There are certain concepts that all guitar players need to know in order to make more music than excuses. So It was important to me to create a course that teaches the preparatory essentials to guitar students that helps them discover their instrument while discovering themselves.
The 8 steps to Guitar Nirvana are the essential principles that every great guitar player understands and uses. Once you internalize these principles you will always be creating confidently. They are the best test to know your instrument, know yourself, and know if the guitar is the right instrument for you.
When you start lessons we go over each one of these videos from the course and make a riff, solo, or even song out of the principles within it. That way every class you leave with something special you created and a new skill manifested.
1. Right View~ Getting Started on Guitar. We cover how to tune the guitar, how tablature works, the importance of naming your guitar, basic rhythm notation, hand and guitar positioning, as well as a small introduction into muting on the guitar.
2. Right Intention ~ Why, How, What is the 12 Bar Blues? Let's take an in depth view of the structure, harmony, and philosophy behind the 12 bar blues. We’ll look at how a scale and a measure of music is formed. Then look at other chord progressions.
3. Right Speech ~ Learning the Notes- C Major/A Minor 12 Bar Blues- Learn to feel the difference between major and minor keys while mapping out where the notes are on the guitar fretboard through playing music.
4. Right Action~ Three Jams! Easy Chords, Arpeggios, and Intro to Rhythm. Let's put what you learned so far into harmonious action.It will help you to start switching chords vertically, understand arpeggios and how notes harmonize with chords, and how long a quarter, half, and whole note should last for.
5. Right Mindfulness~ A Minor Pentatonic Scale- You know the notes horizontally on each string. Now to make the notes move vertically. There are five shapes that you have to master playing the pentatonic scale (5 tone scale) and once you master the shape and hopefully see how they all fit together- that's where the fun begins.
6. Right Concentration~ Power Chord Gauntlet- Power Chords are the staple of rock and roll. Whether you're playing rock, metal, blues, reggae, punk, alternative, the ability to switch and know where the power chords are key!
7. Right Livelihood~
Creating Riffs and Solos- Have you wished to know how guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Randy Rhoads, or myself make guitar riffs? I'll show you how creating rules helps you to create better melodies and how using scales lets you "dance" musically free. All Improvising is taking a risk within a safe structure.
Plus- 12 Songs You Can Learn and Play in one hour!
8. Right Effort~ Eightfold Shuffle- 8 Blues Riffs you need to know- This video montage is eight of my favorite and most iconic 12 blues shuffles. Use these to practice counting bars and switching chords while using techniques like alternative picking, swing, palm muting, hammer ons and pull offs, and bends. If you want to be enlightened on the ways of rock and metal this is the test to practice.