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Sibling Harmony
Q: How many guitars does a guitarist need? A: Just one more! Yes, it’s a joke, but one with a ring of truth to it. I imagine most seasoned players would give that answer if they’re being totally...
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Phrase to Amaze
The first five years of my guitar playing life were spent studying rhythm guitar, not lead. For some reason, I had no desire to learn scales, arpeggios and melodies. Focusing my attention strictly on...
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Slide Rules
Even in the peaceful daily moments, my mind is working overtime. The other day, I started to wonder how many notes I play per song at a typical gig, so I did the math. A four-minute song at 100 bpm...
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Flip the Switch
I took the above photographs at my studio and Hawaiian coffee farm, showing my friend and model, Colleen Boland, with a TransAcoustic LL-TA (left) and CSF-TA (right). One of the best years of my life...
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Neck and Neck
I tend to buy footwear based on the functionality, fit, comfort, color and (being the diva that I am) how they look! Running shoes need to provide cushioned support, while deck shoes are great for my...
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Twin Lead Guitars
The blessing and curse for guitar players is that we have so many techniques and improvisational tools to choose from. Making a decision on what to play comes down to experience, taste and making sure...
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Learning to Speak the Language of Music
I started playing guitar at the age of thirteen. Two years later, I was performing live in local clubs. I wasn’t all that interested in playing cover songs, but I knew I needed to learn the original...
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Scales, Shapes and Contours
In last month’s posting, I explored the value of a music education and the career opportunities it can provide. Of course, it takes much more than an education to forge a pathway to superstardom....
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How to Play the High Notes on Your Guitar
I’ve always loved how logical the piano keyboard is. Seven octaves (plus a minor third) of chromatic tones, color-coordinated in ebony and ivory to indicate the sharps, flats and naturals. Better...
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Tips for Playing Nylon-String Guitar
As a musician, I rely on my cache of instruments to create the tones and textures needed for each individual recording session, project and performance. Could I play most pieces of music on just one...
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How to Play Guitar and Sing at the Same Time
Something magical happens when you hear the sound of your voice vibrating freely with the body of an acoustic guitar. It’s where melody meets harmony and a deeper understanding of music can be felt and...
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Tips for Playing and Singing Solo
In a recent blog article, I explored the physical skillsets required to sing and play guitar at the same time. But it also takes desire, focus and hard work — and, sometimes, the heart of a lion — to...
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How to Record Guitar and Build a Song Around It
I’ve been composing and recording music professionally for the past 25 years. My creative process and the way I capture musical ideas evolves constantly with the latest advancements in digital...
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Tips for Playing Rhythm Guitar
Most budding guitarists spend more time developing their melodic chops than perfecting their rhythm skills. Yet any professional will tell you that 95% of covering the gig depends on playing solid,...
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A Guide to Effects Settings for Acoustic Guitars
We generally think of an acoustic guitar as an instrument without amplification. After all, its naturally generated sound emanates from the sound hole, with a rich tonality that’s shaped largely by the...
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How to Keep Falling in Love with Guitar
My love affair with the guitar began in my early teens. I was initially drawn to the physical shapes and vibrant colors, but I think the sound of the instrument is what really got to me. The fact that...
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Spotlight on Second-Generation Yamaha Revstar Guitars
I love demonstrating the latest Yamaha guitars at trade shows. These events allow me to interact with the Yamaha, Line 6 and Ampeg teams, as well as with dealers and fellow guitar players. At the 2020...
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Focus on the Focus Switch
Every year, musical instrument manufacturers release exciting new innovations in digital technology — things like processors that replicate analog devices with stunning accuracy, or recording...
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Yamaha Guitars at 2022 NAMM: A Preview
As I write this, we are six weeks, three days, 42 minutes and 16 seconds away from NAMM, but who’s counting? Well, actually, I think a lot of people in the music industry are, and you can be sure they...
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NAMM 2022: Yamaha Guitars Recap
As an artist, I’m always fascinated by the design layouts and floor plans developed for trade show events. Display areas have to be visually appealing as well as functional, plus they have to be easy...
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The Joy of Playing Guitar Outdoors
One of my fondest memories of living in Nashville was getting together with my songwriter friends to play music on the weekends. We’d all gather at someone’s house with a dish of food, build a fire in...
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Electric Guitar Tonality
The dictionary describes “tone” as the quality or character of sound. Of course, the quality of a sound is in the ear of the beholder. Some of my friends revere certain guitar players, and often...
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Constructing Basic Guitar Chords, Part 1
When we invest our time in learning new chord shapes on the guitar, we broaden our musical vocabulary. Understanding that these shapes can further expand into new chords by simply moving one finger...
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Constructing Basic Guitar Chords, Part 2
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we showed you how to build the four main triad chord types and add the seventh degree to create major, minor and dominant seventh chords. We can further enhance the...
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How To Play Guitar Double-Stops
As a guitar teacher, I’m always taking inventory of the techniques and approaches I’d like to share with my roster of students. Those ideas need to have artistic value, cover a variety of musical...
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Secrets to a Successful Jam Session
There’s a sense of freedom and autonomy that I really enjoy as a solo performer, but I also really enjoy the camaraderie and energy of working with a band. I often get to jam with friends in social...
