Tip of the Day - Consistent Practicing
Practicing is key to becoming a better guitarist, obviously. But all practice time is not equal.
In my experience, practicing consistently 15-20 minutes a day makes for quicker progress than practicing for 90-120 minutes one day and not touching the guitar the rest of the week. Practicing consistently 90-120 minutes (or more) a day? Even better. 
Rock Triad Rhythm Guitar Lesson
A new subscriber to my ‘Ask the Teacher’ service asked for a rhythm guitar lesson. This is what I came up with. It works out three-string ‘triad’ shapes to breath new life in to a well-worn A-G-D-A rock progression. Check it out.
I hope this is along the lines of what you had in mind, Noah. Have fun, guys!
Storm
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Rhythm Guitar Options
Creating guitar parts that compliment those of other musicians you are playing with will make you a very popular guitarist! Following are some of the options I think of when creating rhythm guitar parts onstage or in the studio.
Rhythm Guitar Options
- High to Low
- Fast to Slow
- Active to Sparse
- Groove vs. Fills
- Clean to Dirty
- Chords to Notes
- Sustain to Staccato
- Simple Harmony to Complex
- Play ‘with’ vs playing ‘against
Creating parts that are in contrast to what others are playing lends a sense of space that is musically pleasing. Additionally, the use of contrasting elements make unison parts sound that much more powerful when they do come in!
Keep these rhythm options in mind next time you are writing rhythm guitar parts and see if they don’t move you in new directions.
Quick Tip for Playing Guitar Better
You might look at the following picture and ask “How does a bathroom sink help me Play Guitar Better?”
As my last post was on good ‘warm-ups’ before playing here is another really simple one, pun notwithstanding. Fill a sink with warm to hot (not scalding) water and then place your hands under the water for 60 to 90 seconds. For flexability and circulation in your hands, it will feel like you have been playing guitar for about a half-hour after doing this. Try it and see!
I have heard of using a hairdryer for the same purpose but I find this much more effective. A side benefit is that you will extend the life of your guitar strings by having clean hands before you play.
I was reminded of this tip after soaking in my in-room hot tub inside the Presidential Suite at the Forest Suites Resort in South Lake Tahoe where I stayed this weekend (thanks Warren!). That would be acceptable warm-up, as well.
Storm
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My name is Storm Stenvold. Welcome to my online lesson studio, Guitar Teacher.com!
I teach individual and group guitar lessons online (since 2001) and have taught guitar for 17 years. I was a founding faculty member of ...read more