You know the sound of Rock guitar: loud, crunchy, sustained, saturated, and distorted. This effect has been around as long as guitars have been plugged into amplifiers. How was it achieved? They took a small amplifier and cranked the volume until the sound started to “break up,” producing a loud, warm, crackly sound; Perfect for … Continue reading “Getting Started: Overdrive / Distortion / Fuzz Pedals”
Buying Your First Guitar Determine your budget. Since this blog is referring to a beginner, try to keep your budget low. Around $75-$300 for any guitar. Used guitars are great as well, so check your local pawn shops or used dealers. There are also great packages that come with small amps if you decide to … Continue reading “Buying Your First Guitar”
When purchasing an electric guitar for a beginner most parents would like to save some money. It is important to see if your child is going to stick with his or her musical journey. Searching for a guitar as someone who knows nothing about guitars can be a daunting task. When I speak to parents … Continue reading “Purchasing a Beginner Electric Guitar”
Why Doesn’t My Guitar Sound Like The Recording? One of the most time-consuming aspects to playing the electric guitar is the different ways you can affect your guitar’s sound. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending countless hours adjusting and tweaking my guitar’s sound. But for a beginner, trying to perfect your sound can be … Continue reading “Guitar Lessons – Working with Guitar Music Effects”
In this blog I will be reviewing two pedals on my guitar pedal board which I believe make my set-up very unique. These two guitar pedals are the Joe Satriani Time Machine Delay from Vox, and the Super Shifter PS-5 from Boss. These two pedals are very easy to over abuse because of simply how … Continue reading “Guitar Lessons: Guitar Pedal Review with Matt Maher”
Fingerpicking exercises with Matt This instructional video features one of Dave Simon’s Rock School’s experienced instructors, Matt Maher. During this video, Matt explains fingerpicking exercises that are perfect for beginner guitar students. Fingerpicking is a great way to start to practice playing the guitar with just your fingers and without a pick. Playing … Continue reading “Matt’s Fingerpicking Exercises”
Guitar Lesson with Adam Beck This is a simple and easy lesson for guitarists of all skill levels. The minor pentatonic scale is a 5-note scale derived from the natural minor scale. It is often used in rock and blues as a scale for improvised solos. This is a fun and easy scale to learn. … Continue reading “ADAM’S MINOR PENTATONIC LESSON”
Guitar Tuning Tutorial Tune a Guitar Don’t Tune-a-Fish with James Shiliday Tuning your guitar is a must know skill. You can’t always rely on your tuner if the battery goes dead! Tuning also helps fine tune (no pun intended) your ears. This Guitar Tuning tutorial is great for beginner guitarists who have not yet … Continue reading “James’ Tuning Tutorial”