TomGuitar

Free Online Video Lessons Available Now

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 09:54:47 GMT

Boost your skills right now!

This is just a reminder to check out all of the free lesson content that I've made available over the years.

The Guitar in 60 Seconds or Less YouTube series is packed full of bite-sized chunks of information that'll help you boost your skills, so go and have a browse here .

The Complete Beginner Rock Guitar Course contains all of the information you'll need to get a solid foundation in rock guitar. You'll be learning songs from the very first lesson, and it's the best way forward if you can't find a teacher in your local area. Check it out here .

Finally, we have TomGuitar Mega-Guides! These are massive lessons and resources that can keep you busy for weeks - and help you improve faster than ever before. Have a look here !

If you find this useful, please do let me know! You can contact me on the Get in Touch page, and I'd love to hear from you.

- Tom

A Brief History of the Guitar

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 16:39:29 GMT

Learn the history of the most popular instrument in the world...

This time we're taking a break from the shred guitar lessons and learning about something a bit different - the history of the guitar!

Whether you're a pure shred-machine or someone who's into lots of different styles, learning how your favourite instrument evolved is vital.

It gives you new perspectives and, personally, it's given me a new-found respect for this instrument. It's also a lot of fun to find out how the guitar has evolved over the years, from the renaissance guitars of Spain to modern-day Stratocasters and Les Pauls.

As someone who plays every style of guitar from rock to flamenco, I've found this guest post by Cameron of The Singer's Corner really insightful and interesting (see more about Cameron below).

Without further ado, over to Cameron...

Origin of the Guitar

The exact origin of the guitar is unknown, but the obvious predecessor of the modern guitar first appeared in Spain during the Renaissance era ( The Spanish Guitar ).

While the Spanish guitar of this period most closely resembles the guitar we know today, variations of fretted instruments appear in many cultures throughout history. Some of these early instruments seem to have little in common with the modern guitar, but likely played a role in its evolution. These instruments would have been introduced in Europe as trade spread throughout the ancient world ( History of the Acoustic Guitar ).

Spanish Guitar

Regardless of where the guitar originated, its modern evolution can certainly be traced to Spain. The Spanish design was popular across Europe.

Most Renaissance-era guitars consisted of four courses of double strings, similar to the mandolin of today. As the Renaissance gave way to the Baroque era in the late 16th century, a fifth course of double strings was added.

The guitar and its repertoire continued to develop over the next few centuries. A sixth course of strings was added, and guitar makers started experimenting with bracing techniques on the soundboards of these larger instruments. This bracing allowed the soundboards to withstand the string tension while still being able to vibrate freely and produce a rich sound.

Spanish luthier Antonio de Torres used the best innovations of the time to create the guitar that would serve as the inspiration for all modern guitars.

Modern Guitar

By the time German luthier C.F. Martin immigrated to the United States in 1833, the six string guitar with Torres’ bracing system was the most popular design. Although smaller-bodied than their modern successors, these 19th century guitars were very similar to the guitars of today.

Martin improved on the Spanish design with his flat top guitars. The bracing system developed by Martin in the 1850s is still used in the company’s steel-string guitars today ( The Martin Story ).

Toward the end of the 19th century, Orville Gibson began his own series of innovations in guitar design. In addition to making the popular flat top guitar, Gibson also introduced the arch top acoustic guitar. Gibson’s design was based on the arched design of a violin ( 120 Years of Innovation ).

Earlier guitars were strung with lower-tension gut strings. Classical guitars in the Spanish style are today typically strung with nylon strings. By the end of the 19th century, advances in bracing and design allowed Martin and Gibson to begin offering steel-string guitars ( PBS - American Roots Music ). Steel-string guitars are designed to be played with a pick, rather than the fingers, and deliver a brighter and louder sound. Although nylon-string guitars are still played today, steel-string guitars are what most people picture when they think of a guitar.

During the first part of the 20th century, guitars became bigger and louder. Martin’s dreadnought guitar, the largest body style, was initially unpopular when it debuted in 1916. It was simply too large and too loud compared to other guitars of the time ( The Dreadnought Story ). Today, the dreadnought style is one of the more popular guitar models and is synonymous with country music.

Electric Guitars

At the same time guitars were becoming bigger and louder, technological advances in recording, broadcasting and projecting sound made amplification possible. The first electric guitar was introduced in 1929, but it was not commercially successful. Two years later, Rickenbacker’s “Frying Pan” guitar met with some success, although its appeal was limited ( The Electric Guitar’s Long, Strange Trip ).

Gibson introduced the first “Spanish style” electric guitar in 1936. Unlike the lap model produced by Rickenbacker, Gibson’s electric guitar could be held and played exactly like an acoustic guitar. This sleek design proved much more versatile and desirable.

The 1950s marked a new era in guitar making, and innovations during this time gave birth to an intense rivalry between Fender and Gibson. Both companies introduced successful electric guitars during this decade. Fender introduced the first mass-produced electric guitar with its Telecaster model in 1950. Gibson followed with its highly successful 1952 release of its Les Paul model. ( 120 Years of Innovation ) Fender’s 1954 Stratocaster was next, and this guitar introduced their patented tremolo system, which allowed guitarists to raise and lower the pitch of the strings.

Guitars of Today

As this brief history illustrates, the guitar has undergone significant evolution in its long history. Today’s market includes everything from cheap, mass-produced instruments to the finest one-of-a-kind handmade masterpiece.

The designs of Martin, Gibson and Fender are still used today and these makers are joined by newer names too numerous to list here. While it is hard to imagine significant changes to today’s guitar, modern luthiers continue to innovate with wood choice and new ways of building a better guitar.

About the Author

Cameron is a contributor to The Singer’s Corner , which is a great place to learn, refresh, and delve into the music world. Whether you want to learn a new approach to singing, give you tips to make you better, and teach you ways to be the best of the best.

What Stopped Me Playing Fast On Guitar For THREE YEARS

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 11:21:04 GMT

The Novelty Trap destroyed my progress on guitar, and stopped me from playing fast for years. If you're struggling to play fast, this is most likely the reason why. Learn how to avoid it in this lesson...

How to Create The Perfect Shred Guitar Practice Schedule

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 11:12:16 GMT

Wondering what you should practice for maximum speed? Look no further...

How to Stick to Your Shred Guitar Practice Routine and Achieve Your Goals

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 16:52:09 GMT

Are you having trouble sticking to your goals? In this lesson you'll learn exactly how to motivate yourself to stick to your guitar goals and start getting big results from every practice session...

Easy Guitar Motivation with The Motivation Equation

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 16:45:50 GMT

Master your motivation and learn how to overcome any obstacle, so that you can achieve any shred guitar goal you want...

How to Learn New Guitar Styles Incredibly Fast

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 16:34:16 GMT

The three step process to learn any guitar style in record time...

The Biggest Killer of Your Progress on Guitar - 3 Step Method to Overcome It

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 16:26:36 GMT

This single thing seriously limited my progress on guitar - and it could be limiting yours, too! Here's a 3 step method to make sure you never fall into this trap...

Why You Can't Play Fast on Guitar

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Sat, 03 Mar 2018 09:31:26 GMT

Are you doing everything right, but you can't seem to get faster? This is the reason why...

How to Stay Super Motivated on Guitar - Simple Method

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Sat, 03 Mar 2018 09:27:39 GMT

If you want to play shred guitar, you need motivation. Don't leave it to chance; learn to control your motivation so you can practice like a maniac and get great results...

Learning to Shred? Stop Trying So Hard!

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Sat, 03 Mar 2018 09:14:23 GMT

Put in less effort, and get better results? The easy path to incredible shred guitar skills...

The Best Alternate Picking Exercise You've Never Heard Of

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 09:07:57 GMT

Eliminate hang-ups and pop-outs and get a smooth, super-fast technique...

12 Alternate Picking Exercises: Individual Skill Focus with Tabs and Close-Ups

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 15:55:11 GMT

12 Exercises to Master The Most Important Parts of Fast Alternate Picking

Alternate Picking - More Than Just One Skill

Alternate picking is pretty simple - you just move your pick down, then up, then down, then up...

...and so on, right?

Easy?

Well.

Sure, it's simple on the surface, but if you want to master it FAST then you need to understand that there's more going on than just down, up, down, up .

There are lots of challenges that you need to master one by one in order to play fast alternate picking licks. These 12 exercises focus on the specific problem areas that everyone encounters when they learn to alternate pick at high speed.

