TIPS FOR TODAY
If the word “solo” makes you want to hide behind the couch, you’re in the right place.
Improvisation isn’t some advanced skill reserved for guitar wizards — it’s just playing a few good-sounding notes in your own order. Today’s scale is designed so that every note works. There are no “wrong” ones to find.
Your first solos are supposed to feel simple. Simple is how your ear learns what it likes. Simple is how confidence is built. Simple is what unlocks real creativity later.
If your brain taps out on the second pattern, that’s okay — camp out on the first, easy version and just make little phrases you enjoy. That still counts as soloing.
By the end of this session, you didn’t just “try” a solo — you played one.
And that feeling? That’s the spark that keeps people going.
YOUR SAMPLE WEEK OF TONY'S ACOUSTIC CHALLENGE
5-Day "Stop Dabbling, Start Playing Guitar" Challenge
- WED: Improv
- THU: Rhythm
- FRI: Transitions
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Very cool day 3 fun stuff was able to see ( hear the connection of the scale and the background track. Then was able to fool around with the notes of both scales to make w hat sounded nice to my ear. Did an arpeggio and that sounded nice.
It’s My Girl!
Realizing I’m sitting on the dock in the bay…
Nice intro to the scale pattern. My win for the day was showing up and playing a solo that sounded like it belonged to the song. I agree there are notes that sounded better with certain chords and I was able to hear that. Very cool.
yes! Today (Improv) was very encouraging. Learning to play a scale and I just naturally started to improvise. It was far from perfect, but I felt the flow and subsequently, the joy of actually making music! I am encouraged.
I got through the tabs clean a couple times. No way I can keep with you playing Very new to playing .
You said “If it’s your first week of guitar playing…” I don’t want to sound too negative, but I don’t understand how a complete beginner wouldn’t feel discouraged after the very first lesson, especially when they may not even know how to hold a pick correctly yet (which is the case for me…).
practice three days in a row. havent done that in awhile
I’m slow but I am doing it. I hope to pick up speed as I go. I didn’t know I would enjoy learning and practicing so much!
This one was fun!
I’ve taken a lot of courses and I consider myself competent at a lot of things, but I’ve never felt like I’m “Playing Music” before this – It was always “doing an exercise” without the glue to play something that felt like music. I’m reinvigorated – Thanks!
I couldn’t follow using the tables it didn’t load.
This was a great exercise. It got better for me each time I went through it. The backing track was good to play with.
I’m having a hard time with the fingering due to Neuropathy in my hands. I’m still working on day 1 and 2.
The buttons at the bottom of the screen are not there.
I ain’t no Jerry Garcia but I got through it and it was fun. There was a connection between the scales and the improv that I never quite understood before.
Reading the TAB a little faster and the notes and picking are becoming more natural.
Wow. Was short on time today, but managed to get the scale and then ‘solo’ for about 5 min. Great fun.
Kewel. I’m feeling better than yesterday.
That was refreshing! I have learned melodies in the past, this is creative freedom at its best. Thanks.
My win today was coming back to the program. My whole body resists PRACTICE. Something about wanting to show up already fully proficient. A question: there are no keys or chords listed on the PDFs, e.g., for the scales or backing track. Comes later?
Very eye opening. Just pick a key and find a scale on the fretboard to play the notes in the scale. That was fun. And you are correct my my stopped by my office and said “that is cool”.
I didn’t quite get the backing track but the rest came to me easier than day 1 or 2! I’ve been so bored playing the same ole pattern I had been playing. Today gave me something new that I enjoyed and was able to mix it with what I had been doing to create something new that sounded good. Got my fingers to work a little better today. I seem to struggle reading the tab and doing what it says and having it sound good at all. Just sounds like I’m picking each string. No rhythm to it at all. My win for the day was definitely learning a new sound and incorporating it into something I had been doing for an even better riff. Thank you!
So far these have been very easy for me so I guess I’m not really the right audience. But I do see how this would be very helpful for beginners.
Today win was the fun!!! It is fun changing notes to find something different. I found it easier that the previous days, especially the horizontal scale, since it is just one string. I had watched one of your vids on the A minor scale previously, which I am sure helped. My brain understands all of the challenges, but my fingers don’t want to listen.
My win is, I started looking at the emails that I’ve got from you and they are actually from a little over a year ago. I think I had started the first challenge and never finished it because of life. But here I am on day three. Being completely new to playing guitar, it’s been a challenge. The harmony guitar I’m playing on is cracked in the front and on the neck, but I’m doing the best I can. Having a really hard time with my fat fingers on the strings. I always feel like I’m hitting too many strings at one time or messing up the second note. But I want to keep trying and get through these five days and see how I feel after that. Playing guitar is something I’ve always wanted to do, but I’m just not sure if I can do it. But for the first time, I think I might be able to. I’m also having a problem because my iPhone does not like the videos. But I’ll work through that the best I can. I’ve been through the three days, but don’t feel like I have grasp a lot of it. I actually think day three was the easiest of the three. But I will keep trying and see how day four goes.
