Jake Lizzio

Start Learning To Improvise On Guitar

I've never really talked about guitar improv because it's such a big topic, but this is the first lesson in a brand new series I'll be working on over the spring to help finally explain my view on it. I expect it to be about 8 lessons total, and each one should take about two weeks to create. By the time you're done, you'll be able to apply whatever guitar skills you do (or don't) have and STILL create meaningful, enjoyable improvisations.

The reality is that improv is not about how goo...

Live Q+A Begins in 1 hour

Thanks to everyone who asked questions! I'm looking forward to answering them live in 1 hour at this link:

https://youtube.com/live/PpYZqYrq9e0?feature=share

If you're logged in to YouTube, you can join the live chat and ask some questions when I'm done. Hope to see you there!

Post your questions HERE for Sundays Q+A

What's the deal with 11th chords? Is 6/7 a time signature? How is triad formed? Whatever your musical question, I'll try to answer it this Sunday (Jan 11) at 12:00 Noon CT. Leave a question below and I'll get respond to them in the order that they appear, and please get your questions in by tomorrow night (saturday) so I can spend some time preparing some thorough responses for your interrogatories!

Important rules for submitting a questions

-If you're asking abou...

50% Off ALL My Courses for Patreon Members Only!

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on the site! I do believe most of the problems have been worked out and the response so far has been awesome.

To get things warmed up there, I want to offer you all 50% off any of my digital courses: Theory and Songwriting, Chord Progression Codex, Real Rhythm Guitar: Level 1 and Real Rhythm Guitar Level 2.

This coupon code will also work for gifts! If you'd like to buy one of my courses for someone else, just mark the item...

WINTER UPDATE #2 - New Website

After an unspeakable amount of work, I'm ready to roll out the new site for you all! If you have courses at the original site, they should transfer over easily. Just make sure you use the same email you use at the other site.

https://signalsmusic.studio

SEE SOMETHING - SAY SOMETHING

With this being a fresh rollout (and considering that I built it), there are bound to be problems. If you exp...

WINTER UPDATE #1 - Big stuff incoming!

For a long time, I've struggled with the usability of Patreon for myself and users. I'm almost done fixing that and am excited to share with you what's in store!

NEXT WEEK- NEW SITE!

Next week I will be posting a link here for you to sign up to my new website. It will be a drastic upgrade to the current one, and will contain updated+improved versions of all the courses you already own. Your old signals account should easily transfer over to the new one. ...

Live in 1 hr - Melody Crafting + Improv Basics

Thanks for your vote yesterday! We'll try to combine several of your chosen topics into one fun lesson/demonstration for this evening, beginning in 1 hour (630 CT). https://youtube.com/live/LApPjpgIPcY?feature=share

Here's the game plan for tonight:

Critical Listening

-Explore the role of each note in the minor key and the emotions/vibes/atmosphere they inspire

<...

Pick A Topic For TOMORROW's Live Stream

I was planning on going live tonight, but with family unexpectedly in town I'm going to move things to tomorrow night at 7PM CT. Expect a post here with a link about an hour before then.

If you think you can make it, which of the following ideas do you want to explore with me? You can pick more than one - If none of these catch your interest, add a comment below with your idea!

New Video (Featuring some of you!)

I tried to compress the entire 3 week Lament Bass masterclass that we did here into a single lesson - here's the result!

https://youtu.be/HkDQU1kpXGY

I'm attaching some tabs and charts too for those interested. And a huge thank you to Paul, Aaron, and Mirko for letting me use their music for this video!

LIVE STREAMS RETURN

This Friday (Nov 14th) I'll be doing an evening livestream aro...

Do you perform live? I need your help with BandAlert!

SHORT VERSION: I'm looking for 5 performers/bands who gig in their local scene at least once a month to help me test and improve a service I've helped create called BandAlert. It's purpose is to help local bands succeed without having to rely on social media.

If this is you, send an email to signalsmusicjake@gmail.com with a few details ...

Very Bad Musical Advice [Early Access]

I've never done an "old man yells at cloud" video, despite the fact that the YouTube algorithm tends to reward them. I don't do them because they're low effort, they don't really help anyone or teach anything, and they usually spread negativity instead of positivity.

https://youtu.be/UvJtA0REI7c

I'm hoping this video doesn't come across like that! I'm sincerely trying to give a balanced and informed perspective ...

