Table of contents for September 2024 in Guitar Techniques

SIMON BARNARD Simon is a graduate of ACM and The Guitar Institute, holding a Masters degree in music. He teaches, examines and plays everything from rock to jazz. DECLAN ZAPALA Declan is one of the UK’s top classical guitarists and teachers. He is a Master graduate of RCM and his solo arrangements are sublimely creative. JON BISHOP Jon is one of those great all-rounders who can turn his hand to almost any style. He’s also rock legend Shakin’ Stevens’ touring and recording guitarist. MARTIN COOPER A tutor at BIMM Brighton, Martin’s Rock columns show an incredible breadth of technique and style. His 2006 album State Of The Union is out on iTunes. CHARLIE GRIFFITHS Charlie is a well studied guitarist who specialises in high end rock playing and plays with…

THERE IS A LOT TO BE GAINED from raising or lowering individual voices within a chord, plus finding the different inversions on the fretboard. In cases like this, the guitar’s limitations can force us into some interesting situations, which may lead to unexpected creative solutions! These chords all make use of the open first string as a root note, but can be converted to movable chords with the omission of open strings. Seeing chords with numbers and symbols in the name throw many of us, but understanding this terminology can free us to invent a more varied chord accompaniment. This will take time to assimilate; while it’s obvious that playing these chords will get you started on the right road, listening for and recognising similar ideas in use by others will…

This month we are looking at a series of ideas that all use bends of a semitone to lead into target notes. Some of these involve non-scale chromatic notes. To my mind, these bends sound somewhat like a Jeff Beck style whammy bar is being used to ‘glide’ into the target notes. Here’s a breakdown of what’s going on: In bars 1-2 notice how instead of simply playing the regular B Minor Pentatonic scale notes of D and B you are actually required to play the D followed by an A# which is bent into the B. After this the A note is followed by a b5-5-b5 (F-F#-F) bend and release. The phrase then ends with the 4th (E) followed by a 2nd/9th (C#) that’s bent into the b3 (D). In…

ABILITY RATING Moderate Info https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Key Various Tempo 105 bpm Will improve your… ✓ Ability to mute strings when playing slide ✓ Good slide intonation ✓ Playing slide in regular tuning Australian guitar ace Brett Garsed is a master at so many techniques, from hybrid-picked high-speed licks to liquid legato flurries, and, as he shows us this month, a unique and highly versatile slide style. However, Brett is also an inspiring teacher, so for this lesson we challenged him to dial it back a bit and come up with 10 easy level slide licks before going for it on a final solo. In typical fashion, Brett went one step further and designed a great lesson that uses one simple idea and expands on it to help take your slide playing…

ABILITY RATING Moderate Info https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Key Various Tempo 120bpm Will improve your… ✓ Application of chord voicings ✓ Harmonic awareness ✓ Fretboard fluency If any band encapsulates the spirt of these Crossroads articles, then it’s the legendary American group Steely Dan. Effortlessly blending rock, pop, blues, jazz, country, folk and almost any other imaginable popular musical idiom, the compositional style of keyboard player and vocalist Donald Fagin, alongside his writing partner and guitarist Walter Becker had it all. Combine the pair’s considerable creative talents with an almost unfathomable A-list of the best of the best session musicians, literally queuing up to play on their recordings, with phenomenal production and you can see why their music has stood the test of time. And with over 40 million albums sold and an…

ABILITY RATING Easy/Moderate Info Key: D Major Tempo: 120 bpm https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Will improve your ✓ Use of two-note chords ✓ Playing ‘for the song’ ✓ Part writing 10cc were formed in Stockport, UK in 1972 by drummer Kevin Godley, guitarist and keyboard player Lol Crème, guitarist Eric Stewart, and bass player Graham Gouldman. Each of the band members sang, wrote music and was a multi-instrumentalist. The albums were mostly recorded at their Strawberry Studios, with Stewart functioning as main engineer. Godley and Crème were often seen as the more experimental side of the group, with Stewart and Gouldman the more pop focused writers (Gouldman had written hits for The Hollies, Herman’s Hermits and The Yardbirds, while Stewart was a member of The Mindbenders, whose Groovy Kind Of Love topped the…

ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Will improve your ✓ Down picking ✓ Scale knowledge ✓ Tapping techniques Born in Long Beach California in 1964, Jeff Hanneman was a founding member of metal band Slayer in 1981. Sadly Jeff passed away in 2013 aged just 49, but his name lives on as a pioneering guitarist of one of the big four thrash bands. Jeff’s unique riffing and soloing style featured on 12 studio releases including classic albums such as Hell Awaits, Reign In Blood and Seasons In The Abyss to name a few. In this lesson we will look at some riffing and soloing approaches that stem from both punk and metal genres, but are also unconventional and share certain similarities with modern classical music. Our first…

ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Will improve your ✓ Alternate picking ✓ Understanding of rhythms ✓ Speed and fluency We probably don’t need to convince you of the benefit of alternate picking. For most of us, it’s a major feature of our practice time, and an efficient approach for the majority of situations. However, it can be frustrating when the tidy efficiency of alternate picking meets the reality of most guitar parts. We encounter a burst of legato or a tricky triplet phrase, dive for the next downstroke… and realise we’ve totally lost the groove. In his Guide To Picking at JTC Guitar, fusion maestro Martin Miller describes rhythmically dependent alternate picking (RDAP). It’s all about rhythms, and how they’re based on an underlying ‘grid’ (eighth…

MORE OF THE WORLD’S BEST LESSONS… FEATURE VIDEO #1 PHILIP SAYCE Six Blues-Rock Licks Philip sat down especially for GT to record six exceptional blues licks, with Jon Bishop as your music guide. CLASSICAL VIDEO FERNANDO SOR Exercise No 9, Opus 35 Declan Zapala arranges a piece from the Spanish composer whose etudes were like mini musical masterpieces. FEATURE THE CROSSROADS Jim Hall, Piano Trio Style John Wheatcroft examines how players like Hall could take the place of the pianist in a jazz trio setting. FEATURE VIDEO #2 KINGS X An Appreciation Jamie Humphries gets under the musical skin of a band so good that it’s hard to believe they weren’t huge! Play like five instrumental innovators from the 1950s THE TWANG’S THE THANG! The 1950s gave birth to a…

AS THE FUNDAMENTAL component of guitar soloing vocabulary, blues is a fascinating topic. So fascinating in fact that we’ve made it the cover feature this issue by looking at key players and their soloing trademarks over six decades. At a simplistic level, you’ve got 30 great blues licks (five players per decade, times six decades) to master, ready for your next gigs, jams or recordings. At a deeper level, we’ve been mindful to choose from the most noteworthy (sic) players per decade, not least because they each have a specific voice or unique approach. And by condensing these elements into short examples, your playing will gain a lot of musical wealth. Sonically, you’ll hear the variations of amp drive, from clean to pretty filthy, and preferences of pickup, often neck…

GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you? UW: It appeals because the melody and solo will be in focus, since there are no lyrics. Also because I’m a jazz musician and from a time when there were more instrumentals. I think today there is too much vocal music and not everything is up to a certain standard. GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can't? UW: Since there are no lyrics, you will concentrate more on the melody and other stuff. It takes you into another universe. Like a classical symphony. GT: Are there tendencies with instrumentals that you aim to embrace or avoid? UW: Being either too static or having a lack of drama. It has to have very nice…

ABILITY RATING Moderate Info https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Key Various Tempo 177bpm Will improve your… ✓ Fretted and open-string unison licks ✓ Double-stop runs ✓ Hybrid picking This is a country shuffle inspired by Nashville monsters Vince Gill and Brent Mason. There are plenty of country techniques to work on in this one, from unison lines to double-stop licks, country bends and hybrid picking. If you are new to the style it’s probably worth outlining just what some of these technqiues are and how you go about playing them. First, unisons. These are very common in country and this is where you play a fretted note then follow it with its openstring counterpart, keeping both notes ringing as much as possible. You’ll see this in the fifth bar where I start with a…

