Courses

Songwriting with Plini

Songwriting with Plini is an in-depth masterclass in musical composition and modern progressive songwriting, straight from the mind of one of Australia’s most innovative and legendary musicians, Plini. Best known for his work as an instrumental guitarist and songwriter, Plini...

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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.”

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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...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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Courses

The Madness of Tosin Abasi

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

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Courses

The Madness of Tosin Abasi

This set of lessons offers an in-depth look at the Animals As Leaders tracks BACKPFEIFENGESICHT and THE GLASS BRIDGE. 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 tracks: Thumping, Selective Picking & Sweeping in Riffs, Hammer-On-From-Nowhere Riffing, Songwriting & Arrangement Techniques.

Songwriting with Plini

Songwriting with Plini is an in-depth masterclass in musical composition and modern progressive songwriting, straight from the mind of one of Australia’s most innovative and legendary musicians, Plini. Best known for his work as an instrumental guitarist and songwriter, Plini offers a comprehensive look into his unique methods for crafting memorable, inspiring songs.

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.

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.

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.

Articles

Michael Romeo Interview – Symphony X (2011)

After touring the world in support of their acclaimed release Paradise Lost, progressive metal mastermind Michael Romeo and his band Symphony X returned to their studio,...

Don Lappin Interview

Don Lappin is renowned for his one-of-a-kind voice on his instrument, developed in part due to his unorthodox two-handed tapping technique. Paired with a keen sense...

James Byrd Interview

James Byrd is perhaps one of the most underrated guitarists out there today. In fact, Guitar One Magazine named him one of “The 10 Best...

Paul Masvidal Interview – Cynic (2014): Part 2

In the first part of our interview, Paul Masvidal took us inside the composition and recording process for Kindly Bent to Free Us. Read on...

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...

Cliff Chase Interview (Fractal Audio)

As the founder of Fractal Audio and the mastermind behind the acclaimed Axe-Fx guitar preamp and effects processor, Cliff Chase has inspired the sound of...

B.B. King Interview

[Editor’s Note: Very special thanks to Phillip-Michael for contributing this unique and intimate discussion with his uncle, the King, to Guitar Messenger.] Noble, Legendary, Dignified;...

Ryan Knight Interview – The Black Dahlia Murder: Part 1

As hard as it can be to stand out amidst the annual metal festival line-ups, The Black Dahlia Murder have managed to do so for...

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...

Mark Tremonti Interview (Alter Bridge, Creed)

Mark Tremonti is a renowned guitarist and leader of rock powerhouse Alter Bridge, who just released their second album, Blackbird, in October 2007. The new...

Silenoz & Galder Interview (Dimmu Borgir)

Dimmu Borgir’s international success in a genre that celebrates dissonance and gritty production is nothing short of remarkable. Since their formation in 1993, Norway’s Dimmu...

Dave Martone Interview

Dave Martone hails from Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), though he’s originally from outer space, where he devised his unique brand of modern progressive fusion. His...

Lessons

Animals As Leaders: Tosin Abasi Masterclass (Part 2)

In this second part of his masterclass for Guitar Messenger, Tosin Abasi of Animals As Leaders demonstrates the main riff and breaks down the opening...

Diminished Possibilities: Part 2

Hey guys! Welcome again to my “Technical Difficulties” column – this is number 6 already! As the title suggests, this is the second part of...

Metal Foundations Lesson 2: Riff Concepts

Welcome back, fellow metallers! Last lesson, I introduced some basic rhythmic subdivisions and the palm muting technique. Expanding on palm muting and timing importance, this...

Tour Survival 101

I remember it perfectly. It was 19 weeks ago that I arrived in Manhattan, guitar in hand, frantically looking for Chelsea Studios. Chelsea is one...

Ignition Part 1: Listening

Now, I know that since this is a recording column, naturally everyone wants to know what gear is good and what they should buy and...

Using a Metronome Effectively Part 3: Clocking Your Speed

So now that you’re set up with a quality metronome (Part 1) and understand the basics of how rhythmic time is divided, (Part 2) lets...

Artist Lick: Steve Morse

Guitar legend Steve Morse demonstrates his burning take on the blues, in an Artist Lick taken from the Dixie Dregs’ 'Rock & Roll Park' from...

Team Players

If you’re a member of a band, set ground rules early in your relationship to prevent legal and financial problems down the road. Being a...

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...

Social Networking vs. Business Networking

An open-ended letter to a friend on the topic of Social Networking versus Business Networking in the music industry [Editor’s Note: The views expressed are...

Scale The Summit: Chris Letchford Lesson – Atlas Novus

 [Chris’ Strandberg Boden CL7 signature 7-string guitar is in Standard Tuning: B E A D G B E.] Atlas Novus In this lesson, Chris Letchford...

Major Scale Harmony

For this first column, I feel its best that we start off with something simple. The purpose of this column is to show which chords...

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