The Ultimate Guitar Kickstarter
Lessons Included in this Course
Course Content Overview
Nick Jennison—a highly respected guitarist, vocalist, producer, and one of LickLibrary's most engaging educators—will guide you through the process of rebuilding your guitar skills with clarity, depth, and encouragement. You will learn the secrets behind his fluid playing style, his deep theoretical understanding, and his extraordinary ability to craft practice routines that are both technically effective and perfectly musical. Each lesson is a step-by-step journey into the core of efficient learning, focusing on the essential techniques that drive modern guitar playing.
Course contents:
- Hierarchy of Goals — Master the art of organising your practice routine around long-term musical development. You will learn how to prioritise key skills such as rhythm, phrasing, and technique, incorporating foundational elements like controlled alternate picking, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides.
- Keeping Things Musical — Develop your ability to turn technical exercises into real musical statements. This section focuses on expressive playing, teaching you how to shape notes with greater emotional impact using string bending, vibrato, and legato phrasing.
- Rejuvenate Your Practising — Unlock the mastery of exploring different musical textures to break out of creative ruts. You will learn to expand your melodic vocabulary and fretboard awareness through arpeggios, double-stops, and octave melodies—a richly textured lesson in creative exploration.
- Motivational Hacks & Challenges — Conquer the challenge of maintaining long-term motivation with practical strategies and focused exercises. This section helps you build strong timing and rhythmic accuracy through palm-muting, power-chord rhythm playing, and syncopated rhythms.
- Returning to the Guitar — Explore approachable musical exercises designed to rebuild strength and coordination after time away from the instrument. This encouraging pathway back into regular playing focuses on legato phrasing, slides, and melodic sustain to reconnect you with the expressive side of the guitar.
Technical skills you will develop:
- Mastery of structured goal-setting and efficient daily practice routines
- Execution of Nick Jennison's fluid, modern rock and fusion techniques
- Proficiency in alternate picking for fast, articulate, and controlled playing
- Expressive use of string bending, vibrato, and legato phrasing
- Application of arpeggios, double-stops, and octave melodies for creative exploration
- Enhanced rhythmic precision, including syncopation, palm muting, and power chords
- A deep understanding of how to maintain motivation and consistency in your playing
This Course is Ideal for Players Who...
The Ultimate Guitar Kickstarter guitar course is essential for any guitarist who wants to deepen their understanding of effective practice and master the art of musical expression. Whether you are a returning player looking to rebuild your technique after a break, or an intermediate guitarist who wants to break through a plateau with genuine inspiration and structure, this course is built for you.
This course is perfect for guitarists who are looking to reignite their passion for the instrument and develop a consistent practice routine; who want to master the art of turning mechanical exercises into expressive music; who are looking to improve their rhythm playing and develop a powerful, tight sound; who admire the fluid, modern style and encouraging teaching approach of Nick Jennison; and who believe that motivation and a clear roadmap are just as important as technical ability in becoming a great musician.
What will I achieve from completing this course?
This course goes beyond simply learning new licks—it is an education in the mindset of a successful musician. It is about understanding why a structured, musically engaging practice routine played with intention can transform your entire approach to the guitar. You will gain unparalleled insight into the teaching philosophy of Nick Jennison and learn how his focus on building strong foundations created a system that remains eternally effective for players of all levels. By focusing on practical application and the specific techniques that define modern playing—from expressive vibrato to syncopated rhythmic attack—this course ensures that you do not just learn the exercises, but truly integrate them into your musical voice. For those ready to kickstart their guitar journey, your roadmap starts here.
WE CAN HELP...
1-ON-1 COACHING
Access to thousands of lessons is great, but without a plan you can feel like you’re practicing in circles. Book your FREE 1-on-1 video call with a Licklibrary pro to fix your technique, build a practice plan, get motivated, or overcome any challenge. It's all included in your membership!
The Ultimate Guitar Kickstarter – Nick Jennison
Starting or restarting your guitar journey can sometimes feel overwhelming. With so many techniques, practice routines, and musical concepts to absorb, it’s easy to lose direction or motivation. The Ultimate Guitar Kickstarter, taught by acclaimed guitarist and educator Nick Jennison, is designed to solve exactly that problem. This course provides a structured, inspiring roadmap to help guitarists build momentum, refine their technique, and reconnect with the joy of playing.
Rather than focusing purely on mechanical exercises, Nick approaches the guitar from a musical and motivational perspective, helping players develop skills that are both technically effective and creatively inspiring. The lessons guide you through goal-setting, practice efficiency, musical expression, and practical playing techniques that translate directly into real music.
