“Iron Man” by Black Sabbath - Video Guitar Lesson
One of the all-time HEAVIEST guitar riffs must be “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath. Fill your victims (neighbors!) full of dread by turning your amp up to 11 and playing this Tony Iommi classic!
The tabs are in the video (full and 1/2 speed, how cool!) but here they are for your off-video practice.
You might also like to check out the following resources:
Metal Guitar Jam Track #3 - Van Halen style
Give the people what they want! That’s the credo I hope to follow with my guitar teaching website, GuitarTeacher.com. And as I look at my most popular posts I see “Metal Jam Track #1” competing neck and neck with… “Metal Jam Track #2“! So, can you guess what I came up with for today’s jam track? That’s right! It is time for Metal Jam Track #3!!
Straight off of my Van Halen Style lesson series for Riff Interactive comes this “Hot For Teacher” sound-a-like jam track in the key of A.
The following scales all work well:
And here is how to play the backing riff. Always good to know the rhythm parts, even for you lead players. The groove is a hyper-speed rock shuffle.
Want something else? Let me know by commenting!
Tip of the Day - Consistent Practicing
Practicing is key to becoming a better guitarist, obviously. But all practice time is not equal.
In my experience, practicing consistently 15-20 minutes a day makes for quicker progress than practicing for 90-120 minutes one day and not touching the guitar the rest of the week. Practicing consistently 90-120 minutes (or more) a day? Even better. 
4 Scales You Should Know
When it comes to guitar soloing, there are four scales that can be applied more often than any others. They are the Minor Pentatonic Scale, the Natural Minor Scale, the Major Scale and the Major Pentatonic Scale. Following are the most common patterns for each type. They include an easy-to-find root note on the heaviest (6th) string. These examples are all in the key of A.
Practice these patterns from the lowest-pitch root note to the highest note. Then descend from the highest note to the original root. This teaches both your ears and your fingers the full range of the pattern. Once you can do this, wander through and explore the sound of each scale. Or try them over appropriate jam tracks.
Latin Minor Bossa Guitar Jam Track
Here is a cool Latin Guitar Jam Track that I think will appeal to fans of all guitar styles. It is a ‘bossa’ style groove, a very common latin-jazz feel. It stays on one chord, Dm7, throughout. Rock players will probably dig playing Carlos Santana inspired licks against this one.
Here are a few scale suggestions:
D Minor Bossa Vamp - Suggested Scales
The E Minor Pentatonic scale is a great substitution against this Dm7 vamp, implying the Dorian mode. The Rule: Against a minor 7th chord, go up one whole-step and play that Minor Pentatonic.
“Wanted: Dead or Alive” Guitar Lesson - Intro
A song that seems to get alot of requests on-stage and at backyard/campfire jams is “Wanted: Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi. This tune is a great rock anthem with some very cool arpeggio picking guitar parts
The tabs are in the video (full and 1/2 speed, how cool!) but here they are for your off-video practice.
Wanted Dead or Alive Intro
Wanted Dead or Alive Intro - Part 2
You might also like to check out the following resources:
Or take private lessons with me.
Play “About A Girl” by Nirvana - Video Guitar Lesson
It’s nearly 15 years since the death of guitarist/songwriter Kurt Cobain but the music of Nirvana still influences almost every ‘alternative’ rock group to this day. Great songwriting, great voice and a great riff writer. This video guitar lesson shows how to play Nirvana’s “About A Girl”, the MTV Unplugged “Live in New York” version.
On the video I first run through the parts then show the parts half speed, breaking down the chords, strum patterns and the solo.
If you like this lesson and want to learn more Nirvana consider taking private lessons with me. You might also like to check out the following resources:
And, as always, please subscribe to my RSS feed. And tell a friend!
‘Funk E’ - Rock Fusion Jam Track #2
This has a feel reminiscent to the Miles Davis track “Jean Pierre”. Great for open-ended, anything-goes jamming in E. It is basically a static E7 chord with some extensions thrown in for “jazziness”.
Here are a few scale suggestions:
The F Diminished scale give you the E Half Step/Whole Step Diminished Scale which is gives some nice color notes against the static Dominant chord.
GuitarTeacher.com Forum
I added a forum today, bringing a new layer of interactivity to the website. This forum is available for everyone at http://guitarteacher.com/forum or by simply clicking the link at the top of each page.
There are three main areas. Guests can view and post in the first area. I will answer questions as I can. The second area is viewable to all but can be posted on by registered members only. Registration is free and the registration links are on each page. I have private and group student channels in this area as well as an open question area . None of your registration information will be shared with any third parties. ‘Ask the Teacher‘ members have a third, private forum channel that is only viewable by them.
As a bonus to registering (it’s free, remember!) you can tag favorite pages with a link found near the bottom of each post. Your ‘Favorite Posts’ links will show up in the sidebar making it easy to find your favorite lessons!
I am working on some free content to giveaway to registered members as a thank you. I will keep you updated. Until then, visit the GuitarTeacher.com forum.
12 Minor Keys Jam Track
Changing keys is a challenge presented by jazz and jazz-rock styles. Today’s jam track exercises your key-changing prowess.
It back-cycles through the Circle of 5ths every 2 bars through all 12 keys. A great way to workout your ear and all those scale patterns you’re learning on GuitarTeacher.com!
Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts
Stay up to date by subscribing to the website RSS feed or email summaries.
Recent Posts
Ask The Teacher
Professional guitar support available 24/7! Stop web searching and start playing!About
My name is Storm Stenvold. Welcome to my online lesson studio, Guitar Teacher.com!
I teach individual and group guitar lessons online (since 2001) and have taught guitar for 17 years. I was a founding faculty member of ...read more