Richard Barrett

Richard Barrett

As well as a longtime contributor to Guitarist and Guitar Techniques, Richard is Tony Hadley’s longstanding guitarist, and has worked with everyone from Roger Daltrey to Ronan Keating.

Articles by: Richard Barrett

Jeff Beck wears mirrored aviators and plays his white Strat with the reversed neck

“Jeff was extremely adept with a bottleneck, but he could also manipulate the whammy to get a slide effect when the mood took him”: How Jeff Beck made his whammy bar sound like a slide – his soloing secrets revealed

By Richard Barrett published

Nobody could bend notes like Beck – he took a glissando approach to blues-rock guitar, using the whammy bar when others might have used a slide

Gary Moore goes wild with a red Stratocaster

He was one player with a Les Paul, another altogether with a Strat – from heartbreaking vibrato to fire-breathing leads, Gary Moore was one of the blues’ most versatile guitarists

By Richard Barrett published

This Gary Moore lesson teaches you two sides to the late blues icon’s playing

Boss Katana Artist Gen 3

“Lots of thought has gone into this. There’s a learning curve involved, but getting through that and turning this up in a room is a rewarding experience”: Boss Katana Artist Gen 3 review

By Richard Barrett published

The flagship amp from Boss’s latest iteration of the Katana series boasts some impressive-sounding features, for use from sofa to stage

Mark Knopfler wears a headband and plays a red Telecaster

Using the CAGED system in conjunction with pentatonic scales can open up the fretboard – and offer an escape route from cliched blues licks

By Richard Barrett published

Breaking these well-known chord shapes down into single notes or triads creates a road map for experimentation, improvisation and an escape route from cliched licks

Mesa/Boogie Mark VII 1x12 Combo

“Can genuinely hold its own in any genre, with direct tones that stand up to market-leading amp modelers”: Mesa/Boogie Mark VII 1x12 Combo review

By Richard Barrett published

How can Mesa/Boogie possibly have improved on the Mark V so much that it skipped the Mark VI? Join us as we plug in and find out

David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust plays an acoustic with a soundhole mounted pickup

5 easy ways to make open chords more interesting

By Richard Barrett published

Players such as David Bowie and Joni Mitchell have deployed alternate voicings to great effect in their songwriting, and they can be a powerful songwriting tool to have under your belt

Guitar playing

5 weird chord shapes that will add mystery, suspense and drama to your songwriting

By Richard Barrett published

Aspiring film soundtrack artists, apply within, because with high drama, sometimes you need something more exotic than an open G...

A B/W image of David Gilmour performs with Pink Floyd in 1977, playing his Black Strat

David Gilmour didn’t just take the blues and transform it into epic psychedelic prog – he changed the way we play guitar solos

By Richard Barrett published

Here are four tabbed out examples of how Gilmour’s approach changed the way we play the blues, and it’ll whip your phrasing and feel into shape

Pat Martino plays his Gibson signature guitar onstage at North Sea Jazz Festival

The tritone substitution is a staple of jazz guitar that’s been used by the greats. Here’s how you can use it to quite literally jazz up your chord progressions

By Richard Barrett published

Tritone substitutions are jazz theory 101 – and you don't need a degree from Berklee to put them into practice

Joni Mitchell sitting cross-legged with her Martin acoustic

30 open tuning chords you need to know

By Richard Barrett published

Expand your guitar vocab with chord ideas for Double Drop D, Open G, DADGAD, Open D and Open C tunings, favorite tunings for Keith Richards, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Page and more

Andy Summers, live onstage with the Police at Reading Festival, 1979

Dissonant guitar chords: 5 voicings that will add suspense and tension to your playing

By Richard Barrett published

The Asus2(addb5) might sound mind-boggling, but it's easy to play, sounds fascinating, and is one of five voicings to add to your chord vocabulary

Bill Nelson

“I got this tremendous electric shock and fell off stage. I came round with people saying, ‘Are you okay?’ and ‘Is your guitar insured?’” Art-rock’s elder statesman Bill Nelson on his wildest guitar stories – and why he still swears by the Line 6 POD

By Richard Barrett published

The Be-Bop Deluxe icon invites us into his guitar-packed home to talk about his endless drive to write and record, his six-string war stories, and why he hasn’t used guitar amps for years

