swiftlessons posts
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James Arthur "Say You Won't Let Go" Guitar Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'm offering a mini-tutorial for James Arthur's 2016 pop hit "Say You Won't Let Go." This tune features one beginner friendly chord progression, and a basic fingerstyle pic...
How to Mix Major & Minor Blues Licks - SRV Inspired Lead Guitar Lesson
Hello friends,In today’s session we’ll be breaking out of the minor pentatonic box, and discovering how you can diversify your licks by making use of the major pentatonic scale in D position. This major pentatonic pattern is positioned next to the common E position of the minor pentatonic scale,...
John Denver "Take Me Home, Country Roads" Guitar Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'm breaking down a fairly beginner friendly song in John Denver's 1971 classic "Take Me Home, Country Roads." I'll take you through the chord progressions and strumming pa...
Elvis "Heartbreak Hotel" Guitar Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swift Guitar Lessons for another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'm breaking down the riffs, licks and strumming patterns for Elvis Presley's 1956 hit "Heartbreak Hotel." I'll take you through the verse sections and my adaptatio...
"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" - Willie Nelson Rhythm & Guitar Solo Lesson
Hello friends,Today I'm very excited to release my complete guitar lesson breaking down the rhythm and lead guitar parts of Willie Nelson's rendition of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain." In this tutorial I'll take you through the chord progressions, strumming patterns, and walking ...
Willie Nelson "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" - Guitar Play Along w/ Tabs, Chords & Lyrics
Hello friends,Today I'm hard at work creating a complete guitar lesson for Willie Nelson's version of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain." As I finish that work, please help yourself to this demonstration with tabs, chords and lyrics.Links: Premium Lessons Request a Song Swiftlessons Face...
Awesome Minor Soloing Trick! - The "Staircase" Technique
Hello friends,In today's session we'll be learning how to apply our powerful "staircase" arpeggio trick to minor keys. We'll begin by learning our natural minor scale on a single string before targeting the half-step intervals in that scale to apply this ear catching technique. L...
Easy Soloing Over Major Keys - Implementing the "Staircase" Arpeggio
Hello friends,and welcome to another mini lead guitar lesson. In today's session I'll be revisiting the powerful "staircase concept" for soloing over the key of Fmaj. We'll begin by learning how playing the major scale on the high E string reveals melodic arpeggio options, before...
Three Ways of Playing the "Dreaded" Fmaj Chord | Beginner Guitar Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another rhythm guitar tutorial. In today's session we'll be discussing the theory and playing technique behind the F major chord shape. We'll begin by examining the notes and intervals it contains, before learning the proper technique of...
Top 10 Great Guitarist You've Never Heard Of!
Hello friends,Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with guitarist and educator Spencer Handley to talk about great contemporary guitarist who have flown under the radar for many music enthusiast. The players on this list are just a few of the many talented musicians who have inspired us over t...
The Beatles "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" Guitar Lesson
Hello friends,welcome back to Swift Guitar lessons for another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'm breaking down how to play The Beatles' 1965 classic "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away." This John Lennon original is the perfect addition to your beginner-intermed...
Chromatic Turnaround Lick in B Major - Major Blues Guitar Licks
Hello friends,Welcome back to Swiftlessons for another lick of the week. In today's session I'll be showing you a blues turnaround lick that makes use of one of my favorite musical elements; chromaticism. This phrase is built by combining notes from our minor and major pentatonic scales, and...
Elvis "Baby What You Want Me to Do" - Easy Blues Guitar Songs Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swift Guitar Lessons for another By Request Song Tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down how to play the Elvis Presley version of "Baby What You Want Me to Do" by Jimmie Reed. This tutorial will feature several classic blues techniques inc...
How to Harmonize Basic Melodies - Lead Guitar, Chord Melody Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swift Guitar Lessons for another lead guitar tutorial. In today's session I'll be showing you how to embellish melodies using chord harmonies. We'll begin by developing a basic lead line over an Am, Dm, Gmaj, E7 progression, before inserting partials of ...
Elvis Presley "It's Now or Never" - Easy Acoustic Guitar Songs Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down Elvis Presley's hit song "It's Now or Never" from July of 1960. We'll begin this lesson by learning how to perform the tunes intro section using a...
