Reference Guitar Lessons

Completed

Watch Later

8:42 Guitar Care 101: Intro to Maintaining Your Instrument Instructor: Lucas Fowler Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Hey all! I'd like to show you some basic techniques for taking care of your guitar. As players, we can be rough on our instruments and even the most gentle hands still leave residue on the fingerboard. In this video, I'll show you step by step how t...
Completed

Watch Later

1:30 Playing Vintage Guitars Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style I am completely new to the world of vintage guitars. But I decided to take a plunge recently and got a refinished 1960 Fender Strat, and I absolutely love it! I wrote a new song with it for this tutorial. You can watch and learn the song on the...
Completed

Watch Later

3:36 Guitar Setup and Cleaning: Intro Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Hello! This time around we will discuss a very important peice of guitar knowledge: Setting up and cleaning our guitar. Some of you may already know how to do this but I stongly advise all of you to check out this entire tutorial! There are l...
Completed

Watch Later

5:08 Guitar Setup and Cleaning: String & Rust Removal Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style So I'm sure we all know how to remove a set of strings but an easy tip is to quickly snip them off with a wire cutters. There's no need to save the rusty, smelly old strings so we might as well make life easier and take them off the fast and easy way...
Completed

Watch Later

4:30 Guitar Setup and Cleaning: Cleaning the Fretboard Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Now we bust out the fretboard oil! This is a very easy and cheap thing you can do every time or every other time you restring your guitar. There is no reason you need to pay someone to do this for you. For this I'll use my lemon oil and rag. Apply ...
Completed

Watch Later

5:43 Guitar Setup and Cleaning: Restringing Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Now I know most of us if not all of us know how to resting our guitars. Well, this is the most effective way I have found when restringing this specific kind of guitar. (fixed bridge and standard non-locking tuners) There are two main things I think...
Completed

Watch Later

3:08 Guitar Setup and Cleaning: Post Restring Tips Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style The following are a couple helpful tips I've learned over the years to make life a little easier as a gigging guitarist. #1. getting rid of the extra string length when you don't have a wire cutters sitting around. #2. Preventing the pointy string ...
Completed

Watch Later

4:22 Guitar Setup and Cleaning: Intonating - Part 1 Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style The tricky art of intonating a guitar. First you should know the list of things that can affect the intonation. #1. Are you using a different gauge of strings than usual? #2. Are you using a different tuning than usual? #3. Have you recently chan...
Completed

Watch Later

3:54 Guitar Setup and Cleaning: Intonating - Part 2 Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style
Completed

Watch Later

1:27 Composing Modern Metal: Example Song Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Metal Hello once again! Please listen closely to the composition and production of this tune. We will be breaking this series into 3 separate tutorials: 1. Composing (Tutorial 1)2. Recording (Tutorial 2)3. Playing (Tutorial 3) Please note that in Tutori...
Completed

Watch Later

2:01 Composing Modern Metal: Intro Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Metal I'm sorry to say it, but we will not be learning any guitar in this video......yet (that comes in Tutorial 3 of this series!) BUT! We will be learning how I approach composing and recording my ideas for my metal band, "Ideology". With a few simple ...
Completed

Watch Later

2:21 Composing Modern Metal: Composing Part 1 Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Metal When it comes to composing metal, it can be a struggle but with a few techniques and concepts you can really hammer out a lot of tunes quickly. First off, consider the following riff styles: Groove Thrash Chordal These three styles of riffs can be...
Completed

Watch Later

6:23 Composing Modern Metal: Composing Part 2 Instructor: Mike Salow Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Metal When it comes to composing metal, it can be a struggle but with a few techniques and concepts you can really hammer out a lot of tunes quickly. First off, consider the following riff styles: Groove Thrash Chordal These three styles of riffs can be...
Completed

Watch Later

3:37 Introduction To Guitar Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Hey everyone! Welcome to InfiniteGuitar.com. This tutorial will be the first of many in an in-depth introduction to the guitar. Whether your forte is blues, rock, metal or pop, we'll examine every element of the instrument from the ground up so that ...
Completed

