Episodes

  • Oz Noy's Secret to Fretboard Mastery

    Oz Noy's Secret to Fretboard Mastery
    Oct 18 2026
    Oz Noy, a Berklee professor and NYC veteran joins Playback Sessions for a masterclass on finding your unique voice in a crowded room. From the terrifying reality of his first nights in the NYC jazz scene to the brutal decision to sell his prized Gibson 175 to survive it, the Berklee professor holds nothing back. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/skills-assessment 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ Free Tool for looping videos on YouTube and Instagram https://looper.sonoraintensive.com/ 00:00 – Intro 01:36 – The Pat Metheny Show That Made Him Quit School 03:12 – Why He Moved to New York at 24 05:02 – The Intimidation of the NYC Jazz Scene 06:22 – Selling the Gibson 175 to Find His Voice 08:54 – Jamming with Eric Johnson and Warren Haynes 11:01 – The Night He Played Eric Johnson's Rig 14:33 – Early Influences: Al Di Meola & George Benson 17:22 – How He Approaches Harmony 19:12 – The Deepest Lesson from Pat Martino 22:34 – The Missing Skill in 95% of Guitar Students 27:16 – Playing "Outside" vs. Playing Colors 31:18 – Think in Numbers, Not Note Names 38:43 – What a Master Practices Today 40:38 – The Endless Chase for Mastery 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley Guest: Oz Noy Editor: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins, Evan Bowser Executive Producer: Spencer Handley Camera/Sound: Moti Margolin #OzNoy #JazzGuitar #GuitarLesson #JazzImprovisation #GuitarTechnique #BerkleeGuitar #MusicTheory #PlaybackSessions #GuitarPlayer #LearnGuitar
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    52 mins
  • Patreon CEO Jack Conte: Adopt AI or Die

    Patreon CEO Jack Conte: Adopt AI or Die
    Oct 18 2026
    Patreon CEO Jack Conte joins Playback Sessions and addresses the existential threat generative AI poses to the creative economy. After facilitating over $11 billion in payouts to creators, Conte details the raw reality of discovering generative models scraping and cloning his band's signature sound without consent, credit, or compensation. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/skills-assessment 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ InstaLoop Pro: https://looper.sonoraintensive.com/ 0:00:00 – Opening 0:01:27 – Creators Have Earned $11 Billion on Patreon 0:02:08 – It Feels Like Resetting the Scoreboard to Zero 0:02:29 – A New Way to Take Advantage of Creative People 0:03:25 – Hopeful for Solutions: Products, Legislation, Demand 0:03:40 – Creators Take a Right Hook and Have to Bleed 0:05:09 – The Batching Secret: 100 Music Videos a Year 0:06:05 – Jack's Superpower: Improvising on the Spot 0:16:39 – Acting in Accordance With What He Believes 0:17:01 – The Silent Films Analogy: 1927 and What It Means Now 0:18:51 – 50,000 Musicians Lost Their Jobs in Three Years 0:19:52 – "Canned Music": The Campaign Against Recorded Sound 0:21:43 – Patreon Will Be Dead in 3 Years. 100%. Dead. 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley Guest: Jack Conte Editor: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins, Evan Bowser Executive Producer: Spencer Handley ##JackConte #PatreonCEO #AIandMusic #CreatorEconomy #PlaybackSessions #Pomplamoose #ScaryPockets #AICreativity #MusicAndTechnology #MusicBusiness #CreatorRights #FutureOfMusic #AITraining #IndependentMusician #MusicPodcast #SilentFilms #Patreon #MusicianLife #AIDebate #JackConteInterview # Sonora
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    24 mins
  • Why AL Di Meola Says Fast Guitarists Fail

    Why AL Di Meola Says Fast Guitarists Fail
    Oct 18 2026
    Guitar legend Al Di Meola joins Playback Sessions to deconstruct the surreal launch of his career: from the LSD-fueled demo tape, to a sold-out Carnegie Hall debut at just 19 years old. He breaks down his strict compositional rules, explains why modern technology is destroying guitar progress, and reveals the untold history behind the legendary Guitar Trio with Paco de Lucía and John McLaughlin. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/skills-assessment 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ Free Tool for looping videos on YouTube and Instagram https://looper.sonoraintensive.com/ 00:00 – Opening 0:01:01 – Al Was a Berkeley Student Who Loved Return to Forever 0:03:52 – Slipped Acid on New Year's Eve: The origin of the legendary demo 0:04:52 – Michael Finds Chick Corea's Management With One Phone Number 0:05:20 – Chick Calls Al at Berkeley: No Tryout. Just Come. 0:06:55 – Practice Practice Practice? No — Acid Acid Acid 0:07:11 – I Was 19 and Definitely Not Ready 0:09:31 – Imposter Syndrome Playing With Jazz Legends 0:11:12 – Recording Next Door to John Lennon 0:16:03 – Finding Paco de Lucía in a Madrid Record Shop 0:20:33 – Forming the Guitar Trio With McLaughlin and Paco 0:24:48 – Hybrid Picking: How Al Developed His Right Hand 0:48:11 – "You Can Never Start With A Melody" 1:04:19 – The Problem With Modern Shredders 1:17:15 – Bruce Springsteen Surprised Everyone in Minneapolis 1:20:30 – Searching For The Unreleased Acid Tape 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 📍 Filmed at Al Di Meola's home studio 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley Guest: Al Di Meola Editor: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins, Evan Bowser Executive Producer: Spencer Handley Camera/Sound: Moti Margolin #AlDiMeola #ReturnToForever #ChickCorea #PacoDeLucia #JohnMcLaughlin #FusionGuitar #GuitarInterview #PlaybackSessions #JazzGuitar #GuitarTechnique #HybridPicking #FlamencGuitar #MusicHistory #GuitarPodcast #CarnegieHall #FridayNightInSanFrancisco #GuitarLegend #SpencerHandley #CarterVintage #GuitarCulture #Sonora
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • The 8% Rule Billy Strings Uses To Practice

