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...

Learn more
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

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...

Learn more
Scroll Down

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 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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 (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...

Jarle H. Olsen Interview

Hailing from Norway, Jarle H. Olsen is one of today’s finest guitarists and composers of melodic progressive metal. His full-length debut album, Quadrasonic, showcases his...

Robert Cray Interview

We’ve all heard a variation of the phrase “he can say more with one note than others can say with a million notes.” This one...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

NAMM 2014: Marco Sfogli Interview @ DV Mark Amplifiers

Marco Sfogli has been blowing the minds of industry veterans like James Labrie for a decade now with his trademark blend of soulful, inflective rock stylings and stunning technique. We first...

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...

Francesco Artusato Interview (Devil You Know): Part 2

In PART ONE of our interview, guitar maestro Francesco Artusato revealed details about the formation of his new band, Devil You Know, and gave us a glimpse into...

Lessons

Stepping Out: A Guide To Playing Outside (Part 2)

In part 1 of the Stepping Out: A Guide To Playing Outside series, we looked at the use of side stepping (moving a motif, scale,...

Job For A Cowboy: Riffing Style

Watch Bobby Thompson and Ravi Bhadriraju of Job For A Cowboy demonstrate their death metal riffing techniques in this brutal showcase....

Arbitrary Chromatics: The Bonehead Easy Way To Get A Jazzy Sound

So, what are arbitrary chromatics? To say it simply, whenever you’re playing a minor (or major, or whatever mode) scale, in any position, you’ll have...

Jamming With Eric Krasno

Soulive's six-string soul maestro Eric Krasno demonstrates his dynamic style while improvising over two stellar grooves....

Killswitch Engage: Metal Moo Cows, Foghorns, and Elephants

Take a walk on the wild side with Adam D. and Joel Stroetzel of Killswitch Engage as they demonstrate how to create the wonderful noises...

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...

Artist Lick: Bobby Thompson of Job For A Cowboy

Bobby Thompson of Job For A Cowboy presents his Guitar Messenger Artist Lick - a dizzying flurry of diminished tapping, accompanied by an alternate-picked variation....

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...

Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Istagey & Melodyk

 [Richie’s Ibanez RG 8-string guitaris tuned to Drop-E: E B E A D G B E, his Strat-type custom guitar is in Drop-B tuning: B F# B E G#...

Tapping In Harmony

Hello Guitar Messenger readers! Today’s lesson focuses on spicing up chords by actively engaging both hands on the fretboard. Don’t be fooled by all the...

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...

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....

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

More about us