Guitar Lessons with Tune in, Tone up!

In this lesson, Dan and I return with an audio only lesson but a really useful lesson on harmonizing guitar parts. In this lesson: Dan defines what it means to harmonize guitar parts, we examine how this is different to pitch shifting when working in a key, we play the C major scale with harmony parts in 2nds, 3rds, 4ths and so on, we harmonize the theme tune for Eastenders (PAAAAT!!) and we try to harmonize a lick with bends in it (I struggle with bending over another part). The lesson ends with some discussion about the issues you may face when harmonizing, Dan gives some practical uses including the riff for Led Zeppelin’s Rock n’ Roll and finally there is a summary of the learning points of the lesson and notable tips. 00:00:59 Setting up this lesson on guitar harmonies and harmony vocals 00:05:01 Defining a harmony part 00:06:53 If you just keep the same distance between the two notes, some notes will fall out of key 00:08:35 Conclusion: harmonizing is not the same as pitch shifting 00:10:06 How a harmonizer pedal works 00:11:16 Harmonizing the C major scale 00:12:13 Adding a number to each note in the scale 00:17:46 Dan and I playing the C major in unison 00:17:58 Discussion around 2nds and our next activity 00:18:52 Dan and I playing the c major scale a 2nd apart 00:20:16 Discussion around 3rds 00:21:03 Dan and I playing the C major scale a 3rd apart 00:21:45 Discussion around 4ths 00:22:53 Dan and I playing the c major scale a 4th apart 00:23:39 2-part harmony vs multiple parts 00:24:16 Dan and I playing the c major scale a 5th apart 00:26:07 Dan and I playing the c major scale a 6th apart 00:27:10 Discussion around 7ths 00:27:30 Dan and I playing the c major scale a 7th apart 00:28:17 Dan and I playing the c major scale an octave apart 00:31:42 9ths 00:32:31 Practical applications of harmonies 00:32:37 Practical application 1: harmonising a simple melody (Eastenders) 00:39:18 Playing harmony 3rds from the B string to the top E string 00:41:19 Back to the Eastenders theme tune and our harmonisation demonstration 00:44:26 What are the practical uses for the Eastenders harmonization idea 00:45:16 Using an idea which the guitar is specifically good at - bending in harmony 00:50:36 Harmonizing the D major pentatonic scale 00:53:31 Back to our bending lick and harmonizing using the A dorian scale 00:55:34 Rock and Roll (Led Zep) - harmonizing rhythm parts 00:58:05 Summary of lesson and some final points

