Inhaltsverzeichnis für February 2018 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! CHARLIE GRIFFITHS Guitar Institute tutor Charlie first came to fame in Total Guitar’s Challenge Charlie series. He’s also one of the UK’s top rock, metal and fusion guitarists. PHIL HILBORNE The UK’s original magazine guitar tutor, Phil’s something of…

NICK DELANEY Let me start by saying that I’m generally speaking a pretty old-school kind of guy. Seems to me that back in the day things were better made, built to last, simple and easy to make sense of. I’ve got a pretty healthy collection of old guitars and amps but I have a confession to make… since I’ve been at my new studio (three months now) I only turned on a real amp yesterday. The amp modelling thing never flicked my switch. I got a Line6 POD when they came out and like most others at the time were pretty impressed, but it just didn’t have the life (dynamics?) of a real amp. They made some huge steps but were not quite there yet to my ears. In the…

THE HANK B MARVIN SIGNATURE Stratocaster Is released by Squier and while not quite the real thing it answers the dream of many a would-be Marvin. The main features are all firmly in place: the Fiesta red finish, maple neck with black dot inlays and the vintage-style headstock shape. Annoyingly the tuners are modern style but the single-ply white scratchplate, pickups and vintage trem are spot on. Perhaps the most pleasing aspect is the neck, as its profile is quite simply exquisite. PRIME MINISTER JOHN MAJOR is unexpectedly re-elected in the general election, giving the Conservative party a forth term in office. Major announces that the economy is recovering and that could mean the end of the recession. Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman Speaker of the House of Commons;…

CHRISTIE GOODWIN DOUBLE-STOP LICKS involve playing two notes simultaneously. Our lick is built around the CAGED system. The phrase begins with chromatic approaches to the‘A’form E chord and its first inversion, then shifts between the‘G’and‘E’forms. Having a chord shape as a visual reference is helpful in the execution of the lick and in transposing ideas to other keys. Play it using alternate picking where you essentially treat each pair of strings as one large string. Or, you could use the Scotty Anderson method from last month, whereby you play the downstrokes with the pick and underside of your first fingernail and the upstrokes with the pad of the first finger and the pick.…

ABILITY RATING Info Key: B Tempo: 115bpm CD: CD-ROM Will improve your Double-stops to support melody Pentatonic sophistication Melodies, modes and voice leading Andy Timmons is an all-round guitarist with an extensive experience of world-touring and chart-topping success (with the hard rock band Danger Danger). He’s a peer and regular jam buddy of the likes of Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Mike Stern and Steve Vai, a stylistically diverse and literate studio guitarist, leader of a highly-respected and busy instrumental trio and a guitarist’s guitarist with a thoroughly convincing heritage, great earthy tone and chops galore in the service of idiomatic melodic and harmonic interest. He’s also humble and diffident to boot. If you want to get a flavour of the respect held for Andy in the guitar community, watch Steve…

ON THE CD TRACKS 51-56 EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 1 GREEN DAY CD TRACK 51 Play this example with strict alternate picking, using light distortion and a confident picking hand, just as Billie Joe Armstrong does. The overall feel should be that of a steady and well-timed part with a major key‘siren’effect. EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 2 SKID ROW CD TRACK 52 In the style of one of the band’s classic 80s anthems, this uses the flat of the fretting hand’s fingertips, rolling between the 5th and 3rd frets. Notice the major 3rd of F (on A note) adds a melodic interval in the riff. Use moderate overdrive and your bridge pickup for some rock attitude! INTERMEDIATE LICKS EXAMPLE 3 PAUL McCARTNEY CD TRACK 53 Using the feel of Paul’s well-known ode…

 ON THE CD TRACKS65-71 “I LEARNED HOW TO PLAY AND GOT A LOT OF TECHNIQUE FROM STUDYING VIOLIN BOOKS. I USED TO PRACTISE ABOUT EIGHT HOURS A DAY Jimmy Bruno” ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 65-71 Will improve your… Delivery and accuracy Stylistic authenticity Motific development Born in in 1953 into a musical family, Bruno picked up the guitar aged seven and got very good, very quickly. At 19 he landed a gig with drum giant Buddy Rich. It was the start of a glittering career including stints with Lena Horne and Frank Sinatra. He then moved to LA and worked as a session musician alongside Wrecking Crew legend, Tommy Tedesco. Dissatisfied with the direction that life as a session musician was taking him, he moved…

