I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the newsletter over the past few weeks. To help you read each issue more easily, and save both you and I time, I’m going to try and limit myself to 1–3 sentences per link. I feel that if you’re interested in hearing my in depth thoughts on my favorite links from each issue, that you’ll tune into the livestreams I’m doing. Speaking of which, I did the my first livestream of 2022, which you can check out here. I did a full lesson on close voiced triads, where to find them, and why it's so helpful to know how to play them.

I’ve been mulling around more ideas for the newsletter, and how to make it even more valuable. Maybe different sections? A links section, a music recommendation section, and more? What would you like to see?

Tuning In Fourths — Efficiency Boost Or Creative Challenge? Feat. Wim Den Herder - I absolutely loved the playing and tone from Wim den Herder in the latest Cracking the Code clip. It’s so cool to see this outside the box thinking of tuning all in 4ths.
INSTANT beautiful chords - mastering the spread triad - Want a perfect lesson to go with my triads lesson from this weekend’s livestream? Check out Ry Naylor’s video on spread triads.
Rob Balducci Transcendence Track By Track - Ring Of God - Rob Balducci’s new album Transcendence is out! Check out his first track by track vid for the album, where he talks about the song “Ring of God”. Is Rob the most NY guy ever?
Yvette Young Teaches Finger Tapping | Guitar Lesson - Yvette Young truly is a breath of fresh air in the guitar world. I loved this lesson she did for Sweetwater, where she shows us her thoughts on tapping, tone, effects and more.
How To Diagnose A Guitar Issue | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 89 | Thomann - From input jacks to frets, Thomann’s Guitars shows us how to diagnose guitar problems.
Must know - Easy Country Guitar Licks - 3 levels - I dug this whole Tomo Fujita lesson about country, but my favorite part starts at 7 minutes in, where he shows us how to do pedal steel-esque bends.
5 Habits To Help You Learn Jazz Faster - Jens Larsen is one of the best jazz teachers on YouTube. Check out his latest video where he gives us 5 bite size tips on how to learn jazz guitar more quickly.
Eric Johnson’s Perfect Pentatonic Lick! - What do you have when you have a pentatonic lick that doesn’t sound like a pentatonic lick? Some Eric Johnson mastery! Robert Baker breaks down a great run from Eric’s “Cliffs of Dover”.
Best Riffs of the 80’s, UK vs USA! Ft/Nick Bowcott - Ben Eller and Nick Bowcott both bring the best riffs of the 80’s. The best part? It’s a UK vs. USA battle. What country’s riffs do you think won?
Steve Vai - Zeus In Chains (Official Visualizer) - We have more, new Steve Vai! It always amazes me how Vai does new stuff with instrumental guitar music. His playing is classic Vai, and his tone is super rich. Can’t wait for the full album!
$900 SE vs $3500 PRS Silver Sky | Sound Comparison - The big news this week was that PRS released an $850 SE version of John Mayer’s Silver Sky. There are tons of videos dropping, but one of my favorites was Mary Spender’s comparison with the U.S. made SS.
How To Learn Any Scale INSTANTLY - Chris Sherland is back with a straight ahead video about how to learn any scale. It all starts with the major scale, and builds from there.
Combining CrossPicking and Hybrid Picking = Steve Morse licks made Easy?! Woodshed Ep. 84 - If you want a challenge, check out Andy Wood’s latest Woodshed lesson on Steve Morse style licks, using both crosspicking and hybrid picking.
Q&A: How to learn a song played in OPEN TUNING? - How do you wrap your head around playing in an open tuning? Check out David Pots’ latest video where he breaks down how to learn a song in open D on the fly.
Muse release pummeling new single, Won’t Stand Down - Matt Bellamy and co. are back with a new single “Won’t Stand Down”. Epicly huge choruses and synthy and effecty verses make up their new song.
Alex Lifeson launches new band Envy of None with industrial debut single, Liar - So happy to see Alex doing something new after Rush. The song reminds me a bit of the band Garbage. What do you think of the track?
Korn deploy seven-string riff mayhem in monstrous new single, Forgotten - One more for new music this week - Korn’s new album is on the way soon, with a slated release in early February. This week they brought the heavy with the new single “Forgotten”.
The Story of “Gemini,” the Older Sibling of the Legendary “Greeny” Les Paul | GuitarPlayer - At this point you might know about the iconic “Greeny” guitar, but did you know about “Gemini”, Greeny’s older sibling? Cesar from Gibson apparently found out for the first time himself, after speaking with Kirk Hammett. Check out Guitar Player’s story about how the information came to light.
Nita Strauss becomes first solo woman to top Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in over three decades - Let’s hear it for Nita Strauss, who becomes the first woman since 1990 to have a chart topping song on the rock charts. If you haven’t heard this song which features Disturbed’s David Draiman, go give it a listen!
2022, the year of the Flying V: a rundown of the teased and confirmed upcoming Gibson signature Vs - From Kirk Hammett’s latest tease, to Adam Jones’ newest axe…is 2022 the year of the V for Gibson?