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Tag: learning

5 Techniques to Level Up Your Guitar Game

All of us started out as guitar noobs.

We all had to endure the callous-inducing pain of learning how to play. At the time, it seemed like even getting our fingers to cooperate was too hard a task to master.

Yet we finally got the hang of it, and before long we could play some basic chords.

For many of us, however, our progress stalled once we mastered G, C, D, and Em. Some of us continued on to power chords or maybe learned the basic minor pentatonic scale or a blues lick or two.

Sure, it was enough to (badly) play a song around a campfire. But this plateau is very much still in Beginner Town.

So if you find yourself here — firmly established as a beginner — but want to advance to the intermediate level, this article is for you.

Today I’m going to show you five easy techniques you can implement in your playing to help you finally get off of that plateau and transition from beginner to intermediate guitarist.

Sustained chords

This trick works even with basic open chords, so it’s a good place to start.

The idea is there are times when a slight change to a chord can really make a song pop, and this is often the result of adding in a sustained, or sus, chord at just the right time.

Sus chords are made when the third of the chord is replaced by the note above or below it. But you don’t really need to know the theory to use them.

A couple of super-easy sustained chords are Asus4 (x-0-2-2-3-0) and Asus2 (x-0-2-2-0-0), Dsus4 (x-x-0-2-3-3) and Dsus2 (x-x-0-2-3-0), and Esus4 (0-2-2-2-0-0). (As a refresher, an “x” means you don’t play that string.) These can all be made by either removing a finger from the fretboard (the sus2 chords) or adding your pinky finger to the standard chord shape (the sus4 chords).

The best guidance I can give to when to substitute a sustained chord is to just try it out and let your ear tell you. It’s pretty clear when this trick works and when it doesn’t, and it won’t take long for it to become second nature for you. And once it does, your playing will start having that extra little something to it.

If you want to learn more about sustained chords, check out Richard White’s excellent Medium article on the topic.

Triads

I’ve written an entire article introducing triads and how to play them, so I’ll keep it brief here.

Basically, triads are chord shapes made up of just three strings (or notes). The beauty of triads is they are moveable: once you’ve learned a shape, you can take it up and down the fretboard anywhere and it will still work.

And if you know your basic chords, you already know at least one triad: D.

Think about it: the chord shape for D major is x-x-0-2-3-2. If you just play the top three strings, x-x-x-2-3-2, you now have a triad shape that you can move up the neck.

That means if you move up to x-x-x-4-5-4, you are now playing an E triad. Keep going up to x-x-x-7-8-7 and you’ve unlocked a G triad, and so on.

Triads are one of the most powerful — and accessible — tools at your disposal to progress in your guitar playing. I highly recommend learning them. You’ll start noticing the improvement immediately.

Dyads

Dyads are like triads’ little brothers. As the name suggests, you play just two notes instead of three.

Dyads are so great because they are easy and sound good. Literally all you need to do is finger any chord you know but then only play two neighboring strings. You can play them together or one after the other — whatever works best in context.

So if you were playing a D chord (x-x-0-2-3-2), you might choose to just play the B and E strings (x-x-x-x-3-2) instead. Congrats — that’s a dyad!

Dyads are all over the place on your guitar (and, like triads, they’re also moveable). And the best part? If you learn a triad, you’ve learned multiple dyads by definition — just omit one of the three notes!

Tons of great bands (for example, Weezer, The Killers, The Black Keys) use them all the time in their songs. Dyads are a terrific example of “less is more,” so they are definitely worth knowing and practicing!

Palm muting

Palm muting is a wonderfully easy technique that has many applications in rock-based music. The reason it’s so handy is because it extends your dynamics.

No one wants to hear music at the same volume and intensity all the time. (If you doubt me, just sit through a junior high band concert sometime.) That’s why in every song, you’ll find some quieter sections and some louder sections.

During those quieter sections, you can use palm muting to great effect. It communicates intensity without loudness. This is a good technique to use during the first verse of a song, for instance, or as the start of a build-up (or crescendo) during a bridge.

This is a strumming-hand technique only — your fretting hand doesn’t change what it’s playing. To successfully pull off palm muting, all you have to do is lightly rest your strumming hand on the strings while playing. The outside edge of your palm should rest on the lower strings toward the bridge. (Palm muting works better on the lower strings.)

You can adjust how much pressure you place on the strings until you hear a nice “chugga chugga” sound. Palm muting also works well when combined with a straight downward picking pattern (no upstrokes).

I use this technique all the time, and when it’s right, it’ll give you — and the crowd — goosebumps.

Use a metronome

This last tip is really for everyone.

Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a professional, the more you practice with a metronome, the better you will be.

A metronome is not a crutch; it’s a tool to help you learn to play in time. In fact, even the best guitarists in the world practice with one. Many of them wouldn’t even consider working on their craft without it. It’s really that important.

Now, do I always practice with a metronome myself? No. Sometimes I just want to play a song for fun.

But if I’m working on a song to play in a band setting, I absolutely either use a metronome or a backing track. Because of this, by and large, my ability to play in time is pretty good. And I plan to keep it that way.

With the plethora of metronome smartphone apps, this really is a no-brainer. Just do it!

Real-life cheat codes

These five techniques could almost be considered guitar cheat codes. None of them is difficult, and with a little practice, you can add all of them to your repertoire quickly, leveling up your ability in no time. So which one are you going to start working on today?

February 3, 2024
The 10 Best YouTube Channels for Guitarists

How did anyone ever learn anything before YouTube?

I mean, I was alive during the last century, so somehow I learned a bunch of stuff. But YouTube makes it much easier, especially when it comes to skill-based tasks like playing the guitar.

A ton of creators have figured this out, too, of course, and the number of channels dedicated to the best instrument in the world has exploded. But some of those channels have risen to the top (at least the top of my list), and I want to share them with you today.

