What is the use of a guitar capo?

October 10, 2018October 2, 2019 Dan - Fret Success

Summary

So, what is the use of a guitar capo?

Here’s the summary of the topics covered in the article below, just in case you’re too busy right now! When you get time just pop back and take a look in more detail!

The use of a guitar capo is to change the pitch of open strings but shortening the open length of the guitar strings in relation to the open chord shapes. This can be useful in all sorts of instances including:

changing the voicing or sound of chords;
shifting the key of a song or arrangement to work with a vocalist; and
to make a barre chord easier to play.

Main Article

Let’s start with the basics of what a guitar capo is.

History and Concept

If we head back a few centuries, the term capo, like lots of music terms, comes from the Italian language. In Italian, the word capo translates as the “head of the fingerboard”. This may give you a clue as to what it’s function is, don’t worry I’ll now explain the significance of this translation.

What is the fingerboard?

Let’s start an easy one, what is the fingerboard? Plain and simple, this is the part of the guitar where your fingers sit on/push the strings against; the piece where the strings hover over and the frets are located (sometimes referred to as the “fretboard”).

So, from this, the term “head of the fingerboard” can be visualised as the top of the fingerboard i.e. the nut of the guitar. The nut is the part of the guitar that the strings pass over on the headstock, near the tuning pegs. The nut is basically the top of the fingerboard where the active region of the strings starts.

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How is it used?

That’s all well and good Dan but how does that help me use a guitar capo? Well, imagine that you want an easy way to shift this nut location/start point/head of the fingerboard of the active string region to a higher pitch. If so, then you need a guitar capo!

The image below helps you visualise how the capo changes the active string region.

A capo is used to easily change the pitch of the open strings at the nut in relation to open chords, basically getting around the issue I mentioned earlier. If you just moved up your chord shape without changing the open strings, then you will lose the relative pitch of the open strings, and this won’t sound as you intended, typically terrible. Try playing these chords shapes below to see what I mean.

For example, if we want to move our chords up by 3 semitones then we would place the capo on the 3^rd fret of the guitar to correctly shift the open strings to the desired relative tuning. If we form an E Major Open Chord shape in this position (after the capo) it will now sound like a G Major Barre Chord on the 3^rd Fret.

If you think of a barre chord and notice that they can all be placed on any location on the fingerboard (moving up or down the neck) to get a different pitch of chord. Just incase you don’t, let’s recap that now…You can visualise this effect using barre chords, as a different way to get your head around this concept.

How does this relate to chords that I know?

So, if you move the A Major Barre chord (5^th fret version) up the neck (towards the pickups) one fret then you get A# Major or Bb Major; depending on your outlook on life. If you notice your barre finger (the one spanning all strings) is acting like a false nut location and the rest of your fingers are forming an E Major Open chord shape.

This should remind you of how a capo works. Have a play around with these and see if you can grasp the nice relationship between the capo and the barre chord method.

Why use a capo?

Well a capo can be used for a couple of different reasons including:

To quickly change the key of a chord progression, to align with a vocalist’s preferred range: All vocalists have a range of notes/key where they sing most naturally. In the world of covering other songs/arrangements written by someone else, there is a huge variation between vocalists. Therefore, the capo is a great tool for easily changing the key of a chord progression to one that matches that of the new vocalist. This will alter the sound of the guitar from standard tuning; when playing open chords, as you’ve essentially changed the reference pitch of the open strings. However, this is just a consequence of the convenience; and
To change the timbre/sound of a chord progression: Singer-songwriters may also use the capo as a tool to change the voicing of a chord progression in the lower open string region. You can essentially play the same chord but in a different finger arrangement, to get a different sound. So, an open D Major Chord with open strings will be the same chord as the A Major Open Chord but with a Capo on the 5^th fret (think D major barre chord on the 5^th fret, to help you get your head around this). Play them both and see if you can see the similarities and differences between the chords.

As always just fire any questions to learn@fretsuccess.com.I hope that this helps you understand more about what the guitar capo is used for.

Thanks

Dan

What is the Order of Guitar Strings?

October 3, 2018October 8, 2020 Dan - Fret Success

What is the order of guitar strings?

Summary

Here’s the summary of the topics covered in the article below to help you get more insight to know the answer to "What is the order of guitar strings?"; just in case you’re too busy right now! When you get time just pop back and take a look in more detail!

I always refer to the order of guitar strings from the thickest to thinnest. Some people opt for the other way around but I always found it easier to go from the lowest pitch to the highest in pitch, it just made more sense to me.

Standard Tuning: E, A, D, G, B, E

For the following tunings, I’ve made the strings that deviate from standard tuning in bold and italic.

