Music, Guitar, Gear and Educational articles from JamPlay, LLC.
Guides - 88 Articles
Acoustic Guitar Guide to Strum Mastery Part 7
Ghost Strumming We began to talk about ghost strumming in the last installment of this series and how... Added Nov 11th, 2011
Acoustic Guitar Guide to Strum Mastery Part 6
As we've been discussing in the previous installments of this series, once you've mastered certain techniques... Added Nov 7th, 2011
Acoustic Guitar Guide to Strum Mastery Part 5
Of course it's important to learn new techniques and continue to build upon them as you progress through... Added Nov 1st, 2011
Stuck?
It doesn't seem to matter whether you've been playing for three months or thirty years. There are seasons... Added Oct 17th, 2011
Acoustic Guitar Guide to Strum Mastery Part 4
Building a strong foundation for a mighty skyscraper takes time, energy and a willingness to synthesize... Added Aug 18th, 2011
Action Points for Rock Singers (Part 2)
DISCLAIMER: JamPlay LLC and Chris Liepe are not legally responsible for any injuries, messes or general... Added Aug 15th, 2011
Acoustic Guitar Guide to Strum Mastery Part 3
Skill building is an important part of becoming a proficient strummer. Therefore, take a moment or two... Added Jul 22nd, 2011
Action Points for Rock Singers (Part 1)
Let's be honest. Being a 'great' Rock vocalist has absolutely no checklist to follow. If you look at... Added Jun 24th, 2011
Introduction to the Business of Songwriting
You've built up your guitar playing chops, you've written a number of songs, performed them for a few... Added Jun 21st, 2011
Acoustic Guitar Guide to Strum Mastery Part 1
There is no doubt that learning to play rhythm guitar is an art form in and of itself. Many musicians... Added May 9th, 2011
Got Groove?
The first time I played in a band, I was in high school. I had been playing guitar for about a year and... Added Mar 18th, 2011
Maintain a Career in Music
So you want a career in music, but don’t know where to start? The first thing you need to know before... Added Feb 15th, 2011
Signal Chain : A Look at Effects Routing (Part 1)
Even if you're just starting out, you probably own or have access to some effects pedals, a guitar amp... Added Feb 2nd, 2011
Taking the Guitar Solo
If you are serious about playing with others at least one of the following scenarios has happened to... Added Jan 17th, 2011
Sequencing Scales
I wanted to do an article on scale sequencing as I feel a lot of players are not sure how to go about... Added Jan 5th, 2011
Last Minute Gig Preparation
Two days ago I received a phone call asking me to do a gig the following night, the problem was that... Added Jan 3rd, 2011
The 30-Minute Guitar Workout Concept
Everyone's schedule is different. We all have different demands, work days, school obligations, the... Added Dec 28th, 2010
Arpeggios Gone Wild
Introduction Arpeggios are an awesome way to bring your solos to life. They will add a melodic appeal... Added Dec 28th, 2010
In the Style of Pete Townsend
Famed for his rebellious behaviour on stage which included the destruction of amps and obliteration of... Added Nov 24th, 2010
How to Organize and Get Gigs
One of the things that I noticed in my time as a professional musician is that there are two types of... Added Nov 19th, 2010
A Guide to Relative Tuning
There are many ways to tune a guitar, including electronic tuners, pitch pipes and tuning using a piano.... Added Nov 11th, 2010
On Improvising
Often times I find myself in a position of being asked about improvisation by players interested in improving... Added Nov 10th, 2010
Gig Like a Pro
When making the leap from bedroom guitarist to gigging guitarist, there are a number of things to take... Added Nov 8th, 2010
Custom Modal Pentatonic Scales
Introduction Most guitar players I know started getting into lead guitar with the minor pentatonic... Added Nov 8th, 2010
Creating Your Own Musical Style
Creating your own style can be a difficult thing to do as everything we do is inevitably influenced by... Added Nov 5th, 2010
Harmonic Minor Modes
Introduction If you’ve been playing modal for a while, you probably have heard about the harmonic... Added Nov 4th, 2010
What to Work on Next?
