Mike Dawes’ Playing Is Out Of This World
Plus, a life hack that’ll snap you out of a rut
This week’s issue almost didn’t go out on time. But the fact that it did, is a good lesson on fighting “the resistance”.
I was so busy on Saturday getting things ready for Halloween, that when I had a chance to finally relax at the end of the day, it hit me that I forgot to finish editing this week’s issue. I grabbed my trusty iPad and started adding my commentary to the last couple of videos I had scheduled for the newsletter this week. When all was said and done, this week’s issue is a healthy 1350+ words!
The next time you’re struggling with getting something done on your guitar, or anything in life really, here’s what I suggest you try - give it 10 minutes. 10 minutes doesn’t seem like a monumental amount of time, and it’s small enough that it’ll break you out of any sort of procrastination. What I’ve found, is that after 10 minutes I’ll want to get more and more done. It’s that first hurdle of getting anything done at all that’s the tough part. Try it next time you’re feeling lazy, and let me know if it works for you. Alright, let’s get into this week’s links!
This week’s guitar links!
Arpeggios Made EASY! - Arpeggios allow us to hit all sorts of effective target notes. I always see students learning them as they move into their intermediate phase of learning, but often they only learn a pattern or two, and call it a day. Ben Eller put out a great video this week that shows you how to put together the most important arpeggios, and how you can link them up throughout the entire neck. This helps you get out of that one and done box shape mode.
3 Exercises to MASTER guitar ARPEGGIOS - But that’s not it for arpeggios this week, as Ry Naylor came out with a video on the topic also. In the video, he talks about 3 exercises that’ll help you work on arpeggios and get the most out of them. This combined with Ben’s video is a great set of things you should get into your practice schedule. They’ll easily help you visualize the fretboard better, and improve not only at lead playing, but at constructing chords quickly.
5 Easy Tips To JAZZ Up Your Metal Solo - Want to make your metal solos sound more sophisticated? I’ll admit it, I clicked on this because I’m a sucker for Guthrie Govan content, and he was in Justin Hombach’s thumbnail. That being said, there’s some good advice in here - things like using chromaticism, using “stretchy playing”, and more.
The Basic Jazz Chords Every Beginner Should Start With - What if you’re just getting started with jazz in general? Jens Larsen breaks down the chords you need to start with if you’re just getting started. And the great thing about this lesson is that these chords are not massive shapes that’ll contort your hand into all different shapes. These are shell chords, which anyone can learn and get into their songwriting right away.
Intervals: The Easy Way!! - If you’re learning chords, you should also learn intervals, and learn why they’re so important. Which are the key intervals that really make up emotion in a chord, what are the target notes we should all be hitting, and is there an easy way to start hearing these intervals? Thankfully, the answer to that last question is yes, with Chris Sherland breaking down the concept in his latest video.
Mike Dawes Plays "The Impossible!" WTF? - There are acoustic guitar players, and then there are guys like Mike Dawes…who uses the entirety of the instrument to make otherworldly songs. Dawes stopped by Rick Beato’s studio to play a couple tracks off his new album, talk about the intricacies of his songwriting, a bit of gear talk and more.
How To Deal With Chromatic Passing Chords - Chromatic chords throw a monkey wrench into students’ lead lines when they first encoun them. Thankfully, we have a helpful new video from Jack Ruch that guides us in what you can play over chromatic passing chords. Even if you’re not playing over these types of progressions right now, Jack’s thought process is worth your time either way.
Your Practice Routine Sucks! Do You NEED A Structured Practice Routine To Improve at Guitar? - I’m a big fan of John Cordy’s videos - I think they’re a good mix of gear demos and educational videos. For this video, if you want to get right to the good stuff right away, use the chapters feature on YouTube. This video has some good tips on getting the most out of your practice routine. Cordy talks about noodling, picking up a guitar for a little bit each day, and how most practice is better than none at all (even if it isn’t perfect).
“You have to be secure in yourself. I'm not intimidated to tell you to buy a Keeley pedal. If that tears my business apart, then my business sucks”: How Josh Scott built one of the world’s leading pedal firms by recommending his rivals - There’s a lot to admire about Josh Scott from JHS. He’s definitely one of the good guys of the pedal industry, and I’m glad to say we share an outlook on competition in our industry. First and foremost, check out this great GW post on how Josh built JHS. But the point I’m getting at and that the article talks about, is how a rising tide lifts all boats. Rather than compete, it’s great to work with other people in the industry and do well together, rather than on an island. If you think about it, that’s the entire premise of this newsletter - pushing the best guitar content I found each week, no matter who it’s from. And why I also like recommending other music newsletters on Substack - check out
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From “vicious” lines inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan to ice-cold leads in the style of Albert Collins, Philip Sayce channels the blues licks of the greats – and his masterclass will supercharge your pentatonic solos - Philip Sayce is one of the most fiery blues guitarists out there. Guitar World put together an awesome lesson on his playing with six ideas in the vein style of SRV and more. If you’re looking for some awesome licks that are totally learnable (with tab), check this lesson out.
The Fender Stratocaster: A Short History - Five Watt World is remaking some of his biggest “Short History” videos. This one is all about the Strat, and now has better audio, 4K video, and some great Strat playing throughout the short documentary. I’m excited to see what next video FWW refreshes.
Guitar Player magazine announces the end of its print edition - I speculated on this a few issues back when I first heard the rumors, but now Guitar Player has officially said that their print version will release its last issue next week. Jimmy Page will grace the cover of the final magazine, and it’s sure to be a collectors issue. If you click the link, you can check out editor in chief Chris Scapelliti’s final editorial. I will for sure miss this amazing magazine, and I’m hoping they keep the website going strong for years to come.
Quick Hitters
Dream Theater - Night Terror (Official Video) - Dream Theater’s first new music with Mike Portnoy back in the fold was released this week. The song “Night Terror” is classic Dream Theater - with epic drum fills, killer riffs by Petrucci, amazing keys lines from Rudess, and much more. I’m glad this lineup is back together making music.
David Gilmour's strap breaks onstage during Comfortably Numb – and is fixed just in time for his guitar solo - Yeah, but is this as good as BB fixing his own darn string? Maybe I should start making a top 10 of these things.
“An aquarium first and a guitar second”: Luthier builds electric guitar that doubles as a fish tank – and it plays surprisingly well - Just when you thought you’ve seen every sort of custom guitar….