Texas Guitarville Music Schools in Keller, Trophy Club, and Grapevine

Texas Guitarville Music Schools has been around for over 5 years now, offering awesome music lessons to all ages.  We love what we do here and can't wait to help you on your musical journey.  We offer private lessons for all ages, skill levels, and styles.  We have group guitar and ukulele classes for kids and adults alike.  Our group guitar for kids is geared for ages 7 and up.  Ukulele group class is more for kids 6 years old and up.  The adult group guitar and ukulele classes are for 18 years old and up.  We also have student rock band classes for kids who want to learn what it's like to be in a band and learn multiple instruments.  We have an adult rock band class which is also very popular for those of us who may have never got to try or have more time now.  What a great opportunity to practice the skills you are learning on your own or in private lessons.  We even have a program where we give our students a free instrument to help get them started.  All they have to do is sign up for a 12 month commitment of private lessons.  Our goal is to see our students succeed so we only have classes that help achieve that goal.  We don't have hype classes or unnecessary classes, only the classes that count.  Our locations are in Keller, Grapevine, and Trophy Club Texas.  We service the surrounding areas as well: Haslet, Roanoke, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Watauga, Southlake, Colleyville, Hurst, Bedford, Euless, Coppell, Blue Mound, Saginaw, and more.  We hope to see you in a class soon seeing the difference Texas Guitarville Music Schools can do for you.  We also beat other competitors' prices so come and check us out and get the best price ever!  Thanks for reading and we hope to jam with you soon at Texas Guitarville Music Schools: Where the best musicians live!

TEXAS GUITARVILLE BLOG -- What does a capo do and is it good or bad?

Hello guitar enthusiasts!

I am here to break down a fundamental question asked from a bunch of our students: What does a capo do and is it good or bad to use?  Well, it definitely isn't good or bad, it's a neutral device that can help you be a better musician or confuse the crap out of you.  The first thing most people think about what a capo does, I have encountered, is that the capo changes the key of the entire guitar.  The only problem is you can not change the key of a guitar or at least it isn't the right wordage.  What I mean by this is that you have to pick a major or minor key that you want to play in first before you can change the key you are playing in, utilizing the capo device.  Let's say for example you are in the key of C Major and you are using the capo on the third fret of your guitar.  This would make your new key, with the capo, turn into D sharp major since you moved three half steps higher than where you originally were.  So, essentially you can still play your C Major chord shape on your guitar but it will sound like an actual D sharp major chord.  Pretty neat!  A lot of singers use the capo to change the key of a song or write songs in the key that fits their voice better while keeping the use of basic chords that they are very familiar with.  It can also be used to play a lot of cool guitar riffs utilizing open notes, hammer-ons, and pull-offs in different keys without having to learn new ways to play them.  So essentially you can do the same riffs in every key using the capo.  Is this cheating?  Yes, but if it helps you play the things you want to play quicker, than that is pretty cool.  The downside to the capo is that if you use it too much, you will never get accustomed to learning guitar without it and eventually your guitar playing will plateau.  If you are happy just being able to play a few riffs and select chords then the capo might be great for you, but if you want to keep pushing yourself and be a guitar virtuoso than put that capo up and learn some awesome guitar riffs and licks.  Another way to utilize the capo is to change the key of a current song to make the chord shapes easier for you to play.  This is an easy way and may not sound totally right, but might be a great way to start learning songs quickly.  This is a great way to boost your momentum and get to love playing your guitar faster.  So for example if a song you want to play has chords like C minor, A sharp major, D sharp major, and G sharp major then you could put your capo on the eighth fret of your guitar to make these chords into the shapes of E minor, D major, G major, and C Major respectively.  So another way to think of it is if you played the G major chord and then played it again using the capo at the eighth fret of your guitar, that would now make it into a D sharp major chord while still keeping that easy G major chord shape.  This takes some knowledge of theory to comprehend, but what a great way to learn music theory and make your guitar playing a little easier to start out.  I always recommend that my students don't rely or depend on the capo forever though.  It is only a tool.  Don't let the capo become your crutch.  This is the most important thing any teacher or professional guitar player can tell you about using the capo on your guitar.  I hope this article helps you understand when and where to use your capo on your guitar.  Please comment below to start a discussion if you like.  Also please like and share this article with friends who may have similar questions and concerns.  

Thanks and keep rocking on!

Kevin Nassiff

CEO/ Owner

Texas Guitarville Music Schools

Should I start learning on an acoustic or an electric guitar?

Hello fellow guitar enthusiasts!

     I'm guessing you clicked on this blog because you love listening to and/or playing the guitar.  It's one of the most soothing and frustrating things you can do at times.  People have been fascinated with the sounds of the guitar and it's wide range of abilities for decades.  We have come so far and have accomplished some really amazing things with guitars.  Some guitars can even sound like brass instruments, pianos, and much more.  But the one question I get a lot is "If I want to learn the guitar, should I start with acoustic or electric guitar?"  Well, I am going to break down the argument and let you decide what's best for you based on what you read below.

     Acoustic guitar has some great qualities.  You can play it anywhere, anytime.  This is one of the biggest benefits to picking this guitar first.  It's also harder to play and harder to make it sound good because the tension and gauge of the strings, so it's tougher on your fingers.  You won't be able to bend notes as much on the acoustic guitar due to this issue but your fingers will get a beating and become stronger faster which is a great thing in the long run.  So, if you like to do some serious bends right out of the box, you might not want to pick an acoustic.  Acoustic guitars can also be used as drums by tapping the body of the guitar when you play.  This is a technique that takes time to master but very fun and unique to the acoustic guitar.  These guitars are not meant to soar to the high notes like an electric guitar but they can reach these notes if you have a cutaway-shape body that lets you access more of your guitar's frets.  You can pick up an acoustic classical guitar that is strung with nylon strings for a lighter touch but this will have it's own set of sound limitations along with range limitations too.  All in all, it's a great choice for a beginner or even the advanced player but check out what the electric can do in comparison.

     Electric guitar, the mighty axe of the ages.  This instrument has been the main gun in many songs for decades.  You can get a smooth Santana like sound, a rough metal sound with distortion, and everything in between.  Some of these electric guitars can even sound like pianos, saxophones, flutes, bagpipes, and more with the help of MIDI expression pedal units.  If you want to be able to bend far and make deep dives this is the choice for you.  Pick scrapes also sound way better with an electric guitar as you drag your pick down the strings to make some cool squealing, melt-your-face-off sound effects.  You can use a slide to play your acoustic guitar but it sounds much better on an electric guitar as you use your slide to make some cool, smooth blues riffs that would make the girls swoon.  The downside is that it doesn't sound that great without the help of a guitar amplifier (amp for short).  You will have many choices on amps as well which might make things either more stressful or more fun as you have options of what you want your guitar to sound more like.  Electric guitars are art pieces, not that acoustics can't be pretty too, but electric guitars are usually sought after for their cool looks and unique designs.  You can get an electric guitar in pretty much any color, size, and sound quality.  Electric can be easier to start learning on because their is less tension and smaller gauge of strings.  It just depends how much you want to challenge yourself with at first.  

     So after looking at both, electric is easier on your fingers and hands at first but acoustic has it's awesome portability to boast.  But at the end of the day, you choose which one is best and rock on no matter what!  Please leave comments below and start a conversation.  Share with your friends and family.  Thanks.

Kevin Nassiff

CEO/Owner

Texas Guitarville Music Schools