You don't normally associate Ricky Nelson songs with hard-hitting guitar breaks, but not so when James Burton was wielding the axe. Joe looks at several Burton breaks from Nelson sessions - 'Believe What You Say,' 'It's Late' and others -vibing his double-stops, cross-rhythms, off-the-beat accents and overall rippin' rockabilly feel. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: TWANG U.
With rockabilly, guitarists often try to evoke a revved-up kinda big band sound. You can accomplish this with closed-voice chords. These require a lot of wide stretches, but your efforts will pay off with some truly smooth-sounding stuff that will also help you in chord-to-chord transitions. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: TWANG U.
That unmistakable sound of rockabilly guitar may be rootsy, but it ain't easy. In this lesson, Arlen breaks some of the techniques down. Key to the style is playing bass and lead simultaneously, creating a 'two-guitar' effect. He explains how to keep a steady bass with the pick while fingering the lead notes. You don't need no ducktail 'do to dig this rockabilly vibe. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: TWANG U.
Rockabilly, that mutant outgrowth of early rock 'n' roll and country, is still one of the most vibrant six-string sounds around. And learning these rockabilly licks will only enhance your more traditional playing. Arlen pitches Travis picking too, but gets an edgier attack by using a pick on the bass. You'll learn how to keep a clean separation between bass and lead notes. You'll pick up some timeless licks, and you'll infuse your twang with a little blues. This lesson includes Power Tab and is ...
It's the daring rhythm guitarist who is willing to have a go at it without chords. You'll dial into some lean twang with Joe's lesson, which concentrates on single-note lines and double-stops, gussied up with heel muting, long sustained notes, volume swells, Western swing horn-style parts and lots more. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: Rhythm Guitar SWAT Camp, TWANG U, HOW TO PLAY GUITAR: Anthology .
This stellar lesson introduces you to the basic vocabulary of blues phrasing that came out of the pre-WWII Delta style via the legendary Muddy Waters. As Keith says, this stuff is easier to play than it is to read, so he walks you through it - the droning bass on the low E (with pick or thumb), the accompanying finger-picked high E, the gritty but simple lines taken from the basic blues scale. In short order, you can become your own down-home blues rhythm section, which will strengthen your work...
The queen of Delta blues guitar sits in and serves up a lesson on authentic country blues strumming. If you want to get next to the concepts laid down by Tommy Johnson, Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Skip James, and Willie Brown, you'll find this lesson a watershed. Rory uses Tommy Johnson's classic "Big Road Blues" as a foundation for teaching a series of techniques: bass notes followed by one or two strums; strumming sixteenth notes; pounding (hitting your guitar top in conjunction with a str...
Guitarists spend so much time sharpening their lead playing that they often forget how exciting it is to be an accompanist. Ironically, if you do build comping skills, you’ll have a head start on one of the most challenging lead-guitar styles of all: chord melody. The trick is to keep evolving by learning new approaches to harmony. For instance, try your hand at the hypnotic device known as pedal point. Learn to handle these wide grips, and you’ll have a hip new way to play! This lesson includes...
So you may not be interested in becoming a flamenco master. It'd be a longshot even if you are. You can still factor in this exciting Spanish sound into your work. Tim takes a barre chord and enriches it by adding a Flat-9 with the fourth finger. Then he factors in some open strings for gypsy-style exotica. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: ACOUSTIC U.
Here are a couple "rules of thumb" from Jon Finn in how to most effectively use the blues scale - i.e. play the flatted 3rd before the major 3rd and the flatted 5th before the natural 5th. Don't make these absolutes, Jon insists, but rather use the rules as guidelines into the finer points of blues scale. Don't hesitate to let your ears come up with their own rules. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: 280 Killer GUITAR LICKS, BLUES U.
While other styles offer opportunities to surrender to the beat, in Memphis soul that's all that matters. In this two-part lesson, we'll dissect some classic soul grooves to see what makes them tick, and then try to grab some of that cosmic woo-woo for ourselves. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: BLUES U.
Martin Simpson shows a couple ways to go at a melody: First is linearly, playing several notes along a string; Or: crosspicking, granting each note it's own string whenever possible. The crosspicking lets you generate a wonderfully fluid, harp-like effect. He demonstrates with a line from the beautiful Irish tune "Garryowen." Neither is better than the other, but it's definitely good to have both in your arsenal. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: AC...
Back in Adrian's early Liverpool days, he figured that a technique he must learn to help his chances at getting laid was to fingerpick (the guitar, that is). These days, fingerpicking is not as apt to help in sexual exploits, but it's certainly a laudable endeavor. Adrian issues three fingerpicking exercises that he worked at two hours a day for two straight weeks. Seems like a lot at first, but is it, really? No word on how much more he got laid. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured o...
Because lap slide players can angle their bars, they're able to play more intervals and harmony than bottleneck guitarists, who are forced to rely on parallel-to-the-fret slide techniques. But there is a way to expand your harmonic vocabulary when you play traditional bottleneck. Behind-the-slide fretting makes it possible to add rapid-fire interval shifts and altered chords to your bottleneck repertoire. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: TWANG U, L...
Get fat. Fat sounds, that is - New Orleans-style. Keith delves into the Crescent City ballad style with its 12/8 triplet feel. Fig. 1 demonstrates how to double the rolling bass part; Fig. 2 shows off the 'chicks' that add staccato accents, and Fig. 3 combines the two. Finally, on Fig. 4, he adapts the triplet-heavy piano part to guitar, and he is, as Fats might say, walkin' to New Orleans. This lesson includes Power Tab and is included in the following CD compilations: BLUES U, Blues Bash.
