This lick is influenced by Paul Gilbert and Richie Kotzen and incorporates wide fret-hand stretches, string skipping, tapping and legato phrasing [hammer-ons, pull-offs and unpicked slides].
It starts out with a three-notes-per-string A minor pentatonic [A C D E G] flurry played on the A, G and high E strings. To avoid injury, be sure to warm up your fret hand before diving into this lick.
The tapping comes into play at the end of bar 1 and includes the use of a tap-and-slide move, which can be a little bit tricky to do accurately at first if you’re unfamiliar with this technique. You might want to first practice it a few times to acquire the right touch before moving on.
When sliding the tapping finger, try not to press it against the string any harder than necessary, because doing so will create undo drag [friction] and actually make the technique more difficult to perform.
In bar 2, I move down the high E string through the A natural minor scale [A B C D E F G], using tapping in combination with fret-hand hammer-ons, pull-offs and legato slides. It’s not your typical tapping pattern, but it’s easier to play than you might think.
The last part of the lick [bar 4] settles into the fifth-fret A minor pentatonic ‘box’ pattern on the top three strings and incorporates a few notes from A natural minor, along with a string bend and some decorative vibrato.
I advise you to practice this lick with a metronome at first. Start at a very slow speed, and make sure you play each note cleanly and accurately before increasing the tempo. Shred on!
Extreme metallers Arch Enemy have introduced a new member — Alissa White-Gluz, the former vocalist from Canadian act the Agonist.
Angela Gossow, who joined Arch Enemy in 2000 and made her debut on Wages Of Sin (2001), will be stepping down as front-woman and focusing on the band's management.
Now the band have debuted a music video — the title track from their upcoming album, War Eternal, which will be released in June — and you can check it out below. The video was produced by Patric Ullaeus.
"This is a day to remember," says guitarist Michael Amott. "It is such a great feeling to come back with new music and to unleash the first single and video off War Eternal."
Check it out below — and be sure to tell us what you think in the comments! Also, you can see the band's current tour dates below the video.
ARCH ENEMY LIVE 2014
23.05.2014 Turbohalle, Bucharest, Romania
24.05.2014 Metal Summer Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
25.05.2014 Mixtape 5, Sofia, Bulgaria
27.05.2014 Majestic Music Club, Bratislava, Slovakia
29.05.2014 Rock and Roll Arena, Romagnano Sesia (Novara), Italy
30.05.2014 New Age Club, Roncade, Italy
02.06.2014 L'Etage, Rennes, France
03.06.2014 Le 106, Rouen, France
04.06.2014 La Laiterie, Strasbourg, France
05.06.2014 Rosenhof, Osnabrück, Germany
07.06.2014 Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg, Sweden
09.06.2014 Studio USF, Bergen, Norway
10.06.2014 John Dee, Oslo, Norway
11.06.2014 Copenhell, Copenhagen, Denmark
13.06.2014 Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany
14.06.2014 Conrad Sohm, Dornbirn, Austria
15.06.2014 Nova Rock - Nickelsdorf, Austria
27.06.2014 Rock am Härtsfeldsee, Dischingen, Germany
09.07.2014 RockMaraton, Pecs, Hungary
11.07.2014 Rock Harz Open Air, Ballenstedt, Germany
12.07.2014 Masters Of Rock, Vizovice, Czech Republic
13.07.2014 Seven Festival, Wegorzewo, Poland
19.07.2014 Dong Open Air, Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany
02.08.2014 Wacken Open Air, Wacken, Germany
07.08.2014 Getaway Rock, Gävle, Sweden
08.08.2014 Leyendas Del Rock, Alicante, Spain
09.08.2014 Alcatraz Metal Festival, Kortrijk, Belgium
14.08.2014 Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbühl, Germany
17.08.2014 Alt-Fest, Kettering, UK
22.09.2014 Re:Republic, Minsk, Belarus
23.09.2014 Yunost', Kiev, Ukraine
25.09.2014 Arena Hall, Krasnodar, Russia
27.09.2014 Glav Club, Moscow, Russia
28.09.2014 Zal Ozhidaniya, Saint Petersburg, Russia
30.09.2014 Otdykh Club, Novosibirsk, Russia
01.10.2014 Angar Club, Omsk, Russia
03.10.2014 Tele Club, Yekaterinburg, Russia
Singer/songwriter/performer LP will release a new track, entitled "Night Like This," digitally on April 1st.
This track is the first single from her upcoming Warner Bros. Records debut album.
"Night Like This" was co-written by LP and Nate Campany, produced by Grammy Award-winning producer and WBR chairman Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Dave Matthews Band) and co-produced with Mike Del Rio.
"It's funny because the song almost didn't make the album," says LP, who made her living writing songs for other artists like Rihanna and Christina Aguilera, before focusing on her solo career.
"It was promised to a couple of major artists before I decided to keep it for myself."
