Michael Eisenstein's Guitar Lessons

Michael Eisenstein

An expert on alternative rock, Michael Eisenstein (aka., "USA Mike") has played with Letters to Chloe and Lisa Loeb. His lessons on Guitar Tricks include a series on alt rock guitar, along with a handful of rock song tutorials.

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Songs

Artist / Title / Progress
Difficulty / style
Incubus image
Drive Incubus

Drive was a hit in the 90s- an alt-rock blend of acoustic guitar and hip-hop rhythms. We'll look at the structure of the song, show you how the song was written and performed on acoustic guitar. Drive incorporates jazz chords, a hip-hop rhythm, and a hypnotic slide guitar solo that is saturated by effects!

Published: 08/25/2009 Upgrade
Lit image
My Own Worst Enemy Lit

In this song tutorial, USA Mike explains everything you need to know to get started with the song "My Own Worst Enemy", as made famous in 1999 by Lit. Mike teaches you the two guitars parts - one playing an octave part in an upper range, and another playing a heavier chord part in the lower range - and looks at the elements in the hooky intro, the verse, chorus, the brief solo; then plays it all through in a playalong with a backing track.

Published: 11/11/2009 Upgrade
Loverboy image
Working For The Weekend Loverboy

Six rock guitar lessons cover the techniques involved in this rockin' 80's tune. This song is chock full of riffs and licks, and is propelled by driving rhythm guitar. You'll learn the main parts - intro, verse, and chorus - plus the call and response dialogue between the guitar and vocals, "mini-leads", and more.

Published: 10/20/2009 Upgrade

Styles

Artist / Title / Progress
Difficulty / style
Michael Eisenstein
Alt Rock Guitar 101

The 90's were all about using a sort of "sloppiness" that was grungy and fun. Piles of guitar tracks doing all sorts of different things were combined into a thick soup of beautiful dissonance and tension. Let's find out some things we can do to recreate that vibe.

Published: 08/17/2009 Upgrade