The first tip is a way to give you more strength, and control over the bend. All you do is put your middle finger, in the fret before the one you’re bending in. Then you have two fingers to push the bend up, and hold it too. The next tip is to use the index finger to block the other strings, and it goes in the fret before the one where your middle finger is. You just want to lay it across the strings, but don’t press down. This is just in case you happen to hit some other strings, which can make the bend sound sloppy.

We’ll do this one in the eighth fret, and this bend works with a D chord. First put your ring finger in the tenth fret, on the second string. Remember what this note sounds like, because that is the pitch you’ll be bending the string up to. Now play the note in the eighth fret, and push the string upward until you match the note in the tenth fret. The note in the eighth fret is a G, and that is the fourth note of the D scale. You’re bending the string up a whole step to the fifth note of the scale, which is an A note. After you get the bend up to the pitch of the note in the tenth fret, release it back to the original position. Remember you want to get the bend up to pitch without overbending, and with practice you’ll get better at it.

When you get used to this, try going back to the F note in the sixth fret on the second string, after releasing the bend. Then to the D note in the seventh fret on the third string. You can also move this up, or down the neck using the musical alphabet.

JD Jarrell teaches blues guitar tutorials at guitartricks.com

Sweep Picking lesson from the Guitar Tricks Channel!

So there I was, looking up guitar tabs online, when I saw an ad for online guitar lessons. Eureka! After some careful research, I decided I should share my findings with you, oh faithful reader. I decided I would settle on one of two lesson sites: It would be Jamplay.com vs. GuitarTricks.com!

Jamplay vs. GuitarTricks review:

- Guitar Tricks beginner program is better overall, and branches into different styles like blues, country, and (my favorite) rock.
- Guitar Tricks has more diverse lesson plans.
- All of Guitar Tricks song lessons are officially licensed (many lesson sites publish songs illegally!)
- Guitar Tricks has a bunch of helpful tool programs, like the Jam Station that plays backing tracks so you can play along and practice your chops.
- Guitar Tricks video player is really handy and generally easy to use.

Jamplay offers a similar program to Guitar Tricks:
-Lots of lessons
-Lessons can be longer (Some were too long…ZzZzz…)
-Some good instuctors

This post pretty much sums it up: Guitartricks vs. Jamplay

When you look at she will be loved chords, you’ll notice how the song starts off with just two chords. These chords are basically a Cm chord and a Bb chord, but what makes these chords interesting is when the guitarist, James Valentine, switches just one thing. He lifts his pinky finger to transform the Cm chord and the Bb chord to a Cm7 chord and Bb Dom 7. Pretty cool right? This technique can transform any rock guitar chord and make it into something more interesting. As you learn guitar, you will start to notice the many stylistic changes that certain guitar players do as they write songs.

The album version of the Freebird is over 9 minutes long, and contains a substantial solo section with improvised guitar. This lead guitar and also the melody are played with a slide, evoking the sound of blues music. While many credit Lynyrd Skynyrd guitar player Gary Rossington for coming up with this sound, he often states that when writing the part he was trying to emulate the sound of Allman Brothers guitarist Duane Allaman. Allman a main musical influence for Rossington’s main, and this influence played a big part in shaping the sound of Freebird guitar lines.

The multiple Freebird guitar solos and other key parts are still relevant today for musicians. Freebird tabs are a great source of inspiration when learning to play southern rock specifically, and are appropriate for most intermediate guitar players. While there are many sources of free Freebird tabs online, to really understand the intricacies of the song, it’s important to go beyond the guitar tabs and learn what’s behind the sound. Musicians that take this step will be rewarded with an arsenal of classic rock guitar riffs.

The beauty of the song comes from the way Tom Higgenson pairs simple fingerpicking guitar with his melodic vocals. While the chords are relatively easy to play and common, the manner in which they are played give them their character. Each note is played softly and in perfect harmony with the vocal melody.

The simplicity of Hey There Delilah tabs for guitar makes the song a popular one for beginning musicians. The fingerpicking technique often intimidates new trying to learn guitar, but Hey There Delilah offers an easy introduction. For this reason, instructors often train new acoustic guitar students using Hey There Delilah tabs to build confidence.

Like many things, for Carlos Santana, it all began at the historic Woodstock music festival in 1969. His band, called simply Santana, had just finished recording its debut album. The album hadn’t even been released to the public at the time of the Woodstock festival, but it became a huge hit after their legendary performance. The crowds at Woodstock were amazed at the Latin influenced sound that Santana brought to the stage, and his ability to improvise on the guitar during long jam sessions gave him serious credibility early on.

As the band gained popularity and its first album achieved great success, they began work on a second album called Abraxas. Abraxas had a string of great singles including the cover songs Oye Como Va and Black Magic Woman, which helped make the album one of the most successful of many to come. Because of the success of these Santana guitar songs, Santana’s renditions helped to form and popularize a new style of music blending traditional Latin music with rock ‘n’ roll: “Latin-Rock.”

Latin-rock is the creation that results by combining the styles and sounds of traditional rock with latin music. Rhythmically, latin rock often is recorded with latin percussion instruments like congas, timbales, and various other drums. Ironically, a lyric of Oye Como Va mentions rhythm, which when translated says “Listen how it goes, my rhythm. It’s good to enjoy…” On the guitar there are certain scales that are used, like the harmonic minor guitar scale as well as the chromatic scale.

One reason for the popularity of Santana tabs, Carlos Santana guitar style, and specifically Oye Como Va tabs is the strong guitar melodies. When learning Santana tabs, the guitar takes the role that the vocals would normally have. Guitarists find that Oye Como Va tabs are a good guitar lesson because they teach how a guitarist can play melodically.

Santana tabs also illustrate a technique that he uses in many songs called call and response. This is taken from his interest in jazz, and refers to the interaction in a song between different players. One band member will play a phrase that calls a musical response from another player, usually with the response being a similar melody or rhythm. This “musical talking” between the Santana guitar and other instruments is a key takeaway for students learning with Santana tabs.

Forming in the late 1960′s Steely Dan peaked in popularity during the 1970′s for its unique blend of styles. The band’s sound is most often characterized by a blend of jazz and rock, but elements of both funk and R&B are heard in many songs. The genre bending music of Steely Dan is the product of the meticulous songwriting by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The two are known for being extreme perfectionists, often going to great lengths to achieve different sounds on their recordings. For example, one Steely Dan album required over 40 studio musicians, multiple engineers and over a year to complete.

One of the main reasons that Reelin’ In The Years gained such immense popularity in the guitar community was the guest appearance by session guitarist Elliot Randall. Randall’s unique sound in the song’s lead guitar inspired guitarists of all kinds, including Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Page was quoted as saying that Randal’s solo work for Reelin’ In The Years is his favorite guitar solo of all time. These solos are very melodic and fast, inspiring guitar players around the world to learn the notes in Steely Dan tabs.

For guitar players interested in learning with Steely Dan Tabs, Reelin’ In The Years offers a challenge that is very rewarding. The three fast guitar solos, slew of guitar fills, dynamic rhythm guitar parts and melodic hooks in these Steely Dan tabs help players learn rock guitar style as it was in the 1970′s.

What Steely Dan Tabs aren’t able to teach guitar players is the gear and tone heard in Reelin’ In The Years. The rhythm guitar parts heard in both the song’s chorus and verse sections are played with a clean tone, from a telecaster guitar, played through a tube guitar amp. This allows parts of each riff to break up when played hard, as is typical with tube guitar amps. For the song’s lead guitar sections, a more distorted guitar tone is used with higher gain setting on the amplifier. These guitar tones are an essential ingredient when achieving song’s sound.

For Steely Dan Tabs that also have a video guitar lesson, head to Guitar Tricks.