The Amazon Prime Day sale isn’t really the place to pick up a new guitar or amplifier (unless you’re a beginner), but it is a great place to pick up essentials for maintaining your instrument. As a regularly gigging guitar player, I frequently have to work on my own instruments, as the rough and tumble of consistent playing means things get knocked out of place or naturally need a tune-up over time.

I’ve been doing this for about twenty years now, and over that time, I’ve accumulated a bunch of essential tools that I keep in a carry case that stays in my gig bag. It comes with me to every show, recording session, and rehearsal to ensure I’m always ready should the need arise to adjust. Since we’re in the midst of the Prime Day guitar deals, it’s a great time for you to get your guitar tool kit up and running.

Setting up your own guitar is a skill I think every guitarist should learn. I spent five years in retail, and I was shocked at how many people came in just to get their guitar strings changed! You know your guitar best, so unless you’ve got a major issue, I think you should set up your own instrument to get it playing exactly how you want.

Here are 8 essential guitar tools I can’t do without, plus a bonus 9th for those who are just getting started with setting up their guitars.

Shop all the Prime Day guitar deals

• Amazon: All Prime Day guitar deals
• Guitars: Save on beginner guitars
• Amps & pedals: Save big on fresh tones
• Accessories: Strings, slides, straps, and more

More retailer sales

• 🇺🇸 Best US sales
• B&H Photo: Money off pro audio
• Guitar Center: Early 4th of July sale
• Guitar Tricks: 1 month for $1
• IK Multimedia: 50% off software coupon
• Musician's Friend: Up to 60% off gear
• Native Instruments: Up to 30% software savings
• Positive Grid: Spark Summer Sale
• Plugin Boutique: 100s of plugin discounts
• Reverb: B-stock deals
• Sweetwater: Big savings on guitar gear
• Universal Audio: Paradise Guitar studio $99
• Waves: Plugins for just $34.99

• 🇬🇧 Best UK sales
• Thomann: Shop the huge Thomann Music Days sale
• Gear 4 Music: Big clearance savings
• GuitarTricks: Half-price annual plan
• Plugin Boutique: Huge software savings
• Waves: Sale on studio staples

In crafting the primary riffs for Spiritbox songs, I’ll often combine aggressively strummed, atonal power chords with fast single-note phrases and some hammer-ons and pull-offs. A good example of this approach is heard in Angel Eyes, from our 2023 EP The Fear of Fear.

I play this song on a seven-string guitar in the tuning I use most often, which is drop-A transposed down a minor 3rd, commonly referred to as “drop F#” (low to high: F#, C#, F#, B, E, G#, C#).

Angel Eyes is an unapologetically heavy track that’s pretty simple, in terms of the fret hand. It’s more of a pick-hand exercise, in terms of the rhythmic precision required to give the riffs the right amount of intensity.

Figure 1 shows the verse riff, which combines eighth- and 16th-note rhythms. In bars 1-3, I play palm-muted two-note chords on the bottom two strings, with the 6th string open and the 7th string fretted at the 1st fret. These two notes form a b5 interval (Bb and E), which has an atonal sound.

In bar 4, on beats 3 and 4, I perform a series of hammer-ons and slides on the 7th and 5th strings that roll into bar 5. I follow this with a pair of strummed natural harmonics (N.H.) on the top three strings, located a point a little ways past the 3rd fret, as indicated by 3.2.

I use a moderate amount of palm-muting here, so that the strings aren’t too choked. I like the notes to sustain a bit, which goes hand in hand with how much force I’m using while striking the strings. My suggestion is to pick really hard and dig in with the pick hand.

Figure 2 focuses on the quick hammer-on/slide phrase from bar 4 of Figure 1. I fret the notes on the 7th string with my index finger and the notes on the 5th string with my middle finger. To make the riff “pop,” I palm-mute the 7th string while allowing the notes on the 5th string to ring.

Figure 3 illustrates the chorus riff. In bars 1-4, after initially sounding the open low A note, I play Bb octave shapes on the 7th and 5th strings, followed by Bb octaves on the 6th and 4th strings, sliding up to the 6th fret on the 6th string each time. In bar 4, the phrase ends with a gradual whole-step bend at the 5th fret on the 6th string.

In bars 5-8, I drop the phrase down a half-step, sounding an A octave on the 7th and 5th strings, followed by additional A notes higher up the fretboard, including a fast slide up to the 12th fret of the 7th string.

The first seven bars then repeat, and in bar 9 of the example, I close out the phrase with alternating two-note b5 power chords on the bottom two strings, before restating the first two bars of the verse riff.

There’s a lot of string-skipping here. Strive to jump between the strings with economy of movement. The goal is to make the octaves sound as clear and seamless as possible. Try to keep your pick hand moving quickly and decisively throughout the figure.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Pinch harmonics are one of the most exciting and expressive sounds on the guitar. They can be used to add aggressive squeals to riffs and leads (think Billy Gibbons and Zakk Wylde) or produce different pitches off a single note for melodic application (a la Steve Vai and Eric Johnson).

Put simply, playing pinch harmonics involves a combination of the pick and the side of the picking hand thumb making almost simultaneous contact with a string during a down pick. There are many areas along a string that can produce a harmonic in this way, but they're commonly favored above the pickups which suits where the picking hand is naturally positioned when playing.

When starting out, sounding pinch harmonics can seem elusive. This is because you're aiming to combine the 'pick and side of thumb' technique while exploring exactly where the best harmonics are. Initially, you will find the process a hit and miss affair (especially if you're varying open strings and fretted notes) until you chance across a your first few successes.

This is part of the joy (and frustration) of playing them. Some will sound partially (often called semi-pinch harmonics), others will be bold and screaming. With a developing technique and armed with a distorted amp and the bridge pickup selected (a humbucker tends to be more fruitful than a conventional single coil), you will find where the juicy harmonic spots are along a string.

Over time, your ratio of 'squealers versus snifflers' with improve, allowing your guitar to scream at will more consistently.

Pinch Harmonics - getting them to squeal

To achieve a great pinch harmonic, angle the pick so after you pass the string, the side of the thumb can lightly make contact. This is all done as one movement that occurs very quickly. As for velocity, aim for medium to strong force when picking - harmonic screamers are less likely to happen with light contact.

Exiting the string with the pick may take some practice; while you want to make string contact with the thumb, you don’t want it to accidentally mute the string which will create a dead sounding note so watch out for this.

Examples

Example 1 - One open string to sound two pinch harmonic notes

This example shows the fundamental approach to pinch harmonics. The tab shows just a low E note played on the open sixth string but with two pitches in the notation.

Using the pinch harmonics technique, you will sound a low E and then a higher E by moving the pick's position from the neck pickup (shown as 'neck' above the tab) to the middle pickup ('mid' shown above the tab). Spend time experimenting with different positions until you find the sweet spots for clear E note pinch harmonics.

Example 2 - One open string to sound four pinch harmonic notes

Here, you will expand on example 1 by sounding four different notes: two different octaves of the E note as well as G# and B.

First practice locating your exact picking points so the notes all sound clear, then engage with the exercise so you can perform this within a specific rhythmic context.

Master these notes and you'll likely be astounded that you achieve so much without the fretting hand being involved at all!

Example 3 - Riffing with fretted note pinch harmonics

Here's a short riff incorporating the pinch harmonic technique applied to fretted notes. It is primarily based around E minor pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D), pedaling off the open sixth string.

The pinch harmonics in the riff scream out, resulting in a very dynamic and exciting delivery. Be sure to spend time perfecting the picking hand positions where you get the pinch harmonics.

At the end (bar 9) you will shift the position of the pick from the middle pickup to the neck pickup to sound different harmonic pitches on the open sixth string.

Example 4 - Soloing with pinch harmonics

Here's a short melodic solo that includes pinch harmonics to achieve different pitches. Those achieved with pinch harmonics help to underpin the accompanying chord progression and highlight chord tones.

Pay attention to achieving accurate 'squealers', playing a static note whilst moving the position of your picking hand to achieve a new pitch (the directives of 'neck' and 'mid' shown above the tab will help).

Example 5 - Whammy bar aided pinch harmonics

This explores whammy bar movements with pinch harmonics - ideally you'll have a guitar with a whammy bar that floats (ie it can both drop/doop and raise/scoop the strings). This combination is a favorite of Joe Satriani (eg Flying In Blue Dream, Ice 9).

To begin, perform a pinch harmonic on the open third (G) string. You will hold the whammy bar by reaching over with your fretting hand, depressing it just before you strike the pinch harmonic, and then raise it to achieve a high squeal. Use the tab as a guide and treat the pitches as approximate guides.

Example 6 - Pinch harmonics galore!

For your final piece, the earlier examples have been combined to create a short hard rock groove that mixes melodic phrases with pinch harmonics and stylistic squeals. For the latter, consider the pitches as a guide, whereas the melodic examples are more specific with the pitch and picking hand placement.

Bars 1-8 kick off with a Zakk Wylde inspired riff based around Em7, embellished with power chords. During the riff you'll see pinch harmonics performed on the third and sixth strings. This section repeats, with the final bar leading into the solo.

The solo starts at bar 9 with a single note figure that follows the chord progression. These are performed with pinch harmonics, picking at different points above the pickups to highlight chord tones derived from the accompanying chords.

Bars 12-13 feature a screaming string bend followed by a descending blues run. The piece finishes with a Satriani inspired, whammy bar enhanced pinch harmonic squeal. Enjoy!

Three rock legends that use pinch harmonics

Black Label Society - Stillborn

The riffs and solo to Stillborn really come to life with Zakk Wylde's searing squealers. Achieving strong pinch harmonics on lower strings can be demanding but Zakk makes them sound effortless.

To emulate him, use a bridge humbucker with a Marshall amp-styled distorted tone (he favored JCM800s for many years). For his lead tone, add a dash of chorus and stomp on a wah pedal (push toe down for the pinch harmonics - they'll scream even more due to exaggerated brightness).

After The Burial - Behold The Crown

Screaming pinch harmonics, low string pedaling and a deep distorted guitar tone form the riff from this modern metal stomper. Featured as the opening track for After The Burial's Evergreen (2019), Behold The Crown features Trent Hafdahl on guitar duties, showing how a great pinch harmonic technique can be pushed to consistently produce bold squealers!

Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) - La Grange

Texas Bluesman Billy Gibbons is arguably the godfather of pinch harmonics. His unique approach is more about digging into the note to see what squeals will come out, making his solos dynamic and organic.

Surprisingly, Billy doesn’t use a lot of amp gain, and is able to produce pinch harmonics with a clean-ish Marshall amp tone. La Grange includes excellent examples in the second solo: in places he’ll play one note but move his picking hand to different positions over the pickups, altering the pitches of the harmonics.

Most of us guitarists are perpetually chasing ways to raise our game. That is part of the fun, after all. But sometimes what we seek is already freely available, without studying music theory, learning scale/arpeggio shapes or drilling picking exercises.

I’m talking about the rhythm of what we play, which is arguably 50 per cent (if not more) of what makes phrases appealing and memorable.

If we feel we should be working harder, this is when we’re most at risk of overplaying, filling all the gaps and overcomplicating things (take it from someone who’s done it). Sometimes what feels good to play doesn’t translate to what sounds good to the listener, who may not play guitar or be wowed by rippling arpeggios.

If we listen closely to the greats, especially in this genre, you can hear that not only do they leave spaces, but when they do play, there’s a rhythmic signature to their phrasing.

For example, Clapton in Crossroads, Gilmour in Comfortably Numb and Peter Green in Black Magic Woman all have their own take on how they approach rhythms in the phrasing, giving a uniqueness while using the very same pentatonic shapes.

One thing that isn’t demonstrated explicitly here is the spaces in between. That would certainly be easy to transcribe (and read!), but ultimately not particularly helpful, so do bear in mind that even these examples are a concentrated version of what you might want to play in a real-life musical scenario.

The four phrases were played separately, but could be joined up to make a solo if you prefer. That being said, the fourth example is really an alternative take on Example 1, or perhaps a suggestion of how you might continue onwards in a similar style. I hope these examples are useful and enjoyable. See you next time!

Example 1

A quick rake leads into a contrasting held bend, giving a sense of space to start. Bar 2 then features some repeated triplets – feel free to pull back and play these late, you’ll know when you’ve gone too far.

Note the quarter-tone bends in bars 2 and 3. These are very subtle but add so much in terms of attitude. The final phrase crosses bars 3 and 4 – it’s a smooth bend/release leading to a quick flurry, similar in essence to the introductory phrase.

Example 2

Keeping with the triplet theme to start, this example then takes a leaf out of Peter Green’s book, especially in bar 3 where the rhythmic groupings feel as though they’re floating independently of the beat.

They aren’t really in this case, though the last four semiquavers do pull back in tempo noticeably.

This shouldn’t be set in stone, keep experimenting – you can always dial it back if you think you’ve lost the feel. The pre-bend with fast vibrato in bar 3 is another detail worth spending some time on.

Example 3

This rhythmic idea is similar to some of Eric Clapton’s phrasing during his solos in Crossroads. The rhythmic groupings are quite funky and you will want to use down- and upstrokes to aid with this.

Use this idea as a basis for further experimentation, rather than conforming precisely to any rhythm. There are no rules, but you can pick up some hints from watching the video. Also, watch for details such as quarter-tone bends, staccato/short notes and vibrato.

Example 4

An alternative opening phrase, or a suggestion for how things might continue, this example draws on David Gilmour’s phrasing from the solos in Comfortably Numb, Another Brick In The Wall (Pt 2) and Have A Cigar.

As with Example 3, it’s questionable how useful it would be to duplicate this exactly. This is more of a ‘feel’ thing, based around choppy/staccato or muted up- and downstrokes.

We finish with a classic pentatonic lick, the last note of which (D) holds, adding a slow quarter-tone bend after crossing into bar 4.

Hear it here

Eric Clapton – Crossroads

One of the details which makes Eric’s playing so appealing is his use of rhythm. Check out the solos in Crossroads and you can hear him experimenting – and really pulling against the beat at times. He can also be heard (in a more restrained manner) on the Bluesbreakers (‘Beano’) album a few years earlier.

More recently, he revisited this approach in Bad Love. Like anything, the rhythm is just a part of the picture, so often isn’t as blatant as some of the examples.

Albert Collins – Truckin' With Albert Collins

The Iceman himself, Albert used an unusual F minor tuning (low to high: F C F Ab C F) often with a capo at the 5th to 7th fret, which contributed to his sound, but that need not concern us too much here. All the same, check out Frosty from the 1969 album Truckin’ With Albert Collins.

On that same album, see if you can sit comfortably with the lilt between the guitar and brass on Tremble! Finally, have a listen to his playing alongside Gary Moore on his cover of Too Tired.

Peter Green – The Pious Bird of Good Omen

Peter’s manipulation of rhythms is perhaps the most subtle of the players cited here, but his rhythmic groupings on Black Magic Woman, Supernatural and Need Your Love So Bad demonstrate a free flowing ‘push and pull’ against the beat, with some unexpected pentatonic flurries that sound easier to play than they actually are.

All are great demonstrations of the use of space, plus you can hear the intention behind each and every note.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Throughout his playing with Ozzy Osbourne and his own band Badlands, Jake E. Lee created stunning riffs and solos that combined melodic blues-rock licks with fast shredding. But there is one technique that really made him stand out: his fretting hand versatility, which included using his thumb to achieve otherwise impossible stretches with fingers alone.

Using the thumb to play low notes was popularized in the late 1960s by Jimi Hendrix and a decade later by jazzer Pat Metheny, to name two guitar icons. But incorporating the thumb over the fretboard in conjunction with the fretting hand fingers for high strings is a much rarer technique. Using large note intervals and making difficult stretches possible are just two of the applications for this barrier-pushing technique.

The following four examples are inspired by Jake E. Lee’s playing with Ozzy during the mid ’80s. They can be used to increase your fretting hand stretching and stamina, as well as introducing the “thumb over the neck” fretting technique. All are in the key of E minor and make use of the E natural minor scale (E-F#-G-A-B-C-D) with some occasional chromatic passing tones.

These examples should be approached slowly and for short periods at a time. Angle the guitar neck upwards, and place the thumb in line with the second finger. For ideal posture, maintain relaxed and level shoulders to attain these stretches and avoid injury.

MatchMySound: play-along enhancements

For this lesson, we've partnered with MatchMySound, to offer the ability to record yourself and see how close you are. MatchMySound is a great tool to help track your progress.

Click on the word 'options' (lower left, below the tab/notation) to select from 'demo audio track' (just guitar), 'backing track' (just the backing), 'full audio' (backing and real guitar audio) and 'metronome' (just a click to play along to).

Below that, select 'options' for how you can record your performance.

At the upper right, the magnifying glass images let you alter the playback speed for learning and pushing your playing onwards.

Follow the cursor to keep up with the tab/notation accurately on screen.

Lastly, to view the music better by filling your desktop/tablet/phone screen, click on the square brackets at the top right.

The Four Jake E. Lee Examples

Example 1: six-note legato sequence

This starts with a classic six-note legato sequence popular with '80s and '90s shredders. It is phrased in triplets at three notes per click and introduces increasingly larger stretches to avoid a predictable scalar sound and provide a work out for all four fretting hand fingers.

If you are new to this technique, break the exercise down into four separate exercises based on what's played for each bar. After you've built some precision and stamina, aim to double your speed with six notes per click instead of three.

Example 2: two note extended pentatonics

Your second example uses a two note extended pentatonic approach, with stretches that decrease in size and have a distinct feeling of moving inward and relaxing, while also exercising all four fingers.

Pay attention to the notes on the second (B) string as they'e all picked as well as any notes that are played in multiple positions. Also watch where your fretting hand thumb sits on the back of the neck: keep it in line with your second finger for good hand posture.

Example 3: Using the thumb to fret higher strings

Here you are introduced to fretting with the thumb over the neck. Each bar uses a finer rhythmic subdivision so you can become comfortable with the technique. Aim to use the fleshy area adjacent to the outer side of your thumb.

If you've never used this technique before, be mindful that this will be uncomfortable at first as you get used to the posture and develop new thumb calluses. That said, you should notice how easy it is to play stretches over 7 frets (or more!) using this technique. Once you're comfortable with this, experiment with your own ideas.

Example 4: all three techniques used together

To finish, here's a short solo study that utilizes each of the three previous exercises. Choose a combination of techniques and approaches that suits you the best.

Jake E. Lee in action!

Jake's thumb on the fretboard technique

This shows Jake playing the solo for Ozzy's Suicide Solution. Using his thumb on a lower fret, he varies which fingers are used on the higher frets.

Jake uses his thumb here for chordal playing with a clean tone. This demonstrates how versatile (and freeing) thumb fretting can be.

When we talk about phrasing on blues guitar, this can often translate to rhythm. It’s possible to play a great solo without many notes if the rhythm is interesting.

Obviously, the same goes for rhythm parts – so the example piece concentrates on this area but using a hybrid ‘rhythm/lead’ approach favoured by John Mayer, SRV, Nile Rodgers and Jimi Hendrix, among others. Blurring the boundaries between the traditional distinctions of rhythm and lead guitar also serves a trio format well, and, as you’ll hear, the backing track consists of only bass and drums.

While we can be minimal at times, there is a responsibility (some might say freedom!) to fill the harmonic and/or rhythmic gaps. Not all blues is ‘funky’ per se, but there is a lot to be gained from understanding displaced/off-kilter rhythms, and this is what the example piece is designed to help you with.

A good starting point is to think of each beat in the bar as divided into four semiquavers. Initially, mute all of the strings then play alternating ‘down-up-down-up’ strokes, four per beat of the bar/16 to the whole bar. You’ll sometimes hear this described as a ‘1-e-and-a’ pattern.

Accent the first downstroke on each beat of the bar, then try moving the emphasis around, maybe to the ‘e’ or ‘a’ on the upstrokes. This is the basis of the approach used in the example piece, though you’ll notice I’m not playing every single semiquaver beat, even though my picking hand often goes through the motions.

Another thing to bear in mind is to keep it relaxed and don’t hit the strings too hard. This is an easy trap to fall into when playing tight staccato rhythms. Finally, remember you can mute with both picking and/or fretting hands to control ringing strings. Hope you enjoy and see you next time!

Example 1

Almost every bar is 'locked down' with a double hit on an A5 power chord and a more rhythmic answering phrase in the subsequent three beats.

This can often be a repeated phrase, but it’s more useful to show you a range of options in this context. Though the muted hits are notated as faithfully as possible, this is not an exact science, so allow yourself a little flexibility, rather than attempting to duplicate anything precisely.

Example 2

Moving to the IV chord (D), this second phrase plays around with the initial chord hits using a dotted rhythm. This is a bit of a liberty as the bass and drums stay with two straight quavers, but I think we'll get away with it...

Concentrate on the drums to aim your accents/pauses as precisely as possible, and note that not every 1-e-and-a’ space is filled, even if your picking hand does go through the motions to keep the timing.

Example 3

The C and D chords use a similar pattern in this final example. Note the tied/held chords going across the rhythm – slow the whole thing down if that helps make sense of what’s happening on the various subdivisions of the beat.

