Innehållsförteckning för December 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 Chris is Australia’s busiest guitar content creator and go-to online rock tutor. See his many books at chrisbrooks.com and www. fundamental-changes.com CHARLIE GRIFFITHS Guitar Institute tutor Charlie first came to fame in Total Guitar’s Challenge Charlie series. He’s also guitarist with top UK metal-fusion…

ARNIE GOODMAN GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals? KS: I grew up in the era of classic rock and roll instrumentals. The Shadows in the UK, The Ventures in America. Memphis by Lonnie Mack was a sensation to me in 1963 when I heard it. Also, The Yardbirds’ Got To Hurry in 65. Take Five was an earlier jazz hit that I learned to play. A lot of rock instrumentals took their influence from the jazz world, which was largely instrumental and groundbreaking in the previous years. A lot of the popular rock instrumental hits were based around guitar licks and I loved that. I still incorporate that kind of approach to many of the blues-rock songs I write. It gives the song an extra ‘hook’ apart…

SCHECTER EXPANDS ITS DIAMOND Series with two new guitars, the Ultra B-17 Bombshell and the PT F4 Phantom, continuing the Aviation Collection designs by coving the guitars with WWII bomber and fighter decals and rivets. While this presentation may limit their appeal they are fantastic sounding and versatile instruments. The Tele-like Phantom is loaded with two Schecter Custom alnico humbuckers and the reverse-bodied Bombshell features Seymour Duncan Active Blackout humbuckers and both are ready for action. THE MUSIC INDUSTRY MOURNS THE LOSS OF Peter Banks, Alvin Lee, JJ Cale, Lou Reed, Richie Havens, Reg Presley, George Jones, Jeff Hanneman (Slayer), Ray Manzarek (The Doors), Jim Hall, Rick Huxley (Dave Clark Five), Clive Burr (Samson, Iron Maiden), Tony Sheridan, Kevin Ayers, Kenny Ball, Terry Lightfoot, Trevor Bolder (Bowie, Uriah Heep), Patti…

When you think of great guitarists, certain names inevitably crop up. The rock genius of Hendrix, Clapton and Beck, the lyrical blues phrasing of BB King and Albert Collins, the pyrotechnics of Van Halen, Vai and Satriani, and the awesome riffs of Hetfield and Townshend. But when it comes to pure groove guitar what names spring to mind? Stax label’s Steve Cropper and James Brown’s iconic Jimmy Nolan? Yes, but as Yoda remarked in The Empire Strikes Back, “There is another...’ And that’s Nile Rodgers. Rodgers has been a major player and producer since the mid 70s. From his band Chic (alongside Bernard Edwards) to playing or producing for the likes of Sister Sledge (We Are Family, 1979), Diana Ross (Diana, 1980), David Bowie (Let’s Dance, 1983), Madonna (Like A…

This month we return to the works of the Italian composer and master of the opera form, Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). Verdi composed a remarkable 28 operas, making him one of the most prolific and influential composers of the 19th century, within and beyond the opera genre. Verdi was a phenomenal orchestrator, with an ear for dramatic effect and an extraordinary talent for writing simple, memorable and hugely popular melodies that resonate to this day. For example, La Donna è Mobile (GT224) is used in everything from Disney movies to football chants, and the melody from the overture La Forzo del Destino (GT190) is the theme in the critically acclaimed French films Manon des Sources and Jean de Florette (1986), as well as adverts for Stella Artois. Not to mention Dies…

EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 1 LENNY KRAVITZ CD TRACK 30 This example involves playing triads voiced by pressing on the fourth, third and second strings, and muting with the fretting hand. Hit the chords strongly and release the fretting fingers to mute the strings over the guitar neck. EASY LICKS EXAMPLE 2 PETER GREEN CD TRACK 31 Use light overdrive and jump on a tremolo pedal if you have one, to move from F#m7 chord, sliding gently up the third string to complete the Minor Pentatonic lick. Dig in hard with the pick, quite close to the bridge for extra attack, then shift down to the open-position A chord to end. INTERMEDIATE LICKS EXAMPLE 3 DANN HUFF CD TRACK 32 Sometimes a rhythm guitar part needs to be very precise and…

JORDI VIDAL / GETTY IMAGES Last month, we explored fretting approaches and technique builders for legato, including hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides. Using those chops, let’s stretch out on the fretboard using various scale shapes and numbers of notes per string. It’s helpful to treat the fretboard as one big scale box that acts as the host for patterns like CAGED and three-notes-per-string. Diagram A illustrates C Major (C D E F G A B) over the majority of the fretboard. Good command of the fretboard gives you choices about where to play. Example 1 puts this into practice with six pathways for a two-octave C Major scale. Each pattern has a slightly different timbre, layout, and application of pick strokes and string changes. Whenever you feel boxed in, a handy…

