Request. Tabs can be found here. www.ultimate-guitar.com Good luck and take care. Aaron G
Video Rating: 4 / 5

• Compatible with Playstation 2 and 3, XBOX 360, Wii
• 40 watts continuous power
• Controls include, Power, Volume, Speaker configuration
• Pro Type Grill and Corner guards
• Handel for transport

Product Description
Stage Gig is a powered speaker to enhance your Rockband or Guitar Hero experience. $0 Watts Continuous power, rugged pro cabinet, works with Playstation 2 & 3, XBOX360, Wii

$31.00

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Altec Lansing RM3010 Stage-Gig Amplified Speaker for Rock Band and Guitar Hero

• Supports all Guitar Hero instrument controllers within the same gaming platform, as well as other music/rhythm game controllers.
• Play with any combination of instruments you want, even with four lead singers.
• Team up with a partner on a Nintendo DS Lite in Roadie Mode for an all new level of competition.
• Expand your music collection by import your favorite Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero downloadable content straight into Band Hero.
• Enjoy 2-4 player local multiplayer support in co-op and competive modes and 2-8 player support online.

Product Description
This November, family and friends will come together to ascend the virtual stage and rock their way to superstardom with Band Hero. Brought to you by the makers of Guitar Hero, one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, Band Hero features the hottest chart-topping hits from everyone’s favorite acts including Taylor Swift, Lily Allen, The All-American Rejects and Jackson 5. Headlined by some of the biggest names in music as in-game artists and playable characters, Band Hero is the ultimate party game where players of all ages will be able to experience the signature, easy-to-learn but difficult-to-master Guitar Hero gameplay. Band Hero allows fans to create the band they always dreamed of using any combination of guitar or drum controllers and vocals, providing rockers and performers of all ages the chance to experience and interact with their favorite music. Music sensation Taylor Swift joins forces with Band Hero for the ultimate family music gaming experience! Taylor Swift, global music sensation and best selling artist of 2008, will ascend an all-new virtual stage this November in Band Hero. Budding music stars, their families and friends, will all live their musical fantasy on the Band Hero stage, playing as Taylor Swift or alongside the singer/songwriter and guitarist, as she performs her smash-hits “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” from her latest album Fearless as well as “Picture to Burn” from her self-titled debut record. “Anything that encourages people to pick up an instrument and play, I’m fully behind. And, I’m really excited about Band Hero, because not only are fans getting to play my songs, but I’m actually in the game,” said Swift. “There are so many awesome things that go into being in Band Hero, like getting to customize my band to look like my touring band, and it’s so cool for people to feel like they are experiencing one of my concerts. This is one of the closest things out there to going to see me perform!”Amazon.com Product Description

