How to Blow Minds on Guitar—with Just One Finger
“Sometimes you just wanna show off.”
So says guitarist Jim Lill, who posted this video on YouTube just the other day. In it, he shows you a near little trick you can use to impress people when playing your guitar. And it involves sliding just one finger on the same two frets for every string on your guitar.
But more than being impressive, it will help you build muscle memory as well as confidence on the guitar.
As Lill notes in his video description, “When you learn things like this, it’s instant gratification because you can do something cool pretty quickly.
“The downside is that tricks can’t be applied often without seeming like a one-trick-pony. But when you build up a good arsenal of tricks then you can use your discretion to put the right ones in the right places and people will view your canned, over-rehearsed guitar tricks as creativity.”
Lill notes that the lick is “kind of bluegrassy sounding on acoustic, but sounds really country on a Tele with some slapback.”
Enjoy. And as always, we encourage you to visit Jim’s YouTube channel for more of his great videos, many of which we’ve featured in our Guitar Essentials series. Be sure to give his videos a “like” and leave a thanks.
In addition, be sure to take a look at Jim’s Guitar-Lick-A-Day Instagram, where you can learn a new lick every day, with tab available for each lick.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Since 1980, Guitar World has been the ultimate resource for guitarists. Whether you want to learn the techniques employed by your guitar heroes, read about their latest projects or simply need to know which guitar is the right one to buy, Guitar World is the place to look.
A working knowledge of adventurous chord alternatives is a crucial yet underrated skill. Here are 5 ideas for how you can revoice guitar chords, and enhance your progressions
“You should know the music so well that you could still play it perfectly while someone is screaming in your ear”: 15 pro guitarists share their tips for memorizing music