Today we have another episode hosted by Pickup Music's very own production director, Júlio Mendoza!

Júlio is joined by guitarist, producer, songwriter and all-round shred-master, Myrone (AKA Pat Lukens), to talk about the journey of him becoming a full-time musician, the role that Metal guitar played in that journey, and sharing some advice on what you can do to achieve your own musical goals!

The Metal Learning Pathway is available now, check it out:

https://www.pickupmusic.com/master-classes/metal-learning-pathway

Today's episode is hosted by Pickup Music's very own production director, Júlio Mendoza!

Júlio is joined by guitarist, producer, songwriter and all-round shred-master, Myrone (AKA Pat Lukens), to discuss essential guitar techniques for playing Metal guitar.

The Metal Learning Pathway is available now, check it out:

https://www.pickupmusic.com/master-classes/metal-learning-pathway

Sam and Karl give you a simple framework for improving your playing. You'll learn how to think about your guitar playing by wearing either a harmon, rhythm or melody hat.

Is the trick to achieving your guitar goals... to not have guitar goals? This week, Sam and Karl take a deep dive into the concepts taught by James Clear in his best-selling book, Atomic Habits. The four main topics of discussion are:

• The power of 1% changes over time
• Screw goals, focus on systems
• Identity change is the north star of habit change
• 4 laws of habit change

They apply each of these to guitar learning and share insights into their own (never-ending) guitar journey.

Feeling stuck in your guitar journey? For this special holiday monopod, Sam walks you through the top four problems guitarist hit which holds back their progress, and how to solve them.

1. You don’t have a consistent practice routine
2. You learn with you your eyes, not your ears
3. Inefficient practicing
4. Your rhythm is weak

Take your guitar skills to the next level with Pickup Music by starting your 14-day free trial today.

Did Adam Neeley and Andrew Huang correctly decode Christmas music? Sam and Karl take a deep dive into what makes christmas music... christmas music.

Learn holiday songs on guitar with a free 14 day trial. Sign up today.

Sam's four core Christmas characteristics:

1. Tin Pan Alley Jazz harmony
2. Swing feel
3. Bells
4. Christmas lyrics

The more of these a song has, the higher chance Santa is about to arrive down your chimney.

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Listen to Karl's holiday playlist

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Andew Huang Youtube video

Adam Neely YouTube video

Can you play Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix? What does 57% swing feel like? Is your vibrato a nervous habit? This week, Sam and Karl discuss 6 things every intermediate guitarist should know!

Take your guitar skills to the next level with Pickup Music by starting your 14-day free trial today.

What do you do when grandma tells everyone you're a rockstar at the family reunion and asks you to perform? Are you ready to step into the spotlight?

In this episode, Karl sits down with Kyle Sparkman (Head of Community at Pickup) to chat about how to stay cool when performing in front of others. They discuss the importance of being prepared, tips to perform at your best, and how filming yourself practicing can help you become a better performer.

Take your guitar skills to the next level with Pickup Music by starting your 14-day free trial today.

This week, Sam sits down with LA-based touring and session guitarist, Donnie Laudicina to chat about what it takes to make a living playing guitar and mastering your craft.

Donnie Laudicina is a touring and session guitarist based in Los Angeles, CA. He has performed and recorded with artists around the world, including Ashe, DPR Ian, Willie Jones, Aaron Lindsey, Justin Bernardez, Grace Gaustad, Cody Dear and more. Years of experience in the industry have allowed him the opportunity to perform on some of the world’s biggest stages (Rose Bowl, Coachella, Outside Lands, Bonaroo, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Lincoln Center, C2C festival). He’s opened for acts such as Nelly, Flo Rida, Phoebe Bridgers, Jon Stewart, The Lumineers, and Jesse McCartney.

Donnie graduated from UCLA in 2016 with a BA in Jazz Guitar Performance. He spent his college years studying under the likes of Kenny Burrell and Wolf Marshall, legendary players who helped him build the skills necessary for success in the industry.

Looking to develop the six-string skills needed to carve out a career as a touring/session guitarist? Check out a free trial to Pickup Music.

Today, Sam and Karl chat about the biggest mistake most guitarists make: not working on your sense rhythm and pocket.

They're joined by Los Angeles-based touring and session guitarist, Donnie Laudicina who shares tips on how you can sharpen your rhythm skills.

Topics covered:

– Metronome tips

– How to practice time feel

– How to lock in with a live band

– Tips to play like Cory Wong Looking to make guitar gains?

Get daily practice plans with step-by-step lessons so you know exactly how to lock down your rhythm with a free trial to Pickup Music.

