All written (printed), audio, and video material is included with lessons. No Books Necessary!
Read It.
Over 2,000 pages of original, custom lesson material—which has been revised and upgraded through the course of twenty years and over 35,000 individual lessons.
Hear It.
Custom play-along tracks are included and audio of the lesson (song) is available online via online music streaming sites, such as Spotify or Apple Music.
Watch it.
A video of myself performing the material at a slower tempo is also available on youtube, with an explanation of anything a student had trouble with during the lesson.
Sample guitar lesson written material
Below are examples of some of the concept handouts used in lessons. Feel free to download them in PDF format for your own personal study.
Songs
Working on a concept (such as chords, rhythm, scales, technique, theory, etc.) through real-life examples (songs) is the best way to learn the fundamentals of guitar. Check out a few sample songs used in lessons here, just a handful of the many genres covered.
Rock/Blues Guitar Solos
The main reason to work on scales is improvisation. By exploring the guitar solos of the masters (like Clapton, Hendrix, B.B. King, Slash, etc.) you’ll see how these scales are put to use and move your own technique and ability forward.
Intervals
Intervals are the building blocks of music. An understanding of chords, scales, and harmony in general, are dependent on a thorough knowledge of intervals. Being able to identify them on your instrument, as well as by ear, is key.
Jazz Guitar Solos
One of the best ways to move your improvisation ability forward is to study transcriptions of the great jazz musicians. And not just the guitarists, but great players of any instrument (like Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Pat Martino, and John Coltrane). Useful to analyze particular phrases or tackle solos in their entirety.
The 4 Rules of Barry Harris
The great pianist and educator Barry Harris has left us with a brilliant and musical approach to creating lines that are authentic to jazz, and bebop in particular. Much like a spoken/written language has rules, or syntax, there are ‘rules’ in music that can help us play/ speak in an authentic and meaningful way as well.
Fingerpicking
Fingerpicking is a prominent technique in folk music and a great alternative to strumming. While it can be very intricate, it’s common to continue repeating the same pattern as chords change. Here are four of the most common patterns (you’ll hear players like Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and James Taylor use these all the time).
ii V I Variations.
The ii V I is the most common chord progression in jazz. As a jazz guitarist, the more ways you can voice this progression the more you can contribute as an accompanist. This exercise includes 12 variations, all in the key of G. Play through them and mark your favorites, then start putting them into tunes right away.
Chord Melody.
Common in jazz guitar, chord melodies are a great way to get a birds-eye view of a tune as well as a working rendition right off the bat. This will set you up to later add single-note improvisation, intro/outro, bass lines, substitutions, and rhythmic freedom (check out Joe Pass, Jody Fisher Ted Greene, and Pat Metheny to see what can be possible).
Slash Chords.
Whenever you have a chord whose bass note is a note other than the root, you have a slash chord. A great technique for creating more purposeful and interesting bass movement, changing the low note can alter the sound of any chord in a remarkable way. Here’s an introduction to some of the possibilities.
