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Theodore Kalantzakos

The Rhythm Laced Column Course

Open Chords Guitar: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Essential Cowboy Chords for Beginners

Articles, Rhythm Guitar /

  One of the first things you encounter when learning to play the guitar is mastering open chords, often called cowboy chords or first-position chords. These basic chords form the foundation for countless songs, and knowing how to play them is a must-have skill for any beginner guitarist. They are like the basic Lego bricks, […]

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Alternate Picking vs Economy Picking

Alternate Picking vs Economy picking. Which Guitar Picking Technique Suits Your Playing Style Best?

Articles, Electric Guitar Techniques /

  Before we’ll delve into the alternate picking vs economy picking battle, let me ask you a question: Do painters use the same direction of brush strokes when painting, or do they alternate between up and downstrokes? The correct answer is… It depends. On what? On the texture, they want to achieve. This is the

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How To Improve Your Alternate Picking. A Strategic Approach to Master the most Common Guitar Technique.

Articles, Electric Guitar Techniques /

You know that you need to improve your alternate picking. But searching for random exercises online is not what it make this happen. In this article, I’ll be showing you a strategic point of view on what categories of alternate picking there are and thus what kind of exercises you should practice. After reading this,

How To Improve Your Alternate Picking. A Strategic Approach to Master the most Common Guitar Technique. Read More »

The 8 Most Important Guitar Techniques

How to Quickly Transform Your Guitar Playing and Sound Like a Pro. The 8 (Easy) Electric Guitar Techniques that will give Emotions & Colors to Your Lines.

Articles, Electric Guitar Techniques /

Summer 2021. I was invited to compose music for a radio-theatrical project for a popular FM Radio in Greece. It was a challenging project as each character’s emotions should be projected only via speaking and not by any movements or facial expressions. So, before starting composing, I arranged to attend a rehearsal. The director would

How to Quickly Transform Your Guitar Playing and Sound Like a Pro. The 8 (Easy) Electric Guitar Techniques that will give Emotions & Colors to Your Lines. Read More »

Breaking the CAGED System without Using Music Theory. How to Design Scales for Fast, Intervallic and Creative Playing with the 3nps Concept

Articles, Fretboard Knowledge /

[This is part 2 of a two-part training series. Find part 1 here.] Hurdling is one of the most impressive sports. Athletes running looks like dancing. There is symmetry in their moves, momentum, synchronization, speed, and power. And all these are due to a single constant. The “dancefloor’s” specifications. The symmetrically, precisely measured and equally

Breaking the CAGED System without Using Music Theory. How to Design Scales for Fast, Intervallic and Creative Playing with the 3nps Concept Read More »

Breaking the CAGED System for the Contemporary Guitarist. Improve Your Guitar Playing by Redesigning the Scales

Articles, Fretboard Knowledge /

[the is an excerpt from my free UGAR (Underground Guitar Artists Runbook) training series via email. If you are not a member yet and want to get access click here. Modifications have occurred for this online reprint.] Do you struggle with awkward scale shapes that make impossible to play fast passages and sequences? In today’s email

Breaking the CAGED System for the Contemporary Guitarist. Improve Your Guitar Playing by Redesigning the Scales Read More »

How to Use Your Favourite Licks to Unlock the Fretboard and Develop an Organic Playing – The Licks Passepartout Method (Part 1)

Articles, Fretboard Knowledge /

[this is an excerpt from The Underground Guitar Artists Runbook training series (via emails) modified for publishing here. If you’ve not already a member, you can get free access here.] Do you have in place a clear and effective method of practicing licks? Most guitarists unfortunately practice new licks wrong. Christian is a talented beginner/intermediate,

How to Use Your Favourite Licks to Unlock the Fretboard and Develop an Organic Playing – The Licks Passepartout Method (Part 1) Read More »

The CAGED System for the Contemporary Guitarist. Improve Your Guitar Playing by Unlocking the Fretboard without Complex Music Theory.

Articles, Fretboard Knowledge /

The most frustrating thing I had to encounter as a self-taught guitarist was the “unmapped” areas on the fretboard. I took my first guitar lesson at the age of 21 and at that time I was self-taught for about 7 years. I was watching advanced guitar players moving up and down the neck, soloing effortlessly and knowing

The CAGED System for the Contemporary Guitarist. Improve Your Guitar Playing by Unlocking the Fretboard without Complex Music Theory. Read More »