Whether you're picking up the guitar after a break or looking to reignite your passion for practice, this course offers the structure and inspiration needed to move forward with confidence.
About Nick Jennison
Nick Jennison is widely respected for his fluid playing style, deep theoretical understanding, and practical teaching approach. Influenced by modern virtuosos such as Guthrie Govan and the fusion traditions of jazz and rock guitar, Nick blends technical precision with expressive musicality.
As a Lick Library instructor, Nick is known for presenting complex concepts in a clear and encouraging way. His teaching philosophy focuses on building strong foundations while keeping the learning process creative and enjoyable. In The Ultimate Guitar Kickstarter, Nick brings that philosophy to life, helping players develop both their technical ability and their mindset as musicians.
Course Overview
Hierarchy of Goals
One of the biggest obstacles for guitarists is knowing what to practice and in what order. In this lesson, Nick introduces the concept of a hierarchy of goals, helping players organise their practice routine around long-term musical development.
Rather than jumping randomly between exercises, the course shows how to prioritise key skills such as rhythm, phrasing, and technique. By structuring practice in this way, players can see measurable progress and stay motivated over time.
This lesson also introduces foundational technical elements such as controlled picking and expressive phrasing, incorporating techniques like alternate picking, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides. Learning these techniques within a structured practice framework ensures that players develop precision, timing, and fretboard confidence while working toward clearly defined musical goals.
Keeping Things Musical
Practising guitar should never feel like mechanical repetition. In this section, Nick demonstrates how to keep exercises musically engaging, ensuring that technique development always serves a creative purpose.
Through melodic phrasing and expressive playing, students explore techniques such as string bending, vibrato, and legato phrasing. These techniques allow guitarists to shape notes with greater emotional impact and develop a more personal playing voice.
By incorporating musical phrasing into practice, players learn how to transform technical exercises into real musical statements. This approach not only strengthens technique but also encourages creativity and improvisational thinking.
Rejuvenate Your Practising
Many guitarists experience periods where practice becomes repetitive or uninspiring. In Rejuvenate Your Practising, Nick introduces strategies to refresh your routine and break out of creative ruts.
This lesson focuses on exploring different musical textures through techniques such as arpeggios, double-stops, and octave melodies. These approaches expand your melodic vocabulary and encourage you to explore the fretboard in new ways.
By experimenting with new sounds and phrasing ideas, players can rediscover excitement in their playing. These techniques also strengthen finger independence, fretboard awareness, and melodic control, all of which are essential for confident guitar performance.
Motivational Hacks & Challenges
Maintaining motivation is one of the most important aspects of long-term guitar progress. In this lesson, Nick introduces practical strategies to keep your enthusiasm high and your progress consistent.
Through structured challenges and focused exercises, students develop core techniques such as palm-muting, power-chord rhythm playing, and syncopated rhythms. These elements are fundamental to modern guitar styles and help players build strong timing and rhythmic accuracy.
By setting achievable goals and introducing creative practice challenges, this section helps players develop discipline, consistency, and confidence in their playing.
Returning to the Guitar
Many players step away from the instrument for months or even years before returning with renewed interest. This final section focuses on rebuilding confidence and technique after time away from the guitar.
Nick introduces approachable musical exercises that gradually rebuild strength and coordination. Techniques such as legato phrasing, slides, and melodic sustain help players reconnect with the expressive side of the instrument while rebuilding fundamental control.
The goal is to remove the pressure often associated with restarting the guitar and instead create an encouraging pathway back into regular playing.
Build Momentum and Rediscover Your Passion
The Ultimate Guitar Kickstarter is more than just a collection of exercises. It’s a complete mindset shift for guitarists, helping players develop effective practice routines, stronger technical skills, and a renewed connection with music.
By combining structured goal-setting with musical creativity, Nick Jennison provides the tools needed to break through plateaus, reignite motivation, and make meaningful progress on the guitar.
Whether you're a returning player or someone looking to bring new energy to your practice routine, this course provides the guidance and inspiration needed to take the next step in your guitar journey.
Techniques Used In This Course
About The Tutor
Tutor Profile
Nick Jennison
I’m Nick Jennison, a guitarist, vocalist, producer and educator from the North East of England. It’s pretty cold up here, which seems like the perfect excuse to stay inside and make a bunch of great guitar-related videos for your viewing pleasure. I’ll be covering topics from technique, tone and musicality,...