ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cameron Hayes

Tags: 7 Easy blues licks for beginners, Blues guitar, Blues guitar licks, Guitar improvisation, Guitar licks, Guitar techniques, Pentatonic scales

About Cameron Hayes

Cameron Hayes is a guitar educator at the London Guitar Institute, teaching a wide range of styles such as rock, metal, blues, jazz, folk, RnB, acoustic, and many more! He teaches a large volume of students on a weekly basis and always looks to provide outstanding value in each and every lesson!

7 Easy Blues Licks For Beginners

2025-03-26T10:37:56+00:00

When starting off playing pentatonic scales and improvising, it can be hard to break away from sounding like you are just playing an exercise, and start sounding like your guitar heroes. These licks will show you just how we use our favourite scales to make music and sound like a pro in many different musical genres. Lick #1 Our first lick, played in the A Minor Pentatonic Scale (as with the majority of our licks seen here) is a blues rock staple! This lick is a simple run through the Minor Pentatonic Scale, which although is nice and [...]

7 Easy Blues Licks For Beginners2025-03-26T10:37:56+00:00

The Guitar Topics That Get People Talking (And Arguing!)

2025-01-16T14:24:41+00:00

If you're like me, you may have had some of the following discussions (which sometimes turn into arguments) with your musically-minded peers. These are topics where your opinion may evolve over time as you learn more and develop into a different musician, although in other cases may never change. So, where do you stand on the following guitar topics? I Am Left-Handed, Do I Need to Flip My Guitar? I’m not going to lie, I have had a few heated debates with friends of mine over this topic. To set the record straight, I used to sit firmly in the “no” [...]

The Guitar Topics That Get People Talking (And Arguing!)2025-01-16T14:24:41+00:00

Guitar Roles: Rhythm vs. Lead

2025-01-13T11:10:40+00:00

Rhythm guitar provides the foundational backbone of a song, locking in with the band and creating a solid structure, while lead guitar adds excitement and flair, often through solos. Although both roles are important, rhythm guitar is essential for most songs, especially those with vocals, whereas lead guitar shines in instrumental tracks or key moments. Rhythm Guitar Role For those just starting out in the world of guitar playing, you may mistake rhythm guitar as the inferior of the two as it is often thought of as “just playing the chords” or “playing the same riff over and over”. Although it [...]

Guitar Roles: Rhythm vs. Lead2025-01-13T11:10:40+00:00

How to Tune a Guitar Without a Tuner

2024-12-05T12:17:46+00:00

Tuning by ear - it’s kind of one of those party tricks that’s bound to impress other musicians in the room, if you can do it accurately. Say you pick up a guitar in a music store to try and it’s slightly out of tune. Are you going to whip out your phone and load up a tuning app, or even worse ask the store clerk for a tuner? This would be a great instance where tuning the guitar by ear would be of great benefit to you, especially if you’re looking to try several guitars in the store. Or maybe [...]

How to Tune a Guitar Without a Tuner2024-12-05T12:17:46+00:00

Legendary Rock Solos Any Aspiring Rock ’N Roller Should Learn!

2024-11-13T14:04:57+00:00

Congratulations - you’ve made it to the point of being able to play rock solos on the guitar. But with so many great solos to choose from, where should you start? https://youtu.be/gUPifXX0foU?si=RJU8DjS1CvdjHJW0 Hey Joe If you’re wanting to learn rock guitar then there is only one place to start, and that is with Jimi Hendrix! Hendrix’s playing revolutionised guitar playing as we know it today, pushing the limits of what could be done on an electric guitar to a whole new level. One of the very first solos that I often teach my students when they are getting into rock [...]

Legendary Rock Solos Any Aspiring Rock ’N Roller Should Learn!2024-11-13T14:04:57+00:00

How to Play Rhythm Guitar in a Band – Tips and Tricks

2024-11-08T14:05:39+00:00

Rhythm guitar - sometimes considered the lesser guitar to lead, but once you really get into studying this art form you’ll soon discover that it is anything but! Lock In with the Bass and Drums As a rhythm guitarist you have a very important job, along with the bass and drums, to create a solid foundation for lead parts such as singers and lead guitars to soar on top of. If the foundations of the song are shaky, then the more noticeable lead parts won’t sit right and in the instance of playing live, these musicians will struggle to execute their [...]

How to Play Rhythm Guitar in a Band – Tips and Tricks2024-11-08T14:05:39+00:00

Getting Started with Blues Guitar

2024-12-23T14:19:41+00:00

Hi there! Cameron Hayes from the London Guitar Institute here. Today, I want to chat a bit about getting started with blues guitar. If you're new to the guitar, you might have heard of the blues. It's a significant foundation not just for playing guitar, but for music as a whole. Understanding the 12 Bar Blues Progression The logical first place to begin is with rhythm—the chords we play in blues. Most of the time, blues follows what's called a 12 Bar Blues progression. As the name implies, it consists of a 12-bar pattern that keeps repeating. This structure is [...]

Getting Started with Blues Guitar2024-12-23T14:19:41+00:00

How to Improve Your Guitar Technique

2024-10-28T10:09:41+00:00

Something that is often skipped over in the early stages of learning, guitar technique will affect all aspects of your playing! Don’t take shortcuts by breezing over the basics. Make your playing the best it can be by improving your guitar technique! Fundamentals The most logical place to start when wanting to improve your guitar technique is with the fundamentals, as many players skip over these in order to jump to playing their favourite songs! This is one of the major hurdles I find as a guitar tutor when taking on a new student who is mainly self-taught, or has come [...]

How to Improve Your Guitar Technique2024-10-28T10:09:41+00:00

How to Prepare for a Musical Performance: Learn the Notes and Beat the Stage Fright!

2024-09-16T21:05:03+01:00

Learn The Songs It sounds obvious, but the first place to start when preparing for a live performance is to learn the songs! If you’re an original artist playing your own music, then you’ll likely already have the songs written that you’re going to play, but if you’re a cover band or tribute act, then there may be some material to learn before you think about anything else. Not only do you have to start off by learning the music, but also think about how you are going to learn the music. Will you be playing everything completely by memory [...]

How to Prepare for a Musical Performance: Learn the Notes and Beat the Stage Fright!2024-09-16T21:05:03+01:00

Is There Any Point to Learning Scales, or Are They Only Good as a Warm-Up Exercise?

2024-09-16T21:07:56+01:00

Yes, it’s great to run through some scales to warm up your fingers before jumping into your most recent song that you’re working on, but is that all that they’re good for? Absolutely not! Here are just a few examples of when you can draw on your knowledge of scales to make yourself a better guitarist and musician. Improvising One major area of playing an instrument that will require knowledge of scales is when you are improvising. Improvising will require prior knowledge of not only how to play scales on the guitar (or your instrument of choice), but when it [...]

Is There Any Point to Learning Scales, or Are They Only Good as a Warm-Up Exercise?2024-09-16T21:07:56+01:00
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