ONTHECD TRACKS75-79 ABILITY RATING Info Key: G Tempo: 130bpm CD: TRACKS 75-79 Will improve your Legato, sweeping, alternate picking Strength, stamina, timing, accuracy Muting, barring, rolling techniques Following on from our last lesson where we worked through a ‘master exercise’ based around the G Major scale and maj7 arpeggio in positions 1 and 4, with the scale also played in 3rds and 4ths, this month we’ll revisit the idea using 5ths and 6ths. As a further contrast (that lesson used alternate picking), this month we’ll practise using a legato approach with the arpeggios played using sweeping, hammer-ons and pull-offs. All intervallic patterns will be alternate picked, starting on a downstroke. Playing the scale using 5ths and 6ths may be challenging, so break examples down four notes at a time and…

JING CHI (Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip, Vinnie Colaiuta) SUPREMO Inakustik ✪✪✪✪✪ When a trio with the combined musical might of Ford, Haslip and Colaiuta get together you expect great compositions, a ton of musical sophistication, fabulous solos and untouchable interaction. With Jing Chi (‘three energies’ in Chinese herbalism) you get it in spades. Of course, Ford and bassist Haslip have worked together for years in The Yelowjackets and Colaiuta is everyone’s favourite drummer, so they sound comfortable as peas in a pod. Opener The Majestic is a hard-edged funky rocker led by Ford, his spiky bridge pickup dishing out great rhythm and fiery solos, with fabulous support from Vinnie and Jimmy and additional horns from Jeff Coffin (tenor), and Mike Haynes (trumpets). Better Times has an almost ‘What’s Going On’…

I SPOKE LAST MONTH about my entire night spent learning McCartney’s Blackbird as a teenager. That was in a flat in Witham, Essex where I lived with my mother, sister and two brothers. It was also there that the bulk of my formative lead guitar moments happened. I vividly recall my attempts at improvising blues. I’d heard Clapton doing speedy trill type things in Cream, but couldn’t work out what was going on. Then one day my finger slipped off my Egmond’s top string and inadvertantly played the note that was held down two frets lower. That mishap-cum-stroke-of-luck taught me pull-offs and hammer-ons. During the same period I also realised that many of my heroes’ licks were based around the same sequence of notes but played in different ways and…

ANDREW LEPLEY / GETTY IMAGES ➊ Chicago Blues We start with a Chicago style 12-bar blues progression in E, with the ‘end-of-the-cycle-turnaround’ of E-E7/D-A/C#-Am/C-E/B-B7. For scales, I recommend using both E Minor Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) and E Major Pentatonic (E-F#-G#- B-C#) for a great bluesy sound. ➋ C-Am Jam This one goes between the I chord (C) and the VI chord (Am). You could also view this as traversing the key of C and its relative minor key, A minor. You can use the seven notes of the C Major scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B) throughout (it becomes the A Minor scale), and of course A Minor Pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G) will work beautifully as well. ➌ 7/8 Groove Jam For this odd-metre jam in F#, count the subdivisions as 2-3-2 (meaning 1-2-1-2-3-1-2). It’s very open,…

Want your Pentatonic scales sounding speedy and impressive? Using all five CAGED shapes Richard Barrett shows you how to play faster extended runs across the fretboard! “ALTHOUGH THERE’S NO REAL SHORTCUT TO DEXTERITY, YOU’LL BE DELIGHTED AT HOW QUICKLY THE FINGERS RESPOND TO PATIENT, REPETITIVE PRACTICE” ABILITY RATING Info Key Various Tempo Various CD TRACKS 4-37 Will improve your… Legato AlternatePicking Fretboardknowledge Patterns designed to develop fast playing are often arranged in Major or Minor scale patterns. But while useful as exercises, these patterns can seem difficult (not to mention uninteresting) to integrate into your playing as part of a useable musical vocabulary. Unlike the more familiar sound of the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales, which somehow seem a bit more ready to use ‘out of the box’. While there’s…

