In this video I attach one of the tuning machine heads (the "tuners") to the headstock of the neck.

The beat changes up here with aggressive 16-note triplets on the low C string followed by a variation of the single note run used in the verse. Using these fast machine-gun notes on the pre-chorus makes for a really nice transition to the sustained chords coming up in the chorus to follow.

For this song I am playing a Fender Strat set to bridge position two, through a Fender Princeton amp set for that classic clean tone that breaks up just so when you hit hard. You gotta love a tube amp! For the intro and the jam section I'm using a Mesa Boogie V-Twin pre-amp to get the high gain and feed back. I'm also using a volume pedal for the volume swells in the jam section. This could also be done right from your guitar; I prefer the volume pedal for easy access. For the third guitar in the jam section I'm using an Ibanez Artist set to neck pick-up and for a fat jazzy...

This is a look at the verse and the pre-chorus riffs. These are easy as far as the actual chords you play although you may find the timing a little tricky. Fortunately you can play it over and over with me at this lesson until you've got it.

It is important to have a total parts list, so you know you are ready to go to work! For this project I have the follow parts: Body Neck 6 Tuning machine heads with screws Neck plate & 4 Neck to body screws Claw plate & 2 attaching screws Vibrato block bridge complete, 6 screws & 3 springs Pickguard & screws Pickup, springs & screws 500K potentiometer (volume pot) & knob Input jack & screws Wire to connect electronic parts Strings String tree & screw

This lesson is an overview of the parts of the electric guitar. These include the body, the neck and fretboard, the bridge which raises the strings and sets the action, the headstock which has tuning pegs to which the strings are attached, etc. A full list is below. Neck: head stock tuners (tuning pegs, machine heads, tuning gears) nut (the "zero fret") fretboard frets Body: top, back, sides pickups bridge saddles bridge plate, block or bar pickup ...

This lesson is an overview of the parts of the acoustic guitar. These include the bridge which raises the strings and sets the action, the headstock which has tuning pegs to which the strings are attached, etc. A full list is below. Neck: head stock tuners (tuning pegs, machine heads, tuning gears) nut (the "zero fret") fretboard frets Body: top, back, sides sound hole in top bridge

Remember to always practice everything using different ways of picking - palm muting, picking close to the bridge, picking close to the neck etc. Also, it's always good to practice techniques like this one with something that keeps time, like a drum machine or a metronome. You don't always want to play at one exact tempo, but it's good to be able to! Until next time, practice hard.

Brian Setzer plays either a 1959 Gretsch model 6120 or one of the current Gretsch Brian Setzer model guitars. During the time this recording was made, his stage set up included two 1963 6G6-B Fender Bassman heads through 2x12 Fender Bassman cabinets loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's. A Dunlop Tremolo pedal and a Roland Space Echo tape delay were employed. The echo should be set to produce one repeat and have a fairly short delay time. There are several options for achieving this tone. You'll want a guitar amp that produces a warm natural guitar tone (preferably a tube a...

The band kicks right in with a machine gun-like punk rhythm. Start on the I chord with a power chord at the 5th fret. The rhythm here is all 8th notes and downstrokes for maximum aggression, with the rests in between for extra punctuation. Once the singing starts, the chord progression is I, VI, II, V. You can use the same power chord shape for all these chords, just move it around the neck. Keep it energetic!

The second verse changes up the chord progression. Here we are playing the progression from the first chorus, but adding in that machine gun rhythm from the first verse. This section is repeated again later in the song, with an added 4 bar hang on the V chord, creating all sorts of tension that leads into the key change.

Right after the solo comes this machine gun type riff, a 16th note type riff based on the E minor scale. Remember to palm mute everything except for the very last note in each phrase, and the power chords. This riff repeats four times before we go to the last chorus.

Players who can already play fast, often have a hard time playing slow! So when you do have speed, make sure you practice every lick at different tempos, even at very slow tempos. Otherwise you will inevitably rush these licks when you get in a situation where you're playing at a slower tempo than the tempo you learned the lick at. So get out that metronome or drum machine and start practicing!

