However his technique isn't always what it seems and in this guitar lesson he teaches you how to play the echo song from the album 'Get Out Of My Yard' which surprisingly is easier than it first appears. In this video Paul explains how he basically turns a staccato 8th note melodic pattern into a fast 16th note pattern using a standard delay pedal.

Here is the video

Echo Song Tab

Here is the guitar tab for the basic pattern used in the track.

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------12----------------------------15-13-12----------|
G|----------12----------12----------------12----------12-------------------|
D|-------14----------14----------------14----------14----------------------|
A|-12-15-------12-15-------------12-15-------12-15-------------------12-15-|
E|----------------------------15----------------------------------15-------|

E|----------------------------------------------14-15----14----15----14----|
B|-------------------12-------------13----15-13-------15----13----13----13-|
G|----12----------12----------12-11----11----------------------------------|
D|-14----------14-------10-12----------------------------------------------|
A|-------12-15-------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------12----------------------------15-13-12----------|
G|----------12----------12----------------12----------12-------------------|
D|-------14----------14----------------14----------14----------------------|
A|-12-15-------12-15-------------12-15-------12-15-------------------12-15-|
E|----------------------------15----------------------------------15-------|

E|----------------------------------------------14-15----14----15----14----|
B|-------------------12-------------13----15-13-------15----13----13----13-|
G|----12----------12----------12-11----11----------------------------------|
D|-14----------14-------10-12----------------------------------------------|
A|-------12-15-------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|------------------------14-15-12-----------------------14-15-12-|
B|---------------------13-----------------------------12----------|
G|-------------11-12-9------------------------11-12-9-------------|
D|----------10------------------------------9---------------------|
A|---9-10-7--------------------------9-10-7-----------------------|
E|-8-------------------------------7------------------------------|

E|--------------------14-15-----------------------14-15-12-|
B|-----------7-8------------17-----------7-8-5-------------|
G|---------------9-14--------------------------12----------|
D|---4-5---7---------------------4-5-2-5-------------------|
A|-------7-------------------------------------------------|
E|-5---------------------------3---------------------------|

E|------------------------14-15-12-----------------------14-15-12-|
B|---------------------13-----------------------------12----------|
G|-------------11-12-9------------------------11-12-9-------------|
D|----------10------------------------------9---------------------|
A|---9-10-7--------------------------9-10-7-----------------------|
E|-8-------------------------------7------------------------------|

E|--------------------14-15-------------------------------------12-14-|
B|-----------7-8------------17-------------------------12-11-14-------|
G|---------------9-14-----------------------------9-11----------------|
D|---4-5---7-------------------------------9-8-11---------------------|
A|-------7-----------------------2-1-4-7-9----------------------------|
E|-5---------------------------2--------------------------------------|

E|-------------------7-8-5----17-15-13----12-14-15----12-14-15-|
B|-----------------6-------13----------12----------12----------|
G|-----------4-5-2---------------------------------------------|
D|---------3---------------------------------------------------|
A|---2-3-0-----------------------------------------------------|
E|-1-----------------------------------------------------------|

E|----13-15-17-20-17-------19----15----12----------------------------------|
B|-13----------------18-------17-------------------------------------------|
G|----------------------17----------16----12-------12----------------------|
D|-------------------------------------------16----------14----------------|
A|----------------------------------------------14----14----10-14----10-14-|
E|----------------------------------------------------------------12-------|

E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------12----------------------------15-13-12----------|
G|----------12----------12----------------12----------12-------------------|
D|-------14----------14----------------14----------14----------------------|
A|-12-15-------12-15-------------12-15-------12-15-------------------12-15-|
E|----------------------------15----------------------------------15-------|

E|----------------------------------------------14-15----14----15----14----|
B|-------------------12-------------13----15-13-------15----13----13----13-|
G|----12----------12----------12-11----11----------------------------------|
D|-14----------14-------10-12----------------------------------------------|
A|-------12-15-------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------|
G|----------12----------14----------16----------17-|
D|-------14----------16----------17----------19----|
A|-12-15-------14-17-------15-19-------17-21-------|
E|-------------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------|
G|----------12----------14----------16-19-17-16-12-|
D|-------14----------16----------17----------------|
A|-12-15-------14-17-------15-19-------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------|

E|-------12-15-------14-17-------15-19-------17-20-|
B|----13----------15----------17----------19-------|
G|-14----------16----------17----------19----------|
D|-------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------|

Superb online guitar tuner from http://www.gieson.com. Features different guitar tones, delay effect and kill switch which is all wrapped up in a nice interface.

Multifunctional guitar tuner from www.howtotuneaguitar.org which allows you to tune to multiple tunings and also features various tones

One of the oldest online guitar tuners courtesy of Hotfrets.

JamPlay's own online guitar tuner features several tuning configurations including open tuning, ethnic, open c, drop d, open g, d minor, open d, or modal. You can also select the playback speed for each tuning note.

Ultra simple guitar tuner from http://www.guitarforbeginners.com.

Nicely designed bass guitar tuner from www.get-tuned.com.

Fingerpicking is a guitar technique used by guitarists in many styles of music, from classical all the way through to rock. Technique is everything with this particular guitar style and once you learn the correct finger picking technique you're playing will radically improve along with your repertoire of songs, so its definitely worthwhile dedicating 10 minutes in each of your practice sessions to improving your fingerpicking technique.

It is very important to develop the right technique from the beginning however and the following five video guitar lessons will help you improve your fingerpicking guitar method. In the meantime, if you are looking for a well priced, quality finger picking guitar course, then we would recommend Finger Picking Fundamentals by Elmore Music.

How to play Acoustic Guitar Lesson basic finger picking

Acoustic fingerstyle guitar lesson

Country Blues Fingerpicking

Finger Picking Patterns for Guitar

Here Comes The Sun by the Beatles Guitar Lesson

Learn To Play AC/DC's Rock n' Roll Train

Rock n' Roll Train by AC/DC is one of the band best efforts and is from the equally superb Black Ice album. It seems that many of our readers have been keen to find out how to play Rock n Roll Train so we have put together an article featuring the tablature, official video and several other video guitar lessons. This should have you playing this classic track in no time.

About AC/DC

AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although the band are commonly classified as hard rock, and considered pioneers of heavy metal, they have always classified their music as "rock and roll".

AC/DC has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, including 71 million albums in the United States. Back in Black has sold an estimated 45 million units worldwide and 22 million in the United States alone, where it is the fifth highest-selling album. AC/DC ranked fourth on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band Of All Time" by MTV.

