Will Ripley

Will Ripley

Will is a Guitar instructor at JamPlay.com

Will Ripley is a passionate guitarist who performs, teaches, and manages a successful music business. He is a graduate of the Berklee College Of Music's Canadian Affiliate School, The Selkirk College. He has recorded, performed and toured with Grammy award winning musicians, and has shared the stage with members from bands you may know, including David Bowie and Jethro Tull. He is also a sought-after studio musician.His unique style is touted as a combination of the blues sty... (more)

Will currently offers 219 guitar lessons at JamPlay, with 94 beginner lessons, 108 intermediate lessons and 17 lessons in our Artist Series.

Rock Guitar for Beginners

Learn to play the electric guitar like a pro! Will Ripley is a veteran teacher that will show you quick and easy ways to start playing actual music on the guitar! Start learning original classic rock style riffs right away, all the while learning solid foundations to your guitar playing. Get ready to Rip it up!!

1

Series Introduction

Join Will Ripley as he gives us all the details of his series, "Rock Guitar for Beginners". You'll be playing cool rock riffs from the very first lesson!

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First Easy Riff, Part 1

Will wastes no time getting you playing actual music! Check out this cool riff in the style of Black Sabbath. You'll be rockin' in no time!

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First Easy Riff, Part 2

Will continues in this lesson by showing you how to read basic tablature for his Black Sabbath style riff.

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Chromatic Exercise

In this lesson, Will takes a break from riffs to show you a great tool for increasing your dexterity on the instrument: the chromatic exercise.

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Right Hand Technique, Part 1

A good foundation on the guitar has a lot to do with your right hand, or picking hand, technique. Will starts here with the basics: How to hold a pick and how to place your hand.

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Right Hand Technique, Part 2

So far, Will has had you focus on playing on one string. Now he gives you the tools to play across multiple strings.

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Riff in the Style of Deep Purple/Queen

Now that you have some right hand technique under your belt, Will hits you with another classic sounding riff in the style of Deep Purple or Queen. This is an easy, yet great sounding single note riff that will have you rockin' out in no time!

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Riff in the Style of Bon Jovi

Will is back with another classic sounding riff! This riff is a great exercise that gets you using your fingers on more than one strings, and improves on your chromatic movement.

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Riff in the Style of Journey/Foster the People

Will uses this catchy riff to teach you how to mute open strings and fretted notes, and how to add some rhythmic depth to your playing.

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Riff in the Style of RATM/Led Zeppelin

Here's another catchy, classic sounding riff from Will. This one will get you up and running with your alternate picking. A must have picking technique moving forward!

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Chromatic Graduation Riff

Remember the chromatic scale we learned earlier in this series? Well, Will steps it up a notch by adding a cool funky riff to help you earn your chromatic diploma!

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E Minor Pentatonic Scale

The minor pentatonic is one of the core scales of rock guitar. In this lesson, Will shows you a super simple fingering for this essential scale!

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Em Pentatonic Riff In the Style of the Beatles

Now, take the minor pentatonic scale, add some rhythm, and you've got a super cool rock riff!

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Intro to Power Chords

Power chords are essential to any rock guitar playing. In this lesson, Will shows you the basics. Learn open string power chords and other classic power chord shapes!

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Power Chord Riff In the Style of Tom Petty/ACDC

Will's back with another classic sounding riff in the style of Tom Petty or ACDC. This riff builds off of what you learned in the previous lesson on power chords. Use both your open string power chord and full fretted power chord shapes!

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Palm Muting

Getting a great rock sound has lots of different elements to it, and one of those is the palm muting technique. Will shows you a super easy way to get rolling on this great right hand technique!

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Power Chord Riff in the Style of Black Sabbath

Now Will takes a riff he taught earlier in the series and adds the power chord element to it. This makes the riff extra heavy sounding and extra cool!

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Power Chord Riff with a Fifth in the Bass

Believe it or not, Ripley can show you a way to make your power chords even more powerful! It's a simple fingering shift, but will add a lot of thickness to your power chords.

