Don’t have a lot of time? Here’s what to practice
Plus, help me help you!
I went away for work to Copenhagen this week, and I couldn’t wait to get back to write this week’s issue of the newsletter. Even while I was away, I was keeping up with good guitar lessons and news, so this week’s issue is jam packed.
I was also very surprised to see the results of last week’s poll, where the majority of you said keep the link commentary - with a few of you saying you’d like shorter commentary (I’ll work on that!)
It was my birthday this week, and I have one request, which I have nearly every year - can you let me know what you’re having a tough time on with guitar and music or recording/mixing? I’d love to help out. Just reply to this email, and that’d be the best present I could ever get.
I also was still posting to the blog, with new articles on why you should record yourself, how to save your progress on guitar, 3 books for intermediate players, and even an article on why guitar is good for your overall health. Would love to know what you think of these shorter posts.
Alright, let’s get into this week’s links!
This week’s guitar links!
3 Important Things to Practice on Guitar When You're Short on Time - More focused practice leads to better progress on guitar. Kerry Marshall shows us 3 smart things to work on, even if you only have a little bit of time. What's best, is this video itself is under 6 minutes, which gets right to the point of being intentional and getting to the good stuff fast.
10 Rhythm Guitar Things Everyone Gets WRONG - Apparently this week it was all about what guitarists are getting wrong, in the land of YouTube titles. If your rhythm isn't in a place where you'd like it to be, you should check out this video from Samurai Guitarist. He focuses on 10 ideas like syncing your hands, metronome usage, and even getting your gear right, so your rhythm playing doesn't sound murky. Great tips in this one.
WARNING: Here's What 97% of Guitarists Get WRONG About The CAGED System - Jon MacLennan talks about the often misunderstood CAGED system. Often with a system like this, it's easy to have misconceptions - people think it's only about the chords, or that you have to play these massive shapes to be playing CAGED. That's the farthest thing from the truth in both regards. Check out Jon clear up 3 other CAGED myths in his latest video.
Guitar triads made easy using CAGED | Pickup Music - Speaking of not having to play big CAGED shapes, Molly Miller from Pickup Music shows us how we can get super helpful and very musical triads out of this system. If you want to sign up for a Pickup membership, and help out Chasing Sound for free, you can use my link here.
Piano For Guitarists - Where Should I Start? Learn Piano Skills Today! - Levi Clay started a new series on his channel, called Piano For Guitar Players. For me, piano is one of the best tools that'll level up you as musician, and still translate over to the guitar. This is a series that I'll be keeping a close eye on.
Songs, Guitars, & Dogs: Interview & Live Session with Marcus King - Marcus King hung out with Marty Schwartz for a really fun interview session. The two played a little music, talked about guitars, influences, and even canine friends.
Mark Lettieri Talks All Things Pedals, Guitars, and Gear! - Mark Lettieri joined the Chairmen of the Boards podcast to about working with Snarky Puppy as a 3 guitar band, why learning is so important, and SO much about gear - everything from pedals to MIDI, tone and more.
The ULTIMATE Alternate Picking Workout (From Beginner To Pro) - Want to get your speed up when it comes to alternate picking? Check out this wild video, that ramps up difficulty in 10 stages, ending up in some seriously flashy 32nd note playing.
Make LISTENING An ESSENTIAL Part of Your PRACTICE Routine - I've been harping on this for years - the concept is active listening. If you want to practice without having a guitar in your hands, make listening a part of your practice routine. I can compare it to the often quoted advice that to be a good writer, you should be a voracious reader. Check out Adam Levy's video for more.
David Gilmour's blues-rock phrasing techniques lesson - I haven't seen a good David Gilmour lesson video in a while. Thankfully, Richard Barrett from Guitarist put out a great video this week, that focuses entirely on Gilmour's blues-rock licks. Later in the week, Richard did a fun video on learning Hendrix’s double-stops, which you can check out here.
Fender 70th Anniversary Strat Yngwie - Yngwie teamed up with Fender to talk all about his favorite guitars - the Fender Strat. Yngwie is doing peak Yngwie in this video, and I'm loving it. I really want to believe that Malmsteen actually has this many guitars around his household all the time in real life, and not just for a video shoot. What I also love is how much Yngwie knows about each model. Friend of the newsletter David Donaldson let me know that Chris Brooks is working on an update to his Yng Way course - looking forward to that.
Guitar Legend Paul Reed Smith Unveils Secrets - One of my favorite videos this week was Paul Reed Smith at the Chicago Music Exchange. Paul did an event there recently, and answered a ton of questions, starting with an all timer - does tonewood matter? I loved his answer.
John 5: My Five Favorite Licks - John 5 stopped by NYC to show Guitar World his five favorite licks. If you're a fan of John's playing, you'll enjoy this video. You can always tell he loves music like a Paul Gilbert, and it's interesting to see his thought process when thinking of new ideas. Later in the week, Guitar Player got John to share 5 tips for beginning-advanced guitarists, which you can check out here.
“As soon as I heard the demo, I knew it would be crucial to add rock elements”: Justus West reveals how he sneaked Tosin Abasi and Plini onto the new Beyoncé album (sort of) - I've seeing pretty cut and dry opinions on Beyonce's country album - either people dig it for bending genres, or hate the concept completely. One thing that's cool, that we as guitarists can geek out over, is some of the guitar gear used. Did you know that Justus West used an Abasi Concepts Larada, and the Neural DSP Plini plugin to get the tones for “16 Carriages”? Pretty cool. Sticking in the pop world, later in the week, Guitar.com spotlighted Taylor Swift's impact on the guitar world. You can check out that feature here. Hope her impact can inspire more and more guitar players to pick up the instrument and get started.