Hello friends,
Today I'm breaking down the fingerstyle intro to Passenger's 2012 hit "Let Her Go." This tune features some beautiful fingerstyle techniques that are similar to what we have learned in our Simon and Garfunkle tutorials. For ease of learning I have broken this intro up into 4 sections. Be sure to follow along using the attached tablature. Check back later in the week for a lesson on the entire song. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
And welcome to another lick of the week tutorial! In today's lesson I'll be teaching you a professional open string blues lick in the key of E. We'll begin with a review of the blues scale in the open position before breaking this lick into two sections for easier learning. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
And welcome to another lick of the week tutorial. In today's lesson I'll be breaking down a beautiful gypsy jazz style lick taken from the Midnight in Paris theme song "Bistro Fada" by Stephane Wrembel. In the interest of expanding your repertoire of licks, and your understanding of guitar leads are composed, I highly recommend that you regularly take ideas from other players, while considering the chords these phrases are being played over, and the scales and arpeggios being ut...
2017-09-20 22:24:59 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Many of you have requested that I add some more current or contemporary music to this page. While I do tend to favor the classics, I have found a number of newer songs that I'm anxious to break down for you.
In preparation for my upcoming lesson on Passenger's 2012 hit "Let Her Go," I've created a full tab, chord sheet and strumming guide. This tune features a beautiful finger-picking intro which I think many of you will enjoy learning. Let's see what you can get dow...
2017-09-19 16:33:51 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'll be breaking down the rhythm and lead guitar parts for Tom Petty's 1989 classic "I Won't Back Down." This tune was one of Petty's first singles as a solo artist, however it still featured some amazing slide guitar lines performed by Heartbreaker's guitarist Mike Campbell. I'll take you through the chord changes and strumming options for the verse and chorus sections, and break down the slide parts for...
2017-09-15 18:04:06 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another lick of the week tutorial. In today's lesson I'll be breaking down a jazz-blues guitar lick that is designed to build tension for your listeners. By focusing on the flat 3rd and 5th notes over a major key, we will be playing "outside" of the usual major and pentatonic scales. This type of playing is very affective for grabbing the attention of your audience, but should be used conservatively. Let's get started!
Associated Resources:<...
2017-09-13 17:50:34 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
In preparation for my upcoming lick of the week lessons, I'm bringing you a grooving backing track in the key of E major. This blues shuffling jam track makes use of the 12 bar blues progression and features a live performance on bass and guitar. Let's get started!
Associated Lesson:
Hello friends,
It's great be back in my studio here in Philadelphia, as I'm eager to share with you my new lesson plans over the coming days. Kicking off our weekend practice is a follow up to my previous video breaking down a blues-rock turnaround in the key of E. In this tutorial I'll be showing you how to perform that same technique in the key of A major. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends, and welcome to another lead guitar tutorial. Today I'm coming to you from Warsaw, Poland, and I'll be showing you how to perform a useful blues-rock turnaround in the key of E major. This technique is built from the E Blues scale, and is the perfect way to wrap up a 12 bar blues. We’ll begin by reviewing our E blues progression, then jump into learning this riffy turnaround. Let’s get started!
P.S I'm back to the states tomorrow, so expect a bunch of new lessons to rol...
2017-09-06 20:01:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Today's lesson is coming to you all the way from Wrocław, in western Poland. Over the last week my wife Natalia and I have been visiting with family, and seeing some of the countries historical sites. I've made use of some free time to break down The Beatles' 1970 classic "Two of Us." I'll take you through the tunes iconic intro melody, and the chord progressions and strumming techniques fo...
2017-08-30 18:48:14 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
I'm checking in from my hotel room in Poznan, Poland. My wife Natalia and I are enjoying a lot of family time, and have been filming for our upcoming YouTube travel channel, more on that later. I'm also working on lesson plans, including a complete tutorial on The Beatles classic "Two of Us." I'd like for you all to familiarize yourselves with this tune, and jam along using my new chord sheet and tab study guide. I'll be back very soon with some more updates, be well and enjoy y...
2017-08-28 14:51:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Today we're digging back into the Swiftlessons archive to study one of the most interesting songs I've ever taught, Pearl Jam's "Thin Air." In this tune, songwriter and guitarist Stone Gossard combines eastern and western music to create a rich, and somewhat dissonant musical statement. One of the most intriguing details of this tune is that it completely avoids the use of minor chords, making it a fantastic tune for anyone working toward mastering the essential major chord shap...
2017-08-25 13:59:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
I hope you're enjoying your practice, making progress and that you are ready to add another classic tune to your repertoire! In today's lesson, I've broken down Bill Withers 1971 classic "Ain't No Sunshine."
We'll begin by learning a beginner friendly version of the song, using basic open position chord shapes. From there, I'll introduce the actual guitar part Bill performed on the original track.
This is a fantastic song for beginners to learn, as it include m...
2017-08-21 16:59:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
I hope y'all are enjoying your summer and getting plenty practice in on your guitars. As mentioned, Natalia and I are taking a trip to visit her family in Poland, I will be packing my little Seagull guitar, and plan to shoot some micro-lessons as I go. If there are any topics you would like for me to cover, hit me up in the comments section below.
Monday you will find the release of a new lesson on Bill Withers' 1971 classic "Ain't No Sunshine." This is a fantastic s...
