(a) “30-HOUR PATH (ae | cam TOVIRTUCSO] =e ! © ENLIGHTENMENT” >= HOW TO ( om] By “Por cancer ek INONE 72 EASY LESSON & 1 wy S <<: y Zo See NEIL ZL0 aA” s =WORKOUT PHILOSOPHY Tve always believed that ‘everyone has the ability ro dis- cover and cultivate his or her own unique voice on an instru ‘ment; doing so requires that one listen to one's inner voice and then find che courage to expressit. To that end, the ‘Workout is not meant to steer students into sounding like someone else but to equip them with some ofthe tools that are essential to discovering their own voice, while simultane. ‘ously helping them become thoroughly bal ‘anced musical beings. I should note that this program is geared for people that love the challenge ofa disci plined curriculum and truly want to master the instrument. The concept behind doing so fs easy: starby playing something—a bend, 2 riff, ascale, very slowly; if you mi ‘a mistake, stat over; do this over and over, unl you can play iflawlessly—and Ido ‘mean flawlessly—many times in a row. Next gradually increase the tempo. Eventually youll be flailing about lke a madman. This doesn't necessarily mean you will become a great musician or songwriter. Those are talents that can't be taught; you're ether born with them or need to discover them ‘within yourself 76 GuITAR WORLD BEFORE YOU BEGIN Tune your guitar. Never play out of ‘rune unless for a desired effect, such ‘as working on a quartertone scale...or YF paying alternative rock musie for pop radio consumption. Focus. This is the most important element inthis program. The way you mentally approach this or any other exercise is more {important than putting in the hours and going through the motions. It is tremendously impor tant chat you gear up mentally for practice, zi, rehearsal, songwriting—whatever you're going todo, Understand that the atitude and frame ‘of mind you have when entering into a focused endeavor is one of the few things you do have ‘within your power. Remember: I'll inthe ‘mind! You can basically convince yourself of anything and make it happen. CATEGORIES Tve divided the 30-Hour Workout into eight categories: 1. Exercises 2.Seales 3. Chords 4. Ear taining: 5. Sightreading 6. Composing/songwriting 7. Music theories 8 Jamming In addition, I've arranged these categories into three 10-hour per day sessions. Bear in ‘mind that the amount of time and focus you putt into the program will be directly reflected in your playing. feel these categories provide a good mix of the various elements that go into becoming. ‘a thoroughly rounded musician. Note, howev- er, chat will only be outlining concepts here; isup to you to research and discover more on. ‘your own. There are plenty of instructional ‘books, CDs and DVDs on the marker, and many schools offer home-study courses that, teach you al types of finger exercises, chords, scales, theory and so on. In addition, guitar- related information is plentiful on the inter net. Of course, I encourage you to explore oth- ‘er categories, ideas and concepts not ‘mentioned here. That's one of the great things about playing the guitar—there are essentially no rules, and a person's ability o be unique is only limited by their courage and imagination ‘Although the Workout is geared toward a rock style of playing, you may want to substi tute various elements that are more appropri- ate for the style of music you're interested in Ifyou decide you don’t want to learn conven- tional things, you may choose t replace one ‘or more of these eategories with things that you're more comfortable with. You'll have to ‘come up with them, though. ‘One last note: When I was a young practic ing musician, | would keep a log ofall the time T spentoa the instrument, with a specific breakdown of everything Idi. I guess 1 was just anal that way. While this approach worked for me, it ay not be for everybody. It does, however, help you to chart your progress. HOURS 1,11 AND 21 FINGER EXERCISES, Finger exercises are great for developing dexterity and control. When performing them, pace yourself with a metronome or drum ‘machine and start very slowiy. Itmight help to {imagine how you want the notes to sound, then perform them over and over until they sound exactly the way you hear them in your head. I used to do this, and i's great way to gain control over your playing. [would also experiment with different pick positions, dynamics, and so on. Whatever you do, be sure to focus on every singlenote you play. can't stress enough the importance ofthis. There are literally thousands of finger ‘exercises, and they can allhelp you achieve different objectives. In this section, Tl explain the following categories of finger exercises: Linear + Angular + Hammer-ons and Pull-offs + Alternate Fingers + Tapping. + sweeping + Multiple PickingA : j [would advise you to tailor your exercises ee ee ee around the style you're most interested in ure eee Veet ioe “The idea's wo find things tha are awkward to ee OV nV play and then work on them slowly, until you can play them perfectly. Ukimately,you want ‘your playing tobe a reflection of what you hear in your head. LINEAR ExERCISES FIGURE 1 depicts basic lin car finger exercise. fo: lows an ascending pattern ‘well simply cal “1-234 ‘as this refers tothe order in which the fret hand fingers (index, middle, ring, pinkie) are placed on each string (fre. hand fingerings are indicated below the tab- lature). FIGURE 2 presents an alternating variation on this dil. The fingering pattern follows the repeating sequence 12-3-4, 2-3 41,3-41.2, 41-25. The alternating finger ing idea can also be payed on a single tring, ‘as demonstrated in FIGURE 3.1 find this drill tobea great exercise in position shifting. ‘The next stop isto exhaust all other per mutations ofthe 1-2-4 combination, such 843-2-1, 42:31, 13.2-4—whatever four note sequence you find awkward—and prac- ‘ice them in similar manner. If we apply ths fingering approach to three-note-perstring combination, for ‘example 1-3-4, the result would be the three ‘exercises shown in FIGURES 4-6. Of course, ‘pvo-note-per-string parterns could also be used for linear picking exercises as mon strated in FIGURES 7 and 8. The exercise shown in FIGURE 7 wil be beneficial 0 those of you who may have problems switch: sng strings with the same fretting finger. Roll the finger over the strings as you switch from cnet the next to keep the notes from bleed: ing (ringing) into each other. ANGULAR ExERCISES An effective way to improve your sring-rossng technique {sto perform what call “angular exercises. FIGURE 9 ‘exemplifies what fm talking about. The general dea isto take a fingeringAngular/Economy Picking Exercises Legato Exercises pattern, inthis case 43-21 and work it across the strings in single poston, assign ing one finger pe string and using sweep oF economy picking (consecutive dovnstrokes oF upstrokes on adjacent strings) wherever poss ble. Ive included picking strokes above the tablature in tis exercise to guide you. Each sweep (indicated by an upstroke or down: stroke symbol followed by broken horizontal line and a bracket) should be performed es a single pickstroke, with the pick being dragged serossthesrings in a continuous movement. Since there ae only three groups of four adj centstrings (1-4, 2-S and 3-6), the entire angular pattern doesn’ manifest itself until it’s played on one ofthese string groups. When performing FIGURE 9, I find it helpful wo visualize three imaginary strings on cither side ofthe neck, as this provides a point of reference for fingering thefts six and last six notes ofthis exercise. With this approach, the progression of note seems very natural When fret the first note (F) with my index finger fm thinking in terms of the complete 4-3-2-1 patern, with the other thre fingers (43-2) being on the imaginary strings. Thus, only the is fingers used. AS the partern moves across the strings, all four fingers are eventually brought nto play Like wise, as you un out of strings in bar 3, all fin sgersbut the fourth move off the neck onto imaginary strings. 1GURE 10 san angular cxercise based on 2 1-2.3-4 fingering pattern. Again, Te indud ed picking srokes and frechand fingerings above and below the tablature to guide you Using the “imaginary strings” approach should make i litle easier to devise exerci ‘es based on othe fingering patterns. For ‘example, an angular exercise based on a 1-3- 2-4 fingering pattern would begin on the high string and go 4, 2-4, 3-2-4, 1-2-4, a8 demonstrated in FIGURE 1. Allocate the frst 20 minutes of your prac tice session to linear exercises and the next 30 minutes to angular exercises. Try to come ‘up with your own exercises chat suit yourPurposes and use them interchangeably. Due tothe mathematical nature ofthese ypes of exercises, they're more easily worked outon paper than in your head (more on notating musi later), HANNER-ONS AND PULL-OFFS ‘The hammeronieatechnique hereby youpca note ether Freund or open, then sound a higher note o the same sing by using one of our reing Sgertotapthe sng ike aaramer. The pull ‘off nvoves ieking a noe, then sounding ow ‘ex note (ether feted o open) onthe same sing by releasing the frst t's reting Finger, palling the sing slighty ia twa your palm asyouletgoofitinordertokeepitvbraing "Hammer-ons and pallots sem to happen acral when plying ingl-noe lines but there are parclatyefetve waysto late and sengthen these ecnigues. One efficient ‘way to do this isto practice performing ills. elisa rapid, continuous alteration between to notes onthe same sting, performed sing hhammerons and pall-offs in combination. ‘An effective way t isolate and perfect your hammeron and pllf techniques ist prac tice playing tril fran extended period of time, such aa minute Begin by riling ‘berween any two notes that area al tp one fre) apart, Using your retin han’ index and rile fingers, as demonstrated in FIGURE 12. Now do the same thing, but ad fret between the two fingers (see FIGURE 13) The nex sep wuld bet increazethe distance between the, fingers by ancher fret 3s shown n FIGURE 34 ‘Now go back and play FIGURES 12-16 ‘gain, this tme using your index and ring fin ge (1 and 3), then rill between your index Finger and pinkie C1 and 4). Ofcourse, you could exhaustall other finger combinations (23,24, 3-4) and wy o putas many frets berween the Fingers a possible (without hurting youre). Each time you go back to hese wil rls ty adding some time to cach cexercie (maybe another 10 seconds ors), ALTERNATING FINGERS Try playing hammerons and pulloffsin various combina- tions, using different fingers, asin FIGURES 15-17. The goal in each case is make all the notes sound even and clear and maintain seamless legato feel. TAPPING