The pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales in music, showing up in rock, blues, jazz, pop, and more. The word “pentatonic” comes from “penta,” meaning five—because each pentatonic scale contains just five notes. Learning pentatonic scales is essential for creating melodic, expressive solos and improvising smoothly over chord progressions. In this … Read more
The difference between a “correct” chord and a “beautiful” chord is often just one note. If your progressions sound fine but not rich, 7th chords are the fastest upgrade. They show up everywhere, blues, jazz, folk, R&B, pop. And once you know a few core shapes, you can instantly make basic progressions sound more musical. … Read more
The blues is one of the music styles that many guitarists love because it’s a simple yet fun chord progression that allows for improvisation and an exchange of musical ideas amongst musicians. A standard blues is also commonly referred to as a 12 bar blues, meaning it has 12 measures to make up the entire … Read more
Do you want to make progress on your guitar skills but keep putting it off because you don’t know where to start or simply feel overwhelmed? We all have things we want to get better at but let’s face it, we simply have a limited time to invest each day. In this post, we are … Read more
In the process of learning to play your instrument, do you often experience frustration learning scales, chords, or reading sheet music but feel like you’re not progressing as much as you expected? Coming from my experience, I’d like to give you some thoughts on how this one thing can change the way you approach learning … Read more
Have you ever wondered how certain people seem to be able to play a song after only listening to it for a short while? This is when someone has learned how to play music by ear, meaning that they can learn the chords or melody to a song without having any sheet music. The truth … Read more
Have you ever come across slash chords when learning the chords of a song but weren’t sure what they meant? These symbols are quite simpler to understand than you might think. In this lesson, we cover what slash chords are, how and why they’re used on guitar, and also give you musical examples that you … Read more
Maybe you’re ready to get started with music lessons and are wondering whether you should take online or in person lessons. As a music teacher for several years, I’ve taught using both methods and can both be effective. In this post, we’ll look at the advantages and disadvantages between both of these to help you … Read more
Have you tried learning your favorite songs but seem to get stuck or not sure how to even approach the process to be able to play them? In this post, we’ll cover 6 tips to develop ear training so that you can begin to play what you’re hearing. This is a very useful skill that … Read more
Do you ever feel like you should be better at playing guitar than where you’re currently at? Whether you’ve been playing your instrument for a couple of months or several years, it’s normal to experience this frustration in the learning process. This post covers 6 tips to improve your guitar playing and help you make … Read more