Indice dei contenuti per October 2017 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 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…

ASPIRE TO BE AVERAGE? Last month’s editorial struck me as a little odd. It seemed you were suggesting that people don’t strive to get better as guitarists, but settle for playing averagely. Or at least playing average stuff. That hardly sits right with a publication that’s called Guitar Techniques, does it? I would have thought you’d be pointing to Shawn Lane, Allan Holdsworth or Guthrie Govan and saying these are the benchmarks we should look to attaining, not strumming a G chord and feeling happy about it! This is tantamount to Guitarist magazine saying we should be aspiring to own a £199 beginner’s guitar rather than a PRS, Anderson or Knaggs. Steve Bailey No of course I wasn’t suggesting we aspire to be average. What I was trying to put…

GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals ? AS: To be honest, I’m generally not that big a fan of tunes that sound specifically targeted to guitarists and fans of the guitar - you know, the type of stuff one hears at music trade shows (not to rub anyone the wrong way, just my personal taste). That said, one of my favourite shows in recent years was the guitar instrumental king, Jeff Beck. However, he does it in a way that is as much about the mood, the dynamics, the textures and the band interaction as about the guitar. As a listener, I look for instrumental music that has these qualities, whether there’s guitar or not. As an artist, I do my best to strive for that in…

➊ Chicago Style Blues (B) Let’s start with this blues shuffle jam track featuring a Chicago style turnaround. It’s in B and you can have fun mixing B Minor Pentatonic (B-D-E-F#-A) and B Major Pentatonic (B-C#-D#- F#-G#) as well as playing around with the main 7th arpeggios: B7 (B-D#-F#-A), E7 (E-G#-B-D) and F#7 (F#-A#-C#-E) ➋ Slow Blues (G) Playing the blues at this ultra-slow tempo can be great for developing your sense of time. Use G Minor Pentatonic (G-Bb-C-D-F) and G Major Pentatonic (G-A-B-D-E) as a starting point. G Mixolydian (G-A-B-C-D-E-F) also works great (G7 chords). As does G Dorian (G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F) on the C7 chords and good old G Major scale (G-A-B-C-D-E-F#) on the D chords. ➌ E Minor 2-5-1 (Medium Swing) Here’s a jazz practice jam track on the…

 ON THE CD TRACKS 4-23 “THE SOARING SLIDE GUITAR ON FREE BIRD FULFILS A SIMILAR ROLE TO THE PEDAL STEEL ON MANY A COUNTRY CLASSIC” ABILITY RATING Info Key Various Tempo Various CD TRACKS 4-23 Will improve your… String bends Harmony Feel and timing Like all genres, it’s all too easy to hear one or two songs and presume we know more about it than we actually do. In the case of southern rock, many will immediately conjure up the image of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird, or Sweet Home Alabama. While this would be absolutely correct, it would also be overly simplistic; a bit like thinking we know all about heavy metal after hearing Motorhead’s Ace Of Spades. Along with these undeniable classics there are different takes on similar ideas…

 ON THE CD TRACK 36 “PERFECTION IN ANY SKILL CANNOT BE ATTAINED WITHOUT THE WASTE OF MANY YEARS, MUCH COST, AND EXCESSIVE LABOUR AND INDUSTRY” ABILITY RATING Info Key E Tempo 80 bpm CD TRACK 36 Will improve your… Renaissance repertoire Handling of multiple voices and feels Playing in lute tuning This month we are tackling the work of the genius composer-lutenist-singer John Dowland, a major figure in English Renaissance music and, incidentally, our earliest composer in this series. His work has had a major revival with the 20th century early music movement as well as through an adoption of (and new compositions inspired by) his lute works for classical guitar. Most probably born in London, Dowland published many works chiefly for lute, songs for lute and voice, and choir;…

“MY BLUES LOOK SO SIMPLE, SO EASY TO DO, BUT IT’S NOT. THEY SAY MY BLUES IS THE HARDEST BLUES IN THE WORLD TO PLAY Muddy Waters” ON THE CD TRACKS 43-46 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 43-46 Will improve your Blues vocabulary Slide playing Stylistic authenticity Born McKinley Morganfield in Rolling, Mississippi in 1913, it was Muddy’s grandmother that gave him his nickname after noticing that her grandson’s favourite pastime was messing around in the mud. Mainly playing harmonica growing up, it wasn’t until age 17 that Muddy switched to the guitar, a Stella from Sears Roebuck for $2.50. Moulding his style on the likes of Charley Patton and Son House with their showmanship, slide guitar and preaching style of singing, no wonder Muddy was…

LIVEPIX “BARRE CHORDS ARE SOMETHING THAT MANY ACOUSTIC GUITARISTS TEND TO OVERLOOK (OR LIVE IN FEAR OF)” ON THE CD TRACKS 67-68 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Am Tempo: 92 bpm CD: TRACKS 67-68 Will improve your… Strumming rhythms Barre chords String muting Born in Hawaii in 1975, Jack Johnson took up guitar at the age of eight and was writing songs before he was a teenager. However, music wasn’t his first calling – he is the son of the famous surfer Jeff Johnson and his childhood and teenage years were spent developing his surfing skills on the professional circuit. But for an accident at the age of 17 things may have taken a different course altogether, and he could have become a surfing superstar instead of a global acoustic success.…