Brought to you by the makers of Guitar Hero, one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, Band Hero features the hottest chart-topping hits from everyone’s favorite acts including Taylor Swift, No Doubt, Lily Allen, The All-American Rejects and Jackson 5. Headlined by some of the biggest names in music as in-game artists and playable characters, Band Hero is the ultimate party game to play on the road or at home, where players of all ages will be able to experience the signature, easy-to-learn but difficult-to-master Guitar Hero gameplay. Classic Guitar Hero style gameplay. View larger. In-game artists like Taylor Swift. View larger. New in-stage characters. View larger. Go karaoke in Sing Along Mode. View larger. Import Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero downloadable content into Band Hero. View larger. In-game Artists: Taylor Swift and Adam Levine Music sensation Taylor Swift joins forces with Band Hero for the ultimate family music gaming experience. Taylor Swift, global music sensation and best selling artist of 2008, will ascend an all-new virtual stage this November in Band Hero. Budding music stars, their families and friends, will all live their musical fantasy on the Band Hero stage, playing as Taylor Swift or alongside the singer/songwriter and guitarist, as she performs her smash-hits “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” from her latest album Fearless as well as “Picture to Burn” from her self-titled debut record. Adam Levine joins Taylor Swift as an exclusive, in-game playable character by lending his popular likeness to Band Hero. Fans will be able to play as Levine as he rocks out to the Grammy nominated “She Will Be Loved,” Maroon 5′s hit single from their debut album Songs About Jane, which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and is Gold and Platinum in more than 35 countries. Key Game Features Join the Party at any Time – In Party Play mode, you can jump in/jump out of a song at any time with the click of a button. Try All-new Sing Along Mode – Sing together karaoke style on any song you choose. Create Your Own Band – Your band is as unique as you are. Play with any combination of instruments you want, even with four lead singers. Expand Your Music Collection – Import your favorite Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero downloadable content straight into Band Hero. Multiplayer Support – Enjoy 2-4 player local multiplayer support in co-op and competitive modes and 2-8 player support online. Roadie Battle Mode – Team up with a partner on a Nintendo DS Lite for an all new level of competition. Controller Compatibility – Supports all Guitar Hero instrument controllers within the same gaming platform, as well as other music/rhythm game controllers. The Song List Band Hero features over 60 master recordings from some of the hottest bands of today and yesteryear. Some of the songs players can expect to be cranking through with their bands are: 3 Doors Down – “When I’m Gone” The Airborne Toxic Event – “Gasoline” The All American Rejects – “Dirty Little Secret” Alphabeat – “Fascination” Aly and AJ – “Like Whoa” Angels & Airwaves – “The Adventure” Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals – “Steal My Kisses” Big Country – “In a Big Country” The Bravery – “Believe” Carl Douglas – “Kung Fu Fighting” Cheap Trick – “I Want You To Want Me (live)” Cold War Kids – “Hang Me Up To Dry” Corinne Bailey Rae – “Put Your Records On” Counting Crows – “Angels of the Silences” Culture Club – “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” Dashboard Confessional – “Hands Down” David Bowie – “Let’s Dance” Devo – “Whip It” Don McLean – “American Pie” Duffy – “Warwick Avenue” Duran Duran – “Rio” Evanescence – “Bring Me To Life” Everclear – “Santa Monica (Watch The World Die)” Fall Out Boy – “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” Filter – “Take A Picture” Finger Eleven – “Paralyzer” The Go-Go’s – “Our Lips Are Sealed” Hilary Duff – “So Yesterday” Hinder – “Lips Of An Angel” Jackson 5 – “ABC” Janet Jackson – “Black Cat” Jesse McCartney – “Beautiful Soul” Joan Jett – “Bad Reputation” Joss Stone – “You Had Me” Katrina and The Waves – “Walking On Sunshine” The Kooks – “Naive” KT Tunstall – “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” The Last Goodnight – “Pictures Of You” Lily Allen – “Take What You Take” Maroon 5 – “She Will Be Loved” Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” Mighty Mighty Bosstones – “The Impression That I Get” Nelly Furtado – “Turn Off The Light” N.E.R.D. – “Rockstar” No Doubt – “Just A Girl” No Doubt – “Don’t Speak” OK Go – “A Million Ways” Papa Roach – “Lifeline” Parachute – “Back Again” Pat Benatar – “Love Is A Battlefield” Poison – “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue – “Kids” The Rolling Stones – “Honky Tonk Women” Roy Orbison – “Oh Pretty Woman” Santigold – “L.E.S. Artistes” Snow Patrol – “Take Back the City” Spice Girls – “Wannabe” Styx – “Mr. Roboto” Taylor Swift – “Love Story” Taylor Swift – “Picture To Burn” Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me” Tonic – “If You Could Only See” The Turtles – “Happy Together” Village People – “YMCA” Yellowcard – “Ocean Avenue”

$15.99

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Band Hero featuring Taylor Swift – Stand Alone Software

• Skin covers face of the guitar body, wings and head.
• Dual Layer Scratch Protection – Tough vinyl material coated with a high gloss laminate.
• NO STICKY MESS – Leaves no sticky residue when removed.
• Made in the U.S.A.
• fits Guitar Controllers for XBOX 360, Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii

Product Description
WraptorSkinzTM self adhering vinyl skins will look amazing on your electronic gear, printed at the highest resolution possible for unbeatable color and razor sharp clarity. Unlike bulky silicon, plastic or metal cases and faceplates, WraptorSkinzTM are designed to be thin and very tough. WraptorSkinzTM are a composite of layered commercial grade vinyls. The bottom layer is a soft, flexible vinyl with a special removable adhesive that is easily positioned, applied without air bubbles, and effortlessly removed without leaving a sticky residue. WraptorSkinz are printed with the latest in UV protected inks that resist fading for up to 3 years even in direct sunlight. Finally we bond a professional grade laminate over the entire skin adding a professional glossy protective finish.

$18.95

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Warriors Of Rock Guitar Hero Skin – Daisys

Guitar Hero’s latest installment, “World Tour”, is the answer to EA’s rock n roll power house, “Rock Band”. Guitar Hero led the way into plastic guitar’s and hairband jam sessions, but now they must play catch up in the genre they created. Some of the fallbacks for the original Guitar Hero titles were the lack of downloading options for owners of the Wii console. But know that Wii has expanded  into song downloads through there online Wii store, players can finally enjoy the full spectrum of full band game play and unlimited song selection.

