Overview

Course No. 7800

With Playing Guitar like A Pro: Lead, Solo, and Group Performance, The Great Courses invites aspiring guitarists to master the techniques of some of the premier guitar players of the last 100 years. At the same time, the course offers a wealth of wisdom and insight into the music world for the casual listener interested in understanding what makes their favorite bands so unique.

No matter your preferred genre or skill level, Dr. Colin McAllister has you covered. Adopt intermediate-level techniques like right-hand arpeggios, crosspicking, slurring, funk-style chord strumming, and slapping harmonics, then improvise them over the provided backing music tracks to truly make them your own. Unearth the secrets of some of the world’s most influential rockers, including Eric Clapton and David Gilmour; then bone up on jazz pioneers like Django Reinhardt and Antonio Carlos Jobim. All of them—and a dozen more—are discussed in 18 engaging and interactive 45-minute lessons.

Whether you are a musician looking to play like the greats or a music fan wanting to enrich your experience of favorite performers and songs, you will find Playing Guitar like a Pro a journey that will evolve the listening ear of anyone who experiences it. If you’ve ever wanted to go back and hear your favorite song again for the first time, this is your chance. Embark on a wondrous trek around the world, through time, and into the hottest musical scenes in the last 100 years as you open your eyes and ears to the magic of playing guitar like a master.

Video Lessons

1. Hot Lava: Van Halen’s Two-Handed Tapping (39 min)
   • Backing Track – Lead (1 min)
   • Backing Track – Rhythm (1 min)

• Luna Negra: Soloing like David Gilmour (37 min)
  • Backing Track (1 min)

3. Barnhill’s Blues: Going Acoustic like Clapton (43 min)

• Grant Green Street: Funk Rhythm and Licks (37 min)
  • Backing Track (2 min)

• Fantasía Ibérica: Celin Romero’s Rasgueado (44 min)

6. Sunday Drive: Leo Brouwer–Style Classical (36 min)

7. Manitou Swing: Django’s Gypsy Jazz (35 min)
   • Backing Track (1 min)

8. Anselm’s Caper: Bebopping like Tal Farlow (39 min)
   • Backing Track (2 min)

9. Blue 13: Wes Montgomery’s Octave Melodies (39 min)
   • Backing Track (4 min)

• Moto Perpetuo: Andy McKee–Style Workout (42 min)

• Way Beyond: Intervallic John McLaughlin (46 min)
  • Backing Track (1 min)

12. Sketch for Barbara: Pat Metheny’s Influence (39 min)
    • Backing Track (2 min)

13. Cinq de Blanc: The Police’s Quintal Harmony (38 min)
    • Backing Track (1 min)

• Tarsus: Power Arpeggios of Alex Lifeson (42 min)
  • Backing Track – Lead (1 min)
  • Backing Track – Rhythm (1 min)

• Samba Sonrisa: Playing Brazilian Style (42 min)

16. Cumulus: A Tribute to Joni Mitchell (40 min)

17. Gog Magog: Bluegrass and Flatpicking (47 min)
    • Backing Track (2 min)

• Whisper Creek: American Folk Music (38 min)

• Echo Park: American Surf Guitar (17 min)
  • Backing Track (2 min)