Beato interviews Al Di Meola, 5 pro tips to be a better guitarist
Plus my thoughts on the PRS Silver Sky SE
How have you been liking the newsletter over the past couple of weeks? I’m always looking to get feedback on your favorite stories, and what you’d like to see more or less of in it. Comment on this post or reply to the email depending on where you’re reading it.
Was missing doing the YouTube live stuff, so I hopped on for about a half hour to share some of my favorite guitar stories, and tell you how much I love the PRS Silver Sky SE and the Fractal FM3. You can check out the replay here.
As usual, I have a lot of fun links to share with you this week - from exciting interviews, to pro tips, lessons and more. Let’s get into it!
The Al Di Meola Interview - Epic hour and a half long interview with Al Di Meola. Rick Beato asks him some solid questions, and the two go between talking about guitar and actually playing. Ever since way back in the Guitar Trio days, where Al joined Paco De Lucia and John McLaughlin, I’ve loved his playing. If you’ve never heard that album, go check it out!
🎸 Greg Koch Guitar Lick Lesson 3 - Diminished Lick - TrueFire - TrueFire has been putting up a handful of licks from Greg Koch’s latest course. Greg is one of my favorite players, and must have logged thousands of hours at this point. This video features a very cool diminished lick.
Amp FAQ: What’s the difference between high and low inputs on an amp anyway? | Guitar.com | All Things Guitar - This is a really great explainer post on a question I’m sure many of us have had over the years.
How you need to start practicing guitar - Animated Licks of Mika Tyyskä - Linking to Mika again, because I’ve been pushing this concept for years. If you hate practicing, don’t worry, just make it musical! In the video Mika has us practicing over a jam track with stuff he’s just learned - different patterns, techniques, picking mechanics, etc.
Dave Weiner from Steve Vai’s band gives you 5 pro tips to be a better guitarist - no guitar needed! - Dave Weiner has been a staple in Vai’s band for a long, long time, so he knows a thing or two about playing guitar. In this video, Dave offers some sage advice on being a better guitar player. This is all great mindset related stuff.
Mateus Asato covers Africa - Mateus Asato is almost unfairly great at melodic guitar. Check out his short take on Toto’s “Africa”.
The forgotten art of the semitone bend - Denny Ilett shows us why the semitone bend is still so awesome, and can lead to a more vocal sounding guitar line.
You NEED to learn this Sweeping Arpeggio [even if you don’t Sweep Pick it…] - I had fun playing this sweep/economy picked arpeggio that Johnathan Cordy posted earlier this week. Really cool shape to learn.
Robben Ford - Chicago Blues Guitar Lesson #1: SHUFFLE IN G - Shuffles are one of the classic styles of the blues. In this vid, Robben Ford shows us how to play a blues shuffle starting on G major. I always love how Robben lets us choose our own way to adapt his lessons to whatever is most comfortable for our own individual playing styles.
I Stopped Using Guitar Tabs And THIS Happened! - David Wallimann has an experiment for us this week - ditch the tabs for a bit, and activate your ear to learn songs and licks. If you’ve relied on tabs for too long, you owe it to yourself to take a break, sing some melodies, and hone your ear.
Tested: Where Does The Tone Come From In An Electric Guitar String? - Jim Lill has been doing some awesome tests of tone in his last couple vids. What does he prove in his latest one on guitar strings? To me, that they really sound very similar to each other! Now, feel is a different thing all together, but if you’re worried about the tone coming out of a string, I think this video will have you worrying a lot less. Later in the week, I also enjoyed this video by MusicIsWin, where he talks about when you should change strings.
Guthrie Govan Style Dorian Lick | Spicy Licks #16 - It’s no secret that Guthrie Govan is my absolute favorite player. So when I saw Ross Campbell doing a very Guthrie style dorian lick, I clicked right away.
Yvette Young Demos Her Signature Ibanez Electric - I like things that are nice…and friends, Yvette Young’s orange sparkle signature Ibanez is nice. I linked to her release vid with Ibanez when the guitar first came out, but I still enjoyed watching her demo the guitar more for Sweetwater.
Re-Creating The Green Day Dookie Guitar Tone! - I feel like all my friends and I had Green Day’s ‘Dookie’ back in the day - I still remember its awesome cover art, and brown jewel case trim. I had a lot of fun watching Ryan from Riffs, Beards and Gear recreate the album’s guitar tone.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading Six String Sunday!
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