Official Rock n Roll Train Video

Rock n' Roll Train Video Guitar Lessons

Rock n' Roll Train Tablature

e|----------------------------------------------|
B|---3----3----3--------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2--------2-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|  Angus only
D|-2-0--2-0----0--------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-|
A|-0-0--0-0----0----------x-x-x-x---------0-0-0-|
E|------------------------3-3-3-3---------------|

e|----------------------------------------------|
B|---3----3----3--------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2--------2-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
D|-2-0--2-0----0--------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-|
A|-0-0--0-0----0----------x-x-x-x---------0-0-0-|
E|------------------------3-3-3-3---------------|

e|------------------------3-3-3-3-2-2-2---------|
B|---3----3----3----------3-3-3-3-3-3-3---------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2----------0-0-0-0-2-2-2-0-2-2-2-|
D|-2-0--2-0----0----------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-|
A|-0-0--0-0----0----------x-x-x-x-------0-0-0-0-|
E|------------------------3-3-3-3---------------|

e|----------------------------------------------|
B|---3----3----3--------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2--------2-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
D|-2-0--2-0----0--------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-|
A|-0-0--0-0----0----------x-x-x-x---------0-0-0-|
E|------------------------3-3-3-3---------------|
 |
e|------------------------3-3-3-3-2-2-2---------|
B|---3----3----3----------3-3-3-3-3-3-3---------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2----------0-0-0-0-2-2-2-0-2-2-2-|
D|-2-0--2-0----0----------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-|
A|-0-0--0-0----0----------x-x-x-x-------0-0-0-0-|
E|------------------------3-3-3-3---------------|

e|----------------------------------------------|
B|---3----3----3--------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2--------2-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
D|-2-0--2-0----0--------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-|
A|-0-0--0-0----0----------x-x-x-x---------0-0-0-|
E|------------------------3-3-3-3---------------|

e|------------------------3-3-3-3-2-2-2---------|
B|---3----3----3----------3-3-3-3-3-3-3---------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2----------0-0-0-0-2-2-2-0-2-2-2-|
D|-2-0--2-0----0----------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-|
A|-0-0--0-0----0----------x-x-x-x-------0-0-0-0-|
E|------------------------3-3-3-3---------------|

Both Angus and Malcolm hold the last A5 chord until Angus
starts the Verse Riff.

Verse
Malcolm rests from this point on until the Pre Chorus.

e|------------------| |------------------|
B|---3---3----3-----| |---3---3----------|
G|-2-2---2----2-----| |-2-2---2----2-----| (2X)
D|-2-4-2-4----4-----| |-2-4-2-4----2-----|
A|-0-0-0-0----0-----| |-0-0-0-0----0-----|
E|------------------| |------------------|

Pre Chorus
(Both Angus and Malcolm plam mute these parts. They stop muting
at the "*" )

e|----------------------------|
B|-3-----1-1-3-3-3-3-3-3-3----|
G|-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-0-2----|
D|---2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----|
A|----------------------------|
E|----------------------------|
                               x3
e|----------------------------|
B|----------------------------|
G|-------0-0-----0-2-2-0-2----|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-2----|
A|-0-0-0-3-3-x-x--------------|
E|-----------3-3--------------|

e|-----------------|
B|-3-----1-1-3-3---|
G|-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-|
D|---2-2-2-2-0-0-0-|
A|-----------------|
E|-----------------|

e|-----------------|
B|-----------------|
G|-------0-0-----0-|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-|
A|-0-0-0-3-3-x-x-0-|
E|-----------3-3---|

e|-------------------------------------|
B|-3-3-3-3----3-3-3----3-3-3-3----3----|
G|-2-2-2-2----2-2-2----2-2-2-2----2----|
D|-0-0-0-0----0-0-0----0-0-0-0----0----|
A|-------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------|

e|-------------------------------------|
B|-3-3-3-3----3-3-3----3-3-3-3----3----|
G|-2-2-2-2----2-2-2----2-2-2-2----2----|
D|-0-0-0-0----0-0-0----0-0-0-0----0----|
A|-------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------|

Chorus
e|------------------------3-3--------------------------|
B|---3----3----3----------3-3-----3-3-------3----------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2----------0-0-----2-2-------2-2---2----|
D|-2-0--2-2----0----------0-0-----0-0-------0-2-2-2----|
A|-0-0--0-0----0----------x-x-----x-x---------0-0-0----|
E|------------------------3-3-----2-2------------------|
                                                 x4
e|------------------------3-------2--------------------|
B|---3----3----3----------3-3-3-3-3---------3----------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2----------0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2----|
D|-2-0--2-0----0----------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2----|
A|-0-0--0-0---------------x-------------------0-0-0----|
E|------------------------3----------------------------|

Verse

e|------------------| |------------------|
B|---3---3----3-----| |---3---3----------|
G|-2-2---2----2-----| |-2-2---2----2-----|  Angus only
D|-2-4-2-4----4-----| |-2-4-2-4----2-----|
A|-0-0-0-0----0-----| |-0-0-0-0----0-----|
E|------------------| |------------------|

e|------------------| |------------------|
B|---3---3----3-----| |---3---3----------|
G|-2-2---2----2-----| |-2-2---2----2-----|
D|-2-4-2-4----4-----| |-2-4-2-4----2-----|
A|-0-0-0-0----0-----| |-0-0-0-0----0-----|
E|------------------| |------------------|
 |                    |
e|------------------| |------------------|
B|---3---3----3-----| |---3---3----------|
G|-2-2---2----2-----| |-2-2---2----2-----|
D|-2-4-2-4----4-----| |-2-4-2-4----2-----|
A|-0-0-0-0----0-----| |-0-0-0-0----0-----|
E|------------------| |------------------|

Pre Chorus
(Both Angus and Malcolm palm mute the same parts )

e|----------------------------|
B|-3-----1-1-3-3-3-3-3-3-3----|
G|-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-0-2----|
D|---2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----|
A|----------------------------|
E|----------------------------|
 |                              x3
e|----------------------------|
B|----------------------------|
G|-------0-0-----0-2-2-0-2----|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-2----|
A|-0-0-0-3-3-x-x--------------|
E|-----------3-3--------------|

                 *
e|-----------------|
B|-3-----1-1-3-3---|
G|-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-|
D|---2-2-2-2-0-0-0-|
A|-----------------|
E|-----------------|
 |               *
e|-----------------|
B|-----------------|
G|--------0-0----0-|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-|
A|-0-0-0-3-3-x-x-0-|
E|-----------3-3---|

e|-------------------------------------|
B|-3-3-3-3----3-3-3----3-3-3-3----3----|
G|-2-2-2-2----2-2-2----2-2-2-2----2----|
D|-0-0-0-0----0-0-0----0-0-0-0----0----|
A|-------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------|
 |
e|-------------------------------------|
B|-3-3-3-3----3-3-3----3-3-3-3----3----|
G|-2-2-2-2----2-2-2----2-2-2-2----2----|
D|-0-0-0-0----0-0-0----0-0-0-0----0----|
A|-------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------|

Chorus

e|------------------------3-3--------------------------|
B|---3----3----3----------3-3-----3-3-------3----------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2----------0-0-----2-2-------2-2---2----|
D|-2-0--2-2----0----------0-0-----0-0-------0-2-2-2----|
A|-0-0--0-0---------------x-x-----x-x---------0-0-0----|
E|------------------------3-3-----2-2------------------|
 |                                                       x4
e|------------------------3-------2--------------------|
B|---3----3----3----------3-3-3-3-3---------3----------|
G|-2-2--2-2----2----------0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2----|
D|-2-0--2-0----0----------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2----|
A|-0-0--0-0---------------x-------------------0-0-0----|
E|------------------------3----------------------------|