If you are a guitarist looking to get better at your instrument, these are the top 10 channels you should be following.

Rick Beato

Rick Beato is a former college professor, professional musician, and producer. He is a walking encyclopedia of all things music, and he features the guitar in many (perhaps a majority) of his videos. Plus he’s interviewed many of the biggest names in rock and jazz guitar.

I don’t care how much you think you know, you will learn something from every Rick Beato video.

Phillip McKnight

Phillip McKnight has been a guitar nerd since he was in high school. He even owned a guitar store for 13 years until he decided to make YouTube his full-time gig.

Much like Rick Beato, Phil has his own encyclopedic knowledge of guitars and the guitar industry. His videos and live streams are not as well-produced as other channels, but the depth of his content continues to blow me away. If I’m being honest, he is my favorite YouTuber, period.

Rhett Shull

Rhett Shull is an Atlanta-based musician who wanted to make a channel “to teach his 14-year-old self everything he wishes he knew” about the guitar. (Rhett also urged Rick Beato to begin posting videos, so you know he has good taste.)

Rhett offers lots of great advice and gear reviews from the perspective of an active, working musician. I don’t agree with everything he says, but everything he says is incredibly well thought out.

Michael Palmisano

Michael Palmisano is a guitar instructor who has found YouTube fame by reacting to live performances. His typical video features him watching a performance for the first time and dissecting it musically as he goes. If you are looking for music theory applied practically, this is the channel for you.

Elevated Jam Tracks

It’s tough to work on soloing when you’re alone in the living room. You can use a looping pedal if you have a specific chord progression in mind, but for general chops-building, backing tracks are the way to go.

Elevated Jam Tracks have some of the best tracks I’ve heard. Plus, all of the chords are laid out in real time, as well as the scale and note positions. Videos even include sample solos if you need inspiration. The channel prides itself on quality, and it shows.

Music is Win

Tyler Larson is a music school grad turned YouTuber. His videos cover a wide range of topics, from gear reviews to song tutorials to fun and even endearing general entertainment content.

Tyler is an exceptional guitarist, he’s good in front of the camera, he’s creative, and his videos are all well polished. Whether you’re looking to learn or just be entertained, Music is Win has you covered.

samuraiguitarist

Another graduate of a music college, Steve Onotera — aka the Samurai Guitarist — represents the Canadian guitar scene admirably. Much like Tyler Larson, Sammy G’s videos are part entertainment, part learning, and all awesome. He also shows off his dry wit quite often, which I particularly enjoy.

Brandon Acker

It might seem strange to include a classical guitarist on this list, but before you write him off, check out a few of Brandon Acker’s videos. He started his guitar-playing life as a metalhead but then fell in love with the classical guitar. His calm demeanor and ability to explain and demonstrate seemingly archaic music and musical concepts in an engaging manner are what sets his channel apart.

It’s always good to expand your thinking and horizons, and when it comes to the guitar, Brandon Acker will help you do just that.

five watt world

If you’re interested in the history of guitar gear, do yourself a favor and check out five watt world. The channel features tons of mini-documentaries on the history of guitars and those who play them. The man behind the channel, Keith Williams, really does his research, digging up all kinds of obscure yet fascinating facts that will help you level up your own guitar knowledge.

Marty Music

Marty Schwartz, aka Marty Music, is an online guitar teacher. His channel is devoted to detailed lessons on how to play popular rock songs. His content lends itself toward newer players, perhaps those who self-identify as “better than beginner but not quite intermediate.” Regardless, if you’re looking for a guitar tutorial for a specific song, it’s worth your while to see if Marty Music has done it.

I could have listed any number of other channels, but for me — as of today — these are my top 10. I hope you check some — or all — of them out! Likewise, drop me a line in the comments with your favorite guitar-themed YouTube channel. Bonus points if it’s not on my list!

January 26, 2024
Learn Basic Music Theory and Take Your Playing to New Levels

I’ve been playing guitar for a long time.

Yet in the past 3–5 years, I’ve been able to level up my playing abilities by working on the things I should have learned 20 years ago.

Learning the minor pentatonic scale

Okay, that’s not quite true.

Way back when I first started playing guitar, a friend showed me how to play a basic blues shuffle in A. If you don’t know, this is just about the easiest thing you can play that sounds like you know what you’re doing. It’s one simple, repeated pattern, and there are no barre chords or technical finger movements.

And obviously, it’s foundational for any blues playing.

How to play a blues shuffle in A

My friend also showed me how to play very basic solos over the blues in A by teaching me the minor pentatonic scale (first position, for you music nerds out there). This, coincidentally, is the scale used by a ton of blues and rock songs, which means once you learn it, you can at least play solos and riffs that, while not sounding great, at least don’t have any wrong notes.

And this is where I stayed for a very long time. (In my defense, there was no such thing as YouTube in those days; learning required much more effort IMHO.)

The minor pentatonic scale in A

Learning the major scale

A few years ago, I finally decided that, after 20-some-odd years of playing, I needed to up my game.

I learned how to play major scales.

I know, I know — it seems pretty basic, and possibly even useless, to spend your practicing playing do-me-ri-fa-so-la-ti-do. After all, nobody wants to hear a “major scale” solo in a rock song, right?

Wrong.

Learning the major scale has been tremendously helpful for me as an electric guitar player. So many riffs are based on it, and a surprising number of them are quite literally portions of the major scale.

How to play the C major scale — possibly the most useful thing I know

Additionally, learning the scale up and down the neck is super useful when you’re trying to figure out song keys or learn notes in a riff or part. It gives you an existing matrix in your brain and fingers that helps you orient yourself more quickly to any song you’re trying to learn.

And again, just like the minor pentatonic scale, the major scale at least gives you the notes to play at any point in a song that won’t clash or provide unwanted dissonance, and it definitely helps in creating more intricate and musically interesting solos than the minor pentatonic alone.

