Hey Friend,

Intervals, in my opinion, are the basic building blocks of music theory. They're what give you the understanding of how to dive into the deeper pool of more advanced musical concepts.

For this reason, I think they're an invaluable tool in any songwriter, composer, or musician's arsenal.

That's why I want to go over them in detail, how they work, and how they can help, as well as how you can integrate them into your practice routine and know them like the back of your hand.

Intervals were the…

Hey Friend, 

I want to talk to you today about improvisation. It's an incredibly important skill as a musician, particularly if you're a guitarist, or interested in songwriting. Check out the video: 

In the video, we go over the how, what, and why of improvisation AND I give you a special gift at the end of the video to get you improvising TODAY. 

Even if you're already doing it, it's never a bad thing to add another resource to aid you in your growth and learning. 

Let me know what you think about…

Hey Friend,

Have you ever been in a position where you were asked to write or improvise a solo while jamming and came up short? I've been there too, and it's not a great feeling.

But, we can help alleviate that by learning a few runs that we can turn to in our time of need, when we can't think of anything else to play. In the video, I give you 5 easy runs based on the minor pentatonic scale and teach you how to play them, in detail.

Let me know what you think of these runs by leaving a comment below.

…

Hey hey!

Apologies for the radio silence. The current pandemic has left me busier than usual (which is common for many in the online space). 

For now, you may only be see a video every other week. But, I'm going to try my hardest to make that content as valuable to you as possible. To that end...

I want to tackle something really controversial today, something that really eats at me whenever I hear it. And maybe you've heard this phrase from someone you know, or even said it to yourself:

"I don't have…

Hey Friends,

It's never too late to start your guitar journey and it doesn't actually take all that long to start. In fact, it only takes five minutes!

Learning guitar, or any instrument, can become a lifelong passion, a hobby that will help you think more creatively in any aspect of your life. The key here is time. If you keep putting it in, you literally can't help but get better.

Let's get you started with the parts of the guitar, some positioning tips, and your first two chords and strums.

If you've…

Hey friends,

Deciding to get our first guitar is an extremely exciting decision. However, that excitement can quickly turn into overwhelm when we see just how many choices and options there are out there.

There's one myth in particular about getting your first guitar that I want to dissipate, one that I used to propagate as a teacher for years.

**YOU DON'T HAVE TO BUY AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR FIRST**

Now, this myth is there for a reason. There are proven benefits to playing an acoustic guitar as a beginner, but…

Hey Hey!

Today, I'd like to talk about a simple tool that all beginners learn, but is immensely valuable that we'll use all the time as guitar players: Chord Charts.

Learning to read a chord chart is a must if you're looking to be a proficient guitar player. Throughout our journeys we'll come across chords that we either don't know, or have heard of, but don't know how to play. That's where a chord chart comes in.

It's a simple and effective way to learn how to play any chord you could possibly want.

If…

Hey hey!

I have a confession to make: I hate capos. Truly, there's only a couple of reasons that will make me pull one out. 

Capos can be used as a crutch, and the last thing we want is to become overly dependent on a tool, because that means we've stopped growing as guitarists, musicians, and songwriters. 

This week, I want to discuss when we shouldn't use a capo, but also when we absolutely should out of necessity. It can a little bit nuanced, so check out the video to get all the answers you need.

See…

Welcome back to the How To Write A Melody series!

Last week, we covered a method called "Follow The Chords," where we wrote out a chord progression first and then wrote a melody to it. This takes away a lot of options in terms of the notes we can hit that will sound good, which helps us make better use of the ones that do.

This week we're diving right into the deep end and talking about using established forms to write a melody. Forms have been around for a long time and take a bit of front-end music…

Hey Friends!

Last week, we covered an extremely popular and versatile technique for writing melodies. I called it, Follow The Notes. 

Today, we're going to cover another popular technique, one that you may not even know that you're using:

Follow The Chords.

This is a very common technique among songwriters, particularly those who play multi-string instruments capable of playing chords, like keyboard and guitar. While it may seem similar to Follow The Notes, it has some pretty key limitations that will…