Lesson 183 Songwriting lesson and composition on acoustic guitar songwriting – 13:26 min

In this lesson Dave Nassie gets into some basic acoustic guitar songwriting techniques and devices that you can really get creative with. Dave first goes over some basic strums and rhythms that you can try with a basic G, C, and D major chords. Then he gets into the chords that are in the key of G major. This is called harmonizing the major scale – all the chords in the key are built from the notes in a G major scale G,A,B,C,D,E,F# – a chord for each note. If you want to learn more about this bne sure and visit some of our other lessons on chord construction, building chords from the major scale, and chords in each key – lessons on these in the written lessons section of the site as well as the writing songs section of the site. Dave then gets into some different ways to embellish the chords with arpeggiating and hammer ons to add interest and melody. Use some of the other devices that you have learned in previous lessons to add color and embellish the chords. Have fun and get creative with these techniques and try to write some of your own songs and progressions – and have fun! 

Lesson 182 More chordal embellishing, strumming rhythms, chucking, melody and more – 14:23 min

In this lesson David Taub continues teaching chordal embellishing and chordal and rhythmic techniques to spice up your playing. Here you will also learn to combine techniques and to throw it all into the soup to make your playing more interesting. Learn how to add rhythmic stops, learn new strum patterns, how to embellish chords, chucking, chord hammering, and more. Basically as in the previous two lessons David continues teaching chordal embellishing and creating melody within your playing. We are taking the notes and chords and adding musically interesting things to them. The chords utilized in this lesson are Am, Asus2, Am7, G, Gadd4, Em, Emadd2, Am9, and Cmaj7,  David teaches this lesson on a Taylor GS5 acoustic guitar but you can do this on electric as well. Practice these techniques slow and build up the speed over time. Then use these devices in other progressions, create new progressions, use in your songwriting, and have fun with them – rock on! 

Lesson 181 Learn chordal embellishments, build melody, and to combine techniques pt2 – 8:53 min

In this lesson David Taub teaches a bunch of new chords and chordal embellishments that you will have a lot of fun with. This is part two of a two-part lesson. David takes some new chords that you may not be familiar with and teaches you how to string them in a progression and add melody. Also David teaches how to combine many of the techniques you have learned so far to make interesting rhythms. David teaches this lesson on acoustic but you can also do this on electric. In this lesson David builds on part one of this lesson and uses the same progression to continue teaching melody and how to add single note melody lines to your playing. The chords utilized in this lesson are Dmaj7, Dadd9, Gmaj7, F#m, F#m7, Em, A7. Be sure and blast these techniques over all your playing and try these techniques and devices with other progression and try and embellish your chords as you learn new progressions and think melody – enjoy and stay creative. 

Lesson 180 Learn chordal embellishments, build melody, and to combine techniques pt1 – 13:22 min

In this lesson David Taub teaches a bunch of new chords and chordal embellishments that you will have a lot of fun with. This is part one of a two-part lesson. David takes some new chords that you may not be familiar with and teaches you how to string them in a progression and add melody. Also David teaches how to combine many of the techniques you have learned so far to make interesting rhythms. David teaches this lesson on acoustic but you can also do this on electric. In this lesson taking chords and doing interesting things with them. In this lesson David focuses more on the chords and the rhythmic techniques and strumming and in the next lesson you will learn how to add in single note lines for more ideas and avenues to add melody and creativity. The chords utilized in this lesson are Dmaj7, Dadd9, Gmaj7, F#m, F#m7, Em, A7. Be sure and blast these techniques over all your playing and try these techniques and devices with other progression and try and embellish your chords as you learn new progressions and think melody – enjoy and stay creative. 

Lesson 179 Fingerstyle strumming and rhythm patterns – 6:47 min

In this lesson Ben Zinn teaches some easy and fun strumming exercises using your fingers. Ben teaches this lesson on acoustic guitar but you can utilize these techniques on acoustic or electric guitar. This is all about fingerstyle strumming and rhythm patterns. This lesson kind of bridges the gap between traditional pick strumming and adapting it for this fingerstyle strumming. Ben first breaks down the progression he utilizes and goes over the chords – the progression is: C – E7 – Am – Am/G –  F – C – A7 – Dm – G – C – Ben then gets into the rhythm of playing this progression using 8th notes and gets into the finger strumming technique. This techniques creates some separation within the chords for some variation and a little different sound. Practice these techniques and rhythms with other chords and progressions and add these techniques to your playing arsenal – enjoy!

Lesson 178 Off beat strumming rhythms and syncopation lesson on acoustic  – 8:04 min

Lesson 177 Acoustic rhythm ideas and techniques inspired by NEIL YOUNG – 11:01 min

Lesson 176 Acoustic folk rhythm techniques and fills in a Mrs Robinson style – 8:48 min

Lesson 175 Easy acoustic blues songwriting tips and chord variations – 8:34 min