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Kiko Loureiro wins Guitar World’s Top 20 guitar albums of 2020 with Open Source

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 players like Joe Satriani, John Pettruci and Andy James who scores the 2nd position!

As an instrumental guitar nerd, I am very pleased to see that this genre of music is as popular as ever.

Above all, artists are still innovating and delivering compositions, riffs and solos that blow our minds.  In other words, people continue to push the envelope on musicianship and guitar skills to our pleasure!

About Kiko’s Open Source

Open Source is Kiko’s fifth solo album. It has been a different kind of Album right from the start thanks to collaboration between Kiko Loureiro and his fans. Open source got fully funded in under 5 hours powered by a very successful IndieGogo campaign!

As our member Ron said in Guitar Hacks’s forum:

That achievement should erase any doubts that through hard work, dedication and a proper practice method anyone can achieve their personal goals no matter what the endeavor.

From Ron

About Kiko Loureiro

Kiko has played guitar for over 25 years and has performed all over the world. Additionally, Kiko started teaching when he was just 16, and has given lectures, seminars and clinics in over 50 countries. He is co-founder of the Brazilian heavy metal band Angra, He’s currently the lead guitarist of the legendary band Megadeth.

As a guitar teacher, Kiko released seven online courses in Portuguese, transforming the playing and musicality of over 3000 students.
This year, 2020, he launched this website, Guitar Hacks, dedicated to English versions of his courses.

Equally important, Kiko has also been an instructor at guitar camps from renowned musicians including Allan Holdsworth & Paul Gilbert. In 2018 he was part of the lineup of the G4 experience with Joe Satriani.

Megadeth has sold 38 million records worldwide. The band has earned platinum certification in the United States for six of its fifteen studio albums. Megadeth won the “Best Metal Performance” Grammy Award for the song “Dystopia”.

About Guitar Hacks

Guitar Hacks is Kiko’s website and english speaking community. Its goal is to help all electric guitar players improve their skills, both technically or musically.

You can answer these simple questions to see if Guitar Hacks is for you:

First, How much time have you spent practicing guitar this year?
Secondly, are you still playing the same riffs and licks from last year?
Lastly, when was the last time you had a REAL breakthrough in your playing?

This is exactly why Kiko created Guitar Hacks.

For years Kiko Loureiro has been optimizing his study formula.
As a result, he’s always prepared for the most challenging situations – like playing for 50,000 people at a festival- in a minimal amount of time.

With over 12000 members, our community is growing very quickly. It’s free to join, head over here to sign up and learn from one the best Guitar Player around.

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Mixing Guitar Techniques or Running with the Bull

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 any guitar techniques in your own songs and solos is to practice them until they become effortless and part of your own musical vocabulary.

That’s why we practice. So we can play whatever technique or guitar lick with so much confidence and little effort that it seems like we’ve been playing it forever.

This requires discipline of course, but also focus, intent and strategy. Picking a guitar and noodling around or playing the same riffs and licks over and over again will never lead to any level of mastery.

If you haven’t watched it already, you can learn more about my practicing discipline in my video “The Secret to Rapid Progress”. You will learn how I structure my practice time in 5 distinct phases and consistently work on improving my technique.

Guitar Techniques & Workout Strategy

Currently my technique focused online course is not accepting new students.

This is going to change soon as we will open up again for around 100 new students in the coming weeks. Leave your email address here to be notified first when it opens up again!

Don’t forget it’s not just about WHAT your practice but HOW you practice! Time is precious and once you’ve spent it you don’t get it back.

So spend your practicing time wisely!

Cheers

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Flying in a Lydian Dream

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 the first two chords: A major and B major.

At the G4 Experience Guitar Camp, where I had the honor of teaching alongside Joe Satriani, he told the story behind the song: 

He was half awake and imagining he was flying. The song came out of this imaginary situation.

Satriani said, “I don’t know how to play it, but I can feel it … I’m able to imagine the ‘Blue Dream’.”

