Here's another pattern.

I have changed the blog template. How do you like it? :D

;)

I have some surprises for you. I got some feedback on the "Speed" post. People kept asking for more patterns to work on. Here's what I'll do.

I'll provide you with more patterns to exercise on. From time to time. Like the "Chord of the day". It will be the "Pattern of the day". I'll fit this patterns into pentatonic scales. Some might be in the form of tabs. Finger twisters :D

How will this help you? Well, being used to running around in pentatonic scales will help you when you'll need to improvise on guitar or do a solo.

Summary:

This patterns will help you:

1) Play faster
2) Be more creative and play with ease
3) Warm up (yeah, you can even use them as warm-ups)

What do you think about this?

There's always alot of talk about building speed. The bad news is that all the articles in the world won't do the work neccesary in your place. The good news is that with practice everyday, you'll slowly but surely build speed. That's one oppinion of course. Personally, I didn't do daily exercises dedicated to speed.

I just played guitar everyday. For some time. I did chords, scales, on the tempo that felt confortable for me. Then it kinda sped up with time.

Do you have toughts like:

- "My fingers are too bulky" ?
- "I'm too slow" ?
- "Stupid fingers" ?
- "I can't imagine my fingers going faster than this. It's just not possible." ?

I know I did. Here's some good news: If you look yourself in the mirror while playing, you actually look like you play faster. I don't know it's just an illusion or we just think we play slower than we really do. It works when u get filmed also. Even more great news is that EVERY GUITARIST had this problem. The answer is just keep persevering, keep trying, in a month or 2, you'll get it.

If you really want some exercises, I'll give you an example. You can derive hundreds of exercises out of this one:



I hope it's pretty simple to understand. You just do a "chromatic scale". Every four notes on all strings starting from the 6th string (thickest one) and landing on the first one. Do it at different tempos. After you can do this like a piece of pie, just start playing with the notes. Mix them up, "dance", everything that can cross your mind. Even try to learn a guitar solo if you think you are up to it.

Do so and start noticing that each and every one of those solos fit into certain patterns called scales. We'll talk about them in some future posts.

Get to work now.

PS: When you get bored, imagine yourself playing Wembley. That might help.

I didn't have a chance to record those chords. I'm getting all the stuff ready and going on the road for a few days. I'll be back monday ;) Cya then.

I'm having some problems with my guitar, and I can't record those chords. It should be done until Monday night tho. I'll upload some then.

Another problem is that Tuesday I'll go on a trip, and it will take around 6 days. Monday night I'll try to upload material wich u can work with a whole week.

Let us know what you think about the blog. See the little shoutbox on the right of the screen? Write in your name, your website (if any) and tell us what you like/don't like about the blog. We will thank you for the feedback and try to work on the bad parts of the blog :D

I'll do some upgrades to the blog content. What do I mean by that. Well, for each chord I posted and will post, I will add a sample. Me playing the chord. So you can hear what it actually sounds like played correctly.. I will also start posting some chord progressions. How you can use them in your songs, and how you can make them.

Jamming is the best thing ever. Find a drummer and start jamming for fun. As Paul Gilbert once said: "Your ears will start going a bit, but it will make you a better musician". You already know some chords, so start playing some acoustic songs. You can sing on em too, or you can find a singer. It's up to you. Once you start going into the habit, you can never go back. It's that great. And the best part is that, time spent playing an instrument is not lost time. Have fun!