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

Backpfeifengesicht

This set of lessons offers an in-depth look at the Animals As Leaders track BACKPFEIFENGESICHT. 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...

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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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Backpfeifengesicht

This set of lessons offers an in-depth look at the Animals As Leaders track BACKPFEIFENGESICHT. 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 track: Thumping, Selective Picking & Sweeping in Riffs, Hammer-On-From-Nowhere Riffing, Songwriting & Arrangement Techniques.

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.”

Articles

Guthrie Govan Interview (2009)

Guthrie Govan is one of the most versatile guitarists around. His vast range of influences and terrifying technique has allowed him to develop what seems...

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...

Eric Johnson Interview

Eric Johnson is a remarkable artist who makes no compromises with any aspect of his music – from the well-crafted songwriting that spans various styles,...

John Petrucci Interview (2009)

It’s been 2 years since we last spoke to guitar virtuoso John Petrucci. Since then John has reunited with Liquid Tension Experiment to complete a...

Paul Gilbert Interview

Paul Gilbert is best known for his work in the greatly successful band Mr. Big. However, Gilbert is also one of the leading guitar virtuosos...

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...

Francesco Artusato Interview (Devil You Know): Part 1

Known for his explosive, harmonically-laden guitar fireworks, solo artist and All Shall Perish axe-slinger Francesco Artusato has fired off a new chapter with his supergroup,...

Francesco Artusato & Roy Lev-Ari (Hiss of Atrocities)

Hiss of Atrocities have established themselves as a band capable of delivering a brutal onslaught of complex rhythms, dark harmonies, and calculated aggression. Their particular...

NAMM 2014: Ola Englund Interview – Part 2

In PART ONE of our interview with Ola, he opened up about building his own brand as a high-gain amp expert, playing with bands like The...

Adam Dutkiewicz Interview (Killswitch Engage)

With a unique style, ferocious riffs, and great melodic sensibility, Killswitch Engage has morphed into one of today’s most successful acts in heavy music. The...

Eric Johnson Interview (2010)

We last spoke with guitar luminary Eric Johnson during his debut with the Experience Hendrix tour in 2008. Two years later, following his third appearance...

Robert Cray Interview

We’ve all heard a variation of the phrase “he can say more with one note than others can say with a million notes.” This one...

Lessons

Artist Lick: Carl Verheyen

Renowned session pro, solo artist, and Supertramp guitarist Carl Verheyen presents his Guitar Messenger Artist Lick. This C minor lick is a great example of...

Ignition Part 1: Listening

Now, I know that since this is a recording column, naturally everyone wants to know what gear is good and what they should buy and...

How To Make A Kick-Ass Video

Just mention the word “video” and most of us think of those high-priced MTV videos only top artists can get played. This reminds me of...

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...

Putting It Together: Playing Bass Lines & Guide Tones Simultaneously

It’s great to be able to play guide tones as a stripped down approach to comping, and it’s awesome to be able to play bass...

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...

Messiaen – Canteyodjaya [1949]

Welcome back to Beyond Theory and to what already is column #5! Today we will be talking about Hindu Rhythms as applied by Oliver Messiaen...

Jakub Żytecki – Living Mirrors: A Lesson In Songwriting & Arrangements

Welcome to my lesson at Guitar Messenger! Today, I’m going to talk about my approaches to songwriting and arrangements. I’ve taken a few examples from...

Creative Tapping Sequences

This lesson will explore tapping sequences that depart from the typical rock and metal patterns we all know and love. To drive this lesson, I...

Devin Townsend – Gear

Guitars & Rig Guitars make or break songs. I firmly advocate that while certain guitars have a ton of songs in them, certain guitars have...

No 800 Numbers

Quit waiting for magic potions and 1-800 numbers to success. Put together a plan and get your work ethic in check! In order to attract...

Fusion Licks That Rock

Hi, my name is Murilo Romano. It's a great pleasure to be here with you! Today I’ll be using the solo from my song ‘Nostradamus’...

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