Table of contents for February 2016 in Guitar Techniques

RICHARD BARRETT One of the best players around, Richard is adept at most styles but truly excels in the bluesier side of rock. He currently plays with Spandau’s Tony Hadley. SHAUN BAXTER One of the UK’s most respected music educators, Shaun has taught many who are now top tutors themselves. His Jazz Metal album is considered a milestone. JON BISHOP Jon is one of those great all-rounders who can turn his hand to almost any style. No ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’, he nails every one with ease! PHIL CAPONE Phil is a great guitarist who specialises in blues and jazz. He teaches at ICMP in London, writes for GT and Total Guitar and has published 10 top tuition books. LES DAVIDSON Les has worked with Mick…

GETTY IMAGES 250 AND COUNTING Congratulations on 250 issues! Guitar Techniques is brilliant. It’s absolutely astonishing how much is crammed into each issue. There’s such a variety of lessons, each one guaranteed to take your playing to the next level. You had some fantastic DVD issues a few years ago. Several of your great contributors were featured. So we got to SEE as well as HEAR them. It’s amazing how helpful seeing someone play a lick or a piece of music is. It adds so many elements that you might miss when just listening. You can get a greater understanding of how to improve dynamics, timing etc. Are there any plans for similar issues? I understand this can be tricky from a logistical standpoint, but it’s great every once in…

HERE’S A FOUR-BAR jazz-blues question and answer phrase that uses A Mixolydian (A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G with a C ( b 3) passing tone for the initial two-bar ‘question’and A Lydian Dominant (A-B-C#-D#-E-F#-G) for the‘answer’. In case you’re unfamiliar with the A Lydian Dominant scale it’s most commonly used when playing over static or non-resolving dominant 7th chords. Or in other words, dominant 7th chords that don’t move up by a 4th or down a 5th to the next chord. One of the most commonly cited Lydian Dominant melodies is Danny Elfman’s theme tune from The Simpsons. It’s not a difficult lick to play but you may find the fingerings unfamiliar and also the ‘swing’feel a little tricky to maintain at the suggested tempo. After playing through this, work on ideas of your…

›Slow blues in E You can approach this in various ways. Em Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) will work, as will E maj Pentatonic (E-F#-G#-B-C#), although the latter works best on the I chord (E9) and V chord (B9). Mixing in some E Mixolydian (E-F#-G#-A-B-C#-D) works perfectly for the I chord (E9). ›Rock-out in G G minor Pentatonic (G-Bb-C-D-F) and G Blues (G-Bb-C-C#-D-F) are good starting points but try some more colourful scales. The chord progression is: G-B b maj7-Cadd9-A b maj7, so try G Mixolydian (G-A-B-C-D-E-F) on G chords, G Dorian (G-A-B b- C-D-E-F) on B b maj7 and Cadd9, and G Phrygian (G-A b- B b C-D-E b- F) on the A b maj7. › 7/8 groove in F#m Count the subdivisions of this 7/8 groove track as 1-2-1-2-3-1-2. It’s in…

FRANK WHITE JON LUINI ABILITY RATING Info Key Various Tempo Various CD TRACKS 30-51 Will improve your… General scale knowledge Creativity Musical diversity The concept of the scale (a limited set of notes, repeating at the octave and used to build melodies and chords) is practically universal to all music styles and cultures. Although there are a few that are almost ubiquitous – like the major Pentatonic – there is still a vast diversity and number of scales in use around the world. This is hardly surprising given the sheer number of possibilities. Consider this: even if we limit our consideration to the 12 equal divisions of the octave, five to eight notes repeating every octave – and don’t count transpositions (ie G major to A major) as different scales,…

EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 1 THE CLASH CD TRACK 53 This may be as musically simple as anything, but get the delivery right and you can make a big impression. Strong strumming hand attack and plenty of‘attitude’ is required for this example. Select a crunchy-toned bridge pickup and hit the strings hard, with tight stops and mutes. EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 2 SUM 41 CD TRACK 54 Apply a bouncy attack to a modern high-gain type tone and you are straight into noughties pop-punk territory as typified by Sum 41 and others. This type of riff is fun to play and nearly always utilises major chords. You might also find it inspires you to come up with new and original ideas of your own. INTERMEDIATE LICKS EXAMPLE 3 PINK FLOYD CD TRACK…

ABILITY RATING Info Key:D minor Tempo:122 bpm CD:TRACK CD-ROM Will improve your… String bending and vibratoSlow bluesy fusion leadFeel and touch Last month, we started with the first in a series of six video masterclasses with LA guitarist Allen Hinds. In each issue one of the six performances will be transcribed and then analysed from a technique and music theory point view. You can learn the techniques and concepts with a view to broadening your vocabulary. The backing track by Jason Sidwell is included to practise over as an MP3 file on the CD. In this instalment, we are going to look at the second track entitled Monkey Swagger. As Allen explains, his main focus at the beginning is on creating simple, memorable motifs and phrases that people could sing…

LIVEPIX ABILITY RATING Info Key:VariousTempo:VariousCD:TRACKS 73-78 Will improve your… Blues-rock phrasingFinger vibratoHard rock attitude Def Leppard are still a name to be reckoned with in hard rock. But they were enormous in the 80s and early 90s after releasing Pyromania in ’83, Hysteria in ’87 and Adrenalize in ’92. Most of the songs on the subsequent greatest hits release can be found on those albums. It was Hysteria that garnered the band crossover appeal and made Def Leppard a band for everyone, not just rock fans; it alone has sold in excess of 25 million copies. The crystal clean production was achieved under the watchful eye of Mutt Lange, and although Leppard had worked with him since the 1981 release High N’ Dry, the goal with Hysteria was to push…

ABILITY RATING Info Key:A/B Tempo:90 bpm CD:TRACK 90 Will improve your… Understanding of diatonic scales8th & 16th-note rhythm readingReading notes simultaneously This piece is reminiscent of alternative pop-rock bands such as Snow Patrol. The chart is largely in the key of A major, which means that the relevant notes are A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#. A good knowledge of the A Major scale positions will be a big help as having an over-arching harmonic context can steer your fingers towards the correct notes more quickly than approaching each dot as an individual piece of information. The ‘let ring’ bracket above the stave in certain sections means that you should let the notes ring together as chords for the duration of the section. This requires you to fret the notes on separate strings, which requires…

WHAT OUR RATINGS MEAN Buyit Excellent Good Average Binit! Album of the Month FLYING COLORS SECOND FLIGHT: LIVE AT THE Z7 Mascot After Flying Colors’ second album, Second Nature, a tour was inevitable and this performance from Z7 in Switzerland is from that outing. If you are unfamiliar with the band then expect an amazing fusing of mainstream pop with complex prog arrangements and stunning playing from all. Flying Colors features Steve Morse on guitar, Dave LaRue on bass, Mike Portnoy on drums, Neal Morse on keyboards and vocals and Casey McPherson on vocals and second lead guitar. The concert features songs from both albums plus tracks from other top bands with which they are also associated. It’s is an immensely rewarding performance; the songs are really strong with powerful…

I STILL REMEMBER the first time I heard Robben Ford properly. I’d caught the odd Yellowjackets track but I’d not heard him particularly featured. Then his record company sent through his new album: Talk To Your Daughter. It was on cassette and, when I left my desk at Guitarist for the hour’s drive home, I stuck it in my car’s player. Oh... My... God...! It was everything that I’d ever wanted to be as a player: that huge distorted tone; the direct connection to 60s blues players like Bloomfield and Clapton, and the clear love for BB King and Albert Collins; but there was this whole jazzy ‘other side’ that lent huge dollops of sophistication and intelligence to the music. I already knew Larry Carton’s work since I’d got his…