Ifyoute imerested in wo- hand tapping, incorporate this {nto your hammer-on and pull off practice time. The tech niques are essentially the same for either hang, the only difference being that when you pul-off from a tapped note (a note hammered with one ofthe fingers of the pick- ‘ng hand), you flick the string slighty side- ‘ways, away fom your chi, Use your imagina ‘Tapping Exercises eure se geet gc ‘Tapping Exercises tion to create rapping techniques that suit your style, and try incorporating all he fn ersof your picking hand on the neck FIGURES 18-20 are examples of tapping exercises to getyou started. FIGURE 18 isa simple dil designed to help you master the basic technique of tapping on one sting, ‘hile FIGURES 19 and 20 require that you ‘ross strings, resulting in longer and more challenging partern. In each ofthese latter ‘wo exercises, the key is to move the fingers of your fretting hand quickly from string 0 string in time to play cleanly the notes pulled ‘off from the tapping finger. SWEEP PICKING ‘As stated earlier, sweep pick- ings technique whereby youplay one note and then another on an adjacent string ina ingle upstroke or dlownstroke. When learning to sweep pick you have to start very slowly and make sure you can hea every single not clearly (unless the effect you're going fori sloppy one) then gradually bring the speed up. The key is to let goof each note with your fet ting hand immediately after you've picked it in order to keep it from ringing into the next note. Create exercises that outline various ‘chord shapes thar you can sweep across FIGURES 21-23 are examples of weep picking to get you started. Yul ind it’s easier to sweep ‘across an arpegzo shape and not have it sound like a srrummed chord if you can finger each string individually with a differen fingertip and avoid bartin strings with your fingers, ‘which makes it more difficult to mute the notes immediately after you've played them. MULTIPLE PICKING ‘As mentioned earlier, the best way to develop superba. rman chops isto find things that are dificult and even srkward to play and then perform them slowly and perfectly As an exercise, try paying any given lick or phrase firs by alternate picking, then using only downstrokes and, last, using only upstroke. You can also devise your own drills whe you doany ofthe following‘Sweep Picking Exercises wre a) 0 ) Seale Exercises FOURE2¢ The seven males the G majrseie(G ABCDEFS) ee GURE 25 major sae in thir ER RSP CURE 25 G myosin fourths URE 2% G major seen hrs wp the mck -PQURE 29 G major scala oath up te neck SS + Double picking (picking each note rice) + Triple picking (... three times) + Quadruple picking (... four times) + Quintuple picking (.. five times) lor atmosphere it creates. Sing the notes you play tohelp internalize the tonality ofthe scale, and try to paint a mental picture of what the scale’s tonality sounds like to you. This is one ofthe things you might draw upon when you go to write or improvise musi. Beware, however, that when the time comes to take an improvised solo and all you doi lal up and down a scale pattern because you know the noses Practicing scales has many benefits, but the main focus of this actviry should be on memorizing the sound ofa scale andthe mood will work with the chord, you'll most likely sound ike an idiot. ‘earn and play as many seales as you can, inevery key and position, inone octave, wo ‘octaves or three octaves. Start from any note ‘on the low E string, then the A string, ee Make sure you play each scale forward and backward (ascending and descending) FIQURE 24 illustrates fretboard patterns for the G major scale (GAB CD EF#) and its seven relative mode, all of which comprise the ‘same seven notes. The only difference in each ‘ase is the orientation of the notes around a dlfferent tonal center oF root. Practice any given scale/mode scale slowly at first and make sure it's perfect. Ifyou make 8 ‘mistake, start over. Gradually increase the te- poasyou complete a cyle. Listen carefully 0 ‘each note and focus on toe. Before moving to faster speed, you should beable toruna scale up and down without fudging and nos. Don't cheat yourself I find it beneficial to watch my fingers inthe miror and try'o get them to move gracefully, elegantly, effortissly cor in whatever way looks and feels good ‘There are many things you can do with a scale and mode other than just run it across the fretboard. For example, you can play it in intervals either melodically as demonstrated in FIGURES 25-27, or up and down the neck fon two strings atthe same time, as depicted in FIGURES 28-30. These frst three exeris- sare great for building technique in both hands, while the second three help you learn the scale on each string and gain ear- these BbBDE) when played compos over aG bass note ‘ons on individ: inder up and ual scales, 1 took 8 pains not tomy down the scale aimlessly in my Try putting the nic and Dive melodies and Instead, lemphasized the aura and flavor of the scales within th melody and the chords SYNTHETIC SCALES A synthetic scale is one you make up, or one that does not fall into a particular defi ce, I could make up a and i scales through the as the G at earlier by playing them in various patterns across the oard and up and ‘down the neck, OTHER SCALES A scale ean con For insta seale that spelled 1, 4, flat, 7. have never