Mar 10
30
Learn How to Play Guitar
From: Andrew Hand
Hi there,
I’d like to offer you a free guitar lesson video and show you how to play a real classic. If you’d like to get started, then just fill in your email over here to the right or below and you’ll be sent a video showing you how to play the guitar version of “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers. I really love this song and think you will too. I’ve even sung the chorus parts and bridge so you can get an idea for the melody and chords working together. I hope that this song will be as much fun for you to play as it was for me to make for you and I look forward to sharing more methods, tips and tricks on learning how to play the guitar more effectively and enjoyably.
I don’t know when you first picked up a guitar, but for me it started at age 26…talk about a late start! I began teaching myself right away and was writing songs from the first chord I ever learned (my cousin showed me a few easy guitar chords on Christmas day). With the help of a few key friends I started learning more tips and techniques to improve my playing. If you’ve ever been wanting to play guitar, but just not known where to start, or felt you didn’t have any support to help you learn the guitar, then I can really relate. I’d love to share more videos with you and help you fulfill your desires.
If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, then don’t hesitate to drop me a line. If you’re ready to get started now, then just pop your email in below and we’ll be on our way 
.
To Your Success,
Andrew
Posted in Guitar Lessons by .
Jun 10
2
Guitar Questionaire
Watch the video below and let me know how I can best help you with your guitar and music learning!
Posted in Other by .
- Have Guitar
In trying to understand our guitar and how to play it, there are a few things needed and a few basic understandings that will go a long way in helping you learn how to play guitar. First of course is to have a guitar. Guitars range in price from insanely expensive to dirt cheap; neither extreme is advised for beginners. All you need is a well crafted guitar that doesn’t have warped wood or is made cutting corners.
Basically you will be spending somewhere in the $200-$500 range and I wouldn’t advise anything much less. Washburn makes very good inexpensive guitars. Often times you’ll find discounts as new models are being brought in. Here’s a Washburn D100DL Acoustic Guitar
- Understand Tuning
Aside from having your guitar, the next most important part is to understand tuning; that being how the strings on your guitar relate to one another and what pitches they need to be at. While an entire book could be devoted to just the category of tuning, for our purposes, all we need to understand now is Standard Tuning. What that means is that our guitar’s 5th string (2nd from the top) is tuned to A with a frequency of 440 Hz (known as concert pitch). To interpret this frequency it’s important to have a guitar tuner. What a guitar tuner does is to receive the pitch of a note you pluck and tell you what note you’re at. This makes things easy so as not to have to remember exactly what frequency every note is. This Boss TU-80C Chromatic Tuner & Metronome
The guitar has 6 strings and in standard tuning, we tune each string to be a perfect fourth pitch interval apart as we descend strings (save for one pair). Since the 5th string has already been tuned to A, all we need to do is tune the remaining 5 strings around that. The top string (6th) will be tuned to E, 5th string to A, 4th string to D, 3rd string to G, 2nd string to B and lastly the 1st string will be E.
From E to A is a perfect fourth, A to D a perfect fourth, D to G a perfect fourth and now comes the exception. We tune the 2nd string to be a major third apart from the 3rd string. This gives us B, since G to B is a major third. Lastly, B to E is a perfect fourth.
Now your guitar is in standard tuning and you’re ready to play some guitar chords. All that remains is to learn just how to play guitar so that you make noises that sound pleasing as opposed to the kind that make people run away . We have a host of resources and lessons for free here at Learn to Play Guitar TV and should you want more you can become a member.
Posted in How to Play Guitar by .
Whether it was Elvis or The Beatles, the 1-4-5 chord progression has been a staple of Rock n’ Roll since the beginning. In this lesson we look at the progression and more.
Learning to play the guitar doesn’t have to be difficult. If you understand the framework behind it all then it really becomes just a matter of learning the steps and implementing them. Often times people let the sound or idea of music theory scare them. I can totally relate to that, but have learned just how easy and fun theory can be and it has helped me beyond measure.
I suspect that I’m a lot like you. I felt like I had music inside of me and wanted to get it out. I wanted to be able to emulate my musical heroes and play the songs I love. I wanted to understand this music thing and do some rockin’ and rollin’.
My journey to learn to play guitar started at a very late age. I was 26 the first time I lay hands on a guitar. Talk about being behind everyone else! I wondered if I was too old or if it was too late for me to learn this instrument and questioned if I could ever master it. I’m sure you can relate to those feelings.
The thing that really kept me moving was that pure desire and passion to play and to keep learning. I had some key friends that would show me some chords, answer my questions and point me to resources I could use to keep learning. I got involved in online communities of songwriters and I just kept playing and studying and writing.
This is why I know you can learn guitar, master it and have a ton of fun and fulfillment in the process! If you’ve ever wanted to learn to play the guitar then now is the time. You’re never too old, too untalented or even too busy. You just need to begin and have a support system in place to help you and teach you.
That is exactly why I started LearnToPlayGuitarTV.com. I wanted to take my knowledge and pass it along to you…to be a support to you in your desire to learn guitar. If I could do it at 26 with absolutely no musical training whatsoever, then you can do it too! As I write this I’ve just turned 30, so that means it’s been just 4 years since I started and I’ve written and recorded over 300 songs, played live shows from AZ to NY and all this has been possible because of the tools that I am going to share with you.