A pivotal figure in the American military march, John Philip Sousa was also responsible for the invention of the sousaphone. Bridget Mermikides explores the (in)famous Monty Python theme. ABILITY RATING Info Key A Tempo 100bpm CD TRACKS 49-50 Will improve your… Contrapuntal playing Fretting-hand stamina Clarity of tone and rhythm As Johann Strauss II was to the Viennese Waltz, John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), an American Romantic composer, conductor and US serviceman, was to the military march. Serving the US military for extended periods through his lifetime, Sousa made a huge contribution to the repertoire and idiom of military march music composing not only staple pieces such as The Stars And Stripes Forever (The US National March) and Semper Fidelis (the US Marine official march), but also helped develop the design…

 ON THE CD TRACKS57-61 “TRUCKS USES A GLASS SLIDE AND PREFERS FINGERSTYLE OVER A PICK FOR THE THICKER SOUND AND EXTRA DEXTERITY IT ALLOWS” Brought to you by… You can hear Trucks’ mix of authentic blues and rock being put through the concepts of Indian classical music, especially in his sitar-like inflections and vibrato. Trucks uses a glass slide on his third finger and prefers fingerstyle over a pick for the thicker sound and extra dexterity that the technique allows. Playing slide requires a lot of muting from both hands but mainly the picking hand as the slide can cause a lot of buzz as it comes off the note (Trucks rests a damping finger or thumb on unused strings). Watch some live footage of his playing to get this…

 ON THE CD TRACK72 “WHILE LEAD IS NOT HER FORTé SHE HAS ALWAYS SURROUNDED HERSELF WITH THE BEST ELECTRIC PLAYERS IN THE BUSINESS” ABILITY RATING Info Key: A Tempo: 79bpm CD: TRACK 72 Will improve your… Country accompaniment Use of sus chords Simple double-stops This month’s subject, Emmylou Harris, is a veritable superstar of the country world – a 13-time Grammy winner who has collaborated with many of the music world’s biggest names, from Bob Dylan to Dolly Parton, Mark Knopfler and many others. Of particular interest to guitar players is the fact that for many years her backing group, The Hot Band, contained none other than James Burton and Albert Lee on guitar. Harris was born in Birmingham, Alabama on April 2nd, 1947. After dropping out of college in…

ONTHECD TRACKS 80-83 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 80-83 Will improve your Blues phrasing Slide vibrato String skipping Rory Gallagher has been hailed as an influence by many including Brian May and Johnny Marr. Famous for his heavily-worn Strat and aggressive blues sound, songs like Bullfrog Blues display his ability to play fast and rhythmically, mixing slide and fretted notes to great effect. Gallagher was heavily influenced by Delta and Chicago blues players, including Muddy Waters and Big Bill Broonzy, which is undoubtedly how he first came to slide guitar. He also played and recorded versions of songs by blues artists including Son House’s Empire State Express. Despite a career cut tragically short at the age of 47, the Irish-born blues man was famed for his…

READ MUSIC Each transcription is broken down into two parts... MUSICAL STAVE The five horizontal lines for music notation show note pitches and rhythms and are divided by bar lines. TAB Under the musical stave, Tab is an aid to show you where to put your fingers on the fretboard. The six horizontal lines represent the six strings on a guitar – the numbers on the strings are fret numbers. GUITAR TECHNIQUES: HOW THEY APPEAR IN WRITTEN MUSIC... PICKING Up and down picking • The first note is to be down-picked and the last note is to be up-picked. Tremolo picking • Each of the four notes are to be alternate picked (down-& up-picked) very rapidly and continuously. Palm muting • Palm mute by resting the edge of picking-hand’s palm…

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! Get a FREE iPad/iPhone sample of GT. For full details and how to…

LENNART SJöBERG GT: What is it about instrumentals that appeals to you? KWS: It’s an opportunity to express yourself without words and convey an emotion or message to people without opening your mouth. GT: What can an instrumental provide that a vocal song can’t? KWS:Given the right song, because there are no words to express the point you are trying to make then it gives the listener the opportunity for contemplation and for them to draw their own conclusion of what you’re trying to make them feel. GT: Is there anything with instrumentals that you aim to embrace or avoid – rhythms, harmony, playing approach, etc? KWS: The thing I like to embrace most when it comes to instrumental compositions is; it’s like telling a story, a beginning, a middle…

