Lock the smooth sound of neo soul under your fingers.
Intermediate guitarists
Learn neo soul without getting bogged down by hours of theory. This class is perfect for making quick guitar gains.
10 days
Nicklas will guide you through 10 days of step-by-step instruction with interactive TAB and daily assignments.
Play like butter 🧈🧈🧈
You'll leave this class with a diverse set of neo-soul techniques that'll turn you into a silky-smooth guitarist.
Take the next step
Once you've mastered this course, keep learning with advanced Master Classes and guided practice plans.
Over the next 10 days, Nicklas Myhre will guide you through the cornerstones of modern neo soul guitar.
This music-first course is designed to get you playing neo-soul guitar that sounds great right away. In each lesson, Nicklas breaks down a concept then guides you through exercises and jams to internalize what you learned in a musical context.
How to Get the Neo-Soul Sound
What are the fundamental elements that make up great neo-soul guitar playing?
To kick off the class, you'll learn the essential elements of neo soul by working with colorful chords and connecting pentatonic scales.
Neo-Soul Chord Embellishments 101
Expressive harmony plays a massive role in neo-soul guitar.
In Day 2, you'll learn iconic neo-soul chord embellishments that'll bring your rhythm playing to life.
4 Must-Know Neo-Soul Progressions
In Day 3, you'll study four iconic neo-soul chord progressions to get an understanding of how to build your own songs.
Nicklas will break down the theory behind each of these progressions followed by an interactive jam to help you get comfortable with them.
Next, you'll learn how to beef up your lead guitar playing with double stops – a crucial technique for any neo-soul player. This versatile lesson will come in handy for way more than just neo soul.
There's a reason we associate the words "silky smooth" with neo-soul guitar. In this conceptual lesson, you'll examine a series of techniques and tools you can use to hone your tone and smooth out your playing.
Listen to any neo-soul song and you'll hear a ton of complex chordal movements. In this lesson, Nicklas pulls demystifies the art of the passing chord so you can breathe new life into your progressions.
Chord extensions are great for accessing colorful voicings, but did you also know that you can use them to fuel your songwriting? Here, you'll learn how to explore melodic possibilities that are just a pinky away.
Learning another guitarist's licks is a piece of cake, but you're not alone if you struggle to compose your own material. In this lesson, you'll learn a simple process you can use to cook up your own spicy riffs.
To build on your gains from Day 8, Nicklas will take things a step further and break down another straightforward formula you can use to write your own neo-soul songs.
Finally, we'll review everything you learned and challenge you to compose your own neo-soul beat!
But wait, there's more! We have seven additional bite-sized lessons where Nicklas breaks down some of his favorite neo-soul tools and techniques that he uses on a daily basis in his viral guitar videos.
He also produced three stank-face-inducing instrumental compositions just for this class. For each song, you get interactive TAB, a lesson breakdown video, and the backing track so you can learn the groove or improvise to your heart's content.
By the end of this class, you're going to have some jaw-dropping tricks up your sleeve.
Stay focused with this step-by-step learning program designed by our expert team of music educators.
Days 1-3
Get acquainted with the fundamentals of neo-soul harmony.
Day 1. How to Get the Neo-Soul Sound
Your primary goal on the first day of class is to learn the basics of chord embellishments in the neo-soul style. You'll also examine chord progressions and other useful techniques to start you on your neo-soul journey. Finally, you'll learn to embellish chords across two levels of difficulty before wrapping up the lesson in a jam with Nicklas.
Day 2. Neo-Soul Chord Embellishments
In this lesson, we’ll pick up where we left off on Day 1 as Nicklas will guide you through a more rigorous approach to chord embellishments. We’ll start by looking at major, minor, and dominant chords before finally moving onto altered dominant chords. You'll tackle diverse techniques like hammer ons, pull offs, slides, arpeggiation, rolling notes, and vibrato.
Day 3. 4 Must-Know Neo-Soul Progressions
Today, you’ll study four chord progressions that encapsulate the sound of neo-soul harmony. The lessons and exercises from the previous two days will play a big role in today’s lesson. Just like before, Nicklas will break down the theory for each of these progressions followed by a jam to really get comfortable with them. As you work through these, you'll solidify your rhythm foundation by embellishing each progression using techniques from Days 1 and 2.
Days 4 & 5
Shift focus to lead guitar playing through the lens of neo soul.
