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Playing Guitar for Spare Change - Mon, 08 Mar 2010
We've all seen people with acoustic guitars playing for spare change. Obviously it's not possible to give money to every musician we meet, but we can certainly make the connection that there's a real person playing music - someone that might be in need of a little help.

Harmonizing a melody - Fri, 05 Mar 2010
Putting chords to a melody is one of the most rewarding aspects of making music. Even if you can't play chords on your guitar, you still can play arpeggios.

Newsletter Vol. 3 # 109 – March 1, 2010 - Tue, 02 Mar 2010
Exciting news this week as David's new book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Rock Guitar" hits bookstores on March 2. We've got a brand new contest where you can win a copy, along with all the usual news and lessons.

Rock Guitar Book Giveaway - Mon, 01 Mar 2010
To celebrate the arrival of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Rock Guitar in stores Tuesday, March 2, we're giving away fifteen copies of it between now and the end of May.

Avoiding Avoidance - Mon, 01 Mar 2010
Numerous guitarists underachieve because they shirk regular practice. Gerald Klickstein describes how musicians can counter avoidance and keep their creativity rolling.

Sting - Mon, 01 Mar 2010
Even Gordon Sumner's mom and kids call him "Sting" so I guess we will, too! Read our artist bio of this Rock Hall of Fame and Songwriter's Hall of Fame artist.

Improve Your Guitar Teaching - Sun, 28 Feb 2010
Sometimes the desire to fix every problem a student may have all at once may cause even more problems. Tom Hess describes how to break down a bad habit so that both teacher and student can tackle it in easy, manageable steps.

Solving Timing and Rhythm Problems - Sat, 27 Feb 2010
Whether you are a guitar teacher or a self-taught guitar player you are likely to come across problems related to playing in time and interpreting rhythm. In this series of articles TeachGuitar.com's Nick Minnion looks at where these problems spring from and what can be done to address them.

A Bit About Learning Songs - Fri, 26 Feb 2010
You'll want to have a large repertoire of different kinds of songs to help you grow as a musician. Here are some thoughts about which songs to learn.

A Helpful Chart - Fri, 19 Feb 2010
If you're more comfortable thinking with fret numbers than note names, the chart in this tip will help. Use it the next time you learn a tune's chords from sheet music.

Newsletter Vol. 3 # 108 – February 15, 2010 - Mon, 15 Feb 2010
Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #108 of Guitar Noise News! We have three new lessons to tell you about, plus some more book recommendations. We also answer a reader question sent by email.

The Ears Have It - Mon, 15 Feb 2010
As the tutorial resources you have at your beck and call get more and more sophisticated, it gets harder to remember that learning guitar is all about playing guitar. That means if you want to be able to play your instrument, you have to go through all the "grunt work" - that means practicing. And for many players the biggest aspect they need to work on is not using their eyes.

Learning root movements in a chord progression - Fri, 12 Feb 2010
When you learn a chord progression, try doing so in a way that helps you understand and apply it effectively, and helps you understand better how music works. That way involves learning the root movements between the chords.

Pentamodal Idea - Wed, 10 Feb 2010
The pentatonic scale is, without doubt, one of the guitarist’s chief tools. Modes, on the other hand, can be confusing. Paul Tauteroff shows how guitar players who are already familiar with the pentatonic scale can learn and utilize the modes in their lead guitar playing.

Auto Correct In Guitar Practice - Sat, 06 Feb 2010
Is it better to practice a piece slowly at first or quickly? Teachers and players usually recommend slowly, but there are instances where fast might work. Jamie explores why both methods work, but more importantly details how to recognize and determine when one method is better than the other.

Tip on Inversions - Fri, 05 Feb 2010
How do some guitarists seem to barely move their hand when they change chords? The answer is inversions. Learning how they work can give you a "slowhand."

Newsletter Vol. 3 # 107 – February 1, 2010 - Mon, 01 Feb 2010
Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #107 of Guitar Noise News! I'd like to get in an early wish for a "Happy Chinese New Year" to you all! The Year of the Tiger starts February 14, which is not only Valentines' Day, but also the day before our next newsletter.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Mon, 01 Feb 2010
You don't even have to be a fan of blues music to like Stevie Ray Vaughan. While his success as a "crossover" artist is undeniable, his legacy is still rooted in the blues. In fact, Vaughan is often credited with rescuing blues music from obscurity.

Getting Past ‘Up and Down’ – Part 2: “Turning Notes into Strokes” - Mon, 01 Feb 2010
If you know how to read notation, specifically the rhythm values of notation, you never have to worry about figuring out strumming patterns because everything is spelled out for you. In this lesson, we'll use the main guitar parts from Jack Johnson's song "Taylor" to demonstrate how easy strumming can be.

