Guitar Techniquesの October 2024 の目次

I was around 10 years old when I clocked electric guitar instrumentals. An early recollection was changing TV channels and seeing the end of The Shadows performing Telstar. I didn’t catch the name of this though so it took around a year to link the melodic earworm of a tune to an album via numerous vinyl records loaned from my local library. If you’re intrigued, you’ll find it on their 1981 album, Hits Right Up Your Street. In hindsight, it’s a little strange that Telstar was my first exposure to the iconic UK guitar band rather than, say, Apache. However, during my sleuthing blitz via Cliff Richard movies, Shadows compilations (20 Golden Greats) and studio albums such as Tasty, I got to deepen my appreciation of the band. As a…

FRANCIS DUNNERY GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without? FD: No actually. I’m always interested in different picks. They make you play different things in a different way. GT: If you had to give up all your pedals but three, what would they be? FD: RAT distortion because it’s a man’s pedal. Boss digital delay because it’s easy to use. I don’t have any more. GT: Do you play another instrument well enough to do so in a band? FD: Drums, bass, keys, voice. GT: If a music chart were put in front of you, could you read it? FD: Yes, but I can’t sight read. It takes me a minute for each bar. GT: Do guitar cables really make a difference? What make…

Let’s get straight down to it, shall we? The most expensive aspect of ongoing axe ownership and maintenance is the continual need to change strings on your beloved instrument. As even the newest of newbies quickly discovers, the darned things lose their initial brightness faster than Kyle Walker on a Kawasaki. That gorgeous ringing tone is quickly replaced by a dullness that only the average football commentator could emulate; they start to play out of tune and then literally reach breaking point way too early. And sheesh! The cost of the things is no longer a mild inconvenience. A set of good quality acoustic strings will lighten your wallet by 15 quid. Multiply that by the number of guitars in one’s arsenal, add any related items such as mandolins, banjos…

ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Key Various Tempo Various Will improve your… ✓ Double-stop chords ✓ Drop D riff playing ✓ Two-handed tapping One of the most unique sounding bands in rock, Kings X has been referred to as the ‘Godfathers of grunge’. This trio from Missouri pioneered the use of drop D tuning, thereby introducing rock lovers to a thicker, heavier sound. Kings X’s riffs were powerful and resonant but also had clarity thanks to guitarist Ty Tabor’s individual single-coil tone. His guitar was supported by singer-bassist Doug Pinnick’s huge, bi-amped tone, like Chris Squire on steroids. Add to this progressive arrangements, tight funk grooves, blues and gospel-style vocals, and Beatles inspired harmonies, and you get the picture. Indeed, they once described their sound as ‘Heavy Melody’. Ty Tabor,…

ABILITY RATING Easy/Moderate Info https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Key A Major Tempo 94 bpm Will improve your… ✓ Chord change efficiency ✓ Plucking-hand arpeggio patterns ✓ Hinging upper melody notes If there were a Mount Rushmore for classical guitar, housing the visages of its founding fathers, the first face we’d see would be that of Ferdinando Carulli, who gave us his Méthode Complete Pour Le Décacorde Nouvelle Guitare. But right alongside him would be his counterpart, eight years his junior, the great Fernando Sor who wrote his Méthode Complète Pour La Guitare. As for the other two faces, we’ll let the guitar musicologists decide. Like Carulli, Fernando Sor was an exceptional virtuoso of the guitar and contributed a great body of educational material to the pool of knowledge, which at the time was…

The last six months still available! Missed one of our superb recent issues? Get one now while stocks last. NEVER MISS ANOTHER ISSUE Time to Subscribe! SEPTEMBER GT364 GET YOUR MOJO WORKING! Explore the‘history of blues guitar in 30 awesome licks’ with six decades of blues’s greatest exponents. Plus: Brett Garsed video, Dream Theater, T-Bone Walker, Steve Lukather, Steely Dan, The Kinks, Pat Metheny, 10CC, Slayer! AUGUST GT363 MATTEO MANCUSO Twelve fingerpicked licks from the man himself. Watch, listen and learn from the Italian prodigy. Go Global; six scales from around the world. Plus: five blues rhythms; Santana, Dickey Betts, Christone Catfish Ingram, Paul Simon, Slayer. JULY GT362 RIFFS: FROM 50S TO 00S! With six decades of riffs on offer, learn how these small but powerful musical statements changed music…

ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Will improve your ✓ Vibrato arm technique ✓ Harmonics ✓ String bending Jeff Beck remains one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of the instrument. His ever-evolving style has captivated listeners with incredible sonic effects, beautiful phrasing and dramatic solo statements. Unusually for one of the British blues-rock guitar heroes, many of Jeff’s tunes featured advanced chords and harmonies, and his music attracted world-class jazz musicians including Jan Hammer, Vinnie Colaiuta and Jason Rebello. While not being a trained jazz player, Jeff had an amazing knack for negotiating these complicated structures in a superbly natural style. There is a huge difference in approach between Jeff’s early playing and that shown later in his career. He started off playing…

Brought to you by… ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info Key: G Minor Tempo: 150 bpm https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Will improve your ✓ Outside playing ✓ Legato style soloing ✓ Minor chord vocabulary In the evolution of fusion guitar, Allan Holdsworth’s contribution can only be compared to that of Jimi Hendrix’s role in the foundation of rock guitar, and Django Reinhardt’s in the development of the instrument in the jazz world. Holdsworth essentially reinvented the instrument through numerous aspects of his approach: through his fretboard concept which involved seeing every available note across the guitar neck at a glance, free of positions and fingering but also, crucially, in his harmonic concepts. Finally, Holdsworth is probably most famous for his ferociously fast execution of lines using, as he did almost exclusively, a legato playing approach.…

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 two 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.…

When we're learning to play the guitar, we often find ourselves standing at the crossroads between discipline and intuition. It’s a classic struggle for musicians of all levels, from eager beginners to seasoned professionals. Discipline is about getting in your regular structured practice, scales, and metronomes. Intuition, on the other hand, is about feeling the music, improvisation, and letting your creativity flow. The secret to becoming a well-rounded guitarist lies in balancing these two elements. Let’s delve into how you can achieve this balance, channelling both your inner taskmaster and your free spirit, so as to elevate your guitar playing to new heights. First, let’s talk about discipline. This is the bedrock of any skill development. For guitarists, discipline involves regular practice; learning scale patterns, memorising chords and licks, developing…

➊ Easy Rollin’ Blues, C Minor We start with a fun and pretty straightforward blues jam in C Minor, where C Minor Pentatonic scale (C-Eb-F-G-Bb) is a great place to begin. Try adding the D (2nd or 9th) and A (Major 6th) for more dramatic effect. ➋ Slow Dub Reggae, G Minor Next up is a fun reggae-inspired blues in G Minor. I recommend hitting up G Minor Pentatonic (G-Bb-C-D-F) and also G Minor scale (G-A-Bb-C-D-Eb-F) for some cool Junior Marvin vibes. ➌ Mixolydian Vamp, C Major Here we have a sweet Mixolydian jam where C Mixolydian (C-D-E-F-G-A-Bb) is the obvious choice, as well as both C Major Pentatonic (C-D-E-G-A) and C Minor Pentatonic (C-Eb-F-G-Bb) for a more bluesy sound. ➍Real Slow Blues, A Minor We finish with a very…

ABILITY RATING Easy/Moderate Info https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Key Various Tempo Various Will improve your… ✓ Use of echo & reverb ✓ Arpeggio and melody playing ✓ Rock and roll and surf guitar vocabulary In this feature we are taking an in-depth look at some key instrumental innovators. The rock and roll and surf guitar styles first came to prominence in postwar America, but quickly made their way across the world. We have selected five of the genre’s best-known players/bands for inspiration: Hank Marvin, The Ventures, Dick Dale, Link Wray and Les Paul. These guitarists and bands were highly influential and their work paved the way for the next generation of six-string innovators. The typical 50s instrumental guitar record is short and exciting, with plenty of youthful energy. It was an era of…

