Guitar Lessons for the Curious Guitarist

Learn the most common open chords.  These are the chords that most guitar players use most of the time.  Tens of thousands of songs can be played using just these chords!

Learn the basics of rhythm.  Rhythm is the most important element of music!  Here, we learn to count & play the basic beats and rests.

These are great scales to start soloing with right away!  Even though they are starter scales, they are still used by expert guitarists all the time because they sound so good!

Learn about arpeggios and how to use them.  This is an important piece of music theory as we lean that chords and melodies are made of the same stuff.  Arpeggios are also a tool to use when soloing. 

Learn the most popular scales in the world - the major & minor scales.  Scales are used for soloing & making melodies.  Learn about the musical term 'relative' as we connect ideas to start unlocking the fretboard & the guitar.

Learn about barre chords - also known as movable chords.  

Learn more about rhythm, including strumming chords as small as eighth notes.

Learn about intervals, an alternative to the chromatic scale for naming musical notes & positions.  This is an important piece of music theory that will come up frequently.

This is a deep-dive into the world of scales.  Continuing our understanding of the relative major & minor scales, this is a huge part of guitar soloing that most guitar players want to learn, but don't know what it's called.  This is it - relative modes!

Learn all about techniques like hammer-ons, pull offs, slides, bends, fret tapping, etc. Techniques each sound different and add a lot of energy & individuality to your playing! Use techniques to develop your own style. 

Learn how to read music, also called, standard notation.  This is the universal written music that every musician uses.  Learning this will open up the possibilities of learning any song ever written!

Learn about CAGED chords, a shape-driven method for finding & creating chords along the fretboard using the shapes of the open chords C, A, G, E, and D.

Learn more about rhythm as we delve into the method of 16th note strumming.

Learn more about arpeggios as we explore more shapes to span the entire fretboard, allowing us to play any arpeggio where ever we are on the guitar.

Learn how to construct the major scale (resulting in every mode) on any string.

Learn how to create & use dyads - mini two-note chords, although we don't call them chords, they're dyads!

Learn all about harmonics, a very specific technique that requires its own lesson.  These have a magical sound!  It's a good idea to learn the notes of the harmonic you're playing!

Learn about the relationship among chords built from the scale row of the notes from the major scale.  This is an important piece of music theory and a powerful songwriter's tool!

Learn all about the chords and sequences used in playing the blues.

Learn all of the rules of rhythm that haven't been covered yet.  This theory will enable you to count & play almost any rhythm.

Learn the last important piece of rhythm study - triplets & triple time.  Getting comfortable with these is the first step.  Then you will practice combining triple time with duple time to become a rhythm master!

Learn how to construct arpeggios that reflect extended chords, such as major 7th, minor 9th, 6th, diminished 7th, etc.  This is crucial for jazz & advanced soloing.  Learn to do this on-the-fly!

Learn various concepts for applying the relative modes to your solo.

Learn all about chord extensions - chords with extra notes beyond the major & minor such as major 7th, minor 9th, dominant 7th, 13th, etc. and how they work relatively together.

Learn the country strumming or 'Carter Style' of picking & strumming chords to create a strong rhythmic feel.  Also, learn all about walking notes into chords - how to do it & when to do it.

Learn how to identify & isolate the arpeggio notes within your mode shape to create more structure and meaning behind your solos.

Learn how to solo like a pro!  Using the entire fretboard with all of the available modes, learn how to think about the moving chord progression while soloing.

Learn how to solo over the blues - the correct way!  Of course, by definition, music theory doesn't have a right or wrong way, only a popular & suggested way.  This is that way!

Learn how to look at the chords of a song and quickly determine the key & correct scale by using a few easy & reliable tricks.

Learn about how to construct all the other chords not previously covered, like sus2, augmented, 7b9, power chords, etc.

Here, we are doing a comprehensive rhythm review tapped-out.  We are combining all of the rhythm lessons, including mixing duple & triple time, as well as introducing some new concepts such as 32nd notes and dotted rests.

Learn how to access mini arpeggios on-the-fly using known chord shapes.  

Saving the best for (almost) last!  Here, we are exploring the use of open position - from the nut to the 4th fret.  This lesson is from a modal perspective, applying to soloing over (and during) open chords.  This lesson is a must for acoustic guitarists!

This is the closest thing to a superpower that a musician can have!  Learn how to (relatively) identify any note by ear - without looking!

Learn how to create droning bass while soloing as well as mixing scales (modes) while staying in the same (parallel) key.

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

Practice soloing along with this chord loop.  You are meant to be improvising - making it up, using all of the tools that you've learned.  This is the time to have fun!

You did it - congratulations!  We'll discuss your guitar path direction and ways to stay sharp with your skills, continue to learn, and become more engaged with the music community around you.  Thank you for going on this journey with me!  

Solo your modes along with this backing track. The main mode shape is displayed on the video screen to make it easier for you. Use fast runs, slow runs, long notes, short notes, techniques (like hammer-ons, pulloffs, slides, etc.), and run the fretboard with the relative mode shapes after you've gotten comfortable soloing with the main shape. This is the really fun part of soloing! This is relative to the key of G major. Have fun!

Solo your modes along with this backing track. The main mode shape is displayed on the video screen to make it easier for you. Use fast runs, slow runs, long notes, short notes, techniques (like hammer-ons, pulloffs, slides, etc.), and run the fretboard with the relative mode shapes after you've gotten comfortable soloing with the main shape. This is the really fun part of soloing! This is relative to the key of G major. Have fun!

Solo your modes along with this backing track. The main mode shape is displayed on the video screen to make it easier for you. Use fast runs, slow runs, long notes, short notes, techniques (like hammer-ons, pulloffs, slides, etc.), and run the fretboard with the relative mode shapes after you've gotten comfortable soloing with the main shape. This is the really fun part of soloing! This is relative to the key of G major. Have fun!

Solo your modes along with this backing track. The main mode shape is displayed on the video screen to make it easier for you. Use fast runs, slow runs, long notes, short notes, techniques (like hammer-ons, pulloffs, slides, etc.), and run the fretboard with the relative mode shapes after you've gotten comfortable soloing with the main shape. This is the really fun part of soloing! This is relative to the key of G major. Have fun!

Solo your modes along with this backing track. The main mode shape is displayed on the video screen to make it easier for you. Use fast runs, slow runs, long notes, short notes, techniques (like hammer-ons, pulloffs, slides, etc.), and run the fretboard with the relative mode shapes after you've gotten comfortable soloing with the main shape. This is the really fun part of soloing! This is relative to the key of G major. Have fun!

Learn how to change your guitar strings.