http://www.artipot.com/authors/8761/zack-roberts/ Latest articles by Zack Roberts from Artipot - your one-stop resource for free articles. http://www.artipot.com/articles/221283/review-of-myshedplans-woodworking-and-shed-plans-blueprints.htm After reaching the decision of wanting to build my own garden shed, I knew that the very first thing I would need is some shed plans. The next question was where do I get them, and where do I start? I am far from being a carpenter and have very little knowledge in working with wood, or doing any type of woodworking for that matter. I knew I needed a starting point so I paid... Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:54:37 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/221283/review-of-myshedplans-woodworking-and-shed-plans-blueprints.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/198834/blues-improvisation-with-guitar-backing-tracks.htm Did it ever dawn upon you that that practicing your blues guitar skills calls for playing with a real professional band? Particularly before you can move on to the next level of your technical expertise. Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:04:08 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/198834/blues-improvisation-with-guitar-backing-tracks.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/196571/history-of-the-blues-in-400-words.htm The blues is a kind of music that can be vocal, instrumental (blues guitar) or both. It uses the 'blue' notes which are accomplished on a 'minor pentatonic' scale most of the time, otherwise recognised as the blues scale. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:08:44 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/196571/history-of-the-blues-in-400-words.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/187746/the-secret-influence-of-blues-on-popular-music.htm There's a line from an old blues song that says, "the blues had a baby...and they called it rock n' roll." Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:00:05 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/187746/the-secret-influence-of-blues-on-popular-music.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/181380/how-did-the-blues-come-about.htm The blues is a form of music that can be vocal, instrumental (blues guitar) or both. It utilises the 'blue' notes which are accomplished on a 'minor pentatonic' scale almost all the time, otherwise known as the blues scale. Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:11:24 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/181380/how-did-the-blues-come-about.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/175378/the-story-of-the-blues-origins-of-blues-guitar.htm The blues is a variety of music that can be vocal, instrumental (blues guitar) or both. It utilizes the 'blue' notes which are established on a 'minor pentatonic' scale fairly often, otherwise recognised as the blues scale. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:32:10 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/175378/the-story-of-the-blues-origins-of-blues-guitar.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/171035/a-review-of-blues-guitar-jam-tracks-by-50blues.htm Here is a review of 50Blues that I read on American Chronicle and Guitar Player Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:55:45 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/171035/a-review-of-blues-guitar-jam-tracks-by-50blues.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/170758/blues-guitars-influence-on-popular-music.htm Here is an old line from one of the famous blues songs and it says, "the blues had a baby...and they called it rock n' roll." Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:00:33 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/170758/blues-guitars-influence-on-popular-music.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/133915/3-ways-to-master-the-blues-guitar-like-buddy-guy.htm Nearly all blues guitarists start out as rock or country guitarists, only developing their interests in blues at a later date. Thus, there are many blues guitar players who don't have all of the necessary education and background requisite to play traditional blues who rely on altered rock licks and scales to sort of "fake" a blues sound. Sat, 10 May 2008 17:22:56 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/133915/3-ways-to-master-the-blues-guitar-like-buddy-guy.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/133459/the-secrets-of-blues-guitar-improvisation.htm The only way to be able to invent as you go is to really know the layout of your fretboard and to be able to access the music anywhere on the neck at any time. There are a few ways to do this, but some are more effective than others, in my opinion. Fri, 09 May 2008 08:30:13 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/133459/the-secrets-of-blues-guitar-improvisation.