RGR Blog
Guitar soloing cheat sheet: Create better guitar solos
As with anything, you have to learn to walk before you can run. Playing guitar is no different. Before you dive into soloing, understanding basic music theory is crucial for making sense of your fretboard and creating cohesive solos. This soloing checklist aims to identify key areas of music theory that will make constructing solos …
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Augmented chords: What you need to know
Augmented chords, often denoted by symbols like C+ or Caug, are intriguing yet somewhat elusive entities in the world of music theory. If you’re a beginner or intermediate guitar player, understanding these chords can elevate your playing and enrich your musical compositions. Let’s dive into the essentials of augmented chords! What are augmented chords? At …
The practice hump: Why some guitarists find it hard to practice
Practice is the backbone of improvement for any guitarist, yet many of us struggle to make it a consistent part of our routine. In this article, we’ll explore common reasons guitarists avoid practice and delve into why cultivating a positive mindset towards practice is crucial for achieving rapid progress on the guitar. Top 10 excuses …
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An introduction to Slash Chords
This is the first blog post in a new series that is designed to demystify the basic music theory around constructing new and exciting chords. The series is aimed at both beginners and intermediate players. The objective is to help you expand your understanding of how to build these chords, use them in your own …
Attenuated earplugs: The key to protecting your hearing while practicing music
As a musician, practicing is an essential part of honing your craft. However, the noise level of your instruments can lead to permanent hearing damage over time. That’s why attenuated earplugs have become an essential tool for musicians who want to protect their hearing without sacrificing the quality of their practice sessions. What are attenuated …
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Tinnitus and guitar players: Understanding the connection and protecting your hearing
Tinnitus is a common condition that affects millions of people around the world. It is characterised by a persistent ringing, buzzing, or humming sound in the ears, which can be distracting and even debilitating in some cases. For guitar players, tinnitus can have a significant impact on their ability to perform and enjoy their music. …
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The effects of oxidation on pedal contact points
Are you the kind of player that dials up a pedal tone and leaves your pedal set up that way permanently? If you answered yes to the above then you could be risking the effects of oxidation degrading your pedal’s performance. Do you have any pedals that are suffering from intermittent signal issues or low volume …
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Buying your first overdrive pedals
I purposely aimed this post at beginner and even intermediate level guitarists that are somewhat new to the world of guitar pedals. I want to help you to make informed choices, and get the best tone possible for both your bedroom and stage setups. If you’re new to the world of guitar and pedal effects, …
RGR Golden Rules for Buying Your First Electric Guitar
Here are Paule’s golden rules for buying your first electric guitar. Follow these to ensure that you enjoy playing your first instrument. Always buy from a ✅ trusted dealer and not a ❌ private seller. If you head to Trademe or other online marketplaces, you will see loads of guitars for sale, but you don’t …
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The most common mistake when chasing killer tones
Long before I owned my first guitar, as an impressionable teenager I used to study the product catalogues of the day. They were from companies like Ibanez, Fender, Gibson and ESP. I was heavily influenced by my favourite guitar players and I swore to myself that I would do whatever it took to save enough …
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Can I learn to play guitar without having to learn basic music theory?
As a guitar performance coach, I regularly meet or receive coaching enquiries from guitar players that share a common problem. They’re usually self-taught and have a rudimentary understanding of basic chords. More often than not, they might know one or two shapes of the major and minor pentatonic scales. These players all have the same …
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The importance of developing good muscle memories
Muscle memory is the act of committing a specific motor task into memory through repetition. While it’s true that your muscles themselves can’t actually remember anything, your muscles are full of neurons that are attached to your nervous system and it is these smart neurons that play a major role in the skill retention of …
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The origin of acoustic guitars
According to leading historians our modern day acoustic guitar originated from ancient stringed instruments, this is first evidenced by stone carvings that are over 3,000 years old that have been excavated from the territories surrounding the ancient city of Babylonia. The term guitar was applied to all chordophones that were developed in 12th century Europe. A …
What beginners don’t know and what intermediate guitar players have forgotten
Like many guitarists I know, before I picked up a six-string, I picked up an assortment of other guitar substitutes. Things like a broomstick, a tennis racket or even the good old fashioned air guitar. I rocked out to my favourite songs, imagining that my fingers were making those killer licks and guitar riffs that …
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The origin of the electric guitar
Before you begin your guitar journey, it might be useful to gain some appreciation for all the voodoo and wonderful black magic that went into creating the first electric guitars. If you’re not already aware, the first recognised electric guitars were manufactured in the 1930s by Rickenbacker Electro, founded by Adolf Rickenbacker. These first electric …
How playing an instrument can make you smarter
Ever wondered, why it is that when you listen to your favourite up tempo music, your mood begins to immediately improve? Have you ever noticed how the activity of listening to your favourite sad songs can make you feel better about yourself? Listening to our favourite Music is not just a pleasant experience for our …
Six steps to develop a positive mindset and achieve your guitar development goals
I have been coaching & mentoring and developing musicians now, for over twenty years. I couldn’t begin to count the times, over those years when aspiring musicians have walked through my doorway and immediately, started pouring their hearts out to me about how much they either love to play guitar or desire to learn to play …
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