For those of you that are looking for the game that comes fully equipped with an allstar setlist, Guitar Hero World Tour is the answer. With everything from Hendrix and The Eagles to Tool and Metallica, World Tour definitely leads the way for those that have an affinity for “true” guitar laden melodies. In all the Guitar Hero World Tour reviews it is obvious that Guitar Hero comes through in the major category of song selection. And that makes Guitar Hero World Tour  a top download selection amongst all the top downloaded Wii games available.

Downloading Guitar Hero World Tour

If you are ready to download the latest and undoubtedly, hottest headliner on the market, you need to choose wisely. Many are reporting that cut rate download sites are offering full game downloads, and delivering nothing but over-hyped demos and illegal crackware. If you want legitamite Wii games, and lots of them, dont be fooled by all the “free download” sites. As we all know by now, nothing is really free. If it is , its probably gonna cost you, either by viruses or spyware.

The best download sites offer full technical support. When downloads of this magnitude are being offered, their has to be regulated control. The support team is there to monitor and scan the database of files, keeping you safe from dirty downloads and illegal adware. Piece of mind is truly priceless. And not only will your downloads be 100% safe, if you do have any problems, the tech support will be there for you 24 hours a day.

Another thing to look for when choosing a download site is strong backing from well know software sites. Look for awards and other “seals” of approval from sites like “C-net” and “Tucow”. When companies like that support your download site , it means you are dealing with a reputable download site. To find out what kind of sites are best for downloading Guitar Hero World Tour and many other of the best Wii games check out the Author Bio below. I never leave raders without a strong example of what kind of sites follow Internet guidelines.

Yes, this exciting game instantly makes just about anyone into a rock legend and play to a horde of fans every night. With the newest enhancement in the Guitar Hero Series, which came out as Guitar Hero World Tour, you will have the opportunity to develop your rocking techniques to the max. And guess what? All these can be done in the convenience of your own home.

The Guitar Hero World Tour comes with the ever-so popular Guitar Hero controller as well as a microphone and drums so that more than one player can perform to the wild audience. You guessed it right, you are actually recreating the band you almost totally forgot about with this video game. It also allows you to include the percussion and vocals to the music to enhance it. You could even make and record your very own songs in a ‘studio’ with the Guitar Hero World Tour game.

Aside from the extra tools, this latest Guitar Hero version enables users to personalize their own rock star. Simply choose a particular look as your avatar and you can now choose how many tattoos and piercings your rock star has. And, if you have a favorite rock legend in mind, you can even be Ozzy Osbourne, Ted Nugent, Billy Corgan and Sting for the day! Moreover, you will have the opportunity to perform in some of the most popular music locations as you go on an international tour in the game. Yes, you can drop by the House of Blues and Ozzfest and have a blast with the audience there!

Don’t just sit there, make your hopes of being a rock star a reality with Guitar Hero World Tour game. Perhaps if you tell your family and buddies about the awesomeness of this game, you all can start living the dream!

Step 1: Install Guitar Hero III before you can acquire customs songs for the game.

Step 2: Locate the new song you want to insert, whether it comes from a website or from your own collection. Be certain to respect the copyright laws when you decide on a song. Ensure that you have the song you want to add located on the computer in MP3 or OGG format.

Step 3: Install the song list editor. You will need a program that will help you to get custom songs from the internet to your PC version of Guitar Hero. Find the list editor here: http://www.mundayweb.com/progs/downloads/songlist_editor_v032.zip

Because it is a .zip file, it needs to be extracted before the program will work. Most of the time, this can be started by simply clicking on the file name once it is imported. (If it doesn’t, go to your unzipping program and extract Song List Editor.) The file ‘songlist_editor.exe’ should appear. Load the program by clicking here.

Step 4: The chart file or MIDI file has to be downloaded to determine what guitar notes you need to play. Sign up at http://www.scorehero.com/ to get access to the pages of the chart files for just about any song. You can find the library in the website’s ‘Custom Songs’ section. The chart file should be downloaded to your computer once you find it.

Step 5: Change the chart file to a MIDI file. It must be converted into a MIDI file after you select a customized song that you want to import into Guitar Hero.

Download Chart2.Mid2Chart.zip here: http://www.mundayweb.com/progs/downloads/Chart2Mid2Chart.zip. As with Song List Editor, extract the files from the .zip file, run the .exe file and open the program. Browse for the chart file(s) you just downloaded. Then get the ‘Guitar Hero’ circle (not Rock Band), and click on ‘convert’. This will create a MIDI file from the chart file you downloaded, and save it to the same directory.

