Information on Buying a Guitar

By Matthew James

Many people dream of becoming a guitarist. The ideas of being a rock god and famous appeals to nearly everyone. One of the best ways at becoming famous is to be good at the guitar so many people and learn it. Before you go and learn the guitar, you have to buy one. But that can be a complicated process and if you don't get the right guitar, you will end up playing bad music and will never get famous.

Make sure you examine the guitar for obvious faults. Used guitars will always have little scratches in their finish. This is not an issue as they can normally be buffed out. Besides it gives the guitar character to have a little wear and tear. But examine the body and neck of the guitar closely for cracks in the wood. Also look for dents on the bottom of the body, the end of the body and around the headstock. Dents in this area are also an indication the guitar has been dropped. Small dents on the face of the body are not usually an issue.

Now lets take a closer look at the neck. Electric guitars have three types of necks: bolt-ons, glue-ons and straight thrus. Straight-thrus are the most robust as this is where the neck makes up the centre part of the body of the guitar. So the neck actually runs from the base of the body all the way through to the headstock. There are not many guitars with necks like this, Carvin still make them and the Gibson Firebird that was made in the sixties had a straight through neck.

This is also a good check for the action of the guitar. The action is how far the strings are above the frets. Most rock guitarists like a low action (strings closer to the frets) as it allows them to play more quickly and use less pressure to fret a string. Jazz and some blues players prefer a slightly higher action as they can get more purchase on a string and thus more feel. Also with a higher action there is less chance of fret buzz. Slide players like a very high action as they never fret the strings and a higher action whilst playing slide gives the guitar a cleaner sound

Choosing the guitar that suits you and your personality means testing its quality before purchasing it. You can check every strings of the guitar and play it as loud as you want or plug it if it is an electric guitar to test its different pick up tunes. Just remember to be patient in finding the guitar that you want in different stores.

Buying a guitar is a lot of fun. Take your time and enjoy the experience. Make sure you are completely happy with the instrument before you part with your hard earned cash. Follow the tips above and ensure the instrument is good quality. Point out any flaws to the seller as this will drive the price down. Once you have found the right guitar, shop around dont be too eager to purchase it. You might find the same guitar for a better price or a guitar that is even more suited to you. - 18780

About the Author:

Matt has been involved in the sound business for many years and worked with many bands. For more information about stereo and sound, visit his music website for other guitar information and check out the axebay guitar articles.

A Guitar Ammo Called Basic Guitar Chords Chart

By francois arcoix

Once the basic guitar chords are mastered - it only takes 10 to 15 - you will be able to play many of your favorite songs. The chords are what the background of most songs consist of and are what provide the accompaniment for other instruments. What is a chord? This is when three or more musical notes are played together.

Three strings being strummed on a guitar if your chord consists of three notes is the way to play the chord. The guitar can only play a chord consisting of six notes because the guitar has only six strings. The chords consist of three groups - Major, Minor and Seventh. The three have their own sound. The major chords are consistent, the minor chords are almost sad and the seventh chords are jazzy.

There is no standard number of chords that everyone can agree on but the general feeling is there are 8 to 18 chords that anyone who is going to play guitar should know. These chords should be the first ones you learn because they are used in basically everything you will be playing. When you learn these chords you can play rock, country or jazz and enjoy learning many songs.

Basic chords - what are they? The basic chord are the major and minor chords of D, E, A plus the major chords of C and G. The chords are played by leaving one or more strings out when pressing the rest down with your fingers. This makes an open chord. The fingers on one hand press the strings while the other hand strums. The chord is played and the fingers are fretting by pushing the strings against the neck of the guitar.

Open chords are much easier to learn for the beginner. The basic chords are A Major, A Minor, C Major, D Major, D Minor, E Major, E Minor, F Major and G Major. By using a basic guitar chords chart you can see each chord and where your fingers go to make that chord. This is the way many people taught themselves to play the guitar.

When learning chords, the method used the most is teaching that chords have families. Each family can be mixed to produce chords that are used in a lot of the popular songs played today. When the learning process is looked at in this manner it is much more fun and the beginner can choose one of the families and learn this before moving on to the next one. This method allows you to begin playing much faster and enjoying your own music.

Songs based on three chords are quite popular thus they are plentiful. Trying to learn too many is not going to be conducive to learning to play the guitar. With over thousands chords in some learning systems, you will be confused and more apt to give up the guitar. This is too many for a beginner or someone who knows how to play. The chords you learn when playing guitar as a beginner are the ones you can learn the easiest so that you can play songs in no time.

There is no need to learn all of these chords (which would take a long time) when you can be having a great time playing in just a matter of a few days. When using the basic guitar chords chart you will have the information right in front of you so seeing where your fingers need to go to produce the beautiful music you like is just a few days away. - 18780

About the Author:

Make sure to visit the beginner-guitarlessons.com and learn more about simple guitar chords chart. You will also find other useful information to spice up your guitar playing!

Make Beats on the Computer - What's the Best Way?

By Dana Goldberg

The awesome sensation of hip hop music has taken over! Countries across our great planet are taking to it in herds. It's an upbeat and funky way to get off your rear and move your feet. Make Hip hop beats like those who have been laying it down for more than a fifth of a century with no signs of slowing down! Cultural lines are blurred where this is concerned. Music makes us feel good.

