Every month I do a Live Q & A session to cover any guitar questins that you might have. This month I answered questions like What is the best way to practice bass runs?, What exactly are “scale notes”?, Tips for memorizing scales, and more!

[1:56] Most Common Key for Guitar (Presentation)

[12:35] What is the best way to practice bass runs?

[14:20] I can play fingerstyle guitar quite easily, but, when it comes to strumming, I’m not able to put emotion into the chords and changes while using a pick. Any tips?

[20:39] There is a song that I want to learn to play, but I only have the sheet music for it in standard notation and without the words. I read tabs fluently, but can hardly read standard notation at all. What do you recommend that I do?

[23:20] Is Dm7 a part of the C major scale? Is Cadd9 a part of the C major scale?

[27:10] When improvising, why and when would I want to use a lick that someone else wrote rather than one that I wrote? Wouldn’t something that I made up sound more natural when I play rather than something that someone else wrote that I had to practice a million times till it felt like it fit naturally?

[31:10] In a recent lesson you taught a Travis picking pattern. When would I use a Travis picking pattern over a “normal” pattern? For what styles of music is it most suitable?

[32:27] Why does the ukulele have the high G string as the upper string? I know that there are some people who change it for a low G string. Is there an advantage to one or the other?

[34:31] I can figure out the melody part of a song on my own, but I do not understand the chords that are played in a song. How can I understand chords and train my ears?

39:42] What exactly are “scale notes”?

[41:36] How do I determine what scale to use for a chord progression for improvisation?

[42:48] Tips for memorizing scales

[46:33] When improvising should I randomly pick notes from the scale and play them or are there some rules, such as to play up and down the scale?

[48:34] Are the scale notes that I play somehow related to the chord that I just played and are they supposed to be a bridge to the next chord in the progression? If so, how do I know what notes to play?

[52:04] Do you have any examples of when to use the C minor harmonic scale?

[55:00] Do the same chord progressions apply to nylon-string guitars and steel acoustic guitars?

[57:23] Tips for learning guitar online

[01:01:00] When should you change your guitar strings?