Step 6: Input the song into the Song list editor. Now you can place your song onto the Song List Editor. Start the program and select, Insert New Song. Input the song title (in lowercase letters). For the Guitar Track, Rhythm Track and Song Track spaces, browse and select the .mp3 or .OGG version. Search for the MIDI formatted file you made in the MIDI search area. Next add the details of the song, like the title and the year it was put out. After you have entered that info, click ok.

Step 7: Wait until the song is fully converted to a custom Hero Song. Once you have clicked OK, you will have to wait a couple of minutes to allow the conversion process to work. Then there will be a black screen that says the file is done creating fsb. The song should now appear in the Song List Editor on the left hand side.

Step 8: Add the custom song onto the list. Edit set lists in Song List Editor. Choose the ‘Bonus Songs’ option from the menu. Next, you should increase the quantity of songs that are in every level by one. The next step is to locate the drop down menu for “song number,” and pick the last song listed. Choose the custom song you are trying to import from the song list drop down box. Click OK. The custom song should appear in that blank space you added at the end of your playlist.

Step 9: Click to save your changes. Finally, you should save the changes and additions you made to Guitar Hero. The steps are: (1) Go to “file,” (2) Click “save,” and (3) Click “OK” when the warning message flashes. Congratulations you have now succeeded in importing a custom song to Guitar Hero. Now you can get going!

(These instructions will not work for Playstation, Xbox or Wii users. Visit http://www.scorehero.com/ for help getting custom Guitar Hero songs for these consoles.)

With these particular games you get to play songs from some of your favorite bands. You get points for playing them as good as you can. Even if you have never picked up a real guitar to play before you can have a great time with it. There are colors on the neck of the guitar that you use for guidance. You can use the controller for the Wii to play it but there isn’t that same effect that you will get if you buy the guitar to play it.

The guitar for the Nintendo Wii though is an accessory you will need to buy separately. In most instances you can save money if you buy the guitar and the game together as a combination package. There are guitars you plug into the gaming console as well as wireless models. You can play alone or against someone else too. So you may want to invest in more than one guitar.

There are different versions of Guitar Hero out there to choose from. The main differences are the songs that are offered. You may like a particular type of music such as the 80’s which is offered. For many individuals in their 30’s who really enjoyed the hair band days this particular game is perfect. For a few minutes they can let go of reality and make their dreams of being a rock star come true.

People of all ages really love to play the various Guitar Hero games on their Nintendo Wii. You can choose your skill level which makes it easier to learn the basics. You can start out with the easy songs and then move forward to those that are more challenging for you. It is going to take a while to get to that stage though unless you already know how to play a guitar.

While you will really have a great deal of fun playing Guitar Hero on the Wii, you will also learn a new sense of appreciation for those who do it professionally. They may appear to have the easy life and to have everything but they have also worked very hard to learn to play the way they do.

Those who really like the Guitar Hero games for the Nintendo Wii are in for quite a treat. In October of 2008 the World Tour version will be released. It allows up to four people to play the guitar at a time. Up to eight people can play the drums if you buy that particular accessory as well. You can expect a new look with the guitar too.

It will appear to be more like what a rock star would use up there on the stage. Of course the other models of guitars that are already out there will be compatible. For the game and the new guitar you should anticipate a price of about $200.

Score: 8.0

PoweredUpGamers

www.poweredupgamers.com

Genre: Music Rhythm

Single-player length: 25 hours

Difficulty: 6

Developer:  Neversoft Entertainment

Publisher: Activision

Release Date: 10/26/08

Systems: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii

Pros

- Drums, vocals and band play add a lot to the series

- Online band competitive and co-op modes

- New guitar gameplay challenges

Cons

- User created songs aren’t fun

- Not as many interesting or updatable challenges as Rock Band

- Too similar to Rock Band

by Rabid Rabbit

World Tour follows in Rock Band’s footsteps by adding drums, vocals and a band career, but it also adds a few new features.  A robust song creator engine lets you create your own songs and download others’ songs, but the resulting songs are all low quality productions that aren’t as fun to play as original popular songs.  While the drum and vocal gameplay don’t differ much from Rock Band, the guitar gameplay does include a few new features that will challenge seasoned veterans in new ways.

The main addition to the series is the inclusion of drums, vocals and band gameplay modes that are nearly identical to the experience created by the first Rock Band game.  The only difference from Rock Band’s drums and vocals gameplay is that you can use your star power at any point during a song rather than waiting for drum or vocal solo sections.  Each instrument has solo sections, but they are only used to give you bonus points rather than starting your star power.  Activision made a new set of drums for World Tour that includes cymbal pads raised above the other drum pads and a new guitar with fret buttons further down the neck.  Don’t worry if you already own older versions of these instruments.  You don’t need to buy these new variations to play the game.

