I recently added a lesson video showing you how to play a blues rhythm and lead along with a tempo change, here's a link to that lesson if you missed it. After posting that lesson video, I received lots of comments and emails from you asking about the guitar that was used. The reason I didn't mention it is because it's such a special guitar that I figure it needs to have it's own video created to explain the origin. Here's that video: … [Read more...]
Bryce’s Guitar Journeys Episode 002 – How to Record Yourself
Having a home recording studio used to be something that very few of us could afford. They took up lots of space and cost a ridiculous amount of money. However, in the last 10 years the cost of recording yourself at home has dropped to less than the cost of buying a guitar (depending on setup of course). In this episode of "Bryce's Guitar Journeys", our forum admin Bryce goes through a very detailed explanation for how he's set up his home recording studio, explaining both software and … [Read more...]
Bryce’s Guitar Journeys Episode 001
I know that many of you know Bryce as the “Chief Motivational Officer” and main administrator on the ActiveMelody forum. Bryce has been instrumental in keeping the forum a safe and positive environment, always offering inspiration and motivation to those who post. He is now starting a new venture known as “Guitar Journeys”. Bryce will become a YouTuber and will periodically share his videos from a “student’s” perspective. I think this will be a great compliment to all of the guitar … [Read more...]
Improvising On The Guitar – How It’s Done
One topic I get lots of questions on is around improvising on the guitar. How does it work? Do you really just make it up on the spot? How do you know where to start? and the list goes on and on. I thought I’d take a few minutes and make an analogy that will hopefully help put things into perspective and help some of you connect the dots on the topic of improvising on the guitar (or any other instrument). Music is a language (no really!) I’m sure you’ve heard many of the phrases around the … [Read more...]
Basic 12 Bar Blues Rhythm (Easy) – BLG005
I received an email from a site member this week stating that he was recently at a jam session and wasn’t sure what to do when it came to playing rhythm. He knew the key the song was in and new how to make chords, but didn’t feel like he knew how to play a blues rhythm, so I’ve decided to create a very simple blues rhythm guitar lesson in the key of E with two variations, so that you can mix and match them. I wanted to make the MP3 jam tracks, tablature and all lesson content for this lesson … [Read more...]
Learning to Play the Guitar Online
With the invention of the internet and video sharing sites like YouTube, a whole new education forum has evolved, making it much faster and easier to learn specific skills – like playing guitar. Everything is now just a click away, and you have the ability to view content over and over again, until you can do it. However, with all of the many benefits to learning how to play an instrument online, there are a few disadvantages that I keep seeing over and over again. The following video is a … [Read more...]
My Recording Setup – How I create Jam Tracks
I get lots of questions from site members wanting to know what my "home recording studio" setup is for recording these weekly jam tracks, so I've put together 2 videos to walk you through the process. The first video video is a quick walk-through of the hardware that I use, and the second video is a tutorial on software. I record everything on my 3 year old Apple MacBook Pro (the best investment I ever made), using Apple Logic X (multi-track recording software). I have Komplete Audio 6 audio … [Read more...]
String Bending Exercise – BLG002
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play a short and simple lead, while utilizing full and half bends. I’ll also explain how to apply vibrato to a bend, and show you the technique that I use. This is a great practice exercise for learning the difference between full bends and half bends, and is also great to practice your vibrato skills while bending. Start by watching this quick explanation video. Make sure you download the MP3 jam tracks and the tablature to practice with. … [Read more...]
Simple (Very Basic) Blues Rhythm Guitar Lesson
Hey folks, normally I would put out a very thorough 45 min - 1 hour lesson (as I do every Friday), but due to the launch of the new ActiveMelody website, I was just too swamped to get the lesson complete in time. However, I didn't want to leave you with nothing at all! So I put together a really simple little video that shows you how to play a fun little blues rhythm that can easily be transposed to any key. There are no open strings in this one! I get emails from people all of the time … [Read more...]
Howard Carroll – Guitar Player for the Dixie Hummingbirds
As I’m starting to blog each week now, one of the things that I want to do is introduce you to guitar players that you may not have heard of. One of the advantages of having large community of guitar enthusiasts here at ActiveMelody is that site members introduce me to lots of obscure guitar players, and I always end up learning something new. Last week I got a call from a long-time site member named Russell, and he told me about a guitar player named Howard Carroll who played for the Dixie … [Read more...]