Learning triads

Another major progression in my playing came when I started learning triads.

Triads, as I’ve written about before, are simply the three (main) notes that make up a chord. Typically, but not always, it’s the root, the third, and the fifth.

The reason they are so great is they allow you to play up and down the neck to find alternate voicings for any chord. This is especially important if you’re playing in a band that has an acoustic guitar because you can avoid doubling up parts, which often sounds muddy and uninteresting.

Triads make you look cool and sound cool

Once I had the power of triads literally at my fingertips, my playing immediately got better. No more cowboy chords — now I could find a chord anywhere I wanted on the fretboard, and more importantly, provide much more sonic texture and movement for a song.

The current challenge: learning modes

The next step in my musical journey has been working on learning the modes of the major scale.

A mode is simply a scale that starts on a note other than the root. Yes, they have fancy Greek names, but don’t let that scare you off.

Is there anything Rick Beato doesn’t know?

As a basic example, if you play a C major scale, but start and end with D, you will play the notes D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D. Congrats — you’ve just played a D Dorian scale! If you do the same exercise but instead start and end with E, you’ve now played an E Phrygian scale. Each starting note has its own corresponding scale — or mode — with its own funny name.

This becomes super helpful because a lot of rock songs are in Dorian or Mixolydian modes. (To play a Mixolydian scale, go back to the above example and this time start with G.) Modes have given me even more sonic options and tools to use to craft even better-sounding guitar parts, not to mention a much better understanding of what the song is doing as a whole.

An artist’s progression

You can think of the above using an example of an artist.

When an artist first learns to paint, they work on basic shapes and lines. This is equivalent to learning the blues shuffle, a very basic pentatonic scale, or riffs and solos by rote.

Then the artist progresses to learning basic brush strokes and color theory. Likewise, the budding guitarist learns major scale patterns and common triad shapes.

Eventually, the artist progresses to being able to dial in their technique and use her skills to tell a particular story and convey particular emotions. As a musician begins to work on more advanced music theory such as modes, his ability to be creative on his instrument likewise begins to grow.

The journey continues

I’ve still got a long way to go in my own musical journey.

I’m excited about how far I’ve come while not kidding myself about how much there still is to learn. But this is where I’m at right now, and my hope is my story can help motivate you to learn something new.

If you want to learn or get better at any of these things, there are tons of extremely affordable resources online — literally too many to mention here — and almost all of them are great. Your best bet is to just pick one and start practicing!

September 23, 2023
Want to Become a Better Musician? Stop Playing and Do This Instead

When I was a kid, the adults in my life often said, “God gave you two ears and one mouth so that you would listen twice as much as you speak.”

As a society, many of us seem to have forgotten that message.

Much public discourse, to our detriment and shame, is really nothing more than attempts to speak over one another. It seems few are willing to hear out any competing viewpoints, and thus many miss out on the learning and growing that occurs in genuine, respectful debate.

This epidemic lack of listening is certainly not good for society, but there is another area where listening is also just as critical: music.

I don’t just mean the obvious — that you interact with music by listening to it. I mean that it’s subtle listening, really listening, that is an art you must master if you want to become a better musician. This includes broadening your musical tastes, refining your ear for music, and focusing on both others’ playing and singing and your own.

So let’s take a look at the four ways listening can make you a better musician.

Listen to good music — period

When I was young, I liked classic rock and, well, not much else. After all, I played the guitar, and the heyday of guitar-based music was the 1960s–80s. Naturally, that is where I focused my listening attention: bands like Tom Petty, Boston, and Petra dominated my CD collection (yes, I’m old).

Now what often happens is that as a person gets older, their tastes solidify. A kid who likes jazz is likely to be an adult who likes jazz. If you didn’t listen to country music growing up, you probably won’t listen to it as an adult. So if you played the odds, you might assume that I’m even more of a classic rock guy now, and to heck with those other, lesser genres of music. Bob Seger FTW! \m/

But the older I’ve become, I’ve actually done the opposite: I’ve learned to embrace music from many different genres. I sometimes wonder what the Spotify algorithm must think about me. I listen to everything from Brahms and Bach to Scrapper Blackwell and Son House, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, Willie Nelson and Hank Williams, Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Mammoth WVH and Foo Fighters, and Polyphia, just to name a few.

Why did I buck the trend? Because over time, I realized something. I realized that words like blues, country, rap, and rock were terms coined by marketing teams to sell more records. In reality, there are only two genres of music: good music and not-as-good music.

When you remove the boundaries of what good music can be, all of the sudden you realize how much terrific music there truly is out there. You discover bands and entire subcategories of music that you love and appreciate that you never even considered before. I had this happen to me (yet again) recently. I saw Chris Stapleton’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at this year’s Super Bowl. Even though I’m not a big modern country fan, I thought I should give his music a try. And I’m glad I did, because he is ah-may-zing. Imagine what I would be missing out on if I had just assumed because he was a country artist I wouldn’t like his music.

Listening to a wide range of music also helps you develop your own style as a musician. In a recent Wired interview, Tim Henson from the progressive rock band Polyphia discussed how he blended Top 40 with the music of guitar virtuosos like Steve Vai to create his own signature sound. Although few of us will reach the heights Tim has, we can all create new, unique music, and listening to a lot of different kinds of music will help.

Listen to experts listen to music

I honestly don’t know how we learned anything before YouTube.

Yes, there is tons of absolute mindless drivel on the platform. But there is also a vast amount of high-quality educational material.

I have personally learned more about music theory by watching Rick Beato’s videos over the last two or three years than I did being in the school band from fifth through twelfth grade.

Michael Palmisano is another outstanding channel, especially for guitarists. Both channels break down songs to explain exactly why they work. Both men can help you develop your ability to really listen to and understand music.

