Rock Guitar Lessons

Oz Noy to Release New Triple Play Album Oct. 27

Oz Noy to Release New Triple Play Album Oct. 27

Posted October 2, 2023 at 10:44 pm | No comments

For the tenth album to bear his name, guitarist, bandleader, and educator, Oz Noy, opted for the most demanding possible context: An absolutely unvarnished concert recording, capturing his trio with virtuosi Jimmy Haslip (bass) and Dennis Chambers (drums) without the benefit of overdubs or post-production sweetening.

Posted in: Blues, Blues News, Product News, Rock Guitar Lessons, Uncategorized

1 Easy Exercise That Will Greatly Increase Your Guitar Chops Today

1 Easy Exercise That Will Greatly Increase Your Guitar Chops Today

Posted June 12, 2012 at 4:33 pm | 6 comments

It’s almost inevitable that as guitarists we want to be able to play fast at some point when learning how to play the guitar. Whatever style of music you play, there’s no denying that it’s impressive to pull out fast licks here and there, not just to impress our audience but to also express ourselves in our playing.

Posted in: Guitar Lessons, Instruction News, Rock Guitar Lessons

How to Play the Jimmy Page Extended Blues Scale

How to Play the Jimmy Page Extended Blues Scale

Posted December 2, 2011 at 10:12 am | No comments

Let’s first take a look at the basic, position 1 Blues Scale in the key of A minor. This is usually the first scale guitarists learn when they start to explore lead playing, so it might be review for some of you. If it is new, take some time to really work out this fingering, it is one of the most common and important scale fingerings for rock and blues guitarists to have down.

Posted in: Guitar Lessons, Rock Guitar Lessons

Steve Vai Lesson: For the Love of God Sweep Lick

Steve Vai Lesson: For the Love of God Sweep Lick

Posted November 30, 2011 at 12:21 pm | 3 comments

In this guest lesson by master guitarist Morten Faerestrand, you will be checking out a sweep lick from Steve Vai’s classic song “For the Love of God.” Not only does Morten teach you how to play the lick across the neck of the guitar, but he also shows you how to take this idea and run it through your guitar solos in an improvisational manner

Posted in: Guitar Lessons, Rock Guitar Lessons

Play The Intro To Steve Vai’s “Building The Church” Without Right Hand Tapping

Play The Intro To Steve Vai’s “Building The Church” Without Right Hand Tapping

Posted October 29, 2011 at 10:34 am | 3 comments

One of the hits on Steve Vai’s album Real Illusions was the tune “Building the Church.”

What immediately grabbed our attention and blew everyone away was the insane intro lick that Steve also repeats later in the song. He moves it around, making a completely new section of the composition.

Posted in: Guitar Lessons, Rock Guitar Lessons

Back to Basics with Creative Pentatonics

Back to Basics with Creative Pentatonics

Posted May 23, 2011 at 9:13 am | One comment

The Pentatonic Scale is the first scale learnt by virtually every beginner guitar player in rock and metal. It’s a great scale that it is easy to use. It’s ideal to get you started playing simple solos but as you progress you may find it sounds too basic. In this lesson I want to give you some ideas on how use the Pentatonic Scale in a more creative way. I’m going to teach you a hybrid Pentatonic shape that can be used to make some very interesting sounding licks.

Posted in: Guitar Lessons, Rock Guitar Lessons

Triad Arpeggios for Guitar

Triad Arpeggios for Guitar

Posted February 13, 2011 at 10:00 am | No comments

In this lesson, I’m going to talk about triad arpeggios and show you a few practical uses that will help you incorporate them into your solos in an easy and efficient way. First, let’s define a triad arpeggio.

Posted in: Guitar Lessons, Rock Guitar Lessons

Paul Gilbert Scale Exercise for Guitar

Paul Gilbert Scale Exercise for Guitar

Posted February 8, 2011 at 1:00 pm | No comments

In this lesson we’ll be working on alternate picking. The lesson is very simple, we’ll take a lick from Paul Gilbert, vary it a little bit, and then increase the tempo to get a really great workout from this one idea.

Posted in: Guitar Lessons, Rock Guitar Lessons

Michael Dolce Lesson: Soloing Over a One-Chord Vamp

Michael Dolce Lesson: Soloing Over a One-Chord Vamp

Posted January 18, 2011 at 8:11 pm | 2 comments

Australian guitarist Michael Dolce is a player to keep your eyes and hears tuned to in the coming months and years. Already turning heads across the internet with his unique approach to modern fusion guitar playing, Dolce really turned up the heat on his latest record Everything ‘Till Now. His playing is a mixture of jazz and rock, fused together in a way that is entertaining for the non-guitarist, and mind-blowing for the players in the audience.

Posted in: Guitar Lessons, Prog Rock, Rock Guitar Lessons

Pentatonic Soloing for Guitar

Pentatonic Soloing for Guitar

Posted October 29, 2010 at 4:00 pm | 2 comments

By: Levi Clay Intro Hey all out there in guitarland! It’s good to have you back and even better to be back; after a very busy period I can finally return to Guitar International and devote some real time to you guys. In this lesson we’ll take what we have learned from our previous lessons […]

Posted in: Guitar Lessons, Rock Guitar Lessons