The Main Challenges of Alternate Picking

We're gonna focus on four main skills that you need to master. Here they are:

Tremolo Picking - picking one note repeatedly to get used to correct picking technique.
Synchronising The Hands - making sure your hands both hit the notes at exactly the same time. This makes sure your playing sounds clean and precise, which is what enables you to play fast.
Changing Strings After Upstrokes - we're dividing string changes into two separate categories to break down the challenge and learn it faster. First we're gonna learn to change strings with the last note on each string being an upstroke , leading to a downstroke as the first note on the new string.
Changing Strings After Downstrokes - now we're gonna do the opposite, and learn to change strings with the last note on each string being a downstroke , leading to an upstroke as the first note on the new string.

There are more challenges than these, but these are the main ones we'll focus on today.

How to Boost Your Picking Speed by 50%

When you're learning alternate picking it's vital that you not only use the right exercises but also avoid the common pitfalls .

That's why I created this free guide to help you avoid the seven most common mistakes people make when learning alternate picking:

If you avoid all of the pitfalls, you'll get fast - it's that simple!

If you're making these mistakes (which you probably are - I made them for years!) then you'll find it really difficult to play fast. Fix these mistakes, and you'll increase your potential speed by at least 50%, if not more!

Check out the free guide HERE and start alternate picking the RIGHT way!

Stage 1: Tremolo Picking (DO NOT SKIP THIS!)

Even if you think you're already good at this, DO NOT SKIP THESE EXERCISES!

It's really important that you get completely comfortable with this skill before continuing. Even if you've been practising your picking for a while, it doesn't mean that you won't benefit from these tremolo picking exercises.

The idea here is that the left hand parts are really simple , letting you focus completely on getting your right hand technique correct (i.e. relaxed and controlled).

Here's the first one. It's an E minor scale going down the strings (all the exercises in stages 1 and 2 are in the key of E minor).

You'll notice the little triangle symbols above some of the notes - if you haven't seen these before, they are accents . This means that you should play those notes slightly louder than the rest.

Just pick them a tiny bit harder than the others. These accents will line up with the beat if you're playing to a metronome, which will help you to keep in time and keep track of what you are playing.

They're also a vital part of synchronising the hands together later on (you'll see why in a moment).

Here's the next exercise. Now we're accenting every sixth note, which gives a slightly different feel.

You'll notice that instead of holding each note down (like we did in the first exercise), we're now only holding our fretting hand finger down for one note before releasing it again and then picking the open note.

This helps you improve picking hand control because it feels different when you pick the open string as opposed to picking a fretted note.

This is because there's a slight difference in string tension, so this exercise will get you used to that sensation and help you to improve your control. It's a great exercise for eliminating picking "hang-ups", where the pick gets caught on the string when you go to play it (learn how to get rid of picking hang-ups once and for all here ).

Now we've got the final tremolo picking example:

As you can see, in this exercise the fretting hand is a bit more involved than in the previous two.

This brings in a little bit of a challenge with synchronising the hands together and making sure that they both hit the notes at the same time. However, it's still quite easy because we're only fretting (at most) every other note.

You could view this exercise as a "preview" of the next section! Practice it, master it, and then move on to the next set of exercises...

Stage 2: Synchronising The Hands

Synchronising your hands together so that they both hit the notes at exactly the same time is a VITAL part of fast picking, but it can be a nightmare to get right!

After all, when the notes are going by so quickly, it's nigh on impossible to keep track of which hand is doing what and make sure that they're both in time with each other.

The faster you play, the smaller the margin of error is - so when you're shredding, there's no room AT ALL for any discrepancy in timing between the two hands.

However, there is an easy way to get around this...

...which is by using the accents from stage 1.

So far you've learned to tremolo pick on one string while playing the first note of each beat slightly louder than the rest.

When you start to synchronise your hands together, this note acts like your "focus point" or "lock point". All you have to do is focus on that note, and with a bit of practice the notes in between will sort themselves out.

When you practice, make sure that you focus on making the accented note PERFECTLY IN TIME. Make sure both hands are perfectly in sync for that note.

Then, you can forget about the other notes. After playing a few notes your hands might start to drift apart again and go out of time...

...but just before that happens, another accent comes around where you sync them right back up again!

If you get used to using accents like this, synchronisation won't be a problem. Just focus on getting the ACCENTS right, and every other note will sort itself out!

Concentrate on this as you practice the next few exercises. Here's the first one for this section:

As you can see, we're accenting the first note of each beat again. Just focus on playing that note perfectly in sync, and the other notes will sort themselves out automatically when you get faster.

Here's the next exercise:

If you play this lick with your 1st, 3rd and 4th fingers, then it's great for working on your 3rd/4th finger independence.

This is something that a LOT of guitarists struggle with, so give that exercise a go to combat it.

Then move on to this one:

This exercise is actually chromatic rather than E minor, but you can use it over E minor use the note on the 13th fret as a passing tone.

It's great for synchronisation because it works on using all four fingers while picking. This trains your finger independence at the same time!

Once you've got a hold on those exercises, you're ready for the next challenge - changing strings...

Stage 3: Changing Strings After Upstrokes

Now you've got your single string picking technique sorted, it's time to learn about string changing.

We'll start by focusing on just one type of string change: making each string start on a downstroke and end on an upstroke.

We can make this easy for ourselves by using the "pick-slanting" technique.

How does this work? Well, this is how you might normally pick:

Straight up and down, with the pick perpendicular to the strings. However, if you want to change strings, it means you have to "jump" over the string like this:

This is very awkward to do at high speed, and doing it will really limit your speed potential.

Instead, try positioning your pick like this:

Now the pick is slanted so that the tip is pointed towards the ceiling. This is known as a "downward" pick slant.

This is the motion the pick would now make:

Notice how we're still doing a back-and-forth, up-and-down motion, but the pick is at an angle.

This makes the pick go "in and out" of the strings as we play, going closer to the body of the guitar on a down stroke, then further away from the body on an upstroke , then closer again with the next downstroke, and so on.

This means that after every upstroke , the pick is positioned above the plane of the strings like this:

...which makes string changing much easier, because now we don't have to "jump" over the strings. Every time we do an upstroke, the pick is immediately positioned above the strings ready to change to a new one. It's like the "jump" from before is incorporated into the upstroke motion anyway, which makes changing to a new string after an upstroke really easy.

NOTE: This isn't the place for a full pick-slanting explanation - if you don't understand it, don't worry! There are more lessons coming on this very soon...

Have a go at picking on one string with the pick slant, and then try out this exercise:

Now we're in A minor. All of the exercises in stages 3 and 4 are in A minor .

It's just a run down the A minor pentatonic scale, but we're picking each note four times. When you pick this example down-up-down-up, it means that every string ends on an upstroke - which, when combined with our downwards pick slant, makes string changes very easy.

Focus on the angle of your pick, and remember - let the downward pick slant do the work. Don't resort to "jumping" the pick over the strings.

This exercise is great to get used to the motion because the left hand part is very simple, meaning you can focus almost all of your attention on your right hand.

Once you've got the hang of that, try this:

This is more complex. Now we're going across five strings, and we're playing the same four-note "block" on every string (just moved up the scale).

Again, notice how the last note on every string is an upstroke. Pay attention to the angle of your pick, and make sure there's no timing difference when you change to a new string. Every note should be perfectly in time.

We'll finish off this stage with this exercise:

(Yeah, the image says it's in A minor, but really it's just chromatic!)

This time we're skipping strings which increases the difficulty - but you can still use the same motion to do the string changes. Just slant the pick downwards, and let the angle of the pick do the work.

Try to forget about speed here and instead focus on two things:

Relaxation . Make sure there isn't any excess tension in your fingers, hands, or arms. Stay as relaxed as possible. If you're doing this right, it should feel effortless.
Efficiency . Focus on making your movements small . Only move your fingers as far as is absolutely necessary, and keep your picking motions compact. Make the string change motion smooth and controlled by keeping the pick at an angle (yes, I know I keep saying that, but it's important!) and keeping your movements as small as possible.

Practice those exercises until changing strings after upstrokes is the easiest thing in the world. Then, you can move on to Stage 4.

Stage 4: Changing Strings After Downstrokes

Now we're gonna do the opposite of what we did in stage 3 - we'e gonna change strings after downstrokes.

With our current pick slant, this is where the pick ends up after a downstroke:

It's buried beneath the string! If we wanted to change to a new string after doing a downstroke, we'd have to do this:

...which would be practically impossible at high speed!

What's the solution? Easy...

...just slant the pick the other way.

Point it like this instead:

So the pick now moves like this:

This means that after every downstroke, the pick will be lifted above the strings and it'll be easy to change to a new string.

Practice this new picking angle just on one string for a moment to get used to the new motion, and then have a go at the following exercises.

