What’s your guitar learning style – and which famous guitarist does it match with?
Everyone learns guitar differently! Take this quiz to find out your guitar learning style – and which famous guitarist shares your learning style.
The seven deadly sins of playing guitar
Every guitar player makes mistakes. But some of those mistakes can become a hazard to your guitar-learning journey if you don’t correct them!
Here are the “Seven Deadly Sins” of playing guitar:
Not playing in tune
One of the simplest fixes for making your guitar sound better to learn on is to play in tune! A guitar that’s out of tune will never sound good – no matter who’s playing it.
Get your guitar into the correct tuning with a tuning pedal, pitch pipe, or the built-in tuner in your Fret Zealot app.
Playing with bad posture
If you’re slouching over your guitar, not only will it affect the way you strum – it can lead to back pain! Save your future self the trouble and make good guitar posture part of your practice routine.
Not using a metronome
Playing along with a metronome is a huge hack to make your guitar learning experience faster! Using a metronome makes it easier to keep a consistent rhythm in your playing, so that you’re playing accurately. You can use the metronome inside of the Fret Zealot app.
Not playing with other people
Even if your goal is to be a solo player, playing with other people will help you develop your skills and allow you to get into the groove. A great place to find people to jam with is an open mic night!
Not listening back to yourself
Listening to yourself play can be cringe-inducing for even experienced players – but it’s a great way to determine where your strengths and weaknesses are! If you’re working on a riff or progression, record yourself on your phone and then listen back. You might find that it sounds better than you thought!
Giving up
According to Fender, 90% of beginner guitar players quit within a year! Don’t let this be you. Quitting could close the door on a fun, exciting hobby that could bring you a lot of personal satisfaction and new opportunities! Fret Zealot has hundreds of easy-to-follow lessons that you can take anywhere, anytime, so you don’t need to adhere to a teacher’s schedule. Get started today!
Five surprising facts about Nirvana
Nirvana, one of the best-selling bands of all time, was instrumental in bringing the grunge movement to mainstream music. With songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Come As You Are”, they pioneered a genre that welded pop with noise, featuring lyrics that contained themes of nihilism and alienation. Nirvana disbanded after Cobain’s death in 1994. Drummer Dave Grohl formed the Foo Fighters and bassist Krist Novoselic devoted himself to activism.
Here are five surprising facts you might not know about Nirvana:
Kurt Cobain worked as a janitor at the high school he dropped out of
“‘Twilight’ meets Nirvana” by quinn.anya is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain dropped out of Aberdeen High School a few weeks before graduation, but briefly worked there as a janitor to help finance Nirvana’s first demo. The dancing janitor in the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a nod to that job.
Dave Grohl was not the original drummer.
“Dave Grohl 1989” by Tobby Holzinger / Agentur Spirit is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Even though pre-Foo Fighters Grohl is an iconic member of the grunge band, he wasn’t the group’s original drummer. Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic were in the band since its inception, but the band had at least five drummers, including fellow grunge pioneers The Melvins’ Dale Crover. Melvins frontman Buzz Osbourne introduced Grohl to Cobain and Novoselic in time for the band’s 1991 album, Nevermind.
The band went through some interesting names before deciding on “Nirvana”…
…including Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew, Bliss, and Ted Ed Fred.
Their first single was a cover
Nirvana’s first official release was a cover of “Love Buzz” by the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue, who are best known for their 1969 song “Venus”.
The title for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” came from a joke Cobain didn’t get
“With the lights out, its less dangerous, here we are now, entertain us” by dullhunk is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
The title for Nirvana’s 1991 grunge anthem came from a graffiti scrawl that Kurt Cobain’s friend and Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna put on his wall, “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit”. Hanna meant to make fun of Cobain for wearing his girlfriend’s Teen Spirit deodorant, but Cobain didn’t know what “Teen Spirit” meant and took it as a compliment.
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Little known facts about Jimi Hendrix
According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix was the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music. He was one of the pioneers of utilizing guitar amplifier feedback artistically, and helped to popularize tone-altering pedals like fuzz distortion, wah-wah, and Uni-Vibe.
“Jimi Hendrix 1967-cropped waist” by A. Vente is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Here are some facts you might not know about the “Purple Haze” artist.
His name was changed as a child.
Born Johnny Allen Hendrix in 1942, Hendrix’s name was changed to James Marshall Hendrix in 1946 in honor of his father, James Allen Hendrix (“Al”), and Al’s late brother, Leon Marshall.
He started playing on a ukulele with one string.
Hendrix first got his hands on a string instrument while helping his dad with a side job. The client allowed Jimi to keep an old, one-stringed ukulele that was among the items being removed from her home – and he taught himself by ear to play Elvis Presley songs.
He was left handed.
“Jimi Hendrix Experience-‘You Got Me Floatin”-1967″ by scottallenonline is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
One of the most famous left-handed guitar players of all time, Hendrix adapted by playing his guitar upside down.
He played backup guitar for some huge stars.
Hendrix started his professional career by playing guitar for some big names, including Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, Ike and Tina Turner, and The Isley Brothers. At that time, he was playing under the name “Jimmy James”.
He jumped out of planes while serving in the U.S. Army.
Hendrix served in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division as a paratrooper, enlisting in 1961. He was even awarded the Screaming Eagles patch in 1962 – however, he disliked being in the military, and later that year was granted a general discharge under honorable conditions.
How to jumpstart your creativity
Do you sometimes struggle with creativity when it comes to writing music?
If you’ve hit a creative block and aren’t sure what to do, here are some useful tips to get your creative juices flowing once more.
Go for a walk
Put your guitar down for a bit, lace up your sneakers, and get walking! A 2014 Stanford study found that creative thinking improves while a person is walking and shortly thereafter – either indoors or outdoors.
Listen to something new
Your Spotify playlist might have all your favorite songs, but it can be helpful to listen to something completely different to get your creative energy going. If you mostly listen to metal, try listening to some country. If you listen to mostly indie music, try some K-pop. Branching out into a different genre will help you get a new musical perspective – even if you don’t love the music.
Spend some time in nature
A Danish study from 2015 found that spending time in nature can help boost creativity by recharging directed-attention. Directed-attention is maintaining focus on a specific task, which can sometimes lead to mental fatigue. Bonus points if you take a walk in nature!
Let loose
Writing music can sometimes feel daunting because of the pressure to write better and better – so why not write worse? Let yourself write something that’s silly or cliche – just for the pleasure of writing it. You might not add a song about dinosaurs to your next album – but it might help you unlock some really good ideas.
Go see some live music
Watching another band or artist play original music is a great way to find new inspiration. Check out a local band in your city – or go to an open mic night!