THE TWO VIDEOS FOR THIS ONE WOULD BE HELPFUL: https://youtu.be/K7N1TxJm17k https://youtu.be/BSAEidhkFcU In this lesson, Dan talks pedals and pedalboards.  We take a tour round his board and a small tour round mine too.  Then we examine the question (from the perspective of a beginner) of what pedal someone could start out with.  Dan also gives his wisdom on some ways which you can keep in mind the big picture (perhaps of a pedalboard) and get the pedals which are the most useful. There’s a really big section in which Dan walks me through what the different uses of the Strymon Timeline are and also regularly demonstrates a wide range of pedals with examples. 00:00:33 Start of main lesson 00:02:11 Using the Timeline - set to Pink Floyd Run Like Hell 00:03:19 Timeline setting - Reverse Delay 00:04:30 Timeline setting for Purple Rain 00:05:12 With a lighter chorus sound 00:05:29 Ducking delay 00:05:50 Clean boost 00:06:27 Different boosts 00:06:52 Wah wah pedal on 00:07:19 Sweep Filter 00:07:43 With compression 00:08:00 Octave pedal effect 00:08:28 Delay for Pink Floyd's - Another Brick in the Wall 00:13:15 Dan playing through my pedalboard 00:13:30 Corona TC Electronic Chorus 00:14:11 Increasing the depth 00:14:26 Delay Boss DSD3 00:15:21 Sampler? 00:15:34 Boss compressor CS3 00:16:34 Using a compressor pedal as a clean boost 00:17:05 Boss Overdrive OD3 00:17:32 A little trick is to leave the drive down and use the level as a boost 00:18:11 Reverb HOF mini 00:18:47 Boss GE7 Equaliser 00:20:06 Stripping it back to beginner level 00:20:29 Running with the question - what pedal ought I buy? 00:20:40 The 'ice' delay setting - pitch shifted delay 00:24:09 Srtymon - Timeline 00:25:22 Timeline: The Wall 00:25:54 Timeline: Always 00:26:43 Timeline: Ice 00:26:49 Timeline: Duck 00:27:14 Timeline: Purple Rain 00:28:09 Timeline: Streets have no name 00:28:52 Timeline: Reverse delay 00:29:34 Timeline: Tape delay (slapback rock and roll) 00:30:10 Timeline: multi-tap (run like hell) 00:30:55 Dan's tips on what pedals to buy 00:31:18 Tremolo - slapback delay (50s) 00:31:30 Less delay, wah wah and fuzz (60s) 00:31:56 Analog delays and chorus (70s) 00:32:52 Chorus and big delay (80s) 00:34:50 Into the Great Wide Open through the looper as a basis for a jam track 00:37:54 First pedal for Dan would be an overdrive 00:41:01 Explanation of overdrive 00:44:27 A good idea for a second pedal - a clean boost 00:44:49 On a clean channel - take into a solo 00:47:37 On a drive setting - a similar application shows the difference in lift 00:50:15 Buffered vs true bypass 00:55:37 Another great pedal is a wah wah 01:01:18 Next suggestion is a compressor 01:03:07 Good for Country music 01:03:46 Using a slight driven sound the compressor sustains the notes 01:06:11 Next type of pedal we discuss is a phaser 01:07:18 Using a phaser on Money (Pink Floyd) 01:08:05 You do something to me - Paul Weller 01:10:12 Another pedal to consider is a flanger 01:11:44 Next pedal is a chorus 01:13:02 Demo - chorus 01:14:18 Tremolo effect 01:17:27 Dan explains how he practically uses his board live 01:20:01 What is delay? Quick rundown 01:26:30 Tying your cables together and prepping your board for a quick setup

THE TWO VIDEOS FOR THIS ONE WOULD BE HELPFUL: https://youtu.be/K7N1TxJm17k https://youtu.be/BSAEidhkFcU This is the preamble for lesson 18, in which Dan and I take the viewer through our pedalboards, briefly describing what the pedal does and how we put together our pedalboard. See lesson 18b for the full lesson

In this lesson, Dan helps me out with my acoustic sound for a performance I have been asked to do for my sister-in-law’s wedding. I am performing several songs at the front of their service some of which they have chosen and some of which they have asked me to come up with. As there is a delay on publishing our episodes, this comes after I have actually done the performance and it went very well, particularly because of Dan’s excellent advice and suggestion to use a looper pedal which I followed. In the second part of this lesson, we take a look at how to arrange multiple parts for the looper pedal performance, particularly covering “Something” by the Beatles. In the end, the performance was of the following songs: 1) ‘Something’ by the Beatles: Played while the wedding party awaited the arrival of the bride 2) ‘Textbook’ by We Are Scientists: Played as my sister-in-law walked up the aisle 3) ‘Pretty Ugly Before’ by Elliott Smith: Played while the register was being signed 4) ‘I Don’t Want to Know’ by Fleetwood Mac: Played as everyone left Most songs were played using my Boss RC30 to create a long loop, then some layers added to this on the fly along with some melodic playing and improvisation. On ‘Textbook’ the Looper was not utilised but I used reverb, chorus and a bit of delay to build the atmosphere. The acoustic amp I use is the Marshall AS100D which is great and has an effects loop with the downside of being very heavy. Timings 00:01:05 Equipment which I have bought to the lesson: Gibson J45, Looper RC30, Marshall AS100D 00:01:51 Outlining the four songs I'm doing as part of this performance 00:03:11 Advantages and disadvantages to playing acoustic rather than electric 00:05:55 An experiment to discover what will happen when I push the AS100D a little harder 00:06:41 The low "A" note bass response feedback and how to solve using a soundhole cover 00:11:42 Alternative idea - you could use a volume pedal 00:12:47 Experimenting with the controls on the AS100D 00:17:49 Dan demonstrating 'digging in' on an acoustic 00:19:30 Another thing about the settings on your amp: you want the amp set so you can use "touch" to control the volume and response 00:21:11 Getting onto the songs with the looper 00:24:31 Dan's first go with the looper playing “Something” by the Beatles 00:25:56 Dan's second loop with correct start and end 00:29:23 Identifying the double stops which Dan was using 00:32:09 Dan's suggestion to layer the Am section 00:33:39 Overdubbing the Am section 00:37:47 Dan harmonising the melody of the singer using guitar loops overdubbed 00:44:02 Breakdown of the Am part 00:46:16 Quick discussion about the key change and whether to include it 00:48:04 Considering other equipment like amps, pedals and different types of guitar instruments to get used to in their own right 00:51:27 “Textbook” by We are Scientists 00:52:06 “Pretty Ugly Before” by Elliott Smith 00:56:11 Dan recording a generic chord progression and the value of double stops on acoustic 00:56:27 a) using single notes 00:56:52 b) up an octave 00:57:33 c) using sixths (interval) 00:58:00 d) using arpeggios 00:58:29 e) some more double stops 00:58:57 f) using arpeggiated triads 00:59:11 g) playing quicker - e.g. sweep picking 01:00:01 h) superimposing different chords 01:00:21 i) octaves played concurrently 01:05:51 I Don't Wanna Know Fleetwood Mac