Introduction Whether you’ve been playing guitar for years or just started last week, you might be... Added Nov 3rd, 2010
Fine Tuning the Sacred Machine Part 5 : Developing Style
“I don't know what other singers feel when they articulate lyrics, but being an 18-karat manic-depressive... Added Nov 3rd, 2010
Learning Songs by Ear
A Guide To Learning Songs By Ear If you've recently (within the last few years) picked up guitar,... Added Oct 13th, 2010
A Guide to Scoring Movies
Introduction One of the reasons I am so attracted to music and composition has to do with the power... Added Oct 5th, 2010
Fine Tuning the Sacred Machine Part 4 - Pitch
“The tenor's voice is spoilt by affectation, And for the bass, the beast can only bellow; In fact,... Added Oct 4th, 2010
Boosting Your Pentatonic Scales
Introduction If you are like 99% of guitar players, you heavily rely on the minor pentatonic scale.... Added Oct 1st, 2010
Arpeggios on Tap
In this article I want to take a look at some interesting ways to play various arpeggios by using string... Added Sep 20th, 2010
Playing Over Chord Changes
In this article I wish to discuss one of the most important facets of improvising a guitar solo, that... Added Sep 17th, 2010
Nerves and Performance Anxiety
Have you ever practiced a piece until you are sure you have it down and could easily play it in your... Added Sep 14th, 2010
Building a Career in Music
Every guitarist dreams of growing up and becoming a famous touring musician but very few can actually... Added Sep 14th, 2010
Fine Tuning the Sacred Machine Part 3 - Vibrato
"I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That's all I know” Billy... Added Sep 2nd, 2010
Playing with FX: Advanced Delay Techniques
Most of us own a delay pedal or two. We've listened to soaring guitar solos with dreamy, ethereal delay... Added Aug 19th, 2010
Smart Modulation
Introduction Have you ever been in a situation when the scale used to play a solo just won’t work... Added Aug 6th, 2010
Pentatonic Variation
I have noticed that a lot of guitar players claim to be sick of playing the pentatonic scale as they... Added Aug 6th, 2010
Fine Tuning the Sacred Machine Part 2
"Singing is speech a thousand times refined." Lamperti Each of us has a place, a niche if you will,... Added Aug 3rd, 2010
Pro Tools: A Perfect Practice Partner
In this series so far, we have covered what it takes to get in to a variety of different recording setups... Added Jul 27th, 2010
Fancy Words Made Easy - Theory Edition
Introduction The vocabulary used in music is quite confusing. Even the definition of some of these terms... Added Jul 20th, 2010
Critical Practicing and Listening with Backing Tracks
Perhaps part of your practice routine looks like this: You log on to JamPlay, search through the vast... Added Jul 20th, 2010
Fine Tuning the Sacred Machine - Part 1
There are those individuals who were merrily singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star just shortly after they... Added Jul 6th, 2010
Playing with Different Keys
Playing with Different Keys -a lesson on modulation- What is Modulation? Simply put, modulation... Added Jun 3rd, 2010
A Guide to Phrasing
Elements of Speech -a lesson on phrasing- About the Language Do you remember the first time... Added May 14th, 2010
Modal Chord Progressions
Most guitarists, especially in the Rock genre, spend a good amount of time on our scales. We start with... Added May 11th, 2010
Your Home Studio - Beat Mapping and Drum Programming
We’re moving right along in this series of recording and project creation articles. At this point... Added Apr 23rd, 2010
Pro Tools : Creating a Session
Maybe you've tinkered around a little with Pro Tools, or maybe you're just beginning to explore digital... Added Apr 16th, 2010
Your Home Studio - Starting A Project
It’s now been several weeks since I started this series. We’ve covered basic recording and editing... Added Apr 13th, 2010
Pentatonic Perfection
In this article we are going to look at the pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale is made out of 5... Added Apr 8th, 2010
Unusual Arpeggios Part 3
In previous lessons we have covered 3 note triad arpeggios and 5 note arpeggios. In this lesson I will... Added Apr 7th, 2010
Your Home Studio - Setting Your Sound
As this series of articles expands, I’m hoping that your knowledge and especially your studio, as well.... Added Apr 6th, 2010
Unusual Arpeggios Part 2
In the previous installment of unusual arpeggios we dealt with triad arpeggios which consisted of 3 notes.... Added Apr 6th, 2010
Unusual Arpeggios
In this article I want to explore the use of sweep picking in arpeggios. In the first part of this series,... Added Apr 2nd, 2010
Technique Study - Fingerpicking
"Fingerpicking" is a technique used by many different players in a wide variety of styles. There are... Added Mar 31st, 2010
Style Study: Rory Gallagher
