You must first complete Fundamental 1 before taking this course.
This course takes you through more sophisticated chords like 7th, Major 7th & Minor 7th. You will also learn basic guitar techniques such as hammer-ons, pull-offs, trills & slides. We will also tease you with some guitar licks to impress your friends.
NotesTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune UpMy Notes In this video we will be looking at some simple ways to get you on track to using a pick (plectrum). If you have never used a pick before, it can be very awkward to hold and even more so to strum with. However, the plectrum is an essential…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes Alternate picking is a very popular and common guitar playing technique. This technique requires alternating between downward and upward strokes in a continuous run. The technique, when performed properly, involves a continuous down-up or up-down motion of the picking hand. Alternate picking can be applied to strumming with chord…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at another Picking technique called ‘Hybrid picking”. This technique, as the name suggests, uses a combination of a plectrum and your fingers. It allows guitar players that use picks to simulate a finger style (no plectrum) technique. It also helps with picking strings…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes The basic definition of dexterity is; Skill in performing tasks, especially with the hands. This is part of ‘fine motor skills’, which is basically coordination of your hands and eyes. This includes everything from catching a ball, to playing computer games. This is important when it comes to guitar…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at another dexterity drill. We are working on the coordination between your picking hand and your fretting hand. This is VERY important in regards to guitar playing. This particular exercise concentrates on notes that move across the strings of your guitar. This is…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In today’s lesson we are looking at another dexterity drill. This particular sequence has a more chromatic vibe to it. It can be very tricky considering we are including all of our fingers in the exercise. This can be a very fruitful daily drill and warm up exercise for…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes This is another dexterity drill for us to work with and is great for an everyday warm up for both your picking hand and your fretting hand. This drill concentrates on coordination of picking and fretting hands. We are again working across strings, so make sure your picking hand…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we will be doing an overview of the basic lead techniques in the upcoming lessons. There are a lot of techniques to be covered so we will be just touching on the subject of each with a very simple example of what the technique involves. We…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes A pull-off is a guitar playing technique that is performed on a string which is already vibrating; when the fretting finger is pulled off (exposing the string either as open or as stopped by another fretting finger lower on the same string) the note playing on the string changes…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at a lick using the pull off technique. This is a fairly common lick and you might have seen it before while surfing the net. However, it’s a great lick in regards to focusing our efforts on the technique itself. As we can…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at another lick using the pull off technique. Just as in the previous lesson, this lick is a pattern that repeats, once again enabling us to focus purely on the technique itself. This particular technique requires a good sense of timing from your…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes A hammer-on is a playing technique performed on a stringed instrument (especially on a fretted string instrument, such as a Guitar) by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fret board behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This technique is the opposite of the Pull Off.…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at a lick using the hammer on technique. You might notice that this lick is similar to a pull off lick we learned in a previous lesson. Essentially this is the same lick, just in reverse. In other words, using hammer ons rather…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at another lick using the hammer on technique. Similarly to the first hammer on lesson, the lick is essentially the same lick as a pull off lick from a previous lesson. We have now just applied a hammer on rather than a pull…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes Sliding is a lead guitar technique and technically falls under the heading of legato (smooth, flowing without breaks) playing. It is one of the ways in which single-note playing can be made more expressive. The player sounds one note, and then moves (slides) their finger up or down the…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes This lick is played in the key of A Minor, using the A Minor Pentatonic scale. If you are familiar with the five shapes of the pentatonic scale across the fret board of the guitar, you will notice that this sliding lick connects three of the shapes together. Sliding…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes This melodic lick is in the key of C Major and uses the C Major scale. The lick is played exclusively with the first two fingers of the fretting hand. The first phrase starts with the second finger, and the second phrase starts with the first finger (as indicated…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes Bending is a lead guitar technique. It is found in a wide variety of styles and is one of the most expressive techniques at a guitar player’s fingertips. Bending allows the guitarist to seamlessly move the pitch of a note upwards, creating a very vocal effect. The player ‘bends’…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes This lick is in the key of A Minor, and is played in the A Minor Pentatonic Scale. The first note is bent a whole tone and held for 2 beats. Because this note rings for a while, the intonation of your bend will need to be spot on.