In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play both the major scale and a bluesy version of the major scale (mixolydian mode) by using harmonized 3rd and harmonized 6th intervals. You'll be able to not only understand where these harmonies come from, but how to connect them back to familiar chord shapes that you already know so that you can start using them when you improvise. … [Read more...]
How to write a simple stand-alone composition on guitar – Guitar Lesson EP360
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a simple melody and chord composition while also learning how to create your own stand-alone compositions like this on guitar. I happened to record the genesis of this composition, explaining my thought process as I began to create it and share that in the video. … [Read more...]
Using Dynamics to Create a Rock, Blues Lead – Guitar Lesson EP335
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll use the 5 notes of the minor pentatonic scale to create a dynamic lead, starting low and building to a crescendo. This approach is about saving the high notes and keeping them in reserve for a dramatic build. … [Read more...]
Blues Phrasing Mini-Series (2 of 3) Mixing the Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales – EP312
This is Part 2 (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 combining the major and minor pentatonic scales so that they can be played in the same area, as opposed to 2 separate areas on the neck like we learned in the … [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...]
CAGED System for Minor Chords – How to play minor chords all over the guitar – EP275
This week's guitar lesson is a follow-up to the previous CAGED lesson that I did a few weeks ago (EP273), here's a link to that guitar lesson. That lesson was so popular that I thought it was necessary to create a 2nd part and show how to play the minor chords in various positions using the same methodology. We will be using the A minor, E minor and D minor shapes that you learn in first position to play all over the neck. Like the previous CAGED lesson, this one comes with a composition that … [Read more...]
A Practical Approach to the CAGED System on Guitar – EP273
In this week's guitar lesson, I'll explain a unique way of looking at the CAGED system, which allows you to play chords in multiple locations up the neck of the guitar. Once you understand this system, you'll be able to enhance your rhythm and lead playing by being able to easily identify all of the chord shapes throughout the entire neck of the guitar. This lesson comes with 3 practice compositions (at 3 different levels) to help you incrementally build up your understanding of this system. … [Read more...]
How To Create Chord Arrangements Using The Major Scale – EP237
In this week's guitar lesson I'll show you how to use the major scale to create chord arrangements. If you've ever wanted to write your own songs but aren't sure which chords work together, this is the lesson you need. In addition to chord theory, I'll also give you a fun rhythm that you can play over a jam track that includes 3 different levels of difficulty. … [Read more...]
Blues Ballad on Acoustic Guitar – Played Solo Guitar (No Accompaniment) – EP228
In this week's guitar lesson, I'll show you how to play a slow, bluesy ballad on acoustic guitar all by yourself. No accompaniment is required. I'll also provide information on chord theory that will help you understand how certain chords work together, so that you can start to create your own compositions. … [Read more...]
Simple Blues Lead Guitar Lesson Using Just 6 Notes and Phrasing – EP219
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...]
