Gary’s Blog

Advanced Triad Arpeggios

Some of my favorite practice exercises lately have been going back to basics. I’ve been practicing regular ol’ triad arpeggios across all strings and it’s had a noticeable affect on my technique and my improvising.

Improvising over V7 chords

I think it’s important to have some personal ways of approaching different musical situations. As an example…

Now is the best time ever in the history of the world to be a music maker.

Embracing the visual nature of the guitar

Often the guitar is looked down upon because it’s so visual and pattern based. Once you learn one major scale pattern, for example, you can instantly play all the major scales simply by moving the pattern up or down without actually knowing what notes…

Please don’t give up

I started posting short guitar tips on my YouTube channel a few weeks ago. Just short actionable videos that I think would be helpful for intermediate guitarists. I’ve been combing through other guitar tutorial videos on YT to see what else is being put out and I see a lot of people…

Naturals, Sharps, and Flats

This is an interesting way to view key signatures. Normally, we’re taught about how many flats or sharps there are in a given key and how they relate to the circle of 4ths/5ths, but no emphasis is given to the natural notes.

Thank you, Mike

Congratulations, Michael Kozubek, on your Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Guitar Society!

First String Index Finger Vibrato

This is one of the most difficult phrasing techniques to do well on guitar. Index finger vibrato on the first string requires moving the string only in the upward direction (otherwise you pull the string off the fretboard if you pull downward). It’s also difficult…

Recognizing Intervals Visually on Guitar

As I began to study guitar seriously in college, I had a decent understanding of how…