Each of the instruments, including the bass guitar, has its own career mode.  In each career, you’ll progressively tour the world and unlock new and more difficult songs.  For each set you complete, you’ll receive money for how well you perform, which you can use to customize your character’s clothes, hair, instruments and a wide variety of other features.  You can also use your earnings to gain access to a few exclusive sets of songs.  If your primary interest is to unlock all of the game’s songs, you can also choose to change the game’s difficulty to progress beyond the harder songs.

In addition to simply playing songs, you’ll also face off against famous musicians during your career.  Guitar Hero III handled these encounters with a battle mode where you had to make your adversary fail a song by using powerups that made the song more difficult for your opponent to play.  World Tour simplifies these encounters by merely asking you to perform the song well enough to prevent the audience from completely favoring your opponent, which is much less challenging.  After you defeat famous rockers, such as Jimi Hendrix, Ozzie Osbourne, and Billy Corgan, you’ll be able to perform using their likenesses.

The Band career mode is also nearly identical to the Rock Band gameplay where you go on stage with at least one other friend to play the same songs and earn cash to further customize your characters.  The main difference is that you can’t directly save each other from failing songs.  The game handles saving members by letting the band share star power among its members.  The result is that your group will need to collaborate and use the star power strategically.  If one member is missing a ton of notes, then the band will need to let the other members earn the star power and tell him to use it to ensure everyone doesn’t get booed off stage.

World Tour is clearly trying to broaden its audience by lowering the overall difficulty settings and adding the new beginner mode.  The Guitar Hero series is known to have more difficult note patterns, but World Tour has noticeably easier note patterns that also fly by at a slower speed.  As a result, the Rock Band and World Tour difficulties are virtually identical.  The new Beginner difficulty serves to allow people completely new to rhythm gaming to play by simply hitting any note at the correct time without having to switch fingers between notes.

While drums and vocals are included for the first time in the series, the guitar gameplay also changed to add new note patterns.  There are some new sections with multiple notes that you must hold down that begin at varying points.  Some other notes only require you to press the fret buttons to play them.  Removing the need to strum the guitar for these sections makes the game easier and detracts from the feeling that you are playing a famous song.  The only reason it seems that they included these simpler notes is to give people a reason to buy their new guitar.  The latest guitar includes buttons positioned closely together lower on the guitar neck, which are easier to glide across in these simpler sections.  Don’t worry if you want to play the game with an older guitar you shouldn’t have any problems by using the standard fret buttons.

The last main change to the series is the ability to make your own songs and download other gamer’s songs.  Initially this sounds like a cool new feature, but it doesn’t amount to a very large addition.  Making your own songs involves choosing an instrument and playing notes to record your song.  You can also record notes for each instrument to generate a song that a full band can play together.  After you finish creating the song’s notes you can alter the sound further with various effects, such as giving the guitar track a twang or metal effect, the song’s tempo and a wide variety of other features.  Then you can upload your creation for others to play and rate.  If you just want to download other people’s songs, you can easily find the most popular songs based on the ratings other players give them.   While the creation process is robust, the actual songs have a low sound quality.  The highest rated songs generally have a great sense of rhythm, but they just aren’t as engrossing as playing the well-known songs heard on the radio.

World Tour includes quite a few online multiplayer game modes.  You can face off against another guitar, drum or vocals player to see who is better at playing an entire song or alternating sections of the same song.  Guitar players can also play the battle mode, where they compete to play a song more accurately while using powers to increase their opponent’s difficulty.  As you play in the Battle mode, you earn a wide variety of powers that invert note patterns, remove the whammy bar’s effect, or make some notes impossible to play.  You can also play songs co-operatively on the guitar with a friend. 

If you can’t get enough bandmates together locally, then you can fill in missing members with online players the game finds for you.  You can also get your band together to play songs competitively against another band online.  The only problems I found with the band gameplay online is that it is very difficult to find someone to sing songs, but that’s not the game’s fault.  Even if a singer joins your band, many players quit because they can’t sing the song that is chosen by other members.  I presume this happens because it is much harder to sing songs than it is to play them with an instrument.

The gameplay options and modes are quite expansive, but it would have been nice if updatable challenges could have made it into the game.  Rock Band 2 includes a variety of challenges related to playing groups of songs from the same band, genre or decade with particular instruments or as a band.  The developers constantly update the challenges list to ensure players never get bored with the same list of challenges.  This constantly updated list of challenges gives the game a great sense of variety as players endlessly challenge themselves to get the highest score in all the different leaderboards.