Like Example 1 (and 2), the muted hits should be played without over-thinking which strings you’re hitting – just make sure everything is muted and it won’t matter too much. For the last bar, it was fun to change to the bridge pickup and go for a rockier feel. This is optional!

Hear it here

John Mayer Trio – Try!

Recorded live, this album is a particularly great example of what a trio can sound like – and it was a major inspiration for the example piece, especially Who Did You Think I Was. Also on this album, check out I Got A Woman and Wait Until Tomorrow.

Bonus mention goes to Another Kind Of Green for combining Little Wing-type chordwork with a funky shuffle feel. There are a good many ideas waiting to be used here – it’s an ample source of inspiration!

Jimi Hendrix – Band of Gypsys

Though he loved to overdub complementary rhythmic parts in the studio, Jimi was adept at making it work live, too. Check out out Freedom from The Cry Of Love for an example of his studio savvy, then compare with Who Knows from Band Of Gypsys to hear it live in a trio format.

Also, listen to Message To Love from the same album, with funky and unison riffing. This really makes the distinction between rhythm and lead guitar seem obsolete.

Nile Rodgers – Various

We’re going unapologetically funk for the last suggestion here – and Nile Rodgers is still the definitive example of a funk rhythm player. Check out his work with Chic: Le Freak, Good Times and I Want Your Love.

Alternatively, try Sister Sledge with Thinking Of You, We Are Family or Lost In Music. Elsewhere, why not check out I’m Coming Out by Diana Ross, or Get Lucky by Daft Punk. All these parts are based on the ‘1-e-and-a’ rhythm described earlier.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

A great way to break away from the typical blues soloing sound of pentatonic scales is to incorporate dominant 7 arpeggios into your improvised lines. As the name implies, a dominant 7 arpeggio is sounded by playing the notes of a dominant 7 chord, such as G7, C7 or D7, individually and in succession.

Let’s use the key of G as our point of reference: in Figure 1, a G7 chord is shown in 3rd position, followed by a G minor pentatonic scale (G, Bb, C, D, F) played in the same position.

What I often like to do, in order to create more interesting solo lines, is combine the notes of the minor pentatonic scale with those of a dominant 7 arpeggio, which, as you’ll notice, share three notes – the root, 5th and minor, of “flat” 7th.

Figure 2 illustrates a G7 arpeggio, built from the notes G, B, D and F. The first three notes give us a G major triad, and F is the minor, or “flatted,” 7th, which provides the dominant 7 sound. Figure 3 shows the same notes played in a descending manner on the lower strings.

Articulation devices like finger slides and string bends offer great ways to incorporate the dominant 7 pitches into phrases.

For example, Figure 4 begins with a series of slides into the notes G, B, D and F, all from a half step below, after which I finish the phrase with more typical blues lines based on the G blues scale (G, Bb, C, Db, D, F).

A great way to practice improvising with dominant 7 arpeggios is to loop a rhythm part then solo over it. Figure 5 shows a simple shuffle-based rhythm part that sits on a G7 chord.

Figure 6 sounds the notes of a G7 arpeggio played over the loop, first ascending then descending.

To some people, this is more of a “jazzy” sound; the reason for this is, as is often the case in jazz, the chord tones are emphasized when playing arpeggios. The inclusion of B, the major 3rd, in addition to F, the minor, or “flatted,” 7th, builds a strong connection to the harmony of the G7 chord.

Figure 7 offers a longer example of how to combine phrases built from the G minor pentatonic and G blues scales with G7 arpeggio shapes. Bars 1 and 2 emphasize the G blues scale, followed in bars 3 and 4 with emphasis on the major 3rd, B, which brings in the dominant 7 arpeggio sound.

In bars 5-8, I move back and forth between straight G minor pentatonic and blues scale phrases and the inclusion of the major 3rd, B, in order to bring the arpeggio sound back to the forefront. Throughout the remainder of the example, I move freely between the two approaches, striving for musicality in the way the different elements work together.

As you work with this dualistic approach, think of it as an ongoing hand-off between scales and arpeggios. Use your ears to discern the differences in the musical effects created and to inform your note choices.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

As discussed last time, open/alternative tunings are a great way to expand our chordal horizons without getting our fingers in a twist. However, we also mentioned that there are quite a few expansive voicings available without having to retune.

There’s no doubt that open/alternative tunings facilitate some unique sounds, but in a world where artists such as Davey Graham (who introduced us to the DADGAD tuning in the 1960s) plus Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Jimmy Page and Keith Richards have all given their unique spin on multiple angles of this idea, perhaps exploring regular tuning is equally interesting!

The five examples are selected on a fairly random basis, but they could work together to create an interesting piece or accompaniment. It’s also worth mentioning that each example has the potential to yield some interesting variations, by shifting a note within each shape, or simply moving to a different position on the fretboard. The constant, if anything, is the inclusion of open strings.

Example 1. G#m9

This G#m9 is a little reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s jazzier moments (check out the 1980 Shadows And Light album), but no strings were retuned to create it! It’s important to mute the fifth string, but this can be a movable shape if you’re discerning. One useful idea is to shift it down a fret for a nice G9 chord.

Example 2. E5add9add#11

This E5add9add#11 (yes, that really is the simplest way to describe it!) is a handful at first. It’s the result of changing around the bass notes from Example 1 to give an E5 on the fifth and sixth strings. Keeping the same notes on top gives the add9 (F# on the fourth and first strings) and #11 (A# on the third string).

Example 3. C#m9

Here’s a real stretch – until you find the optimum hand position. Try shifting your fretting hand thumb down to the centre of the back of the neck. This C#m9 is surprisingly useful as a movable chord, functioning similarly to an open tuning in that the open first and second strings function as a drone.

Example 4. Esus2sus4

There are shades of Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin’s Ramble On in this Esus2sus4, one of the only examples of a ‘double’ sus voicing we’ve ever come across.

Remember, these complex-sounding names are just music theory struggling to explain what is actually a very simple chord to play. Once again, treat this as a movable shape for some nice results.

Example 5. A7

This A7 is one of many similar shapes that can be moved up and down the fourth and second strings. The wonderful Gordon Giltrap used shapes like this (albeit in open A tuning) in his signature composition Heartsong. Be sure to mute the sixth string; it isn’t a horrible clash exactly, but it does mess with the resonance overall.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

I consider fingerpicking to be essential to my playing, as it’s a technique I have utilized in a variety of ways for many years. When recording, I often use my 1945 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar. If you’re familiar with this instrument, you know how wonderful it is to play and how great it sounds.

Figure 1 illustrates a very basic fingerpicked pattern: while holding an E chord, my pick-hand thumb basically alternates between the 6th and 4th strings while the index, middle and ring fingers pick the higher strings.

The open low E bass note alternates with the higher notes in an eight-note rhythm. Note that the thumb often catches the next higher string, as demonstrated here.

Years ago, a friend of my dad’s came over and played some beautiful fingerpicking on a Martin D-28 acoustic, and I was blown away. He said, “That’s Mississippi John Hurt.” So I thought, well, I need to listen to more of that!

When I got hipped to this music, I discovered that the patterns were rooted in alternating bass notes sounded by the thumb while melodic patterns were fingerpicked on the higher strings in a syncopated rhythm.

Figure 2 offers an example of this style: bars 1 and 2 establish an eighth-note thumbpicking pattern, and in bars 3 and 4 a fingerpicked melody is introduced on the top three strings. As shown in Figure 3, the thumb always keeps the rhythm of the bassline going, in this case in the key of G.

It will take dedicated practice to get the coordination together to execute the low-string/high-string syncopations properly, so start out slowly and focus on how the two parts work together.

The Blackberry Smoke song Ain’t Got the Blues, from our 2012 album,
The Whippoorwill, is built from this style of fingerpicking. As shown in Figure 4, bar 1 establishes an alternating bass pattern on the tonic G chord, and in bar 2 I introduce a melody played on the G and B strings.

In bar 4, I move to C, the IV (four) chord, and the melody is transposed up a 4th and played on the top two strings. In bars 7 and 8, the pattern is played over the V (five) chord, D, and in bars 9 and 10 I return to the tonic, G.

Another good example of this style of fingerpicking is a section I play in our song Holding All the Roses, which is in drop-D tuning (low to high: D, A, D, G, B, E). Figure 5 illustrates the similar manner in which this is played.

I asked my dad’s friend where guitarists like Mississippi John Hurt got the idea to play in this way, and he said. “I think they’re trying to imitate the sound of a player piano on a riverboat.”

I think that’s a good theory, because the type of fingerpicking you hear from the great “Piedmont”-style players, like Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell and Reverend Gary Davis, does work in the same way as stride piano, with consistently alternating bass notes driving the rhythm and joined by syncopated melodies in a higher octave.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Brett Garsed is one of the guitar world's most revered triple threats. His virtuosity with legato, hybrid picking (he picks with his fourth finger, too) and slide is nothing short of masterful. His reputation goes all the way back to the '80s when his growing reputation resulted in him playing on John Farnham's 1986 album, Whispering Jack.

Handling all guitar duties on the biggest-selling album by an Australian in Australia's history, Brett's guitar chops were well used. None more so than the solo at the end of the album's huge hit single, You're the Voice.

How huge?

On last check, the numbers were 259M plays on Spotify and 35M views on YouTube.

You’re the Voice is a rousing anthem written by British songwriters Chris Thompson, Andy Qunta and Maggie Ryder that incorporates rock and Celtic influences, plus an actual bagpipe solo. Asked to provide an outro guitar solo, Brett incorporated bagpipe-style phrasing, chord tone driven melodies and a blazing string skipped arpeggio.

Up until now, this stunning solo has gone unnoticed due to being so quiet in the mix. To remedy the situation, Brett agreed to deep dive what he played for Guitar World.

“What you hear on the album is the first take, the only take we did,” Brett explains. “It’s a little haphazard in structure, but that’s the spontaneity of the moment. The fast section in the middle is an old faithful lick I used to simulate sweep picking arpeggios, but I did it with string skipping.”

Brett provides further insights into his solo: “I was, and still am, a completely ear-driven player, and I was trying to follow the chord progression F - Eb - Bb/D. Everything I’m playing is trying to follow those chords.

“You’ll hear a sliding ascending line in the solo featuring my old black Strat with a 21-fret neck. I bent up to the high F from the 21st fret and broke the first string! Since the Strat bridge couldn’t be pulled up it stayed in tune, so I played the rest of the solo with one less string!”

F major arpeggio - the fundamental shape

This outlines the basic string skipping F Major arpeggio (F A C) that Brett utilised for part of his solo on You're The Voice. Using the fourth (D), third (G) and first (high E) strings, it's a shape favoured by various players (including Paul Gilbert and Nuno Bettencourt) to replicate the sound of one note per string sweep picked arpeggios.

A useful approach to familiarize yourself with the shape is to play the first note on each string first before adding the higher notes on the third and first strings.

Brett utilizes hybrid picking as shown under the tab (m = second finger pluck), along with hammer-ons and pull-offs.

Example 1 - F major arpeggio phrasing (4:35 in the video)

This is what Brett demonstrates in the video, improvising around the F major arpeggio in a similar way to what he played during his You're the Voice solo. Hybrid picking makes crossing from the third string to the first string efficient and smooth. Pay close attention to the way the different rhythmic subdivisions and legato phrasing give this example a feeling of acceleration and excitement.

Brett Garsed in action

John Farnham - You're The Voice

At 3:45 Brett's guitar solo begins. Masked by the big production and wall of euphoric vocals, he builds his phrases with masterful melodic moves with that stunning F major arpeggio happening at 4:09. The huge C# to F bend (21st fret to a virtual 25th fret!) which broke his first string occurs at 4:24.

In his GW video, Brett demonstrates this bend (without breaking a string!) using his fourth finger with other fingers behind to strengthen it. To make this even more daunting to play, Brett uses 0.011 gauge strings in standard tuning. Gulp.

Brett Garsed - Breathe

Breathe featured on Brett's Big Sky album from 2002. Throughout the performance, Brett demonstrates masterful melodic phrasing, tasty string bends, bluesy licks and impressive speed bursts.

Brett Garsed - Slam Bam

Here's Brett in an funk fusion workout, written for him by Jason Sidwell as part of a soloing series in Guitar Techniques from 2016. Brett twists, darts and blasts through this funk groover with an array of slippery legato and hybrid picked moves using bluesy licks, altered scales and tension/release note choices. Slamming indeed!

A topic that’s near and dear to guitar players everywhere is pickups – what to use, what we love about them, and how to set them up for optimal performance. For our discussion, I’ll be using two examples of what is essentially the same guitar — a 1958 goldtop Gibson Les Paul Standard with PAF humbucking pickups and a 1956 goldtop Les Paul Standard with P-90 pickups.

Let’s first talk about setting up the pickups. I like the pickup height to be close to the strings, especially the bridge pickup. This results in the most output and brightness, which is the kind of attack I like to hear.

Pickup height is adjusted by using a screwdriver to turn the mounting screws clockwise or counterclockwise. With humbuckers, I like the front, or neck, pickup to be “wooly” – fat-sounding and with some distortion – but clear.

Be careful, however, not to raise it too close to the strings, as the magnets can start to interfere with the strings’ vibrations and cause notes to sound out of tune.

Figure 1 is an E minor pentatonic-based phrase played with the neck humbucker. When I switch to the bridge pickup, as I do in Figure 2, I like the output to be balanced with that of the neck pickup, so that the only thing changing is an increase in the amount of high end, which serves as a sort of solo boost.

In Figure 3, bars 1-5, I have both pickups on, which produces a nice blend between the fatness of the neck pickup and the “cut” of the bridge pickup. This example is played in the key of A, with lines based on the A minor pentatonic scale (A, C, D, E, G), with the inclusion of the major 3rd, C#, alluding to an A7 chord. In bar 5, I switch to the bridge pickup only.

With some P-90-equipped guitars, the neck pickup is too close to the strings and the bridge pickup is too far away. If you were to leave it that way, the instrument will never sound sonically balanced, so follow the same height adjustment guidance given for humbuckers.

P-90s are single-coil pickups, so their overall sound is more sparkly and clear than that of humbuckers, especially with a clean tone. But when overdriven, they will deliver a fat sound that’s killer. Being single-coil pickups, however, they can be prone to noise and hum, so you have to try and address that.

Figure 4 is played with the neck P-90, featuring lines based on the C# minor pentatonic scale (C#, E, F#, G,# B).

In Figure 5, I switch to the bridge pickup, and move from B7 to E7 with lines based on E minor pentatonic.

Both humbuckers and P-90s have their ideal applications, and for many players, including me, the variations in sound, feel and texture are indispensable.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

For about 11 months, I had no guitar and no amp. To non-musicians, that might sound inconvenient. To me, it felt like having part of my nervous system removed.

The situation was born out of some unfortunate personal circumstances – due to a death in my then-partner’s family, I sold my Ibanez JPM Petrucci signature and a full amp rig for way less than they were worth to buy plane tickets. Then I found my other JPM had disappeared in my absence.

Living without my guitar made one thing abundantly clear to me: music isn’t just something I do – it’s how I make sense of the world. So when the chain breaks, the loss doesn’t land like a normal career setback. It’s your livelihood and your life.

This mix of professional and personal identity is something most musicians experience. I’ve long had back issues and used to joke with one of my bands that if it ever got so bad I couldn’t walk, they’d have to strap me into a bed like Hannibal Lecter and wheel me onstage. But the intent was real: when music is who you are, you’ll endure almost anything to keep playing.

At the same time, it’s become harder to make a living purely as a touring and recording artist. There’s a running joke in touring circles that modern musicians are really just travelling T-shirt salespeople. We all know the economic structure has shifted, yet the way we think about the role hasn't really caught up.

When music is your identity, these structural changes feel personal. Streaming killed your album income? That feels like the world saying your art doesn’t matter. Can’t afford to tour without a day job? That feels like a failure.

But it isn’t. The musicians I know who are still standing aren’t the ones who went the hardest. They’re the ones who built a foundation for themselves so they could keep going.

My guitar-less period ended when a mate at a guitar shop let me walk out with a guitar without asking for a cent. He didn’t even know where I lived. He just trusted me.

The first gig back was in front of about 2,000 people. My rig was a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone into an old Peavey solid-state bass head. The sound engineer said, “You can’t polish a turd.” I didn’t care. Just having strings under my fingers again felt like life returning.

Ultimately, I got lucky, but not everyone does. Here are some things I wish I’d known earlier…

Know your real number

Work out what it actually costs you to play – rehearsals, travel, gear maintenance, lost shifts. Not roughly. Sit down and add it up, without rounding the figures or planning only for best-case scenarios.

Once you can see the real figure, you can plan for it and make informed decisions, instead of absorbing expenses until something snaps. If you need a job to cover that number, that's not defeat – that’s a foundation.

Build your identity wider, not smaller

When music is who you are, every setback gets emotionally amplified. A cancelled show feels like a cancelled life. Being left off an album or pushed out of a band can feel like a verdict on your existence, rather than a rough season.

Learning to hold on to your identity as a person and musician and separate that from the external validation is something most of us never get taught. However, even the most devoted player will hit a season where the gigs dry up, or they face a physical setback.

If music is the only thing holding you together, that season will feel like the end. If it’s the center of a life that has other supports around it, you’ll ride it out – and you’ll come back stronger.

Plan for the quiet seasons before they arrive

Tours end. Bands break up. Bodies say no. If you’ve built your entire life around gigging and nothing else, those gaps can feel like freefall. Having something ready – whether that’s teaching, session work, writing, a trade, or anything that keeps the lights on and your head straight – means the quiet patches become opportunities for recharging, not crisis points.

Don’t wait to protect what’s most important

Your relationships matter. Isolation distorts everything, and the people at home are carrying weight you don't always see. Your health matters, because if your body goes down, the music goes with it. Your finances matter, because constant panic about money will poison the thing you love faster than anything else.

The important thing to note is that you don’t need to be in crisis before you’re allowed to step back, set a boundary, or ask for help. Early is better than broken.

Learn the difference between devotion and self-erasure

Musicians are wired to push through. We treat rest like weakness and stubbornness like virtue. But there’s a difference between devotion and self-erasure.

Psychologists will tell you that this coping mechanism (of placing your personal needs lower and lower down the list) actually leads to greater disconnection with your true self. That’s not good for you as a person, and it’s certainly not going to help you as an artist…

It’s the same job

The strange comfort in all of this is that if music really is part of who you are, it doesn't vanish just because a band ends or life knocks you sideways. That’s what I came back to after those months without a guitar. I hadn’t lost music – I’d lost my access point to it for a while. The second the strings were back under my fingers, it was all still there.

Getting a job so you can eat and pay rent is not giving up. Taking a break from touring isn’t quitting. Setting boundaries isn’t weakness. It’s how you make sure you’re still playing in ten years, not just surviving next month.

If the music really lives in you, then looking after yourself isn’t separate from looking after the songs. It’s the same job.

Have you been affected by the issues raised in this article? Support for musicians is available from the following bodies...

• Help Musicians (UK): 0808 802 8008
• Support Act (Australia): 1800 959 500
• MusiCares (US): 1-800-687-4227

Alternate tunings can be a gateway to creative ideas and new textures, but they often require re-orienting yourself with the fretboard. Nashville tuning, however, requires no such effort, as you can replicate anything you play in standard tuning.

There is one caveat: you have to restring the guitar in order to get this tuning. In practice, it’s not hard at all – you start with a 12-string set and use the higher octave sixth, fifth, fourth and third strings in place of your standard gauge strings. The first and second strings remain the same.

Get these strings in place and you’ll be greeted by a phenomenal sound – part 12-string, part high-strung guitar. The real magic comes in the relationship between the high octave strings and the standard gauge first and second strings. Even just strumming simple CAGED chords yields a unique timbre and this sound can add brightness and definition, particularly if a song is missing some high end sparkle and vitality.

A secret weapon of the country world (hence the Nashville monicker), you’ve heard this tuning many times, even if it’s not immediately apparent – everyone from Keith Richards (Wild Horses) and David Gilmour (Comfortably Numb) to Taylor Swift (Love Story features it in the band mix) has employed it.

There are various reasons for using Nashville tuning, as you’ll discover in this lesson. Sometimes it’s a subtle layering tool, sitting back in a track or doubling a regular tuned guitar, whilst at other times it’s more upfront, adding brightness and energy to a track.

One of the great things about Nashville tuning is that it makes any guitar sound great. You don’t need an expensive instrument – a cheap, smaller-bodied guitar will come alive when strung in Nashville tuning.

Check out David Gilmour's Nashville-tuned guitar below and then delve into the following examples to see how it can inspire your own music-making.

Example 1: Simple chords made chimey, Nashville style

The open position is the obvious starting point for any new tuning and you’ll immediately hear how simple CAGED shape chords are given new life with the Nashville sheen and jangle. Indeed, many studio players are just overlaying chords like these onto a rhythm track when using Nashville tuning.

Example 2: Nashville strumming

This simple strummed two chord pattern demonstrates how useful Nashville tuning can be when creating simple rhythm parts. Give the chords some added color with added 9ths or 11ths and you’ll basically hear the sound of modern country pop.