Michael Palmisano unpacks a phenomenal song, “Follow the Light” by Cory Wong and Dirty Loops

Teachers like Rick and Michael are miracle workers when it comes to musicians. Just by watching their free content online, you can educate yourself to a degree once possible only by going to a college like Berklee. And you can shave off years of learning music theory by trial and error — like we used to have to do back in the day.

The experts are out there making content, and most of it is free or low cost. So use it.

Listen to your bandmates

I play in my church’s worship band, and in addition to Sunday morning services, we have Thursday evening practices.

Occasionally, either the drummer or the bassist can’t make it to practice. Let me tell you, it is hard to play my guitar when either of those two is missing! This is because I am paying attention to both drums and bass in order to create my part. I need to match intensity with the drums, and I need to play something that complements the bass line.

Listening is a critical part of my own playing music with others, and it should be part of yours as well. Paying attention to what the people around you are playing or singing can help you add to the music. When you’re more focused on your own part, by contrast, you can easily sing over another musician, play too softly or loudly, or even be off beat without realizing it.

Music-making is a group activity. When you find yourself in a band setting, the best thing you can possibly do is listen carefully to what everyone else is doing.

Listen to yourself

This is the toughest one, but it can help the most too. When you play an instrument or sing, there are really two audiences. You perceive your own music in a certain way, and other people perceive it differently. The trick is to understand that how you sound to yourself may be better or worse than how you sound to others.

This is where recording yourself can really help. Maybe you thought you nailed that Eruption cover at your band’s show last night — but the footage says otherwise. Or maybe you felt you butchered singing “Crazy” at karaoke night, but when you review the video on your friend’s iPhone, you realize you didn’t do too bad of a job after all.

Recording yourself can give you objective feedback that is hard to get from any other source. And if you are completely honest and nonjudgmental about your musical performance, it can be a very useful tool to help you quit bad habits and improve your singing or playing.

This video is your reward for reaching the end of the article. Congrats!

It’s hard to imagine a more useful skill in life than listening. It can help you grow as a person, it can help society as a whole, and as we’ve discussed in this article, it can even help you develop your musical chops. So why not buck the trend and be countercultural today? Spend some time just listening.

March 24, 2023
That Time I Spent Entirely Too Much Time and Money Building a Crappy Guitar

I built a guitar from scratch once. It was terrible.

The Backstory

We were replacing our old dining room table, and I noticed that it was just about half the thickness of an electric guitar. I realized I could probably cut two blanks out of it, glue them together, and have a nice body blank to work with. So, rather than send it to the landfill, I decided to reuse it in a unique way: I’d build an electric guitar and call it the Tablecaster.

I wasn’t entirely new to making guitars at that point. Several years prior to that, I’d started making cigar-box guitars. I’d never much worked with tools before, and I decided it was important for me to learn how to use basic tools. I stumbled across cigar-box guitars and decided to give them a try.

The Tablecaster in all its glory.

Although I would never claim that I’m especially handy or good with tools (more on that later), I did make over two dozen instruments and sold a number of them as well.

We were replacing our old dining room table, and I realized I could probably cut two blanks out of it, glue them together, and have a nice body to work with.

But cigar-box guitars, it turns out, are a far cry from a full-sized electric guitar.

And so it was that I found myself in my garage one day with a guitar body blank and a vague sense of dread.

The Obstacles

Here’s the deal: I am self-taught in many areas. When I started making cigar-box instruments, I knew nothing about anything. Neither had I ever met anyone who built any kind of instrument. I had to figure it out as I went. So when I started on a full-size guitar, I was right back to square one.

And so it was that I found myself in my garage one day with a guitar body blank and a vague sense of dread.

I sketched out a few drawings and had some ideas about the finished product, but the process more closely resembled treading water while the Titanic sank. From the get-go, the build was a series of problems to overcome, some of which seemed insurmountable.

I had never met anyone who had built any kind of instrument. I had to figure it out as I went.

The first, and biggest, issue was my bandsaw. It was a cheap Harbor Freight model and I probably didn’t have it set up right (self-taught, remember). The upshot was the saw would not (and still does not) cut a straight line — it ran all over the place. This made cutting the body to shape extremely difficult. But I somehow got it done.

My solution for relieving weight.

The next issue was weight. The table body was massively too heavy, so I used my drill press and a 1” bit to hog out most of the inside to make it a semi-hollow instead of a solid body. That meant I needed a cap, which I had to glue up, all the while half-guessing how to do it the “right” way.

I sketched out a few drawings and had some ideas about the finished product, but the process more closely resembled treading water while the Titanic sank.

Routing out the neck slot was the next challenge because I was not experienced with a router (or how terrifying they are!) and precision was the name of the game. It took a long time and a lot of walking away in frustration before that task was done.

The neck had its own challenges. I actually was doing a halfway decent job at first. I figured out how to route out a straight line for the truss rod and got that installed. But I made a few big mistakes. First, the headstock ended up being too small — the tuners barely fit. More importantly, because of my lousy bandsaw, I cut one side of the neck too narrow, which meant the high E string was too close to the edge of the fretboard.

There were a number of times when I honestly thought there was no way I could finish it. The problems were too big and I wasn’t skilled enough.

Finishing the guitar presented even more challenges. Although I used center lines, my pickups were slightly off-center. And I used a bone nut that I poorly shaped, resulting in a guitar with too-high action that was hard to play. I don’t even want to talk about the electronics, but suffice it to say I eventually got them working.

Installing the truss rod.

The Results

At the end of the build, I was rewarded with a costly, time-consuming guitar that could actually make sound through an amplifier (yay!) but certainly wasn’t up to even the most basic level of quality. From that perspective, the whole thing was kind of a flop. It wasn’t going to be my main guitar like I had hoped. It mainly looked good on the wall, if you kept your distance (and maybe didn’t have your glasses on).

At the end of the build, I was rewarded with a costly, time-consuming guitar that could actually play but certainly wasn’t up to even the most basic level of quality.