Here's the first one:

When you alternate pick this, the last note on every string is a downstroke. If you slant your pick in the same way shown in the photos above, then the string changes will be pretty easy.

Once you've practised that for a while and you're used to the motions, try this:

This is a similar thing, but now we're taking it across more strings.

Remember: let the angle of the pick do the work! Do NOT "jump" the pick over the strings, because that will really limit how fast you can play.

Focus on relaxation and efficiency, and forget about speed until you can play the lick perfectly and effortlessly. Then you can start to focus on speeding it up.

This is the last of the twelve exercises:

This time we've incorporated a position shift into the lick, but it's still nice and simple to play. Have fun with it - it's a great lick to add into your solos!

Final Thoughts

There you have it - 12 alternate picking exercises to help you master this vital skill!

Don't forget to grab the free guide " Boost Your Picking Speed by 50% " . It'll help you to get to the next level of picking speed and control.

I hope you've enjoyed these exercises - practice them regularly, and you'll get great results.

Have fun, and keep rocking!

Improve Your Phrasing With Creative Bends in 55 Seconds!

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Sat, 03 Feb 2018 19:24:30 GMT

These little-known bending tricks will have you playing brilliant, creative solos in no time!

Learn Reverse Hand Tapping in 56 Seconds - It's easy!

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 16:23:10 GMT

Learn this supposedly hard, but deceptively simple technique today!

Get the tabs here . Happy shredding!

Follow TomGuitar on Instagram

Shred Guitar Made Easy: Tapping Scale Runs! (Easy Shred Guitar Licks)

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:15:35 GMT

Check out this free lesson on how to make shred guitar easy - yes, you CAN learn to shred!

...and then grab the full course and transform your playing in ten weeks - guaranteed!

To succeed at shred guitar, you need a system .

Not just a collection of random licks...

...but a complete, step-by-step method you can use to master guitar technique and play really fast. Lick lessons are only good if you ALREADY HAVE A SYSTEM to put them into!

Otherwise you'll never get fast.

This is just like anything - a car needs a chassis. A school needs a curriculum, otherwise the students won't learn...

...and that's exactly what you get with Shred Guitar Made Easy - a system you can use to go from beginner shredder to lightning-fast guitar player in 10 weeks - guaranteed.

AND you'll finally have a complete "framework" you can fit other things to, so that you can go out and learn any song you like and write your own music with ease. You don't just get speed.

You get FREEDOM.

Check it out now.

The only reason you wouldn't is if you didn't believe in yourself.

Learn Guitar In Telford! Experienced, High-Quality Tuition in All Styles

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:49 GMT

Check it out here!

Custom Marshall Amp - a BluesBreaker look-alike for less than £300?!

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 20:36:50 GMT

Check out F.A Guitar Cabs ! I'm not affiliated with them in any way. I love their products, so I wanna spread the word!

How to Make Your Chord Progressions Jazzy in 54 Seconds

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 20:30:31 GMT

Make 'em sound complex and exciting - when it's secretly easy...

...and  Here is the massive free guide on chord extensions. Have fun!

The Best Way to Learn Rock Guitar For Beginners

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 18:57:01 GMT

The TomGuitar FREE Complete Rock Guitar Beginner's Course is here!

Wanna learn rock guitar but don't know where to start? This is the place for you.

Every free video is like getting a top-quality lesson from a real instructor. They're all specifically designed to be fun and get you the BIGGEST results in the smallest time. It's the best way to learn rock guitar - period!

Check out the full lesson course now - it's ever expanding, and I'll never stop adding new content and lessons. It's 100% free, and you'll never have to sign up for anything . Ever.

I want to show the world how easy learning the guitar can be - and this course is the way forward.

ANYONE can learn guitar, and that includes you - so what are you waiting for?

Grab "How to Improvise Fast Shred Guitar Licks" Now! LAUNCH DAY

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 12:56:07 GMT

The course is out TODAY! Master this vital shred guitar skill...

The course is out now! Learn to master shred guitar improvisation, and create incredible shred guitar runs on-the-spot.

You'll never run out of ideas when improvising ever again. This course teaches the fool-proof method for creating endless shred runs when you improvise, giving you an incredibly versatile toolkit for soloing.

Check It Out Now

If you haven't already, check out this free lesson featuring some of the lessons from the course.

Here's just some of what you'll learn in the course:

And here are some improvised solos using the methods in the course, over two of the included backing tracks:

Find out more about the course here , and unlock your full guitar potential!

"How to Improvise Fast Shred Guitar Licks" is out tomorrow - here's a free lesson preview!

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 19:06:23 GMT

Grab the epic course tomorrow - for now, check out this shred guitar lesson!

In the full course you'll get:

The "Living Sequence" - The ultimate improvisational tool
A complete method for learning and mastering high-speed improvisation
Full email support and guidance to guarantee results
Simple methods to combine sweeping, legato and alternate picking for incredible speed and flexibility
3 professional backing tracks at different tempos to practice the skills in the course
And loads more!

The course is suitable for anyone; you don't have to be an advanced player to use this system. If you've been playing for at least a year, then you can use this course!

However, you will have to put in the time. No-one will practice for you. To make this easier, I decided to include a BONUS MODULE showing you how to create your own practice plans.

Most practice schedules don't work because people don't stick to them. We're gonna use unique concepts and simple principles of learning to make practice plans that are fun, effective and incredibly powerful for getting results.

This info wasn't initially going to be in the course at all, but I decided to include it to help you get amazing results in a short time.

Anyone can learn this skill - it isn't down to talent. All you need is time to practice and the right methods. If you make the decision - right now - to master this skill and become the guitar player you've always wanted to be, there's nothing stopping you. Keep your promise to yourself, and you will become a great player.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's exciting launch!

53 Epic and Easy Rock Guitar Songs You Can Learn Right Now

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 09:29:11 GMT

Featuring everyone from Metallica to Kings of Leon, you can check out the new TomGuitar Mega-Guide here .

Have fun!

3 Exciting New Videos - The Squier Bullet Stratocaster - can £110 beat £1100?!

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Sat, 06 Jan 2018 15:44:17 GMT

Today we've got three more exciting videos showing you my new favourite guitar - the Squier Bullet Stratocaster!

First is an in-depth and honest review of the guitar and all of its features:

Now we've got a tone test between the Squier and a Fender American Standard - no talking, just tone for this vid! Have a listen and make up your own mind.

And finally we have an exciting jam! This was recorded over a simple loop on the POD HD500. Enjoy, and don't forget to subscribe if you've enjoyed these videos!

How to Make High-Speed Shred Guitar Improvisation Easy - And Take Your Shred Skills to the Max

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 17:08:54 GMT

Create amazing, super-fast shred runs on-the-spot...

As a celebration of the launch of “How to Improvise Fast Shred Guitar Licks” (the massive new TomGuitar course – find out more HERE ), we’re doing a free lesson featuring some of the stuff you’ll learn. Enjoy!

If there's one thing that separates wanna-be shred guitarists and the pros, it's the ability to improvise while playing really fast.

Being able to improvise on guitar is a massively important skill. It tests your scale knowledge, technique, creativity, and your ability to combine all of those skills to produce real music.

Improvisation is a great skill to have, and with a bit of practice it’s surprising how quickly you improve.

However, there’s a point at which you hit a barrier . When you’re improvising normally, you’re choosing each and every note on-the-spot – creating new music on-the-fly. However, when you start to play faster licks as you improvise, you have to stick to pre-learned patterns more and more.

This is because there isn’t time to think about all of the notes you play, because they’re going by too quickly. You have to stick to pre-learned licks, which can spoil the flow and make your improvisations all sound the same.

Improvising new, exciting things becomes more difficult the faster you play – which means that in the shred genre, it becomes very difficult to make your improvised solos sound exciting.

But wait – guys like Yngwie and Paul Gilbert can improvise at high speed, right? So why can’t we?

We need a different method – a system that allows us to improvise high-speed solos on-the-spot, creating new, unique music as we play.

The Simple Solution

When you speak, you use pre-learned words and phrases to create unique sentences.

All of the words you use are ones you’ve learned before, but the sentences you say are often unique in structure and meaning.

This is how every human being speaks, regardless of what language they use. People use little blocks of sounds that they already know (words), and combine them in new ways on-the-fly to express themselves.

How is this relevant to guitar?

Well, we can use the same strategy to play fast improvisations .

We can learn little blocks of just a few notes, and then practice combining them on-the-fly to create new, exciting shred runs every time we play. The little blocks of a few notes are our “words”, and the large licks we create by combining them are like sentences.

