I hope every had a chance to check out the SAMI Chord Progressions map.  If not, it is right on the front of the home page.

 To those maybe a bit unfamiliar with chord progressions I can offer a simple idea for you.  Open up the chord progression map to the key of C.  Take the C chord and another random chord and start strumming those two chords back to back.  Getfamiliar with the sound.  Do the same thing with all of the chords.  The point is to use to your ear and begin to recognize what the chord changes can sound like.  

This is a great chance to experiment with different chord combinations and they are spelled out right in front of you.

 

Jeremy

Have moments where you feel like you just keep playing the same thing?  Here are some tips to help you to break the monotony:

•  Break your typical scale patterns.  Many of us can get stuck in certain scale patterns that seem to lead us to dead ends.  Change them.  Try changing your scale patterns. 
  

• 1 note per string scale
• 2 notes per strin
• 3 notes per string
• 4 notes per sting

• Change your chords.  Do you always play the same barre chords or open chords?  Add more colorful notes.  Instead of a C Major open chord try using a C Maj9 chord or any other embellished major chord.  Don't use that same old chord any more if you don't have to. 
  
• When soloing try one note per string, or skip strings.  Take yourself out of your normal soloing habits into something that you really have to work at.  Make yourself think.  A habit is something that you don't have to think about.  You have to think to move ahead. 
  
• When you pick your guitar up for the first time tommorow don't play the same chord or lick that you always play.  Many guitarists pick up their guitar and unknowingly strum an E Major open chord.  This is the perfect opportunity to get into a new sound by strumming a new chord that you are trying to put into your playing.  Make the first chord you play tommorow the new chord that you learn today. 
  
• Don't practice what you already know.  If you truly feel you are in a rut then why would you continue to play what is already habit?  The point is push forward into new sounds.  Find those new sounds and make them the first things you play when you pick up your guitar.
• Next time you are in a rut read this again.  20 years from now read this again.  All of your new sounds will eventually become your habits and you will want to move forward again.  Eventually you will begin to sense when you need to try new things sooner and your playing will begin to evolve daily.

     There are too many different things we could try to list here.  Remember that if you are in a rut all you have to do is look at your guitar differently and many new things will appear.  There is no all knowing guitarist who has tried and mastered every trick with his or her guitar.  There is only trying to move forward when things become familiar.

     As a guitar teacher I am faced with many guitar-only issues but when it comes to rhythm I can offer a broader perspective. 

Rhythm is just as important to a guitar player or a horn player as it is to a drummer. 

     A drummer must use his sticks or hands to beat a drum in rhythm.  A guitar player uses picks or fingers and hands to strike the guitar strings in rhythm.  I sax player has to press the pads or use their tongues in rhythm. 

     A great exercise to this would be to play with a drummer.  As the drummer plays, mute all of your strings and strum.  You are a drummer.  A flute player is a drummer.  A harmonica player is a drummer. 

     With this said realize that developing a strong sense of rhythm is crucial.  if a drummer can play a measure of 16th notes very smooth, then you should be able to do the same on your guitar.  This is one reasons why some solo acoustic guitar players can make you dance and others leave you lost.  Listen to some solo Dave Matthews or John Mayer and you can hear the rhythm clearly.   

     Buy a metronome and practice playing with it.  Your drumming should be as smooth as the drummer in your band. 

Whether you are a newbie or a veteran, there is always a trick to be learned with your guitar.  With this blog I want to touch upon a songwriting trick.  

To get acquainted with songwriting I would like you to take a few steps.

 1.  Pick out a song that you really like.  For the purpose of this exercise pick an easy one.  Listen to it a lot.  Get itstuck in your head.  You should be able to play this song in your head while you are away from your stereo.

2.  Make a leadsheet of this song.  A leadsheet is going to have the intro, the verse, chorus, etc...  Make sure it is exact to the song that you picked.  

