Welcome to the third and final part of our series on what makes young music students successful. 

In part 1 & part 2, we discussed 10 habits and behaviours of successful young musicians, and the importance of investing in quality instruments, maintaining a long-term commitment to your kids’ guitar lessons, and understanding the ups and downs of motivation.

Now, we turn our focus to the role that parents play in the success of their child’s music education. 

While every child is unique, there are certain traits that parents of successful young musicians tend to have in common. 

In this article, we will explore five of these traits, with insights and advice from professional guitar teacher and children’s guitar lesson specialist, Michael Gumley.

Whether you are a seasoned music parent or just starting out on your child’s musical journey, these tips can help you support your child’s growth as a musician and create a positive, enriching learning environment. 

So let’s dive in and discover what sets successful music parents apart!

Good Parents Invest Into Quality Instruments For Their Kids Guitar Lessons

The biggest mistake that parents make when their child starts guitar lessons is buying the cheapest instrument possible.

Yes, sometimes budget can be an issue but most parents go with the cheap option so that it’s not a total loss if the child pulls out of lessons after a few weeks or a few months.

While it might seem like a safe option given the transient nature of kids and how many activities they try before settling, this indicates that the parent isn’t optimistic about the long-term potential of their child and is already thinking about them quitting.

They have basically lost the battle in their own mind and aren’t even going to try and keep their kids in lessons long-term.

A Good Quality Guitar Makes Learning Easier

On the other hand, buying a high-quality instrument shows that the parent is committed to this endeavour and wants to do everything they can to ensure it’s a successful venture long term.

After all, having a high-quality instrument and equipment can make a big difference in a young musician’s progress and success. 

Not only are they easier to play, but they also sound better and are more likely to capture your child’s interest during the crucial early days.

Parents can support their child’s music education by investing in a good-quality instrument that is suitable for their child’s skill level and musical goals. 

This may include purchasing or renting a well-made instrument, as well as investing in equipment such as tuners, metronomes, and music stands. 

So when it comes time to buy a guitar, set your budget and buy the best guitar that you can with the money you have.

They See Their Kids Guitar Lessons As A Long-Term Investment

Learning to play an instrument and becoming a successful musician takes time, practice, and dedication. 

Parents can help their child succeed in music by recognizing that music education is a long-term investment and committing to supporting their child’s musical journey over the long haul. 

This means being patient and understanding that progress may be slow at times, but also recognizing that the benefits of music education can be lifelong. 

Parents should avoid pulling their children out of guitar lessons prematurely, as this can disrupt their progress and hinder their ability to achieve success in music. 

I’ll often have parents say to me “we’re pulling them out of lessons because they aren’t doing the practice at home to justify the cost”

To that I say “do they practice their swimming lessons at home? What about their football practice, dance lessons or coding?”

(we won’t even mention getting them to do their school homework)

Realise That It’s Going To Take Years To Become Good At Guitar

We often leave our kids in some activities for decades with no practice at home because it’s not expected or there is no means of doing it…

But when it comes to music lessons how much they practice (or their resistance to it) is used as the yardstick.

If you want your child to be successful they need to stick with it long enough to become successful!

This is likely going to be four or five years for most beginners to get truly comfortable with the guitar.

Many of my best students barely touched the guitar for the first 3 years when it was hard. Once their skills went over a certain threshold and guitar became easy, then they couldn’t put it down.

If there is one thing all the parents of my best child guitar students have in common, it’s that they committed to the long term and didn’t withdraw their kids from lessons just because their kids went through a phase of low motivation.

Successful Parents Recognise Periods Of Low Motivation And Push Through Them

Learning to play an instrument can be a challenging and often frustrating experience, especially for kids who are still developing their fine motor skills.

Young musicians may experience periods of low motivation or even a lack of interest in music altogether.

It’s important for parents to recognize that these phases are normal and that they will often pass over time.

So don’t pull them out of their guitar lessons too early, take a different approach.

Make Practising Guitar Fun

Instead of pressuring their child to continue practising or performing during these periods, parents can come at it from another angle and encourage their kids to practice indirectly.

This may include asking them to do a performance for family and friends, recording a video to send to grandma, inviting a friend over for a jam or setting them up with some youtube videos on guitar playing and its history.

Over time, young musicians will often regain their motivation and enthusiasm for music, and parents can help by being patient and supportive during these ups and downs in their child’s musical journey.

