Take your CAGED skills to the next level.
Intermediate
This class is for CAGED players who need new improvisational inspiration and greater fretboard freedom.
10 days
Sam will guide you through seven days of step-by-step instruction with interactive TAB and daily assignments.
Fretboard freedom
You'll leave this class as a more musical improviser with new tools to visualize and traverse your fretboard.
Take the next step
Once you've mastered this course, keep learning with advanced Master Classes and guided practice plans.
Sam will show you how to open up your fretboard with arpeggios through the lens of CAGED system soloing.
This music-first course is designed to help you get more out of the CAGED system and become a refined lead guitarist. In each lesson, Sam will break down a new arpeggio and show you how to solo with it. If you've never dabbled in arpeggios before, this class is going to blow your mind.
Major 7
CAGED is great for mapping out your entire fretboard, but it's normal for the system to feel stale after a while.
Arpeggios (AKA the notes of a chord played one at a time) are your key to unlock a whole new world of expression within the CAGED system.
To kick off the class, you'll start with the ever-important major 7 arpeggio.
Minor 9
Let's make it moody.
In the second day of lessons, you'll learn how to outline the sound of a minor 9 chord with the same arpeggio as in Day 1. All it takes is some simple fretboard shifting.
4-note arpeggios
Once you have a couple of arpeggios under your belt, we'll dive into the five essential arpeggio shapes as they relate to the E and A CAGED shapes.
At this point, you'll know five essential arpeggios. Now, we'll work on making them musical. You'll learn how to use various arpeggios in a musical context and explore specific soloing applications with guided exercises and interactive jams.
Before we send you soloing into the sunset, Sam will run you through his CAGED arpeggio workout video. This lesson is essential to your future success with arpeggios. Revisiting it as part of your daily practice routine will allow you to lock arpeggios into your vocabulary and take your improvisational skills to new heights.
Stay focused with this step-by-step learning program designed by our expert team of music educators.
Day 1. Maj 7
We'll kick things off with the (arguably) most important arpeggio shape.
If you’re checking out this Master Class, chances are that you’re familiar with the CAGED system, but are feeling stale in your soloing, haven't quite unlocked your fretboard, or are just ready to take the next step.
We can't emphasize how much arpeggios are a game changer in the soloing world. They'll enable you to take bigger tonal steps as you travel across your fretboard, get away from blanket one-scale-fits-all soloing, and give you access to the greater harmonic interest via a "play-the-changes" soloing approach.
To kick off the Master Class, Sam will introduce you to the major 7 arpeggio and show you how to use it in a musical context.
Day 2. Minor 9
Learn how to access a minor 9 sound using what you already know.
Believe it or not, you’ve already done all the hard work for Day 2. We’re going to get extra miles out of the major 7 shape by simply shifting up a few frets and playing over our relative minor chord.
This unique two-for-one approach gives us access to the colorful extension of the 9th alongside reliable chord tones like the 5th, flat 7th, and flat 3rd.
We’re challenging you to take everything up into the second octave here on Day 2 for maximum melodic expression.
Days 3 & 4. Four-note arpeggios (E and A positions)
Work your way up and down the five main types of 4-note arpeggios in the A position.
Learning arpeggios in a stationary way provides a valuable comparison that will help out with memorizing and eventually applying them to chord changes.
You'll learn how to outline major 7, dominant 7, minor 7, minor 7 b5, and fully diminished chords as they relate to the E and A CAGED positions.
Days 5-7
Put a spotlight on soloing and wrap up with a CAGED workout.
Days 5 & 6. How to solo with arpeggios
Now, it’s time to get some experience with using our arpeggios to solo. Creatively using arpeggios in real-time is like nailing the perfect combo in Street Fighter. We want to avoid button mashing and intentionally execute these dazzling special moves. Over the next two lesson days, you'll learn how arpeggios fall into a two-layered soloing approaches – one of which will introduce you to the intricate "playing-the-changes" approach to soloing. Buckle up!
Day 7. The ultimate CAGED arpeggio workout
Arpeggios, like any guitar concept, require some consistent practice to bake into your muscle memory. We've got you covered with an interactive workout video led by Sam that you can use to make some major CAGED arpeggio gains. This will be perfect for your practice routine.
REAL students
Your Instructor
Sam Blakelock
Sam Blakelock is a guitarist, educator, and the founder of Pickup Music. He's an expert at helping guitarists of all levels tackle fundamental techniques and complex topics in a straightforward & practical way.
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Learning pathways that get results
Video feedback on your playing
Practice with a live band
Weekly live lessons
New releases every month
All-access pass
Learning pathways that get results
Video feedback on your playing
Practice with a live band
Weekly live lessons
New releases every month
60-day money back guarantee
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Is Pickup Music right for me?
