Color Swatch
D minor is the saddest of all keys and this lick proves it... you'll immediately feel the mood created by the D harmonic minor scale notes and the con…
Archives: Lessons
Drop Cloth
Today will change your guitar playing forever. Bold statement, yes... Exaggeration, not at all. You'll be maintaining a D drone along with a D harmoni…
Painter’s Tape
The chord progression for "Paint It Black" is your launching pad today, and it will reveal so much. First, you'll be incorporating up strums with a mu…
Paint Roller
Riddle me this: How can you play a chord without playing a chord? Well, it would be no fun if I told you right off the bat, but don't fear today's cha…
Desert Highway
Your technique challenge involves developing picking accuracy while playing a chord one note at a time, also known as playing an arpeggio. This approa…
Mission Bell
Today's challenge will find you picking up right where you left off yesterday. Using mini chord shapes you'll be hinting at the chord progression to t…
Master’s Chambers
On the docket for today is a gaggle of scales in the key of A minor. By the end of today's challenge you'll have 3 different A minor pentatonic scale …
Lovely Place
"Hotel California" is and always will be one of the best guitar chord studies available, and lo and behold... that's what today's rhythm guitar challe…
Check Out Anytime
With a chord progression that contains as many chords as "Hotel California" does it's a nice touch to add some subtle bass led chord transitions. Toda…
Convenience Store
Today's technique challenge is a juicy one. You'll play a harmonized G major scale (sounds difficult), but I promise it's only composed of two, two fi…
Starting From Zero
Today's guitar lick makes up roughly 90% of the song "Fast Car." It is THE guitar hook, THE main theme, and it is wildly fun to play... and did I ment…
Ticket To Anywhere
Three single string G major scales are on your to-do list today. Now, single string scales can seem simple and almost elementary in a way, but today's…
Speedy Vehicle
The song "Fast Car" doesn't necessarily have strummed chords in the verse per se, but the lick you played on Tuesday suggests a chord progression, and…
Fly Away
Don't you love it when a plan comes together?!?!? I know I certainly do, and all of the work you have put in this week will allow your plan for this s…
Day 1 – Dusting Off the Digit
Today's challenge is focused on getting your pinky in gear and shaking any dust or rust that may have accumulated from it not being an active member o…
Day 2 – Getting Along with Others
The pinky can be a meek, quiet little digit, often getting lost amongst the much louder and more boisterous ring finger... not today though. Today the…
Day 3 – Strength in Numbers
The pinky stands alone, or wait was it the cheese?!?!? Today your pinky will be teaming up with its other finger friends to unleash its full potential…
Day 4 – Slide Away
Sustained pinky pressure is the name of the game today. This challenge will essentially add a fret to the amount of ground you can cover in first posi…
Day 5 – The Gauntlet
Holy smokes does a challenge await you today. This challenge has it all: Slides with the pinky, check. Using the pinky to roll from string to string, …
Pot of Gold
Lucky you!!! Today's technique challenge is one where you will not only get to work on your palm muting, not only will you get to stretch out your fre…
Four Leaf Clover
Palm muting combined with a stellar blues lick... this is surely a recipe for a good luck charm. In fact, this lick will add some serious blues option…
Leapin’ Leprachaun
Not one, not two, but three scales for the price of one, and to add to the majestical magic of this E blues scale you'll be connecting the shapes toge…
Kiss Me, I Palm Mute
Prepare to be smooched because you'll be palm muting like crazy for this one. Most often palm muting is associated with the bass strings of your guita…
Lucky Charms
Dynamics... Palm muting brings this wonderful control to the volume spectrum of your acoustic guitar playing. Today's chord transitions place that qui…
Pete Best
Two frets join forces to become your best friend today. You'll be looking at two fret patterns in two different ways today. First, you'll connect note…
Mr. Lennon
The guitar lick on the docket today is one that will likely sound familiar. This lick will utilize double stops and two fret slides to carry out a cat…
Brother Harrison
Two frets, two frets, two frets... (sung to the rhythm of chug, chug, chug). Today's C major pentatonic scale has been oriented in such a way so that …
Captain Starr
For your Rhythm Guitar Challenge I present to you one of THE most common chord progressions in all of music done with a basic strumming pattern. Today…
Sir Paul
The chord transitions you're learning today are the ones I wish I knew right when I started playing because they make your rhythm guitar (even basic r…
3D Glasses
First thing's first, make sure your guitar is in open D major tuning (D A D F# A D low to high strings). Now you can strap on your 3D glasses because …
Buttered Popcorn
Quite possibly the most useful open D tuning, blues lick is on the menu for you today. This may seem like just a small little two measure phrase, but …
Main Feature
A classic D minor pentatonic (blues) scale in open D tuning is going to be your target today... with a twist... or I should actually say a bend. You'l…
Starring Role
Open D tuning is just a wonderful, blank musical canvas to work with... Things sound new, they sound different, they have more impact, and... are easi…
Sunday Matinee
