Lessons

In the lesson Navigating Major Scale Positions on Guitar by Using the Root Note, we learned how to use the root note of the major scale as an anchor point to move between scale positions on the guitar. In this lesson, we take a look at the root note patterns of the minor scale positions.

Every guitarist knows it’s tough to play when you’re not warmed up. You pick up the guitar, start plucking away, but your hands are stiff, your timing is off, and you feel like things just don’t want to move.

The CAGED system is a way to describe the layout of the guitar fretboard in a logical way. This cheatsheet gives you the chords, scales, and arpeggios for each of the major CAGED shapes.

One of the challenges we face as guitar players wanting to incorporate leads into our playing is being able to move between scale positions. We learn all of the patterns, but typically rely on one or two boxes for our leads.

The harmonic minor scale. A staple in classical music and a fan favorite of the neoclassical shredders, it’s sinister sound catches the ear.

When starting out on the guitar, or any instrument for that matter, it’s important to build a strong foundation. Seems like a pretty common sense principle, but we all can agree that we’ve had to fight the urge to tackle more advanced concepts and techniques before we were ready for them. So with this lesson I’d like to hit on the essential guitar chords for beginners to learn.

A Pedal point, or pedal note, is a sustained or repeated note. They’re used in rhythm playing as well as leads and you hear them often in rock, metal, and neoclassical music. In this lesson, I’m going to give you 5 examples of pedal point licks that also make great lead guitar exercises.

David Gilmour is known for his melodic guitar solos and epic bends. Having described his intention when playing the guitar as wanting to make the guitar “sing”, he’s taken his bending technique to another level. So, why not learn from the master himself?

Like its major counterpart, the minor pentatonic scale is a highly popular scale due to its versatility and playability. A staple in blues music, this scale brings moodiness and tension that creates that familiar blues feel, particular when played over major/dominant chords.

One of the more challenging obstacles as a beginner guitarist, or if you’re just new to guitar theory, is figuring out how to determine the key of a song. Some songs stick to standard chords within a key, which makes this task much easier. Other songs, however, are not as straight forward.