Indice dei contenuti per November 2018 in Guitar Techniques

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. No ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’, he nails every one with ease!. MARTIN GOULDING One of the world’s foremost rock and metal guitarists, Martin teaches for dime-online.org and has written for many of the world’s top guitar mags. CHARLIE GRIFFITHS Guitar Institute tutor Charlie first came to fame in Total Guitar’s Challenge…

“BEGINNER TO INTERMEDIATE PLAYERS SHOULD PUT THIS STUFF INTO PRACTICE TO CREATE A NEW POOL OF CHORDS” In the previous instalment of Food For Thought we looked at the concept of adding the minor 9th degree to a minor chord to get a semitone ‘clash’ between 2nd and b 3rd scale degrees (2nd and 9th are the same note, and while the 9 suggests it’s an octave higher, in practice this may not always be the case). Anyway, I hope you had some fun exploring other minor shapes and how you can use this dissonance to create beautiful and interesting chords. The interval of a tone (major 2nd) is also quite dissonant and can give a similar effect to major chords - when we add the 9th it has a…

THIS MONTH’S LICK is a tasty country tinged idea that descends from the 12th position to open using a variety of intervals on the way. In order they are: b 7, 6, b 6, 6, b 6. Throughout the phrase the open sixth string is used as a pedal tone. The descending line played on the third string is a chromatic scale that descends from F# at the 11th fret to G# at the 1st. Notice how on two occasions there are repeated E and B notes (root and 5th of the accompanying E7 chord). You might find the rhythm a little tricky in bars 2 and 3 as each bar is phrased as‘nested tuplets’; you essentially have two bars of crotchet triplets that are then further subdivided with three…

“OUR AIM WITH THIS FEATURE IS TO ILLUSTRATE SOME NEW IDEAS AND FRESH APPROACHES FOR ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYERS OF ALL STYLES AND ABILITIES” Two issues ago we ran a ‘50 pro tips for acoustic mastery’ feature that has proved very popular with many of you. Following on therefore is its sister lesson, this time focusing on your electric guitar skills. The early pioneers of solo guitar playing experimented with amplification during the 1940s. Big band guitarist Charlie Christian attached a simple pickup to his Gibson archtop, which allowed him to play single-note solos and be heard over the volume of the orchestra he performed with - none less than that of the great clarinetist Benny Goodman. Feedback from the resonant acoustic body led to Les Paul, Paul Bigsby and Leo…

“I WASN’T GETTING MUCH OUT OF THE DISTORTED SLIDE APPROACH, SO I THOUGHT I’D DO MY FAKE PEDAL STEEL” Brett Garsed For this eight part series we invited Aussie session ace Brett Garsed to improvise a two-minute solo over eight of Jason Sidwell’s GT backing tracks. Each of these backing tracks presents a unique set of challenges, and this month Brett has opted for a rather interesting ‘faux pedal steel’ type vibe over Jason’s track Back In The Day. Brett has developed a unique and inspired slide style that is very versatile. First let’s take a look at the basics of good slide technique. Slide guitar has a couple of significant barriers to entry. The first is establishing a good consistent contact between the slide and the string.…

“THE SIMPLE MELODY WITH INSPIRING LYRICS HAS BEEN REPUBLISHED COUNTLESS TIMES AND IS A FAVOURITE OF CHOIRS AND MUSICIANS” How Can I Keep from Singing? is a Christian hymn written in the 1860s by the American Baptist minister, literature professor and gospel hymn composer Robert Wadsworth Lowry (1826-1899). Although Lowry wrote the music (first published in the 1869 song book, Bright Jewels for the Sunday School), it is unclear where the original words – which speak of a celebration of faith even in the darkest of times - came from. These are generally credited as ‘anonymous’ although an additional “When tyrants tremble…”verse was added by the author and activist Doris Plenn (1909-1994) in the 1950s folk revival, as a barbed protest against McCarthyism. The simple but infectious melody (a repeating…

EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 1 JOHNNY CASH CD TRACK 24 Fingerpick this exercise steadily, alternating between the C and G note with the thumb, using first (i), second (m) and third (a) fingers on the C minor chord. Attempt to achieve a‘crab claw’technique; opening and closing the hand. Experiment with note duration (clipped or sustained). At the turnaround, use down strokes with the thumb to pluck the ascending bassline. EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 2 PETER GREEN CD TRACK 25 As a teenager I heard Peter Green playing a haunting guitar part at the back of an old guitar store. He played a descending Minor chord progression with melodic fills. Descend this style of chord progression with staggered arpeggios, and instigate the licks around while letting the chords ring. Finish on an E…