Are you a guitar player who feels like you haven’t made progress in a few months… years… or even decades?
You’re probably stuck in what’s called the ‘intermediate plateau’. This is very common and can be very frustrating.
What’s the cause? Well, it’s pretty easy to learn the basics on guitar. Learn a few open chords and you can play Wonderwall and hundreds of other songs. Learn a couple of scales and a few licks and you can play some lead.
But what then? Triads? Modes? Arpeggios? The phrygian scale?!
Without a clear plan and learning system you fall back to playing the same old chords and licks over and over again. Or you bounce around free lessons online but nothing seems to stick. It’s a recipe for a lot of practice without much progress.
That’s where Pickup Music can help. We specialize in taking players stuck in a guitar rut and turning them into advanced guitarists.
We do this through Learning Pathways that take you on a step-by-step journey towards fretboard mastery. We give you a highly structured system that shows you exactly what to work on each week to make serious progress.
These Learning Pathways take the guesswork out of your practice routine. You are guided through a proven grade-by-grade system with daily lessons, play-along practice exercises and interactive workouts.
But it’s not all about theory. We apply everything you learn to real music. That’s why every grade of our Learning Pathways build up to performing a song with a live backing band. This simulates what it’s like to play a real gig, with real musicians. It’s the absolute best way to learn.
You also get 1:1 video feedback on your playing from our expert instructors and can attend weekly live lessons. This personal feedback makes Pickup Music the closest thing to taking in-person lessons, but at a fraction of the cost.
So does this method actually work? Will you see results in your playing?
The most common thing we hear from new members is that they’ve made more progress with Pickup Music in a few months than in years of teaching themselves. As one member recently told us, “I'm finally seeing progress for the first time in many years”.
Want to hear about other members’ experiences with us? Read our independent Trustpilot reviews.
Is Pickup Music worth the money?
Private guitar lessons will cost you about $50 per lesson or $2,600 a year.
Going to a music academy will cost you about $40,000 a year.
A Pickup Music membership will cost you just $180 for the whole year.
That works out to 50 cents a day!
But it’s not just about the money. It’s about not wasting your precious time. It’s about making actual progress on this beautiful instrument.
By following our proven Learning Pathway system, you can stop wasting your time and effort trying to guess what you should practice next. Our guided programs eliminate the guesswork so you know exactly what you need to focus on each day and week to make lasting progress with guitar.
What makes Pickup Music better than other guitar lesson sites?
Most online guitar lesson sites are very good at teaching one-off songs and licks. Or they get super famous guitarists to record one-hour video lessons talking at length about their particular style and career.
The problem is that these approaches don't stick. They don’t help you to actually get better as a guitarist. You can waste a lot of time bouncing around these types of unconnected, one-off lessons. It’s a recipe for a lot of practice without much progress.
Pickup Music takes a different approach. We give you a highly structured system that shows you exactly what to work on each week to make serious progress. We take you beyond the basics through a step-by-step journey towards fretboard mastery.
By following a Pickup Music Learning Pathway, you are getting the most guided way to learn guitar. Over 6 grades, you are taken through daily lessons and practice exercises that carefully explain what’s going on behind the music.
Each grade then builds up to song performances that apply everything you’ve learned with a live backing band. These challenges - where we simulate what it’s like to play a real gig, with real musicians - is the absolute best way to learn.
The Learning Pathway method takes the guesswork out of your practice routine. Most guitarists start to see a rapid acceleration in their progress in a matter of weeks.
You can also get 1:1 video feedback on your playing and weekly live lessons. This personal feedback makes Pickup Music the closest thing to taking in-person lessons, but at a fraction of the cost.
Want to hear about other members’ experiences with us? Read our independent Trustpilot reviews.
What exactly do I get from a Pickup Music membership?
When you become a Pickup Music member you get unlimited access to our huge library of lessons:
You get to enjoy amazing features that create a premium learning experience:
How do the Learning Pathways work?
Learning Pathways are kind of our special sauce here at Pickup Music. They take all the guesswork out of what to practice.
You get day-by-day lessons, play along practice exercises with your instructor, interactive jams with the Pickup Music live band and you can submit videos of your playing for feedback from the Pickup Music team.
We designed this system so that you will know exactly what to practice every time you pick up the guitar. This means that even if you only have time to practice with us once a week, you will still make great progress by following a Learning Pathways.
How often do I need to practice to see results?
Ideally you would practice about three times a week for 30 minutes at a time. But we know that life gets in the way sometimes! So here’s the good news: deliberate practice matters so much more than how often you practice.