In this episode, Karl sits down with GRAMMY-winning session guitarist and bandleader, Andrew Synowiec. Andrew has played on iconic films and tv shows like Frozen, Coco, Spider Man, Mission Impossible, The Simpsons, The Walking Dead, and many more.

He’s also performed or recorded with artists like The Who, Alanis Morissette, Lil Nas X, Robbie Robertson, Ariana Grande, Michael Bublé, Elton John, Giorgio Moroder, Carole King, and Marc Anthony just to name a few...

Andrew provides insight into what being a top-call session musician in LA actually involves these days. He also provides some gear, recording, and workflow tips that you can apply to your home recording setup. Finally, they discuss the writing and recording process for his new album FUN, which is available to purchase or stream on all platforms.

For more information about Andrew:

https://andrewsynowiec.com/

https://www.instagram.com/andrewsynowiec

Want to learn how to express yourself on your guitar? Start your free trial at Pickup Music today.

On today's pod Karl sits one more time with UK based guitar teacher Jack Handyside to talk about how to get the most out of Jam sessions.

Pickup Music Members get access to the 10 minute warmup. Start your free trial today

In today's episode, Dr. Molly Miller is back in the studio with Karl and Sam after the release of her latest album to discuss the challenges and rewards of releasing music in 2024.

'The Ballad of Hotspur' (Molly's latest album):

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0z3IUb8e4M6nFPLL8CuwWO?si=k_LuFmfbQLWxKH2jciIIjg

Apple: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/the-ballad-of-hotspur/1707859409

YouTube: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l-jpJ8eR66Ez63Sqzi-yGytqduUobddxo

On this week's pod Karl sits with UK based guitar teacher Jack Handyside to talk about the art (and the business) of teaching guitar including its ups and downs, plus their opinion on the future of guitar education.

Start your free trial to Pickup Music.

Ever wondered how pro guitarists like Mateus Asato or Cory Wong warm up on guitar? This week, Karl walks us through a fun project he's been working on; The Ultimate 10 Minute Warmup.

Pickup Music Members get access to the 10 minute warmup. Start your free trial today

Guitarist and pedal steel player Dan Kalisher (Noah Cyrus, Grace Potter, Don Felder) shares insights on the six areas to develop as a musician and how imagination and uniqueness might be the most important tool in mastering your skills.

On today's episode Nick Campbell (Scary Pockets, Charlie Puth, Vulfpeck) shares his thoughts and experiences on how he transitioned from being a guitar player to a bass player, how to learn music fast and the life on the road.

Learn how to improve your groove and time feel with pro Los Angeles bass player Corbin Jones.

What to go deeper?

Take the Groove Learning Pathway with Pickup Music funk up your rhythm and lock into the groove.

This week, you'll learn about the 5 T's of guitar; Touch, Tone, Timing, and .... 'Tude.Want to break out of the intermediate plateau? Take the Intermediate Learning Pathway with Pickup Music. Try for free today.Correction: Nicklas Myhre is from Norway!

1. Find a groove with chords
2. Find a melody
3. Add lyrics (optional)
4. Build out song structure
5. Instrumentation & dynamics

Karl sits down with Spencer Askin (aka Shreducation Nation) to wax poetic on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater II... Jk, they're gonna help you get better at guitar!

Be sure to check out The 3:2 System at Pickup Music with a 14-day free trial today!

Insta link

YT Channel

Tik Tok

1. Staying in your comfort zone
2. Lack of organization
3. Being a bedroom guitarist
4. Learning licks/songs without concepts

1. Copying solos & licks
2. Noodling in the box
3. The “Blanket Approach”
4. The “Blanket Approach” 2.0
5. Playing the changes

• Superimposing chords
• Playing "outside"

1. Learning guitar requires talent
2. Expensive & vintage gear sound better
3. Analog is always better than digital
4. Heavier gauge strings = better tone
5. More notes and faster notes = better guitarist

Karl and Sam examine reasons why guitarists should and shouldn't learn music theory. Plus, our list of the top four music theory topics every guitarist should know.

https://www.pickupmusic.com

Wes video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV0Qg0FTha8&ab_channel=macuser2

In this episode, Karl asks Sam to share his best tips for guitarists new to jazz.Take our 4-month Jazz Learning Pathway program to learn jazz guitar:https://www.pickupmusic.com/master-classes/jazz-bootcamp

In this episode, Sam and Karl listen to Sam's mini-documentary on the history of neo soul guitar.

