There's one song I find that challenges the picking hand like no other. That song, of course, is “Violate” by Iced Earth. This total headbanger relies heavily on the gallop riff which is a key staple in thrash metal. So, if you're looking to use that technique and apply it to a real-world song, “...
Whether you're just starting out or you've been scraping by for years, there are just certain things you cannot get by without as a serious guitar student. Yes, I'm talking about gear. If you've got some Gear Acquisition Syndrome, I'm sure you're jumping for joy at another excuse to buy something...
One finger, one whole step, and one string can open up a whole new world of endless possibilities for guitarists. If you've heard of drop D tuning, you may be in one of several different camps. You may have started playing in E standard tuning and are starting to see that a bunch of songs you wan...
Guitar soloing has become sort of a lost art in many circles over the past few decades. What was once a heartfelt expression of virtuosity that served as a mini song within a song had become something that bands started to steer away from. Fortunately, it looks like the guitar solo is being recla...
My entry for Jared Dines' Shred Collab 7. Good luck to all participants!
I remember back in the day as a younger guitar student, I'd show my guitar teacher a bunch of songs I wanted to learn. Nothing unusual except my teacher hadn't heard most of the songs before since they were by underground metal bands. What amazed me was how he learned and taught me these songs. H...
The guitar. We all gravitate toward it for similar reasons. It looks awesome, people look cool when they play it, and it just sounds killer in any style of music. I believe much of why we picked up the guitar in the first place has to do with its ability to sing like the human voice. No other ins...
Come hang out and celebrate the first big YouTube milestone: 1,000 subscribers! To kick this off, we are going to have a special live workshop to show you a totally raw perspective on what the birth and development of a riff can look like. This will be a challenge for me since I've never done t...
We guitarists are always looking for ways to optimize our practice and playing. Some of us are convinced that if we had the right guitar, it would be easier to play faster. Others are convinced that if they had a high-end pro amp setup, they would finally have the perfect tones. In either camp, m...
If you were to ask me what the most important concept of music is, I’d say that intervals would be tough to beat. Intervals are some of the most significant contributors to music because they dictate how other notes are perceived. This especially applies to emotion, so if you are trying to evoke ...
I hope you're ready to learn what is perhaps one of the most epic Christmas songs ever: "Carol Of The Bells". We're talking about the insane lead guitar version of the song by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I'm gonna be breaking down the epic lead opening for you step by step so that way you'll have a...
MuseScore is one of my favorite, most-used tools that help with my instructional content for guitar. It's an amazing, free piece of software that allows me to write out tabs, sheet music, and chord charts for my lessons and videos. Unfortunately, recent updates have made this process a lot more d...
