The minor pentatonic scale is a favourite scale for rock guitarists to get ideas for soloing, with the Blues scale being a close second. Many beginning players tend to overplay the minor pentatonic sound so that it can get boring after a while without realising that they can extract some great ideas from the blues scale with minimal extra effort……You can download the rest of the lesson here.
You can see the video of the lesson here. Have fun.
On many other instruments you can’t change the tuning as it is already set for you, like the piano for example. However, that is not the case for stringed instruments like the guitar as there are many different tunings a player can use to create unique effects, different chord sounds, easier fingerings, as well as many other benefits. You can download the rest of the article here.
Many guitar players seem to be unaware of bubble parts within songs they listen to. A bubble part is normally a simple single note line that is palm-muted, but can also be very complex and involve numerous single notes with added double or triple stops. You download the lesson here.
You can hear the lesson here.
There are many different types of picking technique for guitar players to master and economy picking (also known as sweep picking) is a common one used by many of the world’s top players. To find out more about it click here
The shuffle pattern for playing back up guitar is an essential one to know because it is used in many genres and you will be required to play it on many gigs or jam sessions. Download the Harmony Shuffle lesson here.
Click here to hear what this lesson sounds like.
Here is New Zealand blues legend Bullfrog Rata and me playing a the title track featured in the documentary movie “Healthy Bastards”, which uses the harmony shuffle.
Slash chords are not named after the legendary Guns n’ Roses’ guitarist – although he does play these types of chords.They are chords that you see in music that look like F/A, or G/B. To find out more about them click here.
Scales are the building blocks of music and the pentatonic scale is the life blood of many modern genres of music. Listen to any of your favourite rock songs and you will hear that many riffs and solos use this
favoured scale as a base source for ideas. To learn the scale and all its shapes click here.
Every good guitarist needs to have a good working knowledge of the 12 bar blues song form, but not many beginning/intermediate guitar students I come in contact with are well versed with it, and even fewer know the minor versions. To get started on the minor blues progression click here.
The major scale is like the DNA of music because everything we do in music relates back to the major scale in some way. Knowing the theory and application of it is very important, so how well do you know your major scales? To check it out click here.
Do you know what the terms a cappella, accelerando or accel, adagio, ad libitum or ad lib mean? If you don’t then check out my list of common musical terms you need to know if you are going to play with your friends. You can download it here.
There is no doubt that many current rock guitarists’ just love playing some good quality guitar riffs. A “riff” (sometimes called an ostinato) is the term for a short repeating melodic line. Download the lesson here. The music is coming soon.
A common problem with many guitarists is that their right hand accuracy is not very exact. To improve your right hand technique click here. To hear the midi file for this lesson click here
Many guitar players use the minor pentatonic scale for solos by default, not realising that a whole new world of possibilities lie within the major pentatonic scale. All the big name rock players from Slash and Mark Knopfler through to the jazz and country players like George Benson and Albert Lee use it. To find out more click here.
All great guitar players can play fingerstyle and you can to. If you like players like Tommy Emmanuel, Adrian Legg, Leo Kottke, Muriel Anderson, Joe Pass, etc then download this lesson here. To hear the midi file for this lesson click here.
Here is a great lesson using 9th chords over a 12 bar blues progression in the style of B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck. To enjoy this lessson click here. To hear the mp3 file click here.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was a very influential guitarist. You can learn more about his style here. To hear the midi file click here.
Jimi used to use one chord a lot in his playing. To find out more about it, click here.
The reggae groove is very hip and a favourite among many guitar players. It has been used by reggae artists like Bob Marley through to rock artists like UB40 and Australian Crawl. To have fun with this download it now here. To hear the mp3 file click here.
There are many turnarounds used in music. All the great players like Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and countless others use them. If you don’t know many, download this lesson here to have lots of fun with turnarounds. To hear the midi file click here
Understanding rhythm guitar parts is not easy for most players. Here is a great blues rhythm guitar lesson for you to download here. Listen to jazz artists like Kenny Burrell and Joe Pass, through to rock and blues artists like Gary Moore and Johnny A to hear this style in action. To hear the mp3 for this lesson click here.
You should tune your guitar each time you pick it up to play, and you should own a guitar tuner, but if you haven’t you can tune up here.
Each string is played 9 times from low to high.
Here is a great lesson – every guitarist should know how to play the blues. It is used in all types of jam sessions from learners through to advanced guitarists. Download the lesson here
Playing chord-melody style on guitar is not easy, but a lot of fun. Great players in this style include Joe Pass, Johnny A, and Tuck Andress. Click here to download the file and get started straight away. To hear the mp3 file for this lesson click here.