Vol1 Iss12

alternate (Tunings) Universe
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS
5 A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER
Is the guitar weepin’ or wailin’?
6 RIFF RAFF WITH SHANE THERIOT:

EPISODE 03 WITH JON HERINGTON
Shane and Jon talk about Steely Dan, filling
shoes and Black Friday
STRIKING MATCHES
Guitarists and songwriter duo Sarah Zimmermann and
10 OZ NOY: THE WIZARDRY OF OZ
Oz shares the goods with Riff’s Brad
58
Wendkos and Brad shares why he thinks Oz
Justin Davis on stage at Guitar Town
is blazing new frontiers
18 CONTROLLING YOUR G.A.S.

Rob Garland helps us put our gear
acquisition needs in perspective
24 LESSON: STEPPING UP YOUR GUITAR

ARTISTRY
Joe Dalton helps us think deeper and further
about playing guitar with video examples
CONTROLLING YOUR G.A.S. 28 LESSON: THINK INSIDE THE BOX-SUPER

If you suffer from this guitarist JON HERINGTON
malaise, help may be on the way Shane Theriot sits with Jon and EASY PENTATONIC SHAPES WITH COOL
makes music (to our ears)
18 06 EFFECTS FOR BASS
Cool bass exercises with Ariane Cap to
springboard your creativity
32 LESSON: THE WIZARD OF ODD

Scott Allen shows us how to play with time
for cool and odd results
38 LESSON: PLAYING THE BLUES WITH THE

DOMINANT 6/7 ARPEGGIO
Dig deep on your soloing with Maurice
ARIANE CAP CIAO RHYTHM Arenas’ approach
Student favorite educator makes Massimo Varini share his
the box beat acoustic rhythm approach
28 46 42 LESSON: CHORD TONES FOR MELODIC
SOLOING
Looking for roots with Robert Renman
AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

TABLE OF CONTENTS
OZ NOY: THE WIZARDRY OF OZ

“Best guitar riff on a record”, “Best new talent”, and “Best out there guitar player”
10
46 LESSON: ACOUSTIC GUITAR FROM PAUL MCCARTNEY TO JOHN MAYER
Massimo Varini gives us video approaches to inspire our acoustic rhythm chops
58 GUITAR TOWN IS YOUR TOWN TOO

The free and fabulous festival for guitar aficionados and music lovers
80 STUDIOWIRE: A MEANS TO AN END (PART IV) TRUEFIRE STUDIO UPDATE

TrueFire’s Tommy Jamin reflects on our production evolution and what the new Your StudioWire on TrueFire’s
challenges are in the next phase of construction. new studio construction with
Tommy Jamin
84 FOLK ALLIANCE FESTIVAL + CAMP 80
Learn about the Louis Jay Meyers Music Camp for world class folk inspiration
86 RIFF JOURNAL ARTIST DIRECTORY

Full listing and interactive links from the featured artists and educators
88 RIFFAGE: FEATURED ALBUM COMPILATION

Get your FREE download of featured music from Riff artists
90 CLOSING SNAPSHOTS FOLK DAY CAMPING

Photos from backstage, behind-the-scenes and on the road
The Folk Alliance’s festival and
learning camp is smokin’
84
RIFF 3
CONTRIBUTORS
“Love is friendship set to music.” - Jackson Pollock
Meet the Riff Band. We can’t wait to present our edition to you and share our passion with readers each
quarter. In the meantime, shout out to us anytime online with feedback, questions and tasty tidbits.
riffjournal@truefire.com @riffjournal facebook.com/riffjournal

RIFF BAND
ALISON HASBACH JEFF SCHEETZ
Editor-in-Chief Educational Department
Editor
Ali (a.k.a. prioress of the ‘Fire) is a
founding partner and chief shooting Jeff is the Director of Education
& branding officer who likewise at TrueFire, has released 8 music
holds a M.B.A. (master of brewing CDs, and 6 video instruction
administration) in Coffee Imbibement. courses. He’s been a teacher for
She is fanatical about all things artistic over 30 years and brings his own
(especially TrueFire Artists). method and style to students from
around the world. He has written
guitar columns for many magazines
BRAD WENDKOS and conducted workshops and clinics
Publisher throughout the US, Europe and Mexico.
Born in a cross-fire hurricane to

itinerant Appalachian mountain
people and then sold for a barrel
ZACH WENDKOS
of gunpowder to a wandering clan Technology Department
of Eastern European gypsies, Brad Editor
(thankfully) found his way home at TrueFire.
Zach holds a real M.B.A. and
scavenges the planet for the latest
TOMMY JAMIN and greatest in online marketing
Studio Department Editor and technology applications. He leads
the charge in honing the student online
Tommy Jamin is a graduate of the experience at TrueFire and dreaming up the
Recording Arts program at Full Sail new and cool.
University and has been crafting
top-quality video and audio content
as a professional digital media producer
over the last 14 years. In addition to being
KYLER THOMANN
Music Editor
Director of Production at TrueFire, he’s also
a singer-songwriter, production gear & tech
With Creative Utility Knife
enthusiast and family man.
skills, Kyler bridges web and
print, video, and digital images
AMBER NICOLINI and has a passion for live events
and all things musical. With his
Creative Director finger on the pulse of the live music
scene, Kyler brings a keen editorial
Amber is an easy going pixel crafter
spirit to the magazine..
with a flair for all things typographical
and music related. She holds a BFA in
Graphic Design & Digital Media from the
University of North Florida and has cozied
into her niche as Creative Director here at
TrueFire.

A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER
ZAKK WY L D E PLAY IN G HIS GUITAR TO D EATH - IN COLORAD O || PHOTO BY AL ISON HASBAC H
GUITAR IS DEAD?
T
he Washington Post recently published,
“Why My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Slow,
Secret Death of the Six-String Electric.
And Why You Should Care.” Very provoc-
ative article for anyone who makes, sells,
teaches, or plays guitar. I’m not sure anyone else
would really care.
You’ve probably read the article yourself, have

formulated your own opinion, and have read or
listened to the many varied opinions of others.
There are thousands of posts, videos, comments
and the like responding to that particular article,
most of which make very good points.
After reading the article myself, I wondered why

the Washington Post hadn’t called us, or any of
the other guitar education companies, as they
were researching the article. We would have re-
ported a contrasting view to those of the makers
and sellers that they did interview. Guitar sales
may be down, but more people than ever before
are seeking and taking guitar lessons.
Where are they getting their guitars? The vast

majority are used instruments from their own
closets, pass-alongs from their parents or
friends, pawn shops, flea markets, eBay, Reverb,
Craigslist and countless other means that don’t
appear on the industry sales radar screens. Let’s
face it — there’s a glut of instruments out there.
The article reported declining sales, but I’d love to

know how many new guitars have been force-fed
into the market, over the last decade or so, by
the hundreds of makers that exist today. Supply
clearly exceeds demand, but that doesn’t neces-
sarily mean that demand is declining.
I’m happy to report that guitar is very much alive

and well here at the ‘Fire and so no need to send
cards and condolences — buy a guitar instead (or
play the one you have).
This Riff’s for you!
Brad Wendkos || Head Smoke Jumper
RIFF 5
RIFF 7
P H OTO S BY A L IS ON HAS BAC H

THE RIFF-RAFF 003
J O N H E R I N G T O N E P I S O D E N º
NYC S NAP S HOT PROV I DED BY S HANE T HERI OT EPISODE NO 4: JON HERINGTON
My guest today is Mr. Jon Herington. Currently the
guitarist for Steely Dan, Jon has long been one of
NYC’s top tier musicians and first call cats. His
resume boasts many credits, (including Boz Scaggs,
Michael Brecker, Bill Evans, Bette Midler, Madeleine
Peyroux and many others,) but the mainstay of his
workload is the coveted guitar chair with Steely Dan,
a gig he has held since 1999.
As you’ll hear, Jon and I have been friends for a

while and it was great to catch up and have some
laughs. You may say “wow if someone had to go in
and sub for Jon those would be some huge shoes
to fill” and yes you would be correct ‘cause I’ve had
to do it! - not just once, but twice. Jon was gracious
enough back in 2007 or 2008 (can’t remember) to
recommend me for the Boz Scaggs gig while he
was out with Steely Dan and then also to Madeleine
Peyroux. I kept both those chairs “warm” for a quite
a few years while he moved in and out of Steely Dan
tours which resulted quite a bit of work for me for
3-4 years.
In this little hang I ask Jon about his early years,

Jack McDuff, what his first break was in NYC, his
first solo record - The Complete Rhyming Dictionary,
(now retitled “Pulse and Cadence”, Broadway gigs,
how he landed the gig with Steely Dan, what it’s like
to play with those guys and much more. He also
shows me his approach to soloing over the quick
chord changes to the classic tune “Black Friday” and
we jam on the tune. We also talk about his current
Jon Herington Band and his new transcription of
chord melodies. Lot’s of nuggets of career advice in
this one for you younger musicians!
Episode No 3: Jon Herrington
Recorded SoHo NYC, Aug 2017
RIFF 9
Oz Noy
Written By Brad Wendkos
RIFF 11
“It happens every blue moon or so. One moment
you think you know what’s happening on the
scene, and then everything changes in a New
York minute. It might happen for you one night,
in some random club, in some random city. Or
you might stumble into it as you’re streaming
tunes. More than likely, someone hips you to
it, which is what I hope to do in the following
paragraphs if you haven’t yet tuned into the
wizardry of Oz Noy..”
n silicon valley speak they call it a “paradigm shift,”

defined as “an important change that happens
when the usual way of thinking about or doing
something is replaced by a new and different way.”
I’m not sure what it’s called in the world of music,
but I’ve frequently heard the phrase, “WTF” used
when one sees or hears a guitarist that takes the
instrument way beyond the current state of the art.
I certainly used that phrase when I first heard Oz.

And in my opinion, he belongs on the short list
of legendary players who have also blazed new
frontiers on the instrument, across the history of
music. I am not alone as you will discover when
you google Oz up, visit his site, and read what his peers have to
say about him.
I could tell you his story but; a) you’ll find that elsewhere as you
peek behind the wizard’s curtain, and; b) I’d rather take advantage
of Riff’s interactive format to share a few of my favorite Oz videos
and give you a taste of his wizardry.
I will tell you this though…ask Oz how he would describe his

sound and he would tell you, “It’s Jazz. It just doesn’t sound like
it.” Gotta love that and many top recording artists, across a wide
variety of genres, do indeed love what Oz brings to table.
He’s performed, toured and recorded with The Allman Brothers,

P H OTO S BY A L ISO N H AS BAAC H

RIFF 13
Allen Toussaint, Eric Johnson, Mike Stern, John Abercrombie, Gavin DeGraw,
Harry Belafonte, Cyndi Lauper, Clay Aiken, Wonder Girls, Toni Braxton, Phoebe
Snow, Nile Rogers, Dave Weckl, John Patitucci, Bill Evans, Warren Hayes, Steve
Lukather, Jennifer Hudson, Don Henley, Patti Austin, Take 6, Michael Buble,
Josh Groban, Phil Ramone, Paul Shaffer, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Sting, Steve
Perry, Allison Krauss, Foreigner, Patty Smyth, Average White Band, Christopher
Cross, and the list goes on and open and on. Talk about a pedigree!
Oz is amazing to work with. Super humble and laid back, yet very confident
and direct. Knows precisely what he wants to do and is very well prepared, yet
open to suggestions and collaboration. Most of all though, I just really enjoyed
his company and we connected right away. Follow your ears down that yellow
brick road.
As usual, we asked Oz to answer our Proust-like questionnaire so that Riff

readers could learn a little bit more about him. That’s Oz playing jazz that you’re
hearing — it just doesn’t sound like it. Dig in!
What is it about the guitar that attracted you to it originally, and still
fascinates you today?
I don’t really know why I started to play guitar, I wanted to be a drummer,

but a friend of mine took me for a guitar lesson and that was it…I think the
Beatles was a big reason why I’m playing guitar…I also really love the tone of an
electric guitar, a good tone of a Fender strat can get me emotional! I’m still as
fascinated by the guitar as I was when I started 35 years ago. Once that ends
(which I hope will never happen!), I will stop playing and become a gardener or
something like that.
Your idea of happiness?
Health, love, good food, and good music.
Whether living or dead, who would you like to have dinner with?
Hendrix, SRV, Miles, Wes, Pat Metheny, Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock, Wayne
Shorter, Joni Mitchell, and Katy Perry.
Name three things a player can do to improve their musicianship.
Practice with a metronome, learn jazz theory, play with better musicians then
yourself.

