You’ve known for years that your child had an ear for music. The time has come to begin music lessons and he says the guitar is his instrument of choice. No reason for you to worry, there’s no rule that says bad habits and guitar playing have to go hand in hand! The guitar is a versatile instrument that he can enjoy playing for the rest of his life.

WHAT KIND OF GUITAR WILL I NEED?
A common mistake I see parents make is buying a poorly made guitar so they will not have wasted a large sum of money if their child decides the guitar is not the instrument for him.

To start a child out on a guitar that has poor tone and is difficult to play is practically a roadmap for failure. Mastering the guitar is not a simple task. A child deserves some reward when he does something right and this is something only a quality instrument can give.

Buy a guitar suitable for the age and size of the child. The neck and body must be the right size the child’s hands and arm length. For younger childer (10 and younger) three quarter (3/4) size guitars are available.

ACOUSTIC OR ELECTRIC?
I’m sticking my neck out on this one, but for instant gratification you can’t beat an electric rig. In addition to a guitar, you will need to buy a small amplifier and this will stop some parents in their tracks, but hear me out. A lesson or two will focus on setup of the rig and what the knobs on the guitar and amp are for, but an electric is easier to play and a kid can get a few good sounds out of the guitar much faster. You can always branch out into acoustic later once the fingers get stronger and more conditioned.

NEW OR USED?
There’s nothing wrong with buying a used guitar that’s in good playing condition. Guitars are not like cars; a good guitar having been handled with reasonable care improves with age. Look at the guitars that the professionals play. Do those instruments look brand new to you? Hardly

Cruise the pawnshops, Ebay and the classifieds for possibilities. Of course these avenues

have a huge Buyer Beware sign on the corner. No returns allowed. Do you have a friend that plays guitar? If this is the case, I’m sure that he won’t mind if you ask him to go by the pawnshop or to the garage sale with you, play the guitar you found and give you an opinion.

Go to the guitar forums on the internet and see what the others have to say about the instrument that you are considering. Expect to see contradicting opinions. But if a

large percentage of the posters say any given guitar is a piece of junk it would be a good idea to look for another axe.

HOW DO I KNOW WHAT THE GUITAR’S WORTH? Try checking on Ebay to see what guitars comparable to the one you are looking at have sold for recently. It’s hard to know if you are comparing apples to apples even when comparing identical model numbers of identical brands but you can get a general idea. You can check

the Blue Book of Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars and the Blue Book of Amps for a value,

but again these figures are merely guidelines.

WHERE DO I GO FOR HELP? While the advice that can be obtained at a local music store can be invaluable before you take the suggestions made by the salesperson you should ask the following question: Are you a guitar player? If the answer to your question is no, ask for a salesperson that plays guitar to help you or go and get that guitar playing friend to help you choose.

That’s one of the perks of playing guitar, the friendships you make along the way.

Jan Bay Freelance Author of Nursery Decorating Articles,Baby Gear Reviews and Webmaster for UNIQUE BABY GEAR IDEAS Use of article requires an active link to http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com.

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Imagine this

You pick up the guitar one day. Start playing your favourite song, and all of a sudden you feel this pain in your wrist. It’s a sort of pain that distracts you from your playing. You think to yourself I’ll toughen it out it’ll probably go away tomorrow, and continue to play some more. You continue to play like this day to day, and then you notice that the pain keeps getting worse. You wonder to yourself Will this pain ever go away? I hope so. The problem is, this might not be just a pain that will go away. It might be a pain that will cause serious injuries such as tendonitis.

Tendonitis is a serious injury that causes inflammation of a tendon. When you over stretch your tendons it begins to tear which leads to swelling. This is very dangerous because tendons are hard to heal, and will unlikely heal to the original strength. A lot of times this pain is caused by not stretching before you play. Stretching plays a big role in guitar playing. When you stretch your hands, fingers, wrists, and arms you widen the range of motion of your joints. Which will also enable you to play more effortlessly, and faster. When you play without stretching you have limited joint movement. Which means that your hands and wrists won’t be as flexible as if you were to stretch before playing.