…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes This is a lick in the key of A Minor, using the A Minor Pentatonic scale. The lick actually uses the semi-tone bend to include the ‘blues note’ – the flattened fifth – into the scale, giving the lick that bluesy sound. The lick resolves to the A note,…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy notes This lick is in the key of C Major, and uses the C Major scale. The semi-tone bend occurs on the first note of the first bar, and again on the first note of the second bar. Suggested fretting-hand fingers to use would be the third finger for the…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes Trills are a lead guitar technique, under the heading of legato (smooth, flowing without breaks) playing. Trills are in fact a combination of two other lead guitar techniques: hammer-ons and pull-offs. A hammer-on is achieved by playing a note and then, while the note is still ringing, ‘hammering-on’ the…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes This lick is played in the key of A Minor, Using the A Minor Pentatonic scale. The lick stays within one pentatonic shape and two trills are played, one on the second string (B), and one on the third string (G). The one trill occurs over two frets and…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes This lick is in the key of C Major, and uses two patterns of the C Major scale. It has a classical ‘vibe’ to it and is reminiscent of something that Randy Rhodes might play. Notice that the trills in this lick are all one fret trills and target…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes Vibrato is a lead guitar technique. A player’s vibrato can be a musical signature for them. A good example is B. B. King, whose vibrato is instantly unmistakable. Vibrato can be one of the most expressive tools the guitarist can utilise. It is yet another vocal-like quality that the…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes This lick is in the key of A Minor, and uses the A Minor Pentatonic scale. The most important part of the lick is the vibrato added to the starting note and the ending note. The lick is really just a vehicle for practicing this technique. Be careful to…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes This lick is in the key of C Major, and uses the C Major scale. The most important part of the lick is the vibrato added to the last note of the lick. The lick is really just a vehicle for practicing this technique. Be careful to pay attention…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes These basic open chords give us starting foundation of learning how to spice up chords we already know. The Major 7 chords will provide you with the starting points of some other music styles apart from contemporary styles. When learning your chords it is important to take your time…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we will be looking at a chord progression using the A Major 7, D Major 7 and the E Major 7 open shape chords. At this stage we have just learnt the shape of the chord but the most difficult part of chord is changing fluently…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we will be looking at a chord progression using the A Major 7, D Major 7 and the E Major 7 open shape chords. At this stage we have just learnt the shape of the chord but the most difficult part of chord is changing fluently…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes These basic open chords give us starting foundation of learning how to spice up chords we already know. The Major 7 chords will provide you with the starting points of some other music styles apart from contemporary styles. When learning your chords it is important to take your time…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at a strumming pattern using a C Major 7 and a G Major 7 open shape chord. This strumming pattern can be deceivingly difficult because each bar ends on an upstroke, meaning we don’t have much time to change from one chord to…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes These dominant 7 chords provide you with another tool in your arsenal to spice things up more. The Dominant 7 chords is a great way to build a little bit of tension in your music and then by resolving it to a standard chord can sound very powerful and…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes These dominant 7 chords provide you with another tool in your arsenal to spice things up more. The Dominant 7 chords is a great way to build a little bit of tension in your music and then by resolving it to a standard chord can sound very powerful and…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes These dominant 7 chords provide you with another tool in your arsenal to spice things up more. The Dominant 7 chords is a great way to build a little bit of tension in your music and then by resolving it to a standard chord can sound very powerful and…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes These dominant 7 chords provide you with another tool in your arsenal to spice things up more. The Dominant 7 chords is a great way to build a little bit of tension in your music and then by resolving it to a standard chord can sound very powerful and…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes These dominant 7 chords provide you with another tool in your arsenal to spice things up more. The Dominant 7 chords is a great way to build a little bit of tension in your music and then by resolving it to a standard chord can sound very powerful and…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes These dominant 7 chords provide you with another tool in your arsenal to spice things up more. The Dominant 7 chords is a great way to build a little bit of tension in your music and then by resolving it to a standard chord can sound very powerful and…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In today’s lesson we are looking at some open shape Minor 7 chords. These chords are in the same family as the open shape minor chords we have already looked at. However, we have added an extra note into the chord, slightly changing the sound. Minor 7 chords are…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at