Simon Barnard

String skipping can introduce fresh arpeggios and wide interval phrases to your playing. Look no further than Sweet Child O' Mine for an example of its musical effectiveness

Blues heroes like Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan used their first and fourth fingers to bend – without support – to powerful effect. And with a bit of practice, you can learn their expressive solo techniques, too

Taking small chord shapes, single notes and 16th-note strums, we unpack the essentials for funk guitar and target those offbeats for rhythmic intrigue in your playing

From Chuck Berry to Dave Grohl via Johnny Marr, Jimmy Page and more, this rhythm guitar masterclass offers a decade-by-decade study in the evolution of the riff

It's time to throw some shapes on the fretboard, navigating using the CAGED system, and deploying chord choices that makes players like John Frusciante such great rhythm players

Playing two notes together is an essential addition to any guitarist’s arsenal – and can be used in any kind of style

We all know speed is not the be all and end all, but sometimes more is simply more. This lesson will take you to the edge, maybe beyond, following in the footsteps of Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen and Gary Moore

It’s one of the essential guitar scales, and this lesson takes the blues scale from its classic context to place it in the style of Joe Satriani, Cream-era Clapton and Dimebag Darrell

Plot an escape route from your routine licks with this tab and audio lesson

Inspired by the great Albert Lee, this lesson takes another pass at the major pentatonic and offers some practical approaches to make it shine in your playing

Be it bottleneck blues, pop-style melodies or rootsy riffs, slide skills are a must-have for any guitarist. Sharpen yours up with this slide deep-dive

Reduce pain and increase your vocabulary of chords and techniques with this Andy Summers and Allan Holdsworth-inspired lesson – just be sure to warm up first

Get your fingers working independently of each other and the fretboard will really open up

Tapping lit up the guitar world with Eddie Van Halen, but in this lesson, inspired by EVH, Joe Satriani, Nuno Bettencourt and more, you'll find all kinds of ways to add this legato superpower to your game

We look at the whammy bar styles of Duane Eddy, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour and Jeff Beck – and how you can incorporate them in your own playing

If the fingering and coordination can be tricky at first, the rewards from mastering arpeggios are great, allowing you to freestyle across a chord's notes while staying harmonically honest

It's time to take your rhythm game to the workshop as we take a look at arpeggios and how great players have used them in their chord work

Make like Brad Paisley, Danny Gatton, Brent Mason et al and combine pick n' fingers to play both bass and melody, skip strings effortlessly, and add a little country sizzle to your playing

Sweep picking is a technique that stumps many, infuriates others, but is unmatched for delivering fluid arpeggio runs. This lesson follows in the pick sweeps of Synyster Gates, Frank Gambale et al

A more efficient way to pick, economy picking will make you a more fluid player, whether you’re playing jazz and fusion or shred à la Yngwie Malmsteen

No rhythm game is complete without the ability to palm-mute and thicken up your riffs. Here's how palm muting can add weight and tighten up your playing

Alternate picking is among the most vital guitar techniques – just ask Paul Gilbert. Fine-tune your approach with these drills spanning surf, rock, country and neoclassical metal

As the likes of Richie Kotzen, Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler and others have shown us, sometimes ditching the pick opens up new avenues for expressing yourself on the electric guitar

It's time to take your rhythm guitar chops to the woodshed with this lesson in the most fundamentally important technique in guitar

The six-string melodies of Grammy winners Black Uhuru typified a style of reggae known as ‘rockers’ – if you own a phaser pedal, now’s the time to use it