Here is the riff most associated with the song. Pay close attention to what notes are picked because this riff isn't phrased like most blues-based pentatonic licks. Also notice the slide used. This has to be there in order to play the riff correctly. Learn this well. It's played many times throughout the song.

The power behind rock is the power chord. The power chord is found in almost every style of rock music. It's used because it is an easy shape to make and shift around the neck. You can use the power chord as a substitute to any major OR minor chord, too, because the power chord has no 3rd. This means that it can be played as a major or minor chord because the power chord extracted from the major and minor chords is exactly the same shape. That's right: two for the price of one! Use this lesson to learn how to extract the power chord shape from the barre chords you alr...

Welcome to the start of learning Carry On Wayward Son. This is a Progressive Rock and Classic Rock staple, so get out your chops and get ready to play!

The Minor Pentatonic scale is the most important scale when learning blues licks, solos and riffs. Pay close attention to fingering and picking and practice this scale for speed and to train your ears. After you have mastered this scale in A minor, shift the scale to our other 6th string reference points and learn them in all keys the same as you have done with the 12 Bar Blues.

Time is the big factor in the feel of this riff. The riff we learn here immediately follows the opening guitar riff. The big contrast between these riffs is the switch from 4/4 time in the beginning to 12/8 time in this riff. It gives the song a bit of a "lilt" or "swing" by putting a triplet feel into the song. The main beat of the song remains constant, but the feel of each beat goes from duple meter (2 notes per beat) to triple meter(3 notes per beat). This is how the song transitions perfectly into the harmony guitar interlude in triplets that follows. Prog Rock g...

Nothing says Prog Rock like multi-layered harmonies. The original recording and live performances of this song would have many instruments taking on a voice in this harmony part, however, we will learn each voice on guitar. When playing this live you will need to decide which part to play and which part to assign to other players. This riff switches back to 4/4 time from the previous riff's 12/8 time. The quarter note triplets used borrow the common rhythm from 12/8, however, since this rhythm is placed over 4/4 gives the song a sense that it is slowing down. The harm...

The Blues Scale is the name given to the Minor Pentatonic Scale that includes a flatted 5th. This note is not normally in the Minor Pentatonic Scale and is added to give the scale a more bluesy sound. Memorize this common variation of the Minor Pentatonic Scale and use it to improvise over any of the Blues rhythm tracks from previous lessons. Don't forget to practice the scale using 8th notes, triplets, 16th notes, hammer-ons, pull-offs, bending, and vibrato to help you while you explore the the blues scale. At the end of the lesson, I've included some simple li...

Here's a lick that can be found in every blues guitarist's tool box. It's a standard lick using the notes from the Minor Pentatonic Scale. It's best to have this scale down before trying to master the lick. Also, use this scale to warm up before practicing the lick. You'll find the lick will come to you much easier this way. After learning the lick and playing with the jam track, transfer the lick around the neck to other keys and tempos. You'll find it works well in all blues situations.

Yes, in true progressive rock fashion, less is often times more! You'll notice we've gone past the verse straight to the chorus. Why? There is no guitar in the verse. These are great dynamics. The opening of the song is guitar heavy while the verse uses no guitar at all. This builds in the chorus with sparse, clean guitar and builds up to the heavy riff after the chorus. It is quite the crescendo! You will also notice that the guitar is arpeggiating simple chords. The guitar part isn't in the spotlight here, but rather adding a layer of thickness to the texture of the...

Why is this riff as good as the solo? It's built on the A Minor Pentatonic scale just like the solo and it's picked exclusively. You need as much technique to play this riff as you do to play the lead guitar solos. This is essential Prog Rock playing. Rhythm is again an important factor in playing this riff. Surprisingly, the scale passage is played on the beat with 16th notes. Its only difficulty is its speed. The power chords that follow are all off beat 8th notes. This syncopation provides the rhythmic twist that turns these ordinary chords into one of the greatest...

Enough talk. It's time to put these power chords in motion. We'll start slowly and use few chords to get you used to moving them around the low E string. We'll also use some of the slower note values like whole notes (4 counts) and half notes (2 counts). Can these handful of simple chords and slow rhythms really rock? Just ask Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi. His progressions, just like this one, will answer that question.