2017-08-19 20:03:08 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm back with session 2-2 breaking down the 2nd guitar solo from Pink Floyd's 1979 classic "Comfortably Numb." This iconic solo is chalk full of soaring blues licks that are played across various positions of our Bm pentatonic scale, and a variety of rhythmic and percussive techniques that are typical of David Gilmour's legendary style. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial! Today I'm sharing the 2nd installment of my Pink Floyd "Comfortably Numb" lessons series, and session #1-2 of videos dedicated to David Gilmour's second guitar solo.
Remember to practice each phrase individually, focusing on the quality of your repetitions. Slow, patient practice is the key to unlocking this iconic solo. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
And welcome to another lead guitar tutorial. In today's session, I'll be showing you a useful example of how you can implement a "super-bend" into your pentatonic licks. Let's get started!
Section #1 - The Am Pentatonic Scale
Our lick of the week is drawn primarily from the "E shape position" of our Am pentatonic scale; however, our super-bend is situated in the D position, commonly referred to as the upper-extension. Let's memorize both ways of play...
2017-08-15 03:50:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm getting back to creating resources for videos in the Swiftlessons archive. Attached you will find my new chord sheet for Phil Phillip's 1959 classic "Sea of Love" which was famously covered by Robert Plant and the Honeydrippers. I'm anxious to add new ukulele lessons to body of work, so please let me know if you have any request. Enjoy! -Rob
Links:
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down how to play the acoustic version of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire." I'll take you through the chord progressions, and funky riffs for the verse and bridge sections, while sharing some advice on how to sing and play guitar at the same time. This lesson is not yet available to the public, so let me know if you catch any glitches in the vid, or mistakes on my part, thanks. Let's get started!
2017-08-10 04:50:23 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Today has been a long day in the studio. I spent several hours tabbing out and rehearsing the 2nd solo to Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," and plan to shoot a lesson breaking that down within the week. The remainder of my day went toward resting my hands, and creating a new chord sheet and tab for my beginner friendly lesson on The Beatles "Let it Be." This is a cleaner, easier to follow resource for you to jam along with. Enjoy! -Rob
P.S. Natalia and I will be visiting he...
2017-08-03 22:23:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'll be breaking down my interpretation of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. I'll begin by showing you a stylish double stop intro, then I'll breakdown the chord progressions and a variety of walking transition lines. Let's get started!
Links:
Hello friends,
Today I'm digging into the Swiftlessons video archive and adding resources for my ukulele lessons. Getting started I've created a chord sheet and intro tablature for my tutorial on Elvis Presley's 1956 classic "Love Me Tender." My arrangement for this tune features many of the most important chord shapes, and rhythm techniques for the uke, if you can master this, thousands of other well-known tunes will come easy.
We'll get started learning my finger style interpreta...
2017-07-31 14:43:20 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
and thank you so much for your continued support of Swiftlessons! In today's session I'm joined by my good friend, actor and musician Skip James Robinson. Together we will perform and break down how to play Johnny Cash's 1956 classic "Folsom Prison Blues." We'll cover the rhythm section, lead guitar parts and solos. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons: (Patron Only)
Hello friends,
And welcome to another lead guitar tutorial. In today's session, I'll be showing you the five "CAGED" positions of the A minor & major chords, and minor pentatonic scale. As covered in previous lessons, every scale can be played in five different positions, each surround one of five available voicings of a given chord. Once the chord positions and scale pattern are memorized, we'll tackle a hot lick that uses the pattern. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:<...
2017-07-24 19:29:12 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm going to confront a hard truth... The majority of guitar players in the world are learning songs, scales, licks and other techniques without a crucial prerequisite; a firm knowledge of the notes on the fretboard.
I personally put off learning this for many years, and while I could impress audiences with my playing, I always knew in the back of my mind that there was something very important missing from my skill-set.
So today I'm going to ask th...
2017-07-21 18:31:30 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another beginner friendly guitar tutorial. Today I'll be teaching you how to play my acoustic interpretation of the Temptations 1971 classic "Just My Imagination." I'll take you through the iconic intro, and show you how each of the verse and chorus sections can be performed with just two chords, and variety of strumming options. Let's get started!
Recommended Lessons:
The Temptations "My Girl"
2017-07-19 00:14:44 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another beginner friendly music theory tutorial. In today's lesson I'll be demonstrating how intervals, the space between two notes, are measured using the major scale. Discussing melodies, harmonies and chord changes by interval, instead of note names, allows us to describe techniques in the same manner across all twelve keys. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
and welcome to Routine #8 of my solo blues guitar lessons series. In this tutorial we'll learn some of my favorite blues licks and tricks as we mix lead and rhythm parts into one performance. This routine includes a classic turnaround, Travis style picking, pentatonic licks and double stops. Let's get started!
Lessons in this
2017-07-13 06:48:12 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm trying to pick up some momentum and get some new resources out to you. Getting started I've created a new chord sheet and tablature for my 2015 lesson on Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds." In this tutorial, I'll take you through a beginner and advanced way of performing the tunes intro riff, it's three basic chords and an acoustic "ska-reggae" strumming style.
For a traditional reggae ...
2017-07-10 16:48:05 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another lead guitar tutorial. In today's session I'll be showing you three leads that can be used to play over a 5.4.1 turnaround progression in the key of Dmaj. We'll begin by learning the essential scales and chord positions that were considered when creating these licks.
Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
