Dust in the Wind – Fingerstyle Lead Lesson

Posted on April 28, 2011 by UGOL


Dust in the Wind Introduction Lesson as brush up on the fingerstyle patterns and chords if you need to. If you haven’t done this you ought to do so at this time. You will find that by mastering the Intro you will have a much easier time with the lead portion of this song as you will be able to recycle the fingerstyle patterns and chords very easily, and you will have a much easier time with this lead lesson.

As with the Introduction, this lesson is quite simple as well, as far as fingerstyle guitar goes, and it is a great piece to start out with, especially if you are just getting into fingerstyle guitar. Both the Verse and Chorus sections of Dust in the Wind only consists of 9 total measures, so it will be an uncomplicated song to memorize as well. To get the actual number of repeats and actual song layout, please listen to the original score as I am just concentrating on the fingerstyle scheme here and not the actual musical documentation of the song in detail.

Be Sure To study The Chords For Dust in the Wind:

Examine the chords before you do anything else in this piece. The are all diagramatically represented above the Notation Score in the music below. Take note of the fingering, as this will afford you notable insight as to how to play the lead portion and these chord forms form the framework for the lead portion of the song. So this is an essential step.

Left hand fingering is additionally depected very carefully adjacent to each note head in the Notation Staff. Again, follow the fingering to the letter as this will afford you valuable information for chord changes that are coming up immediately afterwards.

Secondly I have shown the right hand fingering too, which are standardized indications being:

  • The Thumb = p
  • The Index Finger = i
  • The Middle Finger = m
  • The Ring Finger = a

This is a simple or basic fingerstyle piece, mainly because it is a very basic song that is played at a leisurely pace. You can, of course spice it up a bit after you memorize this fundamental version. At your option, you can add syncopation, or just change the lead notes just a bit to add some additional interest to your arrangement.

Dust in the Wind – A Note on the Rhythm Chords:

Also, if you are interested in playing the Verse and Chorus portions of this song with rhythm chords, you have all of the tools here to figure that out. All you need to do is play the piece with the same fingerstyle rhythm as in the Introduction, and play the chord forms that are diagramed above the score. Another option is to visit the YouTube video and play along with the rhythm chords.

Dust in the Wind Fingerstyle Lead

Dust in the Wind Fingerstyle Lead

Posted in Acoustic Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dust in the Wind Chords

Posted on April 24, 2011 by UGOL

Dust in the Wind – Guitar Chords:


Dust in the Wind is a great fingerstyle song from the musical group Kansas. Listening the the song, you hear the strong fingerstyle influence throughout the entire piece.

At first glance, this song can appear rather difficult, but upon closer examination you will find that it is really quite easy to play for both the beginner and intermediate fingerstyle guitarist.

The song lays down the basic rhythm and fingerstyle patterns in the song’s intro and that is what we will concentrate on for this lesson. You will find that this pattern continues when the vocals begin as well.

If you are interested in a strong Travis-style fingerpattern of the right hand thumb, index and middle finger, you will find it in this song. Let’s get started with the chord changes for the intro.

Let’s start by looking at the first line of music or the first 2 measures of the intro. This is played basically as a C major chord with just a repositioning of a single finger to create the different chords.

Let’s Look at the First Measure:

To begin form a standard C chord for the first 2 beats of the measure. The last half of the measure or the last 2 beats, just keep your left hand 2nd and 3rd fingers firmly in place and lift up your 1st finger to play the open “B” or open second string.

Next, the 2nd Measure:

Notice that this measure kicks off with a Cadd9 chord. For a chord with such a big name it is really easy to transition to. Again keep your left hand 2nd and 3rd fingers firmly in place. Now place your 4th finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string to catch the “D” note.

Now We Will Examine the 3rd and 4th Measures:

This line of music is equally easy for you to play, as you will find out. The standard A minor chord is the one that we will be augmenting for these 2 measures. Although the 3rd measure starts out with an Asus2 chord, you might find it easier to form an A Minor chord and then lift your 1st finger to play the open “B” note ot form the Asus2.

The next chord is the Asus4. In this chord, keep your 2nd and 3rd fingers in place and finger the “D” note on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string. Notice how similar the Asus4 and the Cadd9 are?

