ISSUE 342 } JANUARY 2023 READY TO

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Here are a few of your regular
GT tuition experts...
SIMON BARNARD
Simon is a graduate of ACM and The
Guitar Institute, holding a Masters
degree in music. He teaches, examines
and plays everything from rock to jazz.
DECLAN ZAPALA
Declan is one of the UK’s top classical
guitarists and teachers. He is a Master
graduate of RCM and his solo
arrangements are sublimely creative.
JON BISHOP
Jon is one of those great all-rounders
who can turn his hand to almost any
style. He’s also rock legend Shakin’
Stevens’ touring and recording guitarist.
MARTIN COOPER
A tutor at BIMM Brighton, Martin’s Rock
columns show an incredible breadth of
technique and style. His 2006 album
State Of The Union is out on iTunes.
CHARLIE GRIFFITHS
Charlie is a well studied guitarist who
specialises in high end rock playing and
plays with top UK metal-fusion band
Haken. His debut album is Tiktaalika.
JAMIE HUNT
Jamie is Principal Lecturer at BIMM
Bristol. He also leads performance
workshops, plays in metal band One
Machine and is endorsed by ESP guitars.
PHIL HILBORNE
The UK’s original magazine guitar tutor,
Phil’s something of a legend. A great
player, he’s got the Phil Hilborne Band
back together so catch them if you can.
ANDY G JONES
As well as being Head Of Guitar at LCCM
Andy has played with innumerable top
musicicans, from Sir Van Morrison and
Dr Brian May, to Sir Cliff Richard & more.
JACOB QUISTGA ARD
Quist has been with GT since 2009.
Currently Bryan Ferry’s guitarist, his
YouTube channel is viewed by millions
and he creates our monthly jam tracks.
STUART RYAN
Stuart Ryan is great at all styles but best
known for his superb acoustic work. He
was Head Of Guitar at BIMM Bristol and
has many top tuition books to his name.
WELCOME
FOLK-ROCK may not seem to be a
particularly cutting edge genre these days
but that belies the fact that it was a hugely
fruitful music from several decades ago.
Furthermore it laid foundations for a lot of
what we hear and see today, rolling into
elements of acoustic biased singer
songwriters such as José González or the
pop-rock music of guitarists such as
Johnny Marr and Bernard Butler.
This issue we take a considered look at UK
folk-rock that bloomed during the late 60s
and early 70s. Think of bands like
Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Fairport
Convention, The Incredible String Band
and the acoustic leanings of Led Zeppelin
(their third album springs to mind with
songs like Tangerine). Within that context,
Stuart Ryan presents seven mini pieces
that showcase the playing styles of the
guitarists Richard Thompson,
Martin Barre, Martin Carthy, John
Rebourn, Bert Jansch, John
Martyn, Nick Drake and Jimmy
Page. It’s a heady brew of picking,
tunings, chords and time
signatures that will greatly
increase your appreciation
of the genre as well as
broaden your guitar
skills. I hope you enjoy
the video and the music!
Also in this issue is our
first presentation of the
US guitarist, David
Grissom. We’ve never got
to interview or feature him
direct.com
before so it’s with pleasure we do so now
with an enthralling video feature. If you
only know of his associations with Joe Ely,
John Mellencamp and The Dixie Chicks or
his long running signature PRS guitar (the
DGT; what a tremendous guitar it is!),
check him out on page 26. His playing and
analysis is outstanding with fire, passion
and finesse that comes from much playing
and studio recording. For sure he’s savvy
with his notes and he certainly knows
about rich guitar tones!
Talking of video, we’ve another great
guitarist to present you; Shane Theriot. As
the MD for Daryl Hall’s series, Daryl’s
House and guitarist and producer for
many US icons (Dr John, Neville Brothers,
Boz Skaggs etc), Shane has a huge wealth
of experience so his five New Orleans
rhythm guitar examples will surely
enthrall you. As Andy Saphir who
transcribed the video said to me; ‘His
picking hand is so
relaxed and accurate,
even if it looks like
he’s just doing scratches;
he’s so good!’ Until the next
issue, keep happy, keep
listening, and keep playing!
Jason Sidwell, Editor
Jason.sidwell@futurenet.com

ANDY SAPHIR
Andy is a stunning guitarist in all styles,
but his country-rock licks are fabulous;
DON’ T MIS S OUR A M A Z ING DIGI TA L EDI T ION
he’s smooth, fast, and very musical.
Check him out on Jamtrack Central.
Try GT’s digital edition on PC,
DAV ID GERRISH
David teaches at BIMM in London across
Mac, Laptop, Desktop or Tablet!
many styles and is a busy performing
and recording guitarist. His jazz-blues-
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JOHN W HEATCROFT the text are tappable too
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January 2023 3
 GT USER GUIDE
You can get more from GT by understanding
our easy-to-follow musical terms and signs...
œ œ œ
READ MUSIC & œ
MUSICAL STAVE TAB Under the musical stave, Tab
The five horizontal is an aid to show you where to put
Each transcription is 2nd string
3rd fret
2nd string
1st fret
3rd string
2nd fret
4th string
Open lines for music notation your fingers on the fretboard. The
broken down into 1E
2B
3G
3 1
2
show note pitches and
rhythms and are divided
six horizontal lines represent the six
strings on a guitar – the numbers on
two parts... 4D
5A
6E
0
by bar lines. the strings are fret numbers.

GUITAR TECHNIQUES: HOW THEY APPEAR IN WRITTEN MUSIC...

PICKING
Up and down picking Tremolo picking Palm muting Pick rake Appeggiate chord

œ bœ nœ n œœ w ˙ ggg # ˙˙˙
& œ œ & œ
@
œ
@ @ @ & # œœœ œœ & ¿¿
¿
& gggg ˙˙˙ ggg # # ˙˙
ggg # ¿˙
œ œ œ œ œ rake g gg ˙
ggg 00 ggg
PM PM
E E E 5 E 4

gg 22 gg
E
B B B 8 8 X 5

@ @ @ @
B B

ggg X2 ggg
G G 5 4 7 8 G 7 7 G X G 4
D 7 5 D D 6 6 D X D 4

≥ ≤
A A A 7 7 A A 4
E E E 0 0 0 0 0 E E 5

n The first note is to be n Each of the four notes are n Palm mute by resting n Drag the pick across the n Play the notes of the
down-picked and the last to be alternate picked (down- the edge of picking-hand’s strings shown with a single chord by strumming across
note is to be up-picked. & up-picked) very rapidly and palm on the strings near the sweep. Often used to augment the relevant strings in the
continuously. bridge. a rake’s last note. direction of the arrow head.

FRETTING HAND

≠ ≠ ≠
Hammer-on & Pull-off Note Trills Slides (Glissando) Left Hand Tapping Fret-Hand Muting
~~~~~ n œœ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ œœ ¿¿ ¿¿
œ œ & œ œ œ œ
6
œ œ ˙ (œ œ) b˙ œ
tr

& & & œ & # œœ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ œœ ¿¿ ¿¿

œ œ œ œ œ

≠ ≠ ≠
tr ~~~~~
E E E E E

(7 5)
B B B 5 B B 8 X X X 8 X X
G 5 7 7 5 G 5 G 5 7 5 7 G G 7 X X X 7 X X
D D 8 D D 7 D 6 X X X 6 X X
A A A A 7 5 0 A 7 X X X 7 X X
E E E E 5 0 E

n Pick 1st note and hammer n Rapidly alternate between n Pick 1st note and slide to n Sound the notes marked n X markings represent
on with fretting hand for 2nd the two notes indicated in the 2nd note. The last two with a square by hammering notes muted by the fretting
note. Then pick 3rd note and brackets with hammer-ons and notes show a slide with the on/tapping with the fretting- hand when struck by the
pull off for 4th note. pull-offs. last note being re-picked. hand fingers. picking hand.

BENDING AND VIBRATO CAPO

Bend up/down Re-pick bend Pre bend Quarter-tone bend Capo Notation

n Fret the start note (here, the n Bend up to the pitch shown n Bend up from the 5th fret to n Pick the note and then n A capo creates a new nut,
5th fret) and bend up to the in the brackets, then re-pick the the pitch of the 7th fret note, bend up a quarter tone (a very so the above example has
pitch of the bracketed note, note while holding the bent then pick it and release to 5th small amount). Sometimes the guitar’s ‘literal’ 5th fret
before releasing. note at the new pitch. fret note. referred to as blues curl. now as the 3rd fret.

HARMONICS R/H TAPPING

Natural harmonics Artificial harmonics Pinched harmonics Tapped harmonics Right-hand tapping
‚ # ‚‚ ‚ ‚
‚ ‚ — — — ‚
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚

· · · ··
& & & &

··· ± ±± ···
NH AH16 AH17 AH19 PH TH17 TH19 TH17

E E E E
B 12 7 B B B
G 12 7 G 4 7 G G 4
D 12 7 D 5 D 7 5 D 5 7
A A A 7 A
E E E E

n Pick the note while lightly n Fret the note as shown, n Fret the note as shown, n Fret the note as shown, but n Tap (hammer-on) with a
touching the string directly then lightly place the index but dig into the string with sound it with a quick right- finger of the picking hand
over the fret indicated. A finger over ‘x’ fret (AH ‘x’) and the side of the thumb as you hand tap at the fret shown onto the fret marked with a
harmonic results. pick (with a pick, p or a). sound it with the pick. (TH17) for a harmonic. circle. Usually with ‘i’ or ‘m’.

4 January 2023
 TUNE UP

C ON T E N T S
Tap here for an CONTENTS
audio clip to help
you tune your
guitar

• ISSU E 342 • JA N UA RY 2023 • THE LEARNING ZONE

30-MINUTE LICKBAG 52
Jamie Hunt has six great mixed-ability licks
from: Freddie Stone, Ike Turner, Pat Travers,
COVER Herb Ellis, Richie Sambora & Lari Basilio.

STORY BLUES
Phil Short looks at a fabulous rocker who also
54
has great slabs of blues in his playing, the top-
hat-wearing, Les Paul-toting, Slash!
ROCK 57
Martin Cooper looks at the unusual but fruitful
collaboration of two brilliant but different rock
guitarists, Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen.
SHRED 63
Charlie Grifffiths has five challenging licks from
one of the most slinky of all shredders, the
legato-tastic eight-finger tapper, TJ Helmerich.
JAZZ ARPEGGIO SOLOING 66
Tim Pettingale continues his readable and very
playable series showing how using arpeggios
can really spice up your jazz and blues soloing.
ALTERNATE PICKING 70
Simon Barnard shows how only alternate
picking can create a certain style of machine
gun-like licks, à la Al Di Meola, Paul Gilbert, etc.
ACOUSTIC COUNTRY 74
Stuart Ryan intruduces one of the leading lights
of hip modern country and a fine player and
songwriter, the enigmatic Lyle Lovett.
THEM CHANGES 78
Andy G Jones shows how players such as
Michael Schenker use triplets and sextuplets
to make their rock lines really swing.

SCAN TO GET EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS!

Cover star Richard
Thompson heads up
OUR WEEKLY DAVID GRISSOM
Exclusive Video Masterclass 24
this month’s folk-
rock mega-feature
NEWSLETTER Texan David Grissom is one of the tastiest and
most toneful players on the planet. David plays
and explains his solo on No Muss, No Fuss.
SHANE THERIOT
FEATURES REGULARS Lousiana Rhythm Licks! 34
Shane is Daryl Hall’s guitarist and MD of his hit
WELCOME 3 show Live From Daryl’s House. In this exclusive
C OV E R F E AT U R E Jason discusses the intricacies of folk-rock. lesson he shows us some super rhythm ideas.
FOLK-ROCK BILLY DUFFY 6
8 Legends Of The Genre 14 The Cult’s White-Falcon-wielding axeman.
Stuart Ryan delves into the styles of eight stars INTRO 8 AUDIO & VIDEO
from a genre that’s uniquely British. His article All your regulars including Justin, Mitch, Quist,
features altered tunings, electric and acoustic
themes, odd time signatures and tons more!
Phil, and Richard Barrett’s Substitute.
PLEASE NOTE…
MARK TREMONTI 12 All audio and video lessons are available
Jason Sidwell talks to one of modern rock’s
S P E C I A L F E AT U R E leading lights about his views on, and online via a bit.ly link (see below) where
approach to, guitar instrumentals. animated tab versions of every lesson
THE CROSSROADS
LARRY HULST/MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES

SUBSCRIPTIONS 40 can be found. What’s more, you can view

Joe Diorio 40 Great offers at www.magazinesdirect.com. these on any type of computer, making
John Wheatcroft shows at how this giant of
a musician, who worked with the greats and BACK ISSUES 62 for a much more rewarding experience.
helped found GIT, blends jazz and blues lines. Missed a print or digital edition? Get it here! All the audio and video is also available
ALBUM REVIEWS 81 to download to your computer (hi or lo
C L A S S I C A L TA B Six of the best new guitar albums assessed and res). Simply look for the red links on the
rated by David Mead and Jason Sidwell. landing page. Type the bit.ly link below
MATTEO CARCASSI NEXT MONTH 82 into your browser to get to the GT page:
Etude No.23 47 Hank Marvin. 5 style studies. Joel Hoekstra &
Declan Zapala arranges this fiery piece with its
descending slurs and cross-string arpeggios.
Emiiano Sampaio videos. Greensleaves, Pearl
Jam, George Benson, Keith Urban, Robert Cray.
https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

January 2023 5
I NTRO INTERVIEW
BILLY DUFFY
A minute’s all it takes to find out what makes a great guitarist tick.
Before they jumped into their limo for the airport we grabbed a quick
chat with Billy Duffy, guitarist and co-writer for The Cult.
Billy Duffy playing one
of his favourite guitars,
a natural topped Gibson
Les Paul Custom
GT: Do you have a type of guitar pick that
you just can’t live without - make,
gauge and why?
BD: Herco Flex 50. Why not?
GT: If you had to give up all your pedals but
three, what would they be, and why?
BD: Overdrive and two delays, because
they are the most essential.
GT: Do you play another instrument well
enough to do so in a band? If so what, and
have you ever done it?
BD: NO!
6 January 2023
GT: If a music chart were put in front of you,
could you read it?
BD: NO!
GT: Do guitar cables really make a difference?
What make are yours?
BD: I’m sure they do, but I’d have to ask a
guitar tech why.
GT: What kind of action height do you have on
your guitars - any quirks?
BD: I have the top E string (first string)
slightly higher than the rest so I can more
easily bend the string above the 12th fret.
GT: Is there anyone’s playing (past or present)
that you’re slightly jealous of?
BD: Jimi Hendrix. Obviously.
GT: Your house/studio is burning down: which
guitar do you salvage?
BD: Gretsch White Falcon and Gibson Les
Paul Custom. The rest I can live without.
GT: What’s your favourite guitar amp and how
do you set it?
BD: I like my Friedman Brown Eyes and
also my Kolbe modified JCM800. Also
obviously a Roland JC120, set loud enough
to breathe and move some air.
GT: What strings do you use?
BD: Ernie Ball strings for as long as I can
remember (ain’t broke so not fixed).
Different gauges for different guitars.
GT: Do you recall your first influence that
made you want to play the guitar?
BD: Can’t remember. I recall a live cheap
Jimi Hendrix album that had a version of
Johnny B Goode on it, and also a Bill Haley
And The Comets one in my local
newsagents that seemed to grab my
attention prior to me ever picking up an
instrument. So I’d assume old-school rock
and roll tickled my fancy as a child.
GT: Can you remember the first guitar that
you really lusted after?
BD: It was a 1950s cherry red double-
cutaway Les Paul Junior in a shop in
Altrincham, Cheshire.
GT: What do you think was the single best gig
you ever did..?
BD: Can’t remember but a close friend says
he saw one somewhere in Hungary at a
festival and that apparently I “played a
blinder”. Hopefully there have been more.
GT: …and your worst playing nightmare?
BD: Worst nightmare is a bad sound. As a
youth, a bad guitar sound due to poor
STEVE JENNINGS/GETTY
equipment, and more recently just a bad
onstage sound. It’s uninspiring!
GT: What’s the most important musical lesson
you ever learnt?

BD: Buy a good looking guitar and create
your own sound and style.
GT: Do you still practise?
BD: I still do my musical push-ups, yes.
These days it’s out of necessity to get the old
fingers warmed up and the eye-to-hand
coordination going.
GT: Do you have a pre-gig warm-up routine?
BD: I tend to find some time pre-gig to have
a play to warm up, then some alone time to
focus the mind prior to hitting the stage.
GT: Is there a solo by someone else that you
really wish you had played?
BD: Yeah, Free’s Alright Now, with the solo
MARK HORTON/GETTY
by Paul Kossoff.
GT: If you could put together a fantasy band
with you in it, who would the other players be
(dead or alive)?
“The Cult is alive and well
and making new music,
as well as continually
touring, and playing our
songs old and new”
BD: Elvis on vocals, John Bonham on
drums, Lemmy on bass and Jimi Hendrix
on lead. I’d chop wood and enjoy the ride.
GT: Present company excepted (and
notwithstanding the stupidity of the
question!), who’s the greatest guitarist that’s
ever lived?
BD: Jimi Hendrix!
GT: What’s the solo or song of your own of
which you’re most proud?
BILLY DUFFY
Billy is a rare thing,
a guitarist that used
Gretsch instruments to
play heavy rock music
BD: She Sells Sanctuary as it still sounds
fresh today many years later and is THE
song that changed everything for The Cult.
GT: What would you most like to be
remembered for?
BD: My sense of humour, or trying to play
heavy rock music on a Gretsch White
Falcon through a Marshall half-stack and a
Roland JC120 via a wah-wah, overdrives
and delays. Either would be fine.
GT: What are you up to at the moment?
BD: The Cult is still alive and well and
making new music, as well as continually
touring, playing our songs old and new
since we reformed in 2006.
The Cult’s Under The Midnight Sun is out
now on Black Hill Records. For more info
on Billy and the band, please follow them
on the various social media channels.
January 2023 7
I NTRO FOOD FOR THOUGHT
JUSTIN SANDERCOE
The founder of justinguitar.com lends GT his insight as one of the world’s most
successful guitar teachers. This Month: Song Analysis.
I
still can’t recall who said it to
me, or why they said it. But it
had a huge impact on me, and
changed my whole
perspective and trajectory:
“All that great guitar playing is
worthless without a great song to
put it in”. Boom!
Suddenly I started hearing
things differently and was able to
look at the big picture and well as
the minutiae. The song. The thing
we relate to. When I thought of
all the amazing guitarists I loved
they were all playing GREAT
SONGS. It wasn’t just about the
guitar. Time for a rethink.
So I started writing songs.
I knew they were not great but I
assumed it would take effort,
study and practice to get better at
it. And because I learned guitar
by listening to guitarists and
transcribing, I figured that
studying songs would help. And
it helped me grow as a musician
more than I’d even hoped.
If you have never written a
song before and would like to
start then my Song Analysis
journey will help you avoid many
of the pitfalls that people make
when they start. But even if
you’re not interested in writing,
doing some Song Analysis will
help your guitar skill set because
you’ll broaden your perspective.
We’ll look at the music in this
article and lyrics in the next, and
perhaps recording afterwards.
Start by making a list of 10
songs that you love. Not a ‘best
songs of all time’ but a ‘songs I
connect the deepest with’ list.
Now pick one of the songs and
listen to it a couple of times. How
LONG is it? Write it down. Pay
attention. Too often people start
by writing crazy long songs, so try
to keep them short and sweet.
Also note the TEMPO in bpm
- there’s a free bpm calculator at
justinguitar.com/bpm. Worth
also making note of the METRE
- is it in 4/4 or 6/8 or something
else. Any other obvious things
about the RHYTHM that you feel
8 January 2023
Justin says that
analysing songs will
help your musicianship
important to the song, then note
those down too.
What is the FORM of the
song? The form is the order of
verses, chorus, pre-chorus,
bridge, solos and that kind of
thing. In case you’re not super
familiar with the definitions, I’ll
give you very crude ones. The
Chorus is likely to have the same
lyrics and melody every time
while the Verse is likely to have
the same melody but different
words. The Bridge (or Middle 8)
is likely to be completely new and
found around three quarters of
the way through. Some songs
have a small section between the
Verse and Chorus called a
Pre-Chorus. Write down the
structure, likely to be something
like V-V-Ch-V-Ch-Br-Ch-Ch.
This is the most common form
but some songs start with a
Chorus (Here Comes The Sun)
others are just a series of verses
(All Along The Watchtower) and
some have no pattern at all, just
sections (Bohemian Rhapsody).
Listening out for song FORM
will help you structure your own
songs in a way that works. By
studying songs you love you will
learn about your own preferences
and perhaps be inspired by new
ones. Also note that very few
great songs have very long intros.
Another common beginner
mistake. When you write an
incredible song like Wish You
Were Here you are allowed an
indulgent intro, but when
starting out, just get to the point.
So now cast your ear to the
INSTRUMENTATION. What
instruments can you hear? Are
they smooth or harsh? How does
the instrumentation enhance the
song? What instruments come in
where or are they the same all the
way through? Make notes about
what is used where and HOW
they are used - this will help
deepen your understanding of
FORM and tune you into…
DYNAMICS - where is the
song loud and quiet? Is there a
pattern? Nirvana are the all-time
kings of dynamics, go give Smells
Like Teen Spirit a listen. But less
dramatic dynamic shifts happen
in nearly all songs - you are likely
to see common patterns. Of
course, other times a hypnotic
repetitive production is exactly
what the song needs.
What about the CHORDS? At
this point you either work the
song out and write out the chords
or find a lesson on the song. Are
there just a few chords or many?
Is the chord progression the
same all the way through? Write
down as much as you notice. As
you do this more and more you
will notice more things.
Then you should think about
the HARMONY - using your
music theory to understand the
relationships between the
chords. Are they all in the same
key? If not, do you understand
the choices? As you study more
theory you will understand more
complex harmonic choices. Every
guitarist should understand basic
concepts like keys; if you don’t
have that then please learn it (the
theory course on my website will
help). If you are able to add a
proper Harmonic Analysis of the
chords using Roman numerals,
then do that too. But don’t get too
hung up on the complicated stuff.
So, between now and my next
article have a go at this Song
Analysis for your 10 songs. You
will find that there are many ways
to write a great song, and while
there are ‘rules’ it is common to
break them, so maybe ‘suggested
starting points’ would be a better
term than ‘rules’.
See you for a lyric analysis
session next instalment.
BARBARA BUELEN
Get more info and links to related
lessons on all Justin’s GT articles
at www.justinguitar.com/gtmag
 JAM TRACKS

SUBSTITUTE
Stacked 4ths WITH RICHARD BARRETT

Last issue we systematically stacked pairs of 5th intervals to create chords.

Here we’re going to try it with 4ths. If you approach chord substitution by
learning shapes and swapping alternatives, you might find this a bit weird.
We’ve always tried to show how to approach chord knowledge from several
angles; you might end up at the same place, but it’s all about the journey!

TO AVOID an insane number of permutations we’re again going to work within the C Major scale, using only perfect 4ths (not the augmented 4th
between F and B) and we’re using the same ‘before’ chord progression as last time. You can of course apply your own rules – restrictions like this are a
fertile source of creativity. There may be similarities to the chords you generate using 5ths, as 4ths and 5ths are closely related (C-G is a 5th; G-C is a
4th). However, the fretboard layout of the guitar means not every combination of either interval will be playable.

BY STACKING two 4th intervals
with a Whole Tone between
them (C-F and G-C) we get sus2
chords. There’s no strict pattern
to how we’ve replaced ‘vanilla’
chords with new chords; just
play around with them and
see what comes out!
THERE'S a wider gap between
the two 4ths this time. You’ll
notice that the lower 4th
interval corresponds with the
5th and root of the original
chord in each case. Here we
have B-E on the bottom (5th and
root of Em) with D-G on top.
NOT only do we have two 4th
intervals, but they’re also
separate by a gap of a 4th! This
pure stack of 4ths is a bit of a 60s
modern jazz cliché; at that time,
there was a fashion for quartal
harmony, building chords from
4ths. It sounds good, though.
FINALLY making use of the
open strings we can have two
4th intervals (G-C and B-E)
overlapping each other.
Obviously an obstacle here is
knowing enough chord theory
to name your concoctions, but
be brave, and have a go.

January 2023 9
I NTRO SESSION SHENANIGANS
The studio guitarist’s guide to happiness and personal fulfilment, as related by
our resident session ace. This month: Dance Band Days (Earn As You
Learn) - Part 1.
H
aving been in 'Show Biz'
all day, I feel the need to
dispel the popular myth
that studio dates represent
the ultimate path to
perfecting your musicianship,
plying your trade and impressing
the girls. In fact, one can learn a
maximum of two things on any
given session, excluding the size
of the fee and the location of the
facilities. Namely, the necessity to
play in tune and in time. Okay, I’ll
sweeten the deal if you insist and
throw in the need to own gear
that doesn’t rattle and hum or die
prematurely on contact with a red
light. And, er…that’s it. The
reality is that you’re there to
contribute the knowledge and
experience that you’ve gleaned
elsewhere after suffering for your
art at the sharp end of the music
profession. Every pun
emphatically intended. And it
pays to be aware that everything
you’ve learned will be sucked out
of you and into the black hole of
Studioville faster than Mo Farah
in Supermarket Sweep.
My first paying gig was at the
Thatched Barn in Borehamwood
on a Friday night. ’Twas a
corporate dinner and dance for
"EVERYTHING WILL
BE SUCKED OUT OF
YOU AND INTO THE
BLACK HOLE OF
STUDIOVILLE"
Alfa Romeo. Twelve quid, ham
sandwiches and a cup of coffee.
Trust me, you remember these
things. I’d already answered an
ad in the Melody Maker which
ran ‘Guitarist/Vocalist wanted for
working quartet. Must be good
reader and car owner. Own teeth
and hair an advantage but not
essential.’ Or words to that defect.
As I staggered up the stairs of the
lift-free environment with my
10 January 2023
MITCH DALTON
Fender Pro Reverb, I was already
composing a new ad in my head.
‘Amp for sale. Genuine reason
- owner requires minor surgery’.
I set up and was handed a
collection of ring-pull folders of
varying hues and nomenclatures
- ‘Waltzes’, ‘Pops’ or merely ‘1-26’
and upwards. I also noticed a
black item labelled ominously -
‘Specials’. I was shortly to
discover that this was our band’s
musical nuclear deterrent. When
our audience showed signs of
flagging, we would unleash our
arsenal of dance destruction. Tie
A Yellow Ribbon, The Conga, The
Birdie Song, The Charleston, Y
Viva Espana, and others too
terrifying to mention would be
fired at the guests without even
Mitch discusses his
time working as a
'function' guitarist
the courtesy of a two-minute
warning. The most musically
pleasurable part of the evening
should have been our journey
through the ‘Dinner Music’
folder, replete with tasteful Bossa
Novas and Broadway standards.
While the guests tucked into their
catered cutlets we tinkled away to
total indifference.
However, it took me a matter
of moments upon my debut to
deduce that all was not quite the
full shilling. My first realisation
was that the gentleman holding
the bass guitar had eschewed the
employment of conventional root
notes and 5ths, presumably in a
daring flirtation with the Avant
Garde. Instead, he’d decided to
employ a dull thudding noise at
the lower end of the audio
spectrum. This had the dual effect
of covering all possible key
signatures and yet none of them,
simultaneously. By way of
contrast, our pianist was fully
acquainted with chords of several
types. Sadly, he had yet to reach
the part of the manual which
deals with how they might be
connected to the melody. The
concept of chord substitution,
not unlike that of its football
counterpart, had yet to make an
appearance in his world. You
won’t be surprised to learn that
whatever I played sounded quite
dreadful, even when it was right.
I gritted my teeth, ploughed on
regardless and seriously
considered my career options. As
my dear mum reminded me,
“What doesn’t kill you makes you
stronger.” And in time the gigs,
and the personnel improved
immeasurably. Nevertheless, if
you think you can read at sight,
do try your luck with ‘Disco
Medley No.2’, a sea of
semiquavers that few survive,
played too fast to the drinking
classes at 1.00am at The Ritz
Hotel in London.
One of the more bizarre of
these Function Phenomena
would be the night I arrived at
The Aldwych Hotel and was
instructed by the organiser to
“Turn it up and play as loud as
possible, please.” I might add that
at this point in Heavy Metal
History, This Is Spinal Tap was
still a twinkle in Nigel Tufnel’s
rockumentary eye. In fact, it was a
dinner and dance for The Royal
National Institute For The Deaf,
augmented by the Master Of
Ceremonies displaying large
signs bearing the advice ‘Foxtrot’,
‘Rock And Roll’ or ‘Latin’.
But we got there first. I think
that says a lot.
For more on Mitch and his musical
exploits with the Studio Kings, go to:
www.mitchdalton.co.uk
 JAM TRACKS
PLAY 1 PLAY 2 PLAY 3 PLAY 4

Try your best

Lowell George
licks over jam
track #2
JAM TRACKS TIPS
Use these to navigate our bonus backing tracks
➊ Slow Blues (A)
We start with a simple slow Blues
in A, where A Minor Pentatonic
(A-C-D-E-G) and A Major
Pentatonic (A-B-C#-E-F#) scale
are great places to begin. Dig in!
➋ Dusty Funk Jam (E)
This jam is a simple groove in E.
You can go ‘Major’ on it and use E
Major Pentatonic (E-F#-G#-
B-C#), but you can also get some
great vibes out of using E Minor
Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) and
bringing out the bluesier fills.
MICHAEL PUTLAND/GETTY IMAGES)
➌ G Phrygian Blues Jam
Here’s a fun G Phrygian chord
vamp (Gm-Abmaj7) on a bluesy
shuffle. Use G Phrygian mode
(G-Ab-Bb-C-D-Eb-F), G Minor
Pentatonic (G-Bb-C-D-F) and G
Minor Blues scale (G-Bb-C-Db-
D-F) to get started. This is track 9
from Quist’s brand new jam
album The Sexy Series, Vol. 4.
➍ Sweet Groove Blues (D)
We finish with a simple three-
chord blues in D, where you can
mix the D Major Pentatonic scale
(D-E-F#-A-B)– aka B Minor
Pentatonic - with the D Minor
Pentatonic scale (D-F-G-A-C).

Visit www.Quistorama.com/
jamtracks and subscribe to www.
youtube.com/QuistTV for more
jam tracks. Quist’s new album
Garden Grooves is out soon and
you can find him on Spotify and
Instagram, as well as Patreon for
his full library of tabs & lessons.

PHIL HILBORNE’S ONE-MINUTE LICK Intervallic Rock Lick

THIS MONTH’S lick is an intervallic rock lick that comes in two parts;
the first part , which appears in bars 1-2 ascends using stacked 5th and
4th intervals ending on a high E note – (the 9th or 2nd of D). This idea
can be heard in the music of players such as Steve Vai and other similar
rock guitarists. The second part, which arrives in bars 3-5, involves a
series of tapped sus2 arpeggios. These contain the notes 1-2-5 and are
commonly termed ‘ambiguous’ because their lack of 3rds means they
are neither Major nor Minor. In a Major scale, sus2 arpeggios can be
found on the I, II, IV, V and VI degrees. As the thinking behind this lick is
'Dorian' the possible sus2 arpeggios available are Dsus2, Fsus2, Gsus2,
Asus2 and Csus2. All of these apart from the Fsus2 have been used
here. After playing through this lick aim to come up with similar licks
of your own and also experiment resolving them to both Major and
Minor type chords.

˙ ~~~~~
D5 D/C
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FAST & b 44 ∑
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f
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~~~~~ 19 19 24
~~~~~
B 12 12 17 17
G
SLOW D 14 14
A 12 12
E 10

