In this installment of Guitar Hack’s Spotlight we would like to introduce you to Andras! Most of you may know him as nexion218 within the community. András’s contributions to the community have been incredible and we’re proud to announce he is the first in our community to earn the Rock Star badge! Enjoy getting to […]
The best step you can take to get out of a playing rut to start improving your music skills and learn new skills is to put together a great guitar practice routine. It’s also the best way to maintain the skills you already have. It takes some work, but If you’re serious about music and […]
Hello! In this guide, our focus is on vibrato, it is part 2 of a series that started with string bending. We are going to approach vibrato similar to the way we approached bends from my previous guide starting with the hand position. Vibrato is like doing several mini or micro bends in a row. […]
Today we are talking about bends and vibrato. Some of the key things to consider when trying to bend your guitar strings musically: Playing clean, without noise from the other strings. Intonation Bend speed I’m showing you the way I do these techniques. Of course, there are many different ways to approach them. We play […]
The Lydian Mode: People ask me about Lydian mode all the time, and I believe it’s because it’s in a lot of chart-topping songs, soundtracks for TV, and blockbuster movies. Also, incredible guitar players like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai have great songs using the Lydian mode. The Lydian is the fourth mode (or degree) […]
Modes and scales quizz I thought it would be fun to create a quick quizz so guitar players can test their knowledge of modes and scales quickly. Most importantly, let’s keep this test alive. Am I missing any fun/cool question? Do you want to discuss or get detailed explanations on some of the questions? Talk […]
Hello! How are you guys doing? Here we are going to talk about fingerstyle (or fingerpicking) technique. I am going to show you the way I do it, but there are many ways to use fingerpicking on electric guitar. The idea here is to show a little bit of fingerstyle and, even if you’ve never […]
Here we are to talk about sweep picking exercises, and the five common mistakes people make when learning this technique. I have to say that I always had a lot of difficulty in applying this. I’m left-handed, so anything that involved the right hand was a struggle. So in the beginning, I was focused on […]
Kiko Loureiro is the guitar player of the great American heavy metal band Megadeth. Kiko’s fifth album called Open Source just won Guitar World’s top 20 guitar albums of 2020 by popular vote. Many thanks to everyone who voted for this album. The competition was impressive this year with amazing instrumental guitar albums from monster […]
Right now, we’re going to talk about downpicking, how to master it, and what are some exercises we can use to improve our technique. Remember, every Thursday I am going to be here. I’ll either show you something new, give a lesson, or offer my point of view and discuss some of the main topics […]
Hello everyone! This is a transcript of my “how to master hybrid picking on electric guitar video” that I recorded live from Helsinki on Nov 26th 2020. Today we’re talking about hybrid picking on electric guitar. As usual, we’re going to start with the basics and fundamentals. Let’s get started! Some people have been asking […]
In the Guitar Hackers Spotlight series, we get to know our fellow students. Each one of you has a story that deserves to be heard and we’re grateful to be a part of your guitar journey. Today, we get to know our friend, Arnaud Godefroy. Tell us a little about yourself (where you’re from, favorite […]
Hey, Kiko here, I just wanted to share this new play through video, “Running with the Bull” from my latest album, Opensource. This song is particularly interesting for Guitar Hacks students as it has a mix of all techniques. Tapping, sweeping, legatos, tremolo bar and also of course, alternate picking. The best way to incorporate […]
Hey Kiko here! How are you? Have you ever listened to the song “Flying in a Blue Dream” by the legendary Joe Satriani? I think It’s one of his most iconic songs. I’m a huge fan of Satch, especially his song, Flying in a Blue Dream. I never tried to learn it, but I do know […]
Olá my friends! Because of the current isolation, we don’t have the opportunity to meet face to face. That’s why I decided to bring us together with a series of free Youtube lives. It begins next Monday and I hope to see you there, it’s going to be a lot of fun! I guarantee this […]
I hope everyone is having a great Summer! By far, the most requested topic I have been asked to cover is scales, improvisation and how to master modes on guitar. I’m just now putting the finishing touches on a whole new course on those topics! The course is almost ready, put your email below to […]
Olà from the fastest growing community of guitar players! When I created Guitar Hacks my goal was to provide guitar players with the tools needed to unlock their potential and become the best players they can be. In addition to that, I wanted to create a community of people who are passionate about guitar and […]
In the Guitar Hackers Spotlight series, we get to know our fellow students. Each one of you has a fascinating story that deserves to be heard and we’re grateful to be a part of your guitar journey. Sebastián Caldas My name is Sebastián Caldas, I am a classical guitarist born in Uruguay, but lived most […]
Tell us a little about yourself (where you’re from, favorite food, pets, etc.) Hello, I’m from France, I love chihuahuas and electric guitars! What made you decide to pick up guitar? When I was a teenager I used to play guitar. My dream was to manage to play Angra songs and other bands that I […]
All the time and effort we put into becoming better guitar players should ultimately amount to one thing: freedom. By that, I mean the freedom to play anything we want in front of anybody — and do it with confidence. I want to express to you that effortless technique is actually what gives us that […]
Introducing the Guitar Hackers Spotlight: This is where we can get to know our fellow students. Each one of you has a fascinating story that deserves to be heard and we’re grateful to be a part of your guitar journey. Laura Bonini First, tell us a little about yourself (where you’re from, favorite food, pets, […]
Learning how to play songs on the electric guitar can be a struggle. Often we get stuck on a difficult passage or phrase and as a result we’re tempted to give up. My goal is to give guitar players the tools to play what they want to play, and to play it well. When learning […]
We have reached our capacity for Kiko’s Complete Guitar Workout Strategy online camp. Registration is now closed and I am going to spend time with batch 1 students to make sure they are making progress and evolving as guitar players. I wanted to thank everybody who has signed up for Guitar Hacks and joined the […]
Launching a new website is challenging and Guitar Hacks was no exception. I didn’t know how people would perceive it or if it would even be successful. 4 weeks in, we have already reached some encouraging milestones and I want to thank you for being a part of these achievements! Since launch over 1400 users […]
I want to help every guitar player be the best they can be without being held back by technique. I want YOUR opinion: Tell me, what guitar lesson you want covered next? Simply fill in this quick poll below. After that, we will look at the result to influence what Kiko will record next, it […]
Many of you wanted to know what kind of exercises I use to avoid tension in my playing. All guitarists struggle with playing with too much tension. And while tension can’t be eliminated completely — and is even necessary to properly play the guitar — playing with too much tension can make things unnecessarily difficult. […]
As 2019 comes to an end, My goal for 2020 is to help as many guitar players as I can achieve the skills they need to be able to express themselves musically. To give them the ability to play what they want, and be creative without being limited by technique. That’s why I created Guitar […]