Just one more reminder that this week is all done in open D tuning, so if your guitar sounds a bit funky make sure that it's tuned D A D F# A D low to…
Down, Down, Up Crosspicking
The warmup today will help you harness the power of the down, down, up crosspicking pattern. This exercise will help you navigate your way through all…
Multi-Tool
The lick on tap for today is one that upon first glance looks like one lick, but upon further review you can pull it apart and generate at least two l…
3 Fretted Safety Cushion
This scale is one that may raise an eyebrow or two… You are likely going to think, “ I thought this was a warmup, but now you are telling me it is…
Leap and the Net Will Appear
This saying is one that could quite possibly be on refrigerator magnets across the world, but it applies to this chord progression so well I couldn’…
KC3 in E (Minor)
Today's lesson is focused on helping you roadmap keys with common chords that you will likely run into. This category is designed for a couple reasons…
Day 1 – Dusting Off the Digit
Today's challenge is focused on getting your pinky in gear and shaking any dust or rust that may have accumulated from it not being an active member o…
Day 2 – Getting Along with Others
The pinky can be a meek, quiet little digit, often getting lost amongst the much louder and more boisterous ring finger... not today though. Today the…
Day 3 – Strength in Numbers
The pinky stands alone, or wait was it the cheese?!?!? Today your pinky will be teaming up with its other finger friends to unleash its full potential…
Day 4 – Slide Away
Sustained pinky pressure is the name of the game today. This challenge will essentially add a fret to the amount of ground you can cover in first posi…
Day 5 – The Gauntlet
Holy smokes does a challenge await you today. This challenge has it all: Slides with the pinky, check. Using the pinky to roll from string to string, …
Pot of Gold
Lucky you!!! Today's technique challenge is one where you will not only get to work on your palm muting, not only will you get to stretch out your fre…
Four Leaf Clover
Palm muting combined with a stellar blues lick... this is surely a recipe for a good luck charm. In fact, this lick will add some serious blues option…
Leapin’ Leprachaun
Not one, not two, but three scales for the price of one, and to add to the majestical magic of this E blues scale you'll be connecting the shapes toge…
Kiss Me, I Palm Mute
Prepare to be smooched because you'll be palm muting like crazy for this one. Most often palm muting is associated with the bass strings of your guita…
Lucky Charms
Dynamics... Palm muting brings this wonderful control to the volume spectrum of your acoustic guitar playing. Today's chord transitions place that qui…
Pete Best
Two frets join forces to become your best friend today. You'll be looking at two fret patterns in two different ways today. First, you'll connect note…
Mr. Lennon
The guitar lick on the docket today is one that will likely sound familiar. This lick will utilize double stops and two fret slides to carry out a cat…
Brother Harrison
Two frets, two frets, two frets... (sung to the rhythm of chug, chug, chug). Today's C major pentatonic scale has been oriented in such a way so that …
Captain Starr
For your Rhythm Guitar Challenge I present to you one of THE most common chord progressions in all of music done with a basic strumming pattern. Today…
Sir Paul
The chord transitions you're learning today are the ones I wish I knew right when I started playing because they make your rhythm guitar (even basic r…
Set Out Runnin’
Alternate picking is the focus today and in the process of honing your flatpicking skills you'll be adding a hammer-on as well. What seems like a two …
Home Before Daylight
An incredibly useful guitar lick is on the menu for you today. This lick finds itself right at home in the song "Friend of the Devil," but can also be…
Twenty Bills
Welcome to today's time warp... where 10 minutes can turn into an hour. Today's scale is a G major pentatonic scale formatted in two different ways. F…
Devil’s Friend
The chord progression and rhythm technique you'll be using today isn't flashy, it's not filled with guitar pyrotechnics... it's not even all that diff…
American Beauty
Today, today, today... today will be a day you won't soon forget. Today's transition challenge will prove that just a single note can hold as much wei…
Tax Refund, New Guitar Day
The name of the game today is to use your thumb and index finger on your picking hand to pick the same string. This technique, aptly named, single str…
Tax Deduction Scavenger Hunt
Today's lick is one that may have you scratching your head a bit, but not because it's crazy difficult... more because of the rhythm involved. This li…
Keep Those Receipts
Single string picking and accent slides will be brought into the improvisation realm today. You will be learning two different shapes of the same 'A' …
Offshore Bank Account
Single string picking and rhythm guitar don't seem like they would mix at all... you know the whole oil and water thing. The cool thing is, that's jus…
Death and Taxes
One of the things that single string picking helps you with is wonderful walking single note chord transitions and that is what you will be playing th…
I’m A Lot Like You
Chord modifications sound mysterious and seem difficult, but the good news is that they are quite easy, especially if you use the chord you are holdin…
So Much More
The "Neil Young" chord is what's in store for you today. You know the one... I know you know the one. The great thing about this chord is that it's an…
Rolling Home To You
A bit of a shake up happens on today's challenge. You are going to mix two things that maybe you thought could never be mixed before... a major and a …