In the 4th measure, you continue to keep your 2nd and 3rd fingers of the left hand in place and place your 1st finger on the “C” note on the 1st fret of the 2nd string. This, of course will be the A minor chord.

Lastly, we return back to the Asus2 chord, which was the first chord we formed in the 3rd fret.

Now on the to 5th and 6th Measures:

Before you play these 2 measure, look back at the 1st and 2nd measure. See the common chords? Attempt this one yourself and see if you can form these chords.

Measure 8:

It is in this measure where we make a departure in the standard fingerstyle pattern. The first half of the 8th measure is played in the standard fingerstyle pattern. It is in the last half of the measure, where we depart the pattern with a couple of pinched chords.

You should also play these chords with “staccato”, which is a method whereby to play the chord with a bit more force and then lift your left hand fingers to stop the notes from ringing immediately.

This Lesson in Summary:

  • First, be sure to make all of your chord transitions very smoothly.
  • Keep your left hand fingers in place as long as you can and don’t lift them until absolutely necessary.
  • Be sure to search for common notes between chords to make the chord forms easier to transition to.
  • As in most fingerstyle patterns, let the note right through each other as long as you can, unless told to do otherwise.
Dust in the Wind Chords

Dust in the Wind Chords

Posted in Acoustic Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Rhythm Chord Syncopation

Posted on April 18, 2011 by UGOL

Rhythm Chord Syncopation:


This is the next in this series of rhythm chord lessons and we will investigate syncopation used in rhythm chords, or adding syncopation to a selection.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, syncopation is a way to create unexpected disruptions in the normal flow of the music. Another way to describe this is that syncopation in rhythm places accent on certain beats of a measure, or it is a way of introducing an unexpected rest (or silence) in the normal flow of notes.

Just think of it as locating an accent or a disturbance in the regular flow of the song, where this would not be expected, to give color and surprise to the piece.

So, we will investigate how we can very simply do this with some chord exercises.

Let’s practice the three chords in the key of E Major, being the E, A and B7 chords. We will only explore the first measure, since all measures essentially have exactly the same timing with only the chord transitions being the difference.

First, notice that this is a typical 4/4 timing, in that there are 4 beats per measure with each quarter note receiving that beat – so (4) quarter notes per measure.

Next notice that the first chord is a quarter note chord. Use a down stroke of the pick to play this chord, which is indicated with the picking symbols placed beneath the TAB staff. This first chord ought to obtain one full beat.

The second beat of the measure consists of (2) eighth note chords, with each of these chords receiving 1/2 beat each, which adds up to one total beat. Give the first of these chords a down stroke of the pick. This chord is quickly followed by the next eighth note chord which also receives 1/2 beat and this one is played with an up stroke of the pick. We now have completed 2 of the beats in the measure.

Playing Syncopated Chords:

Next comes the syncopated rhythm: The third beat starts out with silence – no chord is played. Notice that there is a chord on the third beat, but it is tied to the prior chord with a series of arched lines. Obviously these are called “tied” notes. These notes are not played, but are ringing through from the previous chord.

The chord following the tied chord is another eighth note chord, which is played on the “and” portion of the third beat.

Finally we round out the measure with 2 more eighth note chords for the “4″ and the “and” beats.

Some points to remember. Play these chords very smoothly, with appropriate timing and be sure to give the syncopated passage the proper timing of one total beat (including the chord that is played in front of it).

Also, do not introduce any unwanted pauses or delays during this series or chords.

How To place Accents or Stress on Chords:

The next rhythm tip we will explore is the placement of adding an accent to select beats of each of these measures. This is additionally known as adding stress to the rhythm.

The first accent you can try is on the first beat of each measure. The way you do this is by picking the first chord or beat just a bit harder or stronger than conventional to make it accented.

Another option is for you to position an accent on the “and” or up stroke of the second beat, which is the third chord in the measure. You can of coarse accent other chords in the measure as well, or vary your accent for each measure. Experiment a bit and find out what works for you and have some fun with syncopated rhythm!

Syncopation In Rhythm Chords

Syncopation In Rhythm Chords - Exercise I

Posted in Acoustic Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Guitar Arpeggios

Posted on April 13, 2011 by UGOL

Guitar Arpeggios:


One common fingerstyle approach you should learn is called the arpeggio. That is just a fancy word for playing chords in a rolling pattern and individually rather than a strum.