Here are a few stretches that you can do before you play:

*Place the palm of your left hand to the inside of your fingers on your right hand. Push with your left hand so your fingers are going towards your forearms until you feel a burn in the wrist. Hold for 10-15 seconds. Now do the other hand. You can also do each finger individually. *Extend your left arm fully across your chest, and with your other arm pull your left arm towards your chest. Hold for 10-15 seconds. *With your left palm push the inside of your thumb towards your forearm, hold for 10 seconds. *Extend your arm behind your shoulder by holding your elbow with your other hand. Pull until you feel a burn. Hold for 10-15 seconds for each arm. *Thoroughly massage your hands and fingers individually. This is a crucial step. This will really relax your hands.

Not only should you stretch just before you play the guitar, but also any other time you get the chance. Guitar is not the only place that you can get an injury such as tendonitis. You can get it from exercise or physical work. Always stretch before doing a lot of movement that’s involved in working and exercising. If you start to feel pain, STOP PLAYING. This is a danger sign to a minor or serious injury. Just give it a rest, and if the pain continues consult a doctor. Remember, it’s all about having fun.

Mike Morin is the writer of the Awesome Guitar Lessons Newsletter. Awesome Guitar Lessons provides free guitar lessons to new and experienced guitarists. Also, up to date information on guitarists around the world. Click Here ==> http://www.awesomeguitarlessons.com

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Congratulations, you just bought you first guitar! Now that you’ve met the love of your life and made that big commitment, you’re probably excited about building a good relationship with your new partner. But where do you begin? You’ve just come home from the music store with this beautiful, mysterious stranger, or perhaps even rescued an abandoned orphan from the flee market or pawn shop. Cradling it lovingly in your hands, you admire it’s graceful form and captivating voice.

Before you lay several items that you acquired along with your purchase- a case, strap, picks, and of course, that book or video explaining everything you need to know in 10 easy lessons. You stare at it blankly, wondering what lanquage it is.

This is often the experience of a new guitar enthusiast. Love at first sight engenders high hopes of playing like a Rock Star overnight. Then reality begins to sink in and you reallize that it’s going to require some effort and hard work to make this happen! But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. A positive attitude will go a long way in helping you meet your goals. In fact, setting some short-term and long-term goals is one of the first things you should do. Here are a few suggestions:

GET TO KNOW YOUR GUITAR

- Familiarize yourself with its various parts
– memorize the name of each string and how they are numbered
– Understand what type of guitar you have
– Learn how to take proper care of your instrument

GET TO KNOW YOURSELF

- What type of music do you enjoy?
– Do you like to sing?
– Do you want to be in a band or play professionally someday?
– Do you just want to play for your own personal enjoyment?

I often receive calls for help from individuals who are frustated because they are having trouble understanding the book or video that came with their purchase. If this is the case for you, consider taking some lessons from a private instructor. It can be a great way to get moving in the right direction. If you set up a weekly guitar lesson, then you will probably begin to establish a regular practice routine too. This is because you will feel a sense of obligation and accountability to your teacher. A guitar teacher can also watch your progress and offer helpful advise and critique so that you will be able to develop good technique. This is an invaluable asset which you will be unlikely to get from a book or video.

Local music stores often have someone who teaches right out of their store, or they may be able to provide you with a list of teachers in your area. If there is a college or university nearby, be sure to check the bulletin boards and school newspapers. you could also contact the Music Department to see if they know of any instructors who may be offering private or class lessons during after school hours.

Most importantly, be sure to take the time to do a little personal inventory and get to know your instrument by answering the questions in this article. Then, you will be able to establish a good mental picture of where you are now and where you want to be in the future.

FREE Reprint Rights – You may publish this article in your e-zine or on your web site as long as you include the following information:

Kathy Unruh is a singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She has been writing songs and providing guitar lessons to students of all ages for over 20 years. For free guitar lessons, plus tips and resources on songwriting, recording and creating a music career, please visit: http://www.abclearnguitar.com

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Taking guitar lessons is so much easier when you can see and hear examples of what you are learning. The going rate now for private guitar lessons is around $20-$25 per 1/2 hour or $40-50 per hour. Learning your guitar lessons from video is the fastest way to increase your guitar playing abilities. The beauty of computer-based guitar lessons is that the lesson can contain all forms of media, from text and pictures to tablature files to audio and video.

The main advantage of video based guitar lessons is being able to see how the instructor is actually playing the material. Another valid tip is when taking guitar lessons is to not over play. One problem with guitar lessons is that a lot of great instruction and nuances are soon forgotten. However, taking guitar lessons is very much like taking traditional guitar lessons at a music store. The soul purpose of taking guitar lessons is to help you become a better guitar player. Another big thing with guitar lessons is just making somebody feel comfortable enough to play. This can be accomplished with DVD’s.