Watch Later

2:04 Introduction To Guitar - Get 'Em Moving! Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style So now that we understand the basics of how to locate a note, let's try arranging some notes in a more musical context... Below, (Exercise 1) we see a single line with two numbers, 0 and 1. What the line represents is our first string (the "skinny" ...
Completed

Watch Later

1:27 Mayones/Seymour Duncan Contest Entry - Performance Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Reference Style: Metal Hey guys! This month's lesson will be focused around analyzing the solo I did for Keith Merrow's solo competition in parternship with Mayones Guitars and Seymour Duncan Pickups. I've had an overwhelming number of requests for a transcription of the s...
Completed

Watch Later

0:25 Mayones/Seymour Duncan Contest Entry - Part I Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Reference Style: Metal Bars 1-9 The first four measures of this solo feature some robotic 16th note tapped runs which implement string-skipping. Here are a few notes with regards to maintaining cleanliness: 1) Keep your right wrist readily available for muting strings af...
Completed

Watch Later

0:34 Mayones/Seymour Duncan Contest Entry - Part II Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Reference Style: Metal Bars 10-21 The notable part in this section begins at bar 16. Actually, it begins with the last two 16th notes in bar 15. Knowing this is imparitive to nailing this lick and achieving the rhythmic approach originally intended. Make use of your right...
Completed

Watch Later

0:23 Mayones/Seymour Duncan Contest Entry - Part III Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Reference Style: Metal Bars 22-29 Much like the last section, understanding the starting point ot the lick beginning in measure 22 is very, very important. If practicing to a quarter beat metronome, understand that the lick actually begins between beat one and two. Other ...
Completed

Watch Later

0:32 Mayones/Seymour Duncan Contest Entry - Part IV Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Reference Style: Metal Bars 30-39 The outro is a bit of a finger-twister. This Japanese-sounding ascend/descend (repeat) run is fairly simplistic with regards to execution, but you'll quickly find that as you increase in BPM, it gets tangly. Thanks for checking out the s...
Completed

Watch Later

1:18 Mayones/Seymour Duncan Contest Entry - Backing Track Instructor: Chris Feener Level: Advanced Topic: Reference Style: Metal Thanks for checking out the lesson! Here's the backing track, compliments of Keith Merrow. Be sure to check out Keith's stuff below! http://www.keithmerrow.com/home.cfm http://www.youtube.com/user/diobolic5150
Completed

Watch Later

0:37 Eric Johnson Triads - Fingerings Instructor: Martin Miller Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style In this part of the tutorial I’ll show you a few fingerings for the D Major and D minor wide-interval-triads. Of course, there are tons more but these are the most useable in my opinion. Be sure to always be aware of the function (e.g. root, 3r...
Completed

Watch Later

1:05 The 4 Cable Method - Introduction Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Welcome to this tutorial on how to turn your Channel-Challenged Work Horse into a Multi-Channel Monster! What you need is an amp with a serial effects loop and a distortion channel you like. You'll also need a multi-effects unit (preferabl...
Completed

Watch Later

9:14 The 4 Cable Method - How To Set It Up Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style So, the idea with the 4-cable method is to expand your amp. If you have ever used a single channel clean amp, or a dual-channel where you don’t like the gain channel, and only use the clean with pedals, you are of course aware that in this case...
Completed

Watch Later

5:13 The 4 Cable Method - Creating a Rhythm Channel Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style On to creating our first channel. I want this first channel to be my Distorted rhythm channel, using the gain channel of the amp. Basically what I need here is to have only the FX-unit Loop activated with nothing else, and I will have the same ...
Completed

Watch Later

7:50 The 4 Cable Method - Creating a Lead Channel Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Now on to creating our Lead Channel. There are several traditional ways of pushing an amp's gain channel into lead-level heaven. The old-school method would be to stick a classic OD in front of the amp (think “Tubescreamer-ish” OD’s...
Completed

Watch Later

6:38 The 4 Cable Method - Creating a Clean Channel Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Creating the clean channel using the 4-cable method has its unique set of circumstances. Remember, as we are bypassing the preamp-section completely and going straight to the Power amp section of the amp, we do not have the tone shaping of the pream...
Completed