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Which Electric Guitar Body Type is Best for Your Music?
Let’s face it, guitar players love their gear! We collect instruments, drool over mystical hand-wired overdrive pedals, and create forums to discuss the latest modelers, vintage tube amps and guitar...
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Playing With Tempo
What’s the difference between a drummer and a drum machine? Two bars at the end of the song! I jest, of course, and have the utmost respect for my amazing drummer friends. But most musicians who play...
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The Future of Guitars
The past couple of decades have seen a ton of innovation in digital technologies such as modeling and AI (Artificial Intelligence), but what about guitars themselves? For this month’s posting, I...
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10 Things Every Guitarist Should Know
I’ve studied music both formally and informally for decades, and I don’t think I’ll ever come close to mastering the guitar. Philip Sudo, the author of the book Zen Guitar, states that even when the...
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NAMM 2023 Yamaha Guitars Recap
Flying into California always gets my heart rate going. It brings back fond memories of when I lived in Hollywood while attending the Guitar Institute of Technology (G.I.T.). In particular, there’s a...
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Raising the Bar: FG9 Acoustic Guitars
Yamaha released their first acoustic guitar, the FG180, back in 1966. These “red label” guitars found fame on the stage of the original Woodstock festival and were re-released in recent years with some...
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Using the CAGED System to Expand Your Guitar Vocabulary
Learning to play the guitar may be one of the most rewarding pursuits you’ll ever take on … but it may also be one of the most frustrating, for many reasons. When I started out, instructional resources...
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How Music Supports Core Academia
I wish I’d paid more attention in school. Much of my time in the classroom was spent staring out the window, drawing cartoons in my notebook instead of taking notes — the whole time wishing I could be...
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A Guide to Electric Guitar Pickups
We’ve discussed previously how multiple factors affect the tone produced by an electric guitar, from the soul of the player to the tonewoods used in the instrument’s construction … and everything...
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Five Reasons to Take Guitar Lessons
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say that learning music theory will ruin your “feel.” Not true! In fact, learning music theory will only enhance it. That’s because it expands your...
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Five Surprising Ways to Find Gigs as a Guitar Player
I’ve always been an advocate of creating a job, rather than finding one. This gives you control over both the employment details and the job description, along with the ability to adjust each parameter...
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Elevate Your Guitar Playing in 30 Days
Let’s be honest: We’ve all purchased a new guitar in hopes that it will serve to magically transform our playing to new heights of expression. No doubt the exciting colors and sensual curves we love so...
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Nylon-String vs. Steel-String Guitars
With the start of another new year, we often make resolutions to lose weight, start a workout regime, learn a new language, or take on an exciting hobby that we’ve always wanted to try. While learning...
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First Look: New Yamaha Pacificas
My first experience playing a Pacifica guitar was at the 2018 summer NAMM show, when Yamaha launched a limited edition PAC612VIIFM in stunning Indigo Blue and Translucent Black finishes. That model...
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What are the Different Acoustic Guitar Body Types?
I’ve always been an advocate of choosing a guitar that is the right size for your physical frame, hand size and intended application. If you’re a singer/songwriter, it’s also important to find an...
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What’s the Difference Between Pacifica and Revstar?
I’m often asked what the differences are between Yamaha Pacifica and Revstar guitars. The short answer is: Quite a lot. Although they are both double-cut instruments, that’s really where the...
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How to Make Your Acoustic Guitar Easier to Play
On a recent vacation in Bali, the manager of the resort I was staying at surprised me one night by asking if I would perform a few songs, impromptu, for the guests at the beach restaurant. The resident...
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Taking Your Guitar on the Road
I recently spent six weeks traveling through Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines. The trip involved ten flights, two inter-island ferry transfers and two speedboat rides, plus multiple Tuk Tuks (a...
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Guitar Maintenance
Anyone who owns a guitar knows how much joy this beautiful and functional work of art can bring to us through music. Learning to play the guitar is not only a serious investment in your development as...
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First Look: TAG3 C TransAcoustic
Yamaha TransAcoustic guitars are acoustic guitars that come with onboard reverb and chorus effects that are added to the natural tone of the instrument without the need of an amplifier. (Want to know...
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Top 10 Gift Ideas for Guitarists
Musicians are constantly looking for inspiration, new sounds, and devices that expand their sonic palette, technique or personal performance. Guitar players, in particular, have lots of options when it...
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Seven Ways to Become a Better Guitar Player
Regardless of the level of playing you’ve attained so far, there will always be periods of time when you feel like your progression as a musician is on hold, or that you’re simply coasting on the same...
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A Guitarist’s Guide to Chord Substitutions, Part 1: Diatonics
A great song doesn’t need to be complex rhythmically, harmonically, musically or lyrically; it just needs to be relatable to the masses and touch a nerve in the listener. I’m pretty sure most of us...
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A Guitarists’s Guide to Chord Substitutions, Part 2: Beyond Diatonic
As we discussed in Part 1 of this two-part series, chord substitutions are an effective way to spice up your harmonic progressions. As a bonus, they also help improve your songwriting chops and overall...
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