Use common tones (notes shared between the chords) for added glue. The first audio example is at 75bpm (beats per minute), the second at 112bpm.

Example 3: Nashville picking

Picked parts sound fantastic in Nashville tuning and can be useful when you want to bring the Nashville part to the fore. What’s more you can double these parts on a standard tuned guitar to get a faux 12-string effect. Indeed, doing this can even be easier than playing an actual 12-string guitar!

Example 4: Nashville doubling

Doubling simple strummed open chords is another great way to use Nashville tuning. On its own an acoustic guitar could sound overly full or even muddy when playing chords like these but introduce a Nashville guitar and pan both instruments and the sound will both thicken and brighten up.

Example 5: Nashville to the foreground

You can create more complex parts in Nashville tuning, and this Pat Metheny-inspired example shows how evocative the tuning can be when played on its own. Adding a capo introduces an even brighter, richer tonality. This could also be used in a track for more dramatic effect when you want the part to leap out.

Example 6: Exploring all the benefits of Nashville tuning

This puts the previous examples into practice on a modern country pop-inspired track. Before playing this, have a listen to the full track and the backing track with the Nashville guitar removed so you can really appreciate what the high-strung guitar is bringing to the track.

As you’ll hear, it can work as both a blending tool with the other instruments or as a more prominent voice when arpeggiating higher up the neck. Listen to the full track first, then play along with the backing track using your Nashville tuned guitar. Enjoy!

Players who use Nashville tuning

Pat Metheny - Sueño Con Mexico

This is a great track for hearing Nashville tuning up front and center instead of as a layering tool. Metheny’s rich, picked arpeggios immediately get to the heart of the magic of this tuning. This tuning excels with rapid picked parts as there’s no low-end mud build up to worry about.

Taylor Swift - Love Story

Swift’s modern pop classic showcases Nashville tuning in its more common format as a layering tool. In this track, it’s more subtle, adding a top-end sheen with simple chords but it’s the kind of thing you’ll miss if it’s removed. You’ll hear a similar effect on Lady A’s Bartender…and pretty much most modern country pop!

The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses

The combination of a 12-string and a Nashville-tuned acoustic give this track its super-rich sound. Keith Richards is a big fan of Nashville tuning though it’s possible that Mick Taylor was playing the Nashville guitar on this track. Listen to this one and the guitars are the very definition of ‘sheen’.

A key element in many of the riffs I write is rhythmic string bending. A good example of this can be found in the main riff to Holy Roller, which I recorded with Spiritbox for our 2021 album, Eternal Blue.

As was the case last month with Jaded, I perform this song on a seven-string guitar tuned to drop-F# (low to high: F#, C#, F#, B, E, G#, C#), which is drop-A tuning transposed down a minor 3rd, or one and one half steps, so everything sounds a minor 3rd lower.

Figure 1 illustrates the main riff to Holy Roller, which I play during the intro and outro. The first six bars are performed entirely on the 7th string and feature repeating pull-down bends and releases.

I begin in bar 1 with two unbent eighth notes at the 12th and 9th frets, followed in beats 2 and 3 by two quick ¾-step bends and releases at the 13th fret, phrased in a 16th-note rhythm. The bar ends with a return to the unbent notes.

Syncopation (emphasizing the upbeats, or “weak” parts of the beat) comes into play in bar 2, where, on beat 3, I bend the 9th-fret note up a half step and hold the bend into beat 4. The final note in bar 2 is tied (held over) to the beat 1 of bar 3, which creates more syncopation, then bent up a half step. Bars 3 and 4 mostly replicate bars 1 and 2, but bar 4 ends with a pair of palm-muted eighth notes on an open A5 chord.

Bars 5 and 6 essentially restate bars 1 and 2, after which I play a big F#sus2 barre chord across all seven strings, which I shift up and down the neck in a syncopated dotted-eighth rhythm, holding each chord for one and one half beats, which, when done in succession like this, creates a jarring effect.

The riff ends with another pair of palm-muted open A5 chords, followed by high natural harmonics (N.H.) chords on the top three strings, strummed as 16th notes with alternate (down-up) strumming.

To sound the harmonics, lightly rest your fret-hand pinkie across the top three strings at the “3.2” location indicated, which is a little ways past the 3rd fret.

As is the case with many of the riffs I write, without the added bends, this riff would sound a little stale and boring. When performing the 13th-fret bends here, strive to consistently raise the pitch 3/4 of a step, which is midway between a half step (equal to one fret) and a whole step (equal to two frets).

Figure 2 shows the song’s breakdown verse riff, which is built from a two-note F/A chord played on the bottom two strings and strummed in a syncopated rhythm with palm-muting (P.M.). I use all downstrokes here, except for the pairs of 16th notes, which are strummed down-up.

The syncopation is created by accentuating certain eighth-note upbeats (the “and” counts) and holding the chord into the following downbeat. To properly feel and internalize the phrasing, play through the figure while tapping your foot squarely on each beat. Start out slowly then gradually ramp up the tempo to that of the recording.

In bar 8, I play “3.2” natural harmonics again, this time across the top six strings. I strum the harmonics with upstrokes on each eighth-note upbeat. The key to getting the desired sharp pick attack here is to get a little bit of the flesh of your thumb into the strum. Doing so will also help bring out the harmonics.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

One of the wonderful things about the acoustic guitar is its ability to be completely self-sufficient. More than that, in the right hands it can even give the illusion of two or more guitars playing together. Nobody knew this better than players such as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Big Bill Broonzy and, of course, Robert Johnson.

The demo piece isn’t modeled on any particular one of these, but it borrows from that country/folk-blues style that inspired a surprising amount of the ’60s Blues Invasion and rock bands of the ’70s.

As a general rule, the picking-hand thumb plays the bass part and establishes the rhythm, with the remaining fingers adding chords and/or melody on top.

However, if you watch Big Bill Broonzy’s picking hand, he’ll play simultaneous notes in a triad like a classical player, use his index finger in a flicking motion across the strings, and occasionally strum across a chord with his thumb. There are also times when he’ll accent a downwards strum in an almost flamenco style.

It’s hard to say how systematic or methodical he was about his technique – it was most likely developed by instinct over time – but it is very effective. That’s not to say we can’t pick up tips and tricks by watching or listening carefully, though.

For this reason, the picking-hand technique is left to you in the example piece, but there is a logic to assigning the bass notes to your thumb.

Going on from there, treat this as a starting point for your own experiments. Key considerations are to establish a strong rhythm before getting too fancy with licks, and keep it simple when accompanying a vocal. See you next time!

We start with a classic descending chord line, using syncopation between the bass line and top triads. It’s also nice to give those triads a little vibrato if you can. This leads to an abrupt stop on the A7, followed by the piano-style lick that will lead us to the IV chord (D7). You might need to work up some stamina in your fretting hand for those hammer-on and pull-off licks.

However many arguments exist for the superior tone of heavy acoustic guitar strings and a high action, this stuff works better with a lighter touch – there’s a happy medium to be had with action height and string gauge.

Bars 4 to 8 spend most of the time sticking to rhythmic patterns, though there are a couple of flourishes. Note that open strings are often used to facilitate more seamless position changes, such as the one down to A, where there are a few quick-fire changes – almost a chord melody approach here.

Bars 8 to 12 borrow more classic moves, but there is a bit of a shift in the syncopation at times, maybe more than you might typically hear, but this piece tries to cover much ground in a short time.

The final descending chords take some inspiration from Jimmy Page’s ending to Babe I’m Gonna Leave You. The swung feel stops and we slow down for that last rake across A major.

Hear it here

Big Bill Broonzy – The Bill Broonzy Story

A strongly rhythmic player, Big Bill was very adept at creating the illusion of bass/rhythm, choppy chords and ringing top notes. Seek out his performances of Hey Hey, Worried Man Blues and This Train.

There is some really clear footage of his playing available online, which is great for analysing his technique and learning his approach. It sounds (and looks) as though he was able to coax a lot of volume out of the guitar with quite a relaxed technique.

Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ And The Blues

Though he used a thumb-pick, Hopkins used thumb and fingers to create simultaneous rhythm and melody like Big Bill Broonzy. Hearing him play Baby Please Don’t Go, Have You Ever Loved A Woman and Ain’t It Crazy, it’s easy to imagine a young Van Morrison, Jimmy Page and others getting hooked on this style and wanting to emulate it.

However, there is a suggestion of power in the solo acoustic guitar, which arguably doesn’t need a loud rock ’n’ roll band to back it up.

Robert Johnson – The Complete Recordings

Regarded by many, including Eric Clapton, as the definitive solo blues guitarist, quite a mythology has developed around Robert Johnson. Having a listen to Sweet Home Chicago, Me And The Devil Blues or Devil Got My Woman should explain why.

The recordings are slightly ‘grainy’, but the power of his playing and deftness of touch come through loud and clear. Perhaps more than anyone’s, Johnson’s music inspired the generations that were to follow.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Sometimes open-position chords are just the job for filling out an accompaniment or providing the sole backing for a singer.

However, what if there could be a few extra touches to elevate your accompaniment, without sounding like you’d swallowed a jazz chordbook for breakfast?

To demonstrate some possibilities, we’ve taken the commonly heard C-G-Am-F (or I-V-VI-IV) progression and given it a twist. Think The Pretenders, Tom Petty or Sam Fender.

As we’re playing in open position, the open strings add a nice jangle, which we’re looking to maximise. Another feature is the G at the 3rd fret of the first string. This remains constant through all of the examples, giving a nice ‘shine’ in whatever order you play these chords.

A hint of overdrive can really help smooth out any unwanted spiky transients, while emphasising the sparkle and adding a bit of texture to push you forward in the mix. For the full Pretenders experience, add a bit of chorus, too!

Example 1. C

A regular C chord, but adding G on the first string really emphasises the upper part of the chord, particularly effective for asserting the guitar’s place in a band mix.

As well as making this a more ‘jangly’ chord, the G on top carries over to the other examples, offering a sense of continuity.

Example 2. G

This is the first of two possibilities for the G (V) chord. There’s a reason why this is played with two fingers, omitting the fifth string, but you’ll need to look at Example 3 to see what that reason is… In the meantime, this is one of the best open chords on the fretboard.

Example 3. C/G

This C/G could also be called G6sus4 – both names are technically correct. It’s meant to be added as a momentary embellishment, rather than a replacement for Example 2.

To hear this voicing in the wild, check out the intros to the Eagles’ Take It Easy or Bowie’s John, I’m Only Dancing.

Example 4. Am7

This Am7 continues the same jangly theme. It’s a great substitute for a regular Am chord, or can combine well if there’s another guitar playing Am.

Check out James Honeyman-Scott’s distinctive playing on The Pretenders’ Talk of the Town to hear this in action, complete with just the right amount of overdrive and chorus.

Example 5. Fsus2

This Fsus2 further continues the jangly theme, with the G on the first string, plus another from the open third string.

The F (Root) on the sixth string is optional. If you can get your fretting-hand thumb to oblige, great! Otherwise, it can still sound pretty full using the C on the fifth string as the lowest note.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Hello, and welcome to my new column for Guitar World! Over the course of these lessons, I will be sharing many of the techniques and approaches I use for creating effective melodies and rhythm guitar parts for both recording sessions and live performances.

I’d like to kick things off with a look at some of the ways in which I incorporate the technique of hybrid picking into my playing. As you may know, hybrid picking combines flatpicking with fingerpicking and can be used to create and perform otherwise impossible sounds and techniques.

Hybrid picking is a big part of country guitar playing, and I’ve studied a lot of country players, but I’m primarily a blues-rock/Americana player, along with R&B and jazz. I’ve developed an approach to hybrid picking that I think you will be able to apply fairly quickly to what you’re already comfortable with.

A good place to start is with chords, as demonstrated in Figure 1. For each chord – Dm, A and C – the low root note is flatpicked with a downstroke while the higher three notes are picked upward with the bare middle and ring fingers and pinkie.

This produces a piano-like simultaneous note attack and a different sound than a strum, which is an arpeggiation, no matter how quickly you perform it.

For single-note playing, a great way to practice hybrid picking is to play a simple A minor pentatonic scale (A, C, D, E, G) and alternate between the pick and a finger repeatedly.

In Figure 2, all of the notes that fall on the downbeats are flatpicked and all the notes on the upbeats are picked with the middle finger. My goal here is to achieve a smooth, uniform note attack, so that there’s almost no difference between the sound of the flatpicked and fingerpicked notes.

In Figure 3, I demonstrate how I can get some speed with hybrid picking. Alternating between the pick and a finger in this way can be at least as fast as straight flatpicking, if not faster, and also easier to do.

My incorporation of hybrid picking started when I was about 15 years old. I’d been emulating Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan with licks like Figure 4, using only a pick. I then switched to using fingerpicking on the top two strings, with my middle and ring fingers, respectively, as shown in Figure 5.

I find hybrid picking especially useful for faster tempos, such as the country/rock-type riff shown in Figure 6. As I play the solo line in Figure 7, I articulate the notes on the lower strings with the pick and the notes on the higher strings with my available fingers.

Hybrid picking also works very well with double-stops (two-note chords), especially if I want the sound to be very pinpoint and accurate.

In Figure 8, I fingerpick the double-stops on the B and G strings and flatpick the single notes on the D string. In Figure 9, I move more freely between flatpicking and fingerpicking, which I think yields an expressive sound.

This is a great way to get started with hybrid picking; move from scales into more inventive lines, and you will discover many great sounds that this technique will facilitate.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Most of us were taught how to dial in a good guitar tone long before anyone showed us how to survive the life around it. We learn how to fix cables, swap tubes, and restring in the dark. We spend hours obsessing over which overdrive is “more transparent.” But we spend almost no time on how to get through it all without wrecking our relationships, our bank accounts, or heads.

The gap between how seriously we take our role and how casually we treat our physical and mental health is where burnout lives.

Musicians’ burnout doesn’t usually appear as a single big breakdown. It’s a slow drift from “I can't believe I get to do this” to “I don’t know who I am without this – but I’m miserable.”

Dr. Ash King, mental health and wellbeing lead at Support Act in Australia, hears it every day on the phone. She says: “The biggest pressures are chronic overwork, financial instability, and identity strain. Long stretches of high-intensity work with very little recovery time.

“Sleep disruption. Alcohol heavy environments. Unpredictable income. Relationship breakdowns at home. Add to that the emotional labor of being ‘on’ every night, and the nervous system never fully powers down.”

Liam Hennessy, head of service delivery at Music Minds Matter in the UK, sees similar patterns. “Burnout often shows up in a few familiar ways,” he says. “Exhaustion from relentless touring or gigging, anxiety around income and career sustainability, and the emotional strain of tying your identity so closely to your creative work.

“When your passion is also your livelihood, setbacks can feel deeply personal.”

Burnout is best viewed as a series of pressures that are layered and interconnected, rather than a single issue or breaking point. “Financial vulnerability, health and mental health rarely exist in isolation,” says Theresa Wolters, executive director of MusiCares in the US. “What may begin as financial stress or physical fatigue can evolve into anxiety, depression, isolation, or burnout.”

Data from MusiCares’ Wellness in Music survey shows that more than 11 percent of music professionals reported suicidal thoughts in the past year – more than double the rate in the general US population. After years of anecdotal evidence, this sort of research is finally bringing to light the severity of the issues.

But what actually helps working players to combat burnout?

Make your relationships part of the plan

A friend of mine has spent years touring in heavy music. Every time he flies interstate for shows, his partner assumes he’s cheating. It doesn’t matter how many times he explains he’s onstage, loading out or crashed in a terrible bed – the suspicion is always there.

I try to be on the other side. On one run of shows with my band, the motel booking was wrong – again – and we had two beds for three people. My partner at the time was also a musician, and she trusted me. But I sent her a video anyway: one guitarist snoring, one drummer with coffee, me on a kid-sized pull-out bed. No groupies, no drama; just three tired idiots in bad lighting.

Hennessy emphasises the importance of this kind of connection: “Taking time to check in with people you trust and sharing honestly about how you’re doing can help prevent feelings of isolation.”

Burnout isn't just about you – it’s about the people around you quietly giving up because they feel permanently pushed to the edges. They’ve effectively been an unpaid support act for your life.

Setting expectations before things get busy makes a difference. Telling your partner, “These next four weeks are heavy; here’s when I’m around, here’s when I’m not, here’s how we'll stay in touch,” beats leaving them guessing.

A 10-minute call at the same time after each show is better than three days of silence followed by a flood of texts. And don’t just send stage shots – send the empty rooms, the bad coffee, the six-hour drive.

Face the money conversations early

Money stress quietly drives more burnout than bad stages ever will. The Wellness in Music survey shows that 35-40 percent of US music professionals attribute their anxiety and depression to financial concerns.

I’ve seen it play out in many ways. I’ve had friends who missed family funerals because they couldn’t afford to skip a paid gig. I've been in bands where resentment over money has driven members to quit. I’ve watched players sell gear they love – and need – to cover rent between tours.

The math never really adds up unless you’re in that tiny top tier of professional musicians. Pretending otherwise just makes things worse.

Knowing your real cost per gig – fuel, food, accommodation, parking, lost income from other work – changes how you negotiate. Once you see those numbers laid out, it’s harder to say yes to things that are hurting your finances.

Talking numbers inside the band matters too. Hidden financial resentment destroys more bands than bad solos ever will. A low-paid gig doesn't mean you’re a low-value musician. Sometimes you say yes for strategy; sometimes for fun; sometimes you say no. The key is to choose knowingly.

Treat sleep and recovery as part of the show

You can’t completely control sleep on the road, but you can stop treating it as optional. Taking 20 to 30 minutes after a show with no socials, no emails, and no arguments helps. Stretch, shower, use headphones, do breath work – anything that tells your nervous system the gig is over.

Rotating who drives, who packs, and who handles the money and merch also matters. One person being the hero every night is a fast track to resentment and burnout.

Dr. King’s advice is simple: schedule recovery as deliberately as you schedule shows. “Small routines like a daily walk or 10 minutes of quiet before soundcheck matter,” she says. “Talk early. Check in with someone before you’re overwhelmed – a bandmate, manager, or counsellor. Silence escalates stress.”

The comedown after a big run can hit harder than the run itself. King recommends planning that landing: think about what the week after a tour will look like: who you’ll see, how you’ll rest. The nervous system needs the landing strip as much as it needs the runway.

Hennessy agrees. “A big one is making time for proper rest, wherever possible,” he says. “Touring schedules can be relentless, but sleep and recovery are very important if you want to stay physically and mentally well over the long term.”

MusiCares’ Wolters says we should see the process as preventive care. “Sleep, nutrition, hydration, movement, and rest are not luxuries – they’re essential to sustaining creative and professional performance,” Wolters says. “Small, consistent habits make a difference.”

Have a plan for when it all becomes too much

Burnout sneaks up, but it does give early warnings – dreading gigs you used to love, numbness, snapping at people, drinking more just to get through. King reveals the two myths that come up regularly when someone finally reaches out.

“The biggest myth is ‘everyone else is coping,’” she says. “People compare their insides to other people’s stage personas, and decide they’re the weak link. Another common one is, ‘I don’t have it bad enough yet.’ Support is not only for crisis – early support prevents crisis.”

Wolters deals with similar barriers: “One of the biggest is stigma – the idea that asking for help is a sign of weakness, failure, or unprofessionalism,” she says. “We also frequently hear, ‘Other people probably need this more than I do.’ The truth is: if you’re struggling, you deserve help. No one has to wait until they're in crisis to reach out.”

There’s also a strong culture of toughness in parts of the industry. Pushing through is often rewarded; but earning your stripes as a professional should not mean getting ill. You don't have to wait until everything explodes before you're allowed to ask for help. Having one trusted person in your circle that you can text “I’m not okay” without a long explanation matters.

Remember you’re not gear

Your guitar doesn’t get offended if you swap pickups or change strings, but your body and mind aren’t that simple. They’re impacted by every all-nighter, every bad load-in, every “it’s fine; I’ll cope.”

Sometimes permission to step back is what you need most. Taking a break, changing how you tour, or saying no to a run that will break you is not failure. It’s maintenance.

King puts it simply: “You are not a machine. Treat your body and mind as part of the tour infrastructure. Protect them the way you would protect your gear. The show is important – so are you.”

The music industry isn’t going to fix this for us any time soon. But we can start fixing it ourselves by rejecting the idea that suffering is proof of commitment, by supporting each other and by sharing the help that’s available.

Tune your rig, keep your chops up, chase the songs that light you up – and build a life around it that you can actually survive.

Help is at hand

Help Musicians (UK), Support Act (Australia), and MusiCares (US) exist specifically because this life is hard – and you’re not weak for using them.

Support Act's Wellbeing Helpline offers 12 free counselling sessions per year – confidential support designed specifically for people working in music and the arts.

MusiCares provides confidential financial assistance, recovery support, and preventive care.

The UK-based Music Minds Matter’s 24/7 helpline is for people working in music who need a listening ear from someone who understands the unique pressures of the industry. Music Minds Matter has also developed a simple checklist that encourages people to ask themselves how they’re really doing.

