https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/Guitar lessons from Joe Rowley, written up from his videos.en-gbhttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/stop-measuring-guitar-progresshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/stop-measuring-guitar-progress Sun, 01 Nov 2026 09:00:00 +0000Measuring BPM and progress can make guitar feel like a chore. The psychology behind it, why plateaus make it worse, and why tracking your practice inputs works better.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/grace-note-hammer-ons-pull-offshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/grace-note-hammer-ons-pull-offs Fri, 30 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Add a quick hammer-on or pull-off grace note before each note of a basic melody and it instantly sounds more polished. How to do it, how to practise it and when to hold back.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/make-guitar-practice-addictivehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/make-guitar-practice-addictive Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Borrow the tricks apps and slot machines use to keep you hooked: remove friction, near misses, no cue to stop, streaks, cliffhangers and more, applied to guitar practice.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/free-guitar-practice-toolshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/free-guitar-practice-tools Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000A walk through my four free guitar tools: the Fretboard Navigator, Exercise Generator, Backing Track Creator and Tab Creator, what each does and how to use it.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/target-chord-tones-two-noteshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/target-chord-tones-two-notes Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Two notes on the D string give you a chord tone over all seven chords in A minor. Here's which one to play over each chord, how to move it to any key, and how to practise it.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/play-uncomfortable-notes-soloshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/play-uncomfortable-notes-solos Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000If your solos just run the scale up and down, practise picking the awkward, out-of-the-way note. A two-phase exercise in E minor that gets you out of scale habits.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/30-day-guitar-practice-challengehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/30-day-guitar-practice-challenge Mon, 26 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000A 30-day guitar challenge: an hour a day, or double your usual practice. Why it works, what to practise, what to do on days away, and the rule for missed days.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/barre-chords-tipshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/barre-chords-tips Thu, 22 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Struggling with barre chords? Where the pressure really goes, thumb and wrist position, using your elbow, finger order, detuning, setup and songs to practise with.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-lessons-not-making-sensehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-lessons-not-making-sense Wed, 21 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000If you keep finishing guitar lessons with no idea what to do next, the lessons may not be the problem. Here's why applying an idea far more widely is what makes it click.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/pick-less-compound-techniqueshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/pick-less-compound-techniques Tue, 20 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000If your improvising feels stale, try picking less. Here's how to string hammer-ons, bends, slides and pull-offs together into licks that need just one pick.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/string-bend-ideashttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/string-bend-ideas Mon, 19 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Thirteen string bending ideas, from rakes, pre-bends and unison bends to jolt bends, flat semitone bends and bend plus tapping, with the frets to try them on.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/teach-yourself-guitar-experimenthttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/teach-yourself-guitar-experiment Sun, 18 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000A simple way to fix your own playing: change one variable, measure it, keep or bin it. How to split your practice, find things to test, and a list of ideas to try.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/stop-waiting-until-ready-guitarhttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/stop-waiting-until-ready-guitar Sat, 17 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Putting off a song or writing music until you've learnt other skills first kills motivation and feeds procrastination. Here's why, and how to start in small bites.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/faster-picking-guitar-tipshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/faster-picking-guitar-tips Fri, 16 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Practical ways to pick faster and cleaner: visualisation, metronome settings, perfect vs push-the-pace practice, string changes from the arm, and quick self-checks.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/pentatonic-box-1-and-4https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/pentatonic-box-1-and-4 Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Stuck in box 1 of the minor pentatonic? Learn position 4 next. It sits seven frets higher, looks a lot like box 1, and your licks move straight across to it.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/low-b-tuning-heavy-riffshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/low-b-tuning-heavy-riffs Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Tune just your low E string down to B and leave the rest in standard. How to tune it, which keys and scales suit it, and the chord shapes that work.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/chord-change-finger-contact-exercisehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/chord-change-finger-contact-exercise Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000A simple silent exercise for faster chord changes: move between two chords without your fingers ever leaving the strings, so you learn the route between shapes.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/fretboard-fluency-five-exerciseshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/fretboard-fluency-five-exercises Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Five practical exercises for learning the fretboard in A minor: linking scale shapes, crossing the neck, free play, random positions, octave patterns and ear work.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/develop-phrases-from-noodlinghttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/develop-phrases-from-noodling Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000How to use exploratory improvising to build licks of your own: fish for an idea, repeat and refine it, outline an E9 chord with semitone bends, then rearrange it.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-ear-training-intervalshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-ear-training-intervals Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000A step-by-step ear training framework for guitarists: learn intervals with song references, then chord types, then find, sing and play what you hear on the guitar.