COUCH "Jessie" - Yes, I have requested this before. Sorry, not sorry! SUCH a killer song.

Recorded this based on Michael’s version. Solo is not awesome, but it’s…ok?

This is a combination video or harmonics and the final. It's also my longest video yet! Basically I create a three layer loop live (on a lowly rc-5 btw, can't afford a teleport yet) in b minor and a bounce back and forth between b minor and D major. I'm pretty sure the progression is i-VI-III-VII, but please correct me if that's wrong. As usual, you hear what I hear. No processing, no cuts, just all the glory and misery that is live looping and unplanned improvisation!

I'll be honest, even though I'm "done" with level 3, I need to live in the level 3 space for a while and really get the scale shapes (full major and minor, and all major and minor pentatonics) under down. I have them, then I forget them. Just comes with time. I'll get there.

Lastly, I'm really looking hard for exercises to practices major and minor scales across the neck. If anyone has any recommendations, please send them my way, or link them in a comment! Cheers!

Playing all the minor scale shapes in the keys of G and D. At the start of the video I say something about major scale shapes. I have no idea why. Enjoy!

In this video I'm improvising over Hans Zimmer's "Time" from Inception. It is one of the great movie themes of our time (see what I did there ;-).

Anyway, I'll be the first to admit that I continue to struggle with improvising. I do a lot better when I can sit with a riff or a lead line and work on it over and over. That being said, I don't want my improvising videos to rehearsed. So, here it is, warts and all.

With regard to practicing scales, I'd love to hear some recommendations from others that go beyond just up and down scale shapes all day. Intervals? Diagonal runs? I'm up for whatever because I desperately need to mix things up!

Michael, I've never really enjoyed country. Then I found this song and Jackson Dean. I know that this song is not muscially complicated. That said, this chord progression (with a capo and without) is incredibly effective and used by songwriters all the time. Why is it so effective and so emotional? Also, this picking pattern - any chance you can help a brother out?

PLEASE Michael! Couch is amazing! Their originals are incredible and this cover is fire. I was lucky enough to see them open for Cory Wong in November. They are unbelievably tight. Just. Click. The. Link!

This is the second video I've created featuring the progression of a minor, g major, f major. This is heavily influenced by DMB's version of Watchtower. I'm not great at slick phrasing, but I am getting a lot better with my pentatonic shapes. The looping layers is really cool, the improvisation is...satisfactory.

Not the best take, but certainly not the worst. This progression is A minor, G major, F major, G major, and draws inspiration from the DMB version of All Along The Watchtower. I'm working on the closest moves for all these arpeggios up and down the neck. As a side note, I don't know what it is about turning on the camera, but lately getting a decent take has been very challenging for me. Not sure if other people experience this from time to time.

Trying to improvise with the full major scale in G major. The progression is 1-6-4-5. Enjoy!

The Mark Lettieri Group is one of the coolest and tightest groups out there right now. Fight me! The chord progressions are awesome, the pocket is deep, and the tone is sublime.

Michael! You have to check these guys out. I know nothing about any of them and just came across this a few days ago. Their tone and technique is incredible and the chord progression in this song is insanely cool. Please react to this for all the telecaster lovers out there. Enjoy!

Check out this Strat! Couple of duets from the Berklee book.

Had a chance to see these guys live and they are awesome! Super tight group with a bunch of groovy tunes. Enjoy!

So I have started in person lessons, which is awesome. For the foreseeable future, I'm going to post videos to Michael's lessons that most align with what I am working on with my instructor at that time.

As an aside, at the time I am posting this I am realizing that the scales I play in the video do not line up with the shapes that Michael has posted with his video. I'm not sure why my instructor is teaching it with different shapes than what Michael is using. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated! I know they are all the same notes, but the shapes are not. Is there an advantage to one shape or set of shapes over the other?

Anyway, cheers!

Pocket, pocket, pocket! Ariel, Julian, and Jon are dirty. These three are incredibly talented and they absolutely kill it live. This tune is amazing and you will not be disappointed. As one of the comments says, "These three boys live inside the pocket."

Incubus has grown and changed a lot through the years. This year saw the re-recording and re-release of what I think is one of their best albums, Morning View. Circles, the song in this video, is one of my favorites! It's an older live performance, but still super heavy and awesome! Mike Einzinger deserves more recognition as a guitarist than he gets.

This is me trying to improvise over a 1-4-5 vamp in A major. I'm improvising using, or trying to use, A major arpeggios and pentatonics. I'm calling it "arrrrrghhhhhpeggios" because every time I try to improvise I think "arrrrrghhhhh!"

1-4-5 in A major. This is not clean, but good enough for government work ;-). In all seriousness, I don't know what it is about turning on the camera. I can do it so much better when I don't have to explain what I'm doing and the camera is not on. It's like a I get distracted. I don't know.

Anyway, I'm not only playing the octave of the root, but the octave of the 3rd and 5th too. I think this adds a nice sound and it is a cool way to turn around too.

Michael! Had the opportunity to see these guys in concert last week at a small venue much like this. It was unreal. The quality of the music combined with the chill factor from these four is not to be believed (Mark even signed my pick after the show). I'm sure you've reacted to Mark Lettieri before, but I urge you to give it another go. These guys are great!

For this lesson I have a four chord progression in D major (D Major, B minor, G Major, A major) and I arpeggiate those chords in major and minor positions 2 and 4, then 5 and 4. This all connected for me when I was listening to Ryland by Julian Lage. I am NOT Julian Lage.

Also, the song that I forgot the name of is Unchained Melody. Why did I forget the name? I have no idea. It's not like that song is super famous and well known or anything ;-)

Just trying to learn Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" as played by Cory Wong and Cody Fry. It's coming along, but I do have a ways to go.

I know you have reacted to videos with Cory Wong before, but I can't resist. Cory, Mark, Joe, and Nate are at the top of their game with this new album. It is astounding! If you end up reacting to this, please go for the third song (Patrouille de France). I promise you will not be disappointed!