Video guitar lessons are the most convenient, efficient, inexpensive method for learning guitar ever created. There are plenty of free guitar lessons if you are looking to learn the guitar, but you get what you pay for. Try to find interactive guitar lessons with tab and music playback. You may have looked into guitar lessons, but couldn’t find any instructors to fit your schedule. Specially commissioned video, audio and graphics integrated to provide enjoyable and effective guitar lessons is the way to go.

Believe me with this method you’ll learn to play guitar while saving hundreds of dollars in guitar lessons. Learn to play the guitar online using free guitar lessons and chord charts is not a bad way to go when you first start out. There are a number of guitar lessons online that are available now. A Search Engine for finding guitar lessons and other guitarist related resources is a good place to start.

You can begin playing right now by simply going through the free guitar lessons offered on Internet. There are blogs containing facts about guitars, famous guitar brands, guitar tabs, famous guitarists, guitar lessons and other useful guitar information. There are many guitar lessons online that help guitar enthusiasts to at least get some of the basic and intermediate know-how in guitar playing.

Choosing a guitar can be an extremely complicated task. Choosing a guitar based on price alone is not the best bet. There are many possibilities when comes to choosing a guitar, you will find that there are many options for guitar players when choosing a guitar.

Taking guitar lessons is so much easier when you can hear and see examples of what you are learning. In fact, a mix of online and offline guitar lessons is probably going to yield the best results for your guitar playing skills. DVD Guitar Lessons is most beneficial for beginner to intermediate guitarists although advanced guitarists may also find something new to consider. One of the major problems with private guitar lessons is that students go back the next week forgetting what they have been taught the previous week.

Taking guitar lessons is one of those things that everyone seems to give a shot at least once in their lives, so give it a try. Look for Guitar Lessons that provides all the tools you need to begin learning to play guitar right away. If you have ever wanted to play then getting guitar lessons is definitely something you should consider. Another big thing with guitar lessons is just making somebody feel comfortable enough to play.

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This lesson can open for you a secret of high-speed guitar playing. If take the given technique for 2-3 weeks you’ll feel progress in high-speed playing of complex passages.

The given principle of development of techniques was tested not by one generation of guitarists and not only guitarists…

In this lesson we shall concern high-speed technics. Skilled guitarists alredy know that the basic brake in development of guitar high-speed technics is the right hand. Therefore when playing the most ultra-high-speed passages for simplification guitarists play legato (i.e. the right hand does not take some notes, it is done with fingers of the left hand by receptions pull-off, hammer-on).

How to achieve speed?

For this purpose it is necessary for guitarist to develop technics of the right hand – fast alternation of pick stroke upwards-downwards (a variable stroke). The more quickly the right hand will make alternating strokes, the quicker the playing will be.

It is necessary to begin from the most usual tremolo (fast recurrence of one note).

Triplets are the most effective way of learning to play a tremolo. Try to begin each of your lessons with a tremolo. It develops (and well warms up) the right hand. The tremolo notes must sound dynamically equal (all sounding notes of equal loudness) and with equal tempo.

For example, you wish to learn a high-speed passage. I offer the following simple blues phrase in A as an example:

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First you need to learn in slow tempo and in convenient key with rational pick strokes.

After you’ve done it, play a tremolo of each note, i.e. each note in a passage it is necessary to take three times (if it is the eighth) like this:

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The tremolo should be loud (a silent tremolo does not make effect). Play thus 10 – 15 minutes (with small breaks) up to feeling of weariness in your right hand. The weariness speaks that muscles work as they must do. In my experience each student playing given technique, develops his own nuances. The right hand as though itself finds the most convenient position while playing, – it is only necessary to force it to work. When you are good at playing this passage with tremolo, try to play it in the original.

I often hear a question: How many it is necessary to be engaged so that to come to high speed? – It’s individually. For someone it’s necessary 2 hours, for another 2 days, and for someone it is not necessary at all (i’m kidding . Here introspection is necessary, that is you should feel improvement of technics. Clearly one, that the most effective way – gold exercise for the right hand.

