You gotta move it, or lose it
Plus, 5 ways to keep your guitar in tune
This week’s issue has lots of great videos and lessons - do you have a couch guitar laying around? It might be the best thing you do for your playing to have a guitar always at the ready. Have you ever had someone ask you to play something and you instantly forget everything you’ve ever known about guitar? When you learn licks, do you try and play them all over the neck? All this, and more is in this week’s issue!
As a heads up, I’m filling up my schedule for guitar students in the fall. If you’d like to learn about guitar, recording/mixing or more, you can hit me up here. Let's get into this week's links!
You know ‘em, you love ‘em…it’s this week’s guitar links!
- This happens to EVERY guitarist at some point... - You ever have one of those moments where someone asks you to play something on guitar, and you instantly turn into a deer in the headlights?
- The Only Guitar EVERYONE Should Have (the couch guitar) - I have a guitar sitting out on my chair for this exact reason. If you want to play, and create the habit of learning and playing guitar all the time, you need a couch guitar!
- How I Made A Song (Reasons Why Ep. 1) - I'm a huge fan of Ariel Posen. If you want to listen to how he created the first 3 singles from his upcoming album ‘Reasons Why’, check out his latest video. Ariel breaks down everything from rhythm and lead guitar parts, to bass, keyboards, drums and more. I love this behind the scenes look at song creation and recording.
- Steve Lukather vs Rob Chapman - Who Is Right About Magic Gear? - John Cordy talks about a couple of recent posts by Steve Lukather and Rob Chapman. Lukather makes the case that gear isn't magic, while Chapman noted that some gear could really resonate with the player, and stir up a little magic. What's your take on this? Have you had a piece of gear - a guitar, an amp, heck maybe even a stompbox that gave you a little bit of magic?
- 5 Reasons Your Guitar will NOT Stay in Tune...and One Guitar That is ALWAYS in Tune! - Is your guitar going out of tune all the time? Darrell Braun has you covered this week, with 5 tips on how to fix one of the most common problems that plagues most guitarists.
- Move It Or Lose It - I loved this lesson from Chris Sherland. Do you really know a riff or a lick if you can't move it all over the fretboard? Chris takes an easy approach to this concept by starting with a simple D chord and moves it all over the fretboard. This is another reason why it's so important to learn triads all over the neck. We've actually been talking about this a bit in the Chasing Sound Discord. If you'd like to join us, click this link.
- JOHN PETRUCCI GUITAR UNIVERSE 4.0 VLOG - It was so cool to see Ola Englund's vlog of John Petrucci's Guitar Universe 4.0 camp. You had Ola, Petrucci, Zakk Wylde, Guthrie Govan, and many more. If you want a look into what took place during the camp, this is a fun video to watch. I need to get the funds to go to one of these!
- Once You KNOW This TRICK..Hendrix Is EASY - A Hendrix guitar lesson by Tim Pierce? You know I watched it right away. Tim takes a couple of Jimi's best songs, and explains some of those epic rhythm parts.
- Robbie Robertson, guitarist for Bob Dylan, the Band, dies at 80 - We lost Robbie Robertson this week at 80 years old. Not only was he known for his work in The Band who backed up Dylan, but he released a great catalog of solo albums and worked on soundtracks as well. If you haven't watched The Last Waltz, you need to fix that immediately! One of the most classic concert films of all time. I still put it on at least yearly in my household.
- Jimi Hendrix Did It Rarely While Jimmy Page Did It All the Time: Here's What You Need to Know About Layering Guitars - Looking to make your guitars sound huge? You need to try layering guitar parts. But before you do, check out these 5 tips from Guitar Player magazine. It's easy to mindlessly layer tracks and ultiamtely make your guitar sound terrible. Using these 5 tips, you'll get a sound that you can be proud of.
- How to Tap Like Eddie Van Halen - After watching Wolfgang Van Halen's Mammoth on the Metallica tour, I’m back on a Van Halen kick (truth is, I'm always listening to Van Halen in some form). GP recently broke down the tapping style of EVH, with a couple of licks that incorporate bends, tapping and more (all with tab!) Speaking of Van Halen, if you're a fan of the Sammy Hagar era, the band’s just announced “The Collection II”. The first song you can listen to, is the newly remastered “Humans Being”, which you can check out here.
Hey did you know, not only do I talk guitar each week, but I also teach it!
Try out a 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!