Help Musicians is conducting what aims to be the largest-ever survey into mental health across the UK music industry, inviting people from every part of the ecosystem to share their experiences. If you're working in UK music you can contribute.

Help Musicians (UK): 0808 802 8008
Support Act (Australia): 1800 959 500
MusiCares (US): 1-800-687-4227

• What’s helped you survive touring without burning out? Share your strategies in the comments below.

When I was about 12, my friend’s dad was hipping me to all kinds of incredible music.

He gave me the 1974 Gram Parsons album Grievous Angel, which includes Ooh Las Vegas, a song that features some really cool pedal steel guitar licks that can be replicated with a Parsons/White B-Bender-equipped Fender Telecaster, which I talked about last time. In this column, I’d like to share what I learned from all this.

The track kicks off with a lick played in the key of E, along the lines of Figure 1. Here, I begin with a slide up to B on my G string’s 4th fret, followed by a C#-to-D hammer-on the B string then the open high E string.

I hybrid-pick this lick, flatpicking the G string and fingerpicking the notes on the top two strings, and allow the notes to ring together as much as possible.

There’s another part of the song, also performed with hybrid picking, along the lines of Figure 2. Here, the open low E string repeatedly alternates against E-to-D pull-offs on the D string, followed by a double pull-off at the end of bar 2, C#-B-A.

What I didn’t know at the time was that that particular lick was not played on a conventional guitar, but rather on a pedal steel, by Al Perkins. I had assumed it was played by James Burton on his Telecaster.

The tone of the pedal steel on this track is so clear, clean and bright and sounded to me like a Tele! Figure 3 is played in the style of this solo, kicking off in bar 1 with a quick ascending lick based on the E major pentatonic scale (E, F#, G#, B, C#) and followed in bars 2-4 with a phrase based on oblique bends.

An oblique bend is performed by combining bent and unbent strings. Here, the G string is bent up a whole step while notes on the top two strings remain stationary. Essential to playing this lick is the use of hybrid picking, as the notes on the top two strings repeatedly alternate with the bent G string.

What makes the lick challenging to execute is the note on the high E string is at the 10th fret, while the note on the B string is at the 12th fret.

At first, I thought, “Is the guitar in open G tuning?” But I soon discovered that it wasn’t a standard guitar at all – it was the pedal steel. And this was the beginning of my journey of trying to replicate pedal steel licks on Telecasters.

At the end of the tune, James comes in with a funky chordal lick based on an E7 voicing, not unlike Figure 4.

When I got a hold of a B-Bender guitar, I started to write songs with it, such as Pretty Little Lie [from The Whippoorwill].

Figure 5 replicates the opening B-Bender lick on standard guitar; many of the slide and hammer-on articulations here were actually sounded by pulling down on the B-Bender. Our song Lonesome for a Living features both B-Bender guitar and pedal steel.

If you want to hear some great B-Bender playing by Clarence White, check out the Byrds’ Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 and Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde.

White’s guitar now belongs to the great Marty Stuart, who has taken the art of B-Bender playing even further. And for a B-Bender masterclass, listen to Albert Lee’s playing on Dave Edmunds’ Sweet Little Lisa.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Most of us can jam on a classic riff or shred through a solo without thinking twice, but ask us to write our own song, and things start to get more than a little uncomfortable. The truth is, songwriting is a skill, and like anything on guitar, it gets better with the right kind of practice. That’s exactly what Songwriting For Guitar is built around.

​You might know Mike Meiers from his online guitar lessons here at Guitar World. But there's a lot more to him than that. He's an Emmy Award-winning composer with TV and film placements on major networks, a co-writer and producer who's worked with artists across the industry – and this weekend, he's hosting a free two-day live event to help you write better songs.

​Mike's helped countless guitarists break through the exact same wall you might be hitting right now. So if you’ve got a pile of unfinished songs sitting on your laptop, riff ideas that go nowhere, or your writing feels stuck in a rut, he knows what's blocking you, and he knows how to fix it.

​It’s happening April 11–12, and it’s completely free. Of course, the event is live, so you’ll want to show up in real time, but if you register before it kicks off, you’ll also get access to the replays.

Head to songwritingforguitar.com to grab your spot.

Every guitarist has their own unique approach to playing. From the way we strum to how we set up our instrument, the guitar is an inherently subjective experience, driven by feel and personality.

That means, sometimes, you can stumble across a surprising tip that can drastically alter the way you play – and, for me, that happened more than 10 years ago, when a British blues guitar hero completely changed my relationship with the humble guitar pick.

Conventional wisdom dictates that the pointy end of a pick is what you use to pluck the strings. The broader top is where you hold it. And this makes sense. The wider part offers greater surface area for the thumb and forefinger to hold securely. The tapered end has a smaller point for reduced contact and thus a more pronounced and precise ‘pluck’.

Up until the age of 16, this is how I held a guitar pick. I didn’t know any different, and every teacher I’d had at that point had encouraged me to do just that.

However, that changed when I attended a guitar masterclass in Bristol, England, hosted by Matt Schofield. After a few hours, I’d learned plenty of licks, and took onboard some sage advice for hitting chord tones in your solos (younger me was obsessed with the blues), but the biggest thing I took away from the event had nothing to do with my left hand. It was all about my right.

During that workshop, Schofield shared how – and why – he held a guitar pick on its side. Contrary to popular practice, Schofield rotated the pick 90 degrees anti-clockwise, so the pointy end was directed towards his palm. This meant he was striking the string with the flatter shoulder of the pick.

The thinking, at least as I understand it, goes something like this: the increased contact between the string and pick offers a softer picking tone, as opposed to the sharp point delivering a more pronounced and ‘stabby’ attack.

It was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me, and after trying it for the first time I’ve never looked back. In fact, using the sharp end of a pick now feels weirdly alien to me. I am 10 times the player when I hold a guitar pick the ‘wrong’ way.

I’ve not scientifically tested it, but from my own anecdotal evidence, the pick transients are so much softer when using the shoulder of a plectrum. As a player who likes to try and be as dynamic as possible, this softer attack felt far more natural and usable. There was a larger range of expression to play with.

"I struggled to play with the pointy end," Schofield once said in an online lesson video. "This just felt right to me from the beginning and I preferred the sound of it. It instinctively sounded better – fuller and richer."

I’ve since come to learn this isn’t a completely new philosophy. Pat Metheny is a famous champion of the shoulder picking, as was Stevie Ray Vaughan. Robben Ford uses this trick, too. Modern-day session greats Tom Bukovac and Guthrie Trapp both swear by it. That’s no coincidence.

There’s something that links all these players together: they are all immensely dynamic, known for their feel and phrasing. They can go from softer-than-softer solos to pummeling lead lines and chord strumming in the blink of an eye. I think a large part of that comes from the way they all hold the pick.

For me, the shoulder of the pick serves as something of an additional de facto gain stage, or at the very least a tool for tempering my tone. If I angle the pick against the string, I can almost brush against it for a more textural, tangible feel with nice overtones, whereas when I square it off to the string, I get greater presence and precision.

That, right there, already opens up a world of playing possibilities even before you start throwing amps, effects, and other tone-shaping tools in the signal chain. It made me realize that guitar picking isn’t literally just ‘picking the string’. It’s another concept that can be leveraged for feel and sound.

This method also allows me to ‘step away’ from the string faster, thus letting me play a bit quicker and move around at pace. Bukovac concurs – “I definitely think you can play faster with the shoulder,” he once told Rick Beato.

Again, I’m not a ‘speed’ kinda player, but it’s a nice happy bonus. The true value of the shoulder method, for me, lies in the fact I feel closer to my strings – physically and mentally – and helps me get closer to that intangible sense of touch and feel that so many players (myself included) so often strive for.

After all, that blissful simplicity of the human touch is something that’s conveyed through the guitar rather uniquely, and an aspect that the greats of the instrument have all mastered. In the end, to become more dynamic, I didn’t need a new guitar or pedal, nor did I have to relearn certain techniques. I just had to flip my guitar pick 90 degrees.

Few blues guitarists are as fiery on the fretboard as Philip Sayce. Having worked with many great artists (from Jeff Healey to Jimmy Barnes) and been influenced by more (SRV, Hendrix, the three Kings all spring to mind), Philip has recorded 11 outstanding albums as a bandleader and stuns wherever he plays.

To coincide with his upcoming live album, Scorched Earth: Volume 2 Live in LA / London, Philip took time out with GW to cover the five vital components that make up his signature style.

Throughout, Philip is in Eb tuning (Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb) for the video performance – like standard tuning (E A D G B E) but detuned by one semitone. This provides a fat Stratocaster single coil tone and reduces the string tension – an approach favoured by many greats including Jimi Hendrix and SRV.

In the video, the licks are played in free time with no backing track or metronome click. We have used a 4/4 time signature with all the rhythms 'rounded up' so it's easier to learn from. If you're keen to duplicate Philip's micro rhythmic nuances after referencing the tab, consult the video.

The five core elements are based around various tonalities including C# and B. He skilfully combines the major and minor pentatonic scales with color tones added. Throughout, you'll see how he combines these with fretting hand slurs, bends and vibrato with hybrid picking that blends pick attack with snappy finger picking.

Philip tours the UK from May 19th to June 3rd. For more on his album and tour visit www.philpsayce.com

Example 1. Warm-up stretching (0:46 in the video)

While Philip is in Eb tuning for all examples, we're presenting in standard E tuning as E major or E minor is easier to read than Eb major or Eb minor. The tab is exactly as Philip plays on the fretboard so detuned or in standard, the examples should prove very beneficial to work from.

If you are a pro athlete you always stretch, and guitar playing is no different. Here, Philip demonstrates his favorite warm-up stretching. This comes in the form of a five-string chord that is played over an open sixth string pedal note. The chord is first played high up the neck and then as the fingering is moved down the neck the stretch increases.

We recommend pointing the headstock up in the air so the neck is at 45 degrees – this will help promote good posture.

Example 2. Singing vibrato (2:00 in the video)

Here, Philip demonstrates how he uses a singing finger vibrato to grab the ear of the listener. The finger vibrato can be added to a string bend or to a normally fretted note. Adding finger vibrato whilst bending can be tough initially (ie speed of bend, when to apply vibrato), so we recommend developing your finger vibrato technique on a normally fretted note first. The action of rubbing the string against the fretwire aids sustain - explore how hard you press down and the results of different finger pressures.

Example 3. Enhanced singing vibrato (3:09 in the video)

Here Philip demonstrates an Eric Clapton style singing finger vibrato. For this one the whole of the fretting hand grip can be removed from the neck, so the only point touching the neck is the finger on the fretted note.

This allows for a free flowing, vocal style vibrato. The only issue with this technique is it can be difficult to maintain control and consistency during the early stages.

Example 4. Galloping rhythmic lead (4:06 in the video)

This one is inspired by guitarists like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and is a combination of rhythm and lead. Philip uses a great sounding fingering for C#7#9 with an octave in the bass. The thumb of the fretting hand can be used to fret the sixth string.

The galloping rhythm is the key here and we’d recommend building this up slowly so you can build stamina and be accurate at higher tempos.

Example 5a. Burning blues lead (pick only) (4:38 in the video)

These two examples are closely linked. Philip plays the first fully picked example to provide an example of how the phrase sounds with all picking.

Example 5b. Burning blues lead (pick and fingers) (4:51 in the video)

The second version uses hybrid picking (pick and fingers together), so Philip uses the the picking hand's second finger (shown as 'm' under the tab) to pluck various notes, especially for string crossing moments. This provides some tonal light and shade and helps the notes to pop out. We have notated sections of picking (shown under the tab) so you can duplicate what Philip plays.

Philip Sayce in action

Philip Sayce - Morning Star

Taken from Philip's new live album, Morning Star features his trademark tone, burning bends and singing vibrato. As for the solo at 2:43 - phew, what a scorcher!

Philip Sayce - Morning Star and Spanish Castle Magic

This two song mashup showcases his stunning guitar chops that blend Jeff Healey, Hendrix, SRV and Freddie King influences to create his own arresting style. Tone, taste and fire in equal measure!

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new Guitar World instructional column. In this series of lessons, I will be sharing and demonstrating some of my approaches to playing seven-string guitar and the various ways I use the instrument to craft the riffs that I write for my band, Spiritbox.

I’d like to kick things off with a look at some of the technical and musical elements I employ in our song Jaded, which we recorded for our 2023 EP, The Fear of Fear.

Essential to playing Jaded correctly is the tuning I use, which is drop-F# (low to high): F#, C#, F#, B, E, G#, C#. This is drop-A tuning (A, E, A, D, G, B, E), down one and one half steps, or a minor 3rd.

When transposing a tuning like this, some players prefer to think of the notes “normally,” meaning as if their guitar were in drop-A, with the understanding that everything sounds in a lower key.

Others acknowledge the absolute, concert-key pitches. I myself just visualize the shapes on the fretboard and play by ear without thinking about the note names.

As shown in Figure 1, I perform the intro riff that begins at 0:22 on my guitar’s bottom four strings, using mostly downstrokes – the only exceptions being the pairs of 16th notes, which I pick down-up.

As you can see, there’s a lot of string-skipping between the 7th string and either the 5th or 4th string. Doing so requires both precision and stamina with the pick hand, and it will take time to build up the accuracy that the riff demands.

I begin high up on the neck, at the 15th fret, and proceed to jump back and forth between high and low notes, with some very wide intervals, which I think creates an interesting, angular melodic contour that “pops” nicely.

Notice that I briefly apply palm-muting (P.M.) to the 16th notes on the open 7th-string, which makes them sound tight and percussive. Also notice, in bars 1, 3, 5 and 7, the long finger slides on the 5th string, from the 8th fret to the 14th, which is another important articulation element of the riff.

So, in addition to all the string-skips, there are a lot of quick position shifts, especially with the octave jumps in bar 9, which make the riff challenging to perform cleanly and consistently.

Figure 2 illustrates the song’s pre-chorus riff (0:59), which is very similar to the intro. There are slight differences between the first ending (bars 7 and 8) and the second ending (bars 9 and 10). Both times, I play strummed octaves on the 7th and 5th strings, again with some sliding and shifting, but notice that I change the order of the notes in the final bar, adding a slight twist to cap off the riff.

When playing both figures, strive for accuracy and economy of movement with the pick hand while also delivering the desired intense, aggressive feel. As with anything, practice it slowly at first, to establish the muscle, visual and auditory memory, then gradually increase the tempo to match that of the recording.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Paul Gilbert is a rare example of a musician who has pushed the envelope of his instrument while also achieving commercial success.

He's a virtuoso guitarist who is respected worldwide for his work with shred metal pioneers Racer X. He's a bona fide rockstar who has topped the charts and filled arenas with Mr. Big, as well as maintaining a prolific and varied solo career. His latest album, WROC (which stands for Washington's Rules of Civility), could be his most outlandish offering to date.

Before all this though, Paul was a student and a tutor at LA's G.I.T. (Guitar Institute of Technology, later Musicians Institute) who stunned and informed '80s students with his speed and precision. He was the Yoda of rock for countless Jedi Padawans.

We asked him to look back at his trademark G.I.T. era licks, taking them from technique-building exercises to effective musical phrases. So grab your guitar and amp for this fun deep dive into the heady days of '80s shred licks to boost your chops and musicality!

Example 1a: A Dorian lick (0:21 in the video)

This example features the A Dorian mode (A B C D E F# G) and is played using legato (fretting hand hammer-ons and pull-offs) and outside picking (up-pick the first string, downpick the second string – the pick to string contact is outside the strings).

The sequence stays the same on the second string while the note on the first (high E) string moves up and down the scale. For the highest note (C on the 8th fret, first string), you will fret with the fourth finger and then roll it across so it frets the G note (8th fret, second string).

The first string notes are played with an upstroke, while the lone picked note on the second string is played with a downstroke. Paul suggests digging in hard to the picked notes to draw out pinched harmonics. This lick also works great with every note picked using strict up-down alternate picking.

Example 1b: A Dorian Lick, version 2 (6:35 in the video)

The same phrasing and picking articulation from exercise 1a can be extended to other note groupings from the A Dorian mode. Moving the sequence up a minor third introduces larger stretches that Paul frets with the first, third and fourth fingers again.

Experiment with the second finger in place of the third finger if this is uncomfortable, but be sure to pay attention to the wrist and elbow positioning.

As Paul points out in the video, the whole arm and hand play an important role in accessing speed and dexterity, a commonly overlooked part of good guitar technique.

Example 1c: Chromatic lick (7:50 in the video)

To demonstrate that this concept can work with any scale or set of notes, we have a chromatic version of the original exercise. Consider expanding this by starting on the third or fourth strings and introduce string skips.

Example 2a: E minor pentatonic lick (8:33 in the video)

This begins with an ascending E minor pentatonic (E G A B D) sequence favored by Jimmy Page and Ace Frehley who were big influences on Paul. It moves into classic Gilbert territory by adding the second degree of the minor scale, and a repeating pull-off motif on the top two strings.

The wrist roll from the first exercise is again employed. The liberal use of pull-offs makes the picking less of a concern, but players who want to replicate Paul’s approach (he often uses outside picking to cross strings) will want to play close attention to the pick strokes indicated below the tab.

Example 2b: E minor blues lick (14:45 in the video)

Here's a great minor blues companion to exercise 2a that features rolls, bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs. Mr. Big recordings and Paul's more recent solo albums feature plenty of ideas like this, and players such as Nuno Bettencourt, Zakk Wylde and John Sykes use similar concepts.

Take your time and work in small sections before piecing it all together – a common approach to shred guitar creativity.

Example 2c: E minor blues lick, version 2 (15:00 in the video)

This variation of Paul's previous minor blues lick breaks up the phrasing with strategic rest strokes and staccato picking. All three exercises here demonstrate the power of rearranging familiar pentatonic box shape with select notes from the minor, Dorian and blues scales. Lots of fresh options and lots of fun!

Example 3a: The Hip A7 scale: A Mixolydian+b3+b5 (16:48 in the video)

Paul’s creative approach to playing over dominant chords often features a hybrid Mixolydian, Dorian and Blues scale he simply calls 'The Hip A7 Scale'. It's A Mixolydian (A B C# D E F# G) plus b3 (C note) and b5 (Eb note).

The example below simply lays the notes out on the fretboard - learn this first then you'll appreciate the next example on a deeper theoretical level. This fully rounded approach to tuition was a key element of G.I.T – expand student's theory and technique for wider musical expression.

Example 3: The Hip A7 lick (15:31 in the video)

Paul's Hip A7 lick is a perfect example of venturing beyond rigid scale shapes and embracing the bluesy foundations of rock guitar, where conviction and style reign supreme.

Building on the ingredients from exercise 3a, this sequence sounds sophisticated by contrasting chord tones from A7 (the notes are A C# E G) with extensions and alterations like the minor third (#9 - C), flattened fifth (#11 - Eb) and sixth (13th - F#).

Adding these notes to a dominant 7th chord's notes (or even the minor or major pentatonics) is a great way to morph rock and blues licks into jazz and fusion lines.

Paul Gilbert discusses his fretting hand technique

How did your fretting hand’s third and fourth fingers get strong and independent of each other?

My first two years on guitar were all self-taught. For some reason, I only used my middle finger. When I finally started taking lessons, my teacher suggested an exercise to get my other fingers moving. The exercise was one-finger-per-fret, across all six strings, starting on the 1st fret. I had big hands as an 11-year-old, so I could handle playing F, F#, G, G# with all four fingers on the sixth string. That became a habit.

So when I learned an A minor scale with A, B, C on the first string, I used my first finger, third finger, and pinky (fourth finger). It worked right away, so I never considered an alternative. I must admit that few of my '70s guitar heroes use this fingering, and I certainly wouldn't have them change anything. In most cases, I don't think there is a particular advantage. It's more a personal quirk. But once in a while that fingering will offer something unique, plus I'm just used to it.

How did you develop strength and stamina for big stretches?

I used to play [Van Halen's] Spanish Fly over and over again when I was a teenager. That was my daily warm-up. I also practiced trills between all my fingers. A trill between the third finger and fourth finger takes some doing! And I would even practice these on a bass, to build more stamina. I was 18 years old. Now if I need stamina, I just use 7s!

How did you develop your fourth finger vibrato?

I do pinky vibrato all the time, with help from the other fingers! And it's actually the wrist (a much larger and powerful body part) that's driving the whole thing. I wouldn't dare send the energy of my wrist into my pinky by itself. I'd get an injury, fast! So the pinky is just getting the note, and the other fingers are providing more skin and stability.

What is good rock vibrato?

Let's take a look at bad vibrato first, as we can learn from it. The most common bad vibrato is when the vibrato starts fast... then freezes. To fix it, just flip the order around. Start with no vibrato. Then gradually speed it up. Then you need to have a stylish transition out of it. That can be a slide, a pitch scratch, an intentional stop, or a muted sweep into the next chord. Use anything to get out of the vibrato before it freezes!