Watch Later

8:10 Thirdless Voicings - Part 1 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Welcome! In this tutorial we're going to take a gander at thirdless voicings and how to use these both to further our own improvisation, but also as practicing tools for ear training, as well as excellent song writing tools! A thirdless voicing is ...
Completed

Watch Later

5:29 Thirdless Voicings - Part 2 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style So, the first thing we want to get in our heads are how the different chord tones sounds in relation to the thirdless voicings. So, I want you to sing as you play the chords the roots (A,F,G), then the fifths (E,C,D) and finally the thirds (C,A,B). T...
Completed

Watch Later

6:11 Thirdless Voicings - Part 3 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Fusion OK, so the concept of thirdless voicings can of course be expanded to cover pretty much any musical style. If you're into fusion, fine. If you're into singing/songwriting, equally fine! This is something that, once you have it in your ears, can be us...
Completed

Watch Later

7:21 Thirdless Voicings - Part 4 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style So, "fusion" then... Fusion is of course a very broad genre, so we will just focus on the kind of modern fusion that leans heavily towards quartal harmony and such. In the first part, with the progression borrowed from the Vibrato tutorial, we were v...
Completed

Watch Later

1:34 Thirdless Voicings - Outro Improvisation Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style And here is the impro. Even though I make a conscious effort to work around the thirds we discussed, it's still an improvisation, and as such I don't limit myself to simply that, but go were the moment takes me. After looking through this, head ove...
Completed

Watch Later

6:24 Thirdless Voicings - Backing Track Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style OK guys, here is the backing track I used for the outro improvisation. What I've done is just loop it four times, so you can improvise over it, going back and forth over the first and second voicings.
Completed

Watch Later

4:57 Right Hand Dynamics - Signal Chain / Gear Instructor: Steve Hubbard Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Hi there! Welcome to my tutorial on 'Right Hand Dynamics.' The point of this tutorial is to touch on various concepts, and techniques, that will help you develop a myriad of tones, sounds, and dynamic levels. In this video, I discuss the electronic ...
Completed

Watch Later

1:57 Making of a Song - Backing Track Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style And finally, here's the exact backing track I'm using to play over. As I mentioned, it's just a rough "sketch" so far, but perhaps enough for you to get a feel for where it's heading. =) See you next time!
Completed

Watch Later

4:34 Ear Training - Introduction Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Welcome to this tutorial on ear training techniques! I’m sure many of you have already had some kind of ear training in school, and are familiar with the concept. What I want to do here is to perhaps give you some new exercises that will help ...
Completed

Watch Later

6:11 Ear Training - Absolute vs. Relative Pitch Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style As discussed in the introduction, there are 2 sides of the “hearing coin”. One side is Absolute Pitch (Color hearing pitch, perfect pitch, it has many names). What this entails is the ability to hear any note played to you, and be able to...
Completed

Watch Later

2:13 Slide Guitar - Introduction Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Blues Welcome to this introduction to slide guitar playing! First of all, this will not be a song tutorial, where you learn to play riffs or solos. Rather, this is a technical overview and reference guide to help you make the most of your slide playing, r...
Completed

Watch Later

3:17 Slide Guitar - The Tools of the Trade Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Blues Which type of slide you choose to use are largely a matter of taste. Different materials produce different tones. If you lay acoustic (Dobro, lap, regular acoustic) might mean you choose a copper or metal slide, depending on style. A glass slide is p...
Completed

Watch Later

4:55 Slide Guitar - Choosing your Slide Finger and Muting Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Blues Which finger you choose to use your slide with, also affects your playing to a large extent. Traditional blues players often used their slide on their pinky, perhaps not because of technical considerations, but perhaps more because almost all slides ...
Completed

Watch Later

4:57 Slide Guitar - Open Tuning pt.1 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Blues In this segment we discuss the open D-tuning and how this is used in slide guitar playing. We also discuss the issues with tuning the major third to equal temperament pitch, or to a harmonically correct pitch.
Completed