Drop D Tuning: D, A, D, G, B, E

DADGAD Tuning: D, A, D, G, A, D

E Major Open Chord Tuning: E, B, E, G#, B, E

Half Step Drop Tuning: Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb

Full Step Drop Tuning: D, G, C, F, A, D

Main Article

This is a curious thing to discuss and all guitarists ponder this question, especially when they first start learning to play. I thought I would go through a few different angles on this topic by explaining some of the most common guitar string configurations and preferences.

Firstly, let’s go through the basic concepts before I dive into the specifics. If you’re asking which order the guitar strings go then we need to identify the start and end point first. If I think about the question of "What is the order of guitar strings?", then it is really important to define a few concepts here.

Throughout my years of playing, the majority of guitarists list the name of the guitar strings in order from thick to thin (from top to bottom when playing the guitar). I guess this is most likely due to the strings going up in pitch from the thickest to thinnest. Some instructors list the strings from thinnest to thickest but this is just counter-intuitive to me, for the reasons above. It’s personal preference when it comes down to it, so you choose which you prefer.

Guitar strings are assigned a letter, corresponding to a certain musical note. That’s because they are tuned to that musical note, get it? So, when you think about the notes/order of the guitar strings then all this means is the musical notes that they are tuned to. Which notes? It's up to you really.

I’m now going to go through a few of the different tunings and the string order of these, always going from thick to thin 😊.

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Standard Tuning

This method of tuning the strings is the generally accepted standard way that most guitarists go for. It’s also the most likely tuning that the songs you’ll be learning to play will use; at the start of your journey. From thick to thin (top to bottom) the string order and names are E, A, D, G, B, and E; see the diagram below and also the little funky rhyme to help you remember the order.

Standard Tuning Diagram

Drop D Tuning

The next tuning is normally the next one that you learn/become aware of, especially if you’re into rock/metal music. It’s a very simple concept to grasp, once you’ve understood and know the standard tuning when you think about the question, "What is the order of guitar strings?".

. All you have to do is drop (tune down) the top E string (top, very thickest string) by a tone/two semitones to make it a D note. This is where the Drop D comes from (dropping the E note to a D note). All of the other strings stay the same to standard tuning, so it makes it super easy to remember.

From thick to thin (top to bottom) the string order and names are D, A, D, G, B, and E; see the diagram below.

Drop D Tuning Diagram

A very easy way to get there, even without a tuner is to play the top thick E string and the D string together then tune the top thick E string down until it sounds the same as the open D string. Have a go at this. If you get stuck in drop D and want to get back to standard, there are two methods to get back; without using a tuner. These make use of the other standard tuned strings:

Play the thin E string at the same time as the tuned down top thick D string (E string in standard tuning). Then tune the top thick E string (tuned down to D at the moment) back up so it sounds the same as the thin E string; or
Fret the D string on the 2^nd fret (an E note) and play this note at the same time as the top thick E string. Then tune up the top thick string (currently D string) to the same pitch as the string you’ve fretted to make it return to E.

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DADGAD Tuning

This is a wonderful tuning!! It’s pretty much my favourite tuning, especially for acoustic playing; in particular percussive styles. It’s also a really easy one to grasp, especially if you’re in drop D already or understand the drop D tuning concept well; you may have already guessed how to get there. You normally describe it by the tuning of the notes, DADGAD (“DAD”, “GAD”). The string order goes from thickest to thinnest again D, A, D, G, A, and D.

It’s really easy to get there. All you have to do is tune the two E strings down by a tone/two semitones to get to DADGBD. So, from Drop D tuning all you need to do is drop the thinnest E string and you’re there! Then the final step is playing the Open A and B strings together and detune the Open B string until it sounds the same as the Open A. You just detune it by a tone (two semitones). Check out the rhyme for this one below!

DADGAD Tuning Diagram

Open Chord tuning

There’s no standard way to tune using this concept but don’t worry, it’s a really easy one to understand. It’s quite obvious really, all you do is tune all the open strings to the notes of a chord. The basic form of a guitar chord uses 3 notes, i.e. notes 1, 3 and 5 of the E major scale for the E major chord. As the guitar has six strings, we need to double up some of those notes to get a full open tuning of a chord. Let’s stick with the E Major open chord and tune to those notes.

So, the E Major Open Chord notes are E, B, E, G#, B, E; and ordered from thickest to thinnest. If we consider the standard tuning for a second, the A string, D string, and G string need to be retuned from that to form E Major Open Chord tuning.

Open E Major Tuning Diagram

The beauty of this method is that you can tune to any open chord you want, the most common ones being G Major Open Chord, D Major Open Chord and A Major Open Chord. Go give them a try and see which you prefer.

Half/full step drop tuning

The final string tuning I’ll take you through is one that guitarists use for multiple reasons including:

Giving a lower end to the guitar sound i.e. changing the tone with a lower tension; and
Making it easier to sing along with when playing songs in E scales.

