Archive for August, 2008

Composing Music For Independent Films

August 31, 2008

Creating the Mood

Remember not to treat music as secondary to the visual aspect of the film. When done right, it can be just as important as the acting or the camera angles. Without great music there are no great films.

Plan ahead by watching as many of the scenes as you can (if not the whole film) and figure out how many different emotions you will have to convey with your music. The director or music supervisor should also help you when deciding this. With each different emotion or different scene, you may have to compose a whole new piece of music.

Starting your score can be very challenging, and will require a lot of concentration and patience. You must decide on the proper mood, tone, and which instruments you are going to use. Whether you’re using classical instruments or programming the music on a computer, the sound of each instrument will adversely affect the tone of the piece.

Tact and taste are very important here. Doing too much or too little is a very real possibility and is something that is very easy to fall into. Creating the perfect score is not an easy task, and not something that everyone can do.

If you strike gold with a great piano riff, or an emotional melody, try to find different ways of using it throughout your composition. It can be a highly useful tactic, but be sure not to overuse your theme, for it can become tired and ruin the emotional impact. Hold off in some sections and try creating a new melody with the same notes, or something that sounds vaguely similar. Creativity is key.

There are thousands of films that wouldn’t have been what they were without the music that they had. It’s been said that Star Wars looked terrible and was almost laughable before the music of John Williams was added. A film composer must be able to compose music that not only fits well with the video, but also provokes the viewer to feel strong emotions without knowing why. Your music must become part of the movie, and move with each scene to allow the viewers to get absorbed.

Using sound effects in your music or using things that aren’t usually used as instruments can make for a very unique piece of music. Using such things as household objects as percussion instruments or odd loops can really spice up your music.

Using Effects

Composing Music For Independent Films

A great example of using sound effects in music is the Oscar winning film Atonement. Composer Dario Marianelli used the noise of a typewriter as a percussion instrument in his score and the result was breathtaking. Hearing the music in a movie theatre was a great experience.

If you take pride in your work and utilize great care while composing, you just might be able to create a great piece of music. If it fits well with the film, and provokes an emotional rush from viewers, you should celebrate and give yourself a pat on the back.

Composing music is a task that isn’t right for everyone, and composing music for film is another thing altogether. You must use tact, creativity, passion, and good judgment to compose a great piece of music, and you will have to put your heart and soul into what you are creating.

The most important thing to remember about composing a score for a film is that the music must be able to help provoke an emotional response from the viewers. Your music must coalesce with the footage to create a visual/aural masterpiece.

Completing Your Score

Many composers employ themes into their music that are repeated throughout the film in various forms. Themes are what make music memorable, as they are repeated often and will stick in the mind of the viewers (listeners). Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Halloween are perfect examples of using a musical theme in a score. Watch any of those films and you will quickly recognize the theme in each composition.

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Different Types of Guitar Wood And Their Common Uses

August 30, 2008

A variety of hardwood makes up the backs and sides of virtually all guitars. The softwoods are not strong enough, nor do they bend well, making it difficult to be used as guitar sides. The sides are not a major part of the vibration frequency, as much as the back and tops. The sides are conventionally used to support the top and back while also defining the body shape. The back is significant in that it provides strength and fullness of tone.

Ideally, they are accepted for their density and predictable tone. The maple is hard and dense and is used in necks or caps of an electric guitar. The wood is too heavy and its quality sound does not incorporate into a solid guitar body. As a cap on the electric guitar, especially the Les Paul Standard, the maple adds alertness to the body while protecting the geniality of the mahogany.

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Another popular type of wood for guitars is the cedar wood. Cedar is very similar to redwood, yet it is darker and more reddish in comparison to spruce, which adds an extra distinctive appearance. As an alternative to spruce, specifically designed for acoustic guitar tops, cedar gives you a slightly crispier increased range and it is effectively more powerful. More over, it is resoundingly mellow. One of the significant characteristics of cedar is that it is a deterrent for moths.

Maple has been noted as the guitar wood to be used for the sides and back of the acoustic guitars, but it is not their norm. The ebony hardwood is used mainly for fretboards. Used more often in pianos, it is strong, bright and durable. In conclusion, the walnut hardwood is a popular alternative for mahogany. Walnut is naturally pleasant and accommodates solid guitar bodies. It is used for acoustic back and sides, yet it is stable enough to use in guitar necks as well.

