You know the old saying "out of sight, out of mind", right? Well, don't let this apply when it comes to your guitar. Keep your guitar out of the case and in plain view with either a guitar stand or a guitar wall hangar. You should find you get in more practice time by simply ...
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Artists like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani are great at soloing over brooding, atmospheric minor jams. Vai's "For The Love of God" comes to mind. Here is a E Minor rock jam track in that style:
The main backing guitar part jazzes up an Em to C progression with some colorful extensions:
Some scale suggestions:
...
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Knowing the sound of a scale starts by playing it ascending and descending (see my post on
Four Scales You Should Know). But an infinite amount of music can be found within scales by changing the order of the notes and creating patterns. Today's exercise moves through the Major Scale in '3rd intervals', skipping every other note in the scale. This exercise ...
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I was listening to blues great Albert Collins' signature track 'Frosty' today. I whipped up an uptempo blues with a similar feel and key for jamming.
This is a 12-Bar Blues in the key of D. The chord progression:
|D7- - -|D7- - -|D7- - -|D7- - -|
|G7- - -|G7- - -|D7- - -|D7- - -|
|A7- - -|A7- - -|D7- - -|D7- - -|
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The songs you can play are referred to as your "repertoire"; songs that you know beginning to end and can perform without looking at the sheet music or tablature. Ideally, a couple of these songs should be 'solo' pieces: an instrumental or an accompaniment you sing to. It is good to know a couple of easy songs that you can quickly show other musicians. These ...
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I am a sucker for a good funk groove in the key of E! The following jam track scratches that itch so well...
Here are a few scale suggestions:
Have fun!
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The drummer sets the tempo and time for the band so, of course, you should listen to and lock in with your drummer.
As a rule, guitar players cue in to the top end of the drum kit: the snare drum, hi-hat and ride cymbals. Lock in with the rhythms and accents your drummer is playing ...
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