Improvisation Guitar Lesson
Improvisation
Andy explains that he doesn't rely on theory but rather on shapes and patterns to improvise in one key. We had Andy improvise over one of the JamPlay backing tracks to illustrate his methods.
Taught by Andy James in Andy James Artist Series seriesLength: 9:00Difficulty: 3.5 of 5
Supplemental Learning Material
Andy James Artist Series
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsLearn how to shred with the amazing guitarist Andy James.
Lesson 1
Shred Alternate Picking Technique
Virtuoso Andy James sheds new light on the alternate picking technique and how to practice effectively.
Length: 16:43 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
String Skipping Arpeggios
Andy shows you how to play various arpeggio examples by using the string skipping technique to allow for a cleaner sound.
Length: 8:00 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Hybrid Picking
Andy James shows how he uses hybrid picking and includes various examples to practice.
Length: 10:00 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Sweeping
Andy James shows various 3 and 5 string arpeggio sweep picking examples. He covers the major, minor, and diminished shapes.
Length: 11:00 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Improvisation
Andy explains that he doesn't rely on theory but rather on shapes and patterns to improvise in one key. We had Andy improvise over one of the JamPlay backing tracks to illustrate his methods.
Length: 9:00 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Interview: Andy James
Get an in-depth look into the mind of virtuoso guitarist Andy James. Learn about Andy's early beginnings all the way up to what he is working on currently.
Length: 31:26 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
About Andy James
View Full Biography
Guitarist Andy James is widely regarded as the best breakthrough guitarist in the UK with a developed fan base of his own. He has released four solo albums called Machine, In the Wake of Chaos, Kaos 7, and self titled Andy James. Andy has specialised in teaching lead techniques for Heavy Rock and Metal. He has also taught guitarists around the world through his successful range of tuition DVDs with the Guitar Community.
He is highly influenced by the likes of Andy Timmons, John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert and Adam Dutkiewicz. He has full endorsement with ESP Guitars, Laney Amplification and EMG, Inc.
Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
Erik Mongrain
Erik expounds on the many possibilities of open tunings and the new harmonics that you can use in them. He explains what...
Free LessonSeries Details
Danny Voris
Lesson 7 is all about arpeggios. Danny provides discussion and exercises designed to build your right hand skills.
Free LessonSeries Details
Steve Eulberg
Steve Eulberg does a quick review of this lesson series and talks about moving on.
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Kailana Nelson
Mark Nelson introduces "'Ulupalakua," a song he will be using to teach different skills and techniques. In this lesson, he...
Free LessonSeries Details
Jim Deeming
Jim Deeming discusses how to use a metronome for practice, skill building, and speed building.
Free LessonSeries Details
Kaki King
In lesson 6, Kaki discusses how the left and right hands can work together or independently of each other to create different...
Free LessonSeries Details
Nick Amodeo
Nick explains how to play some of the most commonly used chords in the bluegrass genre.
Free LessonSeries Details
Eve Goldberg
Eve talks about the boom-chuck strum pattern. This strum pattern will completely change the sound of your playing.
Free LessonSeries Details
Jessica Baron
Jessica kindly introduces herself, her background, and her approach to this series.
Free LessonSeries DetailsElectric Guitar Lesson Samples
Our electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
Allen Van Wert
Allen shows you the 24 rudiments crucial to developing finger dexterity. This is a short lesson but the exercises here can...
Free LessonSeries Details
James Malone
James explains how to tap arpeggios for extended musical reach.
Free LessonSeries Details
Lauren Passarelli
Lauren Passarelli offers up her wisdom on purchasing a guitar. She also includes information regarding proper setup and care....
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Brennan
Mark Brennan teaches this classic rock song by Jethro Tull. Released on the album of the same name in 1971, this song features...
Free LessonSeries Details
Kenny Ray
Albert Collins brought a lot of style to the blues scene. In this lesson, Kenny breaks down Albert's style for you to learn.
Free LessonSeries Details
Kris Norris
Kris analyzes different pick sizes and their effect on his playing. Using a slow motion camera, he is able to point out the...
Free LessonSeries Details
Brad Henecke
Free LessonSeries Details
Chris Liepe
Chris brings his ingenuity to this lesson on the American folk song called "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" Also known as...
Free LessonSeries Details
Brendan Burns
Brendan demonstrates the tiny triad shapes derived from the form 1 barre chord.
Free LessonSeries Details
Michael Ripoll
Michael "Nomad" Ripoll dives deep into the rhythm & blues, funk, and soul genres that were made popular by artists like Earth...
Free LessonSeries DetailsAdditional Lesson Features Available to Members
While we have attempted to provide you with an accurate rendition of our video lesson experience, there are some features which
require a membership with us!
Custom Progress Reporting
At JamPlay, we give you the ability to monitor your own progress for any lesson! If you watch one of our lessons and feel as though you understand around half of it, mark your progress at 50%. This adds the lesson to your customized Progress Report, and gives you an incredible ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.
Progressive Bookmarking
With thousands of lessons at your fingertips, JamPlay can be a touch intimidating to a first-time user. With Progressive Bookmarking, we give you the ability to systematically bookmark sections of any lessons you are working on to quickly access later. After all, what is the point of all this content if it isn't easy to use?
Save Your Notes
JamPlay also gives you the ability to leave notes for yourself on any lesson. Just like in any educational system, taking your own notes while learning gives you the ability to highlight the instruction that is important to you. Leave your notes, and we store them in our database for you to reference each and everytime you come back to the lesson.
Join the Thousands of Members at JamPlay
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Unlimited Lesson Viewing
A JamPlay membership gives you access to every lesson, from every teacher on our staff. Additionally, there is no restriction on how many times you watch a lesson. Watch as many times as you need.Live Lessons
Exclusive only to JamPlay, we currently broadcast 8-10 hours of steaming lesson services directly to you! Enjoy the benefits of in-person instructors and the conveniences of our community.Interactive Community
Create your own profile, manage your friends list, and contact users with your own JamPlay Mailbox. JamPlay also features live chat with teachers and members, and an active Forum.Chord Library
Each chord in our library contains a full chart, related tablature, and a photograph of how the chord is played. A comprehensive learning resource for any guitarist.Scale Library
Our software allows you to document your progress for any lesson, including notes and percent of the lesson completed. This gives you the ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.Custom Chord Sheets
At JamPlay, not only can you reference our Chord Library, but you can also select any variety of chords you need to work on, and generate your own printable chord sheet.Backing Tracks
Jam-along backing tracks give the guitarist a platform for improvising and soloing. Our backing tracks provide a wide variety of tracks from different genres of music, and serves as a great learning tool.Interactive Games
We have teachers covering beginner lessons, rock, classic rock, jazz, bluegrass, fingerstyle, slack key and more. Learn how to play the guitar from experienced players, in a casual environment.Beginners Welcome.. and Up
Unlike a lot of guitar websites and DVDs, we start our Beginner Lessons at the VERY start of the learning process, as if you just picked up a guitar for the first time.Our teaching is structured for all players.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Good shit. I'll never be able to understand guitar lessons as long as there is all of this jargon that I need to understand like b minor flat 5 and all this crap. I understand shapes and the sound by ear, that's it, the rest is like mathematics, I just... don't.. get it.