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Play Better Guitar - Expand Your Horizons
The most adaptable system is Guitar-eze.
If you've already played some guitar... been frustrated... want to play better guitar... want
to play guitar differently... want to be more versatile on guitar... want to play guitar more easily... want to play guitar
by ear... want to play guitar more by "feel"...
Here's where a guitar player can become a better guitar player.
That is - a more versatile guitar player.
Let's face it - every guitar player has changed tunings. Even if it's just drop-D,
or putting on a capo.
What if you could play guitar - really play guitar - for more than just one song or one lick
- in another tuning. You owe it to yourself to try. I've seen the jaws drop when I play. I've watched the
puzzled expressions from the audience. I've seen the raised eyebrows from fellow guitar players. Here's what Wikipedia says about open D tuning, the basis for Guitar-eze.
The comments are always the same -
"what a great sound"
"that's so full sounding"
"you do leads like that?"
"that's a whole new thing"
"wow"
It's all one simple move - to the world of open-tuned guitar. Of course, it's absolutely
perfect for beginning guitar, acoustic or electric.
But it's a whole new world for the guitar player.
Just a few of the benefits of open tuned guitar like Guitar-eze's open-D:
- riffing - like you've never riffed before
- slide guitar - the way it was meant to be played
- harmonic and overtones you never dreamed of
- a low-end crunch like nothing else
- acoustic tone like nothing else
- "ear players" especially love it
- playing by ear is enhanced dramatically
- Guitar-eze open-D opens the door to other interesting tunings
...and on and on. It's as if standard tuning was just the (more difficult)
primer or starting point. Now you can really start to play guitar.
Flipping back and forth is no problem, either. And of course, open tuning is nothing
new. Check any guitar website out there. They all make reference to open tunings. This method just puts
it altogether for a guitarist who wants a different way to play. Players like:
- Keith Richards
- Ry Cooder
- Joni Mitchell
- Elmore James
- Bo Diddley
- Muddy Waters
- Jimmy Page
- Mick Taylor
- Don Everly
- Robert Johnson
- Bonnie Raitt
- John Lee Hooker
...and countless others. So why is open tuning so under-appreciated and under-utilized?
- standard tuning (as the name implies) is the adopted standard
- standard tuning is not the easiest or most versatile tuning
- a simpler guitar method is generally not a good thing for music schools
- standard tuning is great
- open tuning is great too
- add open tuning like Guitar-eze to your guitar arsenal
That's what I suggest on this web site. Especially if progress is slow in standard
tuning. Frustrated guitar player? You owe it to yourself to give Guitar-eze a try.
When you get Guitar-eze, you've got me as often as you need. Help is always just an
e-mail away, anytime.
Need more help deciding?
NEW!
with
some experience
 
The Guitar-eze Blog
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Saturday, June 3, 2006
Who Uses Alternate Guitar Tunings
Alternate guitar tunings have been used for a long time, by a lot of people. Today, you see them used all over
the place. The simplest of all would be drop-D, which is merely tuning your low E string down a whole tone to D, so
you get a configuration of DADGBE. (Notice the similarity to Guitar-eze DADF#AD.
I came across the whole concept because of my love of the Rolling Stones. Everyone talks about "that Stones sound"
- so hard to duplicate. Well, the Stones were a diverse unit; it took a lot of special ingredients to get "that Stones
sound", from the singer to the guitar players, on down. But, in the course of trying to unlock that secret, I learned
that Keith Richards had been experimenting with alternate guitar tunings from the mid-60s on. He didn't invent anything
himeself, either; he learned from others. But he very effectively incorporated alternate tunings into the Stones sound
from the mid-late 60s on. Most famously, he applied open-D (yes THAT open-D) on "Jumpin' Jack Flash". Also from
the same period, he used open-D on "Street Fighting Man" (the very best way to play that I-IV susp).
Of course, Keith shifted away from that starting point, mainly to open-G (and of course standard tuning as well).
But I learned that Keith Richards' influences were several who used open-D or the very closely related open-E - such
as Elmore James and Bo Diddley.
Ry Cooder has played an enourmous role in displaying the versatility of alternate guitar tunings also.
And the list goes on.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
On Barre Chords in Guitar-eze
Barre chords form the basis of Guitar-eze. As your guitar is tuned to an open D-major chord, you actually have a
nice sounding chord, without putting any fingers to fret. Although you can do quite a bit, even from this humble starting
point, sooner or later, you will want to play your guitar higher up the neck.
One of the beauties of Guitar-eze is
that that open-D chord you start with can be transposed up the neck of the guitar, on every fret, with just one finger - a
barre chord. With one finger, you will be able to play over a dozen more chords - no memorization of fingerings needed.
From
there, many, many useful variations can be built to build a wonderful catalogue of chords, both major and minor, seventh,
augmented and more - any chord you can imagine can be played in Guitar-eze.
Many of you have mentioned that they have
had difficulty with barre chords in standard tuning. Not surprising, as so many involve 3 or 4 fingers, all the time. With
Guitar-eze you start with one finger. Plus you can play an effective major chord with one finger, on as few as 3 strings.
From there you can build finger strength until you can hold down 4, 5 or even all 6 strings.
Guitar-eze is versatile.
7:40 am edt
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
My Guitars
Several of you have asked about the "collection" and I'm not talking about the trash. I'm talking about my guitars.
Here's the rundown:
Telecaster - Thinline - still my all-time fave (1972)
Then, in no particular order:
Gretsch White Falcon (2005)
Yamaha AES 1500 (1995)
Schecter Tele (not sure what year)
Takamine acoustic (with built-in electronics) - 'bout 1995
National Steel acoustic (2005)
Framus acoustic (early 70s)
Montana acoustic (3/4 scale children's model, actually my daughter's)
Lado Zebra bass (1982)
The only one not pictured on the home page is the bass.
Tonight I'll be playing the White Falcon for our last gig at the Casino for awhile, while they close one stage and work
on some new ones.
Maybe sometime I'll tell how I acquired them all.
Oh yeah, for an amp I generally use a Roland Jazz Chorus 100 - the solid state workhorse amp of the century!
Monday, May 29, 2006
Busy Weekend of Inquiries!
Thanks for all your interest over the weekend. I noticed a slight problem with the link I provided for the Buy
Page on the offers.
Here's the correct one:
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If you need the extra help, Guitar-eze with the CD-ROM walks you through the whole
process. For a limited time, the Guitar-eze Chord Book comes with the method and CD-ROM, free!
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The Guitar-eze Chord Book might be all you need to move into
the world of open-tuned guitar in a big way. If you have the basics down - strumming, some leads, this book at
under $10, is a great addition to your guitar playing arsenal.
Buy the Guitar-eze Chord Book Now
| You'll be satisfied! Guitar-eze comes with a |
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| Return within 30 days of purchase for a full refund! |
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