It’s common to find this tuning used in rock and metal music, especially male singers; requiring a lower musical pitch to make vocal performance easier. However, it can also be used just to fit with any singer’s preferred vocal key.

If you’re struggling to play along with a track and you’re sure you have the transcription correct, then it is likely that the guitar was recorded with a drop tuning, such as half/full step.

There’s no quick and easy way to tune to half/full step drop tuning, so the easiest way is to use a tuner.

The following notes are used for half and full step drop tuning:

Half Step: Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb (your tuner might struggle with these so you can also tune to D#, G#, C#, F#, A#, D#, which are the same notes); and
Full Step: D, G, C, F, A, D.

Half Step Drop Tuning Diagram

Full Step Drop Tuning Diagram

Cheers,

Dan

Founder

Fret Success

https://www.fretsuccess.com

B Chord Guitar Diagrams – All the variations – Let’s Learn Together (Fret Success)

May 12, 2017September 25, 2019 Dan - Fret Success

B chord guitar diagrams and some other useful stuff

So let’s look at B chord guitar diagrams and some general pointers around this commonly used chord category.

There are many ways of playing the B Chord on guitar. I’ve covered a few of the most common versions of the B Chord to get you started.

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Most Common B Chord Guitar Variations

The most common forms of the B Chord on guitar are:

B Major Chord;
B Minor Chord;
B7 Chord (Dominant 7);
B Major 7 Chord;
B5 Chord (Power Chord);
B Sus4 Chord;
B Sus2 Chord;
B Minor 7 Chord;
B Major Sixth (B6) Chord;
B Diminished Chord; and
B Diminished Seventh Chord.

There are many chord variations beyond the list above. These are a good starting point on your journey to learn the many ways to play the B Chord on guitar.

Let’s get started

In this lesson I’ve put together a huge list of B Chord Guitar Diagrams for you to get learning.

Here’s a little guide on getting the best from the guitar chords below, if you haven’t seen the Fret Success guitar chord diagrams before.
Chord diagrams are the easiest way to display how to arrange fretted notes to form guitar chords. They don’t normally indicate which fingers to use but the Fret Success chord diagrams make things simple.
There’s a quick guide on how to read our chord diagrams shown below, X major isn’t a chord; don’t worry, you’ve not gone mad!

Fret Success Chord Diagram Guide

B chord Guitar - Fret Success Chord Box Guide

Guitar Finger Numbering Guide

Image 2 - Guitar Finger Numbering Guide - B Chord Guitar

Learn the notes as you go

The notes that make-up each chord will be given at the top of the guitar diagram, to help you learn these as you go along rather than just knowing the shapes. The notation and TAB are also given on the bottom right of the box.

Which finger goes where?

The number inside each blue circle indicates the finger that is used to fret each note in the chord. Open strings are indicated by a ‘0’, muted/un-played strings are indicated by an ‘X’ and ‘T’ indicates where the thumb comes over the back of the neck to play a note.

Which B Chord on Guitar?

So, what makes a B Major Chord on guitar? It’s not crucial to understand exactly why but I found it interesting to understand the wider picture when I learnt chords. Essentially, all chords on guitar come from a selection of notes in a scale. The first chords you will look to learn are major chords and this comes from the major scale.

That sounds complicated!!!

Don’t worry it’s not hard. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with technical words and musical terms but it’s quite easy once you grasp the basics. Here’s a little guide to help you along the way.

What is a scale?

A scale is a group of musical notes that relate to each other when heard in sequence or in order. They a separated by something called an “Interval”, which is the musical space between two notes.

Major? Minor? Diminished?

It’s easy to get confused between different chord type and scales but it’s easier than you think. Each chord has a description to let you know how it sounds, so you can find the same mood of chord in a different scale. For example, a B major chord and F major chord will sound very similar in terms of the emotion they give off (although a different pitch, the intervals between notes are similar). A major chord is a pleasant and positive sound. Whereas minor chords are more sad sounding and diminished chords are very dark and edgy sounding, used more commonly in metal and heavy rock music. Once you’ve learned the different chord qualities and how they sound you’ll be able to easily use them to figure out how to play songs or write your own. The following chord qualities are most common:

Major and minor
Major and minor seventh
Dominant seventh
Major and minor sixth
Suspended fourth
Ninth
Diminished
Augmented

You don’t need to learn all these now, just bare them in mind. You can get away with knowing the difference between major (happy) and minor (sad) to start with and then progress from there.

Chromatic Scale

There are a finite number of notes (12 in total) we can use in music known as the Chromatic Scale:

Image 3 - Chromatic Scale - B Chord Guitar

The ‘#’ symbol indicates a sharp note and the ‘b’ symbol represents a flat note. It’s not important to know the exact reasons for these, in the early stages of guitar. You just know they exist and be aware of them. Sharps and flats are interchangeable for certain notes i.e. A^# is the same as B^b in that is the same note. However, they have different meanings depending on the scale they are in.