“HE COULD LEAVE OUT TWO OR THREE NOTES AND YOU WOULDN’T KNOW IT, BECAUSE YOU COULD FEEL THE REST OF THE NOTES” George Benson Grant Green arrived in New York in the late 1950s, and for the next two decades, until his premature death in 1979, was one of the most prolific and influential jazz players on the scene. Green’s style brought energy, soul and sophistication to countless gigs and recording sessions, both as a leader and sideman. He spent many years as the Blue Note Records house guitarist, with a style that was at all times authentic, original, innovative, creative, funky, soulful and constantly evolving. Both Wes Montgomery and George Benson were huge fans, with Benson stating that Grant was his personal favourite guitar player. Green contributed…

“WAVEFORMS CREATED BY 4THS, 5THS AND OCTAVES ARE MORE STABLE THAN OTHER INTERVALS SO WORK WELL AS DOUBLE-STOPS” In this current series, we’ve been looking at ways of using various scale intervals to create a variety of medium-paced ideas to fit in with your Mixolydian vocabulary. So far, we’ve studied 2nds and 3rds; so, in this lesson, we move on to the next logical step, 4ths. Within the modes of the Major scale, each 4th interval will be one of two types: • Perfect 4th = two and a half tones • Augmented 4th =three tones To illustrate this, have a look at Diagram 1, which represents the notes of D Major (and any of its modes, of which A Mixolydian is mode V). If you start from any note,…

DAVID REDFERN / GETTY IMAGES “SHARP 9 IS ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING MINOR 3RD SO IN FACT THE 7#9 CHORD CONTAINS BOTH MAJOR AND MINOR 3RD” The most common fingering for the 7#9 chord is the one with the second finger playing the root note on the fifth-string, 7th fret. But Example 1 shows how you can apply the notes to five positions on the neck, or in a CAGED arrangement. The chord is essentially a regular dominant 7th (1-3-5- b 7) with an added #9 interval. ‘Sharp 9’ is another way of saying ‘minor 3rd’, so in fact the chord contains both a major and a minor 3rd, which inherently has a dissonance, but a familiar one as blues music has played with this major-minor ambiguity for nigh-on 100…

DOYLE BRAMHALL II SHADES Provogue Records ★★★★★ If you know Bramhall as Clapton’s ‘upside-down southpaw’ sideman but have not yet checked out the Texan’s solo output you’ve a treat in store should you put this in your player. Opening with the dark ‘Nirvana meets Beatles’ Love And Rain with its stunning backwards guitar, there’s no let-up. We kick straight in to Hammer Ring, a festival of sound with great vocals, a fine Doyle solo and powerful production from Bramhall himself. The top-quality influences come thick and fast: Everything You Need could have come from Innervisions-era Stevie Wonder and features no less than EC on guitar. If for ‘Texas guitarist’ you instantly read SRV then think again. This goes way deeper. The sounds are amazing, evoking all the aforementioned but also…

WHEN YOU’RE YOUNG you feel invincible. There’s no question those lithe limbs and sinuous torso, that can perform virtually any task presented to them, could ever feel otherwise. But add a decade or two, plus the odd pie and pint to the equation, and things take on a rather different slant. It’s only natural wear and tear but, as any warranty card will tell you, you get nothing for that. So last month, in the knowledge that GT readers tend to take their playing a little more seriously than most, we thought a full warm-up routine that doubled as a work-out would be handy. It looks to have gone down rather well. But so did the previous issue’s 50 Acoustic Tips, so it seemed perfect timing to build on the…

“THE MOTORWAY NETWORK DECIDED TO CELEBRATE THE EVENT BY VERY NEARLY FUNCTIONING ADEQUATELY” We may talk of sweep picking. Of tritone substitution. We may even discuss two-handed tapping. We may also find ourselves at the business end of what life can hurl at us with the force of a Roy Keane tackle. With similarly terrifying consequences. Not so long ago in the land of Birmingham, the citizens of that commune reopened their stunning Town Hall after years of restoration. And what better way to launch the inaugural concert than by booking me? Okay, I will concede that I was joined on stage by Grammy award winning, Downbeat Critics Poll winner and Blue Note recording artist Kurt Elling. And The BBC Big Band. ‘Twas a lovely day. The national motorway network…