So yeah, as a guitar, it stunk. But I’d like to think the project was a success in many other ways.

First, in the middle of making the guitar, there were a number of times when I honestly thought there was no way I could finish it. The problems were too big and I wasn’t skilled enough. Yet I did finish. I had objective evidence that I could do hard things. This knowledge has served me very well over the ensuing years.

The cap. Hey, at least I picked cool-looking wood!

Second, I learned a ton about tools and guitar-making. If I were to make another guitar completely from scratch (which I would like to do at some point), it would probably end up much better than the first one. And if I committed to making a number of them, I have no doubt there would come a point where I was making passable instruments.

So yeah, the guitar stunk. But it was a success in many other ways.

(I have since made a guitar using a factory-made neck and put together a few kit guitars. They’ve turned out decently.)

Third, it helped with my ability to make basic repairs. I set up all of my own guitars, and I even just swapped out a plastic nut and saddle for bone on one of my acoustic guitars. I can level frets, adjust truss rods, and lower or raise the action without having to pay a guitar tech to do it. I can even do some basic electronics work if I must.

Fourth, I appreciate good craftsmanship so much more now. I stand amazed when I come across any guitar that is well made. Craftspeople like luthiers often do not get enough credit for how amazing they are and the work they do.

I can now perform basic repairs and set up my own guitars. I can level frets, adjust truss rods, swap out nuts, and lower or raise the action without having to pay a guitar tech to do it.

In the end, whenever I look at my handmade guitar hanging in the closet, I have a mix of feelings. The honest truth is the guitar is just not very good. But I am proud of the fact that I did as good of a job as I did while basically going in blind with not a ton of natural talent to work with.

And as driven as I am in my life to produce results, the guitar serves as a constant reminder that I can’t always control the outcome, and I can’t always guarantee perfect work. But I can keep moving forward in spite of obstacles and always give every endeavor my best effort. If nothing else, having a tangible reminder like this was worth the battle, even if I didn’t accomplish exactly what I set out to do.

February 7, 2023
What Is Fingerboard Radius and Why Should You Care?

If you’ve ever shopped online for a new guitar, you may have come across a piece of information that you didn’t quite understand.

Sites like Sweetwater are great in that they will tell you the exact specifications for any guitar in stock — sometimes down to the exact weight of the guitar in the picture. And buried in the lengthy list of specifications is something called “fingerboard radius,” followed by a measurement of so many inches.

And you might be thinking, “That’s great — but what the heck is this telling me?” Today we’re going to answer that question and look at how important — or not — fingerboard radius really is.

What Is Fingerboard Radius?

A fingerboard’s radius refers to the amount of curvature on the fretboard. In other words, the radius tells you how much higher the middle of the fretboard is than either edge. Common measurements range from 7.25” to 16” inches. But how is this number derived?

Very simply, guitar builders think of the side-to-side curve of the fretboard as an arc from a circle. If you were to take a compass and draw a circle on a piece of paper with a 12” radius, the curve of a 12” radius fretboard would match the curve of that circle.

What that means in practice is the larger the radius is, the flatter the fretboard will be. A 7.25” fingerboard will look and feel much more curved than a 16” one, which will feel almost flat.

Common Fingerboard Radii by Brand

Although not always the case, there are certain generalities when it comes to fingerboard radii among electric-guitar brands. Vintage-style Fenders are usually the smallest (most curved) at 7.25”. Modern Fenders are still quite curved but measure at a slightly larger 9.5”. Gibson prefers to make flatter-feeling fretboards that have a 12” radius. PRS, meanwhile, locates itself in the middle with their standard 10” radius. (PRS does the same thing with their scale length, too, typically splitting the distance between Fender and Gibson.)

Other brands will adopt one of the above or determine their own desired radius. You’ll also sometimes hear of a guitar with a compound radius. While it sounds complicated, all this means is the radius measurement changes as you move up the fretboard. Generally, a compound radius will be rounder on the lower frets and flatten out on the higher frets, the idea being a smaller radius is easier to play chords on, while a flatter radius lends itself better to lead work.

Acoustic guitars tend to have very flat fretboards, often in the 15″-16″ range. In an interesting twist, classical guitars traditionally have very flat fingerboards, and often there is no radius at all. The flat, wide fretboards are preferable when playing intricate compositions using the PIMA technique.

Does Fingerboard Radius Matter?

As briefly alluded to above, there is some thought put into fingerboard radii, at least by manufacturers and luthiers. A tighter-radius guitar, such as a vintage Fender, will probably be more comfortable when strumming chords, all other things being equal. A flatter-radius guitar will lend itself toward faster soloing work. But these are significant generalities, and while fingerboard radius probably matters more when it comes to playability than tonewoods, one would be hard pressed to argue that radius size is a critical dimension on a guitar.

My Preference

I’ve owned and played a lot of guitars in my time, and without really thinking about it, I’ve tended to gravitate toward guitars that have flatter fretboards. I have several Epihones that play very well and are in the Gibson 12” range. I’ve also got a Danelectro with a 14” radius that I absolutely love. My guess is because I have larger hands, it makes for a more comfortable playing experience (although to be honest, this is more of a guess than a fact). But I also have a Strat copy with closer to a 9” radius that I enjoy (although it does feel quite a bit smaller in my hands).

I’ve also noticed the same preference holding for acoustic guitars. My favorite brand, Seagull, has a very flat fretboard at 16”, which happens to be the same as Martin. Add to it the classical guitar-like wider neck, and it really works well for my hands and playing style.

Fingerboard Radius — a “Nice to Know” Guitar Characteristic

In the end, is having a comprehensive understanding of fingerboard radius necessary? I would argue unless you want to get into building them yourself, probably not.