It’s an important concept to grasp that musical notes in the chromatic scale are not linear (i.e. in one line) but circular in a continuous pattern; increasing in pitch with no start or end.

Image 4 - Chromatic Scale Wheel - B Guitar Chord

What are musical intervals?

We already know this is the musical spacing between notes but what does that mean? The chromatic scale goes up in “semitones” (the smallest interval between notes). The easiest way to remember this is the change in pitch when you move up or down by one fret on the guitar; this is a semitone. Try doing this on your guitar, so you get an idea of how this sounds.

The next most common interval is the “tone” (sometimes known as whole note). This is easy to remember as it is a spacing/interval of two semitones. This is easy to get your head around if you think of it like a circle, i.e. two semi circles make a circle and so two semitones make a tone.

A musical scale is made up of a combination of a mix of tones and semi tones; depending on the type. Just know that if you remember the chromatic scale you won’t go far wrong. It might seem that there are so many scales that you don’t know where to even start learning and remembering them. All a musical scale is, is a selection of notes from the chromatic scale played either in order (traditional scale/arpeggio) or a chord (notes played at the same time).

Each type of scale has a different interval pattern between each note i.e. for major and minor. It’s easiest to initially think of the major scale pattern when you first start learning this.

Major Scale Intervals and Pattern

The intervals for a major scale, starting from the root, are: Tone; Tone; Semitone; Tone; Tone; Tone; and Semitone. Each note in the scale is also given a reference name which are the ‘Scale Degrees’ i.e. Tonic, Supertonic etc.

image 5 - major scale pattern - B Chord Guitar

For example, B Major guitar scale contains the following notes:

Image 6 - B Major Scale - B Chord Guitar

image 7 - Chromatic Scale showing B Major Scale - B chord Guitar

So how does this help me when learning the B Chord on Guitar?

It’s easy to just learn a chord on the guitar and then carry on using it in the song your learning. But at some point, you’ll wish you’d learned a bit more about where these chords come from and how they relate to each other.

Whichever B chord on guitar you’re learning to play, it’s important and beneficial to understand that all chords come from the same origin. The fundamental chord of any form is the first, third and fifth notes of that scale. So, for example the B Major chord on guitar, the notes used are the first, third and fifth of the major scale. Using the diagram above, these are B, D# and F#. If we play just these three notes together, this is called a “triad” (dictionary definition: three similar things i.e. 3 notes from a scale).

We have up to six strings to use on the guitar. So, we try and make the most of these strings by doubling up on certain notes to make the chord (or triad) sound richer. The combination is dependent on the chord we’re playing and where we’re playing it. Now to those chords…

What is the difference between a barre chord and an open chord?

Before we start let’s establish the different between barre chords and open chords. A barre chord uses your first finger to fret across all or most of the strings on a single fret then build on this with additional fingers higher up the guitar neck.

An open chord is one that uses open strings or doesn’t use the barre technique.

Are you struggling to tune your guitar and taking ages to do it?

Before we get into the B Chord Guitar diagrams just take a minute to take a look at this guitar tuner. I use it everyday just to check if my guitar is in tune. The beauty of it is, that you can strum all your strings and it tells you which ones are out of tune. I can’t recommend it enough.

B Major Chord

The first chord you should look to learn is the B Major. This section gives you some B Chord guitar diagrams for some of the most common B Major guitar chord shapes.

There are several ways to play the B Major Chord on guitar. I’m going to go through the most commonly used ones below. Normally, when someone refers to the B Chord on Guitar, it’s the B Major guitar chord being referred to. As discussed above, the B Major Guitar Chord contains notes B, D# and F# at a minimum but the most common variations include many more notes, to make the most use of the available guitar strings.

B Major Open Chord

B Major Chord Open - B Guitar Chord

B Major Barre Chord V1

B Major Chord 2 - Barre Chord

B Major Barre Chord V2

B Major Chord 3 - Barre Chord

B Major Barre Chord V3

B Major Guitar Chord 4 - Barre Chord

B Minor Chord

The next chord you should look to learn is the B Minor. This section gives you some B Chord guitar diagrams for some of the most common B Minor guitar chord shapes. The B Minor Guitar Chord contains notes B, D and F# at a minimum but the most common variations include many more notes, to make the most use of the available guitar strings. The easiest way to remember the difference between major and minor is that the major 3rd note (D# in B Major) is flattened by 1 semitone.

There are several ways to play the B Minor Chord on guitar. The diagrams below will help you get started.