In terms of technique, frozen notes typically come from the wrist being in a classical position under the neck. Look up some photos of the vibrato masters of the '70s. Jimi Hendrix, Brian May, Gary Moore, Jimmy Page, Ace Frehley, and Leslie West all have their thumbs hanging over the top of the neck. This is an indication of where the wrist is. The wrist drives the vibrato. The wrist is powerful! Frozen notes disappear!

Nobody told me any of that when I was a kid. I just wanted to look and sound like Jimmy Page. And the low-slung guitar helped, as it banished classical hand position. For rock vibrato, the low-slung guitar gets the wrist in just the right place. I wear my guitar up a bit higher these days, but my vibrato technique was honed with a long guitar strap and '70s heroes in my ears.

What is a common fretting hand problem you could help everyone solve?

So much of my style is dependent on a "wrist up" rock wrist position. Besides the power and control of wrist-driven vibrato, it also makes it easier to do finger rolls from string to string on the same fret. It makes noise-control easier, as it gets you in position to mute adjacent strings to the one you're playing. And I believe the rock wrist position gives extra strength and speed to hammer-ons and pull-offs as well.

The only time I make an exception is on barre chords, or big stretches on the lower strings. For those, I just tilt the neck up a bit to get my wrist in temporary classical position until the phrase is done, and then I'm back to rock wrist. For all of this, the most important part of your hand is... your ears!

Paul Gilbert's new album, WROC, is out now.

More Paul Gilbert!

Racer X - Street Lethal

While Mr Big launched Paul to bona fide rock god status, the title track of the debut Racer X album established him as a shred superhero. Blistering three-notes-per-string sequences, intense vibrato and surgical diad riffing make Street Lethal stand out!

Paul Gilbert - Go Not Thither

Paul channels the pentatonic swagger of Mahogany Rush, Pat Travers and Montrose with this uptempo groove from his latest album WROC. The solo seamlessly blends Mixolydian, Dorian and blues scale phrases with a syrupy tone and vibrato which highlights the influence of Robin Trower.

One of the standout tracks from my new album, B.B. King: Blues Summit 100, is a cover of the iconic tune When Love Comes to Town, which is a song King had recorded with U2 in 1988, an unlikely pairing that worked out phenomenally well and became very popular when it was released the following year.

Bono had written the song specifically with B.B. in mind, and they recorded it together at Sun Studios in Memphis. B.B. would subsequently perform the song live with U2 nearly 50 times.

There are many really cool guitar parts in this song, not only from B.B. but also from the Edge, who played a solo, which was delightfully surprising, as it is very unusual to hear him play in this type of blues context.

The Edge’s solo has his signature ethereal sound, so in approximating it, we plugged in a TC Electronic 2290, an AMS reverb – using anything we could find from that era at Sunset Sound in L.A. – and the results are sonically appropriate.

Using that sound, I played a solo in his style, along the lines of Figure 1. The solo is based on simple combinations of quarter and eighth notes, incorporating the open low and high E strings and the open B string, as well as a strummed E5 chord, with all notes allowed to ring into each other.

When it’s B.B.’s turn to solo, he gets right to classic B.B.-style phrasing, like Figure 2. Played in the “B.B. box,” the fret-hand is rooted in 5th position, starting with a big vibrato on an E root note and followed by succinct phrases that draw notes from both E major pentatonic (E, F#, G#, B, C#) and E minor pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D).

Figures 3 and 4 are based on the same approach, this time moving from the tonic chord, E, to the IV (four) chord, A, without changing positions. All of these improvised melodies are played in the same 5th-position box.

The original track offers a great lesson in the power of simplicity in the parts of both guitarists. The Edge played in his style and B.B. played in his, and the two work so well together.

When we set about to record our version of the song, we invited Slash, Miles Kennedy and Shemekia Copeland to contribute their talents, and they all did a fantastic job, putting their own stamp on this classic song.

There are many approaches Slash could have taken for his solo, and I thought it was cool that he did his own thing, utilizing his signature “rock” approach along the lines of Figure 5.

In this example, the first three bars are based on E minor pentatonic in 12th position, shifting in bar 4 up to 15th position then back to 12th position heading into bar 5. Moving into bar 6, the lines shift up to 17th position then back down to 5th position at the end of the bar.

The beauty of soloing over this song’s progression is you can stick with E-scale riffs the entire time, moving simply between the I and IV chords, as the tune never goes to the V (five) chord, B. I encourage you to make it your own, which is the approach Slash took quite effectively here.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Last month, I discussed some of the advantages of playing in a power trio, such as the open harmonic canvas that it affords me as a guitar player. Threw Me to the Wolves is a song of mine that presents many opportunities to explore and exploit the creative freedom that the three-piece ensemble allows.

With the song’s solo section, my mindset is that we’re at the start of a musical journey, and it’s my mission to “tell a story” that will take the audience from one place to another. In this lesson, I’d like to share how I go about doing that.

Let’s first look at the solo section’s chord progression. As shown in Figure 1, we’re in the key of A minor, and the progression begins with the bVI (flat six) chord, F(sus2), which moves to the bVII (flat seven) chord, G5, then resolves to the tonic, or root, chord, Am. Each chord lasts for two beats, so the first bar is Fsus2 to G5, and the second bar is Am to G5. This two-bar pattern then repeats throughout the solo.

For the F and G chords, no 3rd is played, which gives me more melodic freedom when soloing. This sense of “open harmony” allows me to hold long, sustaining notes over all three chords, and then travel through the progression with melodic freedom, in my quest for memorable, singable solos.

Figure 2 illustrates how I get into the solo. Taking an Eric Clapton/Albert King-inspired approach, I begin with a whole-step bend from D, the 4th, up to E, the 5th, which I hold and shake, after which I slowly move back down to the A root note via the notes D and C, as well as the 2nd, B. The overall scale I rely on here is A minor hextatonic (A, B, C, D, E, G), which is A minor pentatonic (A, C, D, E, G) with the note B, the 2nd, or 9th, added.

Another thing I love to do here is reference the chord progression with double-stops, specifically 6th intervals, or 6ths. Figure 3 has me sliding into a C-A double-stop over Fsus2, a D-B double-stop over G5 and an E-C double-stop over Am.

Figure 4 demonstrates a neat little trick I picked up from Joe Bonamassa: when playing a 6th or 10th interval as a double-stop, instead of fretting the higher note normally, play it one fret lower then bend it up a half step and add some vibrato, to make it really sing.

Another cool way to elaborate on 6ths is to create a “pedal tone”-type melody. In Figure 5, I begin with straight 6ths over Fsus2 and G5 then use the lower note as a rearticulated pedal tone against a melodic line played on higher strings.

I also like to reference each chord with simple triad arpeggios. In Figure 6, I play F, G and Am triads on the top three strings while adding vibrato in an Otis Rush-type manner.

Figure 7 and 8 illustrate a tremolo strumming technique I picked up from Stevie Ray Vaughan: Figure 7 shows Am, Bm, Csus2 and Dsus2 triads played on the top three strings. In Figure 8, I create a tremolo effect by lightly strumming the strings with the tip of my pick-hand index finger as quickly as possible.

This is the last installment of Hardwired for now. I hope you’ve been able to incorporate some of my ideas into your own playing and hope to see you at a show soon!

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

In a world where we’re so often encouraged to expand our vocabulary, learn more scales, play over complex changes and improve our technique, this example solo takes the contrary approach of exploring simple bluesy ideas over a single chord.

It does venture a little outside of the regular pentatonic shapes towards the end (check out Example 3), but this is the exception, rather than the rule. In this section we’re looking for interesting melodic lines instead of deliberately referring to specific chord tones, but – deliberately or not – this is what’s going on during the last four bars…

One of the advantages of staying with a one-chord ‘drone’ backing such as this is that we can experiment with different melodic ideas without having to consider the constantly ‘shifting sands’ of changing chords.

This concentration on the melodic possibilities in a narrower context can be gradually expanded from a single chord to some straightforward changes at first, then gradually building in complexity as you become more conversant with the various possibilities.

Let’s talk a little more about the example solo. It was played in a single pass but is divided up here into three four-bar sections. The first two of these stay within the accepted parameters of blues playing (albeit with a little more distortion than a ‘classic’ blues).

After establishing a riff in Example 1, Example 2 plays around with the shape 1 A minor pentatonic box. None of this requires a huge vocabulary or theoretical knowledge; it’s much more about melody and rhythm. While it’s always good to expand our horizons, most classic solos aren’t derived from esoteric scales and arpeggios!

That said, Example 3 does deliberately (and repeatedly) refer to the 6th (F#), culminating in a fiddly Am6 arpeggio idea. Hope you enjoy and see you next time!

Example 1

This introductory phrase establishes a riff based around an A chord, though it progresses towards a more pentatonic ‘lead guitar’ approach by the time we reach bar 4. In terms of pentatonic positions, you could say this is based predominantly around shape 5 until bar 4, when we shift up to shape 1.

I’m using fingerstyle to play this, but any version of hybrid or even flatpicking can be made to work. Try them all and see what you prefer.

Example 2

Having established that bluesy groove, we’re now ‘lifting off’ with some solo playing. We stay pretty constantly with the shape 1 A minor pentatonic we shifted to at the end of Example 1.

This phrase isn’t looking to push any boundaries harmonically – it’s about building intensity via that repeated string-bending lick, then breaking it up with some rhythmic doublestops. Maybe a good way of viewing this is to think of Jeff Beck shifting to Billy Gibbons!

Example 3

Here’s where we change from a more pentatonic-based approach to experimenting with ‘outside’ ideas – not in the hard bebop sense but non-pentatonic and arpeggio-based shapes based around Am6.

This translates as including lots of F# (the 6th), along with the other notes from A minor (A-C-E). Looking closely, you’ll also spot a good chunk of the shape 3 A minor pentatonic in there, too.

Once again, it’s your choice whether to use fingerstyle, pick or hybrid picking. Arguably, once you add enough gain, the tone difference is minimal, but how you attack the notes will influence your phrasing.

Hear it here

Jeff Beck – Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop

The title track of 1989’s Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop was definitely an inspiration for the riff in Example 1 of this issue’s piece, though Stand On It is also in there, too. Staying with that same album, Two Rivers explores some unusual non-pentatonic ideas.

Elsewhere, check out Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers from 75’s Blow By Blow as this contains a mixture of melodic exploration and more recognisably pentatonic themes. A little of this creeps into Example 2 with its repeated string-bend lick.

ZZ Top – Eliminator

Billy Gibbons manages to take blues ideas and incorporate them into a non-traditional context without losing their essence. His riffs and solos on the tracks Legs and Sharp Dressed Man from 1983’s Eliminator illustrate this particularly well, as all the other instruments sound very programmed and ‘1980s’.

The same is true of Rough Boy from Afterburner (1985): the two solos in this track really show Billy stretching out and soloing in a way he doesn’t allow himself on the other two examples.

Oz Noy – Who Gives A Funk

Though he definitely comes from the more technical end of the spectrum, Oz Noy has an understanding of what makes the blues the blues, in the same way that Robben Ford does. In fact, you can check them out playing together on his version of Ice Man from 2016’s Who Gives A Funk album.

Elsewhere, check out Come Dance With Me from Twisted Blues Vol 2, released in 2014, or his incredible soloing on Sit Tight from the Ha! album, from earlier in his career in 2005.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

A staple of many great country and country rock songs – and, in the hands of Jimmy Page and Albert Lee, rock songs – is the sound of the B-Bender.

For those unfamiliar, a B-Bender is a string-pulling device built into a guitar, most often a Fender Telecaster, that allows the player to raise the pitch of the B string by simply pulling down on the guitar strap. This enables one to emulate the pitch-bending sound of a pedal steel guitar, which works in a similar way, with pedals used to raise the pitches of individual strings or groups of strings.

The B-Bender was originally known as the “Parsons/White Pull-String,” because it was the brainchild of guitarist Clarence White and drummer Gene Parsons of the Byrds and Nashville West.

Legend has it that, while recording, Clarence said, “Hey, I need another finger to play this chord! Gene, come over here and push down on my B string behind the nut to raise the pitch.” Gene reportedly said, “You know, I can build a device that will do that for you.” And thus the Parsons/White B-Bender was born.

Part of the guitar’s body is hollowed out for a pulley system: a rod is attached to the strap button above the neck, and when this rod is pulled downward (by pulling on the strap), the pulley system raises the pitch of the B string inside the bridge up to one whole step.

As a young guitarist, I was completely under the spell of all of the fantastic B-Bender players, including White, Marty Stuart, Lee and Page, who used a B-Bender guitar brilliantly on the 1979 Led Zeppelin album In Through the Out Door.

Like most players, I was forced to learn how to attain the B-Bender sounds on a standard guitar long before I attained one equipped with a B-Bender.

As shown in Figure 1, while holding down the notes B and F# at the 7th fret on the top two strings, I can bend the F# up to G#. This technique, where one note rises while another remains stationary, is known as an oblique bend.

We have a Blackberry Smoke song called Sleeping Dogs, in which I play B-Bender-type licks on a standard guitar. As shown in Figure 2, there’s a turnaround in the song that goes D5 - E (or E7) - G7 - D.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the licks I play over these chords, for which I bend my G string downward to raise an E note up to F#.

Years ago I’d go see Rick Richards from the Georgia Satellites, who played a Les Paul Junior through a dimed Hiwatt amp. He was the king of Chuck Berry-style licks, like the one shown in Figure 5, and he’d play beautiful licks like Figures 6 and 7 that emulated the B-Bender sound by bending his G string while holding two-note forms on the top two strings.

In Figure 8, I begin by bending into an E major triad (E, G#, B) and then play a lick based on E major pentatonic (E, F#, G#, B, C#) combined with the E blues scale (E, G, A, Bb, B, D).

In Figure 9, the oblique bend technique is applied to the top two strings with the bends on the B and G strings.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Recently, we’ve been exploring extended chords, and while we did touch on some altered chords, this is a fuller explanation with tips on how to avoid some common pitfalls with the naming conventions.

That being said, it’s important to remember that the names are only an attempt to describe/itemise the different sounds available to us. Altered chords aren’t necessarily extended, but this can be the area that spawns the most intimidating names, some of which we’ll attempt to demystify here.

Let’s start by defining exactly what ‘altered’ means in this context, which is: moving a note within a chord out of the ‘parent’ scale. For example, a C augmented (usually written as ‘aug’) triad contains C-E-G# (Root-3rd-#5).

The 5th has been raised (augmented) by a semitone, giving us a G#, which is not found in the C major scale – and is great for adding tension. It really is as simple as that, even though some of the names can seem a little daunting at first glance (see Example 5).

Example 1. Caug5

You’ll see the similarity to a regular C major chord, but that #5 (G#) on the third string takes it somewhere else – perhaps it can resolve to an F major, or maybe raise that G# another semitone to A at the 2nd fret, giving us C6? Altered chords are all about the context.

Example 2. C7(b5)

Having raised the 5th in Example 1, we’re lowering it in this C7(b5). It’s also a 7th chord, which adds a more jazzy feel. Take care to mute the fifth string and you can move this chord to any key. This would resolve well to C7 by raising that b5 on the second string a semitone.

Example 3. C7(b9)

The same overall principles apply when looking to alter extended chords. This C7(b9) is a classic jazz chord, with the b9 (Db) appearing at the 2nd fret of the second string. Raise it a semitone to the 3rd fret and you’ll find a D, giving us a nice resolution to a C9 chord.

Example 4. C9(#11)

If we build further on the ideas in Example 3, we might make this dramatic C9 (#11) chord. The #11 itself (F#) is found at the 2nd fret of the first string. They’re both F#/Gb, so why a #11 rather than a b5? Because we also have the 7th and the 9th here, making this an extended chord.

Example 5. C7(#5#9)

The classic Hendrix chord gets an extra note here, the #5 (G#) above the more often heard #9 (D). You can add this by simply flattening your fourth finger across the first and second strings. This sets up a nice resolve to F13, but why not experiment and see what else sounds good to you?

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

One of the coolest and most badass-sounding things a guitarist can do is double a long, complex bassline an octave higher. This was my approach for the song Dean Town, which I recorded with Vulfpeck for our 2016 album, The Beautiful Game.

The tune was inspired by legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius’ Teen Town, which he recorded with Weather Report on the 1975 album Heavy Weather.

Like Teen Town, the bassline in Dean Town is a through-composed melody, which means it’s a continuous and non-repetitive piece of music.

The melody was written by our keyboard player Woody Goss and “made famous” by bassist Joe Dart. I decided to octave-double Joe’s intricate bassline through the long initial section of the tune, which was challenging!

Before launching into the melodic line, let’s take a look at the basic underlying chord changes, outlined in Figure 1. In the song, each of these notes – F#, C#, E and B – is played for two full bars, as steady 16th notes. So it’s an eight-bar loop. The tune’s melody is 16 bars long and is played over the eight-bar progression two times.

The first time the 16-bar melody, or “head,” is played, it’s performed by the bass alone. The second time through, I octave-double it on guitar.

This 16-bar melody is shown in Figure 2. Using palm-muting throughout, I begin with a one-beat pickup, and bar 1 starts with the 16th notes E-D#-C#-A, followed by the root note, F#, which falls on beat 2. Right from the start, this is a little deceptive, as the low F# root note hits you like it’s on “1,” but it is in fact on beat 2.

As you play through the line, you’ll see that it includes some complex, syncopated rhythms driven by eighth and 16th notes and rests, with many “holes” dropped into unexpected places.

Bar 6 begins with a four-note chromatic row, from F# up to A, followed by high melodic notes that bounce off open low-E 16th note syncopations. Bars 7 and 8 circle around B7 with the notes of B major pentatonic (B, C#, D#, F#, G#), which resolves in bar 9 to F#m, with the bar ending with dead-string hits and a high chordal accent on the final 16th note of the bar.

Bars 10-12 offer a break from the barrage of 16th notes with repeated eighth-note accents on the F# root note, only to return to very syncopated lines in bars 13-16.

The biggest challenge when doubling a complex, rhythmically dense bassline like this is precision. It simply will not work and will sound sloppy if I don’t nail every phrase and mirror the articulations of the bass.

Later in the tune, I play a funky rhythm part high up on the fretboard that consists of syncopated double-stops on the G and B strings, shown in Figure 3. Notice that each bar repeats and how the notes work with the underlying chord changes. Utilizing two-note chords like this is a great way to outline the harmony with just a minimal amount of information and textural density.

This is the last installment of my column Follow the Groove for now, so I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these columns and the ideas presented have been useful to you. See you on the road!

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

When putting the tracks together for B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 – my band’s two-disc, 32-track tribute to B.B. King in celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday, on September 16, 2025 – we knew that the most essential track would be The Thrill Is Gone.

B.B. originally recorded this song back in 1969 for the Completely Well album, and it immediately became his signature tune and the most successful record of his career.

The Thrill Is Gone is so iconic, in fact, that no one wanted to cover it! I felt that I had two choices: one would have been to approach a young, budding blues artist with no fear about tackling the beast!

Luckily enough, we were able to get Chaka Khan for vocals and Eric Clapton for guitar. They are the crown jewels, two of music’s greatest icons, paying tribute to an icon.

When I listen to B.B.’s original version of The Thrill Is Gone, one of the most striking things is that every lick he plays sounds perfect, like it’s etched in stone. But I’m sure that he simply improvised everything you hear on the track right off the top of his head.

The eternal question is always, “How do I get into the tune?” For B.B., the answer is as simple as the riff shown Figure 1, which is along the lines of what’s heard on the record.

The phrase is based on B minor pentatonic (B, D, E, F#, A), with the 2nd, or 9th, C#, added here and there, as well as the major 7th, A#, when playing over the F#7 chord in bar 9. And the stabs on the high B note in bar 6 are elemental to B.B.’s signature style.

This figure is indicative of B.B.’s purely melodic and effortless approach, which is almost like jazz. His lines are so strong that they’re melodies unto themselves. Along with his distinctive touch, tone and phrasing, his solo lines are as integral to the tune as the chords and lyrics.

This is borne out by the fact that any time The Thrill Is Gone is covered, the guitar player will “quote” B.B. with a phrase like Figure 2. What you hear are long, sustained notes with heavy vibrato, followed by elegant melodic phrases.

When you listen to the great masters of this craft – B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Albert King – you realize that these phrases just flow naturally. There’s no thought involved. I very much doubt B.B. sat there and worked out a phrase like Figure 3.

On the recording, B.B. used a very clean tone, like a Fender Twin that’s barely turned up. Figure 4 is meant to be played in a subtle and delicate way. There’s no sustain coming from the amp, but there’s so much feel.

You can hear the tactility of his fingers, and you should aim for that feeling and mindset when playing a phrase like Figure 5. Notice the use of pull-offs, slides and quarter- and half-step bends, all of which make the lines that much more vocal-like.

The Thrill Is Gone is not just a beautiful piece of music, it’s a track that features some of B.B’s most iconic playing on that particular take. He never played the song the same way twice, but every version illustrates his brilliance as a true blues master.