This was a better day
I feel a little better today after da 1 and 2
Great day today. I was jamming with the backing track, 5-7-5-9-5-12-0-2-5
That was a lot of fun.
This was very much FUN. I fell a bit behid and am catching up. That means I revisit earlier days and it is nice to see eve the small day-to-day changes. It seems that the revisit is important to me.
ok I fell behind on the days. I never play with a pick but this felt good. I recognized the first position pentatonic scale which I’ve practiced before. I loved playing up the string along with the g string. I never did this before. Loved the sound. My win Is finally feeling good with a pick.
My win for today challenge is that I showed up. A little late but I made it. As a complete new by to this guitar playing this is very confusing. 10 min a day is nit enough. I go themriugh each days videos 4 or 4 times and still have trouble following.
I am going to keep trying and practicing everyday these lessons until I get it though.
Thanks Tony for the challenge.
That was awesome. Not only playing as taught, but improvising with an anchor. Thanks
Flat picking is new to me, enjoying it. This is the first time in a long time I picked up and played my guitar for 3 days in a row and accomplished something.
I am not getting it perfect and my timing is a bit off but I am starting to get it and it’s really fun!!!
When you first started instruct the beginning of this I felt somelost, to I realized it was a Pentatonic Scale,which I had learned to play years ago. The rest of the lesson was a lot easier than yesterday. I can not complete these lessons in 10 minutes and feel like I completely understand them. Being a player who have always followed written tabatures to play, I making my own.
This was for easiest lesson so far for me. My pentatonic scale practice from the past 2 years helped and I nearly managed the pace of the video after an hour. I liked the improvisation to the background track. Thanks.
OMG that was fun. My wife asked if that was me playing. Haha. Thanks for starting the fire again. Now I just need one more guitar.
I had a small win today! Getting better, I can hear it now. Thx Tony
Still fumbling around a bit but getting better
Wow. After a quick breakfast with my wife, i went off to practice the scales. Theh took a breath and dived ibto the improv thinking i can’t really do this. Then i began to get into it. Holding notes i like, repeating little phrases. Mu wife calls out from the other room, “ what are you playing, i really like that.” Wow. Tony it was like you said and I told her that. Soooo coool. I am so digging this.
My small win is
I’m starting to get comfortable with the flat pick every one that I know who plays guitar comes over and starts shredding guitar licks but never really explain things your plan is fun and kinda easy I’m stressing kinda but it starts to make sense thanks
It’s definitely not taking me 10 minutes per day, rather 45 min, at least. But yeah, I’m understanding stuff that looked like Chinese for me before.
Small wins: I never play with a pick and have been fairly successful these last three days. Playing three days in a row is also huge for me and focusing on starting with just 10 min. has made that more accessible. Today was especially helpful to just slow down with a scale and play with notes, also allowing an opportunity to just let the pick playing happen. I tend to mostly strum chords, so also appreciated this opportunity to explore the fret board and feel more at ease while doing so. Pentatonic scales are so reassuring, so thanks for bringing that access to guitar playing.
I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed, but at the same time, the connection is coming together.
OK Tony, I think you broke my guitar, it has never sounded like this. You have given me the tools to get started in the correct way. This 5 day challenge has been better for me that the 30 days to [play so far. I became a member on 7/9/26 so I’m still in the first week of the 30 days to play. Love this 5 day challenge, it is very challenging for me. Keep up the good work.
things got a little tough today, being lefthanded and playing righthanded I have a hard time with coordination, so following the strumming my left hand is finding the notes but my right hand is using a pick keeps missing the right strings so I’m really having to slow the song down enough to keep up. My past lessons have mostly been about cords and transitions, but hay I managed to make it sound pretty good
Hey Tony! Fellow Chicago area guy here. Thanks for this 5 day challenge! I’m in way over my head as I’m just starting (again) to learn guitar at 60, but diving in. My question is this…as I am recovering from shoulder surgery (12 weeks out) and unable to comfortably play my acoustic (it pushes my arm too far away from my body for this stage) I am using my Strat for everything, including this 5 day acoustic challenge. Should I be doing something else and come back to this when I can play the acoustic or just continue with the Strat? Thanks! Go Blackhawks!
Really amazing. I have been trying to play for 10 yrs and now, I have the impression to have found what I was looking for.