As far as playing guitar goes, you've got to make an effort to learn the basics and put in some serious practice time before you can hang with the big dogs. And if you've been following Arlen Roth and his exclusive new series of guitar lessons on Gibson Lifestyle, you're definitely on your way to becoming a great guitar player.
This past week's lessons were an excellent mix of introductory-type material, coupled with some more advanced techniques to help you build upon some of the lessons already published.
Monday's lesson featured an introduction to "hybrid" picking, which is the term given to the technique of using a pick and finger when playing a guitar. The technique basically combines fingerpicking and flatpicking for use with some great rockabilly rhythms and also for soloing. This lesson is an excellent introduction to your own repetoire.
Tuesday's lesson took hybrid picking one step further, as Roth demonstrated how to play banjo rolls using the hybrid technique. He explained their use in the open G and E positions, and provided some excellent exercises to improve your own skills.
Wednesday's lesson switched gears to the technique of pre-bends, which is the bending down of a note, as opposed to the more common technique of bending up. Roth explained how to use your fingers to develop "presets" that enable you to know just how far to bend a string silently to reach the note you're going to start at.
Thursday's lesson looked at one of the most classic licks of all time—the shuffle lick. Roth explained this legendary rock and roll lick in full detail, and broke it down nicely for easy learning from the open positions of E, A, and D, while also giving some great pointers on how to take it up the neck and play it in closed positions.
Next week promises another great set of free and exclusive online guitar lessons from Arlen Roth, including a look at some classic rockabilly licks, and some cool harmony shuffles—all for free, exclusively here at Gibson Lifestyle!