Table of contents for September 2022 in Guitar Techniques

SO HERE’S AN INTERESTING set of statistics I read recently. We all know (for sure, we know!) that The Beatles are popular and for numerous reasons. In the moden world of streaming, they’re as appealing as they were on vinyl, cassette and CD. But what if we were to look at streaming figures as regards the songs and the writers of those songs? Bit pointless you may say, there’s no competition; Lennon and McCartney’s songs are the big movers. Yes, a valid point and it’s true, but not quite the whole story. Take this headline grabber; the George Harrison penned Here Comes The Sun has had the most listens of any other Beatles song. 835 million in fact. Come Together is next at 520 million (L&M penned) then Let It…

➊ Slow Blues -A Minor We start with a simple, fun slow Blues in A Minor, where the A Minor Pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G) and the A Minor scale (A-B-C-D-E-F-G) are your first points of interest. For the Dominant chords (E7), use A Harmonic Minor (A-B-C-D-E-F-G#). ➋ Sweet Groove Blues (C) For this blues in C, you can mix C Major Pentatonic (C-D-E-G-A) - aka A Minor Pentatonic - with the C Minor Pentatonic scale (C-Eb-F-G-Bb). Great fun! ➌ Jazz Rock Jam – E Minor This jam is in easy E Minor, but the time signature is a little more challenging. One way to find your way on this jam is to count 1 and 2 and 3 and, with each 'and' in sync with the hi-hat hits. E Minor Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D)…

Tis month we welcome back Nick Johnston to play over an emotive track with plenty of instrumental rock and fusion vocabulary. As Nick explains, performing over A Joy Fulfilled was a creative challenge and the video captures a spontaneous approach without too much overthinking. The tempo is a cool 120bpm and several time signatures feature including 3/4, 4/4 and 7/4. Nick breaks this track down to have four main tonal centres. The chorus uses A Mixolydian (A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G); the bridge uses A Major (A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#) and this contains the same notes as the relative Minor scale F# Minor so you can view this whichever way is the most convenient. For the interlude section C Major is the main scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B) and this pivots into C Minor (C-D-Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb) To simplify this you can…

This month it’s my pleasure to share with you the very beautiful Catalan folk song Adéu Donzellet – also known by its English title Farewell Lad. This piece has emerged as a popular work for choir, or a solo vocalist accompanied by piano (sung in either Catalan or an English adaptation of the lyrics), but little seems to be known about the exact origins of this piece other than its connection to Catalonia – an autonomous community of Spain with ancient origins and its own musical culture, and Romance language. The lyrics of the folk song are (presumably) from the perspective of the mother or lover of a young man heading to war. She sings her farewell, hoping for his safe return with an anguish that sadly resonates to this…

In our last two lessons, we’ve used scale fragments and runs as the basis for developing economy picking technique. Our next step is to incorporate some lovely arpeggios into the fold, taking advantage of the mechanical and melodic possibilities of scale and arpeggio combos. Many players who use alternate picking for scales and sweep picking for arpeggios feel as though they must mechanically ‘switch gears’ when they move from scalar phrases to one-note-per-string arpeggios because string changes are handled differently in each approach. Economy picking makes blending scales and arpeggios much more seamless, resulting in an extremely consistent picking approach that you can achieve without the mental challenge of changing techniques. ‘‘Melody notes can be added to either side of the arpeggio framework, as seen in example 2” In this…

In this information-rich world many of us feel like we can should learn a lot the whole time. But some studies suggest that we lose as much as 90% of it. So how do we fix that? By slowing down! There’s a famous quote often attributed to Einstein that says, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” So if you want to make what you practise go into your memory and muscles permanently, you need to get it right. And by slowing down. When you’re learning a new thing on the guitar, you are writing very complex code - imagine how many lines of computer code would be required to get a robotic arm to play and change between chords. Once you write the…

GT What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you? Well, a guitar was the only instrument available in the house where I grew up, so naturally I spent my formative musical years learning how to operate it, simply because it was there. However hard I might try to think like a ‘musician’ rather than specifically as a ‘guitarist’, there can be no denying that the guitar will always serve as my main interface with the musical world in general, so I suppose it’s the voice I know best. Perhaps I naturally relate to guitar instrumentals in a more detailed or informed way, due to my familiarity with the range, timbre and capabilities of the instrument. GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can’t?…

Hailing from Devon in the southwest of England, Kris Barras is not only a great guitar player, but a fantastic singer too. His mix of rock, country and blues dishes out an impressive menu of high-gain riffs, killer solos and powerful vocals, which, when blended together with his self-penned catchy songs, delivers a contemporary, high energy, southern rock flavoured sound that’s seen he and his band enjoy ever increasing success. Barras, a man of many talents, started playing guitar at only five years of age, and while being influenced by artists like Gary Moore, BB King, Thunder and Deep Purple, was also a student of martial arts, becoming a pro MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter, before returning to pursue a music career. As well as fronting his own band, he…