But thinking about fingerboard radius may help you understand your own preferences better, so in that regard, it can be helpful. If you notice that all of your favorite guitars to play are Fenders, part of the reason might be because of their narrower fingerboard radius. I personally know to steer more toward flatter fingerboards, because that’s what my hand naturally prefers. But I don’t think it should be viewed as a critical criterion. There are countless elements that factor into which guitars you like; fretboard radius is simply one of them.

January 14, 2023
Answering the Question, “Do Tonewoods Affect Electric Guitars?”
To (mis)quote Ron Burgundy, “It’s kind of a big deal.” If you haven’t come across this yet, don’t worry — you will. And if you have, you probably have the scars to prove it.

It’s perhaps the biggest, most heated debate of them all when it comes to electric guitars. If dueling were still a thing, many guitarists would be wielding revolvers and dodging lead on a regular basis.

I’m speaking, of course, about the tonewood debate.

If you’re ever in need of an argument, tonewood is a great choice. There are two camps, and if the internet has any bearing on reality, they are willing to fight to the death — maybe even “to the pain” a la The Princess Bride.

But what are the facts? Why is there such hoopla in the electric guitar community around the role wood plays in an instrument’s tone?

Today I want to wade into the deep end and give you my thoughts on tonewood. Although I have no pretenses that a single blog post will end this debate once and for all, hopefully it will help at least a few of us understand the actual role tonewood plays in an electric guitar’s sound.

Use this information at your own discretion, by the way, and if you happen to find yourself on a discussion board, proceed with extreme care.

Tonewood and Acoustic Guitars

First off, let’s get one thing clear. When it comes to acoustic guitars, tonewood absolutely matters. There is total, complete agreement about this in the guitar world. This is due to how an acoustic guitar produces sound. It’s essentially a natural system that takes the vibration of the strings and, via the materials and shape of the body, amplifies the sound so we can hear it. Given that it’s a completely physical process, the materials involved dramatically affect the end result. A spruce-top guitar tends to have a brighter sound, while a cedar-top has a warmer sound, for example. The material used for the top, the bridge, the back and sides, and the neck all work together to create a unique vibration pattern that results in a particular sound.

This doesn’t mean that any wood is better than any other wood when constructing or choosing an acoustic guitar — just that you have different sonic options to choose from. There are high-quality guitars made from all kinds of materials, including non-wood materials like carbon fiber. But the materials used definitely produce different types of sound, even if they all fall under the recognizable umbrella of “acoustic guitar.”

Tonewood and Electric Guitars

Now we get to the rub.

People will make all sorts of claims when it comes to tonewoods and electric guitars. And by “people,” I don’t just mean keyboard warriors on the internet. Guitar brands use these claims in their marketing materials all the time. Maple fretboards are often marketed as being snappier and producing a brighter sound than rosewood. Likewise, maple caps (a piece of wood glued to the top of the main body, which is usually a wood like mahogany) are said to brighten up the sound or provide more sustain.

But it’s important to remember that electric guitars are not acoustic guitars in one key respect: they do not produce sound the same way. Acoustic guitars are basically analog echo chambers; electric guitars rely on magnetic fields. When you strum an electric guitar, the steel string vibrations interrupt the pickup’s magnetic field, and the resulting signal is transmitted to your amp, which amplifies the sound. This is a significantly different process from an acoustic, even if the input (i.e., a vibrating string) is the same.

Does It Matter?

In my opinion, it’s the confusion surrounding this distinction that gets guitarists all riled up. Some claim that the characteristics of the wood and the vibration of the body still affect the sound of an electric, while others argue that physics proves it just isn’t so. But who is right? Does tonewood matter for an electric guitar or not?

It seems to me that the best answer is “yes,” with a caveat.

If the vibration of a steel string over a magnetic field is how an electric guitar makes a sound, it makes sense to believe that anything that affects a string’s vibration will, in the end, affect the sound too. And since the guitar string is attached to both the neck (at the nut) and the body (at the bridge), it makes sense to think that the materials the guitar is made from do interact with the string and alter how it vibrates.

This line of thought leads me to believe that yes, tonewoods do matter on an electric guitar. But compared to many other factors, they matter very little.

The Signal Chain Is Where It’s At

There are many inputs along an electric guitar’s signal path. From the point where you play (vibrate) the string to the point you hear the sound, that signal has had to flow through:
- One or more guitar cables
- One or more pickups
- The internal components and wiring of the guitar
- Any number of pedals specifically designed to alter the signal
- The amp’s preamp, components, and wiring
- The speaker and speaker cone
Ideally, some of these inputs (wires and cables) shouldn’t change the sound at all, but others (pickups, pedals, amps) are specifically designed to impact the sound. And these things mold and shape the sound of the guitar orders of magnitude more than what wood(s) the guitar is made from.

My Experience

As an example, I have a Danelectro 59M NOS+. It has a bright, sparkly tone with great mids — it’s a guitar that really cuts through the mix. Based on the tonewood theory, you would think it must have a maple fretboard and cap, right? Sorry to disappoint, but the fretboard is rosewood and the body is masonite — that’s engineered wood made from wood chips!

The same is true for all of my other guitars. Each one has a unique sound, but honestly, the biggest differentiator is the pickups. My single-coil Strat sounds like, well, a Strat. My Epiphone with P90s has that signature growl common to all guitars with this type of pickup. My PRS can seemingly do anything. As far as I can tell, the guitars’ materials have little to do with how they sound.

And, of course, as soon as I step on my overdrive pedal, the sound changes completely. And the same can be said for my amp — the EQ can significantly alter the way any of my guitars sound with the simple twist of a knob.

In the end, if I were to put a percentage on how much tonewood affects the sound of an electric guitar, I’d put it at 1 percent — on a good day. Yes, it probably has some impact on the sound, but any pickup, pedal, or amplifier is going to affect things much, much more because that is what they are designed to do.
January 5, 2023
Why You Shouldn’t Buy a 12-String Guitar

I had to change out my car’s battery the other day. The normally simple procedure was made more complicated because there was a bracket securing the battery to the car. I could not quite reach the bolt to unscrew the bracket with my wrench.