L L L L L L L L L L L
1

(√) œD5

œ œ œ ~~~~~
L
6
œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœœ œœ˙ w
6

&b œ œ œœœ

L L L LLLLL
nœ œ

LL LL
6 6 6 6

E 17 12 10 15 10 8
~~~~~
B 17 12 10 15 10 8
G 14 9 7 12 7 5
D 14 9 7 12 7 5 12 7 5 0 12
A 12 7 5 12 7 5
E 12 7 5
3

January 2023 11
I NTRO INSTRUMENTAL INQUISITION
MARK TREMONTI
Guitar instrumentals have supplied some of music’s most evocative moments.
Jason Sidwell asks top guitarists for their take on this iconic movement. This
month: Alter Bridge’s stunning guitarist, Mark Tremonti.
GT What is it about guitar instrumentals
that appeals to you?
MT: When you write a guitar instrumental, it
really has to be a very emotive kind of musical
approach - you're replacing the emotion that a
human vocal brings. So it has to be more in
depth as far as the melody goes that you bring
into the instrumental, and also there's lots of
space for lead guitar in there. We did an
instrumental song called Ahavo Rabo Taco
Salad - it was a lot of work putting that
together, but it was also a great challenge.
GT: What can an instrumental provide a
listener that a vocal song can't?
MT: It could provide a lot of imagination to
what you know. I think it really lets you look
deep inside that guitar player - really see what
they bring to the table in a band with what
their melodic approach and style is. And it's
just a different take on being an artist.
GT: Any tendencies that you embrace or avoid
(rhythms, harmony, playing approach, tones)?
MT: The tendencies with instrumentals that I
embrace are letting them breathe and letting
them tell different tales. Letting them not be
short and concise and letting them be kind of
a soundscape or set of moods that set vibes. As
to what to avoid in an instrumental, it's not to
make it a purely technically driven song - I'd
like it to be more of an emotional journey with
different vibes, different moods.
GT: Is a typical song structure always relevant
for an instrumental?
MT: I definitely don't think that is the case. I
think instrumentals can take on a whole song
structure of their own. And I think, the more
different it is, the better in my opinion, as far
as song structure goes in an instrumental.
GT: How useful is studying a vocalist approach
for guitar melodies?
MT: Sometimes, the guitar parts and the
guitar melodies brought forth in a song are
the obvious choice for the vocal melodies.
Sometimes when I write a song and I write a
guitar part, it just screams out that this has
got to be the best vocal melody for this song.
GT: How do you start writing one; is there a
typical approach or inspiration?
12 January 2023
MT: It's all about melody - whatever strikes
you the most, whatever is the most emotive
part of the music, is where you should build
your foundation from for the instrumental.
GT: What do you aim for when your
performance is centre stage, as it is when
performing an instrumental?
MT: I'd say you just have to focus - an
instrumental is usually more complicated
than your average song, so you really have to
focus on your technique and your vibe and
your flow and your vibrato... and making sure
you're relaxed for the most part.
GT: Many vocal songs feature a guitar solo that
starts low and slow then finishes high and fast.
Is this useful in instrumentals, for developing
pace and dynamics?
MT: Dynamics are a huge part of what I like to
do in general with songwriting. If everything
is all fast, and all furious, it gets monotonous
and boring. I think you need to have ups and
downs; you need to have atmospheric parts,
you need to have heavy parts, you need to
“IF EVERYTHING IS FAST
IT GETS MONOTONOUS
AND BORING. YOU NEED
ATMOSPHERIC PARTS, HEAVY
PARTS, BEAUTIFUL PARTS "
have beautiful parts, as many as many
different colours as you can for a song.
GT: What type of guitar tone do you prefer?
MT: The guitar tone needs to be just as varied
as the person themselves, so I think in a
perfect world you have anything from a clean
Fender Twin tone to a heavy Mesa Boogie
Rectifier tone and everything in between!
GT: Do you have favourite keys or tempos?
MT: I have favourite tunings, which tend to be
in the D world - that can be open D5 or just in
drop D - so I say D, or maybe C sharp. Tuning
the whole guitar down a half step is probably
my most common tuning. Tempo-wise. I like
to vary them as much as I can to challenge
myself to just be more open to different ideas.
GT: Do you prefer Minor or Major keys?
MT: I tend to write in Minor keys more than
Major keys, but I enjoy both.
GT: Do you have any favourite modes?
I think the Aeolian mode, just the straight
Minor tonality is probably the most typical for
me. It's the most common in my writing.
GT: What about modulations into new keys?
MT: Whenever you can modulate to a new key
it keeps the listener on their toes and keeps
the song interesting. So definitely, as much as
you can experiment. I think it's just gonna
make the song better.
GT: Do you view the backing band in a
different way than you would on a vocal song?
MT: The backing band is just as important as
the guitar on an instrumental. It needs to be
that much more interesting and more emotive
to fill that void with the vocal gone.
GT: What about harmonising melodies?
MT: Harmony is such a hugely important part
of music for sure - to me, melody is the most
important part of the song whether it be on a
guitar or vocal. Sometimes a harmony can
really make or break a song so it's definitely a
big part of music in general.
GT: What three guitar instrumentals would you
consider iconic, or have inspired you?
MT: I would say John Petrucci's Liquid
Tension Experiment. The whole record is just
fantastic. And there's a lot of great
instrumentals on there. So I would take any
track from that record. Metallica, Orion, could
be one of my favourite songs ever written.
That's my favourite song from my favourite
record. And just to stay with Metallica, I think
The Call Of Ktulu from Ride The Lightning is
another one of my favourite instrumentals of
all time. And why? The Call Of Ktulu is one of
the songs I picked up that really helped me
develop my picking style - it's a song that I'll
always appreciate for its mood and its
dynamics and just the way it helped me
develop as a guitar player.
Alter Bridge’s Pawns & Kings (Napalm
Records) is out now. For more info on Mark and
the band please visit https://alterbridge.com
 INSTRUMENTAL INQUISITION
KEVIN NIXON

January 2023 13
 FEATURE } FOLK-ROCK
PLAY LIKE EIGHT
FOLK-ROCK LEGENDS
Stuart Ryan delves deeply into a form of music that largely
emanates from the late 1960s into the 70s. Here he examines eight
of folk-rock’s big players from Richard Thompson to Jimmy Page.
ABILITY RATING
Info https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Will improve your…
Key Various Tempo Various Odd-time playing
T
he British folk scene of the 1960s and
70s is sometimes maligned, but dig in
and you’ll find some of the most
creative and awe-inspiring guitar
playing of those decades. For sure the
musicianship and guitar abilities uncover
hard-hitting riffs, odd-time signatures,
TECHNIQUE FOCUS
Odd-time signatures
As its mane suggests folk-rock can encompass
techniques from both camps and often features
challenging examples of those techniques. From
fingerpicking to lead licks, altered tunings to
oddtime signatures there is much to get to grips
with. Odd-time signatures are a useful thing to
focus on within the folk-rock idiom. They can seem
daunting but remember that time signatures like
5/4 and 7/4 are easily broken down into groups of
two and three beats – all you have to do is work on
where the emphases lie so you can decide where
those groups of two and three beats fall in a bar.
ESTATE OF KEITH MORRIS/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES)
14 January 2023
Moderate/Advanced ✪ ✪✪✪✪
Stylistic awareness
Use of open tunings
ornate single-line playing, altered tunings
and deft fingerpicking.
In this feature we’ll explore the styles of
the folk masters, each of whom had their
own distinctive approach to the instrument.
There’s the consummate folk master Martin
Carthy who was intimately connected to the
British folk heritage of centuries gone by - a
heritage he updated through his work with
Steeleye Span. Acoustic masters John
Renbourn and Bert Jansch teamed up in
Pentangle to fuse their blues, jazz, folk and
renaissance influences to create a fascinating
melting pot of styles. Folk legend Richard
Thompson shaped the sound of folk-rock
pioneers Fairport Convention prior to
finding success as a solo artist. John Martyn
created a folk-rock fusion through his
combination of blues, jazz and traditional
folk playing, all modernised through his use
of the Echoplex delay and altered tunings.
Martin Barre brought a heavier, bluesy
John Martyn used
altered tunings and
effects to create
amazing music
VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP
sound to folk-rock through his playing with
Jethro Tull and is still an influence today -
check out Joe Bonamassa’s cover of Tull’s A
New Day Yesterday, for example. Then
there’s altered tuning master Nick Drake
whose songwriting has extraordinary depth
and still sounds contemporary now. And
finally, Jimmy Page needs no introduction
but listen carefully to his acoustic playing
with Led Zeppelin and you will hear a
masterclass in folk guitar playing with
“Martin Carthy was
connected to the
British folk heritage
of centuries gone by”
Jimmy’s ever-present Bert Jansch and
Davey Graham influence.
Folk-rock can be a challenging style
owing to all the different styles and
approaches inherent to the music, so in this
feature you’ll find odd time signatures,
complex fingerpicking, big riffs and more!
Remember, many of these players were
equally adept on both acoustic and electric
guitar so you’ll find examples for both
instruments in what follows.
5 5
6
3 3
GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB
The folk-rock pioneers used a variety of electric
tones from clean to heavy, so it was Fender,
Marshall and Vox amps, Strat,Tele and Les Paul
guitars, with effects like phasers, univibes and
delays also appearing. Acoustics were mostly
Martin, Gibson or Guild. Use the above as your
clean electric settings and add drive, flanger,
delay and Univibe effects where appropriate.
 EIGHT FOLK-ROCK LEGENDS

Capos are a great way to

involve open strings in all
keys, not just guitar friendly
keys like E, G, A and D. Here
Martin Carthy uses his capo
at the 2nd fret.
DAVID REDFERN/REDFERNS

TRACK RECORD The Pentangle was the debut from the band that featured Jansch and Renbourn sharing guitar duties. Jethro Tull’s
Aqualung is considered a milestone in folk-rock, while Unhalfbricking from Fairport Convention contains the awesome Who Knows Where
The Time Goes. Martin Carthy’s self-titled 1965 debut is a folk masterpiece, and Led Zeppelin 1 features the folky Black Montain Side.

January 2023 15
 FEATURE } FOLK-ROCK VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

VIDEO PLAY BACKING

EXAMPLE 1 RICHARD THOMPSON CD TRACK ??

Today you’ll often see Richard Thompson performing deft fingerpicking solo on time signatures are a big part of folk-rock (as they are in prog) so this example
his Lowden acoustic but in Fairport Convention his electric guitar would often will need some concentration to ensure you don’t lose your place – count the
play riff-based parts and intertwine with violinist Dave Swarbrick’s lines. Shifting bars all the way through so you can get a sense of where the beats fall.

©»¡™º N.C. Em C D

# 6 œ 44 œœ Œ Œ œœœ 34
& 4 ∑ .. .. 34 œœ Œ Œ œ
œ œ
j
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
j
œ œ œ œ

E
. .
. .
B 8 5 7
G 9 5 7
D 0 2 2 4 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 9 5 7
A 2 2 2 7 3 5
E
1, 3 5

N.C. Em G C N.C.

# œœ œœ œœ 4 œœ œœ
& 34 œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ 4 œœ œœ Œ œœœ 34 œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

E
B 8 8 8 8 8 5
G 9 9 9 7 7 5
D 5 7 5 9 9 9 9 9 5 5
A 7 5 7 7 7 7 10 10 3 5 7
E
7

44 œœœ œœ
Em N.C.
# 64 œ œ œ œ œ
j
œ œ 44 œ œ
j
œ œ œ
& œ œ œ œ Ó
œ œ

E 0 2 0 0 2 0
B 8 8 3 5 3 3 5
G 9 9 4
D 9 7 9 9
A 9 7 7
E
12

Richard is a
stunning picker,
especially when
using hybrid
picking

Richard Thompson
shaped the sound of
folk-rock pioneers
Fairport Convention
FRANS SCHELLEKENS/REDFERNS

16 January 2023
 EIGHT FOLK-ROCK LEGENDS
VIDEO PLAY BACKING

EXAMPLE 2 MARTIN BARRE CD TRACK ??

A virtuoso lead player, Martin Barre started out listening to Jazz guitarists Barney of various influences from traditional English folk to hard rock. This example
Kessel, Wes Montgomery and Johnny Smith and started his professional career examines the heavier, blues-rock side of his playing in 12/8 and to a casual
accompanying well-known visiting soul artists. His eclectic style is a fusion listener it can be surprising to hear how heavy Jethro Tull could get!

©»ª£ E7 5b
# 12
& 8 ∑
œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
E
B
G
D 5 5
A 7 5 5 7 7 5 5 7
E 0 7 6 5 3 5 6 7 0 7 6 5 3 5 6 7
1

G5 A5 E7 5 b G5 A5

#
& œ œ œ bœ œœ .. œœ .. œ œ œ œ bœ œœ .. œœ .. œ œ
œ œ œ œ . œ . nœ œ œ œ œ œ. œ . n œ œ

E
B
G
D 5 7 5 7 5
A 7 5 5 7 5 7 7 5 5 7 5 7
E 0 7 6 5 3 3 5 7 0 7 6 5 3 3 5 7
3

A5 C5 A5 C5
# . œœ .. œœ .. œœ .. œœ .. ..
& . œœ .. œœ œœ .. œœ
œ. œ œ œ œ. œ. œ. œ œ œ œ. œ.
E
. .
. .
B
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D 7 7 10 10 7 7 10 10
A 7 7 10 10 7 7 10 10
E 5 5 5 7 8 8 5 5 5 7 8 8
5, 7

'
b
E7 5 A5 b
E7 5 A5 E7 5 b
# 1/4

& .. œ œ œ b œ œœœ ... œ œ œ b œ œœœ ...

.. j‰ ‰
œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ.
œ. œ. œ
E
. . '
. .
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G 1/4
D 7 7
A 7 7 5 7 7 7 5 7 7 5
E 0 6 5 3 5 6 7 0 6 5 3 5 6 7 7 6 5 3 0
9, 11

January 2023 17
 FEATURE } FOLK-ROCK VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

VIDEO PLAY

EXAMPLE 3 MARTIN CARTHY - ARPEGGIOS CD TRACK ??

Like Richard Thompson, Martin Carthy is an artist who was a pioneer in the with Steeleye Span features him in a rather brief electric guitar period but it’s
burgeoning folk-rock scene and then went on to have a successful career as a well worth checking out this era to hear how he brought folk influenced chords
predominantly acoustic singer and fingerpicker within the folk idiom. His work like those featured here into the nascent folk-rock canon.

©»•™ Csus2 C madd9 Csus2

b œ œ œ œ œœœ
& b b 44
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ

E
B 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3
G 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
D 5 5 5 5 5 5
A
E
1

œ œ
C madd9

bb œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

E 3
B 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3
G 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
D 5 5 5 5 5 5
A
E
4

EXAMPLE 4 MARTIN CARTHY - CHORD OUTLINING

Ex 4 Martin Carthy

©»•™ C sus2 C madd9 C sus2

b
PLAY

& b b 44 ∑ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ
œ œ ˙
œ œ œ
E
B 3 3
G 0 0
D 1 0
A 3 3
E
1

Cm Csus2 C madd9

b œ œ
&b b ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ

E
B 3
G 0 0
D 1 1 0
A 3 3 3
E
4

18 January 2023
 EIGHT FOLK-ROCK LEGENDS
VIDEO PLAY

EXAMPLE 5 JOHN RENBOURN CD TRACK ??

As with the other artists featured here, John Renbourn’s interests went beyond solid fingerpicking. Remember that he and Bert Jansch created interlocking
folk to include classical, jazz and blues among other genres. This example guitar parts during their time in Pentangle and subsequently as a duo, and
showcases the classical side of his playing with plenty of ornamentation and Renbourn really was a virtuoso innovator within the folk-rock idiom.

©»ª¢ Dsus2 C6sus2

3
A5 Dm

œ œœœœ œ
4 œ
&b 4 œ œ œ œœœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ
∑
œ œ
3 3

E 0 1 0 1 0
B 3 3 1 3 1 3 3 3
G 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 2
D 0 0 3 2 0 0
A 3 0
E
1

D sus2 Dm C/D Dm E m/D Dm7

œ œ œ œœœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
Cmaj7/D
3
&b œ œ œ œ œ œ 4
3

E 0 1
B 3 3 1 3 1 3 3 1 5 6 8 6 5
G 2 2 0 2 2 2 5 7 9 7 5
D 0 0 0 0
A
E
4

Dm Dm11 C

b 3 œœ œœ 44 œœ 34
& 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
E 1 1
B 3 3 1
G 2 2 2 2 0 0
D 0 0 3 2 2 2 3 2 0
A 3 3
E
7

Am F G7 N.C. Dm

œ œ
3

& b 34 œ 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœœ
œ œ œ œ œ 4 œ œ n œœ œ ˙ œ w
œ
E 1 1
B 1 1 0 3 3
G 2 2 0 2 2 2 0 2 0
D 2 2 0 2 3 3 2 0 3 0
A 0
E
10

January 2023 19
 FEATURE } FOLK-ROCK VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 6 BERT JANSCH

Scottish fingerpicker Bert Jansch had a huge influence on many musicians Davey Graham and Folk singer Archie Fisher. His interplay with Renbourn in
from the folk world and beyond – including players like Jimmy Page and Blur’s Pentangle is a fascinating sound often referred to as ‘folk-baroque’. Try this part
Graham Coxon. His influences were comparatively narrow – Big Bill Broonzy, with the John Renbourn style piece to get a sense of how this intricacy works.

©»ª¢ Dm C /E Dm7

˙˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ
4
&b 4 ∑ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙.
˙
3

E 1
B 3 6 5 6 5 1
G 2 7 5 0 5 7
D 0 2 3 2 0 7
A
E
1

œ œ œœ œ œ œ n˙
Dm11 C /D Dm E m/D Dm7 C maj7/D
˙.
œœ œœ œœ œ ˙
j
œ #œ nœ œ ˙
œ 3 ˙.
&b Ó 4
3

BU BD
E 8 5 8 5 8 7
B 8 6 8 ( 9 ) (8 ) 6 5 6 8 10 8
G 5 7 9
D
A
E
4

44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
D m13 C Am11

& b œ œ nœ œ œ 34 n œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 44

E 0 1 3 5 3 0
B 1 3 6 5 0 1 3 3 1 0
G 5 4 2
D 3 5
A
E
8

F7 G Dm Dmadd9 Dm

œœ n œœ ˙˙ .. œ œ œ œ
& b 44 œ œ ˙ ˙. w
3

E 1 0 1 0
B 5 3 3 3
G 2 5 4 2 0 2 2
D
A
E
11

PLAY

20 January 2023
 EIGHT FOLK-ROCK LEGENDS

Scottish musician
Bert Jansch was at
the leading edge of
the folk-rock boom
JORGEN ANGEL/REDFERNS

January 2023 21
 FEATURE } FOLK-ROCK VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

VIDEO PLAY

EXAMPLE 7 JOHN MARTYN

Another altered tuning master, John Martyn had a heavy, percussive approach DADGAD tuning and is a good example of how you can get lots of colour from
to his acoustic guitar playing which, like Nick Drake’s, was full of colourful doing comparatively little. Focus on the groove here and listen to John Martyn
sounding chords that you can’t find in standard tuning. This example uses himself to hear a rhythmic master at work.

©»¡º¢ D m11

4 œœœœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœœœ œœ œœ œœ
&b 4 ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ
Strum chords with
first finger's nail œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
DADGAD tuning
D 0 0
A 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
A 0 0
D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1

& b œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœœ œœœ œœœ œ œœœ œœœ œ œœœ œœœ œ œœœ
œ
œ œœ œ œ œ
D 0 0
A 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
G 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0
D 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
A 0
D 0 0 0 0 0
4

Gm11

œœœ œœ œœœ
œœœ
& b œœœœ œœœ œœœ œ œœœ œœœ œ œœœ œœœ œ œœœ
œ œœ œ
œ œ
œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
D 0 0 3 3 3 3
A 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
G 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 3 3
D 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
A 0 5 5 5
D 0 0 0 0 5 5 5
7

Dm7 D m11

œ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœœ

& b œœ œ œ
œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œ œœœ
œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ
D 3 3 3 3 0
A 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
G 3 3 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 0
D 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
A 5 5 0 0
D 5 5 0 0 0 0
10

22 January 2023
 EIGHT FOLK-ROCK LEGENDS
VIDEO PLAY

EXAMPLE 8 NICK DRAKE

A master singer-songwriter, Nick Drake worked almost exclusively in altered of odd-time, especially 5/4 as used here. It’s best to think of each bar as a ‘three
tunings, some rather outlandish like BEBEBE. I’ve stayed in standard tuning here beat’ followed by a ‘two beat’ sequence, as splitting things up like that removes
but explore his use of rich, coloured chords like the add9 and his innovative use some of the unnatural feeling if you’re not used to unusual time signatures.

©»¡¡™ E add9 E m7 E m7 6 b
# #
& # # 45 ∑ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœ œœ
n n œœ œœ n œ œœ œœ
œœ œœ
œ œ
œ œ
œ œ œ œ œœ œ œœ
E
B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
D 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 0 0
A 2 2 3
E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1

E m7 E m7 6 b Em A 9/C # Em Em A9/C # Em

#### œ œ œ œ
& n n œœ œœ n œ œœ œœ
œ œ œ
E
B 0
G 0
D 0
A 3
E 0
4
œœ œœ
œ œ n œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ n œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ
œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2
4 4
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

G6 A 9/C # G6 E add9

####
& n œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœ
œ
œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ
nœ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
E
B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
D 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
A 4 2 2
E 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
7

E madd9 E add9

####
& n œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ n œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ
œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
E
B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
D 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
A 2 2 2
E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10

January 2023 23
 PLAY } STAR VIDEO VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

ON VIDEO

DAVID GRISSOM
Video Masterclass
For this issue we welcome the PRS-wielding country rocker from Austin,
Texas. David performs and analyses his solo over Jason Sidwell’s specially
composed rock track, No Muss, No Fuss. Jon Bishop is your guide.
ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced ✪ ✪ ✪ the chords Am7-D are a popular Dorian
✪✪
sound. Through a process of jamming over
Info https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Will improve your… Rock and country guitar articulations
the verse chord progression David settled on
Key Mostly A Minor/C Major Tempo 120bpm Soloing vocabulary General rock and fusion soloing ideas
setting the scene with chord arpeggios rather

T
his issue we are delighted to welcome
the stunning David Grissom into the
fray. David has treated us to an exciting
and melodic performance backed up
with a super in-depth video lesson.
David’s solo is over Jason’s No Muss, No
Fuss, a driving Eagles-style ‘Americana’ rock
track that modulates through several keys.
The track is in 4/4 time and clocks in at
120bpm, a great tempo for David to let rip
with some superb country-rock soloing.
David started this process by listening to
the track and deciding on the most musical
way to navigate the form. The track starts
with a descending chromatic low riff that he
doubles to create an intense effect, although
he points out later in his lesson that
chromatic augmented chords could have
worked well too (see Example 1).
In the video lesson David breaks down
the verse chords of Am7-C-D by explaining
they outline A Dorian (A-B-C-D-E-F#-G);
than coming right out of the gate soloing.
This pre-composed route is a good strategy
when engaging with the listener.
For the second eight bars of the verse
David uses the hybrid picking technique to
play some fast open-string phrases. These
are musically placed around Jason’s
accompanying guitar parts.
The pre-chorus section is in the key of C
and is eight bars long. The C Major
Pentatonic scale (C-D-E-G-A) can be used
here. David prefers to outline the chords

David Grissom in
his studio recording
this month’s star
video lesson with
No Muss, No Fuss

24 January 2023
 DAVID GRISSOM { NO MUSS, NO FUSS

with a Jimi Hendrix style approach. The

pre-chorus ends with the sound of an E One of the tastiest
Major chord, but instead of any fancy scale players around, David
is one of PRS’s finest
choices, David plays a simple chord tone
ambassadors with his
idea (E-G#-B) to maintain the Americana superb DGT model
rock style of the track.
The chorus provides an opportunity to
rock out and again the scale of choice is the A
Dorian mode (A-B-C-D-E-F#-G). This can
be simplified to the ever-forgiving A Minor
Pentatonic scale (A-C-D-E-G), by passing
over the Dorian Major 6th (here, F#). To
finish off the chorus there is a modulation to
an non-diatonic Ab6/9 chord. David leaves
room here to let other parts of the band shine
by playing a few tasteful Larry Carlton-style
double-stops around the arrangement.
To keep things interesting but familiar
the open-string idea from verse 1 is re-
visited, but changed up to provide some
variation and motivic development. For the
second pre-chorus David breaks out some
ccountry-style chicken picking. This is again
articulated using hybrid picking. He also
demonstrates the technique he uses to create
the pedal steel-style string bends and we
have notated this in Example 2.
To bring the track to a crescendo David
uses a pedal tone idea in the higher register.
Again, hybrid picking works great when
articulating the string skipped notes and also
adds an appealing snappy tone (Example 3).
The notation contains all of the
articulations and phrasing from David’s
fabulous video performance. It’d be well
worth taking a close look at the way David
fingers and picks the phrases. Hopefully
there will be a new technique, lick or phrase
in here for you to perfect. If you find one you
like, then you can memorise it, tweak it to
taste and use it in future solos.
Once you have mastered some of the During the recording of his track No Muss, No Fuss
concepts in David’s solo why not have a go at
creating a solo of your own over No Muss, No
Jason talked with David about his playing style,
Fuss. What might you duplicate and what techniques and his popular PRS DGT guitar.
would you newly introduce? To help with
this we have included a full chord chart of GT: You have a broad vocabulary that DG: It developed out of wanting to hear
the track so you can plan your assault. Have encompasses rock, country and blues. What sounds that can’t be produced with just a
fun and see you next time! elements in those genres do you favour most? pick. Seeing Danny Gatton was really
DG: For me it all starts with blues. The vocal instrumental in cultivating that approach. I
quality of playing with areas like vibrato, use it for rhythm playing to get a piano
6 4
7 7 bending using in-between notes, and sound where all notes are struck at once, and
8
phrasing to emulate the expressive sound of to play shell chords [chords with just a few
a great singer. From country I have definitely important notes played, Ed] across strings.
GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB
appropriated pedal steel bends and use them Certain techniques are almost impossible
in all styles and modes. While country pedal with just a pick.
steel double-stop playing centres in the
David used his PRS DGT’s bridge pickup into a Mixolydian mode, I use these techniques in GT: Did you consciously develop your finger
PRS DG Custom 30 amp. Ambience came from a every tonality. I am really influenced by the vibrato or did it happen naturally? How would
Strymon El Capistan delay and Fender reverb rhythm playing of Pete Townshend, Paul you recommend readers improve their vibrato?
tank, with an Arion stereo chorus for the Leslie Kossoff, and Malcolm Young by using chords DG: I developed my vibrato listening to
effect, and an Xotic EP Boost for extra
JAY WEST/WIREIMAGE

saturation. So, dial up a creamy but responsive
overdrive and experiment with the guitar’s
controls for the desired tone. Reverb or delay
can be added for that sophisticated touch.
with no 3rds. I use this ‘no 3rd’ voicing
concept quite often in all styles.
GT: How did you develop your hybrid picking
and for what aspects of your playing?
records and trying to emulate that sound. BB
King and Albert King were the guys I did my
best to emulate. The two things that facilitate
great sounding vibrato are using the thumb
wrapped over the neck to support the

January 2023 25
 PLAY } STAR VIDEO
finger(s) that are bending, and using fingers
behind the bent note for added control.
GT: During No Muss, No Fuss there are a few
curveball chord moments. How do you
approach such chord progressions?
DG: I prefer using chord tones and triads
rather than scales. Utilising any chord tones
common to both the new key centre and the
diatonic harmony you are coming out of is
usually a very musical solution as well.
GT: Your PRS DGT comes with a set of 0.011
gauge strings. Why do you like that gauge?
DG: I prefer a slightly heavier gauge than
some players for both tuning stability and to
account for the adrenaline boost that
happens in live situations. Having said that,
I confess to having moved to 10.5s on most
of my PRS guitars which may have
something to do with not playing as many
gigs during the pandemic.
GT: Your PRS DGT humbuckers are some of the
best pickups I’ve ever used; warm and open but
never muffled or harsh. What were you looking
for when you and Paul designed them?
DG: We spec’d the pots to be around around
440-450 [pots for humbuckers are typically
TRACK RECORD David is probably best known for his work with John Mellencamp. David also has a host of solo albums and session
credits with some of America’s biggest recording artists (Joe Ely, Dixie Chicks, The Allman Brothers Band). The latest David Grissom solo
album, Trio Live 2020 is available and if you are into melodic rock guitar it’s well worth a listen. Go to www.davidgrissom.com for more info.
26 January 2023
500k, Ed]. Adding resistors to make that
variable more consistent eliminates one
variable that can really change the tone. I
like that range rather than, say, 550K which I
feel is a touch bright in my guitar. When we
developed the pickups we did our best to get
close to the PAFs in my early 1959 ES-335
which have both a great midrange AND
clarity. There’s something about the long
magnets and number of turns that is really
special in that guitar.
“I became a musician in
Joe Ely’s band. He was so
supportive and wise, taught
me to play for the song”
GT: How often do you use single-coil tones and
for what scenarios?
DG: I use them all the time in the studio -
especially a Tele and Les Paul Jr. If I am
stacking multiple parts I often find I get
better separation by using different guitars
for each part. The single-coil sounds in the
DGT are quite unique and useful. That sound
has evolved over the years and now is very
much like ‘instant Gretsch’ which I love!
VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP
GT: You’ve played with many great artists from
John Mellencamp and Lucinda Williams to The
Allman Brothers Band and The Dixie Chicks. Has
there been one that has helped shape you as a
musician the most? In what way?
DG: Joe Ely. I became a musician in his
band. He was so supportive and wise. We
played a ton of live gigs, true road dogs, and
night after night I got to improvise solos,
always with his encouragement. Joe also
taught me about the importance of dynamics
and playing for the song.
GT: What three tracks would you recommend
readers check out that you think represents you
and your playing style best?
DG: 1) Joe Ely, Letter To L.A. live version
from Live At Liberty Lunch. 2) John
Mellencamp, Human Wheels, which is an
example of orchestrating several acoustic
and electric parts. 3) Skimming The Surface
off my Way Down Deep CD to get an idea of
the open-string techniques I use.
GT: What are your plans for next year as regards
touring, albums, gear, etc?
DG: Just to keep growing as a player and
songwriter. And I have some cool stuff going
on with PRS I am excited about!
David rocking out on
stage with his PRS
DGT signature guitar
SCOTT DUDELSON/GETTY IMAGES
 DAVID GRISSOM { NO MUSS, NO FUSS

TOP THREE LICKS
LICK 1 – SPACIOUS ARPEGGIOS – BARS 6-8
The A Minor 11 chord works well with a touch of
overdrive while the Arion chorus provides a fast,
Leslie-style wobble. Be sure to let all the notes ring.
These arpeggios are then punctuated with some
fat sounding fingerings for C/G and Dadd11/A.
LICK 2 – FIRST-STRING DRONE – BARS 34-37
Here the first string rings out as melodies are
played on the second string. This drone note helps
to fill out the sound and also provides an anchor
point for the harmony. You can experiment with
playing the notes of the A Minor Pentatonic scale
on the second string (A-C-D-E-G)
LICK 3 – USING A PEDAL TONE - BARS 58-61
This lick uses string skipping for its ear-catching
interval leaps. Hybrid picking works great for the
string-skipped notes. The pick plays the note on
the third string with the second finger being used
to pluck the notes on the first string.

CHORD CHART NO MUSS NO FUSS

©»¡™º RIFF b
4
Count In E7 9

&4 ∑ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
VERSE 1
Am7 C D

& .. ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
CHART

6,
14
Am7 C D

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ..
10,
18 PRE-CHORUS
F5 G5 C5 G /B Am7

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
22

F5 G5 E5

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
26
CHORUS
A5 G/B C5 D5 D /F # G5 A5 G /B C5 D5 G5

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
30

A5 G /B C5 D5 D /F # G5 A5 G /B C5 D5 G5

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
34

b
A 6/ 9 F/G

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
38
VERSE 2
Am7 C D

& .. ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ..
42,
46
PRE-CHORUS
F5 G5 E5

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
50
CHORUS
A5 G/B C5 D5 D /F # G5 A5 G /B C5 D5 G5

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
54

A5 G/B C5 D5 D /F # G5 A5 G /B C5 D5 G5

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
58

b
A 6/ 9 F/G

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
62

RIFF b
E7 9 A5

& ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ Œ Ó
66

January 2023 27
 PLAY } STAR VIDEO VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

DAVID GRISSOM NO MUSS, NO FUSS

Intro [Bars 1-5] For the intro David plays the motif from the backing in unison. tonality. This idea is augmented with a fast Leslie speaker type effect courtesy
This single-note line has a slightly awkward rhythm so it may be worth having a of the Arion chorus pedal. For the second eight bars there are some open-string
couple of listens though first. Verse 1 [Bars 6 -21] For the first eight bars of the pull-off phrases. The note on the third string is plucked with the second finger
verse David composed an arpeggio part that musically outlines the A Dorian and this helps the tone to pop out.

©»¡™º RIFF

& 44
COUNT IN
∑ ⋲ ⋲ ⋲ ⋲ ⋲ ⋲ ⋲
œ œ # œ œ n œ œ œ œ. œ. # œ. œ. n œ. œ. œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ n œ œ œ œ. œ. # œ. œ.
Bridge Pickup
With overdrive f . .
E
B
G
D
VIDEO A
E 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 3 3 2 2
1

VERSE 1
#
‹ ˘œœ ‰ ‹ ˘œœ ‰ ‹ ˘œœ ‰ j j
E7 9 Am11 C/G
Dadd11/A

œœœ
& # œœ # œœ # œœ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ œ œœœ˙ ‰ œœœ ‰ # œœœ ˙˙˙
PLAY
œ œ J J J œ œ œœ œœ ˙˙
Let ring
Bridge Pickup
With overdrive and fast chorus
E 3 3 3 0
B 3 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 1 3
G 1 1 1 5 5 5 0 0
D 2 2 2 5 5 5 2 4
A 0 0 3 5
E 1 1 3 5
5

BACKING

Am11
j
C/G
j
Dadd11/A

˙ ˙ œ œ œ ˙ ‰ œ ‰ # œœ ˙˙˙
œ
& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œœ œœ ˙˙
œ œ œ
Let ring
ANALYSIS
E 0
B 0 3 3 0 3 1 3
G 5 5 5 0 0
D 5 5 5 2 4
A 0 0 3 5
E 3 5
10

j' ' '

Am7 C D
1/4

j
3 3 3 3 1/4 1/4

& Œ. œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œj ‰ Ó ‰ œ #œ œ œ œ
œœ
‰ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ
Bridge Pickup

' ' '

With overdrive
1/4 1/4 1/4
E
B
G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
D 4 2 0 4 2 0 4 2 0 2 4 4 2 0 4 4 4
A 3 3
E
14

