NEWS + Add a pro touch to your rhythm guitar!

Howdy guitar friend, Strumming Dynamics is here! Also, lots of new song lessons, and a very cool opportunity to learn guitar with an awesome group. January 2023 News Howdy guitar friend, Hope this newsletter finds you well and that you're having a GREAT start to the year! :) If you're up for trying new stuff this year and missed my [life hacks video]( give it a try. It has over 70k views already and the warmest feedback. Thank you! We're on fire here at JustinGuitar, and have a brand-new course for you - one that is a GAME CHANGER for anyone who feels their strumming is a little boring or flat: [Strumming Dynamics]( This course, available now, is Part 2 of my Strumming SOS series. If you struggle with strumming, don't miss out on that! I also managed to record many song lessons, and more are on the make. Still in planning mode, too, figuring out how to celebrate a special anniversary and travel the world with more workshops and Open Mics! I've shared more on all of that below. :) Now let's check out what's on the menu! January Highlights - Strumming Dynamics: upgrade your rhythm guitar game! - New Song Lessons: with verified tabs available. :) - Let's Learn Together: Class of 2023! - App Scholarship: for those who really need it. - JustinGuitar Community: and the Discussion tab! - JustinGuitar... 20th Anniversary! - Workshops: new dates coming soon. - Life Stuff... Does your strumming sound flat or boring? My *new* course is here to help you! :) [Strumming Dynamics]( is Part 2 of my [Strumming SOS]( series! These lessons will be a game-changer for those who notice that their playing lacks that pro touch or that their rhythm is a bit 'samey.' :) If you complete this course, you should be confident enough to play at parties, gig with bands, and even write and record your music. People will admire your rhythm skills! 👉 What You'll Learn We'll start by looking at why most songs don't have only one strumming pattern - they have two or three! Of course, we'll learn how you can easily change between them! We'll then learn how to add strumming fills and builds, the backbeat accent, and ways of incorporating that into percussive patterns. When combined with an awareness of dynamics (volume), these are the things that add groove and life to your rhythm guitar. We'll understand 8th Note All Down Strumming and how it can push the groove along and give it more energy! Have you heard of palm muting? We'll learn that too. :) It's also time to demystify the difference between 6:8 and 3:4 strumming. So much unnecessary confusion about that - but not anymore! Then, we'll dive deep into the question you probably ask yourself: what strumming pattern should you use for a certain song? 🧐 Yes, boys and girls - there are many great things in these lessons, and I hope it helps you play your rhythm guitar with confidence and style! 🚨 If you're missing the basics, don't skip [Grade 1 - Strumming Foundations](. You need to buy each course separately, but a $10 discount applies if you buy more than one! :) No code is required. Ready? Let's get started! [Start Strumming Dynamics]( [Tequila Sunrise - Eagles]( The key to playing this song like the original is to nail the strumming pattern! We'll use a technique I call "[Double Strumming]( meaning we'll strum twice as fast for a beat. We'll explore some sus2 and sus4 chord embellishments and great G chord variations. It's a great song for advancing beginners looking to improve their acoustic playing! [Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan]( This song is a great one for parties. You should remember the chords even after a few beers! Your friends will sing along, and guitarists of all levels can grab a guitar and join in. :) We'll learn the chords Dylan plays on the original recording and some cheats for beginners. The lesson for [the Guns N Roses version]( is available too! ;) [Matilda - Harry Styles]( This song is very interesting! The verses are easy, but the intro has a tricky fingerstyle part; singing along is a real challenge! To play it, we'll need to retune the guitar to D6 Tuning, meaning your usual open chords won't work to play this song. We'll be playing [harmonics]( too - pretty inspiring sounds! [The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan]( This song is one of the best protest songs ever written and remains relevant today. Its structure is loose in keeping with the folk tradition: the chords move around a lot, especially in the harmonica section. The song's story is more important than the structure, though. ;) [Get the tabs, chords, and lyrics]( if you want to play it super authentic. :) [Into Temptation - Crowded House]( I've loved this song since I was a teen, and I wonder why I took this long to do a song lesson. Its chords are curious, not difficult, just unusual, and you don't have to worry about naming the grips It's a long song, so explore your [strumming dynamics]( so it doesn't get boring for the listener! Chords/lyrics + tabs for all my song lessons available with [JustinGuitarTABS](. :) [View All Songs]( Is learning to play the guitar one of your new year's resolutions? You're not alone! Join the [JustinGuitar Class of 2023 - and Let's Learn Guitar Together]( By joining this program, you'll: - Unlock 30% off your JustinGuitar Lessons & App Subscription! 