In this lesson, Dan helps me out with some planning for a performance I have been asked to do for my sister-in-law’s wedding. I am performing several songs at the front of their service some of which they have chosen and some of which they have asked me to come up with. As there is a delay on publishing our episodes, this comes after I have actually done the performance and it went very well, particularly because of Dan’s excellent advice and suggestion to use a looper pedal which I followed. In the end, the performance was of the following songs: 1) ‘Something’ by the Beatles: Played while the wedding party awaited the arrival of the bride 2) ‘Textbook’ by We Are Scientists: Played as my sister-in-law walked up the aisle 3) ‘Pretty Ugly Before’ by Elliott Smith: Played while the register was being signed 4) ‘I Don’t Want to Know’ by Fleetwood Mac: Played as everyone left Most songs were played using my Boss RC30 to create a long loop, then some layers added to this on the fly along with some melodic playing and improvisation. On ‘Textbook’ the Looper was not utilised but I used reverb, chorus and a bit of delay to build the atmosphere. The acoustic amp I use is the Marshall AS100D which is great and has an effects loop with the downside of being very heavy. I the lesson Dan demonstrates some mixed lead and chord playing, which works very well (when he does it). He gave me lots of useful advice and we’ll return to this in part 2 when I take along my RC30 to gain some input on how best to use this in the performance. Dan, as always, is very generous and helpful in his advice. Timings 00:03:24 A quick look at the two acoustics we are using today 00:11:32 Start of getting stuck into the topic of the wedding numbers I've been asked to play 00:13:50 Elliott Smith - Pretty Ugly Before 00:15:58 Dan suggests using a hammer on and pull off instead of the slide 00:16:49 Dan suggests a focus on the importance of the melody 00:18:50 Doing fills over certain chords 00:19:09 A good suggestion to build the looper pedal into my plan for the performance 00:20:03 Play through the song again with Dan adding some improvisation and fills over the top 00:25:33 Quick rundown of Dan's Taylor 314 00:26:49 Dan demoing playing chords as a backdrop and playing a melody concurrently 00:27:54 Second demo of this dual part idea 00:33:25 Advice to pre-prepare and think a lot about the chord changes - play to the chord played over 00:35:18 A quick discussion about the tonality centres found within Elliott Smith's Pretty Ugly Before 00:37:18 Some useful discussion about what to consider with regard to song choice for different scenarios