Rosewood and mahogany are two of the most popular types of wood used for the back and sides of a guitar. The Brazilian Rosewood, in particular, is the standard for acoustic guitars. The rosewood is rare therefore the guitars are extremely heavy, bright and/or cost prohibitive. Yet, the sound is immaculate. It rewards with a full base and good high-end twist. It has a resounding distinctive piano-type mid-range to the tone. The mahogany hardwood is lightweight and is actually highly favorable because it has less density. Mahogany backs allow for impressive treble clarity and intensity. The mahogany back is relatively lighter in base while also delivering mid-range frequencies. Unlike rosewood, mahogany is generally economical, durable, attractive, easy to manipulate and flamboyant in sound.

There are many types of wood that is used to build guitars. One of the most popular woods for guitars is the spruce. Because spruce is light and has a tight grain, it enables the wood to vibrate much like a speaker cone. The spruce is commonly used for acoustic guitar tops, as it is effective in regards to strength-to-weight ratio. Specifically, the persistent manoeuvring of the strings demands that the top of the guitar is to be extremely sturdy. On the other hand, to produce an instrument that exploits that optimal sound, you must have a light top. The spruce’s existing texture is brightened, enticing the quality of the wood.

With a wide variety of musical styles, the guitar has significant ancient roots and classifications. This unique musical instrument is recognized as one of the primary sounds in most musical arenas to include blues, country rock, some elements of pop, and flamenco. To highlight these distinctive musical icons, a musical instrument such as that in the guitar was specially crafted using certain guitar wood, for specific sounds and styles.

In addition to the effect that the wood has on its sound, it is necessary to support the tension of the 4 to 12 strings. The alternating types of wood that the musical instrument is built upon will highlight the individual personality of the music while simultaneously offering a stylish appearance. An important piece of information here is that you should not speculate or predict the sound of any guitar. Each has its own arousing identification and more so, if you expect the same sounds you may want to get the same model made by the same manufacturer.

The guitar is typically made up of six strings, yet there are guitars available that have four, seven, eight, ten and twelve strings. Coincidently, the key ingredient for the success of the guitar is the wood. Believe it or not, the specific type of wood that the guitar is built of provides the actual element that has a convincing effect on sound. The different tones present distinctive quality, character and/or a sympathetic connotation for pitch and clarity.

Different Types of Guitar Wood And Their Common Uses

Other hardwoods such as maple, ebony and walnut are all commonly used to construct guitars as well. They are similar to both rosewood and mahogany.

Acoustic Guitar Playing Tricks Of The Trade

August 30, 2008

While all of this is going on with the left hand your right hand will be busy picking or strumming the strings. Your right arm should be comfortable on top of the guitar. A good place to strum is right over top of the sound hole. This oversize hole in the top is where all of that beautiful music will come from.

If you spend a lot of time with acoustic guitar playing you will need to pay attention to your posture if you want to avoid back problems. There is a lot to learn when you are first starting out so we will talk about a few of the tricks of the trade when it comes to holding and playing your guitar the right way.

Proper technique will allow you to spend extended amounts of time picking. Do it right and your acoustic guitar playing will not only sound better it will also be easier to actually do. Take the time to learn to do things the right way and your body will thank you for it.

A lot of guitarists prefer to use a pick when playing. Hold the pick gently but firmly between your thumb and forefinger. Then you will want to drag the pick across the strings to begin playing.

The way the back of the guitar neck is curved allows your hand to be comfortable when playing. This will allow your thumb to move around to different positions so you can play at different places on the neck. You can place your thumb either on the back of the neck or along the side depending on what you are playing. In the beginning choose the position that feels best to you.

If you are a left handed musician there is no need to fret over all of this, as there are options for acoustic guitar playing for lefties. One thing you can do is restringing the guitar in reverse. Another thing that you can do is purchase a special guitar made for a left-handed person.

Acoustic Guitar Playing Tricks Of The Trade

Take your instrument and hold it so the back is touching your stomach. The neck should be to the left if you are right handed. Put the curved part of the bottom of the body on your right thigh. Next you will need to take a hold of the neck with your left hand and put your right arm down where the strings go over the hole. This is a good starting position but if something does not feel right feel free to adjust to suit your body.

