Fingers

Your Fingers Are Just Fine

Every beginning guitarist I’ve taught has lamented the supposed inadequacy of his/her fingers. Some are too short, some are too fat, some are too skinny, some don’t bend the right way, some are too weak. Don’t let these things get …

Zakk Wylde Solo

The Magic Guitar Position

If you’re new to the guitar, you’ve probably been frustrated a few times trying to stretch your fingers out to fret the different notes in a chord. Over time, your fingers will improve at doing this, and those chords will …

Music Theory

Why Learn Music Theory?

Learning music theory is essential for recreating and communicating musical ideas. While some great professional musicians are known to have skipped conventional music theory entirely, they’ll always be handicapped, unable to articulate musical ideas other than by playing or humming. …

Toy piano showing scale degrees

The Easiest Intro to Music Theory

The major scale is the root of all music theory. Know it well, and the rest of music theory will become easier than you thought possible. Everything else relates back to the major scale, so it’s crucial to be familiar …

Open Chord

8 Essential Open Chords and How to Use Them

What is an open chord? Technically, it’s any chord employing at least one open string. With that definition, you could make thousands. However, the term “open chord” usually refers to one of only eight basic open chords, which I’ll cover …

Pick Protrusion

How to Hold a Guitar Pick

Proper picking technique is one of the most-discussed aspects of guitar playing. The overlooked truth is that there are as many picking techniques as there are guitar players. A quick look at some of the fastest pickers out there will …