When you're looking for a good way to get up and move your body, hip hop beats can get you going. These days, everyone is into looking and feeling their best. It's not always fun to go to the gym and work out. Lifting weights and riding stationary bikes can be boring and gets old really fast. Step aerobics classes used to be big but now dance classes are cool. More and more people in gyms across the world are asking to take dance classes.

Back to back, city to city, hip hop training is taking over! Nowhere will you go without seeing posters for hip hop classes. Even in recreational facilities in small towns, the kids are learning how to dance like hip hop stars on television. You will get a great cardio regimen from doing it, too.

Lots of people make their own music. If you like to be in control of things, you may want to learn how to make your own. You can make your own hip hop music easily with the help of computers. There are many programs that will help you create your own hip hop beats. Just do a search of the internet and you'll find many of them.

This type of styling has a bunch of sections. You want to do your own? Excellent! You have to get the right tools. There are different parts to each hip hop track or song. There are several that stand out. They are the samples of songs, back up orchestrations, drumbeats and the bass. If you don't know what this all is, keep looking, you will understand it all soon.

Sampling is a big part of hip hop music. Consider it a 'hats off' to other musicians. This is when a group or artist takes a small clip of another song and adds it to their own. It is important if you are going to do this, you have to get permission first. You could get into legal trouble if you don't.

There are many instruments that people use to create their own hip hop beats. It really depends on how serious you are about the music. If you are just looking to do this as a hobby or for short term, then look online and you'll find programs already made. You can play with them and see if this is something you really want to do long term. If you are more serious, you should buy a synthesizer and you can get some programs to help make the music.

You'll be really happy having hip hop beats as part of your life. You will make others smile and you will be in great shape. You'll never stop loving the music. You can not go wrong with having hip hop dance and hip hop music control the hip hop beats in your head! - 18780

About the Author:

If the field of making music interests you at all, then I urge you to read some reviews on programs that allow you to make your own beats. You can find more info about the topic at Beat Music Making Software

Acoustic Guitar Lessons DVD: Stop Searching For Internet Guitar Lessons

By Steven Drench

If you are just beginning acoustic guitar, then you have taken the first step towards a very rewarding and interesting hobby. I have been playing acoustic guitar for nearly 20 years, and I can honestly tell you, looking back, I have never regretted the hours of sweat and toil I have put into it. "Sweat and toil?", you ask. Well yes, I'm afraid so.

A little tip for you here: If a string breaks on your guitar, I would recommend you change the whole set, other wise you will end up with spare strings lying around everywhere, and for some reason, I always find there is a difference in quality of sound when I only change one string. Maybe I'm just a perfectionist, who knows? As far as practice is concerned, there are a couple of ways to approach it.

If that describes you, if you are just learning the guitar or only recently desired to learn to play guitar, these sites are perfect for you. Oftentimes through these types of online guitar lesson sites that are geared to novices you can become exposed to a wide range of different techniques, including things like the funk-skunk.

Beyond websites that are up and running to assist novices, there are interactive sites that can be a great resource for a person who is interested in learning basic or even more advanced guitar playing techniques.

As a beginner learning to play the guitar can seem like a pretty steep hill to climb. There are notes and chords to learn and correct finger placement and technique to establish. Don't be discouraged to quickly by letting these things get you frustrated.

When you are choosing your repertoire, you can spread your net wide. No need to stick to the Top Forty, go for the Top One Hundred of whatever decade you feel comfortable with. An easy way out that does not need too much research is to just jot down a bunch of Beatles titles.

The first step to learning your guitar in a snap is the most obvious. Sit down and actually practice. By actually practicing I mean not always playing what you enjoy, or are familiar with.

You owe it to yourself to be the best player you can be, so make that choice right now and say to yourself, "I commit to practicing my instrument in a consistent manner that leads to me learning how to play the guitar in a snap. - 18780

About the Author:

To get all the latest tips, tricks, and tactics about guitar, be sure to visit us at learn acoustic guitar dvd

The relationship between music, arithmetic, and genius.

By Jake Fullmoresonjohn

I recently read a book entitled simply: The Eight. It was a very intense book about how a certain chess service in the middle ages brought tremendous power to the owner of the chess service, but it also brought great despair and ruin to whomever possessed it for too long of a time period.

But the plot aside, this book conveyed a deep respect for music, numbers, and knowledge. Most musicly inclined people know that every eighth note on a piano equals an octave. Also, less people know that a chess board is 8 squares across and 8 squares deep, making 64 squares with which to move one's pieces on the board.

With that in mind, do you think it a coincidence that most of the great chess masters of our time grew up with very strict musical lessons? Bach, Mozart, and other classical musicians were not great chess masters, but they trained their minds using chess, and there are certain chess moves which correspond perfectly to some of the arrangements created by at least these 2 masters. Overall, the general impression that one should consider is that music is a very powerful medium that not only affects moods and tempers, it also trains the mind in certain subconscious ways in which regular listeners cannot discern unless trained in a musical instrument. What is your favorite past time? Hobby enthusiasts know that spare time is not to be "spent" but savored. If you have a past time you enjoy, you will never look at your spare time in the same way again. If you're not sure what past time hobby you would enjoy, here are some suggestions.

Many people listen to music as a favorite past time. There is much you can learn about any style of music. You can learn composers, famous melodies, and all about performers past and present. You can develop sophisticated tastes in jazz or classical music or collect a large assortment of CD's. Music makes a great past time hobby. - 18780

About the Author:

Jake Fullmoresonjohn is an author who specializes in blink 182 music and 3 doors down music