In this lesson we'll tackle another standard blues use lick used by most blues guitarists. You'll notice this one is used quite a bit by Stevie Ray Vaughan. It is also from the A Minor Pentatonic scale, but can be used over an A Major or A Minor blues. The picking hand uses "hybrid picking" in this example. Don't let it fool you. It's a great tool to have in the toolbox and we'll explore it more thoroughly later in the blues courses. As always, make sure you see how this lick is pulled from the scale and then transfer it to other keys and tempos.

In the previous lesson, we learned the basic fingering for the Minor Pentatonic Scale. In this lesson we'll expand our technique with eighth notes, triplets and 16th notes in order to build our technique and supercharge our picking. Most Importantly: Always use a metronome. This is the most important tool you can use to progressively build up your speed, in less time. Here's a quick cheat sheet on how to play each rhythm: Eighth notes are two notes per beat. Count them "One and Two and Three and Four and". Triplets are three notes per beat. Count them "...

Adding a little rhythmic variation to the power chord shapes can really do a lot for a chord progression. Notice how this progression uses only quarter notes and quarter note rests. It's also a great chance to learn your power chord names with a fifth string root. Can something this simple really rock? Ask Deep Purple and you'll have your answer.

Just as it is important to have the 12 Bar Blues embedded into your genetic makeup, it is equally important to know the Minor Blues Form. Learning this form is quite simple. It is a 12 Bar Blues that has a minor I chord and a minor IV chord. Everything else remains the same even though the sound is quite different. This lesson comes with 3 choruses (or the blues form 3 times) of playalong at the end. Use this to put this form into your fingers and ears.

This riff is also under the instrumental solos and offers a fresh change of harmonic flavor by switching to the E Dorian Mode. This minor mode is given more spice with a great rhythmic syncopation. It's played on the upbeats and each phrase is concluded with a turn back to the downbeat. It's trickier than it sounds, so spend plenty of time counting with the recording before attempting to play it. As with many of the simple ideas in rock music, it is all about the rhythm.

Riffs? Check. Chops? Check. Hot guitar and a big stack? Che..uhhmmm...I'm saving up for it. It's time to flex your muscle and show us what you got on this Prog Rock Feat of Strength. Play along with this full-performance as many times as necessary to get this down. Have fun with it!

This lesson will introduce you to the fundamental technique of arpeggiation. "Arpeggio" is Italian for broken chord. We "break" the chord by playing the notes/strings seperately. This will be explored through the chord forms we know in this tutorial.

Here's the first guitar solo from the song. It's an A Minor Pentatonic bluesy workout that focuses heavily on the picking hand. Work each lick seperately and then put them together. Practice it with the backing track at the Jam Station.

Great blues guitarists use the Minor Pentatonic scale to create almost every aspect of the blues song. The old saying "it's not what you've got, but how you use it" is very important when playing the scale. In this lesson, we'll learn some of the most important techniques used in playing this scale to make it sound bluesy. Hammer-ons, Pull-offs, Bending, and Vibrato are the basic tools of articulation (In blues-speak, that's FEEL). Learn the basics of articulation in this lesson and we'll learn how to use these tools in later lessons. As for the tab for t...

Here is proof that much planning and forethought went into each part of this song. The Bridge has the exact chords changes of the verse. There is no guitar in the verse, however, to build the dynamic level of the song and to vary it from the verse, we have a powerful guitar riff over the verse chord changes. It is again important to note that the guitarist has a very specific role in playing this riff: Support the vocal melody and harmonies that are going on in the bridge. You should therefore be as exact rhythmically as possible.

You have many power chords to choose from when playing progressions. On your E and A strings alone, some power chords occur an octave higher or an octave lower. For instance, you have an F#5 on the 2nd fret of your low E string and also at the 9th fret of your A string. They are both F# power chords, but they have a different sound because of the octave difference. This can be used to your advantage when listening to and creating your own progressions using power chords. Check out this example that uses the same chords with an octave difference to create two great sounding ...

The last big solo section in the song brings in a new key, F# Minor, and brings back the 12/8 time signature. For all of you theory geeks, you'll find this as creative use of Parallel Major (F# Minor is the relative minor of A Major, and A Major is the parallel major key to A minor, the key of our song). You'll also find that our song brings back the motif of the minor pentatonic scale picked quickly underneath the solo. The composer was deliberate in this choice. This is clever motivic development. Take time in counting the transition that uses a bar of 9 to go...

