If you’re working to really develop as a player, learning to play lead is an important part of the well-rounded guitarist’s skill set. And besides, we all love a good guitar guitar solo. When I was a teenager first learning to play it was the most exciting part of the song. I idolized virtuoso soloists […]
Learning to understand harmony
Learning to play without understanding harmony is like speaking a language without understanding what the words mean. I should take a moment to qualify what I mean by “understanding”. It’s certainly worthwhile to learn enough music theory to able to identify the notes of a key, or spell a chord. But knowing the math isn’t […]
Learning the notes: navigating the matrix
One of the great challenges of learning the guitar is that the logic of the notes on the neck isn’t easily apparent. By contrast, think of the layout of a piano keyboard. Low notes are on the left, high notes on the right. Move from one white key to the next and move up or […]
Three simple steps to more relaxed playing
Sometimes you don’t even notice that you aren’t relaxed when you play. I see it in my teaching studio all the time, and sometimes I catch myself doing it too. The jaw sets, the shoulders tense, the hands squeeze a death grip. You get so preoccupied with hitting the notes that everything else disappears, including […]
New moveable shapes from barre chords
Barre chords are the first moveable shapes most people learn. The concept is easy: take an F chord and start sliding it up the neck. Every fret is a half-step, and because it doesn’t involve open strings the formation works in every position. Now you can play all twelve major chords using the same finger […]
Learn concepts from the songs you play
If you really want to keep growing as a player, look for bigger musical concepts in the songs you learn. We all start out memorizing songs as finger patterns, but that way of looking at things will only take you so far. That’s far enough for some people, but if you find yourself feeling limited […]
