Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar Blog With Steve Krenze

Archive for guitar-tips

Monday, September 23, 2013

Practicing guitar has two sides - the lab and the factory. Both are equally important and needed for effective learning. In his recent live lesson, the great Fingerstyle guitarist Adam Rafferty shared this wonderful insight from Seth Godin and applied it to guitar learning. (And I’ve thrown in my thoughts as well!)When you practice, certain guitar learning tasks [...]

September 2013 Article - The Lab & the Factory

Friday, January 11, 2013

How long does it take to become a guitarist? This article is about becoming the genuine article... 30 minutes at a time. If you’re like most people, practicing is something you don’t have unlimited time for. So you want to make the most of every minute. But, there’s so much to learn that many people don’t know where to start or effectively practice to improve. A [...]

January 2013--30 Minutes to Become a Guitarist

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Simple triads offer some of the most grand riff possibilities (as the great Eric Johnson has shown us). This week's video tip dives into how we can use these great little riffs in our own playing.

August Video Tip--Eric Johnson Triad Riffs

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Tone. It’s the guitar player’s holy grail. Those who have it are instantly recognizable. Have you ever listened to a player and said, “Man, he sounds so great. How does he get that tone?”It doesn’t matter whether you play acoustic or electric, the sound of a great guitar can turn a few simple notes from blah to amazing. So, getting the best tone from your ins [...]

August 2012--Achieving Great Tone

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Spice up your blues playing with these classic blues double stop licks! Learn a couple of great licks that are “gig-ready” and can be immediately added to your own blues playing.

July Video Tip -- Blues Double Stops

Monday, May 14, 2012

I know, I know...You're excited about learning the guitar and this time "you're going to do it right". You've made a little vow to yourself that goes something like this… "I won't move on until every note is perfect!"BEWARE... PERFECTIONISM CAN BE A TRAP! Perfectionism can dampen your enthusiasm and hamper your learning. Frustrations and disillusionment are sure [...]

So You Wanna Be Perfect...

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Wouldn't it be great if you could use the same chords you already know to get fresh new sounds? Taking familiar chords that use open strings and moving them around on the guitar neck creates great sounding new chords. And the best part is you don't need to learn a new chord shape!Download a .pdf here: http://www.learnandmaster.com/email/Creating_New_Sounds.pdfVie [...]

March Video Tip: Creative New Sounds from Familiar Chords

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Man, you ought to be in a band! Some guitar playing concepts like soloing and improvisation can’t be learned from a book or DVD. You only learn them from playing with a band - whether live or recorded. Since you probably don’t have your own back up band jam tracks can fill an important role in your learning.In my formative teenage years, I spent many hot Texas su [...]

Let’s Jam! Tips for Playing with Jam Tracks

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Don’t let head-games steal your guitar playing future! Many future guitar players get way out of whack as they start learning and their head games end up forfeiting their guitar playing future. They start learning with great enthusiasm, practice a few times, hit the inevitable first wall of frustration, and immediately give up.It doesn’t need to be this way! J [...]

Straight Talk to Beginners on Guitar Learning

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Don't just learn one new chord! Learn how to manipulate one chord shape to create chords all over the neck. Plus, find some great rock rhythm chord patterns along the way!

February Video Tip: Chord Shape Magic: The CAGED System

Saturday, January 7, 2012

If you’re serious about being a musician then there is only one road that will get you there - practice. Practicing is a necessary key - really the only key - that will unlock the potential inside of you to become the guitar player you want to be. Practicing is something you are going to be doing a lot of to become skillful, so let’s learn how to do it most effec [...]

How You Should Practice

Monday, November 7, 2011

Here’s your chance to get that Mississippi Delta Blues sound! With some simple ideas to improvise, learn how to create your own acoustic blues tune. Stop playing other guitarists ideas for today and start playing the music that is inside of you. Enjoy!

Creating Your Own Acoustic Blues Song: Monthly Video Tip

Friday, November 4, 2011

The best guitar teacher you will ever have is your own creativity. There is just something about figuring out something on your own that solidifies it immediately into your memory. A guitarist gathers information from a variety of sources but it’s only when that information is used and acted upon does it start to become part of your own individual guitar playin [...]

Your Best Teacher, Creativity!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Our Live Guitar Lessons continue to grow and we are able to attract more and more notable names as guests each month to dispense their guitar knowledge to us and you. If you joined us on October 11, you were able to see and chat with me and Bryan White as we discussed songwriting and guitar (watch the recording). Bryan brought quite the resume, which includes a G [...]

20 Songwriting Tips from Bryan White

Monday, October 10, 2011

Electric guitar effects pedals can add an amazing array of colors to your sound. Learn the three basic types of pedals you should consider -- Distortions, Chorus, and Delays. Learn the various types of pedals and how they work. We had an entire Live Lesson focused on Guitar Effects Basics last week with lots of great questions and information.Enjoy learning!

October Video Tip: Basic Guitar Effects

Friday, October 7, 2011

Any trip to the local music store can be very intimidating, as you look at the dozens of guitar pedals available. Many of them with unhelpful, non-descriptive names like “Electric Mistress”, “Metal Zone” and “Green Rhino”. (Who thinks up these crazy names?!) It can be hard to pick out the pedal that is right for you. Which is the best pedal for you? How much [...]

Tips for Buying Guitar Effects Pedals

Thursday, September 29, 2011

We're super excited to introduce Skills House on Gibson.com. Skills House is a brand new (launched today!) guitar lesson section powered by Learn & Master. It is complete with song lessons, guitar lessons, power workouts, style lessons, interviews, our Live Lessons and more. It may just be the most complete set of learning content online.Here are the differen [...]

