Table of contents for August 2019 in Guitar Techniques

SIMON BARNARD Simon is a graduate of ACM and The Guitar Institute, holding a Masters degree in music. He teaches, examines and plays everything from rock to jazz. 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. RICHARD BARRETT One of the finest blues and rock guitarist we know, Richard is a stalwart columnist for Total Guitar, Guitarist and GT. He’s also Tony Hadley’s touring six-stringer. JON BISHOP Jon is one of those great all-rounders who can turn his hand to almost any style. He’s also rock legend Shakin Stevens’ touring and recording guitarist. MARTIN GOULDING One of the world’s foremost rock and metal guitarists, Martin teaches for dime-online.org and has…

I’ve always wanted to collect all the cards, have the whole set. But as I get older and wiser I’m thinking that having only the things that make me happiest is most important. I’m working on a series of Legato Pentatonics (which may appear in next month’s column) and I’ve hit a conundrum which I’m still thrashing out, and thought it would make great food for thought for many of you who, like me, have very limited practice time. Melodic Sequences are where you apply a number sequence to a scale and end up with a pleasing sequence of notes that makes for interesting melodic ideas or a challenging exercise. These kind of patterns are used by almost everyone in one way or another. I’ll go into a bit of…

Here’s a jazz-blues lick influenced by the jazz piano of Oscar Peterson. This phrase uses the major 7th note (B) against the C7 chord, and a similar phrase can be heard in Oscar’s C Jam Blues, where he plays the opening line (bar 1) using elements of C Blues scale, C Major scale and chromaticism, all at blistering speed. It works great on guitar even if the fingering is a bit tricky. From bar 2 until the end we are back in swing blues territory with a descending C Blues scale line that ends on a final major 3rd (E). Take heed of the underlying swing feel which should appropriately‘bouncy’throughout.…

While it’s most unlikely that your playing requires attention in every area highlighted here, we’d still recommend you try every example. Each idea is a great eight-bar workout in its own right, but is also carefully chosen so it’s not‘just an exercise’. There are lots of very musical licks here that you can lift wholesale or amend to suit your style; or there may be ways of playing familiar things that you have not yet tried. As mentioned in the main text, approach each example slowly and methodically; going at it like a bull at a gate will only instill bad habits and sloppy playing. Learning to play slowly and flawlessly is always the best way to go.…

He’d be the last to suggest it, but if anyone deserves the moniker ‘guitar god’, it’s Steve Lukather. As well as fuelling Toto’s 35 million record sales, his playing has featured on countless milestone sessions, including Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. Heck, he even turned down jobs in Miles Davis’s and Elton John’s band. With the release of his nuanced, confessional album, Transition, Steve speaks frankly about how quitting booze helped him find new focus and fire on guitar, inspiring him to strip down his rig to the bare essentials: six strings, killer amp tone – and peerless playing, straight from the heart. Modest to the point of flippancy about his chops, Steve’s nonetheless one of the world’s premier players, with a gift for finding effortless phrases that connect rock guitar…

Welcome to Mattias’s second GT masterclass, as usual transcribed in full and analysed from a technique and theory point view. The idea is to learn some of the techniques (many of them unique) with a view to broadening your own vocabulary and musicianship. The backing track and chord chart are of course included for your reference and to hone your skills. This month we see how Mattias tackles The Barking Crow; another Jason Sidwell track this time featuring dark, modal changes. The tonality of the tune is built largely around E Locrian (E-F-G-A-B b -C-D), but Mattias tends to gravitate towards G Dorian (G-A-B b -C-D-E-F) - same notes, different ordering - so that many of his phrases start, end or include a G note. G Dorian’s major 6th interval…

Campanella technique Campanella, meaning‘little bell’is the term used to describe the bell like effect when a scale (ascending or descending) is played with each note on a different string and the notes are allowed to ring over one another. The strings in question can be adjacent or non-adjacent and the use of open strings within the scale is essential. Consecutive notes must always over ring and where possible to continue ringing beyond that. When executed properly, the sound should emulate a cascading‘peel’of church bells.…

Brought to you by… Grammy Award winning guitarist Warren Haynes is one of the most gifted blues musicians to come out of the American music scene, most loved for his work in the Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule and The Dead. He got his first gigs by the time he was just 14, sitting in with house bands and playing parties. At just 20 years old he landed his first major gig playing with David Allan Coe. He would tour and record with Coe for four years before forming his own band. 1989 was the fateful year that Warren was asked to join the now legendary Allman Brothers Band, and from there he went on to have huge success not just with the Allman Brothers, but also with his own bands…