In this lesson, Dan and I take a look at the outro solo for "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Bad Company - a song which I am covering with my band. During the lesson we go through 9 tips on transcribing from Dan and we look at 9 licks from the solo. Dan shares his ideas with me on tone and effects for songs and also the different ways to approach different sorts of solos. Timings for Video Guitar Lesson 15 - on transcribing: 00:03:18 Boss RC30 Loopstation - I talk about various features on it 00:04:32 I overdub with the part Dan came up with before 00:05:41 Dan's first improvisation over the riff 00:08:42 A word on active listening and the value of ear training 00:13:24 Comedy - the dots (correction: not Smith and Jones but French and Saunders) 00:14:40 Tip 1: You need to play the song alongside the tab 00:18:29 Tip 2: When you try to transcribe something do it in small chunks 00:23:56 Tip 3: Check out live versions and alternate versions of the song 00:24:17 Sometimes YouTube guitar lessons can be illuminative 00:24:48 Tip 4: Pick something simple and work at your level 00:25:12 Tip 5: Listen for the chords - can you work them out? 00:25:37 Summary of Tip 2 00:26:08 Tip 6: Stitch the parts together and learn the piece 00:27:05 (tip 1 summary) check tabs against the songs 00:27:17 Tip 7: Try to actively listen to different parts / instruments 00:28:33 Tip 8: write out the structure of songs and parts 00:29:26 Tip 9: Music theory helps your transcribing 00:31:36 We're going to listen to the track and lift some of the lciks from it 00:33:16 Lick 1 00:34:42 Lick 2  00:35:14 Tip 10: It's good to write down what you hear 00:36:59 Lick 3 00:39:54 Lick 3 broken down 00:50:42 Lick 4 00:54:22 Lick 5 00:54:58 Lick 6 00:55:04 Lick 7 00:55:12 Lick 8 00:55:33 Lick 9 00:56:03 Lick 10 00:56:46 Three different types of solos 00:57:32 Solo 1: Part of the song 00:58:44 Solo 2: Has become an absolute classic and so should be learnt and retained 00:59:58 Solo 3: Free to mess with but there are licks and phrases that ought to be in there 01:03:11 Solo 4: Improvised and very free to mess with  01:03:43 Example of going nuts and over the top with Bad Company riff 01:05:53 Crazy Little Thing Called Love 01:06:53 Purple Rain solo

In this lesson, Dan and I take a look at some of the songs which I am performing with my band and so we focus on the dual guitar parts. I bring several songs which I am learning with other musicians in our covers band ready for a gig we will be performing in Brighton. We first look at American Girl by Tom Petty, with some talk about inversions and effects. Secondly, Dan gives me some feedback on some dual parts I came up with for Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl. Next we pay the Smith’s What Difference Does it Make? a quick bit of consideration. We finish this lesson off by some discussion with usable ideas for the solo in Substitute by the Who and the outro solo for Feel Like Makin Love by Bad Company. As always, there are plenty of other examples thrown in to assist Dan’s explanation of his ideas and ways of approaching dual guitar situations and a good improvisation session towards the end of the lesson. Our next lesson 15 will return to the solo at the end of Feel Like Makin' Love as we look at some tips on transcribing. Timings for the SoundCloud audio version: 00:02:39 Learning aims and some shout outs from social media 00:08:09 Introduction to the topic of the parts for songs I'm playing 00:09:05 Gary introduces his part for American Girl 00:15:46 In the spirit of the 80s you could put a nice big wobbly chorus on it 00:16:13 Two part phrase using different inversions 00:17:42 Second set of chords 00:19:56 Considering effects as of a time 00:22:32 How to approach a bit of a song which is quite sparse 00:24:45 Don't forget that "less is more" 00:25:32 Always ask whether you're adding something to the mix 00:26:56 Sparse rhythm for Comfortably Numb 00:27:58 Start of quick look at Cinnamon Girl - Neil Young 00:31:31 Making up second parts on the spot 00:35:01 Using two very different guitars for greater separation 00:35:17 What Difference Does it Make - Smiths 00:37:17 Harmonizing Johnny Marr's guitar part 00:43:52 Solo for Substitute by the Who 00:48:20 Two ways to play Creep - Radiohead 00:52:21 In the style of Green Day - rougher playing 00:53:50 Basket Case - Billie Joe 00:55:29 Embrace all types of style but seek the good 00:56:37 The solo for the One I Love by REM 00:59:21 Solo at the end of Feel Like Makin Love - Bad Company 01:04:59 Overbends as well could be really cool for improvising over this ending 01:06:08 Accent the rhythmic riff of the song

