News + What Songs Should You Practice on Guitar?

Website redesign and Beginner APP news, loads of new lessons, and exciting forecast! August 2021 News Howdy guitar friend, I hope this newsletter finds you well. All super silly busy here as usual. My new studio is getting closer, paint is on, just skirting and decorating to go, so hoping to move in late next week, and for sure, I'll be sharing the setup on socials and maybe a video or two. ;) I just released a video lesson that I'm sure helps many of you: [The 3 Types Of Songs You Practice]( to keep your motivation levels high. Honestly - motivation is a key ingredient to anyone who wants to play guitar, no matter their level. Talking about changes... have you seen the new improvements over the website? The team and I keep working hard to bring you the best experience ever over JustinGuitar. Thanks to our great developers Mike and Ben, we've just released the [new page lessons]( It's so much easier to use! We've implemented much of the feedback we had received from y'all months ago, and I'm thrilled to see this redesign taking full form. We've also just released a new feature that allows you to [request song lessons](. How fun is that? :) More about it below. This next month, you should expect to see much more guitar lessons on my [Main Channel]( (so turn that bell on!) and the Intermediate modules over the website as well! But now, let's check out what's on the menu for today! August Highlights - The new lesson pages are live! - What songs should you be practicing? - Brand-new song lessons. - Which song lesson should I do next? :) - Food For Thought: Making Music History Maps - New Beginner APP is almost there! - Forum Community Awards. - Some life stuff. Lessons Page With New Design! OK - how great does that look? :) Thanks to y'all and my awesome team, the new pages over the website look fabulous! But not only that - we've improved your whole experience over the website. You're probably familiar with the way I break down my [guitar courses](. The Classes have modules, and each module has lessons! Last month, we updated the class and module pages - and now, it was time for the lessons page! The ultimate goal here is to make your guitar journey as efficient as possible! For example, the lessons autoplay now, so you don't waste any time or lose your focus when moving to the next video. :) When you're logged in, you can keep track of your practice, so you always know where you are and where to go next! We're working on the website remembering where you are too! There are still many cool chapters to come in the website redesign! We're also working on e-books, new graphics, and much more stuff to help you learn faster and unleash your guitar skills. Big thanks to the whole design team, Babs, Cass, Ben & Mike! Awesome work! Visit [JustinGuitar.com]( I work hard to make [JustinGuitar]( as accessible as possible to everyone who wants to make music. If you dig my lessons and can afford to contribute, [please donate](. You're helping the world to play! [Learn More & Donate Here]( Learning guitar is all about playing songs! Here’s how you make the best out of your practice. The purpose of a balanced practice routine should be to help you achieve the skills you need to play the songs you want. But what songs should you be working on? That's a tricky question, and it definitely deserves some food for thought! Many guitar students will fall into traps when it comes to choosing their repertoire. Many will choose to play too easy tunes and then getting bored, or too hard songs and then getting discouraged! So how does one find the balance? Well, I’m glad you asked - my [brand new lesson]( is all about that! [The 3 Types of Songs You Should Be Practicing]( [Watch Now]( Yeah, I've brought many new song lessons for you again! And I've just realized they were all on the acoustic guitar! I've put my Froggy to some great use this month. :) Hope y'all dig the new lessons! This [Neil Young song]( has a lovely 6:8 feel and it's a great tune for beginners in Grade 2 of my Beginner Course! We'll explore a very easy pattern so you get used to its feel and chord changes, and then learn how to sound just like the original. To play along with Neil Young, don't forget your capo on the second fret! Who's up for some barre chord practice? :) [Waiting On a War]( by Foo Fighters is a great song to rock on your acoustic guitar. To sound like the original, you can't avoid some barre chords, but the good news is that the rhythm is pretty simple. But if you can't get along with the F Chord, check out this [ultimate guide to easy barre chords]( first. I'm not really a cool kid, but this Echosmith's song is great fun! [Cool Kids]( sounds excellent on the acoustic guitar! We'll learn an easy-open chords version, so even absolute beginners can play it, but also its riff - a bit more tricky, especially to sing along with! A fun challenge for advancing guitar players. :) It was about time for me to release a lesson on [The Man Who Sold The World]( eh? I'm using my acoustic guitar for this one, so it sounds more like the Nirvana version, but Bowie’s original uses pretty much the same chords and rhythm! Bowie once said that Nirvana's version of this song was heartfelt. We can't disagree, can we? If you've just started your guitar journey, this guitar lesson is for you! The classic [Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way]( only uses the A and D chord, and its rhythm is pretty easy! In this lesson, we'll explore some tricks to help you nail chord changes, so you don't stop when strumming when playing. 🆕 You've asked for, so here it is! One of the most requested songs over the website on the first day of our [Song Request Board](. :) [Champagne Supernova]( by Oasis is such a fun song to play. If you're following my [Beginner Guitar Course]( that's a great song for Grade 2. Let's work on that 16th Note Strumming Pattern skills! Super exciting to release the [Song Lesson Request Pool]( over the website! Now all the registered users can suggest and vote on the songs I should do next - how fun is that? :) I will try to release a tutorial out for all the most requested songs - and you can also help by liking the current requests! 