In our latest episode of ArtistWorks Live, we were joined by our Dobro (and lap steel guitar) teacher Andy Hall. We talked about everything from how he got his start playing music (which includes a long-haired heavy metal phase we have picture proof of), touring with the Infamous Stringdusters (and how he finds time to keep up with his students), playing while singing, how to get a clean tone, and more. Plus there’s plenty of deep Dobro talk for the pickers, as well as some nice Dobro playing from Andy. He tells a great story about earning the good graces of Earl Scruggs (and getting invited to the coveted annual birthday jam).

It’s a lot of fun as always and hosted by ArtistWorks’ own Director of Operations, John Graves. We do these once a month live with one of our teachers and anyone with a 12 month membership can tune in live to ask questions. It’s always different because frankly, nothing is planed. We like to keep the conversation casual and see what kind of questions are asked in the comment box. You never know where things will go. Stay tuned for another one coming next month! 

Learning and memorizing certain rock guitar scales is a crucial step in developing your skill set as a guitarist. With all of the various shapes, positions, patterns and modes, it can seem daunting to dive into scale mastery, so here are five simple tips to help you move forward confidently in your playing.

Do you fingers ever cramp up or hurt while playing guitar? You're not alone, especially if you play classical guitar. 

For many guitarists, avoiding finger cramps is a way of life. For classical players, the very nature of the instrument puts you at risk. Proper form requires extending your left hand fingers to their limits and rapidly plucking with your right hand. After awhile it can start to hurt a lot if you're not careful!

Here's some tools to help you minimize and hopefully avoid getting finger cramps as you're practicing all those classical guitar Sor studies in the curriculum here. If you take some time to incorporate these into your practice routine, it should help to at least alleviate the temporary pain and also it can prevent more serious injuries down the road.