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/133108/mastering-the-major-scale-and-intervals-for-guitar-playing.htm The major scale (or Ionian mode) is a scale that was derived from the C note on a piano, it is all the white keys across the octave from C to C, these being C, D, E, F, G,A ,B , C. This scale is said to be natural, as it contains no sharps or flats. Thu, 08 May 2008 09:27:54 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/133108/mastering-the-major-scale-and-intervals-for-guitar-playing.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/132835/master-guitar-scale-degrees.htm In this article we will define Scale Degrees, their names and explain them and their relevance in our theory studies. As you have learned in Nathan's excellent lesson on the Major Scale, each note of the scale is different. This trait is inherent to building a scale as no note in a scale may be repeated. In an effort to better understand the differences between the notes, we... Wed, 07 May 2008 14:15:46 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/132835/master-guitar-scale-degrees.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/132802/what-is-blues-guitar-shuffle-rhythm.htm So you have understood the 12-bar blues or at least the concept of it and you would like to push your blues playing to higher grounds. Wed, 07 May 2008 13:02:14 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/132802/what-is-blues-guitar-shuffle-rhythm.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/132444/guitar-lessons-with-the-12-tone-western-music-system.htm This lesson will cover the names of intervals that we use in our 12 tone Western music system. Also, I will include musical examples as ear training exercises to help you recognize these intervals. Before we proceed, lets review a few musical terms and their definitions. Tue, 06 May 2008 19:02:42 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/132444/guitar-lessons-with-the-12-tone-western-music-system.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/131879/tuning-your-guitar-the-easy-way.htm This lesson will outline how to tune your guitar to a standard E A D G B E tuning. As a general rule, tightening a string creates more tension. This gives the string a higher pitch and goes higher in tune. Likewise with loosening your strings, the pitch goes down. Mon, 05 May 2008 09:54:18 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/131879/tuning-your-guitar-the-easy-way.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/131878/learning-the-important-guitar-scales-and-arpeggios-in-5-patterns.htm It is crucial to learn this scale in all 5 patterns, thereby bringing about the ability to play the scale in all areas of the guitar neck rather than just one. The first scale is master is the G Minor Pentatonic. After discovering the five patterns of this scale in G Minor Pentatonic , it becomes conceivable then to improvise lead anyplace on the neck over any rock tunes in... Mon, 05 May 2008 09:51:18 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/131878/learning-the-important-guitar-scales-and-arpeggios-in-5-patterns.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/131684/the-importance-of-music-theory-for-blues-guitarists.htm This ultimately is the secret that unlocks outstanding lead guitar playing, great songwriting, and great musicianship in general. I have cited techniques used by rock and blues guitarists Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, Eric Clapton and BB King, but a point I wanted to arrive at in that context is that each and every great guitarists (and great musicians, for that matter)... Sun, 04 May 2008 10:07:43 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/131684/the-importance-of-music-theory-for-blues-guitarists.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/131671/easy-way-to-play-guitar-guitar-tabs-and-play-songs.htm Tablature is a way of indicating the positioning of notes and fingering on the guitar fretboard. There are 6 tab lines representing 6 strings on the guitar. (The 1st string is the thinnest, and the 6th string is the thickest) They are as follows: Sun, 04 May 2008 08:55:19 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/131671/easy-way-to-play-guitar-guitar-tabs-and-play-songs.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/131404/how-to-play-blues-guitar-like-eric-clapton.htm It is not that easy to pull out a definition of blues. You can tell that Robert Jhonsons' Rambling on My Mind or B.B. King's Everyday I Have the Blues is definitely blues, but what about van Halen, Al Di Meola or Pavarotti's songs? Sat, 03 May 2008 08:34:42 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/131404/how-to-play-blues-guitar-like-eric-clapton.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/131396/learning-5-advanced-guitar-patterns-for-blues-and-rock.htm Here is how to discover the 5 approach patterns in the keys of A and E, the keys most utilized by rock and blues guitarists: Sat, 03 May 2008 08:07:40 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/131396/learning-5-advanced-guitar-patterns-for-blues-and-rock.