This week's issue is packed with great guitar advice
Plus, a small request to grow our community
I know I often say there’s a ton of great links in each issue of the newsletter, but man, do I really mean it this week. This week’s issue has so much great advice from guys like Tom Bukvoac, David Brewster, Tim Lerch, and many more. We also have the 50th birthday roast of Brian Wampler, the pros and cons of CAGED, Satriani’s amp collection, and Steve Vai in your room!
One more quick thing before we get going - we’re so close to a pretty cool subscriber milestone for this newsletter. Hopefully I’ve provided you years of great guitar advice, curation and more. I’m asking now if you could share this newsletter with another guitarist or musician who might not be subscribed. Let’s help grow the community! Thanks for your support.
Let’s get into this week’s links!
This week’s guitar links!
Homeskoolin’ Volume 320, “The Hallmarks Of An Intermediate Level Guitar Player” - There are a handful of guitarists that when they put out instructional videos, I stop what I'm doing and try and soak up everything they're talking about. Tom Bukovac is one of those people, and in his latest video, he talks about 4 reasons why you might be struggling on guitar. The good news is that these are all very fixable for any guitarist, and mostly focus on not playing with so much tension, slowing down and being more intentional. Another cool video which dropped this week from Tom, was the first episode of his Class Presentation series where he critiques guitarists’ submissions. You can check that out here.
The ONLY picking exercise you'll ever need (follow along) - You can tell Pickup Music is having a blast lately in their new videos. If you want to sync your hands up, check out this video that covers the classic 1-2-3-4 exercise we know and love, but with a variation and some good advice on how to practice with a metronome or backing track.
CAGED has issues - Pickup Music (from the above link) was one of the top lesson sites singing the praises of the CAGED system. This week however, Rotem Sivan and Idan Morim talk about some of the crutches that come along with CAGED. The basic premise is that it still pays to know all the notes throughout what you're playing, rather than relying on shapes. Don't trade shapes for shapes! Who's your favorite actor? Nicolas Caged.
Soloing Secrets - Albert King - Albert King is a legend of blues guitar. In David Brewster's latest video, he pulls from 3 classic King albums to showcase 3 awesome licks. These all include King's signature bends and vibrato. If you want to have some fun with your blues licks, you should 100% check out this video.
This is Why You Suck at Guitar: Your Vibrato on Bends SUCKS! - And if you want to work on your vibrato even more, check out Ben Eller's latest video. This is one of those things that countless great guitar teachers have harped on - if your vibrato is bad, you'll sound amateurish. Same thing goes for bends fwiw!
The birthday roast of Brian Wampler - You know you're a legend in the pedal/guitar industry when you can get 35 straight minutes of roast content for your birthday. Happy 50th Birthday Brian Wampler!
Soloing With Triads In G (1-4-5) Guitar Gold! - We've talked about self imposed limitations on the newsletter in the past. That's exactly what Guthrie Trapp's new video is all about. Guthrie takes 3 strings, and allows himself to only use those strings to solo around a 1-4-5 progression. One thing I see constantly from newer players, with leads, but especially when it comes to chords, is that they’re always making such huge leaps. So much of the information you need usually lies right under a 4 fret span. Check out Guthrie's video and his archive for some great knowledge.
Tim Lerch - 5 Tips For Soloing on an 8 Bar Blues - Tim Lerch recently came out with a new book with Guitar Vivo called Melodic Blues Guitar Soloing. This video is somewhat of an exercept from that book, where Tim gives us 5 tips to solo over an 8 bar blues. Similar to Bukovac above, Tim Lerch is another incredible player who's put in thousands of hours on the guitar, whose videos I always check out.
“Create some crazy content of me performing at a historical location near you, or in a hilarious situation”: Ever wanted a private Steve Vai concert? This new app literally beams the virtuoso into your home - Ever want Steve Vai in your bedroom? Vai just put out an app for $2.99 on the App Store, where you can place a 3D model of the guitarist anywher - Vai will play “Zeuss In Chains" from his latest album. Have you picked this app up? What do you think?
“Now you can experience my amplifier treasury for yourself”: Joe Satriani has modeled his epic amp collection – including some you might not expect - Vai and Satriani are linked, so it only makes sense that Satriani also has some big news this week. Satch worked with IK Multimedia to model his amazing amp collection. Recorded at Sammy Hagar's studio, the collection boasts an insane 27 amps, with 59 individual captures. The demo tones have sounded great so far. Have you picked up this plugin yet, and if so, what do you think of it?
“It’s used for fence posts in Guatemala, and somehow that has given it a low-class reputation on the internet”: Paul Reed Smith says the materials used to make a guitar absolutely do make a difference – but not for the reason you might think - The tonewood debate rings on, from PRS (this link), and a current experiment from Guthrie Govan, which you can check out here.