Here is a cool little video lesson for all of you blues guitar lovers.  This is taught by one of my favorite guitar instructors, Marty Schwartz from GuitarJamz.  In this lesson, he explains how to play a cool blues guitar progression in the key of E using the chords: E7, A7 and B7 (If you don’t already know how to play these chords, then click each chord for a lesson on how to play them, or just watch the video below as Marty demonstrates how to play each chord.)

He begins the lesson with a very basic progression playing each chord normally in their open positions.  He then teaches you how to add some really cool embellishments to the chords to really make things interesting. For example, when playing the E7 chord, place your pinky on the 3rd fret of the B string. You can also place your pinky on the 3rd fret of the high E string. Practice playing the chord normally and switching your pinky on and off  between those two strings.

For the A7 chord, you can simply add your pinky to the 3rd fret of the high E string for a really bluesy sound.  Then take those embellishments you just learned for both the E7 and A7 chords and add them while playing the entire chord progression.  This is only the tip of the iceberg.  Watch the video tutorial below for more cool blues guitar tricks!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxhEtDjBusc

A big thanks to Marty Schwartz for sharing this video lesson. Marty is an amazing guitar player and one of the best guitar instructors online. If you are serious about learning to play the guitar, you should definitely check out his website and sign up to receive his free beginner ebook or make a small investment for his Members Only Cluband get access to over 640 of his online video lessons. I can’t recommend Marty’s Website enough.

Here is a great blues guitar lesson from Marty Schwartz for all of you acoustic blues enthusiasts. This lesson is designed for both beginners and intermediate players.

In this video tutorial, Marty talks about some different concepts that will ultimately help you put together awesome blues guitar solos.

Marty will first teach you how to play the Open E Blues Guitar Scale. Then, he will teach you a fun little practice routine using that scale.   This practice routine is simply playing the same Open E Blues Scale, but instead of playing it with a normal rhythm, he demonstrates how to play it in triplets.  Then from there, he will show you how to play three fairly simple licks from the same scale. Finally, you will learn how to combine all of these concepts and improvise your own cool licks and solos.

Acoustic Blues -- Solo Lesson -- How to build a Solo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Nb6i6J4c0

A big thanks to Marty Schwartz for sharing this video lesson. Marty is an amazing guitar player and one of the best guitar instructors online. If you are serious about learning to play the guitar, you should definitely check out his website and sign up to receive his free beginner ebook or make a small investment for his Members Only Club and get access to over 640 of his online video lessons. I can’t recommend Marty’s Website enough. Marty is a real stand up guy with a sincere interest in helping you improve your guitar playing. So do yourself a favor and try out his products. You won’t be disappointed.

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By Craig Bassett

Learning to play jazz guitar can be a frustrating experience if you don’t understand jazz guitar scales. Learning and understanding scales is like learning the alphabet of a new language. It is an absolutely necessary step in learning the “language” of jazz guitar. Without mastery and internalization of jazz scales, fluent and creative jazz guitar soloing becomes virtually impossible!

In this article we take a look at THE most essential scale to learn for jazz guitar. All other scales can be derived from it. If you totally understand this scale you will be able to understand every other scale there is! You hopefully already know this scale, but just in case you don’t let’s take a look at it…

Jazz Guitar Scales #3: The Major Scale

The Major Scale: Some Basic Theory…

The major scale is a very bright and happy sounding scale. It is used extensively in jazz music. For that reason, it is really important that you master it in as many keys as possible.

You may have read in a book that the major scale has the following formula…

W W H W W W H

[W= whole step = 2 fret distance]

[H = half step = 1 fret distance]

So what does this formula mean?

This formula tells you the distance in pitch between each note of the major scale. (Some geeky people call this the intervallic structure of the major scale). As an example, let’s take a look at the notes of the C major scale. Notice that I have numbered each note of the scale. (These numbers are called scale degrees)…

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

C D E F G A B C

Before I explain this, please find these notes on your guitar. Make sure that you stick to ONE string only. (The B-string would be a really good choice). After you’re done, please read on…

Here are a few observations:

• The distance between notes 1 and 2 is two frets (W).
• The distance between notes 2 and 3 is two frets (W).
• The distance between notes 3 and 4 is one fret (H).
• The distance between notes 4 and 5 is two frets (W).
• The distance between notes 5 and 6 is two frets (W).
• The distance between notes 6 and 7 is two frets (W).
• The distance between the notes 7 and 1 is one fret (H).

All clear? Great! Let’s now put the major scale into practice…

The Major Scale: Where To Use It…

The major scale sounds great over major 7th chords. This means that we would use the C major scale over C major 7th chords. The formula for a major 7th chord is 1 3 5 7. Notice how these numbers lie within the formula of the major scale. (This is the reason why you can use the major scale over major 7th chords).

