Lessons
Latest about Lessons
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Power-up your blues with a turnaround trick that was a specialty of the great Freddie King
By Sue Foley Published
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Jared James Nichols explains how to use open strings and Drop D tuning to bulk-up your blues fingerstyle
By Jared James Nichols Published
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Learn the chord secrets of Joe Pass, Barney Kessel and Wes Montgomery with this iconic jazz progression
By Alex Farran Published
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Joe Bonamassa on his love for the Gibson ES-350 – and why it's a blues powerhouse
By Joe Bonamassa Published
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How to master the art of tremolo picking – the indispensable picking technique heard in everything from death metal to surf rock that can power up your playing
By Dre DiMura Published
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How to layer guitar parts like a pro (with a little help from Cory Wong)
By Cory Wong Published
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Power up your inner shredder: Gus G shares his ultimate guitar warm-ups
By Gus G Published
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Explore Lessons
Artist Lessons
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Power-up your blues with a turnaround trick that was a specialty of the great Freddie King
By Sue Foley Published
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Jared James Nichols explains how to use open strings and Drop D tuning to bulk-up your blues fingerstyle
By Jared James Nichols Published
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Joe Bonamassa on his love for the Gibson ES-350 – and why it's a blues powerhouse
By Joe Bonamassa Published
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How to layer guitar parts like a pro (with a little help from Cory Wong)
By Cory Wong Published
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Jared James Nichols teaches you the wild drop D blues stomp he wrote with Tyler Bryant
By Jared James Nichols Published
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Sue Foley salutes Elizabeth Cotten and her favorite female guitar pioneers in this fingerpicking blues masterclass
By Sue Foley Published
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Joe Bonamassa pays homage to Duane Eddy – and reminds us why the “Titan of Twang” was a great blues player, too
By Joe Bonamassa Published
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“I look at guitar playing as a dance between both hands…” John Butler shares his secrets in this stunning masterclass
By John Butler Published
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Rhythm guitar master Cory Wong shares his secrets to perfect pick-hand timing
By Cory Wong Published
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Beginner Lessons
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How to play the B chord on guitar
By Jenna Scaramanga Last updated
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Beginners guitar lesson #1: How to hold the guitar, pick strings and fret your first note!
By Chris Bird Published
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Proggy pentatonic! How to use the good ol’ pentatonic scale in cool new ways
By Guitar World Staff Published
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Start your or a loved one's guitar journey with 60% off Fender Play this Black Friday
By Jackson Maxwell Published
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5 essential strumming patterns for beginner guitar players
By Gary Heimbauer Published
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Where to start with learning acoustic guitar
By James Grimshaw Published
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10 things every beginner guitarist needs to know
By Jenna Scaramanga Last updated
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A parent's guide to buying a guitar for your child
By Daryl Robertson Published
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I used Fender Play for 8 weeks to learn the guitar from scratch – here’s how I got on
By Annie Robertson Published
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Chords
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Rush’s Alex Lifeson was a master of first inversion chords – here are 5 voicings you can use in your playing today
By Richard Barrett Published
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Loved by Joni Mitchell and Keith Richards alike, essential to slide players, here’s how you can explore chords in open D
By Richard Barrett Published
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Learn 5 altered chords that can create or dissolve harmonic tension
By Richard Barrett Published
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30 beautiful acoustic guitar chords every player needs to know – and how to play them
By Richard Barrett Last updated
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5 lo-fi guitar chords to add to your progressions
By Richard Barrett Published
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Unlocking the power of 7th chords: expand your guitar chords beyond the basics
By Stuart Ryan Published
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Don't let chord inversions bamboozle you. This lesson explains all (and 5 ways you can play a Bmaj7)
By Richard Barrett Published
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How to introduce “murder mystery” guitar chords to your playing – without getting your fingers in a twist
By Richard Barrett Published
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Embellishing guitar chords is the best way to liven up your rhythm work – learn 5 Eric Johnson-inspired chord voicings
By Richard Barrett Published
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Guitar Setup
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Having problems with your shiny new guitar? Try these fixes first
By Dave Burrluck Published
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How to restring a ukulele in 14 easy steps
By Jack Ellis Published
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How to restring a bass guitar: step-by-step guidance on changing your bass strings, from a professional guitar repairer
By Jack Ellis Published
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Never underestimate the impact of fretboard radius – it dramatically affects the way your guitar plays
