How’s it going this week? I can’t believe we’re almost through the summer! Where did all the time go? I’ve been keeping extra close attention to each and every day while writing guitar licks. What’ve you been up to so far this summer with the guitar and music?

Putting out new videos every day across YT, Instagram and TikTok has been really fun and a bit challenging so far. The main part is to find the time in the day to write a lick, film it, edit it quickly and then post it. Right now I have it down to about an hour’s time.

One thing I wanted to ask here at the top of the email, is if you could subscribe to my channel on YouTube - right now I’m 10 subscribers away from 100. While this is a small number compared to many other YouTubers out there, I am so appreciative of everyone who watches the videos, reads this newsletter, or hits me up. Thanks for supporting what I do. I also recently did the 5th episode of Chasing Sound Live, which you can check out here. Alright, let’s get into this week’s links!

Hybrid Picking Guitar For Beginners - Simple String Skipping Licks - Levi Clay has a new book out which covers hybrid picking. While I haven’t had a chance to pick up the new book yet, he is previewing it by doing lessons on his YouTube channel. The first one is about string skipping, and the second one talks about a 2 finger double stop technique. I’m excited to try and get this picking style under my fingers. Do you use hybrid picking in your playing?
How Do Humbuckers Work? | Tiny Too Afraid To Ask - Want to know how humbuckers work, but only have one minute? You’re in luck. CSGuitars breaks down humbucking pickups in this fun YouTube Short.
12 Things Beginner Blues Guitarists Should Know in Their 1st Year (part 1) - If you’re just starting out, and you’re into blues, these are 12 things you need to know - this lesson has it all, from learning the pentatonic scale, to picking hand motion and more.
Amazing Alternate Picked Arpeggios With Bill Hall - And speaking of picking hand motion, I couldn’t get over this video of Bill Hall’s alternate picked arpeggios. The full Cracking the Code interview is available, and this short preview got me excited to check out the full thing.
You Need to Learn this Tom Quayle Inspired Legato Lick - If you want to combine legato and the hybrid picking we were talking about earlier in the newsletter, you should check out this Tom Quayle style legato lick. On the same day, Johnathan Cordy also talked about how good the Sire Larry Carlton H7 is - you can check that out here.
HOW TO PRACTICE - PART 1 | Mastering Chord Tones for Changes Playing | TOM QUAYLE LESSON - And to tag along to Johnathan’s video, I really loved this Tom Quayle video about how to practice. In part 1, Tom talks about mastering chord tones for playing over changes. Tom talks about using sets of fingers to cover the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th of the chords by ascending and descending all over the fretboard. Of course he’s using the Solo app, and if you haven’t check that out yet, you should! I also liked this lesson from Jens Larsen, about making your jazz solos sound better, which shares some of the same concepts as Tom’s video.
Holdsworth Chord Contest Teaser - This video is painful to watch. Not because the content is bad…but because I can’t imagine stretching my hands into these awkward Holdsworth patterns. If you want to go easier on your hands, check out Rhett Shull’s recent vid on chord hacks.
Riff Lords: Ler LaLonde of Primus - When you think of Primus, most people think of Les Claypool. That’s understandable, because Les is such a huge character, and plays with so many different projects outside of Primus. But, a big sound of Primus was Ler LaLonde’s guitar playing. In this new Riff Lords video, Ler breaks down a lot of the weird, funky, noisy and plain ol’ awesome Primus guitar parts.
D Standard | This Might Make You Switch - Rhett Shull sings the praises of an often underused tuning - D standard. From more lush and low chords, to changing the feel of your guitar, Rhett makes the case as to why you might want to switch.
Nashville Number System for Guitar - If you want to share quick charts with friends, or if you’re looking to get in to the recording scene, knowing the Nashville number system for guitar is really helpful. In this video Chris Sherland breaks down the whole system, in an easy to understand video.
Big Bill Broonzy Low Light And Blue Smoke 5 Songs Video Remastered - I absolutely loved this video of Big Bill Broonzy. The audio is warbly, but the video has been remastered, and the content of the video and the overall atmosphere is really interesting to watch.
Advanced Arpeggio Mapping - I love videos like this. Robert Baker shows us an awesome sounding Am arpeggio lick. He starts with the Am pentatonic boxes to show us how 4 out of 5 notes are present in a scale many of us already know.
The BEST Guitars UNDER $500! - Want to get into guitar, but are afraid you can’t find anything in your price point? Darrell Braun just did a great video featuring a bunch of guitars, all under $500.
How to Pack & Ship a Guitar with a Case - Down the road you might want to sell that guitar for something new. In this video Reverb shows us the best way to pack and ship a guitar with a case. You’ll want to take extra care to make sure your guitar shows up in one piece!
10 HEAVIEST WHAMMY GUITAR RIFFS (And 3 Ways To Use A Whammy Pedal) - Bring me the heavy!!! Andrew Baena plays 10 of the heaviest whammy pedal riffs, and also shows you 3 ways to use a whammy pedal.
Challenging non-metal guitarists to write metal riffs - This video was hilarious, and I think every guitarist did a good job. I especially liked JustinGuitar and SamuraiGuitarist’s riffs. Very well done!
Choosing the best pedalboard for you - In the market for a new pedalboard? Check this video out, where the Rig Doctor shows off platform and slanted style to more advanced style pedalboards. Depending on how many pedals you have, you might find one board works better than another for your needs.
John Mayer reveals he used a Fractal amp modeler for some of Sob Rock’s standout six-string moments - I liked this clip from a recent Guitar World interview, where Mayer says he used a Fractal on some of his recent album. I especially liked this quote, “And if somebody had walked a Fractal into the Thriller sessions? You would have heard a Fractal all over that record.” I’m a big fan of tube amps, but I think modelers are holding their own, and have their own place in our arsenal these days.
Learn to play guitar like Jeff Beck in five minutes - While I don’t think the title is true, I do think that if you want to get into one of the most expressive guitar players of all time, this is a great article to start with. Guitar.com goes over all sorts of ways to use the whammy bar, which Beck has become so known for.
Murphy Lab Artist Series: Joe Bonamassa - Joe gives his thoughts on a number of Murphy Lab Artist guitars. Meanwhile, Gibson’s Mat Koehler talks about issues out of the Lab, and why “Customers aren’t accustomed to the behavior of vintage lacquer”.