If You're Practicing But Not Progressing, Watch This
If you've been playing guitar for a while but still feel scattered, bouncing between riffs, scales, and half-learned songs, you're not alone.
2:06
Watch first, then bring questions to a lesson
Free Guitar Lesson Videos
Everything from Guitar Weekly, my weekly practice project: full lessons, Chord Progression of the Week, and Shorts you can learn in a minute. Watch, try it, and bring what gets stuck to a lesson. New videos land on Guitar Weekly on YouTube first.
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Two minutes on why practice stalls, and what Guitar Weekly does about it.
Chord progressions
Chord Progression of the Week, plus short ideas that make simple chords sound like a song.
Add a Stronger Pull to Your Chords: Chord Progression of the Week #5
Eight chords. One connected progression. A little extra pull.
5:22
Chord Progression of the Week #4: A Beautiful Descending Bass Line
One ringing note can connect an entire chord progression.
3:49
Two Fingers Never Move in This Progression: Chord Progression of the Week #3
This week: four chords, a bass line that walks down, and two fingers that never leave the fretboard.
2:02
Chord Progression of the Week #2: F, G, Em, Am (IV V iii vi)
The Royal Road progression, F, G, Em and Am, and why the IV V iii vi movement sounds so familiar.
6:48
Chord Progression of the Week #1: Bm7, Gmaj7, Dsus2, A7
Bm7, Gmaj7, Dsus2 and A7: four chords that ring together, with the shapes and the strum.
3:52
Shorts
One Finger Turns 4 Guitar Chords Into 8
This rhythm part uses one simple idea: place a finger on the high E string at the 2nd fret, then lift it back off.
Make a Bm Chord Sound Better With This Descending Bass Line
A simple descending bass line can completely change the sound of a chord progression.
This Simple A Chord Trick Sounds Like a Song
Turn a basic A chord into a richer progression by moving just one finger.
The Secret Behind This Beautiful Chord Progression
Most chord progressions stay comfortably in one key, but adding E7 creates a beautiful moment of tension before resolving to Am.
This Chord Progression Isn’t Random
By the end of this short, you’ll know where this chord progression comes from and why it works.
The One Note That Makes Your Chords Sound Professional
If your chord progressions sound too plain, try using walking bass notes to lead into the next chord and make the whole thing sound more musical.
Beginner to Advanced: Knocking on Heaven’s Door (4 Levels)
Knocking on Heaven’s Door at four levels, from first open chords to a fuller arrangement. Most people stop at level one.
Triads, CAGED and the fretboard
Root notes, octaves, triads and CAGED, so chords, scales and melodies connect.
This One Triad Shape Opens Up the Entire Fretboard
Triads can look like a bunch of different shapes to memorize across the guitar neck.
8:10
The 5 Root Shapes Behind the CAGED System
Most guitarists learn CAGED as five chord shapes to memorize. Knowing where those shapes come from, and how their root notes connect, is what makes the system useful.
12:51
Master the Fretboard: Connect Chords & Scales with the C Shape
In this Master the Fretboard lesson, we’re using the C shape of the CAGED system in E major to connect the fretboard instead of memorizing a collection of unrelated patterns.
7:52
These Moveable Shapes Open Up the Guitar Neck
Most guitar players learn pentatonic scales as big boxes. But there’s another way to see the fretboard.
10:09
This Is How You Really Begin to Master the Guitar Neck
Most players memorize scale boxes. This lesson connects them, playing E major pentatonic in one-octave diagonal patterns so the neck reads as one instrument.
9:10
Shorts
The Muting Trick Behind Powerful Guitar Octaves
The secret to powerful octave stabs isn’t careful picking. It’s learning how to mute everything you don’t want to hear.
Do you know this moveable triad shape?
Within bigger chords hides small triads. The first three strings of an open C chord is a C triad that is moveable up the neck.
Can You Find Every C Note on the Guitar Fretboard?
How well do you know the fretboard? Find every C note across the neck, the root notes that chords, scales, triads and arpeggios all hang on.
Can You Find This C Triad From the D String?
Most guitarists learn triads as shapes. But the real breakthrough comes when you can build those shapes from root notes anywhere on the neck.
