Hello friends,
I've had quite a busy week thus far, with a lot of projects on the back burner. One of my main priorities has been to complete routine #6 of our Blues Self-Accompaniment Series. This won't be released to the general public for another week, but I thought you all might like to get a head start. I've updated the TABS which you can access by click below this post. Thanks so much for your support, enjoy your practice. -Rob
2016-04-21 13:58:37 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Thanks so much for making April my biggest month to date. Looking back through my previous post, I realize I forgot to include the third installment of my Led Zeppelin "Going to California" fingerpicking series. I've create a PDF version of the tabs to help you all with your study. Enjoy!
Associated Lessons:
Hello friends,
In today's guitar lick of the week lesson, I'll demonstrate a very funky lick in the key of E. This phrase will borrow notes from a variety of scales and positions including the major and minor pentatonics, and also the E mixolydian scale. I suggest getting to know these scale positions first, before learning the lick piece by piece. Let's get started!
2016-04-19 17:09:59 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello guitar enthusiast,
This morning I'm knocking out a little tab and chord sheet making. Attached to this post you will find the tab and chord sheet for my lesson on The Everly Brother's classic "Bye Bye Love." Thanks to our good friend Earl for putting in that request, it was long overdue. Now I'm gunna get started on our lick of the week! Enjoy your practice everyone!
Click to downloa...
2016-04-18 16:45:42 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Welcome to the third installment of my "By Request" video series. Each Tuesday I'll be dropping a new tutorial on a song requested by members of my audience. Request your favorite tune at: http://swiftlessons.com/Request_a_Song.
In this lesson, I'll break down my interpretation of Harry Nilssons 1968 classic "Everybody's Talkin." We will begin this finger-style acoustic guitar lesson by learnin...
2016-04-13 17:17:29 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
I'm very excited to share with you my 300th video tutorial! It's been a great year of growth for the Swiftlessons channel, and I can't thank you enough for your support and guidance.
For our lick of the week, I'm breaking down a less than common position of the B minor pentatonic scale. From there, I'll show you how guitarist Jimmy Page might use super-bends to "melt your face off!" Let's get started!
2016-04-11 20:33:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
In the wake of losing country music legend Merle Haggard, I thought I would teach some techniques that will allow you to get some of that "Bakersfield sound." In today's lesson, I'm going to help you boost your country guitar skills by showing you how to imitate the sound of a pedal steel, perform licks using the major pentatonic scale in E, and navigate across a 1.5.4 country chord progression. We'll talk about how to produce the best country, chicken picking or twang gui...
2016-04-08 20:26:42 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another by request song tutorial. In today's session, I'll break down how to play the Ray Charles 1959 classic "What'd I Say." I'll take you through Ray's intro riffs, a fender roads inspired strumming pattern, and some bluesy licks and turnarounds to get you performance ready. Let's get started!
Suggested Post:
Hello friends,
In today's lick of the week, I'll demonstrate how to use the Em Pentatonic scale to jam over a "go go style" blues progression. This lick will encompass double stops, string bends and a whole lot of syncopation. Don't forget to jam with the backing track at the end of this video. Let's get started!
Download your TABS - Click Here
Learn more about the CAGED system -
2016-04-05 01:42:31 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to routine #5 of my Blues Self-Accompaniment Series. In this session we will be building on the ideas in our previous routines, adding in more complex turnarounds and licks. Let's get started!
Lessons in this Series: Note: Each routine gets progressively more difficult.
Hello friends,
Thanks so much for your support this month of April! I'm very excited to share with you the remaining lessons in my Blues Self-Accompaniment Series. In this lesson I'll break down routine #4, which features more advanced techniques like bluesy licks, turnarounds and chord shapes. This is one of the more detailed lessons in this series, as it will be the foundation for the remaining videos. Let's get started!
2016-04-01 13:08:58 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm launching my new "By Request" video series. Each Tuesday I will post a tutorial and chord sheet covering a song submitted to me at http://swiftlessons.com/Request_a_Song.
To kick things off, I'm taking on Stephanie N's request for Roy Orbison's 1962 classic "Crying." Attached you will find the2016-03-29 17:21:56 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
In today's lick of the week, I'll demonstrate how to use the amazing Roadie Automatic Guitar Tuner to tune your guitar to Open E Tuning. From their, I'll break down a bluesy slide lick derived from your minor pentatonic scale. Let's get started!
2016-03-29 00:43:26 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
With your support I was able to stay on schedule and produce my Monday lick of the week. In this lesson I'll break down some of the techniques made famous by Gypsy Jazz guitar legend Django Reinhardt. We will begin by learning our harmonic minor scale, and a two-octave Am arpeggio. Your lick will encompass both of these elements, along with pull-off, slide, and slight-bending techniques. Let's get started!
Download your tabs at: 2016-03-22 01:21:22 +0000 UTC
View Post
Good morning friends,
Today I'm working to further develop my repertoire by digging into some of my old favorites. One tune that I always like to keep in my back pocket is "Shoals of Herring," a classic folk song which many of you may have heard in the film Inside Llewyn Davis. Learning this tune has helped me to develop my finger picking technique and a better sense of dynamics. To help you along, I have attached my tab of the tunes five finger picking sections. Enjoy!
2016-03-15 15:02:19 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another Swiftlessons Patreon Lick of the Week! In today's lesson, we will take a stab at a very common approach to Rock & Roll or Rockabilly guitar playing as we mix notes from our major and minor pentatonic scales. I'll break down the lick in three different keys, allowing you to perform this classic phrase across an entire 1.4.5 progression in the key of Cmaj. Let's get started!