B Minor Open Chord

B Minor Chord Open - B Chord Guitar

B Minor Barre Chord V1

B Minor Chord Barre 1 - B chord Guitar

B Minor Barre Chord V2

B Minor Chord

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B7 Chord (Dominant 7)

Now you’ve mastered the first few B Chord guitar diagrams, the next is the B7 Dominant Chord. This section gives you some B Chord guitar diagrams for some of the most common B7 Dominant guitar chord shapes. The B7 Dominant Chord contains notes B, D#, F# and A at a minimum but the most common variations include more notes, to make the most use of the available guitar strings.

B7 Chord (Dominant 7) Open

B7 Dominant Open - B Chord on Guitar

B7 Chord (Dominant 7) Barre V1

B7 Chord (Dominant 7) Barre V2

B7 Dominant barre v2 - B chord on Guitar

B Major 7 Chord

Let’s get a bit more involved, the next is the B Major 7 Chord. This section gives you some B Chord guitar diagrams for some of the most common B Major 7 guitar chord shapes. The B Major 7 Chord contains notes B, D#, F# and A# at a minimum.

B Major 7 Chord Barre V1

B Major 7 Barre v1 - B chord guitar

B Major 7 Chord Barre V2

B Major 7 Barre v2 - B chord guitar

B5 Chord (Power Chord)

B5 Chord (Power Chord) V1

B5 Chord (Power Chord) V2

B5 Power Chord barre v2 - B Chord Guitar

B Sus4 Chord

Bsus4 Chord Open

B sus 4 open - B Chord Guitar

Bsus4 Chord Barre V1

B sus 4 barre v1 - B chord guitar

Bsus4 Chord Barre V2

B sus 4 barre v2 - B Chord Guitar

Bsus4 Chord Barre V3

B sus 4 barre v3 - B chord guitar

B Sus2 Chord

B Sus2 Chord Barre

B sus2 Barre - B Chord Guitar

B Minor 7 Chord (Bm7)

B Minor 7 Chord Open

B minor 7 open - B chord guitar

B Minor 7 Chord Barre V1

B Minor 7 Barre V1 - B Chord Guitar

B Minor 7 Chord Barre V2

B Minor 7 Barre V2 - B Chord Guitar

B Major Sixth Chord (B6)

B Major sixth open V1

B Major 6 Open - B Chord Guitar

B Major Sixth Barre

B Major 6 Barre v1 - B Chord Guitar

B Diminished Chord

B Diminished Chord open V1

B Diminished open V1 - B Chord Guitar

B Diminished Chord open V2

B Diminished open V2 - B Chord Guitar

B Diminished Chord Barre

B Diminished barre - B chord Guitar

B Diminished Seventh Chord

B Diminished Seventh Chord Open V1

B Diminished seventh open - B Chord Guitar

B Diminished Seventh Chord Open V2

B Diminished open V2 - B chord guitar

Hope this has been useful and it helps you with learning to play guitar lessons.

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Thanks for stopping by and see you soon.

Cheers,

Dan

Founder

Fret Success

https://www.fretsuccess.com

Guitar Riffs Lesson – Using the E Major Scale to Add Creativity to Riffs (Fret Success)

February 8, 2017October 2, 2019 Dan - Fret Success

Hi there guys it’s Dan here from Fret Success with a brand new Guitar Riffs Lesson. I just wanted to take you through a little technique that I’ve been working on which is based on progressing on the basic scales that you would normally use and use them to develop you’re riff writing.

This Guitar Riffs Lesson takes you away from playing just the standard scales and gets you thinking about how you can open up your riff writing and playing using them to your advantage.

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This lesson uses the Emajor scale to push you out of the normal scale playing that you might typically go to when writing riffs or solos. I really want to help you get this mindset in your head to stop thinking within the notation boxes from scale drills and start being more musical with you play riffs. Once you master this lesson you’ll think about your writing and playing in a hugely different way making you think more about your guitar riffs and how to make them more exciting.

Watch the full Guitar Riffs Lesson video below and don’t forget to subscribe to the Fret Success YouTube Channel to get notifications for new video uploads.

I hope you enjoy this lesson and you can download the supporting notation and guide from the Fret Success store – Click here to get the guide

Don’t forget to download the supporting notation and guide from the Fret Success store – Click here to get the guide.

This lesson should help you progress much further with your writing. When you’re confident try it with a different scale such as the E minor scale or even the D major scale; have fun with it. Drop me your comments and let me know what you think and also if you have any ideas for future lesson topics.

Thanks,

Dan

(Founder)

Get Lessons now. Email: learn@fretsuccess.com

How to Become a Better Guitarist – What I’ve Learned Along the Way (Fret Success)

February 5, 2017October 2, 2019 Dan - Fret Success

So you want to know how to become a better guitarist?

I didn’t want to write a top 5 or 10 list but instead, I’ve written down everything that I have thought about when planning my playing and some detailed tips to help you on your quest on how to become a better guitarist. I hope you find these tips and tricks useful and feel free to share this post; I’d really appreciate if you could. Make sure you sign up to receive the www.FretSucccess.com newsletter if you haven’t already.

