Courses

Songwriting with Plini

Songwriting with Plini is an in-depth masterclass in musical composition and modern progressive songwriting, straight from the mind of one of Australia’s most innovative and legendary musicians, Plini. Best known for his work as an instrumental guitarist and songwriter, Plini...

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Courses

PROGRESSIVE PICKING with Stephen Taranto

The quintessential guide to modern picking techniques as taught by Stephen Taranto. "The purpose is to shed some light on how I traverse the strings, while keeping things as clean and as fast as possible.”

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Courses

Scar Guitar

Scar Guitar is a detailed journey into the modern playing styles of Per Nilsson, one of the world's finest guitarists. Best known for his work with Swedish melodic death metal group Scar Symmetry and progressive metal titans Meshuggah, Per offers...

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Courses

THUMP! - Tosin Abasi's Guitar Instructional

THUMP! is an in-depth exploration of the modern playing techniques of Tosin Abasi. This course focuses primarily on his approaches to the thumping technique, and also explores several other key techniques that offer insight into his music. Included are detailed...

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Courses

The Madness of Javier Reyes

Javier Reyes of Animals as Leaders and Mestis breaks down some of his key techniques and offers close-up demonstrations of four compositions. All lessons & performances are presented in crystal clear 4k video, with multiple angles covering all the action....

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Courses

Fingerpicking Foundations

Javier Reyes of Animals As Leaders and Mestis builds on fingerpicking technique basics introduced in the Madness of Javier Reyes series. The goal of this course is to develop a strong foundation for the fingerpicking technique. The program includes 5...

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Courses

The Madness of Tosin Abasi

This set of lessons offers an in-depth look at the Animals As Leaders tracks BACKPFEIFENGESICHT and THE GLASS BRIDGE. Featuring 4k video, detailed transcriptions, and downloadable Guitar Pro files, Tosin gives insight into some of the playing and writing techniques...

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Courses

The Madness of Tosin Abasi

This set of lessons offers an in-depth look at the Animals As Leaders tracks BACKPFEIFENGESICHT and THE GLASS BRIDGE. Featuring 4k video, detailed transcriptions, and downloadable Guitar Pro files, Tosin gives insight into some of the playing and writing techniques that are highlighted in the tracks: Thumping, Selective Picking & Sweeping in Riffs, Hammer-On-From-Nowhere Riffing, Songwriting & Arrangement Techniques.

Songwriting with Plini

Songwriting with Plini is an in-depth masterclass in musical composition and modern progressive songwriting, straight from the mind of one of Australia’s most innovative and legendary musicians, Plini. Best known for his work as an instrumental guitarist and songwriter, Plini offers a comprehensive look into his unique methods for crafting memorable, inspiring songs.

The Madness of Javier Reyes

Javier Reyes of Animals as Leaders and Mestis breaks down some of his key techniques and offers close-up demonstrations of four compositions. All lessons & performances are presented in crystal clear 4k video, with multiple angles covering all the action. Each example is transcribed in great detail and can be looped, slowed down, sped up, transposed - all on the same page. Each example is also available for download in Guitar Pro format.

PROGRESSIVE PICKING with Stephen Taranto

The quintessential guide to modern picking techniques as taught by Stephen Taranto. "The purpose is to shed some light on how I traverse the strings, while keeping things as clean and as fast as possible.”

THUMP! - Tosin Abasi's Guitar Instructional

THUMP! is an in-depth exploration of the modern playing techniques of Tosin Abasi. This course focuses primarily on his approaches to the thumping technique, and also explores several other key techniques that offer insight into his music. Included are detailed transcriptions, as well as backing tracks for select songs. The course is not limited to 8-string guitarists. All concepts can be applied to 6 and 7-string guitar.

Fingerpicking Foundations

Javier Reyes of Animals As Leaders and Mestis builds on fingerpicking technique basics introduced in the Madness of Javier Reyes series. The goal of this course is to develop a strong foundation for the fingerpicking technique. The program includes 5 etudes, offering a musical, fun path to synchronizing both hands and developing right-hand finger dexterity. A perfect course for beginner to intermediate guitarists looking to dive into the world of fingerpicking.

Scar Guitar

Scar Guitar is a detailed journey into the modern playing styles of Per Nilsson, one of the world's finest guitarists. Best known for his work with Swedish melodic death metal group Scar Symmetry and progressive metal titans Meshuggah, Per offers a close-up personal look at his unique approaches to music and the guitar. This course includes over 2 hours of lessons and performances, in-depth interviews, & bonus materials.

