One interesting thing about the guitar (and similar stringed instruments like the uke) is that there are so many different ways to play it. You can play with a pick, fingers, or some combination of both. There are also all sorts of relatively new ways to play the guitar in a percussive manner. This post…… Continue reading Different ways to play guitar (with videos)
In a previous post, “Learning chord shapes on the guitar” we talked about learning some basic chord shapes. As noted in that post, learning these shapes only takes you part of the way towards playing a song. Once you’ve learned various chord shapes you then need to learn to transition from one chord to another. Each…… Continue reading Transitioning between chords on a guitar
Good advice worth sharing…
Here’s a recent recording I did with a great Canadian clarinet player, Michel Martineau. It’s a recording of the jazz standard “Black Orpheus” done with an electro jazz twist. I played guitar and did most of the backing track. Let me know what you think.
A while back I came across the following video detailing a flamenco style uke strum I’ve seen Shimabukuro and others use. In the video, Jake breaks down the whole strum step by step. When I first watched the video I thought that it would be pretty hard to get the strum up to speed but…… Continue reading Jake Shimabukuro Triple Strum Technique (video)
I was working with a student recently and was reminded of all the subtleties of uke strumming. For instance, I use my index finger, sometimes supported by my thumb, to strum. When I do a downstroke, my index finger is curled upward and the nail part of my finger drags against the strings. When I…… Continue reading The nuances of uke strumming
Wil Forbis Music 