OZ NOY
VIDEO SELECTIONS
OK friends, both volumes of Oz’s Twisted Blues albums and the below e playlist should get you started
on your own yellow brick road discovery of the wizardry of Oz Noy!
GET DOWN STERIODS PERFORMANCE

FEAT. KEITH CARLOCK & JOHN MEDESKI SELECTION FROM IMPROV WIZARD
Oz with Keith Carlock (my personal The first video is one of the performance
drum hero!), Will Lee and John Medeski studies from his first TrueFire course, Improv
in the studio for Twisted Blues Vol 2… Wizard. Here’s Steroids…
OZ AND KEITH KARLOCK SCHIZOPHRENIC

REGATTABAR IN BOSTON WITH ANTON FIG, ROSCOE BECK AND ERIC JOHNSON
Oz with Keith Carlock and Oteil Oz with Anton Fig, Roscoe Beck and special
Burbridge at the Regattabar in Boston… guest Eric Johnson…
JUST GROOVE ME PERFORMING STEVIE WONDER MEDLEY

WITH DAVE WECKL AND MICHAEL RHODES
FEAT. ELY JAFFE, MATT KOZIOL, KEITH KARLOCK,
Oz with Dave Weckl and Michael Rhodes JAMES GENUS + FRIENDS
performing “Just Groove Me” at the 2013 Oz with Ely Jaffe, Matt Koziol, Keith Carlock,
PASIC… James Genus and friends performing a
Stevie Wonder Medley…
Look up “funky white boy” in your Webster’s and that’s Oz you’ll see pictured there, clearly validated by
his second TrueFire course, Funk Rhythm Guitar Essentials. Here’s two performance vids from those
lessons, Shining Rhythm and Funk Injection…
SHINING RHYTHM FUNK INJECTION

ESSENTIALS: RHYTHM GUITAR ESSENTIALS: RHYTHM GUITAR
Oz with Dave Weckl and Michael Rhodes Oz with Ely Jaffe, Matt Koziol, Keith Carlock,
performing “Just Groove Me” at the 2013 James Genus and friends performing a
PASIC… Stevie Wonder Medley…
RIFF 15
If not yourself, who would you be? Your favorite heroes in fiction?
Hugh Hefner Superman of course.
Given the changing business landscape What or who is the greatest love of your
of the music business and how tough it is life?
to sell records etc, what are the positives
about the current evolution of the music Still looking….
business?
Your favorite food and drink?
None! The music business model right now
makes absolutely no sense. Unless there’s a Any real good Middle Eastern, Italian, Japanese
serious change in the digital royalties domain it food…and a bottle of Coke.
won’t be possible for musicians to keep making
original new music. You need money to make In your next life, what or who would you
music (or any type of art really) and if there’s no like to come back as and why?
money, it can’t survive. It’s really that simple!
An Astronaut. I think it’s a hip job.
Your favorite motto?
The natural talent you’d like to be gifted
Have high hopes and low expectations. with (other than music)?
What do you dream about? Literally. Photographic memory.
I hardly ever remember my dreams. In life or in music, what is the one central
key learning that you’d like to pass on to
What are your aspirations? others?
I really just hope to keep making good music Have fun and do what you love to make you feel
and becoming a better musician. good! If you love what you do and it makes you
feel good, then everybody around you will feel
What one event in music history would the same. I know it sound cheesy, but it’s true.
you have loved to have experienced in
person?
SRV live at El Mocambo - I would have loved

to hear that tone in that room. Mile Davis Live
at the Plugged Nickel. Those nights of music
changed jazz and modern music forever!

RIFF 17
By Rob Garland

" Yes, a new pedal can inspire
new ideas, but so can digging a
little deeper into music itself
"
W
e all know G.A.S can be
W
uncomfortable. Not in the way that
it makes your stomach hurt, but
more in the judgment you feel from
family and friends when they walk
into your living room and see two
Marshall half stacks. And if you’re
one of those people wondering
if those two Marshall half stacks
are Marshall ’68 Plexi’s, then you’d
better read on!
Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a common curse among

musicians, the all-consuming desire to add more equipment
to an already overloaded collection of music gear. It is an
affliction that has caused the dissolution of marriages,
relocation to troll-like living quarters (under bridges obviously)
and bank balances that plunge into the red.
In the same way that the internet has had a profound impact
on all aspects of the music business, the availability of new
shiny products demonstrated in high definition video before
one’s quivering eyeballs has made the acquisition of gear for
many an ongoing Grail quest.
Years ago the only way to hear what a piece of gear like an
amp did was to trek down to the local music shop and plug
your guitar in, but now just check your Google search history
and you’ll find an endless stream of forums, YouTube demos
and gear review websites. Oh and hopefully some TrueFire
lessons!
So let’s address an age-old debate.
RIFF 19
G.A.S GEar aquisition syndrome
Is good tone in the fingers or can it only be on the guitar a lot to vary the sound. A funny side
attained with a Dumble? I’m paraphrasing the note to that is the guitar was such a work-horse
question slightly there, but you get my point. that people used to come up and ask if it was
Somewhere the germ of an idea was propagated “relic-ed” meaning artificially aged, but no, I just
that there is a mystical piece of gear out there had that one guitar and I played it a lot!
that will allow you to play like your favorite guitar
hero, if only you can find it. Fast forward to now and yes, my tastes have
changed - I now own a 20th Anniversary Bogner
This may surprise many to learn, but I’m much Shiva (EL34) amp, my current go-to guitar is
less interested in gear and the acquisition of an Xotic XSC and for effects, I recently delved
it than most of my students. I spent 10 years into an Eventide H9, so it’s fair to accuse me of
performing at clubs and festivals with a trio upgrading a tad into G.A.S. territory. But I do tend
and for most of that time played one guitar and to stick with the same gear for a long time.
used a Fender Vibrolux amp. I used one pedal
for overdrive and clean boost, an occasional vibe When it comes to chasing tone, I like to reference
and/or delay and that was pretty much it. I used Jeff Beck, the man has consistently amazing tone
the pickups, plus the volume and tone controls and tends to stick with a strat into a Marshall.

But also watch the constant adjustments aren’t enough hours in the day as it is
the Guv’nor makes to his tone and volume (especially with a 4 year old), so I’d rather
controls on the guitar. A tip I learned from find something I like that works and then
reading about Beck is to never play with a focus on the playing aspects rather than the
strat volume all the way up. I tend to stick to equipment tweaking.
around 6-7 for rhythm and 8-9 for lead. Go
above 9 and to me the pickups start to sound Maybe you’ve seen some YouTube clips
too glassy. I also like to run the amp treble of players like Eric Johnson and Steve
control up pretty high and take the guitar Vai playing other people’s equipment and
treble down, especially on the bridge pickup. sounding exactly like themselves? This I
would argue is pretty definite proof that tone
Now before I offend some of you who may is in the fingers and the heart of the player.
be a tad bloated with G.A.S. let me say that But that said, they don’t tend to use cheap
there’s nothing wrong with being interested gear, so having nice equipment that is well
in gear and for some players it’s as much made and reliable takes the tone you have in
fun as the actual playing, especially when your fingers and amplifies it (pun intended).
you enjoy discussing gear with others online But players like these have put in a massive
and feeling like you’re part of a community. amount of time on the instrument learning
I get that and it’s great, but for me there how to play and defining their tone from
RIFF 21
A tip I learned from
reading about
Beck is to never
play with a strat
volume all the way
up. I tend to stick
to around 6-7 for
rhythm and 8-9
for lead. Go above
9 and to me the
pickups start to
sound too glassy.

" My advice, rather than spending
a massive amount of money
on a signature model, take a
basic guitar and make your own
adjustments and changes to it
"
within. I bet they learned on basic equipment. The first guitar I ever owned was
made by a company in the U.K. called Axe and had the word ‘AXE’ displayed in
massive letters on it. It was red, subtle in no way whatsoever and played about
as badly as any instrument ever could, the action was so high it had snow on
it, but I loved that guitar and by the time I upgraded a couple of years later to a
better playing guitar, the Charvette (Charvel’s illegitimate child), I was in heaven.
I find the idea that people want an exact replica of their favorite players gear
a little odd though. Especially in cases like the replica models of Edward Van
Halen’s Frankenstrat, which are basically falling apart at the factory. And that’s
on purpose! I love seeing well-worn gear, but often there are features and
adjustments to guitars in particular that are very specific to the individual. My
advice, rather than spending a massive amount of money on a signature model,
take a basic guitar and make your own adjustments and changes to it, ones
that make sense to you, to benefit the way you play, the style you like, make it
comfortable and put pickups in it (or even leave the ones in it that came from
the factory) that help define the sound you’re after and then you have your own
signature model instrument.
So the thought I’ll leave you with is if you’re a hobbyist player that revels in
your G.A.S. then good for you. However if you’re frustrated with your playing
and feel you’re not progressing in some way, but tend to spend a lot of time on
gear forums and reading about equipment then perhaps reevaluate the use of
your time and try to balance your G.A.S with playing the guitar. You can pick up
different guitars, plug them into different amps and pedals but what is it you’re
actually playing through the equipment? Yes, a new pedal can inspire new ideas,
but so can digging a little deeper into music itself and finding inspiration within
those same 12 notes can be life affirming. The hardest part of practicing is
opening the guitar case. Remember the instrument will always give back to you
what you put into it and then some.
Written By Rob Garland
RIFF 23
LESSONS SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED
INTERMEDIATE
PEDAL STEEL SOLOING
STEPPING UP YOUR GUITAR ARTISTRY

Written by Joe Dalton
Some of the most complex licks or passages have simple origins and sometimes curiously interesting
influences. Where did they come from? How can I make it my own? For example: There is an obvious difference
between a musician and an artist. Musicians can play notes, artists make the music come alive and give it soul
and purpose, by adding accents, dynamic changes, (volume), etc.
Well then, what makes a pioneer…the people we may call musical geniuses. If you take a musical phrase/idea/
theme, then blend some musical thoughts and influence from another style, then maybe add some technique,
attack, or tone that a different instrument might use, you now have something new and completely innovative. I’d
like to show you one of my more advanced pet licks and discuss these properties.
This pedal steel emulation lick is of the Western-Swing variety and something steel players might play on the
C6th neck. Many people have asked me for a transcription of the Panhandle Rag from a recording in the 1980’s. I
played something like this during the improvised chord/melody solos.
We are in the key of E with a swing groove. The melody line is a chromatic run from B down to G#. (Example 1)
The signature ending riff Count Basie played is the inspiration here. He played it ascending with an E on top in
pairs. Les Paul used something like this on the intro to “How High the Moon”.
Next, we are going harmonize it in thirds. (Example 4) I use my second finger for the second-string notes and my
third finger for the third string notes and I use my 1st finger for the E and B notes at the 9th fret.
Next, we can add the E note to the chord. Changing things up a bit to make it different, we will put the E note on
the bottom of the chord. As you recall Count Basie and Les Paul had the E on the top. We will re-finger this to
accommodate the added note. (Example 5) In the first measure, for the left hand, the first finger gets the second-
string notes; the second finger gets the third string notes; and the pinky gets the fourth string notes. I am usually
using the pick and fingers technique for the right hand. The ring finger picks the second string notes; the middle
finger picks the third string; and the pick gets the fourth string notes. To achieve the pedal steel guitar effect, we
are going to bend strings two and three a half step. I practiced this move for hours just trying to get the notes in
tune. It is difficult to hold one note while bending two others.
The trick to the four-string chord in the next measure is the thumb position. If your thumb is in the correct
position behind the neck, you can stretch far enough and play the chord cleanly. The right hand fingers alternate
between the groups of three strings. At this point, you want to take some time to solidify this phrase.

