The minor pentatonic is the ultimate guitar scale, but it can get stale quickly. Here are 5 ways to get more from it By Simon Barnard published 21 February 24 Plot an escape route from your routine licks with this tab and audio lesson
Are you taking an honest look at your technique before you practice? By working on the fundamentals, you’ll get much more out of your routine By Chris Bird published 20 February 24 Your technique will improve tenfold if you know which areas of your playing need most attention. Follow our checklist to see where you can get better
How to improvise on guitar: 5 easy ways to improve your solos By Total Guitar editors published 19 February 24 Making it up as you go along is harder than it looks. Here's how you can improve at improv and quick, with five examples and three ideas of where you can take your improvisation from there
Intro licks are different to solos – they have to be concise and melodic, with a real start and end. Here's how to open your solos like the pros By Stuart Ryan published 19 February 24 These five ideas will get you thinking about crafting intros like Joe Bonamassa and friends
Ed Sheeran isn’t just a fingerpicker or a strummer – his ‘guitar orchestra’ approach sells out stadiums. Here’s how he does it By Stuart Ryan published 16 February 24 Sheeran is proof you can become a megastar with only an acoustic, a looper pedal, and, oh, a ton of talent. Here, we’re going to workshop your DADGAD fingerstyle chops so you’re stadium-ready, too
Robben Ford has been sideman to stars from Miles Davis to Joni Mitchell, George Harrison and even Kiss – and he's an expert in fusing the worlds of jazz and blues guitar By John Wheatcroft published 15 February 24 Improve your voice leading, chordal vocabulary and harmonic tension and release now as we put Ford's style under the microscope in this in-depth lesson
“He is the fastest and cleanest and has more technique than any other”: Jimmy Bryant was one of the very first Telecaster heroes. Learn how his trailblazing playing shaped the guitarists who followed By John Wheatcroft published 14 February 24 Effortlessly mixing jazz, country and blues, Bryant was one of Albert Lee’s great influences, and his style remains a white-knuckle ride of technique and imagination
Gary Clark Jr. is responsible for some of contemporary blues’ tastiest solos – here’s what you can learn from his approach By Andy G Jones published 14 February 24 How the Austin, TX, genre polymath's signature style can modernize your blues leads
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
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...
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
Banish stock phrases with these smart triad chord ideas By Richard Barrett published 5 February 24 It is all too easy to fall into familiar patterns when playing, but these five triads prove that it's just as easy to break out of them and find a fresh perspective on your playing
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
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...
“This is a rare instrument and a cool example of something Jimi would have played back in 1969/1970”: Joe Bonamassa teaches us his favorite Hendrix-inspired licks on a very special Stratocaster By Joe Bonamassa published 29 January 24 Class is officially in session at Nerdville as JoBo reaches for his “bronchitis Strat” for a primer in Hendrix blues-rock that will make you a better player
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