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Guitar Guitar Lessons Music

Bendology in Total Guitar

It was fun putting together this article with Chris Bird for Total Guitar (Feb 2022), and using the whole BoomerBendGate as an opportunity for some bendological research. In so doing discovered some ridiculously killer zoomer players in Tim Henson, Mateus Asato, Wes Hauch, Ichiko Nito, Plini and all.

And is now published online in Guitar World

Archetypal WT1.5.3 Bend & Shake
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Guitar Guitar Lessons

John Mayer in GT

My article on the remarkable John Mayer’s Blues techniques is the cover feature of Guitar Techniques GT328. Read it and (make your guitar) weep.

May be an image of 1 person, playing a musical instrument, guitar and text that says 'ACOUSTIC TRY OUR MOLLY TUTTLE BLUEGRASS WORKOUT.. GuitarTe 328" MBE20 que BLUES: Play like... JOHN MAYER Learn to groove like one of today' most accomplished and stylish bluesmen examples, fullpieces, tone, gear and more.. WE'LLMAKE YOUABETTER PLAYER MAWA JAZZ ROCK VIDEO LESSON Allen Hinds, with Steely Dan's Herington Gallagher bar solos the RORY Two fantastic styleofreland' blues genius SHRED JENNIFER BATTEN Five licks from the tapping virtuoso'
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Guitar Guitar Lessons Publications

Lessons from Eurovision

Total Guitar (Issue 345) has published an article on what Eurovision teaches us about music listening, and (guitar) performance. Some sample images below on rhythmic, perception, tempo and modulation respectively.

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Guitar Lessons Jazz & Improvisation Publications

Holdsworth on the Radar

My article providing practical insights into the music and playing of the late, great Allan Holdsworth is now available for public free consumption on MusicRadar (including notation & audio). A teaser below.

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Guitar Lessons Music Theory Publications

Playing in the Key of Sea

A breakdown of the musical science of the Sea Shanty in Total Guitar Issue 344

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Guitar Lessons Jazz & Improvisation Lectures & Presentations Rhythm

Art of Timing

Engaging directly with time-feel and micro-timing on the electric guitar with specific exercises and style studies. This is for many levels of player who wants to draw focus to the elements of groove which are often excluded, glossed over or mythologized in the learning process.

Art of Timing – for the development of Time-feel
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Guitar Lessons Jazz & Improvisation Music Music Theory Publications Research Rhythm

Time-feel in Soundboard Scholar

Soundboard Scholar (No.6) features my paper. “Monitored Freedom: Swing Rhythm in the Jazz Arrangements of Roland Dyens” examines the time-feel in the performances and scores of Roland Dyens, in particular reference to his arrangement of Nuages – and Django’s performances of this piece. Working with the genius Jonathan Leathwood is always a privilege and joy, and I am very grateful that my illustration is used as the cover image to the journal. Available here.

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Guitar Lessons Jazz & Improvisation Music Theory Press & Interviews Rhythm

The Deep Theory & Technique of Time-feel – The Guitar Hour Podcast

A pleasure to indulge in full-tilt nerdery about micro-timing with the annoyingly talented and annoyingly nice hosts of The Guitar Hour Podcast. \m/ \m/

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Guitar Lessons Jazz & Improvisation Learning & Teaching Music Theory

4 Levels of the Blues

GT240

For Guitar Techniques Issue 240, I’ve penned a little thing about different approaches to playing over a simple blues progression. THIS WAS SUCH A CONFUSING THING FOR ME TO LEARN GROWING UP. Why? Because

1) There are several effective approaches, and humans being humans can only give advice on what they know. I received conflicting advice from different great players on what to do, leaving me befuddled.

2) Blues playing can be both very simple and intuitive, and hugely complex. Learning to use both intuitive flair and theoretical sophistical takes time (not that I’m done, far from it).

This article to which I owe much to Jason Sidwell for the underlying themes offers 4 different approaches to playing on a 12-bar, 3 chord progression. I found it very useful, I hope you might too.

