My latest GT lesson tutorials are continuations of previous ones.  I published my third “Star Spangled Banner”, this time a classical version.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1431

Then, I switched gears to do another soulful rhythm and blues style guitar lesson.  This one is in a minor key.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1454

The blues clinic was a lot of fun!  I got to play and teach tons of blues licks & riffs.  I used my backing track CD as a teaching tool, and passed out GT picks.

Good guitar fun.

I started off the year with a new blues tutorial covering another method for combining rhythm riffing and lead licks.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1390

Then I switched gears to shredding. After creating the 5 tutorials in my Sweep Picking Series I still had some materials left over that I wanted to teach. But these licks & ideas were very advanced and didn’t exactly fit into any of the other tutorials. So, I gathered these various odds and ends together and put them in a new tutorial!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1415

I am going to do some in person blues clinics this year. The first one is coming up next month. Stay tuned!

Recently I published guitar tutorials on how to play a simple version of “The Star Spangled Banner” & a rock version of Pachelbel’s “Canon In D”.  Now, I’ve got new versions of both!

Here’s the new screaming, overdriven version, “The Star Spangled Banner Electrified”.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1386

If you missed it, or want to start with a simplified version, here is my earlier beginner tutorial.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1325

Here’s the new, classical guitar version of Pachelbel’s “Canon In D”.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1373

If you missed it here is the rock shred style arrangement.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1308

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Have a safe & happy holiday season.  Enjoy!

Recently I posted a tutorial on how to play a simple, single note melody arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner”.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1325

I also did another tutorial on the blues.  But this one is a 16 bar blues with some jazzy elemetns, instead of the standard 12 bar blues!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1342

I also did another GT Channel episode:

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=17943
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1nfxarNGA

My previous one is still viewable here:

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=17553
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2LZrJme8cI

Happy viewing & listening!

I’m covering a lot of stylistic ground lately!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1316

In this Soulful Rhythm & Blues tutorial I play & teach some classic R&B style rhythm parts & lead licks. This style is of course rooted strongly in the blues. The melodies are distinctly bluesy, combining major chord harmonies with minor scale notes for a bittersweet or melancholy sound. You can also hear the blues in the rhythmic and percussive nature of how the chords are played. There is also a bit of a funky approach in the use of syncopated, percussive and staccato rhythms.  There is also a little of the sophistication of jazz in the use of extended chord voicings and advanced progressions.

So, the primary characteristics of R&B guitar style are: blues melodies and funky, syncopated rhythms with jazzy chord voicings and progressions.

And then, for something completely different, I did a rock shred style arrangement of Pachelbel’s “Canon In D”!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1308

Enjoy!

I just got back from the 3rd annual Nashville Amp Expo!

http://www.nashvilleampexpo.com/

I saw old friends & met a few new ones; saw lots of great gear.  But, I spent most of my time hanging out with Obeid & Anthony in the Reason Amplification room.

http://www.reasonamps.com/

Their new model is the Reato: REverb plus vibrATO equals Reato (ree-AH-toe).  Here is a teaser video of Obeid playing the demo model.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjEIOk2bb1Q

I also ran into Forrest Lee, a great country picker that did some lessons for GT last year.  I keep seeing him at the trade shows!  He’s a really hard working guy & a great player.  I also met a couple of guys that do a guitar gear podcast.  They are going to interview me in the near future, so I’ll post a link when it is available.

http://www.outwestrecords.com/

http://gearforguitar.ning.com/

Finally, I just published a brand new Guitar Tricks tutorial on building pinky strength & dexterity; in which, as usual,  I used my Reason amp.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1292

Enjoy!

In this new tutorial I show how to connect the 5 pentatonic box patterns using tapping technique ala Van Halen. The idea is to start with a simple lick that involves seeing and playing one pentatonic box pattern with a hammer-on and a pull-off. Then, we see and play the next higher box pattern with a tapping technique. Finally, you apply the idea to all the boxes & cover the entire fretboard!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1277

This tutorial is meant as a kind of companion tutorial to my other recent ones on rock style guitar; the whammy bar one & the 70s arena rock.

If you aren’t a GT subscriber you can still get a free preview from this tutorial via the GT newsletter:

http://www.guitartricks.com/newsletter_archive.php?xid=aad7cd71fa

http://www.guitartricks.com/courselesson.php?input=bT9lPTFlZzI4OA==

I’ve also added another old song to my YouTube channel, “The Secret Detective”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Ij7b9_hBM

Enjoy!

In this tutorial I teach some rocking riffs in the style of 1970s arena rock bands. I grew up in the 1970′s listening to and learning the music of Deep Purple, Montrose, Kiss, Van Halen, ACDC. These bands were well known for their powerful, energetic, melodic take on rock music.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1251

Enjoy!

These are the standard tricks of the trade you hear whenever a blues player grabs the bar.

The previous tutorial on whammy bar was in a rock style and covered more basic info about how the bar works, how to keep it tune (or try!) and approaches the techniques from a rock player perspective.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1219

But no matter what style you are playing, the basic ideas still apply:

1. Use the bar musically.
2. Aim for specific pitches.
3. Aim for specific rhythms.

And most of all, have fun with your whammy bar!

Recently, I’ve been publishing a lot of jazz lessons.  I’ve published three tutorials covering the basics of extended harmony chords (7th, 9th, 11th, 13th):

Extended Harmony Chords Series 1
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1166

Extended Harmony Chords Series 2
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1185

Extended Harmony Chords Series 3
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1195

And most recently I did another series on the style of Joe Pass!  Using, of course, my Joe Pass model Epiphone Emperor.  In this one I cover the basics of jazz lead lines.

Joe Pass Series 4
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1205

I’ve also started another project.  I am taking my tunes from “Until”, an older CD that are already published (CDBaby, iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.) & making YouTube videos of them with scrolling lyrics.  Some of these tunes we once sent to singers, arists, publishers with the intention of having them recorded by other artists (for example, people that are better singers than me) and me making money from the publishing. 

But, of course, no one wanted to do my music.  So, as usual, I did it all myself.  My idea is to offer them for free listening to see if I can spark any further traffic or new interest for them.  The first one is up and running here:

“Sad Cafe” from Until by Christopher Schlegel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_m_etU7nJw
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/schlegel2

Enjoy!