The Electric Storyteller

The art of crafting a compelling guitar solo is not just about scales, arpeggios, or technical skills on the fretboard. Of course, these are all important tools to master, but a truly memorable solo moves the listener by telling a story.

The Electric Storyteller, Ariel Posen’s insightful video masterclass for guitarists, presents a wide range of creative approaches for crafting compelling, engaging solos over a variety of feels, tempos, and keys.

Recently named one of the 10 best rock guitarists in the world by MusicRadar, Ariel Posen is no stranger to crafting compelling guitar solos that tell a beautiful story and paint a vivid picture for his listeners. A lifelong musician, there are few roles Ariel Posen hasn't played. including being a member of the Juno Award-winning roots-rock band, The Bros. Landreth, co-writing and producing other artists across all genres, and writing/recording his own compositions as a solo artist.

“Ariel Posen is the complete package: a great singer and songwriter, as well as a virtuoso guitarist. He is representative of a new generation of players who are fully schooled, either academically or self-taught, who don’t let the schooling get in the way of their soul,” says Michael Ross (Guitar Player, Premier Guitar, Guitar Moderne).

We’re thrilled to welcome Ariel to the family with his first TrueFire course, The Electric Storyteller. You will likewise be thrilled as you play your way through Ariel’s enlightening curriculum and infuse the creative approaches and techniques he shares into your own playing.

"I’ve always looked at a solo as being just as important as the song itself and I’m excited to share all of the key elements of my own improvisational mindset. I’ll also show some different comping approaches for each of the tracks. We’ll explore some of the ways I form a mental approach to improvising. Learning to build solos like a movie with story arcs, opening acts, conflicts, and resolutions.

I’ll share some tips for learning your fretboard. We’ll build and develop themes while avoiding repetition. I’ll show you how to target notes, triads, and arpeggios for building melodic lines We’ll talk about not getting married to guitar-centric scales or shapes, restraint and pacing, tension and release, and tonal options for the right hand. And of course, we’ll put all the concepts together in the final study set.”

Ariel organized the course into 10 sections, each of which focuses on a single creative concept and approach. After presenting and explaining the approach, Ariel then applies it in a soloing performance study, over backing tracks, to illustrate its “storytelling” impact in a solo. He will then break the solo down in detail emphasizing the key harmonic, creative, and technical elements in play.

In addition, Ariel, presents comping approaches and rhythm performance studies for each of the tracks. 10 key concepts, 10 soloing performance studies, and 10 rhythm performance studies in all!

Ariel will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way. You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the key examples and performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson. You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks (live-recorded by Ariel himself and a full rhythm section) are included to work with on your own as well.

Grab your guitar and let’s tell some stories with Ariel Posen!