Eric Haugen on why it’s so important to play for the song

Plus, an amazing lesson on Gilmour from Brett Papa

Photo by Ash Edmonds on Unsplash

How’s it going this week for ya? I’ve finally had some time to get back to playing guitar. During all the holiday sales I picked up a few new plugins for my DAW, so I’ve been having a ton of fun trying out new sounds. I went a little crazy picking up Neural DSP plugins, so I’ve been trying everything from the Cory Wong amps to Mateus Asato, Plini and more. I plan to do a video on each one, and why I love them so much. Did you pick up anything cool for Black Friday or cyber Monday? Let me know! Alright, let’s get into these links.

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This week’s guitar links!

• What Happens When You Combine Gilmour, SRV, Van Halen, and Hendrix Over A Pink Floyd Style Jam Track - This lesson from Brett Papa is one of my favorite of the week. It heavily leans in to why David Gilmour is so great, and also brings in other guitarists throughout the lesson, but what I loved most is the easily explained theory throughout the video. All of it focuses a bit on CAGED, but eases you in. Great video to check out if you have a spare hour or so.

• The BEST Way to Improve Your Solos - I loved this quick lesson from Kerry Marshall. He takes a vocal melody and then makes it his own, and shows how to place it over a new progression. The best part about this, is that it puts you in a different mindset - you start by listening to more music (always a good thing), but then you truly think about the melody and why it works. Then you apply it in your own way to different chord progressions. For extra credit, you could also move it around to different keys.

• Why Guitarists DON'T Improve (And How To Fix It!) - If you don't feel like you're making progress, Ben Eunson makes the case that you might have to break out of your comfort zone and apply structured practice. I'm all for both of these tips, as I feel like they make a big difference. Ben has some other tips regarding other ways you might get stuck in a rut. Check out the full video for more!

• Visualising the fretboard: YOU vs THE PROS - This video from Nick at LickLibrary is well worth your time. It covers visualizing the fretboard in a way you may not already be doing. Rather than using box shapes and traditional methods, Nick talks about understanding the formulas behind what you're playing. And if you want even more help with visualizing the fretboard, you should also check out these 3 exercises from Ross Campbell.

• How to Play For The Song - If you want to mesh well with your band, it’s important to play for the song. Eric Haugen breaks out a sweet sounding Vox guitar and shows us the various elements of not overplaying - when to dig in, when to play more sparsely, why triads are such great chords, and much more.

• Super Charge Your Blues Rhythm Skills! - This is a fun video from Jack Ruch. He talks about how to build up a great sounding blues rhythm - Jack starts with some 9th chords, throws in some tasty fills, and by the end, has it sounding awesome.

• How Jerry Cantrell Came up with Alice In Chains’ “Them Bones” - I liked revisiting this clip of Beato's interview with Jerry Cantrell. In the clip Jerry talks about how he came up with the iconic riff/feel of "Them Bones". They also talk about how Jerry and the late Layne Staley's choices in music informed their songwriting and singing.

• Chordplay - Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry - Ted Greene was a legend in the guitar education scene. Books like Chord Chemistry and all his jazz guitar studies have been on countless music stands throughout the years. I'm sure his study materials influenced other great players and teachers like Tim Lerch, Adam Levy and more. In this video, David Brewster offers up a "sampler platter" of ideas from Ted's Chord Chemistry. If you enjoy this type of stuff, definitely look into all of Ted's books!

• The Captain Meets Greg Koch! - I’ve been listening to Greg Koch’s playing for over 20 years, and it never gets old. I can’t imagine the amount of notes he’s played in his lifetime - whether it’s on an album, gigging, or demoing all sorts of gear. Greg is one of those guys you can learn countless tasty lick ideas from, and some great technique stuff too. He’s always thinking of some new way to make the guitar sound fun. He recently sat down with Andertons to talk about touring, his new everything pedal, what his favorite guitars are, and a lot more.

• The 10 Chord Shapes that PRO Jazz Guitarists Use! - I feel like the biggest thing that new guitarists are up against, is that they don't know what they don't know. This video from Chase Maddox goes over 10 chord shape you should learn as a jazz guitarist. What's even better is substituting these shapes for common chord shapes in other genres.

• My Inside/Outside Picking Shred-Along Workout w/TABs! - I can’t think of a better dude to practice along with, than Uncle Ben Eller. Check out this super helpful inside/outside shred workout, that’s sure to help you not get stuck in between the strings.