Preston Reed

Preston Reed

Preston is a Guitar instructor at JamPlay.com

Preston Reed has virtually reinvented how the acoustic guitar is played. Reed practices a flamboyant self-invented style, characterized by percussive techniques and simultaneous rhythm and melody lines that dance and ricochet around each other, giving his music a level of excitement that is unparalleled among today's guitarists. Playing an array of guitars from acoustic to electric to classical Reed's vast range of explosively original music will forever change your expectati... (more)

Preston currently offers 21 guitar lessons at JamPlay, with 4 song lessons and 17 lessons in our Artist Series.

Preston Reed's contribution to JamPlay

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Integrated Percussive Technique with Preston Reed

Preston Reed is a world renowned acoustic guitar player. He single handedly created his own style of guitar which he dubs the "Integrated Percussive Technique." In this series of lessons he will explain his method of playing and get you started on your path to guitar mastery.

1

Introduction to the Series

Preston demonstrates two of his popular tunes and talks about what he has in store for you.

2:15 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

2

Meet Your Acoustic Guitar

Preston demonstrates the dazzling array of techniques that can be played on acoustic guitar. After watching this, you might look at your guitar in a different light. He also addresses some of the common questions about his style.

8:46 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

3

Alternate Tunings

Preston's Style heavily revolves around alternate tunings. In this lesson, he discusses the advantages open tunings offer.

5:45 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

4

Percussion and an Exercise

Preston talks about percussion, why he prefers not to call this style "tapping," and introduces the first basic exercise.

5:59 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

5

Over the Neck

Preston explains how he is able to play his over-the-neck style without hurting his hands and uses a hammer-on to illustrate the point. This lesson is quick, easy and crucial to playing his style.

3:43 Runtime

1.0 Difficulty

6

Left Hand Techniques

Preston talks about how the left hand is used in his "Integrated Percussive Technique". This includes left hand hammer-ons, pull-offs, overtones, and how to dampen strings.

8:36 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

7

Right Hand Techniques

Preston discusses how he uses his right hand to generate percussive sounds. This lesson covers hammer-ons, double hammer-ons, and "barre hammers". He also talks about combining left and right hand techniques.

6:47 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

8

Left Hand Barre Techniques

Preston demonstrates a cornucopia of left hand techniques that use a barre. This includes "barre hammers," "barre pulls," "barre hammer slides," and the "barre hammer slide pulls".

7:35 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

9

Slap Harmonics, Chunks and Wunks

This lesson's name might strike you as a bit esoteric, or even downright silly; nothing is silly about the sound these techniques make, however. Head on into the lesson and find out what they are, and how they are played in Preston's style.

6:37 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

10

The Acoustic Guitar as a Drum Kit

In this lesson, Preston Reed demonstrates how to transform your acoustic guitar into a drum kit. The versatility of the guitar is magical!

7:05 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

11

Dampening Techniques

Knowing when not to make sound is an important part of music that is often overlooked. In this lesson, Preston talks about the techniques he uses for dampening.

5:16 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

12

Using Both Hands

Preston demonstrates how to combine both of the hands for greater speed, variety, and musicality.

8:32 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

13

Here Comes the Groove

Preston talks about one of the most essential aspects of any musical piece, the groove. He uses one of his songs as an example.

7:14 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

14

Thumb Picking

Though Preston's technique generally features intense rhythms with soaring melodies, he is certainly not above standard thumb/finger picking. He talks about how he makes use of the technique and graces us with an elegant example.

6:25 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

15

Playing Chords

Preston demonstrates how to play chords using his "Integrated Percussive Technique" with his favorite tunings.

6:13 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

16

Blending Techniques

Preston talks about how he combines his techniques to create thrilling arrangements.

5:46 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

17

Preston's Thoughts on Music

Preston takes some time to share his thoughts on music, creativity and his style of playing. This lesson is in a lecture format.

9:32 Runtime

0.5 Difficulty

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