~~~
Am7 C D

j j œ œ
& j ‰ ‰ œ œ #œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ¿
3 3 3 3

œ œ œ
E
5 5
~~~
B
G 0 0 0 2 2 5 5
D 4 2 0 4 2 0 4 2 0 2 5 5 7 5 5 7 7 5
A 0 3 0 3 5 7 7 7 5 5 3
E 5 X
18

28 January 2023
 DAVID GRISSOM { NO MUSS, NO FUSS

DAVID GRISSOM NO MUSS NO FUSS

Pre-Chorus 1 [Bars 22-29] This section shifts to C Major and David outlines the choice is A Minor Pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G). A first-string drone thickens the sound.
chords as they pass. The E5 is treated to an E Major sound and the notes of the The harmony pivots temporarily to Ab Major with the introduction of the Ab6/9
E Major triad (E-G#-B) ascend the second string while the open first string rings chord in bar 38 (Ab6/9 -F/G is a jazz-rock idea setting up a return to Am). David
as a drone. Chorus [Bar 30-41] We pivot back to A Minor and David’s scale of plays some choice, Larry Carlton style-double stops here which are very tasty!

PRE-CHORUS

œ œ
F5 G5 C5 G/B A m7

œ œ œ jœ j œ œ œ œ
& ‰ ¿ ¿ œœ œœ .. œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

E
B 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 8 8 5 6 6 5 3
G X X 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0
D 3 2 0 5 5 10 10 10 9 9 5 5 5 5 5 5
A
E
22

# œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
F5 G5 E5

œ œ œ œ œœ œ œœ
j œœ œœ # œ œœ
& œœ œœ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œœ œœ J ‰

E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B 3 1 1 0 3 3 6 5 3 3 5 5 5 9 9 9 12 12 12 12
G 0 0 0 0
D 5 3 3 2 3 3 5 5 5
A
E
26

CHORUS
#
~~~ C 5
œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ œ œ œ
A5 G/B C5 D5 D/F G5 A5 G /B

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j
j
œ œ œ œ
j œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ
&

E 0 0 0 0
~~~
B 10 8 10 10 8 8
G 9 9 9 9 9 7 5 7 5 7 9 9 7 5 7 9 5 5
D 7 7 7
A
E
30

#
œœ œ œœ œœ œ
D5 G5 A5 G /B C5 D5 D/F G5

œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ ‰ œœ
3

& ‰ ¿ ¿ ¿ # œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ Œ J

E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B 8 10 10 8 10 12 8 5 8 10 10 12
G X X 7 7 7 7 7
D X 4 5 5 5 5
A
E
33

b
œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ G5˙
A5 G/B C5 j D5 A 6/ 9

# œœœ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ b œ b œ
œ
bœ
œ
œœ b œœ
& Œ bœ b œ
3

BU RP RP RP
E 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 6
B 7 12 13 13 15 15 17 15 ( 17 ) (17 ) ( 17 ) ( 17 ) 1 2 4 4 6
G 9 1 3 5 5
D
A
E
36

January 2023 29
 PLAY } STAR VIDEO VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

DAVID GRISSOM NO MUSS, NO FUSS

Verse 2 [Bars 42-49] David re-visits the open string ideas used in verse 1, with the tension with a string bend on the third string that is picked in an interesting
various aspects changed or developed. The ascending arpeggio idea in bar 48 sounding, syncopated rhythm. This tension is then released in the chorus when
is relatively easy to play and sounds ace. Pre-Chorus [Bars 50-53] David builds David unleashes some country-style pedal steel bends.

b b œœ
F/G

œœ œ j œœ
œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ
j
& ¿ bœ
j œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

BU BD

¿
E 4 3 3 0
B 4 4 3 5 5 3
G 3 5 5 3 1 3 5 0 0 4 (5) (4) 4 5 5
D
A
E
39

VERSE 2
A m7
œœ œœ ~~~ C D

œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œœœœœœœœœœœ
& Œ. Ó œ œ œ Œ Ó
œœœœœ

E
BU ~~~
B 8 5 5 5
G 7 (9 ) 5 5 7 7 5 5 5 0 7 0 5 0 0
D 7 5 7 7 5 7 5 5 5
A 5 7 7
E
42

A m7
'. bœ
1/4

‰ œ œ ⋲ J œ œ œ bœ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ
œ
3 3 3

& œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ
œ œ

E
B
1/4
'
G 0 0 0 4 7 5 7 9 11
D 5 4 0 4 0 5 4 0 5 0 7 5 7 9 11 10
A 7 7 6 5 7 9 9 10 10 12 12 14
E
46

PRE-CHORUS

œ
C
œ œ œ ~~ œ D F5
œ œ œ œ. œœ
G5
œ œ œ~~ ¿
E5

& J ‰ Ó ‰ œ œ œœ. ‰ œ œ. œ
j j œ. œ œ œ

E
~~ ~~ BU RP RP RP
B 10 10 10 8 10 8 8 X
G 12 12 10 10 10 10 9 7 2 (4) 2 (4 ) ( 4) (4 )
D
A
E
49

CHORUS
A5

œ œ
' œ. 1/4
j . C5
œ œ œ œ œj œ
G/B D5

œ #œ œ. œœœœœœœœ
D/F # G5

¿ œ #œ œ
œ œ
j
& œ œ. œ œ œ œ ⋲œ œ œ œœ
j j j
œ

'
3
RP
1/4
RP BU BD BU BD BU BU BU BU BD
E 10 10 8 5 5 3
B 10 12 10 ( 12 ) 10 7 ( 8 ) 7 5 ( 7) ( 7 ) (5 ) 3 5 3
G (4 ) 2 ( 4 )( 2 ) 0 2 ( 4 ) ( 2 )( 4 ) 11 5 5 4 2
D X 12
A
E
53

30 January 2023
 DAVID GRISSOM { NO MUSS, NO FUSS

DAVID GRISSOM NO MUSS NO FUSS

Chorus 2 [Bars 54-65] The final chorus provides an opportunity to let rip and ‘A’ pedal tone (Example 3) Riff [Bars 66-end] The intro’s riff is repeated, then
David uses it to showcase a couple of signature ideas. The first is some country- followed by E7#9 chord stabs. For the final chord David uses his favourite open-
style pedal steel bends (see Example 2); the second is the use of a third-string position A5 chord shape, which serves as an effective full stop to the track.

A5

œœ.
G /B C5
'
œœ. # œœ .. ' œ
1/4
D5

œœ œœ œœ œœ
3
G5
√
A5

œ œ œ
G /B C5

œ
& œœ œ œ œ œ œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

E
''
1/4

17 15 20
B 5 5 7 8 8 8 8
G 2 5 5 7 5 9 9 9 9 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
D 5 2 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 X
A
E
56

D/F #
(√) œ
D5 G5 A5 G /B C5 D5 G5

œ œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ ˙
& œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

E 15 17 19 15 17 14 15 14 15 14 15 14 15 14 15 14
B 17 17
G 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
D
A
E
59

A b 6/ 9

bœ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ bœ
F/G

& Œ. J bœ œ œ œ bœ bœ Œ ⋲œ
œ œ. œ
œ bœ bœ œ œ
E
B 4 9 8 6 8 6 6
G 8 8 6 6 6 5
D 8 6 6 5 2 0 2 5
A 8 6 4 3
E 6 4 3 3
62

