The secret to being a happy guitarist
This issue is packed with great guitar advice
And we’re back! After a 1 week vacation and some time in Chicago, I’m officially back in action for the Six String Sunday newsletter. While I was in Chicago, I got to spend some time with long time friend of Chasing Sound, Simon Allaway (check out Simon’s channel). I was able to visit Chicago Music Exchange, eat some delicious pizza, play fun guitars, and have a genuinely great time. Thanks for that, I hope we get to do it again soon!
I also met a great guy on the flight into Chicago, where we talked about everything from jam bands to sports and more. Meeting awesome people is my favorite part of travel - even if on the way home I was stuck at the airport during a tornado warning, and got home at 3 a.m. 😴 If the newsletter sounds a little loopy (I'm writing this on Thursday), go easy on me.
There are a ton of great lessons in this week’s issue, with some of the best advice from a lot of great players. I think you’re really going to enjoy this issue.
Let’s get into this week’s links!
This week’s links!
- The Secret To Being A Happy Guitarist ft. @RhettShull - Samurai Guitarist and Rhett Shull made one of the best videos of the week, talking all about how you can be happier as a guitarist. This video has some truly solid advice. The fun part about this video is that the advice can be applied to many walks of life.
- 10 Guitarists Solo Over the Same Track! [2023] - Paul Davids has gathered some of the most amazing players to solo over a fantastic A minor backing track. The solos are all great, but my favorite part of this video is hearing the thought process the players had when coming up with ideas for their solos. If you want to solo over the track yourself, you can check out this link. Later in the week, the YouTube channel Nasty Soul broke down the backing track even further, and talked about hitting the chord changes, and why the chords themselves are so great. You can check that video out here.
- Top 20 Rhythm Guitar Parts of All Time - I really enjoyed this video from Rick Beato. He plays 20 awesome rhythm parts, featuring stuff like “Let's Dance" and “Neon" to “Walk This Way". I'm a sucker for list videos, because every once in a while I hear a song or player I don't know, and even if I do know all the songs, the video serves as a reminder for me to go back to songs I might not have listened to in a while.
- Can Mateus Asato Outplay The BEATLES?!?! Let It Be TAB - Levi Clay tabbed Mateus Asato doing “Let It Be". Asato is on an entirely different level with his style of playing.
- Mastering Mixolydian - Mixolydian is without a doubt one of my most used modes. Late Night Lessons breaks down why the mode is so great in his latest episode of Scales & Tales. If you already know stuff like Ionian and Aeolian, minor and major pentatonic, I'd recommend this as the next mode you get to grips with. It can be used in so many scenarios, and only requires you to make a small shift to the major scale you might already know.
- 5 Must-Know Blues Scales - Speaking of scales, if you want to gain more knowledge on scales you'd typically use in the blues, check out this video from Joe Robinson. He talks about maj/min pentatonic, mixolydian, the blues scale and the bebop dominant scale.
- Episode 1 of Shred With Shifty - Alex Lifeson - Chris Shiflett's new podcast is finally here, and what a first guest - Alex Lifeson! Alex talks about Rush, different gear he's used over the years, and ultimately breaks down his solo to “Limelight". I love the format of this podcast. Later in the week, the tables were turned and Chris got interviewed by Michael Palmisano, which you can check out here.
- This Legato Pattern Transformed my Playing - The Power of Permutations - If you want to work on your legato playing, check out this great video from John Cordy. You can kill two birds with one stone, by working on your legato and 3NPS pentatonic playing.
- 3 SECRETS for INSTANTLY Better Guitar Playing NO ONE Talks About! Instant Progress - I always have a good time watching Jay Parmar's videos - not only is he a fantastic player, he also has some killer looking guitars. In his latest video, Jay talks about 3 bits of advice to become a better player, that all focuses around storytelling, being conversational in your music creation and more.
- The Captain Meets Justin Derrico! (P!nk, The Voice) - Justin Derrico is a monster player. Not only has he played with Pink, he also learned a ridiculous amount of songs to be the guitarist on The Voice. Justin sat down with The Captain over at Andertons to talk about gear, an upcoming solo album, and much more.
- THE 5 Skills That Makes You A Pro Guitar Player (5 secrets only the pros know) - This is the first time I'm linking to Rotem Sivan, and I'm so happy I found his channel. This video focuses on going deeper behind the theory of what you're playing. I love these types of thoughtful videos. This one in particular is filled with helpful ideas that I'm going to consider for my own playing/practice.
- Is This a NEW LEVEL of SHRED?! - Ben Eller breaks down an absolutely insane string skipping pattern from Spiro Dussias. I'm going to try my hand at learning this, this weekend. Wish me luck!
- How To Sound Better Than you Actually Are. (The Legends Do This) - Robert Baker gives some great advice on how to sound better by leaving more space in your playing. It might sound counterintuitive, but if you let your lead lines breathe, it not only gives you more time to think, but it helps you sound more confident, and really controls the dynamics and storyline of your lead playing.
- 5 ways to improve your guitar arpeggios - Whether it be the Edge, Johnny Marr or countless other great texture-focused players, most of them use arpeggios effectively. If you want some great arpeggio exercises to try in your playing, check out this fun lesson from Guitar World, with audio and tab too!
- Spürr Audio Time Traveler Delay - I'm a huge back to the future fan, and I truly need this in my life.
Hey did you know, not only do I talk guitar each week, but I also teach it!
Try out half an hour to see how much you can learn when you know the right things to practice. Whether you want to learn guitar, recording, mixing or more, I can help you out!