Subject: Thanks to You
You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe." Hey there Friend, I wanted to take a second and tell you a little about some of the feedback I've been getting from fellow readers...I got a cool note from David M relating to an article I wrote earlier this month. The topic was the difference between learning and practicing. If you remember, it's one thing to learn the material - it's quite another thing to practice it. Anyone can learn a concept, but until they have the discipline to work it into their muscle memory (through practice), they don't own the material. You must focus on the specific techniques to make them second nature. Months ago David buckled down to really work at mastering some blues guitar. In his words: "... I was having trouble deciding what I wanted to play and was bouncing around all over the place. In that time, somewhere, I managed to settle down and began practice blues in A and E (for variety) the basic tenets of scales, grace notes and progressions. Over a period I'd say of maybe 4 to 5 months. I got really good not only at those things but chords too. Recently I played ROCKSMITH (I quite for a long time) and to my surprise almost every song I wanted to play I was playing with good results of about 75 to 80%. It really shocked me. This was not a fluke either because I played about 10 different songs with the same result. All that to say, the muscle memory was there, basic technique of fretting and movement was there produced this great result. I've been playing now for about 8 months and I'm hooked. Nothing like a little gratification for the hard work." Thanks for sharing, David! There you have it folks - proof positive that if you apply yourself to some basic principles and stick with them, you'll amaze yourself with the progress you make. After last week's message about arpeggios, Robby N. suggested I give you a list of tunes so you could see arpeggios in action. Great idea, Robby! So here you go... Starting with the three songs I mentioned last week: "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals "Always With Me, Always With You" by Joe Satriani "Tender Surrender" by Steve Vai All of these could prove to be a bit challenging ("House..." due to the groove, "Always...," because the chord progression bounces around the neck a bit and "Tender..." just because it's Steve "freakin" Vai - am I right?). So here are some more songs with arpeggios you can check out. Some are easier to play than others, so take a listen and see which ones you want to try out. "Photograph" by Def Leppard "867-5309 / Jenny" by Tommy Tutone "Hitch a Ride" by Boston "Don't Tell Me You love Me" by Night Ranger "Hells Bells" by AC/DC "Run To You" by Bryan Adams "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" by Van Halen "Hotel California" by The Eagles "More Than A Feeling" by Boston Now I'm sure you noticed the arpeggios weren't necessarily played throughout each song. Some only used arpeggiated chords during the intro, while others had the arpeggiated chord progression playing for each verse, chorus or both. Arpeggios are tools for creating new, interesting sounds with chords that might otherwise be pretty boring if they were just strummed. There are tons of cool songs out there that make use of arpeggios. You might not eve realize there was a chord in play because the arpeggio sounded like a straight riff. It's almost like you're cheating - you can just finger a chord and it sounds like you're playing a lead. How cool is that?! Every once in a while I get a question asking for advice on just about any topic (guitar related, of course). I'm no expert, but I'm always happy to respond and I will do my best to answer your questions. If I don't know the answer, I'll hunt for someone who does. Sometimes when you're out there in the world trying to learn something on your own, it's nice to know you can turn to a friend who will help out. I'm here for you! Changing Gears... You know, I've been writing articles for quite some time now. My website has been online now since 2007, so we're coming up on seven full years (next month) since I put up my home page. A lot has changed on the Internet, and I know I definitely need to get with the times and get Learn To Play Rock Guitar updated. I just want to say "Thanks" to all of you that have become part of the clan and stuck around this long! There's something about following your dreams and working towards making them a reality. You can be worn out from a day at a job that you can't stand, but as soon as you flip the switch in your brain and start focusing on your goal, there's instant energy. We all need that. If you're lucky enough to work at a dream job, you're in the minority. Congratulations! Guitar might only be a hobby for you - and that's cool, too. But you have to have a passion for something. If you've fallen into a rut and don't really see a way out, spend some time thinking about what got you excited as a kid. There are clues there. Maybe you were an entrepreneur selling lemonade on the side of the road, or you were into collecting Matchbox Cars or Strawberry Shortcake figurines. There are people out there today that have built income-generating businesses focused on the interests of their childhood. Or they found a way to share their expertise to help other people with problems. That's all I've tried to do with Learn To Play Rock Guitar. You can, too. I want to encourage you to be yourself and explore pursuing your goals. Most of us have been helping someone else fulfill their dreams - now it's time for you. It sure would be nice to enjoy getting up and going to work in the morning, right? Especially if "going to work" means walking down to my office and picking up my guitar for some song writing and recording. What is your ideal work day? Allow yourself to think outside the box a bit and imagine what it would be like to make a living from doing your hobby. Sure would make life a lot more fun, wouldn't you agree? Peace~ Dave Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes. He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already! Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend! I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness". We don't rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any friends you think would enjoy its contents. They will thank you. So will I.
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