LIVEPIX ➊ Slow blues (G) We start with a very slow blues in G. It’s perfect for warming up on, but also lends itself well to really giving it all you got. Mixing G Major Pentatonic (G-A-B-D-E) and G Minor Pentatonic (G-B b -C-D-F) works great, as does outlining the four-note arpeggios: G7 (G-B-D-F), C7 (C-E-G-B b ) and D7 (D-F#-A-C). ➋ Acoustic blues jam (A) Here’s a fun blues shuffle in A. In terms of scales, this track is ideal for mixing A Major Pentatonic (A-B-C#-E-F#) and A Minor Pentatonic (A-C-D-E G). Knowing the 7th arpeggios will come in handy - A7 (A-C#-E-G), D7 (D-F#-A-C) and E7 (E-G#-B-D). ➌ Jazz funk in 7/8 (D Dorian) This is a simple two-chord vamp (Dm7-G7), that works perfectly with D Dorian (D-E-F-G-A-B-C)…

AS ONE OF the planet’s most successful guitar tutors, GT contributor Justin Sandercoe has just done a makeover his already brilliant website at justinguitar.com. Here are just some of the latest features available. “To begin with, starting in September I’m re-making and re-filming the entire beginner’s course,” Justin told us. “It will be ready for Christmas and is going to be an incredible place for people who want to get started on guitar.” Other features of which he is rightly proud, is that the site is updated very regularly to reflect any problems people have; new content is added at least twice a week; and there’s a user dashboard for students to store lessons, songs and generally watch their progress. But it’s not all for beginners, as Justin further explains:…

PETER MAZEL / SUNSHINE / REX / SHUTTERSTOCK “MANY WESTERN POP ARTISTS HAVE ADOPTED ASPECTS OF THE REGGAE STYLE INTO THEIR ARRANGEMENTS WITH GREAT SUCCESS” Welcome to GT’s mega reggae guitar feature; perhaps the most thorough ever in a guitar magazine. The aim of this lesson is to take the key guitar styles of the reggae greats, and see where they sit within the broad range of sub genres that make up the overall reggae style. Both rhythm and lead guitar ideas are notated in the five performance pieces, and by the end of the feature your ‘dub’, ‘skank’ and ‘rocksteady’ trickbag should be fully topped up. Hopefully too, your appreciation of this infectious West Indian form of music will be fully realised. The reggae style originated in Jamaica in…

I believe most players have a unique voice built-in, it just depends on how profoundly unique it is. It could be a completely radical approach to playing the instrument (Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale or TJ Helmerich for example), or it could be in the subtlety and nuance of their note choice, phrasing or vibrato. I was frustrated that I couldn’t sound exactly like my favourite players. No matter how hard I tried, this ‘other’ sound would come out and I was sure I was just doing it all wrong. My good friend Phil Buckle was the first person to tell me that I had my own thing going on and after he informed me of this, I paid a lot more attention to this ‘other’ sound and embraced it. I…

How‘awake’are you when you practise? Do you find your mind switching off and realise you have played a whole page without conscious awareness of it? This can be okay when playing something you know very well but if you are learning a new piece or trying to improve your accuracy then you will benefit from more conscious awareness. Work in manageable (short) sections and consciously think about every aspect of what you are learning; how you feel physically, your posture, hand positions, which fingers you are using in both hands, what chords/harmony you are playing. Face tricky passages head on in a slow, methodical way. Do not practise with mistakes – you will only embed the mistakes further so be patient!…

ROBERTO FINIZIO / ALAMY “A LETTER ARRIVED FROM CLAPTON INVITING GARY TO PLAY AT HIS 2010 CROSSROADS FESTIVAL” Sat in a dark room at his Austin, Texas home with no gigs on the horizon, a 29-year-old Gary Clark Jr was feeling pretty down with how his musical career was taking shape. Or, more to the point, how it wasn’t. He’d been grinding away on the Austin music scene like many other great guitarists, since leaving school to tour with Jimmie Vaughan. But he was struggling to find a wider audience. Soon after, a letter arrived in the post from none other than Eric Clapton, asking Gary to perform at his 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival. Gary naturallly accepted. Clark owes Doyle Bramhall II a big thank-you, as it seems he was…

