I was working on other things and kept reminding myself that I needed to get my post on here done. Well, I finished the other things, and totally forgot sooo... Video Link Here:https://www.skool.com/intermediate-guitar/classroom/f6dde16f?md=a508d4294bcc4b91940eb799442685a9 This week's video is all about the Three Note Per String scale shapes of the Minor Scale. How they look, tips to play them, and why you want these particular shapes over the classic 5 positions. Check it out and get them dialed in! If you don't have these in your playbook, you really should get them in there! Have a great weekend and I'll see you next week! -Ben

This one is a great practice exercise that I haven't seen anyone use before, well, except me I suppose. I've used this one with students who already know their Minor Pentatonic scale and need some more dexterity and finger independence. I popped this one in the "Practice Exercises That Work" classroom section, if you're looking for this one in the future. Video Link Here:https://www.skool.com/intermediate-guitar/classroom/4f74be2f?md=40e9b2c0ff83416e81a900e2886144fd This concept reminds me a lot of the classic "spider exercise" but has a more practical use, especially since most of the shapes that happen here turn into actual dyad style chords that get used in music. The best part about this exercise, the concept is easy to understand, the execution is tricky! It's like a tongue twister, but for your fretting hand fingers! Start slow and use a metronome to get the most out of this one! Enjoy and I'll catch you later this week with another one! -Ben

This new classroom section, is an idea that @Mike Abalos and I had recently when I started work on this weeks video. Link for that Here: https://www.skool.com/intermediate-guitar/classroom/f6dde16f?md=b9b1fdc5a3c941a195291a16cd1d4c59 It got us thinking about all the different skill levels of players we have with us in here, and how best we can serve you. So we thought about, "how can we bridge the gap and make sure everyone is getting the most out of all the lessons we have to offer"? So we made "Foundations"! This will be a classroom designed for someone just dipping their toes into the guitar waters and bring them up to speed on stuff you should know! There will be stuff for beginners, and even stuff for intermediate guitar players in here! We had this idea when I had already started filming something else, so it will be a bit out of order for a bit, but once we've got more filmed and uploaded, we will organize it so it can be a more step-by-step sort of class. After finishing it, you should be at the level to move into something like "Music Theory 101" or the "CAGED" class. We would like it to be a comprehensive and logical progression to the next level of guitar playing and understanding. Eventually we would like to post a guide on here as well, a sort of a, "if you're here in your guitar playing, go here" idea, to help lead players to the classes they would benefit most from. So keep your eyes peeled as we release more content in there! Classes will be from both Mike and myself so you'll have plenty of eye candy to boot! (lol jk) Hope everyone has a great weekend! -Ben

I got some positive responses from last week's poll! Maybe you like seeing me break these backing tracks down, maybe you just like seeing me play, either way, I'm back with another one for you! This week's backing track is in the key of E Lydian! If that sounds scary, it shouldn't, because using the magical powers of relative scales, we can play in a far more familiar key: G# minor! That's right! You can totally use a pentatonic shape over this one, but I will say, you'll be missing out on the most important note that brings all of this together to get that Lydian sound! This one's a bit slower too so it should hopefully be a bit easier to keep up with it! So check out the video and get to playing! Link to the backing track: https://www.skool.com/intermediate-guitar/classroom/acd5dbdf?md=1c2dc04ff9ff4975b989e59f503196a2 Link to the classroom that has scale shapes- https://www.skool.com/intermediate-guitar/classroom/acd5dbdf?md=03ce6b4214fa4195b2e08a239a12f0c8 Have a great week this week! -Ben

More like learning to look at your playing. This is my rock. We exist within the realms of our comfortability... No one is telling us to suck... Or stop trying.. or even making false claims like - you'll never be able to play like them... Everyone in this space will tell you without the shadow of a doubt in their mind that you can do it, you can be great on the guitar... But if we know that already and have gotten here through repetitive efforts - where else can we go? Why aren't we growing? "I don't want to play everyone else's music. I want to be awesome whenever I want to and I want it to come from my heart". We want spontaneous and effortless, flow-style playing... We want to allow our greatness to shine through our guitar strings. Emotional expression at our fingertips ya know? Ya feel what I'm saying? There is something special about having to wait for something. In fact some of the best things we've ever witnessed or that have ever taken place, had to be waited for. Guitar is no different and yet we treat it like a pipe dream when it comes right down to it. I know I've been there. I am an Intermediate Guitar player and have hit many plateaus. Wait we shall lol want to or not 🫩😅 So - what lessons are we not paying attention to? What could we do more of that will help us? What has actually helped us in the past? How do I identify where I am on the fretboard at any instance? And lastly what do I want to play or... What can I hear and tune in to, to share with everyone right now. These are the questions that will ultimately lead to growth. From guitar playing to real life similarities. How we're doing it and what we're asking ourselves. My rock, that I will die on... Is this It's your perspective that you're using, so make sure that you have one when it comes to approaching your fretboard. Meaning: When we put your fingers down on the fret board we should know what chord shapes exist right where we are. We can achieve a better playing ability when we ourselves hold the map to our fretboard.