Hello friends,
I want to apologize for my silence this week. Natalia and I are celebrating our paper anniversary in Paris🇫🇷 and are quickly falling in love with the city. I will be shooting a few mini lessons during our stay, so keep checking YouTube.com/Swiftlessons for updates! Thanks so much for your support and patience, I look forward to unfolding more secrets of the guitar in the next few days. Be well and enjoy your practice!
2016-10-07 07:35:41 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial! In today's lesson I'll be breaking down how to play Oasis's 1995 classic "Wonderwall." I'll take you through some useful "busker" style chord shapes, and the tunes signature rhythm. Let's get started!
Featured Premium Lesson:
"Sweet Home Chicago" - Blues Crash Course - Lesson #5...
2016-09-29 23:29:55 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends and welcome to another Swiftlessons Lick of the Week!
In this tutorial I’ll break down two simple, yet professional sounding blues licks that demonstrate the “call and response”technique. This is often described as a musical conversation, usually between two instruments, where musician A performs a lick, which is then completed by musician B. Very often these two licks might be similar in structure, but the most important element in call and response is that the second ...
2016-09-27 19:18:44 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
Before I getting to my lick of the week today, I wanted to fulfill another request by completing a chord sheet to John Lennon's 1971 classic "Imagine." For this tune, I recommend that you practice the main riff until it's totally committed to muscle memory, as this will allow you to sing the melody with better accuracy. Check back later for my Lick of the Week, a beginner friendly blues lick that sounds super professional!
2016-09-26 14:58:26 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
and welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial. In celebration of Leonard Cohen's 82nd birthday, I'm breaking down the chords, strumming patterns and lead lines to his 1988 classic "I'm Your Man." This arrangement is designed to jump-start the progress of beginner-intermediate players, as it requires the employment of some of the most essential guitar techniques including bar chords, single note picking, the use of scales, and a variety of strumming patterns. Let's ge...
2016-09-22 17:16:30 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
Tonight I'm hard at work, preparing new chord sheets and also putting the finishing touches on my new song tutorial, which should be complete by tomorrow afternoon. I'm eager to complete your request for chord sheets and tabs for my older lessons, and at the top of that list was "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead. Use the video above to study the incredible rhythm guitar work, and click below to access my new chord sheet and tab. Enjoy!
2016-09-22 03:34:32 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
and welcome to another Swiftlessons Lick of the Week! In this tutorial I'll break down one of my go-to licks within the open position of the E minor pentatonic scale. Use the attached “Anatomy of the Open Em Pentatonic Scale” diagram to memorize the numeric intervals associated with each note in the scale. Once we’ve familiarized ourselves with the intervals within this scale position, I’ll show you how to adjust our lick for each of the common chords in a standard blue...
2016-09-20 17:04:02 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
and welcome to another Swiftlessons Lick of the Week! In this tutorial I'll break down one of my favorite Hendrix style repetition licks that you can use to fill in space, and build the tension within your solos.
My lead guitar philosophy has always been quality over quantity, however speed is a powerful tool when used sparingly. Repetition licks like those featured in my demonstration are an easy way to grab your listeners attention, and provide you with a window of ...
2016-09-14 12:34:56 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
I'm getting an early start this morning, and tabbing out some of the tunes in the Swiftlessons archive. A tablature and chord sheet for my lesson on Cat Stevens' "Wild World" has been a regular request, so I knocked that one out first. If there is a lesson that you would like me to tab next, please let me know via the comments section or second a request by another patron by clicking the heart icon. Enjoy!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
and welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial. In this lesson I'll be
breaking down a fantastic new song by the up and coming country duo
Brothers Osborne. The tune is entitled "21 Summer," and it's off there
hit record Pawn Shop 9, which dropped in January of 2016. I'll take you
through the intro riff, the chord progressions for each section, and
also guitarist John Osborne's licks in the instrumental section. Let's
get started!
Links:
2016-09-12 19:10:19 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
Welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial! In today's lesson I'll be showing you how to play the Mamas and Papas 1965 classic California Dreamin'. I'll begin by demonstrating this easy guitar song in it's entirety, before breaking down the intro, verses, and instrumental sections. Let's get started!
Click Here to Request a Song
2016-09-07 19:40:14 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
For this weeks By Request Song Tutorial, I'm breaking down my approach to performing a solo, acoustic version of Bruce Springsteen's 1985 classic "I'm on Fire." I'll take you through the instrumental, verse, and bridge sections while demonstrating a useful finger picking pattern that you can use throughout. Let's get started!
2016-08-31 21:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends
Welcome to another Swiftlessons Lick of the Week. In today’s tutorial we will focus on adding a classic Robben Ford Lick to our repertoire. Below you will find the source scales, lick featured in our video, and two bonus licks from Eric Clapton and Luther Allison. Let’s get started!
Click For Tabs PDF
(Extended Cut of this tutorial, featur...
2016-08-29 17:41:52 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
and welcome to another Swiftlessons Weekend Mini-Lesson! In today’s tutorial, I’ll be showing you one of my favorite variations to the common “walk-up blues turnaround,” which adds harmonies to each ascending bass note. This technique serves as a fantastic way to wrap up a 12 bar blues, especially in more jazzy, or acoustic settings. We'll get started reviewing our 12 bar progression in A, and the basic version of this turnaround, before learning this more advance...
2016-08-27 17:10:07 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
and welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial! I've been on a 90's music kick lately, and when the request for Mazzy Star's 1994 classic "Fade Into You" arrived, I couldn't resist. This is a fantastic song for beginners who are just getting started with bar chords or slide guitar. In this tutorial I'll take you through the four chords used throughout the entire tune, the rhythm in 3/4 ...
