Learning the blues can be a frustrating task

I’ve just finished looking at Griff Hamlin’s latest
package, Playing Through The Blues – A Guide For The
Lead Guitar Player. Obviously I see a lot of products
either because I’m looking for something specific, or
because someone wants me to promote their product.

Most of the time I’m less than impressed, but this
product has me quite excited because it is so different
from anything I have seen in a long time. That is why
I have taken the time to sit and type a letter to all
the people I know and tell you all about it.

Learning the blues can be a frustrating task. It seems
so simple, but only a handful of people seem to know
the trick to really making it sound great. Griff and
his team have put together what I believe is a really
thorough, step-by-step method that has actually been
tested and proven on his own guitar students over the
past several years.

The main book provides all of the scales, techniques,
theory, and tricks that you’ll need. It follows a
simple and logical progression. Each chapter builds on
the one before it. At the end of each chapter, you’ll
be told exactly what you need to be able to do before
moving on to the next chapter. You can’t fail with this.

The best part, however, is the audio examples and jam
tracks. Every audio example comes with a full speed
and slow speed version, so you can play along easily
at first, and pick up the pace as you get better.

There’s also 4 complete solos that really sound like
they are from your favorite blues songs. You could
memorize them and totally use them at your next blues
jam or gig. They demonstrate all of the techniques
throughout the book, and give a very good “real world”
example of the techniques and approach.

Also, there are 6 jam tracks that come with the
package, so once you get going you can just play
along with the band. And the tracks are really good
quality, just like you’re jamming with a real band.
It’s a lot of fun.

As a bonus Griff has included an excellent book full
of turnaround and ending licks. Some of them are
pretty straight forward blues, but a couple of them
are real head-turners.

As you can tell, I’m really impressed with this
package as a whole. The testimonials on the website
prove that I’m not alone. This is a very well thought
out, tested, and put together system.

Don’t just take my word for it though, take a look
for yourself at:

http://playblues.check-free.info/

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Fender guitar giveaway

The Guitar Generation guitar giveaway

An extra bonus for California concert-goers

February 24, 2009, 11:01 PM

Spacer Iconguitargeneration

CHANCE TO WIN SIGNED GUITARS from
GUITAR GENERATION ARTISTS PAUL GILBERT, GEORGE LYNCH & RICHIE KOTZEN
3 Guitars = 3 Shows = 3 Chances

HOLLYWOOD, CA (February 24, 2009) – Get a chance to win a Ibanez, ESP or Fender guitar each autographed by all three Guitar Greats of The Guitar Generation shows: Paul Gilbert, George Lynch & Richie Kotzen.

All you have to do is attend one of three (3) shows at the either the House of Blues San Diego 2/25, Hollywood 2/28 or Anaheim 3/02 and make a copy of your ticket stub from attending. Then send in with your name, address, email & phone number by March 9th and you will be put in the drawing. The drawing will be held Friday, March 13, 2009.

Fans only – no-one related, working for, or associated with any of the artists can enter. Must have valid ticket stub and can only enter once as the tickets are numbered.

Please email scanned copy to creative@vqpr.com or mail photo copy to VQPR, 9206 Franklin St., Chatsworth, CA 91311

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How To Train Your Ear

Ear training, at the most basic level, is the process by which music lovers and musicians learn to identify the basic components of music. When you working with ear training, you are figuring out how to do things like identify intervals, rhythms and chords, as well as putting some focus into pitch and tone. As you might guess, ear training is an invaluable skill regardless of genre or experience and it can certainly help audiophiles get more out of their listening experience. If you are interested in how ot train your ear, you’ll find that there are number of things that you can help you get started.

One of the first things that you have to think about when you are considering moving forward with ear training is tempo. To really grasp tempo, take some time to start with sheet music. Get some sheet music, and start by reading the musical rhythms out loud to get a sense of the beat and the timing of the music. This is a good way to familiarize yourself with the sound of music and of how the notation compares with it.

Another good trick when you are learning how to train your ear is that you can try becoming a mimic. Try matching the pitch and the rhythm of a short phrase of music and then finding a way to imitate it. Try memorizing the pitch and the timing of the pitch, and this will help a great deal when you are learning to identify what is actually going. Though it sounds like this is a very simple exercise, you’ll find that in fact it can be quite challenging. Take some time and really work with this straightforward exercise before you proceed

When you are looking into making sure that you can train your ear, you’ll find that pitch is something hat you need to work on. While some people are born with perfect pitch, other people are not. What a lot of people don’t know, however, is that it is completely possible to get better pitch through work and effort. Even getting relative pitch is something that can help you out a great deal. Even if you don’t know what notes or chords are being played, you will still be able to figure out the chord progression.

Another key when you are considering training your ear is that while group work can be very helpful, working at it alone can move you forward quite quickly. Set some time apart, ideally every day, to work on training your ear. Singing in a chorus, for instance, can teach you to harmonize, but it might not be as useful in helping you pick out separate notes. Take some time and really think about what your options are going to be when you are considering training your ear independently.

Training your ear is a great way to move forward with your understanding of music whether you are playing it or whether you are in a place where you are going to be appreciating it, so don’t miss out!

Tags:
Lessons,
Music General,
Music Theory,
Practice

Source: Music General

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Your Chance To Be A Guitar Idol

Axes at the ready, this year’s heats are underway to find the world’s new Guitar Idol.

Guitar Idol is the world’s biggest online talent search to find the hottest undiscovered guitarists on the planet .The competition in 2008 saw over half a million online visitors, and Brazilian Gustavo Guerra finally crowned Guitar Idol at the live final in London.

Staged over 4 online heats, contestants are competing for a place at the Guitar Idol Live Final on the massive main stage at The London

International Music Show, on June 13th 2009.

Organised by online magazine All Out Guitar, and Lick Library, Guitar Idol 2009 will see the public and professional judges select the best guitarists from around the world. 12 Finalists will be invited to play live in front of thousands in London and take home fabulous prizes from sponsors including Marshall, PRS, Ernie Ball/MusicMan, Blackstar Amplification, Mayones Guitars, The Guitar Institute and Rock School.

To enter, register at www.guitaridol.tv and upload a YouTube video of your finest guitar work. Publicise it on internet sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and YouTube – and don’t forget to tell your fans, friends and family to vote for you: every vote counts.


You have until March 29th 2009 to submit your entries.


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Clapton/Winwood Announce US Tour

Presence Of The Lord – Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood

Former Blind Faith bandmates Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood continue their recent spate of collaborations with a full US tour in June.

After uniting onstage for a series of sold out shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden last year, the duo are set to play a couple of shows together in Japan when they’re both on tour there later this month.

Both Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton both play dates in the UK this year, but alas no joint dates.

Here’s their US tour:

June 10 – East Rutherford
June 12 – Philadelphia
June 13 – Washington
June 15 – Columbus
June 17 – Chicago
June 18 – Saint Paul
June 20 – Omaha
June 21 – Denver
June 23 – Dallas
June 24 – Houston
June 26 – Glendale
June 27 – Las Vegas
June 29 – Oakland
June 30 – Los Angeles

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