Slides give you another way to connect notes in a lead phrase. Instead of picking each note separately, you keep contact with the string and move directly into the next fret. In this lesson, we’ll practice sliding up and down, compare legato and shift slides, then apply the technique inside familiar pentatonic phrases. Skill Builders … Read more
Prelude in C Major, BWV 846 by Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most recognizable pieces from The Well-Tempered Clavier. Built around a steady flow of broken chords, the music creates a calm, continuous sound while the harmony gradually moves underneath. This guitar arrangement is especially helpful for developing even fingerpicking, smooth chord changes, … Read more
Bending gives you a way to change the pitch of a note after you play it. Instead of simply landing on a note and holding it, you can raise the pitch into another note and give the phrase more movement and expression. In this lesson, we’ll work on the mechanics of a bend, learn how … Read more
Hammer-ons and pull-offs give you another way to shape scale notes instead of picking every note with the same attack. These techniques connect notes more smoothly and can add contrast inside riffs, melodies, and improvised phrases. In this lesson, we’ll learn both techniques, clean up the most common problems, then apply them inside the A … Read more
Scale shapes are useful because they give you clear fretboard positions to practice. But if you always stay inside one shape, it can be difficult to move smoothly into another part of the neck while you’re playing. The 3-notes-per-string system gives you another way to organize Major scale notes across the fretboard. Its consistent finger … Read more
Gymnopédie No. 1 is a dreamlike piece originally written for piano and composed by French composer Erik Satie in 1888. It’s one of the most recognized classical melodies in the world, known for its slow, floating quality and beautiful simplicity. This lesson covers the sheet music for a guitar arrangement including tabs. Grab your guitar … Read more
Do you ever feel like your guitar playing is “caged”? Most guitarists spend years locked in the first three frets. You know your open chords (aka open G, C, D, Em) and maybe a few barre chords, but the rest of the neck feels like foreign territory. You have no idea how to navigate it. … Read more
Study in E minor (Estudio en Mi menor) by Francisco Tárrega is an approachable piece that builds fingerstyle control and tone by outlining the melody over steady, repeating arpeggios It encourages you to slow down, refine your right-hand technique, and develop expressive playing without complex theory or flashy runs, making it well suited for intermediate … Read more
Jesus Is the Sweetest Name I Know is a timeless hymn written by Lela B. Long, known for its gentle melody and heartfelt lyrics. This lesson features a fingerstyle jazz guitar arrangement that blends smooth chord voicings based on a simple melody line with tabs to help you follow along. Grab your guitar, and let’s … Read more
Prelude 1, Opus 46 is a beautiful guitar piece written by Emilia Giuliani-Guglielmi, a 19th-century Italian guitarist and composer known for her lyrical and expressive style (and the daughter of renowned guitarist Mauro Giuliani). This post focuses on a finger-style guitar arrangement of the piece, complete with sheet music and tabs, so you can learn … Read more