"Night Like This" is LP's first official release since last year's Live at EastWest Studios EP, which featured the memorable track "Into The Wild" (which was also heard in the CitiBank TV commercial).
Take a listen to "Night Like This" below:
In other LP news, the Los Angeles-based artist will perform "Slip Sliding Away" at the Paul Simon Tribute show "The Music of Paul Simon at Carnegie Hall" in New York City on March 31st. The show features 20 artists performing 20 Paul Simon classics to benefit youth-centered music education programs in New York City. Visit www.carnegiepaulsimon.com for more information.
Additional LP information coming your way soon. Until then, check www.iamlp.com for details.
So Brown saunters by on the sidewalk dressed unassumingly in an old suede bomber jacket, dark dungarees, and a fading gray army cap.
Guitar in hand, you might mistake her for a rebellious teenage boy. But when Brown begins to play, sensually engrossed in ethereal song, you quickly realize: This is not child’s play—this is a highly developed, fully realized artist.
From out past the railway tracks and forgotten rivers of rural Alabama, So Brown has emerged with haunting songs of love, women, nature, and death. She releases Point Legere on April 22, 2014 – Earth Day and the fourth anniversary of the terrible oil spill that devastated the shores of her hometown.
Produced by Bryce Goggin (Anthony and the Johnsons, Joan as Policewoman) and recorded live to analog tape, Point LeGere includes an all-star cast of 14 musicians appearing on the album. Friends Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson appear alongside legends of the NY country (Jim Campilongo of the Little Willies), jazz (Adam Levy and Tony Scherr) and art rock world (Doug Wieselman).
Here's So Brown performing her song "Come Hither" with Sasha Dobson:
And beelow, watch Norah Jones perform Brown's album standout "Dauphin Island" along with Sasha Dobson. The tune is a sweet, nostalgic childhood photo of a song about fishing with her Grandpa on the barrier island off the coast of Alabama.
Brown will showcase Point Legere in her home-borough at vintage guitar shop Retrofret on Saturday, March 22. Click here to learn more. She is also scheduled to perform a CD Release Show in Manhattan on Thursday, April 24 at Rockwood Music Hall. Both shows are free and also, very intimate.
Tours are in the works for both north and south of the Mason-Dixon line, and beyond. Browns’s mission: “It’s time to share the hidden secrets and hidden loves of my youth; I put it all into this album.” And thus a little unknown pocket of Alabama is introduced to a world that has no idea it exists, as So takes a place alongside the great American songwriters. The music is bold, sensual and mesmerizing; by all means, experience it, and of course keep a sharp eye on your woman.
The folks over at Electro-Harmonix have created and posted a new demo video for the company's Tortion overdrive/distortion pedal.
You can check out the video, which features guitarist Bill Ruppert, below.
From the company:
"Our flagship overdrive/distortion covers vast tonal real estate and redefines versatility.
"Like a database of great tone, the EHX Tortion’s full complement of features and controls make dialing in inspired guitar sound intuitive. Whatever the era, from vintage to modern, your search for the ultimate tone has ended."
Today we bring you a brand-new video from 14-year-old French guitarist Tina S. — her first of 2014.
In the video, which she posted to YouTube Thursday, March 20, she covers Yngwie Malmsteen's "Arpeggios from Hell."
"[This song] has the most extreme arpeggios that I've ever come up with," Malmsteen says in the video at the bottom of this story. "In a lot of octaves and a lot of different modes. It's very hard to explain."
Cutting not only a distinctive physical, but musical figure in the world of rock, Bradford Cox has for years been one of music’s most creative, enigmatic and fascinating personas.
Although his output has slowed over the last twelve months, from 2008 to 2011 Cox was on a barely comprehensible streak of creative brilliance.
With Deerhunter, the noisy ambient-punk band he fronts with equally capable singer/songwriter Lockett Pundt, and with his ongoing solo project Atlas Sound, Cox has crafted an immense, stunning body of work that truly stands alone.
Although he is probably most famous as a defender of the loud, in your face spirit of punk, and for the stunning noise-rock he has created with Deerhunter for years, Cox is equally as incredible unplugged.
Here we examine choice cuts from Cox's acoustic catalog.
1. Atlas Sound: “The Screens”
Always incredibly prolific, Cox for months would randomly drop “Virtual 7’” records recorded under the Atlas Sound moniker on his blog for free.
Despite it never being on an official, physical release, “The Screens” is one of the most beautiful ballads Cox has ever written.
A lonesome harmonica wanders restlessly over the song’s beautiful acoustic playing. It’s a fairly simple song, but one that simply takes your breath away.
The way Cox commands every aspect of the track showcases his complete mastery of the art of songwriting. As a fairly obscure B-side, it’s not easy to find. But its absolutely worth the effort, a hidden treasure deep inside of Cox’s imposing discography.
2. Atlas Sound: “Attic Lights”
Coming from Logos, Cox’s second official full-length as Atlas Sound, “Attic Lights” is a more polished display of his acoustic mastery.