So here we go…

So what do you want from this?

Well first you need to ask yourself “what do I want to get from playing guitar”? This is a difficult question to answer, especially if you’re just starting. So let’s break it down into a few small questions:

Do you want to be a famous player and household name?
Do you want to be in a popular band?
Are you leaning towards being a successful session player?
Do you want to be a guitar teacher?
Are you looking to make it in your local scene and be content with making a comfortable living from playing guitar?
Do you want to write music for yourself or others and be renowned for doing so; or
Do you just want to play as a hobby and nothing more?

It’s hard to decide where you will take your playing. But, it’s very important to pick a general route you want to go down, so you can figure out how to become a better guitarist. You don’t have to go down just one route; you can keep your options open.

A great advantage of the guitar is that if you progress down one path you can use this knowledge in many other areas if you choose to change what your goals are. You won’t be wasting your time, in fact, I’ve found that the least likely of avenues helped me progress both technically as a player and as an artist. Don’t be scared of the unknown.

What are the best things to consider doing to develop yourself?

There are some simple and general tips that can help you progress down your chosen path and on your quest on how to become a better guitarist, no matter what route you want to go down. These are:

So you want to be famous? Becoming a household name such as Slash or Brian May doesn’t happen to too many of us guitarists. It’s very difficult to do but it’s not impossible. It sometimes takes a lucky break and most of the time it’s down to a great deal of hard work and actually more often, a bit of both. Here are a few things that can help:
- Play with as many other musicians as you can. You should make it a target to play with as many different musicians as you can. You never know who may prove to be a useful contact in the near or distant future. Aiming to get paid for all your work, as a performing musician, is what you want in the long run but there can be a huge benefit in working with other musician and even doing gigs for free. You just need to determine if it looks like it’s going to be worthwhile; although you will never truly know until you dive in. I embraced this mentality for a while and developed a good sense of what opportunities are worth your time and which aren’t;

Regularly write your own music. If you haven’t started writing your own music then you really should. It’s an important way to progress you playing and your career and it will help you with your quest with how to become a better guitarist. If you’ve tried song writing but you haven’t written anything you like yet then you should keep going and write as much as you can. It’s so crucial to have an easy way to record ideas on the fly, you can use a smart phone or buy a purpose built recorder you can have handy to hit record, such as the Tascam DR-05; this is such a great tool that you need on your quest for how to become a better guitarist;
Regularly go through your musical ideas and be critical. It’s one thing to record your ideas but it’s another to organise these, listen back to and do something with them. I’ve lost count of the ideas that I had in the early stages in my guitar playing. Whether, it was during down time at a rehearsal or just when you pick up your guitar with a burst of inspiration, it’s so easy to record them and just forget they ever existed. This is why it’s important to take time to listen back to your ideas and be critical. Being critical of your playing is one of the best ways I found on how to become a better guitarist. When you review your recordings, it’s best to work up a schedule so you might take a couple of hours every month to listen to all your ideas from that month. Once you get a few you should then start to collate similar ideas into folders on your computer such as blues, acoustic or even similar ideas that could become a single song. Just remember to be ruthless. Get rid of rubbish and only keep the really good stuff;
Develop and finish your musical ideas. Once you’ve been through and picked your best ideas you then need to do something with them. I’ve tried many methods to try and force myself to develop ideas but the most effective way is to start making recording sessions in your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) such as Pro Tools or Reaper with each idea. Once you reach a level of say 10 sessions, you should then focus on developing those ideas until they’re finished. You may come up with new ideas but you should really focus on completing compositions first. If you focus on completing your ideas into full arrangements and are strict with yourself then you’ll start to come up with ideas to complete your arrangements and there won’t be any stopping you. I’ve actually found it most effective when I’ve given myself deadlines to work to give a sense of urgency. I’ve also starting submitting my music for use on music catalogue sites such as Songtradr once they’re finished; which is a great way to make some money and get your music to end users;
Know your style. It’s important to find your artistic style. It’s easy to copy other successful artists but this really won’t help you progress and become the elite guitar player and artist you want to be. It’s completely different to take inspiration from someone and you definitely should do this but you need to find your own sound and style. Finding a unique artistic style is becoming harder and harder as time goes by but as long as you stay true to what you want to do and write music you love to play and hear, then you won’t go far wrong. The internet is making music much more widely available and so you can always find other likeminded people who are into you’re style of music. This is where you also need to make a decision, which leads me onto my next point;
You don’t have to write music for the masses to make a living as an artist. You may want to be a household name, which is something we’ve all dreamed about at some point. But, you don’t need to do this to make a living from being an independent artist. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t easy to do either but it can actually be more rewarding to have relatively small fan base that wait to hear and buy your every song. It’s much easier to start off small and simple and then progress this once you’ve become established, so consider this when wanting to progress your career as an artist and when thinking about how to become a better guitarist;