Day 4. The Best Way to Practice Double Stops
Today, we’ll dive into the many ways that you can use double stops with 3rds, 4ths, and 6ths. These are a key ingredient in the neo-soul sound. Before you jump into your first exercise of the day, it’s important to get comfortable playing the E major scale horizontally. Many of today’s exercises will focus on moving horizontally across the neck.
Day 5. Techniques to Make Your Phrases Flow
Then, we’ll switch things up and investigate the science of smooth. There are three interrelated concepts you’ll get familiar with: tone, touch, and technique. These interrelated concepts are all key to capturing the silky-smooth sound of neo soul.
Days 6 & 7
Take your neo-soul harmony foundation even further.
Day 6. How to Play Passing Chords
How do neo-soul guitarists make their chord progressions sound so jazzy and complex? The answer is passing chords. These handy chords present an opportunity to create a melodic bridge between two chords. Certain passing chords can add tension or create a brief and unexpected change in music. When used effectively, they can seriously spice up a song!
Day 7. Chord Extensions to Find Melodies Within Chords
In this lesson, you’ll learn be all about finding, creating and connecting melodies within chords. As guitarists, developing the ability to blend chords with melodies is an incredibly desirable skill. Melodies exist around all of the chords that we know – they’re just waiting for us to discover them! Once you learn how to utilize the melodic possibilities that are present in a chord progression, your improvisational vocabulary and songwriting abilities will increase tenfold.
Days 8-10
Take a songwriting intensive, review what you've learned, and explore some tasty bonus lessons.
Day 8. How to Write Neo-Soul Riffs in 4 Easy Steps
Today, we’ll draw on everything you learned so far and get creative with Nicklas’ four-step process to writing neo-soul riffs. Writing buttery-smooth riffs is where all of your new neo-soul knowledge comes into play.
Day 9. Write a Song Walkthrough
Things are going to get really interesting today. In this lesson, Nicklas will walk you through a tried-and-true songwriting formula. Then, we’re challenging you to write your own neo-soul song! Restrictions are a great way to stay focused and get creative, so Nicklas will give you some parameters to write within and guide you through the process to craft your own mini tune.
Day 10. Recap & Write a Neo-Soul Beat
We'll wrap up the class by summarizing everything you'll have learned and putting down the gauntlet for one final creative challenge – write your very own neo-soul beat.
Bonus Lesson: Nicklas' Neo-Soul Toolkit
Dive into seven bite-sized lessons where Nicklas pulls back the curtain on his neo-soul sound. These are perfect for intermediate and advanced players who want to grab some quick inspiration.
Bonus Lesson: 3 New SongSquads
Nicklas is a formidable producer in his own right. To wrap up the class and put what you learned in a purely musical context, he produced three stank-face-inducing beats and composed an instrumental song over each one. You're not going to want to miss these.
Hear from REAL students
Your Instructor
Nicklas Myhre
Master the art of neo soul. Join your mentor Nicklas as he breaks down the jazz and R&B-inspired techniques behind his buttery-smooth style.
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Annual Plan
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You save $30 per year.
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Guided learning
Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.
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Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.
Progress tracking
Monitor your guitar gains.
New releases every week
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Interactive TAB
Follow along with every note.
Multiple HD angles
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Get into the holiday spirit with step-by-step guitar lessons covering your favorite songs.
Members-only forum
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Monthly Plan
All-access to online guitar lessons to level up your playing.
$14.99
/mo
1,426 people started a free trial in the last 30 days.
Monthly plan includes:
See what a Pickup Music membership is all about.
14-day free trial
Guided learning
Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.
Personalized feedback
Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.
Progress tracking
Monitor your guitar gains.
New releases every week
Never run out of lessons to work on.
Interactive TAB
Follow along with every note.
Multiple HD angles
Get an up close and personal learning experience.
Supportive community
Workshop your playing, get feedback, and perform live in our online practice groups.
Members-only forum
Unlimited personalized learning support from our team of pro guitarists.
SAVE 17%
All-inclusive access to every course.
If your questions aren’t answered below, please chat with us.
Is Pickup Music right for me?
Do you feel like your guitar playing has hit a plateau?
Are you stuck in a guitar rut where you're just playing the same old chords and licks?
Are you looking for fretboard freedom?
At Pickup Music, we specialize in:
How do we do it?
