Innehållsförteckning för March 2022 från Guitar Techniques

 READY TO SUBSCRIBE? www.magazinesdirect.com LOOKING AT Stuart Ryan’s excellent Celtic article this month, where he creates a piece in the style of the great English fingerstylist Gordon Giltrap, reminded me of a couple of personal stories around Gordon, who’s an old pal of mine. Back when I lived in the Cotswolds with my then girlfriend, Gordon and his wife Hilary were only a few miles up the road and would regularly come for dinner, or just a get together. They were due to arrive on the very day this first tale unfolded. I was putting my rubbish out on that particular Saturday morning, and saw our next door neighbour Peter doing his too. We were also friends and got chatting about gigs and stuff that I was doing. Peter told…

I’ve played guitar since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. I learned some chords from a teacher in primary school and had a few books, but I was learning mostly by ear, just messing around until my guitar sounded like the song I wanted to play. Trial and error. Very hit and miss. But I usually got there in the end. I didn’t learn scales until I was in my mid teens. I was reluctant to learn any of that ‘technical stuff’ because it didn’t make sense to my rock and roll, punk mindset. Even through college I resisted learning to read music. I mostly played things by ear or occasionally from tab books, which were a relatively new thing and there wasn’t a whole lot available. Looking back I…

➊ Super Slow Blues (Bm) We start with a super slow blues in B Minor, where good old B Minor Pentatonic (B-D-E-F#0A) is your ever-faithful friend. But also try B Harmonic Minor (B-C#-D-E-F#-G-A#) on the V chord (F#7). ➋ Acoustic Blues (E) You can't do wrong mixing the happy sounding E Major Pentatonic (E-F#-G#-B-C#) with the darker, bluesier E Minor Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) on this jam. EBET ROBERTS / GETTY IMAGES ➌ C Dorian Groove Jam This track was made for exploring C Dorian mode (C-D-Eb-F-G-A-Bb), but you can also use C Minor Pentatonic (C-Eb-F-G-Bb) and of course the bluesy sounding C Minor Blues scale (C-Eb-F-F#-G-Bb). ➍ Blues Vamp (G) This two-chord vamp (G7-C7) was specifically designed for exploring the switch between the I7 chord and the IV7 chord. G Minor Pentatonic…

GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without? EM: My absolute favourite is Dunlop, Max-Grip 1.0. I can hardly play gigs without it. That’s why I have an estimated 1000 pieces lying around in the studio, haha. But whenever I really need a pick in my pocket, gone! Murphy’s law? GT: If you had to give up all your pedals but three, what would they be? 1. Electro Harmonix Nano Holy Grail. I have two on my board, one is first in the chain and the other’s at the end. Gives me the depth I need. This pedal inspired me on my favourite song on our first album, A Lifetime. Check it out! 2. Ibanez TS10 Tubescreamer. I love the midrange of that pedal and…

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Welcome to another jam-packed issue of GT - I hope Jamie Humphries’ huge legato feature, enhanced with video, hasn’t fatigued your fingers too much. That wouldn’t be ideal as you still have the second half of the mag to get through! As always, we’ve a diverse range of shorter articles to keep your fingers active, and your brain stimulated. 30-Minute Lickbag (p50) highlights guitarists as diverse as Hank Marvin and Michael Schenker with Jamie Hunt’s snapshot appreciations proving succinct and inspiring. In Blues (p52), Phil Short presents two tasty solos in the style of Susan Tedeschi that brim with swinging licks and singing string bends. Martin Cooper champions Lita Ford’s rock chops on page 56 with powerchords, arpeggio picking and fast sextuplet sequences (your earlier legato workout will aid you…

