Tag: Ged Brockie

Finger Stretching Exercise

Being able to play in a fluid manner has a lot to do with the initial foundation of your technique. With this in mind, this exercise will help your tendons to stretch in a meaningful way that addresses the guitar fretboard.

Ged Brockie from GMI Premium takes you through an evergreen exercise as well as giving some helpful tips and advice about finger stretching exercises in general.

A WORD ABOUT TAKING CARE OF YOUR HAND

As mentioned in the video, please take care of your left hand (if you are right handed and visa-versa if you are left handed). Many students of the guitar think that in this realm, if it’s hurting, it’s working…wrong! It is very easy to go absolutely Hell for leather and end up hurting your hands not just in the short term, but permanently so you have been warned! If you do feel pain starting to develop, leave well alone and let your hand recover.

WHY ARE STRETCHING EXERCISES SO USEFUL?

The main reason we want to undertake these exercises is to stretch the tendons of our playing hand so that we can effect chords that are of a larger fret size. It also means that in our soloing and general playing, we can reach things quicker and without to much stress. Musical mistakes usually happen after a build up of not quite getting there. We end up rushing to make the next chord or note and this has a cumulative effect. Eventually the dam breaks so to speak and a mistake happens. That is why working on these exercises is so useful.

There are many stretching exercises available to view on video websites, however, we feel the exercises shown in this lesson will serve you well. Use these exercises as a warm up before actually playing.

20/04/2022

Learning The Whole Tone Scale

Learning The Whole Tone Scale

The whole tone scale is a much ignored scale by guitarists for many of the following reasons:

It’s hard to hear.
It’s odd to finger.
It’s difficult to understand how to use.
It sounds weird.

In the following lesson, Ged Brockie demonstrates and demystifies the whole tone scale and also reveals a number one world wide hit where this often overlooked scale was used.

WHOLE TONE SCALE UNDERSTANDING, LEARNING, PLAYING

Have you ever shied away from playing the whole tone scale? It’s understandable. It’s kind of out on a limb. One of the problems for guitar players is that the whole tone scale seems quite obtuse. That is, how do you use it? It also sounds quite odd to people that have never been exposed to it before. So, why does the whole tone scale not sound like other guitar scales?

The main reason is that the scale has no semi-tones to it’s structure. As the name suggests, the whole tone scale is constructed purely from whole steps (2 frets). This means that it also has less notes than most of the other scales you use. The major scale, harmonic minor scale and melodic minor scale all have seven different notes and an eighth note that repeats the first. In the case of the this scale, it only has seven notes. The seventh note repeats the first note.

The other important thing to remember is that there are only two whole tone scales!

SCALE 1 = C – D – E – F# – G# – A# – C

SCALE 2 = C# – D# – F – G – A – B – C#

These two scales can be named after any of the notes that exist within them. All the scales within any one scale equals the other scales. This is a crucially important point to understand. You will be using these scales and see how this works in later lessons.

DOWNLOAD THE TOTALLY FREE LESSON PDF

The lesson PDF is a great place to start if you are ready for the challenge.

Whole-Tone-scale-giveaway Download

Download the PDF provided which contains both of the scale forms shown in the video lesson.

“SCALES YOU CAN USE!” – THE GUITAR SCALE BOOK COMPANION FOR GMI VIDEOS

152 page full color print “Comb Binding” version for flat lie.
Learn the essential scale patterns including the caged guitar system that are both powerful and musically meaningful.
Included is everything from pentatonic, to modal to exotic scale forms…see below.
Much more than a book of scales, Scales You Can Use! includes the theory of the scales you learn, musical exercises to help you play them in a musical way, fret maps, comparison scalar tables and much, much, more.
Created by GMI head tutor Ged Brockie

No matter if you are a rock, blues, jazz, folk, funk, classical guitar player, these patterns are good for all musical genres.

Electric or acoustic guitarist, this book helps you make fast progress towards your guitar music goals.

Purchase The GMI Print Version

Highest quality paper and print.

Wire comb bind for flat lie on music stand.

European A4 size; larger and easier to read.

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