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

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...

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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 the track: Thumping, Selective Picking & Sweeping in Riffs, Hammer-On-From-Nowhere Riffing, Songwriting & Arrangement Techniques.

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.

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

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...

Guthrie Govan Interview (2010)

We last spoke to guitarist extraordinaire Guthrie Govan at the NAMM 2009 Show in Anaheim, California. Throughout the past year Guthrie’s kept quite busy with...

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...

Joel Stroetzel Interview (Killswitch Engage)

Joel Stroetzel is best known for being one of the axe-slingers for Massachusetts-based Metalcore pioneers Killswitch Engage. In June 2009 the band released the self-titled Killswitch...

Slash Interview

Slash is more than an extraordinary musician – he’s a cultural icon. The top hat-wielding and Les Paul-slinging axeman’s instantly identifiable sound has helped to...

Herman Li Interview (Dragonforce)

Over the last few years Dragonforce have established themselves as one of the premier bands in today’s metal scene. Their latest release, Inhuman Rampage, is...

Misha Mansoor Interview – Periphery (2012)

Since their influential debut album release in 2010, Periphery have morphed from a fledgling young group with an eclectic blend of styles into a modern...

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;...

Paul Gilbert Interview

Paul Gilbert is best known for his work in the greatly successful band Mr. Big. However, Gilbert is also one of the leading guitar virtuosos...

Marc Okubo Interview – Veil Of Maya (2012)

Since their inception in 2004, Chicago’s Veil Of Maya have established themselves as one of the premier bands in today’s modern metal scene. With the...

Bobby Thompson & Ravi Bhadriraju Interview (Job For A Cowboy)

Hailing from the depths of Glendale, Arizona, Job For A Cowboy have been stirring up a storm within the metal community ever since the release...

Greg Howe Interview

Guitar legend Greg Howe was one of the leaders of the virtuoso guitar movement of the 80’s, but soon thereafter he set himself apart from...

Lessons

Artist Lick: Adam D of Killswitch Engage

Adam D of Killswitch Engage introduces the world to the almighty VERTIGO SQUEAL. Consult your physician before attempting to play this lick....

Putting It Together: Playing Bass Lines & Guide Tones Simultaneously

It’s great to be able to play guide tones as a stripped down approach to comping, and it’s awesome to be able to play bass...

Steve Morse Masterclass

Electric guitar luminary Steve Morse welcomes you with a stunning solo, runs through his warm-up routine and teaches you to play harp harmonics using Deep...

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...

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...

A Lesson On Tensions: Can You Paint With All the Colors of the Jazz Chord?

What’s so great about Jazz? What about that sound is so appealing?  Why should we as guitarists take the time to study Jazz, even if...

Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Interstellar Abduction

 [Richie’s Ibanez RGD-7 string guitar is in Standard tuning: B E A D G B E, and his Strat-type custom guitar is in Drop-B tuning: B F# B E G#...

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...

The Almighty ii-V: Part 2 (Minor)

Sultry.  Spicy.  Rich.  Exotic.  No, I am not talking about your mother.  I’m talking about Jazz standards in minor keys.  Though they make up a...

Opeth: Bonus – Mikael Åkerfeldt’s Gear

Take a backstage gear tour as Coty Allinson, Opeth's guitar technician, walks us through frontman and mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt's live guitar rig....

Guide Tones: The Bare Essentials

Very often, "less is more" is a good policy to adopt when playing jazz. Overplaying usually gets both players and listeners pissed off because you're...

Scale The Summit: Chris Letchford & Travis LeVrier Masterclass

Learn ‘The Levitated’ Part One CL: This first part is the intro that I play by myself in the beginning. What I’m doing is starting...

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

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