They Are Proactive In Helping Their Kids Set Up A Practice Routine

The life of a modern parent is very difficult. You’re overworked, underpaid, and what little spare time you have goes to getting your kids off to all their activities.

You don’t have time to teach them guitar, nor do you know how. That’s why you enrolled them in guitar lessons for kids with a real teacher.

I’m going to share with you a little secret.

While it’s important what goes on in the guitar lessons, it’s what happens in the 6 days between lessons at home that really counts.

If you have a 30-minute guitar lesson once a week, that 30 minutes is .5 hours out of a 168-hour week. This equates to .29% of their total week, or .59% should they learn guitar for an hour.

How can you expect your child to be good at something if they spent less than 1% of their time each week on it?

So what’s the solution? Two options.

You get them to stay in lessons long enough so that the small amount of time builds up to something substantial over years of taking lessons.

Or we increase the amount of time they put into guitar at home with regular practice.

Making Practice Part Of Their Schedule Is The Key

What every single one of our best parents did was help their kids establish a regular practice routine at home.

This could be as little as 5 minutes per day, or a 10-minute session every second day.

The key is to make it part of their schedule and keep the times consistent.

Try to get them to practice for 30 days consistently using a practice log in order to create a habit.

Once they have established a habit of practice and it’s part of their routine, you can extend the time.

Yes, there will be days missed and periods of low motivation, but if it’s part of their schedule then they will know it’s guitar time and won’t see it as infringing on their technology time or other leisure activities.

A Quick Gardening Analogy Which I Promise Relates To Guitar Lessons For Kids

If you’ve ever planted a seed you know that you need to really nurture and invest time into them during the first couple of weeks.

You need to water them every day and if you miss a day there is a good chance the seed will stunt its growth or die altogether.

Once your seed sprouts and grows to a certain size it can go a bit longer between watering and eventually will survive just off of rainwater without any input from you.

If we have children under the age of 12 and we’re expecting them to practice by themselves and know exactly what to do, it’s like planting a seed and expecting the seed will be able to water itself.

It’s just not going to happen.

We’ll have to nurture them every day until they can become more independent in what they are doing.

They Recognise Music As A Life-Long Journey That Provides Many Additional Benefits

Every day people come to me saying “I used to play guitar as a kid and I really regret giving it up”

I’m yet to have a single person tell me they regret learning how to play guitar.

Learning to play an instrument is a skill that can bring joy and satisfaction throughout a person’s life. 

Unlike many other hobbies or sports, which tend to become less appealing or too physically demanding as people get older, music has the potential to be a lifelong pursuit that can bring fulfilment and enrichment to a person’s life for years to come. 

(Plus the older you get the better you become)

It’s also worth pointing out that research shows many benefits to learning a musical instrument including:

• Improved Academic Performance
• Increased memory capacity
• Increased cognitive skills
• Increased development of fine motor skills
• Increased confidence
• Increased communication skills in group settings
• A great reliever of stress
• An avenue for creativity
• An avenue for identity & self expression (especially important in teenage years)

So in addition to musical talent, your guitar lessons for kids have so many additional benefits!

Study Proves Link Between Learning Guitar And Higher Academy Achievement

A recent study of 112,000 high school students in the USA found that most of the high-performing students who excelled in Maths, English and Science all took music lessons and played in ensembles.

These benefits alone is reason to keep your students in guitar lessons for the duration of their high school years.

So while we might feel like our investment into the music lessons themselves is unjustified by a lack of practice at younger ages (when kids don’t want to do anything other than play their video games). We instead need to look ahead to their teen years and see all the additional benefits our child will receive from learning.

In Conclusion

While we often want as little to do with our kid’s activities as possible so that we can enjoy the little spare time that we do have, every single parent of a successful child learner has been actively involved in the learning process for their kids.

Your child’s guitar lessons make up less than 1% of their week so in order to see significant results you need them to stick with lessons long enough to accumulate time or set up an environment at home that is conducive to consistent practice. (or both).

We will need to help our children develop the habits and routines needed for long-term success, and will also need to develop some habits, behaviours and ideas ourselves in order to ensure the long-term success of our music lessons.

If you put in a little bit more effort on your end, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes both short-term and long-term.

About The Author

Michael Gumley is a professional guitar teacher and children’s guitar lesson specialist with over 15 years of teaching experience. 

He has taught children of all ages, and many of his students have gone on to become successful musicians in their own right.

Michael is passionate about music education and believes that anyone can learn to play guitar given the right guidance and a long enough period of time to become good at it. 