JAMES CHIANG GT:What can an instrumental provide that a vocal song can’t? PG: It gives the guitar a lot more time to be featured. I’m not sure if there is an emotional result that is unique to guitar as opposed to other instruments. And there is also the athletic element. Not many singers sing fast – but lots of guitar players certainly play fast. And if it’s done right, it can be exciting to hear. GT:What do you embrace or avoid? PG: As a kid, I worked hard and built technique for playing fast. So now I have to work really hard to get my melodic playing to a similar level of quality. I have to play the music that I love and I’m just digging the old jazz clarinet…

BROOKS REYNOLDS GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without? JW: Yes! Brain 0.88s with the cat’s tongue grip. I pretty much just order 50 of them about once every year. GT:You have to give up all your pedals but three, what are they? JW: I only use three pedals! So I’d keep my Dunlop Jerry Cantrell wah (given to me by Jerry!), MXR Phase 90 (I use it on so many songs) and my KTR Klon Overdrive (I use it almost all the time). GT: If a music chart were put in front of you, could you read it? JW: If I had an hour to transcribe it. I’m not very good at sight reading but I could do it… just very slowly. GT:…

ABILITY RATING Info Key Various Tempo 76 bpm CD TRACKS 4-27 Will improve your… Blues soloing vocabulary Cleaner more accurate playing Application of Melodic minor scale Mention the names Larry Carlton and Robben Ford to a roomful of guitar players and chances are they’ll begin talking in the hushed, revered tones others reserve for royalty or heads of state. And no wonder because these two monster players have been tweaking and delighting our aural preceptors for decades. Their playing just oozes taste, tone and sheer jaw dropping musicianship. In 2007 the guitarists joined forces for a world tour that produced their first collaborative album, Live In Japan. The partnership was a perfect pairing: Carlton’s sophisticated jazzy style underpinned by Ford’s more straight-ahead blues approach. It’s rumoured that a 2016 tour…

ABILITY RATING Info KeyVarious TempoVarious CDTRACK 52 Will improve your… Differentiation of melody and accompaniment Melodic phrasing Playing in octaves Welcome to this issue’s classical column in which we return to the work of the Italian composer Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (try saying that after a couple of Proseccos!). Puccini’s contribution to the opera repertoire cannot be understated and the melodies within such operas as La Bohème, Gianni Schicchi, Tosca and Madame Butterfly are as sublime, well-loved and resilient to the passage of time as anything you might find anywhere in the classical music canon. Here we take the devastatingly beautiful aria Un Bel Di Vedremo from one of the most popular operas of all time, Madame Butterfly. This opera, actually Puccini’s fifth, was written in 1904…

COLIN D. TOD / PHOTOSHOT ABILITY RATING Info Key:VariousTempo:VariousCD:TRACKS 59-62 Will improve your Blues-rock soloingFinger vibratoVocabulary A distinctive, psychedelic approach to the blues has often earned Robin Trower comparisons to Jimi Hendrix. A quick look at his list of influences certainly reveals his heart was in the deep South of America while he was growing up in Southend on Sea during the 1950s. Unlike today where access to music is instant, it was difficult for a young British musician to hear black American music, but Robin had a friend who sent him singles from Memphis as they were released. Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Big Boy Crudup, Big Mama Thornton, BB, Albert and Freddie King and Otis Rush were a big influence on his development as a singer and guitar player.…

David Lyttelton ABILITY RATING Info Key:ATempo:160 bpmCD:TRACK 66 Will improve your… Feel for tension and releaseKnowledge of scale intervalsBlues-rock in all areas of the neck Loosely speaking, in popular music, you will get a choice of three tonalities: minor, dominant and major. We have taken an extensive look at minor over the years so, in this new series, we are going to study how to play over dominant chords (major is the least important of the three tonalities because, generally, it is too happy for rock, which tends to favour the dark and broody sounds of minor or dominant). Eventually, in true Creative Rock tradition, we will go off the beaten track when looking at how to play over a dominant tonality; however, to start with, we will build a…