"House of the Rising Sun" Guitar Lesson w/ Tabs
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swift Guitar Lessons for another by request song tutorial. In today's session we'll learn how to play The Animals' 1964 classic "House of the Rising Sun." We'll begin by learning the song recognizable intro picking section, before applying th...
"Shallow" Guitar Tutorial - Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper Guitar Lesson
Hello friends,And welcome back to Swiftlessons for another by request song tutorial! In today’s session I’m joined by vocalist Stefany Mazor for a complete demonstration and breakdown of “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. This lesson will guide you through the fingerstyle technique f...
Major Flavor Blues Guitar Lesson - Three Classic Licks!
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another lead guitar tutorial. Becoming a confident and versatile soloist is all about mastering one technique at a time through slow, patient, and careful repetition. In this tutorial I'll be introducing how to add a bit of major flavor into you...
Hendrix Style Guitar Lesson - Combining Rhythm & Lead Over 1.6.4.5
Hello friends,welcome back to Swiftlessons for another lead guitar tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down a routine that will hopefully shed some light on Jimi Hendrix's unique approach to combining rhythm and lead elements through the use of pentatonic double stops. We'l...
The Beatles "Something" Ukulele Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another ukulele song tutorial! In today's session, I'll be breaking down the chord changes and strumming options for my beginner friendly arrangement of The Beatles' "Something." Let's get started!Links: Premium Lessons Reque...
Ascending and Descending Pentatonic Patterns
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another lead guitar mini tutorial. Yesterday I received a message from a patron asking how to make pentatonic soloing sound more interesting and less like "running scale" over the progression, so in this session I'll break down two less ...
"House of the Rising Sun" Cover Featuring Veserium
Hello friends,Today I'd like to share with you a special project I created with virtual reality DJ's Veserium; a modern take on The Animals 1964 rendition of "House of the Rising Sun." This was an amazing opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone, challenge myself as a vocali...
Spice Up Your Guitar Fingerpicking - Travis Crisscross Pattern
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another fingerstyle guitar tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down an alternate Travis picking pattern that you can use to spice up your favorite folk songs. We'll begin by reviewing the traditional pattern, before applying th...
"Shallow" Intro & Verse Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson • A Star is Born • Lady Gaga
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for part 1 of my new series breaking down how to play "Shallow" from the sound track of A Star is Born. In this lesson we'll learn the chord progressions and finger-picking patterns for the intro and verse sections. Let's get started!Lin...
How to Solo in Major Keys | My Solo From "The Follower"
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another lead guitar tutorial! In today's session I'll be explaining some of my approach to writing and performing guitar solos in a major key. Since several of my patrons have made this request, I'll be teaching these techniques in the c...
Johnny Cash "Ring of Fire" Guitar Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another by request song tutorial! In today's session I'll be breaking down how to play Johnny Cash's classic 1963 rendition of "Ring of Fire" by June Carter. We'll begin by learning how to perform the tunes iconic intro on th...
Melodic Soloing - Open D Position
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for an exclusive lead guitar tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down some basic tricks for playing licks and fills in the key of D major. The goal of this lesson will be to master our D major scale in it's open position, and two e...
The Beatles "Julia" Complete Guitar Lesson
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swift Guitar Lessons for another by request song tutorial. In today's session I'm very excited to break down John Lennon's guitar parts for The Beatles 1968 classic "Julia." I'll take you through the chord progressions for the pre-verse, vers...
How to Use a Guitar Capo - Changing Keys and Chord Voicings
Hello friends,and welcome back to Swiftlessons for another beginner guitar tutorial. In today's session I'll be breaking down the theory behind using a capo, and how it can be employed to quickly change keys and chord voicings. Let's get started!Links: Premium Lessons Request a Song Swif...
Rockabilly Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson Part 2 - Advanced Techniques
Hello friends,and welcome to part two of my Rockabilly Fingerstyle Guitar Series. In this tutorial we will be building upon what we learned in our previous video by adding in embellishments like slides, string bends, and walking chord transitions. Be sure to practice each section in slow repetition,...
