Direkoglu
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04/10/26
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MaestroClass
The Ultimate Neoclassical Guitar Masterclass
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About this course
Ask any music journalist, musicologist, guitar educator, or Google to name 20 guitarists whose names are synonymous with a particular style of music that they either pioneered or took to a whole other level. Naturally, no two lists would be identical, but a few names would make everybody's list — Yngwie Malmsteen is one of those names.
We are thrilled to welcome Yngwie to the TrueFire family with this release of MaestroClass, his first-ever interactive video learning experience and indisputably the "ultimate" neoclassical guitar masterclass.
In the early 1980s, Yngwie introduced the world to virtuoso Neoclassical rock guitar, establishing a new genre of music along with a challenging array of electric guitar techniques and creative styling. HNeoclassical'sigh-speed alternate picking, sweep-picked arpeggios, harmonic minor scales, intricate composition techniques, and a deep understanding of musical theory characterize neoclassical’s virtuosic style.
Yngwie's impact on the electric guitar world is as profound as his command of the instrument. Malmsteen's approach to guitar essentially popularized the neoclassical genre and set the gold standard for the variety of metal and shred techniques to come.
Yngwie uses a variety of backing tracks pulled from 10 of his most famous songs as the framework for the masterclass and how he demonstrates his creative process, technical skills, and performance insights.
Your learning journey destinations include Toccata, Top Down Foot Down, Blue, Trilogy, Fugue, No Rest for the Wicked, Blackstar, Badinere, Si Vis Pacem, and Far Beyond the Sun.
The masterclass curriculum also includes essential techniques and melodic insights: Vibrato as an Expressive Voice, Improvisation is the Genesis of Composition, Natural Development of the Right Hand, Violin Based Patterns & Arpeggios, Twin Melodies & Thinking Modal, and particular Right Hand Focus segments for all of the performances.
Yngwie shares his influences, key learnings, and other insights gleaned from his own experiences throughout his highly acclaimed career: Creating One-of-a-Kind Live Experiences, Trusting Your Ears for Pitch Control, Finding Your Path as an Artist, Benefits of Having Your Studio, 357 Magnum, Allowing Musical Magic to Happen.
You'll have all of TrueFire's advanced learning tools to personalize your workspace and learn at your own pace.
All of the performances are tabbed, notated, and synced to the video with slow-mo and looping controls so that you can set your own pace and focus wherever, whenever you want to (slo-mo and looping will come in very handy!). You'll also get tab and standard notation files to print out Guitar Pro files and all the backing tracks to practice with.
Grab your guitar, and let's dig in with our maestro, Yngwie Malmsteen!
We are thrilled to welcome Yngwie to the TrueFire family with this release of MaestroClass, his first-ever interactive video learning experience and indisputably the "ultimate" neoclassical guitar masterclass.
In the early 1980s, Yngwie introduced the world to virtuoso Neoclassical rock guitar, establishing a new genre of music along with a challenging array of electric guitar techniques and creative styling. HNeoclassical'sigh-speed alternate picking, sweep-picked arpeggios, harmonic minor scales, intricate composition techniques, and a deep understanding of musical theory characterize neoclassical’s virtuosic style.
Yngwie's impact on the electric guitar world is as profound as his command of the instrument. Malmsteen's approach to guitar essentially popularized the neoclassical genre and set the gold standard for the variety of metal and shred techniques to come.
Yngwie uses a variety of backing tracks pulled from 10 of his most famous songs as the framework for the masterclass and how he demonstrates his creative process, technical skills, and performance insights.
Your learning journey destinations include Toccata, Top Down Foot Down, Blue, Trilogy, Fugue, No Rest for the Wicked, Blackstar, Badinere, Si Vis Pacem, and Far Beyond the Sun.
The masterclass curriculum also includes essential techniques and melodic insights: Vibrato as an Expressive Voice, Improvisation is the Genesis of Composition, Natural Development of the Right Hand, Violin Based Patterns & Arpeggios, Twin Melodies & Thinking Modal, and particular Right Hand Focus segments for all of the performances.
