Do you ever feel frustrated that you're bussing tables or delivering pizza when what you really want to do (and what you're really good at) is playing guitar full-time?  It's easy to lose hope when it seems like you're wasting time working at a dead-end day job. But have...

"What is the best guitar mic for the home studio?" Unfortunately, it's a really bad question. Here's a better one: "What is best guitar mic for my guitars?"  This is at least a step in the right direction, although no-one can answer it for you. Here's the real answer:...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 170"   This Micro Lesson Breaks down a Pop-Rock Riff in the key of "A Major." The riff is based off of an open "A" string and operates in two sections. The first section is a two-bar phrase that applies double-stops off of the 4th and...

SCIENCE ANSWERS: Is It More Effective to Practice Scales and Etudes in the Morning? This article originally appeared on Bulletproof Musician. Most of us don't remember the day when we first laid eyes on that scale book, but eventually it went from one of those books that...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 169"   This Micro Lesson explores a "G" Major melody in the style and sound of Country Rock.  The melody begins  with a few Major Pentatonic pick-up notes off of the beat of three and brings in a double-stop chord idea into...

Being a musician is not for everyone. It's a hectic business where only a few will end up making it, (whatever the term, "Making It" specifically means to you). The big question is whether you've got the right personality for this business... Not every musician's goals...

Filmmakers working on a documentary about the world's most popular song, "Happy Birthday to You," are currently suing Warner/Chappell for the right to use the song in the documentary without any license fee. They filed court papers on Monday touting newly uncovered evidence...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 168"   This Micro Lesson takes a look at a, "B Mixolydian," Blues-Rock guitar riff played in the style of, "Keith Richards."  The riff borrows from the Blues, from Country and from Rock concepts using small chord ideas all in a rhythm...

Many of us have been there; it's been a stressful week filled with things you hate doing and people you'd rather not talk to, and when you finally make it home, you stare at your beloved guitar, and all you can see is a torture device...  Suddenly, you hear Netflix calling...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 167"   This Micro Lesson works through a Country Rock lick in the key of "B."  The lick operates in a "Boogie-Based" rhythm format which leans more on the major tonality side than the minor. Not entirely Blues-based, this lick...

GuitarBlog: Smooth Jazz Rhythm Guitar... This weeks GuitarBlog covers Smooth Jazz Rhythm Guitar...  This rhythm guitar style is an approach to playing a form of jazz rhythm guitar that combines the sixteenth-note grooves of Funk, with the feel and harmonies of...

When people think of studio musicians, they immediately think of great technique, but there are a number of other traits that you'll find common in all successful players who make their living in the studio.  Here's an excerpt from The Studio Musician's Handbook, that...

Are you a classic rocker? Or would you say that you're more of a laid-back, folksy singer-songwriter? Either way, you'll get a good laugh out of these tongue-in-cheek images that John Atkinson created, showing what we're all really thinking about the song formulas that seem...

Have you ever wondered why you can call certain songs to mind faster than others? Or about how a song becomes an earworm, and why you'll remember Hozier's "Take Me to Church" for much longer than Kendrick Lamar's "King Kunta"?  Well, there's actually a scientific explanation...