3.  Find that part of the song that you remember the most.  Often it can be the chorus.  It may be whatever though.  

4.  There is a catch with this step.  Play your favorite part of the song, but play it slightly different.  That is the catch.  Play it different.  Make sure it is pleasing to your ear and you can hear the whole part in your head.

This is actually a very common exercise for aspiring songwriters.  It is a great way to learn song form and how to piece parts together to form a whole.  

I would love to hear your results on this exercise.  Keep me posted. 

Hey everybody.  I wanted to touch upon something that I think is very important to development.  I play in many groups and there is usually an initial period where I need to learn their material and then often there are special occasions where many different songs are needed for a certain gig.  Looking at 50-60 new tunes can be a pretty daunting task but there is a way that you canmake this easier on yourself.  

     Learning any new song, let alone many new songs, can be made a lot easier if you take the time to listen to the songs away from your instrument.  This type of listening is actually a little different than listening for fun.  I pay attention to the tempo, when the chords change, any accents, dynamics, strumming patterns, licks, etc.   I can picture myself playing the guitar part(s).  Often times I have learned a new song on the way to the gig where it is to be played and then nailed it.  There are some songs that actually are that easy.  

     So, one way to get started with this method is to start listening to the music that you are going to learn a week before you start trying to play it.  If you are going to learn Sweet Home Alabama then you should sit down and listen to it in a different way than you ever have before.  Recognize the first lick of the tune, the main lick of the tune, the secondary lick, the 3 chords used for the song, the slightly altered selection of chords in that one spot in the 3rd verse, where the guitar solos are, when the chorus is sung twice instead of once, etc.  Get all of that memorized before you even sit down with the guitar.  Then, pick up your guitar, plug in the parts and you are good to go.  Burn a disc of the new song(s) that you have to learn.  Make a playlist on your ipod of what you are learning.  Get all of the parts mapped out in you mind.  Make leadsheets of the tunes.    

 If there are any questions about this please post comments to this post.  I would love to further help in learning methods for songs.   

 

All the best,

Jeremy Laursen 

Hey guys.  I want to say a few words about using the site.  To really get the most out of the site you really have to use all of your available resources for learning.  They are:

Video Lessons

PDF Lessons

The Jambox

Live Teacher Chat

Email with a teacher

Posting and Answering Blogs

Posting and Answering on the Message Board

Casual playingaway from the site.  

 Learning guitar is just like riding a bike.  You do it enough until you find how to stay balanced.  Once you find how it works you just turn that into a habit and you never fall off.  Play the material along with the actual lessons but also begin to use the material you are learning on your own.  If you are learning 3 new chords you should first play along with the lesson, then try using the chords casually in your own playing.  Turn it into your own habit.

 Get involved in every outlet for instruction and play some music.  

And # 1 :

 HAVE FUN DOING IT!

 

Jeremy Laursen 

 

Hey guys.  Something I felt like mentioning.  Sometimes I get to where there is maybe 5 or 6 things that I want to learn at once.  When I have tried this in the past it may take a few weeks to really get this stuff to sink in.  If I take on 5 things in maybe an hour then I really never get a good amount of time with anything.   Lately I have been sticking to one thing andreally working on it.  I try and incorporate it into my normal playing as well as my practice just to make sure that I get practical use out of it.  So far it has taken less time to learn more things if I focus on one thing at a time.  If you are learning a few new chords then you may want to take just a few days to not work on anything else that is new.  After just a few days that one thing can start to become a habit and that is right where we want it.  It will begin to show up in your normal playing and you can begin to focus on something else.  Give this a shot and let me know what you thing.

 

Jeremy Laursen 

     Hello fellow musicians.  I wanted to talk a bit about building your songbook.  As you gain experience and knowledge on your instrument, you will need to gain your own list of songs that you know how to play, and play them correctly.  This will make it easier for you to be able to play with many more musicians.  Also, it just so happens that those who havea ton of songs under their belt also know others who have a ton of songs under their belt.  Being a musician is its own world-wide circle.  Just think about some your teachers.  Many could make just a phone call or two and get in contact with any musician that they wanted.  

