Is learning to read traditional music important for guitar players? Can you play guitar at a reasonably high level without learning to read music? Many guitar players and teachers argue that what is important for guitar players is to be spontaneous and creative: that playing from music holds them back and discourages them from thinking

In this video I introduce the idea of “Scales +”. If you want to get past just strumming chords along with songs, this is a good place to start. We begin by simply adding a chord strum (of the I Chord) to the beginning and end of a major scale. The next step will be

We’re currently working on a couple new downloadable courses. The first one called “Guitar Magic” is for brand new guitar players. It features a series of lessons that introduce some basic theory, critical chords for five common keys (G, C, D, E, A) and a whole bunch of easy playalong songs to get you going.

The “key” of a song is simply the root note of the scale the song is built on. So, for example, we say a song is in the key of D Major when the song is built on the D Major scale. D is the root note of the scale. Specific chords are associated with

If you’re like me you’ve played guitar for a while and it is your primary instrument. But you also dabble in the ukulele. Keeping the two instruments separate is a bit of a challenge – just a bit. Not a major challenge because many of the basic techniques are the same. But the big difference

Our new Guitar Course for Beginners will soon be available from muzictrain.com Learn how to play songs, all the most important chords, strumming. Play along with songs. we have 100s of playalong songs.

I follow a couple guitar beginner forums, and one comment I often see refers to being able to “play songs”. For example, a typical comment goes something like this: “I know enough chords to play a few songs, but I’m not happy with my progress.” What do they mean when they say “I can play

“Waltzing Matilda” is an Australian “bush ballad” composed in the late 1800’s. Over the years it has become Australia’s “unofficial national anthem”. The original lyrics were composed in 1895 by Australian poet Banjo Paterson, to a tune played by Christina Macpherson, borrowed from an earlier British song called “The Bold Fusilier”, also known as “Marching

“Three Little Birds” is a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers, first released in 1977. The source of Marley’s inspiration for the lyrics of “Three Little Birds” is not clear. Some believe Marley was referring to the way Jamaicans had to grow cannabis. Some believe the lyrics are partly inspired by pretty canaries that

Here are the ukulele and guitar chords for “Obladi Oblada” a well-known Beatles song from their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as “the White Album”) – Obladi Oblada in G. This is in the key of G. We also have arrangements for the keys of C and D. From Wikipedia – “Paul McCartney