But there’s another thing I know: The Lydian mode! 

The Lydian mode is what Satriani, and many other composers, use to achieve that “Blue Dream” feeling. 

Listen to my “Vital Signs” Play Through, can you hear the Lydian?

I thought it would be interesting to discuss the modes that I am using here

I start by using the Lydian mode. Peaceful, dreamy, relaxing, open and atmospheric — I think you get the idea.

Next, I switch to the Aeolian, which is minor and very melancholic. I play this in the same key as the Lydian, so it brings the melancholy together with the optimistic of the Lydian.

I play this over a solid drum and bass groove which gives the song a nice, steady vibe. It really captures the mood of both modes.

Every scale, every mode, gives us a specific feeling. 

If you master that, you can create your own solos, and compose songs that translate images, feelings, and ideas through your music.

Be a creator with the power to control and connect to the listeners through their emotions. 

Mastering modes is the best way to unlock creativity. This is possible for everyone and there is a step by step process. 

It’s time for you to decide if you want to be a creator or a play the same patterns over and over again.

Check out my 7 Factor  Online Guitar Course: From modes to music. Where  you will find my in depth process to master the Modes, Scales and Intervals on guitar.

Enrollment closes this Sunday, Aug.16th.

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Join Unlock Moods and Modes on Guitar Lives!

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 will NOT be a boring theory class!

Unlock Moods and Modes on Guitar Lives

Starting Monday, August 3 thru Thursday, August 6, I will be diving deep into the seven modes. Over the course of four, 3 hour live streams, I will show you how to apply all the feelings, images, moods and places each mode can represent.

You will learn effective ways to incorporate and connect each of the modes to open up new ways to express yourself.

Here’s the schedule:

• Monday Aug. 3: Technical Exercises, Shapes and Visualization
• Tuesday Aug. 4: Intervals, Sounds and Feelings
• Wednesday Aug. 5: The Moods of the Modes (including Blues)
• Thursday Aug. 6: The REAL ORDER of the Guitar Modes

Don’t forget to hit the set notification button to be alerted for each session.

Replays will only be available for 24 hours after streaming. You won’t want to miss this!

Guitar Modes, Who Is This For?

These live sessions are for anyone who feels stuck; playing the same patterns over and over, and those looking to unlock their creativity. This is for both beginning and advanced players who are looking to train their ear and express themselves better.

It’s all about feeling the music and really connecting with it.

I am looking forward to hanging out and talking music with all of you. Set the reminder right now.

By now you may have also heard that I’m also launching a new full course on modes very soon, stay tuned, I’ll have more on that later.

See you next week! In the meantime, stay safe out there.

— Kiko

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Who Else Wants to Master Modes on Guitar?

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 be notified first when it opens!

Scales and Modes on Guitar: The Most Requested Lesson

I want to thank everyone who provided feedback in our ongoing survey. As you can see in the chart below Modes (including scales) was the most requested lesson with more than a thousand votes in this survey:

In the theory section of our survey, learning how to master modes on guitar got the most votes, followed by harmony and composition. Music theory, if approached in the right way, can open up a lot of new possibilities on the guitar.

There are some great topics to explore that fall under this category. Like the creative process, composition, how to stay motivated and tips for measuring progress.

I’m just now putting the finishing touches on this video lesson. So leave your email above and I will contact you when I’m ready to enroll the first batch of students.

About Guitar Hacks

Guitar Hacks is more than just a “guitar instruction” site. It’s a community. It’s interactive and evolving; I want to give you the best experience possible. We’re here because we want to become better players and get the skills to conquer whatever we’re struggling with.

That’s why your feedback is so important. Thanks Again!

Stay safe,
Kiko

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Top Guitar Players stay accountable and you should too!

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 share a common desire to become great players. 

With over 7200 guitar players, three full student batches, and more than 1300 comments and replies, and we’re just getting started! 

An active community of guitar players

Being able to interact with other players of varying skill levels is extremely helpful. Our community gives us a way to hold each other accountable for the goals we’ve set.