Download your tabs at:
2016-03-14 22:32:11 +0000 UTC
View Post
Good morning,
I'm happy to report that a full lesson on The Beatles "Blackbird" has finally been added to the Swiftlessons channel. Download your chord sheets to get started and check back later in the day to grab my tab sheet breaking down the tunes four unique movements. Thanks so much for you support! -Rob
Links:
Hello friends,
Today we expand our knowledge of the blues genre with routine #3 of our Blues Self-Accompaniment Series. This edition features chord strums, more complex licks, and the addition of a walking turnaround to end your performance of the 12 bar blues. Let's get started!
Lessons in this Series: Note: Each routine gets progressively more difficult.
Hello and thanks for checking out another Patreon Lick of the Week! Today we will cover a "Devilish" Blues Lick that blends the minor pentatonic and major scales in the key of C. Thanks to a built in tritone or "Devils interval," this lick has a dissonant flavor that will boost tension, thus keeping your listeners on the edge of the seats. Let's get started!
Download Your Tabs at: https://www.patreon.co...
2016-03-07 19:44:10 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello and thanks for checking out the first edition of my Patreon Lick of the Week series. Each Monday I will bring you a new scale, lick and helpful pdf study guide to help you meet your potential as a lead guitarist. A wide variety of styles will be covered including blues, jazz, rock, country, rock-a-billy, metal, and even Indian raga!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PDF Study Guide: 2016-02-29 20:48:57 +0000 UTC
View Post
Good morning Patrons,
As many of you know, Natalia and I will be moving into our new home and studio March 4th. Once we settle, I expect to bring you lessons and resources on a daily basis! One of my first endeavors will be to complete the second edition of my "Fast Track Guitar Blueprint." I'd love for you all to download a free copy of this comprehensive ebook, and offer me s...
2016-02-16 15:42:08 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello Friends,
All week I have been guiding my students through my Intro to Guitar Quiz. I'm very proud to report that everyone is making great progress in regards to their understanding of music theory. Click through the link above to access a free print out of the quiz and test your knowledge of the guitar anatomy, music theory, and musical notation. I've also included the answers for you to check your work. Let's get started!
2016-02-09 15:56:39 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
To kick off the month of February, I'm launching a new ten part lessons series on solo blues guitar. The goal in mind is to learn how to represent a 12 bar blues progression using basslines, and licks built from the major and minor pentatonic scales.
I've created several routines for you to learn, each will shed light on common blues techniques like licks, chord transitions and turnarounds. We will begin with something easy, and progress into more challeng...
2016-02-02 04:35:22 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
I've received a lot of messages this past week regarding my video lesson "Anatomy of the Pentatonic Scale." The information shared in this tutorial was a real game changer for me, as it breaks down how to respond to various chord changes, memorize licks regardless of key, and demonstrate a sense of direction in your solos. While this is probably the worst title I've ever chosen, the video itself contains some of the most valuable information relevant...
2016-02-01 04:34:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Happy Monday friends,
Winter storm Jonas really put a beating on us here in the North East, so I'm spending my time developing some new resources! For all my beginner students, developing performance ready songs is your most important task. So, let's stay busy this week and tackle some fun and easy tunes! To go along with the five videos on my beginners playlist, I invite you to download my new beginner guitar songs PDF "Your First Repertoire." Let's get started!
2016-01-25 22:04:55 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Thank you so much for your support this month, and for helping to make this video one of YouTube's most popular barre chord tutorials. Today I'm reaching out to those of you who are still working to perfect these important techniques, with a JPG of my Essential Chords poster. This image contains diagrams of the most common open position chords and their barred versions. A simple explanation on how to perform a perfect barre chord would include...
2016-01-22 16:22:44 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
I'm so happy to be back up and rolling again! This week I've been building my chops up with a powerful arpeggio exercise. In this lesson we will learn a somewhat unorthodox position of our major scale in A, before learning to reduce that scale down to an impressive arpeggio run. Scale and arpeggios don't make great lead players, so I'll be sharing with you a very nice, Django Reinhardt inspired lick. Let's get started
2016-01-14 21:35:44 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
Thanks so much for your support this month. Little by little my teaching schedule is being freed up, meaning I have time to post more videos and create more tabs and chord sheets. Today I'm digging into the archives and sharing my official chord sheet for George Harrison's version of "If Not For You." This is a great tune to have in your back pocket, and one of my favorite love songs to perform at weddings and anniversaries. Need a chord sheet for your favorite Swiftlesso...
2016-01-14 14:23:29 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome back to Swiftlessons for an intro to fingerstyle guitar tutorial. In today's session we will learn a series of finger-picking patterns that can be used in a wide variety of musical scenarios, and have been featured in thousands of popular songs. Each new pattern will build upon the last, allowing you to develop proper technique and dexterity in your picking hand.
Let's get started!
Note: Guitar Pro File and audio sample added 3/13/2019 at...
2016-01-12 19:16:31 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello friends,
This week I'm reviewing some of my old video lessons and creating useful study sheets to go along with them. If becoming a solid lead guitarist is on your agenda, then dive into this tutorial on how to play the pentatonic scale in five positions, complete with a few hot licks in each. Download the attached sheet to fully understand the connection to the "CAGED System." Let's get started!
2016-01-04 02:12:12 +0000 UTC
View Post
