Hello friends,
and welcome to routine #10 of my solo blues guitar series. In today's session I'll be showing you over a dozen classic blues guitar licks and tricks over a 12 bar blues in the key of Emaj. Learn advanced turnarounds, pentatonic phrases, and useful fingerstyle techniques. Let's get started!
Lessons in this Series: Note: Each routine gets progressivel...
2018-03-14 19:29:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial. In today's session I'm revisiting The Beatles 1965 classic "In My Life." This tutorial breaks down how to play the tunes iconic intro, and the chord progressions and strumming patterns for the verse's A and B sections. This simple but recognizable song is perfect for players looking to improve their rhythm technique by mixing percussive elements into common strumming patterns. Let's get started!
Note: I've been receiv...
2018-03-08 23:05:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm working on a number of projects including a revamped lesson on The Beatles "In My Life." As I complete my filming and editing, you can familiarize yourself with this classic tune and study my PDF study guide. I'll be back later this evening with a complete video tutorial breaking down the main riff, chord progressions and strumming options. Let's get started!
Associated *Patron Only* Post:
Hello friends,
And welcome to another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down a fairly easy guitar song in Nirvana's 1993 unplugged version of "About a Girl." I'll take you through the simple chord changes and strumming patterns for the verse and chorus sections, before teaching you how to play Kurt's guitar solo. Let's get started!
Suggested Post:
Hello friends,
And welcome to another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'll be brekaing down my approach to playing "Remember Me" by Kristen Anderson Lopez & Robert Lopez, from the sound track of Disney's animated film "Coco." I'll take you through the fingerstyle techniques, breaking the tune down into five easy to learn sections. Let's get started!
Recommended Lessons:
Hello friends,
and welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial! In today's session I'll be breaking down how to play Sam Cooke's 1962 classic "Bring It on Home to Me." I'll take you through a guitar version of the intro section, before revealing the chord progressions and strumming technique for the verses. Let's get started!
Associated Post: *Patron Only*
Hello friends,
and thank you so much for your continued support! In recent weeks I've talked a lot about songwriting, and how using music as a creative outlet has driven my progress more than anything else. In today's session I'm going to break-down my top 5 tips for beginner lyricist. We'll discuss common themes, finding inspiration, rhyming schemes, and story development. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
Welcome to another songwriting tutorial! In today's session we will discuss the process of analyzing your favorite tunes. Our goal will be to establish what key the song is in, the type of progression, and to identify any unique variations. Once we have reduced this song into it's basic components, we will use them as a template to begin writing our own original song.
Let's get started!
There are several ways in which yo...
2018-02-24 15:36:23 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends
And welcome to another song tutorial! In today's session I'm bringing you a revamped video lesson, chord sheet and tab for The Beatles 1965 classic "I've Just Seen a Face." This tune employs a simple 1.6.4.5 chord progression in Gmaj, and embellishes this "stock" chord progression using walking transition riffs. For beginners, this tune can be played using just the basic chord shapes and a simple country strumming pattern. Add in the optional riffs as you become more confident wi...
2018-02-20 19:03:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another Weekly Challenge! In today's session we'll follow up on our study of major keys and begin learning the process of writing our own original songs! Composition is something that guitarist of all levels can enjoy, and is fantastic way to retain information as you apply the techniques and theory concepts that you have studied. Let's get started!
1. Use the Basics - The ability to compose quality music is not dependent on years of study, ...
2018-02-20 01:49:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And thank you for checking out another original tune of mine. This week I've been working to build up my personal repertoire of performance ready tunes, which I believe is one of the most important goals for every aspiring guitarist. This song entitled "Sail the Moon" is one that I wrote over 10 years ago as a gift to my wife Natalia. I hope you enjoy it!
Other original music:
Hello friends,
And welcome to another lick of the week! In today’s session I’ll be demonstrating a simple way to make basic chords sound amazing! In the context of a 1.5.4.2 progression in G, we’ll employ chord variations, hammer-ons, pull-offs and hybrid picking to our D major chord. Let’s get started!
Links:
Hello friends,
Over the last year our numbers have grown immensely, as we are now over 2800 strong! Since I have so many new students, I'd like to know how long each of you have been practicing the guitar? This will help me to shape my content for the coming weeks. Thanks so much!
Choose the option that best fits you:
P.S Anything else you'd like to share? I'd love to know where you're at,...
2018-02-13 20:04:58 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another Weekly Challenge! In today’s session we will expand our ability to solo over major keys by learning three useful positions of our major scale, shown here in the key of C. Maximize your practice time by reciting the note names and scale intervals as you drill each position. Let’s get started!
Links:
Hello friends,
As many of you know, I've been busy creating a new premium music theory course called "Mastering Major Keys." Since I didn't have time to create a song tutorial this week, I decided to put together a new tab and chord sheet for my 2015 lesson on The Everly Brothers 1957 classic "Bye Bye Love." I still have several videos in the Swiftlessons archive that need resources, so expect a few ...