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Events Guitar Guitar Lessons Jazz & Improvisation

Classical and Jazz Guitar Course in Le Marche, Italy

Urbino2Molto excited to be running a Jazz guitar course (with Bridget running the parallel Classical guitar course) in the stunning Palazzo Mannocchi in the Marche region of Italy 15-22 August 2015 with Helicon Arts. Italian food and wine, terraces, gorgeous views, 2 swimming pools, all food and trips catered and lots and lots of extended chords, guide-tome lines and tasteful phrasing.

Classical and Jazz Guitar Course in Le Marche, Italy

Ascoli-Piceno1 Palazzo9 Petritoli1

 

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Guitar Guitar Lessons Publications

Bossa Nova!

My article on Bossa Nova guitar is now in Guitar Techniques issue 238. Such an amazing and idiosyncratic guitar style, it was a real pleasure to put this together, and I learned a lot about the players and techniques.

GT Bossa

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Guitar Guitar Lessons Stuff to Buy

Guitar Soloing DVD Out Now

 

NewImage

No 4 in a series of Guitar Instructional DVDs is out now! Available in many newsagents worldwide, or the interamawebs here

What’s in it (besides from a nice new shirt and guitar(s)? In the words of Future Publishing –

Everything you need to know to play like your heroes – with full lessons on your DVD
  • Theoretical: You will gain knowledge of scales and how to use them to make music
  • Practical: This will help you gain the technique and skills you will need to create solos
  • Style and Creativity: Listening to and adapting the playing of great guitarists is a brilliant way to begin developing your own vocabulary.
Play like Clapton, Hendrix, Gilmour, Page, Slash, Santana, Van Halen and many more
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Guitar Lessons Stuff to Buy

Texas Blues DVD Out Now

My 3rd in a series of guitar DVDs, Play Guitar Now: Texas Blues is now out on Future Publishing. Quite a lot of work this one trying to capture essential playing concepts of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Albert Colins, T-Bone Walker, SRV and all those other amazing Texan guitar-slingers.

You can pick up a copy in WHSmiths and other places, or online here

Texas Blues DVD

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Guitar Guitar Lessons Publications

Another Future Publishing Guitar DVD Commission

Well I must be doing something right – or probably not enough wrong – as the good people of Future have asked me to yet another DVD this Winter.
It’s due for release in early 2014. Topic is under wraps but this little image should give you a mighty big clue. Rather excited about this one.

Yup

Missed the others? Details here and also here

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Guitar Guitar Lessons

Back to the Future Publishing. New Guitar DVD commissioned.

In May, I’ll be recording a second instructional Guitar DVD for Future Publishing. Not Jazz, like the last one and it will involve a lot of research and work, but am looking very much forward to it. Now I have to beg, borrow or steal* a Gibson 335…

Ooh

*possibly buy

Categories
Guitar Guitar Lessons Jazz & Improvisation Learning & Teaching Publications Stuff to Buy

Jazz Guitar DVD released

Jazz Guitar Instructional DVD published by the good folk of Future Publishing

In their words…

From the makers of Guitar Techniques this magazine and DVD package is especially for guitarists that can play from lower to upper intermediate level. It’s for those that want to strike out on the path to jazz – or who simply fancy adding some cool jazz chords or some juicy jazzy licks to their current arsenal of chops.

  • To get you started, the most useful chords and scales you can use in jazz
  • Jazz rhythm styles; now you’ve learn some cool jazz chords, do some comping (accompaniment) with them!
  • Learn some great lead jazz guitar licks
  • Playalong tunes:
    • Bossa Nova – in the style of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto and Charlie Byrd
    • Jazz-Blues – in the style of Barney Kessel, Kenny Burrell and Herb Ellis
    • Jazz-Funk – reminiscent of George Benson and Grant Green
    • Ballad – inspired by accompanists Joe Pass and Herb Ellis
    • Rhythm Changes – essential jazz progression first used by George Gershwin

Available here:

 

Categories
Guitar Guitar Lessons Learning & Teaching

Harmonic Literacy for Guitar XI: Triskaidekaphilia! 13th Chords Everywhere!

Harmonic Literacy for Guitar XI: Triskaidekaphilia! 13th Chords Everywhere!.

