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How To: Play a Chicago Blues style twelve bar blues on the guitar with finger picking

It's extremely important as a musician to learn how to play the 12 bar blues. Understanding how to feel your way through all 12 bars without getting lost and staying in time is crucial to you succeeding in other styles of music. If you're looking to spice up your 12 bar blues with something a little more melodic, check out this great video lesson! You will learn how to play an Elmore James, Chicago Blues style 12 bar blues riff over the chord progression using finger picking.

How To: Pick the right resonator (steel) guitar and bottleneck slide

Resonator guitars (also known as steel guitars) are a unique type of guitar made with tricones or a single aluminum cone, and are great for slide guitar for both Blues and Country music. Made famous by artists such as Son House (see deathletter blues). If you're not really sure which would be the best, what a resonator (steel) guitar is exactly, or how to pick out the right slide for the sound you're going for, this fantastic video will you guide perfectly! You will learn a little history abo...

How To: Shield your pickups cavity on your electric guitar

Single coil pick ups are notorious for being noisy and for having a lot of buzz. One way that you can get rid of the buzz and save yourself from sounding annoying and unprofessional on stage without messing with your volume knob or buying expensive noise gates is putting in copper shielding in your pick up cavities and on the pick guard! In this video you will get a complete walkthrough of how to install the shielding and rewire your guitar back to normal!

How To: Mic your guitar amp and get a great sound in a live setting

When playing live, having the BEST sound possible is probably the most important part of the show! (well you know, besides rehearsing and stage performance, but that's a completely different subject!) When you're playing out, you need to be prepared to have a sound man who has absolutely no idea what he's doing or how to mic anything, including your amp. In this video you will get a full walkthrough of the different mics that you can use including dynamic mics and condenser mics, and differen...

How To: Play "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard on acoustic guitar

Want to play Glen Hansard's "Falling Slowly" on the acoustic guitar? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing this Glen Hansard song on your own guitar, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Play "Stand Tall" by Dirty Heads on acoustic guitar

Want to play Dirty Heads' "Stand Tall" on the acoustic guitar? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing this Dirty Heads song on your own guitar, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Play Weezer's "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" on guitar

Want to play Weezer's "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" on the acoustic guitar? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords in tab notation. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing this Weezer song on your own guit...

How To: Play "Undisclosed Desires" by Muse on an electric guitar

Want to play Muse's "Undisclosed Desires" on the electric guitar? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords in tab notation. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing this Muse song on your own guitar, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Play "Resistance" by Muse on an electric guitar

Want to play Muse's "Resistance" on the electric guitar? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords in tab notation. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing this Muse song on your own guitar, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Play "Uprising" by Muse on an electric guitar

Want to play Muse's "Uprising" on the electric guitar? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing this Muse song on your own guitar, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Play "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum on guitar with Dave Haywood

As a touring musician, you never really have a lot of time to sit down and do things like this, but you're in for a treat. Lady Antebellum's guitar player Dave Haywood gives you an in-depth video lesson on how to play the rhythm gutiar part in "Need You Know" while out on their Keith Urban tour. You will learn the chords that he used and also some of the methods that he used in fingering his chords, as well as putting the capo on the 4th. fret. Although what isn't clear is what tuning his gui...

How To: Play flamenco and classical guitar with basic chords and scales

Many parents think that starting with Classical Guitar is how you're supposed to learn Guitar, which isn't true, you can learn Guitar any way that you want! But, that doesn't mean that Classical and Flamenco guitar is not UBER awesome at the same time! If you've got a nylon string guitar and want to learn how to get some of those cool licks and chord progressions down that you hear in movies like Desperado, start here! In this video you will learn the basics of using finger picking, using you...

How To: Play a melodic style of rhythm guitar with Paul Jackson Jr.