👍 So, which song should I do next? Choose [here]( I've been revisiting some of my Food For Thought articles, and this is definitely a favorite. Making your own [Blues History Maps]( can help my entire guitar playing. I know it helped mine! And this article's all about that! We'll explore how to make your own Blues History Maps and why that can be a game-changer for you. [Read Here!]( The new Beginner APP is here! It's been such a long road! The Musopia team and I have been working hard on the new JustinGuitar Beginner APP update - I can't believe we're almost there. We got loads of great feedback, and we've even delayed the release to put some constructive feedback in place! My goal with the APP is to help y'all learn faster, and I'll make sure the APP is always as good as I can. So, there are still a few changes to come to make everyone happy and able to make the most out of their guitar time! Depending on your location and the operating system you're using, you already have access to the new version. I really, really love it. The APP really does make it easier to learn: - Fast Chord Changes - Feeling Good Strumming Patterns - Consolidate the skills you learn as a Beginner - Have fun by learning when playing actual songs! 🗓 Now, save the date: On August 12th, I'll go live to celebrate the official release, and we'll give some APP subscriptions away to the lucky ones. :) Make sure you're following [my social media]( so you don't miss the big event! Have you tried my APP? [Download it now and get started for free!]( And this month's shout-out goes to... LBro! 🏆 For ten years, LBro has brought so much good to our [F]( He really embraces our spirit and ethos of paying it forward and inspiring our guitar community. LBro has also really improved his own musical skills! He has uploaded his recordings to the forum, and many of them are original music! Some also come with great videos and even international collaborations with other members. Now LBro has over thirty videos to his name! :) I also want to thank LBro for his generosity! He's a really active member of the Forum and dedicates hours of his time encouraging other players! Additionally, as he has learned to use music software and technology, he has willingly passed on his knowledge and skills to others interested in the home recording! Awesome, eh? Join LBro, the awesome Forum moderators LV and Richard, and make some great guitar friends! [Join The Community Here!]( Yep - [I'm on TikTok]( But let's not spend too long scrolling our feed over there, eh? Practice to do! But I guess it can be fun to post some quick guitar videos! Maybe it inspires someone to pick up the guitar! [Follow me on TikTok]( for guitar videos. - and never, never, never, non-sense stuff! :) Prices are going up! :( It's out of my control - it seems that the whole Covid-19 crisis and all the changes the world has been through increased operational rates, so I just got an email from Spring saying prices will go up by the end of the month! :( So I thought it would be a good idea to let y'all know! I'll try and hold the prices as low as possible, of course, but if you're thinking about buying some [geetar tees]( or [songbooks]( now it's probably a good time. Shopping at my Merch Store is also a great way to support my content, so a big thank you to all shoppers. 🙏 [Shop Now!]( Other Life Stuff... This last month I had two amazing weeks on a private island in the Caribbean. I feel so lucky to have such an opportunity when so much of the world is going crazy! I ran a workshop there for a week in the middle but got plenty of time for fun on either side too. The workshop went really well, great people on it, and the spectacular venue ([Petit St Vincent]( was super cool. I did some scuba in the downtime, snorkeled with a turtle, swam in the sea every day, and ate amazing food. Was really special. Next year, we're back for a similar event, so keep an eye on [JustinGuitarWorkshops.com]( for more info in the next week or two. There are two workshops in Italy starting late September, too - the electric jam workshop is sold out, but there are a couple of spaces left on the Acoustic Campfire workshop. Coming back after a decent break is always scary, but besides being behind on work stuff, I have a house and studio renovations going on, so stress levels have been pretty crazy since we got back. I am grateful for being into [mediation]( - I think I might have lost my head had I not found some space. Been getting into Zen mediation lately and dreaming about a silent retreat somewhere... like I have time for that! I'm sending this newsletter out a day later than usual (usually the first Friday of each month) because I did a track day racing Formula 3000 cars yesterday! It was super exciting, such a thrill, and I can't wait to go again. I put [my fastest lap up on Instagram]( if you're into that kind of thing. I'm excited to get the remaining intermediate grades filmed, and I have some really super fun and cool series in the works for when the studio is back up and running. It's very exciting to see the team here growing - we welcome Barbara on board this month, our new full-time designer - though she was involved in the website redesign for nearly 2 years. Also on board is Kris, a part-time developer to help out Ben and Mike and bring some new skills to the tech stack (check out my hip lingo!). Expanding the team means I can spend more time making new lessons and courses and improving the site. But it does need support from y'all, and the more [donations]( come in, the less pressure there is to have to make stuff to sell... in my ideal world, everything would be free... Much appreciate your support. I hope you have an awesome month with much love, laughter, and guitar fun! J. Copyright © 2021 Justin Guitar Ltd, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up on my web site justinguitar.com, hope you enjoy my newsletters! Our mailing address is: Justin Guitar Ltd PO Box 695Farnham, Surrey GU9 1NB United Kingdom [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](