Bebop was a style of jazz pioneered in New York throughout the 1940s and was characterised by rapid-tempo, complex melodies and advanced harmonic structures; syncopated rhythms, virtuoso soloing and complex interplay. While artists such as trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach, pianists Bud Powell and Thelonius Monk, and the incredible guitarist Charlie Christian were important in bebop, if one name exemplifies this vivacious and hugely exciting genre then it’s alto saxophonist, Charlie Parker. Between 1942 and 1944 the Musicians’ Union imposed a ban that prohibited the recording of any new music. Once this was lifted in 1945, Parker, or ‘Bird’, as he was known, wasted no time in releasing a stream of groundbreaking recordings that showcased the ‘new sound’ these young, hungry and immensely talented musicians had…

This month we will be focusing on a variety of techniques to infuse your blues playing with better control over dynamics. We guitarists have all been guilty of the old adage: “Dynamics? I’m playing as loud as I can already!” So it’s timely to remind ourselves of the importance of this extremely expressive dimension of performing music. First we will think of dynamics in terms of controlling the volume of the notes coming out of the guitar. To maximise the range of possible volume, make sure your amp is set to a moderate overdrive sound, or even a cranked up clean channel. Avoid saturated distortion as the inherent compression of the signal will immediately limit your dynamic range. The perfect tone is one that reacts to your playing, so it…

OZ NOY BOOGA LOOGA LOO Abstract Logix ★★★★★ Some artists get better with each album, sparkling with new approaches, tones and richer arrangements. Virtuoso Oz Noy is no longer a fresh name on the scene, but he’s now well placed not only as a Strat-wielding groove connoisseur, but a musician that his growing fan base requires to come up with the goods every time. He delivers here with rich harmonies, toe-tapping rhythms, super tasty solos and gorgeous single-coil tones for instrumentals that will stick in your head for days. Imagine New Orleans tinged blues, BB King meets The Meters type vibes and you’ve only part of what’s on offer. Chocolate Souffle’s melody will stagger you with Oz’s groove control; A Soul Thang is gorgeously ’70s soul gospel while his take…

MORE OF THE WORLD’S BEST LESSONS… FEATURE #2 VIDEO BARRIE CADOGAN Danny Kirwan style lesson The Primal Scream, Little Barrie axe man gives a heartfelt video lesson on Fleetwood Mac’s enigmatic guitarist. CLASSICAL TAB VIDEO LA CI DAREM LA MANO Don Giovanni - Mozart Bridget Mermikides arranges one of the major duets from Don Giovanni as sung by almost every opera legend. FEATURE #3 VIDEO MATTIAS IA EKLUNDH Back On The Road For his third GT masterclass Mattias pulls out another first-take solo on a brand new Jason Sidwell track. TECHNIQUE & THEORY GREAT STUFF TO LEARN Sax-style solos; walking bass These two jazz-tinged lessons will shape up your phrasing and get you on the road to three-part solo guitar. MORE GREAT LESSONS 30-Minute Lickbag Six more…

MANY YEARS AGO I was asked to teach Blues Level 3 at the International Guitar Festival (IGF) Summer School. It was based at Bath Spa University campus on the edge of town, and so was local to where I lived. I’d never really contemplated teaching before. However, the various appeals to my vanity worked and I found myself sitting with my guitar in front of a class of 20 or so people, of all types, ages, nationalities and abilities. I remember it vividly: I’d done some planning, obviously, but when it came down to facing the group I had literally no idea what to say. Then I opened my mouth to speak and in a flash the whole week was gone. It was one of the best of my life…

In retrospect, I had the luck to be a member of the last generation of musicians that served their apprenticeship on the stand and cut their teeth on the date itself. While it’s true that I also studied classical guitar with Carlos Bonell at The Royal College Of Music and have the piece of papyrus to prove it, that’s not strictly relevant to the thrust of my argument. Because back then there were no jazz degrees to be obtained at music colleges, no established rock schools to provide a structure and not even much in the way of enlightenment from specialist publications. Unless you include Autocar and Men’s Health UK. Basically, we had gigs. Gigs that were relatively plentiful, gigs that paid (just enough) money to pay the rent without…

➊ Jimi’s Blues Shuffle Jam (A) We start with a fun 12-bar shuffle in A. A Minor and A Major Pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G) and (A-B-C#-E-F#) are your starting points. Then see if you can work some of the arpeggios in: A7 (A-C#-E-G), D7 (D-F#-A-C) and E7 (E-G#-B-D). ➋ Uptempo Jazz Blues (Cm) Here we have a standard C minor jazz-blues at 200bpm. Use C Minor Pentatonic (C-E b -F-G-B b ) and C Minor scale (C-D-E b -F-G-A b -B b ) to start. Then consider A b Lydian Dominant (A b -B b -C-D-E b - F-G b ) for the A b 7 chords and C Harmonic Minor (C-D-E b -F-G-Ab-B) for the G7 chords. DAVID REDFERN / GETTY IMAGES ➌ B Minor Soul Groove Here we are in…

