Best 

Guitar Techniques

 Tapping
 Vibrato
 Sweep
 Hammer On and Pull Offs
 String Bends
 Sliding
 Palm Mute
 Dive Bomb
 Finger Picking
 Hybrid Picking
 Pinch Harmonics
 Alternate Picking
 Volume Swell
 Legato
 Slapping

How to Improvise on Guitar: 3 simple steps

1. Step one: Simple pentatonic improvisation. Begin with the absolute staple of guitar
improvisation: the pentatonic scale. Start with  introduction to the pentatonic and then learn the
simple minor pentatonic fretboard pattern

2. Step two: Follow the chords: Know Your Chord Progressions

3. Step three: Break free of the pattern. At this stage your solos should be starting to sound
pretty good! Inject basic scales, Ideas and techniques.
 How To Play A Guitar Solo- Essential Tips

1. Listen To The Music & Think Before You Play

2. Find Out The Key Of The Song

3. SING THE SOLO FIRST: We guitarists use our hands. We fall into patterns. Now
sometimes that's a good thing. But if you want to be original, sing it. It takes away
your finger patterns and muscle memory and forces you into uncharted territory
and new licks.

4. Find A Scale That Works: To learn how to play a guitar solo, you must know your
scales. Scales form 99% of ALL guitar solos. Learning the key, tells you what
scale you should play.

5. The Root Not: The easiest way to sound amazing when playing a guitar solo is
to: The root note is your hero note. This note will ALWAYS sound good. The root
note is the first note in a scale or chord.

6. Don’t play ALL the notes: Just because you can play all of the notes on your
guitar, It doesn’t mean that you should. Be tasteful when you take a guitar solo,
pick and choose notes. Many guitarists make the mistake of just playing
continuous notes because they don’t know what to play. Silence is your best
friend when you take a guitar solo.

7. Focus on Small Section: Try to concentrate on small areas and sections; you can
be more creative with better ideas and flows, instead of running up and down the
scales. Keep it simple and try to experiment between one octaves and you can
build up gradually as per your taste

8. USE CHORDS INSTEAD. Who says a solo has to be made of notes? Play a solo
using a chord pattern play rhythmically or even insanely and dig the craziness.
Or if it's a slow tune, enjoy the beauty of chord on chord playing. Or use these as
arpeggios. I often think of chord on chord when soloing

9. Give Your Solo Space/ Silence: The reason guitarists fall into the trap of playing
continuously is because they have no limitations. It’s impossible for a vocalist or
saxophonist to play notes continuously because they HAVE to breathe. However,
you can use the same idea on your guitar. You will sound better if you leave
space in your guitar solos.

10. Don’t Play All Your Best Ideas First: When you take a guitar solo, it’s important to
take your time. Don’t use all of your best ideas straight away. Think of your guitar
solo as if you were telling someone a cool story. You don’t just jump straight to
the major plot line; you set the scene and explain the key details. When you
begin your guitar solo, play less. As your solo progresses, add in your hero
licks! Your guitar solo must build up dynamically.
11. DECIDE ON A RHYTHM PATTERN. Begin with something slow and think
whole notes, then move on to 8th notes. Change the feel and work with
triplets. End on 16th notes or faster. Create a build. Tension. Or just stick
to a main pattern and keep coming back to it.

12. Tell a Story: Don’t just wonder, imagine you are making a movie instead of a
solo. Start on a wide shot. Maybe long flowing notes. Then add a motif as a
character. Repeat this motif and think about playing it over the wide shot long
notes. Add details to the story by developing the line with more notes and
rhythms.

13. Consider Your Guitar Tone: It’s essential that you consider your guitar tone. Do
you want a distorted or clean guitar sound? Does it need any delay or reverb? It’s
important that your sound ‘fits’ in with the music. Don’t crank up the gain if it’s a
gentle ballad. Don’t have a clean sound if it’s a heavy metal track! Make sure that
you are stylistically appropriate.
 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR GUITAR PLAYING

Confidence: Trust yourself, everyone has a unique style of playing and taste of music. Don’t shy
away to showcase your skills. You are the best at what you do.
Metronome is God: Use metronome, never ignore it. It’s the best teacher to help you play with time.
Master Something: Don't just learn it, perfect it.
Keep It Fresh: Stuck in a rut? Get a new rut! Feel free to explore, this is your life.
Stand when you practice: Sitting and standing make lots of differences. Start practicing standing; it
will make your life easier at the stage performance.
Keep Time: Train your body to be an atomic clock of guitar playing godliness. Start counting by
tapping foot, shaking your head, moving your body, or even jumping!!!
Switch It Up: Don't get too used to your trusty old axe; you may have to play somebody else's.
Play a multitude of different guitars. Try to put hands on different style and shape of guitar.
Set Goals: Know what you want when practicing. Don't just practice, practice hard! It's like
exercising. If you're not struggling, there's no benefit.

Learn a Song Cover: This will help you push your limits and get new ideas and techniques.
Record your own video: When we play it’s hard to identify our mistake or stumbling blocks.
Recoding will help you know your area of weaknesses.

Pick types and models: Choose the right size of Guitar Pick that suits you. I would recommend 0.50-
0.80 mm for rhythm, for speed picking and lead solos 1mm -2 mm.

Your guitar (and amp) doesn’t matter at all: Let your fingers do the magic.
Play Every Day: No excuses, Dedicate Your Time. You need to have a Practice Routine. This is
compulsory if you want to be a better musician.

*****Don’t spend too much money on gears unless it’s a necessity*****

 SPEED BUILDING TIPS:

Many new (and not so new) guitarists equate speed with being a good guitarist. They spend
hours a day attempting to play faster than they are capable of playing, sacrificing accuracy
for urgency, and end up tense and frustrated for their efforts. What some guitarists fail to
realize is that speed is a byproduct of a high skill level. There are many different elements
that must be mastered in order to play guitar fast and clean. 