If you’re looking for guitar lessons near me for your children, or aren’t happy with the progress your child is making with their current teacher, consider taking guitar lessons with Michael and his team at Melbourne Guitar Academy.

The post Raising a Rock Star: 5 Traits All Parents of Successful Guitar Students Have in Common appeared first on Melbourne Guitar Academy.

Welcome back to the second part of our series on the habits and behaviours of successful young musicians enrolled in childrens guitar lessons. 

In the first part of this series, we explored the importance of practice, goal setting, parental support, and playing the guitar for fun. 

We also discussed the need for long-term commitment to music education and the value of developing a lifelong love of music.

In this second part of the series, we’ll focus on 5 more traits of successful young musicians.

We’ll discuss the importance of discipline, curiosity, playing with other people, time management and most importantly, self-reflection.

So if you’ve got a child enrolled in a kids guitar lesson program, you won’t want to miss the important insights gained from reading this article as we dive deeper into the traits necessary to excel as a young guitarist.

Develop Perseverance To Help Long-Term Success

Learning how to play guitar or any other instrument is a long-term game.

Over the many months and years it takes to learn motivation will wax and wane.

There will be periods of high motivation and lots of practice, as well as periods of low motivation and no practice.

One thing I’ve noticed is that all the successful guitar players persevered through the low motivation periods. In fact, it’s like they never lose motivation.

Whether they wanted to or not they practised, because they saw it as a means to getting to their long-term goals.

Perseverance is a trait that comes naturally to some, while others need to work on it.

As a parent of a child enrolled in childrens music lessons, you need to help them work on being resilient and persevering, especially when times get tough.

Pulling them from lessons prematurely isn’t the solution. Doubling down and persevering through periods of low motivation is essential.

That way when the pendulum swings the other way and they find their motivation again, they’ll have continued to build up skills and knowledge which they can launch from instead of starting again from zero.

A good friend of mine Eric Bourassa has written a wonderful article on how to properly set expectations for your child’s progress in music lessons which I highly recommend you read.

Curiosity Is The Key To Successful Learning In Kids Guitar Lessons

Successful young musicians often have a strong sense of curiosity and a desire to learn. 

It’s this desire to learn and thirst for knowledge or better skills that drive practice and fuel learning at home.

Where some kids spend all their spare time playing, those who take some extra time to research guitar by reading articles, looking up guitar videos, or finding out more about the hobby in general always end up going further.

Parents can support this by helping their child further explore the hobby. Take them to guitar shops, show them interviews with famous guitar players, let them buy a CD every once in a while or help them start a guitar pedal collection.

All of these things get the child further involved in the hobby which is likely to lead to further curiosity and long-term retention in their childrens guitar lessons and beyond to their teen years.

Great Time Management Is An Essential Skill Needed For Success In Guitar Lessons

Two guitar players can spend 10 minutes playing their guitar at home.

Both could be working on exactly the same piece.

The first guitarist spends 2 minutes learning and 8 minutes practising.

The second guitarist spends 8 minutes learning and 2 minutes practising.

Who makes more progress at the end of the 10-minute session?

Answer: The first guitarist. They actually make 4x the progress of the other person.

Kids who excel at learning don’t necessarily practice more than those who don’t, they practice more efficiently and better manage their time. 

This often has the side effect of freeing up more time to be reinvested back into practice which helps them improve even more.

Once they get some momentum going, learning becomes fun and easy and they are increasingly more motivated to pick up and play.

If you can help your child build up that initial momentum by helping them manage their practice time in the early phase, it will create a habit that fuels successful guitar practice for life.

Jamming With Other People – The Secret Sauce For Accelerated Learning In Your Child’s Guitar Lessons

Why are sports so fun for children? Because they get to hang out with their friends and play games together.

Playing the game is the payoff for all the effort they put in during the training sessions. 

It is also a test for all of the skills they have been working on and offers a competitive environment and gratification for winning.

Guitar students will often spend several years learning one on one with a teacher in private lessons and practising at home in their bedroom without ever playing or jamming with another person.

This severely impacts skills like timing, musical communication and makes them feel like total beginners when they eventually do play with other people and can’t keep up.

Furthermore, they are missing out on how much fun playing and performing with other people can be.

Enrolling your child in group guitar lessons for kids will give them the ability to learn and play with other people and work on these important skills.

It will also teach them the value of organization, communication, and help them overcome the nerves felt when playing with or in front of other people.

You can also organize jam sessions with other friends who play guitar or any other instrument so that they can work on songs together and put on performances for friends and family.

