50 Years Of Guitar

Genre and Style Guitar Course from David Isaacs

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Join Dave Isaacs for a comprehensive course covering some of the most well-known sounds of the last 50 years in guitar playing.

29 Lessons

Complete course with step-by-step lessons and practice examples.

Multi-Camera

Course filmed with 6 cameras for the perfect angles.

90% Appoval

206 of 217 of our members have given this their approval.

Tabs & Info

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Included

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Full Course Breakdown

Come straight out of Isaac's Phase 1 series and learn songs in the style of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Eagles, Stevie Wonder, and more! You'll also learn how to practice new techniques and apply more musical ideas as you work through each musical example.

Begin the Course
1

50 Years Of Guitar Introduction

Join Dave Isaacs for a comprehensive course covering some of the most well-known sounds of the last 50 years in guitar playing. Come straight out of Isaac's Phase 1 series and learn songs in the style of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Eagles, Stevie Wonder, and more! You'll also learn how to practice new techniques and apply more musical ideas as you work through each example.

7:38 Runtime

0.5 Difficulty

2

Ride The Cycle - Chord Review

Get warmed up and bridge the gap between Dave's extensive Phase 1 course with this lesson on chords. You'll have a nice track to play over and you'll be able to review many of the common chords you may already use every day!

16:31 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

3

Passing Thru - Passing Chords

Learn how to use inversion chords to link other chords together. This happens all the time in the Rock and Roll style of bands like AC/DC. Grab your overdrive pedal and and make a statement with your chords!

18:31 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

4

Home - Picked Arpeggios

Work your chords in a melodic and soothing way. Picked arpeggios make it possible to extract melody from ordinary chord shapes. Once you have the concept and shapes down, try your hands at playing over calming backing track called "Home".

17:03 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

5

Trippin' - Bass Note Riffs

Do you remember the first time you heard "Day Tripper" by The Beatles? Learning these techniques and playing with this track will take you back and help move your playing forward a huge step. Learn how to riff!

14:34 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

6

Stix Stax - Moveable Partial Chords

Get comfortable playing small, musical chords around the neck in this lesson. You've likely spent some time moving your barre chords around the neck. You'll use parts of those chords and be able to realize some melody possibilities as you move around the neck.

20:46 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

7

Santa Ana - Filling Out The Pentatonic

The minor pentatonic scale is a great place to start and a bedrock of popular music. Dave used those shapes and adds in the rest of the notes from the natural minor scale to tip his hat to one of the most influential guitar players of our time!

20:00 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

8

Minor Blues - Rhythm Riffs

You're familiar with a standard 12-bar blues. Now, you'll get to experience some of the twists and chord possibilities that can be present in a minor blues. Riff away!

14:43 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

9

Scaling The Heights - In C

Learn how to navigate the neck by connecting simple C major scale patterns together. Do it in a musical way with a nice, catchy example to get your feet wet with.

18:05 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

10

The Mountain: Melody & Chords

Scale the neck with both single notes and chords with this catchy musical example. This track moves at a slow pace and allows for a very contemplative mindset while learning the different positions of your scales and chords.

20:54 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

11

Stone Face - Play Like Keith Richards

You'll spend some more time with moveable chord forms, journey around the neck a little, and learn bits and pieces of a classic rock style.

13:50 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

12

Down The Road - Boogie Groove

By making small adjustments to a simple scale, you can make something very normal, sound much more interesting. It's been done for decades and is often not well understood, but Isaacs breaks down this concept here!

26:23 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

13

Berry Pickin' - 50's Style Double Stops

Put a little Chuck Berry in your playing by incorporating some of the most familiar sounds in all of Rock 'N Roll. Chords, rhythm and lead playing all come together in this style.

15:45 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

View this Lesson
14

River Flow - Fingerstyle

You might think of fingerstyle guitar as something that mostly only happens on acoustic. While acoustic players will get a lot out of this lesson, electric players will also be given the tools they need to embrace fingerstyle playing at a very basic level. You'll learn a great little song as well!

13:23 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

15

Bend Don't Break - String Bending

Bends are always one of the signature sounds of any guitar player, but bending musically and in tune consistently can be quite a challenge. Dave sheds some light on this subject in this lesson and also provides a musical context in which to practice your bends!

12:55 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

16

Walking Chords - Moving Triads

Wanna play chords anywhere on the neck? Learning and applying your triad shapes is a GREAT place to start. Learn how to use triads all over the place with this simple and fun musical example.

21:41 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

17

Blue Peaches - Improvising

Using nothing more than the simple Major Pentatonic scale, you'll create some catchy music and learn some nice licks. There's a lot to play with when it comes to this classic 5-note scale.

19:53 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

18

52 Blues - Slow Blues Rhythm

Triads, double stops and slides intertwined with tasty slow blues phrasing are going to make you proud to learn and practice this piece. Dig in

19:24 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

19

Waltz For Pinky - Melodic Arpeggios

Arpeggios are not just for classical guitar players and shredders. They are fantastic musical vehicles and make your playing sound spacious and dynamic. You'll also give your pinky a good workout.

10:06 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

20

Swinging In A - Melody Around The Neck

It's bright and bouncy... It's "Swing". Learn this simple melody and learn the feel that always brings the moods up a notch. You'll get a good hand workout and get a catchy tune stuck in your head at the same time!