Building Blocks - Fri, 29 Jan 2010
This tip has to do with a key aspect of learning, enjoying and understanding guitar that I think is mostly absent from both schools and private studios.

Respecting Others While You Practice - Wed, 27 Jan 2010
Practicing the electric guitar can be problematic in the best of situations, and downright hard when you have to worry about your volume levels. Mark Mills returns to the pages of Guitar Noise with a very cool solution that lets you practice at a more than reasonable volume while not disturbing either your family or your neighbors.

How To Practice For Maximum Guitar Speed - Sat, 23 Jan 2010
How many times have you done something absolutely fast in practice only to flub it in a "real" situation, like playing with your band or just jamming with your friends? Tom outlines and explains seven simple steps to help you work on developing your speed on the fretboard straight away and also to be able to keep that speed you perfect in practice when you perform.

Inversions - Fri, 22 Jan 2010
In this lesson we'll see that going up is sometimes the same as going down on the fretboard. We'll need this knowledge of inversions when we start deciphering chord charts.

Newsletter Vol. 3 # 106 – January 15, 2010 - Fri, 15 Jan 2010
Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #106 of Guitar Noise News!As more of the (seemingly endless) book deadlines are passing, I'm thinking that it's long past time that we've had a Guitar Noise Seminar of some sort. So I'm thinking that it might be good to start scheduling maybe one or two for this spring, say possibly early May or early June.

Two Finger Minor Chord - Fri, 15 Jan 2010
Let's return to the one-finger lesson series. The chord we're learning today actually uses two fingers. It's a minor chord, which means it feels kind of sad or final.

Hello In There – John Prine – Songs for Intermediates #29 - Tue, 12 Jan 2010
Here is a beautiful song from songwriter extraodinaire John Prine. This is another arrangement that most beginners can handle, plus we get into some discussion about choosing keys and chord voicings when creating arrangements. And you also get to hear how easy it is to turn this into a simple two-guitar arrangement.

Key Centers and Chord Roots - Fri, 08 Jan 2010
Here's a tip on hearing and playing with key centers. This could help players who can already play a few songs. They can even be three-chord songs.

Guitar Plateaus – What To Do When You’re Stuck - Thu, 07 Jan 2010
If you're traveling along the paths of learning guitar, you will eventually find yourself at a plateau in your learning. Longtime Guitar Noise Contributor, Jamie Andreas of Guitar Principles, explains why simply changing the way you look at being on a plateau, looking at it with the eye of a Guitar Master, can help you move forward in a short time.

Newsletter Vol. 3 # 105 – January 1, 2010 - Fri, 01 Jan 2010
Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #105 of Guitar Noise News! I'm actually writing this newsletter up on Christmas Day, so I'd like to take a moment to wish everyone a "Happy Christmas," although it will be a belated one by the time you read this.

Picking Out Fast Melodies By Ear - Fri, 01 Jan 2010
Someone who can successfully transcribe fast melodies is someone who uses everything he knows about music to make educated guesses at what he's hearing. In other words, the more theory you know - especially theory related to the genre of the music you're transcribing - the better.

All About Tapping. Part1: Legato Training - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
Lesson to teach you all the legato training you need for tapping. No Actual tapping riffs in this lesson, it's more of a preparation for All About Tapping Pt.2

In The Beginning - Tue, 09 Mar 2010
Wondering where to begin? Check out these exercises!

How To Write Everything In A Song With Just A Guitar - Mon, 08 Mar 2010
Have you ever wondered how great songwriters do it? WEll, it's not that hard, and I'll show this to you right NOW! Get your guitar, acoustic preferably (Sounds better when you screw up, I know from experience).

Heavy Metal Easy Key - Fri, 05 Mar 2010
Using the easy key to help with metal, metal core, and death metal playing. Drop D tuning and metal core techniques.

The Challenge Of Studenthood - Confronting Your Limitations - Tue, 02 Mar 2010
Sometimes I get all nostalgic for the times when my students had nothing to do but practice. Ok you're right that time never existed. But really it's tougher than ever to focus on any one thing and devote yourself to becoming masterful at it. We all know how challenging it is to fend off those nagging obligations to all that stuff that gets in the way of us playing music for 8 hours a day!

Learn Simple Ways To Play Good And Fast - Mon, 01 Mar 2010
The easiest ways to make riffs that sound awesome and are so easy to play you only need to know how to play a chord.