This method of playing chords often involves both the thumb and fingers of the right hand, with the thumb playing a bass note and then 2 or 3 of the right hand fingers sequentially playing the remainder of the chord.

Next, let’s look at some examples to more easily illustrate this.

In our first example we will look at a simple arpeggio, transitioning from a G chord to a C chord. Both of these chords will use an alternating bass, played with the thumb.

The first thing that you should note is that even though the right hand thumb changes strings to play the alternate bass notes, the right hand fingers play exactly the same strings.

The second thing to note is that it is very important to play each and every note very smooth and consistent. This is especially true when you change chords.

Also, while playing arpeggios, you should delay movement of fingers until absolutely necessary to get the chord the longest sustain.

This will avoid any silence and provide a very full sound.

Guitar Arpeggio Chords

Guitar Arpeggio Chords

Now we will examine how we can make use of common notes or common tones to more greatly enhance chord changes.

In this exercise you will play a simple C chord with a variation. Finger the C major and add your 4th finger to the 3rd fret of the 1st string. Now play the C arpeggio. Now switch to the G Major chord, and this time hold your left hand 4th finger in place (rather than using the typical 3rd finger). This will save wasted motion and make your transition much smoother between the chords.

It is important that prior to playing the chords, you examine the piece to find common notes to simplify your chore.

If you exercise this additional step prior to playing your chords, your guitar playing will improve significantly.

In our next example we will discover how to intermix “Pinch” chords in the arpeggios.

A “Pinch” is performed by playing 3 or 4 notes, with the right hand all at one time. The term pinch is derived from the appearance of the thumb and fingers “Pinching” the strings.

Now we will learn how to integrate a pinch chord into and alongside of an arpeggio type arrangement.

Let’s begin by looking at a 3-chord change in this exercise by playing a G chord to a C chord to a D7 chord and finally back to the G chord.

Each measure is divided in half, with the first half of the measure played with an alternating bass and a pinch chord, and the second half of the measure being played with an arpeggio type style.

Guitar Arpeggios and Pinch Chords

Guitar Arpeggios and Pinch Chords

Posted in Acoustic Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

How To Play Alternating Bass Guitar Chords

Posted on April 6, 2011 by UGOL

Playing Alternating Bass Note Chord Patterns::


In this exercise, we will get your feet wet into what is called alternating bass notes and showing you how they can be combined with chords.

Not only is this a bit more of a challenge for you, it takes quite a bit of finesse to pull it off (not too much for the beginner though).

Not only will this technique make you a more diverse guitar player, it will open the doors to more music genera s for you to explore.

Alternating Bass – The Definition

By using the alternating bass you no longer just play straight strumming chords. Basically you alternate every other chord with a bass note. In other words bass note, chord, bass note chord – read on for examples:

If you would play 4 beats per measure with straight strumming chords you would play one for each beat or a total of 4 chord strums.

Straight Strumming Pattern

Example 1 - Straight Strumming Pattern

Example #1:

  • Beat #1: Play a Chord Strum
  • Beat #2: Play a Chord Strum
  • Beat #3: Play a Chord Strum
  • Beat #4: Play a Chord Strum
Alternating Bass Chord (C Major)

Example 2 - Alternating Bass Chord (C Major)

Example #2:

  • Beat #1: Play a Bass Note
  • Beat #2: Play a Chord Strum
  • Beat #3: Play a Bass Note
  • Beat #4: Play a Chord Strum

Refer to the following diagram to see how this is illustrated in standard notation and TAB notation for all of the 15 basic easy guitar chords. These chords were covered in an earlier lesson – The 15 Basic Easy Guitar Chords you should learn.

You will note that there are chord diagrams shown above each chord change to help guide you through the different fingering that is required to apply the bass notes to the rhythm chord changes.

Also for your conveniences each of these chords are shown in both Standard Notation format as well as TAB notation format. This will help you visualize the chords and how to change between them.

How To Play Alternating Bass Guitar Chords – The 15 Basic Chords:

Alternating Bass Guitar Chords - The 15 Basic Chords

Alternating Bass Guitar Chords - The 15 Basic Chords

Posted in Acoustic Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

How To Play Guitar Chords

Posted on April 1, 2011 by UGOL

How To Play Guitar Chords – Chord Changes:


The next big challenge you will find with playing chords is called chord transitions, or changing between chords.