Creating Amazing Licks On-The-Spot

In this lesson we’re gonna go through a few simple “words” of just a few notes, and then use them to create some really awesome licks. This will create a sequence that we can use to improvise at high speed.

The idea is to learn simple little building blocks, and then combine them in a way that sounds complex but is actually really easy.

Here’s the first of our building blocks:

We’ll call this the “ascending” block.

You can play it with economy picking or alternate picking – whichever you find easiest. The important thing is that you choose one way of picking it and stick to it! Do ONE pattern of pick strokes, and stick with that one as you practice.

Otherwise it’s like you’re practising loads of different things, which will confuse your brain and slow down your progress.

Next we’re going to play the exact same thing, but reversed. Here it is:

We’ll call this the “descending” block.

Notice how all we’ve done is swap the notes around, so that the high notes are now the low notes and vice versa. This is an easy way to create another lick that we can use as a “building block” in our sequence. You’ll see how we use them both together in a moment.

First, practice those licks until you’ve got them under your fingers. These two licks are our “building blocks” that we’ll use to improvise with.

You can use them to move around the neck and up and down the strings, but first you have to learn them in one position. Don’t move on too soon!

How to Use the Building Blocks

Now you’ve learned the little blocks, we’re gonna learn to move them around.

You can use the first building block to move up the strings, like this:

Notice how we’re just repeating the ascending building block on each pair of strings as we ascend. You can do this all the way up to the high E string if you like – try it!

Try it out in different keys and different parts of the neck. This is a great way to practice the lick and improve your speed, while still keeping it interesting.

Once you’re really comfortable using it to ascend the strings, try this:

Now we’re using the descending building block to descend the strings. Again, try this out in different keys and scale positions. The more places you can play it, the more versatile your skills will be and the easier it’ll be to use these patterns when you improvise.

Now we know how to move to different strings with the sequence. But what if we want to move up the neck?

We can do that too:

There we’ve used the first building block to go up from the 12th fret to the 18th fret.

See how easy it is? All you have to do is play the block in each position, moving up one scale position each time you play it. You could move down the neck, too – the method is exactly the same.

The better you know your scales the easier this will be, so spend some time solidifying your knowledge in that area if you need to. The reverse is also true – the more you do this, the better your scale knowledge will become! Moving the building blocks around is a great way to practice moving between different shapes and positions.

This whole system is pretty simple – you just learn a couple of building blocks, and then practice moving them around the neck. When you become really good at it, you can do this on-the-fly – so you’ll just have to think “play from here to here” and your fingers will be able to do it!

How to Improvise With the Patterns

Before you start this, make sure you’re really comfortable with the patterns we’ve already covered. You should be able to play them really easily.

Now we’re gonna learn to improvise with them.

Start by choosing a key and a place on the neck – you could choose A minor around the 5th-10th frets, for example. Then, start to play the building blocks from that position, moving them up and down the strings/frets as you do so. Do it really slowly at first, so you have plenty of time to think about what you’re doing.

The only rule is this: you’re not allowed to play anything except for these chunks of notes! You have to stick to this one sequence as you improvise.

When you play, try to think about where you’re gonna go next. Are you gonna move up to the next string? Back down to the one you were just on? Move up the neck? Stay in the same position for a while?

Try to forget about the individual notes and just think about the blocks. Each block of notes should be “one thing”, because this makes it easier for the brain to digest it and then recall it when you play.

Once you’ve done that exercise for a while, start to speed up. You can use a metronome if you like, but it’s not 100% necessary. Gradually get faster over a week or two until you’re at the stage where you can improvise all over the neck at a good speed using the sequence.

Once you’re at a speed you’re happy with, it’s time for the next exercise.

Put on a backing track, and improvise as normal. Deliberately try to integrate your new high-speed improv skills into the licks you already know. It won’t sound great at first, but that’s normal – the idea here is to try things out and see what works.

Can you play a normal, slow phrase, and then go straight into the sequence? How about starting the fast improv sequence low on the neck, and then building all the way up before ending on a cool bend?

The possibilities are endless! This stage will turn out different for everyone, because everyone will have different ideas and tastes.

The basic idea is to deliberately use the fast improv building blocks even where you don’t think they’ll work. Use them more than you normally would . This will get you used to using them, so that eventually you’ll be able to use them tastefully.

Don’t worry about making mistakes – have fun, and see where it takes you!

Expanding Your Skills

Now we’re gonna learn some more patterns that’ll give you more freedom when using this system.

Here is a lick that demonstrates them:

This is basically a way to go smoothly from playing one building block to the reverse building block.

Notice the similarities between that and the blocks from before. The first eight notes of that example are here:

This is what you’d use to go from playing the normal ascending building block to playing the descending one.

Here are the second eight notes from the example above:

This is what you’d use to go from playing the descending building block to the normal ascending one.

Practice these on their own first, before using them in conjunction with what you already know. How about using the ascending block to go up all six strings, and then using the turnarounds above to switch to using the descending block, after which you can descend back down all six strings again?

See what you can create. Here’s just one example of how you can combine the building blocks effectively:

If it looks confusing, take it just eight notes at a time and make a note of which block is used where.

Here’s another, this time higher up the neck:

Notice how we’re still using the same little blocks , but we’re creating new music. We can create hundreds of new ideas just from the same little blocks, massively expanding our repertoire in a very short time.

The final stage in this system is to use the exercises in “how to improvise with the patterns” to get used to using these new turnarounds on-the-fly. After a little while it’ll be second nature, and you'll be able to improvise patterns like this with ease!

“How to Improvise Fast Shred Guitar Licks” Course

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. This is just a tiny taster of some of the tips, tricks and strategies in “How to Improvise Fast Shred Guitar Licks”, the new course coming soon. In the full course you’ll get:

A complete method for playing super-fast licks on-the-fly, that change and evolve as you play them
The super-effective practice strategy that I use to learn the fastest shred guitar licks, and how you can use it to get insane results
BONUS MODULE: How to create your own practice plans that guarantee progress and make incredible guitar playing easy
Loads of real-world, musical examples you can use to take your playing to the next level
A super-easy step-by-step method for mastering this system, allowing anyone to learn high-speed improvisation – no matter how “un-talented” you think you are

And a whole load more! You can find out more here . Stay tuned for the release!

Have fun, and keep rocking!

Squier Bullet Stratocaster - Does It Really Sound That Good?

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Sat, 30 Dec 2017 22:01:19 GMT

The first TomGuitar YouTube video is here! Here's a tone test on the Squier Bullet Stratocaster, the cheapest guitar Fender/Squier make.

UPDATE: Click Here to grab one yourself. Of all my guitars, this is the one I play most - and it's also the cheapest!

NEW COURSE: How to Improvise Fast Shred Guitar Licks

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 20:37:02 GMT

The Complete System for Playing Unique, Customisable, Lightning-Fast Licks On-the-Spot

Ever wondered how pro guitarists can create shred runs out of thin air? How they improvise incredible sequences all over the neck, and get them to fit the music perfectly? How they come up with new shred licks seemingly on-the-spot, that start and end exactly where they want them to?

This is a level of freedom that very few guitar players ever reach. The ability to create runs that are as long or short as you like, and play them anywhere, in any situation and at any speed is SUPER important for being a good shred guitar player.

This is the ultimate skill for improvising at high speed. It gives you unparalleled freedom.

The new TomGuitar course - to be released very soon - will teach you exactly this. Using a simple step-by-step process, you'll find out how to make this skill really easy.

More information will be coming soon - in the mean time, keep your eyes peeled!

The Secrets to Getting the Best Tone From Your Guitar - Guest Post by Glen Parry of Audio Mastered!

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 14:55:57 GMT

Get the ultimate tone from your gear

This is a guest post by Glen Parry of Audio Mastered - find out more about him below. Enjoy!

Are you someone who sets all their knobs to max and never changes them? Do you have no idea what each knob does on your guitar body? Are you still playing with the same cable that came with your guitar?

If so, this article is for you.

There are plenty of guitar players who suffer tonally because they either have a lack of understanding or they're using the wrong gear. With a few quick changes you can improve your tone in no time. The best part is, most of these tips are completely free!

Let's get started.

Understanding Your Guitar and Amp

The first step to improving your guitar tone is understanding how your guitar tone is shaped in the first place. I spent the first year of learning electric guitar having no idea how to set my amp EQ or what each knob controlled on my guitar.

This, unfortunately, only resulted in frustration on my part. Having at least a basic understanding of EQing is essential for sculpting your perfect tone.

Let's start with your guitar.

As you well know, different guitars offer different options for adjusting your tone. However, all guitars will use the same principles. You will have a knob to control the pickup volume, a knob to control the pickup tone, and a switch to control the pickup setup.

