Guitar Nine Columns: Guest Columnists

Mike digs a little deeper into the Altered scale, aka Super Locrian.

Simon takes a close look at the use of chords in this popular tuning.

It's a misconception that inspiration is something that just appears out of thin air.

Check out the 12-string guitar, as well as the songs you could practice and learn from using this instrument.

An endless variety of melodic phrases can be derived from the permutation of chord tones.

Mike teaches soloing over chord changes with a track from his album, "The Fire Within".

Get memorable - immerse yourself into the world of repetition.

Write an inspirational song that people actually want to listen to by incorporating different keys.

Avoiding these crippling mistakes will eliminate frustration and lead to satisfying arrangements.

If your songs are pleasant to listen to, but not the most captivating, check out these tips.

A way of playing your guitar where you can sound full and complete without needing someone else to play with you.

Write an inspirational song that people actually want to listen to by incorporating different keys.

Mike has a new album, "The Fire Within". and breaks down a few of the notable tracks.

Learn the sophisticated, awe inspired, and flat out mind-blowing style of percussive acoustic guitar.

Is learning music theory is the way to go, or, will it drain your potential?

Additional rhythmic variations to practice using the pentatonic scale as the vehicle.

Mike delivers the keys to unlocking specific sounds, such as the Phrygian dominant mode, from the Harmonic Minor scale.

Having a solid strategy for promoting your music and building your fanbase is so important - the good news is that there are endless ways to promote your music online.

Deepen your knowledge of the Minor Pentatonic scale, free yourself from the “5 boxes slavery”, expand your phrasing vocabulary and stimulate your creativity.

Learning to use musical form will help you "cast" an idea into an entire song.

Deepen your knowledge of the Minor Pentatonic scale, free yourself from the “5 boxes slavery”, expand your phrasing vocabulary and stimulate your creativity.

a simple and fun trick that many professionals often use in their songs.

How to use your 'dead time' tp maximum advantage.

Rosocha teaches permutations - altered scale shapes based on fretboard position.

Exploding the myths surrounding talent, inspiration and writer's block.

Gaining fluency with triad arpeggios will help your soloing and rhythm playing.

Play great songs such as “Landslide”, "Dust In The Wind" and "The Boxer".

Tommaso delves into guitar solo harmonies - they are not as hard as they look.

Take you guitar playing to the next level with Tommaso's best advice for the intermediate player.

Tips on how to ready yourself for your next burst of songwriting inspiration.

Slide guitar offers a very cool and unique sound that cannot be emulated any other way.

Anyone (including yourself) can learn to develop creativity by using the proven methods and strategies for reaching this goal.

Mark covers the essential picking styles new guitarists need to learn (or at least be familiar with).

Mike shows you several ways to spice up your riffs, lines and solos with some chromatic passing tones.

A technique that allows you to play both the melody and accompaniment parts of a blues tune at the same time.

Online streaming is a good way of adding a new revenue channel to your live shows.

Mike teaches you scale sequences (in the Hanon style, adapted from piano) that are great for your dexterity and precision.

There's a chance you have too many unfinished songs sitting on your computer, or maybe even on your bookshelf - let's finish them.

Melodies are what stick in the listeners mind and convey passion and emotion: creating coherence in your solos.

These exercises will help you to focus on string crossing with alternate picking, and also to help you develop left/right hand synchronization, speed and stamina.

Anyone (including yourself) can learn to develop creativity by using the proven methods and strategies for reaching this goal.

An original work (part one of two preludes) composed for solo electric guitar, in tabulature and standard notation.