So if that sounds good then come be a part of the community here. You can sign up to the right over here and begin your journey today. I can’t wait to start helping you.
To You Success,
Andrew Hand
Posted in Guitar Lessons Music Theory by .
In this video we take a look at the 1-6-4-5 chord progression made famous by bands like The Beatles. It’s a great progression and one to add to your guitar learning resources.
Enjoy
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Why This One Key Tool Can Revolutionize Your Learning
Music is such a great thing and truly its own unique language and world. It can bring us in, wrap us up and transport us to entirely different sates of being. I find it fascinating just how much music means to us and just how much it might be overlooked by some. Regardless of if you’re looking right at it or unconsciously consuming it, the point is that music impacts us all.
Now since we’re all guitar players here and specifically focussing on the conscious and deliberate side of music, I thought I’d write a brief explanation of why the study of music is so important and integral to improving and understanding at this wonderfully unique language.
Let’s summarize:
- We make music
- We are speaking another language
- Fluency of that language increases our skill and diversity
Ok, so if you can play a chord or a series of notes, you are making music. You belong to the group that has an interest and desire to converse in the language of music. Now what makes good music is subject to taste and opinions, but at the underlying core must be harmony, congruency and the ability to have your language skills be understood by others. And this is where the value of music theory comes in. Theory is the method behind music…the explanation for how these pitches play together to create harmony. Without this knowledge you are left to the discernment of your ears. You are like a blind man that can indeed walk and feel out his surroundings, but you are unable to see where you’re going. This is why theory is so important. Without being able to see, how can you paint your greatest masterpiece or grow to your highest ability? At some point along your journey you will hit a plateau where you feel the need for more information and to have greater understanding for instrument.
I imagine that I am such a firm believer in theory, because I, much like many of you, started without it and had to begin teaching myself. Once I started down this road, there was no turning back and it is an on-going journey of more discovery and learning. It is incredibly empowering to have the sight to see where you’ve been, where you are and where you want to go musically (that also applies to life, but that’s another blog post ).
If you’ve been thinking about music theory and wondering what it all means and if you should decide to invest the time in understanding this language that seems so complex or overwhelming at times, then I’d like to invite you to watch this video. In it I will talk about my own experience and just how and why music theory isn’t that hard to grasp. You can start today and literally be making sense of it all today too!
I know how you feel. I was there. I’ve felt the ‘what’s the use’ and I’ve said the, ‘I don’t need to follow rules’ as well as a bunch of other excuses. Believe me when I say that, music theory can change your guitar playing world and help you improve beyond measure. Ok, that’s enough preachin’ at ya…I mean we’re here to have fun and enjoyment (which this is). Come watch the video and I’ll see you soon.
To Your Success,
-Andrew Hand
Posted in Guitar Lessons Music Theory by .
When Learning Guitar Is Frustrating This Can Help
If you’ve ever played guitar or are playing guitar now, then I’m sure you’ve felt some frustration at some point. Am I right?
The guitar is a wonderful instrument, but it can seem as if there are so many things to learn. In my personal guitar playing journey, I’ve met many frustrations, but they have only served to help me improve and be wonderful rewards. If you’re feeling any frustrations in your guitar learning then I think these 3 key steps can help keep you mentally in the game and committed to playing and practicing more.
- Remember that your mood is going to affect your playing and learning…so be in a good mood when you pick up the guitar to practice or attempt to learn a new technique. When you’re not in the right frame of mind new methods can be hard to grasp and implement.
- Create a balance between playing for fun and learning time. It’s important to not just pick up the guitar and always just goof around or jam, especially when you’re just beginning. It’s also really important not to get bogged down with too much practice and theory. While it’s true that there can never be enough theory , there also can never be enough fun had. Both are vital, but both must be in balance. So take some time to rethink your practice and playing regimen. Is there equal time given to both practicing and playing? I’ve found that for me the great balance is that when I’m writing songs, I am playing and having fun and then there are specific times when I practice. Those practice sessions begin to juice me up to want to write, which is fun and so I even get more into the practicing.
- The third and last step is, play with other people. I think this might be one of the most important things. You can really learn a lot by just getting together and playing with others. The best thing is that it puts you in a state of wanting to perform well, which is a great thing when you’ve been practicing. Your friends are going to want to impress you and share what they know and you in-turn want to do the same. By playing with each other you open the door to sharing styles, techniques and influences and if you have any interest in doing music professionally then this kind of collaboration will build you a healthy backbone for networking and playing with other musicians.
So that’s it! Those would be my top key ideas to keep in mind as you begin or continue your journey with this fine instrument. Having the right mindset and tools is the key to mastering your goals. That’s why I’m such a big believer in learning resources and it is what’s continued to move my career as an artist along. If you’re looking for a great tool to keep you on the right path to guitar mastery, then I think you’d really like this product from Jamorama. Click Here to check it out and take your learning to the next level.
To your highest success and fulfillment,
-Andrew Hand
Posted in Guitar Lessons by .