Technology and guitar

 Hello friends! It is a nice decision to learn how to play the guitar . My name is Lewis Ujiro.  When I was in school, I was introduced to this nice instrument by a friend. The  guitar has six  strings . Usually  we have different types of guitar:    1. Acoustic guitar : It doesn't require electricity to power it. Although the sound can be amplified with the use of sound hole pick up 2. Electric guitar: it requires electricity to power it. 3. Semi-acoustic guitar:  This type of guitar can be played with or without    being powered  by electricity.  STANDARD TUNING Remember, the guitar has six strings ( three bass strings and the treble strings).  For you to play the guitar, it must  be tuned.  In standard tuning, the notes of the open strings are : E A D G B E  from the low string ( bass string) to the high string.  An easy way to remember it,  is : Eddie Ate dynamite Goodbye Eddie. You can tune th...

 In the part 1 of  "playing a melody by ear" , we discussed some fundamentals. In this post, we are going to look at the concept of  Key  in music. What is the key of a song? A key in music is the major or minor scale in which the music revolves. It is also refers to as the tonic note . Basically, we have the major key which is based on the major scale scale and the minor key which is based on the minor scale. For example,C major scale ( key C) is : C, D,E,F,G, A,B,C   and E minor scale is: E, F#,G,A,B,C,D,E.  At first, this concept of  'key' will look confusing for starters. Enough of  music theory! Now how do you know the key of a song by ear? First, listen to the song and hum it. Play around with the major scale or pentatonic scale on the instrument .The scale which you are playing that tends to be 'lost ' so to speak in the song is the key. Learning to recognize the key of a song by ear is very important in your musical journey!  Wi...

 Hello!  Anybody can play a melody  by ear.  For instance, to play a melody by ear with the guitar,  first, you should know how to play the musical scales mostly the major scale and the minor scale. Many songs are basically from a major scale or minor scale. For example, the G major scale is G A B C D F# G which is : do ri me fa so la to do in solfa notation. Secondly, listen to the song very well  . Thirdly, hum the song. Finally, begin to find the notes of the song from the major or minor scale on the instrument. You can start from the 'do' note or the 'soh' note or 'mi' note of the major scale. Most songs begin with the 'do' note.   For starters, (don't laugh) begin with simple melodies like twinkle twinkle little star, Mary had a little lamb, Trust and Obey (hymn), Here I am to worship by Micheal W Smith . Somebody once said :  "a journey of  a thousand miles begins with a step". Have fun!  Playing by ear part 2. If  you a...