So you want to be in a popular band. Bands eh? Breakups, Disputes, Artistic Differences, Tours, Recording, Albums; it’s all part of the package deal. It’s not for everyone but being in a band can be a great way to become a better guitarist and artist. Trying to be in a popular band is hard work and there’s no blueprint to follow to bring you success. The old fashioned model of having a life-long goal to get that record deal just isn’t as relevant as it used to be. Recording, managing and releasing your own material is now much easier and more affordable than ever. Even if you can’t record yourself it’s still very affordable to go to a recording studio and then do all the other leg work as a band such a promotion, writing marketing etc. Being in a band can be good and bad. The pros are that you can share the cost burden and also bounce musical ideas off each other and bring a combined musical personality to your sound. However, sometimes bands stop because of musical difficulties that never go away and/or members just change their perspective and move on. So it really depends on what will work best for you;
What does it take to be a successful session player? If you can’t read music then you will find it much harder to be hired as a session player. Don’t get me wrong there are exceptions to this but for many gigs, you’ll need to read. Session playing can be very hard work to make a living from, as you will need to get regular gigs or have a good agent to keep you in work. It’s not impossible but it’s not for everyone. It takes a lot of dedication to both developing your playing and reading skills but also marketing yourself. It’s definitely a lifestyle industry as you’ll likely be moving around a lot and might not get work for a few weeks, so balancing with a family would be difficult. If you can’t read music then get yourself a tutor who can help you with this, you’ll progress much faster with a tutor;
Is teaching your bag? So you’ve mastered everything technical you want to accomplish and a performing career isn’t for you? Well how about becoming a teacher? Teaching can be very rewarding, especially once you’re students start to succeed with their own goals. It can be hard to know where to start with teaching but you can start getting 1 or 2 students to start with and see if you like it. Teaching can be hard work and you often need to work evenings unless you can get placed at a school to teach during the daytime. More and more people are learning the guitar every day and so you should really consider this as the next step in your career. Fret Success are always looking for new teachers to be associated with us so feel free to drop your resume to us via email (learn@fretsuccess.com);
Are you looking to make it in your local scene and making a living from playing covers? This builds on joining a band to make music but there are two main types of band, Cover/Function and Originals. As I said above, it’s can be hard to make a living from just playing original music but far easier to make a living from being a cover/function band. Being in a cover band might not push your creative side too hard but it can be lucrative, especially if you get to play weddings and corporate events. I tried to mix my original band and function bands, in my early years, in terms of playing our own songs with covers in the same performance. The thing is that these crowds are very different so I’ve found it best to keep them separate. Plus with this way you can design the marketing campaigns in the different ways they need to be, without compromising on each; and

Do you just want to play as a hobby and nothing more? There’s one final point to make and that’s success comes in many forms. So you don’t necessarily have to be famous or making loads of money to be successful. It’s perfectly fine to keep guitar as your hobby. If you try and turn something you love into a career then this can be great. But you may end up in a position where you don’t enjoy it as much and see it as a job. So make sure you’re confident that you want to make playing guitar your career as you might find it difficult to go back.

What are the other things you need to develop to get ahead?

So you’ve set out your playing goals and plans, now I’ll give some tips on how to become a better guitarist? Here are a few pointers based on my experience of learning guitar throughout the years.

Play and practice regularly with a clear progression in mind. Have either a tutor or a mentor, depending on your ability. You’re never too advanced to have someone who guides you on how to progress and helps you know how to become a better guitarist. I cover this in detail in my book “The Secret to Success – Guitar Practice Routine”, which is full of tips and tricks on how to practice effectively and how to become a better guitarist. If you’re comfortable with your ability then it might be that you want to work on your song writing skills and develop your artistic side of music and identity. It’s so important to get help with any aspect of your progression and ability, so don’t neglect it and the quest for how to become a better guitarist will be much easier. If you’d like to get a tutor or your tutor isn’t getting you to where you thought you’d be then check out FretSuccess correspondence lessons or apply for private lessons;
Master your timing and rhythm. Everyone can learn scales and chords but if you really want to know how to become a better guitarist then you need to master your guitar rhythm. Rhythm is the core foundation of music (along with melody and harmony) but poor rhythm is really noticeable. There are many ways to improve your rhythm including:
- Practice with a metronome. It’s tempting to just pick up and play freestyle guitar all the time but you will develop your rhythm skills much faster if you use a metronome. You can mix it up by going freestyle occasionally but using a metronome is crucial to your development and will help with your quest on how to become a better guitarist. I initially used a metronome to find out what speed I could play certain scales. I found one of the best ways to develop rhythm was to play along with the metronome not with just scales but also songs which helped me learn when to hit notes. Using a metronome also meant I could switch up the tempo to test myself and build speed. Keeping a track of what speed you can play helps you know at what level you’re playing and so you can work on weaker elements of your playing. Here’s a good value metronome from amazon that I use: Korg MA-1BKRD Multi-Function Digital Metronome;