Play your own passages by this principle, solos, improvizations, rock, jazz and blues phrases… If you have great patience, you will see huge advantage of this technique and feel the results. If you do not see any result most likely you were engaged either incorrectly or insufficiently long. Though it is possible to play legato or tapping, but it sounds less brightly and energetically.

Yuri Nikitin guitar instructor, music writer and webmaster. Find more free guitar lessons in varios styles at http://www.guitar-lesson-online.net

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When I tell people I play the piano, the most common reply I hear is Oh Ive always wanted to play but Heres are the top-ten reasons that adults give for not becoming a musician- even though its their secret ambition. Read on for how to overcome these barriers and achieve your dream.

Im just too busy

Most people assume that you will need hours of free time every week set aside for lengthy practicing to get any good. This idea is a complete fiction- in fact I would say about 5 minutes each day is fine at first (and if you dont have 5 minutes per day to spare, I dont believe you!). If you book lessons with a teacher, you will be committing some time at least each week to concentrate on learning, which may even be enough at first.. Dont kid yourself youll be less busy in three months time because if you dont start learning now you probably never will.

I work shifts/ long hours so I cant fit time for lessons in

Many teachers will offer lessons in the daytime, evenings and weekends- so you should be able to find something that suits you- just call up some local teachers and ask when they have spaces in their schedule. There are also a good number of online courses for most instruments. Or you could buy a Teach Yourself Book and take it from there.

Lessons are too expensive

Again, you could start off teaching yourself from a book- but not all lessons are as expensive as you might think. I teach in groups, which keeps the cost down for the individual, and also turns lessons into a social activity. Find out if there are any teachers in your area who do this.

Im too old

Your definitely never too old to learn a musical instrument! In fact Ive found adults of all ages learn much faster than young children initially. Learning new cognitive skills has even been found to have great health benefits.

I wont be able to learn

Well, Ive never met anyone incapable of learning to play yet! Obviously people have different standards and natural abilities, theyll learn at different rates. But everyone will be able to play to some degree. The best thing is to ask yourself what you want to achieve and then just go for it.

Ill never be any good, so whats the point in starting now

This depends what you mean by good. OK, I admit if your 57 and never played a note in your life theirs no chance of you becoming a virtuoso after ten lessons. But is that really why you secretly want to learn your chosen instrument? How about learning just for the sheer achievement of acquiring a new skill. Or being able to pick out a few carols at Christmas. Or finally write down and record that song thats been going round in your head your whole life. These are all achievable goals you could reach after learning an instrument for just a short time. And does it even matter if your any good if you really enjoy playing?

Ive been told Im tone-deaf and so I cant learn

The short answer to this is, your almost certainly not. Tone deafness is a very rare and specific condition, and music lessons should help improve your listening skills.

I dont think any teachers will be interested in taking on an older learner

Most teachers I know (including myself) really enjoy teaching adults because they have made the decision to have lessons themselves and appreciate lessons so much more than children who are learning all the time. Maybe your children are having lessons, why not ask their teacher if they could teach you as well? Im sure they would be pleased to, or at least recommend another teacher with vacancies.

Id love to learn again- but I hated my lessons when I was younger

A lot of adults have horror stories about severe piano teachers rapping their knuckles with rulers for making mistakes, and punishing them for not practicing 30 minutes a day. Luckily, there arent many (any?) people like that around anymore. Please dont let a bad experience from the past stop you from achieving what you want today. Find a teacher, let them know what you want to achieve and Im sure they will be pleased to help. If you dont enjoy their lessons, let them know why- music lessons should be enjoyable, and as an adult you will be the one in control, with your teacher there to help you.

Ive heard learning to read music is really hard

Learning to read music is really very straightforward. And some teachers might be happy for you to play by ear. Theres a lot of advice on reading music, on the web which can get you started.

I hope none of these excuses are holding you back from becoming a musician! Good luck in learning to play your chosen instrument.

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The idea that studying music improves the social development of a child is not a new one, but at last there is incontrovertible evidence from a study conducted out of the University of Toronto.

The study, published in the August issue of Psychological Science was led by Dr. E. Glenn Schellenberg, and examined the effect of extra-curricular activities on the intellectual and social development of six-year-old children. A group of 144 children were recruited through an ad in a local newspaper and assigned randomly to one of four activities: piano lessons, voice lessons, drama lessons, or no lessons.

