The Circle of Fifths is a chart that shows the relationships between all the musical keys. The Circle of Fifths can be helpful, but it takes a little education for a newcomer to understand it. That’s why I made the Box of Fifths, because sometimes it’s easier for me to reference a simple list of…
Over the years I’ve collected some great pieces of gear. I don’t love every piece of gear I obtain, not by a long shot. And generally, before I invest any amount of money, I research the heck out of the product before pulling the trigger. If you’re on a research journey maybe my experience with…
Being a hobbyist or gigging musician in the 2020s is quite a bit different from when I learned to play a few decades ago. One big difference is that the modern first-world guitarist has access to a fair bit of helpful technology. Below are four apps I love and use regularly! Pro Metronome One of…
Unraveled: The Blueprint of the Major Musical Scale! This article discusses the formula to build a major scale and how that formula and the scale itself apply to musical keys and the Circle of Fifths. Do you absolutely need to know this to play guitar? Nope, you don’t. But it’s cool information and you might…
How to do a blues turnaround! The turnaround is a cool riff that shows up time and again in blues and rock songs. Sometimes it shows up as an introductory phrase, sometimes it shows up as the riff in the last measure of a 12-bar blues, leading right back to the start (hence “turnaround”). There…
I have to acknowledge that there’s some competitive spirit in all of us. So with that in mind, here are my tips for “winning” at guitar: tip 1: have fun! You’ve arrived at the recurring theme for all my teaching and playing. For goodness sake, playing music is supposed to be fun. If you’re not…