The techniques I'm going to show you today, are going to make you into a serious riff-master! Have you ever watched a guitarist in a band on stage and wonderd how they manage to bash out such cool licks and make it look so easy? Have you ever watched a lead-guitarist do a screaming guitar solo, playing ten billion notes without even moving his fingers? Well I'll let you into a little secret, if you want make progress as an electric guitarist you must realy learn to master "Hammer-ons" and "Pull-offs". Now.........I don't mean just understanding what they are.....I don't even mean being able to play them slowly, I'm talking about sitting and practising them until you can have a conversation with your grandmother whilst your hands carry on playing on their own.

At the bottom of this email is the link to the mini-video-guitar-lesson where I will teach you the "blues scale" and the "hammer-on" and "pull-off" techniques. But before you go there let me explain a little bit about the psychology behind this.

You see.......If you practise enough, the finger movements will become second nature, effectively programmed into your subconscious mind so you don't even have to think about it any more.

Think about it, that's how all learning takes place doesn't it? Think about when you learned to walk or ride a bike.......

The 4 stages of learning are....
1) Unconsious incompetence - at first you couldn't ride a bike, but you didn't know you couldn't ride a bike! You watched an adult, maybe your dad, or maybe a friend, and for all you knew it was easy to ride a bike. After all it looks easy when dad does it! At this stage you have no references, experiences or memories because you've never been on a bike before. You are unaware of you in-ability to ride (unconscious incompeteance) . (Like when you first saw somebody playing guitar and thaught to yourself "I want to do that!"_)
2) Conscious Incompetance. The first time you got on a bike and tried to ride, suddenly you realised it's more difficult than it looked. Maybe you fell off, got frustrated or you felt tempted to give up. This can be the most frustrating part of the learning process because you become aware of the fact that you can't do it (conscious of your incompetence). This is also the stage where you learn the most even though it might not feel like it. (think about the first time you picked up a guitar and tried to play).
3) Consciouse Competance - as you practised riding, there came a moment when suddenly, you could ride without stabalisers, and your arms and legs had gained enough experience to keep you balanced so long as you concentrated. This is the most exciting part! This is the moment of victory! You're aware of everything you need to do in order to ride the bike (you're consciously competent) (think about how it feels when you're able to play your favourite guitar song and actually make it sound cool!)
4) Unconsciouse competence - This is the stage where the skill becomes a habit, second-nature. You no longer have to think about it. You just aim your eyes in the direction that you want to go and the bike just takes you there. (guys, this is when you can chat to the girls in the front row of your gig whilst still playing an amazing guitar solo!) You can talk to a friend whilst riding, you can think about what's on television tonight, and your body takes care of the rest, the skill is now deeply ingraind in your sub-conscious. This is the result of all the practise. You are now Unconsciously Competant!

Now......I'm sure you realise that the story about riding a bike is just metaphor for playing guitar. There will be times of excitement, fun, progress and vicktory. There will also be times of frustration, no-progress and sore fingers! It's all part of the learning process.....but......listen to me closely now this bit is important.......the students who become great guitarists, are the ones who are prepared to put the time and effort into practising basic techniques such as scales, hammer-ons and pull-offs.

One of my best students ever was a young guy about 17 years old. He had never played guitar before his first lesson, within 6 months he was making me look like a beginner! He progressed so quickly I couldn't believe it. One day I asked him, "Anthony, I'm very impressed with your playing, how much time do you spend practising?"_ - His answer : "between eight and ten hours per day"_ ! $!@?& !?% ! No wonder he got so good so quickly!

Listen up guys........I'm not suggesting you need to play guitar for eight to ten hours per day! Infact, I recommend between half hour and one hour per day is plenty for most people. But I do want to make it clear that you must do the ground-work.

When I teach, I distinguish a clear difference between practising techniques, and learning songs. Techniques are more boring, songs are more fun, but you need the techniques to be able to play the songs! The blues scale, hammer-ons and pull-offs I'm going to show you in this mini-video-guitar-lesson are techniques, but you will need them if you want to play songs. If you want to be a good batter, you have to practise your swing and it's the same with guitar.

Hold yourself to a high standard and the rewards will be worth it. Think about your favourite musicians, bands, guitarists, singers. They are devoted to their art and that is the reason they now enjoy such rewarding success. I think you deserve the same, don't you??

So.....Would you like to learn these techniques? Would you like to be so relaxed while you play that you don't even have to think about it? Would you like every finger movement to be smooth, fast and effortless? Would you like to be an Unconsciously Competant guitarist?....Ok Good.

(if you have been playing for some time already, you may already be familiar with these techniques. If so, I suggest you watch the mini-video anyway, then click the link below and go to the archive where you will find "full-length-video-guitar-lessons ", more advanced techniques and songs which will challenge your playing ability even further such as, "Oh well by Fleetwood Mac", "Layla by Eric Clapton", "I believe in a thing called love solo by the Darkness", "Sultans of swing by Dire Straits". Remember , this 12-part eCourse is mainly aimed at beginner guitarists so some of it may seem obviouse to you. However, stick with me, because each segment I send you will focuss on different techniques, such as strumming, Punk rock, lead solos, bar chords, improvising, funk-rythms, rock'n'roll, etc. so there's plenty here for you to enjoy, and if you have friends who are learning guitar, send them this link www.vGuitarLessons.com/course because I'm sure they will benefit from this eCourse also. )

So.....to BROWSE THE ARCHIVE where you will find over 100 of the most popular guitar songs as full-length-video-guitar-lessons , you'll find everything from Green Day to Bob Marley, click www.vGuitarLessons.com/archive

And to Watch Your MINI-VIDEO-GUITAR-LESSON "blues scale, hammer-ons and pull-offs"_ (I suggest you do watch it!) click link at the top or bottom of this page.

Until next time, keep practising, and enjoy playing guitar no matter what standard you are at. I'll see you in a few days with the next segment of your eCourse where we will learn.....Finger picking, "Brace yourself, you're going to have a queue of fans and admirers!"

Ben Lowrey