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

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.

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.”

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.

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...

Vinnie Moore Interview

Though his first big break came in the form of a Pepsi commercial, Vinnie Moore’s guitar playing is anything but saccharine. He’s able to adapt...

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...

NAMM 2014: Marco Sfogli Interview @ DV Mark Amplifiers

Marco Sfogli has been blowing the minds of industry veterans like James Labrie for a decade now with his trademark blend of soulful, inflective rock stylings and stunning technique. We first...

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...

Ryan Knight Interview – The Black Dahlia Murder: Part 1

As hard as it can be to stand out amidst the annual metal festival line-ups, The Black Dahlia Murder have managed to do so for...

Eric Krasno Interview

An acclaimed musician in today’s jazz, hip-hop, and funk circuits, Eric Krasno is best known as the guitarist and co-founder of the soul-funk powerhouse Soulive....

Mårten Hagström Interview (Meshuggah)

Meshuggah is a band that truly stands in a musical category of its own. Over the past two decades, the Swedish experimental metal group has...

Greg Howe Interview

Guitar legend Greg Howe was one of the leaders of the virtuoso guitar movement of the 80’s, but soon thereafter he set himself apart from...

Marc Okubo Interview – Veil Of Maya (2012)

Since their inception in 2004, Chicago’s Veil Of Maya have established themselves as one of the premier bands in today’s modern metal scene. With the...

B.B. King Interview

[Editor’s Note: Very special thanks to Phillip-Michael for contributing this unique and intimate discussion with his uncle, the King, to Guitar Messenger.] Noble, Legendary, Dignified;...

Silenoz & Galder Interview (Dimmu Borgir)

Dimmu Borgir’s international success in a genre that celebrates dissonance and gritty production is nothing short of remarkable. Since their formation in 1993, Norway’s Dimmu...

Lessons

Altered Dimensions: The Altered Dominant Chord

The Altered Scale. Sound scary? Well it is. It’s a 20 story tall, fire-breathing beast with enough tension in it to break the entire universe...

Metal Foundations Lesson 2: Riff Concepts

Welcome back, fellow metallers! Last lesson, I introduced some basic rhythmic subdivisions and the palm muting technique. Expanding on palm muting and timing importance, this...

Artist Lick: Jake Bowen of Periphery Plays ‘Luck As A Constant’ Solo

[Jake’s Ibanez Prestige 6-string guitar is tuned to Drop-C. Low to high: C G C F A D.]    Luck As A Constant – 2nd...

Auditioning For Lady Gaga

Dear Fellow Musicians, In January 2010 I had the opportunity to audition for the guitarist position on Lady Gaga’s international arena tour. I made it...

Periphery / Haunted Shores: Mark Holcomb Masterclass (Part 2)

Haunted Shores' riff artist Mark Holcomb breaks down chunks of 'Sentient Glow,' 'Scarlet' and 'Terra Firma.'...

Scale The Summit: Chris Letchford Lesson – Atlas Novus

 [Chris’ Strandberg Boden CL7 signature 7-string guitar is in Standard Tuning: B E A D G B E.] Atlas Novus In this lesson, Chris Letchford...

Scale The Summit: Chris Letchford & Travis LeVrier Masterclass

Learn ‘The Levitated’ Part One CL: This first part is the intro that I play by myself in the beginning. What I’m doing is starting...

Job For A Cowboy: Riffing Style

Watch Bobby Thompson and Ravi Bhadriraju of Job For A Cowboy demonstrate their death metal riffing techniques in this brutal showcase....

Ola Englund Lesson – Downpicking

 [Ola’s signature Washburn Solar guitar is tuned down one step to D Standard: D G C F A D.] Ola On Downpicking A very common question I...

Artist Lick: Joe Stump

Berklee professor and neoclassical master Joe Stump demonstrates a deadly passage in F# Phrygian Dominant that utilizes alternate and economy picking....

The Black Dahlia Murder: Ryan Knight – Emin7 Lick

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

Artist Riff: Yossi Sassi of Orphaned Land Plays ‘Numbers World’

[Yossi’s Paul Reed Smith guitar is tuned to Standard Tuning: E A D G B E.] Numbers World – Main Riff Over the past 20+...

Guitar Messenger is dedicated to in-depth courses, lessons, and interviews with today’s leading guitarists.

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