PRESENCE - Volume 45
Inspiration For Guitarists
The 3 Questions to Ask Before Learning Any New Song
I was working with a student last week who was trying to learn "Blue Sky" by The Allman Brothers. He had spent hours watching YouTube tutorials, pausing and rewinding, trying to memorize every strum pattern and finger position. After all that work, he still couldn't play through the song without stopping.
His problem wasn't lack of effort. It was his approach.
He was trying to build a house starting with the wallpaper instead of the foundation.
This is one of the most common traps I see guitarists fall into - trying to learn all the details of a song before understanding its foundation. It's overwhelming, and when you inevitably forget some of those details (which you will), the whole thing falls apart.
Here's the approach I use, and the one I teach all my students:
Before you ever try to play the song, answer these 3 questions:
1. What key am I in, and what's the campfire version?
This is always my starting point. Once I know the key, the Number System tells me what chords are likely to show up in the song. It also alerts me to any chords that are NOT "in key" - those are the ones I need to pay special attention to.
Then I figure out the basic chord progression. How would a cowboy strum this song by the fire? What are the essential chords stripped down to their simplest form? This is your foundation. Learn THIS first, not the details.
2. Where are my two landmark Pentatonic shapes for this key?
I locate Pentatonic Shape #1 and Shape #4 for that particular key. These become my home base for any lead work or soloing. I do this BEFORE I start learning the song, so when it comes time to figure out the solo, I already know where to look.
3. Where are the CAGED shapes for the chords in this song?
Now I use the CAGED system to locate the chord shapes up and down the neck. This helps me figure out what the rhythm guitar part is actually doing - not just open chords strummed, but the voicings and positions the guitarist is using.
And here's a bonus: knowing where these CAGED shapes are also maps out the neck for me if I decide to play changes when soloing. Everything connects.
Here's the thing about learning this way:
When you have the foundation in place, the details are easier to remember. And if you forget some of those details mid-song? No problem. You can still play the basic progression and keep up with the form without everything falling apart.
One more question you should ask yourself:
How closely do I want to mimic the original?
These days I much prefer to put my own spin on things. I rarely learn a solo or rhythm part note-for-note. Instead, I try to get the gist of what they're playing and make it my own.
But early in my playing, I tried to learn everything exactly as recorded. That approach worked for me then because it helped me build vocabulary. You have to decide what serves you best at your current stage.
The key is this: Learn the foundation first, not the details.
Think of all those hours you've spent rewinding tutorials, trying to memorize every little nuance. This approach gives you those hours back.
Dustin
This week’s YouTube video is about Pentatonic Sequences, one of the best things you can practice for soloing!
Here are a couple more recent videos that you might find helpful:
PS - For those of you in the Essential Skills Guitar Course, I've added a new section called "Daily Start: Essential Exercises".
This is your 5–10 minute warm-up to wake up your hands, focus your listening, and reconnect musical ideas to the shapes you know. The goal is to get the sound in your head first, then let your hands follow.
Think of this as starting the engine, not taking the trip. Do these at the start of your practice, then move on to the Practice Studios where the real progress happens.
The section includes both a demonstration video and tabs to follow along.