The more your child plays with other people, the more they will apply the skills and knowledge they have learned and the faster they will progress.

Before long, they’ll love coming to their childrens guitar lessons so that they can jam and play with others!

Recording Themselves And Reflecting Upon What They Hear Is The Secret Weapon For Rapid Progress In Guitar Lessons

I am amazed at how many people spend years learning guitar but never actually listen back to themselves to hear how they are progressing.

The student just plays and plays and plays without ever becoming aware of what needs improvement, what bad habits need fixing and where their weaknesses lie.

Fortunately, we can do simple things like recording a video of them practising or performing and playing it back to them.

As they listen you can point out areas for improvement that you notice and with new awareness, they can base their practice on fixing these problems.

It’s also great to be able to show your kids a video of where they were 6 months ago and how much they’ve improved in times when they aren’t feeling motivated. 

That way they can see they have gotten better and that all their effort is making a difference.

By recording your kids during their guitar practice or encouraging them to make video playthroughs of songs and helping them review it they will be able to see what needs work and reflect upon their progress over time.

You can also ask your guitar teacher to make recordings of your childrens guitar lessons so that they can watch back and know exactly what to work on during the week.

Successful In Your Kid’s Guitar Lessons Comes Down To Good Habits

Every kid I’ve taught that did very well in their guitar lessons had 3 or more of these habits.

Yes, some kids are naturally more resilient than others, and having a naturally curious attitude to learning might be an individual personality trait, but all of the traits can become habits over time with the right encouragement at home.

The key to success in your childrens guitar lessons can be directly affected by your involvement in the learning that takes place outside of the lesson.

You’re going to invest thousands of dollars in their musical education, but you also need to invest time into setting them up for success at home.

Doing so will be the most important investment you ever make into their guitar lessons.

Parents Set Their Kids Up For Success

While we’ve reached the end of this article, in part 3 we will be exploring 5 traits shared by parents of successful music students.

Up until now, everything has been about our kids and the traits and habits they need to be successful in their guitar lessons.

If you haven’t guessed it by now, the more involved you can be in your child’s learning outside of their lessons, and the more proactive you can be in creating good habits for them, the more it will ensure long-term success in learning guitar.

See you in Part 3 where we’ll be looking at the traits shared by parents of successful young guitar learners.

About The Author – Kids Guitar Lesson Specialist – Michael Gumley

Michael Gumley is a professional guitar teacher and childrens guitar lessons specialist with over 15 years of experience. He is a published author of 12 books on guitar, three of which are specifically designed for kids, and has developed the curriculum for Guitar Ninjas, an innovative approach to teaching guitar to children.

Michael is known for his fun and friendly teaching style, which combines humour, creativity, and a deep love of music. He has successfully taught hundreds of kids to play guitar, inspiring a love of music that lasts a lifetime.

With his patient and enthusiastic approach, Michael is passionate about helping children develop the skills and confidence they need to become successful young musicians. He believes that music education is not just about learning to play an instrument, but about fostering creativity, discipline, and a sense of accomplishment that carries over into all aspects of life.

When he’s not teaching, Michael can often be found playing guitar with his band, exploring new music, or enjoying the great outdoors. He is dedicated to helping children discover the joy of music and looks forward to sharing his passion for guitar with young learners around the world.

If you’re a Melbourne-based parent looking for guitar lessons near me for your child, look no further than taking lessons with Michael at Melbourne Guitar Academy.

The post Mastering Music: What It Takes To Be A Successful Young Guitarist Enrolled In Childrens Guitar Lessons appeared first on Melbourne Guitar Academy.

One of the biggest challenges that guitarists face is learning scales and making music out of them.

Many beginners find it hard to master the use of scales and play them fluidly, but with the right approach, it’s possible. In this article, I will take you through some of the most common problems faced when learning scales on guitar, and my favourite memorisation method which I’ve helped thousands of guitarists use to better learn scales.

Common Problems Faced When Learning Scales On Guitar

There are several common problems that guitarists face when learning scales, including:

• Struggling to remember the notes in the scale
• Inconsistent finger placement
• Slow playing speed
• Difficulty in transitioning between different positions
• Lack of fluidity when playing the scale
• Having to relearn scale patterns over and over again

These problems all stem from the core problem of not knowing the scale well enough and not learning in a way that is conducive to long-term retention in memory.

Wouldn’t learning how to play the guitar be so much better if you could just learn your scales once and remember them forever? Let’s learn how.

