Do you NEED music theory? I hear that question all the time from students, I see it all the time on the internet. There's plenty of artists out there that say, "I don't use theory," so why should we even focus on learning it? Let's dive in and discuss why having a fundamental understanding of...

There is one part in particular, it seems, that everyone is anticipating when hearing Eruption. After a slew of minor pentatonic madness, an angelic onslaught of tapped arpeggios emerges and brings us on a brief harmonic journey. I break down that part so we can get a closer look at what exactly...

Let me ask you a couple questions... Have you ever learned a guitar solo? I'm guessing the answer is probably a yes. Did you learn how many measures long the solo is? Did you learn what the chord progression is behind the solo? Did you learn the solo musical phrase by musical phrase? I'm...

This is the next video in this two-part mini series on chord symbols. If you've ever been confused when seeing "C7#11" or "E7#9" then this is the video for you. Adding one more third interval to our triads, the 7th note of the scale, give us a 7th chord. These 4 note chords have more possible...

Without a system of understanding chord symbols, these markings on our music can be quite convoluted. Understanding what the symbol is trying to communicate is key, and in this short, two-part video series, I make sense of the musical hieroglyphics. We'll start with the basic triads, sus chords...

As a guitar teacher, one of the most common questions I get from my students is, "How do I play up and down the neck?" Really, the question should be, "How can I stop relying on scale shapes for improvising and how can I express myself more freely?" More scale shapes is not the answer. Learning...

If I were to say the words, "Circle of Fourths" or "Circle of Fifths" you'd probably be halfway asleep by the time the words finished leaving my mouth. But, this is THE MOST important tool we have to visualize how music actually works. From Miles Davis to John Mayer to Gloria Gaynor let's use...

Modes are an often confusing topic. Not only do we feel the need to learn them because someone on the internet said we should, but when we do learn them, they are taught in such a way that doesn't make much sense. If your first lessons with modes read "Learn Modes on the Guitar" or was...

Intervals can be a very confusing topic when it comes to theory because most teachers make it needlessly complex. Counting half-steps and memorizing "what interval is how many of the half-steps" is not only the long way, but also NOT the way musicians think of intervals. Really, the secret is...

If you can count, you can be a music theory master! It's no joke, either. Music theory boils down to 2 concepts: counting and definitions, with a heavy emphasis on counting. In this video, I show you how really understanding the major scale, and counting out the notes paves the way for...

More often than not, learning major scales starts with a lot of memorization around a circle of fourths (circle of keys) followed by tricks to get the "right" answer, but what's missing is the "why". Pop on your theory hats to take a journey on how to really master your knowledge of major...

Is the staff the clear winner? With TABs so accessible should we give them more credit? Do either actually make us better musicians or better guitar players at the end of the day? This video explores the pros and cons of each and a clear message to what the ACTUAL best way to learn music is...