Three things will instantly change the way you sound on the guitar. Practicing more technical exercises will give you more techniques and skills, but in this lesson, we are not referring to that.

I am far more interested in developing my tone and songwriting abilities, so even though I think that practicing technique is essential, I don’t consider it to be the number one priority.

In the musical idea, I played at the beginning of the video, I have implemented three techniques that I use all the time that allow me to focus more on the music rather than the technique.

The first technique is called “Over-ringing.” With this technique, we try to let the notes ring out as much as we can. The over-ringing allows you to sustain the chords and notes of the melody beautifully. A few notes played with this technique can sound bit and touching.

The second technique is called “Note choice.” I always try to play the melody in the smartest way possible. In this example, the notes of the melody are entirely played within the chords. Now, believe it or not, this isn’t random. It takes time to accurately decide the notes of the melody and how to play them. I know that many of you don’t see this as a “Technique,” but trust me, it is.

The third technique is called “Melody shape.” A melody shouldn’t be different from a sentence. When we formulate a thought, we carefully decide how to put the sentence together using different words. I like to do the same thing with a melody. Developing the musical idea by keeping some of the rhythmic and melodic elements helps you create a strong, catchy, and distinct melody.

In this guitar lesson, we will take a look at these three techniques and how to use them over a beautiful chord progression in E major.

Enjoy this lesson.