Major breakthroughs happen in the field of music learning every now and then, whether it be new technologies, techniques, or tools. To ensure that all musicians and fans of music as a whole know everything about these innovations, The NAMM Show was created, unifying pioneers, innovators, and musicians on a big stage.
This year, CardChords is coming to the NAMM show, bringing beginner guitar players and new learners the latest tool that everybody is talking about. Recently featured in Guitar World, CardChords are an ingenious guitar learning tool that greenhorn guitarists can use to master basic chords, but it is just as useful to forward-thinking music teachers who are slowly realizing that traditionally-oriented lessons aren’t as effective in today’s day and age.
Mike Grande, a highly experienced guitar coach and musician who created CardChords, will occupy Booth 5545 at this year’s NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA with his team. Mike is inviting everyone who wishes to learn more about this exquisite tool to come to the Innovation Showcase, Booth 5545 between the 13th and 15th of April. Meanwhile, let’s dive into what you should expect.
The NAMM Show: Bringing Music, Sound & Entertainment Under One Umbrella
The National Association of Music Merchants or shortly “NAMM” is one of the biggest Californian attractions. Each year, the NAMM Show comes to the Anaheim Convention Center, bringing thousands of music innovators, luthiers, gadget makers, and creators of pioneering music tools under one roof.
The NAMM Show offers an abundance of interesting activities for its attendants; from special educational events to career consulting to drum circles, competitions, and more, every NAMM is different thematically.
Product exhibits and showcases are an integral component of every NAMM Show. Merchants, brands, and companies behind the most innovative music tools and items have an opportunity to showcase them to larger audiences. In turn, people wishing to get to know more about these products and even test them personally have a chance to do so.
CardChords will be included in the NAMM’s Innovation Showcase, presenting its Universal, Stratocaster, and Les Paul editions of the critically-acclaimed Card Chord products at Booth 5545.
What are Card Chords?
Card Chords are sets of cards that are designed to be placed on the frets of a guitar. Each Card Chord highlights the notes that should be played to produce the relevant chord, as well as the chord’s name.
These innovative guitar-learning tools are meant to simplify the basics of music theory and focus the learner’s attention on the parts they want to learn.
Card Chords come in three editions, including the Stratocaster Edition (for all Strats, Tellys, Squires, Ibanez, Jackson, and Yamaha guitars), Les Paul Edition (Gibson, Epiphone, and Gretsch guitars), and Universal (for all but nylon-strung acoustic guitars).
How Mike Grande Made Card Chords
With almost 35 years of experience in the music teaching industry, Mike Grande had ample opportunities to test a broad spectrum of different teaching methods with thousands of students.
All students are unique and have different music aspirations and attention spans, as well as a different degree of motivation to learn. Knowing this, Mike implemented a range of coaching methods that mainly revolved around meshing and balancing the “fun” and “educational” aspects of teaching.
Full Control Over the Learning Process
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns that followed, many students no longer had an opportunity to attend Mike’s classes physically.
Realizing that dozens if not the majority of music schools switching over to online teaching adopted an almost uniform format, the “one size fits all” method, Mike decided to create a simple yet effective tool that could teach new guitar players the basics, giving “them” the control over the learning process.
Card Chords enable new learners to pick a pace that feels comfortable; learn and practice whenever and wherever they want, but most importantly, Card Chords are meant to give guitarists the freedom to jam, experiment, and play any song they want while the Card Chords are still on the guitar.
Helping with Chord Memorization
There are thousands of chord combinations, and even the basic ones are a bit too similar for greenhorn guitarists to differentiate between. Card Chords take the guesswork out of the picture by showing the proper finger positions and chord names.
Designed as inserts that can be affixed to the guitar’s fretboard, cycling between different cards in the set is quicker and simpler than Google searching different chords.
As the student continues playing atop these cards, the layout of finger positioning and chord names will be engraved in their muscle memory whereas traditional methods of learning are usually more straining and rely on visualization alone.
Designed to be as Simple to Use as Possible
The main motivation to create Card Chords stems from the need for a tool that can be effortlessly used by virtually anyone. Whether it be a 4-year-old child, a teen who has never played an instrument before, or an adult that may think they’re “too old” to start learning, Card Chords were designed for everyone.
To use Card Chords cards, all you have to do is simply place the one matching the chord you want to learn onto the first three frets on your guitar’s fretboard and start playing. The card will remain securely in place as you strum along, meaning that it can serve both as a reminder and a valuable teaching tool.
Compatible With All Guitar Designs
It doesn’t matter which guitar you’re using, as we have a set for any guitar, whether it be acoustic or electric. Just like the most popular guitar brands make instruments in different sizes, we’ve made our Card Chords in different editions, including Stratocaster, Les Paul, and Universal.
See You at NAMM!
CardChords will attend the Innovator Showcase at the NAMM Show 2023 which will start on April 13 and end on April 15. Our booth’s number is 5545, and we’re excited to have anyone interested in our product come and see Card Chords in action.