Paul Jackson Jr. is one of the tastiest session musicians alive and has played with hundreds of artists over the span of his career including most of the guitar work on Michael Jackson's Thriller album! In this video he explains the secret to his style and how to pick apart chords and play the very basic components of each chord to create a more sonically sound rhythm guitar part that doesn't step on anybodies toes but is catchy enough to be noticed in the mix.

How To: Play Johnny Cash-style country rhythm guitar

Even if you're a metal head or a shredder, you can't deny how cool it is when a good ol' country picker gets up there and rips it up! Johnny Cash was one of the few modern Country singers who brought electrified country into the mainstream for his time. If you're looking to add a few country-fried licks to your arsenal and learn how to do some basic country guitar, check out this video lesson! You will learn how to alternate between the root and fifth of the chord to simulate the bass, as wel...

How To: Play funky R&B and blues rhythm guitar

Funk, R&B, Blues, these are the styles of music that grooves the hardest and are the most about feel and less about technicality. Not only that, but the various inversions and triad groupings used in those styles can easily be transferred into Rock, Pop, Jazz, Metal and so many other styles. In this fantastic video lesson you will learn the basics to playing rhythm guitar in these styles.

How To: Play basic Blues on the acoustic guitar

The blues is where it all began. Before you learn how to play rock or jazz or metal, you should start with the blues. Learning the basic 12 bar form can help you feel out measures and develop your sense of direction in music, and learning how to play the shuffled rhythm will help to increase your proficiency with learning other rhythm patterns. In this fantastic video you will get a basic over view of the Blues on the acoustic guitar and a quick variation on the standard blues shuffle.

How To: Play funk rhythm guitar

Funk guitar is an interesting creature, you're not always playing chords, and you're not always playing lines, it's a happy medium of playing parts of chords, with single note rhythms, muting and pocket playing. If you've ever wanted to get a basic idea of how to play funk this video lesson is for you! You will get a great over view of the basics of funk including common lines, common chords, and muting techniques as well!

How To: Solo over Jazz changes using melodies and focusing on key centers on guitar

Jazz is a complicated style of music that takes a completely different style of thinking and playing to even do it somewhat decently. Soloing in its own right is the toughest, but there's a great way of getting started, and thanks to Jeff Richman from Musician's Institute, you will learn how! In this amazing video lesson, he goes through showing you the various ways of using melodies and key centers to really bring out your solo over any sort of Jazz Changes.

How To: Improvise over Jazz changes using chord tones with Jeff Richman

Soloing over a large amount of Jazz changes can be tough, with the chord changes sometimes spanning through two or three different keys. One trick to soloing in Jazz to solo over the chord tones of the chords that are being played. You can either use only the 3rd and 7th the chords, as well as using triads and arpeggios. In this amazing video lesson from Jeff Richman from Musician's Institute, you will learn how to apply all these techniques over Jazz changes.

How To: Use a metrenome to improve your internal clock with Pathik Desai

Even though this video is for guitar, learning how to improve your internal clock to feel tempos and measures is important for ALL instruments. If you can't sync up with a metrenome you can't sync up with the drums, and quite frankly no one will want to play with you at that point. But don't worry, if you're having trouble with your timing and are looking for a way to help improve your internal clock, Pathik Desai from Musician's Institute, has a great lesson in store for you! You'll learn so...

How To: Play funk in 7/8 time on the guitar with Ross Bolton

Every once in a while you're going to run into an odd meter song, and one of the most common is 7/8 (7 eighth notes per measure). If you listen to a lot of Frank Zappa then odd meter is nothing new to you. If you're not familiar with odd timing, or are having trouble lining up, this amazing guitar lesson from Ross Bolton, an instructor at Musician's Institute, can help you out. In this video you will learn how to count 7/8 meter as well as play it and apply it to funk guitar.