Solo

e|-------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------|
G|-x\\----7^9~~~~-5---5-----------5--7^9~~~7^9~~~7^9~~~-|
D|-x\\--------------7---5-7~~~~~~-----------------------|
A|-x\\--------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------|

e|-----------------------------------8~~~~--|
B|------------------------8---8-10-8--------|
G|-7p5--------5^~~~~--8h(b9)--(b9)--------------|
D|-----7~~~---5-~~~~------------------------|
A|------------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------------|

e|-8^~~---8^~~~~~------|-12-~~~-12-~~~-12-~~~-12-~~|
B|-------------10~~~---|-13^~~--13^~~~-13^~~~-13~~~|
G|-------------------x-|---------------------------|
D|-------------------x-|---------------------------|
A|---------------------|---------------------------|
E|---------------------|---------------------------|

     pb
e|-10^11r-8-------------------|---------|
B|----------10-10~~~~~~~~~~~~-|~~~~////-|
G|----------------------------|-(Drums)-|
D|----------------------------|---------|
A|----------------------------|---------|
E|----------------------------|---------|

e|-8-------|
B|---10~~~~|
G|---------|
D|---------|
A|---------|
E|---------|

Malcolm repeats this under the solo:

e|-------------3-3-3-3-------|
B|-3-----------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-|
G|-2-2-2-2-----0-0-0-0-2-2-2-|
D|-0-2-2-2-----0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|
A|---0-0-0-----x-x-x-x-------|
E|-------------3-3-3-3-------|

Verse

e|------------------| |------------------|
B|---3---3----3-----| |---3---3----------|
G|-2-2---2----2-----| |-2-2---2----2-----|
D|-2-4-2-4----4-----| |-2-4-2-4----2-----|
A|-0-0-0-0----0-----| |-0-0-0-0----0-----|
E|------------------| |------------------|
 |                                        x2
e|------------------| |------------------|
B|---3---3----3-----| |---3---3----------|
G|-2-2---2----2-----| |-2-2---2----2-----|
D|-2-4-2-4----4-----| |-2-4-2-4----2-----|
A|-0-0-0-0----0-----| |-0-0-0-0----0-----|
E|------------------| |------------------|

Guitar Solo 2/Bridge

e|-10^--8---------------|
B|--------10~~~---8^----|
G|----------------------|
D|----------------------|
A|----------------------|
E|----------------------|

e|------5---------------|
B|--------5--8^10~~~~---|
G|-7^(b9)-----------------|
D|----------------------|
A|----------------------|
E|----------------------|

e|-------------|
B|-13~~~~~~~~\-|
G|-------------|
D|-------------|
A|-------------|
E|-------------|

e|--------------------|
B|-15^17r15-15~~~~-13-|
G|--------------------|
D|--------------------|
A|--------------------|
E|--------------------|

e|------5~~~------5-5~~~-|
B|-8^10------8^10--------|
G|-----------------------|
D|-----------------------|
A|-----------------------|
E|-----------------------|

         Hold bend
e|----8--8^10--8--8^10~~~~-10----13^15-----|
B|-10------------------------10------------|
G|-----------------------------------------|
D|-----------------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------|

e|-15----------------------------------------|
B|------13----13-15-13------------------12^--|
G|---------14----------14-14p12---14~~~------|
D|-----------------------------14------------|
A|-------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------|

e|-----------------|
B|-------------12^-|
G|-14~~~~~~~~------|
D|-----------------|
A|-----------------|
E|-----------------|
                              pb
e|-15--------------20~~~~----------------15------------|
B|----15-18-18^20--------10-12^13r-12~~~----15-20^22~~-|
G|-----------------------------------------------------|
D|-----------------------------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------------------|

Malcolm:

e|---------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------|
G|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-| x4
D|-5-5-5-5-5-4-4-4-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
A|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-|
E|---------------------------------|

e|-3-3-3-3-2-2-2-2-----------|
B|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-----------|
G|-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2---| x4
D|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2---|
A|-x-x-x-x-----------0-0-0---|
E|-3-3-3-3-------------------|

Guitar Solo 3/Chorus
Malcolm and Angus both play through the chorus normally.
Angus overdubbed the licks here.

e|----|
B|----|
G|-x\-|
D|-x\-|
A|-x\-|
E|----|

e|----------------------|
B|---20^22~~~~~20^22~~~-|
G|----------------------|
D|----------------------|
A|----------------------|
E|----------------------|

              pb
e|------------------------------------------------|
B|----20-------20--------------------------20^22--|
G|-19^20----19^20r----1(b9)17-------17^--17^--------|
D|--------------------------1(b9)17-----------------|
A|------------------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------------------|

e|----------------------------------------------------------|
B|-20^22~~~~-----1(b9)17-------20-1(b9)17----17-----------------|
G|----------------------1(b9)-----------1(b9)---1(b9)17~~~--------|
D|---------------------------------------------------19~~~~-|
A|----------------------------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------------------|

e|-----------------------------------------|
B|-18^20~~~~-20-1(b9)17-1(b9)17----------------|
G|--------------------------1(b9)17^~~~------|
D|----------------------------------19~~~~-|
A|-----------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------|

e|--------------------------------------|
B|-17-----------20----------------------|
G|----1(b9)17--19^20---17^1(b9)-17----------|
D|-----------------------------19~~~~\--|
A|--------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------|

                           Hold Bend
e|----------------------------------------|
B|----20------20------20---20-20-20-20-20-|
G|-19^20---19^20---19^20---1(b9)1(b9)1(b9)1(b9)1(b9)|
D|----------------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------|

e|---------------------------------------------------------|
B|-20^22----18-17-18-17-18-17-17h18p17----17---------------|
G|-------------------------------------1(b9)---1(b9)17---------|
D|-------------------------------------------------19~~~~--|
A|---------------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------|

e|----|
B|----|
G|-2\-|
D|-2\-|
A|-0\-|
E|----|
 |
e|----|
B|----|
G|-2\-|
D|-2\-|
A|-0\-|
E|----|

Well have fun and if you know of any other cool guitar lessons for this track then let us know in the comments below and we'll add it.

Yngwie Malmsteen - One of the most famous neoclassical rock guitarists around

Neoclassical guitar is the new age classical. It involves coordination, fast hands, and some amazing scales and riffs. If you are looking to be inspired or put in awe by some neoclassical guitarist, take a look at some of Yngwie J Malmsteen's songs. He has been the pioneer of this new phenomena and has been building an impressive repertoire of music for decades.

Neoclassical music became known in the early 80's. Before that point, metal and shred guitar weren't as mainstream as genres such as rock. Then, some guitarists such as Malmsteen took a leap of faith and started combining classical sounds into their hard metal songs. They took the best of two genres and combined them to create neoclassical shred guitar.

You need to understand that neoclassical isn't just classical music. "Neoclassic" typically refers (as a definition by most guitarists) to "neoclassic rock / metal", not "current classical music". We're talking about metal, influenced by classical music melodies. So don't worry, you're going to be rocking...hard and fast.

Now here's the fun part, regardless of your taste in music, learning neoclassical shred guitar can assist you in becoming the best lead guitarist in your town. The reason for this is found in the various techniques utilized while playing shred guitar. Once you get a few of these techniques down, you'll have no trouble impressing your neighbors.