~~~
RIFF

& œ.
⋲ œ œ œ œ ⋲ ⋲ ⋲ ⋲ ⋲
¿
œ œ #œ œ nœ œ œ œ. œ. # œ œ n œ œ œ. œ. œ œ œ
E
~~~
B 3
G 2 4 5 4
D
A
E X 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 3 3 3
65

E7#9 A5

‹ ˘œœ ‰ ˘œœ ‰ ˘œœ ‰ œœ

& ⋲ ⋲ # œœ œœ œœ œœ Œ Ó
#œ œ nœ œ œ œ. œ. # œ. œ. œ. œ. J J J œ
E 3 3 3 5
B 3 3 3 5
G 1 1 1 2
D 2 2 2 2
A 0
E 2 2 1 1 0 3 3 2 2 1 1
68

January 2023 31
 PLAY } STAR VIDEO VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

VIDEO EXAMPLE 1 AUGMENTED CHORDS

In this example David demonstrates an alternative idea to try over the intro’s descending riff. The augmented chords have an angular sound - try them out!

œ. œ. . . . . . .
F #aug F #aug
œ
G aug Faug E aug Gaug Faug E aug
#œ nœ ‹ ## œœœ œœœ # nn œœœ œœœ # # œœœ œœœ Œ
& 44 ∑ œ # œ ⋲ # œ ‹ œ ⋲ n œ # œ ⋲ # œ # œœ ⋲ n œœ œœ
Bridge Pickup
With fast chorus
f
E
B 8 7 6 5 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5
G 8 7 6 5 8 8 7 6 6 6 5 5
D 9 8 7 6 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6
A
E
1
≥ a
m
≥ a
m
a
m
≥
VIDEO EXAMPLE 2 PEDAL STEEL PHRASING
In this example David demonstrates the techniques he uses to create the pedal steel-style string bends in bars 54-56. The notes on the second string are bent up and
then held as the top string notes are plucked with the second finger of the picking hand.

A5
'. .
œ œ œ œj œ œ
1/4 G /B C 5
œ œ œj œ
D5

œ # œ œj œ œ. œœœœ œœ
D/F # G5 A5

¿ œ #œ
& 44 ∑ œ œœœ œœœ Ó
œ
'
3
Bridge Pickup
1/4 RP
With overdrive BU BU BU BD
E 10 10 8 5 5 5
B 10 12 10 (12 ) 10 7 ( 8 ) 7 5 (7 ) ( 7 ) (5 ) 3 5 3
G 11 5 5 4 2 2
D X 12 5 2
A 0
E
1

VIDEO EXAMPLE 3 PEDAL TONE PHRASING

Here David demonstrates the pedal tone lick that he plays in bars 58-61. The hybrid picking technique works great when articulating the string-skipped notes.
David uses his second finger to pluck the notes on the first string and this also helps to facilitate that snappy tone.

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& 44 ∑ Ó
3 3
Bridge Pickup
With overdrive
E 17 15 19 19 15 17 17 15
B
G 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
D
A
E
1
≥ ≥≤ ≥ m

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32 January 2023
 FEATURE } VIDEO MASTERCLASS VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

ON VIDEO

SHANE THERIOT
New Orleans Funk Guitar
New Orleans virtuoso and MD of hit TV show Live From
Daryl’s House, Shane pours on some Louisiana hot sauce
to spice up your rhythm chops.Andy Saphir is your guide.
traditions of the area, such as those heard in
ABILITY RATING Moderate/Advanced ✪ ✪✪✪✪ ‘second line’ funeral parades from which jazz
Info https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Will improve your… Picking-hand rhythm technique itself was born, and provides an infectious
Key Various Tempo Various Fretting-hand muting New Orleans funk vocabulary groove over which other instruments can

I
n this month’s second video masterclass
Shane Theriot demonstrates his
phenomenal New Orleans style funk
chops in a series of five exercises.
Hailing from Louisiana, not far from
new Orleans itself, Theriot is a master
guitarist, instructor and producer. A
graduate of GIT in Los Angeles he has
worked with many A-list artists, including
The Neville Brothers, Hall & Oates, Boz
Scaggs, Willie Nelson and many more, and is
Musical Director of the hit TV show, Live
From Daryl’s House, with Daryl Hall.
Theriot has also produced several
instructional books, such as New Orleans
Funk Guitar Styles, written for GT’s sister
magazine Guitar Player, and recorded
original albums under his own name,
including Still Motion (2017), Dirty Power
(2009), and The Grease Factor (2003).
The classic New Orleans style funk sound
can be heard from bands like The Meters,
Chocolate Milk and Dr John, and its
distinctive drum groove. This groove is
probably an expanded and built-upon
derivative of earlier musical rhythmic
overlay rhythmic and melodic phrases to
create the swampy funk feel.
Shane demonstrates how to achieve this
is in a variety of ways, first of which is in the
form of a 3-2 clavé rhythm played with a
popular C7 voicing for an E7 chord. This is a
two-bar syncopated groove which has three
distinct accents in the first bar, and two
accents in the second bar. This sits perfectly
with the drum pattern, and sounds amazing.
Expanding upon this, Shane next
incorporates an upper structure E7 on the
third, second and first strings, but building
in a single-note line on the fourth, fifth and

Here Shane is playing

the Melancon Pro
Artist, S-type guitar
that he used on
Examples 1-4

34 January 2023
 NEW ORLEANS FUNK GUITAR { SHANE THERIOT

Shane used a variety

of guitars for the GT
GREG VOROBIOV

lesson. Below is the

1959 Gibson ES-330 he
used on Example 5

and using an F Major triad (F-A-C) as a
passing chord. He also plays a funky
blues-style line after the triad part of the
groove in a ‘question and answer’ approach.
A groove in the key of A Minor follows
this, and here Shane employs a double-stop
pull-off technique as the main element and
adds a cool phaser effect to infuse the sound
with an even swampier flavour.
Finally, Shane shows us his epic sounding
approach to a I-IV-V 12-bar blues
“Be sure to study the video
progression over a Zydeco style groove
it’s essential to play the down and upstrokes
in the right place to get the flow, groove and
timing accurate (I’ve tried to indicate this as
much as possible in the music). Note how
relaxed Shane’s hand remains, and how he
separates the lower and upper strings in the
‘scratches’ or dead notes.
Feel and timing are crucial here, so aim to
stay ‘in the pocket’. Enjoy!
4
3 5 5 3

(Zydeco being a traditional Creole music

carefully, paying particular
attention to Shane’s
picking-hand approach”
sixth strings which adds interest and
movement to this one-chord groove, again
resulting in a fantastic sounding ‘skanky’
funk vibe.
Moving into the key of G Minor, Shane
demonstrates how to turn funky triads on
the first, second and third strings into a
groove by playing a G Minor triad (G-Bb-D)
born from jazz, blues, and indigenous native
GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB
American music). This is in the key of G,
using G7, C9 and D7 as a basic chordal
framework, but adding some interesting
harmonic extensions with a syncopated,
‘scratchy’ approach to mimic the percussive A clean tone is best for this style, preferably a
‘washboard’ instrument often found in three-pickup single-coil guitar which enables
the classic ‘in-between’ sounds on positions 2
traditional Zydeco music.
and 4. A humbucking guitar would also sound
Throughout all of these exercises, be sure great with both pickups on, but with the guitar
to study the video carefully, paying volume turned down enough to thin out the
particular attention to Shane’s technique in sound somewhat. A phaser or Univibe effect
both his hands, but especially his picking- would be the icing on the 70s funk cake!
hand approach. Keep your hand moving, as

TRACK RECORD Shane has four solo albums currently available: Still Motion (2017), Dirty Power (2009), The Grease Factor (2003), and
Highway 90 (2000). All of these showcase his amazing swampy, laid-back feel that’s perfect for New Orleans-style music. As well as being
MD on Live From Daryl’s House, Shane also plays guitar in the house band. Daryl has some great acts on the show, so do give it a watch.

January 2023 35
 FEATURE } VIDEO MASTERCLASS VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 1 E7 WITH 3-2 CLAVE

Ensure you use your fretting-hand fingers to mute out the sixth and first strings when fretting the E7 chord, and lift off quickly for the staccato effect. Although it’s
not essential to only play the sixth and fifth strings on the scratches on beats 3 and 1 of the various bars, aim to separate the lower strings from the upper ones.

©»¡§º
œœœ ¿¿¿ ¿¿¿ œœ œœœ. œœ. ¿¿¿ œœ œœœ ¿ ¿ ¿¿ œœ œœ. œœœ. ¿ ¿¿ œœœ. ¿ ¿¿ œœœ
E7 D

### 4 ∑
& 4 œ. ¿ ¿ . ¿¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ. ¿¿ ¿ œ
-œ ¿ ¿
PLAY
¿ ¿ ¿ œ. ¿ ¿
E X X X X X X X
B 5 X X 5 5 5 X 5 5 X X 5 5 5 X 5 X 7
G 7 X X 7 7 7 X 7 7 X X 7 7 7 X 7 X 7
VIDEO D 6 X X 6 6 X 6 X X 6 6 6 X 6 X 7
A 7 X X X X 7 X X X
0
≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥X ≤ ≥ X X X X X
≥X X≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤
E
1
≥≤ ≥ ≥≤ ≥≤ ≥≤ ≥≤ ≥≤ ≥
#

C # D E7

# # # # œœ œœ n œœ œœ ¿ ¿ œœ. ¿¿ œœ œœ. ¿¿ ¿¿ œœ. œœ. œœ ¿¿ Œ Ó

& œ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ ¿¿ œ. ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œœœœ
¿ ¿ ¿¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ
E X X X X X
B 6 7 5 5 X 5 X 5 5 X X 5 5 5 X
G 6 7 7 7 X 7 X 7 7 X X 7 7 7 X
D 6 7 6 6 X 6 X 6 6 X X 6 6 6 X 6
A X X 7 X X X X X X X 5 7
E X X X X X X X X 7 0
5
≥ ≤ ≥≤≥ ≤ ≥ ≤≥ ≥≤ ≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≥≤ ≥≤ ≥ ≥≤≥ ≤ ≥≤ ≥≤ ≥

EXAMPLE 2 E7 WITH 3-2 CLAVE V2

Bars 1, 3, 5 & 7: Check Shane’s fingering here, as you need to leave your fretting-hand fourth finger down on the third string on beat ‘3 and’. Lightly touch the heel of
your picking hand on the lower strings to get the palm muting where indicated, but don’t anchor it down as you need to maintain the flow.

Ex 2 E7 with 3-2 Clave v2

# œ œœ. ¿j¿ œ # œ œœ. ¿j¿ œ

# #
©»¡§º D 7 E7 D 7 E7
PLAY
### 4 # œœ n œ ‰ ¿ œ œ œ # œœ n œ ‰ ¿ œ
& 4 ∑ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ nœ #œ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿¿ œ œ ¿¿ ¿ œ ¿
œ
PM PM PM PM PM

VIDEO E 6 7 X 6 7 X
B 4 5 X 4 5 X
G 6 7 X 7 7 6 7 X 7
D X 5 6 X X
A 5 X 7 5 5 X 5 X X 5 X 5
E 7 7 7 7 X 7 0 X X
1
≥ ≤ ≤ ≥≤≥≤ ≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≤≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥≤≥≤ ≥≤≥≤ ≥≤≥≤
≥ ≤ ≤ ≥≤≥≤ ≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≤≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥≤≥≤ ≥≤≥≤ ≥≤≥≤
#
. j œœ. ¿ œ.
#
# # # # #œœœ n œœœ ‰ ¿ ¿ œ œ
D 7 E7 D 7 E7
# œ
# œ ¿ œ œœœ
& ¿¿ ¿ œ nœ#œ œ ¿ ¿ Œ Ó
œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ ¿ n œ œ œœ
PM PM PM PM PM
E 6 7 X 6 7
B 4 5 X 4 5 X 5
G 6 7 X 7 X 7 7 7
D X X 5 6 X 2
A 5 X 5 5 X X 5 X 2
E 7 X X 7 X 7 0 X 3 0
5
≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤≥≤ ≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≤≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥≤ ≥≤ ≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≥
36 January 2023
 NEW ORLEANS FUNK GUITAR { SHANE THERIOT

EXAMPLE 3 GM-F GROOVE

Use a combination of your fretting-hand thumb and fingers to mute unwanted strings throughout this exercise as the picking hand maintains a free flow. This can be
especially tricky when trying to only play single strings, so listen carefully to yourself when playing.

©»¡•º Gm
¿¿ œœœ œœœ œœ ¿¿ ¿¿
F Gm
~~ œœ œ œœ ¿¿ ¿¿
F
¿¿ ¿¿
Gm

b 4 œ
1/4

&b 4 ¿ ‰ J ‰ J ¿ ¿ œ œ œœ œ
œ‰œ‰J ¿ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ ¿
.
∑
PLAY ¿ ¿ œœ œ J

E 6 5 3
~~ 3 1 3 X X
1/4
X X
B X 8 6 3 X X 3 1 3 X X 3 X X
G X 7 5 X X 3 2 X X 3 X X
D X X X 3 5 3 5 3 5
A
VIDEO 3 3 3
E X X
1
≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≥≤≥≤ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≤
Dm

b œœ ...
Gm
œœ Fœœ Gœm ~~ œœ œ œœ j
F Gm C Gm

b
& œ œ ‰ J ‰ œ ‰ ¿¿¿ œ ‰ œœ ‰ J ‰ n œ œ œ n œœ b œœ ¿¿ ¿¿
J J œ œ œ œ
J . œ œ œ J

E 1 6 5 3
~~ 3 1 3
B 3 8 6 3 X 3 1 3 0 5 3 X X
G 2 7 X 3 2 5 3 X X
D X 3 5 3 5 3 5
A

≥3 3≤ ≥3 ≤
E
5
≥ ≤ ≤ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤
œœ œœ œ
Dm Gm F Gm F Gm C Gm

b œœœ .. œ ‰ J ‰ œ ‰ ¿¿¿ œ~~ œ œœ œ œœ

œ j nœ œ
& b . J J œ. œ œ ‰ ‰
œ J
J
‰ n œ œ œ œ bœ Œ Ó
J œœ œ œœ œ
E 1 6 5 3
~~ 3 1 3
B 3 8 6 3 X 3 1 3 0 5 3
G 2 7 X 3 2 5 3
D X 3 5 3 5 3 5
A

≥3 3≤ ≥3 ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥3 3≤ ≥3
E
9
≥ ≤ ≤ ≤ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≤ ≤ ≥
Shane live on stage with a
Hamer T-style guitar
CLAYTON CALL/REDFERNS/ GETTY

January 2023 37
 FEATURE } VIDEO MASTERCLASS VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 4 A MINOR GROOVE

This exercise uses the same kind of picking-hand free flow approach as Ex 3, with the double-stop pull-off on the second and third strings as the main feature. Make
sure this is pulled off and hammered back on accurately and in time. Be particularly careful with your strumming accuracy by missing the lower strings when playing
the upper strings, even when executing the percussive scratches between notes.

_ 3_
©»ª∞ ¿¿ œœ œœ œœœ ¿¿¿ . . œœ œ œœ œœœ ¿¿¿ . ⋲ . ¿¿ œœ œ œœ~~~~œœ œœ œ œœ œœœ ¿¿¿ . ⋲ . ¿¿
l l Am
q q =e x
PLAY & 44 ∑ ¿ œœ œ⋲œ œ œ œ¿ œ œ œ œ¿
œ. œœœœ œœœ œ¿ œœœ
With phaser

E 5 X 5 X
~~~~
~ 5 X
B X 5 0 5 5 X 5 0 5 5 X X 5 0 5 5 0 5 5 X X
G X 5 0 5 5 X 5 0 5 5 X X 5 0 5 5 0 5 5 X X
VIDEO D X 5 7 5 7 X 5 7 X
A
5 5 5 5 5
≤ ≥ ≤ ≤ ≥ 5≤ ≥5 5≤ ≥ 5 X 5 5 5
E
1
≥ ≤≥ ≤ ≥≤ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤≥ ≤ ≥≤ ≤ ≥≤ ≥ ≤

~~
œœ œ œœ œœ ¿¿ . ⋲ œ. ¿¿ œ
¿ ¿¿ . . ¿ ¿¿ .
œœ œ œœ œœœ ¿ ⋲ œ ¿¿ œœ œ œœ œœœ ¿ ⋲ œ. ¿¿¿ œœ œ œœ
1/4 1/4

& œ œ ¿œœœ œ œ œ œ œ
nœ œ œœœœ œœœ œœœ
E X 5 X 5 X
~~
1/4 1/4
B 5 0 5 5 X X 5 0 5 5 X X 5 0 5 5 X X 5 0 5
G 5 0 5 5 X X 5 5 0 5 5 X X 5 0 5 5 X X 5 0 5
D 5 7 X 5 5 7 X 5 7 X
A 5 7 3 3
E 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
4
≥ ≤ ≥≤ ≤ ≥≤ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≥≤ ≥≤≥ ≤ ≥≤ ≤ ≥≤≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≥≤ ≤ ≥≤ ≥ ≤ ≥

~~
œ œœ œ œœ œœ ¿¿¿ . ⋲ œ. ¿¿¿ œœ œ œœ œœ ¿¿¿ . ⋲ œ. ¿¿ œ
& œ œ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ œj œ œ Œ Ó
œ¿ œœœ œ œ œ.
E
~~ X X
B 5 0 5 5 X X 5 0 5 5 X X
G 5 0 5 5 X X 5 0 5 5 X X 7
D X 5 7 X 5 7 X 5
A 5 7 7 5 3

≥5 ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ 5≤ ≥5 5≤ ≥ ≥5 3≤ ≥5
E
7
≤ ≥≤ ≤ ≥≤ ≤ ≥≤ ≤ ≥

EXAMPLE 5 ZYDECO GROOVE IN G

An alternate picking approach is used throughout this detailed and vibrant groove with the heel of the picking hand mainly resting lightly on the strings around the
bridge area to target appropriate strings. Keep the fretting hand ‘choppy’, lifting off quickly between notes and scratches. Practise slowly to get the coordination
right between the two hands. Above all with this style of playing, it’s vital to stay loose and not rush ahead - as the saying goes ‘keep in the pocket!’

©»¡•º G7

# 4 n œ.œ nœ n œ. œ nœ
œ œ
& 4 œœ b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. ¿ œœ . b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. ¿ œœ b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. ¿ œœ . b œ n œ œœ ¿ œœ. ¿
œ œ œ œ œ œ
PLAY ∑
. . . .
E 3 3
B 6 6 6 6
VIDEO G 4 4
D 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
A 5 5 X 7 X 5 5 X 7 X 5 5 X 7 X 5 5 X 7 X
E 3 6 7 3 6 7 3 6 7 3 6 7
1

38 January 2023
 NEW ORLEANS FUNK GUITAR { SHANE THERIOT

EXAMPLE 5 ZYDECO GROOVE IN G

C9 G7

# nœ n œ. œ
& œœ b œœ. b œ n œ œœ ¿ œœ. ¿ œœ b œœ. b œ n œ œœ ¿ œœ. œ. œ œ œ œ
. . œ
œ œ. b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. œ œœ b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. œ
.
E 3
B 3 3 6 6
G 3 5 5 3 5 5 4
D 5 5 X 7 X 5 5 X 7 5 5 5 5 0
A 3 6 7 3 6 7 5 5 X 7 5 5 X 7
E 0 3 6 7 0 3 6 7
5

D7 F7 F #7 G7

# œœ œœ n œ. œ nœ
œ.
& œ œ #œ œ œ b œ n œ œœ ¿ œœ. œ œ
œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ bn œœ œœ n # œœ œœ œ.
œ
œ. b œ n œ œ ¿ œ.
œ
E 3
B 3 6 6
G 2 2 2 3 3 4
D 0 1 1 2 2 5 5 5 5
A 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 5 X 7 5 5 X 7
E 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 6 7 3 6 7 0
9

G7

# n œ. œ n œ. œ n œ.œ n œ. œ
& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œœ b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. œ œœ b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. œ œœ b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. œ œœ b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. œ
. . . .
E 3 3 3 3
B 6 6 6 6
G
D 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
A 5 5 X 7 5 5 X 7 5 5 X 7 5 5 X 7 0
E 3 6 7 0 3 6 7 0 3 6 7 0 3 6 7
13

C9 G7

# œ œ n œ.œ n œœœ
& œœ b œ. b œ n œ œœ ¿ œœ. œœ b œ. b œ n œ œœ ¿ œœ. œ œ . b œ n œ œœ ¿ œœ. ¿
. . œ
œ. b œ n œ œ ¿ œ. œ
œ.
œ œ
E 3 3
B 3 3 6 6
G 3 5 5 3 5 5 4
D 5 5 X 7 5 5 X 7 5 5 5 5
A 3 6 7 3 6 7 5 5 X 7 5 5 X 7 X
E 0 3 6 7 0 3 6 7
17

D7 A7 F7 F 7 # G7
#
1/4

& œ # œœ œ œ #œ œ œœ œ œ œ Œ Ó
œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ bn œœ œœ n # œœ œœ œ œ b œ n œ ¿
1/4
E
B
G 6 2 2 3 3
D 10 5 1 1 2 2 5 5
A 5 5 7
E 10 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 6 7 X
21

January 2023 39
 FEATURE } BLUES-JAZZ
THE CROSSROADS
For this month’s blues meets jazz Crossroads, John Wheatcroft
shows how to create ultra-modern sounding Pentatonic lines with
wide intervals, courtesy of this mighty American jazz guitarist.
ABILITY RATING
Info https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Will improve your… Intervallic phrasing
Key B b Tempo 140bpm Application of Pentatonics
J
oe Diorio was a staggering jazz guitar
player who for well over 50 years
enjoyed a successful career, with
worldwide renown, as both a
performer and educator. He played
and recorded with jazz heavyweights such as
Sonny Stitt, Eddie Harris, Stan Getz and
Freddie Hubbard, participated in fruitful
collaborations with guitarists such as Pat
Metheny, Robben Ford and Mick Goodrick,
and was one of founding tutors that created
TECHNIQUE FOCUS
Rolling fingers and crossing
strings
It’s easy to see 4ths on the guitar, given that in
regular tuning all the strings are a 4th apart with just
one exception (G-B = Maj 3rd). While this positional
logic can be beneficial, the location of multiple
notes at the same fret can present us with a couple
of issues with fingering and picking. The challenge
that both of these areas present comes from the
abundance of one-note-per-string patterns, where
often each pair of notes is found at the same fret on
different strings. These should ideally be fingered
with the same digit, rolling from string to string,
exerting pressure only when each note is required
to produce an articulate and distinctly separate and
independent sound for each note, rather than a
mini chord. Consider also how you might approach
the picking. Alternate, mini-sweeps, and even
hybrid picking and fingerstyle have their pros and
cons. Joe generally used‘economy’or‘directional’
picking when notes were found on adjacent strings,
meaning that the pick goes straight to the next
string so all changes to a thinner string happen with
a downstroke and the opposite applies to any bass
string switch. The caveat to this is when skipping
multiple strings or changing direction mid-stream.
There is an added security to jumping over your
chosen string, striking on the way back, effectively
the exact opposite to directional picking. It’s a very
personal choice, so I’ll leave this to you to peruse the
various options and necessary compromises.
40 January 2023
Joe Diorio
Moderate/Advanced ✪
String crossing articulation
the now legendary Guitar Institute of
Technology (GIT) in Hollywood, alongside
legendary performer and educators, Howard
Roberts and Tommy Tedesco.
Joe’s playing was a beautiful blend of
both traditional and modern jazz sounds and
beyond. While it’s clearly evident that he
paid his dues, assimilating the vocabulary of
jazz greats such as Django Reinhardt, Benny
Goodman, Charlie Parker and countless
more, there was a searching and unique
“These wide intervals
make you sound more
contemporary or ‘outside’.
It’s good for your technique
and your ear.” Joe Diorio
intervallic side to his playing, inspired in
part by his time spent working with avant
garde artists such as Sonny Stitt and also by
his time spent analysing the ground-
breaking style and vocabulary of John
Coltrane in significant depth. Perhaps,
however, the true catalyst here was in
discovering and immersing himself in the
study of Nicolas Slonimsky’s Thesaurus Of
Scales And Melodic Patterns, at the
suggestion the fellow forward-thinking
saxophonist Eddie Harris. As Diorio stated
himself, ‘I pulled it out and started learning,
and that really threw my head, because it
helps you to hear better all kinds of weird
fast stuff’.
Joe frequently employed Pentatonic ideas
in his playing, although rather like later-era
John Coltrane, he was able to use these tools
in a more intervallic way. While these
five-note groupings sounds fantastic and
work incredibly well in a blues context,
VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP
something that Joe was well aware of and
✪✪✪✪
more than capable of demonstrating, they
can also be used to create more modern,
open and harmonically less explicit sounds
when the notes are arranged differently. Joe
did this by using skips and leaps and relying
less upon cadences to strong chord tones,
highlighting more of the upper extensions.
He was also acutely aware of the power of
using what I like to call ‘familiar ideas in
unfamiliar places’, creating new sounds by
positioning Pentatonic lines from locations
other than the root of the underlying chord.
The musical examples that follow explore
each of these concepts, using intervallic
leaps and juxtaposing these ideas against
different harmonic situations by
superimposing phrases to locations other
than the root. We begin with a classic Diorio
I-VI-II-V-I phrase in Bb, continue by
exploring some ideas to develop intervallic
vocabulary. Next we explore the
superimposition concept by transposing the
same idea against a variety of chord types
originating from the same root note. Next we
look at a selection of bluesy ideas from a
range of other legendary players using
similar intervallic ideas in their playing,
before rounding this study off with a
cohesive solo based around a 12-bar
jazz-blues, again in the key of Bb.
6
5 5
3 3
GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB
Joe favoured a full-bodied traditional jazz guitar,
most often using a Gibson ES-175 and his tone was
balanced although quite bright. So don’t feel that
you have to roll the treble down too much, if at all.
The ideas presented in this lesson will work with
any sound and any guitar so feel free to explore. On
the audio examples I used my Benedetto Bravo into
a super-clean jazz setting via a Line 6 Helix, with
flatwound strings but the tone wide open.
 JOE DIORIO { THE CROSSROADS

Joe Diorio was a

legend in the fields
of both playing and
music education
ANDREW LEPLEY/REDFERNS

TRACK RECORD Diorio’s debut release, Solo Guitar showcases some stunning playing. Also great are The Joe Diorio Trio: Live, and his
collaboration with guitarist David Becker on The Colour Of Sound. Joe is equally well known for his academic output and we’d recommend
his book Intervallic Designs For Jazz Guitar (REH 1978). His tuition DVD, Creative Jazz Guitar (REH 1989) is equally valuable so get hunting.