In this example, let’s try to move (or transition), smoothly between a G Major chord and a D7 chord, while keeping your strumming pattern rock solid. What you cannot do is play the G chord right up until it time to change to the D7 chord and then pause to change chords – as a rhythm guitarist, this will not do.

The key do doing this in the beginning is to start out very slowly and keep your tempo slow and even, be sure not to pause or skip a beat when you change chords.

Now let’s look at the next exercise. Let’s change between the Dm and G7.

In this exercise we will learn the principle of common notes and common fingering. What I mean by this is the search for common notes that are shared between the 2 chords. This is a very useful technique that is used by guitarists. Notice the common notes between the G7 and the Dm for instance – the are on the 1st string (the F note) and the 4th string (the D note open).

Start by fingering the Dm chord, and give it a strum. Then to finger the G7, move your 2nd finger to the 5th string, 2nd fret and move your 3rd finger the the 6th string, 3rd fret. You now have the G7 chord placement.

Your first finger does not move at all and acts like as an anchor finger. This method allows you to efficiently move between chords. So you can see that even if you only have one finger that remains in a chord change, you will save a lot of waisted motion and that finger acts like a hinge or a fulcrum.

Now let’s change between the C and Am chords. Start by fingering the C chord and give it a strum. To move to the Am, you only have to change one finger. Simply move the third finger to the 3rd string, 2nd fret.

So, let’s review some of the secrets to chord changes that we have learned in this lesson:

How To Play Guitar Chords – Anchor Fingers

Keep one or more common-note fingers in place when you change chords. Be sure to study the chords prior to playing them to see which chords this applies to. This method really speeds things up and gets you playing your chord changes very quickly and efficiently.

How To Play Guitar Chords – Anchor Finger Sliding

This is one of the best and easiest methods that I utilize to be keep chord changes very efficient. This is done by simply releasing the pressure from a fingered note, move that finger to a new fret position and re-apply pressure to press down the string. This was done when we changed from the D7 to the G.

How To Play Guitar Chords – Multiple Finger Movements:

This is done by move 2 or even 3 fingers all at the same time. The fingers may have to be repositioned a bit to play slightly different positions on each fret, but as long as they are moved in one group, it is much easier to both memorize the chord, and move your fingers quickly. Let’s look at an example that implements both of these strategies in one chord change:

How To Play Guitar Chords – Change from a D7 to a G.

Although not shown in the exercise, let’s give this a try anyway. It simply uses a few of the secrets listed above to help you easily change between these 2 chords.

Place your fingers into position and strum a D7 chord. Now we will want to change to the G Major chord

To shift to a G chord, lift the 2nd and 3rd fingers slightly above the strings – no more than 1/4 inch.

At the same time, release the pressure of your 3rd finger, but keep it resting on the 1st string and slide it into it’s new position up to the 3rd fret.

And…. move BOTH your 1st and 2nd fingers into their new position on the 5th and 6th strings. Be sure to move both of these finger in tandem, so you save as much energy as possible.

Just refer to the example below for each of these techniques. Start out very slowly until you have the chords mastered, they gradually gain speed. Above all else, do not skip a beat or pause the timing in any way. Note the timing that is listed between the notation staff and the TAB staff.

Chord Changing Secrets

Chord Changing Secrets


Posted in Acoustic Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

How To Play Chords

Posted on March 27, 2011 by UGOL

How To Play Guitar Chords – Strumming Patterns:


In order to play a good rhythm guitar, you have to be consistent above all other factors.

If you need to ponder how to strum each chord as a rhythm guitarist, you are not yet “ready for primetime”. A great rhythm guitarist needs to have a rigid rock-solid rhythm and be ver decisive in making chord changes.

You need to employ some basic strumming strategies and what this involves is putting your right hand on “auto-pilot” so to speak, an not having to be concerned about it.

Be sure to memorize the techniques shown in this lesson. Play them until you do not need to think about them at all, and can smoothly transition between chords, between chord strumming patterns, and much more.

Try these first few examples.

