Phil Johnson

Understand How To Read Guitar Music Faster With Intervals

As a very beginning guitarist first learning how to read music notes, it's easy to begin feeling bogged down when trying to name every individual note and play it. You begin thinking "How can they read and play so fast?" The key reason why seasoned gui... Read >

Four Tricks To Switch Guitar Chords Faster

The most typical question I get out of beginning guitarists is how you can shift among chords easier so there are no missed beats. While the only real magic bullet continues to be practice, these four simple steps will enable you to jump around guitar cho... Read >

The Perfect Practice Session For Guitar

In the book "Outliers", Malcolm Gladwell explained that it takes ten thousand hours of training to master an art or area of interest. However on guitar (and also other talents) the amount of time you spend practicing is merely a portion of the challenge. ... Read >

Recording Tips For Guitarists

Recording music is a totally different beast from playing live. And whether you're going into a big studio or doing it on your own with a laptop and a DAW, there's a few guitar-specific things you can do to make the whole process go faster and sound bette... Read >

How To Think Like A Guitar Player

Playing the guitar (and music in general) means learning to think in new ways and, sometimes, work against human nature. I'd like to give you some great mental tricks to help you learn guitar concepts and become a better guitarist. This is not a mus... Read >

3 Common Mistakes Made When Playing Guitar

One of the dangerous things about teaching yourself guitar without a teacher is that you'll miss some of the small fixes that can make a big difference in your playing. Here's three of the most common mistakes that you can fix quickly and easily. Easy ... Read >

How To Transpose Minor Key Guitar Songs

Transposing a song on guitar is very easy. But when you start seeing a bunch of sharps and flats it might get a little confusing. We'll look at the different types of minor keys and how to transpose them easily. Let's look first at a quick way of tra... Read >

How To Create A Blues Guitar Riff From Scratch

Looking to brew up some blues guitar hoodoo but don't know the mystical formula? Though the blues is a deceptively simple guitar style, you can get started creating your own classic blues guitar riffs with a few simple tools. Check it out.. I'm going... Read >

Making The Most Of An Online Guitar Learning Program

Don't fall into these traps when trying a home or online guitar course. The failure rate of these programs is astounding, but there are specific things you can do to be successful and learn how to play that dusty guitar you've been staring at. With ... Read >

Online Guitar Lessons Vs Professional Instructors

The world of online guitar lessons has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. But are they right for you? Let's take a look at the pros and cons so you can seek out the most appropriate lessons for your learning style. First, let's differentiate ... Read >

Finger Stretch Exercises For Guitar - Increase Your Finger Flexibility With These Tips

Every guitarist wants to have speedy, nimble fingers. As a beginner you may feel like you're trying to play with four vienna sausages on your left hand. But here's some easy tips to work on stretching out those muscles and tendons so you can play like t... Read >

Two Huge Tips For Creating Interesting Guitar Strum Patterns

Ever find yourself banging out the same old rhythms on your guitar but can't figure out how to get out of that rut? There's a couple easy ways to take those bland old strum patterns and turn them into something new and exciting. Let's face it, there's... Read >

How To Improvise Fearless Guitar Solos

A big part of being able to whip out that giant flashy guitar solo you're dreaming of is getting out of your own head and letting your fingers do what they need to do. Here's a few tips on how to let your fingers do their job without your brain getting i... Read >

2 Giant Simple Techniques To Improve Your Improvised Guitar Solos Now

So you've got a couple scales together and you're jamming over some chords and it seems like you're doing everything right. But it doesn't sound like you want it to. Check out these easy tips to focus your solo playing and make it more musical. A new... Read >

How To Read Sheet Music For Guitarists

If you're not familiar with it, music notation can look like some bizarre lost language of an alien tribe that really likes a lot of dots. In reality though, music notation is very simple to read if you follow these few easy tips. To follow along with t... Read >