January 2023 41
 FEATURE } BLUES-JAZZ VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 1 I-V- II-V-I EXAMPLE PHRASE CD TRACK ??

Each bar in our opening Joe Diorio example is derived from a superimposed Ab), Cm7 = G Minor Pent (G-Bb-C-D-F), F7alt = Ab Minor Pent (Ab-Cb-Db-Eb-Gb). We’d
Minor Pentatonic scale, juxtaposed against a I-VI-II-V-I progression in the key suggest you do an intervallic comparison to establish why these choices work so
of Bb, namely Bbmaj7, G7alt, Cm7, F7alt. These superimpositions break down as well. Plus, each phrase is built from relatively widely spaced intervals, so there is
follows: Bbmaj7 = D Minor Pent. (D-F-G-A-C), G7alt = Bb Minor Pent (Bb-Db-Eb-F- quite a lot to get both your ears and your fingers around here.

b
©»¡¢º Swing B maj7
œ œJ
G7a l t
œ œ œ
b
3
4 ‰ œj ‰ œ œ œ
&b 4 ∑ ‰ œ œ
œ œ bœ
(D minor pent)
PLAY
E 8 6
B 8 6 4
G 5 7 3
D 5 3
A 8 6
E 6 4
1

b
bœ bœ bœ nœ œ œ bœ œ
C m7 F 7a lt B maj7

b œ œ œ
3
œ
&b ‰ œ Œ Ó
BACKING
j œ œ
œ œ b
(A minor pent)
(G minor pent)

E 1 6 4 9 7 4
B 1 7 4 7 8
G 3 0 6
D 3
A 3
E 3
3

EXAMPLE 2 COMMON INTERVALLIC PATTERNS

Next we look at various intervallic patterns, here mostly derived from a single have these ideas down, break them into smaller fragments, mix up the rhythms
fingering of Bb Major Pentatonic (Bb-C-D-F-A). You should explore all your or change direction here and there. Also work on combining these intervallic
positional options and in time transpose these through every key. Once you ideas with more conventional Pentatonic blues and/or jazz phrasing.

2a) 4ths/3rds

©»¡¢º Straight B b 6/ 9

b œœœ œœœœœœœœ œ œ
& b 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
∑
PLAY
œ

E 6
B 6 8 6 8 6
G 5 7 5 7 7 5 7 5
D 5 8 5 8 8 5 8 5
A 5 8 5 8 8 5 8
E 6 8 8
1

2b) 5ths/6ths
B b 6/ 9
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œœœ œœœœœ œ œ
& bb œ œ
œ œ œœ œ œ
œ œ œ œœ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ

E 6 6
B 6 8 8 6
G 5 7 5 7 7 5 7 5
D 5 8 5 8 8 5 8 5
A 8 5 8 8 5 8
E 6 8 8 6
5

2c) 4th/3rd stacks

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
B b 6/ 9

b ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ
&b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Ó
œ œ œ
E 6 8 6
B 6 8 6 8
G 5 7 5 7 5 7
D 5 8 5 8 5 8
A 5 8 5 8
E 6 8
10

42 January 2023
 JOE DIORIO { THE CROSSROADS

EXAMPLE 2 CONTINUED… CD TRACK ??

2d) 5th/6th stacks

œ œ
b
b ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
B 6/ 9
œ œ œ ˙
œ œ œ œ
&b œ œ œ œ Ó
3 3 3 3

œ œ œ œ
œ 3 3

E 6 8 6
B 6 8 6
G 5 7 5 7
D 5 8 5 8
A 8 5 8
E 6 8
15

œ œ œ ˙
2e) Extended 4th stack
b
B 6/ 9
œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ
b ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ
&b œ
œ œ œ œ œ Ó
œ œ
E 6 13 18 15
B 6 13 18
G 3 5 10 12 15 17
D 3 5 10 12 15 17
A 3 10 15
E 3 10 15
20

2f) Extended 5th stack

œ œ œ œ
B 6/ 9

œ œ œ œ œ œ
& bb ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
œ œ œ œ
œ œ
E 10 10
B 8 8 8 8
G 5 5
D 10 10
A 8 8 8 8
E 6 6
25

The music of Django

Reinhardt and Stephane
Grappelli was influential
to Joe Diorio’s
development
BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

January 2023 43
 FEATURE } BLUES-JAZZ VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 3 SUPERIMPOSED DIORIO PHRASE CD TRACK ??

Here’s how Joe superimposes a Lydian sounding (R-2-3-#4-5-6-7) Major 7th
phrase based around perfect 5th intervals against a range of different chords,
initially by positioning Bbmaj7#5 from the root gf Bbmaj7, then Abmaj7#5 from
the b7 of Bb11, then Dbmaj7#11 from the m3rd of Bbm11 then Fbmaj7#11 from the
b5th of Bbm7b5 (enharmonically the same as Emaj7#11). For the final example
we modify the notes to give us Dmaj7 Lydian Augmented (#11, #5) against
Bb7alt, which works perfectly as all the notes are present in the harmonically
appropriate B Melodic Minor scale (B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A#), which when used
against a Bb7 gives us all the relevant intervals for a Dominant 7th chord with
raised and/or lowered 2nds and 5ths.

©»¡¢º Swing B bmaj 7

œ œ œ œ
3 3
b n œ n œ
& b 44 ‰ œ œ ‰ J œ œ œ œ
3 3
j œ œ
œ nœ œ œ nœ œ
∑
3
3
PLAY (B b major # 11 idea)
E 8 8
B 6 6
G 7 9 9 7
D 5 7 7 5
A 7 8 8 7
E 5 6 6 5
1

B b11
BACKING
œ œ œ
bb ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ
3 3

& ‰ œ œ
3
‰ J œ
œ œ œ œ
3
j œ œ œ
œ bœ 3 bœ œ œ
(A b major # 11 idea)
3

E 6 6
B 4 4
G 5 7 7 5
D 3 5 5 3
A 5 6 6 5
E 3 4 4 3
3

B bm11 œ œ
b ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ bœ bœ œ œ
‰ J œ œ bœ
3

&b ‰ œ
3
j bœ
œ œ bœ 3
3 3
bœ œ œ
(D b major # 11 idea)
3

E 11 11
B 9 9
G 10 12 12 10
D 8 10 10 8
A 10 11 11 10
E 8 9 9 8
6

B bm7 b 5
bœ bœ
b ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
3
b œ bœ œ œ bœ J
bœ œ bœ
œ b œ
3

& b ‰ j œ bœ ‰ bœ œ
œ bœ bœ œ
3 3 3 3
(F b major # 11 idea) (enharmonic = E)

E 14 14
B 12 12
G 13 15 15 13
D 11 13 13 11
A 13 14 14 13
E 11 12 12 11
9

B b7a l t #œ #œ
b ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ #œ #œ #œ #œ #œ
‰ j #œ #œ nœ #œ #œ ‰ J #œ nœ #œ
3

&b
3

#œ œ 3 3
œ #œ #œ
3 3
(D Lydian Augmented/B Melodic Minor idea)
E 14 14
B 11 11
G 11 13 13 11
D 9 11 11 9
A 11 13 13 11
E 9 10 10 9
12

44 January 2023
 JOE DIORIO { THE CROSSROADS

EXAMPLE 4 BLUESY INTERVALLIC IDEAS

This example features bluesy intervallic ideas coming from either Bb Minor
Pentatonic (Bb-Db-Eb-F-Ab) or it’s associated Blues scale with an additional
flattened 5th/raised 4th (Fb/E). These are all positioned against a harmonically
appropriate Bb7#9 chord (Bb-D-F-Ab-C#), which could be said to possess traces
of both major and minor combined, so be on the lookout for some of the minor
3rds to be bent slightly sharp to blur this distinction further. We begin with some
string-skipping blues scale action courtesy of John Scofield, moving through
a very Diorio-esque line using 4ths from Robben Ford. Our Steve Lukather
inspired phrase widens the interval to 5ths and the final Eric Johnson idea takes
this one further by stacking one pentatonic leap onto another.

©»¡¢º Shuffle B b7 # 9
œ bœ bœ œ œ œ n œ b œ ~~~~ œ ' ~~~~
/ 14

b bœ œ
& b 44
bœ œ œ
∑ œ œ Œ
3 3 3 3

PLAY
E
B
6 9 9 6
6 9
~~~~ 6
'
1/4
~~~~
G 9 9 6 6 8 6
D 8
A 8
E
1

bœ œ œ œ '
4b) Robben Ford
1/4
B b7 # 9
BACKING
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ bœ b œ
b œ œ bœ œ œ œ bœ œ œ
œ J
&b Œ

'
3 3 3 3
3 3
1/4

E 6 9 11 9
B 6 9 6 9 11
G 8 6 8 6 8 10
D 8 6 8
A
E
3

4c) Steve Lukather

œ ~~~~
œ
B b7 # 9
œ bœ œ œ
b ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ j œ
&b j3 œ bœ œ œ œ J J
3
j J
œ œ œ
3
J
3
3 3 3

E 11 13
~~~~
B 11 9 11
G 8 10 8
D 8 6 8
A 8 6
E 6
6

b œ ~~~~~~
4d) Eric Johnson
B b7 # 9 3
bœ ˙
b ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ‰ œ œ
3

& b œ
bœ b œ œ ‰ œj œ œ
bœ
œ bœ
3 3
3

E 9
~~~~~~
B 6 9
G 6 8 10
D 6 8 11 8
A 8 6 8
E 6 9
9

WE’LL MAKE YOU A BETTER PLAYER!

January 2023 45
 FEATURE } BLUES-JAZZ VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 5 12-BAR INTERVALLIC SOLO

We end with a solo for a 12-bar jazz-blues in Bb, full of ideas inspired by
Diorio’s style and employing intervallic leaps and superimposed Pentatonic
and arpeggio derived phrases. You’ll notice a balance of these modern ideas
interspersed with more traditional blues lines, exactly as Joe might play. Make
sure you consider the relationship between the notes and the chord symbols
above the music. It’s crucial that you are completely aware of the sequence
against which you are improvising, and at what point you are at in this sequence,
along with what is about to occur. Only then can you confidently draw from
your menu of concepts, phrases, improvisational tools, licks and lines, therefore
allowing you to play the right thing, in the right place, at the right time.

©»¡¢º Swing b
B 7 E 7 b B 7 b
b œ œ
‰ j œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ ‰ œ œ œ œ j
& b 44 ∑ bœ nœ œ œ bœ Œ ‰ j
PLAY
bœ œ nœ
E
B 4 8 6 4
G 5 3 5 6 8 6 5 6 7
D 5 8 8 7 6
A 5
E 4 0
1

BACKING b b
œ œ œ œ bœ
E 7 B 7
œ œœ
b b œ n œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ b œ œ Œ œ œ
3
œ
3
b bœ n œ œ ‰ œbœ
3 3
& œ œ
nœ bœ œ œ
3
bœ œ œ 3 3
3

E 8 6
B 8 6 6 8 6
G 6 7 8 6 5 6 5 7
D 5 6 9 6 8 5 8 8 5 5 6
A 5 8 5 8 5
E 7 4 4 8
4

b œ œ bœ œ
G 7a l t C m7 F 7a lt

b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ b œ b œ
b œ œ œ bœ bœ œ œ bœ œ
3

&b œ œœœœ Œ
3

bœ b œ b œ
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3

E 9 6 8 10 9 11
B 9 6 9 6 8 9
G 8 8 6 7 10 8 11
D 8 6 8 8 9
A 8 8 10 9 11
E 8 9
8

b b
bœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ bœ bœ bœ
B 7 G7 Cm7 F7 B 7

œ œ œ œ œ œ
b ‰ J
&b ‰ ‰ ‰ Ó
3 3 3 3 3 3

E 9 11 9 10 11 8 10 7 9 6 6
B 11 8 11 8 10 7 9 6
G 10 10
D
A
E
11

Love this magazine?

You’ll love guitarworld.com
46 January 2023
 CLASSICAL { FEATURE

MATTEO CARCASSI ON VIDEO

Etude No.23
This month Declan Zapala brings us this lively etude
from 19th century Florence. Full of animated arpeggios,
slurs and shifts it’s a great all-round technique-booster.
ABILITY RATING Moderate ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪✪ composing thousands of works, and one
would need several lifetimes in order to fully
Info https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Will improve your… Descending slurs
explore this ‘Renaissance’ of guitar music.
Key A Tempo 122bpm Extended cross-string arpeggiation Fretting-hand shift control
They composed pieces varying from basic

T
his month we return to the technical
treasure trove that is the 25 Progressive
Studies (Opus 60) by Florentine
composer Matteo Carcassi. In issue
GT331 we explored Study No.1 which
improved our confidence in dealing with a
continuous scale-based melody. This month
we explore Study No.23; equally fiery but
with the addition of melodies based around
descending slurs and complex cross-string
arpeggiation. The relative complexity within
each two-bar phrase means that every pair of
bars can almost be treated as its own
‘sub-etude’ when learning. Its structure is
ABCA so once small phrases are comfortable
the three main sections can be practised
separately. It is always useful to have a
practice strategy when picking up a new
piece, and mastering the material in this
order will see you make swift progress.
Carcassi is part of a family of core 19th
Century European guitar composers that
pioneered a pedagogical approach, such as
Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, Ferdinando
Carulli, Anton Diabelli, Napoléon Coste, and
Dionisio Aguado. They spent lifelong careers
‘first step’ miniatures, such as The Giuliani
120 Right Hand Studies Opus 1a, to complex
concert caprices and sonatinas. Two
centuries later and students of all levels are
still learning this wonderful music.
Carcassi was over a decade younger than
his contemporaries but in his 56 years he is
known to have written no less than 77 works
for the guitar; many of these feature multiple
pieces. For many guitar teachers (myself
included!) Carcassi’s 25 Etudes are a staple
for intermediate study. Etude 23 is excellent
for establishing a confident slur technique
across the fretboard. The extended cross-
string arpeggiated phrases, once secure,
open your hands to a wide range of advanced
repertoire. Achieving the weightless speed
required is particularly challenging in this
piece, so it is recommended to first build
proficiency and confidence in the
accompanying technical exercises, to help
speed up the learning. Good luck.

NEXT MONTH Declan arranges a rich and vibrant

version of Greensleeves for solo guitar.

TECHNIQUE FOCUS
Thumb’s The Word
All bass notes during section A are played as
open strings. While this might sound like good
news for your fretting hand it can leave us with
a ‘cloudy’ bass register since all the notes can
easily end up ringing over one another. To fix
this we must actively cut ringing bass notes
as early as possible after moving onto the
next bass note. Since the thumb is generally
not doing much in between plucking its bass
Matteo Carcassi notes it is recommended to also use it to cut
was one of a core of ringing bass notes. This approach is an added
influential composers
FLHC12 / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

challenge but the payoff is that you create a

of guitar works
tight-sounding, clearly defined texture.

TRACK RECORD Chanterelle published 25 Etudes Melodiques Progressives, op.60 which has an accompanying CD of all 25 etudes
beautifully performed by German guitarist Irina Kircher. It’s well worth checking out. British classical guitarist Graham Anthony Devine
recorded all 25 etudes for his YouTube channel, another great resource for hearing the etudes played at the highest level.

January 2023 47
 FEATURE } CLASSICAL VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

PLAYING TIPS
[Bars 1-10 and general] During the ascending pull-offs in bar 1 (among easily the next note can be plucked. When approaching pull-offs on the middle
others) focus on shifting the fretting hand from the arm in a straight motion four strings avoid sounding adjacent ones by visualising a ‘rest-stroke’ pull-off
as you ascend the positions, keeping the hand centred and avoiding any motion, so that you land on the adjacent string without actually sounding it. In
movement away from the fretboard from the pull-off motion. The closer the order to move through bar 2 with ease a particular picking-hand finger pattern
finger is to the fretboard immediately after a pull-off, the more swiftly and is required so go through Exercise1 on page 51 for a breakdown of this bar.

A E

©.»¡™™ bpm approx £ œ ¡œ £

# # # 12 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ¢œ œ # £œ ¡œ œ n™œ œ
& 8 ∑ œ œ œ
w.
PLAY
w.
E 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 9 0 0 12 10 0 2 0
B 2 12 4 3 0
G 13 1
D 2
A 0
E 0
VIDEO 1

œ œœ œœ œ œœ œ
A D E A

### œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ
& œ œ œ œ œ
˙ . ˙ . w.
EXAMPLES w.
E 0 2 4 5 0 1 2 0 4 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 9 0 0
B 2 3 0 2 3 0 2 3 4 3 0 2
G 1 2
D 0
A 0 0
E 0
3

E A D E A
£ œ ¡œ £
### œ ¢œ œ œ
œ #£œ ¡œ œ n™œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ Œ .
& œ œ ˙.
w. ˙. ˙. œ ‰ Œ.
E 12 10 0 2 0 0 2 4 5 0 1 2 2 0
B 12 4 3 0 2 3 0 2 3 3 0 2
G 13 1 1 2
D 2 0
A 0 0
E 0 0
6

E B7/F # B7/D # E A

œ #£œ ¢œ ¡œ œ œ ¢œ
¢ ™
### £œ £œ ¢œ
# £œ
& ¡ œ.œ œ £œ
œœ œ œ œ œ œ˙ . œ œ # œ œ œ £œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
™˙ Ó. ™#˙ . ˙.
˙.
E 0 4 7 5
B 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 2 4 6 7 7
G 1 2 1 2
D 2 4 7
A 6 0
E 0
9

B B7 E B7/F # B7/D #
# # œ # ¢œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ £œ ¢ ¢œ
# œ n œ ¡ œ˙ . œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
£
& #
£
œ œ ¡ œ˙ . œ œ # œ œ œ £œ œ œ œ œ
˙. Ó. £ £ ™ Ó. £ ™ #˙ .

E 0 2 0
B 4 4 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 7 0 0
G 3 2 1 2
D 2 4 7
A 2 6
E
12

48 January 2023
 ETUDE NO.23 { MATTEO CARCASSI

PLAYING TIPS
[Bars 10-20] Make the chord shift in bar 10 easier by keeping the third finger
in contact with the fourth string and shifting it from the 4th fret (F#) of the first
chord up to the 7th fret (A) of the second chord. Similarly, in bar 11 shift the
third finger up from the 4th fret (D# )to the 6th fret (E#) masking the shift with
an open E - this makes for a majestic-sounding shift that looks and feels secure.
In bar 12 try hingeing the back of the first finger into the 2nd-fret F# on the
third quaver of the bar - this allows you to more easily sustain the bass B with
the tip of the finger throughout the bar. In the original manuscript Carcassi
actually had this B bass note marked as only lasting for a crotchet so don’t
stress about holding the note throughout the bar if it is too challenging.

¢œ ™ ™ ™
¡œ œ ¢œ œ œ œ œ ¡œ œ ¢œ
E A B E C
¡ ¢œ ™
### ¡œ # £œ œ #£œ ¢œ œ œ ¢œ œ#œ œ œ œ n n
œ œ œ n £ œ˙ .
™
& œœœ œ œ œœ Ó.
˙. ˙. ˙.
œ ‰ Œ .
E 0 4 7 5 0 0 0 0 12 10 8 7 8
B 0 2 4 6 7 7 4 2 0 0 8 8 10 8 8 10
G 1 2 2 1 9
D 4 2 10
A 0 2
E 0 0
15
a m i m i m i m a i m i

œ œ œ œ œ
G7/B G7 C G7/B G7

£œ œ œ œ œ œ £œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ˙ . œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& ™ ˙ . ™˙ . ˙ . ˙.
Ó.

E 12 10 8 7 8
B 8 8 10 8 8 8 8 10 8 8 8 8 10 8 8 10 8 8 10 8 8 8 8 10 8 8
G 10 10 9 10 10
D 9 10 9
A 10 10
E
18

C E 7/B Am E /G # Am D dim7 B7/D #

™œ ¡œ œ ¢œ œ œ ¡œ .#£œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& £˙. ™˙
œ
‰ Œ . # œ˙ .
œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ
˙. œ . #œ .

E 4 4 5 4 4 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 8 10 8 8 1 1 2 2
B 8 8 10 8 8 3 0 0
G 9 4 5 1 9 2
D 10 0 1
A 0
E
21

#
E
œ E7 Am Ddim7 B7/D E
œ E7

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™¡ œœ . œ œ ¡ œœ . œ œ œ œ œ œ ™œ œ £ œ #¢œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™¡ œœ . œ œ
& # œœ ™ œ . ¡ #œ . # œ
œ ‰ Œ.
‰ Œ. Œ. œ. Œ.
E 0 0 1 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 12 0 0 0 0
B 3 1 1 0 3
G 1 4 2 2 1 4
D 2 0 1 2
A 0
E
24

#
A dim Am Em B7/F # E

œ œ n™œ œ œ œ œ œ ¡ # ¢œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& # #£ œœ .
™
£n œ . œ. œœ # œœ . œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ
‰ Œ . Œ . Œ . œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ
™

E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
B 2 1 0 4 4 0
G 3 2 0 2 1 1
D 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2
A 2
E 0 0 1 0 0 0 4
27

January 2023 49
 FEATURE } CLASSICAL VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

PLAYING TIPS
[Bars 21 to end] In bar 21 after the first chord keep you first and second finger pattern for this is ‘p’ and ‘i’ for the chord followed by ‘m’ then ‘a’ for the
fingers on the second and third strings while shifting down to the second two high notes - a small amount of practice of that pattern as open strings will
chord of the bar - this turns what would be a gruelling acrobatic change into a quickly see the pattern become natural under the fingers. Watch out for the
more relaxed affair. When confronted with a two-note chord followed by two key change at bar 17! This is a challenging piece so take it in chunks, follow the
notes on a higher string in repeated succession (as throughout bar 27) the examples below and you’ll soon be mastering it!

A E
œœ œ £ œ ¡œ £
# œ
œ œœ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ # ¢œ œ # £œ # ¡œ œ n™œ œ
& #œ #œ œ
w. w.
E 0 0 0 2 0 0 12 10 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 9 0 0 12 10 0 2 0
B 12 3 2 12 4 3 0
G 13 13 1
D 2
A 0
E 0
30

#œ
A D E A

# œ œ œ #œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ # œ œ # œ n œ #œ #œ œ nœ # œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& ˙ . #œ œ œ œ
˙ . w.
w.
E 0 2 4 5 0 1 2 0 4 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 9 0 0
B 2 3 0 2 3 0 2 3 4 3 0 2
G 1 2
D 0
A 0 0
E 0
33

E A D E A
£ œ ¡œ £ ¢
œ #œ
œ #£œ # ¡œ œ n™œ œ # œ œ œ #œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ #œ nœ œ œ #œ ‰ Œ .
œ
& #œ œ n˙ . # œ
w. ˙. n˙ . œ ‰ Œ.
E 12 10 0 2 0 0 2 4 5 0 1 2 2 0
B 12 4 3 0 2 3 0 2 3 3 0 2
G 13 1 1 2
D 2 0
A 0 0
E 0 0
36

EXERCISE ONE
This exercise is simply bar 2 broken in half so that we can take time to practise
the descending shift separately to the slur-based melody surrounding it. Once
the third fingerlands on the 12th-fret B keep it in contact during the G# that
follows before sliding it down to the 4th-fret D# during the open E chord. This
should make the shift feel more instinctive. The fretting hand must feel light so
as to achieve consistent and rhythmic slurs; tension can cause them to be too
fast or too slow. To help build consistency practise this exercise nice and slowly
and consciously feel the fret hand lighten a little before executing each slur.

