Courses

PROGRESSIVE PICKING with Stephen Taranto

The quintessential guide to modern picking techniques as taught by Stephen Taranto. "The purpose is to shed some light on how I traverse the strings, while keeping things as clean and as fast as possible.”

Learn more
Courses

Scar Guitar

Scar Guitar is a detailed journey into the modern playing styles of Per Nilsson, one of the world's finest guitarists. Best known for his work with Swedish melodic death metal group Scar Symmetry and progressive metal titans Meshuggah, Per offers...

Learn more
Courses

THUMP! - Tosin Abasi's Guitar Instructional

THUMP! is an in-depth exploration of the modern playing techniques of Tosin Abasi. This course focuses primarily on his approaches to the thumping technique, and also explores several other key techniques that offer insight into his music. Included are detailed...

Learn more
Courses

The Madness of Javier Reyes

Javier Reyes of Animals as Leaders and Mestis breaks down some of his key techniques and offers close-up demonstrations of four compositions. All lessons & performances are presented in crystal clear 4k video, with multiple angles covering all the action....

Learn more
Courses

Fingerpicking Foundations

Javier Reyes of Animals As Leaders and Mestis builds on fingerpicking technique basics introduced in the Madness of Javier Reyes series. The goal of this course is to develop a strong foundation for the fingerpicking technique. The program includes 5...

Learn more
Courses

Backpfeifengesicht

This set of lessons offers an in-depth look at the Animals As Leaders track BACKPFEIFENGESICHT. Featuring 4k video, detailed transcriptions, and downloadable Guitar Pro files, Tosin gives insight into some of the playing and writing techniques that are highlighted in...

Learn more
Scroll Down

Courses

Scar Guitar

Scar Guitar is a detailed journey into the modern playing styles of Per Nilsson, one of the world's finest guitarists. Best known for his work with Swedish melodic death metal group Scar Symmetry and progressive metal titans Meshuggah, Per offers a close-up personal look at his unique approaches to music and the guitar. This course includes over 2 hours of lessons and performances, in-depth interviews, & bonus materials.

PROGRESSIVE PICKING with Stephen Taranto

The quintessential guide to modern picking techniques as taught by Stephen Taranto. "The purpose is to shed some light on how I traverse the strings, while keeping things as clean and as fast as possible.”

Fingerpicking Foundations

Javier Reyes of Animals As Leaders and Mestis builds on fingerpicking technique basics introduced in the Madness of Javier Reyes series. The goal of this course is to develop a strong foundation for the fingerpicking technique. The program includes 5 etudes, offering a musical, fun path to synchronizing both hands and developing right-hand finger dexterity. A perfect course for beginner to intermediate guitarists looking to dive into the world of fingerpicking.

THUMP! - Tosin Abasi's Guitar Instructional

THUMP! is an in-depth exploration of the modern playing techniques of Tosin Abasi. This course focuses primarily on his approaches to the thumping technique, and also explores several other key techniques that offer insight into his music. Included are detailed transcriptions, as well as backing tracks for select songs. The course is not limited to 8-string guitarists. All concepts can be applied to 6 and 7-string guitar.

Backpfeifengesicht

This set of lessons offers an in-depth look at the Animals As Leaders track BACKPFEIFENGESICHT. Featuring 4k video, detailed transcriptions, and downloadable Guitar Pro files, Tosin gives insight into some of the playing and writing techniques that are highlighted in the track: Thumping, Selective Picking & Sweeping in Riffs, Hammer-On-From-Nowhere Riffing, Songwriting & Arrangement Techniques.

The Madness of Javier Reyes

Javier Reyes of Animals as Leaders and Mestis breaks down some of his key techniques and offers close-up demonstrations of four compositions. All lessons & performances are presented in crystal clear 4k video, with multiple angles covering all the action. Each example is transcribed in great detail and can be looped, slowed down, sped up, transposed - all on the same page. Each example is also available for download in Guitar Pro format.

Articles

NAMM 2014: Marty Friedman Interview

At this year’s winter NAMM show in Anaheim, CA, I had a chance to speak with guitar legend Marty Friedman, who is known for his...

Guthrie Govan Interview (2009)

Guthrie Govan is one of the most versatile guitarists around. His vast range of influences and terrifying technique has allowed him to develop what seems...

