Here is a backing track to jam with in the key of E minor. This is a great practice tool. The pentatonic scale works great, also the blues scale will sound good. As always experiment and sharpen your licks. The track is inspired by Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats. Read more…
Here is a jam track I just put together in the style of Funk R&B. This song is great to help refine your funky guitar leads. It works great with the D minor pentatonic but definitely experiment. The main section is a I IV vamp. The second progression slides up Read more…
Here is a simple guitar lesson on the new Shakira song featuring Rihanna “Can’t Remember to forget you.” It features two different guitar parts. The intro and verse guitar parts are using a Ska type technique and rhythmic feel. I cant help but live that being a 90’s kid. Mine Read more…
‘http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXiGb_0hwUc&list=UUH_7mgsZYHenFh0U17isHpQ&index=10&feature=plcp’] “Using our new voicings and adding suspended movement” In the previous lesson we talked about the D hand fingering of the 2nd inversion. I also spent some time on it in the video above. Now lets talk a little about suspending these new voicings. The D suspended chord is Read more…
Inversions and alternate chord voicings Some chord construction, and an understanding of triads is recommended to get the most out of this teaching. ‘http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXiGb_0hwUc’] Technical terminology There is a technical way to identify inversions. Knowing these phrases will not only make you smarter, but it will increase your musical vocabulary, Read more…
Chord voicings you MUST know! Fill your tool bag! ‘http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKHlbT1zMmg’] I use these chords constantly with my praise and worship team. They also work great for Post Rock stuff and even Shoegaze styles. The idea here is it gives your guitar a different range to go to other than the Read more…
Student Spotlight for July Phil Critchfield Our student spotlight this month is Phil Critchfield. He is progressing at an excellent speed and is developing his own style. This is an original composition written and performed by Phil Critchfield. I think he is really applying the concepts we have been talking Read more…
The difference in tone between an opened back cabinet and a closed back cabinet can be very dramatic. An Opened back cab gives more of an airy, full, opened type of tone, but can lack a strong bass presence. A closed back cab can give a very strong, chunky tone Read more…
Inversions When I was a teenager everything I played was either power chord driven, clunking along, or some super flashy shred guitar meant to melt your face off. But now that I am advancing in years and my musical taste is evolving I have ventured in quite a few styles Read more…
Is the Boss GT-10 capable of doing Shimmer like tones made famous by Brian Eno and Edge of U2? At first glance it is not. It definitely does not have a dedicated effect that produces this sound like the Line 6 Octo effect. With the quality and selection of effects, Read more…
NOW OFFERING DRUM LESSONS Whether you are a beginner drum student or intermediate, our goal is to enhance your drum skills. We are offering drum lessons for kids, teenagers, and adults. We will strive to give you a customized drum lesson that exceeds your expectation. Each drum lesson will Read more…
Bringing your guitar to a luthier or guitar tech can get quite expensive, not to mention the time and wait most reputable techs and luthiers maintain. With all the different pickups available today, especially from companies like Guitar Fetish, it can get quite consuming and expensive trying out all the Read more…
‘http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bNEe7pcpfo’] Looping is a Beautiful thing Looping is a recorded sample, or clip, of music that is repeated over and over again. This is used largely in electronic music with sequencing software like Abelton and Reason. We are huge fans of Abelton and are skilled with using it, but we Read more…
You CAN do this! Here is an in depth, clear, precise instructional video we made to help you master the advanced technique of the finger vibrato. Don’t be fooled by the name, the finger actually does not have the main part in properly producing this technique, the real work lies Read more…
Hey guys, figured I would share my findings with the version 1 compared to the version 2 Cool Cats Drive CO and Transparent Overdrives CTO. It seems the version 1 Cool Cats are held with very high regard in the guitar playing community. But when it come to the version Read more…