TakeLessons Explores 3 Tools The Best Guitarists Use

Online, January 3, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney told Rolling Stone magazine recently that Nickelback is killing off the rock genre. Agree? Disagree?

There will always be rivalries in the music industry, but one thing is for certain: they all started out as complete beginners at one point.

TakeLessons (http://takelessons.com), the nation's fastest growing music lessons provider, took the opportunity to share with blog readers the essential tools for beginner guitarists to use.

The following is an excerpt from the blog post:

"Essential tool 1: Metronome
A metronome is crucial to developing many skills. Most players already know this, but if you haven't used one yet then get your hands on one. There are a few different types you can get. You can get a software version (normally for free) for your computer or iPhone (most phones can get one). The second type is the physical pendulum type you see with a metal arm ticking back and forth. The third type is digital version normally the size of an electronic guitar tuner. This type could be as basic as providing a simple click or as complicated as generating a stack of rhythms and loops.

Essential tool 2: Rhythm generator/drum looper
There are many different names and labels for this tool. Basically, it is a little box where you can choose a style of music (such as blues, rock, metal, swing, etc.) and it will play a drum beat that fits that style, at a tempo you choose. The better ones will also allow you to choose a key and it will play a progression (normally using a bass guitar) in that key with the drums for you to jam over. They normally have hundreds of different options and you have full control over how everything sounds. Instead of buying a digital metronome, if it's in your budget you may want to get one of these instead. All of them will have a metronome option to give you a simple click.

Essential tool 3: Flash cards, chord charts, chord dictionaries
These three tools will all help you learn a range of different chords in different ways. Chord charts are normally a poster or page with a selection of chord diagrams. You can buy ones large enough to stick on your wall or they sometimes come with books. Chord dictionaries are just like they sound - a dictionary full of chords. Chord dictionaries can contain up to a couple hundred different chords. Flash cards are like a pack of playing cards where each card displays a chord diagram and other information. Although they all have the same information, they can be used in different ways."

By sharing the tips with blog readers, TakeLessons hopes to continue engaging current students and help with any musical goals they may have. Readers are invited to share their thoughts by commenting on the TakeLessons blog, where they can also read tips for playing gigs, and comments are also welcomed on Facebook (http://facebook.com/takelessons).