“There’s some rumour going round that Eddie did everything on that track – but Eddie did the solo, and I played the bass, and all the riff parts. The‘dah-dah-dan’ was kind of me and Michael coming up with parts. He had the rhythm aspect, and I suggested changing the chords, so… [hums riff with alternating final chord] it added that little permutation to make it a bit more interesting. I was 25 years old when I did that and honestly, I thought the song was kind of silly when I heard it the first time. But it’s an honour to have been part of the biggest album of all time.”…

Brought to you by… Muse is an English band from Teignmouth in Devon, sporting the same line-up of Matt Bellamy on guitar and lead vocals, Chris Wolstenholme on bass, and drummer Dominic Howard since their inception in 1994. In the early 1990s each group member was involved in different bands in their local college, before meeting each other and starting to play music. They received a £150 grant from the Prince’s Trust to help get them get going, and went on to win a battle of the bands competition in 1994. After trouncing the competition they changed the band’s name from Rocket Baby Dolls to Muse, and began to look towards being a full-time working outfit. After touring for a few years playing local clubs, Muse got a support slot…

ELIOT ELISOFON / LIFE / GETTY IMAGES The secret to getting close to a sax’s smooth and fluid tone is in the articulation of the notes. So pay careful attention to the rhythmic time-feel at differing tempos and the use of hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides, all of which make a dramatic difference to the‘bounce’of each line. Players like Robben Ford might approach this from a bridge pickup with overdrive perspective, so the choice really is yours. But generally cleaner is better.…

n this current series, we are looking at a range of Mixolydian solo studies that are medium-paced throughout so that you can aim to play each from start to finish. In the previous lesson, we learned how to extract the five-note Dominant Pentatonic scale as a useful flavour from within the seven-note Mixolydian scale. Technically, this relatively unknown scale is closer in sound to a dominant seventh chord than the more commonly-used Major or Minor Pentatonic scales. In this lesson, we are going to look at ways of incorporating lateral motion using this scale, which involves moving along the length of the guitar neck, rather than just staying in one area or position (vertical motion). To understand and practise lateral motion, simply play a short lick or line in a…

Missed one of our recent fabulous issues? Get one now while stocks last. JULY GT297 BUILD BETTER SOLOS We’ve all heard guitarists playing cool solos and wondered what ‘secret scale’ they were using. Often they’re simply mixing in arpeggios to link the notes more closely to the chords for a more musical outcome. This month you too can ‘Build Better Solos’ using arpeggios! JUNE GT296 PAUL GILBERT EXCLUSIVE Mr Big’s ace guitarist brings us a stunning video masterclass, writes the Welcome page and more! Plus: a fabulous Chris Corcoran jump blues masterclass; Bridget arranges and demos The Lord’s My Shepherd. Also: Alvin Lee, Cream, African & Celtic guitar. MAY GT295 CHORD MASTERCLASS Ever heard a guitarist play gorgeous chords, and wondered what they are? This lesson highlights those jazzier shapes…

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 All the mag’s main lessons have the audio built in with a moving cursor that shows you exactly where you are in the music. Simply tap the ‘play’ button and you’re off - 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 (recommended) or smartphone. PLUS! * PLEASE NOTE: Only the Apple version contains interactive tab and audio. Zinio…

GT: What is it about instrumentals that appeals to you? JK: The first guitar instrumental I listened to was the ‘96 G3, with Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai. I was blown away by Steve Vai; the way he speaks through the guitar, expresses his emotions with notes. I was like “Wow, I haven’t heard anything like that before. This is a new world to me!” GT: What can an instrumental provide that a vocal song can’t? JK: It provides room for the audience to imagine freely. The audience feels instrumental music differently and imagination flows from the music alone. For example, when you listen to a singer’s sad break-up song, your mental picture is shaped by the words. If the listener doesn’t identify with those particular lyrics, the…

SWEDISH MANUFACTURER HAGSTRÖM produces 200 Futurama Coronado Automatic guitars for the Selmer Company in London, to their specification. It’s a curious guitar with a Jazzmaster-like appearance, through-neck construction and a striking orangey-red sunburst finish. It sports a vibrato, three single-coil pickups with individual edge-mounted volume controls, plus a gang of 12 numbered switches on a chrome plate. The‘Acrylite’ fingerboard features large white dot inlays, and the sealed-gear tuners have distinctive‘crown’-style plastic buttons. LYNDON B JOHNSON IS SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT following F Kennedy ; Sir Winston Churchill becomes an honorary citizen of the United States; Kuwait joins the United Nations; and 70,000 Ban The Bomb marchers leave Aldermaston and head to London for a massive demonstration. TEISCO-MADE MJ2 SOLID-BODY GUITARS  offer a cheap alternative to the major manufacturers and, like…