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/drop-d-drone-songwritinghttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/drop-d-drone-songwriting Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Write songs without much chord theory: put a melody over the open low D in drop D, then flip it, add octaves, power chords, distortion and fingerstyle patterns.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-plateau-crossroadshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-plateau-crossroads Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Why you can't know what will fix your guitar plateau until you've done it, and how undistracted practice time plus about 20% experimentation gets you moving again.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/blues-string-muting-attitudehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/blues-string-muting-attitude Wed, 07 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000How to mute every string except the one you're playing with both hands, so you can rake through the strings for an aggressive Stevie Ray Vaughan style blues sound.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-vibrato-push-or-pullhttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-vibrato-push-or-pull Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Why pushing and pulling the string for vibrato makes it harder to sound even, what really happens to the pitch, and simple tips for a strong, personal vibrato.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-teachers-independent-learnerhttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-teachers-independent-learner Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Why online guitar lessons that promise a missing piece deserve some scepticism, and five practical ways to test new ideas and take charge of your own progress.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/one-hour-guitar-practice-routinehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/one-hour-guitar-practice-routine Sun, 04 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000A real hour of practice, split into six 10-minute blocks of pentatonic and sweep picking work, with what I noticed and changed as I went. Copy the structure.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/beginner-vs-intermediate-guitaristhttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/beginner-vs-intermediate-guitarist Sat, 03 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000From fretting pressure and tab reading to muting, timing and recovering from mistakes, here are the skills that separate beginners from intermediates, and how to practise each.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/stronger-string-bends-no-hand-trickhttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/stronger-string-bends-no-hand-trick Fri, 02 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000Weak, wobbly bends usually come from a lack of tension in the fretting hand. This odd exercise of bending with only your fingertips on the neck trains it.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/economy-picking-exercisehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/economy-picking-exercise Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000One simple two-string pattern covers both string changes in economy picking. Here's the exercise, how to add the left hand, and three tips on pick, grip and push-through.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/metal-rhythm-warm-uphttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/metal-rhythm-warm-up Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000A before and after test on Metallica's Battery shows what a 10-minute warm-up of downpicking, gallops and alternate picking does for speed and endurance.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-minesweeper-ear-fretboard-exercisehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-minesweeper-ear-fretboard-exercise Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000Pick four frets, play over a backing track in an unknown key and find the notes that work by ear. A beginner exercise for fretboard knowledge and musicality.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/15-minute-guitar-practicehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/15-minute-guitar-practice Mon, 28 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000Fifteen minutes is enough to get better at guitar if you spend it on a tiny piece of music. Here's what to practise for scales, riffs, chord changes and improv.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/caged-system-three-shapeshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/caged-system-three-shapes Sun, 27 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000Learn the CAGED system for major chords with three small shapes on the D, G and B strings, a 4-3-5 fret pattern to connect them, and how each shape links to CAGED.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/100-guitar-tips-beginner-intermediatehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/100-guitar-tips-beginner-intermediate Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000Practice, mindset, fretting and strumming technique, bends and vibrato, improvising, theory, songwriting and tone: my 100 guitar tips, grouped so you can find what you need.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/continuous-scale-improvisation-exercisehttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/continuous-scale-improvisation-exercise Fri, 25 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000A simple exercise for any level: play a scale you know nonstop at a set tempo, then vary it. It trains you to keep moving and link your licks and phrases together.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/prince-super-bowl-guitar-bendhttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/prince-super-bowl-guitar-bend Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000The bend Prince played live at Super Bowl XLI, broken down: the two notes, how to pick it, why you bend it slightly flat, and how I got close to the tone by ear.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/drop-d-power-chord-variationshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/drop-d-power-chord-variations Wed, 23 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000The standard drop D power chord is used by many and made interesting by few. Here are add9s, major and minor shapes, inversions, dissonant chords and open-string ideas, with tab.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/four-string-barre-chord-shapeshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/four-string-barre-chord-shapes Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000Full barre chords sound blocky. Drop the two low strings and you get major and minor shapes that free up your fingers for hammer-ons, riffs and fills between chords.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-rhythm-system-quarter-eighth-sixteenth-noteshttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/guitar-rhythm-system-quarter-eighth-sixteenth-notes Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000Go from no understanding of rhythm to playing quarter, eighth and 16th notes and triplets with a metronome, then turn them into strumming patterns and songs.https://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/string-crossing-wrist-vs-armhttps://www.joerowleymusic.co.uk/blog/string-crossing-wrist-vs-arm Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000Turning your wrist to change strings brings in tension, a scratchy tone and poor muting. Here's how to test for it and switch to moving from the arm instead.