ABILITY RATING Beginner/Moderate Info https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Key G Tempo Various Will improve your… ✓ Plucking-hand broken chords pattern ✓ Melody control ✓ Free stroke plucking tone The Classical era of music was a fertile period of great innovation for the guitar, with the earliest iteration of the modern six-string emerging around 1750, though at this time it had pairs (courses) of strings and so resembled the modern 12-string. Luminaries such as Matteo Carcassi, Fernando Sor, and Ferdinando Carulli all helped create a wave of interest for the instrument and paved the way for future generations with their vast caches of repertoire and contributions to the instrument’s pedagogy. There aren’t many more names outside of the three mentioned and yet, through their creative outputs they laid strong foundations that are still felt…

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! 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. MAY GT360 COUNTRY ROCK Learn how Albert Lee, Joe Walsh, Brent Mason, Dickey Betts and others blend scales to create new sounds. Plus: Modern Legato, Allan Holdsworth, Eric Johnson, Ulf Wakenius, Muddy Waters, Metallica, Bob Dylan, and much more! JULY GT362 RIFFS: FROM 50S TO 00S! With six decades of riffs on offer, learn how these small but powerful musical statements changed music forever.…

ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Will improve your ✓ Use of chromaticism ✓ Rhythmic variety ✓ Swung 1/16-note phrasing Beloved by fans all over the world, ‘Luke’ is a legendary player. Among countless A-list recording sessions, he has played with Michael Jackson, Boz Scaggs, Lionel Richie, Earth Wind And Fire, Joe Cocker, Michael Bolton, Aretha Franklin, Peter Frampton and countless others. He’s also worked with Elton John, played with three of The Beatles, and is currently a member of Ringo’s All-Starr Band. Steve’s technique is legendary, and he was already making a name for himself as a world class soloist while still in his teens. Rhythmic variety is a big part of his style, mixing up different kinds of rhythms to add drama to his solos.…

Brought to you by… ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced Info Key: Key G/G Minor Tempo: 117 bpm https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Will improve your ✓ Chromaticism ✓ 16th-note lines ✓ Minor chord vocabulary After releasing his now classic debut album, Bright Size Life in 1976, Pat Metheny entered the 80s ready to rise to the status of jazz and fusion legend. His string of albums presented under the banner of The Pat Metheny Group included 1982’s Grammy-winning Offramp, and First Circle from two years later. The band recorded a further eight albums over the next two decades after a crucial move to the Geffen label in 1986. It is the guitarist’s extended 16th-note lines heard during this time that I have attempted to capture in our examples. After initially displaying an idiosyncratic phrasing style with…

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.…

A couple of weeks back I had the pleasure of watching Eric Clapton at the Albert Hall, and at 79 years young, he still plays with incredible energy. I have seen him play several times and always find watching ol’ Slow Hand interesting, as he does lots of things that are unconventional - but they WORK. In the last couple of months I have watched over 30 live concerts (on DVD!) of great blues masters and many of them are doing things with unconventional techniques. So why shouldn’t you? Lets’ start off with a look at string bending. I always suggest that students learn to bend using their third finger. Most guitarists, most of the time will do most bends with that finger. And even with the following arguments I…

➊ Bossa Nova Jam (A Dorian) For the main section (Am7-D9) go for the A Minor Pentatonic scale (A-C-D-E-G) and A Dorian mode (A-B-C-D-E-F#-G), and for the B section (C9-D9-Am7). Add a little A Phrygian mode (A-Bb-C-D-E-F-G) on the C9 chords. ➋ Blues Vamp (D) Next up is a simple blues vamp in D. I recommend mixing D Major Pentatonic (D-E-F#-A-B) for some sweet, uplifting vibes, with good old D Minor Pentatonic (D-F-G-A-C) for darker ones. ➌ Slow Blues (F Minor) This slow one in F is perfect for some passionate blues soloing. The F Minor Pentatonic scale (F-Ab-Bb-C-Eb) is your friend here. Next, try hitting some of the chord tones: Fm7 (F-Ab-C-Eb), Bbm (Bb-Db-F-Ab), Dbmaj7 (Db-F-Ab-C), and C7 (C-E-G-Bb). ➍ Sweet 6/8 Blues (G Minor) We finish this month with…