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Jamorama Review – Pros and Cons of the Popular Jamorama Guitar Software

August 29, 2008

Jamorama Review Pros:

* Fun – With any type of learning, students need to have fun. As mentioned, many of the old methods for teaching guitar are boring, which means people lose interest. However, almost every Jamorama review showed that this software program has eliminated boredom and replaced it with fresh learning methods.

While it certainly is affordably priced, many of my students wonder if Jamorama really lives up to its hype. This is why I decided to compile a summary of each Jamorama review I read, showing both positives and negatives.

* Complete Package – In our Jamorama review of the pros, we have found that people love the complete package. In other words, Jamorama comes with over 100 video lessons and systematic instruction on TAB, sight-reading, chord identification, and much more.

Jamorama Review Cons:

As you can see, each Jamorama review we read was positive for the most part. Of course, there are always some negatives inherent to any product, and Jamorama is no exception.

* Advanced Learning – In a few reviews for Jamorama, buyers agreed that the material for beginners was entertaining, amusing, and useful. However, these individuals also felt the advanced portion of the program did not offer enough or a high enough caliber of features. It seems that Jamorama is best suited for beginners, not intermediate players.

Over the past several years, the market has been flooded with guitar software programs. While some of these programs are decent, many fall short with promises of teaching a person to play guitar. One of the most popular software programs is called Jamorama. According to the website, this particular program has guided many people to success of playing guitar.

* Animation – In this case, we saw a few comments specific to the lack of animation for the fret board. In fact, one particular Jamorama review stated the animation for feedback on performance, repetition looping, and music tracking lacked pizzazz. This might not be very important for most people, but it seemed to be a common complaint.

The majority of information we found on Jamorama found was positive. However, we did find a couple of downfalls to this program:

Jamorama Review – Pros and Cons of the Popular Jamorama Guitar Software

Ben Edwards, a talented and reputable guitar teacher and guitarist who toured the international circuit, has taken his years of experience and powerful ability to create a program that would help teach people of all ages how to play guitar. In doing in-depth research through one Jamorama review after another, we found that as much as 97% of guitarists found learning to play was not quite as easy as they thought. The primary challenge has to do with the old way of learning, which is time-consuming and often boring.

* Quick Learning – Every Jamorama review we read stated that learning to play guitar needs to not only be fun but also quick. Again, the main problem with older methods of teaching was that it took so long for a person to see results. Most reviews stated that learning with Jamorama definitely cut out some of the learning curve in teaching yourself guitar.

Most reviews for this guitar software program were pretty good. The following are some of the most common “pro” responses seen:

In this Jamorama review article, we wanted to share some thoughts, both good and bad, coming directly from individuals who have purchased and tried the program.

Jamorama Review – Pros and Cons of the Popular Jamorama Guitar Software

August 29, 2008

Jamorama Review Pros:

* Fun – With any type of learning, students need to have fun. As mentioned, many of the old methods for teaching guitar are boring, which means people lose interest. However, almost every Jamorama review showed that this software program has eliminated boredom and replaced it with fresh learning methods.

While it certainly is affordably priced, many of my students wonder if Jamorama really lives up to its hype. This is why I decided to compile a summary of each Jamorama review I read, showing both positives and negatives.

* Complete Package – In our Jamorama review of the pros, we have found that people love the complete package. In other words, Jamorama comes with over 100 video lessons and systematic instruction on TAB, sight-reading, chord identification, and much more.

Jamorama Review Cons:

As you can see, each Jamorama review we read was positive for the most part. Of course, there are always some negatives inherent to any product, and Jamorama is no exception.

* Advanced Learning – In a few reviews for Jamorama, buyers agreed that the material for beginners was entertaining, amusing, and useful. However, these individuals also felt the advanced portion of the program did not offer enough or a high enough caliber of features. It seems that Jamorama is best suited for beginners, not intermediate players.

Over the past several years, the market has been flooded with guitar software programs. While some of these programs are decent, many fall short with promises of teaching a person to play guitar. One of the most popular software programs is called Jamorama. According to the website, this particular program has guided many people to success of playing guitar.

* Animation – In this case, we saw a few comments specific to the lack of animation for the fret board. In fact, one particular Jamorama review stated the animation for feedback on performance, repetition looping, and music tracking lacked pizzazz. This might not be very important for most people, but it seemed to be a common complaint.

