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4 Tips for Expanding Your Musical Taste

In Interviews and Insights by Craig Smith

Having the ability to deeply enjoy music is a gift that not everyone possesses. If you’re one of the lucky ones, it’s in your interest to nurture that gift by listening to as great a variety of music as possible. It’s nice to enjoy our old favorites, sure, but there’s magic in pushing ourselves to try new sounds. It’s part of your musical evolution — in any case, you won’t lose the ability to listen …

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Three concepts to level up your guitar playing

In Guitar Blog, Music by Craig Smith

As guitarists, we are notorious for learning just enough to get by and calling it a day, trusting that a few minor pentatonic boxes will be enough to carry us through anything that comes our way! This is mainly because learning guitar music theory methodically can be difficult, the way the fretboard is laid out is unintuitive when compared to the piano which makes working through these lessons tedious for many players who early on …

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Tips For Becoming a Successful Music Photographer

In Interviews and Insights, Music by Joe Weintraub

Playing in a band isn’t the only way to make money if you’re passionate about music. There are all sorts of things you can do in and around the industry, so you’re still surrounded by music all of the time, even if you don’t play.  Being a music photographer is a great option if you are interested in photography. You get to go to loads of amazing gigs for free and you might even meet …

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How To Get Your Kids Enthusiastic About Learning The Guitar

In Guitar Blog, Interviews and Insights by Craig Smith

Getting your little one to appreciate guitar playing means getting them to appreciate good music. Learning the guitar, just like any other musical instrument, holds so many health benefits. It helps boost confidence, enhances your creativity, and gives you a different avenue to express your emotions, among other numerous benefits. Learning to play the guitar can be a great and fun experience for your kids. It gives them something they can hold on to even …

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Music, Its Good For You!

In Interviews and Insights, Music by Craig Smith

The power of music is, quite frankly, mind-blowing. It is amazing how we can play a song, and within 30 seconds, our mood can change. Whether it is a slow love song or an upbeat summer jam, it can transport us to a different place entirely, completely impacting our emotions. This is something that you can use to your advantage, giving you the all-important pick-me-up whenever you need it. Music can lift your spirits when …

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Four Essential Tips For Learning An Instrument

In Guitar Blog, Interviews and Insights, Music by Craig Smith

Learning an instrument can be a very fulfilling skill to have, and depending on the instrument, it might open you up to a number of opportunities in life. When learning an instrument there are some essential tips that are worth learning in order to be successful. Here are four essential tips for learning an instrument. Invest In A Decent Instrument The first thing you want to do is to make sure the instrument you’re investing …

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7 Day Guitar Practice Routine – #3 Arpeggios

In Arpeggios, Guitar Blog, Practice and Technique by Craig SmithLeave a Comment

Hey it’s Arpeggio day! This week we’re going to change it up by doing some Arpeggio sequences for guitar. If you missed the first 2 installments you can find them here: 7 Day Guitar Practice Routine: Day 1 – Warmups 7 Day Guitar Practice Routine: Day 2 – Modal Workout If you’re new to the routine, I highly recommend reading the first one that includes important instructions on how to practice the right way every …

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August 6th Newsletter

In Guitar Blog, Music by Craig Smith

How’s it going in the practice room this week? Website Updates First off this week, I’ve spent some time improving the navigation of the website. As the lessons and articles have grown over the past 2 years (thanks to readers like you), things were getting a little cluttered and harder to find. From the top menu on any page of Lifein12Keys.com, you can now navigate to the guitar lessons and topics of your choice. Under …

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5 Books Every Guitarist Should Own

In Guitar Blog, Music, Reviews and Gear by Craig SmithLeave a Comment

In the age of Youtube videos and Learning Apps on our devices, the online community has created a sort of overload of information (and misinformation) when it comes to learning just about anything. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in online Guitar Lessons, Apps, Tabs (that are almost always wrong) and the over-population of so-called ‘experts’ seemingly everywhere online. Enough already! Below is an excellent list of BOOKS, yes I said books, that I guarantee …