Posts by Kevin Downing

Many guitar players ask me questions about what they need to do when the tempos of songs they are playing with their band are just too fast for them to play well. That is a great question. If you have this problem, you can read the article What to Do When Tempos are Too Quick…

Many guitar players tend to overlook the many simple licks or riffs that come their way not realising that there is a wealth of information just waiting for you to tap into. Have a look at this lesson called You Can Learn A Lot From A Simple Lick and see what it can do to…

Many guitar players just play up and down pentatonic scales, wonder around the fretboard aimlessly, or never think about what it is they are trying to say musically. Are you like that? Maybe you need to read The Best Solos Tell A Story. Make sure to implement the contents in this lesson into your playing…

Many guitarists hear others say “play what you hear in your head”, but find that doing it is quite difficult. Wouldn’t it be great to play whatever you hear in your head, or on a recording, as it would make learning your favourite songs, solos, and writing your own songs so much easier than it…

Carl Verheyen (pronounced Ver-high-in) is the number one session guitarist in Los Angeles, a member of the band Supertramp, and runs his own band, the Carl Verheyen Band. In June I was in Los Angeles and caught up with him at Village Recorders in Santa Monica where he was working on and producing an album…

Here is an introductory lesson into Travis picking, made famous by the legendary country guitar picker Merle Travis. The difference between Travis picking and regular finger-picking is the use of alternating and/or descending bass notes played by the thumb. Click here to learn more about Travis Picking.