technique | Guitar World

John Mayer guitar lesson: 12 tips that will help you capture the essence of his versatile playing style

By Total Guitar editors 19 October 2021

From subtle acoustic works to full-blown rock, we look at the techniques behind the blues-rock superstar's inimitable style, with full tab and audio

How to strum 16th notes on guitar

By Total Guitar editors 15 October 2021

Beginner guitar: Take your rhythm guitar skills beyond the basics with this lesson on 16th-note rhythms

How to play legato guitar licks

By Total Guitar editors 16 September 2021

Beginner guitar: these hammer-on and pull-off techniques appear in every genre of guitar and will rescue you if you run out of ideas mid-solo

How to play barre chords

By Total Guitar editors 01 September 2021

Beginner guitar: Play more notes with fewer fingers, and get to grips with essential rock ’n’ roll, funk and soul shapes

How to play partial barre chords

By Total Guitar editors 24 August 2021

Beginner guitar: Play more notes with fewer fingers, and get to grips with essential rock ’n’ roll, funk, and soul shapes

6 guitar tricks you can learn from Eddie Van Halen

By Total Guitar editors 03 August 2021

Plug in and rock out as Total Guitar gets hot for teaching Eddie Van Halen’s trademark riffs and techniques

How to bend guitar strings

By Total Guitar editors 19 July 2021

Get to grips with an essential lead guitar technique with this easy lesson

Get gig-ready with these 10 essential guitar warm-up techniques

By Richard Barrett 25 June 2021

Looking forward to hitting the stage again after an enforced time off? Here are some exercises to get your chops back up

Explore the wonderful world of pinch harmonics with this essential primer from Greg Koch

By Greg Koch 21 June 2021

Spice up your leads and melodies with the technique popularized by the likes of Eddie Van Halen and Zakk Wylde

How to play old-school blues

By Richard Barrett 22 April 2021

Learn some six-string rhythms in the style of blues heavyweights Howlin' Wolf and Hubert Sumlin

How to two-hand tap like Eddie Van Halen

By Andy Aledort 10 March 2021

This hands-on and tabbed lesson offers a comprehensive primer in Eddie's signature lead style, as well as a brief history of two-hand tapping itself

Shake up your leads with these one-string bend techniques

By Andy Aledort 22 February 2021

Mastering precise bends on the B string can offer new ideas for pentatonic solos

Hone your crosspicking skills with this lesson on the must-learn acoustic technique

By Molly Tuttle 11 December 2020

Molly Tuttle walks you through the style behind the bluegrass classic Wildwood Flower

Learn to wrangle the whammy bar with these slick tremolo tricks

By Chris Bird, Charlie Griffiths 17 April 2020

It's time to hit the dive bar for a few scoops and doops in the style of Stevie Vai, EVH and more

Beginner guitar: get more mileage from your chord shapes with slash chords

By Chris Bird 15 April 2020

Get creative with some easy new shapes as TG explains how to use slash chords

6 creative technique ideas that will change the way you play

6 expressive technique ideas that will change the way you play

By Chris Bird, James Uings 06 April 2020

Take your playing to new heights with two-hand tapping, pinched harmonics and other creative guitar skills

Beginner guitar: how to write guitar solos

By Chris Bird, James Uings 01 April 2020

Fire up your solos the easy way by using chords you already know to build your leads

Get to grips with legato playing using this simple guitar workout

By Chris Bird, Charlie Griffiths 30 March 2020

If you know the basics, its time to take your technique to new heights for some super-smooth lead chops