Yngwie shares his influences, key learnings, and other insights gleaned from his own experiences throughout his highly acclaimed career: Creating One-of-a-Kind Live Experiences, Trusting Your Ears for Pitch Control, Finding Your Path as an Artist, Benefits of Having Your Studio, 357 Magnum, Allowing Musical Magic to Happen.
You'll have all of TrueFire's advanced learning tools to personalize your workspace and learn at your own pace.
All of the performances are tabbed, notated, and synced to the video with slow-mo and looping controls so that you can set your own pace and focus wherever, whenever you want to (slo-mo and looping will come in very handy!). You'll also get tab and standard notation files to print out Guitar Pro files and all the backing tracks to practice with.
Grab your guitar, and let's dig in with our maestro, Yngwie Malmsteen!
What you'll learn
- Execute arpeggios over suspended chords
- Apply suspended chord concepts to arpeggio playing
- Learn to think about scales in terms of mathematical note relationships
- Learning about creative studio experimentation and problem-solving
- Develop pattern-based improvisation approaches
Release date: 07/31/2023 • 2h 02m runtime
Sample lessons
Toccata
Overview & Performance Insights
Toccata
Performance
Toccata
Performance: Right Hand Focus
Finding Your Path as an Artist
Artistic Foundations
What's included
47 lessons • 24 charts • 10 Jam Tracks
MaestroClass
Hello there, I'm Yngwie Malmsteen, and welcome to this masterclass. We are going to look through some of my songs, discuss how they were created, the background stories, and even some funny incidents. We're even going to talk about Ferraris believe it or not.
We're going to talk about the philosophy that I have about music, how I started out, what I'm still doing, and more. You'll also be able to slow down some of my stuff, play along with it, loop it, and dissect it in any way you want, really.
I'm really excited about sharing all of this with you guys. Bring your guitars, get involved, check it out!
We're going to talk about the philosophy that I have about music, how I started out, what I'm still doing, and more. You'll also be able to slow down some of my stuff, play along with it, loop it, and dissect it in any way you want, really.
I'm really excited about sharing all of this with you guys. Bring your guitars, get involved, check it out!
Toccata
Toccata is, essentially, all about pedal notes throughout. It's kind of an extravagant showcase of pedal notes. It contains plenty of arpeggios as well.
Give it a listen and you'll see what I mean!
Give it a listen and you'll see what I mean!
Toccata
In this lesson, Yngwie performs his piece 'Toccata'. Make sure to take advantage of TrueFire's innovative features, including tabsync and tempo control, which can assist you in understanding and following along with the music at your own pace.
Toccata
In this lesson, Yngwie performs his piece 'Toccata', with a focus on the right hand technique. Make sure to take advantage of TrueFire's innovative features, including tabsync and tempo control, which can assist you in understanding and following along with the music at your own pace.
Natural Development of the Right Hand
Okay. I have a really funny story for you guys. I started playing when I was seven years old. I'd wanted to start at five, but only really began playing at seven. And when I say "started playing," I mean I played every waking moment. Everybody thought I was completely crazy. "This crazy kid, what is this little kid doing?" I'd play until I fell asleep, then I'd wake up with the guitar still on me. The first thing I'd do would be to start playing again.
By "playing," I mean truly playing. You know, I never practiced like running through scales or something. Every time I played, in my head, I was performing in front of people.
I just kept on playing. I learned that the best way for me to figure out what's good and bad in what I'm doing is to record myself. So from very early on, I had a little tape recorder and I'd record myself. I'd listen back and decide, "no, that's not good," or "that's good." Everything I did was guided by my ears.
I never thought about which finger to put where or how to hold the pick. All I cared about was whether it sounded good. And I aimed to play very cleanly. For instance, let's say you play something and want to pick each note to give a different tone, but maintain the same lightness, it shouldn't be any different. Each note should come out the same way, with just a little different attack. That's all.
I never thought about the picking or anything like that until I came to Japan in 1984. I had done something similar in '83, and they asked, "so, how do you hold your pick?" That was the first time I ever looked down at my hand and thought about how I held it.