In this lesson, Dan and I return to take a look at how to improve your creative improvisations and what that journey looks like on the guitar. The focus of this lesson, using a backing track we recently did another lesson with, is how having some predetermined themes to use in your solo and a plan can help you to come up with ideas and interest as you improvise. As we play around with improvisation Dan gives me some tips and a strategy following a structured approach to coming up with ideas. We use octaves, blues licks and then Dan delves into a couple of ideas: First he highlights the importance of being relaxed and not tense; second we take a look at three note per string pentatonic licks and referencing lots of different players Dan demonstrates how you can delve deeply into one idea to explore the theme fully. 00:00:56 Reference to That Pedal Show and our last episode 00:01:36 Introduction - how do we mix our licks up to make them not feel too samey? 00:02:11 Fancy Fusion Backing Track in B minor | #SZBT 205: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZUCq_UlqzI 00:02:34 The focus for today's lesson is making your licks stand out - one idea leading to the next and the next... 00:03:16 Breaking solos into rigid structures 00:03:39 EG - Ritchie Samboura's solo from Dead or Alive 00:04:19 Analysing the ideas behind the parts of this solo, e.g. octaves, little blues lick, pinched harmonics, country blues rock lick, chugging chords 00:08:43 First soloing over the backing track 00:12:00 Guthrie Govan interview 00:13:34 How important it is to have goals and visualise where you want to be 00:17:55 Learn something different - have a bit of surprise left in your life 00:19:18 Dan's example of how beginners approach improvisation 00:20:01 1) isolating the ocatave theme and idea 00:21:09 2) by landing here on the fretboard you're ready for the blues lick 00:21:32 Be bold and not scared of the improvisation 00:23:53 Two tips to help when you're not sure: leave a note to hang or leave space 00:29:33 Second improvisation, focussing on relaxing and themed ideas 00:35:00 Running with weights: e.g. go up the whole scale using octaves 00:36:23 using octaves 00:36:51 Foo Fighters idea - fattening up a melody 00:37:01 Steve Vai - slipping up to the octaves, slide then octave 00:38:59 The pentatonic thing: with 3 note per string patterns 00:40:26 Second three note per string pentatonics 00:42:37 three notes on one string, then one note 00:43:10 Joel Hoekstra thing - 00:47:12 Podcast episode idea and call to action - get in touch if you want this 00:48:02 Shawn Lane lick 00:52:28 Some advice about digging deep into ideas 00:53:17 Country bends 00:54:19 Guthrie Govan idea from waves - arpeggiating with string skipping 00:55:37 Arpeggiating a Bm chord 00:58:05 Dan using the Guthrie Govan idea to solo over the backing track 00:59:05 Mixing in the Vito Bratta idea of adding tapped notes 01:01:12 Interesting video by Rick Graham - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsEHi1wykkc&feature=youtu.be 01:04:57 Final jam over the backing track

Video Guitar Lesson 12: Arranging parts for bands and situations with two or more guitarists In this lesson, Dan and I continue to explore rhythmic patterns, looking in particular at the benefits and problems which arise when playing in situations with multiple guitarists. The focus for the lesson are two songs which I am arranging to play with a band that has in it a drummer, bassist, keyboardist/singer and me and another student of Dan’s on guitar. The two songs are ‘The One I Love’ by REM and ‘Feel Like Making Love’ by Bad Company, but throughout this lesson we look at things which arise in other songs to so that we can apply this to this situation. We look at octaves, open strings, pick up choice, EQ, guitar choice, briefly effects and playing using different inversions and much more. Timings for the SoundCloud audio version 00:02:31 The setup of my band 00:03:24 Introduction to the two songs which we are going to be looking at the parts for 00:05:09 First look at the One I love by REM 00:05:59 What Dan plays for the One I love 00:08:22 Playing a second part over the opening riff using octaves 00:09:15 Second go at the opening riff together 00:11:10 A more meaty second part - playing 5th chords piano style 00:12:30 Option of not playing at all and allowing the other guitarist space 00:13:05 Dynamics in Steve Vai's - the Love of God - using increasing vibrato 00:13:39 Back off at the beginning and as the song starts to take off you increase what you are doing 00:13:46 You want to hit a chorus and have somewhere to go, some punch, some headroom 00:14:00 Using the volume on your guitar 00:14:22 Second demonstration of the piano style part 00:15:12 Money for Nothing is a good example 00:15:22 staccato style like ACDC a Long Way to the Top 00:15:35 Discussion about frequency and where you sit in the mix 00:18:05 Best thing you can do is be mindful of separating your sound from the other guitar 00:20:19 Second part for the Kings of Leon Sex on Fire riff 00:21:13 Recap of advice on frequencies and staying out of eachother's way 00:22:29 Comfortably Numb - so many things to fill the air - use delay 00:24:09 Some effects are very indicative of the time 00:26:11 Second guitar part for after the introduction and during the verse 00:27:40 First way is to play chord shapes up at the 12th fret 00:29:13 Second option with a nice delay and more sparse playing 00:30:00 Third option - start with the Em even higher up the neck 00:31:34 Fourth option - really subtle notes with volume swells and delays 00:32:52 Chorus part 00:33:52 If someone is playing something rhythmic then a good second part could be blocky 00:34:48 Whole Lotta Rosie - ACDC 00:44:33 Humbuckers (e.g. Les Paul) Sad face EQ vs Strat smiley face EQ 00:45:40 Playing using gain - roll the tone back a bit 00:47:20 The middle position on the Les Paul mixing the pups 00:48:23 What's a treble bleed? 00:49:23 Feel Like Making Love - Bad Company 00:51:30 Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd 00:53:20 Rejigging the inversions of the triads 00:56:06 Rejigging the inversions for Feel Like Making Love 00:58:30 Arpeggiated chord part for the verse 00:58:56 Sweet Home Alabama 01:03:39 Similar chord set in Feel Like Making Love so you can do a similar thing 01:05:34 Raising the dynamics for the chorus 01:09:38 Sometimes when you consider parts for songs you can bring some modernity to your parts 01:10:35 Add a dash of your own thing