The first chord in Example 6 uses the pinky on
the fourth string and the first two fingers for the
other two notes. The second chord uses the
first three fingers. For the picking hand, use the
same technique used in example five to alternate
between the strings. Bending the third string
ninth fret one step up make the chord an A13th
just for the half of a beat. Once you get this note
in tune and master this phrase, you may want to
play them back to back.
Example 7 is the next phrase. When I’m soloing,

I try to create phrases that compliment each
other. Example 7 is the answer to Examples 5
and 6. In the left hand, I use the pick and the
middle finger for the pairs of notes on the 5th
and 4th; and then the 4th and 3rd. I use the ring
finger and the middle finger for the pair of notes
on the 2nd and 3rd strings. The first measure is
fingered in the left hand as a chord. The pinky
gets the fifth string, the middle finger gets the
4th string, the index finger plays the 3rd and 2nd
strings as a barre. Work on this phrase slowly
at first as well. When you put the whole thing
together, you will have a I-IV-I-V progression.
So, let’s get back to this whole pioneer thing and

forging new ground and new sounds. This is
what will put you on the map as being different
and not just another guitarist. We always hear
that we are “a dime a dozen”. Now you have your
formula to stand out. Listen to all of your favorite
guitarists. Blend in different instruments and
different styles. Keep it simple for the listener
and stay true to your roots and make some new
music with some new sounds.
I always loved (and still do) the sounds of the big

bands from the 1930’s and 1940’s. I love those
big sounding harmonies with the close voicings.
I wanted to be a big band. Yes, that’s right. Not
necessarily in the band, I wanted to be the entire
trombone section or the sax section. That’s
where I got the influence to play these sounds.
So, that’s the truth. Early on, I didn’t know about
the C6th pedal steel guitar neck. What I was after
and what it became are two different things, but
I came up with something new. That’s what you
need to do. Good luck and happy picking.
RIFF 25
LESSON RIFFS
Swing 8ths
#### 4 Œ
Example 1
œ bœ œ w
Guitar & 4
Guitar T 12 11 10 9
A
B
œ Count Basie ending lick
œœ # œœ œœ
#
## # œ J
Œ Œ ‰ Ó
3
Gtr. &
3
12 12 12 12
Gtr. 9 10 11 12
œœ œœ œœ # œœ
Les Paul lick
œ œœ œœ # œœ œ œœ
# # # œœ œœ œœ n œœ
# œœœ œœ œœ n œœ œœœ œœ Œ Ó
5
Gtr. &
5
12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
Gtr. 12 12 12 11 11 10 10 11 11 12
11 11 11 12 12 11 12 12 11
11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
#### œœ n b œœ œœ ww
Example 4
Œ
8
Gtr. &
8
Gtr. 12 11 10 9
13 12 11 9
Lesson Riffs
©
LESSON RIFFS (CONT)
2 Example 5 Example 6
# n œœœ ... n b œœœ œœœ

j E
#### b œ
n œœ œœœ œ
E6
œ
œœœ ˙˙˙ nAœœœ7 j œœ œœ ˙˙
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10
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Gtr. & J nœ œ œ ˙
10 b
Gtr. 11 12 11 10 9 9 9 8
12 13 12 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 11 9
14 14 14 13 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
14 10 10 10
Example 7
#### ‰ œœ œœ œ ww
œœ # n œœ # œœ n œœ
E6 B7
‰
13
Gtr. & w
13
s 9
Gtr. 9 9 11
11 10 11 11 13
14 13 14 12
ABOUT THE EDUCATOR

Joe Dalton
When country guitar master Joe Dalton picks up a six-string; everyone listens. His
great-grandfather conducted the City of Rome Orchestra in Italy; his grandfather
was the leader of the New York Philharmonic; his father is solely responsible for
bringing mallets into the U.S. Army Band Corps; his brother teaches at the Boston
Conservatory...we could go on, but you get the point, right? Musical prowess runs
through his veins; it’s the nucleus of his existence.
VIEW JOE’S COURSE LIBRARY
RIFF 27
LESSONS SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE
BASS
PENTATONICS CHORDS
THINK INSIDE THE BOX: SUPER EASY PENTATONIC

SHAPES WITH COOL EFFECTS FOR BASS
Written by Ariane Cap
Ah, boxes…and it’s not even Christmas yet! Box shapes are easy: two notes per string and two fingers plucking in
the right hand. It’s super comfortable and lends itself to doing hip riffing and cool filling even at higher tempos.
The trick about pentatonics is knowing which scale to use and when. I lay it all out in my Pentatonic Playground
for Bass Course: the five shapes to know and what to do with them. I give the shapes descriptive names because
that makes them stick better. But whether you are hip to “The Boot”, “Little Box/Big Box” and the others, here is a
super easy trick for some pentatonic coolness. Think inside the box!
Let’s take just the top two strings of your bass and play the pattern below by “boxes”. The two purple ones you’d
finger with the first and third fingers, and the brown one with one and four.
Like this:

TAB and score:
Now that you have them under your fingers, the fun can begin! First, let’s figure out the chords over which we
can play this. Then I will show you how to use these boxes as a spring board for a variety of ideas.
THE CHORDS
There are quite a few possibilities of chords where these boxes will fit. In fact, every single one of these notes
could be the root of a possible chord. And because part of the coolness of pentatonics is that there are no
bad sounding notes, you can box away to your heart’s content.
E MIN, G MAJOR
The notes of these boxes are the E minor pentatonic, which shares its notes with the G major pentatonic,
so both of these chords work. The resulting sound is very “inside” and stable, pretty much the notes you’d
expect. Can’t go wrong here! E7 would also work, resulting in a bluesy effect.
We can, however, also impose this E minor/G major pentatonic over other chords. This creates a pleasant
sounding mild polytonality effect.
A MIN7 OR A SUS
We got the root, the fifth, the seventh, the ninth and the 11th (or fourth). Beautiful over an A min or A sus
chord!
B MIN7 OR B SUS7
For B minor we got the root, flat three, flat seventh and the flat sixth.
For B sus7 we are getting a bluesy feel (#9!) and the b13 as well. A bit tense, but works given the right
context!
RIFF 29
D SUS9
Here we get the natural 13 and the 9 in addition to 1-4-5.
How about some chords not in the boxes?

C major would work great. The boxes give us the sixth and major second (or ninth), and the chord tones of a C
major 7 chord without the root. Very sweet.
F MAJOR
The box notes create a beautiful lydian effect: maj7, 9, #11, 13 - gorgeous!
Now that’s a smorgasboard of chords for just a few notes, isn’t it? Notice that it’s all the chords of the G maj
scale (or E natural minor) except for the 7th degree (half dimished), which is replaced by the flat seven in maj (F
major).
THE RIFFIN’
Come up with a riff in the first purple box (basically you play the box corners in any order or rhythm you like).
Then, move the same pattern through the brown and second purple boxes. Voila, you have a cool strategy for
coming up with riffs. Below are some examples for soloing licks. When you use them going up like this in your
solo, make sure to resolve the tension created with a target note and clear resolution.
SOLOING SAMPLES
Keep in mind that as bassists most often our number one job is to play the root on beat one, so, unless you are soloing,
keep these riffs for beats 3 and 4 in the bar. It sounds neat if you groove on the root (see slash notation, use any of the
chords we identified above) and fill with this material over a few measures going up in your boxes. It sounds dramatic!
Like this:
GROOVE SAMPLE
Now put on a groove of that one chord and go to town, grooving and soloing! Within songs and on the bandstand make
sure to use devices like this with taste - they need to fit in with what the rest of the band is doing. Placed at just the right
spot in the arrangement, this is sure to have big impact. You can also check out more on cool boxes with Pentatonic
Playground for Bass!
ABOUT THE EDUCATOR

Ariane Cap
Bassist/composer/educator Ariane Cap has recorded and/or toured with Generation

Esmeralda, producer Keith Olsen, Muriel Anderson, The Sippy Cups, Raj Ramayya,
Girls Got the Blues, The David Haskell Fusion Group, Jean Fineberg’s Partymonsters,
Tempest... She co-leads the innovative and melodic Chamber Jazz duo OoN - The
Bass-Bassoon Duo of Ariane Cap and Paul Hanson.
VIEW ARIANE’S COURSE LIBRARY
RIFF 31
LESSONS SKILL LEVEL - ADVANCED
ODD TIME ADVANCED
TAG
THE WIZARD OF ODD

Written by Scott Allen
You know as guitar players we are often obsessed with learning new scales. We think if we can just master
Hungarian Minor or the Dominant Pentatonic scale that we will reach the level of virtuosic nirvana only glimpsed
in one of Steve Vai’s fever dreams. But there is a dirty little secret that most of us miss and that is that rhythm
matters when we play lead guitar too. No, I am not talking about actual rhythm guitar (rhythm guitar, for the
uninitiated, is that boring stuff between our solos!) but playing leads with an interesting rhythm and not falling
back on just regular old sixteenth notes and eighth notes. This is something all of the greats from Eddie Van
Halen, to Albert King, to John Coltrane knew well. But sometimes even just regular syncopation isn’t going to cut
it. Want to know what might? Then you should read on.
One easy thing we can do that will instantly spice up the proceedings is to use odd groupings of notes. This isn’t
using odd time signatures, but staying within the structure of a sixteenth note and grouping it in 5’s or 7’s. What
will happen if you do this is you will have one extra sixteenth note over the beat when you group in 5’s and one
fewer than two beats if you group in 7’s. The sound makes what you are playing instantly interesting and catchy
to the ear.