Joni Mitchell plays the Community Center in Berkley, CA. 1974. She is playin a Martin dreadnought

“There’s nothing wrong with a good honest E, C# minor or B, but sometimes it’s nice to give things a twist”: Make like Joni Mitchell, Steve Hackett and Steve Howe and freshen up your chords with alternative voicings

By Richard Barrett published

By incorporating open strings, you can give your chords more color and keep the ear interested. Here are five voicings that are certified fresh

Buddy Guy, live onstage with his Stratocaster in 2023

Learn the greatest licks from over 100 years of trailblazing blues guitarists, from Robert Johnson to B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales and more

By Richard Barrett published

These 15 must-learn licks take you from blues guitar's acoustic beginnings to its electric present day

Brian Setzer (left) jamming with Lee Rocker of Stray Cats: Setzer has a masterful repertoire of jazz-inspired rock 'n' roll chords

5 rock ’n’ roll ending chords you need to know

By Richard Barrett published

These jazz-inspired chords will class up any set. Simply add to the conclusion of your jam, et voila!

Lonnie Mack plays a Flying V live onstage in 1985

Lonnie Mack is an unsung hero in the development of the modern guitar solo – learn the blues guitar pyrotechnics that lit a fire under Stevie Ray Vaughan

By Richard Barrett published

A key influence on SRV classics such as Scuttle Buttin', Lonnie Mack's trailblazing style is worth another look

A person plays a guitar

6 simple but super-effective ways to make easy chords sound great

By Richard Barrett published

Simply rearranging the notes can make basic chords sound infinitely more exciting

Alan Murphy

“Take Jeff Beck, David Gilmour and Allan Holdsworth – Alan should be seen as being in that company”: Remembering the late Alan Murphy, the player Fender trusted as a tone consultant, who played with Kate Bush, Go West, and more

By Richard Barrett published

As November 2023 would have marked Alan Murphy’s 70th birthday, we look back at the man and his music, with personal recollections from the collaborators who knew him best

Nile Rodgers performs onstage

Banish stock phrases with these smart triad chord ideas

By Richard Barrett published

It is all too easy to fall into familiar patterns when playing, but these five triads prove that it's just as easy to break out of them and find a fresh perspective on your playing

Mark Knopfler is a dab hand at incorporating chord shapes in his lead playing

Understanding alternative chord shapes and inversions can have massive benefits for your lead playing – take a break from scales and give your solos a boost by incorporating these shapes

By Richard Barrett published

Step away from your usual scales by peppering your leads with some smart new chord shapes

Alex Lifeson

Introducing contrasting open chords – the open-string shapes used by the likes of Alex Lifeson and Jeff Buckley in some of their dreamiest guitar parts

By Richard Barrett published

What is a contrasting open chord? It's simply an open chord that combines high-fretted notes and open strings, and it can be used to great effect on acoustic or electric guitar

John Mayer performs with Pino Palladino as part of the John Mayer Trio at the Jazz Foundation of America's 15th Annual 'A Great Night in Harlem' Gala Concert at the Apollo Theater in New York City on October 27, 2016.

If you're playing in a blues trio, you have an awful lot of freedom with your guitar parts – here's how to make the most of being the only guitar player in the band

By Richard Barrett published

These major-sounding blues ideas are ideal for those situations where you've only got the drummer and bass player for company

British musician Jimmy Page, of rock group the Firm, plays guitar as he performs onstage at the Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 7, 1985.

DADGAD guitar tuning: an introduction to the (not quite) open tuning favored by Jimmy Page

By Richard Barrett published

Here are five ideas to get started with DADGAD tuning, so you can get on with the important business of writing the next Kashmir

Closeup of hands playing guitar

Bored with pentatonics? This lesson in superimpositions will make you think again

By Richard Barrett published

Get more out of the guitarist’s favorite scale and make it sound fresh again by learning how the notes relate to each other and their underlying chords

Brad Paisley

Crosspicking is an advanced picking technique that will lend your licks an authentic country flavor – test your picking skills with this lesson

By Richard Barrett published

You can apply crosspicking techniques to all kinds of styles, from country to the blues, bluegrass and more