DENNIS VAN TINE / PHOTOSHOT “BRAD’S FIRST PUBLIC PERFOMANCES WERE IN THE LOCAL CHURCH; HE BEGAN WRITING MUSIC IN HIS EARLY TEENS” This month’s subject is that rarest of things - a bona fide chart-topping superstar and a modern day guitar hero. Brad Paisley’s electrifying, Tele-fuelled country chops are well known but he is also a fantastic acoustic picker whether he is using the acoustic to support the song or ripping out a terrifying intro lick. The Stetson wearing country star was born on October 28, 1972 in Glen Dale, West Virginia and began to learn guitar at the age of eight. His first public performances were in the local church and began writing music in his early teens. By his mid teens he was performing regularly and opening for…

LIVEPIX Welcome to this month’s column on developing fretboard fluency, with the second part in our series exploring extended harmony. Continuing from last month’s lesson where we looked at the extensions of the tonic (I) major 7 chord, along with concepts for building extended arpeggios, this month we’ll move on to extensions based around the supertonic (ii) minor 7 chord. These will include minor 9, minor 11 and minor 13 voicings arranged in five shapes. We’ll then study two approaches for creating extended arpeggios, the first – simply adding the triad from the next consecutive scale degree to our basic minor 7 arpeggio to cover all three extensions up to the 13th - and the second; superimposing the diatonic arpeggios from the b 3rd, 5th and b 7th degrees of…

OCTOBER GT287 ULTIMATE WORKOUT This warm-up-meets-workout focuses on four different styles with musical exercises covering a whole octave, fret by fret. It’s a phenomenal learning and chops building tool! Plus, learn all the styles for which Jimmy Page is rightly revered. And loads more! SEPTEMBER GT286 PLAY BETTER ACOUSTIC Summer still brings us blazing days and balmy evenings so what better time to up your acoustic chops with 50 Tips To Acoustic Mastery, Acoustic Blues In Three Tunings, super takes on Amazing Grace and Oh When The Saints... plus all your electric regulars! AUGUST GT285 CRANK UP YOUR BLUES! Using three, as opposed to two-notes-per-string licks will add slickness and sophistication to your blues. Learn the licks of five of Nashville’s hottest players. Plus: Ray Davies, Paul Kossoff, Abide With…

LAURENCE HARVEY “THERE’S SOMETHING RATHER SPECIAL ABOUT GOING ON YOUR FIRST HEADLINE TOUR AND HAVING PEOPLE SINGING YOUR SONGS BACK TO YOU” Robert Glendinning GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without? RG: I’m not too fussy with picks. As long as it doesn’t flex I’m happy, so anything above 1.2mm I’m okay with. Jim Dunlop Tortex are probably my favourite. GT: If you had to give up all your pedals but three, which ones would you keep? RG: Probably a tuner. In fact definitely a tuner. I’m a Gibson guy so need a tuner. A delay and boost in the FX loop are the other two for solos. GT: Do you play another musical instrument well enough to be in a band,…

FEATURE #2 SLAP, TAP, STRUM & BANG! Play percussive acoustic guitar Chris Woods explores the exciting style pioneered by Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, Eric Roche & more. Don’t miss it! CLASSICAL TAB WOLFGANG MOZART Requiem in D minor Bridget transcribes another stunning piece by the master composer. Super accurate technique required here! FEATURE #3 BRETT GARSED Solos over Grind An angular modern minor groove gets the Garsed treatment. Stiffen the sinews and summon up the blood! TECHNIQUE & THEORY NEW THINGS TO LEARN Waltz time and arpeggios How the 3/4 time signature has found its way into rock music, and how arpeggios will spice up your solos. MORE GREAT LESSONS 30-Minute Lickbag Six more licks to master Bernie Marsden Whitesnake man’s blues side Slash Guns N’ Roses and beyond Ry…

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…

GONZALES PHOTO / ALAMY “I CONSTANTLY MODULATE INTO NEW KEYS. I ALSO TRY TO HAVE EACH TRACK IN A DIFFERENT KEY TO MAINTAIN COLOUR ON A FULL ALBUM” GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals? RLT: That my ears gets a break from the lyrical landscape. GT: What can an instrumental provide the listener that a song with lyrics can’t? RLT: A different musical journey for the listener - unspoken. GT: What are the tendencies with instrumentals that you aim to embrace or avoid? RLT: I prefer improvised instrumentals, meaning free-bag. But I also treasure the well composed ones. GT: Is a typical song structure of intro, verse, chorus, etc, always relevant for an instrumental? RLT: I Would say never, although implementing repetition can be very important to…