ABILITY RATING Info Key:VariousTempo:VariousCD:TRACKS 79-88 Will improve your… Stylistic authenticitySingle-note line vocabularyUse of small chord fragments Eddie Lang could legitimately hold claim to the title ‘father of jazz guitar’. Lang performed with all the superstars of the age, including Paul Whiteman, Bix Beiderbecke, Bing Crosby, Hoagy Carmichael and Bessie Smith and his recordings in the late 20s and 30s with violinist Joe Venuti arguably established the template for Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Lang revolutionised the role of the guitar, elevating its status as a fully-fledged ensemble member, equally capable of rhythm and soloing duties. Born in 1902 as Salvatore Massaro, son of an Italian-American instrument maker, music was never far away. By his late teens Lang was performing professionally on violin, banjo and guitar. Guitar was to prove his…

JANUARY GT251 CLAPTON, TAYLOR, GREEN Play like three Bluesbreaker titans. Discover their influences and where their styles differed. Learn Pat Metheny’s Have You Heard with its astonishing solo. Plus, style studies with: Robert Cray, Ritchie Sambora, Bad Company, Jackson Browne and more! DECEMBER GT250 BLUES-ROCK BOOTCAMP Beef up your soloing with our Pentatonic blues-rock workout; learn Satriani’s Always With Me, Always With You and discover why so many top players use hybrid picking. Plus: O Sole Mio tabbed, Allan Holdsworth, Chris Rea, Richard Thompson, Dokken and more! NOVEMBER GT249 LEARN THE BLUES SHUFFLE Master this vital style with 11 superb rhythm and lead examples to play. Plus, part two of our picking series. Learn economy picking and play fast and fluid – just like the pros! Tabbed is the full…

RELATING TAB TO YOUR FRETBOARD HAND LABELLING Here are the abbreviations used for each finger: Fretting hand: 1, 2, 3, 4, (T) Picking hand: p (thumb), i (first finger), m (second), a (third), c (fourth). CHORD EXAMPLE The diagram represents the G chord in the photo. The ‘O’ symbol is an open string, and a circled number is a fretting finger. Intervals are shown below. SCALE EXAMPLE The diagram shows the fret-hand fingering for the A major scale (root notes in black). The photo shows part of the scale being played on the fourth string with first, third and fourth fingers. NUT & FRETBOARD The fretbox diagram above represents the fretboard exactly, as seen in the accompanying photo. This is for ease of visualising a fretboard scale or chord quickly.…

Tap the links Finding your way around the magazine is easy. Tapping the feature titles on the cover or the contents page, takes you straight to the relevant articles. Any web and email links in the text are tappable too! Animated tab & audio Songs and lessons have the audio built in, with a moving cursor showing you exactly where you are in the music. Simply tap the‘play’button then you can fast-forward or scroll back at will. Play the videos Certain articles have accompanying videos full of useful insight and additional information. Once again, tap the play buttons to enjoy video masterclasses on your iPad or smartphone. PLUS! Get a FREE iPad/iPhone sample of GT. For full details and how to receive our digital edition regularly, go to bit.ly/guitartechniques (if…

GIBSON INTRODUCES THE L-CENTURY flat top guitar specifically for the massive Century of Progress International Exhibition in Chicago. It features a headstock and fingerboard covered with pearloid (celluloid plastic) giving it a very modern appearance although the sound of the instrument suffers as a result. It’s a pretty guitar with spruce top, curly maple back and sides, round soundhole and a tortoiseshell scratchplate. The bound head and neck features rosewood blocks with pearl diamond inlays and the guitar has a sunburst finish. THE LONDON UNDERGROUND MAP is introduced to the public and the London Passenger Transport Board begins operations by unifying multiple services; Battersea Power Station begins generating electricity; the Milk Marketing Board is introduced and the British Interplanetary Society is founded. Cricketer Donald Bradman scores 103 runs against the…