Video lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlMOoyccwU0&feature=youtu.be In this lesson, Dan and I explore rhythmic patterns, how to practise rhythm and work towards playing ‘in the pocket’ and then, using a backing track, we look at how to phrase improvisation. We start this lesson by examining some of the regular rhythmic structures which you can form from quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes and triplets. I show Dan the cards which I created by methodically identifying the possible structures. Dan unpicks most guitarists’ rhythmic journey and how we usually develop over time and as a result of need and gives some of his advice, tips and techniques for helping me. In the second part of the lesson (starting at 26:37 or 27:10 on SoundCloud) we take a look at how to phrase and articulate your melodies over a backing track when improvising to give them form, meaning, interest and clout. After our first improvisation, Dan gives some central focus for us to consider in my phrasing ideas. Finally, we then have another go at improvising and after this Dan gives me some of his thinking as he formed his melodic phrases, some of his licks and things to try. Timings for the SoundCloud audio version 00:05:08 Gary shows the rhythmic structures for quarter beats on A4 card and talks about his aim to improve his rhythm playing 00:06:42 Great app for strumming patterns - 8 strummer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccNIElEfxL0 00:07:34 Dan's ideas on rhythmic playing and why most tuition is not too methodical 00:11:18 One thing about rhythm playing is that you tend to learn rhythm parts for band songs as you go 00:13:09 Gary on how he's been using a metronome 00:14:10 Sometimes it's really good to count the in-between beats which you don't play – perhaps by saying “miss”, or as part of your usual count 00:15:21 Think like a drummer - playing the different beats using low or high strings with different accents or mutes 00:16:16 Dan: “Maybe it is the offbeats when you lose your count” 00:16:59 Dan: “Using a faux strum is good” 00:18:18 One thing that really caused problems recently for Dan was the riff from Human by the Killers and how it starts after the beat 00:20:18 Dan: “Using downstrokes & upstrokes can also accent notes in different ways” 00:21:42 A difficulty in rhythm playing is trying to make it sound natural rather than robotic 00:22:48 Irish triplet jig rhythms, Dan’s take 00:23:33 Slowing things down can be really useful to hone over time 00:25:34 Using an acoustic guitar is good for strumming practice 00:26:25 A rhythmic part which really challenged Dan was when he was required to play ‘Wheatus – Respect’ 00:27:10 Phrasing and rhythmic structures in improvisation 00:28:24 Soloing over a backing track from YouTube - Fancy Fusion Backing Track in Bm 00:37:49 Quick bit of reflection on our first bit of improvising 00:38:36 1) How you group your notes in 3s, 4s etc. 00:39:09 Groups of 3. Also advice on tailing the lick off a bit 00:40:08 Groups of 4s 00:40:54 Groups of 4s in pentatonic licks 00:41:59 Grouping rhythmic notes but not scalar intervals 00:43:13 2) varying the length of your phrases 00:43:53 Start with something small and push it out from there 00:46:26 Quick recap - length of phrases, groupings and follow the rhythmic idea rather than scalar notes 00:47:32 Second improvisation over the backing track 00:53:24 Dan shares some of his thinking on this improvisation 00:53:34 1) swing and groove 00:54:15 2) think like a horn player 00:56:21 3) target certain notes (e.g. 9ths) 00:57:01 d) The 5th is a nice note 00:57:22 e) Resolve to the minor 3rd 00:58:36 f) Thinking chord tones 00:58:52 4) bending licks 00:59:52 5) going down an additional note 01:00:26 c) Going back on the note a little bit 01:00:52 d) Even using a muted note for rhythm 01:01:47 6) scoopy trem lick 01:03:57 7) pentatonic lick with tapping 01:05:04 Giving your licks form

