Guitar Nine Columns: Guitar Technique

A physical exercise routine designed to help you build strength and speed.

Boldly go where you as a guitar player have never gone before.

Some ways to build (or rebuild) good guitar-playing habits.

Barre chords - they can be tricky to learn!

Some things I wish I knew during my first year of playing guitar.

Letting notes ring can do wonders for your compositions.

If you are a Western musician, this is probably going to sound 'new' to you.

Installing new pickups on the guitar is the most common upgrade one can make.

Hell's Bells! You can make music with it.

Installing new pickups on the guitar is the most common upgrade one can make.

We have an interesting situation here regarding the augmented scale.

Don't learn guitar from YouTube! Yes, there is a video.

The Minor Add9 arpeggio has more uses than you imagine.

Bonamassa's vibrato, his creative bends, and a handful of sweet licks.

The answer will probably surprise most readers.

And... learn from Tommaso why this matters.

Become a better improviser by learning new licks.

Embracing the cliche' and trying to make it better.

Upgrade your current guitar with better hardware or opt for a shiny brand new one?

Is there such a thing as the 'most emotional note' in a key?

Specific points that will help you, in order to get better on both instruments.

The B diminished chord is objectively harder to use than the other major and minor chords.

An instrumental shred version of the Iron Maiden track "Fear Of The Dark".

Voice leading: unlocking the very DNA of musical structure and showing how it lives.

An introduction to the riffs and chords from the Carlos Santana song "Smooth", off of "Supernatural".

There are techniques to make the same simple chord progression sound differently.

The Neapolitan Major Scale is, in fact, a minor scale, but don't spread that around.

Alien surfer and guitar instructor Joe Satriani discusses melody, specifically, how to stretch out a melody.

This movement is by far one of the most common 'blind spots' that guitar players have.

Not all exotic scales are used exclusively by extreme metal players.

Searching for interesting chords to put before a dominant chord.

Steve discusses melody writing, phrasing, dynamics and more using his track "For The Love Of God".

The differences between regular and scalloped fretboards explained.

Write dissonant but delightful music using the Neapolitan minor scale or chord.

Dan Hawkins' masterclass focuses on pentatonics for bass.

A method to move freely around the fretboard.

Start incorporating bends more fluidly into your playing.

McRocklin's masterclass covers his track "New Beginnings" (B minor) in great detail.

An exercise that you can use to build a powerful picking hand.

Exercises that will challenge you to build a deeper connection with your guitar.

Don't neglect your hands. Tips for hand health.

Learn to make music using exotic scales.