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Brought to you by… ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Will improve your ✓ Playing intensity ✓ String bends and vibrato ✓ Blues phrasing Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been a major force in the blues world throughout his almost thirty-year career, and his passion for the genre and dedication to preserving its essence have earned him a spot as one of today’s top guitarists. Born in 1977 in Shreveport, Louisiana, his journey began early, deeply influenced by the sounds of blues legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix. Shepherd was already playing by the age of seven, and by 13 he was performing on stage, showcasing a prodigious talent that would soon make him a household name in the blues and rock community. His…

ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Will improve your ✓ Time signature changes ✓ Fast legato playing ✓ Selective palm muting Tool’s guitarist Adam Jones is a long-time fan of drop D tuning. This allows him to get weight into his phrases while establishing a tight, identifiable tonality that sits alongside the bass. Additionally this tuning, which ‘drops’ the sixth string down a whole tone to D, enables him to alternate between single-finger powerchords (root-5th-root), single-note riffs, and melody lines. Tool’s music often explores a range of emotions, so it’s not uncommon for the rhythm guitar to shift between heavy, mid-tempo powerchord sequences, and sustained arpeggiated figures that form subdued, melodic motifs. Tool famously also make use of less obvious time signatures, which brings depth, variety, and…

ABILITY RATING Moderate Info Key: G Major Tempo: 60 bpm https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Will improve your ✓ Folk-pop fingerpicking ✓ Fast strumming ✓ Triads around the neck Conjure an image of The Who’s axeman and songwriter Pete Townshend, and you’ll most likely picture him leaping through the air whirlwind strumming a Gibson SG or shoving a guitar headstock first through a Marshall 4 x 12 cab. However, Townshend’s innovations as an electric guitarist are mirrored in his acoustic work. Check out the powerful, dynamic strumming of Pinball Wizard, the sophisticated use of moving triads in Substitute, or the delicate and classy 12-string picking on Sunrise, and you’ll hear a guitarist who took the acoustic in a new, untapped direction in the 1960s. Townshend was born into a musical family in Chiswick, London…

Brought to you by… ABILITY RATING Easy/Moderate Info Key: A Minor Tempo: 110 bpm https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Will improve your ✓ Harmonic Minor licks ✓ Minor phrasing ✓ Use of chord tones There are a number of different Minor scales available, suiting different situations and chord progressions. Two of the most common used by guitarists are the Minor Pentatonic (1-b3-4-5-b7) and Natural Minor scale (1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7), also known as Aeolian mode. There are other scales, such as the Dorian mode (1-2-b3-4-5-6-b7), but the Minor Pentatonic and Natural Minor are the ones we usually learn first. By contrast the Harmonic Minor has a unique, almost exotic sound to it, which makes it rather appealing to the ears. The reason for this is that it features a Major 7th interval (1-2-b3-4-5-b6-7), making it one note…

FEATURE VIDEO #1 CLIVE CARROLL Six Acoustic Examples Classically trained and superbly articulate, Clive plays and explains his vibrant fingerpicking examples. CLASSICAL VIDEO SANTIAGO DE MURCIA Prelude And Allegro Declan Zapala arranges a stunning and moving piece from the early Spanish guitarist and composer. FEATURE THE CROSSROADS Bruce Forman John Wheatcroft goes from ‘Cowbop to Kessel’ in this look at a guitarist who mixes jazz and country. FEATURE VARIOUS ARTISTS Memorisation Tips Jason Sidwell hosts a fantastic line-up of guitarists who offer their personal advice in this revealing Q& A feature! Join in and trade licks with 10 blues greats in our… DREAM BLUES JAMS! Imagine the scenario: we assemble five pairs of musically compatible blues giants from Mississippi, Texas, New York, Belfast and London, set them up with all the…

WHEN WE COMBINE harmonious intervals to create chords, there are various conventions we follow (consciously or otherwise) to avoid unpleasant dissonances. Here, we’re going to do no such thing! We will head boldly into a world of discord with our eyes wide open and see what unexpected delights can be found. The most discordant interval is arguably the Minor 2nd (semitone), so we'll find chord shapes/voicings that incorporate it. Generally, the lower the interval is in a chord, the more profound its effect. So none of our featured chords has a Minor 2nd in the bass. But never say never… We’re sticking with clear, unambiguous root notes at the bottom, adding in the weirdness in the mid to high register. Example 1 This Em9 chord features a semitone interval, with the…