2016-08-25 12:38:29 +0000 UTC
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A smooth r&b, soul, and Motown style guitar backing track for practicing our lick of the week. This jam track features a classic 1.2 chord progression in the key of D, a progression commonly used by greats Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and Al Green. Utilize your major scale, or simplify your soloing mindset with the major pentatonic. Need some inspiration? Click through the link below to access ...
2016-08-23 03:56:05 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends and welcome to another Swiftlessons Lick of the Week, powered by Patreon. In this tutorial I'll break down one of my favorite licks for jamming over an R&B “1, 2 progression.” This phrase calls back to the music of Al Green, Smokey Robinson, and Marvin Gaye. There are many great guitarist who have helped to develop this sound, but for this lesson, I’ve decided to blend the playing of Marv Tarplin of The Miracles with a bit of Hendrix flare. Let’s get started!
2016-08-22 21:36:44 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
Thank you so much for your patience this week! I've been working toward producing one of my most ambitious guitar lessons to date; a complete breakdown of Chuck Berry's 1958 classic "Johnny B. Good." It took several hours of listening in slo-mo and practicing to get these licks as true as possible, and I think I've gotten pretty close. We'll begin this session by learning the rhythm guitar elements and the theory behind this tune. Once we have learned to shuffle like Chuck, we'...
2016-08-18 18:38:12 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
As a follow up to my recent "How to Sing and Play Guitar at the Same Time" video, I'll break down my top 10 tips for becoming a better vocalist! This tutorial is preparation for more in-depth technique videos that I will be producing in the coming weeks. The main objective for you, the viewers, is to develop the mindset ...
2016-08-16 16:18:30 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
I've received a request for my tab and chord sheet for Doc Watson's rendition of "Summertime." Because I recommend that every aspiring soloist learn Merle Watson's classic licks, I decided to share these resources with the group. Enjoy!
Links
Hello friends,
It's Time for Our Lick of the Week!
In this tutorial I'll break down one of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s signature guitar licks. We’ll begin by learning how to perform our blues scale in every key, before breaking this impressive phrase up into three sections for easy learning. I always recommend learning your favorite licks in different keys, octaves and positions, so we will be practicing this lick up and down the fretboard. Let’s get starte...
2016-08-08 19:28:02 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
Thank you so much for your continued support this month! Please enjoy an early release of my latest beginner friendly lesson. In this tutorial, I'll demonstrates how different types of E and A chords can be converted into barred shapes. You'll discover how to play the major, minor, dominant 7, and minor 7 barred shapes rooted on the E and A strings. Let's get started.
Click Here for...
2016-08-04 19:32:32 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
Welcome to another By Request song tutorial. In this lesson I'll show you how to play Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" in it's entirety. We'll learn the tunes iconic intro, both guitar solos and the chords and strumming patterns for the verse and chorus. This song mixes beginner and advanced level techniques, providing valuable learning opportunities for all players regardless of experience. Let's get started!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
Today I'm filming a lesson on Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." The attached tablature breaks down my approach to playing the intro riffs, solos, verse and chorus. Some of what you see combines techniques taken from the original recording, and Gilmour's famous 1994 Pulse concert. Check back later for a full video tutorial. Thanks so much for your support this month, this is an ambitious lesson and it wouldn't be possible without your patronage!
2016-08-02 13:18:24 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
and welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial. In this lesson I'll break down how to play Bob Dylan's 1963 classic "Blowin' in the Wind." This beginner friendly guitar song uses just three chords. I'll break down the chord progressions for the verse and chorus sections, before teaching some of Bob's signature folk guitar rhythms and tricks. Let's get started!
Click to D...
2016-07-28 18:56:52 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
For our lick of the week, I've decided to bring you a brief explanation on basic finger tapping technique. In this tutorial we will learn how these licks are create by learning scales on a singer string. Once we've achieved the basic mindset, we'll learn a very common lick that is perfect for anyone new to this technique. Let's get started!
Click for tabs
2016-07-26 20:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
I'm enjoying a day of shooting and TAB writing, and thanks to popular request, I decided to knock out out a PDF for my lesson on "At Last" by Etta James. In this tutorial, I broke down how to perform a guitar version of the intro section, the chord progressions, and my preferred strumming techniques. Enjoy!
Click Here for Tabs/Chords
2016-07-26 15:37:45 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
and thanks so much for your patience this week as I worked to complete my new tutorial on George Harrison's classic 1970 hit "My Sweet Lord." In this tutorial I'll take you through the chord changes and rhythm technique for the intro, chorus, verse, and bridge sections, before breaking down George's iconic slide lines.
Featured Product of the Week:
The new AirCell Guitar Strap by my good friends at KLIQ Music Gear. This is by far the most co...
2016-07-24 00:14:59 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
My new lesson on George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord is almost complete. In that video I will be introducing a new product from my friends at KLIQ Music Accessories, The Aircell Guitar Strap. As many of you know, I play with a very heavy 1993 Gibson Les Paul Studio. When using this new strap, my shoulder feels much more comfortable and my endurance is way up. It's easily the most comfortable guitar strap that I've ever used. I was able to negotiate a $10 discount with the company, ...
2016-07-22 23:07:23 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends,
I realize I'm a bit behind schedule for this weeks song tutorial, but I really want to make it a good one! I've just completed the chord sheet that will go along with my upcoming tutorial on George Harrison's 1970 classic "My Sweet Lord." Check back within the next day or so for a full video lesson on both the rhythm and lead guitar parts. In the meantime, see what you can get on your own using the resource below. Be well. -Rob
2016-07-21 17:48:19 +0000 UTC
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