If you haven't picked this up yet, shred guitar is fast... Ok, that's an understatement. This is why it's so important to use a metronome. A metronome is a little box that ticks and yes, they are usually over priced. Why would you want to get one of these over priced tickers? Well, for starters, your health and mental well being.

For most people, the sound of a click every few seconds would slowly drive them insane. For a musician, it's their key to success. It allows you to keep time. Start a riff slow and build it up until it's lightning fast. Not only will this make you sound good and make learning the riff easier, it will protect your hands from damage. If you start playing something extremely fast right away, you risk burning out your hands. By starting slow and working your way up, your hands will do a much better job playing the correct notes.

Another reason to use a metronome is phrasing. Phrasing is how you play the riff while speed simply deals with tempo. If you can play each note for the correct amount of time, then switch seamlessly to another string or part of the neck, you will play the music correctly and sound good. However, if you play the notes sloppy, you will come across as not being prepared. Which would you prefer? The only way to get perfect phrasing when you're starting out on guitar is by using a metronome.

The scales...

The scales used in neoclassical shred revolve around the minor scales and modes. In particular, melodic and harmonic minor scales are utilized to give a more regal, classical feel to the music. Let's start by running through E Natural Minor to warm-up.

E Natural Minor

Note: Bold numbers above tab are for fingerings.

E Natural Minor

Now we'll take the above E natural minor and make some adjustments to create the melodic and harmonic minor scales. Remember, all of these scales are 100% movable. Use the first note of each scale and move the scale up and down your low E string. This allows you to play in different keys.

E Melodic Minor

E Melodic Minor

E Harmonic Minor

E Harmonic Minor

...See how the harmonic minor scale is similar to the natural minor scale? There is only one note that is different. This makes switching between natural minor and harmonic minor a breeze while playing.

Run through each scale slowly. Pay attention to all of the details and memorize the pattern. Try moving everything up or down a few frets. You want to experiment as much as possible and get used to playing in a minor key.

Alternate picking

Alternate picking is a technique where you alternate your pick strokes. All too often, guitarists who are just starting out will use nothing but down strokes to pick their notes. To gain speed, and to sound better, try alternating between down strokes and up strokes. After you play a down stroke to sound a note, use an up stroke to play the next note. Then alternate between the two.

This may seem like a simple concept, but it can get pretty tricky when you start dealing with string skipping and moving around the fretboard. Try using this simple C Major scale to alternate your picking:

Alternate picking exercise using C major scale

...The reason why it's so important for you to master the art of alternate picking is due to speed. It is almost impossible to gain lightning fast speed in shred guitar without the use of alternate picking. The only other option is to tap out the notes, but we won't be covering that technique in this lesson.

Try focusing your attention on one note, let's say 12th fret E on your high E string. Start to alternate your picking on this note. Start slow and gradually build up speed.

... If you're having problems getting that speed, keep practicing. Another tip is to use a hard pick and hold it at a slight angle to the strings. In other words, don't hold it flat like you usually would for strumming. This slight 20 or 30 degree angle will help you "attack" the note and enable you to play it faster.

The gear

Neoclassical shred guitar has a very distinct sound that comes from various distortion and overdrive pedals. Some of the most popular pedals used in this genre of music include the following:

• DOD overdrive pedal
• Ibanez Tube Screamer
• Boss Compression/Sustainer
• Boss MT-2
• Boss DD-5 Digital Delay
• Dunlop Original CryBaby Wah Pedal
• Vox Flanger

...As far as the guitar is concerned, you can find success with any electric but the Fender Stratocaster seems to reign supreme amongst the world's hottest shredders. However, Ibanez, Jackson, and B.C Rich have all seen their fair share of action in neoclassical as well. It comes down to personal taste and style. Les Pauls and similar style guitars are rarely used in this style because they don't have a tremolo bar, which is a popular item to have for shredders.

The choice of amps is just as diverse as the guitar. Marshall is a favourite with shredders such as Yingwie Malmsteen. Whatever the case, the amps are big and they're loud!

The music

To get the feel of shred, you need to get a good handle on your technique. Hammer on's, pull off's and coordination between your left and right hand are a necessity.

As far as the sound is concerned, neoclassical works around patterns. Let's take these four riffs for example:

Riff One

Riff Two

Riff Three

Riff Four

Written by Elmore Music

Learn how to carve up your fretboard with razor sharp precision, lightning speed & complete control with the help of Speed Guitar Techniques.

How to Write a Killer Guitar Riff

In the guitar world there is a lot of competition to be original. If you are a guitarist in a band, the most frustrating obstacle you will face is finding the songs that will set you apart from all the rest. Putting aside all of the rules for writing music, the one thing that will give you a song that your audience will remember is having a few awesome riffs.

A riff is simply a short, repeatable line of music that sticks out from everything else in the song. You can look at a riff as a signature on a piece of paper... it identifies the piece of music.

You may be thinking, "This sounds great, but I don't have the ability to think outside of the box like that." The truth of the matter is that anyone can write an awesome riff.

The music industry wants you to think that you can't sound as good as all of your favorite bands. Yes, many of them do have awesome material, but the majority of it does not require a music degree to write. You can use the tools you already have to write original and breathtaking lines that will blow your audience away.

In fact, some of you would do better than your favorite bands if you took the time to evaluate the tools you already have.

If you were a carpenter, would you go to work without insuring that you had all of the tools you needed to complete that day's work? No. You would double check to make sure you had everything you needed. The same applies to writing music and riffs. Take a step back and ask yourself, "What do I do best?"

If you can slide around the neck of your guitar like it's nobody's business, than use that to your advantage when writing riffs. Likewise, if you have fast fingers, use that to help you develop your own style.

My one warning that comes with all of the above advice is to keep it short. The longer your riff is, the more likely your audience will forget how it goes. Even I forget the tune to some of the longer riffs I write, so how do you expect anyone else to remember the tune? The most famous songs of the last six decades were all ridiculously simple and easy to remember.

Taking your first steps.

Before you dive into anything involving riffs, there are a few simple but important steps you have to think about. These steps lay the foundation for success and will make playing your guitar far more enjoyable.

Choose a key. We all love to run to our guitars and play them until we get something that sounds good. The problem with this is we will reach a point where we don't know what to do with it or what notes to play. Knowing what key you are in will solve these problems instantly. This also allows you to figure out all of the various scales you have available to you.

Run through the scales you know in that key. Try the major and minor scales and see what sound you like the best. If you don't know what scales are avalable to you in a certain key, check out last week's article.

Experiment using the techniques that you know. Try limiting the number of notes that you play and keep it simple.

Use both the lower and higher notes on your neck.

...Try the above and you'll be well on your way to creating a solid riff.

The hook.

The hook is the riff that highlights the chorus. It's the most important tune you will write throughout the entire song. It also sounds slightly different from your average riff in the sense that it has the characteristics of a melody.

What that means when translated is that it stands out like a vocal would stand out. The key to writing a hook is to make it repeatable. That's why I like to use a few notes. You can use as many as you want, but it may become more complicated than you would like it to be.

