In this week's guitar lesson, we're going to be eliminating complexity that is often associated with improvising lead guitar by focusing on only 6 notes (4 fretted notes and 2 notes that are bends). We will create an entire 45 second solo with those notes while putting the emphasis on simple phrasing. This lesson includes 12 versions of the same MP3 jam track (one for each key) so that you can practice playing this lead in any key. … [Read more...]
Acoustic Blues Guitar Lesson in A – Solo Composition – EP208
This week's guitar lesson is a solo acoustic blues composition in the key of A. You'll learn how to alternate between a shuffle rhythm and harmonized leads. You'll also learn how to relate each of these licks back to basic chord shapes so that you can use them when you improivse or write your own music. Lots of takeaways in this one :) … [Read more...]
Chord Embellishments and Hybrid Picking Guitar Lesson – EP204
In this guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a solo blues composition using just 5 basic chords. Instead of just strumming the chords, I'll show you how to use hybrid picking to help embellish the chords. You'll essentially be playing extra notes with each chord to create a more sophisticated sound. I play through this arrangement 2 times, playing it different each time to give you a variety of embellishment ideas. … [Read more...]
MicroLesson: 001 – Enhance Your Blues Shuffle in A
In this MicroLesson I'll show you a simple enhancement to a blues rhythm shuffle over an A chord. … [Read more...]
3 Essential Chord Shapes on the Guitar – Chord Inversions – EP199
In this guitar lesson, you are going to learn 3 triad chord shapes (a triad means just 3 notes). I'll show you how to play these chord shapes up the neck of the guitar and how to play a 1, 4, 5 chord progression with them. You can use them both in rhythm playing and when playing lead. This lesson contains both a rhythm pattern, and a lead - which is created by adding embellishments to the chord shapes. This lesson is a MUST learn! … [Read more...]
Jerry Garcia Style Guitar Lesson – Grateful Dead Style Lead – EP196
In this guitar lesson, I'll break down several Jerry Garcia style licks and explain how to play them and where they come from. Jerry was really good at playing the chord changes (which means switching the scale to match whatever the chord was). I'll show you how to change scales to match the chords by visualizing chord shapes and linking the licks you'll be learning to those chord shapes. … [Read more...]
Angus Young (AC/DC) Style Guitar Lesson – Rhythm with Fill Licks – EP195
In this guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a classic rock rhythm in the style of Angus Young from AC/DC. Angus Young has always played the same heavy rock, blues guitar style throughout his career. This lesson is built in layers (much the way that AC/DC structures their songs). The first time through, it's only guitar, second time through it's guitar and drums, and the third time included rhythm guitar, bass and drums. In addition to the chords, you'll learn several fill licks to play … [Read more...]
Country Lead Guitar Lesson – Bluesy with Pedal Steel Licks – EP191
In this country guitar lesson, I'll show you how to improvise using harmonized leads (included harmonized 6ths and 3rds). I'll explain this from a theory perspective, and then give you a practical application by showing you how they relate to chord shapes that you already know. Several classic pedal steel licks are also included. … [Read more...]
Western Swing Style Rhythm Guitar Lesson – EP185
In this guitar lesson, you'll learn how to spice up your rhythm playing with some jazzy sounding chord substitutes. Western Swing is a great format for this because it combines, blues, jazz, and country and creates techniques that can be applied to any of those styles. In addition to explaining the theory behind the chords, I'll break down the rhythm pattern. The MP3 jam track for this lesson comes in 2 tempos as well. … [Read more...]
Slow, Minor Key Blues in A – Both Rhythm and Lead Guitar Parts – EP184
In this blues guitar lesson, you'll learn how play along with a slow, minor key jam track that is missing any guitar tracks. The jam track consists of a piano, bass, and drums and it'll be up to you to fill in both rhythm and lead parts. I'll show you how to alternate back and forth between rhythm and lead using the "call and response" technique. … [Read more...]