Lack of accountability is the number one reason people fail, so this is a great resource in helping us achieve those goals.

Over the past few weeks, myself and a select group of students have been testing out a new community platform. It’s been a lot of fun and there is already some great content here! 

Now, I would like to welcome all of you to the Guitar Hackers Community Forum!

Here, students can hang out and discuss gear, other artists and practice techniques, or get help if they’re struggling with something. 

More importantly, the Hackers Community gives me a place to interact with all of you through the comments and we’ve even had some live zoom sessions with the most active members! It’s been great to see the progress you’re making. I especially enjoy the student Show and Tell videos — there’s a lot of great talent here! 

What are you waiting for? Click here and introduce yourself!

Happy shredding and see you in the forum!

Kiko

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#1 Batch of students Full, Online Camp Registration Closed

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 community. The free videos are still up and I encourage you to watch them and focus on how to study and not just what to study.

Time is precious and once you’ve spent it you don’t get it back. So spend your practicing time wisely!

Private Live Event Chat for Online Camp Students

Batch 1 students will join me in a private live session Sat, March 7. I will be taking feedback on the course, and look at the needs of each student to make sure everybody is making progress.

When will Kiko’s Complete Guitar Workout Strategy open again?

The date is yet to be defined, as registered members of Guitar Hacks you will get priority status when batch 2 student registration opens later this year. 

Stay tuned!

— Kiko
Kiko’s Complete Guitar Workout Strategy

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1400 registered users, a winner plus coffee with Ola Englund

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 have registered. In addition, there’s been more than 4000 total video plays and over 1500 plays of “How to divide the hour video” which is the foundation for my guitar workout strategy.

Join me in congratulating Alan Woodward who has been awarded the Rock Star badge. Alan wins my Complete Guitar Workout strategy course.

Commenting and interacting with other active users is an essential part of Guitar Hacks and promotes faster, more consistent progress. For instance, Alan posted 30 great comments in less than a week providing encouragement to other users.

"I think I am going to use these to teach my kids how to build technique. My 6-year-old is showing interest (proud father moment)," said Alan.

Awesome Coffee with Ola in Copenhagen while on tour with Megadeth.

We chatted about many things including Guitar Hacks, my practice routine and teaching philosophy.

You can watch the full coffee with Ola video on youtube.

I want YOUR opinion: Tell me, what guitar lesson next?

To show my appreciation for being a founding member of our community, I would like to produce some specific content for you.

This poll has been up for a week and got lots of interesting answers already! But if you haven’t done so, please complete the poll and let me know what guitar lesson would be most valuable to you.

Many thanks, my friend!

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Help guitar players express themselves musically

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 Hacks.

Learning to play guitar is a process. As a result, it takes time and it takes discipline. Having discipline, and putting in the time, will bring more joy to your playing and give you the energy to take it further than you ever thought possible.

I want to share my practicing strategies with you.

Above all, there are three key points musicians sometimes forget when it comes to practicing.

Practicing is not playing

We should play as much as we can throughout the day, but you must set aside a specific time for practice. Practice means we correct mistakes the moment they are made, analyse our hand movements, set goals, and rotate through different exercises and techniques.

There needs to be metrics

If you want to reach a specific goal, you need a strategy that provides you clear milestones to measure your progress with. Without metrics, you are likely to play beyond (or below) your ability, sacrificing both accuracy and control.

Self Awareness

As you practice you need to recognize and fix mistakes the moment they occur before continuing. This requires self-awareness. By doing this, you will begin to play cleaner with more control and accuracy.

I would love that every guitar player has the tools to be able to express themselves. Whether you want to break speed barriers, or play something simple and emotive, it’s about having the discipline to achieve it. Discipline is freedom — and that freedom is being able to play whatever you want.

Guitar Hacks will help you achieve your New Year’s resolution to become the best guitar player you can be.

Click here to get started!

Kiko Loureiro – Official website