Before we can do anything we have to learn how to hold a guitar properly, the guitar string names, and proper tuning of the guitar strings. Proper holding of the guitar allows for ease of movement and protection from injury. Knowing the string names is important to knowing what strings to strum and pluck as...Read More

For general guitar instruction I like to start off with how to hold a pick. Finger style techniques will be covered in later levels. Holding the wrist straight with curved fingers place the base of the thumb over the side of the index finger at the last joint. This should create an “O” shape and...Read More

Proper hand positioning is fundamental to proper playing. Here we will cover the proper right hand position on the guitar on both the acoustic and electric. RIGHT HAND POSITION ON THE ELECTRIC GUITAR 1) The area where the strings meet the guitar on the right side is called the bridge. Place your palm against the...Read More

This level will cover a basic right hand exercise for developing alternate picking technique. This drill can be practiced on both acoustic and electric guitars. Alternate picking simply means to alternate the pick using down and up strokes in succession (down, up, down, up, down, up, etc.). This technique is far more efficient than picking...Read More

Hold scale technique is used to help develop proper hand and finger positioning. It also helps to develop finger strength and independent movement. This exercise uses a fixed finger position. 1) The fingers starting from the index finger are referred to as 1, 2, 3, and 4. 2) Whenever I talk about “frets” I mean...Read More

Pushing A Note Or How To Fret A Guitar Sounds are generated by vibrations. What we perceive as a high or low note depends upon the frequency of a vibration. On the guitar we can achieve different vibrations (frequencies) by changing the tension of the string (ex. Tuning) or by affecting the length of the...Read More

Using scale technique, you should be able to learn and play some basic guitar chords such as the E-Minor and A-Minor. The guitar chord diagrams down below are both popular for teaching chords on the guitar. The vertical lines represent strings and the horizontal lines represent frets. The numbers represent left hand finger positions. “X”...Read More

This post covers the pick strum pattern using E-Minor. When strumming chords on an electric guitar as opposed to playing scales, we float the right hand over the strings (hovering about a quarter of an inch) centered somewhere between the bridge and where the neck begins. Pick the top E string and strum the rest...Read More

At this point you should know the names of the strings. From the ceiling to the floor: 6E 5A 4D 3G 2B 1E It is important to add music theory and knowledge of the guitar along the way of developing guitar skills. To start, memorize the following: WHOLE STEP A whole step is the distance...Read More

Now it’s time to take our scale playing to a higher level with guitar string crossing exercises. Once you have master this exercise at 60 – 80 bpm on the metronome you can replace the previous scale technique exercise with this one in your practice routine. 1) Watch the video. 2) Remember to keep alternation...Read More