As he sings “when I get to paradise/play my bass against the wind/I look down on the attic lights/I won’t be safe or tired,” Cox plays a twisty riff that never seems to repeat itself.
Evocative and beautiful, Cox brings you into his world on this wonderful track.
3. Deerhunter: “He Would Have Laughed”
Out of all the entries in Cox’s discography, its tough to pick one that stands above all the others. But if there has to be one, Deerhunter’s Halcyon Digest is a pretty strong candidate. A truly stunning album with incredible scope, it is all over the place musically.
Its closer, “He Would Have Laughed,” is its sole acoustic moment, and one of its best. A jaw-dropping, seven and a half minute tribute to Cox’s recently deceased friend Jay Reatard, Cox takes you on an amazing journey that seems to cover a million miles.
Looping a simple riff, Cox lays the groundwork for the track’s first half. He croons “I’m only bored as I get older” over the song’s driving percussion. Even as the song gracefully transforms into a blissful, laid-back, acoustic-driven march five minutes in, it is a song that is haunted by ghosts. As a tribute to a friend and fellow musician, “He Would Have Laughed” is heartfelt, desperately melancholic and deeply moving. It continues to be one of the highlights of Cox’s career.
4. Atlas Sound: “Wintergreen Sketch”
To fully grasp the way Cox ticks as a musician, one should probably look at the staggering Bedroom Databank series. Released one by one on his blog (for free) in November 2010, Bedroom Databank is a four-volume collection of songs, ideas, covers, jams and little riffs Cox came up with and recorded entirely by himself in his Georgia studio.
All in all, there’s over three hours of music to uncover. And yes, some of the tracks are little more than un-developed curiosities. But an incredible amount of it is fascinating, a direct look inside Cox’s creative process.
Even with that said, it may seem ridiculous for me to include this highlight off of Volume 2, a track that lasts a total of thirty seconds. But in thirty seconds, Cox demonstrates what an inane sense he has for building acoustic tracks. A little riff starts the song, than comes another layer and another. Soon enough, Cox has built a lovely song with just a couple layers of acoustics. You’ll want it to last longer after he cuts the delightful little ditty after just thirty seconds.
“Mona Lisa,” taken off of Volume 3, comes at the other end of the Bedroom Databank spectrum. A fully formed, irresistibly catchy song, Cox would later re-record it for his next official Atlas Sound album, Parallax.
While Cox has always been fascinated with ambiguity and noise in music, “Mona Lisa” brings his pop sensibilities right to the fore. And boy oh boy can he write a mean pop song.
Placed alongside the beautiful instrumentals that also occupy the Bedroom Databank series, “Mona Lisa” shows Cox’s amazing versatility.
6. Atlas Sound: “Amplifiers”
Released in late 2011, Parallax is Cox’s most recent Atlas Sound effort to date. It is also his most polished and seasoned record overall.
But none of the studio gloss that Cox uses on Parallax dilutes his songwriting talent. “Amplifiers” is a hushed, unassuming beauty of a song.
He never puts a foot wrong, driving the song along with a simple but urgent acoustic riff.
Coupled with quiet doubling of the riff on the bass, “Amplifiers” creeps onto you, surprising you with its brilliance.
Jackson Maxwell is a freshman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is double majoring in history and journalism. He is an editorial assistant at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian and has his own music blog entitled "Broken Drums." You can follow him here at http://broken--drums.tumblr.com/ or themotorcade.tumblr.com.
A great performance is the culmination of preparation, delivery and — you guessed it — GEAR, and with a massive prize package from TC Electronic, TC-Helicon and Tannoy, you’ll be ready to step up your game in no time! Just fill out the entry form below to enter the competition! Good luck!
A great performance is the culmination of preparation, delivery and — you guessed it — GEAR, and with a massive prize package from TC Electronic, TC-Helicon and Tannoy, you’ll be ready to step up your game in no time!
Just fill out the entry form below to enter the competition! Good luck!
TC Electronic, TC-Helicon and Tannoy all belong to the same mothership of tone — and with that comes the heritage of countless years of dreaming, playing and sweating to create products that deliver the richest audio experience imaginable.
With their acclaimed TonePrint range of guitar stompboxes, TC Electronic is perhaps the best known player in the guitar community, and products like 2290, SCF, PolyTune, Flashback Delay and Hall of Fame Reverb have become household names. Recently they released Ditto Looper, and now Ditto X2, whose no-nonsense take on looping has taken guitarists everywhere by storm.
TC-Helicon is the only pro audio company in the world that's 100 percent dedicated to singers (and singing guitarists!), and for more than a decade the company has made sure everyone’s live vocal sound matches that of the studio. Its latest flagship processor, VoiceLive 3, is a multi-FX powerhouse that provides a complete performance suite of all the vocal and guitar effects you’ll ever need, including vocal harmonies that follow your guitar and Guitar FX from the TC Electronic TonePrint pedals.