strumming the open minor seventh chords: A minor seventh, D minor seventh and E minor seventh. Be sure to use a metronome. In the following exercise the metronome is set to 80 beats per minute. Recap the chords by playing them individually…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at strumming the open minor seventh chords: A minor seventh, D minor seventh and E minor seventh. Be sure to use a metronome. In the following exercise the metronome is set to 80 beats per minute. Recap the chords by playing them individually…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy notes In this video we are looking at 2 more open shape minor 7 chords. These 2 minor 7 chords we have done as a separate lesson due to the fact that a Cmin7 and a Gmin7 don’t have popular open shapes, so we are showing you a few shapes…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at strumming the minor seventh chords: C minor seventh and G minor seventh. Be sure to use a metronome. In the following exercise the metronome is set to 80 beats per minute. Recap the chords by playing them individually before continuing with the…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this video we are looking at major seventh bar chords in root 5 and root 6 positions. Remember that major chords have a happier sound than the more somber sounding minor chords. What makes the Major 7 chord differ from a regular Major chord is the all-important 7th…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In order to ensure that you play these exercises perfectly it is very import that you can play the chords with clarity by fretting each note. The chord shapes are more advanced but with practice and patience can be achieved. With this exercise pay attention to the rests placed…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes These chord voicings are higher up on the guitar neck and can be more advanced. However, just make sure you are able to play each voicing perfectly before you attempt playing multiple chords in progression. I may often be advisable with complex strumming patterns and rhythms to tap the…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this lesson we’ll be looking at the most commonly used Dominant 7th barre chord shape, which is known as the ‘E-shape’ (Root 6) Dom7 barre chord. The cool thing about barre chords is that you can play the same shape anywhere on the fret board and it will…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this lesson we’ll be looking one of the most commonly used Dominant 7th barre chord shapes known as the ‘A-shape’ (Root 5) Dom7 barre chord. The cool thing about barre chords is that you can play the same shape anywhere on the fret board and it will still…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this lesson we’ll be using the two Dominant 7th barre chord shapes that we’ve learned, and playing them in different places on the fret board. We will also be playing a strumming pattern over these chords. This will help you, not only to practice switching between different shapes…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this lesson we’ll be using the two Dominant 7th barre chord shapes that we’ve learned, and playing them in different places on the fret board. We will also be playing a strumming pattern over these chords. This will help you, not only to practice switching between different shapes…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this lesson we’ll be looking at the most commonly used Minor 7th barre chord shape, which is known as the ‘E-shape’ (Root 6) Min7 barre chord. The cool thing about barre chords is that you can play the same shape anywhere on the fret board and it will…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this lesson we’ll be looking one of the most commonly used Minor 7th barre chord shapes known as the ‘A-shape’ (Root 5) Min7 barre chord. The cool thing about barre chords is that you can play the same shape anywhere on the fret board and it will still…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this lesson we’ll be using the two Minor 7th barre chord shapes that we’ve learned, and playing them in different places on the fret board. We will also be playing a strumming pattern over these chords. This will help you, not only to practice switching between different shapes…
Lesson InfoTabs & NotationSticking PointsTune-upMy Notes In this lesson we’ll be using the two Minor 7th barre chord shapes that we’ve learned, and playing them in different places on the fret board. We will also be playing a strumming pattern over these chords. This will help you, not only to practice switching between different shapes…
Lesson InfoMy Notes Time Signatures: 3/4, 6/4, and 6/8 Up until now, you’ve been mostly working with, and playing in the time signature of 4/4, also known as ‘common time’. To better understand time signatures, let’s take a look at how they work and what the numbers mean. In a time signature symbol, the top…
Lesson InfoMy Notes Sharps When you listen to music, you often hear sharp and flat notes without even knowing it. Notes that are sharp or flat are called accidental notes, and they help composers give some variety to music, communicate with musicians who play different instruments and sometimes use them to bring tension and release…
Lesson InfoMy Notes Flats When you listen to music, you often hear sharp and flat notes without even knowing it. Notes that are sharp or flat are called accidental notes, and they help composers give some variety to music, communicate with musicians who play different instruments and sometimes use them to bring tension and release…
Lesson InfoMy Notes Naturals When you listen to music, you often hear sharp and flat notes without even knowing it. Notes that are sharp or flat are called accidental notes, and they help composers give some variety to music, communicate with musicians who play different instruments and sometimes use them to bring tension and release…
Lesson InfoMy Notes Key Signatures When musician’s talk of scales, or a piece of music, as being in a certain key, i.e., “this song is in the key of, “F Major,” they are defining the tonality, the tonic note, or the root note, and the specific notes found within the piece. For example: If we…
