Lessons “A lot of times when someone says, ‘They have good technique, but there’s something missing,’ what’s actually missing is part of the technique”: Paul Gilbert on the essentials of great guitar playing For beginners and remedial players alike, these pointers are crucial May 2024 Guitar Player Lesson Audio Follow the lead of players like Mark Knopfler, Albert Collins, and Lindsey Buckingham, and open the door to new techniques and textures, with this primer in fingerstyle rock guitar Eddie Van Halen also incorporated fingerstyle to add another dimension to his playing, and so have modern virtuosos like Tim Henson, Lari Basilio, and Mateus Asato – learn how you can do the same Latest Lessons Learn How to Use Suspended Chords in the Style of Jimmy Page, Van Halen, the Police, Pantera and Others By Guitar Player Staff published 31 August 23 Ditch the 3rd and explore sus 2, sus 4 and 7sus4 chords using open-position and movable voicings How to Advance Your Hybrid-Picking Technique in Four Easy Steps By Jimmy Leslie published 29 August 23 Make the most of these simple exercises and tips and you’ll have a million songs in myriad styles at your fingertips Five Great Ways to Improve Your Thumb Technique and Make Your Sound Stand Out By Jimmy Leslie published 29 August 23 Free your thumb and fabulous fingerstyle will follow The Ultimate Greta Van Fleet Guitar Lesson By Jeff Jacobson published 23 August 23 Learn how Jake Kiszka bridges the past to the present with tasteful 1970s-style rock guitar riffing “When Using an Open Tuning, Music Theory and Thinking in Terms of Scales and Chords Goes out the Window”: Acoustic Master Peppino D’Agostino Shares Insights Into Making Musical Magic By Jimmy Leslie published 23 August 23 The “Transcendent Acoustic Superhero” explains how to free your mind and open the door to new creative possibilities using alternate tunings “The Reality Is, the Most Expensive Guitar in the World Isn’t Going to Improve Your Playing”: Nili Brosh’s Top Tips for Guitarists By Joe Bosso published 18 August 23 The versatile virtuoso has performed with the likes of Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and Jennifer Batten, and has some choice bits of wisdom to share with players “I Was Instantly Humbled”: First Call Session Guitarist Carl Verheyen Shares Rare Insights Into Allan Holdsworth’s Unorthodox Chord Voicings – as Revealed by the Man Himself By Carl Verheyen published 16 August 23 “This concept of spreading out the notes of a chord into wide-interval voicings like this resonated with me years later,” says the Supertramp alumnus and seasoned solo artist Have the Same Old Blues Chord Shapes Become Stale and Boring? Here’s How to Avoid Sounding Predictable By Guitar Player Staff published 16 August 23 Avoid the trap of humdrum chords by getting command of a few alternate dominant voicings Fatten Your Chops With Double-Stops in the Style of Blues Legends Like B.B. King, Lightnin' Hopkins and Robert Johnson By Guitar Player Staff published 15 August 23 These essential phrases will help you speak the language of blues guitar Three Sure-Fire Ways to Break out of That Old Minor-Pentatonic Deadlock By Mac Randall published 11 August 23 Completely alter your use of the minor pentatonic scale using these examples in the style of Jimmy Page, Noel Gallagher, Robert Fripp, Peter Green and Eric Clapton 123456789Archives Get The Pick NewsletterAll the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors MOST READ1Jackson Browne, John Mellencamp, Mavis Staples honored by Bruce Springsteen at second annual American Music Honors 2Peter Frampton reveals the stories behind five of his classic tracks3PRS SE CE24, SE Custom 24 Quilt and SE Swamp Ash Special review 4How a deeply personal twist of events brought a beloved 'Burst into Vince Gill's life5How Noel Gallagher and Beck helped bring the Black Keys' latest funky full-length, Ohio Players, to life
Learn How to Use Suspended Chords in the Style of Jimmy Page, Van Halen, the Police, Pantera and Others By Guitar Player Staff published 31 August 23 Ditch the 3rd and explore sus 2, sus 4 and 7sus4 chords using open-position and movable voicings
How to Advance Your Hybrid-Picking Technique in Four Easy Steps By Jimmy Leslie published 29 August 23 Make the most of these simple exercises and tips and you’ll have a million songs in myriad styles at your fingertips
Five Great Ways to Improve Your Thumb Technique and Make Your Sound Stand Out By Jimmy Leslie published 29 August 23 Free your thumb and fabulous fingerstyle will follow
The Ultimate Greta Van Fleet Guitar Lesson By Jeff Jacobson published 23 August 23 Learn how Jake Kiszka bridges the past to the present with tasteful 1970s-style rock guitar riffing
“When Using an Open Tuning, Music Theory and Thinking in Terms of Scales and Chords Goes out the Window”: Acoustic Master Peppino D’Agostino Shares Insights Into Making Musical Magic By Jimmy Leslie published 23 August 23 The “Transcendent Acoustic Superhero” explains how to free your mind and open the door to new creative possibilities using alternate tunings
“The Reality Is, the Most Expensive Guitar in the World Isn’t Going to Improve Your Playing”: Nili Brosh’s Top Tips for Guitarists By Joe Bosso published 18 August 23 The versatile virtuoso has performed with the likes of Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and Jennifer Batten, and has some choice bits of wisdom to share with players
“I Was Instantly Humbled”: First Call Session Guitarist Carl Verheyen Shares Rare Insights Into Allan Holdsworth’s Unorthodox Chord Voicings – as Revealed by the Man Himself By Carl Verheyen published 16 August 23 “This concept of spreading out the notes of a chord into wide-interval voicings like this resonated with me years later,” says the Supertramp alumnus and seasoned solo artist
Have the Same Old Blues Chord Shapes Become Stale and Boring? Here’s How to Avoid Sounding Predictable By Guitar Player Staff published 16 August 23 Avoid the trap of humdrum chords by getting command of a few alternate dominant voicings
Fatten Your Chops With Double-Stops in the Style of Blues Legends Like B.B. King, Lightnin' Hopkins and Robert Johnson By Guitar Player Staff published 15 August 23 These essential phrases will help you speak the language of blues guitar
Three Sure-Fire Ways to Break out of That Old Minor-Pentatonic Deadlock By Mac Randall published 11 August 23 Completely alter your use of the minor pentatonic scale using these examples in the style of Jimmy Page, Noel Gallagher, Robert Fripp, Peter Green and Eric Clapton