Chunking – The Best Way To Learn Scales On Guitar

The best way to learn scales on guitar is to use a technique called “chunking”.

Chunking is the process of breaking down a complex task into smaller, more manageable pieces. This makes it easier to learn and remember, and also helps you build up to playing the scales more fluidly.

Here’s how you can apply chunking to learning scales on guitar:

• Start by practising just a few notes of the scale at a time
• Once you’ve mastered those few notes, add a few more
• Keep adding notes until you can play the entire scale
• Practice playing the scale in different positions on the fretboard

By breaking down the scale into smaller pieces, you’ll find it easier to learn, remember, and play.

How To Play A Minor Pentatonic Scale On Guitar

A minor pentatonic scale is a great place to start when learning scales on guitar. Here’s how you can play it:

• Start by placing your first finger on the 5th fret of the low E string and your pinky finger on the 8th fret of the same string. – Play these two notes 3x.
• Play the 5th fret and 7th fret on string 5 – play these two notes 3x then connect them to the original two notes 3x.
• Add in the 5th and 7th fret on string 4. Repeat the process of playing the new string 3x and adding in the previous strings.
• Add in frets 5 and 7 on the third string.
• Play frets 5 & 8 on string 2
• Play frets 5 & 8 on string 1
• After playing each string individually three times, put the entire scale together!

By learning the scale on guitar this way you’ll only have to learn the scale once, but will remember it forever. More importantly, every future practice session can be spent improving the scale instead of relearning it!

Applying This Method To Learning Other Scales On Guitar

Once you’ve mastered the minor pentatonic scale, you can apply the same learning process to other scales. Simply break down the scale into smaller pieces, practice each piece until you’ve mastered it, and then move on to the next. (Going string by string works best!)

Below is a list of scales you should learn to play on guitar:

• All 5 Minor Pentatonic Scale Shapes
• The Major Scale (and all 7 of its modes)
• The Minor Scale
• The Dorian Scale
• The Mixolydian Scale
• The Lydian Scale
• The Melodic Minor Scale
• The Harmonic Minor Scale
• The Double Harmonic Scale

Troubleshooting & Additional Levels

If you’re having trouble learning scales on guitar, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Here are a few tips to help you troubleshoot:

• Break the scale up into individual strings and practice each one in isolation before putting it all together.
• Go as slow as you need in order to play the notes without making a mistake. If you’re making mistakes then slow down!
• Reach out to a guitar teacher for help.
• watch my video on how to learn scales so you can see my method in action.

If you’re looking for additional levels, try exploring different scales and modes. Each scale has its own unique sound, and by mastering them, you’ll develop a broader understanding of music theory.

Conclusion

In conclusion, learning scales on guitar can be a challenging task, but with the right approach and some perseverance, you’ll be playing them fluidly in no time.

By using chunking, playing slowly at first, and practising effectively, you’ll quickly learn how to play scales and make running up and down the guitar fretboard effortless.

If you liked this lesson on Scales you can apply a similar approach to learning chords with our article “how to quickly and easily memorise guitar chords”

About The Author

Meet Michael Gumley, an experienced guitar teacher with over 15 years of experience.

Michael has had the privilege of teaching over 1000 students to play guitar and has a passion for combining learning psychology and memory hacks with modern teaching methods. With his extensive knowledge and experience, Michael has honed his craft and developed a teaching method that truly works. He is committed to helping his students reach their full musical potential and has a reputation as a trustworthy and expert guitar teacher.

Whether you are a beginner guitarist or an experienced musician, Michael has the skills and expertise to help you reach your goals and become the guitarist you’ve always wanted to be.

If you’re looking for guitar lessons In Melbourne get in touch to book a FREE trial session with Michael.

The post The Best Way To Learn Scales On Guitar In 2023 – Expert Teacher Shares His Guitar Learning Hacks appeared first on Melbourne Guitar Academy.

If you want to learn how to play the blues on guitar then you’re up for several months if not several years of practice before you can play along note for note to your favourite blues guitar records.

Don’t let this dishearten you though because there is a little-known blues guitar secret that you can use to play along to your favourite blues songs easily.

This guitar hack is so easy that you’ll be able to play a blues song even if it’s your first day of playing the guitar.

The best part is, you only need one finger!

Grab your guitar and get ready for the easiest blues guitar lesson that you’ll ever take.

The Best Beginner Blues Guitar Lesson You’ll Ever Learn

In a previous article, I taught you how you can play along with any blues song using just one finger.