sn this scale, but it may han ame already, Whatever { could build chords on this scale, create a melody and figure out tnin from two t0 1 tone chromatic scale encompassing every how to improvise a solo with it Furthermore, {could modulate it 0 different keys and create harmonic octave. There ate choose from, a4 Guitan worLo textures by tsing the modes from this scale. ‘Ultimately, if were to stay within the param: eters of the notes ofthis scale, | guarantee it would create a unique aura, ‘The more well-known “other” scal clude the melodie minor, harmonic min hole tone, diminished and augmented sc pook and have a party! Get a good se I've divided chord practice Anniques 3, Improvisation You can dedicate 20 minutes to each cate gory forall three days of the Workout, or just focus on one different category for an hour each day NENORIZATION Learn chords! Go buy a book that has al the basic chords as well a all the weird ones Then, se Jearn and memorize five new chords a day. Listen closely and thoughtfully to the sound ‘of a chord as you play the notes it comprises, ‘and try to picture an image that it evokes. s sound. ‘goal. For instance, decide youl Take your time and memorize Learn a type of chord quali¢y—such as major, minor, major seven, dominant seve, minor seven—inas many positions and voic ings as you possibly can. Sing the notes as30¢ play them to help it wound ofthe chord. Figure out and understand why a chord is called what it’s called, What scale ‘degrees does the chord contain? You will this. need to understand chord theory (That will come later in the * In addition, strum chords cleanly, gen harshly, tenderly, brutally and so on, to gett sense of how they sound with every possible style of playing, ‘You don't need to know a ton of chordsby name in order to be a great musician or 00g writer. [have heard that people like Jeff Beck, Allan Holdsworth and many others eso the may not be familiar with the ni theory behind all the chords they play, but ‘each player has such tremendous ears thi tupon hearing a chord, his mind opens upatd the knows just what to do on his guitar. [p= pen to find great satisfaction in having Complete understanding of the theory behind {eall. Then again, I've always wanted ital STRUNNING There are many strumming techniqoes ‘and numerous books and records can beust these for study or as reference sources f techniques, The most important d in mind when strumming is to groove! Afr you've chosen a particular strumming pit to work on, practice it endlessly with aru machine or a drummer. At frst, it will Beal wkward and sloppy. Focus on makiagil tlewil get bette Nex, listen carefully tothe groove and ty to stay locked in ‘You will not be able todo you can play the mater al cleanly or without thinking about the changes. n addition, you must be able to separate your self bit from what you're doing and just listen tothe beat. By doing this while eally focus on lock ing in with a drummer. Once you're locked in, keep trying to lock tighter and tighter. You'l know when you're locked in the groove because it wil start to fe 00d. Once you ge to this point, you can thes experiment by making the groove sound stiff and mechanical, and loose and warm. You ‘can also ty to play infront of the bea, behind the beat and so on When you're playing along t @ metronome ora drum machine, try t0 “bury” the cick track. By this Imean get right on the beat nen you do, the cick will sound a ifi jppeared, since your atacks will be 20 right con” that theyll cover the clicks. Being able ro lock withthe beat and groove is one ofthe ‘mos rewarding feelings one can experience as 1 musician. e's better than the pary after the show. cunless of course, you're in Amsterdam, There are many types of grooves to foo around with (straight rock, fib, reggae, sk blues shuffle and so on), but before you do make sure you can get through them clean! and lock into them. Play each across af NPROVISATION Ie always cool to create four own nique chord library The following techniques ca help + Play a conventional a fami ar chord, then start alternating Fone note ata time by moving it up or down fret. When you come across chord you like, add ito your personal chord library. ‘Take numbers from a series (a tele phone number for instance) and use them asscale degrees for a chord Think o rom a movie and fool around with ina chord until it sounds i hinking of. se open strings, wide finger stretches, fretted with te fin _gerson the picking hand and so on. Exper tment with all these things to coms natural harmonics, HOURS 4.14 AND 24| EAR TRAINING If you toss aside everything els in this Workout, keep this section. Training your the erucal connection between Your imagination and your fingers. Most people spend very litle time developing their ears but the payoffs from doing so are extraord nary. Some people are born with natura for music, while others need to work on Tecan be tedious and time consum: 3g, but it's very rewarding. The fo improvise and sing what you pay. A.good voice isn't necessary, but you do need to get the you can't sing the notes perfectly in pitch, work on + Sing a note and then tryt0 play erence. Thisis a challenging dill hat takes a tremen ous amount of di cipline. Just imag fine, though, how such your cars wi improve when you can do this, + Sing @ harmoplaying. Stare with something simple