Give Yourself “Guitar Made Simple” For Christmas!

Here’s a great Christmas idea for you!

‘Guitar Made Simple’ is an extremely well thought out beginners program, with a very thorough and personal approach to help you easily learn how to play the guitar… correctly! So much more than trying to learn alone with just a book, this brilliant system connects with you as if an instructor is right with you in your own home.

Give yourself a treat this Christmas and get “Guitar Made Simple” at our special 30% discounted price.  You’ll be reaping the benefits in no time at all by improving your guitar playing quickly and easily.  Better still, buy a copy for that friend or loved one who is longing to learn the guitar.

Remember, we have negotiated a special 30% discount with Chris Standring for our GuitaroJam subscribers.  Find out more about Guitar Made Simple here - don’t delay.  Read Review.

The Many Muses of Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield has, you could say, been around the block a few times. The British-born, sometimes Spaniard artist seems to have done it all in his life and career. The now 54 year old Mike Oldfield not only did it, but lived to tell about it; from his earliest of musical ventures, to his inter-continental homes, to his family life.

Oldfield’s earliest muse may have come at tremendous personal cost. Having left home at the tender age of 14 over differences with his parents, Oldfield struggled to make a name for himself in the entertainment business, performing in folk clubs in his native Reading and later in Essex. Despite his slightly dysfunctional upbringing, Oldfield was a tremendously talented musician and enjoyed limited success in his debut venture, a brother/sister folk duo act, The Sallyangie.

5 Steps to Book Your Band

Knowing how to get your band on at venues is vital if you’re going to get your band heard and seriously market your music. But how do you go about getting someone to book your band when you don’t know where to start?

Here are 5 key tips that will show you how to get gigs. I’ve used them all personally as have other bands and musicians I’ve helped. All five have been repeatedly proven to succeed. They can help you become that most indispensable of musicians � - the gig-getter.

The Digital Songwriter

A whole new style of composing music and writing lyrics has arrived in the form of digital songwriting. By using hi tech home studio equipment and software, you can now record your music and lyrics at the same time as you actually write your songs.

In the Sixties and Seventies, the most any young songwriter could have hoped for, would have been a 10/50/50 song deal with a music publisher - any music publisher. Whether or not the songs would have been published was another matter. At that time, the ratio of works accepted but not actually published, may have been less than eight in every hundred. In reality, most songs acquired by publishers were left on the shelf to gather dust. If any were eventually published, mainly because an artist had covered (recorded) his work, it would have made the average songwriter feel like he’d won a week in heaven - especially if they had printed his music.

Analogue Reel to Reel Tape Recorders-Still the Choice of Professionals

The larger reel-to-reel recorders are still employed by professional sound specialists, although the basic cassette recorder is probably the cheapest form of analogue recorder which is readily available. The quality of these reel to reel machines can seldom be duplicated by the smaller recorders and their cassette tapes.

A multitude of different media’s still utilise analogue recording, which is the oldest standard in audio recording based terms. Analogue style reel-to-reel recorders are still in mainstream use these days and are still considered by some as the preferred equipment for sound recordings.

Musicians Health: Understanding Repetitive Injury Strain

Repetitive Strain Injury - RSI Repetitive strain injury is a condition where pain and other symptoms occur in an area of the body which has done repetitive tasks (often arms or hands). Treatment includes stopping the task (if possible), and other measures such as painkillers and physiotherapy.

NB.  Repetitive strain injury is very common amongst musicians.

What is repetitive strain injury?

The term repetitive strain injury (RSI) is used to describe a range of painful conditions of the muscles, tendons and other soft tissues. It is mainly caused by repetitive use of part of the body. It is usually related to a job or occupation, but leisure activities can also be a cause. Unlike a ‘normal’ strain following a sudden injury, symptoms of RSI can persist well beyond the time it would take symptoms of a ‘normal’ strain to ease.

Playing Right Handed Guitar Left Handed/Strumming Or Picking Style

Now that we feel relatively comfortable playing left handed and holding the guitar and we can make the major chords, A, B, C, D, E, F and G with the right hand, what about the left hand? How do I hold the pick? What type of strumming method do I use?

There is no particular technique and I have never seen an instructional guide for what is right and wrong for this unorthodox way of playing the guitar. I can only tell you the way that I do it and how I developed the technique that I use.

The Guitarists’ Death Grip

How a cheap guitar can hinder your progress.

A common problem with cheaper guitars, especially steel string acoustic guitars, is that the strings are set way too high above the neck, making it very difficult to press the chords.

 

What a beginner guitarist may not realize, is just how much easier the task of training your fingers to play the guitar is on a slightly more expensive guitar that’s been worked on by a luthier. The luthier doesn’t need to build the guitar, he just has to do a few minor things to it so that it plays nicely. The most important of these is to level and crown the frets.

Buying Second Hand Music Gear

Buying a new musical instrument can cost much more than what your budget permits. So, especially for those who are beginning to learn the instrument, it is a good idea to try out the second hand music gear. These second hand music gear are available in various local music shops. It is also available on the various music websites and as well as classified websites. Another way of searching for a good second hand music gear is the classified advertisements of the daily newspapers. Classified websites offer innumerable choices of products. For example, if someone is looking for a guitar he can have ample choices to select from. These sites offer clear norms or rules, which are easy for both the buyers and the sellers.

Guitar Man by Will Hodgkinson

This book is a sort of amusing guide to one man’s journey to learn and learn about the instrument which is central to most popular music – the guitar. On his way to eventually performing a rather nervous gig to over 200 people, mostly friends and family, and suffering the insults and objections of his wife and kids about his “obsession”, the author meets a number of guitar “heroes”, including Bert Jansch, Johnny Marr, Davey Graham, Roger McGuinn and T. Model Ford.

He comes to realise his own talent is rather limited, particularly after a few of the pros give him some feedback on his various attempts at making music. Nevertheless, some of his experiences and the information he gains from other musicians is highly informative and would be of interest to the guitar player in us all.