Learn the Guitar Habits of Buckethead

You have to tip your hat (or bucket) to people who are known by one name. It's even better when they actually have the skills to validate that fame, and the subject of this edition of my Habits of... series certainly does—in spades.

Buckethead is a mysterious genius who blends classic guitar sounds with some of the most otherworldly guitar sounds you've ever heard. While his outrageous catalog of more than 300 studio albums contains every guitar technique under the sun, an examination of his live playing has revealed some tendencies, some of which I'll show you in this lesson.

Mixing natural minor and whole tone sounds with utter disregard for the traditional expectations of the listener, Buckethead is a master of intrigue, transporting you through a vortex of multi-finger sweep tapping arpeggios and sensually massaged bends, all the while standing stoically above you, as if this is just another day in the land of Buckethead.

His three-note-per-string approach is something that's glaringly important in his phrasing—and something I examine in my Guitar Super System course, so be sure to sign up if you want to learn more.

Most importantly, try not to wear a bucket on your head, because I tried it, and it's really hard to play guitar that way.

Tyler Larson is the founder of the guitar-centric brand Music is Win. His insightful, uncomplicated guitar lessons and gear demonstrations along with entertaining, satirical content about life as a musician receive tens of millions of video views per month across social media. Tyler is also the creator of the extremely popular online guitar learning platform, Guitar Super System. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Tyler has been teaching guitar for over a decade and operates a production studio in Nashville, TN.