2018-02-10 02:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
This week I'm taking a break from our weekly challenges to bring you a special fingerstyle guitar lesson celebrating the Philadelphia Eagles first ever Super Bowl victory! In this session I'll be showing you how to play my fingerstyle rendition of "Fly, Eagles Fly" by Charles Borrelli and Roger Courtland. Let's get started!
Tools needed:
Hello friends,
and welcome to session #1 of a seven part series breaking down the notes and chords in your natural major keys. In this lesson I'll be showing you how the A major scale can be converted to "chordal form" as we learn common positions of the Amaj, Bm, C#m, Dmaj, Emaj, F#m, and G# diminished chords. Let's get started!
2018-02-02 21:44:11 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
and welcome to Routine #9 of my Blues Self-Accompaniment Series! In our previous sessions we worked toward being able to blend chord shapes, licks, and bass lines to create a solo blues performance for acoustic guitar. In this session, we'll build on what we've learned thus far, while adding more advanced licks, turnarounds and shuffles. Let's get started!
Lesso...
2018-02-01 05:00:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today a quick lesson on how to find one of blues music's most popular soloing positions, BB's box! We'll begin this session with a brief demonstration over a 12 bar blues in Emaj, then I'll show you two simple methods of accessing this power cluster of notes! Once you have the system down, we'll apply it to the key of G major for good measure. Shout out to my friend and student Mike for helping to inspire this tutorial. Enjoy your practice!
Associated Lessons...
2018-01-26 22:20:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Tomorrow I plan to release this new lesson on The Beatles 1966 classic "Here, There and Everywhere." In this session I'll break down the chord progressions for the intro, verse and chorus sections, and also some very useful fingerstyle techniques. This tune is simple in it's construction, but does feature several barred shapes, for those of you still struggling to play those chords, approach this tune as an exercise, and be sure to apply 2018-01-25 01:40:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
welcome to another rhythm guitar tutorial. In today's session we will be expanding your knowledge of blues rhythm options as we learn to employ "approach chords" to a standard 12 bar progression in the key of A.This technique involves modulating a half step above or below the desired chord, creating subtle dissonance or tension throughout the progression. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
Earlier this week my patrons at the Contributor and Premium levels received my Weekly Challenge to begin learning the names of the notes on the fretboard. Folks, this is the #1 thing you can do to quickly improve your guitar playing! Learning the names of the notes on the fretboard will allow you to understand wide range of concepts including the connections between scales and chord harmonies, how lead lines fit over progressions, and how to read musica...
2018-01-19 21:17:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another lead guitar tutorial. In today's session I'm going to be showing you some of my favorite tricks for soloing over a 1.4.5 progression in Cmaj, as heard in the famous Hank Williams tune "Your Cheatin' Heart." I'll break down each lick, and reveal some of the theory that was involved in creating them. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'll be breaking down how to play the rhythm guitar parts to Hank Williams' 1952 classic "Your Cheatin' Heart." We'll begin learning my personal way of performing the intro section, before applying an essential country strumming pattern to the verse and chorus sections. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
and welcome to another Swiftlessons ukulele tutorial. In today's session I'll be showing you how to play my rendition of the Edith Piaf classic "La Vie En Rose." We'll get started learning how to play my instrumental intro, before combining rhythm and lead elements over the verse and chorus sections. Let's get started!
Links:
Hello friends,
I hope you have enjoyed this weeks lessons, and that you're getting plenty of practice in the new year. Today I worked out a ukulele cover of the Edith Piaf classic "La Vie En Rose" which I plan to teach a lesson on in the new year. One of my new years resolutions is to get back to teaching the uke, so if you have any request, let me hear them in the comments section below. Thanks, I hope you enjoy this recording! -Rob
P.S I attached my rough chord sheet, and will add chor...
2018-01-05 22:00:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to part two of my Sublime "Santeria" lessons series. In this session we'll be employing a simple reggae style strumming pattern as I break down the rhythm guitar parts for the intro, verse and chorus sections. For those of you who have made progress playing barre chord shapes, this is an excellent tune to test your skills. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
Welcome to another music theory tutorial. In today’s session we will be discussing the difference between two chords with very similar names, the Cadd9 and the C9 chord. We’ll begin by reviewing how our basic major chord is created using the major scale, before discovering what additional harmonies must be added to create the add9 and 9 chords. Let’s get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
and welcome to another Swiftlessons Guitar Talk Session! In this video, I'll discuss some of my suggestions for New Years resolutions. Let's kick 2018 off right by setting our goals, planning our practice schedules and facilitating some serious progress. Let's get started!
1. Set a practice schedule - with an outline of clearly defined goals. Example: learn a specific tune, the basics of a certain genre, essential music theory concepts. Etc...
2018-01-01 21:45:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to section #1 of my two part lesson breaking down Sublime's 1996 classic "Santeria." In this section we'll be learning how to play Brad's iconic guitar solo. We'll begin by learning a few useful scales before breaking down Brad's melodic licks. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons: