GuitarBlog: Jazz Chord Workout... This week on the GuitarBlog we work on playing through three challenging Jazz Chord Workout exercises.  The exercises begin with the seventh chords, then move on to using chord extensions and finally progress to working on altered...

A shrinking market, slumping sales, and more music artists than ever... is it official? ...is there now, "No Chance to Succeed in Today's Music Industry" Imagine for a moment that you're a music /entertainment industry music critic for a major news service. Every day they...

While there isn't an official songwriting rulebook, there are quite a few tried-and-true songwriting conventions that over time have essentially make up a few of its basic rules. In almost all instances, these "rules" are there because they tend to make songs more commercial...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 134"   This Micro Lesson covers a fun open-string sounding Country-Folk riff in the key of "G Major."  The riff explores the use of several finger-picked arpeggiated organized segments of the; Root, IVth and Vth (G, C, D), chords of...

Nobody said being an independent musician would be easy. And if someone did, they totally lied. The DIY route is as arduous as its name implies. All of your endeavors are your own responsibility, and while some things are subject to chance and luck, your success is also primarily...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 133"   This Micro Lesson riffs out on a 4th interval double-stop rhythm guitar idea in the key of "E Minor."  Using a stream of steady 4th intervals, this riff covers a lot of different chord changes rapidly moving throughout the...

Teaching guitar lessons is a necessary part of almost every working guitarist's income these days. If you have a good mind for business (which you probably do if you already make your living via music), there are many benefits to starting your own teaching studio rather than...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 132"   This Micro Lesson explores the use of the Diminished Scale with an, "A Diminished Scale," lick that can cover the sounds of an "Ab7" chord.  The diminished scale is a very interesting sound. While it can be used over a diminished...

This is so dumb and I can't stop laughing... YouTuber Loz and his melodious butt just created a glorious bit of musical madness. He calls it a "magnificent 7-tone fart symphony" and he's not wrong.  Here's to his "magnum anus" and his "rectum opus." (Word play is never...

PRS have announced a new series of all Mahogany SE Standard Guitars aimed at the budget conscious player starting at a remarkable low price of just $499 USD.  Despite being the most affordable PRS Guitars to date they still include bird inlays, PRS stoptail and tremolo...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 131"   This Micro Lesson takes a look at how to play through a fun sounding country-blues lick in the key of "A."  The lick applies several really nice Hammer-on, double-stop and Bending ideas. In measure one find some we pick-up notes...

GuitarBlog: Visualizing Melodic Ideas... In this week's GuitarBlog, we'll run through a couple of different guitar melodies and then relate them to the guitar neck as geometrical patterns.  We will then use these patterns as a way to visualize the melody in small...

Willie Nelson Receives an Acoustic Guitar Handmade by Death Row Inmates... Willie Nelson recently received this new handmade acoustic guitar courtesy of a few fans who have a special appreciation for his brand of outlaw country music. The guitar and its hand-tooled leather...

GUITAR THEORY: Effective Guitar Scales Andrew Wasson of Creative Guitar Studio answers a viewers question...  Q: Being able to play skillful melodic phrases on guitar is not going very well for me. I want to learn how to have the kind of flowing melody that I'll...

Must See: Aimee Mann's Brutally Honest Account of When Her Label Tried to Change Her Sound After 30 years in the music business, Aimee Mann has become one of the most iconic female folk-pop singer-songwriters around. In 1999, she added "label founder" to her long resume when...