HANDS & TRICKS
Build Technique
Picking, hammer-ons, bends, vibrato — the moves that turn notes into playing.
What you'll explore
Alternate Picking Explained
Down-up-down-up: the tiny motion behind fast playing. Small wrist strokes, strict alternation, and the one-string drill that builds it.
Downstrokes vs Upstrokes
Down hits like a fist, up floats like a feather. Where each lives in the count, why ups only graze the top strings, and the contrast that makes strumming feel good.
Fingerstyle Guitar for Beginners
Your fingers are five picks. The p-i-m-a seating chart, the classic roll on Em, and the gentlest path into fingerpicking.
Palm Muting Explained
The chunky 'djun-djun' in every rock song is the edge of your hand at the bridge. Learn the placement, the pressure, and your first chug.
Hammer-Ons Explained
Pick once, get two notes: the hammer-on explained — landing speed over force, the 5h7 drill, and why it's the doorway to smooth legato playing.
Pull-Offs Explained
The hammer-on's mirror: a note sounded by the finger leaving. The downward flick, the pre-planted landing finger, and the 7p5h7 legato loop.
Slides Explained
Keep the pressure, make the trip: slides explained — legato vs shift slides, tab notation (5/7), and landing right behind the target fret.
Bends Explained
Bends have a destination. The target drill that makes bends land in tune, the three-finger + wrist technique, and half vs full bends explained.
Vibrato Explained
The shimmer on a held note, and the most personal sound you'll make. Build it slow, wide, and even; shrink it into a signature.
How to Stop String Noise
Squeaks, rattles, and ghost notes — where each noise comes from and which hand silences it. Clean playing is muting, made automatic.
Why Do My Bends Sound Out of Tune?
Sour bends are unaimed bends. The echo check, the unison-bend referee, and the three-finger machinery that lands full bends in tune.
Why Are My Hammer-Ons Too Quiet?
Never a strength problem: landing speed, landing spot, launch height. The three leaks and a five-minute session that patches them.
How to Mute the Strings You Aren't Playing
The overhang, the blanket, the palm shelf — where each hand parks for clean playing, plus the one-note spotlight drill that installs it all.
Why Does My Fast Playing Turn to Mush?
Blur is a hand-sync failure, not a speed limit. The slow-tempo-fast-motion drill and accent checkpoints that make speed come out clean.
Why Does My Pick Get Stuck Between Strings?
Depth, angle, grip. The three reasons picks snag, and the ten-minute unstick session (tip-deep, edge-first, held soft enough to roll).