©.»¡º™ approx E
Fast

©.»∞™ approx £ œ ¡œ £œ ¢ j œ nœ œ j
Slow

# # # 12 œ œ #£˙ . œ œ #œ. j
& 8 œ #œ œ œ nœ œ œ # £œ
J œ. œ J
w. w.
E 12 10 0 12 10 0 2 0
B 12 4 12 4 4 3 0 4
G 13 13 1
D 2
A
E 0 0
1 a m i a m a m i a m m a m i p m
p p

50 January 2023
 ETUDE NO.23 { MATTEO CARCASSI

EXERCISE ONE CONTINUED…

£œ ¡œ £
# # # ¡œ œ n ™œ œ ¢œ œ # £œ ¡œ œ n™œ œ
& œ œ £w.
J ˙. ¡ œ ™œ
w. w.
E 2 0 12 10 0 2 0
B 3 0 12 4 3 0 2
G 1 13 1
D 2 2
A 0
E 0
4 a m i p a m i a m a m i p m
p p

EXERCISE TWO
In this exercise we explore extending an arpeggio beyond a four-string
p-i-m-a pattern. To achieve the extra 5th note on top we will be reaching up
with the ‘i’ finger. It is recommended to get a feel for the different iterations
of this finger pattern first by practising them on the open strings, as learning
them alongside the chords and the chord shifts can be a bit of a juggling act.
Shifting between chords is simple in this exercise as there is always a common
finger between each chord (also known as an anchor finger) that you can
slide up or down on. Depending on your experience this exercise is also an
opportunity to familiarise yourself with a 12/8 time signature (you should feel
your pulse beat on the first of every three quavers).

©.»¡¡§ approx
Fast

©.»∞™ approx E
Slow
B /E E

# # # 12 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& 8 ™œ ¡œ œ œ œ £ œ ¡ œ œ œ œ £œ ¡
œ
w. œ. w. œ. w. œ.
E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B 0 0 0 0 0 0
G 1 1 2 2 4 4
D 2 2 4 4 6 6
A
E 0 0 0 0 0 0
1
i m a i m i a m i p i m a i m i a m i p i m a i m i a m i p
p p p

###
A/E E B/E

& ™œ
¡œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ¡œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ¡œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
™œ œ £
w. œ. ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙.
E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G 6 6 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
D 7 7 2 2 4 4
A
E 0 0 0 0 0 0
4
i m a i m i a m i p i m a i a m i m a i a m i m a i a m i m a i a m
p p p p p

E A/E E B /E E

### ¡ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& £ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ œ ¡ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ¡œ œ œ œ£ œ ¡œ œ œ œ £ œ ¡ œ œ œ œ
˙. ˙. ˙. ˙.
™
˙. ˙. ˙. ™ ˙˙ ..

E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 1 1 2 2 1 1
D 6 6 7 7 2 4 2
A 2
E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 i m a i a m i m a i a m i m a i a m i m a i a m i m a i a m i m a i a m i m a i a m i
p p p p p p p p

January 2023 51
 LESSON } Quick Licks VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

30-MINUTE LICKBAG
Brought to you by…

EXAMPLE 1 FREDDIE STONE

This Sly & The Family Stone styled riff uses the E Blues scale and includes abrupt stop by relaxing the fretting fingers after the notes have sounded.
short, repetitive phrases. Let the rests last for their full duration, as this To get the tone, use your middle pickup, set your amp to clean, and add a
creates space for the saxophone phrases. Bring the shorter notes to an touch of reverb. Consider a compressor to smooth out the dynamic range.

PLAY

EXAMPLE 2 IKE TURNER

This sequence uses a repeated figure over a 12-bar blues in G. Use you don’t have a whammy bar, use your fretting-hand fingers and a wide
downstrokes to add energy and authority to your notes. Ike often used vibrato. For the sound, use your bridge pickup, and set your amp to a
the whammy bar for vibrato as it allows for a wide, expressive delivery. If slightly overdriven tone. Then add a short, slapback delay and reverb.

PLAY

EXAMPLE 3 PAT TRAVERS

This example is in A Minor and features notes on the first string that are helps to align the timing and phrasing throughout the sequence. For a big
a 3rd apart. The fretted notes often pull-off to the open string for further lead tone, use your neck pickup and set your amp to a medium gain level.
movement and harmonic interest. Take note of the picking pattern as this For size and ambience, add a quarter note delay and some reverb.

PLAY

52 January 2023
 30-MINUTE LICKBAG

Jamie Hunt of BIMM Bristol brings you

another great selection of licks to learn at
easy, intermediate and advanced levels.

EXAMPLE 4 HERB ELLIS

This lick is built around a IIm7-V7-Imaj7 progression in C Major. The lead effective way to add movement, tension, and release throughout the lick.
phrases target Dm, G7, and Cmaj7 arpeggios while using a neighbour tone For a warm, jazz tone, set your amp to clean and use the neck pickup if you
(from a semitone below) to introduce each chord tone. This is a simple, have a hollowbody guitar. On a solidbody, just roll the tone control back.

PLAY

EXAMPLE 5 RICHIE SAMBORA

This lick uses A Minor Pentatonic but the mood lifts at the end of the the neck, and finishing on a high bend is a great way to establish structure
phrase by including country-inspired slides from the Minor to Major 3rd (C- and momentum within a solo. To get Richie’s 80s lead tone, use your bridge
C#). Take note of the position changes. Starting low, working your way up pickup and set your amp to high gain. Then, add chorus and delay.

PLAY

EXAMPLE 6 LARI BASILIO

This A Minor scale lick begins with a catchy, rhythmic figure played from techniques, so use the downstrokes and tapped notes that land on the
the root and b7. Bar 2 shifts between legato and picked notes, while bar 4 downbeat as landmarks to anchor your timing during the more technical
shifts between picked, legato and taps. It’s easy to speed when changing passages. Use your bridge pickup, medium gain, and add reverb.

PLAY

January 2023 53
 LESSON } Blues VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

SLASH STYLE BLUES!

Brought to you by…

This month Phil Short returns with a deep dive

into the melodic blues-rock stylings of a top hat-
wearing, Les Paul-toting, 24-carat guitar hero!
May, and will certainly have developed his
Slash has been ear and love of melody from listening to
a leading icon of
rock guitar for
these UK icons’ records while growing up.
over 30 years But Slash also has tons of blues DNA in
his playing. His sound is instantly
recognisable, with the gutsy punch and
attitude of punk, combined with a mature
ear for melody and a deep grounding in
blues language. As guitarists there are many
things we can learn from Slash, but in
particular is his mastery of playing over
Major tonalities in a fresh and exciting way.
In his recent work with Myles Kennedy
there is a lot of awesome hard rocking
Pentatonic shred to enjoy, and loads we can
learn from him there. But in this month’s
article we will be homing in on the iconic era
for which he is most famously known.
Our studies will explore two favoured
approaches. First, we will observe his use of
Major triads on which he so beautifully
hangs his melodic ideas. With occasional
added 2nd and perfect 4th, Slash is able to
create soulful, memorable melodies that
follow the chords, giving his playing that
beautifully fluid and grounded sound. Our
second study sees a blending of Mixolydian
tonality to give his melodies an even bluesier
well, let’s say cheesy. Enter Guns N’ Roses edge, and keep things sounding fresh.
ABILITY RATING
who, almost overnight, re-injected that
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Moderate missing badass attitude and gravitas to the NEXT MONTH Next month we will be checking out
Info Will improve your world of rock. A perfect blend of attitude and one of the authentic blues greats, Robert Cray
Key: Various Soloing in Major keys grit coupled with skilful songwriting and
Tempo: Various Application of Major triads exciting playing, put this band ahead of its 5 5 5
https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Following chord tones peers and re-captured the imaginations of 7
4

the true rock-loving masses.

F
ELENA DI VINCENZO/ARCHIVIO ELENA DI VINCENZO/MONDADORI PORTFOLIO VIA GETTY IMAGES

ew guitarists are so synonymous with the
wider culture as this month’s pick. Slash
is one of the most iconic rock stars the
world has ever seen. Emerging in the late
80s from LA’s hard rock scene, Slash, and
his band mates in Gun ‘N Roses, defined
rock and roll for a whole generation.
Post EVH in the late 70s and early 80s,
the rock world had become dominated by
the ‘glam’ movement, with huge hair, dive
bombs and trying to play things as fast as
possible. It might even be argued that rock
was losing its attitude and had become a tad,
Many factors contributed, but one
GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB
singular undeniable aspect is, of course, the
man himself. Slash, along with six-string
counterpart Izzy Stradlin, created some of
the coolest riffs in rock. Combining that with
Slash’s ballsy and melodic lead guitar Slash is of course synonymous with the Gibson
approach, it was a welcome departure from Les Paul and Marshall amps. His amp of choice
for many years was the silver jubilee for its extra
the status quo of EVH copycats.
gain and slightly warmer tone. If you don’t have
Slash’s playing is ballsy and gritty, with a humbucking guitar, set up a Brit style
rapid-fire licks where needed. But it was his amplifier tone and take some treble off either
sense of melody that really made him stand guitar or amp. A nice splash of reverb will make
out. It will be no surprise to GT readers that these licks sit nicely in the mix, too.
Slash is a lifelong fan of Queen and Brian

TRACK RECORD Appetite For Destruction came out in 1987 and has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. This album features
some of their most iconic work, including Sweet Child O’ Mine, Paradise City and Welcome To The Jungle. These tracks all feature the
hallmarks of Slash’s iconic guitar style, with wonderful examples of his blend of melodic sensibilities and punk rock attitude.

54 January 2023
 SLASH STYLE BLUES!

EXAMPLE 1 MIXING TRIADS AND SCALE TONES

Our first study focuses on using triads with smatterings of the 2nd and 4th degrees with which to construct melodic ideas. Make note of how the phrases essentially
revolve around small chord clusters and use the additional scale tones to lyrically link them together.

©»¡¡º
# 4 ∑
G
œ œ œ.
j œ œ
j œ œ œ F
œ .œ œj n œ œ œ œ œj œ
√
œ nœ
j
œ œ œœ
œ
œ J
PLAY

& 4 œ
j œ

BU BU BD BU BU
BACKINGE 12 ( 13 ) 12 15 ( 17 )
B 13 12 ( 13 ) (12 ) 13 13
G 12 14 (16 ) 12 14
D 12 12 12 14 14 15
A 12 14
E
1

(√) ~~~~~~~
C G

# œ œ œ œ œ n œ œ œ œ œ~~~~ ~~~~~ j œ
√
œ n œ œ
jœ œ
œ œœj
œ j œ œ
& œ œ . ¿ œ œ œ œ œ
RP ~~~~~~ BU BD
~~~~ BU ~~~~~
E ( 17 ) 12 (13 ) (12 ) 15
B 13 12 13 12
G 12 12
D 14 15 14 (15 ) 14 X 10 9
A 15 15 10 10
E
4

(√)
# œ~~~
j œ. œ~~~~ . œ œ œ œ œ œ
j
F

. œ œœœœ œ ~~~
J œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ
œ
& œ nœ
J J

E
~~~ 15 17
BU
19 ( 20 ) 19
~~~~ 15 BU ~~~ BU
B 15 15 15 15 12 (13 ) 12 10
G 16 ( 17 ) 16 10 12 12
D 17 12 9 10
A
E
8

œ . œJ.
œ œ~~~~ œ œ œ ~~~ œ œ œ œ ˙
C G
j j
j œ ~~~ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
j
#
j œ
j œ ˙
œ œ œ j
œ œ
&
œ
œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ

~~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Hold
BU RP BU BU BD BU BD BU bend RP
E
B 13 12 (13 ) 12 12 (13 ) (12 ) 15
G 12 (14 ) (14 ) 12 12 (14 ) (12 ) 14 14 (16 ) (16 )
D 10 10 12 14 12 14 12
A 10
E
12

January 2023 55
 LESSON } Blues VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 2 MIXING MAJOR AND MINOR

This study is in effect more of the same, but is here built around the key centre of E Major. Make note of the bend to a G Natural in bar 8, giving us the sound of A7,
and also the addition of a D note in Bar 11, hinting at the sound of E Mixolydian. This helps break up the Major scale sound and add a distinct bluesy flavour.

©»•º œœ. œj œœ œœ œ.
E B A E B A

œ
# # # # 4 n œj œ œ œ œ œœ
j
œ œ~~~œ j œ œ œ œ œ . œ œ œ œ . œ œ . œ œj œ j œ~~~œ œ œ œ œ œj œ
√ j
œ
& 4 Œ J œ œ œ œœ
3

PLAY
E 12 12 12
~~~ BU BD BU RP
1214 14 (16 )(14 )(16 ) ( 16 )14 12 14 11 12 11 9
BU
~~~ 9 BU

B 12 12 12 14 12 12 12 10 12 12 (14 ) 9 12 9 12 9 (10 )
G 13 13 13 14 13 11
D 12 14 14
A
E
1

. ~~~~
E B A E B
BACKING .
# # # # œ œ œ~~~
. œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ
√ j j
œ
j œ . œ œ ~~~ œ œj n œ œ
j œ œj œ
& œœ œ œ
3

E
~~~ ~~~~ BU
12 14 14 16 14 16 16 (17 ) 14 17
BU
16 ( 17 ) 16
~~~ BU BU BU

B 9 12 17 17 19 ( 20 ) 19 ( 20 ) 19 ( 20 )
G 9 9 11 13 9 9 11 13 16 16
D 9 9
A
E
5

(√) A E B A
~~œ n œj œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
# # # # œ œ œ n œ œ~~. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
j j j j j j j œ 1/4

&
3

E
BU ~~ BU BU BU
RP RP RP
BU
19 19 19
RP
19 19 16
BU 1/4 BU
RP RP
19 19 19
~~ BU
22 ( 24 )
B 17 19 ( 20 ) 17 17 19 (20 )19( 20 )19( 20 )1917 19 ( 21 ) ( 21) ( 21 ) ( 21 ) ( 21) 19 17 17 19 ( 21 )1917 19 19 ( 21) ( 21 ) ( 21)
G 18 18 18
D
A
E
8

(√) Eœ œ . œ œ nBœ j œ
A
jœ
E
.
B

#### œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ~~
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j œ.
j
œ œ œnœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
&
3 6 6
3 6

E
RP RP RP BU
( 24 ) ( 24 )( 24 ) 22 21 19 21 ( 22 ) 21 16
BU BD BU ~~ BU BU
B 14 14 17 15 17 15 15 14 ( 15 )( 14 )12
G 14 (16 ) 14 11 14 1114 13 14 16 16 (18 )16 16 11 ( 13 )
D 14 14 14
A
E
11

~~
A E B A E

#### œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . œ œ . œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
~~ œ j œ
˙~~~~~Ó
√ j
nœ
& œ œ
3 3
3

E
RP
BD ~~ BU BD ~~ 12 12
BU ~~~~~
B 9 10 9 (10 )( 9 ) 12 14 14 14 12 12 12 15 ( 17 )
G (13 ) ( 9 ) 9 9 11 11 13 9 11 9 8 9 9 9
D 11 9 11 9 11 9 11 9 11
A 11 11
E
14

56 January 2023
 Rock { LESSON

SMITH & KOTZEN

Brought to you by…

Martin Cooper checks out the collaborative

sound of two different but complementary
guitarists, an Iron Maiden and a Winery Dog.
complement one another perfectly.
The track this month is built on an E
Minor rock riff and chord progression and
with bluesy Pentatonic playing from Smith
and speedier Kotzen style licks in the solos.
We’re in E Minor (E-F#-G-A-B-C-D) but
with the inclusion of an A Major chord
(A-C#-E) and the C# note in the Kotzen style
solo. The E Dorian mode E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D
is also used frequently. This leads to a more

“Kotzen’s style is the

more technical of the two,
whereas Smith has always
been rooted in blues-rock”
upbeat sound than E Natural Minor.
The guitar in the left channel is Smith
style, while the right channel is Kotzen.
When playing as two guitarists we have the
opportunity to vary the parts in terms of
timing, tone and delivery which can create
interesting results. This is very different to
the common double-tracked parts which are
usually played as tightly together as possible.
The recording and the chart have a second
Adrian Smith and
rhythm part to signify the Richie Kotzen
Richie Kotzen work
incredibly well input (bars 9-16), which is different to the
as a rock duo guitar in the left channel.

debut album is built on classic rock, there are NEXT MONTH Martin examines the Seattle
ABILITY RATING
R&B, blues and soul elements here, and even grunge tones of Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Moderate/Advanced moments that lean towards jazz-fusion.
Info Will improve your The pair began writing together remotely
4 6 6
Key: E Minor Rock guitar soloing in 2019, then recorded and self-produced 7 3
Tempo: 109bpm Part writing for two guitars the album on the Caribbean islands of Turks
https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Theory knowledge and Caicos. They were joined in the studio by
GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB
Nicko McBrain and Tal Bergman who played

O
n the surface the collaboration between
ex-Poison and Winery Dogs guitarist
Richie Kotzen and Iron Maiden’s Adrian
Smith is one of the more surprising ones
of recent years. However, they are united by
a shared love of classic rock, having grown
up listening to bands such as Deep Purple
and Kiss. They both sing on records and on
tour, and the live band is completed by
Kotzen’s wife Julia Lage on bass and
drummer Bruno Valverde. Although the
JOHN MCMURTRIE
some of the drums, although Kotzen played
the majority of drum tracks, while Smith and
Kotzen both contributed bass.
Having started on the Mike Varney
Shrapnel label along with Jason Becker and
Paul Gilbert, Kotzen’s style is the more
technical of the two, whereas Smith has
always been rooted in blues-rock, even
though he is one of the pioneers of heavy
metal guitar. On recordings and at gigs their
different guitar playing and vocal styles
Both players use Marshall style amps, with
Smith’s tone being more high-gain. Smith also
uses a Jackson guitar with a humbucker in the
bridge and Floyd Rose vibrato, while Kotzen
uses Strats and Teles with single-coil pickups.
Set your main sound to a medium gain (Smith),
then jump on an overdrive pedal for your
Kotzen tones. Add light delay or reverb.

TRACK RECORD The eponymous debut album from 2021 features the first single Taking My Chances and the radio friendly Running,
as well as the Blues Rock Of Scars. The pair released a four-track EP called Better Days the same year which featured brand new songs, and
there is the recently released live EP called Better Days…And Nights which includes songs from the debut album and the Better Days EP.

January 2023 57
 LESSON } Rock VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP
PLAY BACKING SOLO

EXAMPLE RHYTHM
Richie Kozten stopped using a pick a number of years ago, so it would be good practice to try playing the right channel guitar with fingers and thumb, as it is on the
recording. This will likely lead to a few new challenges both in terms of rhythm and lead playing.

©»¡ºª N.C. 1

# 4 ∑ .. ‰‰ j ‰‰ j ..
& 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ
E
B . .
G
D
A
. 7 7 7 7 5 7
.
E 0 0 5 0 3 5 0 0 5 0 3 0 3 5 0 0 5 0 3 5 0 0 5 0 3 5
1, 5 3

j
2 C /G D/A Em G5 A C D

# œ œœ œœ œœ œœ . œ œ œ œ . œœ n œœœ œœ œœ œœ œœ .
& ‰‰œ
œ œ œ œœ œ œ œœ œœ . œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙˙˙ .. # œœ
œœ
œœ
œœ
œœ
œœ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ .
œœ œœ œ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ ˙ . œ œ œ
œœ œœ œ
E
B 5 5 7 7 . 0 0 3 2 2 5 5 7 7 .
G
D
A 7
5
5
3
5
5
3
7
7
5
7
7
5
. 0
2
2
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
2
2
0
5
5
3
5
5
3
7
7
5
7
7
5
.
E 0 0 5 0 3 5 3 3 5 5 0 0 3 3
7 9, 13

1 2
Em G5 A G5 D A C D

# . œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙˙ .. œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ . # œ œ œ œœ œœ
& . œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙˙ .. # œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ . œœ œœ œœ œœ n œœœ œœ
œœ
œœ
œœ œœ œœ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Solo enters
E
B . 0
0
0
0
3
3
3
3 2 2
3
3
3
3
2
3
2
3 . 2 2 5 5 7 7
G
D
A
. 0
2
2
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
0 . 2
2
0
2
2
0
5
5
3
5
5
3
7
7
5
7
7
5
E 0 0 3 3 3 3
17, 21 19 23

1 2
Em G5 A C D A G5 D N.C.

# . œ œ œ
. œœœ œœœ œœœ œœ œœ œœ ˙˙ ..
# œœ ˙˙ ... œœ œœ œœ œœ . # œ œ œ œ
œœ œœ
œœ œœ œœ œœ
Œ Ó
& œœ œœ œœ ˙˙ .. œœ ˙˙ . œ œ œœ œœ . œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ
œ œ œ œœ œ ˙. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œœ
E
B . 0
0
0
0
3
3
3
3 2 2 5 5 7 7 . 2 2
3
3
3
3
2
3
2
3
G
D
A
. 0
2
2
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
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2
0
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2
0
5
5
3
5
5
3
7
7
5
7
7
5
. 2
2
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
0
E 0 0 3 3 3 3 0 0
25, 29 27 31

RHYTHM GUITAR 2 VARIATION BARS 9 - 16

Em G5 A C D

# œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ
& .. œœ
œ œœ œœ œœ œœ ..
œ œ œ œ
E
B . 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 5 5 7 7 .
G
D
A
. 9 9 9 7 7 7
0
9 9 9 5
5
3
5
5
3
7
7
5
7
7
5
.
E 0 3
9, 13

58 January 2023
 SMITH & KOTZEN

EXAMPLE LEAD
There are some fast legato lines in this Kotzen style solo using both picking and fretting-hand hammer-ons, so it would be good to practise this slowly and also to
focus on string muting. The Smith part is less demanding, but will still require attention to your timing ,and the pitching accuracy of string bends.

©»¡ºª Em G5 A G5 D

# 4 16 ~~~~ ~~~~ 1/4

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ~~~~
˙
& 4 œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œœ
œœ
E 16 ~~~~ 1/4 ~~~~ ~~~~
B 8 7
G 7 7 9 9 7 7
D 5 5 7 9
A 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 5 7
E 7 5 7
17

œœœœ œœœœœœœœ
Em G5 A j C D

# ˙œ
j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ~~~
˙ œ
j
œœœ. œ œ œ ~~~
& œ œœ œ .‰
3
œ œ

E
BU BD ~~~ BU
12
BU
12
~~~
B 12 15 (17 ) 15 12 12
G 14 (16 ) (16 ) (16 )(16 )(16 )(16 ) 16 (14 )12 14 12 14 (16 ) 14 14 12 12
D 14 14 14 12 12
A 14 12 10 10
E 12 12

Lœ œ Lœ œ œ ≠œ Lœ œ Lœ œ œ≠œ Lœ œ Lœ œ œ Lœ œ Lœ œ œ≠œ Lœ œ Lœ œ œ Lœ Lœ Lœ
21

˙ ~~~
Em G5 A
j .. j œ
# ≠œ œ œ œ œ w ~~~~~~ œ œ
J
&

E
B
G
D
L L ≠L L ≠L L L L ≠L L ≠L L L
12 10 12 10 7
10 12 10 12 10 8
9:8

9 12 9 12 9 7
12 10 12 10 8
9 12 9 12 9 7
11:8

9 12 9 12 9 7 9
12 9
~~~~~~ BU

10 (12 )
~~~ BU

10 (12 )

A
E
25

# œ œ. œ œ ˙~~~ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ
C D Em G5

& œ œ
6
≠
œœœœœœœ œ
6
Œ ≠ ≠
3 #œ œ œ œ œ ≠
~~~
9:8

E
B
G
D
8 10
9
8
9 10 9 7
10
7 9 10 9 7
≠
10 8 7 8 10 8 7
≠9 7 6 7 9 7 6 4 6 7 6 4
≠
7 4 5 7 5 4
≠
A 7 4 5 7 5 4 5
E
28

√ A 3 G5 D N.C.

# œ œ œ œœ œ œœœœ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ ~~~~~ Ó
& œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ
3 3

E 10 7 12 10 15 12 17 17 18 17 15 15
~~~~~
B 10 8 12 10 15 12 17 17 15 15
G 16 16 14 12 14 12
D 14 12 14
A
E
31

January 2023 59
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NOVEMBER GT341 NOVEMBER GT340 OCTOBER GT339

MARK KNOPFLER
Learn five rhythm and lead styles that make
him unique. Steve Morse and Brett Garsed
video masterclasses; exclusive tutorial lessons
from two masters. Plus: Michael Schenker, Earl
Hooker, Scott Henderson, Glen Campbell.
BRITISH BLUES EXPLOSION!
Learn how five British guitarists took influence
from the blues greats they so admired, and
sold it back to America where it sparked a
music revolution. PLus: Tim Lerch video; Eric
Johnson, Guthrie Govan, Chili Peppers & more!
ACOUSTIC TURBO BOOST!
Our 8 acoustic legends video will push your
picking to new heights! Plus: video masterclass
with Andy Timmons. Also: John McLaughlin, Al
Di Meola & Paco De Lucia; Knopfler, Petrucci,
Page, Gibbons; Weiss’s Fantasie - & much more!