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Guitar Guitar Lessons Learning & Teaching

Harmonic Literacy for the Guitar IX – Endless Lines on Static Major Chords

In addition to playing over static minor and dominant chords, the ability to play over static major chords
in all positions of the fretboard is extremely useful. This have been kept fairly neutral. avoiding too much
differentiation between Ionian and Lydian so that these can be used on most instances of static major chords.
Learning and composing Major scale patterns like these (together with the Dominant and minor examples) will greatly
enhance the harmonic proficiency in your playing, and creative freedom in improvisation. Endless Lines III on Static Major Chords

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Guitar Guitar Lessons Learning & Teaching

Harmonic Literacy for Guitar VIII – Endless Lines on Static Minor Chords

Continuing from the last study, let’s take a CAGED approach to the minor or minor 7 chord. This will involve
Dorian, Melodic Minor, Aeolian, Dorian bebop, Minor blues and other bebop devices. A Dorian key signature
is given as this is a central modal component in a lot of static minor chord playing.
These have been written as continuous studies so repeat each section and move on at will for an epic workout.
Again we focus on a quaver feel,but remember that once absorbed these can be endlessly shuffled and lego-ed
in creative performance. Note also that these can work well on there related dominant chord (F7 in this case).
Be sure to visualise the underlying chord-shapes and arpeggios, practise in various keys, styles and tempos to
make them an intuitive part of your playing.
Endless Lines II on Static Minor Chords

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Guitar Guitar Lessons Learning & Teaching

Harmonic Literacy for Guitar VII – Endless Lines on Static Dominant Chords.

A real challenge in playing jazz guitar lies in the performance of long seamless lines. This of course is only
a small component of improvisation, but it’s worth working on, as the sort of motor control and brain-finger
connection has to be really developed. Using the CAGED system established previously, we’ll look at playing
over static dominant chord. This will largely use dominant, bebop dominant, lydian dominant with typical
bebop devices. Rather than runing scales, these (somewhat abritrary but effective) 4-bar phrases cover much
of each position and require a comprehensive understanding of fretboard harmony. Of course these can be
edited, recomposed, transposed, and lego-ed endlessly.
Endless Lines I – Static Dominant Chord

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Guitar Guitar Lessons Jazz & Improvisation Learning & Teaching

Harmonic Literacy for the Guitar VI: Minor Challenge. iiø-Valt-i all over the shop.

Following on from the challenge in the last post – developing ii-V-I vocabulary all over the fingerboard –  the following study takes a similar approach for minor ii-V-i patterns, for example Dm7(b5) – G7alt – Cm7. This will greatly enhance useful vocabulary. Furthermore all of the G7alt material may be readily used in a major ii-V context, and as ever these ideas can be broken up, restructured, shuffled, edited, sequenced and recombined for further editing. As a child I preferred Lego and Meccano to Playmobile and ActionMan. This is because with Lego and Meccano’s smaller and endlessly interconnectable units far more was possible, and the creative imagination had far freer scope; and partly because my ActionMan had missing fingers and only one of his eagle eyes moved.

One should adopt a Lego approach here, but just make sure you put them away when you’re finished.

Minor ii-V-I lines CAGED

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Guitar Guitar Lessons Learning & Teaching

Harmonic Literacy for the Guitar V: ii-V-I Isn’t this a lot of fun.

The following short document uses an approach that provides 40 useful ii-V-I lines in every position of the guitar fingerboard, greatly aiding fluency of long improvised lines through jazz harmony. Hard work, but big returns. As ever, enjoy the process of practising and earn the resulting creative freedom. Yeah.

ii-V-I lines CAGED

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Guitar Guitar Lessons Learning & Teaching

In Two Minds: Harmonic Literacy for the Guitar IV – Walking Bass & Chord

Unlike the piano, the ability of playing a simultaneous bass line and chord progression on the guitar is hard won.

However, with some focused work on fretboard harmony, an effective, intuitively controlled and fun approach is possible.

The following document provides an introduction to the technique – and some patient practice will go a long way. Enjoy

In Two Minds: Harmonic Literacy for the Guitar IV – Walking Bass & Chords

http://bit.ly/moGulQ

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