Most importantly, note the pattern of the right hand – more specifically, the up and down strokes of the right hand picking hand. Note the symbols used for up and down strokes are located directly beneath the TAB portion of the staff. The “V” indicates an upstroke or up-sweep of the pick and the other symbol, which looks like a little bridge indicated the downstroke of the pick.

Downstrokes of the pick are on what is called “on the beat”, which means that to play the chords on the timing of the beats of 1, 2, 3, 4. These indication for timing are shown between the notation and Tab staff in the music.

Guitar Building Plans

This concept of strumming styles is very fundamental and it is essential that you master this concept to be able to be a solid rhythm guitarist.

How To Play Chords – Example 1 and 2:

How to Play Chords - Example 1 and 2:

How to Play Chords - Example 1 and 2:

The first measure in the diagram above indicates one of the most simple strumming patterns. All you need to do is to form the C Major chord and play each chord as quarter notes with one beat per strum and 4 strums in the first measure. All chords are played with a downstroke.

The second measure steps it up a bit by using eighth notes. Notice the timing between the staffs. This measure still is a 4-beat measure, but this time you have to play 2 chords per beat for a total of 8 strums. Also, most importantly note the down and up strokes.

How To Play Chords – Example 3:

How to Play Chords - Example 3

The third and fourth measures combine both quarter and eighth notes, with the quarter notes played on the beats of “1″ and “3″ and the eighth note chords played on the “2″ “and” & the “4″ “and” portions of the measure. Carefully note the mixed down and up strokes of the picking hand.

How To Play Chords – Example 4:

How to Play Chords - Example 4

Measures 5 and 6 have a slightly different pattern with a quarter note strum on beat one and the balance of the measure is played with down and up strokes for the eighth note chords.

How to Play Chords – Some Tips For Timing:

One tip is to tap your foot as you play these passages. Your foot taps the floor on the downbeat and is up on the upbeat or the “and”. Another great learning aid is to count out loud as you are practicing when first going through these exercises. For quarter notes you just count “one-two-three-four”. For eighth notes you would count “one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and”.

How To Play Chords – Example 5:

How to Play Chords - Example 5

How to Play Chords - Example 5

Example 5 indicates all eighth notes without any quarter notes. Played with just straight even-toned chords can make this style very boring. In order to bring interest or ‘color’ into this strumming pattern you need to add accents to certain beats. Try experimenting and see what sounds good. Be sure to watch your down and up strokes of the pick.

In order to make these beats or accent stand out, simply strum the chords harder or more forcefully to make them a bit louder.

To get you started, you can start by adding accent to the 2nd and 4th beats and note how much this changes the color of the measure.

Posted in Acoustic Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Easy Guitar Chords

Posted on March 24, 2011 by UGOL

Easy Guitar Chords – The 15 Basic Chords You Should Know:


Before we begin the process of learning how to in fact strum guitar chords, lets concentrate on a series of easy guitar chords whereby you can have up and going approximately instantly. If you are like most new guitar players, you are excited to get to picking chords right away, so you can obtain the most out of your guitar.

Most often, chords are grouped into keys or key signatures, but right now that involves a bit too much music theory, so we will go over the most common and easy guitar chords to get you started in the right direction and sounding like a pro – all very simply and easily.

In the rhythm or chord lessons, we will start out with some beginning strumming and work our way up to some intermediate level materials, while doing so, we will apply these techniques to some “real world” songs, to give you a real good feel for actual application.

15 Easy Guitar Chords:

To get you started, I have grouped together a total of 15 of the most common guitar chords you will find. These basic chords are assembled together into 3 major groups – Please refer to the image at the bottom of this page:

The first group are Major Chords, which consist of the chords of C, G, D, A, E and F. Note that with Major chords the word “Major” is dropped from the chord name. In other words, the C Major chord is simply called a “C” Chord.

Also, there are three Minor Chords and they are Dm, Am and Em.

Finally the last grouping of chords are the Seventh Chords, consisting of C7, G7, D7, A7, E7 and B7.

Be Sure To Memorize Each of These Easy Guitar Chords

Each of these fundamental chords should be committed to memory, master them and you will notice that our strumming techniques explored in later lessons will come to you much easier.

Here are some tips to help you more easily memorize your guitar chords.