I found out via a YouTube video that you needed an extra-long fixture to easily reach it — something any auto shop or gearhead would have, but not me. I eventually found a way to get the job done, but it would have been much easier with that specialized tool.

Too Many Guitars? You Mean Not Enough Guitars

There is a certain point for many of us where we start getting more than a few guitars — enough to unironically refer to them as a “stable.” At that point, we usually start branching out. We ask questions like, “Which guitars are missing from this collection?”

So we start buying the “new and different.” As for me, I started my current collection with a cheap Epiphone Les Paul Special. After a few years and a lot of saving up money, I expanded my collection to a PRS SE Custom 24 and a Godin Strat-style guitar. A little more time and savings netted me a replacement for my stolen Seagull acoustic, a Deering banjo, a Danelectro, an Ibanez semi-hollow…you get the picture.

But there is one guitar type that I no longer have. It was special, it was different, and it filled in a hole in my collection. Yet it just didn’t stick.

The 12-String Question

The guitar in question was a 12-string acoustic by my favorite guitar brand, Seagull. It was well constructed and had a cedar top, which I prefer over spruce because of the darker, richer tones. Quality was not an issue; neither was the full, chimey sound.

And yet, it didn’t last. I had it for maybe a year before I sold it to acquire other gear. But why?

A Specialized Tool

In my experience, just like the extra-long socket wrench I needed to change my car battery, an acoustic 12-string is a specialized tool. There are certain songs it really works well for, but many others not so much.

In my case, I was finally able to play “Life By the Drop” by SRV the right way. And I could pick along with that one part in “More Than a Feeling” by Boston.

But honestly, once I discovered the few songs I knew that really were written with a 12-string in mind, there wasn’t much else I could do with it.

For everything else I tried, it was nothing but a bulkier, thicker-necked, harder-to-play instrument that didn’t sound “right” on most songs written for a six-stringed guitar.

To Buy or Not to Buy

In the end, for me personally, it didn’t make sense to keep the guitar. I had several hundred dollars tied up in an instrument that was so specialized that I rarely used it. When I did break it out, it was harder to play, and when I wasn’t playing it, the instrument was taking up valuable space in my closet.

As for my advice, if you already have several guitars and are looking to round out your collection, a 12-string might be a good idea if you like or prefer the sound, or if you are specifically writing songs with it in mind. But outside of a few specific contexts, it’s very likely that your regular six-string is going to sound and perform better.

If you have a different take on why a 12-string guitar is a valuable addition to your stable of instruments, let us know in the comments!

October 18, 2022
How to Know If You’re a Good Guitarist and Why It Doesn’t Matter

If you’ve ever noticed, being rich is a sliding scale. When we first start out in life, most of us are working crap jobs for no money. The idea of affording anything beyond the basic necessities in life (and often, even those) seems too far off to obtain. And people who own a house and a couple of cars? Those people are rich!

But eventually life progresses, and one day we wake up to discover we’re now that person who has a house and two cars. Except we certainly don’t feel rich! Those people with giant houses and big-screen TVs in every who take vacations to Europe — they’re really the rich ones.

Except the people who reach that level of income will tell you they don’t necessarily feel rich either. It’s the multimillionaires who own five homes and a yacht — they’re rich.

And on and on it goes. “Rich,” for most people, actually means “richer than I am.”

On Being a Good Guitarist

For most of us, being a “good” guitarist is a bit like being “rich.”

When you first start out, you figure out the basic cowboy chords pretty quickly, but it seems like you’ll never be able to play barre chords — players who can do that are amazing! And then once you’ve figured out barring, it’s the people who can play a guitar solo who are “good.”

Or triads. Or modes. Or who play in a band. Or who make YouTube videos.

For most of us, “good” ends up meaning “better than I am.”

And yet, we constantly want to appraise our own playing. We almost reflexively judge our own abilities against people whose skills make us wonder why we are even trying.

For most of us, “good” ends up meaning “better than I am.”

Or we get into pissing matches about who the greatest guitar player is (answer: there isn’t one).

Why It Doesn’t Matter

The reality is, there is no list of characteristics I can give you to tell you when you’ve become a “good” guitarist. There’s no set of achievements that, once completed, unlock that title for you.

Yes, there are probably a few things you need to be a “good” player. You should probably be able to make sound come out of the instrument, for instance. But there are so many genres of music, styles of playing, and musical preferences that finding some kernel of pithy, underlying truths about what makes a good guitar player is almost impossible.

And even if it were possible, labels are by and large useless. What does it really matter if you or anyone else considers your playing to be “good?” One person may love how you play, while someone else may hate it. You might be a great rhythm player but suck at soloing. Or you might have the manual dexterity of Joe Satriani but not be able to play in time.

What does it really matter if you or anyone else considers your playing to be “good?”

Thus we are right back to where we started: What does “good” mean, and who gets to define it?

Let’s also remember that music is not a competition. You don’t get any extra points for being “better” than anyone else. Ultimately, are no wins or losses because music is art. And the best music in my opinion is collaborative art — art in which egos and competition only hurt the end result.

How to Really Rate Yourself as a Guitarist

The truth is, given any set of criteria, I am better than some guitarists and worse than others. And while I may move up or down the list, there will always be someone better than I am — someone to look at and say, “Now they’re ‘good.’”

But that’s a limiting mindset if you ask me. I would propose a set of other, more useful metrics to judge yourself on. Things like:

Are you having fun?

Do you actually enjoy playing guitar? This is the number-one reason I play and even write about guitars — because I like them. Playing brings me joy. If you’re not having fun, you’re missing the point!

Are you progressing, or at least maintaining a level you’re happy at?

