Hub Of Guitar Goodness
Learning songs is the best way to get proficient on guitar, but if you’re at a loss as to what other skills you should be pursuing snag this How to Guide. It can save you months or even years of indecision and second guessing.
Once you have some direction dive into this amazing collection of videos.They cover theory, songwriting, strumming, picking, fretboard concepts, and more. They are all aimed at making you a better guitarist. Dive in!
Fretboard
These videos are all part of the “How To Get Better at Guitar Playlist”. They are laid out here by topic and as a landing hub with Tabs (not all videos have a corresponding tab).
Octaves - Learn how to find any note on the guitar neck
CAGED system - It’s one thing to learn the concept, another thing to apply it. Learn to do both!
Triads - 1st string set - How Triads are laid out on the top three strings and then the rest…
Fingerpicking
Finger Lickin’ Cowboy Pickin - I have an eBook which has 3 hours of accompanying video. Here’s that video at no cost. If you want to be able to follow along with the text and examples snag the eBook.
Travis Picking 101 - Here’s the PDF of the tab. This tackles “basic patterns” and how to quickly start pickin’ along with songs.
Travis Picking 102 - More on “basic patterns”
Travis Picking 103 - Incorporating the PINCH into basic Patterns
The Travis Picking Primer - This is an advanced Level Travis Picking Video. Here’s the PDF of the tab. This is a must-watch and a great goal to strive towards. It goes beyond ‘basic patterns’ and into melody making.
Barre Chords - Tips + Tricks
Barre chords are overrated/That Damned F Chord - Why play all 6 strings? And what to do instead.
Why are barre chords hard? How to make them easier - Tips and pointers on how to handle barre chords.
Barre Chords in Context - How barre chords connect in Keys and Roman Numeral System. Play all the chords in any key!
Theory
Wrangling w/ the G Major Scale - how to play the basic cowboy chords, how to build a major scale, how triads come from the scale, roman numerals. Interactive follow along video.
Music Theory 101 - how to build a major scale, how triads come from the scale, roman numerals, how it relates to the minor scale. More of a lecture based approach to the previous video, but also in the key of C.
All the videos in the “Fretboard” list up above and the “Melody Writing” below also cover theory concepts.
The following is the Melody Writing Series (playlist link).
These videos address how melody relates scale degrees and keys. How to both analyze and think about a framework for writing melody as “tension and resolution”.
Melody Writing #1 - Scale Degrees - scale degrees, songwriting, what is melody and how to compose one.
Melody Writing #2 - Analyzing John Prine’s ‘Speed of…’ - scale degrees, songwriting, what is melody and how to compose one, melody analysis.
#3 Analyzing Townes’ ‘Columbine’ - scale degrees, songwriting, what is melody and how to compose one, melody analysis. Seeing the melody in tab, and learning it on the guitar.
#4 Analyzing Prine’s ‘Knockin’ On Your Screen Door’ - About halfway through this guitar tutorial we learn and analyze the song’s melody.
#5 Analyzing Prine’s ‘Caravan of Fools’ - About halfway through this guitar tutorial we learn and analyze the song’s melody.
#6 Analyzing Prine’s ‘I have met my love today’ - Learn and analyze the song’s melody.
Theory
Major Scale - Minor Scale - Triads - Chord Connection/Roman Numerals - Scale Degrees/Melody Analysis - 7th Chords
Scales
Major - Minor - Pentatonic Major - Pentatonic Minor - Scales in Cowboy Positions - Scales by CAGED/String Set
Chords
Cowboy Chords - Barre Chords - Minimizing Barre Chords - Triads - CAGED Chords - 7th Chords
Fingerpicking
Basic Patterns - Melody Making
Strumming
Down Ups - Missed Beats - Mutes - Pick-Strum
Fretboard
Low E and A - Octaves - CAGED - Triads
Rhythm
Counting 8th Notes - Playing with a Click/Drum Beat
Composition
Chord Progressions - Melody Writing - Lyrics - Flow State
Singing/Ear Training
Solfege - Finding Bass Notes - Sonofield - Drone - Improvising