Hello friends,
Today I'm working on a new country lead guitar lesson and jam track in the style of Merle Haggard. This track features a 5.4.1 progression (A, G, D), which is often used as a turnaround or intro for country tunes.
Jam over this using your D major pentatonic or blues scale, and be sure to consider usi...
2017-07-06 17:01:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
This morning I dug back into the Swiftlessons archive and created a chord sheet for my tutorial on the 60's classic "Soldier of Love" (Lay Down Your Arms) by Buzz Cason and Tony Moon. In the featured video, I break down the chords used in the 1998 Pearl Jam version, and the original version performed by Arthur A...
2017-06-30 13:15:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello Premium Patrons,
This evening I'm working on a revamped lesson and tablature for Dave Van Ronk's "Green Green Rocky Road". This will be a premium lesson using my current format, meaning it will include a full demonstration and more in-depth instruction.
In the meantime, help yourself to the attached tablature...
2017-06-30 02:38:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial. In this session I'll be showing you how to play the Audrey Hepburn version of "Moon River" from the film Breakfast at Tiffany's. I'll take you through the tunes many jazzy chord changes, and break down it's finger-style rhythm techniques. Let's get started!
...
2017-06-28 20:37:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
I thought you might like to know what I'm up to creatively. Today I recorded a new demo for "Love is Real," a tune that I'll be debuting live at Philadelphia's Boot and Saddle on August 10th. As I've mentioned before, nothing has driven my progress more than songwriting, for example this song reaffirmed my under...
2017-06-27 21:11:58 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm working on a few projects, including this tablature for the Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's version of "Moon River" by Henry Mancini & Johnny Mercer. Expect a full lesson on this tune to be posted in the next few days. In the meantime, familiarize yourself with this classic scene, and see wh...
2017-06-27 15:24:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everyone,
I'm back again with another chord sheet and tab, this time for my 2015 lesson on Sublime's "What I Got." This is an easy two chord song, perfect for beginners who need a popular party tune for their back pocket! In this tutorial I break down how guitarist Bradley Nowell picked through his Dmaj-Gmaj change, and hi...
2017-06-26 17:16:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
I hope you've enjoyed an amazing weekend of practice, and that you were able to implement some of the advice that I shared in my "10 Reasons Why You "Suck" at Guitar" talk. Of course, none of you really "Suck" ...
2017-06-26 12:34:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
In today's session I would like to look back at my 10+ years of teaching, and address some of the common issues that keep aspiring musicians from reaching their full potential. I'll provide you pro-tips for breaking these bad guitar habits, and hopefully improve the quality of your practice. Attached you ...
2017-06-22 21:13:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Since posting my chord sheet & tab for "Uncle John's Band," I've received several request for a document containing the strumming patterns for each section of the tune. I've extracted those graphics and organized them into a PDF to help you with your study.
Learning this tune, and focusing on it'...
2017-06-21 13:48:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another easy, beginner guitar song lesson. In this tutorial, I'll break down how to play Bob Marley's 1972 classic "Stir it Up." I'll take you through the songs three chord progression in it's open and barred forms, and breakdown some common reggae strumming techniques. Let's get started! 2017-06-20 15:33:18 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
I hope you are enjoying your weekend practice! Today I would like to invite you to take my new comprehensive course on The Three Common Minor Scales. In this lesson I'll break down how to play the melodic, harmonic, and natural minor scales, and reveal their uses. Each section will include instruction on how to ...
2017-06-17 20:05:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today I got to sit down with my good friend, and student Dr. David for a beginner friendly blues lesson. Our focus was on learning how to create a lead-line connecting two chords, in this case, B7 to A7. ( the 5 and 4 chords key of E.)
We took the root notes of these chords, and filled the measures in with...
2017-06-14 18:20:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
How's your practice coming along? After a long weekend of caring for nieces and nephews, I've caught a bit of a cold, (little kid germs are no joke!) to stay busy I've created a chord sheet for one of my most popular lessons, Hozier's 2013 hit "Take Me to Church." In this lesson, I'll break down an easy acoustic...
2017-06-12 19:15:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial. In this lesson I'll be showing you how to play David Gilmour's first guitar solo from Pink Floyd's 1979 classic "Comfortably Numb." I'll begin my demonstrating each section, before breaking it down lick by lick. Check back early next week for a complete les...
