Horizontal Pentatonics The nature of the guitar fretboard allows the fretting hand to move in a myriad of angles.  It can move parallel to (or along) the strings.  It can also move perpendicular  to (or across) the strings.  And by switching strings and shifting positions at the same time, it can also move in a

Walking Bass Guitar Patterns When listening to certain styles of jazz music, you may have noticed how the bass plays a smooth, steady line of quarter notes.  This is known as “walking bass.”  As a guitar player, you can also walk a bass line while simultaneously comping the chord changes of a tune.  To do

Basic Pentatonic Sequences Rather than performing scales purely ascending and descending, patterns can be created within them to produce repeating sequences.  These sequences have a cascading effect that can be used in improvisation.  Most are constructed by following the same pattern of intervals from each scale degree.  For instance, a sequence built of three ascending

Fingerstyle Guitar Tab This is a somber, finger-style guitar cover of Bruce Springsteen’s hit, arranged and performed by Vance Joy. He uses his thumb to drone the bass note of each chord while his index and middle fingers fill in chord tones and the song’s lead line. The vocal lines follows the lead line, which

Adding Chromatic Approach Notes To Bass Lines Guitar bass lines can be made smoother by preceding chord changes with a bass note a half-step above or below the root.  The chromatic note creates a tension that foreshadows a change in harmony to the listener, and is immediately resolved when the transition is made.  The chromatic

Adding Alternating Fifths To Drop-2 and  Drop-3 Voicings In Jazz Comping When playing solo guitar or performing in a duo, adding a bass line to your guitar comping provides an extra layer to the arrangement.  The easiest way to perform a bass line while comping is to use roots and fifths, which fit comfortably into

How To Tune A Guitar By Ear The electronic guitar tuner is a wonderful invention; it saves time and prevents the frustration incurred in tuning by ear.  However, like a lot of technology, it also coaxes dependency.  You may find yourself in a situation where a tuner is not available or where you must tune

Dynamics in Guitar Improvisation  There is lot more to playing great guitar solos than just wiggling fingers and melting faces.  Great soloists infuse emotionality into their improvisation.  One very effective and oft overlooked way of imbuing feeling into a solo is through dynamics, how loud or soft you play.  Varying your dynamics gives your solo

How To Improvise Intriguing Guitar Phrases Now that we have learned how to improvise conventional phrase lengths as well as how to reverse those phrase to challenge the audience’s expectations, we can begin adding even more unusual play/rest combinations.  By using odd-bar combinations and groupings longer than the typical four measures, we can really throw