FRAMUS SPARKS OFF SOME interest with its new Jan Akkerman semi-hollow guitar designed by the man himself and combining the classic Gibson and Gretsch features that the Focus guitarist loves. The solid spruce carved archtop body is bound with a single f-hole and a sharp, chamfered cutaway. It features twin Bill Lawrence humbucking pickups (made to Akkerman’s specs) but only two rotary controls. The pickup switch is a standard three way selector but this soon changes to a six-way rotary. INFLUX OF MUSICAL TALENT ARRIVES including: Imelda May, Eric Gales, Robbie Williams, James Blunt, Madeleine Peyroux, Andrea Corr, Chad Kroeger, Danny Goffey (Supergrass), Adam Wakeman, Spice Girls Victoria Beckham and Melanie C, Jewel, Ryan Adams, Alanis Morissette, Meg White (White Stripes) and Nicholas McCarthy (Franz Ferdinand). THROWING IN THE TOWEL…

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). 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 quickly. 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. CHORD EXAMPLE (WITH CAPO) The blue line represents a capo – for this A chord, place it at fret 2. Capos change the fret number ordering – here, the original fret 5 now becomes fret…

There is a popular myth among guitarists that the reggae ‘skank’ is played with up-strokes of the pick. Using up-strokes means that you are guessing where the ‘skank’ should happen instead of using the mechanics of the rhythm hand to provide consistent results. If you watch Bob Marley playing live you will notice he uses down-strokes. This provides more consistent results and also means if you are playing a quaver permutation you can follow the initial down stroke with an upstroke. The fretting-hand muting is all important with regards to creating the correct tone and length of note. Try lightly placing your fingers on the strings above the desired frets. As you strum just press down enough to let the string make contact with the fret. As soon as the…

LIVEPIX “SERGIO PIZZORNO ALWAYS PLAYS SIMPLE PARTS THAT SERVE THE SONG RATHER THAN HIS EGO” Leicester band Kasabian formed in 1997. They have since scored five chart-topping albums and played dozens of sold-out tours. Comprising Tom Meighan (vocals), Sergio Pizzorno (guitar), Ian Matthews (drums) and Chris Edwards (bass), they blend classic rock, psychedelia and Britpop styles. Previous guitarist Chris Karloff quit the line-up in 2006. The group has also won the Best Band In The World Today award from Q Magazine, Best Live Band from NME, and headlined Glastonbury. Initially launching their career under the name Saracuse the quartet started recording at Bedrock Studios in Leicester, where bassist Edwards was one of the engineers. After changing the group name, recording an initial EP and getting out on the live circuit,…

ZUMA PRESS / ALAMY “DEREK TRUCKS STOOD IN WITH GREGG ALLMAN’S GROUP AGED JUST 10 AND WITH BLUES LEGEND BUDDY GUY ONLY THREE YEARS LATER” Derek Trucks was a child prodigy. He stood in with Gregg Allman’s group aged just 10 and with blues legend Buddy Guy only three years later. By the time he became an official member of The Allman Brothers at 20, in 1999, the slide virtuoso had released two albums with his own band. Indeed the Jacksonville-born guitarist had already been playing alongside his uncle, drummer Butch Trucks for several years as a guest musician with The Allman brothers and had shared stages with the likes of Bob Dylan and a host of others. Trucks’ time with The Allmans saw him appear on two live albums…

Check out So What by Miles Davis, from A Kind Of Blue (1959), perhaps one of the most recognisable examples of the minor 11 chord in action. For a more modern fusion vibe, try Filibuster by John Scofield from 1984’s Electric Outlet, with its minor 11 voicing featuring on the main rhythm part. For minor 11, major and minor add 9 voicings, look no further than 1980s Grammy award-winning band: The Police, featuring guitarist Andy Summers, with tracks such as Walking On The Moon and Every Breath You Take classic examples.…

PLINI SUNHEAD Plini ★★★★ Instrumental electric guitar is going through some interesting changes; there are the shredders who play rock (or neo-classical) very fast, riff based Djent metal stylists who favour gained-out seven and eight-strings, fusion players that link jazz with other styles (rock, funk etc) and ambient progressives who favour timbral texture over never-ending note streams. In some ways, 20-something Australian guitarist Plini embraces all these with a style that can be aggressive then uplifting and ambient. Blend Wayne Krantz, Nick Johnston and Animals As Leaders for an approximate observation. Sunhead is his new four-track EP which follows an album, three previous EPs and various singles. Welding a headless Strandberg guitar, there’s an intriguing beauty amid his fluidity and syncopations that sets him apart. Opener, Kind flows through various…