Gibson is extremely proud to announce an exclusive partnership with world famous guitar instructor Arlen Roth. Beginning Thursday, July 17, guitarists everywhere can visit Gibson.com for Roth’s free, firsthand instruction on the complete spectrum of guitar playing. A new online video lesson from Roth will become available each day, with every musical genre represented—rock, metal, blues, jazz, country, and alternative, among others.
A music lesson pioneer, Roth is the quintessential guitarist. An accomplished and brilliant musician—and one of the very few who can honestly say he’s “done it all”—Roth has, over the course of his celebrated 35-year career, become the leading authority on all things guitar.
Continuing to build on his tremendous musical legacy, Roth’s daily supply of music lessons on Gibson.com will be the most comprehensive lesson catalog available anywhere. And it’s all coming from the man who put music instruction on the map nearly 30 years ago.
“This is truly a wonderful thing,” Roth said. “I’ve made a great life as a musician, but also in passing along what I know about playing guitar. It’s great to have the opportunity to be a part of such a fantastic team and company, and to be able to continue the legacy I started in 1979.”
Roth’s “legacy” began in earnest when he founded Hot Licks, a guitar-learning resource company that was essentially the first to videotape famous musicians demonstrating their techniques and individual styles. Hot Licks has shipped well over two million videos worldwide, in addition to producing an extensive library of books and guitar-related materials, including countless Roth tutorials covering guitar history, lessons, and various playing styles.
“This is going to bring an entirely new set of lessons and knowledge to a completely new generation of guitarists all over the world,” Roth said. “Gibson had the vision to bring me in and make this a reality, and I think it’s a perfect combination. I’m very excited and honored to be a part of this new venture.”
Roth was recently voted one of “The Top 100 Influential Guitarists of the Century” by Vintage Guitar magazine, and with good reason. Over the past 35 years, Roth has earned a remarkable reputation as a musical innovator and highly talented musician across nearly all musical genres, from acoustic to electric, from rock and roll to blues, from slide guitar to country.
In addition to being widely regarded as the most influential visionary and pioneer in the field of music instruction, Roth has also toured and recorded with the likes of Simon and Garfunkel (individually and together), Bob Dylan, John Prine, Phoebe Snow, Don McLean, Pete Seeger, Jack Bruce, James Taylor, and Duane Eddy, establishing himself as one of today’s most prominent blues guitarists.
His latest release, Toolin’ Around Woodstock, recently debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard blues charts. Featuring collaborations with American music legend Levon Helm and slide guitar master Sonny Landreth, the album has garnered rave reviews in multiple national and international publications.
Roth is also widely recognized for his authorship of Guitar Player magazine’s Hot Guitar column, which was consistently ranked as one of the magazine’s most popular features for more than 10 years running.
Along the way, Roth has played a multitude of various Gibson models, both electric and acoustic, including his most prized guitar of all―a 1952 Les Paul Goldtop. The priceless ’52 has been his faithful traveling companion to many gigs over the years, including Les Paul’s 90th birthday party.
“I purchased the Goldtop used in 1967,” Roth said. “It was the first time in my life that I knew what a good guitar was really like. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Gibson is delighted to announce its collaboration with Roth and to present an entirely new catalog of original lessons prepared exclusively for Gibson.com. A new daily lesson from Roth will debut Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of every week, along with a brand new one-hour course on various topics that will hit the site at the beginning of each month. This unprecedented package of lessons promises to be the most valuable guitar instructional tool available anywhere.
And the best part is that it’s all free, exclusively at Gibson.com.
Click here to go to the new main page of Gibson's exclusive lessons.