ikea fifth, then move toa fourth, a major major sith and s0 on, UB csi you're able to sing a harmony part (like a ‘minor second) perfectly to improvised atonal solo. Understand that this ability could take to develop. + Memorize the sound of different inter vals, One way todo thisis to record yourself after afew seconds of playing an interval silence, speaking its name. Fill up a one-hour this way, then listen back and try to in the silence that follows the notes. You'll know if you're right when your voice comes in and names it propery * Perform this last exercise with chords. Record yourself slowiy plucking each note of chord, and allow afew seconds of space between the notes. Aftera moment of silence, announce the chord and its compo- nent intervals, + Transeribe everything, from simple gui tar solos to complex jazz sax solos. + Carry manuscript paper with you, and ‘when you have some free time away from your instrument, write melodies sing only your cearsto guide you * Carry songbooks with you and sing the melodies + Make up your ow ear-trsining exercises and keep a log of your progres. en ed “I Had ae eee ie ah ean eee aa lead he ay on 9 dozen HOURS 5. 15:AND 25) READING MUSIC There area lot of advantages to reading music, Some of these are * Learning to play songs you otherwise vol have been able to play * Being able to transcribe your composi * Expanding your musical palate When | wasa student at Berklee Collegeof Music in Boston, I decided I wanted tobe the bese sight-readerin the world. spent entire summer doing nothing but sight-read ing almost every waking moment. remember ing the apartment only two times for social events the entire summer. attempted to sigh-read everything I could get my hands ‘on—darinet studies, piano pieces, John Coltrane sax sols, Joe Pass chord chars and ‘even phone books. Ard ‘was a mediocre sight-eader ar bes. believe the guitar isthe most difficl instrument on which to sight-read because there are limitations and many variables involved. Having said that, ean provide some pointers The two most important elementsin learning to read music well are being able to identity patterns and to look ahead as you're playing. Work on these principles and thing will eventually fall nto place. Beyond these tips, [recommend you do the following: * Buy beginner guitar reading books 1 get the idea of where the notes fll onthe inst ‘ment have never been a fan of tartab, Although itcan g ‘overview of how to playa particular piece, feel that it eventually becomes limiting + Take a song (classical, jazz you like) and read irthrough every day und you can play it perfectly Sight-reading rel ding gu iyabout identifying patterns, so ths wll help Once youth asong and you're capable of playing it awlessly and ‘with great feeling, go abead and play it many more times and watch what happens. Build a repertoire of songs and play through each one ‘every day, oron a regular basis at litte bit of something new day. This wil ad you + Sight-read and terrifying eves bility tolook ahead {ts been proven that the most effective way to improve your sight reading ability is. attempt to sight read something ata strict ten o, such as wit a metronome or dam The ke ping or slowing down I you m well Keep going, aif ‘with other musicians. Dont tap and dwell the note(s) you missed until you've finished then go back and see whar you missed. Practice sight reading a plce of ‘music ta tempo that’s not going to make yo mess up every two measures. Youll be at how your sght-e sto proceed without stop the entire ieee ig ability wil improve when you come toa tricky spoIn addition, read music for insruments other than guitar, such asthe liner, lute and piano. Also, get jazz “fake” book and 1 through the chord changes. WRITING MUSIC Writing songs or instrumental pieces is one ofthe most rewarding things about being ‘A musician. There are many ways you can go about building a catalog of original material When Iwasa high school freshman Ihad an incredible music theory teacher named Bill Westcot. He was rough! One of my assign ‘ments was to come in every day witha newiy written piece of original music that he could play on the piano. Ithad to be completely notated and not just show chord symbols and ‘melody, and ithad tobe written specifically 1 piano. Having him play the music for ‘me was not only treat but tremendously educational IE you're interested in learning how to notate musi propery, the best reference book on the subject is Music Notation, by Gardner Read. lesan exceptional book, and i outlines al the essential dos and don's. You ‘may be abe tofind itby calling the bookstore at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Here are some recommendation for song- writing composing + Turn ona tape recorder and bang out youridea, lcanttell you how important ths is ifyou want wo be a songwriter. Moments of inspiration ‘are sometimes few and far between, and they can hit you t the most unlikely times. You need tobe ready tocapeure them when they present themselves * Write songs in lead sheet format, with melody on the staff and chord changes written above the melody. There ‘are books, such as Music Notation, that out: line the limitations and proper notation for various instruments of the orchestra as well as more unconventional instruments. Get ‘some manuscript or score paper and try