About Joe Elliott
I spent 30 years playing professionally in Los Angeles as a guitarist,
musical director, and composer in a variety of music settings including network
TV, movie soundtrack, studio, concert and club venues. In 2010 I left Los
Angeles and moved to join the rich music scene in Minneapolis and St. Paul,
Minnesota. I love it here and am as busy playing guitar now as I have ever been
in my life.
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Teaching
I love to teach and my professional experience as an educator includes 23
years of teaching at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California for the
Guitar Institute of Technology (G.I.T.) and Baccalaureate programs and various
clinics throughout the U.S. In my years at M.I. I wrote and edited courses for
G.I.T. and M.I.’s Baccalaureate programs, spent 3 years as G.I.T. Department
Head, and 9 years as Vice President and Director of Education.
I served as Guitar Department Head and Director of Academic Administration at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota for 7 years.
In 2018, I began writing the Fretboard Biology program with the goal to provide a comprehensive program of learning to students around the world.
In 2025, I launched Newbie Guitar to help beginners enjoy the guitar. Newbie Guitar blends the way I taught myself as a kid with the experience I’ve gotten from helping others just starting out.
I served as Guitar Department Head and Director of Academic Administration at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota for 7 years.
In 2018, I began writing the Fretboard Biology program with the goal to provide a comprehensive program of learning to students around the world.
In 2025, I launched Newbie Guitar to help beginners enjoy the guitar. Newbie Guitar blends the way I taught myself as a kid with the experience I’ve gotten from helping others just starting out.
Performance
My musical experience has been eclectic. I’ve enjoyed a career performing Funk, R&B, Jazz, Rock, Afro-Latin, Gospel, Blues and Country. During my career I’ve had the good fortune of performing with some of the world’s greatest musicians.
Saxophonists
Keyboardists
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Bobby Lyle
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Ricky Peterson
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Scott Kinsey
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Steve Weingart
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John Beasley
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David Garfield
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Ellis Hall
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Renato Neto
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Bill Cunliffe
Vocalists
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Stokely Williams
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Ellis Hall
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Jonatha Brooke
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Patty Peterson
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Jearlyn Steele
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Jeveeta Steele
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Kat Perkins
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Carol Rogers
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Bryan White
Bassists
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Andre Berry
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Ernest Tibbs
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Billy Peterson
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Paul Peterson
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Sonny Thompson
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Rufus Philpot
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Alex Al
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Rene Camacho
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Rick Fierrabracci
Drummers
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Virgil Donati
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Marco Minnemann
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Tom Brechtlein
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Ralph Humphrey
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James Gadson
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Michael Bland
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Clayton Cameron
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Gene Lake
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Billy Kilson
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Stokely Williams
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Joe with David Sanborn
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Albums
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Truth Serum
Truth Serum is a collection of compositions I wrote with no preconceived goal of satisfying or conforming to any particular genre label or template. I just wrote what came to me at the moment. I arranged and performed them with my L.A. band, primarily at the legendary Baked Potato in Los Angeles.
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Country Grit
Guitar Books
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Jazz Guitar Soloing
(Musicians Institute Press). Perfect for seasoned rockers seeking new challenges and jazz newcomers looking for a good start, this book with online audio covers scales, chords, licks, techniques, and other vital jazz improvisation concepts step by step.
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Ear Training
(Musicians Institute Press). This book with online audio access takes you step by step through MI’s well-known Ear Training course. Complete lessons and analysis include: basic pitch matching, singing major and minor scales, identifying intervals, transcribing melodies and rhythm, identifying chords and progressions, seventh chords and the blues, modal interchange, chromaticism, modulation, and more!
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Fretboard Biology - Level 1
In the book that accompanies the Level 1 Fretboard Biology course, you will establish a foundation in basic theory, chord voicings, rhythm guitar, technique, and soloing, as well as a framework for understanding the fretboard that will help you advance throughout the course.
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Fretboard Biology - Level 2
Level 2 continues to build your musical foundation with intervals, the Octave Shape Family Tree, triad supershapes, rhythm notation, arpeggios, Folk and Classic Rock rhythm guitar, voice leading, and soloing with chord tones.
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Fretboard Biology - Level 3
Level 3 introduces 7th chord formulas, 7th chord arpeggios, sequence exercises, analyzing chord progressions with 7th chords, money-maker licks over progressions, Reggae and Country rhythm guitar, and in-position arpeggios.
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Fretboard Biology - Level 4
Level 4 introduces modal interchange, shell voicings, essential chord tones, Root Maps, inversions, ensemble chords, Funk and Classic R&B rhythm guitar, slash chord symbols, and analyzing chord progressions with inversions and modal interchange.
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Fretboard Biology - Level 5
Level 5 introduces Harmonic Minor, reading chord charts, suspended chords, diminished chords, the V-I resolution, the primary dominant, functioning and non-functioning dominants, Latin and Odd-Meter rhythm guitar, and harmonic analysis of secondary dominants.
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Fretboard Biology - Level 6
Level 6 builds on the study of Theory, Fretboard Logic, Rhythm Guitar, Improvisation, Practice techniques, and introduces the concept of Chart Writing.
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Fretboard Biology - Level 7
Level 7 completes much of your study of chords, scales, and arpeggios. You should leave Level 7 with very few mysteries about what to play over more advanced harmonic situations. I advise you have a simple goal for the end of this Level: to not be intimidatedby any chord progression you encounter.
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Fretboard Biology - Level 8
Coming soon.
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Copyright © 2026 Music Biology
You can learn to play the guitar. Period.
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Our
love for guitar starts with something simple: strumming the strings and hearing
them resonate with the wood. I've played guitar for over 50 years, and I know
exactly what’s needed when you’re first starting out.
The first few months are the hardest. That's the window of time where most new players get frustrated, and some even quit—usually because they're overwhelmed before they ever feel success. Newbie Guitar is built to get you past those first hurdles without piling on more than you can handle.
Newbie Guitar Level 1 focuses on the two skills that matter most when you're starting out:
The chord challenge. We tackle the three biggest obstacles head-on:
The strumming challenge.
How the program works. You start with a single chord. Once you've added a second, you'll learn to switch between the two using our core rhythm technique—because changing chords on the beat is the real hurdle early on. From there, you'll gradually grow your chord vocabulary while adding more strumming patterns. That's the moment you start sounding like you're playing real songs.
Everything else, fingerpicking, barre chords, scales, builds on these basic skills. First, you need a solid foundation.
Newbie Guitar gives you that foundation.
The first few months are the hardest. That's the window of time where most new players get frustrated, and some even quit—usually because they're overwhelmed before they ever feel success. Newbie Guitar is built to get you past those first hurdles without piling on more than you can handle.
Newbie Guitar Level 1 focuses on the two skills that matter most when you're starting out:
- How to play a few open chords
- How to strum in rhythm
The chord challenge. We tackle the three biggest obstacles head-on:
- Pressing the right strings cleanly, without muting notes.
- Managing fingertip soreness while your calluses build.
- Switching from one chord to another smoothly—this is the big one.
The strumming challenge.
- Using the pick to make a pleasing sound.
- Keeping a steady beat.
How the program works. You start with a single chord. Once you've added a second, you'll learn to switch between the two using our core rhythm technique—because changing chords on the beat is the real hurdle early on. From there, you'll gradually grow your chord vocabulary while adding more strumming patterns. That's the moment you start sounding like you're playing real songs.
Everything else, fingerpicking, barre chords, scales, builds on these basic skills. First, you need a solid foundation.
Newbie Guitar gives you that foundation.