The majority of information we found on Jamorama found was positive. However, we did find a couple of downfalls to this program:

Jamorama Review – Pros and Cons of the Popular Jamorama Guitar Software

Ben Edwards, a talented and reputable guitar teacher and guitarist who toured the international circuit, has taken his years of experience and powerful ability to create a program that would help teach people of all ages how to play guitar. In doing in-depth research through one Jamorama review after another, we found that as much as 97% of guitarists found learning to play was not quite as easy as they thought. The primary challenge has to do with the old way of learning, which is time-consuming and often boring.

* Quick Learning – Every Jamorama review we read stated that learning to play guitar needs to not only be fun but also quick. Again, the main problem with older methods of teaching was that it took so long for a person to see results. Most reviews stated that learning with Jamorama definitely cut out some of the learning curve in teaching yourself guitar.

Most reviews for this guitar software program were pretty good. The following are some of the most common “pro” responses seen:

In this Jamorama review article, we wanted to share some thoughts, both good and bad, coming directly from individuals who have purchased and tried the program.

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Used Musical Instruments

August 28, 2008

People who want to develop their musical skills on a musical instrument may shop at musical instruments dealers for used musical instruments to find out if they have the skill to play that particular type of musical instrument. Once a person has developed a higher level of skill on a musical instrument, they may ďż˝trade-upďż˝ for a more expensive and higher quality musical instrument to continue honing their musical skills. If you are already one of our valued customers you know that MusiqueWeb sells fine new and used musical instruments and accessories to musicians world wide. MusiqueWeb is developing this web store for the convenience of our current and future customers. Can’t find the right music equipment or used musical instruments at a good price? Need some music instruction books or CDs?

You can count on Used Price to give you the accurate pricing of used musical instruments from our comprehensive database. Used Price is ideal when searching for any used guitar values whether an electric or acoustic guitar value ranging from a bass guitar value to a banjo value.

The most dramatic is the Odaiko (big drum). The physical energy and sheer excitement of an Odaiko performance is an integral part of many Japanese matsuri (festivals). He was the curator of the musical instrument collection of the conservatoire in Brussels , and for the 1888 catalogue of the collection divided instruments into four groups: string instruments , wind instruments , percussion instruments , and drums. The common drum is another such utilitarian communication device which eventually began to be used in a musical context.

This finish was specifically developed for guitar finishing and is now used by many high-end production and repair facilities. To complement the finish lacquer we offer McFadden’s matching sealer ( FLSW ) and lacquer retarder ( FLRFT ). By the time he was a teenager, he had mastered not only the piano, but also the flute, violin, and guitar. He had been in business in New Haven for about forty years when he began to fulfill his dream of collecting and restoring these old instruments. The guitar usually has six strings, but guitars with four, seven, eight, ten, and twelve strings also exist. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers.

One-piece slab-cut back of faint horizontal curl, faint curl on the ribs, the neck plain. Eye of scroll inlaid with elk or deer antler, saddle made of same material, minor repaired worm holes on neck and fingerboard, body in excellent condition. The earliest long-necked lute, from Sumeria, which gave rise to many later variants around the world. Many epic singers in many countries play some form of long-necked lute to accompany their tales and songs. Sympathetic strings run under the frets in the troughed neck to lateral pegs.

The horse hair of the bow doesn’t go between the two strings, instead, the instrument and the way of playing is more similar to cello than to erhu. The instrument was originally made from a horse head for the body, horse skin for the resonator, and horse hair for the strings and bow. For old string instruments, however, this has not always been the case. In the past, the IRS has taken the position that old string instruments are antiques that appreciate in value and therefore are not depreciable. We mentioned that the instruments fall into five categories: ghan (non-membranous percussion), sushir (wind blown), tat (plucked stringed), vitat (bowed stringed) and avanaddh (membranous percussion). Within these five classes there are a large number of individual instruments.

High School Musical

August 28, 2008

The kids were in awe when they arrived at the East High School movie set and even more so when they met Kenny Ortega the Emmy Award winning choreographer and musical director of all three High School Musical movies. He gave them advice to be themselves, to stand out from the crowd and to be the most dimensional performer that they could. The High School Musical Clock Radio above probably won’t outblast other iPod docks on the market, but has a totally original look, and only costs $60. It should be hitting Toys”R”Us stores in October, in case you want to go in and buy one—I mean you know, for your kid sister. If you would like to submit High School Musical 2 lyrics to us please do so at the tab at the top.