5"s sequence
Wizard of Odd
Check out the 5’s grouping here applied to the G Major scale.
Scott Allen
Standard tuning
= 120
E-Gt
8 7 5 7 8
5 7 8 7 5
7 5 4 5 7
4 5 7 5 4
7 5 3 5 7
3 5 7 5 3
The big challenge is to overcome your inclination to want everything to be right on the downbeat, but of course
that is exactly what we are trying not to do. It takes a little practice, but it is well worth it. Just go slow and play it
to the metronome until you can feel it. Want something even more exotic?
7's sequence
Check out the 7’s pattern this time appliedWizard
to the A Phrygian
of Oddscale.
Scott Allen
Standard tuning
= 120
E-Gt
6 8 10 8 6 8 10
6 8 10 8 6 8 10
5 7 9 7 5 7 9
5 7 8 7 5 7 8
5 7 8 7 5 7 8
5 6 8 6 5 6 8
Not only does the Phrygian scale bring an exotic flavor to the party, but it is being enhanced by the odd grouping.
This is something that can be a powerful tool when improvising if not over used.
These groupings are also very effective when used in a linear fashion along one string. It takes something that
might sound a little unimaginative and adds a little zazz!
RIFF 33
Linear 5's
Here is the linear 5’s grouping along the high E string
Wizard ofinOdd
A Minor.
Scott Allen
Standard tuning
= 120
E-Gt
17 15 13 15 17 12 13 15 13 12 13 12 10 12 13 8 10 12 10 8 10 8 7 8 10 5 7 8 7 5
Linear 7's
Here is the same scale grouped in the 7’sWizard
sequence.of Odd
Scott Allen
Standard tuning
= 120
E-Gt
17151315171513151312131513121312 10121312101210 8 10 1210 8 10 8 7 8 10 8 7 8 7 5 7 8 7 5
Of course, you don’t have to go to something unusual like a pattern of 5’s or 7’s to get the job done. You
could take a familiar idea like a group of 4 sequence and just do a little rhythmic displacement. Now this
is not nearly as complicated as it sounds, all you have to do is start the sequence on a sixteenth note
other than the first one of the beat. It will feel like a much hipper version of a regular run of the mill scale
sequence. In other words, you get a lot of bang for your sequence buck when you phrase this way.

RIFF 35
Offset Sixteenth notes #1
Wizard of Odd
Here is the group of 4 sequence starting on the second sixteenth note of the beat on G Major.
Scott Allen
Standard tuning
= 120
E-Gt
5 57 578
5
57 57 8578 78 8
4 4 5 45745 7 57 7
4 45 4 57457 57 7
3 35 357357 57 7
357 57 7
Offset Sixteenth Notes #2

Wizard of Odd
Here is the same sequence starting on the third Scott
sixteenth note.
Allen
Standard tuning
= 120
E-Gt
5
5 57 578 57 8
4 45 457457 57 7
4 45 457457 5 7 7
3 3 5 7 35 7 3 57 57 7
35 7 5 7 7
Offset Sixteenth Notes #3

Wizard of Odd
Finally, the coolest one which is the same sequence starting
Scott Allen on the 4th sixteenth note.
Standard tuning
= 120
E-Gt
5
5 57 578 57 8
4 45 457457 57 7
4 45 457457 5 7 7
3 3 5 35 7 3 57 57 7
3 5 7 57 7

Remember that the world is your oyster here and these can be applied to any sixteenth note grouping, sequence,
or lick you might know. One thing to keep in mind is that just like how a powerful spice can add a lot to any dish,
using too much can ruin it. So it is with these offset sequence concepts. They are best used as a little spice
to add flavor to any solo phrase you can think of, but if you use it too much it won’t give the listener anything
to hold on to. Always remember that music is meant to be listened to and while we guitar players might find
it incredibly clever that we included all of these interesting concepts, the average listener just wants to be
entertained by what they are hearing. As we all learned from Uncle Ben in Spiderman, with great power comes
great reasonability. So use these tools with economy and finesse and your playing will stand out from the crowd
in the best of ways!
ABOUT THE EDUCATOR

Scott Allen
Scott Allen is a graduate of Musicians Institute GIT, and has been a recording artist,
performer, instructor and session player for the past 19 years. He has released three
albums of high-energy instrumental progressive hard rock. His band, Scott Allen
Project has opened for such notable artists as Steve Morse, Lynch Mob, Michael
Schenker, and the Aristocrats to name a few.
VIEW SCOTT’S COURSE LIBRARY
RIFF 37
LESSONS SKILL LEVEL - iNTERMEDIATE
DOMINANT ARPEGGIOS
GUITAR

PLAYING THE BLUES WITH THE DOMINANT
6/7 ARPEGGIO
Written by Maurice Arenas
As guitarists we are consistently working on our soloing skills with

the pentatonic scale, the blues scale, various modes and more,
but one sound we should definitely get very acquainted with is the
Dominant 6/7 arpeggio.
How is the Dominant 6/7 arpeggio formulated? It is constructed

by building a chord as follows: root, major third, perfect fifth, major
sixth and lastly minor seventh. For a G6/7 the notes you get are: G
B D E F. For a C6/7 the notes you get are: C E G A Bb. Why learn this
arpeggio? Because the sound is so strong, it is found in virtually
almost every American style of music. Whether it is blues, country,
funk, jam band rock, jazz and fusion, this tonality is utilized by
professional musicians to the max due to the fact that it sounds
so good! How would I practice this? Well I would learn all the first 6
examples and from there I would use them on the first eight bars of
the G blues.
Please be mindful of knowing that the G7 licks must be played over

the G7, and the C7 licks must be played over the C7. If your ear is
real strong and you’re a slick blues player you can even make them
overlap, but it’s kind of tricky at first.
The first example is showing a typical blues lick that works in

a variety of different situations using part of this arpeggio. The
second example is a theme and variation of the first example, so
you can do a call and response over a G blues progression. The third
example, as well as the fourth example, are used over a C7 chord
which is the 4 chord in a G blues progression. These two ideas were
also designed to work as a call and response if you wish to use
them that way. The fifth example is using the arpeggio in a lower
register of the guitar, once again this time defining the G7 chord in
a G blues progression. The sixth example is using the arpeggio in a
lower register of the guitar as well, this time defining the C7, or as
we already mentioned earlier the 4 chord of a G blues progression. I
left the last four bars open for you to do anything you’d like, so that
means you can go pentatonic, or you can use the blues scale, go
modal, or you can throw in some licks in the end. Heck, if you’re like
me you might even throw in the kitchen sink.
RIFF 39
Dominant Arpeggios
Maurice Arenas
DOMINANT ARPEGGIOS MAURICE ARENAS
= 90
G7
Gtr.
8
Example 1
T
A
B
G7
3
8
Example 2
T ( )
A
B
C7
8
Example 3
T
A
B
8
Example 4
T
A
B
G7
9
8
Example 5
T
A
B
Copyright 2017 1/2
Lesson Examples

DOMINANT ARPEGGIOS (CONT) MAURICE ARENAS
C7
11
Gtr.
8
Example 6
T
A
B
G7
13
G 6/7 Arpeggio
T
A
B
C7
15
8
C 6/7 Arpeggio
T
A
B
ABOUT THE EDUCATOR

Maurice Arenas
Maurice Arenas is a studio musician with over 40 years of playing and over 25 years
of teaching under his belt. Originally from NYC and with some time also in Long Island,
he absorbed the best musical scenario for his musical tutelage in classical, jazz and
modern guitar. Projects for 2015 include a self-titled album, a TrueFire course and
online workshops and writing columns for TrueFire and Just Jazz Guitar Magazine.
VIEW MAURICE’S COURSE LIBRARY
RIFF 41
2/2
SOLOING CHORD TONES
PROGRESSIONS
CHORD TONES FOR MELODIC SOLOING

Written by Robert Renman
When it comes to lead guitar playing, a common approach is to play the pentatonic scale or the blues scale over
a chord progression. This is especially common in blues based music, and it works great. For example, if the
song has the chords A7, D7, E7, you can sound great just using the A minor pentatonic scale. This is also true
for a minor song, where they chords might be Am7, Dm7, E7, and the A minor pentatonic can be put to great use
there too.
However, you can run into some difficulties when songs deviate from those typical I - IV - V progressions we
usually find in blues tunes. For example, if your approach is to use the minor pentatonic over a song like “Lucy
In The Sky With Diamonds” for example, you’ll likely find that it’s hard to make it work well. Granted, with some
experience and skill, it will be possible to sound great with that approach, but it’s not easy. Luckily, there is
another way.
Melodic soloing, in my view, means having the skill and fretboard knowledge for finding chord tones without
hesitation, as the chords go by. At the core of this idea is highlighting the root, third and fifth from the chord,
in musically attractive ways. These are the first three notes that make up the chord (there can be more notes,
depending on what the chord is), so when we make these stand out in our solos, it’s going to sound as though
they fit like hand in glove - because they do!

Obviously, it’s not enough to just play three notes for each chord, as we are playing a solo. We need more than
that. By using the associated scale to find other notes for approaching and tying together these chord tones, we
get what we need. In this example, as well as in much of popular music, that is the major scale. Additionally, I
can also assure you that this approach also works great in combination with the pentatonic concept, so we can
still play our favorite blues licks.
Let’s take a look at an example solo and relate the licks to the chord tones. I have indicated the intervals in the
neck diagram, so you can easily see where the root, 3rd and 5th intervals are. You can view this solo on YouTube:
Soloing with Chord Tones
It’s a very melodic sounding solo, and it’s all because I’m constantly emphasizing the chord tones for each chord.
All the chords come from the key of C major, and chord progression goes like this:
C | G | Dm | F
Am | G | Em | F
Lick 1
For the first chord, C major, I’m playing this lick. Let’s ignore the last two notes in this bar, since they are pick-up
notes for the next lick. There’s only one note of the first six that isn’t a chord note, the 2nd, and it’s used as a
passing note to go from root note to major 3rd. No wonder these notes fit so well here. You will notice that the
last note of the lick is C, and ends on a downbeat. Playing chord tones on downbeats makes for a very strong
statement, and that approach is quite apparent in this solo.
C MAJOR
RIFF 43
Lick 2
For the 2nd chord, G major, I start with two pick-up notes at the end of bar 1, going from C to D to B,
which is the major 3rd for the G chord. The note B comes on beat 1 of bar 2. This is a strong little melodic
statement in itself, because the notes are not far apart, and the B note comes on a downbeat. From there,
I play a G major triad, but with one extra note, C. The reason I do that is because I want the last note in
the lick (B), to come on a downbeat, and I’m approaching that last chord tone from a half-step above. I’m
also playing triplets here, as a way to make a more interesting rhythmic phrase. Study the first five notes
that happen on the G chord, and you can see that they are all chord tones, except for that passing note C
(p4). The next note in this measure is a pick-up note for the next lick, which happens of the A minor chord.
Therefore, we can view that note as belonging to the next chord.
G MAJOR
From here, I suggest you analyze the rest of the solo in this manner. Doing so will help in you in more than
one way:
1. You will improve your fretboard knowledge of where the chord tones are for these chords.
2. You will improve your ability to hear these chord tones, since you will listen over and over
to the solo. Over time, you will be able to instantly recognize when the notes from a triad
are used in a solo.
3. You will improve your ability to improvise melodic solos.
Keep in mind that you should vary your rhythmic phrases, length of notes, and how fast the notes go by.
As you listen to the full solo, you will doubtlessly notice that I’m playing a standard pentatonic blues lick
over the E minor chord, and it sounds just so right. This means we can for sure combine more obvious
chord-tone lines with standard blues licks! Well executed blues licks can fit in almost everywhere, but
playing only blues licks over a chord progression like this can sound a bit boring. By combining more than
one approach to soloing, such as chord tone licks, scale sequence runs, blues licks, long notes, short
notes, for example, we draw the listener in, and we’ll sound more interesting in the process. It will also
likely be more fun for you as a player!

