The Natural Minor Scale

October 28, 2013May 26, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials guitar, minor, natural, scales

As mentioned in the video here are 2 different methods for playing this scale. They both contain the same notes, but have different methods of reaching a particularly troublesome one. This first tab, which is my preferred one, requires you change the hand position for the first note on the G string. This next tab … Continue reading The Natural Minor Scale

Awesome Slide-Legato Lick #1

September 21, 2013May 26, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials awesome, guitar, kickass, legato, lick, slide

This is an awesome, visually impressive and cool sounding, lick which relies on solid slide and legato techniques. Legato phrases, as you should know, rely on fretting hand techniques such as slide, hammer-ons and pull-offs. In this lick we are using a slide technique in-between picking a note’s 5th on the adjacent string. Sound complicated, … Continue reading Awesome Slide-Legato Lick #1

The Blues: Mixing-Up Lead & Rhythm Ideas

August 13, 2013May 26, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials 12 bar blues, blues, clapton, guitar, rock, solo, steevie ray, vaughn

This post is going to focus on the basics of tastefully making use of lead phrases in-between rhythm playing in a blues situation. Although this exercise is arguably quite sterile, it’s going to be an invaluable first step to get you more comfortable with the concept. Once you’re familiar with it you’ll be allowed much … Continue reading The Blues: Mixing-Up Lead & Rhythm Ideas

Standard Chord Progressions 2 – The II V I

May 1, 2013May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Uncategorized chord, guitar, jazz, music, theory

In Jazz we like to say that each chord plays a particular role within a scale. The job of the I chord is pretty clear - it’s what we want to hear the most, no matter what comes before it we need this to feel satisfied at the end of a piece. The V, (or … Continue reading Standard Chord Progressions 2 – The II V I

Advanced Rock Rhythms 1: Inverting Powerchords

April 20, 2013May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials guitar, heavy, inversions, inverted, power chord, powerchord, rock

In this lesson we’ll be applying the principles of chord inversion to a rock situation. As you should know already, it’s unlikely that you’ll be playing open chords or anything much bigger than powerchords when using a heavily distorted guitar sound. This doesn't mean that we have to forget about notes other than Roots and … Continue reading Advanced Rock Rhythms 1: Inverting Powerchords

Chord Inversions 1 – Intro

April 15, 2013May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials chord, guitar, guitar-based theory, inversions, music, theory, triad

Remember back when your teacher, (possibly me), told you that the deepest pitch in a chord should be its root note? Yeah, that was a lie. Sorry. It’s a good general rule though, because we like to hear root notes in the bass of a chord. Using other notes … Continue reading Chord Inversions 1 – Intro

Arpeggios 1 – Maj, Min & Dim Triad Arpeggios

April 8, 2013May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials arpeggios, dim, diminished, guitar, maj, major, min, minor, triad, tuition, tutor, tutorial

Arpeggios form a neat middle-ground between chords and scales – you’ll be voicing chords in a manner similar to playing a scale. Today we’re going to cover the three different triads that appear in the Major Scale. A Tonic Triad, as you should know, is built by stacking thirds in your given scale, so the … Continue reading Arpeggios 1 – Maj, Min & Dim Triad Arpeggios

Sus Chords

March 21, 2013May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials chord, guitar, sus, sus chords, suspended

A Suspended Chord is one in which all 3rds are replaced with either 2nds or 4ths. Losing the 3rd can make a chord sound very vague or open, but the addition of the 2nd or 4th will certainly make up for that loss of character. Despite losing a note from our Maj or Min … Continue reading Sus Chords

Example Song #4: Power Chords & Palm Mutes

March 19, 2013May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials blues, guitar, learn to play, learn to play awesome guitar, palm mute, play, pop, power chord, powerchord, rhythm, rock, tuition

This song is a demonstration of two very common techniques within rock, pop and blues music. Power Chords, as you should already know, are used in place of full Open or Barre chords, in genres where guitars are usually distorted. Palm muting allows you to control the tone and volume … Continue reading Example Song #4: Power Chords & Palm Mutes

Chromatic Scales

February 27, 2013May 30, 2015 LTGuitarist Music Tutorials augmented, chromatic, diminished, guitar, lesson, scale, tab, whole tone, whole-half

All the scales you've learnt so far have probably been Diatonic ones. A Diatonic Scale is one that ascends and descends in a pre-ordained pattern of Tones and Semitones. A Chromatic Scale is derived from a much smaller pattern. In this lesson we’re going to learn the two Chromatic Scales that have the most musical … Continue reading Chromatic Scales