Category
Styles & Guitarists
Every music style asks something different of your hands. Blues is all about bends and feel, funk about a tight rhythm and flamenco about a powerful picking hand. In this category you read what is typical of each style and how to practice it on your own guitar. There are also articles about the playing style of famous guitarists, such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King and Tommy Emmanuel. Styles from other parts of the world are covered too, such as fado, bossa nova and African grooves.
Just starting out? Then first pick a style that works well with basic chords, such as country for beginners. Prefer playing with your fingers? Classical pieces for beginners are a nice start. Want to learn to solo? Then blues improvisation is a logical next step. Curious how a famous guitarist gets their sound? Read Eric Clapton’s guitar style.
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Learning to Play African Guitar Grooves
You learn to play African guitar grooves by keeping short, repeating patterns tight and relaxed, with your fingers or with a pick high up…
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Practicing Cuban guitar rhythms
The best way to practice Cuban guitar rhythms is to start from the clave: a five-stroke pattern spread over two measures that son, salsa…
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Playing Greek Bouzouki Style on Guitar
Short answer: The bouzouki is a Greek stringed instrument with a long neck and doubled strings, often called the Greek guitar. You play the…
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Irish Folk Music Guitar Chords
For Irish folk music on guitar you mainly need open chords: G, C, D, A, Em and Bm. Most tunes are in D, G,…
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Indian raga guitar improvisation tips
Want to improvise on guitar in the style of an Indian raga? Start with three things: a sustained root note (a drone), a fixed…
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Argentine Tango Guitar Style Explained
The Argentine tango guitar style is all about rhythm and drama: you play a tight, accented accompaniment rhythm (the marcato), alternated with the 3-3-2…
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How to Learn Brazilian Bossa Nova on Guitar
To learn bossa nova on guitar, start with a few jazzy seventh chords such as Dm7, G7 and Cmaj7, and the typical rhythm: your…
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Learning to Play Spanish Flamenco Guitar
Learning to play Spanish flamenco guitar starts with three things: good posture, the typical right-hand techniques such as rasgueado and picado, and a steady…
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Practicing Portuguese Fado Music on Guitar
To practice Portuguese fado on guitar, start with the accompaniment: a few minor chords such as Am, Dm and E7, a calm pattern of…
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Learn to Play Rockabilly Riffs on Guitar
To learn rockabilly riffs on guitar, start with the boogie shuffle over three chords (I-IV-V), then add palm muting, double stops and a clear,…
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Practicing Post-Rock Chord Progressions on Guitar
The best way to practice post-rock chord progressions is with simple chords that you give extra color: sus and add9 chords, open strings that…
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Surf Rock Guitar Style Explained
The surf rock guitar style is built on a bright, clean electric guitar with plenty of spring reverb, fast tremolo picking and catchy instrumental…
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Progressive Rock Rhythms on Guitar
Progressive rock rhythms on guitar revolve around odd time signatures such as 5/4 and 7/8, syncopation and time signature changes within a song. The…
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Ed Sheeran’s Acoustic Guitar Style
Ed Sheeran’s acoustic guitar style revolves around three things: simple open chords with a capo, a rhythmic strumming style with percussive hits, and a…
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How to Improvise Like Stevie Ray Vaughan
Learning to improvise like Stevie Ray Vaughan starts with the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale, but the secret is in the delivery:…
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Analyzing John Mayer’s Guitar Style
If you want to analyze John Mayer’s guitar style, pay attention to four things: his blues phrasing with the pentatonic scale, his expressive vibrato…
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Learn the Top 10 Red Hot Chili Peppers Riffs
Want to learn the top 10 Red Hot Chili Peppers riffs? Start with “Otherside” and “Californication”: both revolve around a few simple chords in…
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How to Play in the Style of B.B. King
Learning to play in the style of B.B. King is not about speed, but about few notes with a lot of feeling. His trademarks…
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Eric Clapton’s Guitar Style Explained
Eric Clapton’s guitar style is built on the blues: licks from the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale, in-tune bends, a calm but…
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How to Play Like Jimi Hendrix on Guitar
If you want to play like Jimi Hendrix, it comes down to a few recognizable building blocks: blues licks from the minor pentatonic scale…
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How to Learn Metal Riffs on Electric Guitar
You learn metal riffs on electric guitar by getting three building blocks under your fingers: power chords, palm muting and tight picking on the…
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Learning Reggae Rhythms on Guitar
You learn reggae rhythms on guitar by playing chords short and muted on the offbeat: in 4/4 time you usually strike the chord only…
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Classical Guitar Pieces for Beginners
Which classical guitar pieces are suitable for beginners? Start with pieces you play on open strings and with simple fingerings in the first positions,…
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Practicing Funk Rhythms on Guitar
Practicing funk rhythms on guitar starts with a tight sixteenth-note motion: your strumming hand keeps moving up and down continuously, while your fretting hand…