Geni Swing Guitars

Addario Strings

Rock music is one of the most popular styles of guitar playing; each week all around the world hundreds of new players purchase an electric guitar and head off to become a rock star.

Many impatient and frustrated players become 'rock guitar' casualties early on in their short playing career, others become confused and lose their motivation a small number overcome these obstacles and enjoy a successful and rewarding career playing rock music.

Let's take a look at how the successful players approach playing rock guitar.

The first step is to focus all your attention on only the material relevant to your style of guitar playing which in this instance is rock guitar.

Guitar techniques for rock guitar

You will need to learn the following guitar skills to play rock music successfully and develop your own individual style.

Rock guitar skills to learn (moves)

* string bends

* hammer-on's

* pull-off's

* slides

* vibrato

Essential rock guitar scales to learn

* minor pentatonic

* blues

* modes - Aeolian

It's important to learn these scales in all keys, you never know what key the singer will want to perform a song in!

Listen to recordings of the best rock guitarists

Here is a list of top rock guitarists (in no particular order) to listen to: Jimi Hendrix; Eric Clapton; Eddie Van Halen; Jimmy Page; Carlos Santana; Jeff Beck; Stevie Ray Vaughan; Kirk Hammet and Keith Richards

Power chords:

Learn to play two fingered power chords (NOT the three fingered power chords as documented on TAB sites)

Chord progressions:

Learn to play and recognize by ear the basic blues progressions e.g., the 12, 16 and 24 bar blues progressions again, don't forget to transpose these progressions into all the 12 twelve keys.

Equipment:

Guitars: A good quality (not necessarily expensive) electric guitar; something like a Yamaha Pacifica will get you started!

String gauge: You will need to have your electric guitar strung with light gauge strings so you can bend the strings easily, string gauges.009 -.042 are considered industry standard for rock guitar.

String brand: I recommend D'Addario strings they are a mid-priced string from a company with excellent quality control.

Amplifiers: Fender and Marshall manufacture excellent rock amplifiers, you will need a 100watt (RMS) amp for band rehearsals and small gigs.

Regardless of brand make certain your amp's rating is an RMS rating; the RMS rating refers to the constant power of your amp; some amp manufactures rate their amps via a 'peak' rating which indicates the power that an amp may 'peaks' at so it is not the a constant power of the amp.

For example: a 100watt (RMS) amp may peak at 140watts; whereas a 100 watt (peak) rated amp may only produce 60 watts constant power.

Useful electronic effects:

* distortion

* reverb

* echo

* chorus

How long will it take? The basic guitar skills will only take a few weeks, the trick is to make efficient use of your time when you are not playing spend time listening to rock records; whenever you get an opportunity jam with other players and if possible form your own band (or join a band).

The whole object is to learn, learn, learn.

Closing thoughts: I have seen some players progress at such a rate they are ready to join a band in about ten weeks, for other players they take about twelve to eighteen months; everyone learns at a different rate and each player has their own musical objectives, practice hard and record yourself often you will learn a lot about your musical strengths and weaknesses when you record yourself and listen back to your playing

And now I'd like to invite you to get free access to my "How To Remember 1,000 Songs" eCourse. You can download the course for free at: http://www.guitarcoaching.com

From Mike Hayes - The Guitar Coaching Guy & the Express Guitar System

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D'Addario J67 Nickel Mandolin Strings $5.49 Gauges 11-14-25-39.D'Addario J67 Mandolin strings are great for electric or acoustic mandolin playing. J67 Mandolin strings are wound with nickelplated steel, known for it's distinctive bright tone and excellent intonation.D'Addario is the world's largest manufacturer of strings for musical instruments. Many top players won't use any other brand. Regardless of your playing style, D'Addario has a set that's right for you.

D'addario J63 Tenor Banjo Strings $3.49 Gauges 09-16-23-30.D'Addario J63 Tenor Banjo Strings are the choice of many professional bluegrass musicians. Top-quality plain steel and nickel-plated steel wound strings.D'Addario is the world's largest manufacturer of musical instrument strings. Many top guitarists won't play any brand other than D'Addario. Regardless of your playing style, D'Addario has a set of strings that's right for you.

D'addario J67 Nickel Mandolin Strings $5.49 Gauges 11-14-25-39.D'Addario J67 Mandolin strings are great for electric or acoustic mandolin playing. J67 Mandolin strings are wound with nickelplated steel, known for it's distinctive bright tone and excellent intonation.D'Addario is the world's largest manufacturer of strings for musical instruments. Many top players won't use any other brand. Regardless of your playing style, D'Addario has a set that's right for you.

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On Strings $10 On Strings

Strings $5.99 Strings

With Strings $14.29 With Strings

No Strings $9.49 No Strings

D'Addario J60 5-String Banjo Strings $3.49 Gauges 09-10-13-20w-09. D' Addario J60 5-String Banjo Strings are top quality plain steel and nickel-plated steel wound strings. J60s are a leading choice among top country and bluegrass players. D'Addario is the world's largest manufacturer of strings for musical instruments. Many top guitarists won't play any other brand. Regardless of your playing style, D'Addario has a set of strings that's right for your 5-string banjo.

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