http://blog.fretlight.comQuick Blogcasthttp://blog.fretlight.com/2010/02/08/whats-your-plan.aspx?ref=rss<div>Hello again Fretlight players! In this post, I’d like to touch on one of the most important parts of getting the most out of your Fretlight learning experience. After working with the Fretlight system for several years, and using it with students of many different levels, I’ve found that the single most important thing that you must do is to figure out what your goals are as a player. Are you a complete beginner? Maybe a novice player with a little experience? Maybe you’ve been playing for a while but you’re just a rhythm player, or maybe you’ve ...</div> TipsNate Comp2010-02-09T03:29:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/12/14/the-fretlight-riff-of-the-week-is-here.aspx?ref=rssHello again Fretlight players!&nbsp;This short post is about one of the coolest&nbsp;new additions that we've made to the Fretlight Guitar Blog, which is the&nbsp;"Fretlight Video Riff". Every week we'll be posting a FREE video for you to download that you can open up through Fretlight Studio (using Video Player)...LinksProduct InfoNate Comp2009-12-14T09:17:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/11/12/so-many-choices--part-two.aspx?ref=rss <div>In the <a href="http://blog.fretlight.com/2009/11/04/so-many-choices.aspx">previous post</a>, I introduced the concept of using a wide assortment of scales to build a melody on top of a<br> single chord. All of the examples I outlined in the previous post were designed around answering this one basic question: "If I'm trying to play a melody over just ONE CHORD, what notes can I<br> use?" In this post I'm going to continue to outline some more of the possibilities that can be explored using this idea, but this time around I'm going to use ...</div> TipsNate Comp2009-11-13T04:42:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/11/05/fretlight-in-mmr.aspx?ref=rssMusical Merchandise Review recently did an interview with me to talk about Fretlight. It came out in the October 2009 issue and is <A href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/25674a62#/25674a62/28" target=_blank>now available to view online</A>. <br> <br>Check it out and let me know what you think. <br>Press CoverageRusty Shaffer2009-11-06T04:52:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/11/04/so-many-choices.aspx?ref=rss<DIV>In this post, I'd like to address a really cool concept that was the subject of a recent private lesson that I taught. Many of my students who study improvisation and write their own music will often ask me "How do I figure out what Scale to play along with these particular chords?" When I'm asked this question, I usually introduce the student to the concepts of "Diatonic Harmony" and "Chords in Key" so that they can learn HOW to recognize the chords that are used to build progressions with each Key. These are music theory concepts that I teach ...TipsNate Comp2009-11-05T05:15:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/10/23/the-moods-of-the-modes--part-two.aspx?ref=rss<P>In my <A href="http://blog.fretlight.com/2009/10/14/the-moods-of-the-modes.aspx">previous post</A>, I outlined some of the most important points to consider when studying various scales and modes. I outlined some specific song examples for you to work on that focused on the sound of four different types of modes, which were the Dorian mode, the Phrygian mode, the Lydian mode, and the Mixolydian mode. The main goal of my last post was to get you to approach the study of scales and modes as more than just learning how to play different types of finger patterns on the fretboard. Instead, you should approach the study of scales and modes from the perspective of LISTENING to the specific "flavor" or "mood" that each mode creates.TipsNate Comp2009-10-23T13:39:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/10/14/the-moods-of-the-modes.aspx?ref=rss<P>When studying various types of scales or "Modes", one thing to keep in mind is that every scale type has it's own "flavor" or "mood". When I was first began studying scales many years ago, I found myself falling into a trap that many guitarists fall into: learning many different finger patterns on the fretboard without really LISTENING to the sound of each individual scale. I find that with many players, it's very easy to overlook this essential aspect of understanding WHY the study of different scales is so important. When studying any scale, you should focus on these key ...TipsNate Comp2009-10-15T04:21:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/09/22/keeping-your-balance.aspx?ref=rss<P>In my many years of teaching, I've found that the two main reasons why students want to take lessons are these: 1: to develop their knowledge of the music theory principles that are particular