Finally, we give you support and feedback through an exclusive members community and live practice group sessions with other members. This focused approach to learning guitar will help you bust through the beginner basics, break out of the intermediate plateau, and level up your playing.
This guided learning approach is the fastest way to make real progress on the guitar.
What makes Pickup Music better than other guitar lesson sites?
We're glad you asked! So many things:
What's included in my Pickup Music membership?
Everything! You’ll have unlimited access to every lesson on Pickup Music from every instructor. That means every Learning Pathway, Master Class, SongSquad, Licks Package, 5-Minute Lesson... we could go on, but you get the idea. It's an all-inclusive membership for one affordable price.
How long are the lessons? How long will it take me to complete them?
Pickup Music's lesson plans are designed to suit the amount of time you have available to practice.
Only got a few minutes? Try our 5-Minute Lessons to quickly add a new skill to your toolbox.
Got half an hour? Try one of our Essential Lick Packages or SongSquads to expand your vocabulary in different genres.
Got a couple of days? Try a Master Class with one of our world-renowned artists. Each class is broken up into short, digestible modules focused on one topic. We encourage you to complete the exercises for each lesson video before moving on to the next one because the lessons typically build on each other.
Ready to really commit to a multi-week program? Try one of our Learning Pathways. Over 6 weeks, these detailed courses will take you on a day-by-day journey to master each level in the genre. Learning Pathways include daily practice exercises so you know exactly what to focus on. These courses are the best way to make lasting progress.
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!
I'm brand new to guitar. Is Pickup Music the right choice for me?
Absolutely! We make learning the guitar made fun & 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 Pahtways. These programs are designed to quickly take you from a beginner player to an intermediate one who feels comfortable across the whole fretboard.
What the difference between the annual and monthly plan?
The only difference is that the annual plan saves you $30 a year.
Both options come with a free 14-day trial. That means, we won't charge your card for the first 14 days - you can cancel anytime before then.
With an annual membership, we bill you once a year up-front, and you save 17% as a result. We'll send you reminders before we bill you each year so that you don't accidentally forget about it.
With the monthly membership, you pay month to month. It's a subscription, so we bill you each month until you cancel.
Cancelling your plan at any point is very easy to do online - no tricks, emails, or phone calls required. Just click a button on your account page.
Is a Pickup Music membership worth the money?
When you first start learning guitar, it's okay to bounce around with random free lessons on YouTube and searching for TABs online.
That approach is going to make you an OKAY guitar player, but it's not going to help you take that leap to becoming a serious guitarist - a player who can:
To become a serious guitarist, you need a clear learning pathway to get to the next level. You need to free your mind and unlock your fret board - you can do this with Pickup Music's expert step-by-step instruction. Having this clear learning pathway is key to making real progress on the guitar.
What about the price? Is it worth it?
Private 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 costs just $150 for the whole year. That works out to 41 cents a day!
Signing up for a Pickup Music membership also means that you can stop wasting your time and effort trying to guess what you should practice next. Our guided programs eliminate the guess work so you know exactly what you need to focus on each day and week to make lasting progress with guitar. This will increase your efficiency and speed up your progress.
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.
Once your membership expires, you will no longer have access to the classes you were enrolled in during your time as a member, but you can easily restart your membership at any time. Just log in to your account and renew a monthly or annual membership to pick up where you left off.
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 :)
Can I cancel my membership at any time?
Yes! All you have to do is click a button on your account page. No tricks, no emails, no calls. It's a straightforward process.
You won't be billed again at your next billing cycle. Your membership will remain active and you'll continue to have access to the site until your membership expires on the day it was originally set to renew.
You can easily restart your membership at any time. Just log in to your account and renew a monthly or annual membership to pick up where you left off.
Note: Once your membership expires, we'll save your progress on your Dashboard if you decide to rejoin at a later date.
How does the 14-day free trial work? What is your refund policy?
Your credit card won't be charged for the first 14 days
When you first sign up to a Pickup Music membership, your credit card 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.
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.
We don’t offer refunds for payments that have already gone through. But if you choose to cancel, you will retain full access to the membership until it expires on the day it was originally set to renew.
Will I be automatically charged each month / year?
The membership is a subscription. After the 14-day free trial, you'll be automatically charged monthly or annually (depending on which plan you choose). We send you reminders before your annual subscription renews so you don't accidentally forget about it. You can easily cancel by turning off auto-renew at any time in your account page.
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.
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