Contents
Contents
Miscellaneous
Lessons
Here are the main pages for this site - guitar lessons. These are designed to be digested in order, although some skipping around is possible. These assume you are starting from an absolute void of both guitar and general music knowledge; if you have experience with either, you may find yourself skipping ahead or skimming through the early pages. Please read the Introduction before proceeding.
Beginner Lessons
These lessons are designed to take you from knowing absolutely nothing about guitar and music to being able to make basic chord progressions in the key of C Major.
- Guitar Parts and Functions
- Holding the Guitar and Pick
- Basic Technique
- Tuning and Harmonics
- Music Theory Basics
- Position
- 1st String
- 1st and 2nd Strings - Intervals
- 2nd and 3rd Strings
- 4th, 5th, and 6th Strings
- C Major in Open Position and Alternate Picking
- C Major Chord
- G Major Chord
- F Major Chord
- E Minor, D Minor, and A Minor Chords
- Music Theory - Diatonic Chord Progressions
Intermediate Lessons
Here we branch off towards more complex chords and alternate keys, including natural and harmonic minor, as well as expanding the positions on the guitar we can comfortably play inside.
I also encourage you to explore the technique lessons at this point. They will help you gain expressiveness, speed, and a fuller understanding of what it takes to be a good guitarist. They can be consumed independently in any order, although I start with the most essential techniques and move towards more specialized ones.
- B Diminished
- Other Open String Chords
- Music Theory - Minor Keys
- Harmonic Minor and Augmented Chords
- Barre Chords
- Suspended Chords
- Applying Rhythm to Chords
- Circle of Fifths
- G Major and E Minor
- 5th Position
- Scales for all Positions
- CAGED
- 7th Chords
Advanced Lessons
These contain the knowledge needed to gain a full understanding of and master the instrument. I also recommend venturing into the style lessons below.
- Voice Leading
- Modulation
- Chromatic Chords
- Modes
- Exotic Scales
- Solo'ing
- Extended Chords
- Advanced Rhythm - Odd-Time, Syncopation, Polymeter, and Polyrhythm
- Quartal Harmony
- Atonality and Serialism
- Equal Temperament, Alternate Tunings, and Microtonality
Technique Lessons
Here are common techniques used when playing guitar. These are technical, not musical. In other words, they are not compositional techniques, but focused on either timbre or efficiency of motion. They allow the guitar to sound differently or can be used to increase one's playing speed, but they won't help you learn which notes to play. It is essential to master most of these to fully express yourself musically.
- Touch, Dynamics, and Accents
- Legato (Hammer-on, Pull-off)
- Bending
- Vibrato
- Palm Muting
- Artificial Harmonics
- Whammy Bar
- Tapping
- Sweep Picking
- Slapping
- Thumping
- Double and Triple Stops
- Finger Picking
- Pick Slides
- Slide Guitar
- Swells
Style Lessons
This section explores different styles of music commonly associated with guitar, noting both compositional and technical conventions.
Exercises
Contains lots of material you can use to practice.
Technical
These focus on developing your left and right hands, not necessarily within a musical context.
- Basic Technique Exercises
- Advanced Technique Exercises
- Alternate Picking
- Common Scale Exercises
- Rhythm Exercises
- Position-Shifting Exercises
- String Skipping Exercises
- Arpeggio Exercises
Techniques Exercises
These focus on perfecting various techniques from a technical standpoint.
- Legato Exercises
- Tapping Exercises
- Harmonics Exercises (natural and artificial)
- Sweep Picking Exercises
- Slapping/Thumping Exercises
- Whammy Bar Exercises
- Double Stop and Chicken Pickin Exercises
- Fingerstyle Exercises
- Slide Guitar Exercises
Songs, Solos, and Licks
Here are actual songs that can be used to practice various styles and techniques, putting all that knowledge to practical uses.
- Beginner Songs
- Intermediate Songs
- Advanced Songs
- Rock Songs
- Blues Songs
- Thrash Songs
- Common Lead Licks
- Example Solos
Reference
Contains quick reference material, such as chord shapes, scales mapped across the entire fretboard, etc.
- Ref: Intervals
- Ref: Common Scales
- Ref: Circle of Fifths
- Ref: Fret Maps for all Keys
- Ref: CAGED Chord Charts
- Ref: Diatonic Chords for all Keys
- Ref: Diatonic Keys for Triads
- Ref: Chord Fingerings/Voicings
- Ref: Chord Names/Notes/Spellings
- Ref: Common Chord Progressions
- Ref: Modes
- Ref: Counting Rhythm
- Ref: Common Arpeggios
- Ref: Reading Tab
- Ref: Reading Chord Charts, Scale Maps, and Strumming Notation
- Injuries and Tips to Avoid and Recover from them
Recommended Resources
Here are some videos, books, and articles I recommend checking out.
- Ben Eller's Why You Suck at Guitar Youtube Series
- Sevenstring.org Music Theory sub-forum
- Giant tab book of Rock Hits Vol 1
- The Real Book
- Rusty Cooley's Guitar Assylum TV
- Joe Satriani Youtube lessons (particularly the SatchZone series)
- John Petrucci's Rock Discipline
- Steve Vai's Little Black Notes section on Vai.com
Gear and Setup
Advice on buying/tweaking your gear and setting up your instrument.
Tone
Buyer's Guides
- Choosing a Pick
- Choosing a Guitar
- Choosing Pickups
- Choosing an Amp
- Choosing a Speaker Cabinet
- Choosing a Modeler/FRFR
- Foot Controllers
- Choosing Cables
User Guides
Effects
- Types of Effects
- Effects Ordering/Position
- Noise Gate
- Compression
- Wah Pedals
- EQ
- Modulation Effects
- Delay
- Reverb
- Pitch Shifting
- Boost
- Distortion Effects
- Synth Effects
Getting Gig Ready
- Equipment Checklist, Setup
- Advanced Tuning
- Surviving Broken Strings
- Calming the Nerves
- Warming Up
- Balancing Playability vs. Performance
DAW/Recording
Most of what you need to know to start home recording.
- Understanding Digital Audio
- Mixing Boards/Consoles
- Interface Setup (incl. Latency)
- Computer Setup
- DAW Basics
- Keyboard Macros/Hotkeys
- Popular Virtual Instruments/Plugins
- Tracking Audio (Comp tracks/Takes)
- Reamping
- MIDI
- Virtual Instruments
- Tracking MIDI (Quantization)
- Editing Tracks
- Automation
- Tempo
- Synthesizers
- Samplers
- Sequencers
- Editing Drums
- Bounce/Render
- Mixing
- Mastering
Sound
These pages discuss the very nature of sound and how we can manipulate it.
Musical Skills
Techniques to improve musical skills that relate to detecting and conveying musical information.
Composition
- Counterpoint
- Common Song Structures
- Tension and Release
- Meter
- Arrangement
- Writing Melodies
- Mood vs. Key
Glossary
Wiki
Everything you need to know about posting here.