Let’s now take a look at a chord progression for you to improvise over. To extract the most value from it, I recommend recording it. That way you can improvise over the progression…

// C maj7 / C major7 / Eb maj7 / Eb maj7 //

Use the C major scale to solo over the first two bars, and use the Eb major scale to solo over the last two bars. Have fun!

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To speed up the process of  learning jazz guitar, it is a good idea to have a step-by-step plan to master guitar scales. To learn more about the one I use, please go to:

www.GuitarScaleMastery.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Bassett
http://EzineArticles.com/?Learning-Jazz-Guitar—Common-Scales-Used-In-Jazz-Guitar-(Part-3)&id=563235

<< BACK TO PART 2

By Craig Bassett

Playing jazz guitar fluently is definitely a challenge. It is a lifelong study. People new to jazz often underestimate the sheer volume of information that needs to be absorbed. Especially in the area of jazz guitar scales!

In this article we continue looking at the most common scales used in jazz guitar. Mastering these common scales will help you build a valuable foundation of guitar scale knowledge and technique. This foundation will eventually enable you to learn more complex jazz guitar scales.

Jazz Guitar Scales #2: The Mixolydian Mode.

The Mixolydian Mode: Some Basic Theory…

This is a great sounding scale! To my ears it has a warm, rounded and bluesy sound. It is absolutely essential that you master it. No excuses.

The mixolydian mode has the following formula…

1 2 3 4 5 6 b7

So what does this formula tell us? It tells us that the mixolydian mode is the same as the major scale (Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7), except it has a flattened 7th. Let’s work out the notes of the G mixolydian mode to make this clear…

Step 1:

Write down the notes of the G major scale. This gives us these notes…

G A B C D E F#

Step 2:

Flatten the seventh note of the G major scale. We have to do this because the formula of the mixolydian mode has a b7. So if we flattened the seventh, it gives us these notes…

G A B C D E F

These are the notes of the G mixolydian mode.

The Mixolydian Mode: Where To Use It…

The mixolydian mode works really well over dominant 7th chords. This means that in the example above we would use the G mixolydian mode over G dominant 7th chords. The mixolydian mode works over dominant 7th chords because the formula for dominant 7th chords is 1 3 5 b7. These chord tones are also found within the formula of the mixolydian mode.

To finish off this article, here is a chord progression for you to improvise over. To gain maximum benefit, you will need to record it so that you can solo over it. Another option would be to get a friend to play the chords for you…

// G dom7 / G dom7 / Bb dom7 / Bb dom7 //

To solo over this, use G mixolydian for the first two bars and Bb mixolydian for the last two bars. Be patient with yourself if you find this challenging. It just takes time and practice. It WILL get easier.

If you’re more advanced, you could make the chord progression harder by adding some extra chords. Here’s an example of what you could do…

// G dom7 / F dom7 / Bb dom7 / D dom7 //

Or here’s another variation…

// G dom7 / B dom7 / Bb dom7 / Ab dom7 //

Have fun with this stuff!

Playing jazz guitar is nearly impossible if you don’t totally master scales. If you would like a step-by-step plan for doing this, then go to:

www.GuitarScaleMastery.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Bassett
http://EzineArticles.com/?Playing-Jazz-Guitar—Common-Scales-Used-In-Jazz-Guitar-(Part-2)&id=558589

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How to Play “Stupid Boy” by Keith Urban on Acoustic Guitar

Learn how to play the song “Stupid Boy “ by Keith Urban with this free country guitar lesson.  This song was written by Dave Berg, Deanna Bryant and sarah Buxton and recorded by Keith Urban.  It is the second single from his 2006 album Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing. Keith Urban won a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for “Stupid Boy” a year after it was released.  You can learn more about this song over at Wikipedia.

Onto the guitar lesson.  This great lesson is brought to you buy Erich Andreas of yourguitarsage.com. This is a simplified version of the song making it much easier for beginners.  You will need to use a capo on the first fret for this particular version.  If you are not sure what a capo is or  how to use one, follow this link for information on how to use a guitar capo.

The chord shapes you will need to know for this song are:  G Major, D Major, A Major .  The good news is, that most of the song uses only those three basic beginner guitar chords.  There is only one minor change and that comes in the chorus where you will have to play a B Minor Chord.  Erich plays the full B Minor Barre Chord in this lesson.  If you are having trouble with this difficult chord, I have a little cheat for you.  Follow this link for an easy version of the B Minor Chord that isn’t a barre chord.  It may not have the same full sound that the barre chord has, but its a descent enough replacement.

Stupid Boy by Keith Urban Guitar Lesson

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXw10fWhz9o

Performed Live by Keith Urban

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpWMk4-UwxM

Additional Resources For Stupid Boy

Stupid Boy Guitar Chords & Lyrics

Stupid Boy Guitar Tabs

Download Keith Urban Songs from iTunes

Download the Album Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing from iTunes

More Information on this Song from Wikipedia

More Easy Acoustic Guitar Songs for Beginners Here