Intermediate Guitar - Course Breakdowns
(Click the tabs below to read the full breakdown of each part of the course)

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The Intermediate guitar course includes the following lessons:
Intermediate Guitar


The Tutor - Stretton Payne
Stretton has spent a career working with guitars starting as boy learning to play on a beat-up old classical acoustic guitar. With success playing his own original music in bands up and down the country Stretton crafted his own style of guitar playing. After studying a Mathematic degree in 1997 Stretton went on to create the Stretton Payne guitar brand and designed and specified the range of guitars.
Synopsis
In the intermediate course Stretton focuses on a ‘playing songs’ theme introducing fingerpicking and some cool finger gym exercises to really help train the muscle memory in the hands. The course also introduces lead guitar technique covering scales and arpeggios in various forms.
Course Structure
- Introduction to finger picking
- Finger picking a full song
- Four chord finger picking rotation
- Finger picking power chords running up and down the neck
- Stumming power chords
- Using power chords to play 12 bar blue
- A cool finger picking song to learn
- Finger picking higher up the fretboard using a blues style rotation
- Guitar solos, a look at 2 simple guitar solos that fit over the same chord pattern
- Major Scale C, Phyrigan, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian, Ionian, Dorian
- Major Scale E, Phyrigan, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian, Ionian, Dorian
- Major Pentatonic Scales
- Minor Pentatonic Scales
- Blues Pentatonic Scales
- A Form - Major Arpeggio
- A Form - Minor Arpeggio
- C Form - Major Arpeggio
- C Form - Minor Arpeggio
- E Form - Major Arpeggio
- E Form - Minor Arpeggio
Zero to Hero

The Tutor - Nigel Jones
So I have been playing guitar since I was 12, which is now over 20 years. I’m a qualified guitar teacher with over 10 years experience, a member of the RGT. I have given lessons in schools and colleges across the UK, I have taught 1000s of guitar players in groups and one to one lessons; I’ve had many students get distinctions in grades. I’m now bringing my knowledge of guitar and experience of teaching to Rock Star Academy. I hope you enjoy my lessons…
Synopsis
In the Zero to Hero intermediate guitar course you will gain knowledge on core skills, music theory and putting that into real music. It will make you understand the connection between theory and practical and how this will continue to make you a better guitar player. You will cover demanding lead techniques and bigger extended chords; you’ll learn how to keep these skills under control and in time. This course will develop you as a musician and push you. The course is designed around grade 4 and 5 players but will help fill in any blanks for players that may have holes in their knowledge at any level. The course is designed to be interactive so you can improvise over chord patterns that are played.
Course Structure
- Intro (A look at what the course is all about)
- The Chromatic Order (Overview)
- Notes under your fingers (Knowing your way around the fretboard)
- Talking notes not numbers (Testing yourself and using your knowledge)
- What is a Chord (A look at what a chord is in its most basic form)
- Finding Chords (Finding major, minor and power chords in barre position)
- Extended Chords (Using extended chords and sus chords)
- 7th Chords (Bigger chord family)
- Playing in key (A guide to how music keys work)
- Using Rhythm (Time signatures and playing ‘in time’)
- Chord Patterns (5 different chord patterns to have a go at, using all the chords so far)
- Putting it together (Bigger chord patterns and full songs)
- Pentatonic Power (A look at 5 shapes of the Pentatonic scale)
- Major Scales (A look at different Major shapes)
- Minor Scales (A look at different Minor shapes)
- Soloing in Key (Using scales so far to play in different keys)
- Technique tricks (Looking at lead techniques)
- Your lick bag (Building your own style)
- Timing is everything (Playing lead ‘in time’)
- Practice Routine (Making sure you practice your licks in the best way possible)
- Putting it all together (Putting all the lead elements together)
- Soloing over chords (Using Pentatonic’s to solo)
- Soloing over chords extended (Using Majors and Minors to solo)
- Ripping it up! (5 different patterns to solo over)
Music Theory

Synopsis
Welcome to the Rock Star Academy Core Skills lessons. In these lessons you have the opportunity to learn many interesting chords, scales, arpeggios, rhythms, and picking patterns.
The Core Skills lessons also explain useful music theory that allows you to understand how chords, scales, and arpeggios are constructed. You will also get to learn how standard music notation and guitar tab work as they are both very valuable tools when learning how to play guitar.
The core skills will help to improve your ability to compose and give you a deeper understanding of how to jam along with other musicians.
Course Structure
- Tab and notation differences
- Reading tab
- Reading standard musical notation
- Reading notational rhythm
- Notation symbols note duration
Section 1 - Chords
- Scales 1
- Scales 2
- Scales 3
- Scales 4
- Rhythm And Lead 1
- Rhythm And Lead 2
- Rhythm And Lead 3
- Rhythm And Lead 4
Section 2 - Chords
- Scales 1
- Scales 2
- Rhythm And Lead 1
- Rhythm And Lead 2
- Rhythm And Lead 3
- Rhythm And Lead 4

Rock Star Challenge

The Tutor - Chris Cropp
Chris has a degree in music technology and grade 8 with distinction in guitar. He has a rare natural ability for playing musical instruments and has a special talent for composing music. His impressive knowledge of music theory helps to develop lessons that are logical and progressive. Chris has used all these skills to devise a Rock Star Challenge that will test your skills and improve your playing.
Synopsis
The Rock Star Challenge tests your ability as a guitarist. Work your way through each star, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Brown and Black. When you master the Black Star you have earned Rock Star Status. As you work through each stage you will discover new chords, chord patterns, rhythms, scales, arpeggios, and solos.
At each stage common questions are answered and useful points are explained. Each stage of the challenge gets a little harder until you reach and conquer the Black Star!
Can you achieve Rock Star Status?
Course Structure
- Major Chord
Pentatonic Scale
Rhythm Challenge 1 chord
Lead Challenge D Pentatonic
- Minor and Major Chords
1 Octave Open Pentatonic Ascending Scale
Rhythm Challenge 2 chord
Lead Challenge G Pentatonic
- Barre, Minor and Major Chords
1 Octave Open Scale
Rhythm Challenge 3 Chord
Lead Challenge 3 Chord Picking
- Sharpe, Barre, Minor and Major Chords
2 Octave Fretted Pentatonic Major Scale
2 Octave Fretted Pentatonic Minor Scale
Rhythm Challenge 4 chord
Lead Challenge Major and Minor Pentatonic
- Extended Chords
2 Octave Fretted Forward Scale
2 Octave Fretted Backwards Scale
1 Octave Arpeggios
Rhythm Challenge 6 chord
Lead Challenge multi Scale
- Extended Chord Positions
2 Octave Fretted Dorian Scale
2 Octave Fretted Mixolydian Scale
2 Octave Arpeggio
Rhythm Challenge 9 chord
Lead Challenge Dorian and Mixolydian Scales
