Tabla de contenidos para November 2017 en 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 ex-Spandau 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…

LEFT-HANDED DAY! With August 13th being International Left-Handed Day I thought maybe a ‘leftie’ guitarists item might be apt. Probably the most well-known leftie would be Jimi Hendrix, but what about all the other prominent lefties such as Sir Paul McCartney, Kurt Cobain and Tony Iommi. And then there’s the left-handed guitarists who play right-handed. Noel Gallagher perhaps? And also myself! Then I got to thinking, which is the correct way to play guitar? After all I’m left-handed and when I’m playing ‘right handed ‘ it’s my left hand, the dominant one, that’s doing all the hard work. So which is the right (correct) way of playing guitar? And why are the so called left-handed models more expensive? How many more left-handed people are there who play the right-handed guitar…

➊ Chicago Style Blues (A) Our first jam track is a blues shuffle featuring a Chicago style turnaround. It’s in A and you can have fun mixing A Minor Pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G) and A Major Pentatonic (A-B-C#-E-F#) as well as playing around with the main 7th arpeggios: A7 (A-C#-E-G), D7 (D-F#-A-C) and E7 (E-G#-B-D). ➋ Funky E Blues This one is a standard 12-bar in E with a funky feel and groove. Again, you can mix E Major Pentatonic (E-F#-G#-B-C#) with E Minor Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) for some nice bluesy colours in your soloing. Major Pentatonic works best on the I chord (E9) and V chord (B7), whereas the Minor Pentatonic works best on the IV chord (A7). ➌ Groove Jam (A Mixolydian) Featuring a simple two-chord vamp (A-G/A), this jam works…

“ANYTHING THAT FALLS BETWEEN ‘IMPORTANT’ POINTS ON THE MUSICAL GRID IS CONSIDERED INACCURATE, TOLERABLE, APPROXIMATE OR LOOSE” ON THE CD TRACKS16-48 ABILITY RATING Info Key Various Tempo Various CD TRACKS 16-48 Will improve your… Understanding of rhythm Listening skills and appreciation Rhythmic feel Music notation is an extremely useful tool as it reduces the immense complexities and variations in the ‘sound domain’ (with all its infinitesimal molecular vibrations) into the important musical parameters of pitch and rhythm (with some dynamic, timbre and expression information thrown in). This makes it a highly economical way of storing, communicating, reproducing and conceptualising music. It allows us to quickly and efficiently capture musical ideas, transfer them between people who can read music (even if they don’t speak the same language) and across time from…

Assumptions can be problematic. One assumption is that Tom Morello always uses his bridge pickup. Nope, rarely ever as he’s a neck pickup rock riffer. The other is that guitarists naturally have great rhythm. Hmm. I and many GT writers have heard (and said) this quite a bit over the years; “Yeah, they’re okay but their timing is a bit off.” My perspective on this is that many think that studying scales and soloing techniques is the route to excellence. The vibe is: study the lead guitar stuff, let the rhythmic stuff exist on its own accord. But at its worst, gigs can be lost or bands weakened due to questionable timing. Even if this doesn’t resonate with you (record yourself and then ask yourself again), we’ve presented you with…

 ONTHECD TRACKS 61-63 “ BUILT ON THE ROCK SOLID SOUND OF PERRY AND WHITFORD’S RAUNCHY BLUES-ROCK GUITAR ATTACK, WITH PERRY TAKING THE LION’S SHARE OF SOLOING ” ABILITY RATING Info Key: E Tempo: 99bpm CD: TRACKS 61-63 Will improve your… Rock rhythm playing Riff and solo phrasing Creation of parts Aerosmith formed in 1970 when guitarist Joe Perry and bass player Tom Hamilton met singer Steven Tyler and drummer Joey Kramer. Original six-stringer Ray Tabano left in 1971 and was replaced by Brad Whitford. This line-up gained a large following in the Boston area but soon gained worldwide success with massive album sales and huge critical acclaim. After two successful albums in the early 70s, featuring songs such as the classic Dream On, Aerosmith broke into the mainstream with 1975’s…