composing music for instruments other than the guitar. Study the range, tone, timbre, limitations and notation for one instrument ‘atime, be it violia, harp or harmonica played through a Marshall stack (ora Carvin Legacy stack), * Find another musician that you can “gel with" as a cowriter. Ideally he or she may be someone who possesses certain skills that you Jack. Ifyou have the right chemistry, creating ‘music with another person can be avery rewarding experience. ‘= While ying in bed at night, try to make up an endless melody that contains a variety of instruments. Doing this is truly liberating, because you're creating instantaneously, and there are no limitations ro where you can go or what it can sound ike, fa Remember that people write songs based on anything from events in their life to nena person aps into that ere 30- ay Five ponion tsi rein hy TOY esa srviat things hat MUSIC THEORY ve always been fascinated by music theory. Although knowledge of iis not a prerequisite for being a great guitar player ‘or musician, feel that if you're going to learn to speak a language, it helps to know how to read and write it. Many people are intimidated by theory, but it's not that di cult, really; the system is actually very lo cal and straightforward. What confuses a Joc of people, I think, is having to struggle ‘with thinking in unfamiliar keys, such as A flatorF sharp. Bill Westcor taught me music theory in high school, bute wasn until took guitar lessons from Joe Satriani that learned how to apply alo of it to my instrument. There are ‘many books that teach music theory basics, sncluding notation, time signatures, key sg natures, the circle of ithe, chord theory and modes. recommend that you take every thing you learn ina theory book and figure Ags 2 Fe ae Lie Pht Rea REVEREND ‘SERIES Cee aawitarand how you exercises, scales, theory and devices that help sou express yourself more freely on your instrument. Be careful not to get hung up on how fascinating iis robe able to play scales relly fst orto shred your self into acoma, Use this stufas a tool, not a prison. Sitting and playing Inthis you find your unig ection, I explain methods to help voice as guitarist, and chniques that can aid plain sion on the instrument. These later tems include vibrato, bent notes, harmonics, ‘making my ears, fingers and soul work whammy bar stunts and dynamics her i Everything F've told you thus far will help head. a accomplished aber th youin your quest to becon guitar player. However, rem i" iu | BRING YOUR PASSION. ae ee Real World Education > Show Production & Touring Fall Sails the place to start 800.226.7625 fullsail.com he instrument expressively and with contol {sthe goal heve. These days, don’ practice ‘expres. allof the material Tve mentioned, but thas alleen crucial to my development and to pressing the music Ihave in my T elieve that we all have the ability to be allthe unique on our instruments. The ticks to densify with that uniqueness and presentation (or maybe even historical statement). Thave found hat listening to my inner ear i the Pbese way to get to the heart ofthe Frater. I's sometimes subte, lu ‘sve voice, buts there, and there are concrete ways to tune nto it When I sit down to play now, I usually build jam tracks to improvise over and write to. There are numerots ways you can do this One way isto learn the basics of home recor ing and invest ina simple rig with which you can record your own tracks to jam over. You can also purchase prerecorded jam tracks on €, and some electronic devices, ike Kore’s Pandora, feature builtin vamps you can play with. (Inever travel withour my Pandora) Focusing intensely on anything i form of meditation and, as such, it has the poten ‘al to increase 10, comprehension, imagina tion and artistic abilities at any age. The prob- lemis that's dificult for many of us (including yours truly) to keep the mind focused on anything fora long period of time This, however, isthe only way to get real esuts. You need to meditate on what you're doing, and when the mind begins ro wander, youneed to try to pullt back. ‘To that end, I like to present various techniques for you to practice while jamming with a tape or a band, or jus sitting in your room. Fist, however, I would like to make the following suggestions + Use avariety of vamps that encompass different gentes, grooves, keys and time ig natures. By setting up specific parameters (whether sylistic, melodic or rhythmic in nature), you'll push yourself to discover dif ferent ways of approaching various tech niques. Ths wll help you identify who you really re onthe instrument because you'l be forced to reach deep inside yourself and find the things that push your musical buttons, + When doing any ofthe following tech nique exereises, use them to express the way ‘various emotions feel to you: anger, joy, ls, compassion, melancholy, paranoia, pho Fia—whatever. Each ofthese emotions has an audible counterpart. Beware, however, that to suocessullyransmi€ these emotions from yout pyche to your fingers, you may need to immerse yourself in the emotion self. This alone can take remendous focus, butitcan also be incredibly revealing. Ifyou feel com- pelle to focus more on negative emotions, ty tokeep things balanced —after all, you are what you play, and wherever you take your ‘mind may not only dictate the typeof