Jon MacLennan

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3 Easy Ways For How To Tune A Guitar

beginner Feb 08, 2025

Are you struggling to get your guitar in tune?

I donā€™t think there is anything worse than circling round and round, trying to get each string in tune, then finally playing a chord, and it STILL sounds off. 

Perhaps you even broke a string trying to tune your guitar.

Well, in this post I am going to share with you 3 easy ways to tune a guitar. These work for both acoustic and electric guitars. Need to tune a guitar at a music store, home, on stage, or even in the middle of nowhere camping without electricity? No problem. After this, youā€™ll know how to tune a guitar so you sound like a pro anywhere and all the time.

Now, I must give you this one sweet caveat.

You see, Iā€™m going to share with you 2 of the most common ways to tune a guitar ā€“ which you absolutely should try first. And then, Iā€™m going to share with you my own special way of tuning. I came up with this special method that you wonā€™t hear about anywhere else on the internet. It just...

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5 Super Common Chord Progressions Every Guitarist Should Know

rock Feb 06, 2025

One of my early mentors was a guy named Ron Anthony who has gone on to join the choir invisible. But he played guitar for Frank Sinatra. 

And one day in a guitar lesson he told me, ā€œJon all music is patterns.ā€

And itā€™s true.

So in this post, I want to share with you 5 super common chord progressions every guitarist should know. But before we begin, letā€™s first talk aboutā€¦

How These Common Chord Progressions Work

In any major key, we have seven diatonic chords. In the key of C major they would be:

C - Dm - Em - F - G - Am - Bdim

These chords are built by stacking thirds on each note of the scale. They follow a specific pattern of major, minor, and diminished chords:

  • I (C): Major
  • ii (Dm): Minor
  • iii (Em): Minor
  • IV (F): Major
  • V (G): Major
  • vi (Am): Minor
  • viiĀ° (Bdim): Diminished

This pattern applies to every major key, and understanding it is key to identifying and playing common chord progressions. These progressions are combinations of these...

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Quick And Easy Let It Be Chords & Guitar Lesson

rock Feb 03, 2025

When you find yourself in times of trouble, hereā€™s a comforting song to pull you through.

You see, we all go through seasons in life.  

Seasons of happiness and seasons of pain.  

I believe, wherever you might be right now, playing this song can help. And also, it will level up your guitar playing at the same time. While many think this song is about the Virgin Mary, thereā€™s a twist, and Iā€™m going to get into it below. 

So grab your axe, and letā€™s dive into this ā€œLet It Beā€ chords and guitar lesson!

Who Wrote Let It Be?

"Let It Be" was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership. Itā€™s become one of the most iconic Beatles songs ever.

It all started with a dream McCartney had about his mother, Mary McCartney. It was during an intense period of recording with the Beatles. In the dream, his mother came to him and reassured him saying, ā€˜Itā€™s going to be okay. Just...

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Epic Seven Nation Army Chords & Guitar Lesson

rock Jan 27, 2025

Picture thisā€¦ 

Youā€™re in a giant stadium for an event.

The crowd is stirring, feeling rebellious and rambunctiousā€¦

Theyā€™re wondering what is about to happen. Who will hit the stage or field? Suddenly, a guitar riff comes through the speakersā€¦

What riff is it gonna be?

Well, a very common one is the mighty ā€œSeven Nation Armyā€ guitar riff.

In this post, Iā€™m going to break down some insider tips on Jack Whiteā€™s guitar style, and how you can get playing like this too.

So grab your guitar, and letā€™s dive into this ā€œSeven Nation Armyā€ chords and guitar lesson!

Who Wrote Seven Nation Army?

"Seven Nation Army" is one the most famous songs by the American rock band The White Stripes. It was written by Jack White, the bandā€™s lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary writer. 

The song beats with a strong feeling of defiance and empowerment. As the lyrics sing of fighting back against forces and obstacles...

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The ULTIMATE Come As You Are Chords & Guitar Lesson

rock Jan 27, 2025

Beholdā€¦ THISā€¦ was the first riff I ever done learned.

I was around 11 years old, went over to my neighborā€™s house, and he showed me the notes. Itā€™s a fun one ā€“ on only 2 strings. 

The problem was, I never got the counting right. 

You see, I thought the first note started on beat 1 but it didnā€™tā€¦

It was a ā€œpickupā€... 

In music theory, this is called an anacrusis. Which means you start playing BEFORE beat 1. But I played the ā€œCome As You Areā€ riff as if the first note was beat 1. 

This made my rhythm wonky. 

And guess what?

I didnā€™t correct this timing problem for decadesā€¦

Until one day, I tried to play with the recording and fell flat on my face. When I heard Dave Grohlā€™s drum groove against the riff, I started to figure out the timingā€¦

It was weird. As a yute, trying so hard to learn the riff, I actually engrained the WRONG rhythm in me. Working with recordings...

