Chords, Scales, & Theory
Why Practice Scales?
Why Practice Scales? Scale work is a basic part of many guitarists’ practice routine. Teachers routinely assign scales and talk about the importance of “the 5 positions” or “CAGED…
Organizing Your Guitar Practice Time
Organizing Your Guitar Practice Time I hear frequently from students that they don’t know what to focus on, or how to organize their guitar practice time. There’s so much material out…
3 Tips For the Discouraged Adult Guitarist
3 Tips For the Discouraged Adult Guitarist Every musician gets discouraged sometimes. Let’s face it, the path of guitar is frustrating, especially when time is limited. If you don’t see…
5 Tips For Sitting In (On A Jam Session)
5 Tips For "Sitting In" (On A Jam Session) “Sitting in” means getting up to play with an established group as a guest. Years ago I had the opportunity to sit in with the…
Jerry Garcia and His Bluegrass-Influenced Picking
Jerry Garcia and His Bluegrass-Influenced Picking It’s been said that a guitar player’s personality comes through their picking attack. Take a moment to think about it and you’ll see how…
Restarting practice after an injury
Restarting practice after an injury A hand injury can be an existential crisis for a guitar player. I had the misfortune of slipping on the ice on Christmas Eve, landing by my outstretched…
Play More of the Music by Playing Solo Guitar
Play More of the Music by Playing Solo Guitar Solo guitar melody arrangements are a fun and satisfying way to play more of the music by yourself. Working up an arrangement also helps pull…
Guitar Resolutions for the New Year
Guitar Resolutions for the New Year Make this the year your resolutions lead to some musical resolution. In this age of the internet guitar multiverse, you could easily see more lesson…
Guitar Practice: Touch and Tone
Touch and Tone The best compliment I ever got on my tone was from the producer on a recording session. He said, “you’re the only guy I know who can make a Gibson sound like a Fender”. He…
Triads and Melody
Guitar Practice: Triads and Melody Triads are chords in their simplest form. You might think that the “box” forms you learned early on are the simplest ones, but any major or minor chord…