Innehållsförteckning för February 2024 från Guitar Techniques

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.…

Hugh Burns has toured the world and played guitar on most of Wham’s greatest hits. His guitar playing features on hundreds of renowned and famous songs, and he has worked with the cream of rock and roll royalty including the Jack Bruce Band, five albums with Gerry Rafferty (including the solo on Baker Street), Scott Walker, Joan Armatrading, George Michael, Paul McCartney, Randy Crawford, Johnny Nash, and Billy Joel, to name just a few. Hugh has also played on numerous film scores including Moulin Rouge, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Twelve Monkeys, The Full Monty, The Hobbit, Die Another Day, The Van, Stealing Beauty and Don Quixote. GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without? HB: Fender heavy gauge - my go-to pick for most…

Rhythm guitar can be an overlooked part of an electric guitarist’s skill set, with soloing taking the lion’s share of valuable practise time. However, all of us guilty of this should redress that deficit, as the rhythm element is vitallly important, and immensely satisfying when played well. Listening to great rhythm guitarists is an education in itself, as they seem to create layers of often sublime chords combining different technical and musical approaches. There are, and have been, several iconic players who are masters of this and incorporate these elements into their rhythm playing. Jimi Hendrix for example blazed a trail for legions of players with classic tunes like Little Wing and The Wind Cries Mary. Other virtuosi like Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer and Mateus Asato share this mastery…

ON VIDEO Jimmy Bryant is acknowledged as one of the first great Telecaster heroes, if not the very first. In the 1950s he released a stream of frankly terrifying instrumentals with his equally gifted collaborator, pedal steel guitarist Speedy West. Their records raised the bar in terms of technical virtuosity, while also showcasing their incredible vitality, humour and energy. Jimmy first came to prominence with West after the pair met in LA’s Skid Row, and went on to produce all-instrumental albums that fused breakneck country with jazz, blues and bluegrass styles. After this, Bryant maintained a career as a studio session musician and producer, before pursuing a more jazz-orientated route, recording with the legendary Herb Ellis. Bryant and West reunited in 1975 for one last album before Jimmy retired from…

“Greta Van Fleet’s From The Fires EP earned them a Grammy award for Best Rock Album” Greta Van Fleet are an American band featuring three brothers: Josh Kiszka on vocals, guitar-playing sibling Jake, plus Sam on bass, alongside drummer Danny Wagner. After forming in 2012 and honing their songs and their craft, they signed with Lava Records in 2017. Their debut EP Black Smoke Rising topped the US rock charts upon its release that same year. Their second EP, From The Fires, earned them a Grammy award and they have since released several full-length albums to critical acclaim and considerable commercial success, particularly in the USA. Greta Van Fleet are heavily influenced by classic groups such as The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and The Who, and often draw favourable comparisons to…

ON VIDEO This month’s column focuses on Texan blues guitarist, Gary Clark Jr, born in Austin, in 1984. Early on in his career Gary was seen primarily as a blues artist with some rock influences. But over time, he has integrated diverse styles, from soul and R&B right up to hip-hop. A great example of the latter is his performance of This Land with The Roots at the 62nd annual Grammy awards. Gary employs a second guitarist when he plays live, so he can be free to sing and play fills without losing the groove. Clark’s style has deep blues roots regardless of the genre that he’s occupying. His Next Door Neighbor Blues has a great old-time feel, which calls to mind Robert Johnson and the best solo blues players.…

The Minor Pentatonic scale is without a doubt one of the most popular scales within a guitarist’s toolkit. From the early blues and rock and roll of the 40s and 50s, through to the psychedelic sounds of the swinging 60s; the classic rock of the 70s and 80s, to 90s alternative rock and Britpop; continuing throughout most guitar genres of the 2000s onwards, the Minor Pentatonic scale has always had a place in popular music. With its guitar-friendly formula consisting of two-notes-per-string patterns, this scale sits well under the fingers and has enough melodic and harmonic content to be used in most styles of music. The Minor Pentatonic consists of five notes, which means that there are five positions of the scale that can be played across the entire fretboard.…

SIMON BARNARD Simon is agraduate of ACM and The Guitar Institute, holding aMasters 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 aMaster 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 Atutor 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 awell studied guitarist who specialises in high end rock playing and plays with top UK metal-fusion band Haken.…

To write this article I’m taking a break from compiling an exciting new course to help people get confident with blues guitar. I often explain learning blues as being a musical language, and many of the ways we learn language apply to music, with licks being like words, and solos poetry. But one thing I hadn’t thought about much until now is the power of immersion. When we surround ourselves with something we seem able to absorb it deeply and with amore lasting effect. I think about times when I’ve travelled overseas where nobody speaks English and I’ve had to embrace a less familiar language. I’ve noticed it clearly when speaking French (which I’m still rubbish at). I’ll study a bit at home before a trip, do some audio courses,…

1 Sweet Slow Blues We start with a slow blues in E, with an alternative turnaround (B7-C#m-A-E7-B7-B7#5). Try some E Major Pentatonic ideas (E-F#-G#-B-C#) for those uplifting, joyful blues vibes - as well as of course E Minor Pentatonic scale (E-G A B D). 2 DMinor Jam Next is a simple DMinor vamp. Aside from the obvious DMinor Pentatonic (D-F-G-A-C), try D Minor scale (D-E-F-G-A-Bb-C) on this one, too. 3 Acoustic Blues (G Here's an acoustic blues from my Into The Blues, Vol 7. G Minor Pentatonic (G-Bb-C-D-F) is a great place to start, but try G Major Pentatonic (G-A-B-D-E) for some classic blues sounds. 4 G Dorian Vamp We finish with a feel-good G Dorian groove vamp. Aside from GDorian (G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F), I'd also recommend both G Minor Pentatonic…

This month we present an exclusive masterclass from rock guitar legend Vinnie Moore. Vinnie exploded onto the 1980s neo-classical scene with his exciting blend of melodic soloing and incredible facility. He has since maintained a fabulous career; in addition to his solo work he has played for years with hard rockers UFO, and also recorded an album as part of the Alice Cooper band. Jason’s Grand Slam is perfect to allow Vinnie’s style to shine. The track has a hard-driving rock feel and some fairly straightforward chord changes, which come mostly from the key of DMajor. There are four sections to navigate and these are the verse, bridge, chorus and middle eight/solo. As the tune revolves much of the time around aDMajor key centre, Vinnie opts for DMixolydian mode (D-E-F#-G-A-B-C).…

This month we are exploring another new avenue for our classical column; this time in the form of a technical exposé of Sicilian fusion guitar prodigy Matteo Mancuso, a name that is relatively new not only to me but to the guitar world in general. Mancuso is an extremely gifted musician with a vast musical vocabulary when it comes to melodic improvisation over a multitude of styles including jazz, rock, and blues. But this isn’t what has set him apart from his peers. Mancuso has blazed a trail throughout many global guitar communities with his unique approach to achieving breakneck virtuosity on the electric guitar. And what is this unique approach? Mancuso puts down the plectrum and instead adopts for a classical plucking technique. Matteo is by no means the…

Black Sabbath well and truly put heavy metal on the map in 1970 with the band’s self-titled album. From this moment, Tony Iommi’s snarling, overdriven tone, powerchord riffs, and hammer-on sequences paved the way for things to come. Across the decades, Iommi’s rhythm guitar parts planted the seed for numerous metal subgenres, from the slow, doomy riffs of Into The Void, to the thrashier down-picked progressions in Symptoms Of The Universe, and the weighty, stoner metal guitar lines of Sweet Leaf. During Ronnie James Dio’s time in Black Sabbath, the band enjoyed higher-tempo tracks that allowed Iommi to explore more technically challenging parts, such as quick powerchord sequences that slide back and forth to create the track’s melodic shape. In this article we’ll feature two mini pieces to show key…

ON VIDEO To some, Ed Sheeran is merely a pop star who wields a small sized acoustic guitar. However, dig into Sheeran’s playing and you’ll discover a creative artist who works in an array of tunings and creates complex layered parts through his sophisticated use of looping. What’s more, Sheeran has dug deep into the world of fingerstyle and percussive guitar, spending time studying with altered tuning and percussive wizard, Preston Reed, when Sheeran was just a teenager. One of the world’s most successful artists, Sheeran is refreshingly creative in what can be an otherwise stale pop world. Sheeran was interested in music from a young age, singing in a church choir from age four, then taking up guitar at 11. By his teenage years he was working with the…

READY TO SUBSCRIBE? www.magazines direct.com CHORDS ARE A COLOSSAL component of all music. They provide the backdrop (and sometimes foreground) to everything we play, be it rustic country blues, a classical etude, an expansive rock song or a touching ballad. From Robert Johnson to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin to The Eagles, Tarrega to John Denver, Joni Mitchell to Eva Cassidy, chord playing is fundamental for them all. So chords was our main topic when planning this issue’s cover feature. The other primary focus was the vibrant technique that many guitarists use, often distant from simple strumming, when playing with a clean amp tone (acoustic guitar is most welcome too). The approach is rooted in early R&B and Soul music, ranging from Chuck Berry to Curtis Mayfield, and Cornell Dupree to…

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Eric Bibb started his career in the late 1960s and is viewed as one of today’s most important acoustic blues artists. A prolific musician he has recorded 24 studio albums and four live releases under his own name, and has collaborated on projects with a wide array of artists. In this exclusive video Eric demonstrates six of his favourite acoustic fingerpicking patterns, inspired by artists like Mississippi John Hurt and Bukka White. Eric performs these parts solo, as he would in a live or recording situation, but pay particular attention to his innate groove and rock solid timing; that foot is tapping the beat all the way through and he is able to play right on it, or swing around it as he sees fit. There are some…

Once described as ‘British blues-rock’s secret weapon’, Bernie Marsden was a guitarist, singer, and songwriter known for his solo career as well as a founding member of Whitesnake. His melodic style has been a huge influence on many modern blues guitar players, with Joe Bonamassa calling him ‘the best of the best’. His influence on blues-rock is indisputable, and his legacy continues to inspire. Born in 1951 in Buckingham, England, Marsden was influenced by legendary blues musicians like Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters when he first took up the guitar in his early teens. His formative years coincided with the rise of British blues, and Marsden credits players such as Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix as having had a huge effect on him, ultimately instilling within…

Tosin Abasi was born 40 years ago in Washington DC. He is best known as guitarist for instrumental progressive metal band Animals As Leaders alongside fellow axe-smith Javier Reeves. Tosin’s excellent playing can also be heard throughout the 2020 movie Bill & Ted Face The Music as he was the real guitarist behind those bogus air guitar riffs and licks. It’s no surprise that Tosin was chosen for the role as he is regarded as one of modern metal’s most forward thinking and creative minds. One of the early adopters of eight-string guitars, his music draws rhythmic influence from the likes of Meshuggah and King Crimson, and the harmonic nous of Allan Holdsworth, performed with modern production and perfect execution. Tosin’s technique is a big characteristic of his music and…

In this month’s column I’m going to show you just a few licks from my book, 100 Essential Blues Guitar Intros, from Fundamental Changes. Intro licks are different to solos as they have to be concise and melodic, with a real start and end. There’s no time to build to a crescendo so we must say everything in a short space of time using interesting, melodic and emotive licks. All the great blues artists developed this skill over decades of playing in venues where they took the lead. A great intro can tell you many things including: the key, if a song is Major or Minor, if it’s a ferocious stomper or a smooth ballad, its feel - is it groovy Latin, a shuffle or, as here, a 12/8 ballad.…