To me, the only thing that mattered was what it sounded like. I never took lessons either. So nobody told me to hold the pick a certain way, or to do this or that. The stuff that I do on the electric guitar is such a new technique. The violin and piano techniques have been around for hundreds of years. The techniques of bowing are all set, there's no other way of doing that.
What I'm doing, it's kind of new. The techniques are new. Other guitar players, like Van Halen and others, did things their own way. You know, there's not a set way yet. So, from day one, all I cared about was what it sounded like. That's all I cared about.
By "playing," I mean truly playing. You know, I never practiced like running through scales or something. Every time I played, in my head, I was performing in front of people.
I just kept on playing. I learned that the best way for me to figure out what's good and bad in what I'm doing is to record myself. So from very early on, I had a little tape recorder and I'd record myself. I'd listen back and decide, "no, that's not good," or "that's good." Everything I did was guided by my ears.
I never thought about which finger to put where or how to hold the pick. All I cared about was whether it sounded good. And I aimed to play very cleanly. For instance, let's say you play something and want to pick each note to give a different tone, but maintain the same lightness, it shouldn't be any different. Each note should come out the same way, with just a little different attack. That's all.
I never thought about the picking or anything like that until I came to Japan in 1984. I had done something similar in '83, and they asked, "so, how do you hold your pick?" That was the first time I ever looked down at my hand and thought about how I held it.
To me, the only thing that mattered was what it sounded like. I never took lessons either. So nobody told me to hold the pick a certain way, or to do this or that. The stuff that I do on the electric guitar is such a new technique. The violin and piano techniques have been around for hundreds of years. The techniques of bowing are all set, there's no other way of doing that.
What I'm doing, it's kind of new. The techniques are new. Other guitar players, like Van Halen and others, did things their own way. You know, there's not a set way yet. So, from day one, all I cared about was what it sounded like. That's all I cared about.
Top Down, Foot Down
So, 'Top Down, Foot Down' pays homage to my little cruises around in Ferraris. I love doing that. The song is in C sharp minor, which is a great key, and it's full of arpeggios. Arpeggios can be played in many different ways. By the way, an arpeggio means a broken chord. So, you have a chord, and if you break it apart, that's an arpeggio.
But the way I play arpeggios is more akin to what you would hear on a violin, which is a wider range. You can do it on two strings, three, four, five, or six, depending on the effect you want to achieve. This particular one, 'Top Down, Foot Down,' is a three-string arpeggio in C sharp minor then, it transitions into the major key.
I really like that part a lot too. I don't know what else to say about it. It's 'Top Down, Foot Down.' It's cool, I like it!
But the way I play arpeggios is more akin to what you would hear on a violin, which is a wider range. You can do it on two strings, three, four, five, or six, depending on the effect you want to achieve. This particular one, 'Top Down, Foot Down,' is a three-string arpeggio in C sharp minor then, it transitions into the major key.
I really like that part a lot too. I don't know what else to say about it. It's 'Top Down, Foot Down.' It's cool, I like it!
Top Down, Foot Down
In this lesson, Yngwie performs his piece 'Top Down, Foot Down'. Make sure to take advantage of TrueFire's innovative features, including tabsync and tempo control, which can assist you in understanding and following along with the music at your own pace.
+ 40 more lessons
Reviews
15 results
falasty39
Verified buyer
12/26/25
It's not really a "course" but useful nonetheless.
Love Yngwie, the tabs and the performances in the course, but it's not really a "course". It's just him performing, although the clean camera angles and the possibility of changing speed.
namile.akihiro
Verified buyer
11/25/25
amazing
It was amazing. I want to try Blitzkrieg. I want the negative guitar track too.
ukshrednoodle
Verified buyer
10/25/25
Yngwie close up
Great close up of Yngwie playing, see his economy of movement and picking hand.
sanfeliz2011
Verified buyer
07/29/24
Learn from a legend
The TruFire tools are useful for absorbing the content but the class feels a little more like a demonstration than a lesson.
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