Innehållsförteckning för January 2020 från 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. 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. He’s also rock legend Shakin Stevens’ touring and recording guitarist. CHRIS BROOKS Aussie metal and prog guitarist Chris’s Speed Strategies For Guitar is published by Fundamental Changes. CDs include Axis Of All Things and The Master Plan. MARTIN GOULDING One of the world’s foremost rock and metal guitarists, Martin teaches for dime-online.org and has written for…

When I got a scholarship to study at The Guitar Institute back in 1996, I was honestly expecting to be the worst in the class. I showed up on the first day thinking that I was going to be the awkward kid from some distant island that wouldn’t be able to keep up. After chatting with a few of the guys, I discovered they all felt the same way. It worked out that I was one of the more experienced players and could indeed hold my own, but I never forget the fear I felt on that first day. Today I see it in students at almost every workshop I run; that first-day fear - everyone feels they’re not good enough and going to be the runt of the litter,…

JON LUINI ➊ Slow Blues in G We start with an easy blues jam in G. G Minor Pentatonic (G-B b -C-D-F) works great here, as does G Major Pentatonic (G-A-B-D-E), when used with care. You can also have fun with G Mixolydian (G-A-B-C-D-E-F) and G Dorian (G-A-B b -C-D-E F). ➋ C Lydian Groove Jam Here’s a two-chord (C and D/C) groove jam track for you to rock your best Vai, Satriani and Zappa licks on. The progression specifically implies C Lydian mode (C-D-E-F#-G-A-B), so that makes it very simple – and tons of fun once you get into it. ➌ Baiao Groove Blues (Am) Another simple, fun blues progression, here in A Minor, with a Brazilian Baiao-inspired groove. A Minor Pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G) and A Minor scale (A-B-C-D-E-F-G) work…

Jazz fusion is a mysterious place to visit, musically speaking. Rules are bent out of shape and it’s easy to believe that just about everything you’ve learned so far is now rendered virtually useless in this new landscape. As with everything, though, a little bit of guidance goes a long way – and who better to hold your hand through those early days than a player who has clocked up nearly 50 years working in all areas of the genre, from playing alongside jazz legend Stéphane Grappelli to working in the innovative Soft Machine. There’s a wealth of info in the video that accompanies this tutorial, but we’ve singled out some exercises to light your path ahead. Good luck! EXAMPLE 1 CD TRACK 12 In this first example John takes…

ABILITY RATING BENJAMIN EALOVEGA In this issue we tackle a work by the Argentine guitarist and educator Julio Sagreras (1879-1942). Sagreras was deeply embedded in guitar culture; both of his parents were professional guitarists and he was taught by them from an early age, even taking part in their concerts by the age of six. He started his formal training at age 12 and became a professor by the age of 20, a published composer soon after, and formed his own music academy when he was just 25. Sagreras’s subsequent output and contribution to the guitar is significant, giving multiple concerts, radio broadcasts, writing seven guitar instruction books and hundreds of works for the instrument. Of these I have selected his magical waltz Violetas for this issue’s piece. This simple…

EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 1 BUDDY HOLLY CD TRACK 29 Follow this typical example of 1950s popular music by voicing the chord shapes (notated) and arpeggiating with a soft – medium pick. Try the pick strokes as directed unless you favour a different approach. Buddy played with gusto and you should do the same. EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 2 LENNY KRAVITZ CD TRACK 30 The key to this example is keeping a steady, tight‘staccato’by playing short eighth notes with downstrokes, taking note of the rests by muting with the fretting hand. Hit the Hendrix-vibed 7#9 chord and slide with all the swagger you can muster. INTERMEDIATE LICKS EXAMPLE 3 KEITH SCOTT CD TRACK 31 Keith is best known for his perfect pop-rock parts on the major Bryan Adams recordings and is one…

ABILITY RATING Every guitarist knows that the Minor Pentatonic scale is hugely important in blues, rock, funk, soul and reggae. But we sometimes overlook the potential of this five-note marvel in jazz. Of course, there are a whole host of jazz guitarists that cross over into the blues idiom with great freedom and flair; classic players such as Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel and even George Benson can get deep down and bluesy when the mood takes them. Likewise, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather and BB King come at things from a more blues perspective but add a jazzy sophistication whenever they choose to go ‘uptown’. STEVE THORNE / GETTY IMAGES While these are incredibly significant and influential benchmark players, what we’re interested in here are the progressive…

SVICKOVA In this lesson, we are looking at medium-paced Mixolydian studies that provide you with some new vocabulary and should be achievable to play. So far we have looked at Pentatonic scales that stem from the various notes of Mixolydian. Having already looked at scales whose root notes stem from the root 2nd, this lesson shifts our attention to the 3rd. The purpose of extracting these various triads, arpeggios and Pentatonics is to provide us with fresh musical perspectives. Each new perspective not only sounds different; it will make us play in a different way too. Like a skilful chef, by selecting certain notes and leaving out others, we are able to present a range of different sonic flavours from the same limited range of ingredients, in an attempt to…