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Power Chord Riff in the Style of Audioslave/RHCP

Get ready to learn a super pro-sounding riff in the style of Audioslave or Red Hot Chili Peppers! Hidden in this riff are some more foundational guitar techniques that will increase your facility on the guitar.

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Other Two Note Shapes

We've learned the interval of the power chord, now Will shows us some other intervals in the form of two note shapes that are easy, and add tremendous color to our playing.

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Octave Shapes

Will's back with an important and useful technique: Octave shapes. Learn not only the shape, but how to apply muting to get it sounding very professional!

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Muting Techniques

Proper muting can add a lot of passion to your playing. In this lesson, Will shows us how to play single notes without compromising any of the energy or intensity.

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The Minor Pentatonic Scale - Second Position

Will showed us the first position of the minor pentatonic scale in an earlier lesson. Now it's time to move on to the second position. It's a must know scale and technique!

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Reading Chord Charts

Up to now we've learned a lot of single note riffs and power chords. Now it's time to inject some chord playing into our technique. In this lesson, Will starts us off by showing us how to read a chord chart.

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Spanish Flavored Chord Song

Continuing with chords, Will introduces us to some new chord shapes with this Spanish themed chord song.

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Sus and Slash Chords

Sus and slash chords are very important when it comes to making you sound like a pro. Will walks us through a few of the most common ones, and how to implement them in our playing!

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The G Major Chord

The G major chord is one of the most common chords used in popular music. In this lesson, Will shows some of the more popular and useful variations of the chord.

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The Secret to Changing Chords

One of the biggest issues for beginning guitarists is changing chords. It can be a source of great frustration. Join Will as he shows us his secret to changing chords that will revolutionize your playing!

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Rhythmic Subdivisions

By now you've learned what an important role rhythm plays in the process of learning guitar. Will gets more specific here by showing us some basic rhythms and how to count them.

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Acoustic Pop Chord Song

Ever wonder how certain songs get really pro sounding chord progressions and strumming? Here's a peek behind the curtain as Will shows us a chord progression that is simultaneously easy and great sounding!

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Three Must Know Strum Patterns

Strumming and rhythm is something that frankly gets taken for granted when learning guitar. But, it's just as important as the notes you play on the fret board! Will gets you started on the right foot with your rhythm by showing you these three must know strum patterns.

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All Major and Minor Chords

It's time to get deeper into chords! In this lesson, Will shows us all the major and minor chords.

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12 Bar Blues Song - Part 1

The 12 bar blues is a fundamental rock and blues song form. Will shows you the 12 bar blues, but puts a little twist on it to make it sound extra rockin'!

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12 Bar Blues Song - Part 2

In part 2 of the 12 Bar Blues Song, Will gets into the meat of the 12 bar blues form.

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Chord Techniques in the Style of Neil Young/Guns and Roses

Will brings together several chord playing techniques in this lesson that will challenge you and keep you on the road to sounding more like a pro!

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Minor Pentatonic Scale - Third Position

Will now brings us the 3rd position of the minor pentatonic scale. This is one of the great rock guitar scales, and Will is building towards having you cover the entire fret board with this scale!

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Chop Builders

Here's a couple of exercises that will help build your "chops", otherwise known as your strength and dexterity on the guitar!

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The Major Scale and Basic Theory

Don't let the phrase "music theory" scare you off! It's merely an aid to help you understand what you've been learning and playing so far. Will uses this lesson to show you a very important scale that is the door way to some beginning theory concepts. When you're done, you'll have a better grasp of the material he's showed you already!

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Minor Pentatonic Scale - Fourth Position

On to the fourth position of the minor pentatonic scale! As usual, Will shows us the scale, then shows us a way to connect all of the positions so far.

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Find Every Note on the Fret Board

Believe it or not, finding and knowing every note on the fret board is not as hard as it may seem. In this lesson, Will demystifies the fret board taking away that overwhelming feeling when you look down at it. A few simple tricks is all you need!

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Precursor to Barre Chords

Leading up to learning your barre chords, Will shares this lesson with us that gets us familiar with some of the basic shapes we'll need to know. Plus, you get to learn some super cool sounding chords!