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3 Magic Tips for Mastering The Blues Scale On Guitar

blues Jan 26, 2025

Have you ever wondered how to actually learn your blues scales?

What order you should go in?

And whatā€™s a good way to structure scales in your practice sessions?

Iā€™ve talked to many campfire guitar players over the years who want to learn how to add more depth, versatility, and skill to my playing in general with the blues scale. But many practice for years and never get it down.

They canā€™t navigate the neck, and they canā€™t improvise blues licks.

So today, youā€™re oleā€™ pal Johnny is going to reveal 3 powerful tips for mastering the blues scale on guitar. Starting with one, not a single online fake guitar goo-roo is going to tell you and that isā€¦

1) Sing It

No, you donā€™t have to be a singer. You donā€™t have to sing onstage or sing loud. Just in the privacy of your own home. In fact, you can even lightly hum or whistle it. 

My old guitar teacher Kenny Burrell (I was in a band and he was the leader), used to whistle notes at me...

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7 Tips That Let Newbies Perform On Stage Like Pros

Uncategorized Jan 21, 2025

Ever wonder what you should do the day of a performance?

In this video, I want to share 7 tips I've found useful to prepare for a performance. These tips have helped me play HUGE shows with great success.

But they work the same if you're retired, and maybe you want to play for friends and family at a summer barbecue. Or you want to play at your church, or you have an open mic night coming up.

I help a lot of my students in my programs on my site do exactly this.

And it's been awesome to hear amazing stories from retired students live their dreams. So I thought I would share 7 quick ones here to help you out.

1. Play your guitar the day of the performance

Donā€™t go in cold. You want your fingers to feel warmed up. I often donā€™t leave my guitar out onstage. When possible I bring it backstage and Iā€™m running through songs and playing quietly before the show. That way when I walk out, my guitar and strap are already on and Iā€™m ready to rock....

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Quick And Easy Mr. Tambourine Man Chords & Guitar Lesson (Bob Dylan)

folk Jan 18, 2025

Just like Jimi Hendrix, one of my favorite artists is Bob Dylan.

For years, Iā€™ve had his records on repeat. His lyrics and the songs can take you away to another world, and todayā€™s lesson is a perfect example of that. 

Itā€™s a simple tune, with a very minimal production, yet itā€™s had a HUGE impact. 

So grab your guitar, and letā€™s dive into this ā€œMr. Tambourine Manā€ chords and guitar lesson!

Who Wrote Mr. Tambourine Man? 

"Mr. Tambourine Man" was originally written and performed by Bob Dylan. The song is famous for its vivid, surreal imagery and has been widely interpreted in various ways. Some listeners believe this song is about drugs, particularly with lines like "take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship." However, others argue itā€™s more about the search for artistic inspiration.

ā€œMr. Tambourine Manā€ was recorded on January 15, 1965, at Columbia Studios in New York City, and the production was...

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The ULTIMATE One Of These Nights Chords & Guitar Lesson (Eagles)

rock Jan 13, 2025

Have you ever said:

===

"Iā€™ll do it tomorrow."

"Iā€™ll get to it eventually."

"Itā€™s on my to-do list."

=== 

Well if so, you might be able to relate to this epic Eagles rock song below. You see, the inspiration for it came from ā€“ putting off dreams until tomorrow.

This monumental tune also marks a pivotal change in the bandā€™s sound.

So grab your axe, and letā€™s dive into this ā€œOne Of These Nightsā€ chords and guitar lesson!

Who Wrote One Of These Nights?

"One Of These Nights" was co-written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, two founding members of the American rock band Eagles. Frey explained in an interview that the song's inspiration came from about from the them of postponing ambitions. 

He noted, "We've all said, 'One of these nights I'm gonna do something ā€“ get that girl, make that money, find that house.' We all have our dreams ā€“ a vision we hope will come true someday." 

The track was recorded between late...

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How To Play A Blues Guitar Solo And Sound Pro (With Just 4 Notes!)

blues Jan 07, 2025

Just like you, I used to suffer from not being able to play killer blues guitar solos.

I was constantly hitting notes out of key. I didnā€™t know where to go on the neck. And, I was confused by all the different scale patterns, and music theory I thought I had to know.

It was miserable.

And I feel for anyone in this place.

But Iā€™ve helped so many older retired students play the blues like theyā€™ve never thought possible, inside my programs on my site. I specialize in blues guitar.

So today, I wanted to share an easy blues guitar solo that lets you sound like a pro with just 4 notes.

And this relies on an almost ancient method used by the old-school blues masters. They did this on countless songs. Itā€™s so simple that many of todayā€™s players would just laugh at it.

But this is to their own detriment. Because itā€™s been used on more recordings and hits than you can count.

So letā€™s get started with this easy blues guitar solo lesson.

The first...

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