Hello friends,
and welcome back to Swift Guitar Lessons for another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down how to play Tracy Chapman's 1988 hit song "Fast Car." This beginner friendly guitar song contains a variety of essential techniques including fingerstyle picking p...
2018-06-06 14:31:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends
I hope all of you are enjoying a great start to your week of practice, thank you so much for your continued support this month! Today I'm putting the finishing touches on a new lesson breaking down "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the tune using...
2018-06-04 20:02:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another blues lead guitar lesson. In this mini-tutorial, I'll be breaking down a descending lick that encompasses some of my favorite lead guitar techniques:
Hello friends,
And welcome back to Swiftlessons for another lead guitar tutorial. In today’s session I’ll be breaking down three impressive licks that you can use to finish a blues guitar solo. These phrases are excellent for players hoping to expand their lick vocabulary outside of the typica...
2018-05-30 21:39:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome back to Swiftlessons for another mini-music theory tutorial. In today’s session I’ll be explaining "sus" or suspended chords – how they are built from the major scale, and how they can be used to embellish basic chord progressions. Let’s get started!
Hello friends,
and welcome back to Swift Guitar Lessons for another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down Elvis Presley's 1956 hit "Love Me Tender." I'll take you through the chord progressions and strumming techniques for the verse and chorus sections, let's ge...
2018-05-23 18:16:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
It's been a while since I broke down an Elvis classic, so this week I'll be producing an extra song tutorial on his 1956 hit "Love Me Tender." Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the tune, and see what you can get down using the attached PDF study guide w/ mp3 samples. I'll b...
2018-05-22 18:34:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'll be breaking down how to play the 1969 Crosby, Stills & Nash tune "Helplessly Hoping" in it's entirety. This fingerstyle guitar lesson will teach you Stephen Stills general approach to folk-style guit...
2018-05-21 17:20:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
This week I've spent my time developing an arrangement and tab for "Helplessly Hoping" by Crosby, Stills and Nash." Additionally, I've experimented with placing mp3 samples into my PDF tabs. Take a moment to review this classic tune, see what you can get down using this resource and...
2018-05-16 20:27:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down The Beatles 1964 classic "And I Love Her." I'll show you how to perform the rhythm and lead sections to the verses, and George's iconic guitar solo. Let's get started!
... 2018-05-09 07:23:50 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm hard at work on a new tutorial breaking down the Beatles 1964 classic "And I Love Her." Here's a quick demo of my performance for you to jam along with. See what you can figure out on your own and I'll be back later this week with a complete tutorial. Have fun! -Rob
...
2018-05-08 20:04:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome back to Swiftlessons for another lead guitar tutorial. Throughout my two decades as a guitarist, it has often been the simplest concepts that have made the biggest difference in my playing. One simple tip that changed everything was to always learn your licks in multiple...
2018-05-05 23:12:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'll be breaking down how to play the Chris Cornell version of the Prince classic "Nothing Compares 2u." I'll take you through the chord progressions and strumming options of the intro, verse, and chorus sect...
2018-05-03 15:04:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome back to Swift Guitar Lessons! In today's session I'll be breaking down how I use major arpeggios to develop my guitar and vocal technique. We'll practice three different exercises that are guaranteed to develop your finger dexterity, picking accuracy, and your vocal rang...
2018-04-29 00:25:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm getting back to song tutorials starting with Chris Cornell's rendition of "Nothing Compares 2 U." This version is full of essential techniques including basic chord shapes, and strumming patterns typical to pop/rock music. Take a moment to enjoy Chris's performance, and re...
2018-04-26 22:25:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another fingerstyle guitar tutorial. In today’s session I’ll be breaking down some very beginner friendly “Travis” or folk style patterns over a 1.6.5 progression in C major. Approach these techniques with slow, patient repetition to develop muscle memor...
2018-04-25 17:09:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
In today’s session I’ll be breaking down two useful phrases that can be combined to form an impressive flatpicking run over a Cmaj chord. We’ll get started reviewing our source scales before adding these classic licks to your repertoire. Let’s get started!
Quic...
2018-04-23 21:21:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome back to Swiftlessons! In today's session I'll be sharing with you a couple of activities that you can use to train your ear. The ultimate goal is to develop a connection between your mind and the notes on the fretboard, so that you can anticipate what a given note will s...
2018-04-18 21:13:18 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another bluegrass licks tutorial! In today’s session I’ll be sharing a routine that combines rhythm and lead techniques in the style of guitar legend Norman Blake. These licks can be used to embellish a basic 1.4.5 progression in the C position. Let’s get starte...
2018-04-17 19:55:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another rhythm guitar tutorial! In today’s session I’ll be showing you how to add percussive elements to a common finger-style groove in 4/4 time. We’ll begin by applying the pattern over a single chord shape before experimenting with variations of A minor, and ...
2018-04-13 17:22:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'll be breaking down a fairly easy fingerstyle tune in Simon and Garfunkel's 1967 classic "59th Street Bridge Song" (Feelin' Groovy.) This is a fantastic song for beginner finger-pickers to learn because it f...
2018-04-11 00:42:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another lead guitar tutorial. In today’s session I’ll be showing you some of my favorite Memphis soul style licks over a grooving 1.2.4.5 progression in C major. We’ll begin by learning the rhythm section, and a few applicable scale positions, before adding thes...
2018-04-10 01:46:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Today I'm hunkered down with a cold, but still working on lesson plans for upcoming videos. This week you can expect an extra song tutorial in Simon and Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song" (Feelin' Groovy.) This is one of the best songs for beginner fingerpickers to learn because ...
2018-04-03 20:29:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'll be breaking down a unique way of performing Cat Stevens 1972 classic "Morning Has Broken." I'll show you how to adapt the classical style piano sections to fingerstyle guitar, and teach you the chord pro...
2018-04-02 19:55:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
This weekend I'm creating a new tutorial on a unique way of performing Cat Stevens 1971 rendition of "Morning Has Broken." The goal in mind will be to adapt the piano sections to fingerstyle guitar for a complete solo performance. Familiarize yourself with the tune, and see what you...
2018-03-30 21:14:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another lick of the week! In today’s session I’ll be breaking down a progressive blues lick that takes you from Amaj to Dmaj and can be applied to any major 1-4 transition. The lick mainly utilizes notes from the major and minor pentatonic scales, while including ...
2018-03-28 22:52:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
Hello friends, in preparation for an upcoming blues soloing course, I'm posting this standard blues backing track in Bmaj. Jam along with me using the major and minor blues scales and be sure to polish your licks with plenty of repetition. Let's get started!
Note: I'll be post...
2018-03-27 18:41:56 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'll be taking our picking to the next level with a full break down of The Beatles' 1965 classic "Norwegian Wood." I'll take you through the main guitar part for the verse and chorus sections, and the chord p...
2018-03-22 05:01:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
And welcome to another blues lead guitar lesson! In today’s session I’ll be breaking down one of Gary Clark Jr.’s “go to” licks, as heard in his recent jam with blues legend Jimmy Vaughan. We’ll begin by learning the soloing positions that Gary is using, before br...
2018-03-20 02:10:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends,
and welcome to another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'm breaking down Pearl Jam's 1993 ballad "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town." This is a beginner friendly song that contains some very useful techniques for rhythm guitar. I'll take you throug...
2018-03-16 20:53:10 +0000 UTC View Post