Tannoy is the grand old man of the bunch, but still very much hip to the beat. Since 1947, its studio monitors have been the staple of recording gold, playing an integral part in the creation of some greatest music in your collection: the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Jason Mraz and Jay Z, to name just a few. Tannoy’s latest range of studio monitors, the Reveal series, promises a new (and affordable) day for musicians on the go. Portable, easy to connect and expertly voiced for a massive sweet spot, even the tiny 402s roar with the clarity and punch of big monitor sound.
Let’s continue with a topic that I addressed in last month’s column: focusing on the formation of specific scalar patterns, or “shapes,” and how to connect them while traversing the fretboard.
To me, this concept and approach offer a sensible way to practice these ideas/patterns in order to build up one’s chops while also increasing overall fretboard awareness and mastery of scales.
The thing I like best about the licks I’m going to show you is that they force you to look at the fretboard beyond playing in a fixed position, or “box” pattern, as the runs move in a more diagonal pattern across the fretboard, which is much more in line with the way that I actually approach the instrument in regard to improvisational soloing.
FIGURE 1 illustrates a pattern based on the E Aeolian mode (E F# G A B C D) and is played in steady 16th-note triplets. When ascending and descending, the shapes are created by a three-notes-per-string approach while remaining diatonic to (within the scale structure of) E Aeolian.
I alternate pick (down-up) throughout, starting on a downstroke. This exercise provides a great workout for both hands, in that the fret-hand fingerings change often, from index-middle-pinkie to index-ring-pinkie, and it requires a good amount of stamina and accuracy to alternate pick every note in this five-bar run with absolute precision and clarity.
I recommend that you practice it as slowly as possible at first, with strict attention paid to clear articulation of every note while striving to keep both hands as relaxed as possible. Then, gradually increase the tempo. Try to keep your fret-hand fingers arched over the strings, positioned so that the fingertips are coming down onto the board from directly above, as this will help you attain a sharper, more defined note.
Throughout the first three bars and through beats one and two of bar 4, the pattern that ascends on beats one and three is repeated in reverse, in descending order, on beats two and four. Spending a little extra time like this on each pattern/shape should facilitate the memorization of the pattern as well as provide an extra workout designed to bolster your technique.
Because the patterns are played in reverse order on every other beat, the highest note is always repeated on the downbeat. I like to accent these high notes the second time through by picking them a little harder, which serves to add rhythmic drive to the phrase. At the end of the pattern, beginning on beat three of bar 4, I repeatedly descend through a new pattern, one built from the repetition of the previous three-note melodic shape.
Now let’s take a similar idea and apply it to straight 16th notes. In FIGURE 2, I play lines based on eight-note patterns in E Aeolian that ascend through the scale one degree at a time in that I follow the last note of each eight-note “cell” by moving up to the next scale degree and starting a new cell. In FIGURE 3 I apply the same idea to the 16th-note-triplet rhythm shown initially in FIGURE 1.
Once you have a firm grasp of these patterns, try playing them in every area of the fretboard and on every group of strings that you can think of. If you then expand the exercise to other scales and modes, you will have many hours of dedicated, worthwhile practice ahead of you!
Master the essential metal techniques used by artists like Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden and many others.
In the feature-filled 20 Essential Metal Licks Lick Pack DVD, you'll learn the essentials of metal guitar playing, such as two-note harmonies and power chords, alternate-picking and hammer-on accents, pentatonic wide-stretch leads, string-skipping arpeggios, fast alternate picking, legato arpeggios and more!
You'll also be treated to artist-specific licks, including melodies à la Metallica and Testament, Dimebag Darrell-style picking techniques and Slayer-inspired thrash!
With more than 60 minutes of instruction, you'll learn to play in the styles of:
• Dimebag Darrell • John Petrucci • Metallica • Iron Maiden • Slayer • Randy Rhoads • Jake E. Lee
... and many others!
Your instructor is Metal Mike Chlasciak. A longtime contributor to Guitar World magazine with his Metal for Life instructional column, Metal Mike plays guitar for Halford and with his own band. His latest releases are The Metalworker and This Is War, which are available from metalmike.net.
Though he's mostly revered for his huge-sounding, eternally cool riffs, inventive altered tunings, acoustic fingerpicking masterpieces and otherworldly, ambient soundscapes, Jimmy Page also is one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock.
That his solos in such Led Zeppelin classics as "Good Times, Bad Times,""Heartbreaker,""Rock And Roll" and "Stairway To Heaven" are so firmly etched in two generations of guitarists' memories is testimony to his compositional and improvisational genius.
In this lesson, we'll examine the main technical elements and improvisational approaches that characterize Page's soloing style, and we'll look at some of his signature licks.
The Smear Box
Jimmy relies heavily on the minor pentatonic "box" pattern illustrated in FIGURE 1 for many of his licks, using mostly the top three or four strings. When he does go down to the bottom string, he'll shift positions with his middle or ring finger on the 5th string, as indicated here.
