Dan's Guitar Lessons
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Assuming that you've got
the basics down, lets go over some important/cool guitar techniques.
LESSON 5 ~ Riffs
In guitar terms, a "riff" is a short melody played on the guitar. Well-known riffs include the intro to Smoke on the Water, Iron Man, Crazy Train, and Smells Like Teen Spirit.
Its important to understand and be able to quickly learn most riffs... Using the tabs below, see what how far you can get.
Smells Like Teen
Spirit
E:
B:
G:
D:
6 6 6
A: 3 3 3 8 8 8 6 6 6
4 4 4
E: 1 1 1 6 6 6 4 4 4
Breaking The Law
E:
B:
G:
D:
A: 0 2 3 0 2 3 0 2 3
3 2 0 ~
E:
1 3 5 1 3 5
Badass.
LESSON 6 ~ Chords
Chords are a group of 3 or more notes played together. Guitar in a traditional sense is made up of mostly chords "strummed," or played together with a pick.
To play a chord:
- Fret all the needed notes with the right hand, muting any unnecessary strings.
- Strike all the notes with the pick at same time with the same motion.
Although there can be thousands of possible chords, only a select few are really useful on guitar.
Make sure you know these - - -
E Major
E: 0
B: 0
G: 1
D: 2
A: 2
E: 0
G Major
E: 3
B: 0
G: 0
D: 0
A: 2
E: 3
C Major
E: x
B: 1
G: 0
D: 2
A: 3
E: x
A Minor
E: 0
B: 1
G: 2
D: 2
A: 0
E: x
LESSON 7 ~ Power Chords
THE MOST IMPORTANT GUITAR TECHNIQUE. Disregard every other lesson on my site unless you understand this.
Power Chords (formally known as 5th chords) are very simple chords made up of 2-3 notes and played on the bottom 3 strings. With a knowledge of power chords, you can quickly play any needed chord anytime.
Many guitar teachers don't teach this because they consider it "too easy" and that it ruins the craftsmanship of the instrument. $%^& that.
The same power chord shape is used everywhere on the neck. It looks something like this -
E:
B:
G:
D: 7
A: 7
E: 5
If you understand where different notes (A, B, E, etc.) are on the E string, you can move that same shape around to any of those notes on the E string to form a chord.
MOST GUITAR SONGS ARE BASED ON POWER CHORDS.
LESSON 8 ~ Scales
A musical scale is a group of notes played in sequence that fit into a certain key. Note that this is musical theory minded, so don't get too confused by certain terms I use here.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW is that a few scales are really important for learning lead guitar.
Here's the most crucial scale... the "box" scale. This is easy to remember, can be moved to start on any note on the low E string, and sounds good with almost any type of song.
Important: All scales that I teach can be moved around the neck to start on any note, as long as it's on the low E String
Minor Pentatonic
(in this case starting on A)
E:
5 ~
B:
5 8
G:
5 7
D:
5 7
A: 5 7
E: 5 8
The Minor Pentatonic, or Box Scale forms a box-like shape which is easy/comfortable to play. Practice this whenever possible and remember it. We'll come back to this scale during lessons further ahead on improvisation and lead guitar skills.
LESSON 9 ~ Hammer-ons and Pulloffs
One of the most widely used techniques, Hammer-Ons/Pulloffs are used both to save effort of picking and to create a unique sound.
A hammer-on is when a guitarist sounds a note, then frets another higher note without picking. (Even though no pick-stroke is used, the higher note is still heard.)
To hammer on:
- Fret the first note.
- Sound the note, and fret the second note without picking again.
Pulloffs are basically the same concept but applied in reverse.
To pull-off:
- Fret the second (highest) note, with another finger already fretting the lowest note.
- Pick, and then release your finger from the highest note without picking a second time. The lower pitch should now be heard.
Hammer-ons and Pulloffs in tabs - - -
In tab, these techniques are easy to notice.
Here's two notes picked regularly.
G: 12 14
This is the same two notes (ascending) played using a hammer-on instead of a second pick stroke.
G: 12h14
Again, here's those two notes picked, but this time in descending order.
G: 14 12
And finally... the descending notes using a pulloff.
G: 14p12
PRACTICE THIS EVERY DAY ---
Your hammer-ons and pulloffs are an extremely important part of guitar technique. No lie... this will be needed for almost everything we do later on so make sure you've got it down.
LESSON 10 ~ Bends
The unique sounds heard in guitar music are in a large part due to what we call "bends."
A "bend" means that you first sound a note, and then literally bend the string with your left hand so that it raises to a second note.
HOW TO BEND:
- Fret your starting note using two, instead of the usual one, fingers. This allows for needed support when bending.
- Pick that note and press up using those fingers. Be sure that you don't lose control in mid-bend because that can dampen the sound and cause problems.
BENDING IN TABS - - -
G: 14^16
Keep in mind that 14 is the starting note and 16 is the note that you're bending to.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Although not used often in rhythm, bends are a critical skill for lead guitar playing. This will be very useful later on, so practice it whenever possible.