Gigs

The Worst Gig I Ever Had and What I Learned From It

Most of my gigs fall into one of these lineups: guitarist and singer for a blues band, lead guitarist for a rock band, guitarist and singer for an acoustic duo and rarely, a solo guitarist and singer. I am comfortable with all of these lineups except the last one. While my guitar skills are fine, my singing is, well, not as good as my guitar playing. Most of my solo gigs are basically accidents: the other guy forgot…

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November 21, 2020
Is Guitar Difficult to Learn?
Guitar / Learning Guitar

Is Guitar Difficult to Learn?

YES - the guitar is difficult to learn. While difficulty is a matter of opinion, compared to other instruments guitar is more difficult. But that does not mean it is not worth learning! What makes the guitar difficult to learn? There are a number of things that make the guitar difficult to learn when compared to other instruments. Here are they are: You are often playing more than one note. The ability to play more than one night…

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October 22, 2020
Beginner Guitar Lesson

C Chord Variations Guitar

Chances are, the first chord you learned on the guitar was C. There are a few reasons for that: the key of C has no sharps or flats, the open C chord only requires three fingers and you don't have to barre any frets. Below we'll look at 9 C chord variations for the guitar. Below is the open C chord in the first position. If you don't know this already, learn it now! Below is a five…

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October 19, 2020
Guitar / Ukulele

Guitar vs. Ukulele

Do you have the bug to play an instrument? Have you seen someone playing a ukulele and thought you'd like to give a try? Maybe you think the ukulele is just a toy and you would be better off learning the guitar. Let pit the guitar vs. ukulele and help you pick a direction. History of Guitar and Ukulele The guitar has been around a long time. One of its earliest ancestors is the lute, a stringed instrument…

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October 19, 2020
Ukulele Notes
Beginner Ukulele Lesson

Ukulele Notes

In the chart below you will see the ukulele notes. This is the tuning used for soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles. Ukulele Fretboard - Click on file for larger version. Special thanks to guitarscientist.com for the graphic.

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October 14, 2020
Blues Shuffle in E Guitar
Beginner Guitar Lesson

Blues Shuffle in E Guitar

If you can master the blues shuffle in E, you are on your way to being able to play hundreds, actually thousands of songs. We will use a basic twelve bar blues chord progression. The key of E is nice because two of the chords use open strings. Listen to songs like Before You Accuse Me or Sweet Home Chicago to see how this progression can be used. Twelve Bar Blues Shuffle in E Chances you'll have one…

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October 13, 2020
Beginner Guitar Lesson

D Chord Variations Guitar

On this page we will look at how to play the D chord and D chord variations for the guitar. We will actually look at ten D chord variations in this article. The chord is not difficult, in fact, it is only three notes: D, F#, and A. However, the beauty of guitar is the ability to play notes more than one time in a chord. Open Position D Chord We'll first start with basic D chord in…

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October 4, 2020
Creating Gigs for Musicians
Gigs

Creating Gigs for Musicians

So you have your favorite monthly gig. You’ve been playing there for two years, always get an appreciative crowd, and there is never any haggling over the price at the end of the night. And then you get the call, “Hey man, we’re gonna stop bands and instead have karaoke. Come in for a beer sometime, maybe you can get up and sing a few songs!” Another gig bites the dust! It’s happened to all of us. Maybe…

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October 3, 2020
21 Side Hustles for Musicians
Gigs

21 Side Hustles for Musicians

I originally wrote this article with guitar players in mind but realized these are all side hustles for musicians in general. It really doesn't matter if you play guitar or piano. You have a passion, you have skills, you have a boat load of knowledge. Why not make a few extra bucks? We all need an extra buck once in a while, right? And why not earn some money while doing something you love and utilizing the skills…

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October 3, 2020