Free Lessons

A young Lindsay Ell in performance armed with a Fender rig and ready to take the first step. My first song was terrible. I wrote… Read More »What the Ell? How to Write Your First Song

Chops: IntermediateTheory: IntermediateLesson Overview:• Understand how to add extensions to dominant chord shapes.• Learn riffs in the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Brian Setzer.•… Read More »Rhythm Rules: 8 Ways to Navigate a 12-Bar Blues

Chops: Intermediate Theory: Beginner Lesson Overview: • Learn how to coax both natural and fretted harmonics out of your instrument. • Combine fretted notes with… Read More »How to Handle Harmonics

One of the most compelling aspects of playing progressive rock is how the genre encourages you to turn simple concepts into something new. Nowhere is… Read More »Obsessive Progressive: How to “Borrow” Chords

Chops: Intermediate Theory: Beginner Lesson Overview: • Let blues vocalists inspire your phrasing. • Get more mileage from your licks by varying their rhythmic patterns.… Read More »Blue Horizons: The Lyric Form

Distortion is sugar. It tastes good. When I was 13 my first amp was, accidentally, a 10-watt Epiphone bass amp. A bass amp. The kale… Read More »When Do I Use Distortion?

In my experience, constructing lines has always been about texture and structure. Developing ideas for soloing and writing melodies takes a keen sense of harmonic… Read More »The Shred Decoder: Expand Your Melodic and Rhythmic Control

Many people cite the first wave of punk rock as lasting less than two years. An oversimplified timeline would run from the release of the… Read More »Punk-Rock Madness: It’s More than Power Chords

Photo by Andy Ellis If you don’t play slide guitar, start now. It’s easier than you might think. Just follow the Funkadelic principle: “Free your… Read More »Dust That Broom! A Newbie’s Guide to Slide

Photo by Andy Ellis Being a rock guitar teacher at Berklee, which is known primarily for jazz, is a bit like being the best dogsled… Read More »Supercharge Your Improv