Welcome to this month’s feature on improving 10 common technique problems. Few of us can own up to having no areas in their playing that couldn’t be improved. What’s more, rather than addressing these to eliminate flaws we brush problems under the carpet, where they stay hidden until we’re suddenly faced with the need to use them. This can cause stress and even embarrassment in front of fellow musicians. No one wants that, so in this article we aim to address key techniques and concepts that could do with a boost. To give you a chance to work on and practise these technique there are 10, eight-bar examples to study, split into two sections, each with five examples. These individual mini workouts are a brilliant way of confronting any playing…

Steve Lukather is an incredibly talented and versatile musician who is the epitome of the hardworking rock star. In his incredible career he has been known as an international pop and rock star, gifted songwriter and arranger, prestigious record producer and A-list session player on over 1000 albums. Steve’s outings with Toto, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Chicago, Don Henley, Lionel Richie, The Tubes, Cheap Trick, Randy Newman, Stevie Nicks, Boz Scaggs, and many others, are testament to his tone, technique, time, taste, and touch. The premise of Steve’s whammy bar technique - as used in this lesson - is getting to grips with a floating type vibrato system. “It’s something I learned from watching Jeff Beck. He’s one of the greats, one of the best we’ve ever had.…

RON HOWARD / GETTY IMAGES In this latest issue, I am arranging a popular traditional hymn, most well known in its 1931 setting of Morning Has Broken with words by the English acclaimed poet and children’s author Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965). Although this is the version of the melody that has permeated popular culture (helped by Cat Stevens’ 1971 hit recording, powered by Rick Wakeman’s unforgettable piano intro), there have been many others. The melody’s first documented use is by Mary McDonald (Màiri Dhòmhnallach in Gaellic - 1789-1872) in her hymn Leanabh an àigh. When translated to English later, it was known as Bunessan - the author’s local village on the Isle of Mull’s east coast, where a monument to her can now be found. The melody was heard in 1927…

Brought to you by… EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 1 SOUNDGARDEN CD TRACK 20 This example is designed to replicate the sound and style that Kim Thayil used on one of their classic tracks and requires a strong chorus effect. Practise the chord changes first, and then introduce a steady picking pattern to meet the metronome beats. EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 2 SCOTT HOLIDAY CD TRACK 21 Rival Sons’guitarist has a great modern classic rock style and this example is played with heavy down strokes using a loud Marshall style amp sound. Strum steadily taking note of the rest, and the quarter-tone bends on the low G note for a bluesy feel. INTERMEDIATE LICKS EXAMPLE 3 ROBIN TROWER CD TRACK 22 Slide into the first note of each repeating phrase, steadily moving onto…

TIM MOSENFELDER / GETTY IMAGES Bellamy endorses Manson Guitars, including signature models some of which have effects such as fuzz built in. Amps include high-gain Diezel and Soldano among others. There are a lot of reverb, delay and modulation effects used on Muse songs, including the Digitech Whammy pedal and Line 6 DL4. Even if you don’t have racks of effects you can play our piece with a powerful, gainy tone (experiment with bridge and neck pickups) with delay and reverb added for ambience.…

In this series of lessons you’ll learn a unique approach to solo guitar playing that will hopefully set a foundation for going beyond traditional chord melody playing. Most chord melody teaching is based on traditional chords, with students being encouraged to locate melody notes inside set shapes. But this immediately limits the player to the geometry of the guitar and, in my opinion, stifles expression. The seven-step approach we’re looking is different. Melody notes, basslines and chords are viewed as separate, independent voices. Chords are stripped down to their essential components to open up a freedom of movement that offers many more musical options. I describe the way I play as a polyphonic improvised approach to the guitar. By polyphonic I mean that the three elements of melody, chords and…

Last month, we looked at Melodic Minor’s seventh mode – Superlocrian (also known as the Altered scale), which is commonly applied over dominant chords with alterations to the 5th or 2nd (9th) degrees - or both at once. Superlocrian – R- b 2-#2-3- b 5-#5- b 7 As we can see from the formula above, the Superlocrian mode contains all the possible combinations of altered 5th and 2nd (9th) degrees, in addition to the root, 3rd, 5th and b 7th of the dominant chord. Typically found within jazz and blues progressions such as the II-V-I and I-IV-V, altered dominant chords function as a means of creating tension, which helps to guide the listener’s ear towards the resolving tonic chord a 4th higher (or of course a 5th lower). In last…