ABILITY RATING Moderate Info https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Key Various Tempo Various Will improve your… ✓ String bending and vibrato ✓ Stylistic awareness ✓ Plectrum and finger techniques Welcome to this month’s blues guitar extravaganza. The aim of this feature is to study and apply some of the technical and musical concepts employed by 30 top blues guitar icons from the 1950s right up to the 2000s. To provide a full overview of 50 years of blues guitar innovation we picked five of the most varied and influential players from each of our chosen decades. We start with the 50s pioneers like John Lee Hooker, BB King, Freddie King, Albert King, and Albert Collins. Next up it’s time to wig out with the British Blues Invasion, so you’ll see examples inspired by (honorary…

+ NEW DIGITAL ACCESS** NEW! DIGITAL ACCESS TO 130 + ISSUES WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO PRINT!** GET 6 MONTHS OF GUITAR TECHNIQUES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR DOOR FOR ONLY £20.31! Find your GUITAR TECHNIQUES subscription at www.magazinesdirect.com/GTQ/D35R or call 0330 333 1113 and quote D35R CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE… PRINT & DIGITAL ACCESS £20.31 every 6 months PLUS! INSTANT ACCESS ANYTIME, ANYWHERE DIGITAL ONLY £16.25 every 6 months Terms and conditions: Offer closes 16th October 2024. Price is guaranteed for the first 6 months, please allow up to 6 weeks for the delivery of your first subscription issue (up to 8 weeks overseas) the subscription rate includes postage and packaging.*Savings are based on the cover price. Payment is non-refundable after the 14-day cancellation period. **Access to the digital library will end with your…

Brought to you by… ABILITY RATING Moderate Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Will improve your ✓ Blues phrasing ✓ String bends ✓ 9th chord embellishments When it comes to blues legends, few are as ground-breaking as T-Bone Walker. Born Aaron Thibeaux Walker on May 28, 1910, in Linden, Texas, T-Bone was a pioneering figure in the popularisation of the electric guitar, playing a crucial role in shaping the blues and influencing countless musicians that followed. Players from BB King and Albert King to early rock and rollers like Chuck Berry, all name him as a major influence. Though a native of Texas and often associated with Texas blues, T-Bone’s move to California in the 1930s allowed him to refine his style and contribute to the emerging West Coast blues…

When it comes to rhythm guitar, Dream Theater’s amazing six and seven-stringer John Petrucci moves between ‘wall of sound’ powerchords to fast, thrash-inspired phrases, intricate melodic motifs, and lush, clean, arpeggiated chord progressions. With progressive rock bands Rush and Yes being a significant influence on the members of Dream Theater, time signature changes are never far away. This often results in rhythm patterns and riffs becoming extended or shortened as they explore thematic variations. Due to the range of moods and emotions within Dream Theater’s music, it’s not uncommon to hear Petrucci move through a wide range of these approaches within a single song. Our two examples this month aim to reflect this broad range of approaches, so get ready to dive in. “It’s not uncommon to hear Petrucci move…

ABILITY RATING Easy/Moderate Info Key: D Tempo: 101 bpm https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Will improve your ✓ Playing unpredictable changes ✓ Moving basslines in chords ✓ Basic strumming patterns If You Really Got Me is the first thing that springs to mind when you think of The Kinks then fear not, you aren’t alone. Their 1964 hit defined an era with that ‘slashed speaker’ sound, bone-crunching riff and legendary solo. For some it almost heralds the arrival of the heavy metal age, but it’s a common misconception that Jimmy Page played the famous solo in his pre-Zeppelin session star days. In fact the track was all Kinks, with the band’s young guitarist Dave Davies handling lead guitar duties. While You Really Got Me is perhaps the group’s most widely known hit it’s not…

Brought to you by… ABILITY RATING Moderate Info Key: A Minor/C Major Tempo: 75 bpm https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c Will improve your ✓ String skipping ✓ Outside picking ✓ Arpeggio playing String skipping is a technique often required when phrases feature wide intervals that would prove too stretched if attempting to use only adjacent strings. Traditionally, melodic phrases have favoured small interval based lines using adjacent strings, moving fret by fret, string by string. This yields wonderfully musical results. However, string skipping allows us to create phrases with wider intervals that often sound more arresting. It also allows for fluid arpeggios to be performed without having to resort to sweep picking; an approach favoured by both Paul Gilbert and Nuno Bettencourt to emulate the fluidity of Yngwie Malmsteen’s sweeped arpeggios. As with any…