Watch Later

3:19 Slide Guitar - Open Tuning pt.2 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Blues In this part we discuss how the intonation of your guitar is affected by raising the string height. As I mentioned in my setup tutorial about string height vs. intonation, the pitch of a string raised it the string height is too high, or if the truss...
Completed

Watch Later

1:32 Anvil Studio - Introduction and Installation Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Welcome everyone! In this tutorial, we're going to take a look at a software program called Anvil Studio. This software is an excellent tool for musicians who wish to compose and more. And best of all, it's free! Visit the following li...
Completed

Watch Later

4:00 Anvil Studio - Creating Instrument Tracks Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style In this video, we'll cover the basics of creating your first instrument tracks. Each instrument track can have a particular midi instrument assigned to it. As you'll see in the video, there are many instruments to choose from, such as pianos, organs,...
Completed

Watch Later

4:05 Anvil Studio - Creating Drum Tracks Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Now let's go ahead and create a drum track. When you create a drum track in Anvil Studio, you'll have the option to select which particular drums you want assigned to your drumkit. I generally just use typical drum sounds such as the kick, snare, tom...
Completed

Watch Later

8:39 Anvil Studio - Example Composition Riff Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style In this video, we'll compose a short example riff so you can get a general idea on how you can compose with Anvil Studio. Feel free to pause the video whenever necessary so you can follow the steps I'm taking. You don't have to compose with the same...
Completed

Watch Later

1:46 Tuning in 4ths - Introduction Instructor: Tom Quayle Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Hi there guys and welcome to this tutorial on tuning in 4ths. Normally we tune the guitar in what we call standard tuning. In other words out strings are tuned to the following notes, E, A, D, G, B and E This system of tuning is great as it allows...
Completed

Watch Later

4:03 Tuning in 4ths - In Practice Instructor: Tom Quayle Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Okay, so as an example we can take a Cmajor Triad. If we play this on the A, D and G strings we get a triad composed from the notes C, E and G played at the 3rd fret of the A string. If we take this shape up an octave and play it at the 10th fret of ...
Completed

Watch Later

4:03 Tuning in 4ths - Working Out Shapes Instructor: Tom Quayle Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style It's actually pretty easy to work out shapes that will work in this tuning. The system is easy and relies on information you probably already know. Basically, any shapes that work on the bottom 4 strings will work anywhere on the guitar now. For exa...
Completed

Watch Later

0:49 Guitar Setup 101 - Introduction Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Welcome guitar slingers, to this behemoth of a tutorial on guitar set-up! Proper guitar set-up is something that everybody know is needed, but few know how to do. It’s sort of like the mechanics of a car. We all know how to drive one, but if i...
Completed

Watch Later

2:23 Tools Needed Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Having the proper tools will make your guitar-tech life a lot easier. Here’s a list of the most necessary tools. Of course you could get a professional guitar tech tool-kit if you do a lot of setup work, but regular tools like these will work j...
Completed

Watch Later

7:11 String Change - Regular Tuners & Breaking In The Strings Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style New Strings A fresh set of strings is always a relief to play, as the feel fresh, slick and you don’t get caught on them whilst playing (sort of a like a satin-finished neck vs. a sticky gloss finish). Many player change strings on an almost d...
Completed

Watch Later

3:14 String Change - Vintage Tuners Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style String change for vintage tuners The first part with fastening the string to the bridge is the same. Then follow this procedure (And check the video!): 1. Turn the tuning head, so that the slot in the peg head is in line with the fret board. In a v...
Completed

Watch Later

2:21 String Change - Locking Tuners Part 1 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style String Change for locking tuners In this first part, you will be presented with the workings on the locking tuner, and how to un-fasten strings from them. There are mainly two ways of doing this: 1. Start to unwind the string from the tuner, as th...
Completed

Watch Later

7:53 String Change - Locking Tuners Part 2 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Locking Tuners cont.: 1. Thread the string through the bridge like before. Nothing out of the ordinary here. 2. Thread the string through the hole in the locking tuning peg. Pull the string tight and hold it taut on the other side of the locking po...
Completed

Watch Later

4:15 Cleaning The Fret Board Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Fret Board Maintenance When changing strings, I recommend you change them one at a time, unless you feel the need to clean your fret board, oil it in, or polish your frets. This will keep the neck in constant tension, and won’t de-stabilize it...
Completed