I JUST DON’T GET THE BLUES! Believe me, I have tried! I have listened to the great legends (BB King) and the young pretenders (Joe Bonamassa), but they all sound the same. But take Dire Straits, The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac (post 1975), play me a snippet of any of their guitar solos and I’ll be able to tell you which song it is from. This is because the guitar parts are crafted specifically, with a distinct identity. If I played you a snippet of a BB King solo - honestly would you be able to tell me which song it’s from? On another note, your in-depth style look at a particular artist is a great idea. I just wondered if you have thought about going directly to the source…

ABILITY RATING Info Key Various Tempo Various CD TRACKS 38-48 Will improve your… Plectrum and fingerstyle techniques String bending, vibrato, expression Stylistic awareness There’s no no denying the sheer talent of singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer John Mayer. Having sold truckloads of albums across the world in genres spanning pop, blues and rock, he clearly knows how to connect with his legions of fans, many of whom we know read GT. The aim of this lesson, therefore, is to learn and apply some of the concepts used by this exceptionably able musician in a career that, so far, has spanned almost two decades. “MAYER’S VOCABULARY IS ANCHORED IN ELECTRIC BLUES BUT HE IS JUST AS AT HOME ON ACOUSTIC” Connecticut born, John Clayton Mayer trained for a while at Berklee…

 ON THE CD TRACKS62-64 “SYNCHRONICITY, WHICH PROVED TO BE THE POLICE’S LAST STUDIO ALBUM, WAS RECORDED WITH ALL THREE MEMBERS IN DIFFERENT ROOMS” ABILITY RATING Info Key: Bm Tempo: 150bpm CD: TRACKS 62-64 Will improve your… Use of add9 chords Rhythm and timing Part writing While Sting has always been the most well-known member of The Police, and the one who has had the most commercial success outside of the band, the combination of the trio that also featured Stewart Copeland on drums and guitarist Andy Summers is one of the most unique sounding acts that the British rock world has ever known. They were hailed as one of the first new wave bands when they formed in 1977, but also drew strongly from reggae and rock influences during their…

ONTHECD TRACKS73-74 ABILITY RATING Info Key: A (A7) Tempo: 120bpm CD: TRACKS 73-74 Will improve your… Pentatonic scale knowledge Creation of exotic sounding lines Lateral shifting of scales Last month we learned how the Indian Pentatonic is formed by raising the 3rd of a Minor Pentatonic in order to create an ear-catching and adaptable sound from within the Mixolydian scale. This means it can be used over static dominant 7th chords. As you can see, this scale can also be seen as Mixolydian with the 2nd and 6th missing. Diagram 1 shows the A Indian Pentatonic scale laid out in a guitar-friendly two-notes-per-string format. Fundamentally, we have simply taken the traditional A Minor Pentatonic shapes and raised each minor 3rd (in this case, C) up a semitone to a major…

ONTHECD TRACKS84-88 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 84-88 Will improve your… Finger and arm strength Bending accuracy Vibrato tone In this lesson we will look at adding vibrato to bends using a variety of pitches, from semitones, to tones and minor 3rds. There are many factors to consider here, from pitching accuracy to finger strength and also the speed and width of the vibrato. Whenever you are bending or adding vibrato, finger strength is a big contributing factor to pitching accuracy; especially when performing large bends such as minor 3rds. The main thing to remember is that the fingers themselves do not push the strings, but the forearm and wrist muscles do. Use your fingers to lock on to the string, and rest the side of…

JOSEPH CULTICE “THE ALBUM TITLE REFERS TO ASKING MYSELF ABOUT WHAT ARTISTIC DIRECTION TO GO IN NEXT, AND SOUL SEARCHING ABOUT LIFE IN GENERAL”Joe Satriani 1 Energy GT: Clocking in at around 180bpm this uptempo riffer is in your‘uber surf’terrain with a melody that’s catchy and laid back feel; do you find you can have more to explore when the rhythm guitars are riffing fast? This is in E b tuning. What encouraged that and do you feel a noticeable sonic difference? JS: All tracks use E flat tuning. I started tuning down when I joined Chickenfoot and decided to stay there. I now use .010s on all my guitars as they sound very expressive with the E flat tuning. Fast tempos and riffing offer some interesting opportunities for lead…