By Huw Price Published
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“Try a higher string action until you get used to using it”: How to set up your guitar for slide
By Dave Burrluck Published
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How to choose the right guitar cable: from length and connector considerations, to whether you should build your own, here’s everything you need to know
By Connor Godfrey Published
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8 ways to make your beginner acoustic guitar play and sound better
By Matt McCracken Published
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How to upgrade your Jazzmaster and Jaguar: mod tips and setup tricks
By Huw Price Published
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How to set up your room for guitar recording success
By Ira Segall Published
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Musical Tips & Advice
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How to get the most sought-after sound in indie rock – without permanently modifying your guitar
By Mary Beth Skylis Last updated
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The brutal shred-fest that has quietly become one of our biggest playthrough videos
By Scott Rowley Published
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6 signs it's time to upgrade from your first acoustic guitar
By Ross Holder Published
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5 common excuses for not learning the guitar – and 5 body and mind-boosting reasons you should
By Ross Holder Published
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Can’t figure out why your improvised solos don’t feel right? Here’s how to fix them
By Justin Sandercoe Published
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![[L-R] A composite image of Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Joel Hoekstra, Marty Friedman all taking a solo live: Bumblefoot plays his double-neck. Hoekstra has his white Les Paul Custom. Friedman wears a plaid shirt and plays his PRS signature model.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VPKUYFpK9bsjnQdzekheeb.jpg)
15 pro guitarists share their tips for memorizing music
By Jason Sidwell Published
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Guitarists on Reddit are going nuts for this ingenious pick trick
By Matt Owen Published
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How to Get Your Music on Spotify with Distrokid
By Guitar World Staff Published
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Joe Satriani called on Eddie Van Halen’s techs to figure out how to make his Frankenstein playable
By Matt Owen Published
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Song Lessons
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Stop hiding behind barre chords – use smarter voicings that serve the song
By Mike Meiers Published
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Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones explains what people get wrong about his Black Dog riff
By John Paul Jones Published
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Steve Vai, Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani share the secrets behind 3 instrumental epics in these exclusive Guitar World lessons
By Matt Owen Published
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Learn the brutal, evil-sounding rhythm style of Slayer's Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King
By Jamie Hunt Published
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10 easy guitar songs for beginners
By Chris Bird Published
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Learn how to play a metal version of the Wellerman sea shanty
By Charlie Griffiths Published
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Sick Riffs: Sam Rushton teaches you the fingerpicked math-rock frenzy of Orchards’ Peggy - with full tab!
By Michael Astley-Brown Published
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Learn to play the Tetris theme, prog-metal style - with full tab and audio
By Charlie Griffiths Published
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How to Play Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" Intro Riff
By Guitar World Staff Published
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Techniques
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Learn the chord secrets of Joe Pass, Barney Kessel and Wes Montgomery with this iconic jazz progression
By Alex Farran Published
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How to master the art of tremolo picking – the indispensable picking technique heard in everything from death metal to surf rock that can power up your playing
By Dre DiMura Published
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Power up your inner shredder: Gus G shares his ultimate guitar warm-ups
By Gus G Published
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Eddie Van Halen used it, Jimmy Page loved it, and all of your heavy metal heroes have tried it – drop D made drop-dead simple
By Jamie Humphries Published
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Guitarists always talk about down-picking, but have you worked on your up-picking lately? Here's why it could be a game-changer for your playing
By Jamie Hunt Published
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Metronome magic: master your picking, improve timing, and build up speed – one click at a time
By Stuart Ryan Published
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When tapping's not shredding: how to play tapped harmonics like Eddie Van Halen
By Jamie Humphries Published
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The secret behind Marcin, Matteo and Paco? How rest note picking can improve your tone, speed and volume
By Declan Zapala Published
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Can you keep up? 6 minor pentatonic licks that go FASTER!
By Leon Todd Published
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More about Lessons
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Power up your inner shredder: Gus G shares his ultimate guitar warm-ups
By Gus G Published
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Rush’s Alex Lifeson was a master of first inversion chords – here are 5 voicings you can use in your playing today
By Richard Barrett Published
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Jared James Nichols teaches you the wild drop D blues stomp he wrote with Tyler Bryant
By Jared James Nichols Published
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