😲 It's the biggest discount we ever offered for my app, and the discount lasts forever - not only for your first year. - You'll get free access to my Strumming Foundations Course with an active subscription. It's a $49 value course that will ensure you nail all rhythm basics to become a confident player! - Get access to an exclusive Facebook group where you can meet students learning the same stuff as you from all over the world! Ask questions, post your progress, and find friends to jam with. :) - A monthly Q&A opportunity with me! I'll drop by once a month with an exclusive video lesson that will reply to the most asked questions in the group. - You'll get additional support from my team and access to additional learning materials and content. Do you have any ideas, questions, or feedback regarding my lessons and app? You'll easily be able to share them! - Complete all the quarterly follow-ups to receive a digital certificate of completion by the end of the program. And we'll throw a party together: an Open Mic on my YouTube Channel (expected for December 2023!) Although I highly recommend you learn with my app, having an app subscription is optional to join the Class of 2023! This program is open to ALL of you and welcomes every guitar player who knows that 2023 is the year to learn guitar. :) [Join the Class of 2023!]( [Can't (genuinely) afford my Lessons & Songs App? Request a Scholarship!]( Although I cannot give my Lessons & Songs app for free to everyone due to copyright agreements and the high costs of that product development, Musopia and I are offering 100 scholarships this year for those who (really!) cannot afford it. [Read more]( and apply now (at the bottom of the page!) [Apply for Scholarship]( We just celebrated the first year of our new Community anniversary! I wanted to congratulate everyone on building such an awesome and supportive Community! I know I'm a bit of an 'absent dad' around there, but it's not because I don't think it's an awesome hang; I'm just so busy making and planning new courses that I struggle to make time to hang out as much as I'd like. When I do drop in, I'm always impressed by the engagement and support given to new learners and the friendships that develop. Also, the amazing diversity of the Community in geography, age, ability, and character! 🗺️ For 2023, I want to grow the 'Open Mic' vibes and explore the possibility of in-person ones around the world. How fun would that be! More on this is below. :) Of course, a supermassive mega thank you to the awesome community moderators, Lieven, Richard, and David, who do an amazing job keeping a safe, supportive, and friendly environment for everyone to grow… and the super advice they provide also. Did You Know? 🧐 You can reach out to the Community on lesson-specific topics! You'll find a "Discussion" tab below each video lesson. It's the perfect spot to ask questions, leave feedback, or read how other students are going along with a specific lesson or song tutorial. :) Don't miss that out! [Join My Community!]( And to talk about anniversaries... JustinGuitar celebrates 20 years this summer! What a journey. :) It's awesome to reflect on this! JustinGuitar went from me writing lesson plans and coding the website in the back of a tour bus to an incredible Community of over 650,000 registered students. And the most incredible team supporting my work from all over the world! I'm grateful to everyone who chooses to learn with JustinGuitar. After all those years, I'm still full of plans, ideas, new courses, and features I'd love to bring to life. And excitement about work, which is pretty cool. :) I'm a lucky one! How will we celebrate this anniversary? Still trying to figure it out - but many plans on the make! I'd love to visit more countries with my workshops - already planning a fun Acoustic Retreat in North America - stay tuned! But also organize some meetings and greetings with Open Mics in many different places and, hopefully, release the JustinGuitar Teacher Training Project, which has been in the works for the last couple of years! Let's see what I can do! I forget there's only one Justin sometimes. :) And so many exciting things to do, see and live... Be the first to know when new Workshops are available! [Join the Waiting List](. Eat, Sleep, Guitar - is this what your perfect day sounds like? If only life were that simple! 