Here is an example of a simple hook in the key of D:

Riff One

...It's simple and it's catchy. All of the things you want to look for in a riff and the hook for your song. The word hook in the above context literally means to hook your audience into the music.

Many times you can spice up a riff dramatically by adding in new rhythms and picking patterns, as seen in our above example.

If we took the above riff and added more to it, we would end up with a melody (something you could sing to). This defeats the purpose of a riff. While writing melodies is quite fun and very necessary in song writing, it's not what you want when writing riffs.

More Guitar Riff Examples

Here are a few riffs to get you started. Enjoy!

Riff Two

Riff Three

Riff Four

Riff Five

10 Ways To Improve Your Guitar Playing

One of the most frustrating aspects of playing guitar is when you reach the point where you are not improving. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned musician, we all face the same problem and ask the question, "Why am I not at the level I want to be and how can I get there?" To add insult to injury, we see our guitar heroes in magazines and on T.V. everyday and it seems as if they are constantly inventing new tricks and improving their skills. When we read about them in Guitar World to try to emulate their skills and learn their tricks only to leave more confused. Becoming the ultimate guitarist is far harder than it looks.

So what is the key to success? While there is no one answer that can solve everyone's problem, there are a number of concepts and theories that can help you break through the barrier that keeps you from reaching your full potential.

The one thing that you need to realize is that you don't need to be a genius to become a great guitarist. The two key things you need to have in your possession are interest and commitment. You'll never meet a great guitarist who isn't passionate about music. They didn't get to the level that they are at by being apathetic and lazy. They took the initiative to go out and try to learn something new.

The guitarist who dares to challenge himself takes the risk of failing. This is where many musicians lose their battle with low self-esteem and quit. It's not that they didn't take the risk, rather, that they failed and couldn't pick themselves up again. If you realize that failure is a part of growth and that it takes many jam sessions to get some tricks down, you have just acquired the first skill you will need to become the ultimate guitarist.

I have compiled a list of concepts that I believe every guitarist should try out. Unlike other articles you will read, these short and simple steps ask you to do, rather that simply read. Thoughts and attitude are important but in the end it's what you do that counts to your audience.

Let's get started with the top ten things you can do to obtain maximum results as a guitarist.

Top 10 tips for success...

Top 10 tips for success...

1. Learn something new

Educating yourself is the first step to becoming a better guitarist. Whether you choose to believe it or not, there's always something new to learn and master. If you are currently studying music in a conservatory, at school, or in college, you will find that learning will come more easier to you. If not, I highly recommend that you get in a program. While I believe in teaching yourself, I also know from first hand experience that motivation and encouragement from a teacher is priceless. Once you conquer the subject that you were learning, push yourself to learn something that you're not quite comfortable with. Learning within your comfort zone often results with you running around in circles.

2. Make your time count

Practicing does not make perfect, it makes permanent. That makes the time you spend playing your guitar all the more important. Don't waste your time fiddling around on your guitar. Dig in and learn something that will aid you on your quest for musical success. Set goals and work towards achieving them. Whether it's technique, tricks, or a new song, you can become better just by using your time more wisely.

3. Listen to more music

The more music that you are exposed to, the better guitarist you will become. Listen to the bands that you enjoy most and draw inspiration from them. Take note of what the musicians are doing in their songs and make a list of the techniques you want to learn. This can be the motivating force that gets you to play your guitar more often.

4. Surround yourself with excellence

When you play your guitar with people who are better guitarists, you not only learn from them but feel motivated to push yourself to keep up. At first this idea seems obscure. Why would you expose yourself to that kind of stress? Let's face it, if there's one thing that will make you get motivated quickly it's the fact that people are counting on you. Don't play with musicians who are arrogant and rude. Embarrassment doesn't foster self-esteem and will only get you down. The people you want to learn from are patient and understanding. Eventually you will find yourself at their level. It happens faster than you might think.

5. Ask yourself what will you do when you obtain the skills you want

What do you want to do with what you learn? Perhaps you want to make a CD or join a band and play at some local venues. Start planning for it now and use what you currently have. This ties into setting goals but is not to be underestimated. Knowing how you want to use your talent is important. Create a vision and use goals to act on it. Whether you want to play for others, or to the wall in your bedroom, the choice is yours.

6. Teach someone how to play guitar

To teach is to learn. If the only chord you know how to play is a G chord, show someone that. Why? Because it reaffirms what you know and solidifies your knowledge. I can tell you from personal experience that I have learned more through teaching than I ever learned through being taught. It forces you out of your comfort zone and when questions are asked, you need to know the answer. I'm a firm believer that anyone can teach someone something if they want to. Give it a shot and see the results for yourself.

7. Believe in your ability

Yes, I know how cliché this sounds. However, you need to hear it. You can do anything you put your mind to and if you choose to play guitar well, chubby fingers or not, you can! Don't listen to what others say and be true to yourself. This can be hard seeing as we live in a critical society that doesn't realize how much words can hurt.

Keep at it and surround yourself with supportive people. More of a life lesson than a guitar lesson, but as far as I'm concerned music is intertwined with daily living.

8. You are incomparable

In case you haven't picked up the hint yet, you are the ultimate guitarist. There is no one like you and there will never be anyone who even comes remotely close to being like you. Integrate who you are into your music and you will never have a shortage of material. Your music will soon form into your own tone and style.

9. Learn what worked for others

Whether you research your favorite guitarist or talk to your guitar teacher, ask others what worked for them. I don't claim to know all the answers but when everyone puts their heads together, some really neat ideas start to flow. Networking allows you to give and receive at the same time.

10. Crush your weakness

We all know where we lack the most in the guitar realm. For me it's in technique and finger picking, for others it's something different. Whatever it is, don't ignore it while enjoying your recent victory. Keep attacking your weak points and you'll soon see improvement. The secret is that you never stop seeing problems and you continually get better over time. You'll never be stuck without something to do. Take out a sheet of paper and write them down.

Then find the resources you need to help you destroy them. It's not unlike a war, but in the end you always win.

Top Tips for Success

Don't believe the popular myths.

You may be surprised to hear that a lot of the common advice distributed amongst guitarists couldn't be farther from the truth. There are myths and tokens of advice that get passed along and guitarists like yourself use them. Try as hard as you like, but you'll end up realizing that what meets you at the end of the road is failure. To avoid that, let's look at some of the most common myths floating around:

All good players can play all styles

While great in theory, it doesn't work out in practice. Throughout the history of this newsletter, I have consistently pushed trying various genres of music and becoming a more cultured guitarist. However, no where will you ever hear me, or any other teacher, say that you should be able to master all of them.

The fact is that it takes a lifetime to master one style. Some take up two genres that mix well together, such as blues and rock, but those genres are the exceptions. You will never hear a neoclassical shred guitarist play country. Many jazz musicians take decades to perfect their craft and even then they still see areas that need improvement.

If you want to be a great guitarist, take the genre and style that you're passionate about and focus on it. Don't get distracted with other music. Your guitar heroes are heroes because they mastered a genre. Very few will ever play outside of their specialty and that's just the reality.

