Lesson Series
We often hear great guitar players described as "expressive", but what does that even mean? What are your favourite guitarists doing to translate their feelings, thoughts and emotions into their music?
In this lesson, Nick Jennison explains the core concepts behind being an "expressive" guitar player, and the techniques your favourite players use to tug at your heartstrings with their guitar strings.
Perhaps the most fundamental technique in a guitarist's expressive vocabulary is string bending - and it's one of the trickiest to figure out! Luckily, once you understand the hand and arm mechanics involved in string bending, it's pretty easy to start using this amazing technique to devastating effect.
In this lesson, Nick Jennison shows you how to properly execute string bends that are in tune, in time and sound great.
Vibrato is your sonic signature as a guitar player - it's what separates the notes you play from the notes everyone else plays. So, it pays to make sure your vibrato sounds great!
A close cousin of string bending, vibrato mechanics are similar to bending mechanics - but with a few subtle but very important differences. In this lesson, Nick Jennison shows you how to nail your vibrato technique once and for all.
Another way we can add expression and excitement into our playing is with slides. While sliding up and down a string might not seem like a terribly complicated task, there's actually a lot that can go wrong. Luckily, once you nail this technique, it's easy to incorporate slides into your expressive vocabulary.
In this lesson, Nick Jennison shows you how to master sliding technique in a way that sounds musical and expressive.
Now that you understand the core mechanics of string bending technique, it's time to get to work perfecting your bending skills.
In this lesson, Nick Jennison shows you some fun and challenging exercises that are guaranteed to improve your bending accuracy.
So you've learned the basics of sliding (as discussed in lesson 4) - now it's time to master the technique!
In this lesson, Nick Jennison teaches you a series of fun and challenging exercises that will take you from sliding novice to expressive pro!
Now that you've learned how to execute great sounding string bends, it's time to learn how and when to use them in a musical and expressive way.
In this lesson, Nick Jennison shows you how to take the bending techniques you've learned in this course and apply them to the music you love to play.
Now that you can slide accurately and with confidence, it's time to learn how to use slides to make your playing sound more expressive and exciting.
In this lesson, Nick Jennison shows you how to apply the sliding techniques you've learned in this course in your own playing.
No single technique will make you into a more expressive player - it's all about how you combine these techniques to create your own unique voice on the instrument!
In this lesson, Nick Jennison shows you how to combine bends, slides and vibrato into a powerful expressive vocabulary - one that will make you sound more interesting, more exciting and ultimately more musical!
Now that you've learned the mechanics of bending, vibrato and sliding, and learned how to apply these techniques musically, it's time to put it all into action!
In this lesson, Nick Jennison introduces you to a solo study that you can use to practice your expressive techniques. There's no expression in the solo study, so you'll have to add your own! A perfect opportunity to practice not executing these techniques, but choosing which ones to apply and when!