Hard rock power chord fun, devices, and licks inspired by Alestorm – 4:29 min

In this lesson Willie teaches some power chord fun as well as licks and techniques in the style of Alestorm. Will first teaches the power 5th chords he will be using in the lesson and then gets into the licks and rhythmic figures. Play the licks slow at first and work them up to speed over time. Remember slow and clean is way better than fast and sloppy. Use these rhythms and ideas as a springboard to open the floodgates to new ideas. Experiment and put your own spin on these ideas – have fun and stay creative. 

Heavy rhythm ideas and licks lesson inspired by TOOL – 4:31 min

In this lesson Willie teaches some heavy rhythm ideas and licks inspired by the killer prog rock band Tool. Willie takes a unique approach in this lesson as he was inspired by Tool. But in this lesson he plays some riffs using multi finger tapping. That is one of the fantastic things about guitar – that we can be inspired by all music and turn them and make them our own – put our own spin on things. So try some of these riffs and the use of multiple fingers on your pick hand as Willie demonstrates. Explore the idea and put your own spin on it – make it your own and keep experimenting and having fun. 

Killer rhythms and fast hammer pull licks in the style of JOHN SYKES & DOUG ALDRICH – 8:37 min

In this lesson Dave Nassie teaches some killer rhythms and licks 80s style, inspired by John Sykes and DOug Aldrich. Learn all kinds of fun vibrato and hammer on and pull off patterns. This lesson is based out of the key of B minor and will use the techniques of pinch harmonics or artificial harmonics. These are also called squeals and Dave goes over the techniques and how to get them to sound great. Remember just the tip of your finger is all you need – strike the string with the pick and your finger at the same time. Experiment on where on the string you sound the harmonic – try different places on the sting to get different sounds. Lots of wide vibrato – practice with the fun riffs and harmonics as Dave demonstrates. Dave then goes over the E minor pentatonic scale and how to add some cool bending licks and much more in this lesson – enjoy! 

Heavy guitar rhythms and riff ideas lesson inspired by OPETH – 3:35 min

In this lesson Willie teaches some heavy guitar rhythms and riff ideas inspired by the massive band OPETH. The chords used in this lesson areC#m, C#sus2, Bm7, and Bsus2. Notice the use of upstrokes played when Willie plays the rhythm. Willie embellishes each chord with the suspension – listen to how this alters the sound. Willie then gets into the lick that he intersperses into the rhythm. Notice the use of hammer-ons and pull-offs. Get these clean and practice them slow and get them clean and then work up to speed. Then Willie plays a cool pedal lick and puts it all together. Try these ideas and then put your own spin on them – get creative n this style and have fun!

Modern Metal detuned songwriting and song composition lesson – 12:23 min

In this lesson Dave Nassie teaches some killer modern metal song composition and songwriting skills. Key elements in this lesson include tone, tuning, theory and scales, and song structure. This lesson is detuned to drop D tuning – so drop your low E string one whole step to D – so low to high its D  A  D  G  B  E.  Dave first talks about key signature and relative minor and major and shows a major scale he will be utilizing to build the riffs from. Use the notes in the scale as Dave shows to get some good metal sounds and build riffs while letting that low D ring or ride that low string while palm muting a rhythm. Dave also teaches some chords and variations/embellishments to get some fun sounds and cool rhythms. Know the scales and move the chords and embellishments to creative some fun rhythms as Dave teaches. Get creative with this lesson and use it to springboard your song and riff writing – put your own spin on it and come up with cool riffs and songs….and have fun!!

Song composition and songwriting in the thrash metal style, playing to drum beats, chords, and more – 17:44 min

In this lesson Dave Nassie teaches some killer songwriting tips and composition tips in the trash metal style. Dave focuses in this lesson on how to play with a drum beat and how to know what chords are accessible to you. Dave teaches the lesson in the key of G major and first teaches the G major scale.  Dave then gets into chord choices for each note in that G major scale. Dave then teaches chord construction and which chords make up the scale. Dave then gets into the beat and rhythm. Dave then gets into how to play over a drum beat. In this lesson Dave is using a software drum instrument called EZ Drummer with the “drum kit from hell” expansion pack. EZ drummer is a great drum program and the drums sound awesome. Playing with a beat is invaluable practice for your timing and rhythmic skills. Dave then gets into riff building and how o come up with ideas for riffs. Give these ideas a try and see what you can come up with creatively – put your own spin on these techniques and have fun with them!