If you’re serious about improving your guitar playing and want to unlock authentic blues guitar tone, understanding classic blues progressions is a must. When most people think of blues guitar, they picture the classic twelve-bar blues progression in the key of A. It’s the king of blues progressions and a foundation for countless songs. 

Rock guitarists love the pentatonic scale because it’s straightforward and always musical. With just five notes to work with, you don’t have to worry too much about hitting a sour one. That makes it the perfect playground for writing riffs.

Learning guitar doesn’t have to be complicated—sometimes just four chords can unlock hundreds of songs. In this lesson, Barrett Wilson breaks down four essential open chords every beginner guitar player should know: D, G, A, and E minor. These basic guitar chords are the foundation of rhythm guitar and appear in countless hit songs across genres. 

If you feel stuck when soloing, try this: pick four notes on the D and G strings and solo with only those. Limiting your choices forces you to focus on phrasing, bends, and rhythm—instead of sprinting through every pentatonic scale pattern you know. It might sound restrictive, but it’s the kind of constraint that unlocks creativity. You’ll be surprised how expressive your solos get when you have less to work with.

Shell voicings are essential 3-note chords made of just the root, third, and seventh (or sixth), perfect for jazz and blues rhythm guitar. They’re super practical and easy to move around the fretboard, especially once you understand where to place your fingers on the low E and A string roots.

If you’ve already learned chords like G, C, and D, and you’ve got a few strumming patterns under your belt, it’s time to move into the “imitating” stage. That’s where you take what you’ve learned and start mimicking how real songs are played—groove, feel, and all.

If you're looking to add color, depth, and resonance to your acoustic guitar playing, these five major open chord shapes are a great place to start. Barrett walks us through five stunning open chords that sound especially beautiful on acoustic guitar thanks to their ringing open strings.

If your guitar playing feels stuck in a rut, here are a few simple tips revolving around intervals to help you break out the monotony and take your playing to a more fun and exciting level. By using thirds, fourths, fifths and sixths in your playing, you can open up a whole new perspective on the guitar and start to play new licks.

Ready to level up your playing with some smooth, jazzy vibes? These three Neo Soul guitar riffs are a fun way to bring flavor and finesse into your groove arsenal. Plus we'll get into exactly how to play these licks with the right rhythm and inflection to make them sound legit.

Learning how to play guitar in your 40s, 50s, or beyond isn’t just possible—it might be the best time to start. Many beginners over 40 fall into the trap of feeling like they need to make up for lost time and try to learn everything at once. The key is to slow down and focus on the fundamentals that really move the needle. 

Did you know that every scale, lick, and chord shape you learn on guitar is movable? That’s one of the coolest things about learning guitar—it’s pattern-based, and those patterns work all over the fretboard.

If you've ever noticed that mysterious, slightly suspenseful sound in '80s sitcoms, cartoons, or movie scores, chances are you were hearing an augmented chord in action. Augmented chords have a way of adding instant drama to music, and today we’re diving into how to use them on the guitar. 

If you’ve ever wondered how to move simple guitar chord progressions up the neck with confidence, it all starts with learning a little bit of music theory. For beginner guitarists, moving beyond open chords and into more advanced territory might seem intimidating, but understanding just a few theory basics can be a game-changer. 

If you're just starting to learn how to play guitar, mastering strumming techniques should be one of your top priorities—even though it's often the most overlooked skill by beginners. Strumming for beginners can feel like a real challenge, but it’s essential for building rhythm and sounding good. 

If you’ve just picked up a guitar and feel overwhelmed by all the chord options, don’t worry—you’re not alone. There are tons of guitar chords out there: open chords, power chords, seventh chords, extended voicings, triads, and even dyads. But the key to getting started is to just dive in and start learning.