The special shape I taught you allowed you to bar your finger across three strings and play a minor chord. All you had to do was move the minor chord to frets 5, 10 and 12 following the sequence of the 12 bar blues progression.

This resulted in you being able to play along to a Minor 12 Bar Blues on guitar, with just one finger.

If you haven’t read that article then I recommend you take the time to read about my one-finger minor blues guitar lesson before going any further because the ideas presented in this lesson build upon those concepts.

At the bare minimum, you’ll need to know how to follow the 12 Bar Blues progression outlined in the image below.

How To Play The Blues On Guitar

In order to play a 12 Bar Blues on guitar using just one finger we need to learn a new chord shape.

The secret guitar chord shape we will learn today is the 2nd Inversion Major Triad using string 2-4.

While that sounds very complex, it’s actually very easy. All we need to do is bar our index finger across strings 2, 3 & 4 at the given fret.

Look at the shape below:

If you play this shape at fret 2 then you can see that it is part of the A Major chord.

If you move this shape anywhere on the guitar fretboard, it takes on the name of whichever note falls under your first finger relevant to the third string.

This means that :

• if you play the shape at fret 7 where the D note is, you get a D Major Chord.
• if you play the shape at fret 9 where the E note is, you get an E Major Chord
• if you play the note at fret 12 where the G note is, you get a G Major Chord.

You can play any major chord (including sharps and flats) by simply moving this shape horizontally across the fretboard. It’s much easier than learning different shapes for each chord, and much less physically demanding than bar chords.

Easy Blues Guitar Lesson For Beginners

Now that you know how to play a special Major chord you can move anywhere on the guitar, it’s time to put it into action and use it to play a blues.

If we chose the key of A, the chords we need to play are A, D & E.

In order to play A we move our chord shape to fret 2, then move to fret 7 for D and fret 9 for E.

Then you simply change chords as dictated by the 12 Bar Blues Progressions:

A – D – A – A

D – D – A – A

E – D – A – E

The Best Online Blues Guitar Lessons

The best way to learn how to play blues guitar is by taking blues guitar lessons from a professional guitar teacher.

One of the best ways to find a good teacher is to search for Guitar Lessons Near Me on your favourite search engine and then make inquiries with the top 3 guitar instructors who come up.

If there are no good options in your area, then consider taking online blues guitar lessons with me. There are a wealth of free resources on my youtube channel including an accompanying video lesson for this article.

Playing The Guitar Should Be Fun And Easy

Learning how to play the guitar (especially blues music) should be fun and easy.

If you’re having trouble with learning how to play the blues or any other difficulties with your guitar playing, then I recommend you reach out for help.

In this day and age of the internet and technology, there are so many resources out there that you will never run out of things to learn, but you can get stuck in the trap of perpetual learning without ever stopping to master anything.

In addition to this, youtube videos can’t give you feedback on your playing, which is crucial for beginners in order to develop great technique and good habits.

If you live in Melbourne and are looking for a guitar teacher then I highly recommend swinging by one of our two studio locations where you can get a free trial lesson where we evaluate your guitar playing and give you an instant fix on the most obvious problem that needs addressing.

Practising Your New Blues Guitar Chords

Now that you know not one but two secret movable chord shapes you can play both a major blues and a minor blues on your guitar.

It’s important to get really comfortable in the key of A first. Once you can do this I recommend you try learning the Key of E.

80% of the songs you play on guitar will be in the key of A and E (or Am and Em) so it really pays to get good at these keys.

Other popular keys for Guitarists to play in are C, D, F, for rock players and Bb, Eb and Ab for jazz players.

Continue to practice your guitar in these keys using our one-finger shapes. As this becomes easy and your skills improve you can start using more difficult chords until you’re playing along to what you hear on the original recordings.

Summarising Our One-Finger Blues Guitar Lesson

So that brings us to the end of our One Finger Major Blues Guitar Lesson

After completing this lesson you should be able to:

• Have learned and memorised the movable one-finger major chord
• Be able to play an A Major, D Major and E Major using the new chord shape
• Be able to play along to a Major Blues in the Key of A using the new movable guitar chords
• Know how to use the chords to play a blues in other keys.

The most important thing you can do from here is practise!

Take what you have learned and use it in your playing right away!

Once you get the hang of the basics, move to a new key.

And of course, if you get stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out to me for help!

Happy Practising!