NEVER MISS ANOTHER ISSUE Turn to page 36 to subscribe! Missed one of our recent fabulous issues? Get one now while stocks last. FEBRUARY GT330 10 CHICAGO BLUES GIANTS Learn the authentic Chicago blues licks of the mighty Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Elmore James, Mike Bloomfield, Hubert Sumlin & more. Also in this issue: Greg Howe, Big Country, Mateus Asato, Johnny Winter, Tarrega & Celtic picking! JANUARY GT329 GARY MOORE This cover feature is all about Gary’s hard rock and fusion periods, where his playing was unashamedly ferocious. Check out five style examples and four full solos. Plus blues, jazz, shred, Southern boogie, Celtic picking & more! DECEMBER GT328 JOHN MAYER John Mayer Blues! He’s a fine player in many styles, but he’s a natural bluesman. We offer 10 examples…

Brought to you by… Jairus Mozee is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer who has been awarded no fewer than three Grammy awards for his work. He has played for and worked with some of the biggest names in today’s music, including Anderson. Paak, Christina Aguilera and the mighty Prince among many, many others. Looking through Jairus’s credits, it’s immediately obvious how in-demand he is. As with many neo-soul guitarists, Jairus started his musical journey playing guitar in his local church. His virtuosity was noticed at a young age, leading to him playing with musicians much older. At the age of 15, Jairus was playing guitar professionally and doing sessions for B2K. A couple of years later, at just 17, he was playing for Prince and spent five months in his…

Brought to you by… STEPHEN J. COHEN / GETTY IMAGES This month’s topic is the Dorian mode. Modes are the scales generated when a ‘parent’ scale is started on each of its different notes. The Major scale has seven modes. Ionian is mode 1 - so that’s the Major scale itself. Mode 2 runs from the second degree of the Major scale - in the key of C, that note is D. Creating a mode starting on D gives us D-E-F-G-A-B-C, and D Dorian works over a Dm7 chord. Some teachers say the modes are not important and if you know the parent scale, you can just play around with that. The problem with that approach is that if you don’t think of the mode from its own root, you…

FEATURE #2 VIDEO DAN PATLANSKY Step Up! The brilliant South African blues guitarist blazes over a specially written track, then explains it all. CLASSICAL TAB MICHAEL PRAETORIUS Ballet Declan Zapala transposes a delightful Elizabethan dance piece from harpsichord to classical guitar. FEATURE #3 MINOR-MAJOR MOVES Where blues meets jazz John Wheatcroft explains the Major-Minor conundrum with some briliant blues-meetsjazz examples NEW SERIES! REMI HARRIS Gypsy jazz for all Remi (as in do ‘re mi’) is a brilliant UK multi-stylist. In this new series he has some superb new licks for you to play. Revitalise your playing with John Wheatcroft’s… 10 EXOTIC SCALES! We all know about Pentatonics, the Major and Minor scales and their modes, but how about some new scales that will push your playing in unexpected directions? Our…

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. RICHARD BARRETT One of the most gifted guitarists around Richard has been playing with Tony Hadley for almost 20 years. He’s great in all styles but excels at blues and rock. 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 Guitar Institute tutor Charlie first came to fame in Total Guitar’s Challenge…

In last month’s review of redundant rockabilia, we discussed my pricey collection of disposable effects pedals. Perhaps the most expensive of these, taking pride of place within the groaning packing case in which it resides, is the Strymon Timeline. You will recall that this artefact combines a winning fusion of size and complexity. And knobs. Nine, if you’d like to count ‘em. And three switches. More banks than The City Of London. More channels than Sky Q. More computing power than that used in the moon landings. In fact, four hundred quid’s worth of ‘more’. From which you can set up two different delay times and employ them simultaneously. If you want. Used but once to replicate the riff on Let’s Dance, and now returned to the The Store Of…

THIS MONTH WE have an ascending and descending tapping lick that uses A Aeolian mode: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A. Bars 1-2 contain a triplet tap and legato idea that ascends using successive pairs of taps conveniently situated at the same fret locations - 7th fret, sixth and fifth strings, followed by 10th fret, fifth and fourth strings, 12th fret, fourth and third, 13th fret second and first. This symmetry makes it easy to learn and play. For rhythmic excitement and variation the descending section in bars 3-5 is phrased in ‘quintuplets – in this case, five notes in the time of four. This rhythm can be memorised using a five-syllable word such as ‘opportunity’. You could then think of the tapped notes as falling on the ‘opp’ and ‘tun’ syllables with the remaining…