The people who are fans of High School Musical are kinda sick of people saying that some people in the High School Musical cast are b****es. They aren’t and if you really are a fan of High School Musical you wouldn’t say that. The game bring players an enriched dance experience featuring motion-captured-choreography from the original High School Musical movie dance routines. Players can mix together their favorite characters, songs and scenes in ways that express their individuality as they sing their way to stardom, High School Musical style. High School Musical is so incredibly over, making even the third one is a complete disaster and Disney should be ashamed. It’s a huge crock just to pull in any amount of cash possible, and Disney is completely selling itself out making these movies.

That became operational in early 2000, and became known after a young audience its role in the Disney Channel original movie High School Musical, WB series Summerland, and the film version of Broadway musical Hairspray. In his speech in Newsweek in June 2006, directed by Adam Shankman Efrona described as “possibly the biggest star teenager in America at this time.” In 2007, the eve of the release of High School Musical 2, Rolling Stone declared him “a poster boy for tweenyboppers”, and stressed that in their late August. Still, one is hard pressed to recall a variation that has met with more phenomenal, out-of-nowhere success than the Disney Channel’s surprising High School Musical . They make beautiful music together in a karaoke contest. But in the year and a half that I did go, it was sort of like High School Musical. You get it from all sides and you have to figure out what you want to do.

Disney’s High School Musical is a Disney Channel Original Movie that chronicles the journey of two high school students in a quest to perform in their school musical. One student is Troy, the captain of the high school basketball team, or “jock.”.The other student is Gabriella, a shy and smart new student, or “braniac.”.As these two audition for the lead roles in their high school musical, it shocks the other students so much that they conspire to try to ruin their chances. Troy and Gabriella decide to audition for the upcoming high school musical. Troy’s best friend Chad and Gabriella’s new friend Taylor discourage them from moving forward with their plans. While filming the High School Musical trilogies, Efron was notorious for throwing water balloons at cast members when they least expected it. So obviously the cast was pissed and wanted to get back at ZAC!

If you’ve made any High School Musical FanVids(fan videos), you’ll be excited to learn that we have opened a YouTube group for HSM fanvids. If you have made any fanvids, feel free to add your videos to the group . To view a full schedule of High School Musical performances, simply click on the link above. Once you find the tickets you want, click on those tickets to make your purchase. We have assembled a sampler of a dozen from the literally thousands of high school musicals available on the Web. The menu includes, as it must, a version of the ultimate high school musical, “High School Musical,” as well as numbers from such indestructible classics as “The Sound of Music” and “West Side Story.”.We have not reveled in flat notes, missed cues or woeful miscasting.

Not having kids, I have no idea what High School Musical is, but what about the prospect of something being both a) artistically or aesthetically awful and b) wildly popular? Some summer blockbuster movies come to mind. From the moment the modest little made-for-cable TV movie first aired, in January 2006, High School Musical has been a juggernaut. The soundtrack was last year’s top-selling CD; the DVD has sold more than 7 million copies; an arena concert tour with most of the original cast barnstormed across the country last fall. Troy and Gabriella decide to audition for the upcoming high school musical. Troy’s best friend Chad and Gabriella’s new friend Taylor discourage them from moving forward with their plans.

That’s more viewers than High School Musical , which had 7.8 million for its debut. However, 8.9 million pales in comparison to last summer’s 17.2 million (ZOMG!) viewers for High School Musical 2 . High School Musical, Disney’s Award winning movie and triple-platinum selling musical is now in tour. This pop-culture phenomenon will stage many of the original actors and singers of the movie, and will showcase all the hit-songs that made this show such a big hit. High School Musical fans is no way affiliated with the high school musical cast or any of his members,management,the disney channel productions or hollywood records nothing! This is a fansite created by the fans for the fans.No copyright infrigment intended!.Please contact me before taking something of this site.

What Is The History Of The Electric Guitar?

August 27, 2008

Eddie Durham is often credited with recording the very first use of the electric guitar. But 15 days earlier, George Barnes recorded Sweetheart Land and It’s Low-Down Dirty Shame using an electric guitar.

