Happy WINSDAY everyone! 🎸 My win this week: I discovered the Riff of the Week can be played in more than one spot on the neck. Found it by accident (the best way, honestly) and now I've got a riff and a little fretboard freedom to go with it. Watch the video for the full breakdown. Your turn - What's your win this week? Big, small, weird, whatever. Drop it below. 👇 Join the rest of our members for next weeks Riff of the week and post your recording of you doing it! Not a member yet? https://www.skool.com/intermediate-guitar/about

Get on in to the classroom for our Riff Of The Week, Gearing you up for this week's 'Wednesday Wins' or "Winsday" - I wanted to hand you something that makes you sound like a pro the second you plug in. Thanks for being here with us today. What I've got for you is a riff pulled straight from the 'Coheed and Cambria' "Welcome Home" universe. Not a note-for-note copy (and we're not claiming it is) - but the style, the vibe, the feel? You'll hear it the instant your pinky hits that 12th fret. It's the kind of riff that makes people in the room stop and look over at you. One of those "wait, how'd you do that?" moments. The full breakdown - the exact fret positions, the slide, the melodic shape that makes this riff actually sing instead of just sit there, is waiting for you inside the community. Not in the crew yet? Join our community, Intermediate Guitar. Every Wednesday we drop a new Riff of the Week like this one, plus the lesson/description that teaches you how to play it. Our members are already learning it. Come join us inside Intermediate Guitar and let's get your fingers on this one before the week's out. 🎸

Hey Intermediate Guitar Fam, Have you ever wondered why that damn G string is always out of tune? Many years ago, I found out about "True Temperament" guitars, (guitars that have those squiggly frets on them) and wondered what the hubbub was about. Apparently "to save on cost and time to manufacture" guitars are shipped with "Equal Temperament" frets (your standard straight frets). Equal temperament divides an octave into equal semitones which, keeps all notes consistent across the fretboard, but can cause slight intonation issues as a trade off. This is why, sometimes, when your guitars open strings are in tune but you go to play a chord higher up the neck, it can sound out of tune. It's because it is. And its usually that damn G string, which in equal temperament, is anywhere from 14-16 cents out of tune. True Temperament supposedly fixes this, but I don't have enough money, that my wife will let me use, to find out haha! Where I'm going with this is our Tuesday HOT TIP OF THE WEEK!!!! Learn to setup your instrument yourself!! If you don't know how to restring your guitar, learn how to do it! If you don't know how to adjust your truss rod to fix neck alignment, learn it! If you don't know how to properly intonate a guitar, learn it!! Don't know how to check the wiring in your electric, Learn it!!! Not only will this save you money in the long run, since you won't have to pay someone to do it, but it will also give you the satisfaction of knowing that all of your guitars are properly setup and are playing the very best they can be! It will make you sound better... well, it will make your guitar sound better. Actually maybe don't do this, leave your guitars out of tune and improperly intonated, that way when we make mistakes, we can still blame the guitar....just kidding. But for real though, if a light bulb burns out in your house, do you hire someone to come replace it for you? Nah. And really, most of these things on guitar (with the exception of the electronics) are literally a screwdriver turn or two away from being fixed anyway. You've got this!!!

Tying into Mike's post yesterday, I want to check in with everyone. Sometimes it can be difficult to "find the time" to play guitar. Life almost always figures out something to get in the way. I've seen many people over the years, stop playing for 2 months, 6 months, years even, and all because life got in the way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, and as Ray the truck driver (also known as Ricky's dad) from Trailer Park Boys says, "Way she goes". However, I've always been of the mind, that if its something you truly enjoy and get some sort of gratification from, why would you set that aside? I can understand not "having the time", but at the end of a long day, sitting down with a beverage and plucking around for 10 minutes, becomes a sort of cathartic "decompress", almost a meditation. I've always thought that even if I don't want to play today, I'm going to anyway because I've already put this much time into it, I may as well continue (sunk cost fallacy? Nah, not this time). When I was young, my father enrolled me into martial arts hoping it would teach me discipline (he grew up in Japan, my grandfather was a pilot in Korea and Vietnam). Even though I eventually discontinued my training (I moved away to go to college) I think that it did instill that in me. I think at this point in my guitar journey, it has become less about, "Man I want to be the best guitarist" (i still do), and instead more about, "Do I have the discipline to do this today". I think it becomes a testament to the quality of my/our character. If we are willing to put time and dedication into something that "isn't really that important", imagine what we would do for the things that are. Like getting up in the morning and making you're bed. That's not important at all, but boy it sure is inviting when you get done with the day and see it all made up. Just a little thing that adds something for you later, a small amount of time invested in your future self. Now I'm not saying that you should go out of your way to start sitting down with your instrument for an hour or two every single day, but more, think about adding in a little bit here and there. Keeping with something, no matter how small, can shift a change in perspective in perhaps more "important" areas of your life.

You made it, and we're glad you're here. Whether you just picked up the guitar or you've been playing for years and still feel like the fretboard is a mystery, you're in the right place. Here's exactly what to do now that you're inside: Step #1: Introduce Yourself Drop a quick post in the community and tell us: → Where you're from → How long you've been playing → What you're hoping to get better at No pressure to write a novel, we just want to know who you are so we can support you. Step #2: Unlock Everything for $7/month Upgrade your membership and get instant access to: → CAGED Made Easy, the complete fretboard course → New Lessons Every Week → Song & Solo Breakdowns → Live Guitar Workshops & Hangouts → Guitar Player Challenges → Premium Backing Tracks → Fretboard References & Practice Guides + More >> Click here to upgrade to Premium for $7/month Step #3: Show Up and Ask Questions Whether you're a premium member or not, this community is here to help you improve. - Ask questions when you're stuck - Celebrate the wins, big and small 🎉 - Help others and make connections We're all on the same journey here. Let's have some fun together. — Ben, Mike & The Intermediate Guitar Team