Production + Arranging Walkthrough - Instrumental Jazz Fusion

Last week I wrote a jazz-fusion "city-pop" groove but didn't really go into detail on how it was produced. This 30-minute walkthrough should give you more info!

https://youtu.be/sZ-6wZc6yfQ

I decided to make this one public instead of Patreon Only simply because I think that a lot of "production tutorials" are wasting peoples time and I honestly think this one is filled with good tips (and no ads!).

Let me...

Early Release for Patreon: Composing with Famous Chords

Once again, I set out to make a simple, easy, quick video, and once again it devolved into madness. This one harkens back to my roots and features a very silly intro. However, I've grown over the years as an artist, so it also includes a very silly outro. 

https://youtu.be/BHwYlzpdsRI

I've already done lessons on a few of these chords but most of this should be fresh info unless you've completely pored throu...

7 Simple Exercises That Develop Complex Rhythm Skills

Hello everyone! I have a fun and productive lesson here for you all that is meant to develop your rhythm skills, no matter what instrument you play. I know that a lot of guitarists avoid this sort of training, mainly because the metronome is so painful to learn with, but this lesson should be much more accessible because it's NO METRONOME REQUIRED!

Here's the link to the video: https://youtu.be/CoBTWll93yE

I'...

LIVE in 1 hour: Composing and Producing

Tonight I'll be playing around with two ideas for a casual live stream. I'll probably broadcast for about an hour and explore the following ideas:

1: As recommended by Jay Goemer, I'll be experimenting with producing punk rock. I have an interesting NON PUNK progression that I'd like to see if I can turn into a punk song.

2: I'd like to experiment with some metric modulation between 3:2 and 3:4. Hopefully I get some nice sounding riffs that I can use for a song as part of an upco...

Analyzing A Perfect Progression: "What A Wonderful World"

I'm back! Very sorry for the hiatus - life went on pause due to a painful problem with my eye. It didn't look pretty either so filming wasn't an option. 

I'm extremely grateful to be healthy again! During my recover, I had extra time to think about this song and the analysis while I was stuck inside, which led to a discovery that I discuss in the video - https://youtu.be/yagFsYdbfE0?si=UTCqqt-f...

Reviewing Your Final Lament Bass Submissions

Thank you to everyone who participated in my 2nd masterclass on Patreon, Writing with Lament Bass. I thought it was a really fun class and finally got around reviewing your submissions. I took plenty of time share my thoughts and rant because the submissions were highly enjoyable!

Do me a favor and don't delete any of your public music links! In about 2 months I'd like to make a full Signals lesson on this topic and feature some of your music. If it's deleted I won't be able to listen ...

FREE COURSE: Mastering Barre Chord Technique and Theory

You're all the first to gain access to my brand new free course for beginner and intermediate guitarists. It contains 11 lessons, over 20 examples, and a printable PDF. I'm attaching the PDF here but it should be accessible on the first lesson page as well. To access the course, login to your account at www.signalsmusicstudio.com and then click Courses, or just click here:

2025-05-01 16:53:49 +0000 UTC View Post

Quick update

Just wanted to let you all know - I have listened to everyone's lament bass submissions and was mightily impressed! I'm really looking forward to doing the video review for everyone, but I've been battling a cold for the last 2 days though and I can't make it through a few minutes of filming without sneezing and sniffling. I'll try again tomorrow, but just be aware it might be another day or two depending on how quickly I recover.

In other news, my new course Mastering Barre Chord Theo...

Post Your Final Lament Bass Music HERE!

I'll be reviewing everyone's music on Sunday, so please submit your piece before then if you'd like personalized feedback. My own piece of music, well, I'm going to keep working on it! The livestream proved that I couldn't "de-cheese" the piece but I'm going to try again later.

In other news, I'm about 98% complete with the projects I've been juggling, so next week I should finally be able to release them to you and get back to regularly scheduled youtube. One video I intend to make in...

