February 3, 2010
- New Guitar Course
I'm working on a new guitar course that should start coming out, Lord willing, in February. Am currently working on Lesson 4 of a 17 week course. It will teach you how to read notes on the guitar, plus music theory. It's going to be geared towards the worshipper who wants to understand music and learn how they can easily transpose songs to any key and how chords and scales are constructed.
November 18, 2009
- Christmas Songs and Solos
Would you like to learn some fun arrangements of Christmas Songs? I have just made a new book and DVD that contains both the solo arrangements and chords for 14 familiar Christmas Songs.
October 15, 2009
- Mastering Finger Picking
Mastering Finger PickingThe 'How To Master Finger Picking' course is now in a book and DVD format. The new name is 'Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class(TM) - Mastering Finger Picking.' This new book is currently shipping to the retail stores and is available on the website. It has 12 lessons with both song accompaniments and instrumental solos. The last song is a Flamenco piece with techniques like the tremolo, the tambour and the rasgueado.
September 25, 2009
- The Guitar Hymnal
Want to learn 68 hymns in guitar friendly chords? The Guitar Hymnal book and CD have 68 hymns. This is great for the Christian guitarist. You can have all these hymns in easy to play guitar keys for personal worship, or in your small group or church. The book is by Steve Turley. It's one of two new worship and praise books we've started carrying.
July 24, 2009
- Travis Pick Fingerpicking
A Video Lesson On Travis Picking
The Travis Pick works well with songs like 'What A Friend We Have In Jesus.' I'm working on an instrumental arrangement of this song and planning on adding it to the Finger Picking Course along with some other songs using the Travis Picking patterns.
June 18, 2009
- Getting Clean Notes On Your Guitar
How To Get Clean Guitar Notes and ChordsHere are a few tips to getting a clean chords on your guitar, so your worship songs sound great
1. Trim your left-hand fingernails. If you have nails it’s impossible to hold the strings down cleanly.
2. Hold a string down with the tip, or pad, of your finger right behind the frets. If you hold a string down on top of a fret it can produce a muffled tone. If you hold down a string too far from the fret it can produce a buzzing sound. Stay on the tips of your fingers and hold each string firmly, as close to the frets as you can. More on Getting Clean Notes On Your Guitar
May 18, 2009
- Tips On Practicing Music
In the last survey, quite a few people requested help with finding time to practice and tips on how to practice. Here are a few ideas that you may find helpful.
January 22, 2009
- Music Instructional Streaming Videos
What do the 'How To Master Finger Picking' and 'Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class for Kids' programs have in common? They are now both available as online streaming videos.The advantages are instant access, no shipping costs, no worries about losing or damaging the DVD and no customs costs for International orders.
August 28, 2008
- Olympic Lessons for Christian Guitarists
I don't know about you, but I sure enjoyed watching the Olympics from Beijing. What an incredible opening night and how inspirational to hear the stories about these athletes.Did you notice how often the news commentators talked about their relaxed technique? I did. Several times the newscasters talked about Michael Phelps' relaxed swimming style. When Rebecca Soni finished swimming they mentioned her big smile and that you have to have a relaxed face to smile like that right after a swim.
May 23, 2008
- How To Practice The Guitar
Christian Guitar Practice - Pray First
The exciting difference between just practicing the guitar and using it as a tool for worshipping an Awesome God is that our purpose and focus shifts.
It's no longer just you learning to play the guitar. When you as God to help you, He can give you insights and help. You can use the guitar as a tool to worship Him. It helps to continue to ask Him for His help whenever you're playing the instrument.
In my guitar studio there were countless times when a student was having difficulties and I just said, '"Help him Lord.'" They always immediately played better. Then I'd always say '"Thank you Lord."
The first step as a Christian musician is to pray. Try to use your practice as a time of worship. It's a matter of where your heart is focused. It says in Scripture, if we seek Him with all of our hearts we will find Him. (For the rest of the article click the 'More' link below.). More on How To Practice The Guitar
April 24, 2008
- Guitar Scales You Can Play
A wonderful way to improve your playing is by practicing scales. This is a video that will show you how to play a couple 'C' scales. The first if just one octave. Everyone can start with this one. When you can play it with ease, try the second scale with two octaves. If you would like to follow along with the music, it's here.
October 7, 2007
- Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class for Kids
The Worship Guitar Class for Kids program is done and ready to help kids worship our God with a guitar in their hands. Here is a 7 1/2 min. excerpt of the first lesson.
This is a 7 1/2 min excerpt of Lesson One
Available from KidsWorshipGuitar.com
How is this program different than the other kid's program? It has all Christ-centered worship songs. The only song in common is 'This Little Light of Mine.'
More on Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class for Kids
May 6, 2006
- How to Hold a Guitar & A-Frame Guitar Supports
How do you hold a guitar? Below is a 7 minute video showing various options of how to hold a guitar and the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
March 26, 2006
- Video Podcasts
Have you seen those new Video Podcasts apple produced? I saw one in a computer store the other day and was surprised at the quality those little podcasts produce. With those of you who own one, I've started making Video Podcasts. The first lesson of the Worship Guitar Class series is now up and downloadable. It's available from the iTunes Directory or here's the direct URL - www.web.mac.com/jeanwelles/iWeb/
February 26, 2006
- Relaxed Right-hand Technique
Here's a brief, probably one minute, video to help you see how you can play with a relaxed Right Hand. At a Christian Guitar Convention I taught at a few years ago, I was surprised that out of 2 classes, maybe 50 students, only 2 had relaxed right hands. Most people play with way too much tension. It takes a lot of strength to play, but it's easier to play if you relax between each note, or pluck.
December 1, 2005
- Guitar Tab
How to read Guitar TAB
As shown in the diagram below, tablature has six lines. Each line represent one string. The top string represents the first string on the guitar. The bottom string represents the 6th string. For a bass guitar, the guitar tab would have just four lines, representing the four strings.
November 8, 2005
- Volune One Books
To help you use the worship guitar class DVD's in class settings books are now available for Volume One. The book has all the songs with musical note, the teaching, and tips.
November 7, 2005
- Guitar Care & Changing Strings
The best way to clean your fretboard is to loosen all the strings & pull them off the fretboard, to either side of the nut. Then use the finest steel wool, grade 0000, to wipe away the oil, grit & dirt that accumulates on the fingerboard and around the frets.
October 7, 2005
- Left-hand Exercise
Here's an excellent exercise for your left-hand. It's one I used a lot with my students. This is a perfect exercise to use as a 'warm-up' before you play songs on the guitar. Just click the image below and that will open up a new URL which contains the video.
June 18, 2005
- 6 Picking Patterns + Writing Songs
I often get emails from guitarists that are stuck in a rut using the same strumming pattern for every song. Here are 6 finger-picking patterns that you can use with 4/4 time songs. I wanted to teach them to you with a song, but I can't use popular worship songs because most are copyrighted.
- How to Hold a Guitar & A-Frame Guitar Supports
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