23:34 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

21

Sweet Strum - Triads

Practice moving triad shapes around the neck in a musical and even soothing way. You'll learn how to connect these small chords so that you're making little melodies as you're moving around!

15:05 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

22

Stomp It - Pentatonic Riffs

Rock out a little bit with this Bluesy and driving track that will make you want to play lead guitar all day long. Get ready for some straight up Rock and Roll. You'll be working a lot on slides and pull-offs as well!

18:11 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

23

Down Home - Clean Country

Laid back, clean, and soothing to play, this lesson will have you focusing on double stops and slides in a Classic Country setting. Set the overdrive pedal aside and make it ring loud!

17:57 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

24

CAGEY - Chord Connections

It's time for a geography lesson. Look at the way the CAGED patterns relate to each other around the neck. You'll be moving up and down the neck with ease after you master the material in this lesson!

17:15 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

25

Sally's Impala - R&B Sounds

Dig in to some R&B-style grooves and playing here! You'll be using a lot of we've already covered previously, but with a good deal more 'bounce'. Each lick will contain a lot of different types of techniques and you'll be going back to a familiar song form as well.

14:37 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

26

Like An Eagle - Double Stop Bends

Do you like Classic Rock? Do you like Country-tinged, laid back leads? Well, get ready for a treat! You'll learn a solo in the style of the Eagles today and have a chance to work on musical bending and double stops at the same time!

19:11 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

27

What It Is - Improvisation in A

Improvisation might be a scary word for some, but Dave lays out a method and a track that will have you making music that easily comes out of your stream of conspicuousness. You won't need to over think!

11:30 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

28

Funky - Syncopated Rhythm

There's lots to unpack here with all of the various rhythmic variations. It has a chime, yet it is tight and full of range. Have fun with this one!

27:44 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

29

Variations on the Minor Sound

Enter back into the realms of improvisation in this lesson and have some fun experimenting with different flavors of the minor sound. You'll get a sense of how to use some 'unexpected' sounding notes while working out the melody.

22:20 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

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David Isaacs

206

Dave Isaacs Group

  • Nashville, Tennessee
  • Playing since 1980
  • 478 lessons at JamPlay
Begin Course
Nashville-based Dave Isaacs has made a name for himself as one of Music City's top guitar instructors, working with both professional and aspiring songwriters and artists at his Music Row teaching studio. He is also an instructor in the music department at Tennessee State University and is the coordinator and artistic director of the annual TSU Guitar Summit.

A seasoned performer as well, Dave has released eight independent CDs and gigs steadily as a solo artist, bandleader, and sideman. He continues to write, record, and perform as well as arranging and producing projects for other artists.

Reviews & Feedback 90/100 with 217 ratings
myjamplays

awesome great lesson

bubbiebear

Can u get a reminder sent to u? How can u get a JamPlay T shirt?

brcolane

Chuck Berry fan.

RandyBass

Dave is a great teacher, as well as a great musician. Thanks for the lesson!????????????

keithconner22

David Isaacs is an incredible teacher. Best one, imo

LitJim

David Issacs lessons are fun and really helping me to go beyond the basic open position and onto intermediate playing after 1 year.

Malternator

David strikes a great balance in his classes. Highly recommended.

lefebvredds

Everytime I need a Primer, David brings me back. Never let that Cat leave Jamplay:)

fdalecoxjr

Great teacher, hope he has more courses in the future!

AdamQ

Great course looking forward to completing it. David is a great teacher!

rjbadum

Mr. Isaacs is an amazing teacher. Great instruction!

mloudermilk

Great introduction...convinced me this would be a worthwhile course.

Mivler

Great lesson just what I needed

mileshanson75

Great teacher!

EpicLovins

Great teacher. Explains things clearly and and uses simple and plain language

floorshaker

Sounds great!

Ddancers

Justful

frankegriffen

I just started his beginner class. I like it so much I wanted to see if David had any intermediate classes to offer - so I have something to shoot for. I see now that I have plenty.

moorej

Nice ways to augment blues progressions..

ajr111

Yeah! I like this lesson ,I know it's for a beginner but I will be leaving this one.you rock

annajamma

It is also what i needed.

mikeporritt

like the overlay of supplemental sheet music.. nice. could never get the teacher and sheet music to work well together. i like this method!!

Regis

Nice way to explain especially when David mention "band" "slide" etc. So easy to learn. Bravo!,

SloughHand

Really exciting approach, and I'm ready to get started.

gibson1

Really liked the teacher

jessyrose

Really love Dave Isaacs lessons. He makes it easy to understand and follow. He does a good job of breaking it down.

Ergonomico

ROCK N'ROLL!!!!!

r1k1uk

some great ideas and something i will follow up on

Tesla77

Thank You!!

Fuzzmasterflash

Understand better how to play over changes I’ve been riffing over for years

TonySlashT

Very clever well put together lesson, will have fun getting the track down and I know this is a very useful lesson, Thanks

Hudd

Very nice to see the chord progression using the 1, 4 and 5 notes along with the 6th minor. I am learning more on guitar theory and this is nice to see along with the progressions into other keys. Thanks!

Stryker1

Very precise in speaking instructions.