Watch Later

4:43 Truss Rod Adjustment - Part 1 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Truss Rod Adjustment What is a truss-rod you might ask? The truss-rod is a metal bar inside the guitar neck, that flexes in or (or sometimes both) directions. This rod in place for two reasons: 1. To stabilize the neck and stop it from warping. 2. T...
Completed

Watch Later

7:39 Truss Rod Adjustment - Part 2 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Truss Rod Adjustment - cont: First of all we need to determine what our current relief is, and decide how or if we want to change that. The way to do this is either by using you eye-sight, or by measuring with a steel ruler or with so called “...
Completed

Watch Later

5:31 String Height Adjustment Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style String height adjustment So, once we’ve set the relief to a point that fits our string gauge and playing preferences, it’s time to adjust the string height. String height is also a matter of preference. Some like it high, some like it lo...
Completed

Watch Later

10:28 Intonation - Introduction & The Top Nut Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Advanced Topic: Reference Style: Any Style History and Background. Okay then, time for the big one, which will contain much information besides the practical intonation adjustments. Intonation is probably the most misunderstood part of guitar set-up, and a huge part of the overall sound and ...
Completed

Watch Later

9:09 Intonation Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Intermediate Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Ok, let’s say that your top nut is fine. Then let’s move on to intonating to rest of the neck. The common way of intonating an electric guitar is to tune the open harmonic to pitch, and then check to see if the fretted note at the 12th f...
Completed

Watch Later

6:56 Nut Height Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Nut Height Nut height is yet another thing we need to cover. The nut height affects playability and sound to a great extent, more so than intonation (that is more the contact points of the strings, as described earlier). If the nut is too high, it w...
Completed

Watch Later

2:31 Tremolo String Change - Part 1 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style String change In this first part of the video, I will just discuss and show you how to remove the strings, and things to consider.
Completed

Watch Later

8:51 Tremolo String Change - Part 2 Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style String Change cont. On a guitar with a locking nut, it is not necessary to use the string fastening techniques we've discussed before. You will have a locking top nut that will secure the strings. There are 2 main ways of fastening the strings: 1. ...
Completed

Watch Later

6:43 Checking The Tremolo Knife Edges and Posts Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Advanced Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Checking the knife edges As described in the video (and I do urge you to check this on the video), you can easily take off the tremolo to do maintenance, cleaning and such. If you have any tuning stability problems, you should always check the knife...
Completed

Watch Later

5:31 Shimming The Neck Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Advanced Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Shimming the neck pocket Let’s say that you have lowered your bridge as far as you can into the cavity without bottoming out, and the action is still too high. Your truss-rod and relief has been adjusted, and all else is well. What then? Then ...
Completed

Watch Later

3:23 The Mechanics Of A Tremolo Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style For this specific chapter, show and tell is by far easier than reading text. So for this chapter I urge you to just watch the video, and listen to what I have to say there.
Completed

Watch Later

5:08 Locking the Top Nut, And Other Helpful Tips Instructor: Richard Lundmark Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style When you are finally ready to lock down on the top nut, one thing to consider is that the force of the locking nut will pull the strings out of pitch as you tighten it. As I turn the screw clockwise to tighten it, the plate beneath it will pull on st...
Completed

Watch Later

3:29 How to Practice like a Pro Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style In this lesson, I'm going to go over a few tips to help you practice efficiently. The goal when you practice is to make the most progress within the shortest time possible. These tips will help you do just that! Tip #1: Have a dedicated practice are...
Completed

Watch Later

Free Time Signatures - How They Work Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style 4/4? 7/8? 3/4? 6/8? 19/16? 9/8? What do all these numbers mean!? Ever wonder what those fraction looking things are at the beginning of every piece of music? And what do those numbers mean anyway? What are they for? Well, have no fear my guitar-pl...
Completed

Watch Later

How to Read Guitar Tablature Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Every guitarist needs to know how to read tablature (a.k.a. "tab"). Tablature is the most widely used method of reading music for guitar, and is often much easier for people to read than standard notation. So in this lesson, we're going to learn the ...
Completed