FIGURE 2 shows this fretboard pattern in the key of E with the root note E falling on the top and bottom strings at the 12th fret. Using this visual pattern as a template, Jimmy will often begin a phrase by playing the Chuck Berry-influenced "smear" motif shown in FIGURE 3 in the key of E.
This lick begins with a whole-step bend on the G string from the fourth up to the fifth (A to B). The bend is executed with either the ring or middle finger while the index-finger barres the root-fifth doublestop on the top two strings.
Page utilizes this smear motif as a springboard to dive into blazing E minor pentatonic speed licks like those shown in FIGURES 4-6. As you play through these figures, notice the use of pull-offs on the top three strings, as well as whole-step bends, such as from the minor third up to the fourth (G to A) on the 1st string at the 15th fret. You can hear Jimmy playing licks along these lines in his solos in "Good Times, Bad Times" (1:30), "Dazed and Confused" (3:52), "The Lemon Song" (1:51) and "Communication Breakdown."
Jimmy also uses these same types of repeating smear/pull-off licks in different keys. For example, in his outro solo to "Black Dog" (4:12), he plays a lick similar to the one shown in FIGURE 6, but in the key of A using the 5th-position A minor pentatonic (A C D E G) box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 7. In his first two lead phrases in "Moby Dick" (:36 and :41), he uses this same fretboard shape in the 10th position (see Figure 8) to play scorching blues licks in D minor pentatonic.
Page utilizes this same fretboard shape to play major pentatonic licks as well. He does this by simply moving the minor pentatonic box pattern shown in FIGURE 1 down three frets, transforming it into a major pentatonic box pattern in the same key, as illustrated in FIGURE 9.
If you compare the E minor and E major pentatonic box patterns depicted in FIGURES 2 and 10, you'll notice that the fingering patterns are identical, but that the notes assume different harmonic functions. This simple three-fret transposition enables Jimmy to transform minor pentatonic licks into major pentatonic licks (and vice versa) in the same key using the same fretboard shapes and fingering patterns.
Jimmy applies this transposition principle brilliantly in his "Communication Breakdown" solo. After playing several measures of rather dark sounding E minor pentatonic blues licks in the 12th position, he suddenly creates a lighter shade of blue by playing E major pentatonic licks using the exact same fretboard pattern in the 9th position.
Page uses this same major pentatonic box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 9 to play bright-sounding country-style licks, most notably in "The Song Remains the Same" (in D, 7th position, at :58, and in A, 2nd position, at 4:19), "Celebration Day" (in C, 17th position, at 1:46, and 5th position at 1:53) and "Houses of the Holy" (in A, 2nd position, at 1:11).
FIGURE 11 is a signature Jimmy Page "wall of notes" triplet run played in the 12th-position E minor pentatonic box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 2. You can hear him playing similarly blistering runs, both ascending and descending, in "Good Times, Bad Times" (at 1:30, 2:02 and 2:33) using this same fretboard pattern. In "I Can't Quit You Baby" (2:29), he plays almost the same lick in A minor pentatonic using the box pattern depicted in FIGURE 7.
Though he's mostly revered for his huge-sounding, eternally cool riffs, inventive altered tunings, acoustic fingerpicking masterpieces and otherworldly, ambient soundscapes, Jimmy Page is also one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock. That his solos in such Led Zeppelin classics as "Good Times, Bad Times,""Heartbreaker,""Rock And Roll" and "Stairway To Heaven" are so firmly etched in two generations of guitarists' memories is testimony to his compositional and improvisational genius. In this lesson we'll examine the main technical elements and improvisational approaches that characterize Page's soloing style and look at some of his signature licks.
Sweet Bends
One of the things that makes Page such a great lead player is his tasteful, lyrical use of string bending (he prefers extra light gauge strings because they're easy to bend and shake). FIGURE 12 illustrates a minor pentatonic box pattern Jimmy uses to play soaring Albert King-style bends like those shown in the key of E in FIGURE 13. (Notice the inclusion of the major third in this shape. Jimmy will often teeter between the major third and fourth when playing in a major or dominant seventh tonality.)
As this example demonstrates, this compact little box shape lendsitself to performing a variety of soulful half-step and whole-step bends, such as from the fourth to the lowered fifth (A to Bb), from the minor third to the major third (G to G#), from the fourth to the fifth (A to B) and from the root to the second/ninth (E to F#). It's also great for playing screaming one-and-a-half-step and two-step "overbends," such as from the root to the minor third (E to G), from the root to the major third (E to G#) and from the fourth to the major sixth (A to C#). Jimmy uses this box pattern in the 15th position to play these types of bends in E in "Good Times, Bad Times" (1:43), and in A (8th position) in "I Can't Quit You Baby" (2:48).
