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FREE GUITAR TIPS
PAGE 3
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FREE GUITAR LESSONS
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THIS SITE CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING LESSONS;
HOW TO READ TABS
HOW TO DO SLIDES
WHAT'S A VIBRATO?
HOW TO DO A SLUR
HOW TO DO A BEND
PALM MUTING
HOW TO STRING SKIP
TWELVE SCALES FROM ONE
WHAT ARE 8th AND 16th NOTES?
HOW TO READ GUITAR TABLATURE
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HOW TO PLAY OCTAVES ON A GUITAR
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WHAT's A VIBRATO
A vibrato is usually marked by a wavy or wigglly line such as ^^^^^^^^, but it would be all connected together. The wavy line usually comes right after a note or notes, and is usually played by strumming the note or notes, and with your finger stillfretting the note, wiggle the string up and down. You can do fast or slow vibrato's, it's all on the sound your looking for.
Now for a word on another way to do a vibrato, the John Petrucci way. Instead of aimlessly moving the string back and forth, John likes to do a series of quick bends. This is now the way I do my vibrato's, I just think they sound so much better.
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WHAT IS A SLUR?
Blues players make use of this alot. I like to think of it as a very fast forward then backwards slide. Here's what it looks like.
E------------------------
B------------------------
G------------------------
D-------(7)-9---5---7----
A------------------------
E------------------------
Okay, when you see this, the (7) note will not have the () around it. It will be half the size of the 9 note, so keep this in mind. Whenever you see a tiny note next to a regular size note, this is a slur. Place your ring finger onto the 7 note, strike the 7 note, then very quickly run your ring finger up to the nine note and then back to the 7 note, now play the other notes that follow. Notice we did not strike the 9 note, nor did we strike the 7 note a second time. Speed is everything in pulling off a good slur.
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WHAT IS A BEND?
A bend is just what it implies, you play a note, and bend the string. There are many styles of bends, and each person will perform a bend slightly different...here's what it looks like in tab for,
E--------------
B-------3b5----
G--------------
D--------------
A--------------
E--------------
You would play the 3rd note, bend it up, then play whatever note followed the 3b5...but you would not play the 5 note. Some bends are marked like above, some have a curved arrow over them, and some bends are marked with a b over the notes.
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P A L M M U T I N G
In palm muting, the fleshy part of your palm rests against the strings just before they go into the bridge. To get into the hang of palm muting, try this out; as you play each note below, let each note ring for a few seconds, then palm mute it before playing the next note, repeat with each of the notes below.
E
B
G
D---------0----------0----l--------0---------0-----l
A
E-----o---------0---------l----0---------0---------l
Next we will be doing a riff by Megadeth, from GO TO HELL. In this piece, only the notes on the low E string are to be muted, the notes on the D and A strings are not to be muted.
E
B
G
D___________2_l___________3_l____________0_l___________5_3_2
A___________2_l___________3_l____________0_l___________5_3_2
E__0_0_0_0___l__0_0_0_0___l__0_0_0_0____l__0_0_0_0___________
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HOW TO STRING SKIP
First I will show you what string skipping looks like in tab form;
E----------------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------5----7-----
D--------------5----7--------------------------
A-------------------------5----7----------------
E----5----8-------------------------------------
Strin skipping will give you a better sound then if you were just to play single notes from string to string. So how do you put this into a rountine; well, one way would be to take a scale - three notes per string in tab form scales work great, but any form will work, and instead of writing out the scales string by string, string skip them out like the example shows above. It is important to remember, if you want to write your own riff, or solo, you DO NOT have to make use of every note in the scale you are using. And you can repeat notes on the same string, something Jimmy Page would often do.
Now I will write out what is called a MOVEABLE SCALE, the A minor pentatonic for you to play around with string skipping.
E--------------------------------------------------------(5)----8----
B----------------------------------------------5----8----------------
G------------------------------------5----7--------------------------
D-------------------------5----(7)-----------------------------------
A---------------5----7-----------------------------------------------
E----(5)----8--------------------------------------------------------
I will get into how this is a moveable scale and how if you learn this, you've also learned 11 other scales in my next lesson. For now, we will see one example of how we could use this scale to string skip, and see if we can have a little fun with it.