to their playing style, or 2: to further develop their technique and physical ability on the instrument. This post addresses the important topic of "keeping your balance" with these two different areas of study. Both technical as well as theoretical pursuits are important when learning any instrument, but for some reason, students of the guitar tend to "march to the beat of their own drummer" and ...TipsNate Comp2009-09-22T17:44:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/09/08/all-that-jazz.aspx?ref=rss<P>When I first started playing guitar and learning about music, I always considered Jazz to be the most "challenging" or "cerebral" style to play, simply because the music always seemed so complex and overwhelming. Then I had a very enlightening lesson with my teacher at the time and he introduced me to what is known as "Modal Jazz". The style of "Modal Jazz" is based around improvised melodies that are created from a specific set of Scales or Modes as opposed to a series of multiple chords that are associated with a single Key center. This means that Modal Jazz ...TipsNate Comp2009-09-09T04:36:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/08/16/if-you-cant-feel-it-.aspx?ref=rss<P>Hello again Fretlight players! In this post I'd like to talk about one of the most "organic" parts of becoming a great player and a successful musician. If you've been reading my <A href="http://blog.fretlight.com/2009/06/27/from-scales-to-music.aspx">previous</A> <A href="http://blog.fretlight.com/2009/06/09/defining-your-influences.aspx">posts</A>, you know that I put a lot of emphasis on learning the "nuts and bolts" of music, and I always stress the importance of studying the concepts of Melody and Harmony and how they are applied to the guitar, but this time around I'd like to touch on something completely different: Think about your favorite players and your favorite music, and then think about ...TipsNate Comp2009-08-17T16:04:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/06/27/from-scales-to-music.aspx?ref=rss<FONT size=2 face=Verdana>One of the most common questions I hear from my private students is "I know I have to learn my scales, but when do we get to play some REAL music with all of this stuff?" My answer to this question is the topic of this post, which will hopefully provide you with some insight into the balance you must achieve between practicing scales versus applying those scales to real music.<br><br>One thing that I've encountered in my many years of teaching is that a lot of instructors as well as many instructional books and videos seem to place ...TipsNate Comp2009-06-27T15:41:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/06/16/fretlight-studio-software-now-available---free.aspx?ref=rssHey Gang,<br><br>I wanted to tell you that we do listen to our customers and as a result we have just released the <A href="http://www.fretlight.com/Software/studio.html">NEW Fretlight Studio™ software for PC</A>. We wanted to make having fun with your Fretlight as easy as possible so the Fretlight Studio combines the following apps, M-Player, Improviser, Lesson player and Video Player into one convenient application and it’s now FREE. Oh, and by the way, all the Mac apps are free as well.<br><br>PC users can now enjoy one download and one program to access the Fretlight applications. Now you can play songs, take video lessons, ...ProductsProduct InfoRusty Shaffer2009-06-17T00:31:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/06/09/defining-your-influences.aspx?ref=rssWhen working with my private students, one of the most important things that I focus on is defining their musical influences. This helps me to really understand what styles of music they have an interest in playing, but more importantly, it helps me to lead them down the path to finding their own style or "voice" as a player. I tell all of my students that developing their own personal style will come from the constant repetition of this simple three step process:<br><STRONG><br>1. Imitation</STRONG><br>Defining your musical influences and learning to imitate their unique style of playing. This group of influences ...TipsNate Comp2009-06-10T05:33:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/06/01/organizing-your-chords--part-seven.aspx?ref=rss<SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <br><DIV>This is the seventh and final post dealing with the topic of "Organizing Your Chords" and focuses on my favorite chord category to deal with, which is "Other". Going back to the outline that I gave you <A href="http://blog.fretlight.com/2009/04/01/organizing-your-chords.aspx">in the first post of this series</A>, I like to use six different chord categories to organize all of the different chord types that I use to build progressions. The category of "Other" is reserved for