    The 8% Rule Billy Strings Uses To Practice
    Oct 18 2026
    Mentor: Robb Cappelletto who taught Billy Strings joins Playback Sessions to share the teaching philosophy behind one of the greatest players alive and why most guitar teachers are wasting their students' time. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/skills-assessment?source=robb-video 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ Free Tool for looping videos on YouTube and Instagram https://looper.sonoraintensive.com/ 00:08 – Opening: Billy Strings' Secret Teacher Revealed 00:21 – Robb: I Practiced More for Billy's Lesson Than My Own 01:22 – Goal: Teaching Students to Teach Themselves 02:25 – Good Teachers vs Bad Teachers 04:07 – I Am Both Your Boss and Your Student 05:18 – Nothing Bothers Me More Than "Because I Said So" 08:17 – Billy's First Lesson: What Rob Discovered 10:38 – Robb's Morning Practice Routine 16:02 – How Robb Structures Billy's Learning Journey 18:13 – The Spiral Method Explained 22:23 – The Biggest Misconception About Practice 28:49 – Why Theory as a Starting Point Creates Boring Players 30:44 – Time Is the Most Important Thing on Any Instrument 33:13 – The 8% Speed Rule: Ego Is What Stops You 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 📍 Filmed live at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee. 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley Guest: Robb Cappelletto (Billy Strings' Guitar Mentor) Editor: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins, Evan Bowser Executive Producer: Spencer Handley Camera/Sound: Mitch Goudy #BillyStrings #GuitarLesson #PlaybackSessions #GuitarTeacher #GuitarTechnique #LearnGuitar #GuitarPractice #MusicEducation #EarTraining #GuitarTips #BluegrassGuitar #TimeAndTone #GuitarPhilosophy #MusicPodcast #GuitarImprovisation #PracticeRoutine #SonoraGuitarIntensive #SpencerHandley #CarterVintage #GuitarCulture #RobbCappelletto
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    34 mins
  • How Patreon CEO Jack Conte Runs Sessions Like a Kid

    How Patreon CEO Jack Conte Runs Sessions Like a Kid
    Oct 18 2026
    Patreon CEO Jack Conte joins Playback Sessions and reveals the brutal reality of navigating a multi-billion-dollar tech platform through an era of total disruption. After building a network that has paid out over $11 billion to online creators over the last 13 years, Jack pulls back the curtain on the chaotic operational realities of executive leadership. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/skills-assessment 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ InstaLoop Pro: https://looper.sonoraintensive.com/ 00:00 – Intro 01:04 – Welcome: Jack Returns to His Old Stomping Grounds 01:41 – Life Now: Patreon, Pomplamoose & Scary Pockets 02:40 – The Reality of CEO Burnout (Feeling Underwater) 04:50 – Jack's "Brain Dump" System to Not Lose His Mind 06:28 – The EA Firewall That Makes Everything Possible 07:40 – Batched Production: 100 Music Videos a Year 10:55 – Jack's Superpower: Improvising in the Studio 19:19 – Band vs. Boardroom: What Actually Translates? 23:05 – I Feel Like I Broke Out of Jail 27:36 – Going to War With the Algorithm 30:17 – "We Are Lab Rats" (The Social Media Crisis) 43:15 – Why Jack Switched From ChatGPT to Claude 46:55 – How AI Dropped Jack's Cholesterol 40 Points 57:57 – The Silent Films Analogy & What AI Means for Music 1:03:08 – Survive or Die: Why Creators Must Adapt to AI 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley Guest: Jack Conte Editor: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins, Evan Bowser Executive Producer: Spencer Handley #JackConte #CreatorEconomy #MusicBusiness #AI #Patreon #ScaryPockets #MusicProduction #SocialMediaAlgorithm #IndependentArtist #PlaybackSessions #TechCEO #MusicPodcast #PlaybackSessions #Pomplamoose #JackConteInterview
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Jedd Hughes Wrote Stories About This as a Kid