After working with thousands of guitarists, we’ve found that the most important thing is to know exactly what you’re going to practice before you pick up the guitar. Even if you can only use Pickup Music a few times a month, you will still make really good progress if you stick to the step-by-step structure of our Learning Pathways.
How long are the lessons?
Pickup Music's lesson plans are designed to suit the amount of time you have available to practice.
Whichever approach you choose, we recommend building the exercises you learn into your daily practice schedule. The best way to improve as a guitarist is through a consistent practice routine rather than sporadic, longer sessions. Learning guitar is a day-by-day, life-long journey.
Can I take the lessons at my own pace?
Everything on Pickup Music is designed to be taken at your own pace. There are no deadlines, so you can work at your own speed. You can stay on a topic until you really understand it before you move on.
While we divide our Learning Pathways into ‘days’ - this is a suggestion only. Some learners might take a few days in one sitting, while others will spend a few sessions on a single day. You can go at the pace that feels most comfortable to you.
How does the 1:1 video feedback work?
We want our members to get the closest thing possible to in-person lessons but at a fraction of the cost. That's why you can now get individual video feedback on your guitar playing from our team of expert instructors.
Here's how it works:
Want to see a sample? Check out this recent video feedback from Pickup Music instructor Jack Handyside.
Is Pickup Music good for beginners?
Absolutely! We make learning the guitar fun and simple – the way it should be.
Too many people get frustrated with guitar because they develop bad habits and poor technique. Avoid these costly and time-consuming mistakes by taking Pickup Music's structured and step-by-step approach to learning guitar.
You'll start with Pickup Music's introductory program Beginner Learning Pathway. Over three weeks, we break down everything from simple chords and melodies to rhythm and lead playing. By the end of the program, you'll be able to play any simple pop or rock song (and even write your own).
Most importantly, we make sure you don't get stuck in the beginner's plateau - a common pitfall for guitarists who are just starting out. You'll keep making progress through Pickup Music's guided Learning Pathways. These programs are designed to quickly take you from a beginner player to an intermediate one who feels comfortable across the whole fretboard.
Is Pickup Music good for intermediate and advanced guitarists?
Pickup Music is the best platform available for intermediate and advanced guitarists. Our courses take you beyond the basics to advanced concepts like the CAGED system, triads, arpeggios, modes and improvisation.
The biggest trap for intermediate players is bouncing around from lesson to lesson without a plan or structure to get to that next level. We are known for taking intermediate and advanced players who have hit a ceiling and busting through until they reach the next level.
Am I too old for guitar lessons?
Many of Pickup Music’s members are in their 60s and 70s and have seen amazing success with our programs. Our platform is designed to be user-friendly for all ages and skill levels. And our supportive community is made up of guitar learners of all ages, cheering each other on.
How does the 14-day free trial work?
When you first sign up to a Pickup Music membership, you enter your credit card but it will not be charged for 14 days. That means that if you decide to cancel within 14 days of signing up, you won't pay anything.
And we send you a reminder before your trial is about to end so you don’t forget about it.
If you decide to cancel after that, you won't be charged at your next billing cycle. That means: if you’re a monthly member, you won’t be charged for the next month. If you’re an annual member, you won’t be charged for the next year.
How does the 60-day money back guarantee work?
In addition to the 14-day free trial, we offer a 60-day money back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with your progress in the first 60 days of your membership, we will give you your money back - no questions asked.
Is it easy to cancel?
Absolutely! You can cancel at any time (although we'd be sad to see you go). Cancelling is easy, no tricks. Just go to your account page and click a button.
You won't be charged anything if you cancel during your 14-day free trial.
If you cancel after your 14-day trial, you won't be billed again at your next billing cycle. Your membership will remain active until it expires on the day it was originally set to renew.
Note: Once your membership expires, we'll save your progress on your Dashboard if you decide to rejoin at a later date.
What’s the difference between the annual and monthly plan?
The only difference is the price. The monthly membership is $29.99 charged monthly and the annual membership is $179.99 charged once a year.
That means that if you select the annual plan you will pay 50% less and save $180 over a year compared to the monthly plan.
We'll also send you reminders before we bill you each year so that you don't accidentally forget about it.
We give such a big discount for annual members because it aligns with our long-term vision to inspire and support lifelong guitar learning.
Can I buy lessons individually?
We don’t sell lessons individually. But the good news is you get access to every single lesson on Pickup Music through the one membership. If you’re only interested in one lesson, you could purchase a monthly membership and cancel when you’ve finished it – we have a hunch you’ll want to stick around though :)
How do I restart my membership?
It’s easy to rejoin Pickup Music and we’d be thrilled to have you back! We even saved all of your lessons for you while you were gone on your Dashboard.
To restart your membership, simply head to this page, select the plan of your choice, and sign up with the email address you used to sign up the first time around.