Independent Guitar Course

Develop improvisation skills and your own musical ideas by using practical tools to jam with others, beyond scales and licks, with tips for beginners to advance at a deliberate pace.

Tune your guitar with clip tuners or by ear, then map fretboard notes using a keyboard analogy from the sixth string to the twelfth fret.

Explore pentatonic minor and major scales on guitar, learning their five-note and seven-note structures, interval patterns, and practical patterns across strings for improvised play.

Explore the major scale and its seven modes, including Ionian and Dorian, using seven-note diatonic patterns across strings and related concepts like pentatonic minor, relative minor, and diminished.

Explore practical tips for guitar practice, discovering scale patterns and note combinations, and experimenting with different string setups to inspire your own style.

Practice alternate picking lick 1 from the first week, focusing on the first strings and the B string with the first finger.

Practice alternate picking lick 2 starting on the third string, using the 17-12-15-17 pattern and notes around 13, then 7-10, with a sliding transition to balance.

Master the alternate picking lick 3 by outlining a motif on the second string with one note on the first string, using a small, two-note pattern.

Explore the alternate picking lick 4 with a consistent movement pattern, tailored for teens and young Texans.

Practice an alternate picking lick 5 across the fretboard, using the 3 5 7 3 3 7 5 3 pattern starting on fifth and fourth strings to boost fretboard awareness.

Master palm muting to avoid too much string and produce a clean sound so people can hear what you play.

Explore two approaches to playing this legato lick on the fifth string, with and without picking, and learn how deliberate finger movement builds strength for smooth note changes.

Explore legato lick 2 in the independent guitar course, focusing on string changes and different ways to play as you go down.

Practice the legato lick 3, following the sequences 3 5 7 3 5 7 5 7 1, then 5 7 9 5 7 9 6, and move to 7 9.

Practice legato lick four as a down-the-scale phrase with pull-offs and simultaneous finger lifts, using a nine-note pattern that returns to start with minimal extra picking after the first note.

Master the legato lick 5 by coordinating string changes and finishing each phrase with precise notes across strings, including the 3-5-7-5-5-7-8 pattern.

Explore tapping in this guitar lesson, combining left-hand hammer-ons with right-hand tapping, while practicing a 15th-fret lick using a ready pick.

Master a tapping lick in this independent guitar course, building precision and fluidity, with timing hinted by numbers and uneven groupings to shape a jerky rhythm.

Master tapping lick 3 by focusing on right-hand tapping and left-hand pull-offs. Start on the first string and work through the tapping and pull-off motions as described.

Master tapping lick 4 in the independent guitar course, coordinating both hands with precise finger patterns like 3–5–5–7–7–9–9, and practicing coordinated left and right hand tapping.

Explore tapping lick 5 using the superimposed technique, illustrated with a cork analogy that shows imposing another on top of it.

Celebrate finishing the course by practicing 5–10 minutes daily to warm up fingers, wrists, and forearms, develop ear by identifying melodies, and avoid injury while building technique.