Look for common Notes in These Easy Guitar Chords

Study each of these chord forms and be on the lookout for commonly used notes that chords have with each other. First of all, let’s compare the Major Chords to the Seventh Chords, as you will observe various common note with these chords. For starters, let’s compare the C and C7 chords. There is only one finger different, and that is the 4th finger that is added to the C7 to play the Bb note on the 3rd fret, 3rd string.

Now let’s compare the G and the G7 chords. All the notes of these two chords are exactly the same except for the first string. The G7 chords applications an “F” note on the first fret of the first string, while the G Major applications a “G” note on the third fret of the first string.

Follow these same tips when you compare the D,A and E chords, as they relate to the D7, A7 and E7 chords.

When you analyze the Dm, Em and Am chords, just apply these same strategies. You will notice that there is truly only one finger and/or note that modifications.

To review just what all of the symbols of the guitar diagrams mean, refer to the article Guitar Strumming.

Easy Guitar Chords

Posted in Acoustic Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Guitar Strumming

Posted on March 21, 2011 by UGOL

Chords in the Key of C Major

Chords in the Key of C Major

Basic Guitar Strumming:


Guitar Strumming is often thought of as one of the easiest techniques to master and many guitarists neglect the needed techniques to become a great rhythm guitar player. Don’t get caught into this web of thinking as having a good command on playing chords is one of the most important skills you can obtain on the acoustic guitar, and this is especially true is you accompany someone playing lead guitar, a singer or your own singing.

Once you have learned some of the chord shapes or forms, you have only conquered half of the battle. Fully as important as fingered the chords properly with the left hand is a ‘rock-solid’ right hand guitar strumming pattern. This is a must as the rhythm guitar playing often sets the ‘beat’ in a song especially if there is not a drummer in the band. Therefore, any pauses, mis-played chords or slightly “off the beat” chords simply will not do.

In the rhythm or chord lessons, we will start out with some beginning strumming and work our way up to some intermediate level materials, while doing so, we will apply these techniques to some “real world” songs, to give you a real good feel for actual application.

Before we start with some of the actual songs, we will take a look at some of the more common strumming chords you will encounter in these lessons. Also, to make your strumming much easier, let’s observe some basic tips and rules:

Guitar Strumming – How To Play Fretted Notes Clearly:

While you play chords, one of the most basic of rules to to be sure that all the notes in the chords ring out very clearly. If you find that one of the notes of a chord sound dead, muffled or muted, it is likely that you are doing one of the following:

  1. A finger from one of the other fretted notes is touching the string that is muffled.
  2. You are not pressing the string down hard enough.
  3. In order to have a fretted note sound the clearest, make sure you follow these instructions:
  4. Place a fretted finger just behind the fret that above the note. In other words if you are playing a note on the first fret of a string, place your finger just behind the second fret – it plays the easiest and the clearest there. About 1/4″ behind the 2nd fret is about the right distance.

Chord Diagrams or Chord Grids have symbols you should understand:

  1. An “X” means you shall not play that note.
  2. The circles with numbers are the finger number that you should use to fret the note. Some diagrams simply show a black dot as well, with the finger used to fret the note above and off to the side of the dot.
  3. If you see anywhere from 2 to 6 dots connects with an “arc” this means this is a bar chord and you should stretch your finger (usually the first) finger over all the notes covered by the arc.
  4. Sometimes the finger numbers of the fretted note are shown below the chord diagram as well.

Guitar Strumming – Practice Indeed Does Make Perfect:

Keep up your spirits. If at first you don’t succeed, you will indeed have to keep trying. This does take practice and eventually you will play all of your chords like a pro. Your fingers will get very sore as well. Remember you need to build up calluses on all 4 of your fretting fingers before the soreness will go away. This can take anywhere from several weeks to a couple of months.

Keep Your Fretting Fingernails At Proper Length:

Fingernails can be a real hindrance – at least on your fretting hand they’re not. Keep the nails on your fretting hand quite short to allow you to play multi-finger chords much easier. How much nail? I like to keep only about 1/32″ or .5mm and keep them filed at that length. Longer and you will impede your ability to clearly press down on the strings, less and you risk ripping the nail from the flesh of your finger and you won’t be able to play at all until it heals.

The next lesson on Chord Strumming will document the basic chord forms you should become familiar with.

