Tag: Guitar Lessons

A personalized tutorial, made just for you.

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Or if you like, you can share it with the world.

Some of the many artists I’ve covered in my tutorials.

Curated by you.

Whether it’s to learn a song note-for-note, to start playing a simplified version right away, or to have tough musical concepts broken down and clarified, people have been coming to me for ten years to learn their favorite music.

At an affordable hourly rate*, you too can have a custom tutorial made just for your eyes. Or feel free to share it with the world!

Chord Chart for “Leaving Charm City” by Cris Jacobs

Clear, detailed chord charts.

Already included with your private tutorial, these chord charts can also be commissioned separately at the same hourly rate*. Perfect for intermediate level players who still want to put in work.

Some of my students/happy customers!

Referral discounts.

I am always looking to connect with people anywhere and everywhere, with musical interests of all kinds. Refer your friends and get rewarded with free chord charts or discounts on future tutorials.

At an affordable hourly rate*, you too can have a custom tutorial made just for your eyes. Or feel free to share it with the world! Here’s one from a recent commission, a song from Cris Jacobs:

Watch my tutorial on “Leaving Charm City” by Cris Jacobs, completely FREE!

Just email me to learn more about the products and services I offer. More information available on my website.

*Rate is $75/hour, subject to change. Tutorials billed by the hour. Standard video tutorial quotes estimated at two to three hours per song, contingent on complexity and scope. Chord chart quotes estimated at one hour per song. Current wait time is five business days from receipt of deposit. Already have a song in mind? Inquire by simply emailing me.

A Musicianship Series

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What if someone could walk you through the process of becoming a better musician, step-by-step? What if you could gain something more valuable than a tab or a tutorial, or even hundreds of tabs and tutorials? What if there were a video series that went beyond playing songs and could give you more? And what if it were more affordable than a private teacher, available to you 24/7?

I’m looking to launch a music theory and ear-training series. The more I think about it, the more it grows… like the series to end all series. I think about it every day, sometimes every hour. I talk and write and dream about it because I believe that there is a revolution waiting to happen in the lives of so many students of music. When someone who has been looking outward only to see fixes that are temporary in nature looks inward instead and begins developing their own ear and their own understanding of music, a radical shift occurs. It is a shift from passively listening to the music they love to being able to play that same music by ear, being able to identify what’s happening in it, and do new things with it. It is a shift from feeling stuck in familiar patterns, unable to break through a ceiling to feeling continually renewed by a stream of fresh musical insights and challenges in a cycle that never ends. I’ve seen this spark of inspiration occur again and again during my workshops and private lessons firsthand, and observed similar light bulbs come on for students through the online interaction surrounding the content I’ve been putting out on YouTube, etc. over these eight years, and I’m convinced that it is time to bring more people into this deeper conversation on music.

If you have been following what I’ve been up to awhile you’ll know that there have been hints and even false starts since late 2012. It’s both exciting and scary to think about what it might become, and what it might take to pull it off. It has even been overwhelming in its scope at times. This has made me realize that I really need your help to make it get off the ground! I need your support, your insight, and your constructive criticism. I am looking for an inner circle of WARRENMUSIC friends.

Does this describe you? If so, join me on this journey. Like this post, sign up for my mailing list above, find me on Skype/Instagram/Twitter @warrenlain. And consider: what would a series like this be worth to you? What would it look like? What topics would you want to see covered in it? I look forward to your input.

Playing a Song the Same Way Twice: How to Miss the Point. Thanks Filipe…

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Filipe recently purchased the Melody Module and I asked him for initial impressions of the videos and for feedback. Instead, what I received was a much more interesting story of personal discovery on how replicating a song really misses the point.

“The biggest leap was when I came upon your Radiohead tutorials. In one of those (I don’t remember which one) you casually point out that students shouldn’t worry about playing a song exactly how they sound on the record, Radiohead never played a song exactly the same way twice and neither should we. That’s when I subscribed to your youtube page and liked you on facebook, and really it’s what stands you apart from all the other teachers I found on the net. They all focus on showing how to play perfectly (and some are quite good at it), while you made me understand the songs.”

Click here to enlarge.

Purchase the Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm* Modules today
*Rhythm Module is available as a pre-order. Melody and Harmony are available today.

Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm Modules

  • Lifetime access to Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm Modules (Rhythm pre-order, TBA 2020)
  • Skills you can use to work out real world melodies, chords and chord progressions, and real world rhythmic patterns by ear
  • Working knowledge of the Major Scale, Diatonic Harmony, Meter, Syncopation, Swing/Shuffle, and much more via popular songs, fun demonstrations, and digestible music theory breakdowns
  • Introduction to Scale Degrees, Chord Numerals, the Time Unit Box System, and The Complete WARRENMUSIC Grid**
  • 30 in-depth episodes ranging from 10-40 minutes in length
  • Visual Aids
  • Audio Examples
  • Worksheets (Song Puzzles)
  • Interactive Tools
  • Access to Members-Only Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm Module Forums
  • Direct help from fellow learners and Warren

All about Radiohead’s “A Moon Shaped Pool”

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Radiohead’s “A Moon Shape Pool” was released on May 8, 2016. I taught a song from the album on the same day below.

I’ve been a busy bee. Follow along as I listen to “Burn the Witch,” “Daydreaming,” and “Decks Dark” for the first time and break everything down on the spot.

I livestreamed my first crack at “Burn the Witch” the day it came out:

Then I live streamed my first listen and immediate analysis as well as taught “Daydreaming” in its entirety:

Then I live streamed my first listen and immediate analysis as well as taught “Daydreaming” in its entirety:

And finally, I sat down in front of the camera again to listen to the entire album for the first time. I gave my first impressions, learned a few riffs, and taught another song, “Decks Dark,” in full:

Subscribe to email updates about all of my newest videos and projects, and as a thank you, you’ll receive access to any of the chord charts and practice tracks I’ve made for the songs above for free.