Take A Look At My Life
The main chord progression for "Old Man" is on deck and although it may seem pretty standard it has a bit of a twist... two twists actually. Twist #1 …
Run Around The Same Old Town
Remember those chord modifications from way back on Monday's technique challenge? Well, you're going to lean on those heavily to accentuate the change…
BB Shake
Vibrato... the thing that you want to work on, you want to add to your playing, but aren't quite sure how to approach it... yep that vibrato. Today yo…
Lucille
Channeling your inner BB is what you need to do today... never heard BB? Don't worry about it... all the BB you need is in today's guitar lick. You've…
King’s Court
On the chopping block are two scale shapes, both of the minor pentatonic variety, both in the key of A, and both are connected. These scale shapes are…
Thrill Seeker
Space and breath are your buddies again today, but this time in the rhythm guitar world. Your mantra for today is "beats 2 and 4." Those beats get the…
It Has Not Gone Away
Upon conclusion of this challenge you will be very firmly placing an exclamation point at the end of this week's series of challenges. You'll be takin…
Misty Morning
Double stops are on the menu this week and my oh my does this technique have a huge impact on your playing, how you view the fretboard, and how you ca…
Transistor Radio
You've heard this guitar lick countless times... seriously likely more than a thousand times before, and not only in the song "Brown Eyed Girl." It po…
Skippin’ And A Jumpin’
Double stops a plenty today. Three sets of double stops, also known as harmonized scales, await you. Learning these will help you add harmonic complex…
Slippin’ And A Slidin’
Strumming without a pick is a necessary tool, whether you lost your guitar pick, or you just can't stand using the darn thing being able to strum with…
In The Old Mine
Sometimes the most effective chord transition is just hammering into the full chord of the next measure. Sounds aggressive, but it's actually a very s…
Cloudy Day
The objective for today is to give the picking hand a workout and gain a perspective on how to divide time so that you have options for basic rhythm a…
Gone Too Long
Melody is king. Melody is queen. Melody is top dog. I could go on, but I think you get the idea... melody is very important and it makes a great launc…
I Know, I Know, I Know
'A' minor pentatonic is on the menu today... all 5 positions of it as a matter of fact. One position of this scale is effective so don't feel like you…
Wither Away
The rubber meets the road today with 3 differing approaches to the basic chord progression of "Ain't No Sunshine." Starting from the basic chords with…
Every Time She Goes Away
A simple chord progression can receive the smallest of tweaks to make it more interesting and gain a greater feeling of movement... this chord progres…
School Picture Fashion
Today's challenge will help you cultivate flatpicking accuracy by having to play a down stroke on one string, skipping the next string, and then playi…
Bouquet of Flowers
Today's lick will involve string skipping from yesterday and some scale positions that you will be learning tomorrow. This harmonized lick is one that…
Patience Tester
On the menu today is a harmonized C major scale. For the most part scale shapes and positions involve moving one note to the next and that is true for…
Button Pusher
Active rhythm guitar is an approach to handle with caution. The goal is to fill out a measure while maintaining respectful dynamics and volume. Enter …
Sneaking Out
Going from chord to chord smoothly is a necessity for any song, going from chord to chord with ear catching and helpful transitions is the next level.…
Day 1 – Ants In Your Pants
Vibrato is the name of the game and you'll be learning one of the three types of it today. "Confined" vibrato is your target in today's challenge. It'…
Day 2 – Pullin’ Nails
Leverage is on your side today with the aptly named "leveraged vibrato." Mainly performed on the D and G strings, leveraged vibrato has you using the …
Day 3 – Livin’ On The Edge
Living on the edge is not just an Aerosmith song... it's the name of your challenge today because you'll be working on an "edgy" vibrato. This approac…
Day 4 – The More The Merrier
Vibrato is not just limited to single notes and today's challenge proves that. Using vibrato on chords allows you to do less with your picking hand, a…
Day 5 – Tag Along
Using vibrato on chords located on the low strings is pretty darn effective as you have experienced, but what if you tried it on the high strings with…
Fat Possum
Your thumb is about to turn into your best friend. Looking through the lens of hill country blues this week you'll begin to see how important of a rol…
My Baby’s Gone
The lick on deck for today is taken directly form Robert Belfour's song "My Baby's Gone." He uses this lick and derivatives of it throughout the entir…
Rollin’ Hills
E minor pentatonic times three is an equation you will be very familiar with by the end of today's challenge. Don't worry there isn't any math involve…
Streamline Train
Driving steady bass, one chord shape, some movement, and a bit of palm muting are the ingredients you'll need for today's rhythm guitar challenge. One…
Where Can She Be
One of the primary confusion points for a twelve bar blues is that sometimes you simply lose track of where you are. It's not intentional and even if …
Dogwood Flowers
Hammer-ons and pull-offs are on the menu today... a whole buffet of hammer-ons and pull-offs as a matter of fact. You'll be using every finger on your…