SEPTEMBER GT338 AUGUST GT337 JUNE GT336

GEORGE HARRISON
Learn four facets of this great innovator’s style:
riffing, melodic soloing, acoustic picking, and
slide. Plus: Nick Johnston & Kris Barras video
lessons; ‘Farewell Lad’ classical; Steve Morse, Joe
Bonamassa, Eric Gales, Slash & more!
RORY GALLAGHER
Learn five facets of the great man’s style: Blues,
Acoustic, Rock, Slide, Celtic. Plus: Jeff Kollman
video masterclass; Eric Gales, Rush, Doyle Dykes
& Jimmie Vaughan style studies, Domenico
Scarlatti (classical), economy picking, & more!
HAVE MERCY!
Beef up your rhythms with our Boogie, Shuffle
& Swing lesson. Plus: Steve Stevens video mas-
terclass; Pat Martino (what blues players can
learn); play Nearer My God To Thee. Plus: Dire
Straits, Shawn Lane, Jerry Reed and more!

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Each back issue costs (including postage and packing) UK: £6.25

62 January 2023
 Shred { LESSON

TJ HELMERICH
Brought to you by…

per-string fragments, to get used to finding

It’s quid pro quo as Charlie Griffiths offers the strings and frets. You may need to rely
five stunning licks inspired by the eight-finger on using touch to feel the strings more
useful than sight, since the hand portion
tapping of a legendary shredder. can obscure the fingers, depending on how
high or low you prefer to position your
guitar. Example 1 is designed to help with
TJ Helmerich is
an outstanding hammer-on and pull-off accuracy from
musician with a both hands. Start very slowly and focus on
fully developed creating a clean, pure note.
tapping style Example 2 is a more legato, flowing
exercise which connects the two hands and
gets them working almost as one. The key
here is to keep the notes as even as possible
so the listener cannot tell which hand is
playing which note.
The next thing to consider is using
fretting-hand muting to keep the open
strings silent. The underside of your first
finger placed in a resting position on the
treble strings as well as the fingertip to stub
up against the adjacent string, should take
care of most string noise, but be prepared
to use any spare piece of flesh on either
hand as a string mute to ensure a clean,
synth-like tone, like Helmerich’s.
TJ also uses tapped string bending to
great effect and uses an interesting method.
Rather than pulling the string with the
tapping hand, keep the tapping finger
locked on the fret and use the fretting hand
to bend the string. This will stretch the
string and bend the pitch cleanly and
efficiently. In the final two examples we
ABILITY RATING chromatic note choice and legato delivery. introduce a tone bend and a semitone bend
Helmerich’s technique is unique as far to give you a chance to practice both.
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Advanced
as he plays solos using almost exclusively
Info Will improve your eight-fingered tapping. Unless he is riffing, NEXT MONTH Charlie follows with TJ’s partner in
Key: Various Dual-hand independence or playing chords you will see both his crime and good friend of GT, Brett Garsed
Tempo: Various Long legato lines
hands on the fretboard of his Steinberger.
https://bit.ly/3M7idbP General guitar technique
The concept of picking-hand tapping is
6
usually limited to utilising one finger in a

T
7 7 7 3

odd Joseph Helmerich, better known
as TJ is a renowned LA based guitarist,
vocalist, producer and teacher at
Musicians Institute Hollywood.
TJ is well known for his partnership with
Brett Garsed, with whom he recorded a trio
of rock fusion albums throughout the 90s:
Quid Pro Quo, Exempt and Under The Lash
Of Gravity. Each album is a masterpiece of
improvised jazz-fusion lines coupled with
the smoothest guitar technique imaginable;
Van Halen fashion, but for TJ style tapping
a different hand position is required. Keep
GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB
your hand steady by resting your thumb on
the top of the neck and angle the wrist so
the fingers are essentially parallel with the
frets. Practise moving each finger
independently and try playing some TJ Helmerich uses a thick and gainy tone that’s
hammer-ons and pull-offs without moving also velvet smooth in order to create his
death-defying legato streams of notes. Rather
your hand too much. Finger control,
than turn your amp’s gain up full, get it singing
accuracy and good tone will take time and ‘classic rock’ style with the above settings, then
patience, much like the first time your
KAZIMIERZ JUREWICZ / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

add a creamy overdrive pedal to lend even

progenies of the Holdsworth school of fretting hand was asked to perform these more fatness and sustain. A splash of reverb
playing. TJ’s lines are often more akin to tasks. A good start is to try tapping some will also help carry the notes along.
synth players with his characteristic Pentatonic shapes and some three-notes-

TRACK RECORD For the purposes of this article we are dealing with the Helmerich/Garsed era with the albums Quid Pro Quo (1992),
Exempt (1994), Under The Lash Of Gravity (1999), Uncle Moe’s Space Ranch (2001), and Moe’s Town (2007), on which you can hear the
fabulous interplay between TJ and next month’s featured artrist, the Australian legato master Brett Garsed. Check out YouTube, too!

January 2023 63
 LESSON } SHRED VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 1
This is a tapping warm-up for both hands based in the chromatic scale. Start by tapping the 15th fret with the fourth finger of your picking hand, then pull-off to the

L L L L L L L L L L L L L L
fourth finger of your fretting hand at the 8th fret. Descend through the scale using all eight fingers while alternating between hands.

©»¡™º n œ n œ œ n œ œ # œ n œ # œ n œ # œ œ # œ œ n œ #Play
E5
œ
4 times

#### 7 ∑ .. œ nœ œ œ nœ œ nœ #œ nœ #œ œ nœ #œ .
& 8 .

LLLLLL L L LL LLL L
PLAY

c a m i c a m i m a c i m a

E
B . 15 8 14 7 13 6 12 5 12 5 13 6 14 7 .
G
D
A
. 15 8 14 7 13 6 12 5 13 6 14 7 15 8
.
E
1

EXAMPLE 2

L L LL
Use your four fretting-hand fingers to hammer on four chromatic notes, then use your four tapping fingers of your picking hand to add four more chromatic notes for a

L LL L LLL L LLL L
total
Ex 2of eight notes per string. Focus on keeping each note equal in length and volume.

©»¡™º bœ b œ n œ œ n œ œ b œ n œ œ A bm7 b œ n œ œ n œ √ Play 4 times

bœ
nœ œ bœnœ b œ n œ b œ n œ œ b œ n œ ..
Gm7

b
& b 44 ∑ .. n œ œ b œ n œ œ n œ œ

LLLL LLLL
PLAY

LLLL LLLL
i m m c i m a c i m a c i m a c

E
B . 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
.
G
D
A
. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
.
E
1

EXAMPLE 3
This sus4 arpeggio based lick is played with the first and fourth fingers of each hand. Start the lick by tapping the 20th fret with the fourth finger of your picking hand,
then pull-off to the first finger at the 20th fret. Next pull off from 13th to 8th fret with your fretting hand and continue by moving the shape down through the strings.

©»¡¡º √ œ.
œ L L
C add9

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ LL
E badd9

Play 4 times
L L
Gadd9

LLL LL L
E add9

& 44 ∑ œœ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ
.. œ œ ..
L
3

L L LL
PLAY
œ
œ œœ
œ
L L LLL LL LL
3 3
3
c i i c i c i i c i c i c i

E
B . 20 15 13 8 13 15 20 15 13 8
20 15 13 8 13 15 20 15 13 8 .
G
D
A
. 19 14 12 7
19 14 12 7
.
E
1

EXAMPLE 4
This lick is played predominantly with picking-hand tapping and legato using all four fingers to articulate the notes. Use the first finger of your picking hand to lightly

L L L L nLœ Lœ .
touch the open strings in order to keep them muted (a technique you’ll definitely need when playing this style).

L œ Lœ . #Lœ nLœ
L L
√
©»¡ºº Bm7
œ œ n œ œ
Bm6
œ.
œ ≠œ œ Lœ #Lœ ≠œ
Play 4 times

## 4 ∑ .. ≠œ œ œ œ œ œ
& 4 œ nœ ..

L L
PLAY

LLL L L L L L L L ≠ LL
i m c a m i c a m i i a i
E
.
≠ BU
9 12 20 ( 22 )
.
B
G
D
A
E
. ≠4 7 16 17 19 18 17 7 10 16
19 18 17 16 0
7 12 16 18 .
1

64 January 2023
 TJ HELMERICH

EXAMPLE 5
This lick uses the Chromatic scale in the fretting hand and the Diminished scale in the picking hand for a colourful triplet lick (tappers often have different harmonic
zones with their two hands). For the final bend hold the string with the fourth finger of your picking hand and use your fretting hand to bend the string at the 7th fret.

©»ª∞
LLLLLL LLLLL
Badd9 Dadd9

PLAY
## 4
& 4 ∑ .. œ n œ # œ œ œ n œ œ œ œ œ œ n œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ # œ n œ œ œ œ n œ
≠
LL LLLL L LL L L
6 6 6 6
i m c m i i a a i
E
B .≠
G
D
A
. 4 5 6 7 9 10 12 10 9 7 6 5 4 5 6 7 10 12 13 12 10 7 6 5

L LL
E

Lœ #Lœ Lœ Lœ n Lœ
1

œ
Badd9 Dadd9

## œ nœ #œ œ #œ #œ
Play 4 times
œ œ œ nœ œ œ #œ ..
&

LLLLL LLL
6 6 6
i a c m i i a
BU
E
B .
G
D
A
4 5 6 7 12 13 14 13 12 7 6 5 4 5 6 7 13 15 ( 16 )
.
E
2

Using all four fingers

on your picking
hand takes time to
develop independence,
strength and stamina

“The concept of picking-hand

tapping is usually limited
KAZIMIERZ JUREWICZ / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

to utilising one finger in a

Van Halen fashion, but for
TJ’s style a different hand
position is required”

January 2023 65
 LESSON } Jazz Arpeggios VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

JAZZ ARPEGGIO
SOLOING PT3
Brought to you by…

This month Tim Pettingale moves on from Major

Ficaecae et quo
ipit magnim re arpeggios into the realms of Minor soloing, based
et que ommolent
ipsandis exces
around arpeggios from the jazzy Minor 9th chord.

Listen to Larry Carlton

to hear how arpeggios
can be seamlessly
woven into solos

feature multiple bars of Minor chords) and

ABILITY RATING
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Moderate Due to how the intervals for soloing over the I chord in a Minor II-V-I
(Bm7b5-E7#5 -Am9, for example).
Info Will improve your fall on the fretboard, we Dm9 is spelled D (root), F (b3), A (5th), C
Key: C
Tempo: 100bpm
General jazz phrasing
Use of arpeggios in solos don’t need the 2-1-2 shapes (b7), E (9th). Due to how the intervals fall on
the fretboard, we don’t need the 2-1-2 shapes
https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Playing across two octaves we’ve used previously we’ve used previously (where we take the
first and third notes of a three-notes-per-

L
ast time we applied a five-step method in
order to learn and play a Cmaj7 arpeggio
across the whole fretboard, and began to
create useful jazz licks by adding passing
notes to our arpeggio framework. This time
we’ll repeat the exercise but instead using a
Minor arpeggio.
arpeggio but instead opted for the Minor 9,
as it’s a sound used so frequently in jazz.
The Minor 9 often functions as the II
chord in the Minor II-V-I sequence, such as
Dm9 -G7- Cmaj7 in the key of C Major.
Minor 9 arpeggios are useful to spell out the
II chord in that context, but are also essential
string run on the first string, and the second
note on the next string), and will instead
focus on box position and extended shapes.
This approach should really open up the
fretboard for your solos.
NEXT MONTH Tim finishes his series showing how
JOHN ATASHIAN/GETTY IMAGES

I could have chosen a straight Minor 7 for playing on modal jazz tunes (which often to create great Jazz Arpeggios

TRACK RECORD Larry Carlton has successfully traversed the line between jazz and rock. His early albums, such as Larry Carlton (1978),
Strikes Twice (1980), Sleepwalk (1982) and Friends (1983) are packed full of fabulous tunes and playing, while Last Night (1986) showcases
his brilliant live playing. Also try Fourplay albums like 4 (1998) and Journey (2000), and his stunning Live In Tokyo with Robben Ford (2007).

66 January 2023
 JAZZ ARPEGGIO SOLOING

EXAMPLE 1 SIXTH-STRING BOX SHAPE

Here’s a good starting point in playing Minor arpeggios across the whole fretboard.

©»¡ºº Dm11
œ œ œ œ
4 œ œ œ œ √ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
&4 ∑ œ œ
PLAY œ œ œ œ w

E 10 12 13 12 10
B 10 13 13 10
G 9 10 10 9
D 10 12 12 10
A 12 12
E 10 12 13 13 12 10
1

EXAMPLE 2 FIFTH-STRING BOX SHAPE

The next logical step. Notice that the addition of the 9th interval makes these patterns sound more like lines than straight arpeggios.

©»¡ºº œ œ œ œ œ
Dm11

4 ∑
&4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ
PLAY
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

E 5 8 5
B 5 6 6 5
G 5 7 7 5
D 7 7
A 5 7 8 8 7 5
E
1

EXAMPLE 3 EXTENDED ARPEGGIO SHAPE

The sixth-string root extended arpeggio shape spans 10 frets. If you’re playing an archtop and the 20th fret feels somewhat inaccessible, omit the high C note.

©»¡ºº œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Dm11 √
4 ∑
&4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
PLAY œ œ œ ˙

E 17 20 17
B 13 15 17 18 18 17 15 13
G 14 14
D 10 12 14 15 15 14 12 10
A 12 12
E 10 12 13 13 12 10
1

EXAMPLE 4 RAPIDLY ASCENDING SHAPE FROM THE FIFTH STRING

If we play an extended arpeggio shape from the root on the fifth string, due execute by jumping your fretting hand forward or via a slide. It’s an effective
to the interval layout we have a couple of possible options. Try this rapidly shape for quickly spanning a wide range of the neck but please experiment with
ascending shape that requires several quick position changes, which you can other routes that might suit you better.

©»¡ºº √ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Dm11

4 œ œ œ œ
&4 ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ ˙
PLAY œ

E 17 20 17
B 10 13 15 17 18 18 17 15 13
G 9 10 14
D 7 10 12 15 14 12 10 7
A 5 7 8 8 7 5
E
1

January 2023 67
 LESSON } Jazz Arpeggios VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 5 MOVING IN AND OUT OF PATTERNS

It’s time to make some arpeggio connections by linking together patterns across the fretboard. Each pattern will begin on a root note, but this time we’re not
concerned about playing the intervals of the arpeggio in order – we’re focusing on moving in and out of the patterns across the fretboard.

©»¡ºº D m11
œ œ œ œ œ œ√ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ w
4 ∑ œ œ œ
&4 œ œ œ œ œ œ
PLAY

E 5 10 12 13 12
B 5 6 6 5 10 13 10
G 2 5 7 9 10 10 9
D 2 3 10 12
A 5
E
1

EXAMPLE 6 USING SLIDES TO SHIFT POSOITION

This connected line begins in fifth position and uses two legato slides to shift position into the 10th position box shape.

©»¡ºº Dm11
œ √ œ œ œ œ
4 ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
PLAY &4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œj œ ‰

E 10 12
B 10 13 13 10
G 9 10 10
D 7 10 10
A 5 7 8 12 12
E 13 12 10 8 10
1

EXAMPLE 7 USING MINOR 9TH ARPEGGIOS WITH PASSING NOTES

In the previous lesson, the next step was to play lines that avoid the root of you’ll agree that the addition of the 9th to the basic Minor 7 arpeggio is, in
the arpeggio. Rather than repeat that exercise, due to space I’ll leave you to itself, a useful tool that can produce some great melodic results. Now that we
practise it on your own. Instead, let’s skip forward a step and see the potential have explored the sound and shape of the Minor 9, let’s use it to create some
of this arpeggio when we begin to add chromatic notes to the shapes. I hope authentic sounding jazz licks with the addition of passing notes.

©»¡¡º
œ œ
D m7 E m7 D m7 E m7 D m7

4 œ œ #œ œ œ œ
PLAY &4 Ó Œ ‰ j
#œ œ œ œ #œ
œ œ œ œ w

E
B 6 5 5
G 5 7 6 7
D 6 7 7
A 4 5 7 8 8 7 5
E
1

EXAMPLE 8 IMPLYING MELODIC MINOR HARMONY

Passing notes occur throughout this next lick to target the arpeggio tones. Minor, followed by the 9th (E). In bar 3, the intervallic phrase allows a C#
In bar two, the first two notes are non-arpeggio tones (B, G) then this two- passing note to fall on the down beat. C# is the maj7, rather than the b7 (C)
note phrase is moved down a whole tone to play the 5th (A) and b3 (F) of D chord tone, and implies a Dm(maj7) sound that hints at Melodic Minor.

©»¡¡º œ œ # œ D m7
œœœœœ
E m7 D m7
œ
E m7
œ œ # œ œ D m7
œ œ œ nœ
4 Ó ‰ J # œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ
PLAY
&4 œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ

E 8 5 6 7 5
B 8 6 5 10 13 12 11 13 10
G 6 7 7 9 10 12 10
D 7 7 12 11 10 9
A 8 7 5 4 5 7 8
E
1

68 January 2023
 JAZZ ARPEGGIO SOLOING

EXAMPLE 9 CASCADING RUN

In this example, the passing notes are used to create a cascading descending run.

©»¡¡º Dm7
√ œ
E m7
#œ œ nœ œ œ œ
D m7 E m7

4 œ œ #œ nœ
PLAY &4 ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. ‰

E 12 13 12 11 10
B 10 13 12 11 13 10
G 9 10 9
D 10 10
A 12 10 8 7
E
1

EXAMPLE 10 TARGETING THE ROOT FROM A SEMITONE BELOW

The C# note is working hard again in this lick. It’s such a useful passing note as the sound of targeting the root from a semitone below is so prevalent in jazz.

©»¡¡º D m7 E m7 Dm7 E m7 D m7

4 œ œ #œ œ œ #œ nœ œ œ œ œ ‰ j œ w
&4 ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
PLAY
#œ

E
B 5 6 6 5
G 6 7 7 6 5 7
D 7 7 7 7
A 8 7 4 5 7 8 8
E
1

EXAMPLE 11 USING LONGER LINES #1

These are the kind of ideas you can play over a D Minor vamp (such as in the the long chromatic rundown on the first string in bar 3, use one-finger-per-fret,
tunes So What and Impressions). The phrase that spans bars 1-3 is an ‘enclosure’ starting with the fourth finger on the 13th. To continue the run down at bar 4,
(arpeggio notes surrounded by other notes). The chord tones fall on the ‘off’ execute a quick fretting-hand position shift and play the 9th fret with the fourth
beats here; above and below are either parent scale notes or passing notes. For finger again. It might take practice to get the descent sounding smooth.

©»¡¡º #œ nœ œ #œ œ œ
Dm7 E m7 Dm7 E m7 D m7 E m7

œ œ œ œ œ # œ n œ # œ œ √œ œ œœ œ œ
4 # œ n œ œ œ #œ œ # œ n œ
PLAY &4 ∑ œ œ#œ œ # œ œœ˙

E 6 5 4 5 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 4 5
B 8 6 5 6 6 5
G 9 7 6 7 5 7
D 8 7 6 7 7
A 7 5 4 5 8 7 5
E
1

EXAMPLE 12 USING LONGER LINES #2

This final lick starts cool and laid back but launches into a 16th-note run in bar 2. Until next time, experiment with the Minor 9 arpeggio shapes and add your own
passing notes to create usable and musical sounding ‘tension and release’ phrases.

©»¡¡º œ
D m7 E m7
œ œ œ œ œ#œnœ Dm7 E m7

œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ#œ œ œ œœ
PLAY
& 44 Ó œ J œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ nœ œ œ
#œ œ œ .
‰

E 8 7 6 5
B 5 5 6 5 5 6 5 5 6 8 5
G 5 5 7 6 7 7
D 7 7 10 9 8 10 7
A 8 8 7 4 5
E
1

January 2023 69
 LESSON } Playing skills VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

ALTERNATE PICKING
Brought to you by…

This month Simon Barnard guides you when using alternate picking.
One thing to bear in mind is the type of
through a variety of exciting examples to plectrum used in order to master this style.
help develop this vital guitar technique. There isn’t a right or wrong way but most
players prefer a stiffer pick, which doesn’t
bend when the strings are struck, thus
Paul Gilbert providing greater efficiency; others like a
is one of the pointy pick such as a Jazz III style, where a
most effective smaller point of contact may facilitate the
alternate pickers technique with greater ease. However, this
really is down to individual taste - note that
Paul Gilbert’s latest signature picks comes in
at a very bendy 0.50mm gauge. The key is to
experiment and find what works best for
you, remembering that different gauges will
suit different people, styles and situations.
The next thing to think about is how you
pick. Some players pick from the wrist with a
fairly secure elbow, while others lock their
wrist and pick from the elbow. The angle in
which the pick strikes the string is another
important factor. Angling it slightly may
make slicing across the strings easier, but
having the pick strike the string flat on will
provide a bigger tone.
One crucial thing to remember is that you
need to coordinate your picking-hand action
with your fretting-finger movement. If they
are not aligned and in perfect synch with one
another, the results will be messy. The way
to master this is to start slowly and increase
where a strong and defined sound is your speed gradually. A metronome is the
ABILITY RATING
required. It’s also the only way to play fast perfect practicing tool to assist with this. If
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Moderate/Advanced picked lines on single strings, such as the you find any of the examples too fast at first,
Info Will improve your tremolo picking heard by Dick Dale on his then take them at a slower tempo. Have fun,
Key: Various Alternate picking famous instrumental, Miserlou. The Paul and I’ll see you next month.
Tempo: Various Picking-hand stamina Gilbert track Technical Difficulties
https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Position shifts showcases how he uses the technique when NEXT MONTH Simon points out how to improve
playing scalic patterns across multiple the vital technique of Palm Muting

A
lternate picking is a technique that
every guitarist will encounter. From
beginners to pros alike, a solid alternate
picking technique is a must-have in
your arsenal of techniques. There are a
number of guitarists who are well known for
their dexterity when alternate picking, such
as Paul Gilbert, Al Di Meola, Pat Martino,
Molly Tuttle, Albert Lee, Barney Kessel, and
Steve Morse. So, it’s present in pretty much
every genre, from rock and metal, to country,
jazz, fusion and bluegrass.
Fast alternate picking is articulate and
percussive and there’s a machine gun-like
strings combined with palm muting. And
Steve Morse’s playing on Tumeni Notes is a 5
6
masterclass in using alternate picking when 3 7
2
navigating arpeggios, rather than economy
or sweep picking, which would be the
GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB
preferred choice for many other guitarists.
While the benefits of alternative picking
are evident, such as precision, articulation
and general speed, it can be problematic
when playing arpeggio lines, where there As mentioned in the main text, alternate
will be an uneven number of notes to play picking is not confined solely to the worlds of
rock and metal, but can be found in all styles.
on each string. This is why some guitarists
But when learning or trying to improve any
favour the aforementioned economy and technique it’s always best to go for a simple
sweep picking techniques. However, Steve sound, not blazing with distortion or confused
JORDI VIDAL/REDFERNS VIA GETTY IMAGES

quality to it, unlike the smoother sound of Morse has proved that his approach, by stereo delays and modulation. So select your
legato slurs. Therefore, this technique is although challenging at first, maintains a neck pickup, keep it clean and add light reverb.
favoured by players in rock and metal styles level of articulation that can only be achieved

TRACK RECORD Paul Gilbert’s Technical Difficulties, Al Di Meola’s Race With Devil On Spanish Highway, Dick Dale’s Miserlou and Steve
Morse’s Tumeni Notes are all great rocky tracks. But listen to bluegrass picker Molly Tuttle for some extraordinary playing plus Barney Kessel
and George Benson in the world of jazz. Robert Fripp (King Crimson) has a stunning one-note-per-string picking technique.

70 January 2023
 ALTERNATE PICKING
PLAY BACKING

EXAMPLE 1 SURF STYLE

This example utilises quick 16th-note picking akin to tremolo picking in a surf rock style. Make sure that you observe the accents, which are a common occurrence in this
style of guitar playing. Add plenty of reverb and light overdrive to get close to the sound. Dick tended to pick from his elbow/arm but that can prove tiring for long bouts!

