Everything I’m Digging Into on Guitar Right Now (That Could Help Your Playing Too)
From Ruch to Haynes, this is a good one!
Hey friends! This week's issue has all sorts of awesome guitar lessons for all skill levels.
From Jack Ruch’s killer phrasing advice to Warren Haynes’ slide secrets and some surprisingly useful “lazy guitarist” tips, there’s something here that’ll be sure to help you.
👉 I’d love to know - what’s one video or idea from this week that made you want to pick up your guitar right away? Reply to this email or leave a comment on Substack - I’m always psyched to hear what’s striking a chord with you.
🔗 This week’s guitar links!
🎸 Jack Ruch on Phrasing, Triads & Playing Over Songs
All The Right Notes A Masterclass In Guitar Phrasing With Jack Ruch - Any time I see a video from Jack Ruch, I usually make time to watch it and learn. He recently sat down with Brett Papa to talk about the importance of triads, dynamics, and playing over actual songs. He also gives some good advice on what to listen to to make your phrasing stand out. I've been going through a couple of Ruch's and Guthrie Trapp's courses on Papa's site, and if you have the time to put in the work, they're very transformative.
🧠 Guthrie Trapp’s Method for Melodic Soloing
Connecting Chords With Major Scales Melodically- Great Ear Training! - Speaking of Guthrie Trapp, using the major scale to connect chords is somewhere in the middle of his metaphor of building a house when it comes to guitar playing. Similar to Ruch's teaching above, it focuses on understanding the root, 3rd and 5th of these chords, which is why it's so essential you start learning triads all over the fretboard. “No extra charge for mistakes!”
🎯 The Fretboard Framework That Actually Works
Which fretboard method REALLY leads to mastery? - Learning the notes on the neck can be a bit confusing, and you might wonder if you’re doing it right. But Ry Naylor has some great advice! He says that learning intervals was the key to unlocking his full potential and playing what he wants. He also shares the way to get there - like triads, CAGED, and 3NPS that can help you achieve understanding all the notes. Check out the full video and let me know what you think!
🎶 Warren Haynes’ Favorite Allman Brothers Riffs & Slide Tips
Statesboro Blues! Warren Haynes shows us his favorite Allman Brothers Band guitar riffs - Warren Haynes is a legendary slide guitarist, and he’s achieved incredible success by honing his skills on solo projects and with Gov’t Mule. But his dream come true was playing with the Allman Brothers. In this video, Warren shares some of his favorite Allman’s riffs, but the most valuable part is his insights into slide guitar playing. Oh, and one more thing! Warren always plays slide guitar in standard tuning. But guess what? Dylan Adams made a super helpful video this week that explains why you might want to stay in standard tuning for slide. Check it out here.
💡 How to Practice When Motivation Is Low
How to Practice When You’ve Lost All Motivation - Have you read Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art? If not, it’s a super easy read that every creative person should check out. I wrote a bit about it back in 2019. This video from Andrew Clarke is very similar to Pressfield’s concept of getting rid of the resistance, with great ideas like - keeping your guitar close, having an amp and cable ready to go, making your space more conducive to practice and more. If you’re feeling the resistance when trying to practice, check this out.
🎵 Melodic Soloing Without Sounding “Scaley”
Top 5 Exercises For Intermediate Guitarists That ACTUALLY WORK - Want another way to not sound so "scaley" when you're trying to write lead lines? Check out Daniel Seriff's latest, where he goes over 5 exercises - like using diagnoal pentatonic note groups, using different techniques (slides, hammer-ons), repetition and more to make your playing melodic rather than robotic.
🎸 Getting Started with Fingerstyle
TrueFire LIVE with Brooks Robertson | Getting Started with Fingerstyle Guitar - Brooks Robertson, the real deal when it comes to fingerstyle guitar, recently linked up with TrueFire to do a great livestream explaining how to get into this type of guitar playing. If you’re a fan of the sound of Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, and others, this is a must-watch. I loved the song Robertson began with - a take on a Buster B. Jones’ “A Walk In The Park.” I liked it so much, I sought out the original version, which you can check out here (it starts at 2:28).
🎯 Lazy Guitarist Tips That Actually Work
5 Low Effort Tips for Lazy Guitarists - Even though this video focuses on "lazy" guitarists, I think it could really mean working smarter, not harder. Beatrix’s tips go over things like actively listening to music, rather having it just be something in the background, physical maintenance of your hands, and the value of practicing less. She also put out a fun myths video this week - my favorites were "tabs are for losers" and "you need an expensive guitar to sound good". Check out the full video here.
🔥 Nolly’s High-Gain Tone Secrets
“Anyone can dial in a really fat, thick, saturated guitar tone for single notes, but what happens when they palm-mute? Does it just fall apart? A lot of the time it does”: Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood busts myths about how to get great high-gain tone - I liked this post with Nolly where he talks about getting a good high gain tone. Adam talks about using pedals/EQ effectively, how each player's style and gear is different, and a lot more. I've been a big fan of the NeuralDSP plugins, and Nolly's is one I open up regularly. Neural is still doing a birthday sale and gear giveaway. You can enter here using my link.
As always, I found some gold nuggets in here. Thanks for mapping out this week's practice path.