2017-06-08 21:36:33 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today I took some time to dig into the Swiftlessons archive and create a PDF study guide for my lesson on The Beatles "Yesterday" in standard tuning. If there are any old lessons that you would like additional resources for, let me know in the comments section below. Thanks and enjoy your practice! -Rob 2017-06-06 21:25:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another Lick of the Week. In today's lesson, I'll be showing you one of my favorite SRV style licks in the open position, key of E. We'll begin this lesson by reviewing two positions of our pentatonic scale, and our traveling shuffle, before tackling this useful phrase. Let's get started!
Hello friends,
And welcome to another Featured Artist Showcase. A few weeks ago I was honored to host Philadelphia rock & roll band Oldermost to my studio. The band was kind enough to record a cover of "I Don't Want to Talk About It" by Ian Matthews, and an original tune entitled "You Don't Belong to Feelings."
If yo...
2017-06-03 18:31:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and thank you so much for your continued support this month. Today I'm working on a number of projects including the lick of the week, featured artist interview, and this tutorial on Fingerpickin' the Blues. We'll begin this session by learning how a single dominant 7th shape can be used to perform a 12 ba...
2017-06-01 17:11:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
In response to the passing of Allman Brothers frontman Greg Allman, I've created a chord sheet for my 2014 lesson on "Melissa." In this tutorial, I'll take you through the beautiful open string chord changes for the verse and bridge sections, and show you some strumming techniques that you can apply throughout t...
2017-05-31 18:08:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another By Request Song Tutorial. In this session I'll be breaking down how to play David Gilmour's acoustic rendition of the Pink Floyd classic "Breathe." This is an excellent song for beginners to learn, as it will introduce a variety of useful chord shapes and strumming techniques. Let's...
2017-05-30 19:12:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today I took some time to revamp the resources for my two part lesson on The Beatles "Till There Was You." Attached you will find a new chord sheet and tablature PDF that breaks down the chord shapes, strumming options, and lead parts for the intro and guitar solo. Let's get started!
Associated Les...
2017-05-25 23:06:56 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
It's with a heavy heart that I publish this lesson celebrating the music of Chris Cornell, who past away on May 18, 2017. In this tutorial I'll break down the acoustic version of his 1994 classic "Black Hole Sun." Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who knew and loved Chris, especially his wife Vicky ...
2017-05-23 20:24:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today's news of the sudden and tragic passing of rock legend Chris Cornell has left me broken hearted and confused. At the advice of a few patrons and youtube subscribers, I decided to put my grief to work and prepare a tablature on Soundgarden's 1994 classic "Black Hole Sun."
Chris's music has had a...
2017-05-19 00:05:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another Lick of the Week. In today's acoustic guitar lesson, I'll be showing you how to play some of my favorite minor techniques. We'll learn how to perform the natural minor scale, a minor 1, 3, 4, 2 progression, and a melodic Spanish lick that's guaranteed to turn some heads. Let's get started!...
2017-05-17 18:42:23 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Yesterday I was fortunate to welcome Philadelphia based rock band Oldermost to the studio for a featured artist showcase. Expect a full interview, guitar lesson, and four track sampler to be posted within the week. To hold you over, check out this performance of their new tune "You Don't Belong to Feelings." Enj...
2017-05-16 16:30:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
My goal for the coming days is to produce a lick lesson, song tutorial, and miscellaneous lesson each week. I'll try to strick to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday Schedule as best I can, but more complex lessons may throw things off now and then. So, for those of you ready to move on from our previous Grateful Dead l...
2017-05-12 22:17:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another by request song tutorial. Thanks to popular demand, I've created a complete video guitar lesson for the Grateful Dead's 1970 classic "Ripple." In this free tutorial, I'll break down my approach to combining the rhythm and lead guitar parts for the intro, and the chord changes and strumming...
2017-05-09 23:04:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm hard at work creating a new lesson for the Grateful Dead classic "Ripple." In preparation for tomorrow's video, I thought you might like to reacquaint yourself with the track, and take a peak at my tablature and chord sheet. The studio version features multiple guitars, however, this tablature shows ho...
2017-05-08 21:03:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Thanks to popular demand, I've created a chord sheet and tab for my acoustic rendition of Sublimes 1996 classic "Doin' Time." The attached document will take you through each section of the tune including my interpretation of the chord progressions, riffs and licks. Let's get started!
2017-05-06 19:12:16 +0000 UTC View Post