ABOUT THE EDUCATOR
Robert Renman
Robert started out playing blues and heavier rock, but turned towards L.A. pop-rock
music in his later teen years. Eventually he returned to his blues roots, but he also
discovered jazz and fusion. Tribal Tech and Chick Corea Electric Band were huge
influences for him, as well as Weather Report, Miles Davis and all the jazz from the
50s and 60s. He has also been influenced by country guitar players such as Albert
Lee and Brent Mason, and by listening more to song writers such as John Hiatt
and Joni Mitchell. An avid teacher, Robert won TrueFire’s Next Top Guitar Instructor
Competition in 2013.
VIEW ROBERT’S COURSE LIBRARY
RIFF 45
FINGERSTYLE PATTERNS
ACOUSTIC
ACOUSTIC GUITAR: FROM PAUL MCCARTNEY TO JOHN MAYER

Written by Massimo Varini
While working on compiling the content for my Rhythm Factory: Acoustic Rock course, I thought that it was
important to have something inspired by the technique used by Paul McCartney in “Blackbird”. Plus, I hear a lot
of Paul’s influences in the music and guitar style of John Mayer’s acoustic music.
A lot of my students want to play in this musical style. With this in mind, I suggest to try to play with a perfect
groove, but with a random right-hand picking. What do I mean by this? Let me try to explain.
Typically when we play an arpeggio in fingerstyle guitar, we must play the strings involved in the melodic
pattern, usually in a pattern fingered with the left hand. For random right-hand picking I mean that, while
the thumb is playing the bass line, the index finger should think of something closer to a strumming
accompaniment rather than an arpeggio: the melodic pattern is decided by the left hand using the muting, to
mute the strings not involved in the chords and melody. This become very clear during the “main riff”.
So, while I was writing and preparing the exercise for that course, I wrote a song that I called TrueFire,
dedicated to my “American family” (I’m Italian and I live in Italy). This song was chosen by Tommy Jamin to be
the soundtrack for the video presentation for the new TF video/audio studio. Let’s see how it’s done and learn
to play it!

Video Lesson
Video Performance
Get it on iTunes Hear it on Spotify
| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V12 RIFF 47

Drop D / CAPO CII
(Real Notes) each note at 2nd Fret TRUEFIRE
Truefire M. Varini
‚
INTRO
it's like an "open string"
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Copyright © 2016 Kymotto Music - Rome - © Massimo Varini
All Rights Reserved - International Copyright Secured - Vietata la Riproduzione

TRUEFIRE (CONT)
CODA MAIN RIFF
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3 X 3
2
3 3 5
2
X ≈ 3 3 5 5 ≈5‰ 4 5 ≈ 4 5 ‰ 3
¢⁄ Ó
2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 2
™
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 X 5 X 5 5 7 X 7
r .
° ## ‰ ≈ œ ¿¿ œœ œœ œ œ œ ¿ ≈ œ œ œœ œœ #œœ œœ ‰ œœr ≈#œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ nœ
17 œ r
& œ œ œ œ ¿œ œ œŒ œ œ ¿ œ‰ œœ
œ ¿ œ ¿œ œ œ ¿ ™ œ ¿J
..
r r r
‰ ≈ 73 XX 53 23 3 5 2 X ≈ 3 3 5 5 4 5 ‰ 5 ≈ 4 5 X 5 3
⁄
2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 X 6 2
¢ X™ 7 Œ X ‰
2 X 2 2 2 2 2 X 2 2
.J
2 X 5 X 5 5 7
RIFF 49
TRUEFIRE (CONT)
r 3
° ## œ ≈ œ ¿¿ œœ œœ œ œ œ ¿ ≈ œ œ œœ œœ ≈ œœr ‰ bœj nœœ bœj nœœ

j œ r
¿¿
19
œ œ œœ
& œœ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿™ œ Œ ¿J ‰œ
™ 7 X 5 2 r r
j j
X ≈ 3 3 ≈5 ‰
2
3 3 X 3 3 3 5 5 5 4 5 4 5 X 3
⁄
2 2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 X 2
¢ X™ Œ ‰
2 2 X 2 2 2 X 2
2 X 5 X 5 5 7 7 X
J
° ## œ j¿ œ. ™ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ j ™
¿¿ œœ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ œœ ¿ ‰ œ™
21
œœ
j
& œœ ¿ ‰ œ œ
œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿J œ œ ¿ œ ˙ w
. . . . .
j ™ 22 j ™
j
X ‰ 5
2 X
3 X 2 3 3 X 3 5 5 5 7 8 7 7
¢⁄ ‰
2 X 4 4 4 6 6 X 6 7 7
2 X 7 9
.
5 5 X 5
.
5 X
J .
7 7 X 7
.
7 9
r r r
° ## nœœ nœœ œœ j bœœ bœœ œœ r ™ ¿ œ™ ‰ ¿ œœ ™™
MAIN RIFF
≈
™ ‰ œ ¿ œ™ ‰ ≈œ ≈œ ≈ œœ
24
¿œ ‰
& œ œ™ nœ œ™ œœ ™ œ
w w œ ¿ œ œ œ™ ¿ œ œ œ ™ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
j ™ r ™ r r ™ r ™
™ ™
™ ‰≈3 X ‰ ≈ X 3 ‰ ≈5 X ‰≈25 X 5
2
35 5 ™
5 65 5 3 43 3
⁄
5 5 3 3 2 4 6 6
¢ X 22 5™ X 5 5 7™ X
5 7 2
7 5 2 77 X 7
r
° ## ‰ ≈ œr ¿ ™ ‰ ≈ œœ ¿ œ ™™ ‰ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ ¿¿ ≈ œ œ ¿ œ ¿ ‰
œ œ ¿ œ ¿≈ œ œ œ ™™
28
& œ œ
≈
¿ ¿ ¿ Œ ≈
œ ¿ œ œ œ™ ¿ œ œ
R
r ™ r ™
‰ ≈3 X ‰ ≈ ‰ 5 5 X 5 X≈ ‰ ™
2
≈ X Œ5 7 X 5 X≈ 5 7 ≈2 ™
3 X 3
¢⁄ 2
4 4 6 7 X 6 X 6 6 X 6 X
2 2 5™
R
X X 5 7 X X

TRUEFIRE (CONT)
4
r
TEMA
r
° ## ‰ ≈ œ ¿¿ œœ œœ œ œ œ
œ
¿ ≈ œ œœ œœ œœ ≈ œœr ‰ #œœ œœ ≈#œj œœr ‰ nœj
30
& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Ó œ œ
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿™ œ
r r r r j
j
‰ ≈3 X 3 3 3 5 2
7 X 5 2
X ≈ 3 3 5 5 ≈ 5 ‰ 4 5 ≈ 4 5 ‰ 3
⁄ Ó
2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 2
¢ ™
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 X 5 X 5 5 7 X 7
r .
œ ¿ r r
° ## ‰ ≈ œ ¿ œ œœ œ œ œ ¿ ≈ œ œ œœ œœ #œœ œœ ‰ œœ ≈#œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ nœ
œ
32
& œ œ œ œ ¿œ œ œŒ œ œ ¿ ‰œ œœ
œ ¿ œ ¿œ œ œ ¿™ œ ¿
.J.
r r r
‰ ≈ 7 X 5
3 X 3
2
3 3 5
2
X ≈ 3 3 5 5 4 5 ‰ 5 ≈4 5 X 5 3
¢⁄
2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 X 6 2
™ Œ ‰
2 X 2 2 2 2 2 X 2 2
.J
2 X 5 X 5 5 7 X 7 X
œ¿ œ œ r≈ r
° ## ™ œ œ ¿ œ œ ≈ œ ‰ #œj œœ#œj œœ ¿¿
34
œœ ™ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ œ œ œ nœœ
& œ™ ¿ ¿ œ œ Œœ œ ¿¿ ‰œ
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ œ ™ J
™ 7 X 5 2 r r
j j
X ≈ 3 3 ≈ 5 ‰
2
3 3 X 3 3 3 5 5 5 4 5 45 X 3
¢⁄
2 2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 X 2
™ Œ ‰
2 X 2 2 2 X 2
2 X 5 X 5 5 7 X 7 X
J
° ## œ ¿¿ œœ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ œœ ¿¿j ‰ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ
36
& œœ ¿ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ
¿ œ ‰ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ œœ
œ¿ œ œœ¿ œ
œœ ¿ œœ ¿J œœ œ
. . . . J
j
X ‰ 5 2 X 3
2 X
3 X 2 3 3 X 5 5 3 3 X 5
¢⁄ ‰ ‰ 2 X 2 2 2 X2 45245
2 X 4 4 6 6 X 6 2 X 2 2 2 X 2 4 2 6
2 X
.
5 5 X 5 5
.
X
J .
7 7 X 7
. J
4 X 5 5 5 X 7
RIFF 51
TRUEFIRE (CONT)
.
5
¿¿j ‰ œœj ‰
SPECIAL
° ## œœ œœ ≈ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ j
¿¿ #œœœ œœ ¿¿ nœœœ
39
& œ œ œ œœœ ™™ œœœ ¿¿¿ ‰ œœœ œœ

œ ¿ ‰ œ #œ ¿ œ ¿
œœ œ™ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿J œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
..
™ j j j
3 3 X ‰ 3 X ‰ 5 ‰
6 6 ≈
5
5 5 5 7 5 2 2 X 5 5 X 7
⁄ ‰
6 7 4 4 2 2 2 X 2 2 X 4 4 X 4 X 5
¢ 5™ 5 X 5 5
4 2 2 2 X 2 2 X 6 6 6 X 6 X 7
7 7
.
4 X
J 2 X 2 X 2 X
j œ j
j j
° ## œœ ¿¿j ‰ nœœj ‰ ¿¿ #œœœ œœœ œ ¿¿¿ ‰ #œœœ ‰ ¿¿ œœ œœ ¿¿ ‰ œœ ‰ ¿¿ #œœ
42
& œ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ nœ œ nœ ¿ œ ¿ œ
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
j j j j j j
X ‰ 7 ‰ X ‰ 9 ‰ X ‰ 10 ‰
12
7 X 9 9 X 10 10 X 9
¢⁄
5 X 5 X 9 9 X 9 X 9 9 X 9 X 9
7 7 X 7 X 9 9 9 X 9 X 10 10 10 X 10 X 9
2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X
œ j œj
j j ¿¿ nœœ œœ ¿¿j ‰ œ ‰ ¿ œ
° ## œœ ¿¿ ‰ #œœ ‰ œœ ¿¿j ‰ # œ ‰ ¿¿
45
& œ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ ¿ #œœ œ #œ ¿ ¿
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ
j j j j j j
X ‰ 9 ‰ X ‰ 10 ‰ X 5 X ‰ 9 ‰ X
12 12
9 X 7 7 5
⁄
9 X 9 X 5 5 X X 4 4 X X
¢
9 9 X 9 X 7 7 7 X X 6 6 6 X X
2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 X 5
. . . .
° ## œœ œœj ‰ œœ œœ ≈ r
rasgueado
48
& œ œœ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ œœ œœ ¿¿ ‰
œ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ œ ≈œ
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ Œ ¿
. . . . >. r
j
‰ ≈ ‰
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
3 3 3 3 X 3 3 3
¢⁄
4 4 4 4 X 4 4 4 6 6 6 X
Œ ≈
2 2 2 2 X 2 2 2 5 7 5 X 2
5 7
.
X 5 X 5 X 5 X X 7 7 7 X
Copyright © 2016 Kymotto Music - Rome - >
© Massimo Varini