     So, we need to work on building up your songbook.  Honestly, the best way to start is to begin with all of the easiest songs in the genre or genres that you wish to focus on.  I began playing guitar during a certain musical phase.  The early stages of my songbook looked like this:

Allman Brothers

Grateful Dead

Phish

Bob Dylan

Van Morrison

The more I play and get gigs, the more tunes I get under my belt.  My list now looks long and often obscure, but I have been on many types of gigs, and I have learned songs on my own as well.  Now my list includes songs by Paul Anka,  Burt Bacharach, Green Day, The Police,  Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Curtis Mayfield, Tom Petty, Mahavishnu Orchestra...  It just goes on.  

One neat thing about putting in all the time to learn the songs is the ability to start figuring out songs faster.  I usually make my own leadsheets of songs to make sure that my ear has tested all if it to make sure it is correct.  If you have ever printed a tab off of a music tab site, then you may have noticed that some are often half right, but usually nothing is ever completely right.  Always make sure that you leadsheet is right.  This practice helps you to learn songs quicker and quicker until eventually you can learn a song while playing it on a gig.  You ears and your theoretical knowledge will help you to do this on the spot.  This turns into less time that you need to rehearse and more time for you to be playing out.  

Start now.  If you need help to get a list of songs for you to look at first, please get on the site chat or send me an email and we can get the ball rolling.  You can pick up many things from learning songs that you may not pick up in your other playing.  Whether beginner or advanced, we can get you going.

 

In Music, 

Jeremy Laursen 

 

  

 

 

 

     Are you gigging?  Why not?  To jam in your room with yourself or with a group of musicians is one thing.  But if you ever have performing in mind then you should become used to it asap.  The spirit of playing can often take on a different attitude when you play for an audience.  This allows you to begin to hear the difference between what you hear yourselfplay in the comfort of your own home and what you play when you are in front of a crowd.  It is often different. 

     When you perform you will play different, especially while you are trying to put some of those first gigs under you belt.  I look at gigs as an oppurtunity to discover what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong.  If I find something I am doing that I like I will have to take that home and play it some more to make sure that it stays in my playing.  On the other hand, if there is other material that is not being played the way I want it, then I can take it home and work it out and keep trying.

     Being on the spot in front of an audience can make you learn quick.  You don't want to sound  bad to them or you.  Book some gigs and start learning about this interesting outlet for your music.    

 

Hello fellow musicians.  This week I want to talk a bit about songwriting.

Songwriting is obviously a creative endeavor.  If you have ever tried to write some music, then you may notice that sometimes your pen is flowing and other times there is a complete stall in the process.  Here are some tips that I have stumbled upon.  I surely welcome all sorts of tips.  Pleaseleave some comments back.

1.  Record yourself trying to find that new chord or that new groove.  There have been times where I have been just screwing around with some new techniques and listened back and actually found some useable material.  Always have record on.  When your guitar is not in your hands, have that stuff playing back.  

2.  Come up with a list of song names.  Choose one that sounds clever and then start to think about what sounds might help to paint a picture of the song name.  

3.  Use a technique as the ground work for a new tune.  I wrote a song called "The 2nd Netwerk" based on the the major and minor 2nd interval.  The underlying bass line, the chords, and the melody uses the interval.

4.  If you are going to use any lyrics, then try writing all of the lyrics first and then write the music around it.  You could also do this if you start with a title first.  

5.  John Lennon once said that if he was writing a good tune that he could go to sleep and still hear it in his head when he woke up the next day.  He wrote a few good tunes.

Everyone is an individual.  You will always find techniques that work for you and those that don't.  For sure try many.  Nothing will work %100 or the time.  Because nothing works everytime we need continue to grow this list of ideas.  Please continue to add to this list of ideas.

 

All the best,

Jeremy Laursen