Brian Sutich
Every guitarist should record their practice ...

It’s cliche, but everyone has a mini recording studio in their pocket with them at all times. Not only is it stupidly simple to record your audio ideas, you can record yourself via video as well and see everything you were working on at the time, to truly pinpoint issues in your playing. But that’s not the only reason you should record.

Let's dive into three ways guitarists can use recording to see huge improvements in their playing.

Every guitarist should record their practice for massive progress – here's why
Brian Sutich
Upgrade Your Guitar Practice - Ditch Repetition ...

How many YouTube thumbnails have you seen, with guitarists talking about how to get out of a rut?  There’s a dead simple fix for getting out of one, and it comes down to two things - you’re sitting down and noodling every time you play guitar, or you’re playing the same things over and over again. I only say this, because I’ve been there myself and have had to snap out of it.

Upgrade Your Guitar Practice - Ditch Repetition To Stop Wasting Time, And See Your Guitar Skills Level Up
Brian Sutich
Don't Fret - Guitar Is Good For Your Health

Let’s just get this out of the way - of course I’m not a doctor, I just play one on the internet. And while I’m not a doctor, I can tell you that guitar has had a profound effect on my life. Playing guitar can lead to all sorts of benefits you might not have even thought about. Search online and you’ll see many scientific studies linked to happiness, improved memory, a sharper mind, and much more.

Don't Fret - Guitar Is Good For Your Health
Brian Sutich
3 Books Every Intermediate Guitarist Needs To ...

If you’ve been playing guitar for a couple of years and finally feel like you’re moving into a more intermediate level, you’ll often hit a plateau. It’s common to not know what to work on next, or to even have some gaps in your knowledge. Here are 3 books that’ll help you progress as an intermediate guitarist.

3 Books Every Intermediate Guitarist Needs To Read
Brian Sutich
A Major Key - 3 Reasons Why The Major Scale Is ...

As a guitarist, the major scale is our key to unlocking all sorts of ideas in music. You can think of it like your guiding light. Here are three key reasons why the major scale is crucial for guitarists.

A Major Key - 3 Reasons Why The Major Scale Is Your Roadmap To Everything Else In Music

The art of using what you already have

I’m a big fan of Ash Lamb’s newsletter about using visual ideas to get your message across. In my neverending quest to find good writing and see it through the lens of guitar, I was inspired to share an excerpt from one of Ash’s recent newsletters:

"Looking to buy the newest most expensive tools is a passive form of procrastination. In order to get started and make a difference, you don’t need to have the fanciest tools.

It doesn’t matter who you are and what you do, in the vast majority of cases, you only need the basics to go far and make a difference.”

I think we can apply Ash’s advice to guitar gear. I’ve seen countless people, entire forums even, wax poetic over every single minute detail of a guitar, amp, or pedal. I love gear just as much as the next guitarist, but not in place of actually practicing and playing each day.

Next time you find yourself scrolling through your favorite gear site, ask yourself the last time you learned something new. And if you’re ever uncertain if your gear is enough for what you're trying to get done...trust me, it is.

If you’d like to sign up to Ash’s newsletter, you can check that out here.

An Essential Pedal For Every Guitar Player - Vidami Blue Review

I picked up a Vidami Blue a few weeks ago, and it instantly changed how I practice guitar each day. The hands-free bluetooth pedal has 3 modes that have helped me out in a major way: its page turning mode works brilliantly for flipping pages in a number of iPhone and iPad apps, not to mention the ability to scroll through tabs online.

You can use it as a YouTube control device, where you can play, pause, go forward or backwards in time on the video, make loops, and even slow down the video, while retaining the original pitch!

And if you record your guitar, it works with a number of DAWs as a DAW controller, helping to play/pause, record, turn on your metronome and more.

I think this pedal is a no brainer to have on any guitarist's board. Check out my full video walk through of the pedal below.

Learning songs by ear, and getting your favorite guitarist's tone

In this week's episode of Chasing Sound Live!, I talked all about easy ways you can find out your favorite guitarist's gear, and what you should think about when purchasing your next guitar, amp, or pedal. I also talked about how I go about learning songs by ear, the importance of ear training, and a fun website that you can use as a cheat sheet for intervals. You can catch the replay below.