DAVID LYTTLETON TODAY I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE DOMINAT PENTATONIC ON THE CD TRACKS 81-82 ABILITY RATING Info Key: A (A7) Tempo: 115bpm CD: TRACKS 81-82 Will improve your Dominant Pentatonic vocabulary Creation of lines along the neck CAGED shape fluidity So far in this series, we’ve learned that the Dominant Pentatonic scale suits static Dominant chords better than the more traditional Major or Minor Pentatonic options as it contains all the notes of the chord (the chord tones). This is not to say that you will not hear A Major or Minor Pentatonic scale used over an A7 chord; however, you should be aware of their effect and limitations here. The Major Pentatonic scale has a 6th rather than a b 7th. It’s a scale that…

ON THE CD TRACKS89-93 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: 60bpm CD: TRACKS 89-93 Will improve your… Interval knowledge Fretboard visualisation Efficiency of movement Last month we looked at applying the CAGED system to create five positions of major, major 7th and Dominant 7th chords as a method to find progressions all over the fretboard. This month we will apply the same logic to minor and minor 7th chords. Just like last time, we will start at Example 1 by ensuring we are familiar with the five open chord shapes; these will be the foundation upon which all of the following chord examples are built. These shapes are adaptations of the common five major open chords. The only difference is that there is a minor 3rd rather than a major…

ONE NIGHT IN 2000 I found myself on stage at Bath Pavilion jamming blues with Gary Moore. It was an International Guitar Festival event celebrating Eric Clapton. We’d done The Beatles the year before and both gigs went down extremely well, with fabulous guests on both occasions. Anyway, here I am alongside Gary, Bernie Marsden and David Mead (ex-GT), playing Elmore James’s wonderful slow blues The Sky Is Crying. I should have recalled what Gary had told me about the time he’d jammed with Albert Collins. Gary, as awed with being on stage with Albert as I now was with him, took the nod for his solo. He played what he felt was one of his best 12 bars ever - it built, had shape, feel and crescendoed to a…

NICK DELANEY “TRACKING PIXELS MONITOR WHERE YOU GO AND ALLOW MARKETING PEOPLE TO TARGET ADS SPECIFICALLY TO YOU” In the ‘good old days’ there were filters to the information we received. Guitarists around the world would rely on guitar books, magazines, videos or DVDs to give us advice we could trust, and to keep a good reputation publishers had to filter their content to provide good stuff that would be enjoyable, fun, accurate and useful. But no more. With the opening of the world’s biggest library (the internet) all kinds of amazing things have become available to everyone – it’s an incredible resource for us all, not only great for researching transcriptions and seeing (as well as hearing) the masters play, but also awesome for us detectives to figure out…

AFTER A SHORT G Major arpeggio (G-B-D), this lick moves into chromatic territory. The idea is to connect the chord tones of G7 using chromaticism’so the‘gap’between them is filled with passing notes. The first is between the 5th (D) and b 7 (F) followed by the 5th (D) down to the 3rd (B); then the root (G) to the 3rd (B) and lastly the b 7 (F) down to the 5th (D). Notice how all the chord tones fall on strong beats – this is vital to the success of this type of phrase.Take care with accuracy and timing, as it is very easy to rush. If you are a three-finger rock or blues player you may find using all four fretting fingers tricky. If so, build the lick up…

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 shape…

 ON THE CD TRACK CD-ROM “ TWO-HAND TAPPING IS BY NO MEANS A NEW TECHNIQUE. NEITHER IS IT EXCLUSIVE TO THE ELECTRIC GUITAR OR ANY SPECIFIC STYLE ” ABILITY RATING Info Key: G Minor Tempo: 125bpm Tracks: CD-ROM Will improve your General legato playing Tapping execution and control Left-right hand independence This month we complete our series on two-handed tapping with a classic rock-style piece. For many guitarists, the words ‘two handed tapping’ conjure images of speed battles and pointy guitars, but there’s a whole lot more to the technique – even when playing rock. Aside from its face-melting solo applications, tapping can give us a huge pallete of new sounds for rhythm parts and classic rock riffs. Using two hands instead of one gives us access to wider intervals,…

ON THE CD TRACKS51-56 EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 1 JUDAS PRIEST CD TRACK 51 This example requires a heavy strumming hand with a solid downstroke on each powerchord. These‘chords’are played as 4ths from the open string with a medium overdrive and vibrato on the held notes for that typical NWOBHM (new wave of British heavy metal) feel. EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 2 THE CARPENTERS CD TRACK 52 Play through the chord group notated above the stave with a steady strum, focusing on fluid changes and then introduce the arpeggios, which are also around open chord shapes. We shall have to do a Tony Peluso style (Carpenters’guitarist) fuzz ballad solo soon! INTERMEDIATE LICKS EXAMPLE 3 CRASH TEST DUMMIES CD TRACK 53 This example replicates the superb Stratocaster sound that can be found on…