Album of the Month STEVE HACKETT GENESIS REVISITED BAND & ORCHESTRA: LIVE Inside Out Music With Genesis not due a reunion any time soon, it’s Steve Hackett that has presented the band’s material, up to his final Genesis album, Wind And Wuthering. Having toured his own solo music and Genesis albums, it seemed the time to go orchestral. And, as one of the most harmonically sophisticated bands, aligning with a big classical entourage makes real sense. It’s a full-on experience, not least due to mammoth works like Firth Of Fifth at nearly 11 minutes, and Supper’s Ready at 28! The former is revered for its glorious minor key guitar melody, so the orchestra makes it bigger still. As for the latter, the 12-string picking, shifting chords and the famous two-hand…

YEARS AGO I had no idea what modes were. In fact I couldn’t believe you could use scales from ‘other’ keys to create a solo in the key in which you were playing. Yet I’d hear guitarists whose improvisations sounded completely different to what I was doing. I recall a moment with the great Allan Holdsworth. It was 1986 Summer NAMM and we were there for SynthAxe: me as an employee and he as our number one ambassador and player. We were all having dinner at an Indian restaurant in Chicago and I was sitting next to Allan. As he ordered his “ring of fire” I asked how it was that he could play notes that in his music sounded amazing, but were I to play them would sound awful,…

“Everybody dance, do-do-do Clap your hands, clap your hands Everybody dance, do-do-do” (Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1809-1892. Or Nile Rodgers, 1952- present. Not sure.) Back in the day, where would an impecunious plectrist have been without the all the gigs that offered employment to bands for dances, weddings and anniversaries? And, since the dark day of the DJ had yet to dawn, music-making was digital only in the anatomical sense. If your alcohol-fuelled, family feud-ridden, acrimony-filled function needed musical accompaniment, it had to be either live or lacking. Hence the opportunity to fill your Ryman’s career-to-view diary with two or three jobs per weekend, a fortnight of pre-Christmas office orgies and well remunerated New Year’s Eve descents to the depths of Auld Lang Syne, The Conga, and Twist And Shout. Throw…

THE ALLAN HOLDSWORTH Signature guitar is released by Carvin. It’s a curious headless design with a chambered alder body that’s influenced by the Telecaster. Available with or without vibrato it features a pair of Carvin H22 humbuckers, an ebony fretboard and 24 frets beyond the zero. THERE ARE WEATHER WARNINGS as heavy snow falls over much of the UK; then as the year develops they report that 2012 is the wettest year ever in England. A meteor is seen over most of the UK, and the Boat Race is halted mid-race as a man swims into the path of the oncoming boats. After the restart the oars collide and Oxford breaks a paddle so Cambridge goes on to win. OFF TO THAT GREAT GIG IN THE SKY are session guitarist…

ABILITY RATING D NARDACCI This month we welcome back Italian fusion wizard and guitarist for film composer supreme, Ennio Morricone, the fantastic Rocco Zifarelli. We invited Rocco to take on another Jason Sidwell penned track, this one entitled Harlem 72. As Rocco explains, the core tonality for the song is the A Dorian mode which contains the same notes as G Major (G-A-B-C-D-E-F#). The song briefly switches to D Minor so Rocco follows with D Dorian (D-E-F-G-A-B-C) which has the same notes as the C Major scale (but starting on D). The only other chord to negotiate is the brief change to E7#9, and good choice of scale here is the E Superlocrian (E-F-G-G#-B b -C-D) which is the seventh mode of F Melodic Minor (F-G-A b -B b -C-D-E).…

Rest Stroke The word ‘apoyando’ is the classical guitar term for ‘rest stroke’. Apoyar means ‘support’ in Spanish and is used to describe the finger landing and resting on the adjacent string after plucking. ‘Tirando’, meaning ‘pulling’ is the term used for free stroke where the finger plucks without touching an adjacent string. Apoyando has a warmer, fuller tone and is often used for single-note melodies, scales or to emphasise a note. Tirando is used for arpeggios, block chords and lighter melody playing.…

ABILITY RATING Robin Trower is a legend among those in the know and undoubtedly one of the UK’s best homegrown guitar icons. Hailing from Essex, Trower has been playing in bands and recording music since the early 1960s. He is perhaps most well-known and loved for his solo work when took the world by storm with arguably his most famous album, Bridge Of Sighs in 1974. PAUL NATKIN / GETTY IMAGES With his first solo album, released the previous year, it was clear that Trower was a huge fan of Jimi Hendrix. Favouring a Strat, Trower plays with the familiar fire and authority that made Hendrix stand out. Like many of the blues guitarists of the 60s (including Hendrix), Trower was a fan of modulation effects, most notably favouring the…

