Courtesy of Caleb Hsu At what point in navigating the music business world does a creator get lost in translation... Lady Gaga recently talked about being used as a "money-making machine" in today's industry at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, and hinted at hopes...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 238" This Micro Lesson works through a funky pop-jazz seventh-chord groove in the key of "A Minor."  The groove plays into the key's tonic chord by way of the Vth, VIth and IVth chords of the "A Minor" harmony.  In measure one the...

GuitarBlog: Developing Guitar Legato... This week on the GuitarBlog, I run through Developing Guitar Legato Technique...  Developing good guitar legato technique involves a lot of skills. When practicing the studies in this lesson plan, you'll want to focus on...

Courtesy of Jimmy Kachulis (Berklee Music) They say that first impressions are everything, and the same can be said for your music... Make sure your songs are starting out on the right foot – er, note – with these handy, easy-to-follow pointers from Berklee's Jimmy Kachulis,...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 237" This Micro Lesson works through a Funky Motown inspired rhythm riff that is based from within the key of "B Minor."  The riff uses two chords from the key center to groove out on a slick rhythm pattern that applies both straight eighth...

Courtesy of Josh Rand from the band "Stone Sour" Josh explains that working with the busiest man in metal is something that requires a little bit of extra patience. “Everyone needs to understand these covers are for ourselves,” he adds. “We want to get people into the bands...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 236" This Micro Lesson covers a classic rock riff in the key of "E Minor."  The riff functions from a fifth-chord harmony with the chord's roots based primarily off of the 6th and 5th strings with the power chords covering the harmony...

Courtesy of Andy Falco Here are 10 tips I hope can help you if you are interested in grabbing that acoustic guitar and pickin’ some bluegrass music... Andy Falco: I didn’t grow up listening to or playing bluegrass music, although that’s what I do for a living today. I cut...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 235" This Micro Lesson takes a look at a "NeoClassical" style melody line from the key of "F Minor."  The sixteenth-note triplet melody operates between the "F Natural Minor" scale and the use of both "F Minor" triad arpeggios and other...

Courtesy of Benjamin Samama How to Use Melodic Contrast to Make Your Songs Way More Memorable Last week we went over the form of a song: verse, pre-chorus, chorus, post-chorus, and bridge. This week, we'll talk about how to make these sections stand out from each other...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 234" This Micro Lesson runs through a triad inversion rhythm guitar riff in the key of, "E Major."  The riff uses triad inversions based upon our 5th string for their lowest tones. This method of using chord inversions is quite popular...

GuitarBlog: Speed Learning for Guitar... This week on the GuitarBlog we're looking at "Speed Learning" for Guitar...  The way that we learn and memorize song parts (both physically and on our guitar neck) will vary from student to student. But, one thing is for sure...

Courtesy of Jhoni Jackson Most everyone will agree that honing your chops as a musician is a lifelong effort. If you're just getting started, that truth can make the initial steps seem that much more daunting — this article will help put musical training into perspective. There's...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 233" This Micro Lesson covers an open chord style riff in the key of, "G Major."  The progression uses an approach that places it's focus upon open strings played around phrases in order to influence the sound of the harmony. The harmonic...

Courtesy of Benjamin Samama In this article, I'll give you an overview of the different sections of a song, and the purpose each one of them serves. Verse Most songs start with the verse, so is the first thing the audience hears. Because of this, it is hyper-important...