Vibrato
One the most distinctive features of Jimmy's lead "voice" is his polished vibrato, especially his bend vibrato (vibrato applied to a bent note). His vibrato is fast, even and shimmering. A classic example of Page's impeccable bending and vibrato technique, as well as his phrasing genius, is his lead break beginning at 3:05 in "Whole Lotta Love." This excerpt is comprised of six succinct, punctuated phrases and each one reveals at least one signature Jimmy Page move. This solo is also a great example of how he uses notes from the E minor pentatonic scale (E G A B D), the E blues scale (E G A Bb B D) and the E major pentatonic scale (E F# G# B C#) in combination to create soulful, bittersweet melodies.
Jimmy plays phrases 1 and 3 in the trusty 12th-position E minor pentatonic box, which, as we've already seen, facilitates the rapid execution of pull-offs, hammer-ons and bends on the top three strings. He begins the first phrase with the whole-step smear bend on the G string, then plays a slick descending lick using the E blues scale. Notice the smooth double pull-off from Bb to A to G. He finishes the phrase with the same bend from A to B, which he then adorns with a haunting, wide vibrato. This bend vibrato is produced by partially releasing the whole-step bend and pushing it back up to the "target" pitch (B) in a quick, steady rhythm, as illustrated in FIGURE 14.
Phrase 2 demonstrates Page's judicious use of the "open-position" E minor pentatonic scale pattern. Notice how he takes full advantage of the open-string notes by playing a slick double pull-off (B to A to G) to the open G string, followed by a descending succession of fast single pull-offs to the open G and D strings.
Jimmy returns to the 12th-position E minor pentatonic box in phrase 3 and plays a smear lick on the top three strings, which he follows with a bend on the 2nd string at the 15th fret from the minor seventh (D) up to the root (E). Notice how he then plays the minor third (G) on the 1st string at the 15th fret, then quickly bends the D note up to E again and sweetens the bend with a robust vibrato, using the same partial-release-and-rebend technique detailed for the bend vibrato in phrase 1.
B.B.'s Box
Phrases 4-6 demonstrate Jimmy's tasteful use of a fretboard pattern many guitarists endearingly refer to as "B.B.'s box" (in honor of the legendary blues guitarist B.B. King, who relies on it for most of his signature licks). This pattern is based around the index finger on the root note on the 2nd string and facilitates the playing of major pentatonic, minor pentatonic and blues scale licks, all in the same position and key, with the index finger functioning as an "anchor" on the root note. FIGURE 15 illustrates this box pattern in E, with the root note located on the B string at the 17th fret. Jimmy begins phrase 4 on this note, then performs a gut-wrenching two-and-half-step overbend at the 20th fret on the same string, bending the G note all the way up to C (the lowered sixth) using both his ring and middle fingers to push the string (this technique is known as reinforced fingering). After releasing the bend he picks the E note again then plays the natural sixth (C#) below the root on the 3rd string at the 21st fret.
Jimmy begins phrase 5 on the root, E, at the 17th fret, then plays a screaming one-and-a-half-step overbend on the 1st string at the 20th fret, bending the fifth, B, up to the lowered seventh, D. Again he employs both his ring and middle fingers to push the string for added strength and control. After releasing this bend, he plays a descending lick using notes from the E blues scale. You can hear Jimmy playing a similarly wailing lick using this same box pattern (and an Echoplex) in his "You Shook Me" solo (4:18).
At the end of this solo, 3, Page contrasts the harmonically darker sound of the blues scale by playing a brighter sounding E major pentatonic lick in the same position. Notice how he bends the second/ninth, F#, up a whole step to the major third, G#, then overbends it an additional half step to the fourth, A, again using two fingers to push the string.
Unison Bends
Another signature move in Page's lead lexicon is the unison bend. This technique involves strumming two fretted notes that are a whole step apart on two adjacent strings (either the G and B, or B and E), thenquickly bending the lower note up a whole step to match the pitch of the higher note. This maneuver works best on the B and G strings, as the notes are comfortably fingered two frets apart with the index finger on the B string and the ring finger on the G string (the middle finger can help the ring finger bend the lower note up to pitch). Properly executed, this technique produces a natural chorusing effect and makes the doubled note cut through the roar of the rhythm section like a laser beam through fog. Page uses unison bends to emphasize notes during key melodic phrases and licks. You can hear him utilizing this technique on the G and B strings in "Dazed and Confused" (3:39), "Stairway to Heaven" (7:29) and "Communication Breakdown."
Open-string Licks
Some of Page's fattest sounding and most memorable licks are performed in the lower fretboard positions and involve the use of open strings. FIGURES 16 and 17 are twangy 1st- and 2nd-position licks that use single and double pull-offs to the open strings. You can hear Jimmy playing similar types of open-string licks in his solos in "The Song Remains the Same" (4:30) and "Moby Dick" (:46).
