Hey there! In this lesson we’re going to be looking at emulating the tones and sounds of other instruments on the guitar, focusing on 3 instruments from the Far East, the Pipa, the Koto and the Shackuhachi (Japanese Flute). Being brought up on a diet of old Kung Fu movies and Manga, the distinctive music of the Orient has always been of great interest to me Continue reading »
If you look at my last article, “superimposing arpeggios” you’ll read how it is possible to superimpose a different arpeggio of a chord from the same parent scale over the chord that you are improvising on. In this lesson I am going to take it one step further and combine it with another of my previous articles “Jazz Up Your Blues Progressions”, in which I describe how to add a jazz flavor to your blues progressions by adding different chord substitutions throughout the sequence. Continue reading »
When playing over a particular chord how many different arpeggios would you consider using? Over any chord you can superimpose a large number of different arpeggios which can give you greater harmonic choices. In this lesson I am going to look at one approach of doing this. By having a parent scale in mind (ie playing in a specific key) whether it’s for one chord, a chord sequence or for a whole piece of music, I’m going to show how to determine all the different arpeggios that are available to play over each chord in that key. Continue reading »
Kumoi Joshi is an exotic sounding Japanese pentatonic scale comprising of the intervals R b2 4 5 and b6. This scale can be used to spice up your solos with a fresh sound and as it is similar to Phrygian can be used to great effect in modern metal. Continue reading »
When we think of great bass players we only mention the players of the male persuasion. There are many great female bassist who have carved their path into music history. With this interview I like introduce one of those female greats.
Ladies and gentlemen ………. Madame Double Z Continue reading »
As a guitar player and guitar teacher I meet a lot of people who always wanted to play jazz but thought it was too difficult so they never give it a go. This lesson is kind of aimed at those players who want to jazz up their blues playing without too much stress. It’s not designed as quick-fix but will get you sounding much more jazzy in just a few simple steps. Continue reading »
In celebration of UK rock band Muse selling out the new Wembley Stadium in June, I’m going to be looking at the playing style of singer/guitarist Matt Bellamy, paying to particular attention to the band’s “Showbiz” and “Origin of Symmetry” era.
After forming in Teignmouth Devon in 1994 Muse have managed to become one of the biggest rock bands on the planet, although many would have thought their mind blowing headlining set at Glastonbury 2004 would have been the peak of their career, Muse have once again raised the bar for what it means to be the ultimate live band. Continue reading »
Here is a couple of finger exercises for guitar / bass that I was taught years ago and I still swear by them now. Although they do not sound particularly melodic they are great for coordinating your fingers, especially your little finger. Continue reading »
Whenever I’m learning a new lick, riff or scale, I always find it best to start off slowly then gradually get faster until I can play it faster than actually I need to, then it’s always a relief to play it at the correct speed 8). To help you do this, I’ve put together a range of drum backing tracks in various time signatures for you to practice your licks and riffs over.
The whole tone scale is one of the most underused scales in improvising, in my opinion. It has revolutionized my approach to improvising on a tune. People always talk about playing “out” and they will spend years and years working on all kinds of complicated ways of doing it, but the answer is right under our noses and its really not all that complicated. Whole steps. That’s it. Just play whole steps. I’m dramatizing a bit, but essentially that’s the idea I’m talking about. Continue reading »
Here’s some more ready to print Word document music templates I made. Enjoy 
In the Indian music system which originates from South India, there is a particular form of classification and nomenclature of scales arising out of the maximum number of scales known as “Parent Raagas or Melakarrtaas” These are arranged in a very specific Ascending and descending order. Continue reading »
I’ve found that most guitarists underestimate the effect their right hand technique can have on their playing. When the average guitarist sits down for a couple of hours to practice, I imagine that he/she doesn’t spend 2 minutes thinking about what their right hand is doing. It just goes on auto-pilot. You hold the pick between your thumb and first finger, but what about those other three fingers on the right hand? They just sit there and don’t get to have any fun. The solution to this situation is “Hybrid Picking”. Continue reading »
Have you ever wanted to go to a music store and get a book that had the best information on how to play guitar, explained in ways that were easy to understand and made sense, and not know which book to buy? Ever go out and get that book, only to discover that it had a bunch of information that you didn’t need and didn’t make a good deal of sense after all? Ever wonder whether the “get chops quick” guitar methods so prevalent on the Internet today are really ripoffs? Well, no need for further frustration, help is here. Continue reading »
Hey, in this lesson we’re going to be looking at some lead guitar funk style! The idea here is to accompany the rhythm section and your fellow guitar player with some well chosen melodic, single note lines that compliment the overall feel and groove of the song. This technique, commonly called “popping” Continue reading »
Hey, in this lesson we’re going to be looking at some of the fundamental basics of funk guitar that are often over looked when approaching this genre. A mistake that many guitar players make when laying down a funk groove Continue reading »
There is no one correct way to play guitar, as everyone who picks up an instrument will approach it slightly different. But there are some standards that most people follow. In this lesson we’ll discuss the most common of the picking techniques: Alternate Picking. Continue reading »
‘Octave’ is the term used to describe the distance (or ‘interval’) from a one note to another, with half or double the frequency. Continue reading »
It’s interesting to me that while a guitar might have 6 strings, the majority of guitarists find using more than one at a time a real feat. In this lesson I touch on some simple techniques to spice up a single note melody. Continue reading »
There are all kinds of ways to gain dexterity and technical facility on your instrument. A lot of students get books with etudes or exercises, but I’m a big proponent of making up my own exercises. Anyone can do it. Here’s how. Continue reading »