Legato is a ‘must have’ technique when developing your skills as a guitarist. It’s a way to play smooth, fluid lines, as opposed to the more regimented and percussive sound of alternate picking. Legato is performed with hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides played with the fretting hand. It can produce long, flowing runs, often associated with instruments such as saxophone. It’s not uncommon to hear jazz and fusion guitarists using legato to mimic their wind instrument brethren, while rock guitarists use it to execute smooth runs over extended positions at high speed. The technique has evolved greatly over the past 60 years, with guitarists forever exploring and pushing boundaries. The 1970s saw huge changes in guitar post Hendrix and Clapton. Jimmy Page, Paul Kossoff and others had been employing legato in…

Jimi Hendrix was undoubtedly one of the most significant musicians of the last century. For many he was the ultimate electric guitarist, with an innate understanding and assimilation of previous generations of guitar masters, along with a clear vision of how he could interpret this music in his own uniquely personal and dynamically charged way. While Hendrix’s peers such as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page were equally significant and influential to the guitar world at large, Jimi’s considerable talents earned him one unique award, rather like a Heritage Blue Plaque of guitar technique, the ‘Hendrix Chord’. Take a listen to Hendrix tracks such as Foxey Lady, Purple Haze, Crosstown Traffic and many more and you’ll hear a consistent use of this ‘Hendrix’ chord, a Dominant 7th with added…

Brought to you by… EXAMPLE 1 EASY LICKS BILLY CORGAN This riff is based on moving powerchords along lower strings while the open first and second string are strummed to a rhythmic figure. The open strings create a denser texture and brings harmonic tension to the sequence. Billy often uses a humbucker in the bridge position for added weight and note definition, during driven phrases. Add sufficient overdrive to get a gritty tone without obscuring the notes within the chords - it’s a fine balance and Billy does it with aplomb.. EXAMPLE 2 EASY LICKS HANK MARVIN This exercise is based on a melody in C Major. Make sure your notes sustain for the intended length and take note of the slides that introduce or connect notes within the melody.…

Brought to you by… MARK HORTON / GETTY IMAGES Lita Ford is one of those pioneering rock musicians, a female who broke into the male dominated 80s rock scene. When men tended to rule the rock market and women leant more towards pop or punk, Ford flew the flag for leather jacketed girls everywhere and, following in the footsteps of artists such as Suzi Quatro, more than held her own in the recording and touring world. She began her career in the mid 70s when she joined The Runaways, a band that also featured Joan Jett on guitar and vocals. With Ford also playing guitar and singing, and the band being split between rock and punk, they parted ways in 1979. In the early 1980s Lita Ford released several albums…

Brought to you by… At its heart, Rockabilly music is all about the rhythm. A song might have a driving, straight-ahead rock and roll, a bouncing country, or a syncopated swing feel – but they are all about the groove. It’s important to lay a strong rhythmic foundation for this music, because at the end of the day, it’s dance music and the audience needs to connect with that strong pulse. Since the guitar is both the main harmonic and melodic instrument in rockabilly, it’s important to have good rhythm chops as well as being able to solo, so this month I’m going to show you some common rockabilly rhythm approaches. This also means tackling one of the most important, but challenging rhythm techniques you need to know in order…

Try GT’s digital edition on PC, Mac, Laptop, Desktop or Tablet! 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.…

GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you? JDS: The first music I really connected with when I was four years old was Booker T & The MG’s Green Onions and Boot-Leg. Also Link Wray, and Duane Eddy. So it’s pretty ingrained in me. I dig the simple low-down stuff. Also love raw Meters records. Look-Ka Py Py and the first album are so rad. Willie Mitchell soul instrumentals from the 60s out of his Hi Records in Memphis is another! Groove, simple melody and raw production is my kind of feel. GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can't? JDS: I think they can express the same thing really, just conveying an emotion that’s real, although an instrumental can obviously be…

However, we’re going to focus on the 4th, which can be added to a chord in two ways. If you just shove it onto the triad, it’s referred to as an ‘add11’. You can also use it to replace the (Major or Minor) 3rd from the original triad, in which case we refer to it as a ‘suspended 4th’. It’s also quite a tricky note: although not strictly dissonant, it has a restless sound and often strives to resolve to the Major 3rd. This creates the old Pinball Wizard, Hold Your Head Up, Brass In Pocket cliché. But that’s been overdone, so let’s not go there! There’s some inevitable refingering when you cram new notes into existing chords, but this also allows us to be creative with the chord layout.…

ON VIDEO This star video spotlights the modern jazz stylings of gypsy jazz prodigy, Antoine Boyer. Jason Sidwell specially crafted a rhythmically syncopated track for Antoine, called Enchantment. Featuring a European jazzy flavour it clocks in at 92bpm, it starts in the key of A Minor and uses the A Harmonic Minor scale (A-B-C-D-E-F-G#) to create a mystical mood. Antoine goes with the musical choice of treating the cimbalom melody (a chordophone type stringed instrument played with two sticks, popularised by John Barry’s themes for The Ipcress File film and The Persuaders TV series) as a springboard for his own improvisation, often playing it in unison very much like the ‘head’ of a jazz standard. In verse 1 Antoine opts for playing rhythmic stabs of the chord inversions (see Ex…

ON VIDEO Once hailed as a ‘tour de force’ of the guitar, Matteo Carcassi is one of a handful of 19th century Italian composers, alongside most notably Fernando Sor, Ferdinando Carulli, and Mauro Giuliani, whose creative output has left a lasting impact on the repertoire of the guitar and how it is taught. His famous 25 etudes (Opus 60) and extensive Complete Method for Guitar (Opus 59) are highly regarded as a staple in the pedagogy of the classical instrument. Carcassi was born in 1796 in Florence, Italy, though lived most of his life in France after he moved to Paris during his youth, at one point even serving in the French army. It was in Paris that he made a life for himself as a composer, performer, and teacher…

Brought to you by… RICK DIAMOND / GETTY IMAGES Susan Tedeschi is one of the finest examples of why blues will continue to captivate audiences for decades to come. A modern icon, Tedeschi is perhaps one of the most successful and influential blues artists of our time. Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, Susan was inspired by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King and many others. The blend of singer-songwriter with folk sensibilites, and the channeling of her blues heroes, makes for a compelling recipe. Susan put her first band together in the early 90s, releasing Just Won’t Burn in 1998. By the turn of the millennium the album achieved Gold status of 500,000 sales in the US, a rare achievement for blues records.…

Brought to you by… ARUN NEVADER / GETTY IMAGES Tony MacAlpine is one of the original Shrapnel records legends with albums like Edge Of Insanity and Maximum Security showcasing his blend of speed, melody and neo-classical dexterity. Tony also toured as keyboardist and guitarist with Steve Vai and features on the must see Live At The Astoria London DVD. This month’s licks touch on the different eras of Tony’s playing and require excellent fretting accuracy, good alternate picking and a controlled sweep picking technique. Sweep picking can be tricky; our natural tendency is to pick each note separately and we tense up. Instead, think of sweeping as a slow motion, relaxed strum across the strings, allowing the pick to hit the strings in even intervals on its natural path of…

ON VIDEO DANIELKNIGHTON / GETTYIMAGES This month’s piece is inspired by the great English guitarist Gordon Giltrap MBE, an instrumentalist who takes influence from many genres but has a particularly strong Celtic element to his sound. Highly melodic, he’s a fantastic composer who’s instrumental pieces, while challenging, never sound like technical exercises but rather structured songs that just happen to be played as guitar instrumentals. Legato is an important feature of Giltrap’s style and an essential element for any fingerstyle player to study as a strong fretting hand that can execute hammer-ons and pull-offs cleanly, places fewer burdens on the picking hand - which is particularly useful on some of the more technically demanding pieces. Legato on acoustic guitar requires more strength than it does on electric owing to thicker…