Les Paul designed one of the first electric guitars when he started to experiment with guitars and microphones. The first recorded use of an electric guitar was by Gage Brewer, who played it in Wichita, Kansas.

George Beauchamp from Los Angeles gave two of the electric guitars to Brewer. Brewer further advertised the instruments in an article in Wichita Beacon, 1932 and at a Halloween performance in October. But it would take a few more years yet to have the electric guitar recorded.

The company’s mass-produced electric guitars were created from cast aluminum, and these were actually played on a person’s lap using a steel slide. This is somewhat similar to the steel guitar at present. Due to its unusual material, these guitars were affectionately called “Frying Pans”.

What Is The History Of The Electric Guitar?

In 1946, Leo Fender created the first solid-body electric guitar which became a commercial success. It was an evolution from “Frying Pan” versions and was named the “Esquire”. It quickly gained favor with Country-Western artists.

The first electric guitar was made in the 1930s. At first, it was criticized. But it was before its time and the sound was too unique. As people began to realize that the electric guitar was more versatile and had a unique personality, it began to rise in popularity.

George Beauchamp, Paul Barth and Adolph Rickenbacker created a company called Electro String Instrument Corporation which began to produce the first electric guitars to the general public in 1931.

The electric guitar’s importance became known at the time when jazz orchestras multiplied in number. The electric guitar was originally designed by a collection of guitar manufacturers, electronics aficionados, and instrument producers.

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Reality Stars Singing

August 26, 2008

Why oh why do some people who have had their 15 minutes of reality fame feel the need to try to stretch it into an awkward singing career? The latest to attempt this feat is Heidi Montag of The Hills. If you’ve been fortunate enough to miss her first video I’ll fill you in: you know when you watch someone try to pick up at a bar and it’s so painful you’re embarrassed for them? Yeah, well, that’s the only way to explain this video that could very well have been a drunken day at the beach shot on a cell phone. The only good thing about her acting is it distracts you from the singing.

Reality Stars Singing

There are plenty of wonderful singer song writers who can’t get any airtime. Very talented artist. I can only imagine how frustrating it is for them. And it ticks me off. Maybe they should try out for The Hills and go from there.

But really, who could blame her? She probably took one look at the gems put out by Paris Hilton and though, hey I can skank around in a bathing suit, too! The sad thing is, some people will go out and buy an album put out by Heidi.

If she was talented, I wouldn’t give a hoot that she was on a reality TV show and used that as a jumping off point for her musical career. But the girl has no real talent. Yet her video and music are out there. The same can be said for Paris Hilton, even though her videos are a bit more professional. She also has minimal to no talent. It’s painful to listen to her and watch her in her videos, but because she’s a celebrity for well, being a celebrity, her music and video get airtime.

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Finger Strength

August 24, 2008

Scales

Chromatic exercises

This is a popular John Petrucci riff that can take you a long way. This exercise include making a staircase looking chord shape and playing the individual notes, then inverting the shape and playing it backwards. Start at the 9th fret, place a finger on E string 9th fret – A string 10th fret, D string 11th fret, and the G string 12th fret. Pluck each string from the E string to the G string. Then switch the chord shape so that your pinky is on the E string and your index is one the G string and play the individual string from the G string to the E string. After you do this move the whole shape down a fret and do the whole exercise again.

Finger Strength

Staircase Exercise

Another great way to gain finger strength is to practice the chromatic scale up and down. Start out slow at a reasonable pace and then slowly pick up speed as you get comfortable with the exercise. This will help you to gain accuracy and keep both your hands synched up with each other.

After playing for a while you may notice that your finger just wear out. If you practice a lot you may have already over come this stage of guitar playing but if your learning fast then you may be still experiencing finger and hand pains after playing a few minutes. An easy way to overcome these pains is to practice more in short burst or start using finger exercise on top of your practicing sessions. These exercises are strictly for physical exercise, musically they sound horrible and if you try to make this into songs…. just be careful.

The best way to learn theory and get in some good finger exercise time is to play scales up and down the neck over and over. Maybe start with the major scales and play them across the neck starting at the 12th fret and then working your way down to the first fret. The ultimate goal should be being able to play the scales starting on the 1st fret easily for about 5 minutes or more. The lower frets are spaced farther away so you may want to start up higher and work your way down. Don’t forget you can be learning your scales at the same time while your doing this.