Behind-The-Nut
Another cool move Jimmy does is bend a string behind the nut by pressing down on it with his fingers. A classic example of this is the slinky, psychedelic lick he plays in his a capella solo in "Heartbreaker" (2:06). This lick is performed using double pull-offs to the open G string with the left hand as the right hand repeatedly bends the string behind the nut to raise the pitch of the C note (5th fret) a whopping two whole-steps. Jimmy uses a similar technique in his "Dazed and Confused" solo (4:04). In this case, he bends and shakes the open string behind the nut using his first two left-hand fingers as he repeatedly picks the stringwith his right hand. He uses the same technique during the song's intro (:14), where he sounds a G natural harmonic (N.H.) on the 3rd string at the 12th fret, then, as the harmonic is still ringing, bends its pitch up a whole-step to A by pressing the string downward behind the nut with his left hand.
Lateral Mobility
Jimmy will often shift from one position to another in the middle of a phrase to play long, smooth ascending runs like those shown in FIGURES 18 and 19, using finger slides to seamlessly connect the notes and transport his left hand up and down the fretboard. You can hear him playing similar types of ascending runs in "Moby Dick" (:52), "Black Dog" (3:36) and "Heartbreaker" (2:35 and 3:08).
"Since I've Been Loving You" is a fine example of the expressive use of "crammed" phrasing in a slow blues context (the "wall of notes" approach). Notice also how he effectively exploits the minor pentatonic box pattern introduced back in FIGURE 1, this time in the key of C minor, and uses the ninth (D) as a "color" tone.
This primer is but a glimpse into one aspect of Jimmy Pages' unique, multifaceted guitar style. The best way to truly understand and appreciate his diverse, inventive approach to melody is to study complete transcriptions of classic Led Zeppelin songs, many of which have appeared in these pages over the years. (Complete album folios are available from Warner Bros. Publications, Miami, Florida.) If you really want to emulate Jimmy, then do what he did early on and open your mind and ears to a healthy variety of guitar styles and musical genres.
A lot of people come up to me and say, “Satchel, you rock! You know all 28 frets of your guitar, man!”
And I say, dude, are you stupid? My guitar only has 24 frets…or something. I don’t remember how many frets my guitar has. But the point is that I know how to get up and down my neck, and how do I know that? I know all the scales and all the arpeggios, and all of the positions of all of the modes, in all of the keys.
But once you know all of that stuff, you still need tools to create cool, memorable licks. This month, I’m going to show you one tool I like to use, which is a short, simple repetitive pattern you can easily move up the neck to create really cool licks for your solos.
FIGURE 1 is based on the E natural minor scale (E F# G A B C D), and I begin with two ascending notes on the G string, followed by two ascending notes on the B string and then consecutive single notes on the G and B strings. On beat two, I shift up the neck to the next position, and instead of starting the new shape by playing two notes on the G string,
I just slide into the higher of the two notes and follow on the B string with a repeat of the previous shape. Keep in mind that all of the notes I play are diatonic to (within the scale structure of) E natural minor, so the shapes in each fretboard position change slightly to accommodate the scale. On a given string, the notes used are either one fret, which is a half step, or two frets, which is a whole step, apart.
From beat four of bar 1 through all of bar 2, I switch to shapes that are based on E minor pentatonic (E G A B D), ending with a whole-step bend and vibrato on the B string. This idea can easily be moved over to other pairs of adjacent strings. In FIGURE 2, I move the concept up to the B and high E strings and play ascending licks based primarily on A natural minor (A B C D E F G), switching to fast hammers and pulls based on A minor pentatonic (A C D E G) at the end of the lick.
FIGURE 3 repositions the A natural minor concept onto the D and G strings, but once I reach 17th position, I stay there and move across to the higher strings to finish off the lick, culminating with pick scrapes, whammy-bar dives and all of that other crap that metal guitar players are required to do.
Finally, FIGURE 4 shows how I work these types of shapes into a typical solo. The lick is played in E minor, and, rest assured, anytime you see some long-haired guy playing rock or metal, the song is probably in E minor or A minor…or D minor, or B minor, or F# minor, or G minor, or Cs minor.
Okay, this is getting confusing, right? So always go for E minor first. It’s easy and it sounds really good.
Buzz Osborne, legendary Melvins guitarist and grunge progenitor, will release his debut solo full-length album, This Machine Kills Artists, on June 3 via Ipecac Recordings.
"I have no interest in sounding like a crappy version of James Taylor or a half-assed version of Woody Guthrie," said Osborne of the 17-song offering, "which is what happens when almost every rock and roller straps on an acoustic guitar."
Instead, Osborne insists that "This Machine Kills Artists is a different kind of animal."
Osborne is currently touring for the first time as a solo artist, wrapping up a three-week trek that included a SXSW interview session with The Stooges' James Williamson. Remaining dates include March 21 at Radio Radio in Indianapolis, March 22 at Beat Kitchen in Chicago and March 23 at the High Noon Saloon in Madison. An extensive North American tour kicking off in June will be announced shortly.