B.B., one of the few bluesmen to establish himself as a household name, uses the He replaced Clapton in Mayall's Bluesbreakers. He was the six-string linchpin of the bluesy Fleetwood Mac. He played with American bluesmen Otis Spann and Eddie Boyd. He is an unsung guitar hero, this Mr. Green. He favored detail over heavy-handedness, finesse over brawn (although he could get mean at times). Check out 14 Green-isms in this two-part lesson. Note how he likes to arrive at a chord tone a bit early, th...
B.B., one of the few bluesmen to establish himself as a household name, uses the Mixolydian mode (think of it as a major scale with a flat 7th) as a primary ingredient in his influential solo work. Magic things happen when you blend the Mixolydian with the minor pentatonic allowing you to shift between sweet and dark sounds. Dave demonstrates this mind-expanding concept through a B.B. solo. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: BLUES U, LICK-A-DAY: 365 ...
His majesty's regal style is examined in 11 hefty examples covering his inimitable vibrato, favored variation on the blues scale, powerful bends and overall sense of swing. Plenty of great lines and licks. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: BLUES U, 269 BLUES Licks You MUST Know
In Part 1 of this super vocabulary builder, Brad not only shows a collection of stone-classic blues phrases, he also provides clear, thorough explanations of the subtle technical details behind the licks. Great blues phrasing is all in the subtleties, and Brad takes you deep under the surface. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: BLUES U, 269 BLUES Licks You MUST Know
Get straight to the heart of Duane, checking out highlights from the classic ABB albums At Fillmore East and Eat a Peach. Andy Aledort gets into Duane's slide and conventional playing and, along with licks, he breaks down a few extended solo sections, so you can better understand the late legend's overall concept. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: BLUES U, LICK-A-DAY: 365 Daily Doses.
With his stinging, soulful solos and flawless pocket, Robben Ford has an uncanny knack for making complex music seem simple. Conversely, the guitarist can elevate a mundane one-chord vamp into something divine. Perhaps this is because Ford has successfully tackled so many genres. What has Ford learned from all of his musical adventures? “We’re all playing the same things,” he says. To prove that common threads abound in music, Ford will take a I-VI-II-V progression and show that whether it’s pla...
Phillips, a classical virtuoso, endeavors into the daunting world of counterpoint: the simultaneous sounding of two or more contrasting melodic lines. This lesson is an exercise in helping you get started. Learn each line separately, then slowly learn to play the lines together. Six-string counterpoint is not easy stuff, but if you have classical ambitions - or if you merely want a challenge - look this way. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: LICK-A-...
Classical virtuoso Eliot Fisk divides the major scale by note value, rhythmic accent and tone, conquers weaknesses in attack, and leaves your right hand looking like Popeye. Well maybe that's an exaggeration, but only slightly. Fisk offers a range of insights into dynamics and sound production, tidbits about Bach, and some stellar playing in this engaging, informative Classical lesson. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: ACOUSTIC U.
Ben lays out a take-no-prisoners practice regimen that is virtually guaranteed to yield results. It's designed to help you master passages that are giving you trouble. It involves a lot of hard work, but hard work with a plan. Ben mixes up the regimen so that you steer clear of drudgery. He says that, even while practicing, keep in touch with the emotional content of the phrase. It will make practicing a more musical, and ultimately a more satisfying experience. This lesson includes Power Tab an...
The first time you play a C#dim7—such as the one in Ex. 1a—you may find yourself wondering why you’d ever need such a dissonant cluster of notes. Truth is, diminished 7s and other such strident grips are, ironically, incredibly useful for making progressions sound smoother. Plug that C#dim7 between C and Dm7 (Ex. 1b), and its jagged shape all but disappears—like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Get hip to its pungent sound; you’ll start hearing it everywhere —not just in jazz, but also in rock...
Roger demonstrates a classic swing phrase using chromatics (half steps), first in single notes then harmonized in chords. You've heard it- now you'll know how to use it! This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: LICK-A-DAY: 365 Daily Doses, ACOUSTIC U.
In this "Lick of the Month" from Berklee instructor and noted author Charles Chapman, you'll learn an extremely useful technique: how to combine a walking bass line with chord punches to simulate a jazz rhythm section arrangement on the guitar. Bass players, drummers...who needs 'em anyway? This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: ACOUSTIC U, JAZZ U.
Major and minor triads are the building blocks of harmony, with a simple, emotionally direct sound. Bob Stanton shows you how the argpeggios of these uncomplicated structures can be "summed" together with each other to create more complex melodic effects, including altered sounds. It's a great addition to your playing... This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: ACOUSTIC U.
You know the cliche image of the idle-minded secretary who works on her nails to kill time. Well for classical guitarist, the idea of 'doing your nails' is a much more serious affair. You need to keep them smooth and in shape - and free of hooks or other imperfections - in order to make beautiful music with precision. Ben plays three lovely short pieces to demonstrate how they should sound if your nails are well kept. This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilation...
When Charles plays a chord-melody arrangement, people invariably ask, "How'd you do that?" Here, he shows you how. The staple is knowing how to rearrange standard chord voicings, moving notes up or down an octave to create different melodies and textures. Pretty soon you too could be hearing that satisfying refrain: "How'd you do that?" This lesson includes Power Tab and is featured on the following CD compilations: ACOUSTIC U, JAZZ U.