Want to learn Neo Soul? Become an expressive neo-soul guitarist in 3 months with our Neo Soul Learning Pathway, taught by Melanie Faye and Sam Blakelock.

https://www.pickupmusic.com/master-classes/neo-soul-pathway

Timeline:

• The ‘Birth of Neo Soul’ (1995-2000)

• The’ DVD era’ (2005-2008)

• The ‘YouTube era’ (2007-2013)

• The ‘Early Instagram era (2014-2018)

• The ‘Late Instagram era (2018-2021)

/// Further reading and listening ///

The origin of "neo soul": http://hellozumble.com/kedar-massenburg-the-father-of-neo-soul/

Learn to play neo soul guitar:https://www.pickupmusic.com/master-classes/neo-soul-pathway'

Spanky' Alford:https://www.al.com/life/2019/02/this-alabama-guitarist-should-be-a-lot-more-famous.html

Jonathan Dubose: https://jdubose.com/bio

Dave Chappel’s Block party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akttj2K_NWA&ab_channel=YouTubeMovies

Jonathan DuBose’s solo in 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikHJScBga3Y&ab_channel=Shab1510

Jairus Mozee instructional clip in 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHIb3WGUrAQ&ab_channel=hearandplay

Spanky Alford playing The Lord’s Prayer in 2009: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obXUbSk5VPM&ab_channel=JASSIE0614

Kazuki Isogai with his 2019 recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI3ZBCyl6Ec&ab_channel=PickupMusic

Learn more about Lofi HipHop: https://medium.com/@victoriavouloumanos/an-exploration-of-lo-fi-hip-hop-part-iii-from-nujabes-and-j-dilla-to-youtube-livestreams-f0a5cc719e50

Credits:

Minor 9 chords meme: https://www.instagram.com/davidb.music/

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https://www.pickupmusic.com/master-classes/neo-soul-pathway

In 2019, Fender released a study claiming that 90% of guitarists quit within 1 year... Karl and Pickup team member, Kerri Stewart, sit down to discuss their top tips for beginner guitarists.

From must-know technique tips, to prioritizing rhythm over perfection, to the psychology of practicing, there's a lot of topics covered!

Kerri Stewart is an LA-based guitarist and educator. She's toured all over the world with artists like Dylan Gardener, Alex Lahey and pop superstar Conan Gray. Kerri also teaches privately and provides 1:1 Feedback videos for members at Pickup Music.

Kerri's Instagram

Learn how to stay focused in your guitar practice in this week's Pickup Music Pod.https://pickupmusic.com/Sam and Karl talk you through:

• The 3-step practice system (Have fun, look back, look forward)

• How to use the Pomodoro technique

• Tips to stay focused and get better quickly

Download a free practice tracker Google Sheet on https://pickupmusic.com/ (under our Artist Toolkit).

Learn how guitarists earn a living in 2023 through streaming, sample packs, presets, digital goods, tabs & more! https://pickupmusic.com/

Karl and Sam discuss the pros and cons of learning jazz.

Jazz Learning Pathway with Pickup Music https://www.pickupmusic.com/master-classes/jazz-bootcamp

In this 8-week program, Cecil Alexander and Sam Blakelock will show you how to navigate the world of jazz rhythm and lead playing. You'll leave this Learning Pathway with the skills to solo over any jazz standard using advanced vocabulary.

Diana Krall Live in Paris with Anthony Wilson

• Deed I Do

Joe Pass: Virtuoso

• Night and Day

Wes Montgomery: The incredible Jazz guitar of Wes Montgomery

• D Natural Blues

Jesse Van Ruller

• The Secret Champ

Bobby Broom

• The Way You Look Tonight

Karl sits down with Los Angeles based vocal coach Savannah Wilder. Savannah shares her top tips for breath work, warm-ups, and how she believes anyone can learn to sing! Then Karl and Savannah discuss their respective journeys with developing singing and playing coordination. So sit back and enjoy or... warm-up those pipes and sing along! It's time for another episode of the Pickup Music Pod.

Savannah Wilder: https://www.instagram.com/sav.wilder?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Savannah's vocal studio: https://www.instagram.com/singwithsav?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

In today's episode, Karl and Sam sit down with Dr. Molly Miller and discuss the CAGED system, what makes it so effective, and how to use it to break out of the Intermediate plateau!

Take a deep dive into the music theory of chords and scales. You'll learn how to know exactly what scale to play over any chord in a key.

Welcome to Season 2! Sam and Karl share their favorite solos from some mind blowing guitarists.

We talk about:

• Arianna Powell
• Liam Kevany
• Josh Ray Gooch
• Ichika Mo
• Cecil Alexander
• Lawrence Jones

https://www.pickupmusic.com/