Guitar Tricks Blog

What exactly is a guitar riff? In musical terms a riff is an ‘ostinato’ - a motif or phrase that repeats. Whether comprised of single note ideas, repeating rhythmic chord changes, or a combination of both, a number of songs have a short but infectious guitar riff that’s repeated by the rhythm guitar. In this short tutorial we’ll look at what it takes to write a catchy riff and how to write one of your own.

Songwriting is a fun and rewarding process that’s not as hard as one might think and here I’ll share with you a few ways that work for me. One of the most popular is to use chords from a particular key. Let’s take the key of C major for example, which includes the chords C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, and an ugly sounding B diminished, which we won’t use for obvious reasons.

Hi everyone! Guitartricks Instructor Mike Olekshy will be back this Friday for a live lesson. This time it's all about barre chords. 

Just bring yourself and your guitar to listen in and follow along to this group live lesson. At the very end, Mike will be available to answer any questions you have about the lesson or guitar in general!

Hi everyone! Exciting news to announce. Guitartricks instructor Mike Olekshy will be hosting a live lesson this Friday and it’s absolutely open to anyone who wants to join! 

Guitar mods and guitar upgrades can be difficult to pull off if you are not handy, but not all of them require a deep knowledge of the instrument. One may easily install a set of locking tuners, or check intonation, for example. Here are five tips you should consider when upgrading or modding your guitar. Please keep in mind that even though some of these are not easy, they are definitely doable! 

Bob Dylan is one of music’s greatest icons. Dylan made a name for himself writing songs that were politically and socially charged since the early 1960s. His lyrics and music influenced the likes of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and more. He often accompanied his poetry with just a harmonica and an acoustic guitar. Let’s take a look at three of his greatest and most memorable songs. 

Bending on a guitar means playing a note and then bending the string upwards toward the ceiling or downward, to change the pitch of the note. The pitch changes because as the guitar player pushes the string upward or downard, the string becomes tighter. Bending strings on the guitar is a very useful and absolutely essential technique for all types of playing.

Guitar setup is super important, especially for new guitars. New guitars are most likely shipped to your home and have to endure varying temperatures and conditions. Guitars that are not shipped are often sitting inside a store, constantly being played, touched, and exposed. Luckily for you, we have a great lesson on what to do when you first get a new guitar.