Is timing on the guitar everything? In a way, yes. Of course, there are many other elements that make a good guitar player, including technique, the ability to apply music theory for the guitar, and developing a good ear, among others. But timing is an element that will make you sound amateurish if you get […]
If you don’t know the theory behind guitar triads yet, I suggest that you go through this lesson first. And through this lesson if you don’t yet know the name of the notes on the guitar fretboard. In today’s lesson, we’re going to explore all the guitar triads in the major scale and progress from […]
If I told you that there is no correct answer to the question “How long does it take to learn the guitar?” and left you with that, you will surely be disappointed. Instead, in this lesson I’m going to explore what the main variables that determine how long it will take you to learn the […]
When you’re just starting out on the guitar, you spend most of your practicing time learning new things. Reading tabs, new tunes, new chords, new songs, new techniques, your first scale, some easy guitar riffs and licks, so on and so forth. By the time you reach an intermediate level of guitar playing, you will […]
String bending and vibrato are my favorite guitar techniques. The reason for this is that they can make the guitar sound like my favorite musical instrument: The human voice. In this lesson I’ll give you 7 string bending exercises that will explore this powerful technique so that you can, quite literally, make your guitar sing. […]
The reason why many guitar players don’t think music theory is necessary comes from the belief in certain myths about music theory for the guitar. While I don’t know the exact origins of these myths, my guess is that the root behind their existence is that guitar students and players rarely see music theory applied […]
Before I figured out how to execute an effective guitar warm up I used to either not warm up at all before practicing the guitar or else, play the same chromatic exercises over and over with no particular purpose. In this article I will explain why it is important to warm up before a guitar […]
Should a student specialize in one genre of guitar playing or learn as many guitar styles as possible? The answer to this question is to do both. To learn from different genres but specialize in the guitar styles you love most. To learn techniques and get ideas from great guitar players in different styles, but […]
In this lesson on guitar strumming patterns I explain the basic subdivisions of the beat. To keep things simple I have stuck to beats split into divisions of two. There are actually more options than this when creating music, and in this lesson, we’ll explore another group of rhythmic patterns: Guitar triplets. This will be […]
Motivation to practice the guitar on a regular basis for a long period of time, or lack of it, is the main reason mediocre guitar players remain mediocre (or quit) and great guitar players become great. Persistent motivation far outweighs any “natural talent” one may have. People gifted with an innate ability to learn more […]