Techniques

Have you ever wondered how Steve Vai makes his guitar wail or how Joe Satriani plays his melodies to sleek perfection? The answers lie in the techniques they use when playing the guitar.

The good news is, you can also learn and master the techniques used by top level guitarists in this section of GuitarPlayerWorld.com.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of rock music and most of the tutorials I had written may have a little bias toward rock/metal. However, this doesn’t mean that the techniques are only applicable to the rock genre. In fact, I’m going to touch on a wide range of techniques that are found in different genres of music like classical (e.g. finger plucking) or blues (e.g. vibrato).

If you want to SEE exactly how a particular technique is played, I recommend that you check out the indepth video guitar lessons offered by Jamplay. Their lesson quality is simply outstanding.

They have a great catalog of videos that cover a lot of topics. There is everything that a beginner could want or need for either electric or acoustic guitar. They also have a ton of genre specific videos that cover the most common styles of music. If you’re interested in learning some music theory and other skills that will come in handy, they’ve got that too.

Fair Warning: Learning Guitar Techniques Isn’t Easy

Now, you might have come across courses that make outrageous claims about helping you play at 200bpm within one week or allowing you to master sweep-picking techniques in a matter of days.

The truth is, it takes time and discipline to develop your motor skills. My advice to beginner players is: stay focused on a practice plan and set tangible goals to stay motivated.

The .gtp files provided in the individual lessons would be a great tool for practicing since it allows you to hear how a particular exercise is played. If you haven’t done so, download GuitarPro here.

Learn How to Play Guitar Techniques And the Secrets the Gurus Use

#1 – Alternate Picking Technique And Exercises
Alternate picking is a technique where you pick the string in a series of steady upstrokes and downstrokes. In metal and rock genres, guitar players such as Malmsteen often employ this technique to play at blistering speeds.

#2 – Legato Playing Techniques on Guitar ( Hammer-on & Pull-off )
Legato techniques enable you to play notes in a fluid motion and ensure that your sound doesn’t get “broken” up when you transition between passages of music.

#3 – A Primer to Guitar String Bending Techniques
String bending is a technique that is utilized by guitar players to change the pitch of a note while being sustained. It is widely used in a wide range of guitar styles but are most commonly found in rock and blues music.

#4 – Bring Out That Chunky Sound With Palm Muting
Palm muting is a technique that can be applied in many forms of musical styles. For rock musicians, once you crank up your distortion, you will recognize the crunchy signature sound that’s found in many songs.

#5 – Guitar String Muting With Your Fretting Hand
To avoid unwanted noise when you play the guitar, you can make use of your fretting hand to mute unplayed strings to keep them quiet.

#6 – Learn How Guitar Harmonizing is Done Correctly
Harmonization is a very useful technique that can add a whole new level of depth when done correctly. Chances are, you probably heard bands like Iron Maiden and DragonForce utilize them without even knowing it.

#7 – Master the Vibrato Technique For Slick And Smooth Sounds
The vibrato can be used to inject new “life” into sustained notes by using quick and subtle variations in pitch. Find out how to execute the technique correctly here…

#8 – Discover How to Play Natural Harmonics With These Easy Steps
Harmonics are extremely high pitched notes that are generated due to a damping effect on your fretboard. Find out how to make these bell-like sounds on your guitar in this tutorial…

#9 – Artificial Harmonics & Pinch Harmonics on Guitar
Unlike natural harmonics, artificial harmonics can be played at any fret of the neck as long as the correct string striking technique is applied.

#10 – Go Fast And Furious With Guitar Tapping Techniques
The tablature and sheet music for a passage of music that is played with tapping may look intimidating. However, the truth is, tapping is a relatively easy skill to master once you get your fundamentals right.

#11 – Learn Economy Picking Techniques to Play Fast And Slick
The concept behind economy picking is to reduce hand movements and perform smarter picking motions so that you can pick faster while maintaining high accuracy.

#12 – Sweep Picking Guitar Techniques to Play In a Single Motion
Sweep picking is a technique where you play notes on consecutive strings across your fretboard in a single downwards or upwards movement.

#13 – Learn How to Play Guitar Arpeggios
Arpeggios are a great way to introduce micro-structures in a song. In essence, an arpeggio is played by picking out notes of a chord in a sequence.

#14 – Learn How to Use the Whammy Bar ( Guitar Tremolo Arm )
The whammy bar is an accessory that is frequently overlooked by many electric guitar players. Discover some of the coolest sounds you can generate with the whammy bar in this tutorial…

#15 – 3 Guitar Whammy Bar Tricks You Can Show Off
When used correctly, whammy bars are one of the most entertaining tools to have fun with. However, incorrect use can result in guitar damage and screw up your intonation.

#16 – 2 Handed Guitar Tapping Technique
Unlike the one-handed tapping, the use of 2 hands for simultaneous tapping can open up a huge range of tunes that were previously unimaginable.

#17 – Half Step Bends With Vibrato to Add Feel
This is the secret sauce that is utilized by blues guitarists in their riffs and licks. Unlike full bends, half bends require a delicate and deft touch to pull off.

#18 – Hybrid Guitar Picking
Hybrid picking involves a combination of your fingers and picks to play the guitar. While this requires a certain level of finger independence, you can add huge flexibility to your playing once you master it.

#19 – Muted Guitar Strumming to Take Your Rhythm Playing to a New Level
Muted strumming can help you add extra punch to a song’s rhythm and allow you to place emphasis on certain music passages.

#20 – Double Picking and Scale Exercises
In this tutorial, I will teach you how to double pick through the use of some simple scale exercises. At the end of the lesson, you will thank me for improving your finger coordination.

#21 – Travis Picking Techniques And Insights for the Acoustic Player
Travis picking is a technique that is frequently found in acoustic styles like country and bluegrass. In this tutorial, you will learn the Travis picking technique correctly.

#22 – Acoustic Fingerpicking for Beginners
Let’s put your pick aside for a moment and concentrate on using your fingers in this tutorial. The fingerpicking patterns you learn here can also be applicable to other styles of music like folk and pop.

Master the Different Techniques on Guitar And Make Your Playing Sound Sleek

Instructions For Every Guitar Style And Level of Playing Imaginable

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Jamplay also features a growing collection of instructional videos that is updated each week. Furthermore, they also offer detailed tutorials for members to learn well known songs with the help of accurate, interactive tablatures and song visualizations.

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