E--(5)-----------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------5-----------------------------------------
G-------5---(7)---5----------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------7---7---5---7----------------------
A----------------------------------------------------7---5^^^^^^^^
E-----------------------------------------------(5)-----------------
() = root note, in this case the A's
^^^= Vibrato - I do mine a little differently then is normally taught. I do em like SRV, which is doing a series of quick bends instead of shaking the strings back and forth, do it the way your comfortable with.
Now, it's up to you to take that scale, or any scale, and make it work for you. Rule 1, be creative, rule 2, have fun, rule 3, there are no rules when it's just you and your guitar...
Being creative is what will set your playing apart from everyone else's. Mix it up, throw in a slide or two, a couple bends, maybe a hammeron, just have fun...
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MAKING TWELVE SCALES OUT OF ONE
All scales have a set pattern that does not change. For instance, the A minor pentatonic is based on a series of intervals, or spaces, The A minor played in the key of D is the same pattern as the A minor played in the key of A, or G, or any other key. The intervals or spaces between the notes does not change, what does change is the KEY NOTE that you start out on. I will write out the A minor pentatonic in key of A and the key of D, so you can get a visual on how they are the same pattern, but start out on different keys.
A Minor pentatonic in key of A
E-------------------------------------------------(5)---8---
B----------------------------------------5---8---
G--------------------------------5---7---
D---------------------5---(7)---
A-------------5---7---
E---(5)---8
A minor pentatonic in Key of D
E--------------------------------------------------------(10)---13---
B---------------------------------------------10---13---
G-----------------------------------10--12---
D-----------------------10--(12)---
A--------------10--12---
E---(10)--13---
A few important things to note here; first, notice that the root () notes fall on the same strings, and in each key are spaced the same distance apart! Second, notice the intervals, or spaces between all the notes from one scale to the other! You have just learned one of the quickest ways to learning how to play the guitar. And if you learn the pattern for the A minor in the key of A, then you've also learned it for all 12 keys.
The reason for this is simple, it's a moveable scale. Scales are moveable because they are based on intervals, and those intervals do not change. This fact holds true for all the scales, your Major and Minor scales, your pentatonic scales, Blues scales, they each are built upon a system of intervals, so no mater what the scale, you learn it in one key, and you have learned 12.
Confused about how to move a scale? Let's take a moment and look at the A minor pentatonic scale. To keep this at a beginners lever, I am going to be using just the root note found on the Low E string, or thick string. Here are the first 12 notes found along that string;
E-(thick string)---E---F---F#---G---G#---A---A#---B---C---C#---D---D#
There are your 12 notes. Simply take the A minor pentatonic scale, and start on any of the 12 notes, and that's the key your playing in, At the 12th fret, the entire scale repeats itself, but one octave higher. So if you wanted to play the scale at the 17th root note, it would still be the A minor pentatonic in key of A, becauce the 17th note is an A. Just remember the rule of first finger, whatever note your first finger is on is the root note, so if you place your finger on the B note, and play the pattern above, your playing in the key of B...
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WHAT DOES 8ths AND 16ths MEAN?
I will put up an example first to help explain this;
E----------------------------
B----------------------------
G----------------------------
D--------7----9----11---9----
A--------5----7----9----7----
E----------------------------
Okay, now if you were to play the above notes in 4/4 time, you would play them one strum per set of notes, in other words, one strum for the 7/5 notes, one strum for the 9/7 notes, and so on. Now if you wanted to play these notes in 8th timing, you would now play each set of notes twice, two strums for the 7/5, two strums for the 9/7 notes, and so on. In effect, your strumming twice as fast, which gives you a more rock sound. You would keep track of your beat the same way, foot tapping 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + and keep repeating this for 8th timing.
Now for 16th timing, you would play each chord with 4 strums per chord. I think by now you can work out the different timing different songs call for.
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