The Guitar Journal is a blog of the free monthly videos I post on YouTube. Here you can pick up some guitar licks, theory lessons, and other goodies that I have excerpted from my DVDs or created for this blog. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to be kept up to date on new videos, and here on the site I often add tabs or worksheets to round out the video lesson. Have fun, and drop me a comment if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see.
Joe
“No Vibrato, No Bends, No Slides!” – Thrown Out of Your Comfort Zone
Throwing It All Away To Find It Again Before I ran into some (luckily fixable) health issues recently, I had been working full throttle on
Blues Solo Etudes – Position Studies: Lesson 3 of 5 “A Shape” 12th Position
Blues Etudes - Position 3: "A Shape" On to the 3rd installment as we get even further out harmonically... Taking a teaspoon of inspiration from the
The Great Pleasures
The Great Pleasures in Music I apologize for not posting Guitar Journal installments as often as I planned. Life leads us through a variety of winding paths,
The ONE Scale Every Guitarist Should Know.
The One Scale Every Guitarist MUST Know! Has he gone mad? Are you kidding me - one scale?! Don't I need my modes, major and minor
Guitar Journal One Position Blues Etudes Pt 1 of 5
Blues Etudes - Position 1 In this first installment of the "One Position Blues Etudes" we start off with the most typical blues "box position". I add
Guitar Journal One Position Blues Etudes Pt 2 of 5
Blues Etudes - Position 2: "G Shape" In this second installment we look at some typical idiomatic phrases that help you build lines, as well as
The “Working Man’s Strat” Shootout: Vintage V6, Schecter California, Fender Tex Mex, G&L Tribute Legacy
I’ll admit it; I am a Strat addict. After foolishly selling a great MIM Blackie some years ago, I’ve been on an endless
5 Watt Tube Combo Shootout: Vox AC4, VHT Special 6, Laney Cub, Tubemeister 5, Valve Junior, Career by Felleretta
We tested six 5 Watt all tube combo amps. They each have their unique sound, and are great for small gigs, rehearsals, and studio work. These models won't
5 Blues Chords You Must Learn!
Guitar Journal April 2016: This time around I’m talking about the rhythm side of the picture. You’ll learn a few of the less-typical
Silent Night – Easy Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Arrangement
Gear: The guitar is the Epiphone Reissue ES-175 strung with flatwound 13’s. Played through a Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue, recorded into Pro Tools and with a touch
Delta Blues Style Fingerpicking Lesson Pt2: 6ths Diads & Chromatic Moves
Another look at the "thumping thumb" blues in Delta style, this time with ideas about playing 6th intervals over the droning bass notes, using
Delta Blues Style Fingerpicking Lesson – “Thumping bass” and melody
This month is an introduction to blues fingerpicking in the Delta blues style - thumping those bass notes and picking melody notes on top.
3 Weird Country Guitar Licks
Here are some "weird" country guitar licks that use chromatic motion to give them their odd sound. Like us on Facebook, send a message to get
Rockabilly / Swing Style Solo – Scales & Note Choice Lesson
Back again with another 12-bar solo. This time I go into more detail on note choice in the video, as requested by some YouTube viewers. I