Two types of music lessons were offered in order to be able to generalize the results, while the groups receiving drama lessons or no lessons were considered control groups in order to test the effect of music lessons over other art lessons requiring similar skill sets and nothing at all. The activities were provided for one year.

The participating children were given IQ tests before and after the lessons. The results of this study revealed that increases in IQ from pre- to post-test were larger in the music groups than in the two others. Generally these increases occurred across IQ subtests, index scores, and academic achievement.

While music teachers across the country greeted the new research enthusiastically, in fact, many other studies have previously shown a correlation between music study and academic achievement.

In 1997, well known music researchers Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and their team at the University of California (Irvine) reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. A group led by the same two scientists had earlier showed that after eight months of piano lessons, preschoolers showed a 46 percent boost in their spatial reasoning IQ.

The March 1999 issue of Neurological Research published a report by another group of researchers, also at the University of California (Irvine), who found that second-grade students given four months of piano keyboard training, as well as time playing newly designed computer software, scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than other children.

Students with coursework and experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT, according to a Profile of Program Test Takers released by the Princeton, NJ, College Entrance Examination Board in 2001. This report stated that students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation.

Another part of this same study shows that longer music study means higher SAT scores. For example, students participating in the arts for two years averaged 29 points higher on the verbal portion and 18 points higher on the math portion of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. Students with four or more years in the arts scored 57 points higher and 39 points higher on the verbal and math portions respectively than students with no arts coursework.

Another study also found support for a relationship between math achievement and participation in instrumental music instruction. The researchers found that students who participated in instrumental music instruction in high school took on the average 2.9 more advanced math courses then did students who did not participate.

In fact, various studies over the last 10 years suggest teaching kids music can heighten their aptitude for math, reading, and engineering. (One explanation for improved ability in mathematics is that music theory is based on mathematical truths. Rhythms are divided into fractions – half notes, quarter notes and eighth notes. Scales have eight tones, and the steps between them follow an equation.)

A McGill University study in 1998 found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period. The researchers also found that self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for the students given piano instruction.

And data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 revealed music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was higher than the percentage of non- participants receiving those grades.

In 1994, a report entitled The Case For Music Study In Schools was printed in Phi Delta Kappan, the professional print journal for education. It included details of research conducted by physician and biologist Lewis Thomas, who studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. Thomas found that 66 percent of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group.

The same report asserted that the very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry were, almost without exception, practicing musicians.

The world’s top academic countries also place a high value on music education. In a study of the ability of fourteen year-old science students in seventeen countries, the top three countries were Hungary, the Netherlands, and Japan. All three include music throughout the curriculum from kindergarten through high school.

St. Augustine Bronx elementary school, about to fail in 1984, implemented an intensive music program, and today 90 percent of the school’s students are reading at or above grade level. And a ten-year study at UCLA tracked more than 25,000 students, and showed that music making improves test scores. Regardless of socio-economic background, music-making students get higher marks in standardized tests than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams.

Music training helps under-achievers as well, according to research published in Nature magazine in May 1996. In Rhode Island, researchers studied eight public school first grade classes. Half of the classes became test arts groups, receiving ongoing music and visual arts training. In kindergarten, this group had lagged behind in scholastic performance. After seven months, the students were given a standardized test. The test arts group had caught up to their fellow students in reading and surpassed their classmates in math by 22 percent. In the second year of the project, the arts students widened this margin even further. Students were also evaluated on attitude and behavior. Classroom teachers noted improvement in these areas also.

In 2005, it appears the pace of scientific research into music making has never been greater. The most recent evidence from the University of Toronto confirms what many other researchers have already detected – that music boosts brainpower, academic achievement,socialization skills, and emotional health.

It’s logical, when you think about it. People who learn to play an instruments are in groups — bands, choirs, orchestras, combos, worship teams, etc. And working and making music with others is bound to help relateabilty with people and foster close bonds with fellow musicians.

So it appears that learning to play music, whether guitar, piano, or some other instrument, actually does contribute to your ability to win friends and influence people.

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and products such as DVD’s, CD’s, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. He holds an advanced degree from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He can be reached at http://www.pianolessonsbyvideo.com He is the author of the popular free 101-week e-mail newsletter titled Amazing Secrets Of Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions with over 55,000 current subscribers. Those interested may obtain a free two-year subscription by going to http://www.playpiano.com/

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