Tips for Playing Better

Here's Tommy Emmanuel's tips for improving your guitar playing:

1. Understand that music is 99% feel and 1% technique

2. Learn to play melodies (tunes)

3. Concentrate on producing the tone you are hearing in your head

4. TAP YOUR FOOT (develop your rhythm)

5. Goals: Be prepared to work at your goals at least three times as hard as you think to have to!

6. Record yourself often

Record yourself

Let me start off by saying I'm a totally non-professional that plays around only to entertain myself. I had often read that it helps to record yourself, at least on occasion, to hear what you sound like and to be able to see future progress. I originally played around using a mic, thru a preamp into my pc via Audacity. I didn't have a whole lot invested (well under $100) and it worked ok for my purposes. The only downside, it took a while to set up and break down. A while back, I ended up buying one of these. I was amazed how good it sounds and the ease of use. Works much better for my purposes than my old setup. At that time, these were on sale for $49, less a $20 rebate. For me, a bargain at twice the prices.

The Story of the Guitar

The Story of the Guitar Part 1 - The Beginning from Guitar on Vimeo.

Hohner HW200

• Full size Western guitar (with a scale length of 650 mm).
• Recommended for players who prefer a smaller body.
• Spruce top, catalpa back and sides, mahogany neck.
• Hardwood fingerboard and bridge.
• Light gauge steel strings for easier fingering.
• Natural high gloss finish.
• New optimized bracing pattern, neck block design and bridge design for stronger projection with stronger bass and treble frequencies

Xaviere XV_150S

Classic Dreadnaught power, but with a softer, rounder edge. The Solid Cedar top, laminated Bubinga back and sides and satin finish back and neck.  Tortoiseshell binding, gold tuners with Brown Tortoishell buttons, nut and saddle are hand carved bone.

Fender Ron Emory Loyalty Parlor

• Body
• Body Shape: Parlor
• Body Back: Laminated Mahogany or Laminated Ash
• Body Sides: Laminated Mahogany or Laminated Ash
• Body Top: Laminated Mahogany or Laminated Ash
• Bracing: Quartersawn Scalloped X
• Rosette: Herringbone
• Body Binding: Herringbone
• Neck
• Neck Shape: Soft "V"
• Number of Frets: 19
• Position Inlays: White Diamond-Shaped
• Fingerboard Radius: 11.81" (300mm)
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Neck Material: Mahogany or Maple
• Nut Width: 1.625" (41.3 mm)
• Scale Length: 25.3" (64.3 cm)
• Neck Binding: Herringbone
• Hardware
• Hardware Finish: Chrome
• Bridge: Viking-Style Rosewood with Graphtech® Nubone™ Compensated Saddle
• String Nut: Graphtech® NuBone™
• Miscellaneous
• Strings: Fender® Dura-Tone® Coated 80/20 Bronze (.012-.052 Gauge)
• Unique Features: Ron Emory signature on truss rod cover, white diamond shaped position inlays with 12th-fret "Loyalty" logo, factory mounted forward strap button with internal block reinforcement, 70s headstock shape, black-with-white-dot bridge pins, dual action truss rod

The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything

How to learn anything in 20 hours.  Skip to 12:30 for fretted instrument specific discussion