Blog Feed: The Lone Guitarist - Gems, Tips, Lessons and Insights.

The Rules of Jazz (are not as complex as you might think)

Published on 2010-11-15 15:43:41

Jazz is complex. If musical styles were subjects in school, then Jazz would be Mathematics. Do you think this is so? Many readers probably share this view. Jazz is usually considered an advanced style, something that you learn after you’ve succ > read more

What happens when Tommy Emmanuel does Cambridge?

Published on 2010-11-08 14:56:47

Things have been moving a little slowly with this blog in the past week. I have been very busy in the real world and, unfortunately, writing about guitar playing has had to take a back seat. Don’t all run away now though; I am working on some n > read more

Guitar Gems, Insights, Tips and Lessons — Volume 3

Published on 2010-10-29 14:35:25

Besides writing blog posts, I enjoy reading posts from other people’s guitar blogs, or guitar-related articles from other sources on the internet. I usually read for inspiration, entertainment, or to educate myself about some aspect of guitar p > read more

How To Captivate Your Audience: Expression

Published on 2010-10-26 14:43:24

Back in early 2001, I moved from my native country of The Netherlands to England. The reason I moved was because I had accepted a job there, which I was very excited about. I ended up living in a shared house with three other housemates. This turned > read more

Mastering Improvisation — How To Use Modes

Published on 2010-10-23 07:37:22

If you have been reading this blog for long enough, you will know that I am a strong proponent of keeping things simple when it comes to improvisation. And with `keeping things simple’ I mean limiting the scales that you use for soloing to just > read more

How Not To Lose Your Audience: The Importance of Articulation

Published on 2010-10-20 14:43:15

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who habitually slurs their words, skips over syllables, or is otherwise hard to follow because of their lack of articulation? Did you find it took quite a bit of effort to try and understand this person? > read more

How Should You Keep Your Wrist: Straight Or Bent? (link)

Published on 2010-10-18 06:49:28

I have written a guest post on wrist position for the excellent blog, Not Playing Guitar. There seems to be some confusion about the wrist position of your fretting hand, and in this post I try to explain that a straight wrist is best. The link is he > read more

Guitar Gems, Tips, Lessons and Insights: Volume 2

Published on 2010-10-17 14:24:44

Besides writing blog posts, I enjoy reading posts from other people’s guitar blogs, or guitar-related articles from other sources on the internet. I usually read for inspiration, entertainment, or to educate myself about some aspect of guitar p > read more

Two Exercises that Teach You Dynamic Control

Published on 2010-10-13 10:05:09

A huge aspect of guitar mastery is the proper use of dynamics. Dynamics can add a great deal to your ability to move the audience, sometimes literally: play something soft and gentle to draw people in, or play something loud and brash to get people j > read more

Guitar Practice: Breaking It Down and the Continuity Rule

Published on 2010-10-09 10:18:48

What is the most important thing to do when you learn to play something new? The answer is, you break it down into small pieces that you practise individually. That way you can spend a lot of concentrated and focused effort on a small part, which  > read more