ar you create but also brainwash you into becoming ‘that type of person I's easy tobe miseral and intense, but this exercise can help you | bil yourself into the kind of musician and person you want tobe. Isalso helpful when | you ind yourselfin a parcicular funk (due wo ‘the upsand downs of life), because it can help strengthen the mental ools you may nced to pull yourself ina particular directionpec a SIDS TO Ce LOCC coy Pere ere eee) frees Renee eer a eae ee ee ed Car) Pee ee eee www.everlymusic.comPorn ne) Sy : g@ Buy A Morley. ; WY And Step On It. CSS etn gence tam LE) www.morleypedals.comhese things od of three seconds, so tty to become one ofthe few who can. Here area few + Gradually go from soft to hard, and then back that has sharp hit, light strums and medium ‘hythmie things all in one or two bars. + Play as loud and as hard as you possibly an without stopping for as long as you're able to. Then do the exact opposite Again, could goon forever, but Ithink fo close out this section, Ive pulled cogether a numberof ways you can set up parameters o force you into making new dis coveries onthe guitar. Try to do each of following for an hour without stopping * Solo on one string only. + Solo with double-ops only (two notes Played together) then try doing the same thing with thee. four, fve-and sx-note chords jacent string ony, then solo on two strings that have one, two, three or four idle strings berween them, Record a vamp that has a single bass note repeating under, then ny the vamp while limiting yourself to one par ticular mode or synthetic scale. + Play a chor, listen it, then close your eyes and imagine a scene that th This can be done with a melody line, too. * Pick one note and play i as many differ ent waysas you can for an hour. Make it sound like music. chord evokes. * Come up with atleast one new thing a at you've never played before. + Improvise with only one hand (your fret ing hand), using only hammerons and pl offs to articulate notes Make sue the notes sound good and clear, and not sloppy. + Play as fast and as cleanly as you can without stopping + Play as slow and tender as you can, + Try fooling around with alternate tun ings Include radically different tunings that seem to make no sense. * Try to evoke colors with chords. Lay your guitar on the floor and touch i in many different ways, tying to create unique sounds. day REST Don't hurt yourself. i you need to take a break, then take one. You needn't feel guilty if you mis practice session. (Well, maybe a Title guilty.) When you're young and have time to kil, t's easier to putin the hours. Keepin mind tha your fingers have many ny and int cles that, like any other uscle, need resto recuperate and heal workout. Evaluate shold, and fingers really practice for 10 hour sive yourself ample ina to play for such along period of time. Tseem to have been blessed with great finger genes. My fingers are long and nim ble, and they can take tremendous abuse. Back when I was putting in many hours o practicing, I could go for 15 t020 hours ata stretch, without any wrist, finger or forearm Pain. A little muscle fatigue was about all ‘experienced. On the occasions that Ife pain, 1 just worked through i. Today, howe ex Ido no ey need it Few oft day, and you should ime to achieve the sam Tencourage every gu Workout to be on the alert fr signs of com ‘mon musician silments, such as tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. They can be rey dangerous f not addressed, Two last notes onthe subj you need to protect your hands from getting ‘wet for any long period of ime. Second, pre ret your ears more cautiously than your penis. you're doing loud gigs, pu cotton a earplugs in them. (This may be the best advice you gt from this article!) PLAY WITH OTHERS Share the experience of making music with others. IF thar’ all you do, youre doing prety good. (antnucd om page 19 WT HUNG eee Here at RainSong we make one super strong, great sounding, mean ass guitar. Our ‘bon/graphite construction and attention to detail allowed us to create a guitar like nothing you've ever seen or heard. So superior infact, that we get a litle bit competitive LS ee ar uys around a campfire or hundreds of angry punks, th you need. But don't take our word for it, get dawn to your yoursell. We'e prety sure yu'l gre, RainSong graphite gu aos curTaR worty Co eee ar delivers the performance te ceedSTEVE VAI (ont fo ‘Thave not incorporated this concept into the body ofthe 30-hour yee, bat for me i's the most rewarding aspect of being a musi cian. Making musi, like making love, can be ‘avery sharing, tender, touchy-feely, emotion Alexperience.Itcan alsobe a sheer expres sion of other things. My favorite types of musicians to pay with are those who know how to listen and interact accordingly. To communicate musically, you :must have the ability tallow others into your ‘expressive psyche. To really let others in can be an intimate experience. By the same token you need to have the ability to listen to others around you and interact accordingly. Mutual respect and a nonjudgmental aritude are some ofthe elements necessary in cultivating the ht chemistry tomake that magic Some of my favorite imes in my life are the years that latended Berklee. earned alot ‘bout myself during that period. The school as filled with young, budding, ambitious musicians and the