You either have "it" or you don't
Let's face it, some understand music more easily than others. That doesn't mean that you can't be as good as them.  Everyone can play guitar, it just depends on the effort and time you want to put in. There are dozens of specialties within music and no one knows all of them from the time they are born. Perfect pitch is developed, as is technique and originality. Look at where you started from as opposed to where you are now. Would you say that you are just as original as you were when you first picked up the guitar? I know I'm not. While things may come easier to others, remember that we all have our own struggles within music and that we are in it together.

To sound good, you need the best gear
The best gear is nice, and yes, you do sound better. However, it's unnecessary for those who aren't interested in professional music or are just starting out. Beginners love to see the rack of guitars at their local music store and say, "I want the $2000 one." That was me for years but the truth is that a guitar of that caliber is useless to someone who can't play it. Learn on something modest and work your way up. Not only will the experience be more rewarding, it's also nicer on the instrument and your self-confidence. In the end, the guitar is only as good as the person who plays it.

I have heard crappy guitars sound half-decent when played by someone who knew what they were doing. The same applies to you. For those who can afford $5000 guitars, my advice is go for it. For the rest of us, I say save your money and work towards being the ultimate guitarist. Think about it, if you sound good on a crummy guitar, how much better will you sound on something that can really produce a good tone?

You need to be the most talented to succeed
All too often, as mentioned above, we tend to compare ourselves to others. The ultimate guitarist is you meeting your goals and making progress. There will always be others who sound better in certain areas but who cares? Be the person you want to be and music will be far more enjoyable. Success is measured on a personal level, not n how many CD's you sell. The famous musicians in today's society often find themselves wishing they weren't so pressured by record labels. They want to be in your shoes where they have the choice to do what they want to do. Enjoy yourself and the rest will fall into place.

How to Play Blues Guitar - Part One

Blues guitar is one of the most intriguing and interesting genres that is out there. It has a rich history, interesting people and a way of expressing emotion unlike any other style of music. Essentially, blues tells a story of one's life experiences and has various themes ranging from travel to current events.

Blues isn't as frilly as other genres of music. It is raw and uncensored and as far as the guitar is concerned, one of the best venues to let your creativity soar. You won't be criticized for your technique here, rather, you'll be praised for your ingenuity.

Within the realm of blues guitar, there are many different subspecialties. There is delta blues,

Many guitarists fail to realize is that legendary players such as Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn were all blues players. Many of their songs were inspired by blues and created a whole new generation of pumped up guitarists.

Unfortunately, many people fail to make that connection and blues is often underestimated by aspiring guitarists. The reality is that blues is only what you make it.

While I respect those who choose not to play blues, I have little tolerance for ignorance. You have heard it said time and time again throughout this newsletter that blues has been the foundation for many of your favorite styles that you enjoy today.

The riffs.

Blues lead uses a multifaceted approach that is based upon smooth bends, hammer on's, pull off's and many other classic techniques. The way they are delivered is what sets blues apart. First off, blues rarely, if ever, follows one set rule.

However, there are numerous patterns that have made blues famous. You can branch off of these patterns into your own unique style. Here are some riffs that are usually played by bass guitar but will give you an idea of the shuffle feel that blues can take on:

Blues Walk One

Blues Walk Two

Ultimately, you can make anything sound bluesy with some simple scales. Here are some of the most used scale patterns in blues guitar:

Blues Scale in A

Blues Scale in A (Second Position)

Blues Scale in D

...There are various kinds of blues scales. Many are derived from the pentatonic scale. However, a true blues scale has what is known as a blue note. A blues note means a drop in pitch located on the 3rd, 5th, or 7th tone of the scale. If this flatted note isn't included in the key signature, an accidental will be used to tell you to play that note as a flat.

A photo of the legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan

If you're not familiar with this terminology, please refer back to our previous lessons on scales located in the archive.

That scratches the tip of blues scales and there are many other variations. I encourage you to buy a scale book to hone your skills and see the other blues scales available.

Other scales are commonly used in blues as well, such as the mixolydian scale. While we won't be discussing it today, this scale can open up new doors into the world of blues. Here's an example:

The D Mixolydian Scale

Blues chords and rhythm.

My favorite chords are blues chords. While some of them may be a little more complicated, you can really get a groove going with them. Here are five common blues chords:

O= Play string.

X= Don't play string.

Dominant Seventh Chords

...You may have noticed that all of them have the same name tag of seven. These are known as dominant seventh chords. They sound great when played together and give you plenty of possibilities.

You can also play a G7 chord by moving your finger from the third fret to the first fret on the high E string. It will require you to change your fingering.

Strumming patterns for blues are usually fast paced. In order to do this, we keep things simple and rhythmic. Here is a great strumming pattern to learn:

Down Down Up Up Down

Switch things up a bit and try switching the up and down strums in the above example. Keep practicing them and you'll be well on your way. Here's an example of it in action:

Note: I am using E7, A Major, and A7. I simply hammer onto the 3rd fret on the high E string to make the A7 chord.

You'll find that I used a lot of rest in-between chords. These little pauses can be done by moving your fingers slightly off the fretboard and discontinue strumming at the same time. You can stop strumming for that brief moment and pick right back up again without breaking the pattern.

This will be challenging at first but you will soon grow into it. In musical language, it can be described as a "shuffle" feel.

Putting It Into Practice

Soloing strategies.

When playing blues, you may encounter a problem where everything you play begins to sound the same. You may find that you continually revert back to what you know. In other words, you're playing in a box. Here are some helpful hints to help you avoid this problem.

• First, start off with playing short bursts of music that last for roughly 10 seconds. These short "Bursts" should sound like a solo. Vary the tempo and the pause time in between these short rests.
• Secondly, try key changes. Move into a new key and incorporate the techniques that you are already familiar with. Use dynamics. Going from something soft to something hard really has a great effect and will train your mind to think outside of the box.
• I also suggest that you learn how to play 16th notes and 32nd notes in rapid succession so you will be as equally equipped to play the fast notes as you are the slow notes.
• Focus in on your right hand and insure that you give it a good work out everyday by using alternative picking and rapid picking techniques.

I urge you to focus in on that last tip. Stop looking at your left and right hand as two separate entities. Rather, look at them as one. You may notice that when you strum hard with your right hand, your left hand becomes tense even though it's just holding a simple chord.

A problem like that can lead to serious health problems in the future such as carpal tunnel syndrome. To avoid that, practice playing with your left hand relaxed while your right hand strums. This will also increase speed and help you to add texture to your blues solos.

Written by Elmore Music

If you want to get serious about playing blues guitar then we would recommend the FREE blues guitar lessons offered by Elmore Music. They will give you a great foundation for playing the blues.

Jazz Guitar Duo

Jazz chords are, in my opinion, the most beautiful and eloquent chords available to guitarists. They are the true meaning of class. The sound aside, these chords are a great way to build your chops up and form you into a guitarist that knows their fretboard.

You may know scales and understand how to connect them but chords add a new element to this equation. In fact, we will be using scales in our lesson today to build chords. One of the reasons so many guitarists choose to learn jazz guitar, whether they use it or not, is simply due to the fact that you need to learn music theory in order to use them properly.

