Hey there, friends! Today I want to share what is possibly the single most helpful tip to help you change chords while strumming — and ensure your rhythmic groove stays smooth as butter 🧈 The secret: begin your chord changes while finishing your strum pattern. This means you will briefly be strumming open, unfretted strings... but this buys you valuable time, and it sounds just fine. Check out my new video lesson showing this up-close: LESSON #601Smooth Chord Changes while Strumming Click to...
19 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there, Reader — hard to believe it, but I've reached my 600th weekly guitar lesson! Thanks to all of you who've been along with me on the journey so far. New lesson below... along with a roundup of my favorite songs in 6/8 time! LESSON #600Melodic Beauty of Eddie Vedder's "Rise" Click to watch free video lesson In this lesson I'll teach you to play Eddie Vedder's 2007 song Rise from the Into The Wild soundtrack. This song has remained one of my favorite songs of the 2000s — and I'm excited...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
LESSON #599Unlock the Fretboard with Diagonal Pentatonics Click to Watch Free Video Lesson In today's new lesson, I'm excited to tackle a much-asked-about topic that's been a game changer for my playing in the past year: diagonal pentatonics. This is an informal name I’m using for a particular way to play any pentatonic scale, which allows us to play multiple octaves in an incredibly smooth & fluid manner. Why this approach is worth learning, compared to memorizing the five "box" shapes...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
LESSON #598Let's Dive Into Jimmy Buffett's 1977 Classic In this lesson I’ll teach you to play Jimmy Buffett’s 1977 classic Margaritaville on an acoustic guitar. In the last few years, this is one of the songs I receive requests for the most.... so I'm excited to finally share this lesson! While this song uses just three chords, there’s plenty of opportunity for extra flourish using seventh chord variations and melodic strumming fills. I’ll teach all this using two different approaches: one...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader — to close out a whirlwind end to the summer, I'm excited to bring you a brand new video lesson & a new 16 page PDF handbook! This tackles a topic I've wanted to explore for a long time now, and I can't wait to share. Without further ado... LESSON #597Getting Started with Double Stops!Fun riffs using Harmonized 3rds, 6ths, and 10ths Click to watch free video lesson In today’s lesson I’ll introduce you to double stops, diving straight into a handful of fun & approachable...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
LESSON #596Ozzy Osbourne, Fingerstyle? Yes! Click to watch free lesson » In today’s lesson I show a fun fingerstyle groove inspired by the intro to Ozzy Osbourne’s 1991 hit Mama I’m Coming Home. Instead of teaching the full song, I take the beautiful intro sequence and show you my own spin on it using harmonized 6ths – which allow us to create a beautifully melodic sound with just two strings. As per usual, I'll walk you through things step-by-step. Don't miss my print-friendly practice...
2 months ago • 2 min read
LESSON #595🎵 Around Nassau Town We Did Roam 🎵 Click to watch free video lesson In today’s new lesson I’ll teach you to play the folk-rock classic, Sloop John B. I learned this song through the Beach Boys, only recently realizing it came from the folk tradition of Nassau in the Bahamas. My lesson starts with the basic chords and strumming, before teaching a few ways to spice things up. I’ll end with an overview of the melody, in case you want to incorporate that into your strumming,...
3 months ago • 1 min read
NOW AVAILABLEMinor Key Handbook! My friends! Today, I'm happy to share a brand new 8-page PDF guide that dives into minor keys. My aim is to give you everything you need to know when jamming or playing songs in any minor key — from chord families to common progressions, minor CAGED shapes, plus a list of all my song lessons in minor keys. Here's a video tour if you want a quick overview of the handbook. I do plan on making more videos diving into these topics, in time — but for now, I trust...
3 months ago • 1 min read
In today’s new lesson, I teach melody deep-dive for Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah — showing you a way to play the melody notes and chords at the same time. This makes for an incredibly satisfying way to play this amazing song, as it allows you to capture the recognizable melody line in a way that sounds bigger & more full thanks to the strummed chords. Click to view my video lesson Don't miss the additional content I have for this lesson! This includes a zoomed playthrough video, a play-along...
3 months ago • 1 min read