Time to jazz up.

Before we proceed any further, here are more advanced chords that would help a guitarist to move to a higher level. Yes, they may be tougher and you most probably would have to spend a lot more time practising these chords than you did for the last chords I gave but, no one said learning the guitar would be easy right? If I was able to do it, so can you. XD.

You might have noticed that these chords look almost the same as the previous chords. Well in actual fact they are the same keys. What are keys you might ask. A key is a note in music. There are 12 keys in music theory. C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B. The keys are the same but they are different in variation. In other words, they sound as if they are the same family but with a slight difference in tune. This variation is called 'sevenths'. These can be identified by the number 7 beside the chord.

In this day and age, guitarists tend to use more sevenths and ninths because it produces a nicer sound compared to the previous chords given. With that being said, one might wonder what would be the point of memorising the previous chords. Well the answer is elementary. Variation is a very strong tool when it comes to playing songs. One could spice up the songs by changing between different variations of the same chord. Don't believe me? Well try it for yourself. XD.

With that being said, here are even more chords for you. Believe me, it is worth the patience. XD. These chords below are a few of the many jazz chords available. Why jazz? Well in my opinion, jazz is my favourite type of music. I would even go so far as to say it is the type of music with the most class and style. Why you might ask. Well, take a look at the chords on the video and you will know why.

jazz chords.

Here is another video to show you what jazz is all about and what you can do with a guitar. Prepare to be astounded. The guy in the video makes it look simple but believe me when I say it is anything but simple. It takes a great mind to not only compose but to also play such a song. Truly one of the best jazz guitarists in the world today. Mr. Joe Pass.

How was that? Amazing right. Well practice on those jazz chords more and soon you will be able to spice up any song. Try it for yourself. Take any song and replace the existing chords with jazz chords and you would see that old song in a new light. XD. Though it might not sound as nice when compared to playing the song on a saxophone, it still has the harmonious flow when played on the guitar. For those of you who do not know what a saxophone is, then here is a picture to enlighten you.

Saxophone

Another classic jazz instrument which also happens to be my second favourite instrument besides the guitar. Technology has become so advanced that modern guitars are able to mimic the sound of a saxophone, though not completely the same but close likeness to the original. Don't believe me? Well check this out.

Cool right? Imagine the endless possibilities one could do with a saxophone effect on a guitar. Soon a whole band could be replaced witha group of guitarists. How awesome would that be? XD. Well thats all I have for this post. Hope you enjoyed. XD

Wonders of the guitar.

Are you feeling tired of playing the guitar? Are you finding the guitar to be a painful experience? Are your fingers starting to blister and tear? Are you finding chords to be a pain in the butt because of all the memorising and applying? Are your fingers getting cramped due to the consistent depressing of the strings? Well, do not throw in the towel yet. Let me share something that has been an inspiration for myself to continue strutting forward. I have a videos for all three types of guitars which I believe would help you stir your passion in this wonderful instrument.

For the cool electric guitarist,

For the sentimental acoustic guitarist,


And lastly, for the jazzy bassist.

All awesome pieces of music right? Do you now understand why I said the guitar is one of the most awe-inspiring, romantic and also cool instrument ever created? Do you feel that you have the sudden urge to pick up the guitar that you put down just awhile ago? Do you feel the sudden spike in passion towards the guitar? Do you have the sudden euphoria due to the fact that with enough practice, one day you might be able to play something like that? That is what I felt when I saw those clips and hopefully I would be able to play something in that caliber. XD

Anyway, back to the reality of being an amateur guitarist. Now that we have learnt some basic chords, lets learn some strumming techniques but before we get to learning how to strum one must understand first the meaning of a strum.

Strumming is actually the brushing of one's finger over the strings of a string instrument, namely the guitar. Guitarists use either their finger or a pick to strum. What we first have to understand is that the theory behind strumming is that it runs on what is called a 'bar' which usually consists of 8 beats. This is counted as one, and, two, and, three, and, four, and. Sounds confusing? Well it is. I faced this problem too but fortunately for you, I have already cracked this mystery so you guys get to understand it easy. 'How am I going to explain it to you', you might ask? Well the answer is easy. Video XD.

I hope you have a better understanding of how strumming works now. There are many types of strumming. One of it was the one shown in the video. I call it up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down or (U,D,U,D,U,D,U,D). A few other examples of strumming which I find useful are:

slow-song-type strumming.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
D U U D U U D 0

rock-type strumming
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
D D D D D D D D

up-beat-type strumming
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
D 0 D 0 U U D U

sentimental-type strumming
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
D 0 D 0 U U U D

*0 means do not play.

There are many other types of strumming which you will notice when you see other guitarists play their instruments, but these are the basic strumming patterns that would suffice. Keep practising these strumming patterns and in time you will start to invent your own strumming patterns.

Learning basic chords.

Okay, the first order of business is to learn how to play chords right? Well some of the basic chords are shown below. This chords would enable a person to be able to play simple songs. XD. Though the songs might be simple, it does not mean it would not sound nice.

Sounds simple right? Well you are wrong. For beginners, just gripping the chords alone would be a huge challenge. Believe me. I tried. Took me a week or so to get the gripping right. 'What would this chords enable one to play' you might ask. Well, you could play something like this.

And if you want to play that awesome song which you have just heard then here are the chords and the lyrics to go with it.

Verse:
E 
Over the mountains and the sea 
G#
Your river runs with love for me, 
F#                    A
And I will open up my heart,
            B            E 
And let the Healer set me free. 

E
Im happy to be in the truth, 
G#
And I will daily lift my hands, 
F#                    
For i will always sing,
A                 B
Of when Your love came down.

Chorus:
E           B
I could sing of Your love forever
C#          A     B
I could sing of Your love forever
E                          B            C
I could sing of Your love forever
C#          A     B
I could sing of Your love forever 

Bridge:
F#      E/A 
Oh I feel like dancing
C#        G#
It's foolishness I know
F#                 E/A
But when the world has seen the Light
            B
They will dance with joy like we're dancing now...

There you go. If you managed to play that song then you have just learnt a song that uses only basic chords and I am very sure that it sounded as nice to you as it was to me. XD. Do not worry if what you have just played does not sound exactly like the original. That just means that more practice is in order. It is as the saying goes, 'practice makes perfect'. XD