How to Tune to Drop-D By Ear (Without a Tuner)

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Recent Lessons

• November 22, 2023

  10 Years of Song Notes... Thanks to You!

  A few quick words of gratitude for all the support & encouragement you all have given me over the past ten years!

• November 17, 2023

  Guitar Finger Exercises for Flexibility, Control, Speed, and more

  Here's a handful of my favorite exercises to help with finger independence. Whether you're a beginner or been at it for years, baking these into your practice routine can pay off big time!

• November 10, 2023

  Lead Guitar Improvisation Tips (feat. Wagon Wheel)

  Learn how to improvise, step-by-step! I'll show how you can play countless riffs over a small cluster of notes on the thinnest three strings. Tons of fun!

• November 5, 2023

  Travis Picking Training Wheels (ft. Hayes Carll)

  I showcase a short & fun fingerstyle riff, where I demonstrate the "training wheels" trick you can use to simplify any Travis Picking pattern.

• November 4, 2023

  Strumming with Alternating Bass Notes

  Learn how to strum any of the most common chords using alternating bass notes – which is an essential technique often used in country, rock, and folk songs.

• November 3, 2023

  Long Black Veil

  Learn to play Lefty Frizzell's 1959 country classic in the style of Johnny Cash! Includes alternating bass note strumming tips & a melody deep-dive.

• October 28, 2023

  St James Infimary Blues

  A refresh for my 2019 lesson teaching this blues classic! I updated my PDF guide and added four new zoomed-in playthroughs, showing tabs on screen.

• October 21, 2023

  Fingerstyle Patterns for All Chords (using Travis Picking)

  I've taught tons of lessons using Travis-style fingerpicking, but haven't ever put together a cheat sheet showing patterns for every common chord... until now!

• October 16, 2023

  Soulful Lead Guitar Licks over "Amazing Grace"

  Learn how to combine simple strumming with beginner-friendly lead guitar licks while playing this classic song! Slow playthrough video & jam tracks included.

• October 11, 2023

  Helpful Tips for Hammer-Ons, Pull-Offs, and Bends

  Here's a Q&A video where I give some general advice on tricky guitar articulation techniques: hammer-ons, pull-offs, and bends. Here's where I'd start with each, and also what to avoid.

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