Articles

Paul Masvidal Interview – Cynic

A mere decade ago, Cynic was somewhat of a password between fans of extreme metal – a secret handshake that itched at a curious footnote...

John Wesley Interview (Porcupine Tree)

A multi-faceted guitarist, singer, and songwriter, John Wesley is best known for his work as touring guitarist and backing vocalist for British progressive rock luminaries...

Michael Keene Interview – The Faceless: Part 1

Michael Keene is the mastermind behind California’s progressive death metal band, The Faceless. They first broke onto the worldwide stage with the 2006 debut release...

Tosin Abasi Interview (Animals As Leaders)

First emerging onto the metal scene with the Washington D.C.-based Reflux, extended-range guitarist Tosin Abasi quickly distinguished himself with his relentless riffage and captivating lead...

Fredrik Åkesson Interview – Opeth

Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden is one of metal’s finest axemen – Fredrik Åkesson. Best known for his work in Arch Enemy, Krux, and progressive metal...

Michael Keene Interview – The Faceless: Part 2

PART 2 (continued from PART 1…) I want to talk a little bit about your recording and production process. Your productions consistently feature some of the...

Slash Interview

Slash is more than an extraordinary musician – he’s a cultural icon. The top hat-wielding and Les Paul-slinging axeman’s instantly identifiable sound has helped to...

Francesco Artusato Interview (Devil You Know): Part 2

In PART ONE of our interview, guitar maestro Francesco Artusato revealed details about the formation of his new band, Devil You Know, and gave us a glimpse into...

Guthrie Govan Interview (2010)

We last spoke to guitarist extraordinaire Guthrie Govan at the NAMM 2009 Show in Anaheim, California. Throughout the past year Guthrie’s kept quite busy with...

Marco Sfogli Interview

Marco Sfogli is at the forefront of the new generation of virtuoso guitarists. He first appeared on the map after handling the guitar duties on...

Derek Trucks Interview

Derek Trucks is a virtuoso blues artist and is also known as one of the greatest slide guitarists. In addition to leading the Derek Trucks...

Sasha Ostrovsky Interview

This interview features a true guitar master. However, Alexander ‘Sasha’ Ostrovsky’s talent is not limited to just the one type of guitar – he plays...

Lessons

The Black Dahlia Murder: Ryan Knight – Tapping & String-Skipping

 [Ryan’s Ibanez FR custom shop guitar is tuned down 2 whole steps to C Standard: C F Bb Eb G C] Ryan credits some of...

Killswitch Engage: Learn to Play ‘Holy Diver’

Adam D. and Joel Stroetzel of Killswitch Engage teach you how to play their righteously reverent cover of Dio's classic 'Holy Diver.' Both Adam and...

Diminished Possibilities: Part 2

Hey guys! Welcome again to my “Technical Difficulties” column – this is number 6 already! As the title suggests, this is the second part of...

Pierre Bensusan Masterclass

[Pierre’s guitar is tuned to D A D G A D, low to high, for all examples in this Masterclass.] Chords in Alternate Tunings If you play...

Using a Metronome Effectively Part 2: Things Start to Click

Now that you know what to look for when you purchase a metronome (Part 1), let’s get started with actually practicing with one. A lot...

Buying Your First Guitar: Part 1

Greetings to everyone at Guitar Messenger! I’m excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the Guitar Messenger community with this article. If you are...

Opeth: Bonus – Mikael Åkerfeldt’s Gear

Take a backstage gear tour as Coty Allinson, Opeth's guitar technician, walks us through frontman and mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt's live guitar rig....

Team Players

If you’re a member of a band, set ground rules early in your relationship to prevent legal and financial problems down the road. Being a...

Jason Richardson – Thought: Main Theme Tabs

 We’re happy to announce that we’re working together with Jason Richardson on an upcoming lesson series. In the meantime, we wanted to share the...

Opeth: Mikael Åkerfeldt Masterclass

In this Masterclass, progressive death metal legend Mikael Åkerfeldt discusses and demonstrates several songs from Opeth's Watershed, Still Life and the melancholy Damnation....

The Almighty ii-V: Part 2 (Minor)

Sultry.  Spicy.  Rich.  Exotic.  No, I am not talking about your mother.  I’m talking about Jazz standards in minor keys.  Though they make up a...

Advanced Tapping: Extended Arpeggios

For many guys that want to tap better, they do not have the hand strength or built up dexterity to hammer onto the fretboard hard...

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