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/131236/guitar-video-lessons-vs-private-lessons.htm What inspires you to learn how to play guitar? Do you want to Impress your acquaintances with your music accomplishments? Would you just like to play sing-along songs at a campfire? Are you starting a rock band where you would be the lead guitarist? Playing the rock or blues guitar and being in the spotlight really energizes some people. There are various reasons why you... Fri, 02 May 2008 15:33:46 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/131236/guitar-video-lessons-vs-private-lessons.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/131198/the-story-of-robert-johnson-the-delta-blues-guitarist.htm Robert Johnson was born in Hazelhurst, Mississippi on May 8, 1911 and passed away in Greenwood, Mississippi on August 16, 1938. During those twenty-seven years he recorded twenty-nine songs that influenced modern blues and paved the way for the future of blues-based rock. Fri, 02 May 2008 11:35:18 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/131198/the-story-of-robert-johnson-the-delta-blues-guitarist.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/130980/guitar-lesson-for-rock-and-blues-guitar-improvisation.htm Have you ever wanted to go to a music store and get a book that had the best information on how to play guitar, explained in ways that were easy to understand and made sense, and not know which book to buy? Ever go out and get that book, only to discover that it had a bunch of information that you didn't need and didn't make a good deal of sense after all? Ever wonder... Thu, 01 May 2008 17:21:41 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/130980/guitar-lesson-for-rock-and-blues-guitar-improvisation.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/130962/using-the-blues-guitar-scales-effectively-for-blues-musicians.htm Come and join us as we take a look into what makes up a blues scale, and as we examine in depth the benefits of using blues backing tracks to perfect and hone our knowledge and skill for playing the blues One of the most emotional forms of music that is played on the guitar is blues music Thu, 01 May 2008 16:23:09 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/130962/using-the-blues-guitar-scales-effectively-for-blues-musicians.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/130961/learning-to-play-blues-guitar-fingerstyle.htm There are many different types of guitar fingerstyles for rock and different for blues and this technique can be best learnt on an acoustic guitar Mastering diverse fingerstyles will assist you to effectively render blues music and backing tracks Thu, 01 May 2008 16:16:33 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/130961/learning-to-play-blues-guitar-fingerstyle.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/130960/for-blues-guitarists-mastering-blues-guitar-chords-progression.htm Learning how to play and improvise great blues riffs and licks is not as easy as it might seem to a novice but the one good thing is that focused learning and practicing with a great blues backing track will help a lot in understanding blues chords and progression Using blues backing tracks is an important aspect of playing blues lead guitar Thu, 01 May 2008 16:08:57 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/130960/for-blues-guitarists-mastering-blues-guitar-chords-progression.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/130958/learn-how-to-play-slowhand-blues-the-blues-scales.htm The slowhand blues is the most prominent technique that makes blues music what it is today Mastering the slowhand blues will demand time, effort and focus and above all in-depth comprehension of the different blues scales and the blues notes Thu, 01 May 2008 16:02:10 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/130958/learn-how-to-play-slowhand-blues-the-blues-scales.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/130954/using-the-blues-scales-to-master-blues-guitar-playing.htm Mastering the guitar is like taming a large bull but once you have understood it, you can play almost anything and play sensational blues riffs and licks The great thing about creating your own blues backing tracks is that when you need to reflect back and play a solo then, it will come in handy Thu, 01 May 2008 15:37:22 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/130954/using-the-blues-scales-to-master-blues-guitar-playing.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/130865/the-best-method-to-learn-blues-guitar.htm Over the last few decades blues music has increased in its popularity, learning to play guitar has become exciting for many people. While there are many teenagers out there who dream of becoming pop superstars or rock legends, there are also many people that want to learn how to play the guitar just for their own simple enjoyment. Unfortunately too many people don't find the... Thu, 01 May 2008 10:15:48 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/130865/the-best-method-to-learn-blues-guitar.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/130578/how-to-choose-the-perfect-guitar.htm When it comes to choosing the right guitar for you, the most important point to keep in mind is what kind of music are you looking at playing? Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:26:49 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/130578/how-to-choose-the-perfect-guitar.htm