chord types or chord forms that do not easily fit into one of our other five categories. Like ...TipsNate Comp2009-06-01T22:55:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/05/24/organizing-your-chords--part-six.aspx?ref=rss<P>In this post I'm going to outline some song ideas for you to work on that focus on our next chord category which is Triads. When playing songs and progressions using Triads, you will be using chord forms that incorporate combinations of three different notes played on three different strings. Triads can be built using a combination of ANY three strings, and just like our previous two categories, these chord forms can be moved up and down the entire fretboard. When learning progressions using Triads, it is important to understand what TYPES of chords you are playing as well as ...TipsNate Comp2009-05-25T05:56:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/05/12/organizing-your-chords--part-five.aspx?ref=rssAs you've seen in the last series of posts, I've been outlining some song ideas for you to work on that build upon&nbsp; each of the various chord categories I outlined previously. I'm going to continue on this time by outlining some song ideas that focus on one of the most common chord categories for all guitarists to master, which is the category of "Barre Chords". <br><br>No matter what style you play, you will find that the category of Barre Chords includes some of the most important chord forms that you will ever use. One great thing about studying Barre ...TipsNate Comp2009-05-13T02:45:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/04/18/organizing-your-chords--part-four.aspx?ref=rssIn the previous <A href="http://blog.fretlight.com/2009/04/04/organizing-your-chords--part-two.aspx">two</A> <A href="http://blog.fretlight.com/2009/04/13/organizing-your-chords--part-three.aspx">posts</A> I outlined some song ideas for you to work on that all fell into the categories of "Basic Open Position Chords" and "Open Chord Variations". This time around I'm going to outline some song ideas that focus on one of the most commonly used chord types in music, which is the <A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_chord" target=_blank>"Power Chord"</A>, also known as the "5th Chord".<br><br>As a rhythm guitarist, you will find that the category of Power Chords is one of the most important chord families to develop in your playing, simply because these chords are an essential ...TipsNate Comp2009-04-18T17:46:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/04/13/organizing-your-chords--part-three.aspx?ref=rssHello again Fretlight players! <br><br>In <A href="http://blog.fretlight.com/2009/04/04/organizing-your-chords--part-two.aspx">the last post</A> I gave you some song ideas to work on that all fell into the category of developing your "Basic Open Position Chords". In this post I'm going to continue where we left off with some more song ideas for you to work on, but this time we'll be dealing with the category of "Open Chord Variations". This category includes many different chord variations that can be created by modifying the basic open position chord shapes. These variations include "Suspended" or "Sus" chords (Sus 2 and Sus 4) along with Minor 7th ...TipsNate Comp2009-04-14T01:32:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/04/04/organizing-your-chords--part-two.aspx?ref=rssIn <a href="http://blog.fretlight.com/2009/04/01/organizing-your-chords.aspx">this previous post</a> I outlined the importance of organizing your chords when developing your rhythm guitar playing skills. In this post as well as the next several short posts, I'm going to give you a list of song ideas to work on to help you develop each specific category. To quickly review, in the last post I outlined the six different categories that I use to organize the study of harmony and chord playing, which were the following:<br><br><strong>1. "Basic Open Position Chords"<br>2. "Open Chord Variations"<br>3. "Power Chords / 5th Chords"<br>4. "Barre Chords"<br>5. "Triads"<br>6. "OTHER"</strong>TipsNate Comp2009-04-04T17:11:00Zhttp://blog.fretlight.com/2009/04/01/organizing-your-chords.aspx?ref=rssIn this post I'm going to talk about one of the most important aspects of developing your skills as a rhythm guitarist, which is organizing your chords. With my private students I group the study of harmony and chord playing into six basic categories, which are the following:<br><br><br><b>1. "Basic Open Position Chords"</b><br>This category represents the "meat and potatoes" chord shapes that all guitarists begin with. Regardless of what style of music someone plays, all guitarists begin by learning these basic chord forms. (These are the chords that are taught in Lesson Pak One that comes included with the Fretlight Lesson ...TipsNate Comp2009-04-02T00:53:00Z