Guitar

10 Tips for Healthy Guitar Practicing

I’m gonna give you some straight talk about practicing guitar and taking good care of your body and hands.

This is especially relevant today since so many people are self taught from videos and don’t have a real life teacher for feedback.

The “He / She Never Stops Practicing” Myth – Debunked!

One of the favorite “myths” that fans and students hold in mind is that “great musicians practice 24 hours a day, to the exclusion of everything else and that’s why they are so good!”

People always ask me how “many hours a day I practice” and I see that they are living exactly this fantasy of “wow you are a dedicated artist who practices all the time!”

[Read more…]

6 Pieces of Guitar Gear I Can’t Live Without

By Adam Rafferty 30 Comments

Hey Gang!

I was just peeking through the mountain of “Fanbridge” questions that I have, and I came across a recurring theme…

Question: “Adam what guitar/strings/gear do you use?”

I get asked about this 10 times a week.

With the “mountain” of gear that one sees in catalogs & stores it is easy to get confused.

Since I carry most of my stuff myself (no car – yep, I’m a New York guy), it has to be portable, easy, and sound great.

All of what I am listing fits in a backpack (except the guitars), and I am ready to play any size concert hall or festival.

Keep in mind, this list WILL change, and “there is more than one way to do it” – but this has been working for me.

[Read more…]

Rhythm, Pitch and Your Musical Soul

By Adam Rafferty 20 Comments

I was thinking about something someone once told me.

“Pitch is Rhythm.”

Huh?

When I sing or play a note, it does not sound like a beat.

When I play a beat it does not sound like a note.

But in actuality – they are the same thing. Let’s take a look at this…

An “A 440” is simply a very fast rhythm. Scientifically speaking we are hearing a wave at 440 cycles per second.

How To Build Your Own Fingerstyle Guitar Arrangements – Part 1

By Adam Rafferty 61 Comments

Hey Gang!

I get asked quite often about how I approach fingerstyle guitar arranging, and suddenly – this simple idea came to mind.

I hope this gives you a little “AHA!” moment – to brighten your day.

Disclaimer – there is always “more than one way to do it”. Here’s one approach that I use, 90% of the time.

The Dark Ages Way of Guitar Arranging

Most guitarists come out of a “chord” approach, which leads to picking patterns on the chord, and ultimately “jimmying” little melodies on top.

[Read more…]

The Day I Got My Butt Kicked in Harlem

By Adam Rafferty 6 Comments

He showed up for his first music lesson with the master, with his saxophone case in hand.

As they chatted for the first time, he told the teacher “I think I am one of the best sax players in town.”

The teacher answered “It would be nice if someone else thought that as well.”

=-=-=-

That’s a true story that one of my teachers, Mike Longo told me. It just goes to show, that when we are in our own little world, we think we’re pretty good.