Unlocking the neck - arpeggios #4

This exercise will take you through all the arpeggios in the key of G. 

Once you have mastered each if these exercises ascending up the neck, practice them descending.  When you are descending, you'll need to thing about the fingering to make the transitions smooth from one arpeggio down to the next.  Take your time on this as it is a great way to build some muscle memory in your fingers and this will help you fluency moving around the neck.

And for ease, here are the links to all the exercises.

Arpeggios #1 - key of C

Arpeggios #2 - key of E

Arpeggios #3 - key of A

And finally here is a 12-bar study

12-bar #1

12-bar #2

Unlocking the neck - arpeggios #3

Another arpeggio exercise, this time in A.  Once you have each of the exercises under your fingers, you can start to build up speed and fluency.

Arpeggios in the key of A

Unlocking the neck - arpeggios #2

Here is a study of the arpeggios in the key of E.  There are some tricky fingerings so take your time.

Here is arpeggios #1

Unlocking the neck - arpeggios #1

Unlocking the neck is a key milestone for guitarists.  The ability to see, hear, and most importantly access, all the tones in a key as chords, notes and arpeggios really expands your playing.  It gives your options for writing, comping, filling and improvising and if you've ever been trapped in the boxes (like I have been) arpeggios will give you an escape route.

A lot of online lessons recommend learning arpeggios shape-by-shape and I did that for a while but ended up getting trapped in a different set of boxes.  It's also a bit artificial as you are never likely to encounter a song that calls for the same type of arpeggio throughout, except perhaps for traditional blues.

So why don't you try learning arpeggios in keys?  That way you'll mix major, minor and diminished shapes as demanded by the chords in the key - just like in a song.

Here's an exercise in C to get you started.

Five steps to connecting up the blues

I've been on a mission to turn myself into a blues guitarist for a couple of years now.  For me I am using it as gateway to understanding a bit more theory and getting started with improvising. 

One of the things I struggled with for a while was mixing chords and lead fills.  Pentatonics got me so far but I was missing something.  I went out to a local blues jam session and was watching a couple of local players tearing it up all over the neck.  Not shredding but really melodically moving from one chord and position to another, and always seeming to be hitting those chord tones, and loads of different turnarounds.

It was clear I didn't know the neck well enough to hear and hit those connecting lines fluidly.

So this is the first part of what I did to boost my skills and connect up the blues using intervals and double-stops based on the chords.

Click here for the neck diagram. The diagram shows the dominant 7 chord tones for a blues in A (A7, D7, E7) all over the 4th (D) and 2nd (B) strings.  Here's how you use it.

1. Record yourself a slow 12 bar blues in A on a looper or on your phone.

2. Over the loop, practise playing the intervals over each chord - A shapes over A, D shapes over D and E shapes over E. Try to start and finish on the shapes that are shown as solid yellow, green and blue. These are the chord tones. Get used to how they sound over their home chord and how the different combinations of tones sound and feel different.

3. When you are comfortable with moving from chord tones, use the connecting notes indicated as coloured rings to move from one tone shape to another. You'll start to hear blues and country sounds (and clichés) straight away. Focus on landing on a chord tone shape in time with your loop or backing track.

4. When you are comfortable playing A shapes over A etc start practicing moving shapes with the chord changes. For example, over A, start with a solid yellow tone shape and move to a solid green tone shape as the chord changes to D at the end of bar 4 in your 12-bar.  Then from green to blue with the change from D to E.  Make sure you hit the change of tone shape dead on the chord change.

5. When you are comfortable playing with the changes, start using those connecting pairs to move from one chord to another.  You'll need to start moving ahead of the chord change, and hit the next tone shape dead on the chord change.

Follow the page for more charts in different keys and working off different strings.

Bye bye baby

In my hallway there is a box measuring 115cm x 45cm x 16cm.  It's waiting for the courier to deliver it to it's new owner.   After almost 20 years, it's time to say goodbye.  In that box is my first ever Gibson.

I made the decision to sell because the guitar wasn't getting used, which is just wrong, and because I want to raise some cash to buy a new guitar.  But now it's sold, I have to admit to feeling a little weird about it all and, judging by my Facebook feed, so are some of my bandmates.

I have always found it odd that people get attached to objects - giving names to cars, assigning them gender, and even talking to them - but here it is happening to me.  Selling it feels like a little betrayal, a turning away. But what am I supposed to do? Hoard every musical item I've ever owned?  What is this?

Let's start with the facts.

The guitar in question is a 1997 Gibson Les Paul Special in yellow-burst with P90 pick-ups. Made in the USA.

The Specials were a mid-range alternative to the Les Paul Standards, well-made but less finesse.  The gateway drug to the heroin of Gibson guitars.

I bought it on 18 April 1998, pretty much at the insistence of our drummer.  Bungi believed our band Spirits One80, needed a heavier guitar sound than my Patrick Eggle New York Plus could deliver.  And the solid mahogany body surely delivered that - it was a beast by comparison, weighing in at nearly 7.5 kilos.  The P90s appealed to my indie sensibilities rather than going full Slash.

Over the following years, the guitar did hundreds if not thousands of hours of rehearsals, gigs, writing and recording. 


I put it through a Fender RocPro 100w amp and, if you have never done the Gibson-through-Fender thing, give it a try. The sparkle to the tone is where indie lives (imho).  Here's some of the things that we did together (he said anthropomorhising like mad).

Nostalgic rock action pic of me and 'Les'

Empty       

Complicated

Glitter Girl

Between My Knees

For a couple of years, this guitar was in my hands virtually every single day, during the period when as a band, we were making our push for the summit via the A&R couch.  So maybe it should be no surprise that I feel a pang or two of nostalgia and doubt at letting it go.  Maybe it's captured the hopes, the possibilities and the raw excitement of being in a band, even if our musical success far outweighed commercial success.  Maybe it's like a comfort blanket or the hand of a loved one - something familiar that can transport you to happy times in an instant. The muscle memory of something that just fits.

Don't tell me what I must learn...?

"Fuck you. I won't do what you tell me. " - Rage Against The Machine.

Don't you hate it when people tell you what you must do? It doesn't matter what part of my life it happens in, I can't stand it. It pushes all the wrong buttons.

Well, recently there seems to have been a massive increase in posts on YouTube and Twitter that start with .... "The 4 scales/chords/techniques/licks every guitarist must know..." or similar claptrap.

It is really poor teaching technique and shameless clickbait. 

So in retaliation, here are three things that will make sure you get what YOU really need.

1. Have fun. Play things you enjoy. For the  vast majority of guitar players, having fun is where it's at.  Learn stuff that helps you have more fun. This will help you get what you want out of playing. 

2. Songs not studies. Whatever you learn, make sure it takes you to a song that you like. Techniques are important but they are not entertainment and they don't impress anyone for longer than a few seconds, whereas a song keeps everyone happy for a few minutes. Nobody ever shouted for more techniques.

3. Ask "why do I need to learn this?". This is straight from justinguitar.com . If you don't know the answer then don't learn it until you do.  The guy from Stitch Method does/explains this really well.

That's it. Use these tips to create your own 'must learn' lists. All those other posts are mostly people rehashing stuff that THEY know rather than what YOU need.