Hurls' Guitar Lesson Week 2: the Rudiments

OK, now that we are inspired, it is time to look at the rudiments. The rudiments are the all-important basics that comprise the core of a player's technique. You have your right hand technique, you have your left hand technique. If you are left handed, you can reverse those two, or you can just give us all a break and learn the instrument like a right handed person. You might think you are Tony Iommi or Jimi Hendrix, but you are better off just learning the goddamn instrument the way most of us do.

Let's start with the left hand.

Hurl has already been shown the pentatonic (aka "pentagramic") scale. With it you can start on the path of invoking the power of Satan. Here's Mei with a fine introduction to the scale:



Next thing you know, you'll be moving on to sweep arpeggios:



Lori Linstruth, I want to be your man. I will move to Sweden or where ever you are, and we can make babies that will one day be in neo-classical power metal bands like Helloween. Yeah, fucking Helloween!

Next, we look at the right hand. The following is an example of something Youtube is full of, which is videos of young Asian kids tearing it up on guitar. This is young Sungha playing a solo guitar version of the Beatles' song Blackbird. Hurl, I expect you to study this carefully.



Okay Hurl, take the barrel of the gun out of your mouth. This child is a prodigy. He's probably already quit the guitar and started studying super-string theory at MIT.

If all else fails, you can start playing Guitar Hero. Here's an excellent primer on how to best play Guitar Hero:



I hope this helps.