We won't be diving into the music theory of chords in this newsletter but we will give you some neat ideas on how to make the connection between chords and scales.

As a quick prelude, I want to cover one thing that you might come across when dealing with chords in the future: Roman Numerals. I highly suggest that you check out this site. Print off one of their charts and know all of your Roman Numerals up to 24. You will find when reading and understanding where chords are located on your fretboard, this is an essential thing to know.

The good news is you have some time to get acquainted with them as we won't be including this numbering system in today's newsletter.

Triads.

A chord is technically defined as any three or more notes played simultaneously. A triad is the most basic and simplistic of all chords and it consists of three notes built up in thirds (more on that in a minute.) It is essential to learn and master triads before moving onto larger, more complex chords.

Most of the larger chords are actually built from triads, which makes those chords easier to learn if you already know the basics of chords. Do not underestimate these little bundles of sound! They will add a whole new vocabulary to your chord voicings. In other words, you'll have plenty to practice.

Before you freak out and start wondering, "What is all this theory about?", I have some encouraging words for you: anyone can learn this. Yes, knowing music theory helps but the way we're going to tackle this challenge requires only one prerequisite... know the notes on your fretboard (or at least the low E and A.) It is an asset to any guitarist and you can get caught up by clicking here.

Believe it or not, chords are actually created from scales. This explains all of the build up in the last two months of our articles.

Jazz Legend Joe Pass

That's right, all of that work leads up to this very point in time where I get to tell you that one of the reasons scales are so important is because we create chords from them. Are you excited? You should be because this is going to open up a new door for you.

Let's start off by taking a look at the C Major scale, which is an extremely easy scale to remember. In case you forgot, the order of notes goes like this:

C D E F G A B C

Each scale has a numbering system that indicates each note. This numbering system is just as simple as the scale itself and goes like this:

C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8/1

...Every scale numbering system is the same, it just has different notes. Those numbers are called the degree of the scale. The most important note of any scale, chord, or key is the 1st degree, which is in this case is C.

The first degree is almost always referred to as the "Root" but its technical name is actually the "Tonic." We won't be getting into the technical names of the degrees in this newsletter. This note is always smooshed down on the bottom of any chord or scale.

Now that we have some of the terminology under our belts, we'll take a quick second to look at what we're about to learn. There are four different kinds of triads and each has three different ways to play it. The four different sounding forms of triads are:

1. The Major triad
2. The minor triad
3. The augmented triad
4. The diminished triad.

So your probably wondering how these chords are made and how you can play them. The answer to both questions is simpler than you think.

To build triads, we use the scale degrees. A Major triad is built from the root (C), the third degree (E), and the fifth degree (G). We refer to any Major triad from a Major scale as (R, 3, 5). It's the quick reference for jazz musicians.

When you say those numbers instead of the notes, every member of the band knows exactly what you're talking about, even if their instrument is tuned in a different key(because they'll just apply it the scale that's in their own key.)

From this new chord, we can shift around the notes to get different tones but still have the same chord name. This little trick is known as triad inversions. There are three different inversions for each of the four chords. Why three? Because there are three notes in a triad, allowing for three different combinations.

We already know one inversion and that's the root position (R, 3, 5.) The next inversion is called the first inversion (3, 5. R.) See how it shakes up the order a little bit? The last of the possible combination is called the Second Inversion (5, R, 3.) No matter the order, they are all considered to be a C Major triad.

Now we move onto the other chords that we mentioned. I will save you the stress and technical lingo of how they came about and give you the degrees instead. They are as follows for each chord:

1. The Major triad (R, 3, 5)
2. The minor triad (R, b3, 5)
3. The augmented triad (R, 3, #5)
4. The diminished triad (R, b3, b5)

Note: If you see a "b" or a "#" before any of the degrees, it means that the note is either a flat (b) or sharp(3). For instance, the minor triad consist of the notes C, bE (E flat), and G.

All of those chords follow the same inversion rules. This allows you to manipulate them into the sounds that you like and construct them to fit around the space in which you are playing on the fretboard.

Triad shapes.

Now we can get to the actual application of triads. The beauty of these simple yet effective chords is how easily accessible they are. You only need to remember the shapes of the four different chords and you can move them all around the fretboard with ease.

You can learn the shapes for playing on different strings as well, which can give you up to 288 different chord choices on a 24 fret guitar! Let's start with the shapes found on the low E string:

Diagram One - Triad Shapes

... With triads, you only play the notes that you are fingering. In other words, there are no open strings or it's technically not a true triad anymore.

The shapes that you see above can move around to any note on the low E string or A string and it will form the "root" of the chord you want to hear. Pretty cool stuff eh?

Pictured below are the shapes for any triad with a root on the fourth string:

Diagram Two - Triad Shapes

Last but not least, here are all of the triad shapes with the root on the third string:

Diagram Three - Triad Shapes

Once you learn these basic shapes, you can move into their inversions and start to build your own triads. Due to the large number of notes, you can create some pretty cool triads that form outside of the bounds of what we just covered.

Practice strumming them without hitting other strings and get used to picking out each individual note. Triads are usually used for rhythm/solo combinations in jazz guitar so having the proper technique to be able to both strum triads and pick them is essential.

Jazz Rhythm

Jazz chords can either make you cry or simply want to get up and dance. However, the chord is only as good as the right hand that is strumming it. Having a feel for the music is essential to being able to produce a product that sounds good and fits that genre of music.

When playing jazz rhythm, guitarists usually use a very fast tempo in conjunction with accented beats. Translated, they play fast music and really hit the strings at certain times. Mind you, this isn't used for every kind of rhythm played in jazz, just one subtype.

We could write a book on the various kinds of rhythms a jazz guitarist can use for different moods and still not cover everything!

For our purposes today, we're going to look through the basics of building a solid jazz rhythm.

First, you need a pattern to work from. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want. Practice it slowly so you don't miss any strums and work your way up to a reasonably fast tempo.

When you listen to fast jazz, there are a lot of chord changes that take place in a short amount of time. If you're not used to switching chords with that kind of intensity, I recommend that you run through your major chords until you can manage a switch time of 1-2 seconds.

That won't happen over night but is easily attainable if you work towards it and get comfortable with the chords. In the past, I have heard stories of guitarists who practice in the dark. They say this allows them to know their chords so well that they can focus on the sound that they want to produce. It might just be the trick to get you more comfortable with your instrument.

When strumming, don't be afraid to mix it up by accenting different beats. This can be done by hitting the strings slightly harder on the beats. You can do this on an upstrum or a downstrum... it doesn't really matter.

When you have fingers that aren't in use, you can use them to mute strings, or use them to add to the beat. They can actually serve as a great percussive tool to add to your arsenal of effects.

Picking out the notes is also very useful when playing jazz guitar. Don't be afraid to slide around your fingers and make sudden stops, so long as it fits with the music.

Another neat little trick is to lightly lift your fingers off the fretboard every so often just as you hit the strings. It makes the music sound more percussive and put together. Here is an example of what a fast jazz rhythm can sound like:

...All I'm doing is simply holding down the first three (sometimes four) strings with my first finger and letting the rhythm do the rest of the work. Every now and then I'll place my third finger three frets up and do a hammer on or pull off for effect. You can do this too!