About The Author – Michael Gumley

Michael Gumley is the owner and head teacher of Melbourne Guitar Academy, Australia’s #1 provider of Blues Guitar Lessons In Melbourne.

He has written over 12 books on learning guitar, created the Guitar Dojo Online which hosts over 50 courses on every guitar topic you could imagine, and trains other guitar teachers how to become better teachers and business owners in his Six Figure Guitar Teacher Program.

If you’re looking to improve your guitar playing, look no further than lessons with Michael and his team of teachers at Melbourne Guitar Academy.

The post Easy Blues Guitar Lesson – One Finger Major Blues appeared first on Melbourne Guitar Academy.

Learning How To Tune Your Guitar

One of the most important steps for any beginner guitar player is to first learn how to tune your guitar. 

While this might be a daunting task at first, once you understand the basics of how tuning works and have successfully tuned your guitar a few times it will become second nature.

In this lesson, we will teach you everything you need to know in order to be able to tune your guitar. We’ve also included a video lessons to show you how to tune your guitar.

Guitar Tuning Basics

The first thing you need to do is to learn the names of the strings. A guitar has 6 strings and each one of them is tuned to a particular note.

 

• The first string (thinnest string) is tuned to the note E
• The second string is tuned to the note B
• The third string is tuned to the note G
• The fourth string is tuned to the note D
• The fifth string is tuned to the note A
• The sixth string (thickest string) is tuned to the note E

This means that you need to tune your first string to match an E note. This way, if you played an E note and a Piano played an E note you would hear that the pitches match, and would be “in tune” with each other.

 

A great way to remember the names of the strings in order from thinnest to thickest is by using the sentence “Easter Bunnies Get Drunk At Easter” where the first letter of each word matches the name of the strings. 

You can use the sentence “Eddy Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie” to remember the order of the strings in the order of thickest to thickest.

The Musical Alphabet

The musical alphabet contains the notes: A, B, C, D, E, F & G. 

 

It is also important to know that there are notes between most of these notes. 

• Between A and B there is a note which can be called A# or Bb
• Between C and D there is a note which can be called C# or Db
• Between D & E there is a note which can be called D# or Eb
• Between F & G there is a note which can be called F# or Gb
• Between G & A there is a note which can be called G# or Ab
• There are no notes between the B & C note or the E & F note.

 

This is crucial to know, because A and A# are different notes and many beginners make the mistake of note noticing a # or b symbol next to the note letter on their tuner and end up tuning their guitar to the wrong note. 

So for example, if you need to tune your first string to an E note but the tuner tells you it is a D note, you need to tighten the string until either a D# or Eb note appears (they are the same note,) and then keep tightening until the D#/Eb note turns into an E note.

 

Learning how to tune your guitar goes hand in hand with learning your guitar fretboard. If you need additional help making sense of all these notes check out our guide to learning the guitar fretboard.

How To Tune Your Guitar Using With A Guitar Tuner

By far the easiest way to tune a guitar is by using a guitar tuner. 

You can either get a physical tuner from your local music store when first buying a guitar or you can download a guitar tuner app on your smartphone or tablet. There are a plenty of tuners on the market and any of the top 10 will be good enough to use.

 

Tuners usually work by telling you what note the string is currently tuned to and indicating whether it needs to be tightened or loosened using an arrow or meter of some kind. You will need to adjust the string using the tuning peg

 

Now that you have a tuner, you need to know how to use it. Here is a step by step process for how to tune your guitar:

 

1. Turn your tuner on.
2. Pluck the first string.
3. Look at the note on the tuner and determine whether it is sharp, flat or in tune.
   1. If the note is sharp as indicated by the # symbol, you need to loosen the string.
   2. If the note is flat, as indicated by the b symbol, you need to tighten the string.
   3. If the you are in tune, leave the string as it is.
4. Make an adjustment.
5. Pluck the string again and make an adjustment while the string is still ringing out
6. Repeat this process until the string is in tune.
7. Repeat steps 2-6 with each of the 6 strings until your guitar is in tune.

Other Tips For Tuning Your Guitar

Here are some additional tips to consider when tuning your guitar:

• Tune your guitar at the start of every practice session and every three songs if you are performing or playing with others.
• You should pick the string and turn the tuner while the string is ringing out. This will help your ear get used to hearing the notes change and will also allow the tuner to hear the change.
• Be mindful of the # and b symbols when tuning. If your guitar is lighting up green on the note Eb or is listing a note as D# you are 
• Pick the string with the same force that you would normally pick when playing normally.
• Make sure your tuner is set to 440hz otherwise your guitar will sound out of tune with most standard music recordings.
• If your tuner has multiple instrument settings, make sure you have it set to G for Guitar or C for Chromatic (or B for Bass if you are tuning a bass guitar). Many a performance has been ruined by people who accidentally have their tuner set to violin mode.
• Buying a quality guitar tuner is a great investment, you can get one from your local music shop.