group of students | hung out with became much ike family. There were dif ferent musicians fromall around the wold there, playing all sors of instruments, and they were eager to explore, share and ‘communicate through musi. Nohing ‘can beat that kindof aritude and those kinds of moments, no matter ‘how many hours you spend practic ing in your room. There were some twemendous players there, and bonded with people who have become lifelong friends ‘When Iwas in igh schoo, Iwas ina band called Rayge, and we played cover tunes by Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Queen, Deep Purple and others. We eventually started to doa le of original music as well Our attude in those days was one of brotherhood. We went ‘through many life experiences together but the most important thing was the band. None cof us were selfish about sharing music when we hit the rehearsal basement or the sage. We went through many “coming of age” exper: ences together, and at times those experiences ‘were joyous, and at other times tragic. Regard les, we siways had the band and eachother. What 'm getting at here is how important ‘tisto play selflessly with others. Doing so will give you the opportunity to respect oth es, experiment, open your ears, react and, of course, throw up onthe gym floor aftr the ig atthe high school dance. DISCOVERING YOURSEL! “This Workout and is method may be igh Iyciteied in the furure fr being “over the top, but dont hk there any other wey 0 become a virwoso This i nota clas on guitar playing or songwriting (although itmay help Inthose areas) buta pathof for the strong willed player. ‘The commitment it takes to become an elite vr toso guitarist isnot unlike that required to become a champion in any other field. You must think, breathe, eat and live the instrument at virally every waking moment (end even while sleeping, when possible). You must transcend the games your mind will play ‘on you and the excuses it wil give you to lay ‘off and take the easy road. You must contin: ally bring the focus back tthe instrument. ‘You may find yourselfbeing harshly crtcized by other music community people, or friends, ‘magazines and those that hang around on ‘Sunset Boulevard obsessing over the nuances ofthe latest trends. This is precisely the time when you need to fearlessly stick to your vision. There are tests all along the way. Realize cha ts allin the mind, and never accept failure when dealing with things that ae within your ability to contro. Keep a positive outlook on things, and don't let your intensity turn you into prick. Always compliment and support your fellow musicians. We all have dreams and hopes. By encour aging, complimenting and sup Porting those around us, we sain selfignity, respect, fiends, a healthy overview of Jour own work and an appreciation forthe efforts chat others put in uring their struggles Its okay wo ger discouraged at times, but i's not okay to quit. Quitting 's never an option fora true artist. Is just notin their makeup. Think of music and the {guitar when you're not even around an instrument. Ifyou're ina quiet setting, imag. {ne that you're playing and try to see your fingers moving while you listen to what's hhappening in your head. You can ge better at this as time goes by. I's unbelievably rewarding and ican help you improve dras tially because you're not confined by your ‘Physical limitations. fused todo this all the time, and I still do. Timagine things onthe {instrument that !can't do, and then I work (on them until can do them effortlessly ‘There ae those who believe that God is ‘manifest in everything, inthe form of light and sound. Some believe that that light and sound need to be discovered by each of us Personally and alone. Tis could be why we are so fond of music. Creating music ust by “willing” it in your head may eventually lead {0 just listening to i happen in your head Who the composer is and where the music takes you are for you to discover. DISCLAINER Becoming a rock star, a movie sta, a powerful executive, an elite athlete ora rich-and famous anything is easy compared to controlling the mind so that it remains focused without interruption on the music within. do not claim to have that much control, bu I'm working oni. Some people hhave an abundance of natural talent and a ‘more gifted in some areas than others. I'm ‘ot naturally gifted; had to work very hard to develop my chops and techniques. know lots of players that are beter shredders, cleaner players and better sight-readers than me. I've had students that showed an extraordinary ability to develop amazing technique but had redundant, ull ideas. Conversely, 've had students that found i very difficult to play anything accurately, but thei ideas and sense of melody were inspired. And then there are those freaks that have ical. ‘think being a musician and being able ro play an instrument is about the coolest thing in the world. Creating music (and especially playing the guitar) is most rewarding when it’s based on pure passion. I's our birthright to play an instrument and to crate Of course, you can toss the whole concept ofthis article and just do ityour own way. However, somethings won't change. The amount of focus, passion and time you putin are going tobe reflected in your art. Whatev ex the ease, Ihope you find your soul in all That's the payoff. urraR wort 189