There are several wonderful benefits to hosting The Guitar Show radio program. As an avid guitarist, perhaps the most exciting for me is getting first-hand knowledge and instruction from a slew of world-class players in the process of doing the interviews for the show. These musicians freely share a wealth of tips and techniques, and inspire me to study music theory and the fretboard to improve my own playing. I’m able to pass along much of this information within The Guitar Show‘s feature interviews, but some of the more technical or theoretical knowledge doesn’t lend itself to a radio format. I’m keenly aware that not everyone in the audience is an active guitarist who cares about the specifics of, say, chord voicings.
Recently, I started an ongoing series of instructional columns called Rhythm & Grooves for Premier Guitar—a digital and print magazine where I also work as Senior Editor. Rhythm & Grooves provides an outlet for very technical concepts and ideas that would appeal to the dedicated player, but not be relevant to aficionados and guitar fans … hardcore instructional material.
A cool thing: Premier Guitar provides free and unrestricted access to the digital edition of each monthly issue, which means my lessons are available 24/7 to guitarists anywhere in the world. If you’re a player and enjoy exploring the fretboard and music theory, check ‘em out. Perhaps you’ll find an idea or concept that will trigger the next breakthrough. All this material has been passed along to me in one way or another, so I’m just happy to be able to share it. Some of the knowledge rubs off in that sharing process, and that’s what keeps me going.
Here are links to my PG lessons:
April 2011 Exploring Quartal Harmony
March 2011 Open for Business
February 2011 Going Up?
January 2011 Hybrid-Picking Pals
December 2010 The Bead Game
November 2010 Wheels Within Wheels
Tags: chord voicings, free guitar lessons, Premier Guitar, quartal harmony, Rhythm & Grooves, The Guitar Show with Andy Ellis