The game includes a lot of songs that you can play in 4 different careers, but there is also a great online shop that offers an expanding library of new songs to download and play.  Taking its cue from the Rock Band store, you can sort songs according to artist, decade and album to easily find the style of music you like.  You can also preview songs before purchasing them, which increases the chance you will try something from a band you haven’t heard before.

The game includes over 90 songs, which are all master recordings.  In addition to popular songs ranging from classic rock to the latest rock songs from this decade, the game also includes some pop and country hits, such as Beat It and On the Road Again, which further expands the game’s appeal.  A lot of the game’s draw depends on if you like the songs included with the game, so make sure to review the song list before buying the game.

World Tour pushes the series to match Rock Band’s offering by including drums, vocals and band gameplay, while also adding new guitar note patterns.  The varied and expansive online game modes and growing downloadable song library ensure that the game will keep you entertained for quite some time.  The engine used to create new songs offers a great deal of options, but the resulting lower quality songs will likely only interest the most hardcore of rhythm gamers who enjoy a good challenge.  Many of the game’s changes simply match Rock Band’s features and fail to push the series or genre forward a great deal.  Overall, World Tour is a good game that will keep gamers rocking until the next game is released, but it is also showing that the genre’s creativity may be peaking.

PoweredUpGamers

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Honest reviews by gamers for gamers

Visit us to also view the game’s video review, gameplay videos and images.

By Justin Sours

http://www.guitarmadeez.com

Practice how you play

When you practice guitar chords, scales, songs, etc., make sure that you focus on quality and not quantity. The guitar sounds a lot better if all the notes in a chord ring or you hit every note in that scale with perfect timing instead of rushing through a scale or playing a chord and having some notes be muffled. Just remember to focus on playing things slow and with good technique (This is Key!). Learn whatever you are trying to learn slow and then increase the speed little by little until you get where you want to be. That’s how you guitarists learn to shred or solo extremely fast. They start playing a scale or riff slow and then gradually speed it up with a metronome.

Keep your guitar out of the closet or storage

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes that a person learning guitar could make. KEEP YOUR GUITAR OUT IN THE OPEN!!! Keep it next to your bed or in your family room on a stand or anywhere where it is out of the closet or out from under the bed. If it’s out in the open, this will force you to play it and force you to mess around and practice.

Memorize the fret board of the guitar

Memorizing the fret board of the guitar can turn out to be an interesting task. There are little tips and tricks that allow you to find notes really fast. The reason why all guitarist who would like to get good should memorize the fret board is because it allows you to play create chords in different shapes, find notes in different areas of the neck and allows the guitarist to familiarize and open up to playing in different parts of the neck. Memorization of the fret board is also very beneficial in soloing and improvising.

Jam with other people with different styles and techniques

You will not believe how much your guitar playing will improve when you jam with other people. If you ever feel like you are reaching a “plateau” (you feel like you’re not getting any better) in your playing, jamming with other people will definitely open you up to new tips and tricks. There’s always something to learn from someone else that plays guitar no matter how good or bad they are. Also, everyone’s individual style is different and the more open minded you are to other styles, the better player you will become.

Listen to new types music and try to play it

I know it’s hard, just force yourself to do it. When all else fails go back to the basics of music. A great way to do this is to listen to some classical music for inspiration. Elton John is an amazing musician and he says whenever he reaches a dull moment or block in his playing, he refers back to church hymns that he learned when he was younger.

Read guitar magazines

Guitar magazines have allot of cool stuff, but they also have allot of filler. The one thing I hate about guitar mags is that they are extremely complex (not for beginners). The articles, stories and advice are cool but some of the lessons are intense! The advanced guitar lingo having to do with intervals of certain modes and technical guitar talk gets to me sometimes. It’s nice to know that stuff but ehhhhhhh….. It can be boring.

Go to concerts

Nothings more inspiring then going to a concert and seeing someone rock out on stage and totally impress the crowd. I remember a couple of years ago; I went to Vans Warped Tour. Immediately after the show, as soon as I got home, I ran to my room and tried learning allot of the songs I had heard. When I saw The Eagles back in October of 06′, I couldn’t stop learning all their songs. It’s amazing to be extremely inspired and motivated once again about playing guitar and going to concerts definitely rejuvenates my interest in playing guitar.