ON THE CD TRACKS 64-79 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 64-79 Will improve your… Articulation and fluency Ability to follow changes Arpeggio and legato technique Julian Lage started at a frighteningly early age. He convinced his father to make him a plywood replica of Bruce Springsteen’s iconic Tele aged just four, but before long he’d exchanged it for the real thing. Before reaching double figures he’d progressed so far that he was able to share the stage with Santana. Now aged 29, he has continued to grow at a staggering rate. He has performed with legends Gary Burton, Bill Frisell, Martin Taylor, Mark O’Connor, Antonio Sanchez, plus contemporaries Nels Cline and Chris Eldridge. He’s a bandleader, composer and arranger in his own right. Lage’s playing has…

JULIE EDWARDS / ALAMY  ON THE CD TRACKS83-87 “IT’S NOT UNCOMMON FOR SLIDE PLAYERS TO USE MICROTONAL SLIDES IN ORDER TO GIVE AN AUTHENTIC BLUES SOUND” ABILITY RATING Info Key: Open D Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 83-87 Will improve your Aural awareness Intonation Blues slide phrasing Open D tuning has been used by a variety of slide players to create some of the most memorable and emotive songs, including Blind Willie Johnson’s Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground, famously included on the Voyager 1 and 2 probes in 1977. Just like open G it has its own flavour and phrasing and it takes a while to become familiar. Open E and open A are equivalent to open D and open G respectively, just a tone higher, whereas the…

SEPTEMBER GT274 SOUTHERN BLUES ROCK Southern rock took the 70s by storm. We show you how the bosses of the style did it. Learn how heavy rock tones and licks have influenced modern pop, and find out how to do it yourself. And, learn a hot Texas blues using two-hand tapping - it’s awesome! SEPTEMBER GT273 SWINGIN’THE BLUES Jazzy jump blues will stretch your chops a little but prove a whole lot of fun. Play like the titans of the genre! String skipping and tapping are not just for mega-rock; they can be applied to all styles with great results. We show you how... and so much more! AUGUST GT272 LES PAUL HEROES! Fancy 50 fabulous licks from 50 fabulous Les Paul players? Well, GT272 is the place to go,…

GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without? SH: I haven’t used a pick in almost 15 years! I just prefer the sound and the possibilities I get by playing with my fingers. Especially with what I’ve been doing for the past six years as a one-man band. I have to play the bass, the chords and the leads all at the same time which is just not possible with a pick. GT: You have to give up all your of pedals except three; what are they? SH: The one I couldn’t play without is the Electro-Harmonix POG octaver. My guitars all have an added pickup, offset so it only captures the sound of the three big strings. For that, I use 60s Teisco pickups…

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…

“A CAREER SPENT SECOND-GUESSING EVERY SCENARIO WILL HAVE YOU BAYING AT THE MOON LIKE A CANINE CLAPTON” Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains, as any fule kno. And although Mr Carlyle’s 19th century dictum predates Pet Sounds by a century, its continuing relevance resonated recently during two entirely unconnected studio dates. And not in a good way. I guess the sad truth is that in order to do this session guitar playing thing for a living, you gotta be...hmm...how I do I put this with more diplomatic Messi than Matic? Well, Mad. That pretty much covers it. Sadly, a career spent second guessing every possible studio scenario will have you baying at the moon like a canine Clapton as your tenuous grip on mountains and molehills loosens like…

POPULAR AT THIS TIME are the acoustic guitars made by the Levin Company of Sweden. Founder Herman Levin perfected his craft in America and opened a factory in New York but returned home in 1900. In 1943 the company moved to larger premises and employed 70 men. Popular models are the Model 22 orchestra guitar with solid black walnut back and sides; and the Royal using the finest handpicked wood with spruce top and walnut back and sides. MUCH OF OUR HOME-GROWN MUSIC from the likes of Vera Lynn, Flanagan and Allen and Gracie Fields was recorded before this troubled time, unlike the wash of American hits that could be heard from The Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey and Glen Miller. THE FIRST V1 ROCKETS…