CHRISTIAN ROSE / DALLE / ICONICPIX ABILITY RATING Info Key B major Tempo 96 bpm CD Tracks 28-29 Will improve your… Blues improvisation and knowledge Phrasing and soloing in B minor Pentatonic String bending technique Stevie Ray Vaughan’s classic recording of Tightrope offers a positive trick bag of blues-rock techniques and ideas. The song is based around a Hendrix-style riff in the key of B and a reworked blues form for the solos. It’s a straight-ahead major key track in 4/4 time signature and will give you oodles of scope for improvising – once you’ve learnt all of Stevie’s licks, of course. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Stevie Ray bases much of his lead work around various shapes of the B minor Pentatonic scale, then adds colour tones and chromatic notes to taste…

CHRIS WALTER / GETTY IMAGES ABILITY RATING Info Key:E major Tempo:117 bpm CD:TRACKS 63-64 Will improve your… General rhythmRock timing and feelBluesy rock soloing Even if this Canadian 70s rock group isn’t directly on your radar, songs such as You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet are still staples on Classic Rock radio and compilation albums. As well as selling over 30 million albums, tribute to them have been made by the likes of comedians Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse (“One of me all time favourite bands of all time, mate!”) and The Simpsons. In the 60s, guitarist Randy Bachman had been a member of Canadian band The Guess Who. When he joined forces with bassist and singer Fred Turner (at the suggestion of Neil Young), the Bachman Turner connection was made.…

After our look at major and minor chords last issue, in this instalment we up the interest by adding a higher note to the harmony. To recap, in diatonic harmony (ie within any given key), triads (three-note chords) are built using 3rd intervals sourced from the scale – that is 1-3-5 from every scale note, again in any given key. In C major the triads created would be:I C major: 1-3 b -5 (C-E-G)II D minor: 1- b 3-5 (D-F-A)III E minor: 1- 3-5 (E-G-B)IV F major: 1-3-5 (F-A-C)V G major: 1-3 b -5 (G-B-D)VI A minor: 1- 3-5 (A b -C b -E)VII B diminished: 1- 3- 5 (B-D-F)Adding the next 3rd gives us a four-note chord that expands the harmony greatly. Let’s look at just three of these…

BETH GWINN / GETTY IMAGES ABILITY RATING Info Key:ATempo:193 bpmCD:TRACK 89 Will improve your… Strumming country rhythmsMaking open chord changesPicking out bass notes Think of country music and it’s hard not to conjure up an image of the ‘man in black’, Johnny Cash himself. His bass-baritone voice and relaxed style are instantly distinctive and his plaintive songs of heartache put him alongside Hank Williams on the pedestal of country fame. Growing up in Arkansas in the 1930s Cash started his working life in cotton fields aged just five and he would have learned work songs along with his family and fellow workers. Guitar lessons came courtesy of his mother and a friend and by the age of 12 he was already writing songs. After a stint in the army, Cash…

TRANSCRIPTION #1 WISHING WELL By Free Great riff, superb feel and unforgettable Paul Kossoff licks and solo. Richard Barrett tabs every note of this top track. TRANSCRIPTION #2 FERNANDO SOR Opus 6, Study 9 Bridget Mermikides arranges and transcribes another musical study from this highly-revered Spanish composer. NEW VIDEO LESSON CREATIVE ACOUSTIC With Chris Woods This new series from acoustic master Chris Woods gets to the heart of how to play modern percussive styles. VIDEO SPECIAL FEATURE ALLEN HINDS EXCLUSIVE Part 3 of 6 Our LA session giant shows you some of his coolest licks over the exclusive track GT track, Ramp’s Letter. Awesome! A practical and structured lesson on... HOW TO DEVELOP SPEED! Using the ‘effortless mastery’ approach, this lesson from Richard Barrett gets to the heart of what…