Use backing tracks. Using the metronome is one thing and a great way to develop your rhythm but they aren’t the most musical inspiring devices. You can help develop your rhythm even further by using real band backing tracks so that you get more used to developing your rhythm as part of a performance. This will help to develop your knowledge of how to play to compliment rhythms and progress your improvisation. I’ve used the Big Book of Backing Tracks from Amazon a lot, you’ll not regret buying it; and

Play with a band. It’s one thing to practice at home with a metronome and backing tracks but there’s something else that you should try and do, find a band. There are loads of bands out there and musicians, who want to start them, so put yourself out there and have a go. You shouldn’t only just play in a band but rather get this to compliment using a metronome and backing tracks. Actually one of the most effective ways I’ve found to develop my live performance is to get the whole band to play to a metronome. This has helped every band I’ve ever played in. It’s a bit strange and first and your drummer will hate you but it’ll be worth the pain;
Learn how to setup your guitar. It still surprises me how few guitarists actually know how to change a string properly. I went all the way and built my own guitar, which taught me so much about how to setup a guitar; which comes in handy all the time. I don’t advise you take a guitar build unless you have lots of patience and a partner that does too. But you should take the time to learn how to set up your guitar, whether it’s electric, acoustic or bass; they all have similar setups but some differences. Being able to setup your guitar will help it play and sound better and so make you a better player when you use it. You should also learn about how different customisations affect your guitar’s playability and tone. If you change strings, the sound and playability changes, if you change your pickups then it changes again, if you change your guitar nut for something more solid then this will give you a better sound and less tuning issues. You’ll not regret spending the time learning how to setup your guitar and you may even get asked by people to set there’s up if not then offer and you’ll learn even more!;
Change where you practice. It’s very easy at home to play just sitting down as it’s more comfortable. I hit a point where I was playing fine at home and then when I performed I noticed that my performance wasn’t as good as what I could play at home. I became very frustrated and couldn’t figure why I struggled to play live. Then I realised that it was because I sat down to practice at home but stood up to play live, which meant that my hands and wrists were in completely different locations between home and gigs. So rather than sit down for live performance, I started to practice standing up at home. I found that I quickly started to resolve the differences between home and live playing, make the switch now and see the difference it will have to your playing;
Learn something alien to you every week. It’s easy to become complacent with your playing. In that, you just keep playing the same material that you already know. If you want one of the biggest tips on how to become a better guitarist, then don’t stay in the safe zone. You need to push yourself on a regular basis and try as many new things as you can. It may not be every week you do a new thing but it should be an aim and a mind-set you adopt. Research and plan a list of 20 new things you would like to learn and master then set a timeline to master these. You might not master them straight away but you’ll improve significantly. Think small steps and you won’t go far wrong;

Watch your picking hand. This is something that I didn’t even consider when I wanted to know how to become a better guitarist. A simple move to watch your picking hand rather than your fretting hand will really help your playing. Just have a go and don’t look at your fretting hand, you’ll find that you play much better than you think and your fretting hand will do pretty well on its own. Be more aware of how your picking hand is working and how it interacts with the fretting hand. I found a huge increase in speed and rhythm when I started to watch my picking hand more closely, give it a try;
Learn your scales. If you don’t know your scales then you really ought to. You will definitely hit a ceiling with your playing if you don’t know your scales. There are no shortcuts with this, you just need to take the time to learn them and test yourself. Don’t forget to use a metronome; and
Practice your improvisation. Improvising is something that a lot of guitarists struggle with. There’s a difference between improvising and reciting licks and riffs that you’ve learnt or have played time and time again. A great way to boost your improvising is by playing with someone else and soloing over what they play, take turns and make sure you record it. Set up a Tascam DR-05 set it recording and forget about it. You don’t have to play solos you can also improvise new riffs or chord progressions. The main point is that you play with other and critique each other. If you can’t find anyone else to play with or would like to develop this more then you should get a looper pedal. The TC Electronic Ditto Looper pedal is great for this, If you haven’t got a looper pedal then you need to get one now (Go to Amazon here). Lay down a basic chord progression on your looper pedal then play around with ideas on top of it, be adventurous. Try and play something you’ve never played before, push yourself to be creative. A good way I found to help was to play arrangements that were completely different to the styles I normally play. For example, if you’re a rock player then improvise over a funk or jazz progression, have fun with it.

I’d really appreciate it if you can find time to leave a comment below and share this on your social media.

I hope you found this article useful.

Cheers,

Dan

(Founder)

www.FretSuccess.com