Power chords appeal to the the rock guitar greats because they can be played fast. All you have to do is be comfortable with the power chord shape so that you can shift if around the neck with no time lost. Add faster rhythms to the equation and you have a recipe for rock. You can double your speed with 8th notes and other rhythms. Try this with all the riffs we've learned so far. You'll find this technique will give you a lot of mileage when it comes to playing and creating great riffs.

In this lesson we'll learn the basic chord groupings and patterns used to play the Minor Blues form in every key all over the neck. Commit these patterns to memory and you'll never be disappointed when you are called to sit in and play tunes you've never played before. Also, learning these patterns helps tremendously when a singer needs to change the key of the song. Good luck!

Welcome to a giant standard in the classic rock catalog. In this series, we'll explore how to take simple chords and scales and add a healthy dose of chops to learn Carry On Wayward Son. This tutorial will methodically break down all the major song riffs as well as the solos. We hope you are warmed up!

In this series, we'll teach you how to what a power chord is, how to pull a power chord out of any major or minor barre chord, and how to put that power into some great examples.

In this series of lessons we'll learn the essential technique of arpeggiation, or how to break chords apart, using barre chords.

In this lesson series we'll explore how to create and play the ending to many country songs using techniques learned so far in the course.

There's nothing more important than knowing how to kick off a song. In this lesson series we'll explore how to build and play your own country introductions.

This series of lessons will give you what you need to know about the country fill. We'll look at common fills using the scales and chords you know.

In this series of lessons we'll explore masters of the Brent Mason style and techniques and equipment necessary to play in this style.

In this series of lessons we'll check out the best players to hear in order to learn the Western Swing style and the way to play a chord progression using the right techniques and equipment for this style.

In this lesson series we'll look at masters of the Modern Country style and learn which techniques and equipment to use to transform any chord progression into a Modern Country masterpiece.

In this series, the guitarist will know how to treat a chord progression in the style of masters Chet Atkins and Merle Travis and what choices to make to play this style with great tone and equipment. This series also gives a great list of references so that you know which players and recordings to check out to master this style.

in this lesson series we will learn a traditional country progression, techniques to play that progression, tone and equipment choices to sound like the masters, and who to check out to hear examples of great Traditional Country music.

This series of lessons will give you the techniques pioneered by Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. These names are synonymous with the style that uses independence in the bass, accompaniment and melody voices on guitar and makes the instrument sound as if more than one person were playing.

Hybrid picking is a hybrid of using a pick and using the fingers to get a snappy, chicken picking sound. This series of lessons will get you started with solid techniques that will get your hybrid picking fundamentals down.

Andy Gurley takes a look at the blues scale and it's relationship to the minor pentatonic.

Andy Gurley takes a look at the minor pentatonic scale.

This tutorial will give you a better chord vocabulary. No longer will those pesky 7s, 11s, 13s and so forth be a mystery to you. This tutorial will get you ready for the progressions that follow.

The use of sequences are a great way to better your technique and heighten your skill as a blues soloist. In this tutorial, we are going to show you a variety of different ways to approach the scales already used in blues to aid you in having better chops and technique. Make sure to develop these exercises even further as you move through this course; as all are great ways to warm up for your next lesson or gig. Let's get started.

In these lessons you'll be putting all of our new chords into real time examples. It's time to put these chords into action and find out why country guitar sounds great when using these techniques.

Functional Harmony and the Nashville Number System are the foundations to country songwriting, session work and gigging. Here is a brief look at both.

These lessons will teach you to make the most of your regular chords. We'll learn 9 Major chord inversions and 9 Minor chord inversions and put them into real time. This will put real spice in your rhythm and lead guitar.

This is a non-playing lesson series meant to give you an idea of how to practice and set goals that better you as a musician. Music is a performance art that is driven by YOU and your interaction with others. Make the most of it!

These lessons put the rubber on the road. It's time to learn licks that use everything we've learned so far: CAGED scales, rhythmic subdivisions, articulations and playing in real time. Here are some of the licks that built Nashville.

This series of lesson will give you the basic preparation to start making licks of the CAGED scales. We'll learn techniques that give your licks feel and style.

Learning the basic rhythmic subdivisions of 8th notes, triplets and 16th notes is the basis for solid pickin'. Practicing the CAGED system using these rhythms will supercharge your chops and make learning licks easier.

This tutorial will give you the basic scale shapes needed to play in any key on the entire neck.