• B.B. King's Blues Summit 100 is out now via KTBA Records.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Ally Venable is an award-winning blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter who is adding new sounds and colors to contemporary blues. Her latest offering, Money & Power, continues that trajectory. Integral to her success is her guitar style, which combines hot Texas blues licks reminiscent of Buddy Guy and Albert King along with modern funk, pop, and soul influences.

For her Guitar World lesson, Ally uses the blues form as a canvas in the key of G. This means she's playing the classic I-IV-V blues chords of G7, C7, and D7. She also incorporates an approach chord of B7 into the C7.

The first skill you are going to look at is a funky 16th note-strumming pattern, and we recommend some easy drills to tighten up your strumming hand.

Most music is in 4/4 time, which means four beats to a bar, and the note value of each beat is a quarter note (often also called a crochet). Subdividing each of the four beats, you can play another group of 4 known as 16ths (ie 4 lots of 4 = 16). The 16th note pattern consists of alternating down and up strums from your picking hand, keeping the pick steady and even in tempo and volume. So, let’s first establish the strumming pattern of alternating down and up strums.

As Ally demonstrates, lay the fingers of the fretting hand lightly on the strings to dampen them. The 16th note pattern is counted 1–e-&-a, 2–e-&-a, 3–e-&-a, 4–e-&-a with the number referencing the main 4 beats in a 4/4 time signature groove. Start on a down strum then consistently keep the picking hand moving.

Once you have established this framework, you can mix up the rhythms and create more funky parts with some chords on and off the beats. This is known as syncopation, weaving in and out of the beats, and it's a vital aspect of being a groove based guitarist.

Ally suggests establishing a steady tempo – think of the main pulse in your head before you play – and a groove with just the muted strokes. In the video, she uses the top portion of a G7sus4#9 chord using the notes C-F-Bb.

Start the strumming hand going, and press the fretting hand fingers down when you want to hear the sound. Having all muted strums sounding all the time can sound a little boring, so the final stage is having some of the strums silent.

It is good practice to keep the strumming hand going up and down though, moving above the strings like the hand of a metronome. Remember, the strumming approach remains the same, it’s just the omission of various muted strokes and the fretting hand pushing down on the chord that creates the overall part.

Ally adds in basslines and further percussive elements to compensate for no bass player or drummer playing with her. Certainly, this works great for a grooving solo guitar part and can always be reduced and simplified when bass and drums are included.

To spice up the move from the V chord (D7) and the IV chord (C7), Ally uses a SRV style lick that uses sliding sixths to outline D6 and D9 chords. Alongside all the important chords used in the video, we have included the full chord shapes of these sixth intervals (D6-D9-C6-C9) to provide context as to how the lick works. Experiment with these shapes yourself.

Ally's playing ends with a classic Delta Blues style walk down on the fourth and fifth strings in the style of Robert Johnson. You will notice she hides the pick in her hand in order to pluck the strings with her thumb and first finger.

What follows are the chord shapes featured in her performance for you to learn and then the tab/notation for the playing detail.

When you work on this, we recommend you start slowly so your fingers know what they're doing. Once everything is well learnt, then build up to Ally's final tempo. After this, you maybe inspired enough to explore your own blues grooves. Enjoy!

• Ally Venable tours the UK with special guest Garret T. Willie from September 8-17.

Chords galore from Ally's performance (ordered in groups of G, C, and D plus the slinky B7!)

Example 1 – Ally's Blues Groove in G

For bars 1-4, a G7 based chord riff is played using fragments of C7sus4 and C before resolving to a G7, complete with a quick bluesy hammer-on from Bb to B. The 16th note strumming is played with constant down and up strums while muted strings and chords are created by the fretting hand. You will notice that no bar has the same playing in it, with small variations each time that create excitement and variety.

For bars 5-8, you will move to the IV chord (C7). Extra interest is introduced into the C7 groove with a brief dip down to B7 one fret lower. The walking bass line from E back up to G is classic blues fare. You then repeat the part that was established in the first four bars.

For bars 9-13, you move to the V chord (D7). To spice this up, Ally employs a SRV-style lick that uses sliding sixths on the third and first strings. This provides tasty upper D6 and D9 colors and contrast to the lower D7 chord shape. This sixth based lick is repeated two frets lower to outline the IV chord (C7). As the saying goes, if it's nice, play it twice!

Her performance ends with a Robert Johnson style lick, and Ally quickly moves over to fingerstyle to pluck the two notes. Use the thumb and first finger to pinch the two notes, putting the pick between your fingers to keep it out of the way (unless you want to hybrid pick this with pick and the second finger).

Ally Venable songs you need to hear

Money & Power

Money & Power is the title track from Ally’s latest album and features a classic blues-rock groove. The sliding power chord stabs give way to insistent 1/8th note chugging and blues scale riff action. Ally’s heartfelt vocal delivery is to the fore, and there is a ripping wah wah guitar solo to enjoy. Various classic tricks are used, such as a post solo breakdown to one guitar playing the main riff, and then the rest of the band kicking in.

Broken & Blue

Ally’s track Broken & Blue is taken from her 2023 album, Real Gone. This track is a take on a classic minor blues with some great chord changes added in. The 6/8 groove presents a perfect opportunity to play a tasteful arpeggio accompaniment and this is embellished with nice fills. Ally’s vocals are heartfelt, and the track is finished with an extended guitar solo that uses classic blues vocabulary, à la SRV and Joe Bonamassa.

Steve Morse's articulate and expansive technique is admired the world over. His new power trio album, Triangulation, features his versatile picking, colorful riff sequencing and searing string bends – plus two guitar elite friends in Eric Johnson and John Petrucci.

Steve has kindly agreed to this unique tutorial on big intervals, a core component of his trademark style. He defines big intervals as anything larger than using adjacent notes, such as playing a linear scale (eg root, second, third). Typically, big intervals involve skipping strings, and he does this in both his compositions and general playing to outline chords.

Wide intervals often have an ear-grabbing quality, be they quickly played or sustained as long as possible to give the effect of accompaniment and melody happening at the same time. To facilitate this, Steve often uses open strings as they can be left to ring on while the fretted notes change.

For the video performance, five contrasting approaches are stitched together with eighth-note chugging to create a functioning mini etude. We have carved this up into five tabbed four-bar examples. Steve then talks us through these five examples, highlighting all the extra details and we have included all the relevant notation markings in the tab so you can follow along.

There are technical hurdles to overcome when articulating wide intervals, and in the video Steve demonstrates ways to approach string skipping and the use of open strings. He also sometimes frets the bass notes on the sixth string by wrapping the fretting hand thumb over the top of the neck. If you find this awkward, Steve demonstrates that it’s possible to rework the fingering of the chords.

This performance is fairly involved so we’d recommend starting slowly and using the slowdown feature to really focus on the picking hand.

Example 1. Arpeggiating chords

This first example is an arpeggio melody idea using diatonic chord changes from the key of D. The open voiced triads are played with a down, down, up picking pattern as shown under the tab. Steve uses any and all available strings to transition from chord to chord smoothly.

The open first and second string notes are a colorful addition, helping with fluid transitions and tonal contrast to their fretted counterparts. The bass notes on the sixth string are played by wrapping the fretting hand thumb over the top of the neck.

Example 2. Using open strings

For this second example, Steve goes all out to demonstrate the power of using open strings by using all six! You'll start by targeting the open first string and then move down in order to the sixth string. The picking pattern is down-pick, hammer-on, up-pick, and this creates a cascade effect.

Steve goes for a little bit of economy picking here (bar 3, beat 2) either side of an outside picking movement and the double E down picking. We have included all of the picking directions in the tab, but feel free to experiment and find a method that feels comfortable to you.

Example 3. Skipping strings

This starts with an octave interval and then moves in contrary motion: as the top melody note ascends, the bottom note descends. This sounds sophisticated, but as there are only two notes, it is relatively easy to play.

Once again, the open strings are used to create a cascade effect over the C and G5 chords. As with the previous examples, there is some eighth note chugging on the open A5 to take us into next example. Steve uses down-picking to play this.

Example 4. Linear motion with string jumps

This next example is Steve’s favourite as it gives the impression of two parts happening at once. To improve the facility required to make the big stretches, the fretting hand thumb is placed back a little bit on the neck. It’s also good posture practice to keep the headstock of the guitar pointing up to the ceiling whilst maintaining a straight back.

Steve uses alternate picking for three notes on the fourth string and then the high melody note on the first string is played with an up pick. The ability to sustain the high note may feel awkward at first so perseverance – with some fretting hand relaxation/shake off pauses – is the ideal focus for progress.

Example 5. Melodic repetition and variation

Here, we are working on establishing a continuous obligato part (E-D#-E notes on the third string) underneath higher-string melodic motion. The example exploits Steve’s excellent picking technique.

We’d recommend taking this slowly to start with, just to get it under the fingers and to get all of the picking directions dialled in. Steve explains that he slightly changes his pick angle to make this easier to play, so feel free to experiment with the angle of your wrist. It's also worth exploring the angle of the pick when addressing the string: angled makes for an easier 'cut' (but often a raspier tone) while flat to the string can sound thicker (but results in more picking resistance).

How deep your pick goes either side of the string will provide you with further tone and technique realizations.

Example 6. Melodic repetition and variation (part 2)

To finish off you have a bonus example that demonstrates a variation on the previous example. Instead of just changing the top note and keeping the other notes underneath the same, you can also change the notes underneath.

Changing the notes underneath the melody note helps to clearly outline the tonality of the chord changes as they pass.

Steve Morse in action!

Steve Morse Band - Triangulation

Steve's trio in the studio – check out the riff, changing key centres and (of course!) sophisticated intervallic action. While John Petrucci isn't in the studio with them, you can hear his Morse influenced soloing very clearly.

The idea behind this lesson’s example solo is to try to ‘reinvent the wheel’ by wilfully ignoring the rich tradition of blues/pentatonic soloing – which has evolved over decades – and imagine folk, jazz, blues and Celtic music combining as if for the first time in a parallel universe... In theory, this could give a brand-new perspective on vocabulary, tone and so on. In practice, it reminded us a lot of Mike Oldfield!

Mike is best known to many as the composer and performer of Tubular Bells. Though renowned as a multi-instrumentalist, Mike has said that he regards himself primarily as a guitarist, having initially been influenced by acoustic soloists such as John Renbourn and Bert Jansch. However, he was also very struck by the emotive blues-influenced soloing of Free’s Paul Kossoff and the electronic soundscapes of Terry Riley.

In fact, the more we look into Mike’s playing, the more apparent it becomes that he was already going through the thinking process described above back in 1973. He invented something that incorporates elements of all the styles mentioned, with his own take on melody and harmony – plus an unusual violin-style vibrato and fingerstyle technique, even when playing with lots of overdrive.

Mike’s amplification setup was similarly unconventional, employing overdriven channel strips, multiple stages of EQ, limiting and noise gates. We’re definitely not talking about someone who just went out and bought what everyone else was using!

The example solo, though not originally played with the specific intention of emulating Mike, does include many of the elements he combined to form his own style. It isn’t very pentatonic (though there are moments) and makes more use of arpeggios, often superimposed over different chords. I hope this will be useful to anyone searching for some fresh ideas for their blues licks.

Example 1

This opening phrase starts and finishes with recognisably pentatonic ideas. The descending line between the two quotes directly from the D major arpeggio in different positions – or inversions, if you prefer. Either way, the notes are D, F# and A in various permutations.

The fact that we’re playing D major patterns in the context of E minor is an interesting twist. When you consider an Em11 chord is made up of E, G, B, D, F# and A (Root, b3rd, 5th, b7th, 9th and 11th), it begins to make sense.

Example 2

After an angular pentatonic beginning, we revisit the idea of superimposing different triads/arpeggios over a static underlying chord. Over the A minor, we have a descending run derived from the arpeggios of C major, B minor and the chord itself, A minor.

The B minor part functions as a passing phrase between the C major (relative major to A minor) and the A minor arpeggio itself. It doesn’t have enough notes in common with the E minor to be used as a starting point for melody.

Example 3

After a bluesy pentatonic beginning, complete with bends and vibrato, we move onto some more superimposed arpeggios. By now, this concept may be starting to seem familiar: we have fragments of D major and B minor mixed in with pentatonic style lines, using shape 1 of the E minor boxes.

It’s worth experimenting to see what triads/arpeggio shapes sound good to your ear, rather than aiming for what ‘should’ work. No risk, no reward!

Hear it here

Mike Oldfield (with David Bedford) – First Excursion

Recorded in ’76 through Mike’s unusual setup and further amplified at high volume (through a Fender Twin), Mike makes extensive use of the feedback and sustain this enabled.

Folk-influenced grace notes, superimposed arpeggios and soaring melodies dominate here. There are fewer string bends than in a traditional blues solo and the tone is unconventional, too, but this is expressive nonetheless.

Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells

Though there is some very interesting guitar on both Parts One and Two, there is one area that is particularly relevant. At around 11:30 of Part One, Mike starts a harmonised blues shuffle.

It builds into something more shrill but is certainly an interesting vision of how blues influences can lead to different places – some far removed from what some might call the ‘mainstream’ these days. To be fair, that was the case when this was released in 1973, too…

Mike Oldfield – Incantations

The latest of our three examples, released in 1978, this album also has some very accomplished playing that isn’t widely discussed in blues circles.

From 3:33 of Part Three, there is a long guitar solo that showcases Mike developing further on themes he was already experimenting with a couple of years earlier.

Once again, this is unconventional stuff, but if we put aside the more widely accepted boundaries of guitar soloing, there are ideas worth ‘borrowing’!

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Sometimes fate plays a big hand in how the world sees you. Back in February 2004, KT Tunstall was propelled to stardom courtesy of a last-minute booking on the BBC TV show Later With Jools Holland.

Armed with a guitar, tambourine and a looper pedal (an Akai HeadRush, to be precise), she wowed the studio and TV audiences with a vibrant, rhythmically fueled rendition of Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.

Since then, the song has gone on to become a modern acoustic hit, loved and performed by her (and many others) around the world. It originally featured on her debut album, Eye To The Telescope, along with another classic, Suddenly I See.

To celebrate 20 years since its release, the album has been reissued with additional B-sides, live tracks and three new songs. Tunstall has a world tour that starts in the US from March, and then journeys to Australia, New Zealand, UK and Croatia, before returning to the US towards the end of the year.

Talking to Guitar World, Tunstall has been kind enough to sit down with her acoustic guitar (and dog!) to cover five elements of her guitar playing and songwriting that she feels enrich her music.

During the video you’ll see her perform segments of her hits and how she developed her rock-solid strumming technique. As she states in the video... “the foundation of playing for me is rhythm. You’ve got to have an extremely stable foundational rhythm in your playing.”

Following this, she uncovers her chord sophistication, which is often borne from avoiding barre chords. “One of the very noticeable things about my playing is I can’t play proper barre chords. It’s a blessing in disguise because I’ve ended up finding more interesting chords and using a lot of open string voicings.”

To enrich her music vocabulary, she has various picking approaches that extend interest in each chord's duration. As she discloses, “One of the patterns I’ve always really enjoyed playing around with is going outside, outside, inside, inside.” Certainly, if you’ve been struggling to learn Silent Sea with its ear catching G(b5) chord, you’ll find this picking approach here.

For her final insights, she explains the fun that can be found playing melodies on the guitar, specifically playing riffs that she also sings. Feel It All is one example where her strumming/picking style shapes a riff that she also sings. “I had to teach myself the melody which wasn’t difficult, but it’s making sure it sounds the way I sing it. The vocal is perfectly following the guitar riff, which I love.”

And almost as a means of summing up her unique tutorial video here, she leans in towards the end to emphasize “even if you get this really simply, it makes you sound like a really good guitar player.”

• Visit www.kttunstall.com for further info about the re-issue of Eye To The Telescope and tour dates/venues.

In the world of extended chords, this is as far as we can go. Chords at this end of the spectrum frequently deviate from their strict theoretical definitions in the real world.

An extended chord goes beyond the major (or minor) triad, on to the 7th (or flat/dominant 7th) then 9th, 11th and 13th. In theory, all of these would be present in ascending scale order, but in practice this can lead to some dense, even dissonant, chords. There’s also the issue of playing a seven-note chord on an instrument with six strings...

In the examples below, I attempt to demystify some of the theoretical terms and demonstrate strategies enabling us to play beautiful-sounding 13th chords.

When choosing which notes to omit, the 5th is usually high on the list. In the case of 13th chords, the 11th is very often omitted, too, which is nice for us guitarists because that’s one less note to go searching or stretching for...

Example 1. G13

This G13 omits the 5th (D) and the 11th (C), leaving us with, in ascending order, the Root-b7th-3rd-13th-9th (G-F-B-E-A).

The fifth string is muted, which can make simultaneously playing all the notes tricky, unless you use your picking-hand fingers like Joe Pass (or leave it to the bass player!).

Example 2. G13(b9)

By flattening the 9th at the top of our G13 chord from Example 1, we get a G13(b9). Altered chords such as this are often used to create a ‘tension and release’ effect, resolving to somewhere more harmonious, such as a Cmaj9 or G/C.

In a film soundtrack context, composers often create tension by not resolving chords like this.

Example 3. C13

This C13 gives us a slightly different flavour by featuring the 11th, though we do omit the 3rd (E) and the 5th (G), for practical as well as harmonic reasons.

We are left with Root-11th-b7th-9th-13th (C-F-Bb-D-A) in ascending order. Like all the other examples, this shape is movable to any key.

Example 4. Gm13

This Gm13 consists of Root-5th-b7th-b3rd-13th-9th (G-D-F-Bb-E-A) in ascending order. As with all the examples, it’s not possible to feature all the notes in ascending scale order, and this isn’t necessarily desirable anyway.

The inclusion of the 5th is unusual and completely optional. In a band situation, you may well find yourself omitting the Root and 5th.

Example 5. Emaj13

This Emaj13 takes part of its name from the major 7th it features – a regular E13 features a flat/dominant 7th.

In ascending order, we have Root-3rd-maj7-3rd (again)- 13th (E-G#-D#-G#-C#). We omit the 5th (B), the 9th (F#) and the 11th (A), but what’s left holds up very well – good enough for SRV in Lenny!

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

A chief consideration when playing with a slide is the tuning. Many of our favorite slide players – Elmore James, Duane Allman, Johnny Winter, Derek Trucks – play slide almost exclusively in an open tuning, such as open E or G.

One great benefit of using an open tuning is that you can lay the slide across the strings at a given fret and sound a pleasing major chord.

But when playing slide in standard tuning, you don’t have that luxury and lose access to some of those familiar sounds. As a result, more attention and care is necessary in order to avoid unwanted sounds. You have to go “peckin’” to find the right ones!

Therein lies the compromise: standard tuning limits your options for sounding groups of strings together, but you retain all your familiar chord shapes and scale patterns, and you still can play a few sweet-sounding two- and three-note chords. In this way, playing slide in standard tuning is the best of both worlds.

For the Blackberry Smoke song Free on the Wing (Like an Arrow, 2016), which features Gregg Allman, I chose to play slide in standard tuning, albeit with my 6th string tuned down to D (drop-D tuning).

Doing this enables me to play a solid rhythm part throughout the track, and when it’s time for the slide parts, I use both hands to deliberately mute strings I’m not playing on at any given moment, so that only the “right” notes ring out.

The two key elements of slide playing are muting and intonation (pitch centering), and standard tuning raises the challenge for both a little bit more.

Free on the Wing opens with a beautiful D7/D9 keyboard part. Figure 1 illustrates the chord shapes, and Figure 2 shows how the part is played.

To ”answer” the keyboards, I play a vocal-like melody with a slide, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

I prefer to use hybrid picking when playing slide, combining flatpicked downstrokes with fingerpicking. Duane Allman, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes strictly fingerpick when playing slide, but I like the versatility of having the sound of fingerpicking augmented with the sound of the pick.

The slide solo comes out of the bridge section, illustrated in Figure 5. Drop-D tuning enables me to barre the power chords on the bottom two strings in measures 1 and 2, after which I jump to the slide solo, which is played over the repeating progression C - G/B - G - D - C - G - D.

As I do with the slide parts earlier in the tune, I play the solo in a very vocal-like manner, phrasing as deliberately and precisely as possible. Throughout the solo, I’m careful to sound only one note at a time as I mute the surrounding strings.

Many guitarists are wary of getting into slide playing because of these challenges, and starting in standard tuning or drop-D is a great way to dive in. Give it a shot! You’ll be surprised and delighted by the many great sounds you can discover and create.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

As I stated in my last column, my favorite band lineup is the guitar-bass-drums power trio. With the guitar being the primary chordal and melodic instrument in the ensemble, there are challenges inherent in the role.

But with those challenges come great freedoms to direct the music however I might feel like doing at any given moment on stage. This is something I strive to take advantage of in just about every song I play with my trio.

A great example of what I’m talking about here can be found in the title track to my 2022 EP Threw Me to the Wolves, which features both electric and acoustic versions of the tune.

Threw Me to the Wolves is a song that I play at just about every live show, and in that setting I like to stretch out and explore the song dynamically, from quiet, unaccompanied fingerpicking to full-on power trio Mountain-style soloing.