For Gibson Les Pauls, you will have a volume and tone knob for each humbucker pickup. With two pickups, this brings your knob count to 4. You will also have a three-way switch to control the pickup setup.

For strats, you're looking at three knobs that will control either the volume or the tone of the pickup, along with a five-way switch.

The tone knobs use potentiometers (also called pots) to control the frequency spectrum that is output by your guitar. Just consider it as a kind of low-pass filter. If you turn it up all the way, all the frequencies will flow through. Turning it down cuts down on the high-end frequencies - reducing the treble of your tone.

It's common for beginners to turn up all the knobs on their guitar and never change it. This prevents a lot of opportunities for shaping your tone.

Instead, you need to sit down and experiment with each knob on your guitar. For starters, turn your volume knobs to max and set your amp volume to a threshold you prefer. Then, back off your volume knob on your guitar. This leaves a lot of headroom for when you want to cut through with a lead solo.

Using the same process, turn your guitar tone knobs halfway and set your amp EQ. This leaves you a lot of room for changing your tone quickly with your hand while you play. You can quickly boost your treble for the lead, or cut back when you're playing rhythm.

The same process should be used for setting your amp EQ. Plug your guitar into a clean amp and set all your EQ settings to the 12 o'clock position. Then, one-by-one, turn each knob to max, and then down to zero. See how each extreme impacts your guitar’s tone. This isolation exercise will allow you to set your EQ exactly the way you need it for the perfect tone.

Maintain Your Guitar Setup

This is another mistake I see beginners making - not maintaining their guitar setup. The distance between your strings and your pickups has a direct impact on your overall tone.

The first thing you want to check is your action. The action refers to the distance between your strings and your fretboard. For the best tone, you should aim to get your action as low as possible, while still avoiding fret buzz.

Here's a guide you can use to check and alter your action

Next, adjust your pickup height. I recommend using your ears for this, as it usually comes down to personal preference. Plug your guitar into a clean amp and make sure the volume is balanced for each string. This is a great video covering the topic in more depth.

How Your Gear is Impacting Your String

My final recommendation for improving your tone is to take a quick look at your gear. Specifically, let's consider:

Cables
Pedal Board
Strings

If you're still using the cheap cables that came with your guitar, it's time to upgrade! Quality cables come with better shielding and better solder joints. These two factors reduce any outside electrical interference and allow more of your guitar's signal to reach your amp. This is especially true if you are using passive guitar pickups.

Quality cables will have a lower overall capacitance and allow for more of your guitar signal to travel over longer distances.

Here’s a guide if you’re looking to upgrade your guitar cables.

Next, let's consider your pedal board. You're probably familiar with the concept of true-bypass - where the signal is routed directly from the input to the output when the pedal is off, without going through the pedal circuitry.

This is incredibly useful for maintaining your guitar tone. However, true-bypass pedals are only really useful when you have a limited number of pedals (usually 3 or 4). Any more than this and your signal is going to be degraded.

The same rule applies to pedals as any other piece of guitar gear - the further the signal has to travel, the more it will be degraded. The circuitry inside the pedals themselves add up quickly and can suck the tone out of your signal.

So what can we do? Are we only limited to 4 pedals and that's it?

Not necessarily. This problem has been solved for decades. The solution: a buffered pedal.

Buffer pedals reduce the impedance of your guitar signal and allow the signal to be pushed through long runs of cables and circuitry. You should be using a buffered pedal at the beginning of your pedal chain if you have more than 4 pedals, or if your cable length is greater than 18 feet.

There are dedicated buffer pedals, or alternatively, you can use the BOSS TU-3 tuner pedal. All BOSS pedals are buffered and will reduce the impedance of your signal.

Finally, the obvious place to look for a better tone: your strings.

Your strings are the first stage in the sound chain, and thus play an important role in shaping your tone. You should be replacing your strings every few months if you play regularly. At an absolute minimum, strings should be replaced at least once every year. (Tom: "I'd recommend replacing them every month if you play every day - this preserves your tone and keeps your guitar sounding great!")

Besides upgrading your guitar cables, and maybe buying a buffer pedal, all of the above recommendations can be used without having to buy anything. Your guitar tone is shaped by multiple factors, thus there are plenty of opportunities to improve.

Final Thoughts

The best advice I can give is to start experimenting for yourself. The perfect tone is a subjective measure, but the first step to getting there is understanding how your tone is created. I hope you've found a few new tips from the article.

About The Author

Glen Parry has been playing guitar for over 15 years. He’s done everything the hard way so you don’t have to. You can find more musical advice and audio gear buying guides over at Audio Mastered.

Why Improvisation is The Most Important Guitar Skill - And How to Improve Your Improv!

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 12:36:17 GMT

NOTE: This is just a short lesson this week. I'm working on some really exciting stuff to be unveiled soon, so stay tuned for it! For now, have fun with these improvisation tips.

When it comes to learning guitar, there are dozens of different skills to work on.

Scales. Chords. String bends. Alternate picking. Tapping. Vibrato. Songwriting.

But there's one skill that combines all of this stuff. It's like the ultimate test of how good you are as a guitar player. What is it?

Improvisation.

In order to improvise well, you need to be good at all of these skills and be adept at combining them in a musical context.

You have to have good scale knowledge. You'll need good all-round theory knowledge too, so that you can follow chord progressions effectively.

Your intonation will need to be good to make sure you don't sound out of tune, and your phrasing needs to be really solid.

You'll need a solid grasp of techniques like legato, slides, and picking, so that you can add dynamic variety to whatever you improvise - and you'll need a good ear so that you can come up with nice melodies.

If your songwriting is good, that'll help with your improv - giving you a sense of structure and overall song dynamics.

In short - if you want to be good at improvisation, you have to be good at everything!

The Reverse is Also True...

The reverse is also true, though.

Yes, you need to be good at lots of things to be good at improvisation, but if you practice improvisation a lot then you'll become good at a lot of other skills .

Your scale and chord knowledge will be strengthened. Your aural skills will improve. Your technique will become more fluid simply from doing lots of repetitions of the same movements.

Your sense of dynamics and structure will improve, which will help to make your improvisations sound more deliberate and pre-composed - like you really mean it , rather than it being a random collection of notes.

The more you practise your improv, the more you improve overall . It's a superb thing to practise if you want to be a good guitar player.

In fact, I've probably spent more time on guitar improvising that doing anything else . Even if it's just me and the guitar, without a backing track, it's still incredibly useful.

Some people would call it noodling, but really it's improvisation. You're coming up with new melodies and sounds on the spot, and aiming to make your playing sound just a tiny bit better every time.

Improvisation Vs. Noodling

Noodling is often defined as "undisciplined and unstructured practice".

That might be accurate, but there is an easy way to make noodling highly effective in making you a better player.

Simply make sure that you're always playing something new.

There are a few ways to do this. You could take a lick or riff you already know, and create some variations:

You could play it with a different tone. Is it normally clean? Try it with some heavy distortion and see what it's like! Change up the gain levels and EQ completely, or add in some cool effects to get a different sound. This is a great way to get used to how different factors affect tone, too - playing the same riff but with different tone settings allows you to highlight what's different about certain equipment/settings.
You could play the same notes and rhythm, but in a different way. Varying the dynamics is a great way to do this - how about playing really quietly, and then really loudly, and going between the two? Try substituting some pick strokes with hammer-ons and pull-offs for a softer sound, or doing the opposite for a more aggressive style. Can you add in any bends, or take some away and replace them with slides? Experiment with it and have fun! There are no rules.
You could even try creating variations on the riff or lick. Change up the rhythm, or play it at a different tempo. Try changing up one note at a time, and seeing where it takes you. You might even use the riff/lick as the basis for your own compositions!

Of course, when you're doing this you're not thinking about it too much. You just let it "flow" and see what happens. Learning these tips will help though, because they'll give you a starting point for your own ideas.

Instead of starting with a riff or lick you already know, you could come up with some stuff that's original. That's what we're dealing with in the next section.

How to Get Started Practising Improvisation

In the beginning, lots of people struggle with improvisation. There are so many possibilities of what to play, that they don't know where to start!

