Steve Morse is the guitar virtuoso's virtuoso – and his technique masterclass will push your upper-fret bending and phrasing to the limit By Jon Bishop published 13 February 24 The former Deep Purple guitar legend checks in with an exclusive track – and tab to help you play along
“The Gibson SG took me about 30 years to figure out… it’s completely different from a Les Paul”: Joe Bonamassa explains how he learned to love Gibson’s solid guitar – and teaches you his favorite SG licks By Joe Bonamassa published 13 February 24 It might have taken Bonamassa a minute (or a few decades) to fall for the SG’s charms, but now he has in a big way, and this video lesson offers a taste of what the Gibson double-cut can do
“I loved Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads. Then something happened where it was like you had to be in the guitar Olympics”: Billie Joe Armstrong explains why he rekindled his relationship with the guitar solo on Green Day’s newest album By Matt Owen published 13 February 24 Saviors might be the band’s most solo-heavy record to date – a result of Armstrong re-embracing lead playing and, as he tells Guitar World, putting “a spotlight on a little bit more of what I’m capable of”
“Saying it was an honor to be up there is a wildly drastic understatement”: Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai have wrapped up the G3 2024 tour – here are the biggest guest guitarists who joined them along the way By Matt Owen published 12 February 24 Progressive pioneers, heavy rock royalty and even Satch's son took to the stage with the G3 trailblazers at various points across the hotly anticipated tour
5 ways to improve your major pentatonic licks By Simon Barnard published 9 February 24 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
6 simple but super-effective ways to make easy chords sound great By Richard Barrett published 8 February 24 Simply rearranging the notes can make basic chords sound infinitely more exciting
Improve your blues soloing now with 10 tasty B.B. King-inspired intro licks By Stuart Ryan published 8 February 24 With B.B. King, an intro was a meal in itself. Here are 10 examples with tab and audio on how you can grab your audience's attention from the first bars of your solo
Eric Bibb is one of today’s most important acoustic blues guitarists – and his fingerpicking style is an absolute must-learn By Guitar Techniques published 7 February 24 In this exclusive video lesson, the wonderful Eric Bibb unpacks his signature style. Grab an acoustic and loosen up, it's time to get started...
“Absurd amount of talent”: Andy Timmons is in the studio with Joe Bonamassa – and the two melody masters are cooking up a virtuosic solo storm By Phil Weller published 7 February 24 Producer Josh Smith has shared a clip of the blues legends trading licks in the studio, with a follow-up to 2022’s Electric Truth well underway
“Eddie was down in the pit watching every move I made”: Ace Frehley says his early displays of tapping prowess “probably” inspired Eddie Van Halen to develop his trademark two-hand technique By Matt Owen published 7 February 24 “But he perfected it. There’s no way I could play some of the solos that he pulled off,” said the former Kiss guitarist
Welcome to the ultimate Rolling Stones guitar lesson – a tab and audio deep dive into the styles of Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Brian Jones, and Mick Taylor By Andy Saphir published 6 February 24 We can't make you look as cool as the Stones but maybe we can make you play like them. Here we'll be throwing our guitars into Open G and digging out the slide, with plenty of licks in standard tuning, too
Tony Iommi gave birth to heavy metal – and learning his techniques will make you a better riff writer By Jamie Hunt published 5 February 24 In this metal rhythm lesson, we take the art form back to the source, the Black Sabbath guitarist who launched a thousand riffs
“I actually never learned how to play with a pick. It’s my weak point”: Matteo Mancuso is revered for his virtuosic fingerstyle approach – but what happens when he tries to play with a guitar pick? By Matt Owen published 5 February 24 Mancuso has developed a reputation as one of the most formidable fingerstyle players on the planet, but in a new video with Rick Beato and Mateus Asato, the young virtuoso was confronted with the prospect of playing with a pick
Tosin Abasi is one of modern metal's most forward-thinking and creative minds – and his groundbreaking techniques will really test your abilities By Charlie Griffiths published 2 February 24 Get ready for a physical education for the fingers and a full brain workout as we unpack the Animals as Leaders guitarist's signature techniques, e.g. tapping, thumping, splitting the atom...
“I hope the traditional guitar solo dies a slow and painful death”: Marty Friedman explains why the guitar solo as we know it needs to be put out of its misery By Matt Owen published 31 January 24 The solo needs to change for good, and the former Megadeth virtuoso has pinpointed exactly what guitarists need to be doing in order to ensure that happens
Jake Kiszka is a classic rock guitar powerhouse – learn how he crafts his no-holds-barred rhythm and lead parts By Martin Cooper published 26 January 24 It's time to dig out the SG and fire up the Marshall, we're going to unpack the Greta Van Fleet guitarist's signature style
Bernie Marsden was British blues-rock's secret weapon – and his melodic, emotive approach to guitar solos is a must-learn By David Gerrish published 24 January 24 In honor of the late, great Bernie Marsden, we put his solo style under the microscope with two lead workouts that showcase the former Whitesnake rock legend's chops and phrasing
One of the greatest things about the guitar is its capacity to emulate the nuances and expressiveness of the human voice – improve your phrasing now with this lesson in how make your playing more vocal By Andy Aledort published 22 January 24 By making clever use of string bends, finger slides and vibrato, you can make your guitar sing
“We are back!” Al Di Meola plays live for the first time since his onstage heart attack, returning to the songs – and the Gibson Les Paul – that first made his name By Matt Parker published 22 January 24 Fan-shot footage shows the fusion guitar icon appears to to have made a strong recovery, following his onstage health scare last fall
Matteo Mancuso's mind-bending technique has taken the guitar world by storm – learn how to increase your fingerpicking speed to nail his extraordinary licks By Declan Zapala published 20 January 24 It's time to build speed without the pick, with a little help from the hottest guitar player in the world right now – and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart