Stage One

Complete Basic Course- Stage One

No Previous Playing Experience Needed

• We begin by assuming that you know absolutely nothing about guitar
• Special practice and study considerations and advice for younger players
• Players with some experience can review the basics, break bad habits or fill in the gaps in their knowledge
• Whether you want to master the instrument or just have some fun, this is the place to start
• Tips for getting the most from the course, including practice schedule, study pace, setting goals, when to move to next lesson and words of encouragement

Equipment

• An acoustic will work for getting started but an electric guitar is recommended
• Special equipment tips for younger or smaller players
• Selecting and purchasing a guitar; what to look for in a new or used instrument
• Parts of the guitar identified and explained, including bridges, pickups, selector switches and the signal path of your guitar sound
• How to measure the action (string height) on your guitar

Tuning

• How to tell when your guitar is out of tune
• How to tune your guitar to itself or another
• Electronic tuners

Basic Techniques

• How to fret a note
• Correct hand positioning and muscle movement for maximum results with minimum effort. Relaxed muscles are faster!
• Elbow positioning and arm angle; expand your fretboard reach
• How to hold and use a pick
• Up, down and alternate picking
• Legato and staccato
• Leaving your fingers on the fretboard for economy of motion

Reading

• How to read guitar tab and chord diagrams
• Reading note durations in standard notation and guitar tab
• Half, quarter and eighth notes; 4/4 time signature

Learning the Notes on the Guitar

• A simple trick to remember the names of the open strings
• How to determine the names of notes as you go up the neck
• The chromatic scale
• Sharps and flats

Chords

• Open Position and Barre Chords
• Start with simple chords on three strings
• Easy steps to gradually develop the barre technique
• Root notes
• Combine chords with single note lines
• Play 24 chords with two movable shapes
• Major and minor barre chords
• Use chords that you already know as movable shapes
• Examples of riff and chord based rhythm guitar and how they can be combined in a song structure (verse and chorus)

Dexterity

• Several exercises for developing coordination
• Making your pinky finger stronger
• Using a metronome

And more...

• Do you need a college degree to be a professional musician?
• How to practice so that playing becomes second nature
• Selecting tab for a simple song and getting started on it
• Using our message board for support and encouragement

Stage Two

Complete Basic Course- Stage Two

Open Chords

• How to change quickly from one chord to another
• Developing muscle memory
• Studying shapes of chords
• How to make changing chords effortless and natural
• Several exercises with open chords

Power Chords

• Two and three string movable voicings
• Using these shapes on all sets of strings
• Riffs and backing tracks using power chords
• Combining power chords and open chords in progressions
• You'll know more than 100 chords to play along with any song

Bar chords

• Building up to full six-string bar chords
• Major, minor and minor seventh bar chords
• Combining bar chords with open chords in progressions
• Strengthening your bar technique

Strumming Patterns

• Acoustic and clean electric “power ballad” and campfire style
• Combining eighth and quarter notes

Notes on the Fretboard

• The chromatic scale
• Sharps and flats
• Different names for the same notes
• Assigning numbers to scale notes
• Be prepared for your next jam session

Drop D Tuning

• The heavy sound that Seattle made famous (Alice in Chains called it “chunge”)
• Identify the names of the notes in this tuning
• Play three-string power chords with just one finger
• Jam with a rhythm track

Pentatonic Minor Scale

• Choosing which pentatonic minor scale to use over a chord progression
• How to make the scale sound like a lead and create melodies
• Learn a simple solo and play it with a backing track
• Moving the scale to other keys (transposing)

Demonstration of Electric Guitar Effects

• Distortion
• Reverb
• Echo/Delay
• Flanging
• Phase Shifting
• Chorus
• Wah Pedal

And More...

• Setting a practice schedule and keeping it fun
• How to use the Scorch files as training and practice tools
• More tips on fret-hand and palm muting
• More finger dexterity and picking exercises
• Study and practice tips for mastering the exercises

Stage Three

Complete Basic Course- Stage Three

Scales and Soloing

• Five Positions of Pentatonic Minor
• Determining the Key of a Song
• Transposing Scale Patterns to All Keys
• Visualizing Shapes to Create Licks
• Scale Sequences
• Melody and Phrasing
• Making the Transition from Scales to Music
• Combining Licks to Create Solos
• The importance of knowing the roots in every scale pattern
• Graphic animations and block diagrams bring the entire fretboard into view

Techniques

• Hammer-On
• Pull-Off
• Hammer/Pull Combination
• Bending to Pitch

Reading Notation and Symbols

• Quarter Note Rest
• Eighth Note Rest
• Dotted Quarter Note
• Eighth Note Triplets
• Ties
• Bends
• Hammer, Pulls and Slurs

Complete Solo

• Licks learned throughout the lessons are combined into a complete solo with a rhythm track. Jam with the band and then write your own solo!
• Learn the rhythm track too, combining a riff, open chords and a bar chord

And More...

• Eight Bar Chord Progression in E
• Dominant Seventh Bar Chord
• Assessing Your Strengths
• Do you actually have talent?
• Committing to Improvement
• Great accomplishments are achieved through short term goals
• Additional bonus lessons and exercises by Sarah Spisak

Stage Four

Complete Basic Course- Stage Four

Learn a complete solo

• Gain insight to the structure and chord changes
• The solo is analyzed according to scale patterns
• Special playing techniques are explained
• Learn to use chord-based target notes so the lead fits the harmony
• Complete backing track provided for your solo practice and jamming

Minor Pentatonic to Major Pentatonic

• The five patterns learned as minor pentatonic are transposed to major pentatonic
• Learn a simple trick to shift the same patterns to the new tonality
• A single melody can have different tonal centers depending on the backing harmony

Phrasing

• Change the rhythmic phrasing of licks
• Make your leads sound interesting and not like “scale practice”
• Use phrasing to connect licks so they fit the song

Expressive Techniques

• Sliding and vibrato add character to your playing
• Develop smooth and even vibrato on all strings
• Adding vibrato to bends for singing, vocal quality
• Using playing technique to get a great guitar sound

Four Bar Chords with Fifth String Roots

• Major
• Minor
• Minor Seventh
• Dominant Seventh

Several great sounding, fun-to-play riffs including-

• The intro to “Tell the Truth” by Hawk
• Pedal Tone Riff from "Can't Fall in Love" by Hawk
• Standard I-IV-V progression- jam with your friends for hours!

Natural Minor Scale

• Adding the B and F notes to A Minor Pentatonic to create A Natural Minor scale
• Demonstration of licks that indicate sound of Natural Minor
• Switching from A Natural Minor to A Minor Pentatonic
• Animation of Natural Minor patterns based on Minor Pentatonic patterns

Two Handed Tapping Techniques

• Holding the pick while you tap
• Different tapping patterns
• Using scale tones with tapping
• Tapped bend and release

String Muting

• Muting for a rhythmic percussion effect
• Muting unplayed strings and reducing undesired noise
• Detailed techniques for muting with picking and fretting hands
• Different techniques for each string
• Use muting to control feedback for effect (think of the intro to “Foxy Lady” by Hendrix)

Harmonics

• All about natural harmonics; how and why they work
• Artificial or “pinch” harmonics

And More...

• A diagonal dexterity exercise for all levels of skill
• Pedal tones
• Pickup notes and downbeats explained
• Monitoring your progress

Stage Five

Complete Basic Course- Stage Five

Special Techniques

• Octaves
• Trills
• Bend/Release
• Hammer-Bend
• Pick Scrape
• Rake Picking
• Volume Swells
• Tremolo Picking
• Fast alternate picking
• Chromatic Runs
• Rubato and free time

Two Solos and a Blues Jam

• Learn the solo from the intro music in four manageable sections
• Play it over the rhythm track
• Learn an unaccompanied, structured improvisational solo
• Mix rhythm and lead in a blues jam (as you might play in a trio)
• Previews of E Phrygian and A Locrian

New Chords

• Dominant Seventh
• Dominant Ninth
• Dominant Seventh with #9
• Augmented Triad
• Passing Chords
• How these chords are named

And More...

• Structuring your practice sessions
• Developing creativity
• Improvising on motifs
• Writing harmony guitar lines
• Increase your picking speed
• Tips for overcoming difficult sections
• How to form a band

Stage Six

Complete Basic Course- Stage Six

The Power of Music Theory

• Players at all levels will benefit
• Understand how your favorite songs work
• Dramatically improve your ability to play “by ear”
• Develop a large library of melodic possibilities using patterns you already know
• Apply modal theory to your riffs and solos, even with minimal understanding of theory
• Recognize and identify chord progressions by listening to songs
• Analyze solos and apply the melodic concepts to your own music

Principles of Tonality

• Symmetrical and non-symmetrical scales
• Chromatic, whole tone and diatonic scales
• Establishing a tonal center
• Centering the tonality of a phrase

Modal Theory

• Using the five patterns taught earlier in the course to play seven different modes
• Identifying the different sounds of the modes
• Shortcuts to organizing and remembering modal patterns
• Transposing modal patterns to other keys
• Substituting pentatonic scales for major and minor modes

Harmony

• Chord Formulas
• Triads and Seventh Chords
• Diatonic Harmony
• Modal Harmony
• Building your own chord voicings in any key
• Determining the key and mode of a song
• Relative Keys
• I-IV-V Progression
• Sub-Dominant and Dominant Chords
• Harmonic Minor

Classic Metal Guitar Licks

Classic Metal Guitar Licks

Guitar Licks are the Building Blocks of Lead Guitar

When the Metal Method program was first created, the heart of the course was Metal Licks recorded on audio cassette (remember those?). That tradition has continued through this DVD version of this classic program. The title remains Metal Licks but today the phrases sound more Classic Rock than Metal. The original Licks Lesson was created in 1982 - what was metal then is Classic Rock today. These are classic Hendrix, Clapton, Trower, Page, and Jeff Beck. You can use this program as the basis of any lead guitar solo from blues to metal.

A System for Memorizing and Recalling Licks

This lesson teaches a technique for memorizing licks, and even more important, recalling them while improvising. It doesn't matter how many licks you know, it only matters how many licks you can recall when you need them. In the early 80's Metal Method instructor Doug Marks was giving private guitar lessons and taught more than sixty songs. He deconstructed the lead guitar solos from these songs into 109 licks. These phrases are transposed to the key of A minor. So, if the lead is in G, which is two frets lower than A, all 109 licks can be moved back two frets.

Next, the licks were organized according to their first note. The secret for recalling these licks is to memorize and practice all licks with the first note in mind. For example you'll learn nine licks that begin on the first string fifth fret in A minor. Next time you're improvising a lead and you end up on the first string, fifth fret you'll have nine licks to choose from that start on that note. This grouping of licks makes memorizing them a breeze.

This is ninety minutes long and includes on-screen and on-disk tab. Each section and exercise can be located through the menu system. Find licks instantly, and repeat them at the touch of a button. Printable tab is located on-disk in a PDF file.

This lesson includes on-disk animated tab so you can use your computer to play along at any speed. A computer is helpful to learn this stuff but not necessary.