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I am feeling a little blue today, having just brought two of my boys back from visiting the dentist (ouch!) and a little funky, seeing as this is my first post to this blog in more than a few days/weeks/months! Anyway, when feeling both blue & funky nothing matches the mood better than a funky blues! Here for your jamming pleasure is a groovy jam track, ... Full story

Some chord progressions you have heard for years and will continue to hear years from now. Such is the case with the venerable I-vi-IV-V progression (read "1-6-4-5" progression). I call this the "Oldies Progression" because so many classic songs from the 1950's used these changes. While the term 'oldies progression' might help you memorize these chord changes you will hear this progression used by groups from ... Full story

Sometimes the simple things can prevent you from playing guitar well if not payed attention to. This is certainly the case with fingernail care and shape for guitarists. Learn the basics in this video guitar lesson: httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b4vammUZMM I personally use a combination of guitar pick, fingers and nails for my right hand technique. Sometimes I use the flesh of the right hand fingers for the ... Full story

Do your fingers come far off the guitar neck when you play? The following warm-up exercise is one of the best I know of to cure this bad habit. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsduAtbArU4 This warm-up exercise (shown to me by guitar madman Steve Trovato) is one of the best I know of to cure the bad habit of letting your fingers drift far away ... Full story

Most Blues and Rock guitarists play the Minor Pentatonic scale using just two patterns that cover the entire neck. Learn them in this video guitar lesson. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfLXYmnEzw The Minor Pentatonic scale is one of the most widely used scales in improvisation in every musical style so it makes sense to know it well all over the guitar neck. When it comes ... Full story

Expand your chord knowledge by thinking of chords "upside-down" in this video guitar lesson. Full story

I am labeling this jam 'jazz blues' but it is not a traditional jazz-blues 12-bar progression. That is for another lesson. However, I found this minor jazz blues jam to be one of the easier jazz progressions to solo over as I made the transition from rock style guitar to blues to jazz. It is modeled on the tune "Footprints" by sax great Wayne Shorter, ... Full story

OK, it isn't officially validated by the Guinness Book of World Records yet. But, to my knowledge, the following 65+ jokes are the largest collection of guitar and guitarist related jokes found on the internet. Enjoy them and don't get offended! Guitar Jokes 1 Q: Why are so many guitarists jokes one-liners? A: So the rest of the ... Full story

Drop D Tuning is likely the most popular alternate tuning for guitar. It is often associated with modern hard rock bands and easy one-finger 'power chords'. However, in the following guitar lesson you will see that this tuning has been used by well known band for decades and has more to offer than just rock chords. To tune to Drop D is very easy. ... Full story

Many guitarists don't consider themselves singers. My long term advice: learn to sing! But if you want to be the band leader when you step to the stage at your local jam night, instrumentals will be your songs of choice. Fortunately, for blues guitarists there are lots of choices. The Bluesbreakers album with Eric ... Full story