Learn This C Triad Once, Then Move It Anywhere
This C major triad starts from the C at the 3rd fret of the A string, but the important part isn’t just learning the shape.
One Triad Shape Can Change How You See the Fretboard
Triads can feel like another collection of shapes you’re supposed to memorize.
Can You Find the Root Notes in All 5 CAGED Chords?
The CAGED system starts making a lot more sense when you know where the root notes actually are.
The CAGED System Starts With These 5 Chords
The CAGED system starts with five open chord shapes you probably already know: C, A, G, E and D.
Find the Root Notes First: Master the Fretboard
Want to understand the guitar fretboard instead of just memorizing shapes?
These Triads Sound Amazing in A
A quick look at the triads from this week’s Weekly Thread: Suspended in A.
Turn a Chord Progression Into Triads
Take a simple chord progression and learn how to see it in triads up the neck.
You Know the C Chord, But Not the Scale
If you know the C chord, the next step is seeing the C major scale around it.
Octaves Open Up the Guitar Neck
Use octaves to find the same note all over the guitar neck and start seeing the fretboard more clearly.
Take D, G, and A Beyond Open Chords
If you just learned open D, G, and A, don’t stop there. Learn them on the top 3 strings and start making them sound musical.
Arpeggios, riffs and lead
Arpeggios that follow the chords, and riffs you can move anywhere on the neck.
Stop Running Scales: Use Arpeggios to Follow the Chords
If your solos sound like you’re just running scales, arpeggios can completely change how you see the fretboard.
14:01
Shorts
Turn Four Basic Chords Into a Flowing Arpeggio
Instead of strumming Am, F, C, G, try picking through each chord one note at a time.
Can You Play the Chords and Melody at the Same Time?
This chord-melody arrangement comes from Raising the Bar, the latest Guitar Weekly lesson.
Do You Know What An Arpeggio Is?
An arpeggio is a broken chord. A C major chord is C, E and G, the root, third and fifth, played one note at a time.
A Simple Lead in Em That Sounds Powerful
A moody lead guitar part from this week’s Weekly Thread: Echoes in Em.
Bruno Mars 'I Just Might' Guitar Riff, All Over The Neck
If you only know a riff in one place, you don’t really own it yet. Move it around the neck and make it part of your playing.
"Do I Wanna Know" Riff, Played Everywhere on the Neck
Same riff, multiple spots on the neck. The Do I Wanna Know? riff is a great example of how one shape can connect across the fretboard.
Learn One Riff. Play It Everywhere.
If you just learned a riff, don’t leave it in one spot. Move it around the neck and make it part of your playing.
Rhythm, strumming and fingerpicking
Strums, grooves and picking patterns that keep simple chords moving.
Shorts
This 6/8 Strum Makes Simple Chords Rock
Most strumming lives in 4/4. This rhythm part from Rock the Cradle rocks in 6/8 with simple G-family open chords and a bass line that moves underneath.
Do You Know This Classic Fingerpicking Pattern?
This classic fingerpicking pattern is one every guitarist should know.
One Rhythm Every Rock Guitarist Should Know
Power chords are only half the equation. The rhythm is what makes them come alive.
This Groove in D Hits Different
Main rhythm from this week’s Weekly Thread: Dusk in D.
This Rhythm Pattern Sounds Amazing!
The main rhythm guitar part from the Guitar Weekly lesson Sappy Days.
Can You Stay in Time With This?
Can you stay in time with this syncopated chord progression?
Don’t Kill the Groove on Single Notes
A lot of players stop the right hand when the groove breaks into single notes.
Spice Up Your Rhythm with a Palm Slap
Add a palm slap to your strumming and make a simple chord progression feel way more alive, rhythmic, and musical.
Make Your Rhythm Guitar Less Predictable
A simple way to practice syncopation on guitar: stop changing chords only on beat 1 and start hearing the groove differently.
Want the tabs and backing tracks?
The tabs and backing tracks for these lessons are on Guitar Weekly. Members get interactive tabs you can slow down and loop, a backing track to play along with, and the PDFs, plus a new Weekly Thread every Monday. $29.99 a month, with a 14-day free trial.