6
TRUEFIRE (CONT)
(Freely - as Intro)
° ## ‰ œœ œ œ œœ œ ™ ˙˙ ™™ œ ‰ ≈ œr œ œ œ œ œ™ w
50
œ w
& œ œœ ˙˙ ™ T.H.Œ ¿ œœ ˙w œ œ œ b œ
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
˙ œ œ™ œ ™ ˙ œ œ™ œ
™ ™ r ™
‰ 33
22
3 5 ‰ ≈ 3 3
2 2
3 5
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
¢⁄
4 4 6 4 4 6
™ 7™ Œ ™
2 22 2 14 2 2 2
2 2 5 5 2 2 5 5 7 7 7 7 8
r
(Slow... Romanticamente)
° ## ‰ ≈ œœ œœ œœ œœ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j œœ ™™™ œ œ œ
(Freely)
‰ œœœ œœœ œœœ
54
& œ œ œ œ™ œ
w wœ œ w
r ™ j ™
‰ ≈ 5 5 5 5
2 2
5 3 3 ‰ 5 5 5 5
2 2
5
¢⁄
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
5 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 5 5
2 2 2
˙ ™™ œœj
‰ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ ™™™ œ œ œ #˙˙˙ ™™™™™™
° ## œ œ œ œ œ
57
j œœ
& ‰ œ œ bœ œ #œ œ ‰
wœ
œ
w ˙™™ œJ ˙™™ œJ
j ™ ™™ j
3 3 ‰ 5 5 5 5
2 2
5
7
7 ‰ 7
7 7 ‰
7
¢⁄
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7
™™ ™™
4 4 5 5 5 5 6 9 8 7 6
J J
2 2 2 2 2 2
U
œœ œ # w
° ## œ nœ bœ nœ œ œ œ w
w
61
& w œ œœ œœ
3 3
w w ¿ œ œœ œ . œ œœœ œ œ œ œ
æ
Uææ 3 . 3
10 10 11
10 10 10
¢⁄
10 10 11
12 11 10 9 9 5 4 2
2 2 2 5 7 2 5 7 5 4 2
X 2 5 7 5 7
RIFF 53
TRUEFIRE (CONT)
r r
7
r
° ## ™ ‰ ≈ œr ¿ œ ™ ‰ ≈ œ ¿ œ ™ ≈ œ ¿ œ™ ‰ œ ¿ œœ ™™
≈ œ
64
& ™ ‰
œ
œ ¿ œ œ œ™ ¿ œ œ œ ™ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
r r r r
™ ™ ™ ™
™ ‰ ≈ ‰ ≈ ‰ ≈ ‰ ≈
2 2
™
3 X X 3 5 X 5 X 5
¢⁄
4 6 6
2 2 5™ 5 7™
2
2 X X 5 X 7 7 X 7
r
° ## ‰ ≈ œr ¿ ™ ‰ ≈ œœ ¿ œ ™™ ‰ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ ¿¿ ≈ œ œ ¿ œ ¿ ‰
œ œ ¿ œ ¿≈ œ œ œ ™™
66
& œ œ ≈
œ ¿ œ œ œ™ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ Œ ≈
R
r ™ r ™
‰ ≈3 X ‰ ≈ ‰ 5 5 X 5 X≈ ‰ ™
2
≈ X Œ5 7 X 5 X≈ 5 7 ≈2 ™
3 X 3
¢⁄ 2
4 4 6 7 X 6 X 6 6 X 6 X
2 2 5™
R
X X 5 7 X X
r r r r
° ## ‰ ≈ œ ¿¿ œœ œœ œ œ œ ¿ ≈ œ œœ œœ œœ
œ ≈ œœ ‰ bœœ nœœ ≈bœj nœœ ‰ œj
68
& œ œ œ œ Óœ œ œ œ
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿™ œ
r r r r j
j
‰ ≈3 X 3 3 3 5 X≈3 3 5 5
7 X 5 2 2
≈ 5 ‰ 4 5 ≈ 4 5 ‰ 3
⁄ Ó
2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 2
¢ ™
2 2 2 2 2
2 X 5 X 5 5 7 X 7
r .
° ## ‰ ≈ œ ¿¿ œœ œœ œ œ œ ¿r ≈ œ œœ œœ œœ bœœ nœœ ‰ œœr ≈bœœ nœœ ¿¿ œœ œ
œ
70
& œ œ ¿ œ¿ œ œ œŒ œ œ ¿¿ ‰œ œœ
œ ¿ œ ¿œ œ œ ™
.J.
r r r
‰ ≈3X3 3 3 5 X≈3 3 5 5 4 5‰ 5≈4 5X 5 3
7 X 5 2 2
⁄
2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 X 6 2
¢ X™ 7 Œ X ‰
X 2 2 2 2 2 X 2 2
.J
2 X 5 X 5 5 7

8
TRUEFIRE (CONT)
œ¿ œ œ r r
° ## ™ œ œ ¿ ≈ œ œ ≈ œ
œ ‰ bœ nœœbœ nœœ ¿¿
72
œœ ™ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ œ œ j j
œœ
& œ™ ¿ ¿ œ œ œŒ œ ¿¿ ‰œ
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ œ ™ J
™ 7 X 5 2 r r
j j
X ≈ 3 3 ≈ 5 ‰ 45 45
2
3 3 X 3 3 3 5 5 5 X 3
¢⁄
2 2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 X 2
™ Œ ‰
2 X 2 2 2 X 2
2 X 5 X 5 5 7 X 7 X
J
° ## œ ¿¿ œœ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ œœ ¿¿j ‰ œœ œ ¿ œ œ œœ
74
& œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ œœ œœ ¿¿ œ œ œ œ
¿ ‰ œœ ‰
¿ œ œ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ œœœœ œ
œœ ¿ œœ ¿J œ ¿
. . . . J
j
X ‰ 5 2 X 3
2 X
3 X 2 3 3 X 5 5 3 3 X 5
¢⁄ ‰ ‰ 2 X 2 2
2 X 4 4 6 6 X 6 2 X 2 2 2 X 2 4 2 6
2 X 2 X 2 4 5
2 4 5
.
5 5 X 5 5
. J
X
.
7 7 X 7
. J
4 X 5 5 5 X 7
° ## œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ™ ¿¿j ‰ œœ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ
77
œœ
œ œ œœ ™™
& ≈ œ œ œ œ œ
œ ¿
œ œ œ™ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
.
™ j
X ‰ 2
≈
5 2 X
5 5 5 7 5 2 3 3 3 3 X 5
¢⁄
6 6 6 7 4 4 2 2 2 X 4 4 6
™
4 2 2 2 X
.
7 7 5 5 X 5 5 X 7
. . . .
rasgueado
° ## œœ œœ ¿¿j ‰ œœ œ ¿j ‰ œœ œœ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ œœ œœj ‰ r
œœ œœ ≈ œœ ¿¿ ‰
79
& œœ ¿¿
‰
œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ¿ œ œ¿ œ œ¿ œ œ¿ ¿¿ œœ œœ œœ ™ ¿ œ œ œ≈
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
Œ ¿
. J >.
j j . . . . j r
5 5 X ‰ 5 2 X ‰ 3 3 3 ‰ ≈ ‰
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
3 3 3 3 X
⁄ ‰
6 6 X 6 2 X 4 4 4 4 X 4 4 4 6 6 6 X
¢ 7 7 7™ X Œ ≈
2 X 2 2 2 2 X 2 2 2 5 7 5 X 2
5 7
J
. Copyright >.
7 7 X 7 4 X 5 X 5 X 5 X 5 X X X
© 2016 Kymotto Music - Rome - © Massimo Varini
RIFF 55
TRUEFIRE (CONT) 9
° ## ‰ œœ œœ ¿¿ œœ ¿¿ ≈ œ œ ¿ œ ¿ ‰
82
& ≈ œ œ ¿ œ ¿≈ œ œ œ ‘ ‘
¿ ¿ ¿ Œ ¿ ≈
R
‰ ≈ ‰
‘ ‘
5 5 X 5 X
¢⁄ ≈ ≈
6 7 X 6 X 6 6 X 6 X
Œ ≈
5 7 X 5 X 2
X 5 7
R
X X X
j U
° ## ‰ œœœ ˙˙˙ ™™™
85
& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. ˙˙ ™™
3 3
œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ
¿ œ œ œ w A.H. ¿
. j U
™
3 3
‰ 2
3 3
2
¢⁄
4 4
5 4 2 2 2
2 5 7 2 5 7 5 4 2 2 2
X 2 5 7 5 7 2


ABOUT THE EDUCATOR
Massimo Varini
Composer, arranger, producer, Grammy-winner, renown educator, monster acoustic

and electric guitarist, Massimo Varini is a modern day Renaissance man of music.
Fittingly a native Italian, Massimo’s credits span 45-million records sold, two
Grammy’s, 12-million YouTube video views, multiple Top 10 listings in the charts,
a signature PRS guitar, dozens of top-ranked educational publications, and dozens
of successful collaborations with some of the most famous International singers,
arrangers, producers and musicians. Nearly every album Varini is involved in lands at
the top of the European charts for weeks on end.
VIEW MASSIMO’S COURSE LIBRARY
RIFF 57
Text and Images by Alison Hasbach
RIFF 59
“ ONE OF THE BETTER KEPT
SECRETS IN THE GUITAR WORLD
- JOE ROBINSON
“
W
hat happens when you mix
world-class guitar music, beer
and nachos all nestled at the
foot of a scenic mountain at
the slightly staggering 12,000
feet? You get Guitar Town of
course! Now in its 13th year, the
world’s best guitarists come
together for the annual Guitar
Town festival, which features three days of free
performances, guitar & songwriting workshops
and kids music activities. Joe Robinson calls
it, “one of the better kept secrets in the guitar
TH E INIM ITA BLE TO MMY E MMA N UE L
world.”

RIFF 61
VIEW OF THE C OPPER M OUN TAIN VIL LAGE FROM THE BIKE PATH U P TH E MO U NTA IN
Located just 75 miles west of Denver,

Colorado in the heart of the Rocky
Mountains, Copper Mountain Resort
sits at just over 12,000 feet of elevation.
The pedestrian-friendly village areas
provide a central community for both
winter and summer activities. And while
the average snowfall in winter is over
250 inches per year, at Guitar Town in
the summer, the days clock a sunny mid
60s in the day and a smore-eating 40s at
night. It makes for perfect concert-going
weather while gazing at the stage and
the mountain pass.
It’s free to attend and there is always

plenty of the local community who
turns out (with their dogs in tow),
along with fans from all over the world.
There’s acoustic day and electric day
with performances by seasoned pros
and stunning up and comers. Fans are
treated to performances by musicians
they may know and others they may
not (yet). But in all cases, the music is
magical.

YE P, S K IS A N D F L IP F LOP S O N A S UMMER’ S DAY - MAK ES P ERF ECT S ENS E I N CO PPER M OUN TAIN WAIT…W H O ’S GEA R IS TH AT?
ROUGH J OB, BUT SOM EBO DY’S GOTTA D O IT!