Buy concert DVDs

If you’ve never seen any ACDC music video or concert DVD…. then we definitely need to talk. Angus Young is an amazing guitarist and It’s just amazing to see that this scrawny little Australian guy can play like he does and with such attitude and soul. Seeing that guy rip up the fret board definitely shows us that anyone can play guitar… all it takes is practice, discipline, motivation and commitment. Concert DVDs are great because they show you up close and in really good quality what exactly a guitarist is playing, unlike music videos where bands just dance around and they add in the music later. Concert DVDs are filled with raw footage of guitar playing at its best.

Always use your guitar strap

This is another biggie. When first learning how to play guitar, I never wore my guitar strap. I ended up paying for it later and basically having to relearn guitar standing up instead of sitting down. If you always play with your guitar strap on, there will be no difference to you while playing either sitting or standing. Playing with your guitar strap will also allow you to get to the “show-off” level so you can impress all your friends earlier.

A lot of people who use guitar straps find that they fall off very easy or tend to drop the guitar. There are many different types of locking mechanisms out there (I currently have two guitars that use the DiMarzio locking mechanism and it works very well)). Go to your local guitar shop and check all of them out and see which one fits you best.

Play with passion (slash)

Have you ever heard a guitar player who is a great player, but you feel that there is something missing…… THERE’S NO SOUL!!! Soul is the emotion, the love, the purpose behind guitar playing. Listen to that same talented yet boring guitar player and then compare him to Gun’s and Roses guitarist or Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash. Every solo that Slash plays has so much soul, so much emotion, and so much purpose. What I want you to do is Google “Slash – Godfather theme video” or get on Napster, iTunes, kazaa, etc. and download it. This video is nuts!! Slash plays with such a great amount of solo that it’s amazing. I really don’t know how to explain exactly how to add soul into your playing, however I will tell you that you will understand if you choose to stick with guitar and stay committed to the instrument. It’s basically playing to express yourself and not to just play because you have to or don’t want to but feel you should.

Watch the clips of legendary guitar scenes or solos

Here’s some instant inspiration…. Go to yahoo or Google and click on the “video” tab above the search bar and type in anything having to do with guitar solos. You will find some amazing solos along with amazing guitar tricks. One really cool guitar clip I remember is of this Asian guy playing the super Mario brothers theme for Nintendo. That guy can play that song like you wouldn’t believe. There’s so much inspiring guitar playing footage out there. It’s everywhere and anywhere you look, especially online. Also, checkout the movie with Ralph Maccio from the 1980′s called “Crossroads”… there’s some amazing guitar playing in it.

Try tabbing out songs by ear

This is extremely helpful. Tabbing songs by ear develops your musical ear very quickly. Choose one of your favorite songs and sit next to your cd player with a guitar and a piece of paper and try to figure out the chords in the song first, and then try to figure out the riffs within the chords. Once you find out the overall “key” of the song it’s easy to figure out all the riffs and chords.

Take a college music course (Beatles, history of rock and roll)

While I was at community college for two years studying to get my Associates Degree, I had taken a “History of Rock & Roll course”. This course was extremely interesting. There was so much music that this class opened my eyes up to. I gained so much more appreciation for the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and many more bands of that era. Those bands really did change music forever. I definitely recommend taking a class like this anywhere you can; it will definitely open up your eyes to some great music out there and help you grow as a musician.

Read biographies of guitarists you appreciate

Some musicians out there have led incredible lives. The majority of them come from nothing and in the end, become legendary guitar gods. Look at Johnny Cash; he was a rural country boy that grew up almost penniless and turned into an amazing musician through inspiration and practice. There are so many interesting stories behind bands and musicians. Here’s some that I find interesting (off the top of my head): The Beach Boys, Def Leppard, Metallica, Van Halen, The Beatles and Thin Lizzy. Do some research online and try to mirror yourself with these artists. It will give you a whole new thought process to playing their songs and guitar in general.

“Steal” riffs and ideas from other guitarists

I know it sounds bad but every great guitarist does it. Clapton stole the “crossroad blues” from Robert Johnson and the Beatles used some of Elvis’ ideas and expanded upon them. Every musical generation steals ideas, riffs, chord progressions from the generation before and when it comes to music… its ok. I find this to help guitar players progress a lot, especially if you reach a plateau. One of the biggest things that helped me expand as a guitarist is to learn all my favorite solos by my favorite artists. Once I had learned them, I would play the same solo over different progressions in the same key and then play the same solos in different keys all around the neck and in different scale positions. Once I did this, I had “unlocked” all of the licks in the solo and I’m now able to use them in whatever I play. Just like how in video games you unlock new characters, levels and secrets throughout the game… you do the same in music. From there you can constantly expand upon your lick directory.

