The ancient Greeks categorized music in 3 ways: Melody corresponds to intellect, Harmony corresponds to emotion, and Rhythm corresponds to the physical body. It...
Captain’s Log: Stardate 4813.7 - A large black monolith has been discovered on a far away planet. It’s contents are being scrutinized, and seem to include a tim...
Yvonne de Villiers was the visionary, co-founder and designer for Luna Guitars. Alex Morgan is a freelance designer based in the UK who partnered with Yvonne on...
In The Jam features world-class artists including Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Keith Carlock, Steve Smith, Carl Verheyen, Stu Hamm, Frank Vignola, Julian Lage a...
This time, I’ve been thinking about how we learn and some of the challenges we face as students and teachers. Specifically, I have been trying to remember how I...
Here ye, here ye! Audiophiles, guitar aficionados and enlightened children of the ‘Fire — prepare thy ears and hearts for magical music from the artists and...
One of the highlights of every summer and winter NAMM convention is Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night benefit concert. Each event features a variety of 12...
Racing heart, shortness of breath, adrenalin rushing through every vessel in my body — I felt like a kid visiting Disneyland for the first time. Bright, shiny, ...
With Herculean chops, a thunderous sound and Texas hurricane-sized soul, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan turned the world on its ear with his blistering blues guita...
Starting to develop the craft of single note soloing can seem like trying to stroll through the rainforest or climbing a mountain without a map, GPS, or guide. ...
I hear that from students often. It usually goes something like this, “I already know my pentatonics and am tired of just bluesy licks, so I need to learn other...
There was a time when I thought that achieving true musical freedom required an in-depth knowledge of every single scale, arpeggio shape, chord inversion and an...
Throughout the evolution of popular music, there have been select artists whose contribution has represented a musical quantum leap. Django Reinhardt ...
Having a collection of versatile right-hand (picking-hand) techniques is important for any well-rounded fingerstyle player. When it comes to the Travis-Picking ...
I grew up in the country in the middle of Iowa. Not a real music mecca. I decided I wanted to learn how to play guitar, and set out to look for an instructor. Y...
Carl Verheyen is one of the cats that I’ve worked with over the years that made a lasting impression on me. I equate his personality, in a lot of ways, with wha...
There’s a colorful tale—likely true—about the late, great Chet Atkins, which begins with him playing his guitar. As the story goes, a woman walked up to complim...
You’re watching a popular singer onstage in front of a crowded room. They get out of the second chorus and look to their side to watch the guitarist lay down a ...
We all love a feel-good movie where our hero seems to have no chance, but against all odds comes out on top. Rocky comes from rough circumstances, but overcomes...
Once upon a time, way back in the early years of TrueFire, the phone rang on my desk late in the afternoon. I remember being buried with work and up against a d...
The Navy has its SEALs, the Army its Rangers, the Marines have their Raiders, and law enforcement has their SWAT. All comprised of select individuals, trained t...
Jeff McErlain is a gritty guitarist with a long history of playing and teaching. His blues trio can be seen pouring it out on the stage in clubs in NYC, and his...
Let’s face it, playing chords with awkward fingerings is a pain in the hand. But this shouldn’t stop us from exploring all of our harmonic possibilities. Oftent...
Last year, on July 16, 2014, the world lost one of the true shining stars of the guitar, legendary blues/rock guitar great Johnny Winter. Back in the winter of ...
