Dead Easy Improv: a 30-day soloing course
Solo Over Grateful Dead Songs You Love in 30 Days
A step-by-step path: one short lesson and one backing track a day, so you always know what to play next. By Day 30, you’ll hear the difference.
Start Day 1 Today“Before this challenge I mostly noodled in minor pentatonic… Improvising over Dead tunes feels natural now. Night and day difference.”
“The China Cat lesson was a breakthrough and made me feel like I was really jamming for the first time.”
When you practice soloing does it look like this?
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You pick up your guitar and run through the same scale shapes you’ve memorized…
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Then jump over to a YouTube lesson, get inspired for a minute, but quickly feel lost…
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Then noodle around on your fretboard without any real direction
All while time goes by but your solos don’t actually sound any better?
Now look, there’s value in exploring freely and just noodling around: it’s part of how we all discover ideas.
But if you want to sound confident when you solo, noodling alone won’t get you there.
What works better is a clear path: one small goal a day, in the right order. Ten or fifteen minutes. That’s it.
That’s why I made Dead Easy Improv.
In one month, you go from noodling to actually soloing.
Never improvised before? Only know a couple of scales? You’re in the right place.
You already know more than you think. You don’t need more scales. You need a path that connects what’s already in your hands to the songs you love.
Each day is a short lesson and a backing track, and you’ll hear yourself get better as you go.
It’s built for players who are new to soloing, and for anyone who’s been noodling for years and wants to finally make up solos on the spot.
“I used to feel completely lost when improvising, but this challenge finally showed me how to take a scale shape and actually use it musically.”
“It made my practicing purposeful and consistent.”
Day 1 vs. Day 30: Hear the Difference
Real students, real recordings. Here’s Day 1, and here’s Day 30.
What’s inside: a step-by-step path
One Short Lesson a Day. One Track to Jam Over.
No library to dig through, and no guessing what to practice. Each day tells you exactly what to play: watch a short lesson, then put it straight to work over a backing track of a Dead song you love. Most days take 10 to 15 minutes.
Week 1
Get Comfortable
Connect the shapes you already know to the music, and keep it moving even when you’re not sure what comes next.
Weeks 2 and 3
Build Your Ideas
Lock in with the groove, learn to think like Jerry instead of copying his licks, and start making up ideas of your own.
Week 4
Put It Together
Play over full song progressions so your solos actually go somewhere. Then go back to your Day 1 track and hear how far you’ve come.
Along the way: Deep Dive videos, quick practice tips, and a few surprises.
The 10 Songs You’ll Jam Over
- Scarlet Begonias
- Morning Dew
- Sugaree
- Brokedown Palace
- They Love Each Other
- China Cat Sunflower
- Mississippi Half-Step
- Dark Star
- Friend of the Devil
- He’s Gone
A Few Days From the Month
Day 1: jump into a Scarlet Begonias jam. No pressure to sound good. It’s your starting point to compare against on Day 30.
Morning Dew: start with just the verse, add the chorus, then play the whole progression.
Sugaree: a slow, swaying groove that teaches your phrases to breathe.
Dark Star: room to stretch out and play with space.
Everything You Get
- A 30-day path of short video lessons, in order
- A backing track for every lesson, recorded with real musicians
- Jam-along videos that show the chords and which shapes to use
- Printable PDF guides with every shape and phrasing tip
- 4 Deep Dive videos that go further on the fretboard, phrasing and groove
- Lifetime access, so you can run the month again anytime
Plus 2 Free Bonuses
- Train your ears to hear what to playDead Easy Ear Training: 6 short lessons that help you hear what’s happening in the music, so you react in the moment instead of guessing.
- Learn Jerry’s solos from Casey Jones and LoserSolo Decoder: I walk through each solo note by note, show you the moves worth stealing, then hand you the track to try them yourself.
“The daily lessons and the way each one connected… made it all click. Totally worth it.”
“Who are the musicians on the backing track? Whoa. Seriously beautiful, and supportive, all at the same time.”
I Used to Noodle Too
Hey, I’m Jeff. I’ve taught guitar for over 20 years, online and in person, and I’ve played hundreds of shows with all kinds of bands. I even studied jazz guitar in college.
But soloing didn’t come easy for me. I’d run scales for hours trying to force a solo to happen. One teacher told me my solos sounded like random noodling. That one stung.
What finally changed things was studying the players I love, like Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Duane Allman and Trey Anastasio. Not to copy them, but to understand how they think. I broke their solos down into a few simple building blocks: shapes, phrasing, rhythm and feel. Then I practiced them in order, one at a time.
Once those clicked, I could step into a jam and actually say something. Dead Easy Improv is that same path, laid out day by day. It’s the course I wish I’d had when I was stuck.
“I can only say that you are the best teacher I have ever come across. After 60 years of playing, you have given me a deeper love of guitar.”
Start Soloing Today
Dead Easy Improv is where most players start. The other two are here if you want them.
If you want to learn the songs first
Grateful Dead Guitar Fundamentals
$147
One-time payment
- 10 Dead songs you’ll play start to finish
See all 10 songs
- Fire on the Mountain
- Franklin’s Tower
- They Love Each Other
- Sugaree
- Casey Jones
- Althea
- Bertha
- Truckin’
- Friend of the Devil
- Touch of Grey
- A fundamentals primer to get you ready
- Backing tracks for every song
- Printable PDF guides
- Lifetime access
30-day money-back guarantee
If you want to start soloing
Dead Easy Improv
$147
One-time payment
- 30 short daily soloing lessons
See all 10 songs
- Scarlet Begonias
- Morning Dew
- Sugaree
- Brokedown Palace
- They Love Each Other
- China Cat Sunflower
- Mississippi Half-Step
- Dark Star
- Friend of the Devil
- He’s Gone
- A backing track for every lesson
- Jam-along videos and printable PDF guides
- 4 Deep Dive videos
- Bonus: train your ears to hear what to play
- Bonus: learn Jerry’s solos from Casey Jones and Loser
- Lifetime access
30-day money-back guarantee
If you want everything I teach
Guitar Adventure Bundle
$806
One-time payment (normally $1,611)
- Every course I’ve made, including Dead Easy Improv
See all courses
- Dead Easy Improv
- Allman Brothers Easy Improv
- Grateful Dead Guitar Fundamentals
- Allman Brothers Band Guitar Fundamentals
- Guitar Fundamentals Boot Camp
- Guitar Theory Toolbox
- Language of Guitar: Jerry Garcia Edition (4 volumes)
- Language of Guitar: Bob Weir Edition (2 volumes)
- Dissecting the Dead (4 songs)
- 6 bonuses, including your own Guitar Growth Blueprint
- Lifetime access
30-day money-back guarantee
Guarantee
Try It for 30 Days
Watch the lessons, jam over the tracks, and see how your soloing feels. If it’s not for you, just reply to any of my emails within 30 days and I’ll refund every penny. Every course on this page has the same guarantee.
“I’d be a satisfied customer if this was the last lesson. And I’m loving the backing tracks. I listen to them without my guitar at night. Beautiful.”
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve never really improvised. Is this too advanced for me?
How much time does it take each day?
Do I need to know theory?
I’ve tried online lessons before and they didn’t stick. Why is this different?
What if I miss a day?
What kind of guitar do I need?
What if it’s not for me?
Is this a one-time payment?
Start Soloing Over Grateful Dead Songs You Love
Pick up your guitar tonight, press play on the first lesson, and jam over Scarlet Begonias. A month from now, play it again and hear how far you’ve come.
Start Day 1 TodayOne-time payment · Lifetime access · 30-day money-back guarantee