In this latest series, we’ve looked at five different ways of spicing up our lines using non-scale (chromatic) notes and, in this final lesson, we are going to look at another medium-paced solo study that applies all five approaches we’ve studied so far. As in the previous lesson, before we start looking at the solo, let’s have a short recap of the various chromatic techniques covered to this point. Chromaticism provides us with the opportunity to use tension (dissonance) and resolution (consonance), rather than just dwell on consonant notes all the time. So far, we have looked at the following concepts: 1) Chromatic Approach-notes: either from a semitone above or below the target note. 2) Chromatic Bridging: whereby one note is linked to another (however far apart) by a consecutive…

I LOVE THE huge ‘50 licks’ type features that we do, like the one filling much of this issue. Not only does it show the range of our tutors’ stylistic knowledge, dedication and chops, it also lets you play things you love, and try styles you may not be familiar with. The term ‘rock’ covers so much musical ground. The differences in tempos, feels and approaches is extraordinary; and when you add the stylistic subtleties (sometimes not so subtle) and technical dexterity of the guitarists whose styles Jon Bishop has done such a great job of emulating, it’s staggering. I’d love to think you would have a go at as many of the licks as possible - and not just the ones you find easy. There’s no real point to…

One thing I get asked all the time is, “what is the strumming pattern for song X?” and I’m hoping after this article that you won’t ever ask it. And we’re going to dive a little deeper into groove, too. The first thing to realise is that most songs don’t have one strumming pattern all the way through. Seriously, they don’t. Hardly any at all - there probably are some but I can’t think of one now that’s exactly the same from start to finish. The obvious exception is when a pattern has been sampled and used electronically, but that’s not really what I’m talking about here. A basic understanding of song form and structure will really help you understand how you should approach rhythm guitar in a song. Most…

HERE WE ARE LOOKING at a couple of very effective tapping ideas that should spice up your rock vocabulary. The first is an ascending lick that involves alternating picking-hand taps with fretting-hand slides; tap (circled note), pull-off from the string then the fretting hand slides up from an unimportant lower fret (say the 7th fret) to the designated fret (squared notes). If played correctly this combination will have a unique gargle-like effect. You will notice how the idea ascends from E to F# to G and lastly up to a high B. The second lick is a classic Van Halen move; the picking hand taps, slides up the fingerboard (17th to 19th fret) then the fretting hand performs two notes from E Minor Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) . This is typically an…

Welcome to this unabashed celebration of rock guitar. The aim of the lesson is to provide you with some core concepts and techniques which will help you build a really good vocabulary in a whole range of rock guitar styles. The guitar is one of the key instruments in the rock ensemble; it provides much of the harmonic backing and of course is also used to play riffs, fills and solos. Some rock bands are three-piece outfits where the guitar provides the majority of the melodic and harmonic content. Other line-ups include guitar and keyboards working in tandem. Then there are twin-guitar assaults, either with or without keys. All these band types require subtly diffferent ways of interacting with the other musicians, and we will see many of these approaches…

EXAMPLE 1 PENTATONIC SINGLE-NOTE RIFF CD TRACK 14 This single-note rhythm is based mainly on one string, like John McLaughlin, which I love doing. A style which we used to call‘dancing around the groove’. The only thing I’ve ever had a big hit with that had a guitar part that was dancing around the groove was Sister Sledge’s He’s The Greatest Dancer. So it is sort of like that or the Diana Ross song Upside Down. I used the Roland VG8 set to a Twin amp emulation and hooked up to a Tokai Strat copy. The sound is a rich Strat tone as opposed to my typical‘in-between’Strat sound. EXAMPLE 2 11TH CHORD RHYTHM CD TRACK 15 This riff is reminiscent of Earth Wind And Fire as well as Sun Goddess…

Warm up It’s always recommended to warm up slowly when practising. Just 10 minutes of preparation can set you up for a really beneficial session, and in the process protect you from any kind of strain injury. One of many possible approaches to warming up is to take a very small section of a piece you are working on, and play it extremely slowly, focusing on relaxed precision, clarity of tone and efficiency of motion. In this way you can improve your technique, warm up optimally and imprint a secure muscle memory in your repertoire.…

Joe Walsh is a living legend among mere six-string mortals. With mega-status players like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page citing Joe as an influence on their own musical journeys, Walsh stands in the hall of fame as one of history’s most important guitarists. He’s contributed to some of the most famous and influential songs of all time, such as Hotel California, Pretty Maids All In A Row and Life In The Fast Lane with The Eagles, and tracks like, Rocky Mountain Way and Life’s Been Good in his solo career. In recent years, he’s even become an honorary Foo Fighters member and been a guest musician of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Don Henley, Bruce Springsteen and more . Joe’s journey starts back in the late 60s, a young 20 something…

MICK HUTSON / GETTY IMAGES Suede’s introduction into the UK music scene was nothing short of sensational. Formed in 1989, they were declared as the best new band in Britain by Melody Maker in 1992, before they released their self-titled and Mercury Music Prize winning debut album in 1993. This album hit the top of the UK charts on its release and was the fastest-selling debut album in almost 10 years. The original guitarist in Suede was Bernard Butler who joined after answering an advert in the NME. Although he shared songwriting duties with vocalist Brett Anderson, Butler’s tenure in the band was short. In fact he left before they’d finished recording the second album, Dog Man Star due to disputes during the recording process. However, Butler had again co-written…

TIM MOSENFELDER / GETTY IMAGES Chord tapping is a technique that allows us to manipulate chords in a number of ways. We can use our two hands to create voicings with spans of notes that wouldn’t be possible with just one. We can use tapping to add melodies to chords, as well as creating chord-based rhythmic ideas between our two hands. Players like TJ Helmreich, Tosin Abasi, Misha Mansoor and Joe Satriani have used these approaches to unlock their genre bending music. With experimentation you too can discover that the possibilities this technique offers are literally at our fingertips. All we need to do is master a few basic rules. The first thing is to set up a suitable tone. A clean, heavily compressed sound is best as this effectively…

FEATURE #2 VIDEO BLUES POWER Six Modern Blues Icons John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Gales, Gary Clark Jr, Josh Smith & Kirk Fletcher. We look at six of the best new bluesers. CLASSICAL TAB VIDEO ENRIQUE GRANADOS La Maja de Goya As a dedication to the life of the late Julian Bream, Bridget Mermikides gives us her rendition of this Bream favourite. FEATURE #3 VIDEO THE CROSSROADS Where blues meets jazz Through the greatest blues and jazz guitarists, John Wheatcroft examines a powerful link between the genres. TECHNIQUE & THEORY GREAT STUFF TO LEARN Intervals & tapped harmonics Shaun begins a new series on using specific intervals in your playing, while Charlie introduces tapped harmonics. A stunning guitarist plays just for you... STEVE MORSE! Deep Purple, Flying…

Classical guitar masquerades under a plethora of aliases. Nylon-strung guitar, gut-string guitar, the aforementioned Spanish guitar. On occasion you may even be handed a part that says, ‘acoustic guitar - Latin fills’. Or ‘bossa nova feel, fingerstyle’. You might be surprised to learn that a number of folk who ply their trade as composers or arrangers aren’t appraised of the fact that these are descriptions of exactly the same instrument. Indeed, there are those who write ‘Acc. guitar’ at the top of the music when they can neither differentiate it from a steel-strung guitar nor spell the word ‘acoustic’. What unifies this bunch of names, mis-names and etymological inaccuracies is this: the classical guitar is an instrument that requires years of intensely serious study. While others are ripping off their…

Double-stops The term‘double stop’simply means two notes played at the same time. If you take the Minor Pentatonic scale you will find that most of the notes sound good when played together. It is an obvious choice to combine notes on adjacent strings as these are easy to finger, but you can combine any two notes to create a double-stop and there are several different ways you can articulate these on the guitar in several rock styles. The first and most simple way is to barre two notes on adjacent strings with one finger and play them with a down pick. Try playing the notes E and A together (5th fret, second and first strings); you can play this double-stop with the first finger and embellish it by sliding into…

Peter Jackson’s hotly anticipated remake of the infamous Let It Be film, which documented the demise of the world’s most famous band, and initially set to launch this autumn, is now postponed until 2021 due to Covid-19. We were really anticipating the Lord Of The Rings director’s take on it, and so we thought we’d revisit this study of John, Paul and George’s acoustic picking. It’s such an interesting subject that, despite the hiccup, we decided to run with it anyway, It’s easy to forget that behind the Beatles machine was an engine room featuring three guitarists with unique styles. When these styles combined with the songwriting talents of John, Paul and George, the result was music that was staggeringly well rounded. Of course imagine the Fab Four on stage…

MICHAEL PUTLAND / GETTY IMAGES Wishbone Ash got together in 1969 but rose to prominence in the early to mid 70s with a classic line-up comprising twin guitarists Andy Powell and Ted Turner, singer and bassist Martin Turner, plus drummer Steve Upton. Along the way the band influenced groups such as Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and Metallica. Rolling Stone magazine called the twin-guitar attack of Powell and Turner the most interesting since Page and Beck when they were with The Yardbirds. Ash attracted the attention of Ritchie Blackmore while they were touring as opening act for Deep Purple, and it was Blackmore who helped secure their record deal and find a producer for their debut album. By the time Wishbone Ash had released their third album, Argus in…