Are you stuck playing in the same key all the time? Once you know major vs minor scales, it's easy to favor the minor scale, especially if you like rock and metal music. Lots of us metal players have a habit of playing in E minor specifically because we love the open E power chord and gravitate t...

If you’re looking for a whole new amp to add to your collection, virtual amp simulators are in my opinion, the best way to go. They are accessible, take up no space (except for the space on your hard drive), and oftentimes they’re free. All these highlights can be found in the NaLex Ninja amp sim...

One of the coolest tricks all shredders want to learn is sweep picking. This technique involves playing the notes of a chord quickly by “sweeping” them as opposed to strumming or picking them in a staccato fashion. Once you master this skill, as with any other guitar skill, there is always a high...

Former Megadeth guitarist, Marty Friedman, wants guitar solos to die?? This is shocking news, especially since Marty is well-known for flinging some face-melters. He’s even considered a guitar virtuoso–a title that’s hard to achieve if you don’t display some degree of shred. So why is he saying h...

What's the best way to silence a guitar player? Give them sheet music. Do you wanna be another statistic in that cruel joke? You owe it to yourself to get at least a basic understanding of standard notation because it's the traditional written language of music.

Once you know how to read musi...

Do you ever see guitarists strumming up and down and wonder, “When am I supposed to strum up?” And, “When am I supposed to strum down?” Well today, I’m going to teach you exactly when to strum in each direction. This is critical for you to lock in because it’ll help you with the most important as...

Are you a guitarist in search of your own platform? A platform that you own? A platform to showcase your skills, original music, and offer products and services? Today we are going to take a look at Bandzoogle: a popular tool musicians use to make their own websites. We’ll cover Bandzoogle’s main...

Today we’re gonna take a deep dive into a song that lives up to its name: “The Metal” by Tenacious D. We’ll use some music theory knowledge to uncover the secrets of what makes this song sound sooo metal. To do so, we’ll break down the ultra-heavy main riff of the song. Understanding the theory o...

Today we are going to cover a flashy way to play certain phrases quickly. This technique is called tapping. When we tap, we give our picking hand a break from picking and we have it join the fretting hand on the neck of the guitar. This technique was popularized by Eddie Van Halen, and you’ll get...

Happy Early Christmas!  In this lesson, I show you how to play Jingle Bells on the guitar.  This is a classic song that is perfect to learn for this time of year because:

1. It's fairly short
2. It's beginner-friendly
3. Most people are familiar with it

If you want to play a song that everybody kn...

Looking to do home recording, but don't know where to start? Today we'll be covering the gear and software you need to start recording guitar at home. This will be especially useful for you if you want to get into music production or if you're interested in creative tools that can help you with w...

My entry for Jared Dines' Biggest Shred Collab 6 contest. Best of luck to all participating!