Pickstroke

I don’t own Guitar Hero or Rock Band or any other guitar related video games. I would like to get Guitar Hero but to tell you the truth, I’m afraid that I would spend too much time playing it and less time practicing.

I’ve been playing for many, many years and I’m not that good of a player. I wish I was better but I know that I’ll never be a Don Ross or Tommy Emmanuel. That doesn’t discourage me, however, because being that good of a player isn’t my goal. I enjoy playing for my own entertainment and the small improvements I make along the way are enough to satisfy me. I’m married, with kids, and I work about 12 hours a day so I don’t get to practice as much as I would like. When I do practice I want to make the most of it and I hate sitting down and playing the same things over and over again.

I always try to learn something new with each practice session. It may be a song or a lick. Sometimes I just sit down and review my knowledge of the neck, the frets and the notes. Sometimes I work on scales and sometimes I try to learn a new chord and all it’s variations up and down the neck. It doesn’t matter what I practice on. The important thing is that I do practice and if you want to improve your playing and your skill then you will need to practice too.

I listen to the Bob and Tom show while at work every day and today they played one of their bits that made me think about practicing. I copied it of a stream for you to listen to. If you want to be the best guitar player that you can be then this is the dedication that you must have.

WARNING: This clip is rated “R” for sexual references.

Practice

Here is a good warm up exercise in E minor. Practicing this each time you pick up your guitar will help you with your speed and also improve your knowledge of Pentatonic licks.

As always, there is an mp3 file, a GP5 file and a PDF file available for you to download. Simply click on the image or here to get to today’s lesson.

I hope to place similar lessons here for the next few weeks. Then my plans are to have a Back to School extravaganza in September which will end with one person winning a copy of Guitar Pro 5! It’s going to be fun and there will be more prizes in the months ahead so check back often or take advantage of my RSS feeds.

Favored Nations Acoustic presents two new projects from virtuoso guitarist Tommy Emmanuel c.g.p. (certified guitar player): Center Stage a live two CD set, followed by a full length concert DVD. The DVD is set to be released on October 14th 2008.

Also of note: Emmanuel Labor was recently released which is an instructional DVD. Here is what you’ll find on this DVD.

ONLY
1. Luttrell
2. Timberlake Road
3. Drive Time
4. Mombasa
5. Those Who Wait
6. Train To Dusseldorf

ENDLESS ROAD
1. Angelina
2. Endless Road
3. (The Man With The) Green Thumb
4. Old Town
5. Tall Fiddler

THE MYSTERY
1. The Mystery
2. Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag
3. Diggers’ Waltz
4. Lewis and Clark
5. Antonella’s Birthday

I’ve updated my Pickstroke Parlor link which now has a Tommy Emmanuel section. You can purchase instructional books and DVDs from this link.

In addition to this news, Tommy Emmanuel has just been voted “BEST ACOUSTIC GUITARIST” in the Guitar Player magazine annual Readers’ Choice Awards for 2008.

If you’ve never heard Tommy then I encourage you to visit my video gallery where I have several of his videos available. Or, you can search for him on YouTube.

Here are some links to all things Tommy:

Wikipedia Bio

Last FM

Tommy’s Official Website

I’ve been visiting Jon’s site for some time and I always find something there worth reading. Guitar Noize is well designed and easy to browse. There is also a Guitar Noize YouTube channel which you can get to here.

Jon has several videos posted but I think this one is my favorite.

Guitar Noize is my Pick of the Week!

Mrs. Pickstroke (that’s my wife) will be celebrating a class reunion this year. I think it’s scheduled to coincide with the high school homecoming game so that’s probably sometime in October but I’m not real certain.
I better not say which class reunion it is or I might not get dinner tonight. So, I thought I would highlight a couple of her classmates who will be attending the reunion.

This first video features a guy on lead guitar. His name is Steve Payne and he was one of Mrs. Pickstroke’s classmates. You can go to YouTube and type in “Oaklawn Opry” if you want to see more of his licks.

This next video features another one of Mrs. Pickstroke’s classmates. His name is Mike Huckabee. Mike plays bass but we won’t hold that against him.

Win an Epiphone Casino. Just click on the above image or here to enter.

Pickstroke continues to get a pretty fair amount of traffic even when I’m away and not able to post. I appreciate everyone who stops by from time to time and those who subscribe through my feeds.

I’m still searching for some more Guitar Pro Tabs to post. I have thousands of them but I want to develop a good series. Hopefully these will be coming in the next week or two.

I’ve received several e-mails, of late, from readers who seem to enjoy the site. Thanks for your support.

I plan to have a contest before long and give away some prizes so stay tuned.

With a name like Pickstroke it just makes sense that I should have a “Pick of the Week” once in a while. I’ve thought about what I appreciate and enjoy when searching the Internet for guitar sites and blogs. Here is a bit of what I look for.

I’m not searching for the best player(s) out there who are flaunting their stuff. It doesn’t help me much to search for the Don Ross’s and Tommy Emmanuel’s of the Internet because I know I will never be as good as they are. I need something different to inspire me.

I enjoy finding a website that caters to the average guitar player (which is what I am) and gives me a peek into their struggles and triumphs in learning this instrument. I like someone who is personable but also able to share some of the technical. I like it when someone shows me what they have learned or are learning. This might help me to learn the same thing or improve upon it if it is something I’ve already studied. I also appreciate consistency in posting. I don’t need to read a post everyday because I don’t even get on the Internet everyday but I would like to see one or two posts a week that I can browse over on the week-ends when I’m home and have the time for such things.

Today’s Pick of the Week is Understanding Guitar. Frank is recording his journey of learning this instrument. He plays a Fender Acoustic/Electric and he rides a Honda Shadow so he has a couple of things going for him. He seems to be making some progress in his studies and I enjoy keeping up with him.

The Rocker is about an aging drummer who relives his dream of becoming a rock star by signing on with his nephew’s high school band.

Click on the above image to read more and to win this Fender Strat!

I try not to push my affiliates on my readers to the point where my site is one big ad but occasionally I need to let you know what’s going on.

Song Surgeon is a good program for slowing down your favorite tunes in order to work out the licks and leads that you want to mimic. Now, Song Surgeon is going to get even better. Song Surgeon 2.0 is in production and scheduled to be released this fall. Version 2.0 will have a great new feature. It will allow you to tune down (or out) the vocals so that you can tune in on the guitar, piano, bass or whatever you’re interested in learning. I’m excited about this upgrade.

If you click on any of my links to Song Surgeon you can get it for $10.00 off the everyday price. That’s not all. If you purchase Song Surgeon before July 31st you will be guaranteed a FREE upgrade to version 2.0 when it is released; AND, the following bonuses:

1. 10 Classic rock backing tracks
2. Guitar Leads Six Pack Course
3. A Guitar Fretboard Software Program

I believe this is a pretty good value and I also think you will be pleased with the software. Click on any of my links to get to their homepage and read about it for yourself.