Thankfully, there are a few easy steps you can follow to get started:

Grab a backing track, or put on a song you like. You could use one of the backing tracks from this guide , or you could put on your favourite song and jam over that. I've spent HOURS jamming to AC/DC songs and soloing over the top of them - and it's great fun! Choose something that really excites you.
Get a basic scale shape ready. If you're new to improvisation then DON'T try to use every scale you know! Take ONE simple shape that fits the key of the backing track, and stay within it. The better you already know the scale shape, the better. You could even take just four or five notes from a larger shape, and stay within that small chunk.
Start playing! The nice thing about scales is that if you're using the right one, all of the notes work. That's the whole point of a scale! Just play the shape slowly up and down at first, noticing what each note sounds like and seeing which ones sound tense, and which ones sound stable.
Start to improvise. Play any note within the scale, and it should sound decent. Try playing sequences - so up three notes, down two notes, then up another three, and so on - all the way up the scale. The key here is just to experiment and have fun! It won't sound great at first, but the more you do it the better you'll get. Don't worry about playing wrong notes. Forget about trying to make it "perfect" and just have fun rocking out!
Add in some "ornaments". This is the term I like to use for bends, slides, legato, and so on - stuff that changes the sound of the notes you play. Once you've got used to using the scale for improvisation, add these in to make your playing more interesting. Just focus on one at first - say, bends - and try to use it as much as possible. Can you improvise over a whole backing track and bend every note you play? Challenge yourself! Then, when using bends in improvisations is the easiest thing in the world, try slides. Then legato (hammer-ons and pull-offs), and so on, until you've got used to using loads of different ornaments when you play.
Sing what you play. This sounds strange, but it's super effective. It trains you to "know" what the different notes of the scale will sound like before you even play them, making it really easy to come up with awesome melodies and licks on-the-spot. Whenever you play a note, sing the same pitch as you play it. Keep singing everything that you play as you improvise. Don't worry if you're not a singer (neither am I!) - the point isn't to make your singing sound great. The point is to improve your fretboard-to-ear connection, which is a vital part of being a good guitar player. Focus on playing well and making your singing in tune with the notes that you play.

For more fun and exciting ideas to spice things up, check out this guide on 44 Essential Improvisation Strategies to Skyrocket Your Skills .

Have fun, and keep rocking!

Note: As I said, this is only a quick lesson while I put the finishing touches on something very exciting that's coming out within the next couple of weeks - have a go at these ideas, and stay tuned for more info!

How to Make Guitar Practise Fun, Inspiring and Addictive by Using The Science of Habits

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 15:06:23 GMT

Every pro guitarist has habits that help them to succeed. Here's how you can do the same...

When I was in my mid teens I decided that if I was going to do anything with my life, it would be mastering the guitar.

I might not ever be rich or famous, but if I could master this instrument then I'd be happy.

Of course, you can't really "master" an instrument because the learning never stops - but that didn't stop me from trying!

I remember reading about how I needed a practise schedule, and how I should practise for hours every day if I wanted to get good.

I drew up practise plans and tried to force myself to stick to them, running through scales, exercises, and theory.

It always felt like a struggle. Sometimes I'd get results and feel excited, but more often than not I'd feel overwhelmed, frustrated and fed up.

It took too much effort! All those hours, and all that discipline... it felt like work, when it should have been fun!

I always had to force myself to do it, and I always felt guilty because I wasn't playing as much as I was told I "should".

After a year or two of this, I decided to forget the practise schedules and just take a break.

Instead of forcing myself to play, I just played when I felt like it. I didn't focus on learning anything in particular; my only focus was on having fun!

Some days I played for hours, jamming to my favourite songs, while other days I only did a few minutes.

There was just one rule: I made sure I did a little bit every day.

Even two minutes was fine, as long as I did something every day. If I played the guitar, that counted.

I forgot about how "Steve Vai did ten hours a day" and how "you're never gonna get good unless you have a two-hour practice schedule". This was all about fun.

Then something strange happened. After a while it started to feel really natural to grab the guitar whenever I had a spare five minutes.

It didn't feel forced at all. It felt like I really wanted to practise all the time, and if I missed a day I felt myself wanting to play even more.

Before, I had struggled to play every day because it was "hard" and the practise schedules were too much. I was all focused on becoming good rather than having fun .

That meant daily practice never really happened - I'd do a few days, and then get bored/frustrated and take a break.

Now , though, it was different. Because I'd focused on just doing a little bit each day - no matter how small - guitar playing quickly became a habit .

A "habit" is defined as "a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up" .

So brushing your teeth in the morning is a habit - it's settled, regular and you probably want to keep doing it!

By making guitar playing a regular habit, it'll become something you just do . You won't even have to think about it - you'll just pick up your guitar and start playing like it's the most natural thing in the world.

It makes practise not just fun, but compelling . You really, really want to do it! If you've got good guitar habits, you'll get way better results simply because you'll play so much more.

Once the habit is formed, then you can introduce all the practise schedules and more "serious" stuff, because guitar playing will already be such an addictive thing!

You have to get the habit first. This is why sticking to practise schedules and plans is difficult in the beginning, and why people struggle to get results from them.

When you're already used to playing every day, though, sticking to plans and getting great results will be dead easy.

Every great guitar player has habits like these (or did, when they were learning to play). Habits practically control your life - from getting up the morning to going to bed at night.

They are a key part of getting good at the guitar. In this article you'll learn exactly how to use habits to improve your own playing and achieve your musical goals.

How to Make Playing Every Day Easy

There's a common myth floating around the internet that goes something like:

"It takes 21 days to form a new habit".

Sounds pretty cool, doesn't it? In just 21 days you could have a whole load of new habits - guitar playing, daily running, eating healthily and more. Imagine how much better you could become...

The trouble is, though, it's not true.

The time taken entirely depends on which habit you're trying to form .

According to a University College London study , how long it takes to make a new habit can vary WILDLY.

As in, anywhere from 20 to 254 days - or even longer!

It all depends on the difficulty of the activity. Activities that take lots of effort or discomfort are harder to turn into habits.

If all you want to do is drink a glass of water after breakfast every day, it'll become pretty much automatic after 20 days.

But what if you want to start running regularly? That will take much longer - way longer in some cases.

Even eating a piece of fruit with lunch every day can take over forty days to become a habit - more than double than for a glass of water!

Avoid This Crucial Error

The message here is that it's VITAL to make it easy for yourself . The less effort and the less time it takes to do whatever activity you're doing, the quicker it'll become a habit.

This was my mistake - I tried to commit to a massive practice schedule right from the get-go, and ended up overwhelmed and unmotivated.

Because I took on a lot, it took loads of effort to do the full practice plan every day. This meant that it never became a habit, because I'd have to stick to it for the best part of a year to even get close !

When I changed my approach, however, I made it easy for myself. I just focused on playing every day - even if it was just for two or three minutes.

This was EASY to stick to, because let's face it - anyone can find a spare two minutes!

After the first week it was already feeling easier, and within three weeks it was pretty much automatic.

This is because I'd made it low effort and quick so it didn't take any willpower to do. It was easy!

Don't try to stick to a two-hour practice regime at first, or even a 30-minute one. MAKE IT EASY.

The simpler and easier you make the activity, the quicker the habit will form and the sooner you can start getting REAL results.

Once playing for two minutes is a habit, then you can start to introduce more. By that point the base habit is already there, so you can boost it to ten minutes, then twenty, and so on without difficulty.

Just get the basics down first. Don't pressure yourself, and don't try to run before you can walk.

But... what? Two minutes? Is that it?

Yes!

I know what you're thinking - "but how the hell am I supposed to improve with just two minutes a day?!"

You're not. The point here is to get the habit started. No, it's not gonna turn you into the next Satriani within three weeks, but it WILL give you a habit that will serve you for the rest of your life.

The long-term benefits of starting small are HUGE - and the long-term effects are what'll make the biggest difference to your playing.

Soon it'll be effortless, too, because it's just something you want to do - like making coffee in the morning, or turning on the TV when you get in from school/work.

Enjoy the process, and remember that you can increase and expand afterwards.

How to Form Habits Easily - The Four Rules

Making a new habit can be really hard or really easy, depending on how you approach it.

I've come up with four "rules" that'll help you make guitar playing a habit within just a few weeks. Remember - your habits define who you are, and what you can do. If you make guitar playing a habit, you'll be a much better guitar player.

1. Make it Easy to Do

This is what we've been discussing so far - making it easy for yourself.

Just commit to two or three minutes, if you like. In fact, I'd say that's better than trying to do twenty, thirty, or sixty minutes right away.

The key is this: the easier it is to do the activity, the quicker the habit will form. Just do two minutes of noodling a day, and then you can build upon that habit when it's already ingrained.

This is way more effective than trying to stick to a large practice schedule right away.

As far as what to play, it doesn't really matter at this stage. You could play your favourite song, or just noodle around with some scales. It doesn't have to be the same thing every day, either.

The important thing is that you do something and that it's easy to do. If it feels like a real chore, you're doing something wrong.

