Table of contents for November 2023 in Guitar Techniques

READY TO SUBSCRIBE? www.magazinesdirect.com ONE OF THE BIGGEST TOPICS we hear from readers of Guitar Techniques is either how to sound like someone, or how to get better. Two very understandable routes to deepen one’s connection with the guitar. We run a lot of the first topic in every issue - you can almost guarantee we’ve covered one or more of yours during any 12-month period (unless it’s a particularly niche player). We also run a regular improve your… series which is aimed at the lower and upper intermediate musician who has some ability with an approach, but wants to take the next step. This issue we thought it would be good to look at the whole gamut of blues-rock guitar playing, figure out the important musical strands that are…

ON VIDEO In this feature we welcome blues-rock master Philip Sayce. Philip has recorded nine albums as a band leader and has worked with many top artists including Jeff Healey and Jimmy Barnes. In the video Philip demonstrates all of his licks in free time with no backing track or click used. So we have opted for a 4/4 time signature with all the rhythms being as simple as possible to follow, in an easy-touse approximation of what’s implied. In the video performance Philip is in Eb tuning so all the strings are de-tuned by a semitone (Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-Bb-Eb). However, to keep things simple we have notated the tab fingerings as they appear in the video and the notation is in regular concert pitch. If you tune your guitar down a…

EXAMPLE 1 BERNARD SUMNER (JOY DIVISION, NEW ORDER, ELECTRONIC) This riff features a short 1 bar phrase that repeats three times and then ends with a subtle variation on the fourth repeat. To bring variety and momentum to the sequence, the first and third repeats are played on the fourth string, while the second repeat and ending phrase are played an octave lower, on the sixth string. To get the sound, use your bridge pickup, a moderate amount of gain, and add a long reverb or delay if you prefer. EXAMPLE 2 ELLIOT EASTON (THE CARS) This rhythm figure takes two notes from an E, B, and A5 chord shape, to create a flowing, melodic sequence that provides a clear sense of the chord progression. Focus on picking-hand accuracy, as…

Hong Kong-born Herman Li is a successful guitarist, streamer and gamer best known as one half of DragonForce’s two-guitarist co-op alongside Sam Totman. Herman’s style draws from power metal and speed metal genres as well as video games. Li combines these elements and lots of techniques to create an effect akin to a high-energy arcade game soundtrack meets virtuosic guitar explosion. Herman combines fast alternate picked scales, tapping, sweeping and whammy bar harmonics, all performed in quick succession to create an exciting and exhilarating salvo of notes. In this lesson we will look at each of these core techniques starting with some singlestring picking in Ex1. DragonForce music is typically played at higher speeds so your picking hand will require training in order to maintain control. Rather than tremolo picking…

Brought to you by… Early on in my playing career, I was drawn to the ideas of jazz guitarists as a way of spicing up my blues playing and finding my own voice. Last month, we looked briefly at the idea of implying chord changes in a three-chord blues. In essence, this is the idea that we can play melodic phrases that spell out additional chords that could be used to enrich the harmony, even though they’re not written on the lead sheet. This time we’ll expand on that idea. It’s common to play every chord in a blues as a Dominant chord (7th, 9th, etc), and something I like to do, to introduce more interesting sounds into my solos, is to view each of the three chords as…

VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/45aYTTj Blues is one of those styles that most guitarists love to play. There’s just something about the sound of those Pentatonic-based licks and riffs, and the immediately identifiable musical structures and rhythms that make it so satisfying. As a player with relatively little experience you can soon learn to play some simple but authentic sounding blues because, at its essence, the style is mainly based around the Minor Pentatonic scale (R- b3-4-5-b7) with additional notes borrowed from the Major Pentatonic too (R-2-3-5-6) which can be used to construct some basic but authentic sounding licks. However, it would be a glaring misconception to assume that because of this, it should be dismissed as an easy style to play, because it isn’t. As with any genre, there are…

VIDEO ON VIDEO Lorne Lofsky is a phenomenal jazz guitarist with a glittering career spanning over 40 years. Highlights include working with legends such as Oscar Peterson, Chet Baker and Ray Brown, and for many years Lorne had a successful quartet with another amazing Canadian guitar virtuoso, the great Ed Bickert. An in-demand educator, Lofsky has also enjoyed an equally successful parallel career teaching at various respected institutions, hosting masterclasses across the globe and in recent years moving into online teaching and mentoring. Along with an extensive resume as a live performer, Lorne has an equally impressive portfolio of recordings as sideman, collaborator and solo artist. It’s our great pleasure to feature his video interview, alongside another incredible jazz guitarist and long-time friend of GT, Nigel Price. This coincides with…