“PETER GREEN’S SOUND HAS NOT DATED. IT’S STILL AS VALID AS EVER. IF YOUNG GUITARISTS LISTENED TO THAT, THEY’D LEARN SO MUCH ABOUT WHERE THEY’RE GOING WRONG” “OUR EXAMPLES COVER MOST OF THE STYLISTIC BASES GARY EXPERIMENTED WITH. SOME ARE TECHNICALLY CHALLENGING, BUT WELL WORTH THE EFFORT” ON THE CD TRACKS 4-15 ABILITY RATING Info Key Various Tempo Various CD TRACKS 4-15 Will improve your… Vibrato Picking Legato As a young man in Belfast (later moving to Dublin) in the 1960s, Gary was already a keen guitarist who took the opportunity to see all the big acts of the day as they came through town. These included John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers Jimi Hendrix and Cream, but perhaps the most lasting influence was Peter Green, who was at that time a…

 ON THE CD TRACK 50 “PART OF BARRIOS’S INITIAL NEGLECT MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO A RATHER FRACTIOUS ATTITUDE BY THE PROMINENT GUITARIST ANDRéS SEGOVIA” ABILITY RATING Info Key E Minor Tempo 66bpm CD TRACK 50 Will improve your… Tremolo technique Fretting hand stretches Melodic phrasing Today we’re looking at a work by perhaps the most important guitarists and composers of the classical guitar discipline. Augustín Barrios was a Paraguayan guitarist of phenomenal skill and dexterity, with the ability to write for the guitar with a beguiling Romantic melodic and harmonic sensibility. As a performer, poet, composer and (very selective) educator, Barrios was very well respected in his day. However, his body of about 300 works was rather neglected for about 30 years after his death, but now many have become…

 ON THE CD TRACKS 57-60 “ERIC SAYS HE WOULD OFTEN STOP PLAYING ONSTAGE AND NEITHER JACK NOR GINGER WOULD EVEN NOTICE” ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 57-60 Will improve your Pentatonic vocabulary String bending and vibrato Blues-rock feel and timing It’s hard to point to a blues guitarist that has evolved and pushed music and the modern electric guitar as much as Eric Clapton. His need to stretch out and explore was the reason Cream formed in the first place. Eric left John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers in 1966 after feeling somewhat confined within the group. After meeting with Cream’s future drummer Ginger Baker, who was playing for The Graham Bond Organisation, it became clear that they shared similar feelings so talk of a band forming…

GAYE GERARD / GETTY IMAGES  ON THE CD TRACK 80 “ ALTHOUGH HE FOUND GLOBAL STARDOM GLEN CAMPBELL WAS SO MUCH MORE THAN A COUNTRY SINGING SENSATION” ABILITY RATING Info  Key: F major Tempo: 121bpm CD: TRACK 80 Will improve your… Country rhythm playing Alternate picking Uptempo melodic soloing We were saddened last month to hear that the legendary Glen Campbell recently passed away after a long and brave struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Although he found global stardom with hits like Wichita Lineman and Galveston, Campbell was so much more than a country singing sensation. Long before fame arrived he was one of the most revered session men of his generation, and a core member of the legendary Wrecking Crew alongside Tommy Tedesco, Carol Kaye and others. If by this…

CHRISTIE GOODWIN ON THE CD TRACK88 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 88 Will improve your Blues-rock chops Feel of 12/8 groove General fretboard technique A popular feel in blues, the 12/8 groove, can be found in the playing of, among many other classic players, Freddie and BB King, Clapton, Hendrix and Gary Moore. More modern purveyors of this style include Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart. In many respects it’s the classic slow blues and a great feel over which to play. The slow tempo means you can double up your note speed for some impressive displays, hence it being so popular with Moore, Bonamassa, Clapton and co. Don’t be confused by the term ‘12/8’; it simply means a very slow blues with triplets…

WHAT OUR RATINGS MEAN Album of the Month STEVEN WILSON TO THE BONE Hailed by its creator as an affectionate nod towards the progressive albums he enjoyed during his youth, including works by Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Tears For Fears and Talk Talk, To The Bone is all that and more. Wilson steers this album towards more commercial territory and shuns the extended instrumental workouts of the past – only one track, the brooding Detonation clocks in at over nine minutes, the rest being more concise works. During its course, Steven also tips his hat to the prog masters of yore with traces of Floyd (To The Bone), Crimson (Refuge) and Genesis (The Same Asylum As Before) woven into the fabric of the sumptuous arrangements. It’s like Wilson is offering…