How To: Add rhythmic variety to your solo on guitar with Jeff Marshal

Just playing the same sixteenth notes over and over and over again in your solos can become stale after a while, and even if you learn every scale and every lick in the world, if you play them all with the same rhythmic dictation, it can get stale fast and you will lose a lot of your audience members! In this fantastic video lesson, Jeff Marshal, instructor at Musician's Institute, gives you an in depth look into adding rhythmic varieties into your solos.

How To: Apply a shape shifting technique to your solos one the guitar with Dave Hill

Soloing is something that every guitar player should learn. Being able to solo on command is crucial to being a great professional musician period! If you know all five of your patterns and are still just playing in the box patterns without much movement, then this video will help break you out of your cage! Dave Hill, a teacher at Musician's Institute, goes into great detail showing you how to use a technique called "Shape Shifting" by moving your lines through each of the patterns on the ne...

How To: Play melodic funk rhythms on the guitar with Dave Hill

Funk music is about the pocket and about the groove. As a guitar player, your job is to try to fit in the best that you can with the rest of the rhythm section, which means not stepping on other peoples toes. But when it's your time to shine, being able to use a little melody in your funk rhythms can go a long way! In this amazing video, Dave Hill, a teacher at Musician's Institute, goes into detail on how to not only play the three note triads of the chords you're playing over but also all t...

How To: Do hybrid shredding on the guitar with Greg Harrison

In the world of shred, blues, jazz, rock, heck, in any world where you play guitar, one of the toughest, and interesting methods for picking is called hybrid picking, a combination of using both your pick and fingers to get more notes and more inventive and interesting licks and rhythm guitar phrases. In this video, Greg Harrison, a teacher at Musician's Institute, gives you an in-depth lesson on using hybrid picking with shred guitar to really increase speed and also add a new flavor to your...

How To: Play triad nuggets on the guitar with Dan Gilbert

Being a good rhythm guitar player isn't always about just knowing the chords, knowing how to break them apart and use their basic components in a creative was is also incredibly important. In this incredibly detailed video, teacher at Musician's Institute, Dan Gilbert, gives us a lesson on using triads as a base for licks and inventive ways of playing over a chord progression.

How To: Play galloping harmonics on the guitar with Jude Gold

A cool technique on the guitar is Galloping Harmonics, combining the galloping rhythmic figure with harmonics and making it a little funky with some slap guitar, originally made famous by Regi Wooten! In this video, Jude Gold, head of GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology) at Musician's Institute completely breaks down the entire process of learning how to get the sound, the feel, and the technique down.

How To: Play "Le Freak" by Chic on the bass

Le Freak by Chic is a popular song from the 70's and the epic bass player on the track was Bernard Edwards. The song for bass players is all about sticking in the pocket and grooving hard when it calls for it. In this excellent lesson you will learn how to play each section of the song from the intro, through the extended bridge, and more!

How To: Make basic, simple sounds with the Moog analog synthesizer

The Moog synthesizer is the most intimidating instrument ever made from a playing standpoint. Sitting down at one, it is possible that without prior knowledge you would be unable to make any sort of sound with one. Fortunately, this video for analog synth beginners will show you how the basics of making sounds using a Moog. Many of these techniques work on other old analog synths as well.

How To: Play an instrumental cover of the Jonas Brother song "Fly with Me" on piano

The Jonas Brothers may be on their way out as they grow older and Nick Jonas embarks on his solo career, but for their fans their songs will always remain. This three-part video will teach you how to play a cool instrumental version of their song "Fly with Me" on piano, the ultimate expression of your love for the Jonas Brothers. Check out a written version of the song here.

How To: Play various harmonics on the guitar

Various guitar players have made harmonics, and pinch harmonics, a popular guitar technique that has inspired a generation. Guitar players like Zakk Wylde, Andy McKee, Eddie Van Halen, and other amazing players have all contributed their own style of incorporating them into their songs. It's a simple technique of holding your finger over the fret wire without pressing down. It has to be over the fret wire, not while your finger is actually in the fret. In this fantastic video you'll learn how...