Play in front of others

This is one of the hardest parts about performing music. Playing in front of others is something that just takes time. Remember to relax and don’t think about everyone watching you. Just focus on you and the instrument. The more you play in front of others, the better you will get. Everyone’s first time playing in front of others can be pretty gut wrenching. Just remember that it gets easier every time and that you’ll get through it just fine. What you can also do is videotape yourself playing and then put it on the internet. Lots of people including myself put videos on Youtube.com or other online video sites and its up to the viewers to judge. Some people will rip your playing apart but most will applaud you for trying and really like it. The way I look at it… “Led Zeppelin didn’t write songs that everyone liked… they left that to the Bee Gees” – Wayne Campbell (Wayne’s World)

“What if I screw up”? Who cares?! In music, everyone screws up while playing music. When big bands record in studios they spend days, sometimes even weeks recording tracks so that they turn out absolutely perfect. What really creative people do when they screw up is to elaborate on the screw up. If you hit a wrong note, maybe trying hitting the note again within the rhythm of the song and maybe it will sound good.

The Internet and Youtube are valuable tools…

Eric Clapton learned guitar by listening to old Robert Johnson, BB King and many other great blues records on a turntable and then trying to mimick the same sounds on guitar. Eddie Van Halen would be in his room with his door closed for days just messing around with different sounds that a guitar can make just by moving his fingers around in different shapes and seeing what they sound like. Alex Van Halen (Eddies brother and drummer for Van Halen) would go on dates and leave the house listening to Eddie whale away at 5:00pm and then come home to Eddie still whaling away at 2:00am. These artists didn’t have the internet! They had a cassette player or record player and plenty of time on their hands. We’re incredibly lucky today to have such great resources like youtube.com and the internet in general. Youtube.com is great for learning how to play guitar. You can find lessons, people covering songs, tips and tricks and just about anything that you need to get off on the right foot when it comes to playing guitar. The great thing about Youtube guitar lesson s is that “they get to the point”. No BS. Each lesson is usually under 5 minutes and they give you great info very fast, because who wants to watch a 30 minute video. Guitarists attention spans aren’t that long, I know mine isn’t. And Finally, you have the internet. The internet has absolutely everything you could ever possibly need, including Youtube.com, lessons, information, ultimate-guitar.com (for tabs), guitars101.com (for any other type of help that you may need), etc. The possibilities are endless. The point is that learning guitar today is and should be way easier than learning guitar in the past due to the great resources we have.

You can learn any riff from any song no matter how crazy or how fast…. just slow it down

Any riff is learnable, you just have to slow it down to a pace that you feel comfortable with, learn it, and then gradually speed it up. There are numerous programs out there that allow you to do this. One very popular one is called Transcribe. You can import any .mp3 file and then control the speed of the song. Practice the riff over and over and gradually raise the speed. If you can’t play the at a given speed, then slow it down 1%, if you can play it and feel comfortable with how you played it, raise it by 2%. Doing this will allow you to master any riff, any song, anything!

Try learning the difficult songs or riffs that you’ve always wanted to learn, no matter what level you are at and no matter how hard the song is…

This is what makes guitar fun, seeing your improvement (ie. Quick Results). I remember trying to play songs that were at my level when I first started playing guitar. Stuff like : The Animals – House of the Rising Son, and Don Mclean – American Pie. I could play them ok, but they weren’t really songs that I had started playing guitar for. I wanted to play Metallica’s fade to black and Eric Clapton’s Crossroads. I put the other two songs aside and started working on the new ones that had inspired me to play guitar. I had spent weeks and months on them even though they were outside my playing level. I was determined to learn them. I kind of wanted to be one of those guys that can’t play anything else, just cover songs note for note. If I couldn’t play any other song aside from the super hard ones note for note, I’d be happy. So I spent so much time learning these songs, and I could play them…. ok… not great…. However, when I went back to playing House of the rising son and American Pie, I could play them 100 times better. I played them like a pro. Its kind of like…. as long as you challenge yourself, you’ll get better. You play with musicians that are better than you… you’ll get better. You lift more and more weight than your used to… you get stronger.

A great musician once said…..

A great musician once said that as soon as guitar becomes a chore and isn’t fun, that’s the moment that you should put your guitar down. Come back to it later. Now this doensn’t mean that when your first learning guitar and you get frustrated, you should put it down and forget it. Sorry, this rule only applies to guitar players who are advanced or who have been playing for a while. It sucks and is frustrating for everyone at first so you have to stick with it. The overall point is, guitar playing should be fun. Don’t turn it into a chore or a task.