NAMM 2014: Leonardo Guzman Update (GM / Per Nilsson Guitar Solo Competition Winner)

This year at NAMM we had the pleasure of running into Leonardo Guzman, the fleet-fingered Colombian guitarist whose entry in our Guitar Solo Competition earned...

NAMM 2014: Christoph Kemper Interview (Kemper Profiling Amplifier)

Guitar Messenger’s Ivan Chopik had a chance at this year’s NAMM to speak with Christoph Kemper, the mastermind behind the legendary Access Virus synthesizers, as well as...

Eric Krasno Interview

An acclaimed musician in today’s jazz, hip-hop, and funk circuits, Eric Krasno is best known as the guitarist and co-founder of the soul-funk powerhouse Soulive....

NAMM 2014: Ola Englund Interview – Part 2

In PART ONE of our interview with Ola, he opened up about building his own brand as a high-gain amp expert, playing with bands like The...

George Bellas Interview (2010)

George Bellas is a unique figure in the world of instrumental guitar. His fusion of technical facility and compositional prowess allows him to consistently deliver...

Per Nilsson Interview (Scar Symmetry)

With their progressive blend of melody and brutality, Sweden’s Scar Symmetry are pioneering metal with their own distinct take on the genre. Per Nilsson makes his...

Francesco Artusato Interview

2010 has been a landmark year for guitarist extraordinaire Francesco Artusato; within months he joined forces with California’s extreme metal powerhouse All Shall Perish and...

Derek Trucks Interview

Derek Trucks is a virtuoso blues artist and is also known as one of the greatest slide guitarists. In addition to leading the Derek Trucks...

Misha Mansoor Interview (Periphery)

Always striving to expand the outer limits of their sound, Periphery is a band that’s living up to their name – and storming onto the...

Chris Letchford & Travis LeVrier Interview (Scale The Summit)

Modern prog instrumentalists Travis LeVrier and Chris Letchford of Scale the Summit discuss their new album The Collective as they unfold a new and exciting...

Lessons

Diminished Possibilities: Part 1

Welcome to my third column/lesson. This time I’d like to talk a little bit about diminished scales/arpeggios with their possible application solos. Knowing how to...

Create Marketing Tools

Creating marketing tools (A.K.A “Merch”—T-shirts, hats, and stickers that bear your name, logo or slogan) help to increase your exposure, strengthen your brand name, and...

Buying Your First Guitar: Part 2

Welcome back! In Part 1 of this article, we looked at various considerations and research tips to guide your search for the right guitar. Now...

Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Design

 [Richie’s Ibanez RG 8-string guitar is tuned to Drop-E: E B E A D G B E, and his Ibanez Jem 555 guitar is in Standard...

Buying Your First Guitar: Part 1

Greetings to everyone at Guitar Messenger! I’m excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the Guitar Messenger community with this article. If you are...

Rehearsal Tips From The Stars

It can be said that the key ingredient for a successful career in the music business is 5 percent inspiration and 95 percent perspiration. Whether...

The Black Dahlia Murder: Ryan Knight – Emin7 Lick

 [Ryan’s Ibanez FR custom shop guitar is tuned down 2 whole steps to C Standard: C F Bb Eb G C] The following lick is...

Scar Symmetry: Per Nilsson Masterclass (Part 2)

The nimble Per Nilsson of progressive metal band Scar Symmetry demonstrates parts of 'Holographic Universe' and 'Prism And Gate,' and explains his approach to tapping...

Messiaen – Canteyodjaya [1949]

Welcome back to Beyond Theory and to what already is column #5! Today we will be talking about Hindu Rhythms as applied by Oliver Messiaen...

Veil Of Maya: Marc Okubo Masterclass (Part 2)

Unbreakable Riff [Marc’s guitar is tuned to Drop-B for all examples in this Masterclass: B F# B E G# C#] This riff calls for left-hand flexibility...

Artist Lick: Joe Stump

Berklee professor and neoclassical master Joe Stump demonstrates a deadly passage in F# Phrygian Dominant that utilizes alternate and economy picking....

The Black Dahlia Murder: Ryan Knight – Tapping & String-Skipping

 [Ryan’s Ibanez FR custom shop guitar is tuned down 2 whole steps to C Standard: C F Bb Eb G C] Ryan credits some of...

Guitar Messenger is dedicated to in-depth courses, lessons, and interviews with today’s leading guitarists.

More about us