In last month’s speed strategies lesson, we looked at Yngwie Malmsteen’s approach to single-string licks and downward picking orientation (DPO). In this lesson, we’re looking at three ways Yngwie changes strings and how his picking orientation serves those various approaches. The first is the Even Numbers strategy. With our pick orientation in place, escaped upstrokes make it possible to go to a lower or higher string on the next downstroke without obstacle. The best way to maximise that string-changing potential is to have a whole bunch of even-numbered alternate picking licks set up for it. Example 1 expands on the E Phrygian Dominant lick with which we finished last month’s lesson. We now have a three-octave fire-breathing lick that is perfect for alternate picking and hassle-free string changes. The eight…

Welcome to this month’s column on developing fretboard fluency, with the third part in our series on the Harmonic Minor scale. This scale consists of the formula:R-2- b 3-4-5- b 6-7, and can be visualised as a Natural Minor scale with a major 7th degree: Natural Minor - R-2- b 3-4-5- b 6- b 7 Harmonic Minor - R-2- b 3-4-5- b 6-7 You’ll hear this scale in the playing of neo-classical genius Yngwie Malmseen, instrumental titan Tony MacAlpine, prog master John Petrucci, fusion hero Al Di Meola and gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt. Last month, we harmonised the A Harmonic Minor scale into a family of seven diatonic 7th chords, along with their respective modes. This month, we’ll work through the arpeggios that correspond to our harmonised chords and…

GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without? SM: Lately, I’ve been changing my technique around, experimenting with different picks. Now, I often practice with an Ernie Ball nylon pick, and switch to celluloid picks for the shows. On at least one section of the show, I switch back to the nylon pick. For Flying Colors gigs I’ve done so far this year, I used just the nylon pick (similar to Dunlop .88). GT: If you had to give up all your pedals but three, what would they be? SM: It would be my two TC Electronic Flashback delays (with my ‘toneprint’ preset loaded in) and the Keeley compressor pedal. They sound great, are easy to carry, and always help things when I need them.…

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! * PLEASE NOTE: Only the Apple version contains interactive tab and audio. Zinio…

PHOTOS: PAUL BERGEN GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that particularly appeals to you? JA: A good friend and songwriter came up with a great lyric, “Words are made to lie” which is very appropriate, and I’m too lazy to lie about that which is a luxury not everyone can afford, so to speak. GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can’t? JA: One could say the same about the book or the film about the bible, but in this case I like the film better because it has both. But the mystery in music is greater and takes your spirit to different places. Imagine Django Reinhardt playing on Montmartre at the Hot Club du France on just an acoustic guitar, with Stephan Grappelli…

Soft Machine first appeared in the mid-60s as part of the Canterbury scene along with bands such as Caravan, Gong, Egg and Henry Cow. Initially, they were seen as part of the psychedelic movement and contemporaries of Pink Floyd, often appearing at London’s infamous UFO Club and other progressive underground hotspots including The Speakeasy and Middle Earth. They even supported Jimi Hendrix on his North American tour in 1968. The band has seen a few guitarists pass through in its lifetime, including art rockers Daevid Allen and Kevin Ayers, but most notably fusion guitarists supreme, Allan Holdsworth and the man joining us today, John Etheridge, who first joined Soft Machine in the mid-70s. The Softs officially came to an end in 1984, but rose again in 2004 under the name…

ABILITY RATING Mötley Crüe, their fast living lifestyle and hard partying music need little introduction, although the band’s musical output has often been overshadowed by their brushes with the law and time in rehab. In fact their management was so worried at one point in their career, that they banned them from touring Europe, literally fearing for the lives of the various members were they to be let loose on the continent un-chaperoned. Of course it shouldn’t be forgotten that they also wrote and recorded some classic 80s rock anthems, and were one of the bands that defined the sound and style of LA’s Sunset Strip during that decadent era. J SHEARER / GETTY IMAGES Mötley Crüe was formed in 1981 by Francis Feranna Jr, who of course has gone…

Love was formed in Los Angeles in 1965 by singer-songwriter Arthur Lee. The band released eight studio albums between 1966 and 1974 when they broke up. Throughout most of their career, the only constant member was Arthur Lee until he passed away in 2006. In this article, I am focusing on Love’s first three albums; Love (1966), Da Capo (1966) and Forever Changes (1967), which featured the most well known incarnation of the group. During this period, the guitarists were Bryan MacLean (rhythm, seen here with a Gibson Barney Kessel guitar), Johnny Echols (lead) and Ken Forssi (bass). Although Love were regarded as a psychedelic band, a style they did very well, some of the songs are regarded as an early incarnation of garage or punk rock, with a raw…

The Minor Pentatonic and Blues scales are a goldmine for riffs and the basis for some of the most iconic songs in rock, such as: Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog and Whole Lotta Love, Pantera’s Cowboys From Hell, and Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream. In this lesson we have four riffs in E Minor and one based in F# Minor. We will use a variety of techniques to use the scale creatively such as syncopation, rhythmic displacement, building chords, octaves and string skips. Before we dive in, take a moment to remind yourself of the scale notes. From an E tonic we have E-G-A-B-D, with an additional B b for the ‘blue’ note. Try finding and naming these notes in various positions, such as in open postion, from the 7th…