How To Tune Your Guitar For Alternate Tunings

When a guitar is tuned to the notes E, B, G, D, A, & E it is said to be in Standard Tuning. 

The vast majority of contemporary music is played on guitars tuned to standard tuning and most tuners with a guitar mode will try and help you to tune to this. It is also possible to tune the strings to different notes, this is called using Alternate Tunings.

 

Some popular alternate tunings are:

 

• Drop D Tuning (E, B, G, D, A, D) – Where string 6 is tuned to a D note instead of an E.
• Half Step Down Tuning (Eb, Bb Gb, Db, Ab, Eb) – Where all the strings are lowered by 1 half step.
• Open D Tuning (D, A, G, D, A, D) – The guitar has been tuned to an open D chord and you can get some great sounds.

 

It is worth noting that using certain alternate tunings can effect the shapes & patterns you use for chords & scales, so be mindful of this and how it works before you experiment with open tunings.

Hooray! You Now Know How To Tune Your Guitar

Learning how to tune your guitar is a very important skill and one that you will learn how to do relatively quickly as a beginner guitarist. 

It won’t take you long to master this skill and having your own guitar tuner and knowing how it works will make the tuning process much easier. Get used to tuning your guitar to standard tuning first and then explore alternate tunings when they come up in a study piece. 

 

If you are learning how to play guitar and need help getting started don’t hesitate to reach out to us for help.

The post How To Tune A Guitar appeared first on Melbourne Guitar Academy.

Welcome to the Melbourne Guitar Academy Blog, a place where guitar players from all around the world can learn and get free tips and lessons from our expert guitar teachers. We created this blog to share our knowledge and experience with the global guitar community and help players of all skill levels improve their playing.

While we operate our guitar schools in the suburbs of Essendon, and Glen Waverley in Victoria, Australia and have helped hundreds of guitar players in our city of Melbourne, we hope to use this online platform to reach guitar players all around the world.

So if you’re looking for online guitar lessons you’ll be stoked to find the wealth of resources we have for you.

When I launched the blog section on our website back in 2018 I had the grand ambition of doing one article per week…

I might have kept that up for about 2 months then dropped the ball. There have been periods of great activity on here and periods when articles are few and far between.

Fortunately, things picked up in 2022 and we’re keeping up with posting at least one guitar lesson or instructional article each week,

We’re also tying our blog in with our youtube guitar lessons channel so that the lessons have an accompanying video module.

Learn How To Practice Guitar, Not Just What To Practice On Guitar

Our blog will cover a wide range of topics, including technique, theory, practice tips, gear reviews, and more.

We’ll also provide video lessons and tutorials to help you master specific skills and techniques. Our goal is to provide valuable information and insights that will help you become a better player and achieve your musical goals.

Where most guitar teachers and instructional books fail is that they tell you what to practice rather than how to practice. This leaves you knowing what you need to work on but not how to make it better and is one of the #1 causes of frustration for guitar players.

We aim to break things down to the smallest, “next step” for you to take in order to improve. We’ll also give deeper into guitar philosophy and how to think about practice and improvement, along with the occasional motivational pep talk.

This is the kind of stuff our students pay big money to learn and use to make really great progress. While we’d love to keep all of these secrets to ourselves our mission is to improve the quality of guitar education for students globally so getting some of these ideas out to the rest of the world is important to us.

Learning Guitar Online With Melbourne Guitar Academy

We’ll be posting a tonne of free content here so that you can learn guitar online with us at your own pace with the plethora of resources available to you.

If you need more help with your playing, we encourage you to reach out to us for guitar lessons.

If you live in the Melbourne area and are looking for guitar lessons near me consider booking a free trial lesson with us. We’d be happy to expand upon any of the topics you learn on our guitar blog!

We offer in-person and online lessons for players of all skill levels, and our experienced teachers can help you develop a personalized practice plan to achieve your musical goals. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re an advanced player looking to take your playing to the next level, we’re here to help you reach your full potential.

The post Welcome To The Melbourne Guitar Academy Blog appeared first on Melbourne Guitar Academy.