If you haven't learned your Minor Pentatonic scales yet I have a couple of lesson series on my site here:
