GuitarBlog: LEAD GUITAR: No Theory - No Thinking - Just Playing... This week's GuitarBlog covers playing lead guitar without theory or any other kind of serious thought or knowledge about the use or application of scale types.  Jamming on riffs in the early years...

Courtesy of Max Monahan Which Classic Guitar Brand Are You?  Take This Quiz to Find Out...  ...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 273" This Micro Lesson works through a, "Classic Rock," chord progression from the key of, "E Major."  The progression is simple in it's harmony, but complex technically /physically in it's use of a multitude of chords from the harmony...

Courtesy of Elyadeen Anbar Welcome to the Fundamentals of Guitar Anatomy. We're going to examine all the ways your guitar's sound can take shape through design and hardware. First, I'd like to break down all of the most common body styles of electric guitars and...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 272" This Micro Lesson takes a look at a Progressive Rock style riff in the key of "E Minor."  The riff uses primarily "Octave Chords" (two-note chords that are played across skipped strings and are popular with Guitarists like Jimi Hendrix...

Courtesy of Max Monahan What's a musician to do? We need to find more hours in our day to practice, to study music theory and to compose - and here's how...  There just aren't enough hours in the day. You know it, I know it, anyone with goals knows it, but we have to...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 271" This Micro Lesson demonstrates a fast moving, "C Minor Pentatonic," Scale speed-lick.  This lick functions along the top three strings of the guitar and runs down the structure of the lick across multiple fingerboard positions. The...

Courtesy of Sam Friedman It's natural to predominantly listen to and study the genre of music that we play. However, when we step away from our main style and learn some vastly different music, we tend to bring home fresh ideas that would never have been discovered otherwise......

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 270" This Micro Lesson explores the world of the Mixolydian Mode with an, "A Mixolydian," groove in the style of, "Classic Rock."  The mode of "A Mixolydian" comes  from the major scale of "D Major." By starting a, "Major," scale...

GuitarBlog: Easy Chords for Blues Guitar... This weeks GuitarBlog covers how to make easy Dominant 7th chord shapes for use within Blues Guitar...  Any chord type, (whether the style of music they are being used in is; blues, jazz, country or rock, etc.), can...

Courtesy of Matthew Wendler The truss rod is the perennial scapegoat of guitar problems. The reason for this may be the fact that it's easy to access and requires only one tool to adjust on most guitars.  Almost every guitar is going to experience problems through it's...

Courtesy of Russell Sheffield As an aspiring songwriter, you've probably learned that writing a complete song isn't as easy as you may have thought... Whether it's a chorus that sticks in your head for days, an infectious hook, a toe-tapping beat, or an ambient synth that...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 269" This Micro Lesson covers a fun to play 'rock lead' style riff in the key of, "B Minor."  This line is based off of a middle of the neck pattern of primarily the "B Minor Pentatonic" scale. In measure one we begin off of the 3rd string...

Courtesy of Max Monahan Taking care of your instrument can be easy, but if you're not careful, you could be unknowingly shortening its life span. Follow these simple tips, and your guitar will live a long, happy life... Whether it's the Strat you've had since you were...

Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 268" This Micro Lesson takes a run through the Latin style's, "Bossa Nova," groove with a short progression from the key of "G Major."  This Bossa groove functions around the tonal center of a "G Major 7th" chord built from off of the...

Courtesy of Max Monahan If you want to become a successful musician, the only way to achieve that goal is through a serious and realistic practice attitude.  It's no easy feat – for most people who pick up an instrument the activity stays a hobby, or a dusty Stratocaster...