Essential to the song is the fingerpicked rhythm part during the verse sections. As shown in Figure 1, I play all 1st-position chords here, starting with Am to C to G5.

At the chorus, illustrated in Figure 2, the progression moves from Fsus2, sounded with the open G string, along with a thumbed-fretted low F root on the 6th string, to G5 then back to Am.

The primary rhythm part is built around a fingerpicking technique known as “dead thumb,” wherein thumb repeatedly strikes an open string in a steady rhythm, with a little bit of palm muting, while the fingers pick melody notes on the higher strings.

As shown in Figure 3, I pick the notes on the G, B and high E strings with my index and middle fingers in a syncopated manner over the thumbpicked open A string.

The verse moves to a C chord and is performed with the same thumbpicking technique (see Figure 4). Figure 5 focuses on the switch from Am to C.

Figure 6 illustrates the complete Am - C - G progression, with each chord presented in essentially the same fingerpicking style. The only difference is, for the G chord, I change the pattern to bring in a C note, sounding a Gsus4 chord. The chorus is made up of Fsus2 - G5 - Am played in the same manner.

The “dead thumb” technique provides a self-accompaniment, so once you have it down, you can explore playing a variety of improvised melodies along with the steady bass pattern, as I demonstrate in Figure 7. This is a great way to expand on the basic approach in a freely melodic way.

The solo section of Threw Me to the Wolves is wide open and lets me “breathe,” musically. With all of the sonic space afforded by the trio, I can really lean into what I’m doing. I like to take my time, use a lot of sustain and allow the music to blossom in a natural way.

As shown in Figure 8, I begin over an implied Am chord with a whole-step bend from D to E, followed by the minor 3rd, C. I then drop down to B, which is the major 3rd of the G chord. Throughout the remainder of the line, I alternate between the notes B, C and E over the F and G chords, which creates a great sound.

There’s something really special about how the song becomes a journey for both the band and our audience. As the guitarist in a power trio, it’s always an adventure to steer the journey down a new musical path.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

By the time you read this the last remaining guitars of Gary Moore’s collection to be auctioned will have proud new owners. Though most of us can only imagine what it must be like to own one of those hallowed instruments, we can all take inspiration from the music Gary conjured from their fretboards.

This example solo is influenced by a couple of landmark performances: first, Gary’s solo on the original (1974) version of Thin Lizzy’s Still In Love With You; and second, it borrows ideas from his live performances of Parisienne Walkways and Still Got The Blues over the years.

Though Gary was capable of great delicacy and accuracy on the instrument, this solo was inspired by his more fiery moments, plugging into an already driven Marshall amp and then boosting further with an Ibanez Tube Screamer. This is a classic combination, similar to how Gary would run his own live rigs.

One popular way to use a Tube Screamer is to turn the level up to maximum and hit the amp’s input hard. You still get the tone-shaping benefits of the boosted mids and attenuated low-end, and you can add more drive with the gain control if needed.

Gary certainly liked to use a lot of drive and was extremely adept at avoiding unwanted feedback/squealing by zeroing the volume knob between phrases. The Patent Applied For pickups on vintage Les Pauls were not wax-potted, so were more inclined to squeal than many modern ones.

Many believe unpotted pickups have a tone of their own, though at those levels, any pickup would be inclined to feed back. Another way Gary handled this was to allow the unused strings to ring momentarily before/between phrases, which gave his playing a rough edge and urgency. Hope you enjoy and see you next time!

Example 1

This opening phrase stays largely within the shape 1 A minor pentatonic, featuring held bends and controlled vibrato. We’re starting low and keeping things relatively simple and melodic for now, leaving some headroom for later on.

Gary was conversant with many styles and his note choice would often reflect this, a subtle example being the B in bar 3, which fits over the Dm/G chord. Soon afterwards, the final note (E) is the result of a slide outside shape 1 pentatonic into shape 2.

Example 2

We start with this ascending C major scale run, ending with a held bend. From here, you could regard this as a shape 4 A minor pentatonic phrase, changing over the subsequent Esus4-E chords to an E dominant 7th arpeggio based phrase (or E Mixolydian if you prefer).

These terms can sound a little daunting, but it’s important to remind ourselves that they are simply names for sounds. We’re staying in the same position on the fretboard throughout.

Example 3

We’re reaching something of a peak with this high-register phrase, with higher speed playing and some push/pull in the timing.

Also, note the brief open-string noise before the ascending A minor pentatonic run. We’re working with shape 1 again here, an octave above the opening phrase.

Keep an eye on the picking directions: some of them may seem counterintuitive at first, but they allow you to reach surprisingly high speeds with relatively little effort. This kind of playing was a big influence on the young John Sykes.

Example 4

Keeping things simple and melodic over the Dm/B chord, there is a final flourish coming over the Esus4-E chords with a return to the E dominant 7th arpeggio/E Mixolydian idea.

This is more of a nod to Gary’s fusion years with Colosseum II, though he does visit this kind of phrasing briefly during the outro of the full length version of Still Got The Blues. It just felt right at the time!

Hear it here

Thin Lizzy – Nightlife

The version of Still In Love With You from this album features Gary’s original solo, which inspired Brian Robertson’s much-loved version from the Live And Dangerous album.

This original solo is at a significantly higher tempo yet starts with a classic blues feel. You can hear where Gary’s playing would head in later years as the solo progresses to those high notes, though. Another version of this solo worth hearing is by John Sykes on Lizzy’s Life: Live album.

Gary Moore – Blues Alive

Taken from recordings of Gary’s then-recent 1992 tour, this album is (of course) full of great playing, but make sure to pay particular attention to the live versions of Still Got The Blues and Parisienne Walkways.

These give us the closest insight into how Gary plays in the heat of the moment. You’ll hear him allow lots of open strings to ring into and between phrases, which helps minimize unwanted feedback and gives his playing an exciting and urgent edge.

Gary Moore – Back On The Streets

This solo album from 1978 showcases Gary’s transition from fusion into his ‘rock’ era, which continued through the '80s.

There is the original version of Parisienne Walkways, featuring some very precise, controlled playing, and What Would You Rather Bee Or A Wasp, which takes a more flamboyant approach but features more fusion-influenced harmonic ideas.

The title track demonstrates that Gary was very aware of the punk explosion but didn’t feel the need to dumb down his playing.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Today, I’d like to talk about the legacy of the legendary B.B. King, as 2025 marked what would have been his 100th birthday. I met B.B. in 1990 when I was 13 years old, and we became lifelong friends. He was the nicest and most generous person I’ve ever known.

I recently recorded a tribute album in B.B.’s honor, Blues Summit 100. Sadly, he passed at the age of 89 on May 14, 2015, but he left behind a trove of the most essential and influential blues recordings of all time. Everything that I and most other blues and blues-rock influenced guitarists play, owes a tip to the hat to B.B.

The title of my tribute album references the guitarist’s 1993 release Blues Summit, which features duets with Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins, and others. Following in that tradition, Blues Summit 100 includes appearances by Buddy Guy, Slash, Marcus King, Jimmie Vaughan, Kirk Fletcher, and a variety of other guests.

When you talk about legendary guitarists and their indelible marks, there are some who can be identified upon hearing them play a few notes. With B.B., all it takes is one note! That’s it! Just one stinging vibrato and you know it can only be him.

B.B.’s soloing style was built on killer melodic phrases, like the one demonstrated in Figure 1.

Played in the key of B and based on a combination of B major pentatonic (B, C#, D#, F#, G#) and B minor pentatonic (B, D, E, F#, A), this lick is played in 12th position, in what’s often referred to as the “B.B. box.” All of the notes fall within that four-fret span, with the 1st finger anchored at the B string’s 12th fret. In bar 1, notice the essential whole-step bend of F# up to G# on beat 2.

In bar 2, I jump up to accent a high B note followed by a slide down to 7th position and a quick descending lick based on B minor pentatonic, phrased in B.B.’s style.

In Figure 2, I again begin in the same box but then shift down to 7th position for faster phrases based on B minor pentatonic, ending with a nod to B major pentatonic with the inclusion of the 6th, G#.

King was faster than he’s usually given credit for, as he would blaze through licks like these in just about every tune.

He also had some jazz influences, most notably Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt, which he’d reference with licks like that shown in Figure 3, which begins in the manner of a horn line.

To telegraph a key change, B.B. would suddenly play a lick in, say, Bb, and when the band fell in behind him, he’d play expressive lines starting with a chordal stab, as in Figure 4.

B.B. had such an original catalog of licks, and there are many phrases I’ve learned from him that pop into my playing. Figures 5 and 6 are prime examples.

For me, as a blues player, it always starts and ends with B.B. King. Among my favorite albums are Indianola Mississippi Seeds, with Changing Things, Completely Well, with The Thrill Is Gone, and, of course, the burning Live at the Regal.

B.B. was so original and so powerful a player; his influence can be heard everywhere. He could plug into anything and would always sound like himself. Happy 100th birthday to B.B. King!

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

The world of extended chords can appear quite unfathomable at times. The apparently benign 11th chord is a great example of this, as it falls between the cracks of many chord-naming conventions, inhabiting a world of its own.

As you may know, extended chords go beyond the basic major or minor triad, adding the 7th (or b7th), 9th, 11th, and finally the 13th. In music theory books, this usually happens neatly in ascending scale order, and we hear increasingly beautiful, complex chords as we go.

However, chords can become a little too ‘dense’ harmonically once we get to those 11th and 13th extensions, so the 3rd and 5th are very often omitted.

Add this to the fact that we can’t physically play that many notes at once on the guitar (let alone in scale order…), and you will see that we need to carefully think about what we can do without, while still meeting the theoretical requirement of such chords. See the examples for further explanation!

Example 1

G11 is a movable example of how such chords are arranged. In theory, a G11 chord would contain Root-3rd-5-b7-9-11, or G-B-D-F-A-C, in the key of G. It fairly successfully includes all notes (from low to high): Root (G)-b7th (F)-9th (A)-11th (C). The F on the first string is a duplicate b7. For practical and harmonic reasons, the 3rd (B) is omitted. Sometimes this is called F/G.

Example 2

This C11 is a good example of stripping an extended chord down to the essentials, partly due to necessity and partly for clarity. Instead of the six-note ‘stack’ of Root-3rd-5th-b7th-9th-11th (C-E-G-Bb-D-F), we consolidate to Root-11th-b7th-9th (C-F-Bb-D) in ascending order. The 3rd (E) is omitted, as is the 5th (G), but this could be added on the first string if desired, aka Bb/C.

Example 3

So far we’ve been building 11th chords using the dominant or b7th, but we can also do this with a major 7th. In this case, the C11 from Example 2 is changed to a Cmaj11 by raising the b7th (Bb) to a B natural. This major 7th is what gives the ‘maj’ part of the chord its name.

Example 4

We can build an 11th chord from a minor triad, too, as this Dm11 demonstrates. In theory, a min11 chord is built from Root-b3rd-5th-b7th-9th-11th (D-F-A-C-E-G) in this key. Looking at the chord diagram, we do actually have everything apart from the 5th (A) – and in scale order to boot!

Example 5

In Example 3, we built a maj11 chord starting with a major triad. If we raise the b7th in our Dm11 from Example 4, we get this somewhat dramatic-sounding Dm/maj11. It’s a little bit of a twist for the fingers as well as the brain, but hopefully it demonstrates the thinking behind some of those mysterious chord-naming conventions!

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Crafting an appealing guitar solo for a song is always a creative challenge. There are many different approaches one can take: Do I follow the chord changes so that the notes line up perfectly with the progression? Or should I simply strive to “be melodic,” like a singer, even if the notes are a little less “anchored” to each chord?

For me, the best approach is usually to follow the “song within a song” compositional concept, while also being aware of what each chord in the progression affords me as a soloist.

A good example of this can be heard in the track Meditation, from my 2020 album Elevated Music for an Elevated Mood. It’s a song that I play at most of my shows, and I know there are certain things that will always work, but I don’t want to always lean on those things; sometimes I just want to explore and see where the music will go.

Compositionally, the tune is pretty simple, with a clearly defined melody built into a primary guitar part.

As shown in Figure 1, I begin by outlining the chords with 10th intervals, also known simply as “10ths,” starting with an E major chord built from the open low E root note and a major 3rd above it, G#, sounded in the next higher octave, which creates a 10th. I use my pick and middle finger to pick the notes on the low E and G strings.

These two-note forms built from 10ths move up to F#m, G#m and Bm, and then descend to A, followed by an E major chord. At the end of bar 3, I include G major, with the notes G and B, and in bar 4 move down to F#m and E. This is repeated in bars 5 and 6. In bar 7, I play a Jimi Hendrix-style riff on beat 3, followed by the chord changes D - A/C# - E.

Figure 2 shows the slight variations I introduce the second time through. In bar 3, I play Gmaj7 instead of G, and in bars 6-8, I move to higher chord voicings and phrases for the E - D - A/C# - E changes.

This progression sets up a great vibe to solo over, and I’ll usually begin in a reflective or contemplative way. And though I keep the individual chords in mind, I often simply think E Mixolydian (E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D), E major (E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#), or E major pentatonic (E, F#, G#, B, C#) and sometimes even E minor pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D), depending on where I am in the progression.

Throughout the section, I’ll mostly sit on E major pentatonic, except over the G chord in bar 4 and the D chord in bar 8. In these spots, I try to avoid playing any notes that will clash with the chord, such as G#.

Figure 3 offers an example of drawing from a melodic sensibility first and foremost, which is always a solid approach. In bars 1 and 2, I’m moving freely through E major pentatonic, but at the end of bars 2 and 7, I target a D note over the D chord.

My goal is to make the lines sound like they belong together, “singing” my way through the solo as melodically as I can. And if the ideas are solid, they can become repeatable motifs.

Starting with a contemplative vibe allows me to build a slow arc to increase the intensity in a natural way, so that I can lead the listener on an engaging musical journey. And maintaining the connection to the chord progression can help make the solo sound and feel like an integral part of the song.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Last time, I spoke about writing heavy-sounding riffs, which is what I’m tasked with when working with Black Country Communion, featuring Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals, Jason Bonham on drums and Derek Sherinian on keyboards.

The music of this band is very much inspired by the classic recordings of bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Free, Mountain and others.

When approaching writing a heavy riff, sometimes simplicity wins the day. Our namesake song, Black Country, was written by accident. I was at Glenn’s house – we’ve written all our songs in the same writing room so far, with me playing a guitar through an old Epiphone amp.

We were just talking and wrapping up the day, and without any thought I began playing the riff in Figure 1, which is based on the E Phrygian mode (E, F, G, A, B, C, D). I play 16th-note triplets with repeating E notes followed by a slide up one fret to F, a slide back down to E and a pull-off to D.

On beat 4, the riff ends with the notes A, B and D played in slower eighth-note triplets. Glenn heard it and said, “What’s that?” I said, “I don’t know!”

Next thing you know, he’s doubling that riff on bass, and the pieces started to fall together into a song. Figure 2 shows the big D5, E5 and A5 power chords we move into, after which the lick modulates up a 4th to A Phrygian (A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G), as shown in Figure 3, before reverting back to the riff in E.

As a heavy song, it coalesces when the band plays it in a tight, precise way. This is where, for my guitar part, palm muting (P.M.) comes into play.

Palm muting effectively reigns in the sound here; without it, the guitar riff would sound like a mess. It’s all about chiseling out the riff: I will alter the amount of palm muting as I play the riff, in order to change the feel and expressiveness of it, and I’ll also rotate my pick to a different angle for a sharper sound.

I take a similar approach with my tune The Ballad of John Henry, as illustrated in Figure 4. This riff is based on E minor pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D), and part of creating it was deciding where to play the open low E note in conjunction with the fretted E on the 5th string.

For the G5 and A5 chords in bar 2, I thumb-fret the 6th-string notes and include all of the strings in the voicing except for the G string, which I mute with my fret-hand fingers.

When playing the song live, I add an Em chord to the riff, as shown in Figure 6. In bars 1 and 3, on beat 3, I fret E and G notes on the A and D strings, respectively, and strum across all six strings to get the open top three strings into the voicing.

Bars 3-8 illustrate the pre-chorus riff, which alternates between B5 power chords and sliding octaves that move between C, B and A, with an Am(add2) chord sounded in bars 4, 6 and 8.

And – are you ready for this? – most of my favorite heavy riffs are played in standard tuning, although Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix and others made things just a little heavier by sometimes tuning down.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

When naming complex extended chords, there are various conventions and abbreviations. These are helpful when reading or writing a chord chart, but can seem like mysterious jargon to the uninitiated.

The aim of this article is to demystify some of these terms and give you tools to name the weird and wonderful chords you may encounter on the fretboard. The maj9 chord is a helpful example because it demonstrates how a complex extended chord can be described in concise terms.

Let’s reverse-engineer a maj9 chord to start with: Root-3rd-5th-7th-9th. The ‘maj’ in maj9 refers to the 7th, though this is indeed a major chord. A minor chord with a maj7 is possible (see Example 5 for Amin/maj9), but maj9 is shorthand for a maj7 chord with a 9th.

A regular 9th chord is: Root-3rd-5th-b7th-9th (eg, A9, B9 and so on). As you can see, it contains a flat (not major) 7th. 9th chords are a common sight on chord charts, but it turns out they have an even more abbreviated name…

Example 1. Amaj9

Though this Amaj9 features the open fifth string as its root, this can be omitted to move to any key – albeit relying on the bass or another instrument to provide the root.

It isn’t always easy to visualise the structure on the fretboard, but the 5th (E), 9th (B), 3rd (C#) and major 7th (G#) appear on the fourth through to first strings respectively.

Example 2. Emaj9

A little bit of a stretch at first, this Emaj9 can be moved to other keys, but you’ll need to mute the sixth (E) string and let another instrument carry the root.

Moving down through the fifth to second strings, we find the 5th (B), 9th (F#), 3rd (G#) and maj7th (D#).

Example 3. Cmaj9

Much loved by Stevie Ray Vaughn, this maj9 shape (in this case, C) is movable to any key, complete with root.

Raking through the fifth to second strings, we find the root (C), 3rd (E), maj7th (B) and 9th (D). The 5th is omitted, which is quite common practice in extended chords, especially on the guitar.

Example 4. Amaj9

Here’s another maj9 voicing you may find useful. In this key (A), we can use the fifth string as the root, but to move to other keys you’ll need another instrument to cover this.

Having said that, you may find in a solo performance that the other chords will give sufficient context.

Example 5. Am/maj9

Adding a maj7th and a 9th to a minor chord/triad gives the infamous ‘Bond theme’ style min/maj9. The only difference between this Amin/maj9 and the Amaj9 in Example 4 is that the 3rd (coincidentally, played on the third string) is flattened here to C natural, the minor 3rd, hence the name.

At first glance, it might seem that Marlin Perkins should put rock rhythm guitar on the endangered species list. But on higher ground, it's easy to see there is a lot more rhythm guitar playing than most people think about.

Wah-wah guitar, simple strumming, power chords, and chunky R&B phrasing are just some of the family relations that papa Berry's Johnny B. Goode spawned.

The Seventies produced few if any guitar heroes from the rhythm side. The Sixties of Berry, Richards, Townsend, Lennon, and Hendrix still pave much of the most-traveled roads. And while new avenues are beginning to open up in the hands of Andy Summers, Andy Gill, and Buzzy Feiten, it's still too early to tell how much of a mark they'll make on the grand map of time.

Since the mid-Sixties, the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir has been absorbing and redefining the subtle complexities that link the past to the future of rhythm guitar playing. His most recent insights are shared on [the 1981 album] Bobby & the Midnites.

Weir started by copying the guitar figures of Joan Baez and progressed onto the country blues of Reverend Gary Davis, who for a short time was his only “real” teacher. Today his ideas for rhythm guitar playing come from listening to pianist McCoy Tyner and string quartets.

Tapping those years of experience on stage and in the studio, Bob Weir offers the following insights into developing your skills as a rock rhythm guitar player.

1. Playing With The Band

“Gary Davis taught me how one guitar player could be a whole band. I've never applied this directly on stage. It's too complicated for a whole band to fall behind, especially a band with six members.

“When you play with another guitarist or keyboard player, you're either going to dance around or walk all over each other. It's one or the other. So you have to play with other people you like and who will listen to you. And of course, you have to listen to them. Play long jams together, tape them, and find out who is good at what.

“If you're playing in a band, you have to get over the soloist ego hangup. You've got to listen to the whole sound. When you're first starting to learn, it's especially difficult to not sort of concentrate on what you yourself are doing. It's hard to step away from that and hear what the whole thing sounds like. The tape will do that for you. Go back and listen to see how everything fits together.

“You've got to listen for what a song needs. Even if you've got three guitarists in the band (remember Moby Grape?) at one point two of them have got to be comping behind the third one. They are going to have to work as one instrument.

“If you think of yourself as two lead guitarists working together, then suddenly you have a whole new different approach to rhythm guitar. You might play two or three notes and start thinking in terms of counterpoint. If you're thinking of three notes, you can start throwing in leading tones.”