MEPHISTO / REX / SHUTTERSTOCK ON THE CD TRACKS 74-76 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 74-76 Will improve your Arranging skills Octave playing Interlocking parts Multi-instrumentalist, poducer and composer Quincy Jones has been a driving force in music since the former jazz arranger turned to producing pop in the late 60s. The multi-Grammy Award winning artist has put his significant talent behind many of pop’s groundbreaking albums, including Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall and Thriller, and many of George Benson’s pop hits. His rhythm guitar tracks are played by a team of super-skilled players that include Steve Lukather, Dean Parks, Lee Ritenour, Paul Jackson Junior and David Williams; players that can draw on funk, rhythm and blues and soul to provide creative and inspiring parts. There…

WHAT OUR RATINGS MEAN Album of the Month MARTIN SIMPSON TRAILS & TRIBULATIONS Topic Martin Simpson has released 20 solo albums during his remarkable 40-year career and Trails And Tribulations is yet another example of his craft and finesse as both songwriter and acoustic guitarist. The central theme of the album is travel: “I travel, I learn songs, I write and try to get better at the skills required for me to do my job…” he says. Kicking off with the folk staple Blues Run The Game, the album unfolds with a mix of traditional songs peppered with originals, like the excellently evocative Maps. Martin exchanges his PRS acoustics for banjo and electric guitars during the standard edition’s 13 tracks – and there’s another six if you choose the deluxe…

THERE ARE PEOPLE we know as great guitarists, and there are those we know as something else but then discover them to be great guitarists too. Thus it was with me and Glen Campbell, who sadly died on 8th August. Who couldn’t love the Jimmy Webb songs with which he made his name - By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, Galveston etc - with those gorgeous arrangements and Glen’s rich and expressive voice? But in the late 70s I saw him on the BBC’s Diane Soloman Show on TV, and realised he was also an awesome picker (weirdly, I played in Diane’s band for about five years but couldn’t make the UK tour that she did with Glen). It seemed he could play anything, from hot Nashville…

THIS SWEEPING AND tapping combination creates a modern sounding arpeggio phrase that is reminiscent of Greg Howe and Michael Lee Firkins. It begins with a swept Am arpeggio; be careful not to rush, as the timing and note definition is important. Methodical practice will be the key to success here. The rest of the lick features a descending symmetrical stretch tapping idea that sounds great and is easy to visualise on the neck. If you find the stretches awkward, try the lick higher up the neck in keys such as Bm, Cm or Dm and then move it down as and when it feels comfortable. After you have mastered it try to develop similar phrases using different arpeggio types - there are tons more great ideas to be found!…

WHO: Dean Whale TOWN: Rainham, Kent STYLES TAUGHT: Pop, rock, blues, funk, jazz, acoustic, classical, performance, singing and playing, using fx and equipment SPECIALITY: Rock, jazz, funk and rock guitar techniques. Guitar luthier work also carried out. QUALIFICATION: Grade 8 electric guitar, A-level in music LEVELS TAUGHT: Beginner to advanced, RGT grades if desired, music theory to advanced level SIGHT-READING: Beginner to advanced CHARGES: £16 per ½ hour SPECIAL: Fully equipped sound proofed studio / recording studio / guitar workshop for all repairs, modifications and setups / session musician TEL: 01634 260252 EMAIL: dean@dwstudios.co.uk…

“FUSING R&B AND POP WAS PERFECTED BY MICHAEL JACKSON IN THE 1980S AND HAS BECOME DE RIGEUR FOR MODERN ACTS” ON THE CD TRACKS 24-35 ABILITY RATING Info Key Various Tempo Various CD TRACK 24-35 Will improve your… Timing, feel and groove Creating stylistically valid parts Interpretation and creativity Welcome to this unique feature in which we aim to take simple and easy-to-play ideas to create modern sounding pop parts. When arranging guitar for a pop track, less is often more with a simple chord part, popping line or melody providing the hook. Don’t be fooled though, just because the part doesn’t use multi-digit tapping or legato at a break-neck speed, doesn’t mean it’s any easier to compose and articulate consistently. Subtleties such as timing, feel and tone choice all…

“CORNELL HAD A SOARING VOICE, WHICH HAD A NEARLY FOUR-OCTAVE RANGE” ON THE CD TRACKS 47-48 ABILITY RATING ✪ ✪ ✪✪ ✪ Moderate Info Key: B Minor Tempo: 134 bpm CD: TRACKS 47-48 Will improve your… Rhythm and lead guitar playing Part writing Theory knowledge On 18 May the rock world lost one of its greatest frontmen: Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave. Cornell had been on tour with the reformed Soundgarden when the effects of on-going medication seem to have got the better of his judgement and he was found dead in his hotel room in Boston. Heartfelt tributes have been paid by fans and peers alike. Cornell was one of the founding members of Soundgarden who, along with Nirvana, spearheaded the grunge movement in Seattle in the early…