In this lesson, Dan and I revisit the tremolo or whammy bar to go over some of the subtleties of using it to best effect. Dan starts this lesson by giving an overview of the different types of tremolo systems and then we get stuck into some different ideas and uses of the whammy bar to gain different effects. First we look at the subtle warble idea to add some shine and sparkle to your playing (we also return to this as a means of gaining vibrato high up on the fretboard at the end of the lesson). Then we take a look at some ideas widely incorporated into Jeff Beck’s style. Next we look at scooping between notes. Finally we look at the more extreme techniques of dive-bombing to catch harmonics, pinch harmonics and the ‘gurgling’ sound. Timings for the SoundCloud audio version 00:05:47 I show Dan where my trem bar skills are (or are not) 00:06:19 An exploration of the different types of trem systems 00:08:46 Uses 1) A gentle 'warble' 00:16:35 Point two: you donon't need to move the bar as much as you think 00:17:03 2) Some Jeff Beckisms 00:18:24 2a) Dipping down the pentatonic 00:23:35 2b) similar idea - modulating the pitch up 00:25:17 2c) putting the two together 00:27:38 Moving down the bar for better control 00:30:03 3) Scooping into notes 00:32:53 3b) A variation is to scoop up between notes 00:34:36 3b) Scooping up to the semitone gaps in the Phrygian Dominant 00:38:20 4) Divebomb on the G String catching the harmonic on the way back up 00:43:56 Getting a pinch harmonic and using the trem 00:46:14 Gurgling action of the trem bar by twanging the springs suddenly 00:50:06 Remember the golden rules / summary 00:50:52 Final idea - using the trem as a vibrato when playing high up the fretboard 00:51:58 Most strat trem systems and tuning stability For more on tremolo bar systems see this useful blog: https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/top-10-tremolo-systems

Video Guitar Lesson 9: Usable ideas for the melodic and harmonic minor scales and selected modes YouTube version = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LnRYVsaA3g&feature=youtu.be Guitar Gear Mentions: Wrist Grips Website: http://www.wrist-grips.com Sure Grip Guitar Picks Website: http://suregripguitarpicks.com Curt Mangan Strings Website: https://www.curtmangan.com/ In this lesson Dan helps me to develop what we began to look at last lesson by taking the theory and looking at how we can actually use and implement it. As always, there is plenty of demonstration and guitar playing throughout including over some ideas like the progression in Stairway to Heaven and California Dreaming. Covering quite a few genres and concepts, we hope you get a lot out of this lesson, whether you want to shred or are aiming for some new strategies to add interest to the melody of your improvisation. All the best, Gary and Dan https://tunein-toneup.com/ https://soundcloud.com/tunein-toneup/ Timings for the SoundCloud audio version 00:06:23 The first scale we look at is the melodic minor 00:11:48 The first use is a descending bass line progression like: Stairway to Heaven 00:16:20 Dan's example over Stairway to Heaven progression 00:17:27 Funkier ‘Stairway’ backing demo 00:19:41 Using melodic minor in a horror movie soundtrack for tension 00:21:41 Using in tune where you use an [i IV ii V] progression like Am D Bm E 00:23:42 Considering the mode: Locrian #4 00:24:32 Locrian #4 over the E of Blues in A 00:26:19 Droning an E7#5 for a melodic minor feel 00:28:31 Using over a rock song that sits in a static place 00:35:17 The second scale we look at is the harmonic minor 00:36:56 California Dreaming - using the major chord instead of the v (minor 5th) chord of the minor scale 00:37:29 Demo of this use of the harmonic minor 00:39:45 Metal backing track and the phrygian dominant mode 00:42:58 Using diminished arpeggios

