{"content": "The Secret Guitar Technique You're Not Using"
Matteo Mancuso has a problem that most guitarists never solve: he plays with an unconventional tuning that makes standard scales nearly impossible to visualize. Yet his phrasing is among the most fluid and inventive you'll hear on the internet. In a new interview, Mancuso reveals what he's been working on—and why knowing every note on the fretboard matters more than you think.
The New Album Approach
Matteo Mancuso recently wrapped up a tour that featured an unexpected challenge: zero sound check before a major performance. The show was essentially a line check at 100 minutes—meaning no proper preparation time. Yet when he walked onto the big stage, hundreds of people were packed into the venue, hanging on his every note.
That was probably one of my favorite gigs so far.
The experience marked the first gig of his current tour, featuring material from his upcoming second album, releasing April 24th. Fans have already uploaded videos of the new songs to YouTube—something Mancuso has mixed feelings about. While he acknowledges it's essentially free advertising, he notes that once people can watch performances online, the element of surprise at live shows disappears.
A Different Direction
The new album represents a shift from his first release. Where the debut was more jazz-oriented and featured a naked trio sound—guitar, bass, and drums—the follow-up uses multiple guitar layers. Mancuso experimented with stacking acoustic, classical, and lead guitars on the same track to achieve what he calls a fuller, more produced sound.
It's a deliberate departure. He wanted different material than his first album delivered.
The Discipline of Daily Practice
When asked about his practice routine, Mancuso revealed something counterintuitive: some days, he doesn't want to play at all. But he still grabs the guitar anyway.
Once he starts playing for a minute, he's hooked. The more he plays, the more he wants to play—a pattern that has shaped his entire journey as a musician.
I always had this kind of discipline that even if I don't want to, I always grab the guitar. But once you grab it and start playing for a minute, you're into it.
He describes the study process as humbling: the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don't know. It's what he calls an ongoing journey.
What Vocabulary Really Means
In musical improvisation, vocabulary isn't about words—it's your bag of tricks. When improvising, a player with strong vocabulary can express ideas using different combinations of notes, creating varied and interesting phrases.
Mancuso explains it like this: imagine improvising in English. If you have a rich vocabulary, you can deliver the same message using different words and constructions. The better your vocabulary, the more fluid and creative you become.
For guitarists, that vocabulary is built through countless hours of practice and experimentation.
The Fretboard Revelation
Here's where Mancuso's approach gets interesting. He plays on an unconventional tuning—specifically, a major third between strings that creates what he describes as chaos for lines but helps with chords.
He realized something crucial in recent years: knowing the notes on the fretboard is useful beyond just reading music. It's critical for improvisation and everything you create musically.
Knowing the notes on the fretboard is much more helpful than you think. People tend to think it's only useful for reading, but that's not correct.
The problem? Most guitarists rely too heavily on muscular memory—the physical repetition of patterns without thinking about what's actually happening. When you're playing through changes at fast tempos, knowing your keys and intervals becomes essential, especially in non-guitar-friendly keys like B-flat or A-flat.
His Practice Method
When working on new material, Mancuso visualizes specific intervals. For example, when encountering a dominant seventh chord, he likes to visualize the perfect fourth interval on every shape. Once that sound exists in his head, he knows exactly what shapes to use.
He also experiments with concepts like flat-five sharp eleven—a Lydian dominant sound—and explores various fourths in melodic minor. These become his go-to language when improvising fast.
The goal isn't just playing through chord changes. It's hearing single-note lines and understanding where the chord changes sit within those lines. Even when not playing chords, you can hear the passing progressions—that's the objective he's working toward.
How Fingerings Get Chosen
When deciding between fourths, string crosses, or closed positions, it depends entirely on the sound he wants to achieve. A more Osullivan-esque sound might use perfect fourths on the same string for a suspended feel. The gambala approach uses different lines.
The rule is simple: if sweeping, start with the thumb. But he doesn't think about this during performance—it's instinctual because he's practiced those fingerings thousands of times.
I don't think about it too much because I've practiced the fingering so much that I don't have to think about it. Once you think about starting with your thumb or index, it gets complicated—you don't have time during a performance.
The combination comes from countless hours of repetition. The moment thinking enters, quality decreases.
Critics Might Note
Some guitarists argue that focusing too heavily on theoretical knowledge and note visualization misses the emotional core of music-making. They suggest that pure technical approach can strip away the feeling that makes music compelling. Others might contend that Mancuso's unconventional tuning limits his audience rather than expands his sound—though his results suggest otherwise.
Bottom Line
This interview reveals something valuable: the discipline that separates accomplished musicians from talented amateurs isn't talent at all. It's the willingness to practice even when you don't want to, and the systematic approach to understanding your instrument beyond just muscle memory. Mancuso's biggest strength is his honesty about the psychological struggle of daily practice. His vulnerability? The second album represents a more produced sound—some listeners may prefer the stripped-down intimacy of the first release. Either way, he's not slowing down.