Chord Families - Thu, 25 Feb 2010
This lesson is going to discuss the types of chords in a chord family, and also describe WHY they are in the same family. This is primarily for beginers who don't really know the chords in a chord family, but the theory behind this might be new to more advanced players. In a way, this is more of a rhythym/acoustic counterpart to the many "Scales and Modes" lessons.

Simple Box Patterns To Increase Speed - Thu, 25 Feb 2010
A few box patterns to speed up your right hand and your pinky.

Harmonic Minor Diatonic Modes - Tue, 23 Feb 2010
Well by know most of you have mastered the diatonic modes, so this lesson covers the're harmonic counterparts. The Harmonic Minor scale is very exotically middle eastern sounding, and its modes are used throughout all genres of music.

Matt Bellamy Of Muse - Mon, 22 Feb 2010
Matt Bellamy of Muse has been hailed as the best guitarist of the 21st century. His combination of riff-rock, charming vocals, and use of electronica has moved music into a new era. His playing style is one of extreme uniqueness and is an interesting combination of classical trained piano influences and punk/rock guitar.

The Structural Skeleton System - Wed, 17 Feb 2010
The SSS will have you writing several songs in one day.

In The Style Of John Mayer - Wed, 10 Feb 2010
An overview of Mayer's tone, chording, and lead techniques.

Time Signatures From Basic Meters To Compound Or Odd Meters. Part 1 - Mon, 08 Feb 2010
This is a beginning lesson on time signatures Part 1 is the basic structure of timing and Part 2 will be in Odd meters and Compound time.

3rd's 7th's A New Rhythm Approach - Thu, 04 Feb 2010
A new approach to playing rhythm guitar. This lesson is to expand fretboard knowledge and help players think "outside the box" in regards to playing chords. This idea works for blues, jazz, and funk.

A Basic Approach To Chord Tone Soloing - Thu, 28 Jan 2010
This lesson outlines a basic approach to chord tone soloing building a short solo over a progression in Bbm. It is a simple but effective concept which when expanded upon yields extraordinary results.

Tuning Your Guitar III - Mon, 18 Jan 2010
My first lesson... I'll start with some tips on tuning a guitar.

Outright Writing. Part Two - Fri, 15 Jan 2010
Part two of two. An expansion of the first Writing Tips article. This is a file offering advice for writers and songwriters in general.

Beginning Arpeggios: 3-String Exercises - Tue, 12 Jan 2010
This lesson will introduce you to 3-string arpeggios using the bottom 3 strings ("e", "b", "g"). This is an exercise-based lesson demonstrating 3 different interconnecting patterns. Guitar/Chord theory is NOT discussed here! This lesson is appropriate for all levels of playing!

Heavy F--ing Metal. Part 5 - Mon, 11 Jan 2010
The minor scale, some seventh chord arpeggio ideas, and some exotic scales to play around with.

Warm-Up Excercises To Learn The Fretboard - Mon, 11 Jan 2010
A few excercises I do to help learn neck, up and down.

Outright Writing. Part One - Fri, 08 Jan 2010
Part one of two. An expansion of the first Writing Tips article. This is a file offering advice for writers and songwriters in general.

Metal Techniques - Thu, 07 Jan 2010
This lesson will be about various techniques used in metal guitar, and how to execute them.

Theory 101. Part 1 - Tue, 05 Jan 2010
Basic Major scale theory.

Tremolo Picking - Beginners To Advance Excerise And Lesson - Tue, 05 Jan 2010
A Short guide on how to controll, use, and effectively use Tremolo Picking to play fast!

Guitar Crash Course - Tue, 05 Jan 2010
A quick guide to the basics of guitar and other guitar techniques.

How To Spice Up Your Chords - Altered, Diminished, Augmented, Borrowed, Secondary Dominants - Mon, 04 Jan 2010
Ever wondered how to use non-diatonic chords? This article will talk about how to use those black keys, even in C major.

How To Song Write On An Acoustic With Just Chords - Mon, 04 Jan 2010
Have you ever wondered how difficult it is to write an acoustic track of decent stature? Well as long as you can sing and have any hint of imagination, its very, very simple. Well, and I left out that you need to know a few basic chords.

Stretching And Warm-Up Excercises - Mon, 04 Jan 2010
Spending 10-15 minutes every day stretching, strengthning, and coordinating your hands and fingers will pay you long-term dividends for years to come.

How To Understand Guitar Tabs. Part 2 - Fri, 25 Dec 2009

Another Sweep Picking Lesson - Thu, 24 Dec 2009
Fed up with getting lessons on various sweep picking exercises but not being certain about how to pull them off? This lesson will get you started with the technique.