In other words, are you at or striving to get to a level where you can play the things you want to play? Musical proficiency and growth are often rewarding for their own sake.

Do you share your passion with other like-minded people?

Do you have the chance to play music with or for others? Or at the very least, do you play music for your own enjoyment?

Given any set of criteria, I am better than some guitarists and worse than others. But that’s a limiting mindset.

If you can say yes to any of these things, then I would say, “Congrats! You are a good guitarist.”

Call yourself anything you want: Okay, decent, intermediate, learning — it doesn’t matter. What matters are things like having joy, progressing as a player, and engaging in a passion. Focus on these things, and the “good” will take care of itself.

October 1, 2022
Triads Are the Ultimate Cheat Code for Guitar

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine who is just starting her guitar journey asked me a question.

She was having trouble playing an F chord cleanly. And if you know anything about guitar, you know that an F chord requires barring — either partial or full. This isn’t the easiest technique for a beginner, and it usually takes a while before it “clicks.” I told her as much but suggested that until then, she could just use a triad. I showed her how easy it was and sent her on her way.

Triads: the ultimate cheat code

If there is anything that I feel took my playing from beginner to intermediate level (whatever those concepts might mean to you), it has to be triads.

If you aren’t familiar with them, the very concept might seem daunting. What the heck is a triad? you might ask. I could never play something that sounds so…terrifying!

In actuality, they are easy to learn and incorporate into your playing, and they open up a myriad of fresh, new ways to play chord progressions.

Cowboy chords: the basics of guitar

Everyone learns the basic open chords when they first start playing the guitar. You know the ones: G, C, D, Em. They are played on just the first few frets to allow you to have open strings form part of the chord, which makes them easy to play. They are often called “cowboy chords,” presumably because cowboys are known more for their singing than their guitar prowess.

But what if I told you that if you know your basic chords, you have all you need to start using triads? Well, I am telling you that, because it’s true.

Understanding triads

Triads might sound complicated, but in reality, they are very simple. “Tri-“ just means three, after all.

Triads, therefore, are nothing more than three-note chords. That’s it.

They usually comprise the root, third, and fifth of a chord, since those are the three notes that define (most) chords. A triad, essentially, is the most basic chord you can possibly play. And that’s part of what makes them so easy to learn.

The other reason they are so easy to incorporate into your playing is they are embedded in the open chords you already know.

Take, for example, the aforementioned F chord, which we can represent as:

x-x-3-2-1-1

This notation means you press the top four strings on the third, second, first, and first fret respectively and strum them (the x’s represent the two bottom strings, which you don’t play). So how can we make this into a triad shape?

Easy: by choosing the root, third, and fifth. In this case, that becomes:

x-x-3-2-1-x

You can easily make this shape by using your first, second, and third fingers. But you’ll notice we’re only playing the strings we have fretted — the rest are not played (the x’s). This makes the triad shape moveable, which is why it’s so handy.

How to move triad shapes

You can move this F triad shape anywhere up and down the fretboard, and it will make a major chord. Move the whole shape up two frets:

x-x-5-4-3-x

and you’ve discovered a G triad. Play it starting at the eighth fret:

x-x-10-9-8-x

and you’ve got yourself a C triad. And on it goes.

This holds true with every triad shape, of which there are a number. One shape, however, you are almost guaranteed to already know is the D triad. This is because the regular D chord is played like this:

x-x-0-3-2-3

Forming the triad shape is as simple as not playing the fourth string:

x-x-x-3-2-3

This triad can be moved up the neck exactly like the F triad. For instance:

x-x-x-7-8-7

makes a G triad, while the following:

x-x-x-4-5-4

is an E triad.

I’ve included a simple list of the main triad shapes below, and you should be able to see 1) how simple they are, and 2) how they are mostly formed from parts of chords you probably already know.

Various triad shapes at their (typically) lowest fretted positions. Any of these can be moved up and down the neck to play any chord.

Using triads in chord progressions and songs

Imagine you are playing a song that has a long crescendo, or buildup, to the most intense part. Let’s say for the purposes of demonstration that you, the guitar player, need to keep strumming a D chord during the buildup. You could just strum the regular, open D chord and just gradually get louder. Or you could use triads to increase in pitch as the song builds. For example, you could start with:

x-x-7-7-7-x (which you can make by just putting your index finger down in a straight line across those strings — see the picture below)

and then move up to:

x-x-12-11-10-x

and then finally reach your peak at:

x-x-x-14-15-14.

Each of these is a D chord, but each one is higher in voicing than the last, which helps add to the anticipation building in the song.

The author forming a D triad using one finger to press down the second, third, and fourth strings at the seventh fret.

You will also often find if you start using triads that they can make for very easy chord changes. Let’s take a song in C this time. If you play:

x-x-5-5-5-x

that’s one option for a C triad. But if the chord changes to an F (which is very likely at some point), you can play:

x-x-7-5-6-x

which is an F triad, without moving your position on the neck at all. Am — another oft-played chord in the key of C — is just as easy:

x-x-7-5-5-x

To round out the song, a G triad is just two frets away, at:

x-x-9-7-8-x

While all of this may look like a jumbled mess of x’s and letters, once you begin experimenting with a guitar in your hands you should be able to see how it all fits together.

Beauty in simplicity

The beauty of triads is in their simplicity. You can find triad shapes and move them all around the fretboard, because again — you’re only playing the fretted strings; there are no open notes to ring out and foul things up. You can choose to focus on different voicings depending on the song or even your mood. And you can incorporate new sonic elements to any song beyond strumming basic chords.

I hope this was a helpful tutorial for you if you’ve never encountered triads before. They are among the most useful guitar techniques to learn, and they are very simple to understand and apply if you have even a modest amount of guitar knowledge.

I’d love to hear your “guitar hacks” — the simple things that make a big difference. Let us know in the comments!

August 17, 2022