🥲 This design is perfect if you're like me - a guitar player with simple needs. Wear it when jamming out with friends, during your practice routines, or on any occasion, really! This tee is a perfect conversation starter and a great gift for like-minded guitarists. :) Also available as a hoodie! ;) [Shop EAT SLEEP GUITAR]( Life Stuff... It's been a heavy day today - woke up to literally hundreds of messages letting me know that one of my all-time heroes, Jeff Beck, had died. I've been a huge fan since my teens and have seen him many times. We met back in 2007 when we were on the same stage at the Nice Jazz Festival. He was super friendly and kind, and happy to chat guitars (and cars), showed me around his rig and let me sit on the corner of the stage to watch his set (which was right before ours!). Such a gent. I doubt there can be many guitarists that he's not influenced in some way - his style was unique and notoriously difficult to replicate, hence why I've got no lessons of his on the site. In happier news, I bought a new guitar in December! I had only one 'missing' from my collection.. a resonator. And when I realised that I hadn't bought a new guitar all year and that my local store had just got a good range in... well, I just had to right? :) And it's beautiful. I'm revising the classic Romeo and Juliet for a remake, and I'm reworking my Solo Blues series, for which it will be ideal :) Much appreciate the response to the Life Hacks video, lots of good vibes, but I'm not sure I have more in that realm worth sharing... I'm doing 'dry January', and it's been harder than I hoped, but I'm going to stick it out. I've not been much of a binge drinker but had slipped into that glass or two of wine with dinner most days, and it's a hard habit to break. I was hoping that I was going to sleep better, lose tummy fat and wake up with bags of energy... nothing yet, but I am only 12 days in - could it be that I'm expecting too much too soon? ;) lol. Not a lot else exciting to share... enjoyed some proper time off over the holidays, visiting pantomime with the family, and some parties with friends - the weather in the UK has been pretty awful, though... Went to a wind tunnel for indoor 'skydiving' last week; not been in one for years. I gave up proper skydiving over 10 years ago, but I miss it... and interestingly, the very first video I put on YouTube was of my final AFF jump (to qualify to jump solo). OK, I better get to bed; lot of filming to get done tomorrow, and I need to be on. Have a fantastic month, and see you very soon :) J. 📺 What I'm watching... - [Pinocchio]( - I put this on for my daughter to watch but was immediately captivated by its style, cinematography, and artistry. It's just wonderful. And after it finished, Netflix recommended a 'making of' documentary in which I found out it was made using stop animation. It's simply incredible that it's been made that way, but it explained my initial captivation with its unique style! 📚 What I'm reading... - [I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot from School by Caroline Taggart]( - I've got the audiobook of this, and it's such a fun refresher of stuff that you might have learned in school but have forgotten or never found a use for. The book might have been a better choice than the audiobook, but I wasn't going to buy both. Super interesting! Thanks for the recommendation, Laryne! 🎶 What I'm listening to... - [You Had It Coming by Jeff Beck]( - This is my favorite Jeff Beck Album and contains his cover of Nadia, which is just next-level incredible (it replicates an Indian vocalist from Nitin Sawhney's original version). There are some incredible riffs and tones and some of the sickest kick-ass crazy solos you might ever want to hear. - [Live at Ronny Scotts by Jeff Beck]( - This album fills me with regret. I missed a message from a friend who had a spare ticket to see JB at Ronnies... and I missed the call and missed the show. But the film and album of it are incredible. The band (Vinnie Colaiuta, Tal Wilkenfeld and Jason Rebello) is my favourite of his lineups... which reminds me of a funny story. Around 2007 I was rehearsing with a band at Music Bank, and Jeff Beck was also at the same complex. In fact, we were on the big stage doing lighting cues and stuff, and he and the band had to walk through our room to get to theirs for some reason. I remember them coming through and me thinking how cool it was that one of them had bought their kid to rehearsal. In the break, we snuck out and sat by the door to listen to them rehearse - it was mind-blowing - they were all at the top of their game and being rehearsals seemed to be pushing and exploring even more than on gigs. I took a peak through the window to see who on earth was doing the incredible bass solos - and it was 'the kid' - a 20-year-old Tal and she was killing it. - [Blow by Blow by Jeff Beck]( - If you have yet to hear this album - just put it on right now! This is one of the albums that changed guitar forever - in so many ways. [Explore JustinGuitar]( Copyright © 2023 Justin Guitar Ltd, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up on my web site justinguitar.com, hope you enjoy my newsletters! Our mailing address is: Justin Guitar Ltd PO Box 695Farnham, Surrey GU9 1NB United Kingdom [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. 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