The main reason people fail is because they quit - so make it really easy to carry on!

2. Make it Regular

However much you decide to do, you have to make it regular .

Decide on a time and place, and stick to it.

You could choose to do it as soon as you wake up in the morning, sitting right there on your bed.

Or, you might decide that every day straight after dinner you're going to do two minutes of guitar practice in the living room.

Decide on a specific time and place, and then make sure you do it every day. No excuses!

This makes it easier for the habit to form because it's more predictable, and it's the same every day.

If you choose "as soon as I get home from work, in the study" for example, then after a while it'll feel natural to grab the guitar as soon as you get home.

This means the habit will form quicker than if you do it randomly.

Structure is essential!

3. Be Consistent

So you've made it easy for yourself, and you've got a regular time and place sorted.

The third "ingredient" is to BE CONSISTENT .

Make sure you do it every day. Don't skip days and don't make up excuses.

Everyone can find two minutes to practise, including you.

This is especially important in the beginning, because those are the days when the habit is first forming. You've gotta be consistent!

To help with this, you could try using a calendar to track your "streak". Put a tick on every day that you've done it.

Then you'll have even more motivation to carry on, because you don't want to break your streak!

It becomes easier with every day that you do it, so eventually you'll get a streak of months and months and you'll make sure you play every day so that you keep the streak going.

It's exciting - it's like getting the high score in a video game.

Be consistent and do it every day without fail. No excuses!

4. Prepare in Advance

This last rule ties in with the first because the more you prepare, the easier it'll be.

Have you decided to practice as soon as you get up in the morning? Then keep a guitar on a stand in your bedroom.

Don't leave it in it's case, and don't leave it hidden away under the bed.

Get it out and keep it somewhere where you can grab it as soon as you start practising, with minimal effort.

Keep all of your practise materials - like a tuner, a capo if you use one etc. - with your guitar too, so that when you go to practice everything is already prepared.

That way you can just play without any hesitation! This will make it even easier to practice daily because there aren't any barriers - you don't have to get it out of the case, or untangle a load of leads. It's right there!

Don't think you have to play with an amp, either. It's absolutely fine to play unplugged, and it also means you won't annoy people or wake them up if you want to practice early in the morning.

Remove all the barriers to practice - things you have to do before you can just play - and you'll find yourself playing more and more.

This is key to forming a habit quickly.

Your Next Steps

If you follow those four rules, guitar playing will quickly become a fun and rewarding daily habit.

Once you've got used to playing every day, what's next?

Now it's time to increase the time that you're playing for, so you can get real progress.

You could do this by either adding time onto your current session (such as doing 5 or 10 minutes after work every day instead of 2), or by playing at different times in the day (such as a bit when you wake up, a bit after work, a bit after dinner, and so on).

I like doing both. If you're anything like me this will happen automatically. After those two minutes are up, you'll want to keep playing!

After a few weeks of daily guitar playing it's almost like it becomes addictive - you'll want to play and practise all the time. The time you play for will increase naturally just because you want it to - it's fun!

This is when you'll start to get more progress. Those two minutes will turn into five, then ten, then thirty... and so on, until you're playing for hours every day and loving it (if you don't think you have time for loads of guitar practice, check out these easy tips ).

There's an important thing to be aware of at this stage, though - and that's making sure that you don't pressure yourself.

Don't try to force yourself into doing too much, because then you'll end up all frustrated again and you might even destroy the habit that you've spent ages working on. That won't help at all!

Instead, go with what feels natural. Increase the amount of practice time gradually, bit-by-bit, until you feel like you're making good progress.

This is also the stage where you can start really practising rather than just noodling. You could have a full schedule if you like, or do something simpler where you just have a "main focus" you'd like to work on for each week.

You could work on songs, scales, chords, technique... whatever you like! It's up to you and your goals.

The point is to increase the amount that you do without it feeling like work. FUN should be the main goal - because if it's fun, you'll get way faster progress.

Do that, and you're on the road to guitar success!

Final Thoughts

So there you have it - the complete process for forming guitar habits that'll serve you for the rest of your life.

To form a new habit quickly, make sure that you:

Make it easy to do
Make it regular
Be consistent
Prepare in advance

These tips can also be used to form positive habits in other areas of life, like fitness or work. Those four rules can be incredibly helpful in forming new habits - so make sure you use them!

Your habits define the results you get, which define who you are - so create some positive habits and watch your skills grow!

Thanks for reading - if you'd like to stay updated then don't forget to subscribe to the email list to get awesome lessons, cool articles and super-effective guitar tips delivered straight to your inbox (you'll also get some free lessons and guides as soon as you sign up).

Have fun, and keep rocking!

The Ultimate Guide to Finger Independence: The Easy Method to Massively Improve Your Guitar Speed and Fluency

guitar.made.easy.blog@gmail.com (Tom Boddison) — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 16:23:33 GMT

The better your finger independence, the better you can play anything ...

So you’re learning a new chord, and for some reason you just can’t get your fingers to move into the right place. Every time you use that chord your fingers knot up, and it seems impossible to play it cleanly.

Or let’s say you’re learning a fast part in a new solo, and once you get to a certain tempo your fingers just freeze and tense up. No matter how much practice you do, you just can’t get faster.

Both of these problems – and many more – are caused by a lack of finger independence.

“Finger independence” is your ability to move your fingers independently of each other, without the movement of one finger impacting the others.

For instance, if you have poor finger independence then you’ll struggle to use your little finger, and you’ll find it difficult to do large stretches or play fast runs. Learning new songs will also take ages, and it’ll always seem like a struggle.

Playing guitar with poor finger independence feels hard.

If your finger independence is good, though, then everything is easier to play. You can learn new songs and solos really quickly, and playing the guitar looks and feels effortless.

Playing fast isn’t any harder than playing slow, and you can use all four fingers with ease. When you’ve got good finger independence, you’re one of those players that people look at and go “wow! They make it look so easy!”

That’s because it is easy . If you train your fingers to move independently then playing the guitar becomes effortless.

Doing this is NOT down to talent. Even if you’ve got the shortest, fattest fingers in existence, you can still get good finger independence with just a bit of practice.

Even the classical maestro Andres Segovia had stubby fingers, and yet he was a virtuoso.

The size and shape of your fingers doesn’t make a difference – it’s the way you play and the way you practice that’s important.

Don’t worry about your fingers, or your age, or anything else – that stuff doesn’t make a difference. Focus on training your fingers to work for you!

Let’s get started then!

To download the free 4-Week Finger Independence Mastery Course, featuring a tried-and-tested ironclad practice strategy you can use to master finger independence and massively improve your playing, Go Here .

Making Everything Easier - Getting an Ironclad Foundation

First we’re gonna look at how you move your hands. This is 80% of the battle.

If you’ve got good technique – i.e. you’re using the right finger for the job, your thumb is in the right place, and so on – everything will be a breeze.

Let’s start with thumb position.

Here’s how most people position their thumbs:

It’s over the top of the neck. This is supposed to give more control for bending, but it actually hinders you .

The angle makes it awkward for your fingers to move fluently. Instead, try this:

Now the thumb is behind the neck. This makes it easier to move your fingers independently because you can keep your fingers parallel to the frets.

Try it out. At first bending might feel a bit awkward, but that’s only because you’re used to the other “thumb-over-the-neck” position.

With a bit of practice this new position becomes much, much easier.

Now we’ll deal with the fingers.

When you play, keep your fingers close to the fret wire of the fret that you’re playing. For instance, if you’re playing on the 1st fret then don’t just plonk your finger anywhere in that fret gap – put it right next to the 1st fret wire.

Here’s a photo higher up the neck to show you what I mean:

This makes it easier to press the string down, meaning you don’t have to put in as much effort.

Next, a word about the force you use. The less physical force you use when you play, the easier it’ll be. Try to use only a minimum of force when you press down a note – no more!

See how lightly you can play. How lightly can you press down a note and still get it to ring out clearly?

Make sure that your last finger joint doesn’t bend back on itself, like this:

That’s a sure sign of poor technique and too much force. Instead, keep your fingers neatly curled like this:

For more on finger strength and why playing lightly is best, check out this article .

Now we’re gonna talk about fingerings.

The fingering you use when playing scales, licks and songs makes a massive difference to the difficulty of what you’re playing.

My main piece of advice is to stick to one finger per fret where possible. If you’re playing notes on the 5th, 7th and 8th frets, for example, then don’t use your 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers – use your 1st, 3rd and 4th fingers.

Use that pinky! Just because it’s small, it doesn’t mean it isn’t useful.

