In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a solo arrangement of the Christmas song, "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear". In addition to showing you how to play it, I'll explain my thought process for creating a solo composition like this so that you can create your own. … [Read more...]
Blues Phrasing Mini-Series (1 of 3) Easy 4 note box – EP311
This is Part 1 (of 3) of a blues phrasing mini-series for guitar. If you've ever struggled with not knowing what to do with all of the scales and information that you've learned for guitar, this mini-series will be perfect for you. It's designed to give you some essential tools to get you improvising right away. This lesson focuses on a very simple 4 note box that can be played in both minor and major pentatonic scale to give you a lot of variety from just a few easy to play notes. … [Read more...]
Slow, (and easy) melody that you can play by yourself on guitar – Learn Control – EP302
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn about control by playing a slow and easy melody that works on electric or acoustic guitar. This is a solo composition that you can play without the need for a jam track. … [Read more...]
Learn how to play the chord changes over a blues composition – No accompaniment required – EP298
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a blues lead that doesn't require any rhythm or accompaniment because you'll be "playing the chord changes". This is a technique in which you outline the notes in the chords with your lead, resulting in a more sophisticated sounding solo. This is perfect for those of you that feel stuck in the pentatonic scales. … [Read more...]
Funky Minor Key Blues Guitar Lesson – Ideas for Playing “Outside The Box” – EP294
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to spice up your rhythm and lead in a funky, minor key blues composition by learning to play "outside the box" (which means including something unexpected). This is much more common in jazz, but sounds just as good in the blues. … [Read more...]
Minor Key Blues Guitar Lesson Played with a Percussive Fingerstyle – EP283
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a minor key blues in B minor (although, I'll show you how to easily transpose this and play it in any key). This is played with a percussive fingerstyle rhythm and requires no jam track - you can play this one all by yourself. … [Read more...]
Learn 3 Classic Blues Intros – Each Includes a Solo and Ending – EP270
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play 3 classic blues intros along with a unique lead and ending for each. Includes: an Elmore James style (triplet) intro, a classic blues walkdown intro, and one in which you start on the 5 chord. This is like 3 blues lead lessons rolled into one! … [Read more...]
Guitar and Mandolin (Tribute To Levon Helm) – Learn How To Accompany Another Instrument – EP253
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll be learning how to play along with a mandolin by creating an interesting and melodic lead. When only 2 instruments are involved you have to be very careful about not over playing and always remembering to compliment the other instrument. This lesson is a tribute to the late Levon Helm. … [Read more...]
Solo Electric Blues Guitar Lesson – Using Hybrid Picking – EP244
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a Ry Cooder / Sonny Landreth inspired blues composition on electric guitar that uses the hybrid picking technique. You'll be "picking" all of the base notes while "plucking" the melody with your ring and middle finger. I'd encourage you to try this, even if you've been discouraged with hybrid picking in the past or have never tried it at all. It's a great skill to have as a guitar player and this stand-alone composition gives you a fun way … [Read more...]
Learn How to Play Harmonized Leads When Improvising – Country Guitar Lesson – EP242
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to use harmonized leads when you improvise and how to connect those leads to basic chord shapes so that you can easily find them. I'll show the pattern for playing both harmonized 3rds and harmonized 6ths. … [Read more...]