Perhaps it won't sound like the above example at first but as always, with time and practice you too will sound as good as any musician out there.

Putting it into practice

Now that we have the basics covered, it wouldn't be complete without some more classic jazz chords for you to play and enjoy.

Here are some of the nice classic sounds and an example of them in action. Have fun!

Diagram Four - Jazz Chord Progression in B Flat

Note: Do not play your low or high E strings for any of the above chords.

Written by Elmore Music

Unfortunately there are relatively few dedicated jazz guitar courses available, however Chris Standring’s “Play What You Hear” home study jazz guitar course is well worth checking out and Elmore Music have also released a very reasonably priced jazz guitar course.

How To Play Jazz Guitar - Part One

Fear is a common trait amongst guitarists. You may be sitting at your computer right now thinking, "He's insane, what could there possibly be for me to be afraid of besides the odd poke from my guitar string?" The fear I'm speaking of has nothing to do with a physical fear, rather, the fear of trying something that you know you're not good at.

The perfect example of a genre that evokes the most heart retching fear out of many guitarists is the thought of playing jazz guitar. There are so many different chords that have names many of us can't even pronounce, coupled with flawless technique, lightning fast speed, sense and feel of emotion and knowing the theory behind it all. Who wouldn't be a little freaked out?

It's one of the few areas of music that encompasses so many individual disciplines. Now the question remains, "Why on earth would I want to learn something like this?" The beautiful sounds set aside for a moment, the answer is quite simple: To build your skills.

If you stop and think about this situation for a second, you'll realize that it really doesn't hurt as much as you think it does. Practicing a chord like Em7-5 or A9+11 really isn't as bad as you may perceive it to be. In fact, it's really just a weird name and that's all that separates it from a more popular chord like E minor or A minor.

I won't lie, if you want to get serious about your guitar and learn these skills you will get frustrated and it won't be easy. The good news is I guarantee that you will improve with practice and most importantly, no one can hear you if you practice quietly in your bedroom!

Every professional musician I have seen or heard knows this material, whether they use it or not. The techniques spill over from other genres that we have covered and the things you will learn from jazz are easily applicable to all kinds of styles.

Before we really start to lay out the foundation, I want to make two more points. First and foremost, don't expect to sound great right away. You may progress faster than most or slower. Either way, you have the potential for greatness if you choose to practice it and learn it.

Secondly, I can't describe how large the genre of jazz guitar is. We could spend two years with one lesson after the other teaching you the things you need to know but unfortunately we don't have the time for that at the moment.

Take this lesson as an index to any household manual. We'll give you the getting started tips and list off the things that you should consider learning. This will hopefully build the interest and get the neurons firing.

A classic jazz guitar

Without further a due, let's move onto the basics of jazz.

Making the bridge from what you don't know to what you know.

The best way to learn jazz guitar is to simply break it down into baby steps. You have already seen quite a bit of the material we're about to talk about, it was just in a different form. First let's recap on the top three areas that make a jazz player rock.

1. They know their chords.
2. They know their scales.
3. They have impeccable rhythm.

...So far we're on the right track. We've covered chords and how to learn new ones, we know the basics of scales and we have done some rhythm. No, we're not experts in these categories but it's what you need for the foundation.

What we're going to do now is expand on each of those categories. In todays lesson, we will take a more in depth approach to scales.

Jazz Scales

So you think you know your scales? This will take you to a completely new level, I guarantee it. The number of scales that can be used in Jazz guitar are astonishing. However, the same can be said for various other genres of music as well.

Looking at what we already have available to us, there are plenty of options we can utilize that will allow you to branch off of familiar scales that you already know.

Before your ego gets too bloated, there is more memorization ahead (after all that comes with music.) One thing many beginners, and even intermediate guitarists fail to realize is that the keys that Jazz guitarists play aren't unusual from the keys that we play on a regular basis.

Jazz Legend Django Reinhardt

What's the difference? They utilize their fretboard to the extent that they can play any note that is within that key anywhere on their fretboard. In essence, they "own" the notes.

They accomplish this task by using scale "Positions." Every scale has five common positions that are numbered from one to five. Look at them as fingering patterns (which can be categorized under the same number as the position.)

You can play these fingering patterns all over your guitar neck, therefore allowing you to hit every note on your fretboard that is in that particular key.

Every scale type has its own set of five different positions that can be shifted to cover every note. A great example of this would be an A Ionian scale (known to many as the major scale) which has five different positions in different locations on the neck. You can shift this position up two frets and locate every position available for the B Major scale.

Now here's the catch, you cannot use that same fingering pattern for anything other than Ionian type scales. If you were to play a mixolydian scale, you would need to learn the five new fingering patterns to play the scale in its five positions on the fretboard.

The most common position/pattern, and the one that you have seen most frequently on this lesson is the first position. Here is an example of what a first position scale will look like:

A Major Ionian Scale

...In this case, the key is A Major (Ionian.) Take note of the fingerings. You will use that finger to recreate another scale in the Ionian mode that will be in the first position. To do that, let's first visit all of the various five positions, where they are located, the patterns, and the fingerings.

F Major (Ionian) scale Positions

For our purposes today, we will take the F Major (Ionian) scale and locate all of its positions and fingerings. Let's examine all five positions of the F Major scale:

First Position:

F major Ionian First Position

Second Position:

F Ionian Scale Second Position

Third Position:

F Ionian Scale Third Position

Fourth Position:

F Ionian Scale Fourth Position

Fifth Position:

Ionian Scale Fifth Position

...Notice how every position and every fingering pattern is different? This may seem like a lot right now, but you have really won 1/7 of the battle.

If you have taken the time to begin to memorize your notes as we have talked about in previous lessons, you should know your low E string inside and out. Every one of the above positions are linked to knowing these notes and frets.

Let's say I was playing my F Major (Ionian) scale in its third position. However, we want to change keys and play the E Major (Ionian) scale in its third position. All we do is simply move down (or up depending on what key you want) from the key we are currently on.

Since we are on the fifth fret, we go down two spaces and land on our E Major scale which is on the third fret. We can keep the same fingering and pattern, just move it all down two frets. Then you have your E Major scale in its third position.

Jazz Guitarist Jimmy Bruno

Use the above examples as reference points to figure out the other scales. For instance, we know that if we want to play our F Major scale in the second position, it starts on the third fret of our low E string. Figuring out the same scale position for a different key is as simple as counting up or down the fretboard by twos.

The reason why you count by twos is because every fret is equal to a semitone and there are two semitones between each whole tone (Ex: A to B is one whole tone.)

Now you have 35 new scales to practice just by learning the five positions and applying them to every Ionian scale. Pretty cool stuff eh?

In the next part of this how to play jazz guitar series we'll discuss modes and how to put it all into practise.

Written by Elmore Music

Unfortunately there are relatively few dedicated jazz guitar courses available however Chris Standring’s “Play What You Hear” home study jazz guitar course is well worth checking out and Elmore Music have released a very reasonably priced jazz guitar course.

Read 'How To Play Jazz Guitar - Part Two'