Watch Later

2:24 Learning the Notes of the Strings Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Every guitarist needs to know the notes and numbers of the guitar strings. If you're a beginning guitarist, this is one of the very first things you'll want to tackle. As I mention in the video, we instructors always refer to the strings by their not...
Completed

Watch Later

3:30 Maintaining Good Posture While Playing Guitar Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Maintaining good posture while playing guitar is vital. Not only does it help your guitar playing be more effective, but it also helps keep you healthy. Here are a few tips you should keep in mind... 1. When sitting down, be sure not to lean your l...
Completed

Watch Later

3:44 What Is a Pick and How Do I Use It? Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Other than our fingers, picks are the main tool that guitarists use to play the guitar strings. There are a lot of different kinds of picks, and you should experiment with different picks to find out what kind is best for you. Be sure to watch the v...
Completed

Watch Later

4:13 Non-Guitar Stretches for your Guitar Playing Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style In addition to this lesson, be sure to check out an article I wrote on Guitarist Tendonitis. Stretching and warming up is critical for any guitarist. Playing guitar can be very strenuous on your fingers, wrists, and forearms, so you need to make sur...
Completed

Watch Later

4:25 Guitar Anatomy 101 - Learning the Parts of a Guitar Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Every guitarist needs to know the anatomy of the guitar so they can properly reference the various parts. Be sure to study the video and image below to memorize everything. Also, it's worth noting that some guitar parts have more than one associated...
Completed

Watch Later

2:43 Tuning - General Overview Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style As you can imagine, tuning is extremely important with the guitar and any other instrument. Every guitarist needs to know how to do it, and how to do it effectively and quickly. There are different ways you can tune your guitar, using many reference...
Completed

Watch Later

4:14 Tuning - How to Tune Your Guitar Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style (Tuning Chart below) In the video, I show you how to tune your guitar using just your ear. Basically, you can tune your whole guitar using just your Low E string as a starting reference point. So that means that we'd need to make sure the Low E str...
Completed

Watch Later

1:42 Tuning - Drop D Tuning Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Drop D tuning is when you make your Low E string go down a whole step to a D note. This tuning is a very popular tuning for 6-string guitarists who want to get a lower end with their guitar. I personally love this tuning and use it often in my songwr...
Completed

Watch Later

Guitarist Tendonitis - How to Avoid It Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style I absolutely love the guitar. It's so much more than just a hobby to me. It's a part of life. I take it very seriously, and I will assume that you take it very seriously as well. If that sounds like you, then you need to read this. After I had been ...
Completed

Watch Later

Songwriting - Introduction Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Creating a song is the most fulfilling experience that a musician can ever have. Whether it be a soft ballad, an epic instrumental, or a heavy metal headbanger, a song is a work of art with which the writer can take much pride. A song encompasses the...
Completed

Watch Later

Songwriting - Inspiration Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Inspiration. Without it, music wouldn’t exist. Every existing piece of music has been developed because a human being was inspired to write it. A high achievement, the death of a loved one, blossoming love, deteriorating love, a religious exper...
Completed

Watch Later

Songwriting - How Do You Start? Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Everyone has their own unique methods and styles to their songwriting. If you’re just starting to compose your own music, you may have to experiment a little before you really find your preferred and most effective method. If you’re a sea...
Completed

Watch Later

Songwriting - Song Structure Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style The structure of a song has to do with how you put certain parts in a certain order. A very typical song structure usually goes something like this: Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Outro. The structure of a song is very importa...
Completed

Watch Later

Songwriting - Song Style Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Most people usually have a general idea of what music style they want their song to be. To go even further, most people have a favorite style of music and tend to gravitate towards that style with most of their songs. As it is with song structure, t...
Completed

Watch Later

Songwriting - Conclusion Instructor: Sean Conklin Level: Beginner Topic: Reference Style: Any Style Here's the best advice to be given regarding songwriting...never stop writing music. If you compose consistently, you will only keep improving. Songwriting is a beautiful art. However, it is also a learned art. The more you write, the more you'll ge...