Lessons

It's one of the oldest tricks in the book, used by everyone from the Beatles to Neil Young and Pink Floyd, but playing around the major and minor tonalities can produce melodies that stick in the mind forever

Soloing ideas for lead guitar in rock, blues, acoustic, metal and more to make you a better player now

A working knowledge of the in-between notes can get you out of a jam when in a jam

Using open strings to embellish your chord work can yield magical results

The G.O.A.T. of 21st-century progressive guitar, Henson has a style that combines technical brilliance with abundant imagination. This is a lesson in making the impossible possible

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

Think DADGAD, think folk, but even Slipknot have used it, and this lesson shows you just how versatile it can be

Learn some soloing tips from Mr Bonamassa as he takes his 1961 Gibson ES-335 up the dusty end to show you what the legendary semi-hollow can do

Grab the audience's attention right off the bat with these fail-safe lead guitar tips

Open up some all-new possibilities for your lead strategies with these fresh rhythmic soloing approaches

We all think of the blues solo in terms of which notes sit atop which chords, but reversing that proposition – and building chords into the solo itself – generates some tasty new phrasing ideas

The four-time Grammy winner and guitarist’s guitarist is one of the most gifted fingerstylists around, and this study exercise is as good an excuse to ditch the pick as you’ll get all day...

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

The glitter ball is spinning and it's time to throw some shapes on the guitar in the style of the funk heroes behind Chic, Sister Sledge, Earth, Wind & Fire and more

A Berklee prof with neoclassical chops to burn, Joe Stump of Alcatrazz is a bona-fide shred legend, and these five examples will whip your metal guitar chops into shape in no time

The blues-rock great’s solos were expressive, emotive, peerless: this lesson unpacks the dynamics, phrasing and power behind his approach

Featuring Danny Gatton, Eldon Shamblin, Roy Clark, Chet Atkins, Jimmy Bryant and the inimitable Hank Garland, welcome to cowboy bootcamp for country guitar

Looking to add the unexpected to your improv? Septuplets might be the answer, challenging the audience and yourself

Following a spellbinding national anthem performance at the Super Bowl – and the release of his stunning signature Epiphone Frontier – we look at a Stapleton-inspired fingerpicking exercise with a few surprises thrown in

Loosen up that picking hand, fire up that wah, and get ready to dig into these 9 funk licks in the style of the decade’s greatest players