Famed for using a Fender Stratocaster (the first one in Ireland), Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher has... Added Mar 31st, 2010
Style Study: Yngwie Malmsteen
Swedish Guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen moved to the US in the early 80's and has enjoyed an illustrious... Added Mar 31st, 2010
Practicing and Recording: Stepping Up To Pro Tools
Introduction As you have been following along with Jason’s “Your Home Studio” article series... Added Mar 30th, 2010
The Nashville Number System
Picture this: You're sitting in a club watching a band. You know a lot of people at this club... heck...... Added Mar 29th, 2010
Your Home Studio - Microphones
Another week down and I hope you are all enjoying the information I’ve been laying out for you. We’re... Added Mar 26th, 2010
Style Study - John Squire
Guitarist John Squire is most famed for his excellent guitar playing in "The Stone Roses" and later,... Added Mar 19th, 2010
Your Home Studio - Building Your Studio
Over the past couple weeks we’ve been taking a look at recording from a basic standpoint. For somebody... Added Mar 19th, 2010
Style Study - Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher is often referred to as the brains behind the band, "Oasis." In this lesson we are going... Added Mar 19th, 2010
Style Study - Adrian Smith
Adrian Frederik "H" Smith is one of the three guitarists in Iron Maiden. Smith and Dave Murray developed... Added Mar 18th, 2010
Style Study - Dave Murray
Throughout his career, Murray's guitar style has been mainly of the legato based solo variety, and, his... Added Mar 18th, 2010
Playing Over Backing Tracks
Introduction One of the best tools I have ever used in my ongoing guitar learning experience has been... Added Mar 15th, 2010
Your Home Studio - Basic Audio Sculpting
Here we are, another week gone by and I hope another week of successful recordings! We ended last week... Added Mar 12th, 2010
Your Home Studio - Basic Editing
Well, here we are, week two of a budding recording article series. Last week I documented a few low... Added Mar 5th, 2010
Your Home Studio - Basic Recording
It started as an itch, probably years before you even noticed it. Music, but more specifically, your... Added Feb 26th, 2010
Playing Pinch Harmonics
Technique Focus - Pinch Harmonics In this lesson we are going to look at "Pinch Harmonics." First of... Added Feb 19th, 2010
Style Study - Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is most remembered for fronting the popular rockabilly band, Stray Cats. Although only born... Added Feb 19th, 2010
Writing Modal Chord Progressions
Introduction Playing modal seems to be a popular topic these days. But as you most likely know, modes... Added Feb 17th, 2010
Style Study - Brad Paisley
There is more to country artist Brad Paisley than cowboy boots, Stetson and a southern twang. When you... Added Feb 3rd, 2010
Style Study - Steve Vai
American guitar hero Steve Vai first rose to fame in the early 80's when legend Frank Zappa noticed his... Added Feb 1st, 2010
A Practical Guide to Modes
Getting Started If you are reading this, you have probably heard other musicians talking about these... Added Jan 25th, 2010
Style Study - Jimi Hendrix
In this article we are going to look at the legendary Jimi Hendrix. Jimi was a true innovator and well... Added Jan 18th, 2010
Style Study - Gary Moore
Gary Moore was born Robert William Gary Moore, 4 April 1952, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Gary is famed... Added Jan 18th, 2010
Practical Ear Training
The Importance of Hearing As a musician, it is important to develop a good ear in order play what you... Added Jan 12th, 2010
Understanding Legato Playing
Definition According to the American Heritage dictionary, to play legato is to play a piece of music... Added Dec 29th, 2009
Sweeping Arpeggios
The Quest for Speed Sweeping is based on a simple mathematical rule that states that the shortest way... Added Dec 23rd, 2009
Guide to Proper Picking
Alternate Picking Many guitar players rely on picking each note that they play to blaze through the... Added Dec 16th, 2009
ii V I Mayhem
The term ii V I is heard a lot, particularly in the Jazz idiom. However, the ii V I is seen in all types... Added Dec 15th, 2009
Linking Scales with Chords
Chords and the guitar often give people headaches both in terms of memorization and in terms of physical... Added Dec 15th, 2009
Guide to Effective Guitar Practicing
Have a Plan I find it very easy to just spend time playing what I already know and enjoy my time with... Added Nov 30th, 2009
Play It Like You Feel It
I spent much of my time as an aspiring blues musician in the late 1950s through the early 1970s listening... Added Jul 9th, 2008
Choosing a Guitar: Acoustic vs Electric
There are a few things to take into consideration when choosing to play an acoustic or electric guitar.... Added Feb 24th, 2007
Enter your email to get freebies, updates and some sweet offers from our company.