2. On Developing A Part

“When you get close to a song it will tell you what kind of texture to play. Something that I like to do is try and be a horn or string section.

“For instance, on Sugar Magnolia, I'm a cross between a brass section and a guitar. I'm playing lots of triads punctuated by a line here and there and then another triad.

“There are two separate registers that I play off of. The alto register is the brass section and the baritone register is the guitar. It goes back and forth and I try and get a swing thing happening between the two.

“In this particular case the song developed because I was playing brass licks that I heard on a Delaney and Bonnie record. I was going for brass licks and whatever time I had in between was filled in with guitar. Then I thinned the whole situation down so it wouldn't be a big mess that nobody could play over.

“Once again, when you're playing in a six-piece band you have to be sparse and succinct to get through.”

3. On Strumming

“I use my whole hand to play the strings. I do brush strokes with the back of my nails and I pluck with the front.

“About seventy percent of the time I'm playing each note individually, either arpeggiating or plucking a chord all at once. Once you work up a touch for plucking a chord all at once, you have the ability to bring out a certain note within that chord. I use as many as four notes in a chord and I'll still be plucking it.

“I can bring out a certain note and create an ascending or descending line through a series of chords. I'm just playing the chords but there's that one note which sticks out. Besides a line, you can build the whole motion of the song just around that one idea.

“Again, if you listen to a tape of your band playing, you can find out if there's anyone else playing any of the notes in your inversion. If I'm playing an A chord and somebody else is playing my root, perhaps I'll build my inversion on the third or fifth of the chord. I might just leave out the note A, which is the simplest thing to do. And often times the simplest thing is the best.”

4. Time

“There's a wonderful little machine called the Trinome, which you can order from music stores. The Trinome will play polyrhythms. It has a bell and two clicks.

“Let's say you set the bells at one, one click at eight and the other at three. Then you have three against eight. If you want to learn seven, set the bell at one so it will signal every new bar. Set one click at seven and one at four.

“Times like three, five, six, and seven are not all that common in music but they're all real neat. Seven is a favorite of mine because you get the best of four and the best of three.”

5. Overtones

“Given the nature of electric instruments, there's often a fair bit of distortion involved. The nature of that distortion will generally supply additional notes of the chord you're playing.

“If you're playing the root and fifth and getting a lot of distortion and overtones, a subharmonic will supply the missing third of the chord. That's psycho-acoustics.

“Often times it's just the physics of acoustics. When you go to a root and sixth the subharmonic goes to a fourth below, which will also give you your chord. This is dense harmonic stuff, and given the nature of electric instruments, all of this is always happening anyway.”

6. Tone

“Timbre is real important. If your tone is too fat for a given section it's gonna make everything too thick. Of course if your tone is too thin for a section the whole thing will sound too thin. The rhythm guitar in this regard is very important. In terms of texture for the whole song, it's the most important instrument in the band.

“As everybody knows, guitarists get tired of one sound and go to another. If you start out, as I did, with double-coil pickups, you almost necessarily end up playing a single-coil pickup guitar. Then in another six or seven years you'll probably go back to the double-coil sound.”

Weir is currently playing his own autograph model Ibanez guitar with a coil-tapped humbucker in the bridge position and two single-coil pickups in the middle and neck spots.

He describes his amp setup as being a “huge montage of things.” Weir is thinking of asking Peavey to make him a compact system. He puts all of these elements into practice when the band's on stage.

Summing it all up for Guitar World he said, “Things are going to emerge under fire. That way you know damn well they're going to work. We play three to four hours a night, sometimes more. I study in real time, 100 gigs a year. That comes out to be a great deal of practice.”

• This article first appeared in the May 1982 issue of Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

My favourite ensemble to play in is the power trio. With only three instruments – electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit – there’s so much freedom to explore concepts like space, time and dynamic range.

There is something really special that can happen when three musicians are playing off of each other and interacting in real time.

Think of all the adventurous, exciting moments you’ve heard in the recordings of the great rock guitar/bass/drums lineups, such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Mountain, Rush, Led Zeppelin, the Who, Free and others.

One of the ways I like to take advantage of what the power trio lineup affords me as a guitar player is when we are in improvisation mode, expanding away from an established song structure in order to venture into uncharted musical territory.

A perfect example of this can be found in my song Threw Me to the Wolves, which is built from a simple progression and arrangement that includes sections where we freely vamp over an A chord.

During these sections, the bass player is pedaling on an A note; because there is no minor or major 3rd provided by another chord instrument, I’m free to move between major and minor phrases at my discretion.

We like to make these sections as dynamic as possible by starting out quietly and reserved and then slowly build up the intensity as the improvisation develops.

Oftentimes, I’ll start out with a motive that alludes to an A7 sound, as in Figure 1. The initial lick is based on the A minor pentatonic scale (A, C, D, E, G), and in bar 2 I repeatedly slide into a two-note A7 voicing.

Once that’s established, I can develop the phrases a little more, as in Figure 2, where I hammer-on from the minor 3rd, C, to the major 3rd, C#.

Laying this A dominant 7 groundwork allows me to move to ideas based on the A Mixolydian mode (A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G), like the phrase shown in Figure 3.

I’ll then elaborate a bit more in this direction with lines like those in Figure 4, taking advantage of the sweet sound of the major 3rd.

What’s really cool is when you then bring in some different harmony, moving from A7 to Am7, as demonstrated in Figure 5. I might play four bars over A7 then change my whole mindset to focus back on the minor 3rd and the sound of Am7.

Figure 6 begins with four bars that revolve around an A7 sound, with the major third, C#, accentuated in the phrases. I then switch at bar 5 to lines that target the minor 3rd, C, by moving into licks based on A minor pentatonic (A, C, D, E, G), played in a bluesy Eric Clapton/Leslie West/Mick Taylor style.

Harmonically, I have the complete freedom to explore wherever I’d like to go. As is standard practice in blues-influenced music, I like to move back and forth between parallel major and minor licks, as these two sounds complement each other so well.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

In this lesson, I’d like to talk about how to solo and create harmonized melody lines utilizing dyads, which many guitarists refer to as “double-stops.”

Although, technically, the term double-stop means two strings held down with a single finger, it is widely used to refer to any two notes sounded together. The most commonly used dyads/double-stops on the guitar are pairs of notes that are a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, or octave apart.

A great example of how I use double-stops can be heard on the new Fearless Flyers song, Anaheim.

If you’re familiar with my music, you know that a big part of my sound is harmonizing pentatonic scales. For example, as demonstrated in Figure 1, I’m playing the D major pentatonic scale (D, E, F#, A, B) starting on the 6th, B, sounded at the 7th fret on my low E string.

The notes of this scale are harmonized by simultaneously sounding a 4th or a 3rd above each scale tone on the next higher string; these higher notes also follow the structure of D major pentatonic, meaning they stay within the confines of the scale.

A big part of how I attain the desired sound is to strum all of the two-note pairs with downstrokes and palm muting. Figure 2 illustrates another riff performed this way. The downstrokes and palm muting give the riff a very specific sound and feel that’s almost marimba-like, or like pizzicato strings.

When I play a lot of dyad-based melodies, I’ll switch back and forth between muting and allowing the strings to ring freely. As shown in Figure 3, I begin by allowing the strings to ring then briefly switch to palm muting before releasing the palm mute to add finger vibrato to the held notes.

Figure 4 is also built from harmonized note pairs based primarily on D major pentatonic. Here, I begin with pizzicato palm-muted figures then switch to double-stops that I allow to ring.

You may ask, “How do I know what note pairs to play?” In these examples, at times I’m sticking with D major pentatonic, but I will also sometimes broaden the harmony to D major hexatonic (D, E, F#, G, D, B) or even the D major scale (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#). Most often, I simply follow my ears in choosing what to play, so the end result isn’t always formulaic.

A great way to practice this double-stop harmonizing technique is to move up and down the fretboard playing pairs of adjacent string sets in harmonized 3rds.

As demonstrated in Figure 5, I move up the top two strings playing 3rds, as they occur within the D major scale. Also practice doing this on all other pairs of adjacent strings, such as the G and B strings, as shown in Figure 6.

In Figure 7, I play D major pentatonic double-stops in different areas of the fretboard, moving freely between the different pairs of adjacent strings.

Doing this is a great way to memorize these shapes, so that you’ll be able to easily incorporate this approach and technique into your solo lines and harmonized melodic ideas.

A common piece of advice given to guitarists is play less. Albert King once advised Gary Moore to “play every other note”, for example.

To be clear, this is not to say having great technique (and flaunting it) is a bad thing – there are few experiences more thrilling than hearing Gary Moore tearing around the fretboard at full speed – but even then it’s true to say the way he plays things is at least as important as what he plays.

Obviously, a lot depends on the kind of music. It would feel strange hearing Yngwie Malmsteen play a minimal emotive blues over a neo-classical backing track, just as we wouldn’t expect David Gilmour to break into lightning speed arpeggios at the end of Comfortably Numb.

The idea of the solo/examples is twofold: to put some solid vocabulary and fresh ideas under the fingers of less experienced players, and to remind the more technically preoccupied player that a bit of light and shade enhances both sides of the spectrum.

Working with slower phrasing (and at a slow tempo) is like putting a magnifying glass to details such as vibrato, pitching bends, rhythm and timing. There’s also the matter of melody, which is surely the most important detail of all. A lot of these ideas are pentatonic-based, but the slow-paced chord changes allow us to (literally) think outside the box.

Another often given but great piece of advice is to record yourself and listen back as objectively as you can. Pushing through any initial discomfort (we all go through that), you’ll learn a lot about playing with intent, rather than allowing habits to run the show.

Surprisingly, what feels good to play isn’t always what we want to hear as a listener. Hope you enjoy and see you next time!

Example 1

Peter Green is a big influence on this first example, following another great piece of advice: steal from the best!

Things to be conscious of here are, first, vibrato; this is one of the more treacherous areas. It’s all too easy to apply vibrato to everything by default, so try to be intentional about where you use it.

Pitching of bends is self explanatory, but it deserves a mention. Some of the bends creep slowly up to pitch, while others are more incidental. Finally, don’t miss the staccato notes and spaces in between phrases.

Example 2

All the same advice applies to this second example, but note that it departs more from the pentatonic box approach. It also takes a few more liberties with timing here and there, usually erring on the side of behind the beat, rather than before.

It’s difficult to notate this precisely, so listen carefully to the audio and watch for the ‘lay back’ markings on the transcription. Having said that, please don’t feel it’s necessary to precisely duplicate this. There are a thousand ways to interpret it that can be equally valid.

Example 3

Switching away from the ‘out of phase’ middle position to the bridge pickup gives a bump up in volume and gain. This could also be achieved by flipping on an overdrive, or leaving a bit of headroom on the guitar’s volume control then maxing it for this part.

There are a few more ideas from outside the pentatonic boxes here. Halfway through bar 1 there’s a bend to F#, which fits nicely over the D major chord, then the bend up to G at the 13th fret starts the phrase over the Bb and F chords.

There is a conspicuous quarter-tone ‘blues bend’ at the end of bar 2, leading ultimately to a couple of D major-based doublestops.

Hear it here

Pink Floyd – The Wall

Okay, we’re going to go for the lowest hanging fruit first… Obviously, the solo in Comfortably Numb has the kind of power and self-assurance many more ‘technical’ players would kill for, but even the faster pentatonic runs maintain their poise.

The two solos from On An Island on Gilmour’s third solo studio album are also a great demonstration of classy pentatonic playing with an awareness of melody. Finally, check out the phrasing towards the end of Cluster One from The Division Bell.

Peter Green – The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967-1969

It would be negligent to omit Peter Green here, as few players attract such universal reverence. Need Your Love So Bad is a clear example of melody and feel as primary considerations. The same can be said of Albatross (also acknowledge Danny Kirwan on harmonies).

Finally, the original version of Black Magic Woman demonstrates that while Peter was more than capable of adding little runs to enhance the melody, his tone, timing and feel were always the priority.

The Beatles – Abbey Road

In the context of a band primarily known for their songs, George Harrison’s refined guitar approach (and songwriting) was all too often unacknowledged.

His solo on Something is as memorable as the vocals, with impeccable bends, vibrato and phrasing. Turning the clock back a few years, his Scotty Moore-style break on All My Loving is short but packed with sophisticated ideas.

Finally, his rhythmic soloing in Octopus’s Garden suddenly makes a novelty track sound very cool!

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

For many guitar fans, the term 'shred' evokes speed, precision and virtuosity. Desired and admired in equal measure, building your shred guitar skills lies in learning short patterns and sequences that can be repeated and varied. With enough learnt and playable at high speeds, you can reach Shred Heaven.

These shred patterns can be formed from many types of scales, typically derived from 2 note per string based pentatonic shapes and 3 note per string based modes such as Dorian, Mixolydian and Aeolian. Techniques-wise, you'll typically find a mix of picking (alternate, economy and sweeping), legato, and tapping.

A tried-and-trusted way to develop your shred chops is to use speed bursts. This typically involves a short pattern-based figure (a 'cell' sequence, typically 4, 6 or 8 notes long) that is (once mastered) played quickly for a brief duration before resting, giving your hands time to recover.

This process is repeated while gradually pushing up the metronome tempo and elongating the repetitions without stopping. Speed burst practice is a fantastic way to building strong left and right hand technique, as well as increase your speed and stamina.

Some of the biggest names in shred mastery make use of stunning speed patterns in their solos including Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, John Petrucci and many more. Paul Gilbert is a great advocate of patterns:. through his teaching videos, Paul has demonstrated stunning lead lines based around the minor pentatonic scale and three-note-per-string sequences.

In this tutorial, you will learn some of the best and most relied on patterns of the fast and famous. Ranging from pentatonics to modes, it's time for you to turbo boost your playing to whole new levels. Let's go!

Ex 1. A minor pentatonic pattern 1 with burst playing

Here's an A minor pentatonic (shape 1) sequence using the notes A-C-D-E-G. Inspired by Slash and John Petrucci, this starts with an 16th note pattern that involves 8 notes and repeats twice using alternate picking and pull-offs.

The second bar is where you catch your breath and lessen any tension in your hands as you only play a short E note on each beat. This burst approach (play fast then play slow) is a popular way to sharpen your technique, allowing you to increase speed without straining for too long.

The example concludes by continuing this sequence across the remaining string groups.

Ex 2. A minor pentatonic pattern 2 with burst playing

Here's a variation of Example 1, still based in A minor pentatonic. This ascending and descending fragment uses both alternate picking and fretting hand legato.

The eight-note pattern repeats for one bar, and is once again followed with a 'chill out' bar, keeping time by playing a short D note on each beat. This example concludes by continuing the sequence across shape 1 and across the top three strings of shapes 2 and 3.

Ex 3. A minor pentatonic pattern 3 with burst playing

This is your final pentatonic example, evoking the shred style of Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde. Here you're using shape 1 of the A minor pentatonic scale plus its b5 blue note, Eb.

Remember, A minor pentatonic + an Eb note (this is the diminished 5th/blue note interval for A minor) results in the six note A blues scale (A-C-D-Eb-E-G).

Once again, a fast 16th-note based repetitive sequence is followed by a one note per beat chill out bar for energy recuperation. To conclude, the sequence travels across the remaining string groups of A minor pentatonic, shape 1.

Ex 4. A Aeolian sequence 1 with burst playing

Here is your first three-notes-per-string sequence, as used by the likes of Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci and Steve Vai. It's based around the A Aeolian mode (A-B-C-D-E-F-G). The shred element is an eight note pattern that ascends and descends on the low sixth and fifth strings, using strict alternate picking.

Once again, you will use the repeating speed burst practice method, with a rest bar played. You then continue the sequence across all six strings, including position shifts as you climb the neck. It concludes by continuing the sequence on the top two strings.

Take care with this one, as the additional position shifts add to the complexity of the run. It sounds absolutely fantastic once you've got it to 'beast shred' levels (ie 4 notes per click from the metronome at 140 beats per minute or more).

Ex 5. A Dorian sequence with burst playing

Inspired by Eddie Van Halen and Paul Gilbert, this exercise is based around A Dorian (A-B-C-D-E-F#-G) and uses a 16th note triplet rhythm (othrwise known as sextuplets) to ascend on the top two strings.

The three notes on the second string should be played with legato and the first string's three notes are performed with alternate picking. Experiment with alternate picking for all notes, or if you find this too demanding, pick every three notes (ie pick, hammer-on, hammer-on).

This sequence is pretty demanding at the 100 bpm tempo – 6 notes per click at 100bpm is often considered shred speed territory – so practice slowly then gradually build up your speed. Pay attention to the timing of your fretting hand, as this is vital when synchronizing with your picking hand.

Ex 6. Mini Piece - putting it all together

To close the examples, this is a mini piece that combines the approaches you've worked on in the previous examples.

Bars 1-4 feature a repeating pentatonic sequence inspired by Zakk Wylde. You develop the phrase in the first bar, which repeats before continuing the sequence across the remaining string groups.

The pentatonic sequence has been embellished with additional notes, including the b5, resulting in the A Blues scale, plus the minor 6 interval which gives the lick an Aeolian vibe.

Bars 5 and 6 include a pattern that ascends and descends with the A minor pentatonic and include some double picked notes plus fretting hand legato. This concludes with a sequence that shifts through three positions of the A minor pentatonic on the top three strings.

Bars 9-10 include an ascending sequence based around A Aeolian. This includes position shifts, so take care with your hand synchronization. The solo concludes with an ascending sextuplet pattern on the top two strings using notes from A Dorian. This sequence uses both legato and alternate picking.

Shred speed burst classics

Paul Gilbert - Scarified

This is a shred instrumental classic originally recorded by Paul Gilbert's first big rock band, Racer X. It more than lives up to its name and is full of picking and legato licks, many of which are built on foundations of small 6 or 8 note cells/patterns. If you want proof of the benefits of this article, this is one of the best pieces to be inspired by. Prepare to have your face melted!

Ozzy Osbourne - Miracle Man

This was a new era for Ozzy Osbourne with Zakk Wylde. Hard rocking and powerful, Miracle Man is a full-on rock assault with a stunning solo!

Following a climbing arpeggio sequence, Zakk rips through an outrageous fast picking pentatonic sequence that still perplexes guitarists to this day.

Check out his blues scale lead licks at 2:21 – you will notice example 3 pays tribute to this. Much of Zakk’s playing makes use of fast pentatonic sequences, but this solo shows how far he (and in turn, you) can push it!

Dream Theater - As I Am

As I Am features a blistering solo that demonstrates why John Petrucci is hailed as one of the greatest rock guitarists to have emerged during the early '90s.

This solo is chock full of sequences including both pentatonic and three note per string, performed with precise alternate picking. The solo includes single string figures that develop into extended runs across multiple string groups. The pentatonic sequences are also breathtaking.

You may need a lie down after watching this, all born from Petrucci's admiration of Steve Morse's alternate picking style and his teenage years' intense shred pattern practicing.

In my last column, I talked about how using open G tuning (low to high: D, G, D, G, B, D) has inspired me to find my own musical and compositional voice as a guitarist and craft some cool and unique chord riffs and slide parts. To illustrate, I detailed how I play the intro and the main riff from the Blackberry Smoke song Ain’t Much Left of Me.

This time, I’d like to provide some additional examples of the benefits of playing in open G tuning, by sharing how I play other sections of the tune, including the slide guitar solo.

The verse section is built from stop-time chord hits on G, followed by F/C to C and then G to F/G to C/E, accentuated by the band with big “crashes.” This is played twice and then leads us into the chorus section.

Figure 1 illustrates the chorus. Starting in bar 1, on the V (five) chord, D, which I embellish “Keith Richards” style, with accents on G/D, bar 2 moves to Am7. In order to play this voicing in open G tuning, one must fret the 5th string at the 2nd fret, to sound the low A root note. Bars 3 and 4 move from G to D, respectively.

Bars 5-9 wrap up the chorus section, starting this time with held C and D chords, after which we return to the intro figure: Fsus2/G - C/G - G, shown in bar 9.

In devising a solo section, I thought it would be cool to get away from the “home” key of G for a minute and bring in a repeating chordal figure of F7 to G7 to solo over, as tabbed in Figure 2.

Because of the open G tuning, the chord shapes are a little different than normal, but therein lies the beauty of an open tuning, as it avails you of all kinds of chord and riff choices that aren’t possible in standard tuning. In other words, the tuning encourages creativity in devising rhythm parts to solo over.

Figure 3 illustrates the slide solo: in bars 1-6, the chords alternate every bar from F7 to G7. After the F7 in bar 7, bar 8 moves to D.

The lines I play in the solo relate specifically to the alternating chords: over the initial F7, I slide into licks based around an F major triad (F, A, C), and over G7, the licks are based around a G major triad (G, B, D). This triad arpeggiation approach establishes a strong connection between the improvised solo and the supporting chords underneath.

Bar 8 depicts the end of the solo, played over D, and bar 9 brings us back to the arpeggiated figures from the intro. And then we do it all again, moving back through the verse, chorus and outro sections.

I find this song to be a great workout in open G tuning, for both chordal work and soloing. As always, there are lots of new things to discover when using any open tuning!

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.