Introducing Skills House

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

This entry was written by one of our students on our guitar forum and promoted to our blog. The author's views below are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of Legacy Learning Systems, Inc.Author: Kevin D. See the original thread...This may not work for everyone, but it works for me. As we all know - learning guitar is a lot of work. Sometimes t [...]

Promoted Post: Declare One Day a Fun Day

Monday, September 12, 2011

Harmonics can add flash and excitement to your playing. Learn what they are, how to play them, when to use them, how they work with a capo and how to play false harmonics in this month's video tip. Enjoy!Use this Harmonic Tip Sheet (pdf) that I made to accompany this video.

September Video Tip: Harmonics

Thursday, September 8, 2011

When I was a kid, I practiced just enough to get by. No more, if at all possible. Oboe was my instrument, and even without a lot of effort, I progressed quickly. I sure liked that easy achievement—it gave me time to do many important things, like hanging around with my friends and imagining playing in big concert halls.Even with all that free time, I got really, [...]

Play More, Practice Less, Find Happiness

Monday, August 8, 2011

Are you bored with the basic strumming patters you learned in Session 6? This month's video should help breath some rhythm back into your strumming. The video will walk you through building a simple groove on the guitar using some familiar chord forms. You can really spice it up by adding a few loops and then you can take this little groove in A7 wherever you wan [...]

August Video Tip: Building a Simple Groove on Guitar

Friday, August 5, 2011

Tone. It’s the guitar player’s holy grail. Those who have it are instantly recognizable. Have you ever listened to a player and say “Man, he sounds so great. How does he get that tone?”It doesn’t matter whetheryou play acoustic or electric, the sound of a great guitar can turn a few simple notes from blah to amazing. So, getting the best tone from your instru [...]

Achieving Great Tone

Monday, July 11, 2011

July's video tip breaks down one of the most common blues guitar licks. You'll recognize it immediately and by the end of the video, you'll be well on your way to playing it like a master! I've included some sheet music for the Sus to hammer-on blues pattern I talk about. Be sure to download it and print it off for additional practice on mastering this lick: Blue [...]

July Video Tip: Popular Blues Guitar Lick

Sunday, July 10, 2011

I was in a backyard on a warm, summer night in Nashville in an impromptu circle of guitarists and songwriters. We were going around the circle, as these things customarily do, and I remember being incredibly nervous as it came closer and closer to my turn. It was to the point that it was difficult to even remember the song I wanted to play.Stage fright is a com [...]

Tips for Overcoming Stage Fright

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Guitar players love open chords. The magical sound of open strings ringing is one of the few things that guitar players can do that no other instrument can replicate. Open chords easy to play but unfortunately there are only in a few “guitar friendly” keys like G, D, A, & E. So, if you come across a song in a “non-guitar” it helps to use a capo to adjust th [...]

Capo Magic

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

It's April Blues Shower Month here at Learn & Master. This month's tip focuses on a popular blues lick. Practice this to add a little blues style to your playing and it will help you blossom into a well-rounded guitarist!Oh, and here's the sheet music: Sliding 6th Blues in AView all our Monthly Newsletter Tips.

April Video Tip: Blues Guitar

Monday, February 14, 2011

Here at Learn & Master, we've dubbed February as "Love Your Guitar Month"! After all, it is the month of romance. We've traditionally directed all our romantic feelings toward that special guy or gal. However, there's another 'gal' in your life that needs love and attention too. That's right - your guitar! She is needy, particular and oh so rewarding...but on [...]

Love Your Guitar Month

Monday, January 3, 2011

First off, Happy New Year! For many of us, the new year brings a new beginning... motivation to begin whatever it is you have desired to start but haven't had the time, money, incentive, etc. It marks the beginning of a change...for the better. For others, those who have sworn off new year's resolutions, it is just another day.Whichever camp you fall into, Janu [...]

New Year's Resolutions for Guitar Players

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Guitar Playing Can Be a Pain in the... Hand!Beginning guitarists have their share of obstacles to their growth. There's the raw fact that at first, the sounds they make never sounds as good as what they heard on the radio. There's the sudden demand for time that this newtoy makes upon them. (This is a bittersweet demand, of course... it hurts so good.)But one [...]

Warm-up Before Playing Guitar to Avoid Pain

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Watch Guitar tech, Billy Penn, as he shares a very simple, but effective tip for holding on to your pick when you tend to drop them. This even works when you're sweating!!Very short, but very informative:We recommend this rosin from Musicians Friend. It is currently on sale for less than $1.50 and qualifies for free shipping!

Don't Drop That Pick!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

If you are thinking about learning to play the guitar or just starting to learn, chances are you will (or already have) make an investment in a guitar. It's a good purchase. There is nothing like having a new guitar sitting around your house to motivate you to practice! So now that you've taken the plunge and bought a guitar, the best thing you can do is to ge [...]

Best Advice For a New Guitar: Get A Set-Up Job

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Let me tell you one of the true factors of whether you truly improve. As often as I have said that the pros have no secrets, but here is a true secret of the pros.There is one thing that all real guitar players have that wannabes who just wish they could play do not have. No, it is not a certain guitar, pick, amp or strings and yet it will make or break your ch [...]

The True Secret of the Guitar Pros

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

If you are a current student of ours, you have our DVDs, jam-along CDs, workbook and student support forum access. You also may know of some additional resources that we have for those learning guitar. If you are not a student or if you don't know about our additional resources, this is a good post for you to read, bookmark and share!Chord Charts: Basic Chords [...]

Great Guitar Resources

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Change Your Strings!Sounding your best is a constant struggle. One of the easiest components to sounding your best involves your guitar strings. Your strings are an often forgotten but nonetheless significant component of your overall sound.Changing your strings is the most inexpensive way to achieve a noticeable and immediate improvement in your sound. Here a [...]

Easiest Way to Improve Your Tone

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