    Jedd Hughes Wrote Stories About This as a Kid
    Oct 17 2026
    Jedd Hughes, one of the most respected songwriter-players in the business joins Playback Sessions for a cinematic conversation behind the career nobody fully knows. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/skills-assessment 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ Free Tool for looping videos on YouTube and Instagram https://looper.sonoraintensive.com/ 00:00 – Intro 02:11 – Guitar Party: The Night That Almost Broke Me 04:52 – Selling Out NYC & Chicago Through YouTube 07:26 – Guitar Party Songwriting: One Song a Day 11:48 – Moving to Nashville With $800 13:07 – Bought All 10 Patty Loveless Albums for the Audition 16:30 – The Hootenanny Tour & Meeting His Heroes 23:51 – How Jedd Got the Vince Gill Gig 31:49 – What Playing With Vince Gill Taught Me 40:27 – Night Shades: Making a Record in Isolation 41:42 – Writing With Guy Clark for 10 Years 43:50 – Live Performance: Love and You Is the Only Way to Fly 48:07 – The Songwriting Process Explained 55:38 – The D-Tuning Trick That Unlocks New Ideas 1:22:55 – Vince Gill Gave Me Danny Gatton's Guitar 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 📍 Filmed live at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee. 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley Guest: Jedd Hughes Editor: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins, Evan Bowser Executive Producer: Spencer Handley Camera/Sound: Mitch Goudy #PlaybackSessions #SpencerHandley #CarterVintageGuitar #SonoraGuitarIntensive #JeddHughes #VinceGill #Songwriting #AcousticGuitar #NashvilleSessions #DannyGatton #GuitarLesson #AIinMusic #RodneyCrowell #GrandOleOpry
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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • Why Marty Schwartz Doesn't Need YouTube Anymore

    Why Marty Schwartz Doesn't Need YouTube Anymore
    Oct 17 2026
    Marty Schwartz, possibly the most-watched guitar teacher on the planet joins Playback Sessions for an honest conversation about what it really takes to learn guitar, build a career from scratch, and why 30 years later he's still going back to the pentatonic scale. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/skills-assessment 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ Free Tool for looping videos on YouTube and Instagram https://looper.sonoraintensive.com/ 0:00 - The Joy of Playing Guitar 1:25 - The Biggest Mistake Beginner Guitarists Make 6:10 - The "Five Minutes a Day" Practice Rule 11:45 - The "Land of A7" and Chord Substitutions 20:25 - Top 5 Pentatonic Blues Licks 26:20 - The "Rockstar Bend" and Extending the Scale 28:45 - The Dickey Betts Transition Lick 31:40 - Why Marty Stayed Independent (And Producing Masterclasses) 40:00 - The Search for Inspado & Marcus King 46:40 - Seeing His Picture on the Carter Vintage Wall of Fame 49:05 - The Unbelievable Encounter with Slash 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 📍 Filmed live at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee. 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley Guest: Marty Schwartz Editor: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins, Evan Bowser Executive Producer: Spencer Handley Camera/Sound: Mitch Goudy #PlaybackSessions #SpencerHandley #CarterVintageGuitar #SonoraGuitarIntensive #MartySchwartz #MartyMusic #GuitarLesson #PentatonicScale #BluesGuitar #Slash #GunsNRoses #BeginnerGuitar #GuitarTheory #DickeyBetts
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    54 mins
  • The One Concept That Unlocks Blues Playing | Corey Congilio

    The One Concept That Unlocks Blues Playing | Corey Congilio
    Sep 23 2026
    Corey Congilio joins Playback Sessions for a masterclass in the one concept that unlocks more interesting blues playing. Plus the real story of how Corey went from getting fired in Nashville to building a career entirely on his own terms. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/skills-assessment 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ Free Tool for looping videos on YouTube and Instagram https://looper.sonoraintensive.com/ 📍 Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 02:13 – Getting Into Music at Age 13 05:19 – Surviving Cancer & Choosing Guitar 08:33 – Nashville Baptism by Fire & Getting Fired 10:26 – The Fishman Demo Breakthrough 21:54 – Forced Into Being an Artist 24:50 – The Blues EP & Recording at Blackbird 28:06 – Advice for Musicians in 2026 33:51 – Arpeggios: The Pass Key to Everything 36:00 – Mixing Arpeggios With Pentatonic 37:26 – Arpeggio Substitutions Over Dominant Chords 40:07 – D Minor 7 Over G7 Explained 49:47 – Applying It to Funk & One-Chord Grooves 53:16 – Barry Harris Pivot Technique & Robben Ford 54:11 – Working Class Guitar & What's Coming Next 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 📍 Filmed live at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee. 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley 🔥Guest: Corey Congilio Editor: Carl Reeverts Executive Producer: Spencer Handley Camera/Sound: Mitch Goudy #CoreyConglio #BluesGuitar #PlaybackSessions #SpencerHandley #CarterVintageGuitar #SonoraGuitarIntensive #GuitarLesson #BluesImprovisation #GuitarTechnique #WorkingGuitarist #MusicCareer #GuitarPodcast #Arpeggios
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    57 mins