TH E G UI TA R TOW N G R AN D MASTE R H IM SE LF, S C OTT G O LD MA N
DI EGO F I G U E IR E D O, C OR EY C ON G IL IO, JO E RO BI NS O N ( NEWBI E AND V ET ERAN G UI TAR TOWN HEROES)
This year featured Zepparella, Tommy to be associated with the show and the list of
Emmanuel, J2B2 (which is John Jorgensen’s awe-inspiring players. Hard to beat!”
bluegrass band), Doyle Dykes, Joe Robinson,
Striking Matches, Diego Figueiredo, Richard For Guitar Town veteran Joe Robinson, the
Smith, Corey Congilio, Zakk Wylde, Harvey event is inspiring as well. “I’ve seen some of the
Mandel, Guitar Army, Bob Margolin, Casey most amazing musical performances at the
James, Stig Mathisen, all of which was MC’d by festival. I think as a player, having some of your
Scott Goldman. most respected musical colleagues alongside
the stage watching pushes you to play better
It was TrueFire artist Corey Congilio’s first time and really give it your all. The audience really
on the roster. He says of the experience, “If gets to see a show they couldn’t experience in
you’re a fan of guitar driven music then Guitar a typical music venue. During the day there are
Town should be on your list of destinations. workshops and interviews with the musicians,
The amount of talent that’s compiled during the and in many cases, you can bump into the
weekend is second to none. It was truly an honor performers walking around the Copper resort.”
RIFF 65
NO E L L E D OU G H TY, L EA D VOCA L IST O F ZEPPARELLA D OUGHTY AN D GRETC HEN ME NN O F ZE P PA R E LLA

SA R A H Z IMME R MA N N (ST R IK ING MATCHES ) - MEAN S LI DE G UI TAR P LAYER S P O RTS A KIL LER HAL F BOOT D IEGO FIGUEIRED O’S BO S SA NOVA MOV ES
RIFF 67
G UI TAR TOWN G OD FATHER J OHN J ORGEN SON W ITH STRIKIN G M ATC HES (N ASHVILL E’S SARAH Z IM M ERM AN N AN D J USTIN DAVIS)
“ IFBEYOU’RE A FAN OF GUITAR DRIVEN MUSIC THEN GUITAR TOWN SHOULD

ON YOUR LIST OF DESTINATIONS. THE AMOUNT OF TALENT THAT’S
COMPILED DURING THE WEEKEND IS SECOND TO NONE.
“
- COREY CONGILIO
Each morning commences with sound check wafting through the morning light, as you
head to the conference center for master class workshops with the performers. While
you wait for them to commence, you can watch the die-hard snowboarders practice their
tripods and dismounts in the manmade snow mountain. The workshops give attendees
a chance to hear unique perspectives on collaboration, inspiration and improvisation. We
C OR EY C O NGI LIO TA KES TH E STAGE W IT H NEW SO NG S
have informally recorded these events for Riff readers who can check them out online.
View Videos Online
RIFF 69
GUI TAR AR M Y ME MB E R S J OE R OB IN S ON A ND JO HN JO RG ENS O N
“ I THINK AS A PLAYER, HAVING SOME OF YOUR MOST RESPECTED MUSICAL

COLLEAGUES ALONGSIDE THE STAGE WATCHING PUSHES YOU TO PLAY
BETTER AND REALLY GIVE IT YOUR ALL.
“
- JOE ROBINSON
During the lunch break one can take a play a game of corn hole, mini golf or grab a chair
lift up the pass. While deciding on lunch, you can watch the kids trampoline bungee jump
through the sky. Scott Goldman, the longtime MC of the event leads the afternoon yoga and
stretching between the musical sets and the artists who have played already join down in the
crowd to watch the music unfold. There really is something for everyone with the common
denominator being a love of music and the guitar. Even if it’s just for the weekend, life is good
as an honorary Guitar Town citizen.

JO E R OBI NS ON O N AC OU STI C DAY
SI N GE R /S ON GW R IT E R , A ME R ICA N IDO L CO NT ESTANT, CAS EY JAMES ACOUSTIC DAY WOULD N ’T BE COM PLETE W ITHOUT TOM M Y EM M AN UEL
ZA KK WYL DE H EA D L INES E LECT RI C DAY
B O B “STEA DY R OL L IN ’ ” MA R G OL IN , B LUES MAN AND S LI DE MAST ER
HERB PED ERSEN , SON GW RITER AN D BLUEGRASS M USIC IAN ON BAN J O
R I C H AR D S MIT H WOWS T H E C R OW D WI T H HI S S O LO F I NG ERSTYLE AND WI T TY P I ECES

F IN G E R STY L E M AST ER DOYLE DYK ES
L EG E N D HA RV EY MANDEL DURI NG HI S S ET O N ELECT RI C DAY ( HE’ S O N E OF THE FIRST ROC K GUITARISTS TO USE TWO-HAN D ED FRETBOARD TAPPIN G)
DOGS OF COPPER
MOUNTAIN
It’s funny how a community event sporting our canine friends tends to bring out
the best in a crowd. It’s the quintessential ice breaker and (next to music) we think
happens to be the great unifier of strangers from around the globe. Well-behaved
dogs of all shapes, sizes, colors and breeds came out to support the music and
were its furriest honorary citizens.
RIFF 77
a means to an end (Part IV)
WRITTEN BY TOMMY JAMIN

T E C H TA L K S T U D I O W IR E
“ W HEN Y OU H E A R T H I N GS A R E GOI N G T O
TAKE A FEW M ON T H S L ON GE R T H A N Y OU
EX PECTED, Y OU E M OT E A L I T T L E M OR E ,
AND THEN YOU M OV E ON T O Y OUR N E X T
CONTING ENC Y P L A N .
“
T
he first framing infrastructure went up in the studio about 5
months ago assembling the large wall that splits the tracking
room from the rest of the facility. Since that time, each month
has brought about another thin sliver of definition for both the
size and ultimate shape of the room(s) we’ll soon call home.
Each month, and its successive trade, has brought about its
own set of challenges. We’ve seen some setbacks, none of
them out of the ordinary for a project of this scope, and we’ve
achieved a lot of small victories along the way. Experienced
architects of war will tell you that no plan of operations extends with any real
certainty beyond the first contact with hostile forces, and this is in line with one of
the key learnings I’ve taken away from this project. You prepare your strategy for
your goal, and then you prepare to quickly change strategy as the journey develops.
We started our shooting hiatus in August of 2016. Before we moved out of our old
facility over 15 months ago, we drafted a series of contingency plans to ensure
our survival without an active factory. Because our contractor told us we could be
without a studio until October 2016, we ramped up production in the early summer
and stockpiled enough new courses and products to get us not only through the
fall, but through the end of the year. That was plan A and B. Turns out it still wasn’t
enough. We parted ways with one contractor and picked up with another at the
beginning of the year as we prepared to break ground on the new studio. The
timeline extended.
Plan C took shape in winter. Our cache of new course content was thinning and
although large scale roll outs like the learning paths and other new programs helped
prolong our stream of new launches, it was time to find a local studio to set up
temporary shop so we could bring in a slew of our artist/educators and crank out
new courses. We were lucky enough to find a great local soundstage that had a
large white cyc wall and decent acoustics. That February we hosted eight artists
and shot fifteen courses between them. Fortunately we were able to bring our
primary shooting equipment too, and although it was a grueling load-in/load-out,
our artists and students will attest to the consistency of the products we netted. We
RIFF 81
S TU DI OWIRE T E C H TA L K

T E C H TA L K S T U D I O W IR E
“ W E’V E SEEN SOM E S E T BA C K S , N ON E OF T H E M

O UT O F THE OR D I N A R Y F OR A P R OJ E C T OF T H I S
SCOPE, AND W E ’V E A C H I E V E D A L OT OF S M A L L
VICTO RIES AL ON G T H E W A Y .
“
performed that same heavy setup and tear-down routine on four more occasions
over the following months. I remember wrapping each with the same sentiment,
“Well, that was fun, but here’s hoping our next shoot is in the new studio.”
We were well aware that the new studio project was going to be a long haul,
but hey, it would be worth the wait, and we were up for the endurance challenge
considering the payoff. So, when you hear from your contractor that things are
going to take a few weeks or so longer than expected, you shake it off. When you
hear things are going to take a few months longer than you expected, you emote a
little more, and then you move on to your next contingency plan. We’re all in at this
point. By the time September 2017 rolled around, I think we must’ve been on plan
D or E. Because we were getting so close to a shootable space in our new studio,
we adapted the construction strategies to allow for completion of the 600 sq.ft.
tracking room first, in which we could temporarily set up shop and resume shooting
new courses whilst continuing to construct the control room and other areas. That
means having each of the subcontractors do half of the job now and half the job
later, which added logistical complexity, but we have a great team and they were
able to make it work.
So here we are, it’s been a rough six months, but the studio is coming out to be
an outright incredible space, and we’re finally in the comfort of our own facility,
albeit temporarily in a single room configuration. We fabricated and hung our own
temporary acoustic panels and made some other plan alterations like drywalling
over some of the future door and window openings. One could say it’s a bit cozy
with all of the equipment, studio engineers, and artists all doing their thing in the
same room, but hey these are “first world problems” in our overall universe. The
beauty of this whole experience has been in what our students have experienced;
every financial and timeline setback, every additional contingency plan, the tactical
grinds to make post production fit launch schedules, and the sweat and stamina
we’ve laid out to build and breakdown temporary studios along the way; it’s all been
in an effort to maintain an uninterrupted learning experience for our students. You’d
never know we’d been homeless for a stretch if we hadn’t pulled back the curtain
and showed you the machinations along the way! But we’re loving this journey,
and hopefully you’re loving it too. Here’s to the journey, and having our first official
shoots under our belt.
RIFF 83
Music News
music News
Louis Jay Meyers Music Camp

ABOUT
The Louis Jay Meyers Music Camp (recently re-named for its late founder), is celebrating 5 years offering the finest
musical instruction. It is a camp like no other, where pros study with legends and dedicated hobbyists learn from the
best in the field.
Held in conjunction with Folk Alliance International’s annual conference, “campers” experience masterclasses with
premier instructors at a discounted rate. Class offerings include songwriting, banjo, bass, fiddle, dance, guitar,
mandolin, percussion, ukulele, voice, and more.
Held February 16 - 18, 2018, in downtown Kansas City. The camp is open to the public with single day passes and
multi-day day passes available. Register early for the best rates, space is limited. Register at folkcamp.org

Music News
ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Louis Jay Meyers was the Executive Director of Folk Alliance International (FAI) from 2005 – 2014. Under his
leadership, Folk Alliance International made the move from Washington, DC, to Memphis and then to Kansas
City, transforming FAI into the thriving and stable organization it is today.
Louis Meyers was a native of Austin, Texas and one of the founders of SXSW (South by Southwest). An avid
banjo and pedal steel player, Louis was a tireless champion for musicians and throughout his career took a
lot of pride in knowing the people in his community. His creation of the Music Camp is perhaps the greatest
example of his vision for community and his passion for great music. Louis’ vision for the camp was clear: a
community built around learning and playing music, where the focus is on exchange of knowledge and sharing
of traditions, where world-class musicians serve as instructors to students of all ages and levels. Louis’s unique
vision continues today.
ABOUT FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL

Folk Alliance International (FAI) was founded in 1989 to connect folk music leaders aiming to sustain the
community and genre. The leading international voice for folk music, FAI is a 30-year-old arts nonprofit based in
Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
The organization’s expanded global network now includes more than 3,000 members, a worldwide community
of cultural sector entrepreneurs and leaders that includes artists, record companies, publishers, presenters,
agents, managers, arts administrators, diplomats and more.
FAI produces the world’s largest gathering of the folk music industry and community at its annual conference.
Thousands of performances have been booked, networks and teams have been built, and careers developed
though the opportunities of this event. Held February 14 - 18, 2018 in downtown Kansas City. www.folk.org
Video Overview Camp Website
RIFF 85
HOUSE NEWS
ARTIST DIRECTORY
Artists Featured in this Edition of Riff
ARIANE CAP
Bassist/composer/educator Ariane Cap has recorded and/or toured with Generation Esmeralda, producer
Keith Olsen, Muriel Anderson, The Sippy Cups, Raj Ramayya, Girls Got the Blues, The David Haskell Fusion
Group, Jean Fineberg’s Partymonsters, Tempest... She co-leads the innovative and melodic Chamber Jazz
duo OoN - The Bass-Bassoon Duo of Ariane Cap and Paul Hanson.
JOE DALTON
When country guitar master Joe Dalton picks up a six-string; everyone listens. His great-grandfather
conducted the City of Rome Orchestra in Italy; his grandfather was the leader of the New York
Philharmonic; his father is solely responsible for bringing mallets into the U.S. Army Band Corps; his
brother teaches at the Boston Conservatory...we could go on, but you get the point, right? Musical prowess
runs through his veins; it’s the nucleus of his existence.
JON HERINGTON
Jon Herington is a longtime New York city based guitarist, singer/songwriter, producer, and bandleader.
He is the leader of the Jon Herington Band and has been the guitarist of choice with the iconic band Steely
Dan for both recording and touring since 1999. With the launch of Adult Entertainment, Jon now has five
solo releases in his discography. His previous release, Time On My Hands, was nominated for Vintage
Guitar Hall Of Fame Album of the Year.
MASSIMO VARINI
Composer, arranger, producer, Grammy-winner, renown educator, monster acoustic and electric guitarist,
Massimo Varini is a modern day Renaissance man of music.Fittingly a native Italian, Massimo’s credits
span 45-million records sold, two Grammy’s, 12-million YouTube video views, multiple Top 10 listings in the
charts, a signature PRS guitar, dozens of top-ranked educational publications, and dozens of successful
collaborations with some of the most famous International singers, arrangers, producers and musicians.
Nearly every album Varini is involved in lands at the top of the European charts for weeks on end.
MAURICE ARENAS
Maurice Arenas is a studio musician with over 40 years of playing and over 25 years of teaching under his
belt. Originally from NYC and with some time also in Long Island, he absorbed the best musical scenario
for his musical tutelage in classical, jazz and modern guitar. Projects for 2015 include a self-titled album, a
TrueFire course and online workshops and writing columns for TrueFire and Just Jazz Guitar Magazine.

| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V12
OZ NOY
Since his 1996 arrival in New York, Oz has made a huge impact on the local and international music scene.
His unique and intoxicating style has broken all the rules of instrumental guitar music by focusing on the
groove. All stars such as Keith Carlock, Anton Fig, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Dave Weckl often contribute on
drums, with bassists Will Lee, James Genus, and Reggie Washington.
ROB GARLAND
Rob Garland is as completely obsessed with music and the guitar now as he was as a teenager! He
has performed hundreds of gigs across Europe and the US, worked as a session musician, written an
instructional book for Cherry Lane, given tuition clinics and been featured in magazines such as Guitarist &
Guitar One. Rob is extremely proud to be a TrueFire Artist with a new course “The Guitarists’s Pentathlon,”
3 workshops and an interactive classroom “Guitar Babylon,” which he describes as “twenty years of
teaching all in one place.” He currently lives in sunny Los Angeles where he teaches and performs live with
several bands. His original music is available through his website, iTunes, Spotify, etc.
ROBERT RENMAN
Robert is a guitar instructor in Alberta, Canada, and he was the winner of TrueFire’s Next Top Guitar
Instructor Competition in 2013. He has been teaching for over 20 years, in the styles of rock, blues, country
and jazz. With an eagerness for teaching music theory, rhythm guitar, lead guitar and improvisation
together, his instructional approach has become very popular at his website. Robert regularly performs
locally, and he has a large YouTube following at youtube.com/user/rotren.
SCOTT ALLEN
Scott Allen is a graduate of Musicians Institute GIT, and has been a recording artist, performer, instructor
and session player for the past 19 years. He has released three albums of high-energy instrumental
progressive hard rock. His band, Scott Allen Project has opened for such notable artists as Steve Morse,
Lynch Mob, Michael Schenker, and the Aristocrats to name a few.
SHANE THERIOT
Shane Theriot is a guitarist, composer and Grammy award-winning producer. He is a highly sought after
sideman/studio guitarist, he has recorded and or performed with The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, Jewel,
Beyonce’, Sammy Hagar, Willie Nelson, Rickie Lee Jones, Larry Carlton, Branford Marsalis, Hall and Oates,
Harry Connick Jr., Boz Scaggs, Amos Lee, LeAnn Rimes, Little Feat. Shane is currently on the TV show
“Live From Daryl’s House” featuring Daryl Hall, in which he serves as Music Director/Guitarist.
RIFF 87
| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V12
Lessons
COMPILATION ALBUM
RIFFAGE: VOLUME 11
We return this issue to our compilation of original music by our Riff featured artists and
educators. Each of them in their own way is wailing’ on their instrument in spirit of the
strings that move and inspire them daily. You can click to download the free copy of
Riffage Volume 11 and listen to what they have to tell you!
I Hear They Shoot Horses - Jon Herington

Of Peace (Guitar Meditation) - Rob Garland
Pebble Stone Meditation - Ariane Cap
Supernatural Man - Oz Noy
The Texas Way - Scott Allen
Thrill is Gone - Robert Renman
TrueFire - Massimo Varini
Yerba Mate Blues - Shane Theriot
Download the FREE Album
AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12 | ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V12

BEHIND THE MIX
We can’t say it enough — the not-so-secret ingredients of TrueFire are the artists and educators that we are privileged
to collaborate with. Not just amazingly talented educators, they are also brilliant composers, arrangers and recording
artists in their own right. Enjoy their music and please visit their websites and social media networks.
Of Peace (Guitar Meditation) - Rob Garland The Texas Way - Scott Allen
““I wrote, performed and mixed this homage to ““This tune is a tip of the cap to one of the all time
the kind of guitar ballads I grew up loving as great rock bands, but I tried to put my own style
teenager by musicians such as Larry Carlton, in there too. The solo is equal parts loving tribute
Steve Lukather, Gary Moore and Jeff Beck. ” and personal style. This is also the only track I
have ever released where I play slide.”
The Thrill is Gone - Robert Renman

Pebble Stone Meditation - Ariane Cap
““Here is an mp3 of a tune I played on for my
““This is the all bass contribution me and our
friend Rikard From’s album. The tune is Thrill Is
producer Wolf put together from Polaris. It
Gone, played by an organ trio. I was a guest artist
captures a tranquil and mysterious mood (for
on that one song.”
that it got recently picked up by a documentary).”
TrueFire - Massimo Varini

Supernatural Man - Oz Noy ““I wrote this song preparing the course “Rhythm
““This tune is from my new album, with my band Factory Acoustic Rock”, it evolved in a very
called Ozone Squeeze, featuring Australian natural way. I wanted to dedicate this song to my
singer/keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte and “American Family” in Florida...all the friends who
amazing drummer Darren Stanley. Ozone work and live in TrueFire!”
Squeeze bills themselves with “no rules, set
parameters – or formula at all.”
I Hear They Shoot Horses - Jon Herington Yerba Mate Blues - Shane Theriot
“For me, “I Hear They Shoot Horses” is one of ““Yerba Mate Blues” is a tune from my latest solo
my favorite tracks on Time On My Hands. I like record entitled “Still Motion”. It was recorded
the variety of sonic influences that somehow in New Orleans, LA with drummer Johnny
manage to coexist in the track. There’s a bit of Vidacovich and bassist James Singleton. The
funky rhythm guitar partly inspired by Prince, track was recorded mostly live with
there’s the two slide guitar accompaniment that minimal overdubs. ”
sounds kind of wacky but appropriate to me,
there’s lead guitar with (only a partial) nod to Jimi
Hendrix, and though it’s a pop/funk kind of feel,
there’s a clear jazz influence in the soloing and
some unusual harmony borrowed from my jazz
experience, too. All that with our over the top,
tongue in cheek lyrics and high drama ending
(complete with a Fender Rhodes a la Herbie
Hancock and an imported sound effect!) makes
for a fun, wild ride.”
| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V12 RIFF 89

SNAPSHOTs
or
a i s p e rformed f
g
group yo l antics
Afternoon evity and optima
long
Flavored Oxygen Bar at 12,000

feet for altitude sickness (and
hangover) relief apparently
Rif f Sta
f f er s during the
eclipse o
f 2017
e e jump
e bung g
in
po ou goin
l
a m y
n i ce tr get
a to
g like r lunch
in afte
Noth
Hmmm….do you
go or do you
have cold
etting snapped feet?
r in C hi ef g
Rif f Edito g Zakk’s set
on stage durin
Artist and performer Richard Smith

takes it all in from the audience
lounge chairs after his set
Summer a s
pens in the
afternoon li
ght
RIFF 91
www.riffjournal.com
© 2017

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alternate (Tunings) Universe

6 RIFF RAFF WITH SHANE THERIOT:

18 CONTROLLING YOUR G.A.S.

24 LESSON: STEPPING UP YOUR GUITAR

CONTROLLING YOUR G.A.S. 28 LESSON: THINK INSIDE THE BOX-SUPER

32 LESSON: THE WIZARD OF ODD

38 LESSON: PLAYING THE BLUES WITH THE

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

OZ NOY: THE WIZARDRY OF OZ

58 GUITAR TOWN IS YOUR TOWN TOO

80 STUDIOWIRE: A MEANS TO AN END (PART IV) TRUEFIRE STUDIO UPDATE

86 RIFF JOURNAL ARTIST DIRECTORY

88 RIFFAGE: FEATURED ALBUM COMPILATION

90 CLOSING SNAPSHOTS FOLK DAY CAMPING

“Love is friendship set to music.” - Jackson Pollock

riffjournal@truefire.com @riffjournal facebook.com/riffjournal

Born in a cross-fire hurricane to

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

ZAKK WY L D E PLAY IN G HIS GUITAR TO D EATH - IN COLORAD O || PHOTO BY AL ISON HASBAC H

You’ve probably read the article yourself, have

After reading the article myself, I wondered why

Where are they getting their guitars? The vast

The article reported declining sales, but I’d love to

I’m happy to report that guitar is very much alive

This Riff’s for you!

Brad Wendkos || Head Smoke Jumper

P H OTO S BY A L IS ON HAS BAC H

As you’ll hear, Jon and I have been friends for a

In this little hang I ask Jon about his early years,

Written By Brad Wendkos

n silicon valley speak they call it a “paradigm shift,”

I certainly used that phrase when I first heard Oz.

I will tell you this though…ask Oz how he would describe his

He’s performed, toured and recorded with The Allman Brothers,

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

As usual, we asked Oz to answer our Proust-like questionnaire so that Riff

I don’t really know why I started to play guitar, I wanted to be a drummer,

Your idea of happiness?

Health, love, good food, and good music.

Name three things a player can do to improve their musicianship.

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

GET DOWN STERIODS PERFORMANCE

OZ AND KEITH KARLOCK SCHIZOPHRENIC

JUST GROOVE ME PERFORMING STEVIE WONDER MEDLEY

SHINING RHYTHM FUNK INJECTION

Hugh Hefner Superman of course.

What do you dream about? Literally. Photographic memory.

SRV live at El Mocambo - I would have loved

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a common curse among

So let’s address an age-old debate.

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

Written By Rob Garland

PEDAL STEEL SOLOING

STEPPING UP YOUR GUITAR ARTISTRY

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

Example 7 is the next phrase. When I’m soloing,

So, let’s get back to this whole pioneer thing and

I always loved (and still do) the sounds of the big

AUTUMN 2017 | ISSUE 12

# n œœœ ... n b œœœ œœœ