Posted in Acoustic Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

G7th Capo Review

Posted on February 9, 2011 by UGOL

G7th Capo – Review

G7th Performance Capo

G7th Performance Capo

Are you up for a different capo? Once you use the G7th Performance Guitar Capo, you will wonder why you even considered other capo options.

By using improved engineering, this device accomplishes what guitar capos do the best – this is to provide clean, exact key modifications without having to put up with with any of the hassles that accompany that, such as modifications in string intonation.

The Primary Function of the Guitar Capo:


The guitar capo acts as a temporary nut relocation so the guitarist can very easily modify keys without the need to bar the string with a finger across the strings. On an acoustic guitar, the usability of the capo spans about 10 frets on a 14-fret neck and 8 frets on a 12-fret neck.

A gentleman from England by the name of Nick Campling is responsible for the G7th Capo innovation. He is a master product designer as well as being a very established artist in his own right. After 30 years of using sub-standard capos, Nick made the decision to put his design skills to work and designed a superior capo. He first analyzed the commonly available capos on the market and what their shortfalls were.

The Design Objectives:

  • After placement of the capo there should be a very minimal affect on the guitar intonation.
  • The capo should be very easy to apply and remove from the guitar neck.
  • No damage to the guitar neck as a result of capo usage.
  • The capo shall not obstruct the fretting hand during use.
  • A very magnificently designed capo that is not only pleasing to the eye, but has fantastic functionallity as well.
  • Capo repositioning ought to be very easy to change keys.

The design of the G7th Capo has met all of these demands and Nick had come up with a superior capo that is not only perfection in its use, but it is very stunning to look as as well. The architectural axiom of “Form Follows Function” truly applied to this contemporary piece of artwork.

Although there have been as many as 140 capo patents filed with the patent office, very few of them perform the basic functions of the list above, which are the fundamental needs of every guitar player. Although it may seem like a elementary task to design a product that will provide correct tension to clamp guitar strings, not harm a neck and have minimal effect on string intonation of the instrument – think again!

How This Capo Works:

The capo consists of two bars connected by a pivotal joint. The top bar provides clamping action on the fretboard and the bottom bar provides tension on the back of the neck. The joint of the capo consists of a wrapped spring clutch that operates much like to high-speed printer and photocoyping decoupling devices.

This type of clamping process was found to be far superior to the typical ratcheting mechanisms of equivalent capos in that this type is ‘infinitely adjustable” as the amount of tension has no boundaries. The are three elements in the clutch device. They are the the movable hub, the fixed hub and the wound spring that fits over both of the hubs.

My Observations Using The G7th Capo:

G7th Performance Capo

G7th Performance Capo

You can truly work this capo with just one hand. To release the tension on the capo, merely depress the small plastic tab. With some varieties, most notably the Shubb I would have to take the capo totally off to re-adjust the tension, that is not necessary with the G7th. All you do in squeeze it onto the guitar neck and your tension is automatically restored – pretty slick.

During this time, they decided to enter into the digital age and they purchased computer-assisted equipment to further enhance the speed and consistency of their guitar lines and reduce costs.

No more dead strings. Often other capos will provide dead zones or dead-sounding open strings. With this capo, just employ a small amount of pressure to have your strings ringing loud and true, whether the capo is on the first fret or the eighth fret.

I used this capo on one of my custom handmade guitars with a rather wide neck of 1-7/8″ and the G7th effortlessly spanned the strings, which makes it a very versatile capo from conventional width to wide neck guitars, and even some 12-string guitars.

My Recommendations of the G7th Performance Capo:

At $59.99 list price, you can pick this capo up at a discounted price of around $40.00 or less. While this may seem like a lot of money to spend on a guitar capo, I think this capo is worth every penny. It will save you more than that in time, frustration and ease of use and you will find it to be a outstanding investment.

This capo will not only save you tons on time adjusting your guitar intonation, it will save your finish of the guitar, stay out of the way of the fretting hand, and you will have a product that performs perfectly and is a very pleasing addition to the aesthetics of your guitar.

For more information on Guitar Capo recommendations see the article Our Picks of Guitar Capos.

Want to learn just how to use a guitar capo? See the Article How to Use a Guitar Capo
.

Posted in Guitar Gear | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments