Innehållsförteckning för Spring 2024 från Guitar Techniques

THERE”S SOMETHING magical about listening to guitar-based music from many decades ago. Aside from the sound of the guitars recorded through old mics and mixing desks, it’s the vocabulary and means of expression that intrigues and excites most. It’s a time before the UK’s players came to dominate blues with their raucous licks and overdriven tones in the 60s. Go back a decade to hear early BB King, Buddy Guy, and Alberts -Collins and King. The music was blues, rhythm and blues, often jazz infused, with rock and roll just a stone’s throw away. It was fertile ground, full of rhythmic playing for both riffing and soloing contexts. Go back a little further to the 40s, into the 50s and you’ll discover a style that’s somewhat out of today’s mainstream…

To raise some money for a charity project I offered to host some one-to-one Zoom lessons. I don’t do them often but it’s great to meet students and help get them through their struggles rather than making best guesses on how to help people I’ve never met. But one thing that really shocked me was the negative effect of social media on all these men and women who were all intelligent, successful and over 40, but over half of them said that they ‘can’t just play naturally like those they see on social media’. That everyone they see plays so ‘effortlessly’ and ‘naturally’ and without mistakes or fumbles. Let's get something straight. Social media presents what people want you to see, and that is most likely their best effort, not…

➊ Slowhand Blues (A) We start with a slow jam in A, where you can mix the A Major Pentatonic scale (A-B-C#-E-F#) and A Minor Pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G) for some of those sweet Clapton-esque vibes! ➋ Piano Jam –AMinor Next up is an entirely different kind of jam in A Minor, with just a solo piano - great for practising your timekeeping and clarity of phrasing. Use our trusty friends A Minor Pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G) and the harmonically fruitful A Minor scale (A-B-C-D-E-F-G) . ➌ Passionate Blues -CMinor Here we have a very tasty blues in C Minor, where the ever-faithful C Minor Pentatonic (C-Eb-F-G-Bb) and C Minor scale (C-D-Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb) will both sound bluesy and musical. Play them with passion! ➍ Sweet Groove Blues (F) We finish with a fun groove blues…

ON VIDEO VIDEO One of my favourite tracks from my Modern Rock Guitar Soloing book is a blues pop-style ballad in the key of C# Minor, combining musical elements typical of John Mayer and Pink Floyd in the A and B sections, respectively. The rhythm guitar part follows the changes with some very sparse, lightly fingerpicked triads. There’s the occasional little melodic embellishment, but I’m really trying to be light and intentional with what I play. I’ve added a bit of reverb and tremolo to sweeten up the sound, along with a Wurlitzer piano and an ambient pad giving some texture throughout the track. This track can be a great vehicle for Minor Pentatonic and Blues scale language. Although there’s lots of harmonic movement in the B section, the C#…

Franz Schubert’s acquaintance and peer, one Ludwig van Beethoven, is quoted to have said on his deathbed, “Truly, the spark of divine genius resides in this Schubert”. Such an accolade from one of history’s most famous composers is particularly fitting when we consider the story of Schubert. Born in Vienna in 1797, Franz Peter Schubert led aremarkably busy life that was cut short, passing away aged just 31. In his brief time he was an inexhaustible powerhouse of creativity and wrote astaggering 1500 works for various settings. After excelling at piano aged 5, and violin aged 8, Schubert became aprolific composer from the age of 13 after he composed his first piece, aFantasy for piano duet. This bright compositional spark continued throughout his entire life, even while training to be…

NEVER MISS ANOTHER ISSUE Time to subscribe! APRIL GT358 PLAY BETTER SOLOS! It’s what every guitarist wants! Using some of blues-rock’s greatest players, we help you to ‘up’ every aspect of your soloing game. Plus: Marcio Philomena jazz, The Eagles, Eric Johnson, Judas Priest, Albert Collins, bluesy Django & more! MARCH GT357 GIMME LICKS! We celebrate The Stones’ career with a look at the band’s four guitarists: Brian, Keith, Mick T, and Ronnie. Lots of licks and full pieces to play. Plus: Steve Morse, Slash, Jeff Beck, Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, Robben Ford, Phi Yaan-Zek. FEBRUARY GT356 EPIC CHORDS! Through the playing of Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, Mateus Asato, Steve Cropper and Cory Wong, spice up your rhythm with a variety of techniques. Plus: Vinnie Moore, Eric Bibb, Black Sabbath, Jimmy…

Born in Rhode Island, Duke Robillard is widely regarded as American blues royalty. Duke was a founder of the band Roomful Of Blues which remains a mainstay of the roots scene in the US. Duke is an encyclopaedia of guitar styles, from his grasp of T-Bone Walker’s approach to his command of swinging blues and even to straight-ahead jazz, having recorded with the great Scott Hamilton. His command of blues language is exemplary and you’ll learn a lot from studying his style. It’s notable that Duke also replaced the great Jimmie Vaughan in The Fabulous Thunderbirds. His integration of the language of the Texas blues style is worth extended listening. Duke has also toured with Tom Waits and recorded and toured with folk-rock legend Bob Dylan. In my research for…

ABILITY RATING ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Moderate Info Key: Various Tempo: Various Will improve your Blues-rock phrasing Blues chord playing Melodic blues soloing This month I’m looking at the styles of two modern blues players from my book 100 Essential Blues Guitar Intros. First up is Kenny Wayne Shepherd, a blues artist who also incorporates harder rock elements into his playing. But Shepherd is a consumate bluesman at heart. Inspired by seeing Stevie Ray Vaughan play he began to teach himself by ear. His intro licks can be technically challenging with uptempo, burning phrases that may take some work. John Mayer’s blues combines many elements of the greats; he has drawn from BB King’s vibrato and ryhthms, Eric Clapton’s more rock-based approach, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s attack and speed.…

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.…

GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you? AV: Maybe slightly surprisingly, I am not a huge fan of most guitar instrumentals. There are quite a lot of exceptions though. For instance, most of what Jeff Beck has done, a lot of classic acoustic guitar, flamenco, gypsy jazz and scattered instrumentals by players that I love who usually don’t often do instrumentals. For me it needs to feel like a song where the guitar plays the melodies that a vocalist would do, and not a platform just to show one’s technical ability. GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can't? AV: Talking about Jeff Beck; for me what he did in instrumentals such as Where Were You, touches emotional strings in a…

In this feature we welcome Italian jazz guitar master Alessio Menconi. Genoaborn Alessio is a well-respected musician and has a fully-stocked website of resources for the aspiring jazz guitarist. In the accompanying video Alessio demonstrates his licks along with backing tracks. The licks are played slowly first, and then at performance tempo. They are all designed to fit over the classic II-V-I chord progression, a key component of the jazz repertoire. For a II-V-I in C Major the chords are Dm7-G7-Cm7. To keep things simple we are using the C Major key signature for this progression. This will allow you to clearly see where the ‘outside notes’ are, and how they relate to the underlying chords. In the Minor version the chords are Dm7b5-G7-Cm7, and for this one we’ll use…

This month’s featured artist has a career spanning over 60 years. Robin Trower is a British blues-rock legend with an instantly recognisable sound, known for his displays of real fire and skill. Admired by fans around the globe for his artistic individuality, despite not becoming a household name as is arguably deserved, he is important in the evolution of blues guitar. Trower was born in London in 1945 and grew up in Essex, where he developed a keen interest in his parents’ vinyl collection. Elvis Presley, and particularly Elvis’s guitarist, Scotty Moore, inspired Trower to pick up the instrument that he heard bursting from the speakers. Musical explorations led him to the blues, and he cites BB and Albert King as two of his biggest influences. The greatest inspiration for…

Despite line-up changes in the early years, the core of Iron Maiden’s guitar work can be attributed to the triple-guitar assault of Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Gers. There are many features within Maiden’s approach to rhythm guitar. However, coming right at the top of the list is the band’s fabled ‘gallop’ rhythm style, which assimilates the feel of riding to war on horseback. For additional drama, the rhythm guitar work often switches between chugging powerchord sequences with varying degrees of muting from both hands, and single-note figures that often tie the powerchords together. This strategy enables the guitarists to bring depth, intensity, and melody to their layering of lines (which with three players vying for attention is no mean feat). In this feature, I’ve prepared two style studies…

Think of country music and it’s hard not to conjure up an image of the legendary ‘Man In Black’, original outlaw country legend Johnny Cash. His warm bassbaritone voice and relaxed yet tight strumming patterns are immediately recognisable and laid the foundations for country rhythm guitar in the decades that followed. His mournful songs of heartache, struggle and trouble put him alongside Hank Williams on the pedestal of country fame. Growing up in Arkansas in the 1930s Cash started his working life in cotton fields at the age of five and would have learned the tradition of the ‘work song’ from an early age singing along with his family and fellow workers. Guitar lessons came courtesy of his mother and a friend and by age 12 he was already writing…

Jump blues was a style of music that developed in the 1940s and was an offshoot of the big bands of the day. It was essentially an uptempo swing combining jazz, boogie and blues that was a popular in dance halls. Predating rock and roll by a few years, jump blues bands were smaller than their big band counterparts and tended to consist of vocals, drums, upright bass, piano and a small horn section of saxophones and trumpets. Sometimes there would be an electric guitar too. The lead singer was often a horn player, and the horns usually played the instrumental melodies and solos. The style was pioneered by artists like Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five (Jordan was the vocalist and lead sax player) with songs like Choo Choo…

Jimmy Herring is one of the most versatile and well respected guitar players out there today, with a style that encapsulates the harmonic sophistication of jazz and fusion and balances this with the raw energy and dynamic delivery of classic rock and blues. Add to this the improvisational flair of a jam band master and a little bluegrass and country, all delivered with phenomenal technique, and we’re in the right ballpark. As you might expect, Jimmy’s career credits are just as impressive as his playing, with collaborations with other notable guitar heavyweights such as Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Warren Haynes, Wayne Krantz and many more, along with a successful career as a solo artist and bandleader. Herring also served his apprenticeship as a member of Bruce Hampton’s Aquarium Rescue Unit,…

Whitesnake was the brainchild of David Coverdale after his exit from Deep Purple in 1976, and currently the band has been going for over 45 years. Whitesnake has had a revolving door of some of the best musicians in rock history, but Coverdale remains the only constant member. Some of the guitarists to have graced the stage alongside the frontman are Steve Vai, John Sykes, Vivian Campbell, Warren DeMartini, Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, as well as studio ace Dann Huff who played the solo on the huge hit Here I Go Again when it was re-released in the late 80s. Throw in drummers like Cozy Powell, Ian Paice and Tommy Aldridge, bass players Marco Mendoza and Neil Murray as well as keyboard legend Jon Lord, and rock royalty runs…

Sophie Lloyd is one of our most prolific and successful YouTube guitarists. Her unique shred guitar covers and tuition videos have garnered millions of views and earned her an extremely loyal fanbase. She is now touring with Machine Gun Kelly and released her first solo album, Imposter Syndrome in 2023. The album is filled with heavy rock swagger, metal riffs and solos. Sophie is joined by guest vocalists like Lizzy Hale, Matt Heafy and Michael Starr, affirming the respect Sophie has gained within a few short years. One of the most impressive aspects of Sophie’s playing is her creative propensity to combine techniques while maintaining a logical musical thread. Here we will focus on some of the techniques Sophie employs, from legato, to sweeping, to tapping, and finally combining them…

ABILITY RATING ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Advanced Info Key: Various Tempo: Various https://bit.ly/422PgWq Will improve your Classical style picking Legato playing String crossing Matteo Mancuso has been a pretty hot topic in guitar geek circles for a while, but with Steve Vai’s glowing endorsement and his NAMM show appearance this year he’s now starting to reach a much wider audience. So sit back for a few minutes, click ‘play’, and prepare to be amazed! Probably the most noticeable thing about Matteo’s playing is his use of classical style fingerpicking on what we might term electric shred-style fusion guitar. Fingerpicking on electric is not unusual in itself (hello Nashville!), but Matteo’s approach has much more to do with the flexibility and independence that classical fingerstyle provides him with... and then…

FEATURE VIDEO #1 MODERN LEGATO With Jamie Hunt Jamie demonstrates how to use minimal picking to create streams of cool and impressive sounding lines. CLASSICAL VIDEO JOSÉ FERRER El Amable Declan Zapala arranges this jaunty piece from the Spanish composer, translated as The Amiable Fellow. FEATURE THE CROSSROADS Eric Johnson John Wheatcroft shows why EJ is so revered, using intervals, Pentatonic sequencing, and cool chord voicings. FEATURE VIDEO #2 ULF WAKENIUS Seven jazz licks John Wheatcroft tabs out some amazing licks from the Swedish jazz virtuoso. Prepare to be knocked out! Stretch out your chops with some super-slick... COUNTRY-BLUES-ROCK ! Andy Saphir brings you a stunning lesson that’s right up his country-blues-rock street. Using the Minor Pentatonic plus Major 3rd and flat 5, with a slice of Mixolydian for good…