It’s easily strong enough for guitar; you just need to get used to it. Soon it’ll be as easy to use as all of your other fingers.

For stretching, again make sure that your thumb is behind the neck and that you’re using your little finger. This will make stretching way easier – then it’s just a matter of practice.

How to Master Finger Independence Fast

Now you know how to move your fingers properly, we’re gonna do some cool exercises and “games”.

They’re all specifically designed to focus on the most common problems people have with finger independence, so that you can get fast results.

The way to master this quickly is to focus on the things that you find most difficult.

More on that in a moment. First, a word on how to practice.

STAY RELAXED. Playing relaxed and slow is 1,000,000x better than playing tense and fast.

Focus on making it feel easy, and you’ll get good results.

Effortlessness is the goal. Forget about speed for a moment and just focus on ease.

Then, speed will come automatically.

This first exercise uses a “trill” – where you alternate between two notes over and over again.

Try it with the following finger combinations:

1+2

2+3

3+4

Then try the next exercise. This is the same, but with an extra fret in the middle.

Try it with the following finger combinations:

1+3

2+4

1+2

3+4

Now we have one final trill exercise, with two frets between the trilled notes:

For this one, just use your 1st and 4th fingers.

If any one of those exercises or finger combinations feels more difficult than the others, focus extra time on that .

Make it your focus for a week, and see what results you get (see the free “ 4 Week Finger Independence Mastery Course ” for more info).

This is THE WAY to get really good finger independence in a short space of time.

Most people find the 3+4 combos the most difficult – if that’s the case, make sure to devote extra time to them.

This way, you’re focusing on the main thing that’s holding you back. You’ll get far better results this way because you’re focusing on the thing that you’re worst at.

Soon that’ll turn into one of the things you’re really, really good at!

Remember to move these exercises around, too. Do them on different strings and frets, and try them out all over the neck.

This will make sure you can use your new skills in any situation, which’ll make you a much more versatile player.

To make practising this stuff more fun, try playing some “games” with the exercises. Here are a few ideas:

How many times can you play the trill perfectly in a row? 10? 20? Count, and then write it down. Then, every time you practice, try to beat your “high score”!
See if you can play the trill pattern correctly five times on every single fret – right up the neck! Start at the first fret and work your way up, one fret at a time. How high can you go before you make a mistake?
Try playing the trill pattern really quietly, and then really loudly. Remember: even when you’re playing loud, you can still stay relaxed by making sure that you relax between every note. Experiment with dynamics – can you play the trills loud and clear on an unplugged electric guitar? If so, your technique is really solid!

Games are great for making practice more fun. After all, fun is the reason we play guitar in the first place – so if it isn’t fun, it isn’t worth it!

These trills might seem really basic, but everything you play on guitar is made up of some combination of these. Get good at them, and you’ll be surprised how easy everything becomes.

The Next Level

Now we’re gonna move on to some “combo” exercises.

These are a bit more challenging because they combine the trills we’ve already learned.

The first one is a basic combination of the exercises we’ve done so far. The fingering is 4-1-3-1-2-1-3-1.

The challenge here is putting it all together .

The previous exercises have trained you to use your fingers well in isolation; now we’re combining them and using them together.

This is the real “final goal” of finger independence exercises – to be able to use your fingers in any combination easily. This will massively improve your musical abilities.

The next exercise focuses on using your 3rd and 4th fingers more; the fingering is 4-1-4-1-3-1-3-1.

The third and fourth fingers actually share some tendons in the hand, which is why they can be difficult to move independently.

By practising the right kind of exercises, though (like the one above), you can quickly overcome this and unlock a whole new level of freedom on the guitar.

Now we have another 3-4 exercise. This one is a little more difficult, but with a bit of practice it’ll soon become easy.

The fingering here is 4-1-3-4-3-1-4-1.

If you practise that exercise until it’s really easy, you’ll be able to play loads of cool shred runs and ideas without much trouble.

The better your finger independence, the faster you can play.

We have one more exercise in this section before we move on to the advanced stuff.

This one uses all four fingers – if you can play this well, you’ve got really solid skills.

The fingering is 1-4-3-4-1-4-2-4; it’s basically the same pattern repeated – once with the third finger, and once with the second finger.

Before you move on to the next section, make sure you’re really good at these exercises. Sit in front of the TV as you do them, if you like, and rack up thousands of repetitions.

Remember to move them around to different positions and strings, too – play them everywhere on the neck!

The better you are at these, the better you’ll be at the advanced exercises coming up next.

Complete Mastery - Advanced Exercises

This is where we do some really cool stretching patterns to push your abilities to the next level!

Doing the exercises so far has been good, but if you want to completely master the challenge then you have to go further.

If you want skills that are really reliable, you need to practise exercises that are harder than what you normally play.

Then, when you’re playing at a gig or rehearsal everything will be really easy, because you’ve been practising things that are much harder than what you’re playing.

Need to stretch four frets for a song? Learn to stretch by five, or even six frets! Then even if you’re really nervous, your hands are sweaty, or if you’re distracted, you can still pull off the song no problem.

It’s like a “safety net” of technique.

Take your skills way beyond where you’ll normally need them, and you’ll have really reliable technique that’ll never let you down.

The first of these “advanced” exercises involves a stretch from the 5th to the 10th frets! Take it very slow, and do short practice sessions of just a few minutes at first. Don’t over-work your hands, or you risk injuring yourself.

The fingering is 4-3-1-3. If you feel any pain whatsoever, STOP IMMEDIATELY.

This isn’t weightlifting. Pain isn’t a sign that you’ve worked your hands, it’s a sign that you could injure yourself.

To play guitar well you don’t need finger strength. You need relaxed control.

Play slow and relaxed, and you’ll be a much better player.

Now we have a real finger-twister! This is a four-finger exercise, again involving a hefty stretch:

The fingering is 4-3-2-1-2-3-4-3. Forget about speed on this one – the purpose is just to train your fingers to work together better.

Then, speed will develop all by itself.

The next exercise is the same as the first “combo”, only we’ve added an extra fret between the 1st and 2nd fingers.

The fingering is 4-1-3-1-2-1-3-1.

The stretch is only from the 5th to the 9th fret (rather than 5th to 10th like in the last two exercises), so the challenge is more in the accuracy of your fingers.

You can move these exercises around, too. Try moving them up the neck one fret at a time, or repeating them once on each string.

Here’s an example:

Take it across all of the strings; can you do it without making a single mistake? Challenge yourself!

How to Practise Away From Your Guitar – And Get Amazing Results in Record Time

So you know how to practise finger independence, you know how to best position your hands, and you’ve got some great exercises to improve your skills.

Now we’re gonna go through some really cool ways you can practise without your guitar – at work, on the school bus, or even while out shopping.

Finger independence is all about training your fingers to work together effectively.

It’s not exclusive to guitar players – violinists, pianists, bassists, and a whole load of other people also need good finger independence.

What this means is that it’s a general skill. If it’s not exclusive to guitar, then you don’t need a guitar to practise it.

You can practise moving your fingers wherever you are. All you need is your hands and a flat surface.

A table will do, but if you’re walking around then you can just use the side of your leg, where your hand is when you’ve got your arms by your sides.

Then, you practise moving your fingers in different combinations. Tap them down one after another, focusing on getting the timing even and keeping your hand relaxed.

Here are some combos you could try:

1-2-3-4-3-2-1

1-4-3-2

1-4-3-4

4-1-3-1-2-1-3-1

And many more. In fact, you could use the fingering from pretty much any lick to practise this; it’s all about learning to move your fingers independently from each other.

You don’t need a guitar, you don’t need strings, in fact – you don’t even need an instrument!

You just need your hands. Then, you can practise away.

Do this every day on your morning bus ride or train journey (not if you’re driving in your car! Don’t distract yourself from the road, obviously), and whenever you’re sat at a desk at work, and you can build amazing skills really quickly.

You can get hours of finger independence practise done without really trying. Combine this with just a small amount of daily practise on the guitar exercises from before, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you get results.

It’s easy!

Final Thoughts

So there we have it – the complete guide to finger independence. Follow it and you’ll massively improve your abilities as a player.

Finger independence is the foundation for loads of guitar skills, so regardless of what genre of music you’re into it’s vital that you practise it regularly.

To help you do just that I’ve put together a “ 4-Week Finger Independence Mastery Course ”, featuring a tried-and-tested ironclad practice strategy you can use to master finger independence and massively improve your playing.

It’s based on the super-effective exercises in this article, so if you want to level-up your technique and power-up your playing, check it out (it’s completely free)!

As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to ask any questions you might have by going to www.tomguitar.co.uk/contact .

Have fun, and keep rocking!