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Four Shapes of Barre Chords

The "dreaded" barre chords are anything but dreaded here. Will gets you going on the four basic shapes, with some tips and tricks to make them frankly, quite easy!

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Barre Chord Song

Now Will gives you the chance to put those barre chords into practice! Here's a super simple little song to help you get more familiar with the shapes we learned in the last lesson.

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Minor Pentatonic Scale - Fifth Position

The Grand Finale of your minor pentatonics: The Fifth Position. Now that you have all 5 positions, Will shows you some cool ways to practice these, and consequently, the ability to begin using them in solos right away!

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Blues Rock for Beginners

Get started, sound great, and have fun playing blues rock guitar.

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Series Introduction

Learn all about Will Ripley's new Blues course, Building the Blues.

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Soloing Over Blues for Beginners

Jump into the world of the Blues by learning some easy solo techniques. Get started with a bang!

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Understanding the 12 Bar Blues

The 12 bar blues is one of the cornerstones of the Blues genre. Will dissects it in this lesson so you will never feel confused again!

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How to Read Chord Charts

Learn how to read and use chords charts. This will help you learn songs even faster!

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12 Bars Blues Riffs Part 1

Learn essential riffs that can be used with the 12 bar blues. You'll be surprised how good you sound after learning these.

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12 Bars Blues Riffs Part 2

We introduce more riffs to be played over the 12 bar blues. Learning these simple riffs will up your Blues game.

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Open String Blues Techniques

One of the best ways to get a big, raw sound is to make use of open strings. Learn how to use this technique with the 12 bar blues, as well as some amazing variations.

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Applying the Open Strings

Now that you've learned how to use open strings in your playing, Will will go over how to apply and use them in real music. You'll also learn how to apply shuffles and a straight rhythm.

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Riffing Up

It's time to learn the rest of the riffs from the track we've been working on. We will cover the shuffle riffs with and without the quick 4 and a straight rhythm riff. It's fun and sounds amazing!

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Chuck Berry Chops Builder

Ready for a challenging yet fun blues workout? Enter the Chuck Berry Chops Builder. This routine will help you improve not only your Blues playing, but also help with your all-around guitar skills.

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John Be Nice - Chuck Berry Style Track

It's time to incorporate everything we've learned so far into a fun, fast paced song. This time it's in the style of legend Chuck Berry.

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The Open E Blues

Will rips into the key of E by teaching this open E riff. It's fun, sounds cool, makes use of open strings and introduces a classic-style turnaround.

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Best Blues Turnarounds

Will Ripley shows off a few of his all-time favorite blues turnaround. Discover not only how to play them, but also how and when to use them.

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Open String Shuffle

It's time to introduce a new song. It's soulful and fun, and includes open string riffs, a turnaround, the A7 and B7 chords and much more.

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The Texas Shuffle

Will Ripley introduces "The Texas Shuffle," a common blues technique which Steve Ray Vaughan used in songs such as "Pride and Joy."

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12 Bar Blues Expansion

It's time to use some of the most powerful Blues chords. In this lesson Will teaches an exercises that uses some of his favorite blues chords and fingerings.

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Chords to Unlock the Blues Sound

Will introduces some of the most powerful blues chords, as well as introduces a really fun Blues tune which uses them.

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How to End a Blues Song

Will Ripley talks about his philosophy and personal tricks for successfully ending a Blues song.

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Spineless Blues

Will Ripley introduces a brand-new idea he calls a "spineless blues" progression. He is referring to a song that floats around between the major and minor key which gives it a unique, soulful sound.

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Applying New Blues Chords 1

Will introduces an entirely new JamTrack and guides you through playing chords over it. Enhance your knowledge of chords and chord technique.

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Thirds and Flat 7's

Have you ever wondered how to play two notes at the same time? Learn the technique and understand Thirds and Flat 7's in this lesson.

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Sunny Monday

Discover a new Jam Track Will calls "Sunny Monday" which goes through the peaks and valleys of playing the Blues.

