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Showing posts from 2014

They're Worth A Mention...

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When talking to any guitar player about solos, the usual suspects will no doubt be brought up, from the harmonically rich solo in "Hotel California" played by the guitar duo of Don Felder and Joe Walsh, to Jimmy Page's display of virtuosity in "Stairway to Heaven". In this article, I'm going to list five of my all-time favourite guitar solos at great risk to my personal well-being... 5. Home (01:48) Artist/Band: Michale Buble Solo Played by: Brian Green Feel, feel feel! This solo is made of pure feel. It starts off small and never really gets any bigger, however, the attention it demands is what makes it the bit of musical gold that it is. Brian Green's old school jazzy tone is exactly what this song cries out for. It is smooth and unobtrusive. His control is also worth noting. Each note sits beautifully among the instruments in the rhythm section as well as the string arrangement. Each listen yields something new to appreciate. 4.Smell

Tips on Becoming a Better Guitar Player

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Stop reading this and practice... Jokes aside, let me just state that these tips most probably won't make you more technically proficient on your instrument. That is not my goal. My goal is to introduce you to a new way of thinking when playing the guitar. Hopefully these tips will help you on the road to becoming a musically, harmonically rich guitar player. Let's get started. 1. Stop Listening To So Many Guitar Players Seems like a bit of a counter-productive statement, doesn't it? When I first started becoming a semi-proficient guitar player, listening to other guitarists and guitar-driven songs seemed like the natural thing to do, and for a while, this method definitely helped me on my way to technical proficiency. Pretty soon I was playing along to classics such as, "Hey Joe", "Layla" and "Sultans of Swing" with ease. However, It didn't take me long to hit the "ceiling" with regard to my musicality. It took me years

Gigging Tip #1

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Get There Early! Something that I have learnt over my years of gigging is that if something can go wrong, it will. A simple way to prevent any unforeseen mishaps from happening is having enough time before you have to start playing to do some pre-gig checks. Normally, a sound check would be a great way to iron out any wrinkles that may become apparent. The most common things that I look out for are: 1. Faulty cables, 2. Battery strength in pedals, microphones, active instruments, etc. 3. Speaker and microphone placement. Feedback prevention should be the ultimate priority before your gig starts. The last thing anyone wants to hear when they go out is screaming feedback. Kill the feedback before it kills your gig!