Alternate picking is exactly what it sounds like. You alternate between downstrokes and upstrokes with your pick. This is used for playing faster without putting too much strain on your picking hand. While it's mostly used in fast leads, alternate picking can be very useful in the faster parts of riff. Most metal players will tell you to use downstrokes only if you can, because it just sounds better - you get a much chunkier sound. Sometimes this is just not possible, and you will have to resort to alternate picking. There is no secret to becoming a fast a...

This week Neal takes a request on how to create the laughing sound using a wah wah pedal. You may have heard Steve Vai use this one. This is a good way to improve your foot to hand co-ordination on the wah pedal and is bound to turn some heads!

It's the lesson that many of you metal heads have been asking for: Sweep Picking! Shall we start with two strings? Guest instructor Ben Lindholm will get you started with this entry level lesson on metal's holy grail of shred licks, the sweep pick. It's not easy but if you take your time and follow Ben's direction, you can be on your way to sweeping like the metal masters. Turn it up to 11, your lesson starts now.

Let's take a look at combining ghost strums with power chords. That's the most common technique used in country music to add drive to the sound. Work this technique regularly. It's a pattern that all modern country music follows. It will polish your picking hand into a solid rhythm machine and put you on the path to performing well live.

Take your amp off standby. Slap the roadie some skin as you walk onstage. He left a big bucket of feel for you beside your extra picks and the fog machine. Funk #48 is over. Now it's time for Funk #49.

This week Neal takes a request from subscriber metalpunk654: "how do I get fuller sounding power chords?". Even though power chords are simple to play, there are suble techniques to make the most out of them because BIG is what they're all about. One additional tip is to add a little delay to your guitar setting, this will help fill out the sound. You don't need too much, just a little in the background. Also this week, a handy tip for you gear heads out there that like to repair your own rig.

The first thing traditional bluegrass players scratch their heads over is the chord changes Tony Rice plays. Tony takes an almost "jazz" approach to bluegrass, playing extended chords over traditional, simple chord progressions. In this lesson we'll look at substitutions for a G and C chord since these are the most commonly used in bluegrass. Notice also my fingering for these chords. I will use my thumb over the neck to make these chords easier and help with muting. Take this lesson to get the sound of these chords in your ear. They sound alarming when first pl...

Motorcycle idling stage left? Check. Arena lights and pyro all set? Check. Lots of girls and metal heads on the front row to check you out? Ch...umm...get to practicing. It will happen soon enough. Rock on!

Now we're going to take all of these concepts and string them together in one longer musical example. Take a sequencer or drum machine, program a I-IV-V progression, and just practice moving between all of these techniques. Try to get it to where you don't even have to think about it. Playing with a lot of different players and situations might require you to switch between these on a moment's notice. And most of all, enjoy yourself! Ska is a light-hearted style of music that should make you feel happy and carefree.

For this one, we'll be starting in with a rhythm element that is one of THE staples of Metal/Thrash-type playing....The "Reverse Gallop". We basically take the standard old school metal, "Galloping" rhythm and reverse it, which oddly (& simply) enough, serves to make it sound much heavier. Instead of the Cavalry Charging feel of the classic "Dum-didi-Dum-didi" type of Maiden-esque riff, we end up with a very heavy, staccato machine gun sounding riff when played with some heavy Mesa tones & lots of palm muting. Now there is a lot more to the differences in ...

This variation on the Spider Legs Warm-up helps develop strength, coordination, and pattern memory. The ability to quickly learn and play a new pattern of notes is helpful in learning new songs, whether it be "by-the-book", or at a jam session. Make yourself a set of cards that list the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 in every possible order. Choose a card at random, and play that pattern on each string of the guitar. Your index finger is 1, middle finger is 2, ring finger is 3, and pinky finger is 4. You may want to play the random pattern four times per string, to really giv...

I guess I was still kinda in "alien-future" mode so I went back to doing the sci-fi soundtrack stuff again. As usual, I started with absolutely no idea how the tune was gonna turn out, relying on groovy inspiration to let the tune build itself up. As usual too, I used the guitar synth to do practically all the MIDI tracks. Recording Info: I started this one with a nifty piece of software called ReBirth (image below). Basically it's a combination of TB-303, TR808 and TR-909 bassline and analogue drum machines. Both synths play a basic Moog type of bass soun...