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0XOIw8mCaI WEBPAGE: https://tunein-toneup.com/2019/03/01/unusual-scale-harmonic-minor-modes-grace/ In this lesson Dan really helps me to further my exploration of the harmonic minor by examining some usable situations in which to employ it. We also talk about grace notes and the value of 'feel'. There is plenty of other material and hints in this lesson too from using the tremolo bar to a major 7th variation of the pentatonic scale. As always, there is plenty of demonstration and guitar playing throughout. We hope you get a lot out of this lesson, whether you want to shred or are aiming for some new strategies to add interest to the melody of your improvisation. 00:00:00 Discussion about my gig with the new band and some insights about gigging 00:02:12 Introduction to the topic of the lesson 00:02:37 What are grace notes? 00:04:21 Blues in A - Gary improvising over the top 00:06:11 Dan demonstrating slides as slides or as grace notes 00:08:17 Discussion about 'feel' 00:10:21 Slides as a useful jazz tool, as indicative of the genre 00:11:04 Whereas Blues is categorised by more bending 00:12:12 Me improvising again trying to use grace notes over a Blues 00:20:37 Appoggiatura 00:22:39 Transition of topic from grace notes to scale choices 00:23:30 Playing the aeolian mode or natural minor 00:24:52 The harmonic minor scale 00:25:31 Harmonic minor demo 00:26:18 demo using the major seventh as a quick flavour 00:28:00 Using harmonic minor modes 00:28:11 E as tonal centre: Phrygian Major 00:31:57 Phrygian Major (Dominant) over a more metal groove 00:33:41 Taking each diatonic chord and changing to add the major seventh from the harmonic 00:37:50 Dorian #4 - Harmonic minor off the fourth (D for A harmonic) 00:39:53 Playing the Dorian #4 over a dorian vamp 00:47:50 Comparing to a diminished arpeggio 00:50:24 Marty Friedman type ideas for getting an unusual sound 00:51:32 Introducing the tremolo bar to increase the pitch capacity of bends 00:52:39 Using the trem to shape the transitions of the notes 00:54:39 Tremolo bar demo 00:58:25 New strange scale - move each root note in pentatonic a semitone lower 00:59:49 Funky vamp demo 01:02:56 Final suggestions 01:07:35 Diminished string skipping ideas

Video Guitar Lesson 7: Performance tips for acoustic guitar by Dan and Gary

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zHvJTDgPM8 In this lesson, I bring to Dan my Epiphone ES-335 Pro with its upgraded pedals (courtesy of Pedro Martins - Brighton Guitar Repairs, https://guitarrepairsbrighton.com/), my PRS and my pedalboard. I spent quite a lot of this lesson without the camera rolling looking at these pedals and checking out my Gibson J45 which Pedro has also done an excellent job of setting up. We then set the camera rolling, which is a new video camera that I hope will improve the quality of the picture, and I ask Dan to go through some of the sounds which I should be aiming for in an upcoming gig my band and I are doing for my friend's 50th birthday. As always, much of what Dan tells me is stuffed with loads of gems and nuggets and a lot of the general rationale behind music over time and a consideration of what was available then. At just before 36 mins in, we swap my PRS for my Epiphone ES-335 with the Iron Gear Blues Engines (http://www.irongear.co.uk/irongear_pickups_006.htm). Dan gives it a go, but unhelpfully it's in Open G for my Stones parts. I show Dan what I do for Tumbling Dice and Jumpin Jack Flash and we look at the sound which the new pickups give it - pretty much straight away gaining a good tone for those songs. While Dan explains about effects and technologies over time I re-tune the guitar to standard tuning and finally Dan gives it a proper play to hear the different sounds available to it. It seems like a very impressive improvement to this guitar and I couldn't recommend Pedro Martins' work strongly enough. All the best, Dan and Gary https://tunein-toneup.com/ https://soundcloud.com/tunein-toneup