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Acoustic Guitar Resources

Acoustic Guitar Resources

On this page you will find required materials for lessons on acoustic guitar here at Promethean Studios and various other resources for the acoustic guitar as well. The resources on this page are specifically for the acoustic, more generic resources (music stores, recording studios, etc) are listed here. At the time this information was entered, all links worked and products listed were available. For information purposes only; we won't post resources when we know there might be any sort of problem with a product, business, or person listed but please check out the reliability, appropriateness, and reputation of any resource you plan to use.

Please have these for your Lessons

  • An acoustic guitar in fair condition (suggestions and details below) - I can advise you on the suitability of specific instruments.
  • Picks, 2 Dunlop Nylon (gray) .88 thickness picks - Not the crappy ones that came with your guitar.
  • Strap (preferably leather) - Always play with a strap.
  • 3 ring binder - with loose-leaf paper and pockets for holding handouts.
  • Pencil - Erasable, colored pencils are best.
  • Manuscript paper (music paper, staff paper) - Click here and print 5 sheets of ‘medium music paper, treble clef only’, bring them to your lesson. Feel free to download any of the other types of music paper you want and your friends can, too. For assignments and written exercises.
  • Guitar tab paper - While at Music and Tab paper in Resources, print 5 sheets of ‘Guitar tab paper, medium’ and bring it to your lesson. Feel free to download any of the other types of tab paper you want and your friends can, too. For assignments and written exercises, songs, and licks.
  • 5 GB flash drive or larger - suggestions and details below.
  • Download Audacity (optional) - details below.
  • Metronome or Drum machine (suggestions and details below) - Leave your metronome at home.
  • Sheet music for 5 pieces - Click here and look through the songs there – if you like some, download them and print them out. This list grows weekly and the great advantage of using the songs here is that the charts are pretty accurate and easy to follow. If you don’t see songs you like here, find music for 5 songs of your choice. See below for guidelines on choosing music.
  • Tuning fork (preferably E or a piano or keyboard) - Suggestions and details below.

More Details and Resources

  • An acoustic guitar in fair condition - I can advise you on the suitability of specific instruments. Always get the best instrument you can reasonably afford.
    • Beginning guitar $150 - $250.
    • Intermediate guitar $400 – 600. This intermediate guitar should have a solid wood top.
    • Top acoustic guitars - Breedlove, Gibson, Martin, Taylor are long-term favorites with acoustic players and a top acoustic will cost $2500-$5000.
  • Picks, 2 Dunlop Nylon (gray) .88 thickness picks - Not the crappy ones that came with your guitar. This specific pick is what all beginning and intermediate students will use for at least the 1st year, to develop basic technique. Different picks do different things well; this pick is well balanced for many techniques. It may not necessarily be your forever pick.
  • Strap (preferably leather) - Regardless of the material of the strap, it must grip the back and not slide, so the left hand develops the greatest skill. Cotton and Neoprene are other good materials. Use the strap even when you’re sitting down.
    • Your strap may also need 2 strap buttons - Mushroom Head Guitar Strap buttons, chrome – unless they are included with your strap or are already on the guitar.
  • Strings - Light gauge. Gore Elixir ($12-15, last longer) and Martin Marquis ($6, 7) are good brands. Just as needed.
  • Pencil - Musicians write with pencils because they make changes to their music and make frequent notations on the pages. Erasable, colored pencils are best.
  • 5 GB flash drive (or larger) - To record your lesson with, when you begin each lesson give your flash drive to your instructor and they'll record your lessons. Be sure and take the drive with you when you leave and listen to it in your computer the day of or the day after your lesson. This will give you a way to review the lesson and give me a way to send demonstrations of technique or songs home with you. If you'll review your lesson each week, you'll progress about 5 to 10% faster.
  • Audacity - Also, if you'd like to get a even more out of some of your own practices, download Audacity, a free computer-based recording program. It does many great things to help you practice; people even make professional albums with it. You can change the pitch of your song, record yourself, record yourself playing with your song, or isolate sections of songs for practice. Many good things.
  • Metronome - Leave your metronome at home, but you need it to practice. Apps for iphone – Tempo Advance is the best - $4. For Android, Tempo - $2. Standalone metronomes: Planet Waves PW-MT-02 ($15), Korg MA-1 ($20-25). Use the metronome whenever possible. It will develop your sense of rhythm and counting; equally important, it will show you where you should be practicing. If you follow the beat from the metronome in songs and exercises, the areas where you don't do well will be revealed, and you'll know where to spend extra practice time. The metronome is your drummer.
    • When you’re having trouble getting into the metronome, use a drum machine. For iphone, use Garage Band, for Android use Drummer Friend - $3. Standalone drum machine: Boss DB-60. And a little home keyboard with rhythms and metronomic markings works well, too. Students who practice with metronomes or rhythm machines will also progress about 5 to 10 percent faster.
  • Sheet music for 5 pieces - Click here and look through the songs there – if you like some, download them and print them out. This list grows weekly and the great advantage of using the songs here is that the charts are pretty accurate and easy to follow. If you don’t see songs you like here, find music for 5 songs of your choice, within these guide lines: 1) No songs where violence, drugs, cursing, or sex figure largely, 2) No songs where what you like about the song is how super hard it is – for now. Just pick songs you think are cool.
    • Be careful not to get instructional material (for songs); TAB-only (internet) should only be used only very occasionally, because there's no way to know how long any of the notes or chords last. You will work through 1-2 songs per month, and will need to keep a steady supply of cool songs available, as we learn the old ones. If you have recordings of these songs, that's great and very useful, but not required.
  • Tuning fork (preferably E or use a piano or keyboard) - This is to learn to tune your guitar. Develop your ear and become a great musician. We discourage the use of electric tuners (unless you're playing on stage and can't hear your guitar), because it prevents musicians from developing their ear. But here are 2 cheap tuners: Grover GP680T Chromatic Clip-On Tuner - $13 – 16 and Boss TU-01 Clip-on Chromatic Tuner - Black - $18 – 24.
  • Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music - Recommended, but not required. Definitions for many useful musical terms are found here.

More acoustic guitar resources

Guitar repair - Dan McCarthy, http://www.dallasguitarrepair.com, Johnson Square Building, 2701 Fondren Dr., Suite 123, Dallas, TX. 75206, 214-724-2789. M-F, 10-7pm.

Strings

If you have any questions about the guitar, please contact us today.

Why Choose Promethean Studios?

  • You’ll love your lessons and have a blast while you learn.

  • You can learn online, in the studio, or in a band.

  • You get to play or sing the music you love while you develop skills.

  • Your instructor is one of the nation’s top private music educators and musicians.

  • All lessons are customized to your goals, your music, your abilities, and your personality – how YOU learn.

  • Over 5000 students from around the world have taken the finest private lessons in the world right here.

  • We teach complete beginners through studio professionals so there’s never a limit to your learning potential.

  • 99.9% of students can learn to play or sing better than they ever imagined. That’s you, buddy.

  • You’ll learn more quickly and save years of wasted effort because we’ll identify and solve key errors in your technique as you develop essential skills.

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