Overdrive vs distortion vs fuzz is one of the most common questions any guitarist venturing into pedals will eventually ask. Walk into a guitar shop and you’ll find dozens of pedals labeled “overdrive,” “distortion,” and “fuzz,” often at very different price points, all promising to make your tone…
TJMLJSBW Published Jun 22, 2026 · Updated Jun 22, 2026 · 7 min read JS Featured in this articleFeaturing Jeff Scheetz · TrueFire educator If you want to learn guitar, the first session can feel like being handed a map written in a foreign language. Your fingers don’t…
TJMLJSBW Published Jun 15, 2026 · Updated Jun 15, 2026 · 5 min read FV Featured in this articleFeaturing Frank Vignola · TrueFire educator Jazz rhythm guitar gets a real workout on these two tunes. “Autumn Leaves” and “Body and Soul” are essential jazz standards. Both demand that…
TJMLJSBW Published Jun 15, 2026 · Updated Jun 15, 2026 · 5 min read FV Featured in this articleFeaturing Frank Vignola · TrueFire educator Jazz rhythm guitar on these two tunes will test you in completely different ways. Blue Bossa pulls you into a bossa nova feel with…
TJMLJSBW Published Jun 15, 2026 · Updated Jun 15, 2026 · 8 min read FV Featured in this articleFeaturing Frank Vignola · TrueFire educator Jazz rhythm is one of the most misunderstood skills on the guitar. Most players know a handful of jazz chords. They can voice a…
Guitar influences are the most powerful force in shaping the player you’ll become. Every guitarist you’ve ever loved was shaped by the players they loved, who were shaped by the players they loved, and so on, all the way back through every era of the instrument. Learning to…
TJMLJSBW Published Jun 9, 2026 · Updated Jun 9, 2026 · 5 min read CC Featured in this articleFeaturing Corey Congilio · TrueFire educator Every guitarist who chases texas blues tone eventually learns the same hard lesson. The gear matters, but it only gets you halfway there. You…
TJMLJSBW Published Jun 9, 2026 · Updated Jun 9, 2026 · 7 min read CC Featured in this articleFeaturing Corey Congilio · TrueFire educator Texas blues is not a style for the timid. Every note has to mean something. Corey Congilio calls it “go for broke,” and that…
Guitar phrasing is one of those qualities that separates technically capable players from genuinely musical ones. A great phrase is a complete musical thought. It starts somewhere, says something, and resolves somewhere. Players who string together one strong phrase after another sound like they’re speaking, while players who…
TJMLJSBW Published Jun 3, 2026 · Updated Jun 3, 2026 · 5 min read JM Featured in this articleFeaturing Jeff McErlain · TrueFire educator If your solos sound like they’re floating over the chord changes instead of following them, chord tones are the missing piece. A lot of…