Three words to keep in mind when trying to build speed are Practice, Precision, and
Patience [3Ps]. If you are struggling to play something at the speed you want, it only
means that you haven't yet refined your technique to a high enough level, or that you are
not using practice approaches that are effective enough. For those of you looking to
improve your playing speed, the following are important insights to help get you where you
want to go that much faster. 

1. Loosen Up. ...

2. Practice regularly. ...
3. Practice slowly. ...
4. Practice fast. ...
5. Synchronize Your Fretting and Picking Hands. ...
6. Use Alternate Picking. ...
7. Integrate Techniques [Use Sweep Picking, Economy Picking, Legato etc]
8. Use a Metronome 
9. Patience 

Analyze Your Playing

1. Effortless - You can play it in your sleep.

2. Easy - You can play it well, but you must be careful and pay attention.
3. Tiring - You can play it for a while, but you soon get tired and sloppy. 
4. Broken - You can only play fragments of the phrase, here and there.
5. Impossible - You just can't play it at all at this speed.
 COMPOSITION & SONG WRITING

Whether you want to write songs to pitch to music publishers, TV shows and commercials,
or record them yourself as an artist, here’s a songwriting method that will help you get your
message across and make sure your listeners stay involved from beginning to end. Of
course, this is just one approach to songwriting but it’s used by many songwriting pros and
it works.

Create the raw material for your lyric

1. Start with the title.  Starting with a title will help you stay focused on a
single idea in your song. Create a phrase of one to six words that sums up the heart of what
you want to say. Or look for an interesting phrase that suggests a situation or emotion to
you. Try using an image in your title to give it more interest or an action word  to give it
energy. For more tips on writing song titles read Write a Memorable Title or watch this
video.

2. Make a list of questions suggested by the title. Start by asking

yourself what you want to say about your title and what you think your listeners might want
to know. Make list of questions. Your list might include: What does the title mean? How do
you feel about it? What happened to cause this? What do you think or hope will happen
next? You’ll need three to four questions. Check out this video for more information.

3. Choose a song structure. Many of today’s biggest hits rely on a song

structure like this: Verse / Chorus / Verse / Chorus / Bridge / Chorus. Some add a short
section called a “pre-chorus” or “lift” between the verse and chorus to build anticipation.
The verse, pre-chorus, and chorus each have an identifiable melody, one that the listener
can recognize when it comes around.  Here’s a tip that will tell you more about song
structure. Or watch this video to learn the basics.
 4. Choose one question to answer in the chorus and one for each
verse. We’ll focus on the chorus first since it’s the most important part of your song. Select
the question you want to answer in your chorus. Write down a short phrase that expresses
your answer. Look for images and action words to bring your answers to life. What is the
singer feeling, thinking, or saying? What emotion is the singer feeling and how would you
describe it? Is it warm or cold? Dark or light?  Read more about adding emotion to your
lyrics here.

Go to work on your melody & chords

5. Find the melody in your lyric. Choose one or two of the phrases you
came up with in  Step 4. Say them out loud. Now say them again with LOTS of emotion. 
Exaggerate the emotion in the lines. Notice the natural rhythm and melody of your speech
when you say the lines with lots of feeling. This is the beginning of your chorus melody. 
Play with it until it feels comfortable. Here’s more on using your lyric to create a melody.

6. Begin to add chords to your chorus melody. Try a simple, repeated

chord pattern. You’ll find a several chord progressions you can use here. (Scroll down to the
section on Chord Progressions.)  Play with the melody and chords until you find something
you like. Record yourself singing and playing (or just singing) – even if it’s only on your
smartphone. Be sure you get it down so you don’t forget it.

Develop your song in sections

7. Work on the lyric in your first verse. Focus on the question you chose in Step 4.
Make your first line something that will get listeners interested: an intriguing statement, a
question, or a description of the situation. In your second line, consider restating the first
line in a different way or adding more information.  Don’t move on too quickly; your
listeners need time to understand what’s happening in the song.  In Verse 1, be sure to give
listeners enough information so they can understand the chorus when you get there. Go
through Steps 5 and 6 with your verse melody and chords.

8. Connect your verse and chorus. After you have a verse and chorus,
create a transition between them so that they flow naturally. You may need to raise or lower
your verse melody or change the last line to get to your chorus smoothly. TIP: Chorus
melodies are usually in a higher note range than verses because they’re more emotional, and
when we get emotional our voices tend to rise.

9. Build your second verse and bridge. Choose another of your

questions to answer in your second verse. Use Step 7 to work through the lyric. Your second
chorus will have the same melody and lyric as your first chorus, so you are now almost
finished with your song. You just need to add a bridge.

The bridge section adds a peak emotional moment to your song, a realization, or an “aha!”
moment. Try two or three lyric lines that give the listener the best insight you can into the
situation or emotion the singer is feeling.  The melody should be different from both verse
and chorus. Try using a chord you haven’t used before or changing the phrase lengths or
motion of the melody. A bridge isn’t a requirement but it can add a lot of strength to your
song.

Record a rough idea of your song

10. Record your song. A simple piano/vocal or guitar/vocal can often be

the most effective emotional statement of your song. If you wrote a Rock song, do an
“unplugged” version. You don’t need lots of strings or drums – in fact, these can detract.
Practice both the instrumental and  vocal parts until you are comfortable with them. The
less you have to focus on when playing or singing, the more you can let go and feel the
emotion in the song. Try singing it as if you are speaking it to someone. Record for short
periods then take a break. Keep the song and the emotion fresh!