This month’s lick combines fretting-hand tapping with string bends and vibrato. This concept is something that I initially heard being performed by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. The guitarist who took it all to a whole new level was obviously Eddie Van Halen. The lick opens with a typical sustained bend from D-E on the third string that then has a tapped note added on the 12th fret. Because the string is already bent up a tone the note obtained by tapping the 12th fret is the A that’s usually found at the 14th fret, third string. This way of ‘compensating’ for the initial string bend is vital to being able to use this technique effectively. After the 12th-fret tap pull off with your tapping finger to sound the still bent E…

ABILITY RATING Moderate Info https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Key E Tempo Freetime Will improve your… ✓ Pentatonic phrasing ✓ String bends and vibrato ✓ Use of added colour tones It’s with immense pleasure that we welcome back Canadian blues-rock maestro Philip Sayce for another fast-paced video masterclass. Philip has recorded 10 albums as bandleader and forged a reputation as a superb player within the modern blues vernacular. His playing is fast and fiery, but always imbued with taste and a reverence to those that came before. The first thing of note is that Philip is in Eb tuning for this video, so his strings are de-tuned by a semitone (Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-Bb-Eb). However, to keep things simple we have notated the fingerings as they appear on screen, so the notation here is in standard E…

ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Key C/Am Tempo 150 bpm Will improve your… ✓ Harmonic awareness ✓ Integration of mixed techniques ✓ Jazz vocabulary James Stanley Hall was born in New York in 1930 and first picked up the guitar aged 10. He began performing professionally in his teens and studied music theory and piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Initially influenced by Benny Goodman’s guitarist, Charlie Christian, young Hall also had a huge interest in assimilating the dark legato sound of saxophonists such as Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, along with spending a period studying classical guitar in Los Angeles with Vincente Gomez. His unique approach to guitar, with exquisite taste, touch and sophistication soon brought him to the attention of the jazz community and his career began…

ABILITY RATING Easy/Moderate Info Key: A Minor Tempo: 130 bpm https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Will improve your ✓ Classic rock soloing ✓ Dorian scale playing ✓ Playing for the song The Cult were formed in 1983 in Bradford, England by vocalist Ian Astbury, guitarist Billy Duffy, Jamie Stewart on bass, and drummer Ray Taylor-Smith. There have been numerous bassists and drummers over the years, with Astbury and Duffy the mainstays of the band throughout its career. Beginning as a post-punk or gothic rock band, The Cult achieved success in the late 80s and early 90s with a more mainstream rock sound. She Sells Sanctuary was a big UK hit in 1985, and then with producer Rick Rubin at the helm gained success in the USA as well, with songs like Love Removal Machine.…

ABILITY RATING Advanced Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Will improve your ✓ Legato ✓ Tapping ✓ Rhythmic phrasing Born in 1970 in Umeå Sweden, Fredrik Thordendal formed Metallien, the band that would become Meshuggah in 1985. Initially influenced by Metallica, the band evolved its sound by experimenting with rhythmic phrasing, incorporating concepts similar to King Crimson and Tool to create a a brand of progressive metal riffing which later became synonymous with the word ‘Djent’. Most of the musicians associated with the ‘D word’ however distance themselves from the term. Fredrik’s lead playing adds an extra dimension to Meshuiggah’s music. It is heavily influenced by Allan Holdsworth, with fusion inspired legato and tapping lines and angular tapped flurries of notes. Although Meshuggah music is typically played on seven and…

ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/4cFC52d Will improve your ✓ Downpicking ✓ Neo-classical rock soloing ✓ Mixing rhythm and lead Matthew Kiichi Heafy is an absolute giant of modern metal. He has been the frontman of Trivium for over 20 years, releasing 10 albums and headlining tours and festivals all over the world. He also has a black metal side project called Ibaraki, and has made numerous guest appearances with other bands. This year, though, he has taken a completely new career step, releasing his debut masterclass through JTC Guitar. In Modern Metal Masterclass, Matt shares the knowledge, skills and experience that he has built up over his long career. There are exercises, licks, stylistic demonstrations and plenty of long lessons. He even provides an in-depth warm-up…