Latin Guitar Lessons
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1:03
Bossa Nova - Demonstration
Instructor: Nick Granville
Level: Beginner
Topic: Recording
Style: Latin
In this video, I demonstrate how to play the jazz standard Blue Bossa. The lead sheet for this tune is readily available on the internet, and the voicings I am using are standard. If anyone is stuck on the voicings, maybe these voicings could be a to...
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2:36
Bossa Nova - Comping
Instructor: Nick Granville
Level: Beginner
Topic: Chords
Style: Latin
In this lesson, I teach you how to play a bossa nova comping style that was taught to me by a Brazilian musician named Weber Lopez. This style seems simple but it is much harder than it appears. Practice slowly.
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0:47
Lounge Solo - Demonstration
Instructor: Jody Mac
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Improvising
Style: Latin
This lesson is a latin feeling improvisation that utilizes notes from two easy sources: the G Major scale, and the D minor pentatonic scale. You will notice that it is in the key of G Major. The entire tab is included below to allow easy reading once...
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0:38
Lounge Solo Rhythm Chords
Instructor: Jody Mac
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Improvising
Style: Latin
The chords contained in the backing are:
G7M, C#sus4, C, C7M
Notice that the G note in the bass is held for most of the progression. Movement is minimal despite the tonal changes. Economy of movement is important in guitar playing. The...
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1:03
Lounge Solo Example 1
Instructor: Jody Mac
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Improvising
Style: Latin
In this example, be careful of bar 2 where there is a short burst of three notes. They are intentionally fast, passing notes to set up the G note on the first beat of bar 3. Remember also that ties carry note values across the bar lines, extending th...
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0:48
Lounge Solo Example 2
Instructor: Jody Mac
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Improvising
Style: Latin
If you have a tremolo bar on your guitar, now is the time to put it to work! This example uses it quite sparingly, but you can experiment with greater degrees of bending for a more 'outside' effect. If you aren't able to use a tremolo bar, you can ac...
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1:35
Lounge Solo Example 3
Instructor: Jody Mac
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Improvising
Style: Latin
Important note: the last 7 bars use the fingers of the right hand in place of the pick. Bar 2 can be a tricky transition, so practice transferring your pick to a comfortable place in your hand while you use your fingers.
In this section, ...
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1:52
Lounge Solo Backing Track
Instructor: Jody Mac
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Improvising
Style: Latin
This backing is in the key of G Major and is set to 120 BPM.
Have fun improvising!
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2:50
Next-Level Strumming - Latin
Instructor: Chris Feener
Level: Beginner
Topic: Rhythm
Style: Latin
Next-Level StrummingLatin Grooves
Exercise 1:
To get things started, let's break down a fairly basic latin groove. Commonly referred to as a "Clave", this feel is very often abducted into popular rock. Let's examine how it fits together and be sure...
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1:31
Moonlit Waters - Performance
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
Hello Infinite Guitarists!
In this song tutorial, we'll be learning a piece I wrote called "Moonlit Waters". It has a bit of a sexy, latin jazz feel to it. Once you watch the full video above, head on over to the next page to begin the first exercis...
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1:34
Moonlit Waters - Exercise 1
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
Picking-Hand Fingering
T
Thumb
I
Index Finger
M
Middle Finger
A
Ring Finger
O
Pinky Finger
In Exercise 1, we're going to be accenting certain eighth note beats with the Cm7 and Bm7 chords.
...
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1:41
Moonlit Waters - Exercise 2
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
In this section, we're going to be playing an octave pattern on the Low E and D strings. Just like in Exercise 1, we have a lot of rests and space between the chords.
Try adding that rhythmic effect that we discussed in Exercise 1 to this exercise a...
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1:37
Moonlit Waters - Exercise 3
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
Now we get to the main theme of the song. This part isn't too difficult, but be careful with your fingering on both the left and right hands. Using proper fingering will help the transitions between the parts go as smoothly as possible.
Also, don't ...
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1:39
Moonlit Waters - Backing Track
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
Have fun with the backing track! Just for your reference, the backing track is at 138 bpm (beats per minute).
If you ever make a recording of yourself playing along, be sure to post it in the forums!
See you next time,Sean
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1:33
"Latin Groove" - Full Video
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
Welcome!
In this tutorial, we're going to delve into some Latin styles. If you enjoy guitarists like Al Di Meola and Steve Oliver, this will be right up your alley. And if you haven't heard of those guitarists, go check them out! :)
Once you've wat...
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1:01
"Latin Groove" - Exercise 1
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
Here we have the main theme of the song. It has a bit of a sexy, smooth jazz feel to it.
First thing to observe, is the first two notes played at the very start. This is called a "pick up", where a single note or group of notes are played before the...
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0:49
"Latin Groove" - Exercise 2
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
This section mainly contains 16th notes and 32nd notes. We'll also be inserting multiple 16th note rests throughout.
Be careful with your picking as well. I primarily used alternate picking for this part, but there are a few instances (especially wh...
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0:41
"Latin Groove" - Exercise 3
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
This is the part where we'll be playing along to a second guitar's harmonies. It mainly builds with ascending patterns on the G string, then moves to the B string at the end of the build.
In bars 15 and 17 you'll encounter 32nd notes among the 16th ...
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0:46
"Latin Groove" - Exercise 4
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
In this riff, we'll be incorporating Major and minor 3rd harmonies on the B and High E strings.
Also, if you watch my picking hand in the video, you'll notice that I'm fingerpicking this section, rather than using an actual pick. I'd recommend using...
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1:26
"Latin Groove" - Backing Strum
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Rhythm
Style: Latin
We're also going to take a little time to explore the backing for this piece. When you hear the song, you'll notice a rhythm guitar in the background strumming some chords. Let's go ahead and learn that strum...
As far as the actual chords, we'll be...
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1:26
"Latin Groove" - Backing Percussion
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Rhythm
Style: Latin
To continue with the backing, we'll also look at the guitar percussion I used. When you listen to the song, you'll hear a bit of a drum beat going on, and that's me playing percussion on the body of the guitar. Guitar percussion can be very handy in ...
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1:37
"Latin Groove" - Backing Track
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Level: Intermediate
Topic: Cool Riffs
Style: Latin
Have all the parts down? Then get your groove on with the backing track!
As always, if you ever record yourself playing along, be sure to post it in the forums. We'd love to hear you play!