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Applying New Blues Chords 2

What's the 1-6-2-5-1 ? Find out as Will shows you a mix and different styles, lead licks, chugging, melody and soloing.

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Chug Rhythm

Learn one of the best strength building exercises that Will demonstrates and explains in detail.

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Simple Blues Soloing

Bridge similarities between chording and soloing as Will teaches you some essential techniques for simple blues soloing.

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Minor Blues

Will dissects "The thrill is gone", in the style of BB King and teaches us how integrate new chords, riffs, and other elements for the Minor Blues

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Reggae Style Off Beat Rhythm

Learn to break down the Rhythm of blues guitar to transition another rhythm sequence and understand how related Blues, Reggae, and Funk are.

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The Secret to Feeling the Blues

"The blues is easy to play, but it's hard to feel" - Jimi Hendrix - Will explains his secrets to feeling the blues in this indepth lesson.

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Pentatonic and Blues Scales Part 1

Understand why scales are essential to playing awesome blues solo guitar and why it's important to learn all the scales in one key.

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Pentatonic and Blues Scales Part 2

Learn how to play over a major or dominant based blues and to focus on 3 keys "E Minor, A Minor, B Minor".

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Connecting the Pentatonic Scales

Solidify original concepts by navigating the fretboard in patterns to connect different Pentatonic Scales.

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Applying and Memorizing the Scales

Will demonstrates a fun way to start practicing the Penatonic Scales and how to approach it from a different angle.

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The Money Notes

What are the money notes? Will continues the theme of uncovering the best parts of performing pentatonic scales and how to make it sound rich.

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Sweet Blues Vibrato

Understand the spectrum and importance of performing sweet blues vibrato. You will learn how to sustain, be consistent with the bending motion and tempo, and become very rhythmic with shaking the note

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How to Bend Strings Properly

Will shows and tells us the key secret to performing bends by using more muscle, adding vibrato, and using your own creativity.

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Easy Blues Solo for Beginners

Learn the essential techniques for blues soloing such as, bending the change pitch of the note, following the chord changes, making sure you don't over play and much more!

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The B.B. and Albert Box

Discover the BB Box/ Albert Box technique that uncovers a zone on the fretboard for you to utilize for maximum effect.

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Smoke and Grease Licks

Will introduces us to the "Smoke and Grease" lick that emcompasses combinations of major, minor and blues note, and navigating through the fretboard.

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Smoke and Grease

Tackle and resolve the "Smoke and Grease" blues riff that focuses on the 1-4-5 pattern while adding intensity to your down and up strokes.

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Licks Over Jump Blues

Learn to create a blues melody and how to expand on it over a Rockabilly style track.

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The Starter Lick

Will teaches a universal and common blues lick that has been played by all the legends. It's a great launching pad for other blues licks as well.

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Blues Pentatonic Workout

Challenge your right and left hand with this epic riff to practice your blues Pentatonic abilities.

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Guitar Pick vs. Fingers

What's the difference between using the guitar pick, versus using your fingers? Find out the secrets in this lesson by understanding the advantages and disadvantages of both.

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How to Strike the Notes for Blues Fury

Learn to strike strings with speed, power, and control to get the intensity necessary for the fury of the Blues.

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Call and Response

Will explains and shows us the importance of using space, playing tastefully, and understanding the history of an important technique, "Call and Response."

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How Modes Fit Into the Blues

Learn the essential building blocks to know how modes fit into Blues style guitar playing.

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Intro to Blues Slide Guitar

Develop your internal pitch with Will while he explains the beginning steps for the Blues Slide Guitar.

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Open D Slide Guitar Song

Unlock the secrets to Open D Slide Guitar with Will as he shows you how powerful of a tool slide guitar can be.

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How to Craft a Great Blues Solo

Every Blues solo tells a story. Ripley demonstrates how to approach a blues solo by using different themes, feelings, and techniques.

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Blues Gear, Blues Tone

Need Blues Gear recommendations? Look no further! Will goes over different picks, strings, guitars, amps and other pieces of equipment you might need for getting the best Blues Tone.

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