©»¡¶º N.C.
4 ..
&4 ∑ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œœœœœœœœœœœœ> > >
> >
E
B .
G
D
A
.
E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
1
≥≤ ≥≤ continue sim

& ..
œœœœœœœœœœœœ
> > œ œ œ œ >œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # >œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ w
>
E
B .
G
D
A
.
E 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0
3

EXAMPLE 2 COUNTRY OR BLUEGRASS STYLE

This segment is played in cut common time, sometimes referred to as double time and is in a country or bluegrass style. Aim for consistent dynamics with your up and
down strokes. Some slap-back delay will help get an authentic sound, but don’t confuse your picking by adding too much.

©»¡¡º E
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ .. ..
&C œ œ #œ œ œ œ
#œ œ
œ œ œ #œ œ œ #œ œ w
E
B . .
G
D
A
. 2 2 4 4
2 2
4 4 2 2
.
E 0 0 3 4 4 4 0
1
≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ continue sim

EXAMPLE 3 NEO-CLASSICAL ROCK STYLE

This third example shows how alternate picking is used in a neo-classical style (Yngwie, Vinnie Moore, etc) on a single string. If you find the position shifts challenging at
first, remember what I said about using a metronome and slow this one down to a more manageable tempo.

G #dim G #dim
©»¡¡º Am
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
B dim C aug B dim Am Am Am

w ~~~~
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ..
& 44 ..

~~~~
E
B . 8 5 7 8 10 7 8 10 12 8 10 12 10 7 8 10 8 5 7 8 7 4 5 7 8 5 7 8 7 4 5 7
. 5
G
D
A
. .
E
≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ continue sim
January 2023 71
 LESSON } Playing skills VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 4 BLUES-ROCK STYLE

This example uses Pentatonic shapes using the first and second strings in a blues-rock setting. Watch the position shifts and aim for even dynamics across the strings.

©»¡¡º œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Gœ5 œ œ œ œ œ F5œ

A5
œ œ œ
E5
œœœ œœœœœœœœ w ~~~~
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
& 44 .. ..

~~~~
E
B . 12
15 13 15
12
15 13 15
10
13 10 13
10
13 10 13
8
10 8 10
8
10 8 10
5
8 5 8
5
. 5
G
D
A
. .
E
≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ continue sim
Al Di Meola’s fast
alternate picking
and ‘mutola’ damping
style are legendary

JEFF KRAVITZ/FILMMAGIC, INC VIA GETTY IMAGES

72 January 2023
 ALTERNATE PICKING
PLAY BACKING

STUDY PIECE
This piece is a metal/neo-classical idea based around the A Harmonic Minor scale.
Bars 1 - 4 utilises a pedal idea where the notes on the second string are repeated
whilst the top note on the first string changes. Experiment with fingerings to work
out what works best for you. This section ends with a descending A Harmonic
Minor scale. The constant stream of sixteenth notes may be challenging at first so
experiment with using a metronome and drop the tempo if need be.
Bars 6 - 9, which are repeated continue with a stream of sixteenth notes but on
the lower strings instead. Watch out for the palm muted sections and aim for a
consistent rhythm and even dynamics. It’s very important that your upstrokes and
downstrokes sound the same.
The final section gives some respite with a sustained A5 chord. The final idea
goes between a palm muted riff followed by a double note scale idea and then a
descending lick in the final bar, The main challenge here is the transition from the
low sixth string to the 12th fret on the first string.

©»¡¡∞ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Am G #dim

4
&4 ∑

E 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4
B 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6
G
D
A
E
1
≥ ≤ ≥≤ continue sim

G #dim
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ
Am Bdim Caug Am

& œ œ œ #œ œ
œ œ œ œ bœ

E 5 5 7 8 4 4 4 4 4 5 4
B 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5
G 7 5 4
D 7 6
A 8 7 5
E 8 7 6
3

Am G #dim Am

& .. œœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœ

œœœœœœœœ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœœœœœœ
PM PM PM
E
.
.
B
G
D
A 8 8 8 7 7 7 8 8 8 7 7 7 8 8 8 7 7 7
E 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 8 8 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 8 8 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 8 8
6, 10

Am A5

& œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ..
œ œ œ œ ww w
œœœ w œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ.
PM PM
E
.
.
B
G
D 6 7 9 7 6
A 5 7 8 8 7 5 7
E 5 7 8 8 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Am A5 Am
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ.
#œ œ
&
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ.
PM
E 12 13 12 10
B 13 12 10 9 10 12 10 9 10
G
D
A 5 5 7 7 5 5
E 5 5 7 7 8 8 8 8 7 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
17

January 2023 73
 LESSON } Acoustic Country VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

LYLE LOVETT ON VIDEO

This month Stuart Ryan examines the ‘new country’

style of a talented and hugely verstile guitar picker,
songsmith and singer from the Lonestar State.

ABILITY RATING Moderate ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ also a great guitarist, adept at creating

Info https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Will improve your… Fingerpicking in 3/4 time parts to accompany his vocals with a solid,
Key A Major Tempo 106 bpm Chord inversions Pull-off embellishments fingerpicking style often featuring a capo
high up the neck, which gives his guitars a
bright, rich sound. He often uses a

F
our-time Grammy award winning
singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett was born
in Houston, Texas on November 1st,
1957. Lovett actually came to
prominence in the UK in the early 1990s,
sadly more for his marriage to film star
Julia Roberts than his music. Lovett
started his career on the Texas folk scene
and by 1986 he had signed a deal with
MCA records. While known primarily as a
country singer, listen to any of his albums
and you will hear a fantastic, diverse range
of styles – there is western swing, jazz,
bluegrass, gospel and much more. He is
thumbpick but other times it’s the bare
flesh of the thumb for a warmer sound.
While Lyle’s guitar parts are often
relaxed, listen to him accompany himself
on a track like Cowboy Man and you’ll hear
him in turbo-charged Chet Atkins Travis

Lyle Lovett helped “Listen to Lovett

spearhead the
‘new country’
accompany himself on
movement Cowboy Man to hear him
in turbo-charged Travis
picking mode!
picking mode. Indeed, he often uses the
thumbpick as you would a plectrum so
when playing this month’s piece try using a
thumbpick then a bare thumb to get a
sense of the tonal difference. Lyle also
loves interesting chord inversions so check
out some of the voicings in this piece which
are drawn straight from his style.

NEXT MONTH Stuart checks out the fabulous

playing of Aussie country star, Keith Urban

6
3 7 7
2

GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB

Lovett has had a longstanding association with

Collings guitars and bought his first Collings in
1979 – you’ll typically see him with some
variation of the Collings D (dreadnought model,
as pictured). A larger body size is great for this
SUZANNE CORDEIRO/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

style as it gives you the depth to fill out a track

or accompany a solo vocal. Use the above
setting if using an acoustic amp.

TRACK RECORD Lovett’s sound is diverse, covering the gamut of what we now call ‘Americana’, which includes styles like country,
western swing, folk, gospel and blues. You’ll hear the breadth of his range on 1996’s The Road To Ensenada album. For a more straight-
ahead country sound and the gorgeous track, If I Had A Boat, have a listen to 1988’s superb Pontiac album. And catch him live if you can!

74 January 2023
 LYLE LOVETT
PLAY VIDEO

EXAMPLE LYLE LOVETT STYLE

[Bars 1-16] Playing fingerstyle in 3/4 time is less common than 4/4 so it’s great is up to – for example in bar 5 the open fifth string is played on beats 1, 2 and
to practise it. When playing through this first section make sure you can keep a the ‘and ‘of beat 3; great practise for an independent picking-hand thumb. Also
clear separation between what the treble strings are doing and what the bass check out Lyle’s 3rd in the bass inversion of an E Major chord in bar 7.

©»¡º§ A add9 Dmaj7 A5

### 3 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ
& 4 ∑
œœ œ ˙. œ ˙˙ ..
˙ ˙.
E 0
B 2 0 0 2 2 0
G 2 2 2
D 2 0 2
A 0 0 0
E
1

Aadd9 E /G #
### œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙˙˙ ... œ
& œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ ˙. ˙.
E 0
B 2 0 0 2 0 0
G 2 1 1
D 2 2 2
A 0 0 0 0 0
E 4
5

A9 G D5 Dmaj7

### œ œ œ œ œ ˙˙ .. œœ
& nœ œ n œœœ ˙. ˙.
œ œ
˙ œ œ ˙ nœ
E
B 2 0 0 2 0 3 2 0
G 0 0 2 2 2
D 2 0 0 0
A 0 0
E 3
9

Aadd9 E 7/G # A5

### œ œ œ œ œ œ Ó.
& œ œ ˙˙ ..
˙. œ ˙. ˙.
E
B 2 0 3
G 2 4 2
D 2 2 2
A 0 0 0
E 4
13

D maj13 E Gsus2

### œ œ œ œ œ
& œ˙ œ œœ œœ ˙˙ .. ˙˙ ..
˙. n˙ . n˙ .
E 0
B 3 2 0 0
G 2 2 1 2 2
D 0 0 2 0 0
A
E 0 3 3
17

January 2023 75
 LESSON } Acoustic Country VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE LYLE LOVETT STYLE

[Bars 17-32] Adding colour to chords is a useful technique and can elevate chord. Similarly, in bar 27 you’ll see a Dmaj7 without a 3rd which makes the
simple Major and Minor chords to something more interesting. Check this out chord a little more interesting and less predictable than a full Major 7 chord. Try
on the Gsus2 chord in bar 19 where an A, the 2nd or 9th of G, is added to this using these simple but very musical ideas in your own compositions.

D maj13 E /G # G sus2

### œ œ œ
& œ œ œœ œ ˙˙ .. ˙˙ ..
˙. ˙. n˙ . n˙ .
E 0
B 3 2 0 0
G 2 1 2 2
D 0 2 0 0
A
E 4 3 3
21

Aadd9 Dmaj7 A5

### œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ
& œ œ œ ˙˙ ..
˙ œ œ ˙. ˙.

E
B 2 0 0 2 0 2 0
G 2 2 2
D 2 0 2
A 0 0 0
E
25

E 7/G # Gadd9 D/F # A7

# # # ˙ ..
& ˙.
˙ ˙˙ ... ˙˙ .. n ˙˙ ..
˙. n ˙˙ . ˙. ˙.
E
B 3 0
G 4 2 2 0
D 2 0 0 2
A 0
E 4 3 2
29

Lyle often uses

a thumb pick to
enhance his bass
string notes.
MICKEY BERNAL/GETTY IMAGES

76 January 2023
 Find Your Perfect Tone
Every issue, Guitarist brings you the best gear, features,
lessons and interviews to fuel your passion for guitar

Guitarist magazine is also available on iOS and Android

Also available to order online at www.magazinesdirect.com/guitarist-magazine

 LESSON } Rock VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

TRIPLETS & SEXTUPLETS

Brought to you by…

This month Andy G Jones uses triplets and of the flat 9 and flat 13. So A Phrygian
Dominant, as heard here, is the fifth mode of
sextuplets to play swinging rock lines inspired D Harmonic Minor (D-E-F-G-A-Bb-C#).
by the great German guitarist, Michael Schenker. Even thought the triplet-based example
features strict alternate picking, most of the
licks featured here contain a preponderance
ABILITY RATING Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Johnny of legato articulation. Always aim to keep the
Winter among others. This explains the pulse even - it’s easy to rush or land late with
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Moderate/Advanced bluesy element heard in his playing. notes when you’re hammering on, pulling off
Info Will improve your He is a fluid improviser and his picking or sliding onto a note.
Key: Various Rhythmic understanding and legato technique were hugely influential It’s a known fact that the human brain
Tempo: Various Legato phrasing from the mid 1970s on. The lines that I’ve can’t process every note of a fast lick
https://bit.ly/3M7idbP Fretting-hand technique written for this lesson draw on several individually - when we play faster lines,
different types of harmony - the Aeolian we’re sending instructions to our hand to

T
his issue’s column is based around the
use of triplet quavers (eighth notes) and
sextuplet semiquavers (16th notes). Our
inspiration is the great German rock
guitarist Michael Schenker. While
Schenker’s style has something of a classical
influence, predating Yngwie Malmsteen by
quite a few years, he was influenced by
The superb Michael
Schenker with his
signature two-tone
Dean V guitar
mode, Mixolydian mode, the Blues scale and
even the Phrygian Dominant. Phrygian
Dominant can in many contexts sound like
it’s come from classical music but also forms
a part of Santana’s sound when playing over
the V chord in a Minor key. The Phrygian
Dominant is the fifth mode of the Harmonic
Minor and is distinguished by the presence
play sequences of notes rather than a
separate impulse for each note. With this in
mind, make sure that you learn the lines
slowly and carefully before you speed them
up. If you try and play fast before you’ve
programmed the fingers to play exactly the
right notes at exactly the right time, you’ll
waste a lot of time and energy.
As there are quite a few slides as well as
hammer-ons and pulls-offs, the fingering
can be tricky, so feel free to adjust it - there
might be a way to execute the lick that suits
your hands better than the tab; this is just
how I played it at the time of recording.
As always, if you like a lick or part of it, try
to personalise it by experimenting with your
own variations - this is how you’ll form your
own individual style.
Have fun with this. I hope it adds little
something to your bag of tricks.

NEXT MONTH We’ll look again at using triplets in

both eighth and 16th-note form to create licks
inspired by the brilliant Paul Gilbert.

6 4 4 4

GAIN BASS MIDDLE TREBLE REVERB

For this month’s ideas you’ll need a classic heavy

blues-rock tone with fuzz or overdrive - the fuzz
tone used was close to the classic 70s sound, so
make sure you can hear the note articulation. A
KEVIN NIXON/CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE/FUTURE

splash of reverb will help. You might want to try

plate or even a hall reverb rather than the more
bluesy spring reverb sound. A vintage delay
would add breath to the notes.

TRACK RECORD Schenker played in UFO, The Scorpions and The Michael Schenker Group. Legend has it that he turned down positions in
several huge bands to pursue his own muse. Try One Night At Budokan for a taste of MS live. The song Cry For The Nations has an archetypal
Schenker solo. But also check out I Love The Life I Live with Joe Walsh - both of them play killer solos that are chock full of stealable licks.

78 January 2023
 TRIPLETS AND SEXTUPLETS

EXAMPLE 1 SCHENKER-STYLE HAMMER-ONS

You can hear the heavy influence of Michael Schenker here, as hammer-ons are something of a trademark in his style. Be careful with the position shifts.

©»ªº /¡ºº √ œ œ œ œ œ
Em

4 . œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ
PLAY &4 .
6 6
6 6 6 6 6 6

E
B . 12 17 15 17 12 17 12 17 12 8 12 8 12 8 10 8 7 10 8 7 10 12 8 7
10 8 6 10 8 6 5 8 6 5
G
D
A
. 7 5 9 7 5 9 10 9 7 10 9 7 5 9

E
1

& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙. ..
6 6

œ
6
œ œ œ œ œ œ
E
B .
G
D
A
7 5 4 7 5 4 2 5 4 2
5 3 2 5 3 2
5 3 2 5 3 2 0 3
2
5 2
.
E 5 3
3

EXAMPLE 2 LEGATO AGAINST AN OPEN STRING

Here we see legato lines running up and down the fifth string, using the open string to help with the position shifts. It ends with a bluesy inflection.

©»ªº /¡ºº A7

œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ #œ œ œ œ
6

& 44 .. œ œ
6
# œ œ œ œ
6
œ œ œ œ
6

œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ
PLAY
œ œ 6
6
6
6

E
B .
G
D
A
. 0 4 5 7 5 4 0 5 7 9 7 5 0 7 9 10 9 7 0 7 9 10
7 9 11 9 7 9 11 12 11 9 11 12
9 11 12 11 12 11 9
12 9 10 11
9 12 9

E
1

œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
#œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ ..
&
6 6 3 3

BU
10 12 11 10 10 11 10
.
E
B 10 13 10 13 13 10 13 10 10 13 10 13 13 10 13 10
G
D
A
11 12 11 12 12 (13 ) 14 12 12
.
E
3

WE’LL MAKE YOU A BETTER PLAYER!

January 2023 79
 LESSON } Rock VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/3M7idbP

EXAMPLE 3 STARTING ON THE 5TH

This lick leads on from Ex2 but starts with a descent to the open string from the 5th interval - it’s good to get away from starting licks on the root of the chord.

©»ªº /¡ºº A7

œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
6
4 œ œ
6 6
. # œ œ
6

& 4 . œ œ #œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
6

PLAY
œ œ œ 6 6
6

E
B . 12
G
D
A
.75 4 0 4 5 7 9 7 5 0 5 7 9 7 5 7 9 10 9 7 0 7 9 10 9 7 9 10 12
9 12 11 9 11 12
9 12 11 9 11 12 14 12 11 12 14

E
1

œ œ œ œ
nœ #œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
1/4

œ œ œ œ bœ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
1/4

& œ ..
6 3 3
6
1/4

.
1/4
E 12 15 12 12 15 12
B 13 14 14 13 15 15 13 15 13
G
D
A
14 12
14
14 12
14 13 12
15
13 12
15 12 10 12
10
12
.
E
3

EXAMPLE 4 ALTERNATE-PICKED IDEA

Example 4 differs from the others by being played with strict alternate picking. Feel free to re-finger the last bar if the suggestions don’t suit you.

©»¡∞º E m
# 4 . 3 3 3 3 ..
& 4 .
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ # œ œ
PLAY
œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœœ œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œœœ œ
E
B . .
G
D
A
. 0 2 3 0 2 3 2 3 5 3 5 2 3 0 2 2 3 6 7
.
E 0 0 2 3 0 2 3 3 5 2 3 0 2 3 5 2 3 5 0 0 11 0 0 8 0 0 7 0 0
1
≥ ≤ ≥≤≥≤ etc

EXAMPLE 5 PHRYGIAN DOMINANT LICK

Again we’re using the open string to facilitate position changes but this time several open strings. The Phrygian Dominant scale provides the Eastern sound.

©»ªº//¡º∞
¡ºº # œb œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
A7 9

# bœ œ œ œ œ œnœ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œnœœœ#œ œœ œœœ œ bœ œ
6

& 44 ..
6

PLAY œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ
6 6 6 6 6 6

E
B . 9 10 9 0 9 10 12 10 9 0 9 10 9
11 10 8 11 10 8 6 10 8 6 5 8 6 5 5 8 6 5
G
D
A
. 7 6 7 6
8 7 5 8 7 5 3 7 5 3 2 5 3
E
1

# œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ .
6

# œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ
6

œ œ #œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ
6

& œ œ œ .
3
6 6 6 6

E
B 8 10 11 10 .
G
D
A
2 0
4 1 0 1 4 5
2 3 2 3 5 7 3 5 7 8
6 7 6 0 6 7 9 7 6 0 6 7 9 7 6 7 9 10 9 6 0 7 9 10
.
E
3

80 January 2023
 ALBUM } REVIEWS

NEW ALBUMS
them with extra ideas or
improvisation. For fans of guitar
based instrumental music, the
variety ranges from percussive
A selection of new and reissued guitar groovers to ambient sonics. As for
the guitars, Steve’s electric and
releases, including Album Of The Month acoustic performances form the
centre point be they melodies,
chord riffs or cleverly stacked
ALBUM OF THE MONTH arrangements. Mariah’s Theme is
a classical-world music-electronic
POLYPHIA composition with intriguing
REMEMBER YOU WILL DIE melodic and harmonic turns.
(Rise Records) 10/10 There’s appealing nylon-string
While there are many fresh guitar guitar on Lothian’s Way, giving
heroes online these days the the electronica a dash of madrigal
anticipatory appetite for the latest magic. Pinnacle is percussion
Polyphia album has been quite free, with a classical piano and
something. As an instrumental four- guitars arrangement while closer,
piece, they’ve been together since Martian Mood nods to early 70s
2010 with guitarists Tim Henson prog with synth filter sweeps and
(tattoos) and Scott LePage (long exclamatory guitars. (JS)
hair) amalgamating a broad span of
styles. Be it Guthrie Govan type LONELY ROBOT
shred, chords or rhythms as favoured by neo soul players like Isaiah A MODEL LIFE
Sharkey, K-Pop extended chord progressions or mathematical (Inside Out Music) 8/10
cleverness à la Animals As Leaders it’s a heady brew. With the Driven by
cheerily titled Remember You Will Die, the 12 tracks are a sonic vocalist,
assault of super tight interplay with crazy guitar arrangements guitarist and
bouncing around the stereo spectrum. There are plenty of producer John
collaborations too - Brasstracks join on opener Genesis, redolent of Mitchell,
US soul-rock bands like Mint Condition, vocalist Sophia Black Lonely Robot is
excels on the punchy ABC. Of interest to us is closer, Ego Death a UK rock band that embraces
featuring Steve Vai. He enters halfway through with his whammy prog styles ranging from Genesis
bar melodies and soaring bends, and it’s quite something. If you to It Bites (John sings in It Bites
want ‘brave guitar for a new world’ you have to add Polyphia to your too) and beyond. A Model Life is
list. They’re too big a guitar phenomenon to ignore now. (JS) the fifth album created over two
years with themes about life and
relationships. Digital God
THE COMMONERS Pentatonic lick in the style of Machine is a Pink Floyd tinged
FIND A BETTER WAY Jimmy Page. Naturally blends big production (nice Lydian
(Gypsy Soul Records) 8/10 acoustics and electrics for the changes here, too) that works
This Canadian halftime southern rock ballad, with space and vibrant electronics
four-piece while I Won’t features guest pedal to cover the topic of keyboard
blends rock, steel from Michael Eckert. This warriors online. The guitar solo
blues and soul is good stuff. (JS) on Species In Transition is rich
in songs that with melody and bluesy
seem perfect VIRGIL & STEVE HOWE inflections, showing John’s
for live shows. There are nine LUNAR LIST sophisticated chops. The
tracks here, with great guitar (InsideOut Music) 8/10 Genesis-esque electronic keys,
work from vocalist Chris Yes’s famous electric piano and guitar parts on
Medhurst and lead player, Ross six-stringer’s Starlit Stardust are most
Hayes Citrullo. Opener is light new release has appealing - the chorus is huge.
rock groover Find A Better Way been created The title track evokes the same
ALBUM REVIEWS BY JASON SIDWELL AND DAVID MEAD
ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW
FLANG DANG
(The Last Music Company) 8/10
Released February ’23
It’s been a wait
since Andy
Fairweather
Low’s last solo
album, Sweet
Soulful Music,
came out in 2006, but Flang Dang
is a notable return to form. More
often spotted either as a sideman
to artists like Eric Clapton and
Roger Waters or in the driving
seat of his own band, The Low
Riders, on Andy’s new album he
plays all the instruments except
drums, which were handled by
Low Rider Paul Beavis. Andy’s
love for rock and roll is to the fore
from the very first track, the
upbeat Waiting On The Up, and
the mood continues in one form
or another throughout. Dark Of
The Midnight sounds like it could
have been written for Clapton’s
Journeyman era, whereas Ska 67
crackles with a delightful reggae
vibe. It’s great to hear Andy again,
as this whole album is a joyful
party. Jump right in! (DM)
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
RETURN OF THE DREAM CANTEEN
Warner Records 9/10
Available now
Some bands
have an
immediately
identifiable
soundprint and
we found that
you only have to be 23 seconds
into the new Chili Peppers album
before you conclude that it
couldn’t be anyone else. Is it
Flea’s funk-driven bass or
Frusciante’s furious guitarscapes?
Nope, it’s more like the sum of a
rather glorious set of parts.
“Return Of The Dream Canteen is
everything we are and ever
dreamed of being. It’s packed.

that evokes a blend of The Stones
and Reef with overdriven guitar
tones and enthused vocals. Fill
My Cup is a recent single that
evokes their roots-rock sound
well. More Than Mistakes is a
blend of The Black Crowes, Rival
Sons and The Allman Brothers
- nice slide licks in this. Too Much
ups the drive both with the guitar
tones and the drum feel plus we
caught a speedy ascending
from
unreleased
material from his late son, Virgil
Howe. It’s their second
collaboration and it’s an
intriguing blend of styles from the
title track’s electronica vibes to
the piano and electric guitar
based Free Spirit. Working from
Virgil’s pieces, Steve has added
guitars and bass to enhance what
was already there, or expanded
70s prog band - John sounds
similar to Peter Gabriel at times
- but without sounding pastiche.
The dynamic range is strong
throughout the album with songs
like Mandalay (keys and voice
only) and the expansive Rain
Kings (small parts to big sections)
being good examples. If you’re
after prog rock with a 70s/80s
pop vibe, Lonely Robot is worth
checking out! (JS)
Made with the blood of our
hearts…” the band declares in the
album’s press release and there’s
little doubt that this could be their
best to date. It’s full of catchy
melodies – check out My
Cigarette or Tippa Ma Tongue –
recalling the band’s 90s
masterpiece, Blood Sugar Sex
Magick. There’s even a tribute to
Van Halen with the song, Eddie.
It’s a winner. (DM)

January 2023 81
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Incorporating quintuplets

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Mitch Dalton, Justin Sandercoe
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82 GuitarTechniques August 2012
November 2015
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