EXAMPLE 1 JOE STRUMMER This progression uses diatonic chords from the key of E Minor and features chord stabs at the start of each bar. To achieve this staccato effect, you’ll need to accent each strum, relaxing the fretting fingers after each chord has sounded. This will bring the notes to an immediate silence. To get a punchy sound, use your bridge pickup, and set your amp to a clean channel with just enough gain to achieve a slightly gritty quality. Then, add reverb. PLAY EXAMPLE 2 LEO NOCENTELLI Here we have a melodic motif that moves between D7 in bars 1-2 and G7 in bars 3-4. This exercise focuses on groove, so make sure your notes only last for their intended duration. This creates space for the keyboard part…

Although Steve Morse deserves full shred credentials for his incredible speed and dexterity on the instrument, he has always resided outside of the genre. His history with Dixie Dregs and Kansas means he has carved his own niche with a mixture of classical, country and classic rock, combined with a ferocious alternate picking style that makes most shred guitarists weep. As well as classic Dregs albums like Freefall and What If, Steve has a discography of solo records including must listens like High Tension Wires and Southern Steel. More recently Steve is also a paid-up member of Deep Purple and side project Flying Colors. Our first three examples are based around alternate picking arpeggios as this is such a huge part of Morse’s style. First we have a baroque inspired…

Although not a household name, Eric Johnson is a legend in the guitar community. His track Cliffs Of Dover is a complex rite of passage for many electric players and even found its way onto the Guitar Hero game, becoming a favourite of non-guitar players too! While Johnson is predominantly known for his work on electric, he is also a fantastic acoustic player, strongly influenced by guitar legends Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Django Reinhardt and songwriting genius Bob Dylan. Being a piano player also means he approaches guitar from quite a unique angle and thus in his music you’ll find complex, dense chords which means sometimes large stretches to accommodate ‘clusters’ of notes. Johnson’s picking hand approach is quite traditional and mirrors the techniques used by many of the other…

A few words about tablature. "I’ve never used this system and it would never be used in any professional musical situation. Standard notation is the only method of communicating music other than using your ear. I think reading music is ESSENTIAL, not only for understanding music, but for playing guitar professionally as well.”(John Scofield, 1993) It's good sometimes to reveal the thinking of a double Grammy award winner rather than my own quasi fascist views. Needless to say, we are in perfect alignment here. The fact is, guitarists are notoriously poor sight readers. There are probably a number of factors at play here, not least of which is that the guitar is not a standard orchestral symphonic instrument. To watch a string section fly through a passage of hemidemisemiquavers at…

George Harrison was undoubtedly a staggering musician, guitarist and songwriter. As a member of one of the most important groups of all time, The Beatles, a driving force in the supergroup The Travelling Willburys alongside fellow legends Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, and also as a remarkably successful solo artist, George’s career was consistently one hit after another and his ever developing but always instantly recognisable guitar style was forever to the fore. George received his first guitar in his early teens, captivated by the sound of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and homegrown Lonnie Donnigan. Fast forward a few years and George joined a burgeoning skiffle group called The Quarrymen, fronted by none other than John Lennon and Paul McCartney. A couple of line-up changes later,…

Eric Gales is one of the most exciting blues-rock guitarists from today’s burgeoning scene. Just like his contemporaries such as Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, who both incidentally produced his most recent album, Eric’s playing is both bang up to date and equally steeped in history, with a sound that is vibrant, energetic and full of life. Eric was raised in a musical family, starting at the age of four and with both of his elder brothers to teach him. By 15, Eric was signed to Electra records and from that point to this he has released a steady stream of critically acclaimed albums, toured relentlessly, both as a bandleader and also as a member of the Jimi Hendrix tribute, Experience Hendrix, building up a loyal following of fans from…

Joe Bonamassa is a guitarist that needs little introduction. A genuine guitar hero, Joe has secured his name in the succession of great artists that belong to the blues lineage. Picking up the guitar at the age of 4, it didn’t take long for him to begin attracting attention. He was taken under the wing of legendary tele-master, Danny Gatton, and by the time he was 12 he was opening shows for BB King. His first studio album, A New Day Yesterday, was released in 2000 and since then the New York native has released 15 studio albums and 18 live releases. Joe’s strong work ethic is undeniable, and along with his prolific production of albums he can also accurately claim to be on the road almost constantly, playing over…

Strumming, indeed rhythm guitar as a whole, is a vital discipline that every guitarist should master. As much fun as it is to play blazing solos, the guitar is also an integral component in the rhythm section, and the ability to play chords fluently is a must. After all, in most styles, guitarists will spend the vast majority of their time focused on rhythm duties. There are key styles that use strumming as a main facet, and certain players who do it paticularly well. Funk guitar is heavily reliant on 16th-note strumming, fusing chords with ghost notes and syncopation for a sophisticated and exciting sound. It’s also an integral part of acoustic or folk guitar, forms the backbone of many a rock ballad, and is used as a ‘bed’ over…

W hile the most common use of Altered chord extensions is found in jazz and jazz influenced music, there are examples in more rootsy forms, too. Many of you will be aware that Stevie Ray Vaughan commonly used the b9 on a Dominant 7th chord, albeit very briefly - notably in Texas Flood. Of course this might have been just a finger pattern that happened to feature this dissonant note. The time to use Altered extensions on a Dominant 7th chord is when the chord is resolving down by 5th (or up by a 4th), as when G7 resolves to C. Altering the 9ths on a non resolving Dominant can sound very dissonant and ugly - there’s good dissonance and bad dissonance, and with time you’ll hear the difference. One…