by Sam Smiley Let’s face it, guitarists are thieves. We steal from other players, other styles, and even other instruments. One of my favorite places to steal from is the pedal steel guitar. It’s a lot of fun and always perks up a few ears in the audience. Plus you can get instant cred with [...]

by Richard Gilewitz In regards to a successful performance, at this point I’m convinced it all comes down to a combination of elements such as repertoire, momentum, execution of the selected pieces, the player’s personality, and for me one of the most important items – exquisite sound quality. There are, without a doubt, a multitude [...]

by Tom Bills What is it and why is it so important?   For many guitar players the concept of scale length may be something that they have heard of once or twice but never really understood. Many players may simply view it as a measure of how close or far apart the frets will [...]

Richard Gilewitz If I had to pick one topic students and players have asked me about regarding difficulties in playing the guitar, I still believe I would lean towards addressing the frustrations that are shared when beginners (in particular) attempt bar chords. While observing some players as they approach applying bar chords within tunes, I [...]

by Harper Willis A lot of guitarists add chord voicings to their repertoire by learning the root position of a new chord type on a given set of strings, and then all of its inversions on that same set of strings.   Example of Major7 Voicing and its Inversions   Learning chords as part of [...]

by Sam Smiley Let’s face it, guitarists are thieves. We steal from other players, other styles, and even other instruments. One of my favorite places to steal from is the pedal steel guitar. It’s a lot of fun and always perks up a few ears in the audience. Plus you can get instant cred with [...]