Just sign up through the link in the respective video description by clicking through to YouTube. Or if you don’t need the chord charts, and you just want to stay up to date on all things WARRENMUSIC, sign up here.

Are You Progressing Well Enough At the Guitar?

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…If your long-term goal is to improve as a guitarist and more generally, as a musician, just be sure to include some music theory in there, and get your ear involved. You’d be surprised how many people learn to play songs, but never learn to play music!

Find out how well you’re progressing on the guitar and read my full response on Quora.

 

Follow me on Quora, where I am a top writer in Music Theory.

Guitar Six: A Little Theory Boost

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Have you ever wondered how to play any scale or mode? And in any tuning?

Thanks to the awesome community at Reddit, we’ve got a nice little theory boost that will help you visualize just that: scales and modes that suddenly appear on the fretboard!

I know I preach about music theory and ear-training, and how there is no real substitute for developing musicianship in the long-term. Very holistic approach, yes, blah blah blah. But there is room to have a little extra help on the side. Hop on over to Guitar Six to check it out.

Guitar Six

It’s awesome and inspiring when amazing people put their hard work and thought into something like this. The Internet is truly beautiful. Nice find, Reddit.

And when you’re ready to take it to the next level, check out my explanation of how modes work and how to make your fretboard do whatever you imagine.

The Trajectory Of the WARRENMUSIC Series

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WARRENMUSIC Series Intro Module, Episode 04 — “The Trajectory Of the WARRENMUSIC Series”

Wow, we’re buzzing ahead, now three videos in. The fourth episode is now live!

Where does this series begin? How will the course content be structured? What about really strange, creative music? Will we talk about that?

In Episode 4, “The Trajectory Of the WARRENMUSIC Series,” I walk you through a visual representation of what it will look like to come along for this musicianship ride…

The vision of WARRENMUSIC, through my covers and tutorials, chord charts, and now this video series has been and always strives to be simple: to help people get more out of the music they love. This website represents the latest and greatest attempt, by providing an approach to music that helps connect the gap we all experience between the music we love and the music we make through music theory, and ear-training. In the near future, we hope to bring you an amazing ear-training and theory app to help you develop your musicianship like never before.

And here in the WARRENMUSIC Blog, it’ll be similar. I’ll be posting useful resources I find for the benefit of your ear and your insight.

All the best,
Warren

Introduction To the Bridge

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Watch Episode 2 of The WARRENMUSIC Series now:


If you recall our first video, we talked about the GAP that exists between the music we love, and the music we make. This video speaks to the BRIDGE between those two things: Music Theory, and Ear-Training.

Quickly defined, Music Theory is a language that describes the connections, patterns, ideas, and larger concepts in music across songs, albums, artists, and genres. And Ear-Training is pretty self-explanatory: it’s getting our ear to the place where we can identify what’s going on in the music we love.

When we combine the two, there is an explosion we call musicianship!

Stay tuned. We’ll soon explore exactly what MUSICIANSHIP can do for you.

Enjoy!

What Am I Hearing?

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WARRENMUSIC Melody Module. Episode 10 — “Songs Are Your Teacher”

As we lay the first bricks of our musicianship foundation, one question helps us get a sense of where to begin; it snaps everything into focus.

What am I hearing?

Believe it or not, your answer to this question will reveal a lot about where you are in your approach to a number of musical situations. If your answer to this question is clear and confident, you will be clear and confident in your approach to music. And the opposite is also true. If your answer to this question is hazy, lacking in concreteness, well… your answers about music will feel vague, and your foundation will be full of soft spots, unable to support the musical tasks we want to perform on top.

Think of one of your favorite songs, or a recent song with which you’ve become obsessed. How would you usually approach learning this song?

Most of us would hope to find a tab, a tutorial, or some sheet music that could instruct us in the way of the song. But despite the convenience and accessibility of these resources, all of them fall short of a better goal (assuming the tabs, tutorials, and sheet music are at all accurate). Like trying to learn a language from a textbook, figuring out what to do musically from a set of visual cues sets earnest learners up for massive disappointment. And yet so many have settled for less this way, frustrated, stagnated in their musical journey.

When we are conditioned to perpetually look outside for help, we fail to look within to ourselves, to our ears and to our understanding of the songs we love.

If we are going to have any hope of becoming musically mature, the real goal must not be to reach for these quick fixes, but to do the hard work of developing our musical selves.

It might feel uncomfortable, even backwards, to listen and think first. But the truth is that these visual aids we’re accustomed to are crutches. Crutches are fine when you’re injured, but continuing to use crutches keeps you from developing your otherwise healthy musical legs towards running. A finely tuned sense of what’s happening in music is worth more than all of the tabs and tutorials in the world.

So let’s answer a more challenging question: “How would a musician approach learning this song?”

Would they rely wholly on a tab or a tutorial? Absolutely not! So what would a musician do differently? They would listen and think about what they’re hearing! And, in doing so, they ultimately get more out of the song.

Here, I would offer, are some questions a musician might ask themselves in this situation:

  • What are the different parts of this song?
  • What exactly is happening in this song? How would I describe it?

And more specifically,

  • What is happening in the melody?
  • What is happening in the harmony?
  • What is happening in the rhythm?

And ultimately,

  • Can I apply what I’m hearing to my instrument?

As you can hopefully now see, “What am I hearing?” is a question that cuts to the heart of it. It gets at the core of what we want out of our musical journey. And the amount of confidence in your approach to making music will always reflect your grasp of what is happening in the music you hear.

So, what are you hearing…?