DAVID LYTTLETON ON THE CD TRACK 69 ABILITY RATING Info Key: A Tempo: 115 bpm CD: TRACK 69 Will improve your Dominant Pentatonic knowledge Rhythmic displacement Vocabulary in all CAGED shapes In the previous lesson, we learned that the Dominant Pentatonic scale is often a more appropriate scale to play over a static dominant 7th chord than, say, the Major Pentatonic or Minor Pentatonic scales as it contains all the vital chord tones plus a Major 2nd interval, giving it the same notes as a 9th arpeggio (although some players might prefer to think of it as being like the Major Pentatonic scale with a minor 7th degree instead of a 6th): By taking the traditional two-notes-per-string shapes of A Major Pentatonic, and raising each 6th (F#) a semitone higher…

ON THE CD TRACKS 77-81 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 77-81 Will improve your… Interval knowledge Fretboard visualisation Finger dexterity First make sure you are familiar with the five open chord shapes as this is the foundation upon which all of the following chords are built. If you already know the shapes then spend some time looking a bit deeper at them. Each of the open chords contains a collection of roots, 3rds and 5ths. The open C chord for example has a root, 3rd, 5th, root, 3rd from low to high. Being able to name all of the intervals and notes in a chord shape is very useful as this will allow you to adapt and add to the shapes. Example 2 focuses on moving…

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…

MOONSTONE GUITARS IN CALIFORNIA is becoming the talk of the town and the Exploder is another fine guitar built by self-taught luthier, Steve Helgeson. It’s a three-piece maple/padauk through-neck design with a classic reverse burl wood body shape. The neck is reinforced with graphite stringers and the rosewood fingerboard features 24 frets and pearl dot inlays. The distinctive headstock is faced with matching burl maple and all metalwork is gold plated. A pair of J-style Bartolini pickups is controlled by volume and tone rotaries. JAPAN INTRODUCES DOMESTIC CAMCORDERS and fax machines; the Pac Man arcade game appears; and a mini gold-rush occurs in the Australian outback. In Mexico a baby giant panda is born, the first ever natural birth of the species in captivity. The first phase of the Tyne…

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 ABILITY RATING Info Key: A Tempo: 160 bpm CD: TRACKS CD-ROM Will improve your Overall technical ability Tapping facility New blues vocabulary This month we continue our series on two-handed tapping with a blues piece. As I write this, I’m picturing dozens of blues purists shaking their heads in disapproval, but bear with me. While tapping isn’t usually a technique associated with the blues, I hope you’ll agree there are plenty of creative opportunities waiting to be explored by adding an extra digit here and there. Guitarists of all styles and genres have been using digits on both hands for years, and not just to play rock music. Allan Holdsworth used tapping to add extra notes to his impossibly stretchy chords, Vittorio Camardese pioneered the…

ON THE CD TRACKS 37-42 EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 1 STEVE CLARK CD TRACK 37 Pioneering writer and rhythm player of Def Leppard, the late Steve Clark’s riffs were timeless. This slow-picked, clean-sounding minor pattern requires steady picking and the application of careful chord fingering changes. Imagine perfectionist producer Mutt Lange is looking over your shoulder as you play it! EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 2 BOSTON CD TRACK 38 Use your picking-hand thumb and fingers to staccato pick this example that’s based on a classic blues-rock pattern. To create the staccato (clipped) effect, mute with the palm of the picking hand and dead mute the staccato notes with the fretting hand after you have voiced them. INTERMEDIATE LICKS EXAMPLE 3 STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN CD TRACK 39 Heavy down strokes are required for…

“I GREW UP IN A FAMILY WITH A LOT OF PLAYERS, SO IT WAS NATURAL. I’D GET BACK FROM SCHOOL, AND ALL I DID WAS PLAY”Biréli Lagrène ON THE CD TRACKS 49-66 ABILITY RATING Info Key: Various Tempo: Various CD: TRACKS 49-66 Will improve your… Fast tempo articulation Single-note vocabulary Authenticity and breadth Biréli Lagrène was born in 1966 in Alsace, France into a family of Romani musicians. Surrounded by music he started playing guitar before his fifth birthday; he and brother Gaiti would play constantly, inspired by the performers within their community and by the recordings of Django Reinhardt. Biréli developed prodigiously and was performing concerts before his teens. He recorded his first album, Routes To Django, in 1981, and even at this young age his playing was staggering.…

RICK DIAMOND / GETTY IMAGES “WHAT MAKES A NEW TUNING EXCITING IS THE IDEAS THAT COME FROM PLAYING WITHOUT GOING BACK TO THE FAMILIAR PATTERNS” ON THE CD TRACKS 70-73 ABILITY RATING Info Key: E Tempo: 120bpm CD: TRACKS 70-73 Will improve your Vibrato using slide Slide intonation Open tuning use Open D tuning has been used by everyone from Robert Johnson to Johnny Winter and was the favoured tuning for Elmore James who was a profound influence on Derek Trucks, Duane Allman and many other slide players. Elmore James’ tunes such as The Sky Is Crying, Shake Your Money Maker and It Hurts Me Too have been popularised by Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Like open G, the open strings form a Major chord with the 5th, 7th…