Brian Sutich
Bumblefoot …Returns! Blends Technique, Melodic ...
Bumblefoot …Returns! Blends Technique, Melodic Playing, and Standout Guests
Brian Sutich
Kraftgeek Tripod and Pocket RGB Light Review
Kraftgeek Tripod and Pocket RGB Light Review
Brian Sutich
The 2024 St. Jude Fundraiser Is On!
The 2024 St. Jude Fundraiser Is On!
Brian Sutich
3 Easy Solos For Beginner Guitarists

If you’re just learning guitar, getting started with playing solos might seem daunting. It’s a big change to go from strumming chords to your favorite songs, to playing lead lines. The best thing is to start out easy, but not too easy. The more you challenge yourself, the better a guitarist you’ll become. Just remember to take everything in bite size chunks as you’re learning. To help you get started with solos, I’m recommending a couple that I’d learn if I was just getting started - one from three different genres. The feeling of learning and playing lead is amazing. Let’s get into it.

3 Easy Solos For Beginner Guitarists
Brian Sutich
1 Habit All Amazing Guitarists Have In Common

I’ve observed hundreds of guitarists over the years from all different skill levels, and the ones who are making a lot of progress often share a lot of the same traits - they have a plan when they sit down to practice, they know the people to go to when they’re facing a hurdle in their playing, and they’re endlessly curious about guitar and music in general.

But outside of all of that, there’s one habit I’ve seen that all of my favorite guitarists have - they practice active listening.

1 Habit All Amazing Guitarists Have In Common

Copying is how we learn

Austin Kleon is one of my favorite writers. His books are all about creation, copying and living an amazing life. One of my favorite posts he wrote this year has to do with copying.

Some of the most famous guitarists have copped to copying their heroes and making riffs their own. Here's a great quote I enjoyed from Kleon's post:

My kids (5 & 2) are gleeful, natural born copycats. Copying is how they wrap their hands and hearts and heads around the world. They not only copy drawings and music and recreate the world with blocks and play, they mimic their parents, they mimic each other, they mimic kids on the playground, etc. Copying and mimicry is as natural to them as breathing. There’s nobody around telling them they should do any differently, nobody saying something dumb like, “Don’t you want to do something original?” So they go about their mimicry, unfettered by any adult notions about originality.

Check out the full post for some great inspiration on how you can turn copying into learning.

PRS announces new John Mayer Silver Sky signature guitar

“It’s been a dream of mine for years to design a guitar that includes some of my favorite vintage specifications but with a modern spirit and aesthetic. After two years of study and refinement, the Silver Sky is my vision of what a reboot of the electric guitar should look and feel like.” – John Mayer

PRS announced the official release of the new John Mayer signature Silver Sky guitar. The guitar has a bolt-on neck, comes in four great colors, and looks like the PRS version of a Fender Strat.

PRS has been on a roll this year, releasing all sorts of great products. The Mark Tremonti signature amp announced at NAMM sounds incredible, and this new signature guitar was so popular that it broke PRS' site the other day.

What are your thoughts on the new model? Reach out on Twitter or Facebook.