Our audiences only keep coming back to our gigs if they feel that we have more to give them, so we need to be ahead of their expectations. One of the ways we can do this is to add another scale or mode to our repertoire. Once we have a collection of techniques we can use when we do our solos, scales gives us more material that we can make our own with the way we play our hammer-ons, string skipping, note bending and our other lead guitar tricks. A basic plan for learning scales is to be mast... Read Full Story

A little-known fact about playing guitar by ear is that anybody can do it. It’s like a lot of artistic ability, half of it is in your perception of yourself. If you think you can’t draw, then you never will. If you think you can’t play by ear, you will always be dependent on learning music from notation or tabs. So, why not just set aside some time to try to play guitar by ear? The first step is to become familiar with the music your guitar makes. A few months’ practi... Read Full Story

Many guitar players are attracted to country music even though it may not be their first choice of guitar style. Country is a completely different way of playing guitar which gives your overall musicianship a big boost. Let’s look at which country guitar players are regarded as the ones to listen to. There are many country artists who are not technical virtuosos, so if you have been watching Brad Paisley and Brent Mason, take comfort in the fact that you do not need to play up a storm.... Read Full Story

A newbie guitarist’s inspiration to learn to play the guitar is the lead guitar player in a famous band. Hearing a great solo guitar player at work raises quite a few questions about the techniques he uses, the tone and volume settings, and where he gets those great guitar solos from. If you play the tab of a guitar solo through, you might not agree with the notes that are on the tab, so this is the time to make any changes that you feel are necessary. Once you feel that the guitar sol... Read Full Story

When a guitarist learns a guitar solo from tabs he needs to provide more input than if he were learning using sheet music. The note values are not shown on tabs but this article details one or two other challenges in learning guitar solos from tabs. Read Full Story

Guitar players who have reached a certain level of skill in rock and roll guitar usually think about trying their hands on country guitar. So let's take a look at where your knowledge and experience might need some reinforcement when it comes to playing country guitar. Read Full Story

If you are bewildered by the advertising you see for various kinds of guitar lessons, this article will help you become clear on what you need to become a guitar player. Technology has made so much knowledge available to us, but is it the kind that you, as an individual really need? Read Full Story

Learning to play guitar by ear is not rocket science. It is just a knack you can get from giving it a shot. Of course, some people have more of a natural ability than others but this article will help you discover your inner tuning fork. Read Full Story

Many people think of scales as a symbol of how tedious it is to learn music. You go up and down the scale, making life unpleasant for yourself and whoever is in earshot. Like all painful processes, learning guitar scales has great rewards for those who choose to brave the boredom. Read Full Story

Guitar lesson books have more info than your average guitar teacher but they can’t show you how to do things. Okay, they have photos and drawings, but that’s not the same as a person showing you how it’s done and correcting any mistakes you might be making. You can try to copy how it’s done from a book, but you are still using your own interpretation. If a person shows you how to hold the guitar, you stay shown. DVDs like Blues With Brains by Chuck D’Aloia and J... Read Full Story