Brought to you by… “Buddy has a very eclectic approach and loves to explore all expressions of the blues” Buddy Guy is one of the most influential and important Chicago bluesmen in the history of blues, and of guitar playing in general. He’s influenced generations of players including many of the world’s most iconic names including Hendrix, Clapton, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, and as up-to-date as John Mayer. Guy was born and raised in Louisiana in the mid 1930s. By the time he hit his early 20s he was performing in local bands while holding down a day job. But Guy had his sites on bigger goals and so made the move to Chicago. Here he fell under the influence of Muddy Waters, and in 1958 won…

Brought to you by… This month we’re looking at the playing of leading modern blues guitarist Kirk Fletcher. Kirk spent a lot of time in his younger years with the great Robben Ford. Unsurprising then that his style, particularly his rhythm playing, is informed by Robben’s deep sense of harmony. Fletcher was also the guitarist in the well established blues band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, the seat once held not only by the great Jimmy Vaughan, but also Duke Robilliard and Doyle Bramhall II, too. Fletcher is also great pals with Joe Bonamassa and is featured on the DVD Live From The Greek Theater, the exposure from which brought him to the attention of audiences worldwide. Kirk’s style is modern and vibey, but with enough evidence of his lineage to keep…

Brought to you by… Guitarists often stick to tried-and-tested scale shapes, finger positions and licks, built upon years of muscle memory and repetition. This can yield gratifying results, but in order to build upon one’s musicianship it’s good to move away from these positions and try something new. Not only will this enhance your technique and fretting-hand independence, it will also open your ears to new phrases and ideas, and breathe new life into your playing. There are many ways of playing your scales in different ways, opposed to simply ascending and descending the neck. You might find that you can play your favoured shapes at rapid tempos along the fretboard, but what happens if you deconstruct these and play them in different intervals? One way would be to…

The next generation of guitar players is reaching out to new realms and making interesting connections between styles. And the sonic palettes available now have never been wider - blending digital and analog sounds in ways that are fresh and innovative. Some contemporary players have been able to abandon the traditional approaches to guitar in a refreshing way, while others have embraced tradition but incorporated a whole new language and technique development. There are many incredible contemporary guitarists out there making incredible music, but two that stand out to me, for very different reasons are Tim Henson (of Polyphia) and Mateus Asato. I've had a bunch of requests for lessons on some Polyphia songs but, to be honest, I can’t play it, let alone teach it. Tim’s approach to the…

ON VIDEO Extreme was one of the most exciting bands to emerge during the 1980s, and among the most influential groups on rock and metal. Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt is one of the most technically proficient players, not just of his generation but in the world today. But just like many of his heroes, what sets Nuno apart from the rest of the competition isn’t merely his technical prowess, although he does have some of the greatest rock guitar chops on the planet, but his songwriting, riffs, and melodic and identifiable hooks. Even in his flashier moments, Nuno has a distinctly recognisable sound that’s musical, lyrical, humorous, and aggressively fiery. Nuno joined Extreme in 1985, and they put out their first self-titled release in 1989. The album’s final track Play With…

ON VIDEO This month we return to the classical guitar treasure trove that is ‘Tour de Force’ Matteo Carcassi’s 25 Études Melodiques Progressives Op.60. Over the last two years I have explored Etude No.1 (GT331) and No. 23 (GT342) which covered a myriad of core techniques including scale-based melodies, slurred and crossstring descending arpeggiation, as well as efficiency of fretting-hand finger placement. Etude No.7 is a bootcamp for tremolo and broken chord arpeggiation so with that in mind the accompanying exercises focus on the plucking hand, building up a smooth and stable tremolo technique. “To learn a Carcassi etude is to tap into the origins of the classical guitar since this music was being written at the beginning of its rich history” Carcassi wrote hundreds of pieces for guitar in…

Brought to you by… Gary Rossington was one of the founding members of southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd. His legacy will survive for many years after his recent and untimely death in March 2023. Born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1951 Rossington swapped a love of baseball for music, when as a teenager he heard The Rolling Stones. At the time of his death, he was the final surviving member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, a band that had suffered many losses including a plane crash in 1977 that devastated the line-up, claiming the lives of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines. However, the band’s legacy had been firmly set in place with songs like Sweet Home Alabama and Free Bird becoming the calling card…

ON VIDEO “Dolly Parton’s playing style is driven by the Maybelle Carter ‘thumb and flick’ approach” The long-reigning queen of country, Dolly Parton’s career is astonishing when you put it into numbers: over 3000 songs penned including mega-smash I Will Always Love You, made doubly famous by Whitney Houston in the film The Bodyguard. A true crossover artist, Dolly has taken country into the mainstream charts with hits Jolene and 9 To 5, which many a function guitarist will have had to master. Dolly’s glittering, rhinestone-laden onstage image belies her humble beginnings. She was born in Tennessee and raised in a one-room shack, but music proved to be an early way out of poverty. By age 10 she was performing on local radio and, staggeringly, by 13 she was appearing…