Live in 1 hour: Producing/Arranging/Composing

I wrote a chord progression for the Week 3 Lament Bass course but never developed it into something further. Tonight I'll be experimenting with it and sharing how I produce and arrange progressions into more than just a string of chords.

https://youtube.com/live/ArQjBl318Ec?feature=share

This will be a casual stream, but if you're following along with the Lament Bass course it should be a ...

Musical Submission Due Date EXTENDED

Hey folks! Since it's the last week of the lament bass course and I still haven't completed my musical example, I figured I'm not the only one and I'm going to change the rules of engagement a bit.

First off, you're free to write a piece that's longer. The amount of submissions for this workshop has been managable and I'm happy to review longer pieces (within reason!), so if you'd like to continue adding to your song, go ahead and expect that I'll make time to listen to the whole thing...

Lament Bass Week 3 Lesson

UPDATE: Lesson 3 is live! This is a really fun one and I can't wait to hear what you guys come up with for your final project. Also, check the updated PDF attached with some errors fixed.

https://youtu.be/kqN8g454GTQ

If you have any questions on this lesson, post them here in this thread. In the meantime, expect another post from me soon where I do some live composing and test out my internet connection :D

Reviewing your Week 2 Lament Bass Music

Amazing work everyone! Even if you didn't submit music, I think it's worth watching through this to see how these ideas can translate into so many different styles and sounds.

https://youtu.be/NF3BMXD-Jb0

Tonight will be the last week of this workshop. I'm going to again fire up a livestream, but if it doesn't work, I'll immediately post a pre-filmed version of the lesson. I've double checked all my settings but...

Post your Week 2 Lament Bass Submissions HERE

If you'd like me to review your piece, please submit it by Sunday morning (April 13th). The goal this week is to write a lament bass in the minor key. I'm providing two examples of my own; when you submit your piece, please also provide some basic info like I'm showing below! Also make sure that if you upload your music to something like google drive that you set the permissions to global so that anyone can access it.

1: Neoclassical in Am

This is a loop in Am us...

Composing with Lament Bass Week 2

UPDATE: Video lesson posted! Link here: https://youtu.be/S-ZC9Tl4yVs

Here's Week 2's video for the composing workshop. We're getting into some fun stuff here with a lot of potential - this lesson should provide many examples and ideas for you to launch off of!

I've attached an UPDATED version of the PDF - delete your old one, it had some errors in it and I added some more stuff overnight. Tomorrow I'll post...

Reviewing your Week 1 Submissions (Lament Bass)

Congratulations on everyone who survived Week 1! I think the most challenging thing was staying in pure diatonic major and dealing with the "cheese factor" that comes along with that set of notes, but many of you were able to avoid that sweet sound with some good production and arranging decisions.

Since the amount of submissions was not overwhelming, I was able to review everyone's music in the order that it was submitted. The link is here: 2025-04-07 19:04:11 +0000 UTC View Post

Post Your Week 1 Music HERE for Lament Bass Workshop

Last night's stream had some technical difficulties midway through so I filmed another version of the lesson offline and have reuploaded it here: https://youtu.be/GBj3qee4Oms?si=Rho2Vt3GKvOi5tqp

The assignment is fairly simple, just write some diatonic major music that features lament bass! Here's two examples I show in the lesson:

Soft Piano Lament in C:

This piece arpe...

Composing Workshop Week 1 Begins Tonight!

NOTE: The livestream had some connection/stalling issues, so I rerecorded the entire lesson (which you should see embedded above in this post. The lesson link is here: https://youtu.be/GBj3qee4Oms?si=Rho2Vt3GKvOi5tqp

If you want to view the livestream instead with the live Q+A session at the end, you can watch it here: 2025-03-31 23:22:30 +0000 UTC View Post

ANNOUCEMENT and Update!

I'm poking my head out from underneath this rock to share some good news!

(Tomorrow) NEW PATREON-ONLY CLASS 

I've designed a new 3-week course for you all here to participate in. I learned a lot during the last Modal Mixture Masterclass on how to pace and organize these sorts of things and I'm going to apply that knowledge for this smaller course on Lament Bass. It's a topic I've never discussed on the Signals channel but I plan on doing so later this yea...