Listen to Osborne's acoustic stylings in "Dark Brown Teeth" from This Machine Kills Artists below:
This Machine Kills Artists track listing:
Dark Brown Teeth
Rough Democracy
Laid Back Walking
Drunken Baby
Vaulting Over A Microphone
New River
The Vulgar Joke
Everything's Easy For You
The Ripping Driving
How I Became Offensive
Instrument of God
The Spoiled Brat
Illegal Mona
Good and Hostile
The Blithering Idiot
Useless King of the Punks
The Hesitation Twist
Three decades into a remarkably successful career, guitarist Phil Collen looks at each day as a new beginning.
Best known for his work with rock band Def Leppard, Collen is also involved with a gritty blues-rock trio, Manraze, where he is joined by Paul Cook and Simon Laffy.
Their latest EP, I Surrender, was released late last year. His newest project is a blues duo, Delta Deep, with vocalist Debbi Blackwell-Cook. They’re at work on an album. He is also writing his autobiography.
Last year, Def Leppard released the live CD/DVD package Viva! Hysteria, which captures their Las Vegas residency, where they performed the classic Hysteria album in its entirety. The band played a stretch of concerts for fans who traveled from all points to see them — a fact Collen doesn’t take lightly.
In this interview, Collen looks back and faces forward regarding life as a member of Def Leppard, and what’s made it possible for the band to survive both personal and professional challenges.
GUITAR WORLD: Thirty-three years. Where did they go?
It’s weird, I know. It’s still ongoing. If I were looking back at something, I think it would make me feel old, but the fact that it’s ongoing and I have serious work to do, and of course promoting Manraze, there’s a lot going on.
Do you go back mentally and emotionally when you play those classic Def Leppard songs?
Interestingly enough, I don’t, but when we did the Viva! Hysteria thing, that’s exactly what happened. When we were rehearsing the songs, I’d remember all these crazy guitar parts that Mutt Lange would have me do. He’s say, “Try this,” and I’d say, “That doesn’t exist.”
He’d say, “Tune this guitar and let’s get this harmonic and counter-rhythm and this rhythm,” so I’m listening and re-learning this stuff and all these memories came flooding back. Even on stage, we did 11 shows and it was exactly what you said. I remembered being in the parking lot of the studio, the actual studio, the control room, where my guitars were, all the gear. It was very much time transportation.
Two-part question. First, like any relationship, how do you keep things interesting and challenging when you know each other so well?
Like any relationship, you have ups and downs. We’ve had all these crazy experiences, but one thing that keeps us very much grounded is that we’ve had all of these experiences together. We’ve had amazing highs and brutal lows, like a family, but the difference is we’ve been together longer than most families exist — someone leaves home at 18, the parents split up — we’ve been here for 33 years and we’re still trucking on, so that makes a big difference.
And the fact that we can relate to each other. You eventually fall out or disagree, but you have all this experience to keep you grounded and bound together. Plus, when you have new ideas, everyone’s really excited about this recording and what they want to bring to the table. It’s been a while since we did an original album. We did three songs on the Mirror Ball thing, but I think this will be different. It’s going to be an exciting Def Leppard record or EP. Whatever it’s going to be, it’s going to be really cool.
Have you chosen a producer?
We’re going to start with Ronan McHugh, who does all our other stuff. We may get someone. If we can find someone interesting enough, then we’ll definitely do that for a few songs. We have a concept already, I certainly do, of what the stuff should sound like, so I don’t want a producer coming in and putting their two cents in yet. We’ll select a few songs and have a producer come in to do that.
Second part: How do you keep going when you face some of the most difficult obstacles?
If you took anyone’s private family life, anyone in or out of the band, it’s actually worse than what we’ve been through as a band, so that’s how we view it. It’s like any family. People die, people get awful diseases, divorces, tragic and traumatic things. So we never view it as that. It just is what it is, really.
Over the years, you’ve watched the industry change: downloads, ringtones, social networking, crumbling labels, stolen music. Can you envision getting a band off the ground now?
Yeah, but on a different level. You don’t have the interruption, you don’t have A&R guys or record labels. It’s a very creative period if you want it to be. I’ve heard younger guys and musicians coming out, there’s this band in Ireland called The Stripes, they’re 15 or 16 years old, and they kind of sound like a cross between early Stones, Pretty Things and the Kinks, and so they’ve got this retro thing. I think it’s different from that point of view.
You don’t have these massive labels jumping on people too much anymore, they play it very safe, but I do think you can be very creative and expressive. I hear that a lot. It depends on what you want to do. If you want to be rich and famous, it’s probably not going to happen. If you want to express yourself and share it, then the world is your oyster, you can do anything you want. So on one hand you’ve got this golden age of creativity because you can make your own records, but you’re not going to get as much play out of it. If you want to be famous, which a lot of people want to be, it’s a bit tougher.
Is there a guitar album in your future?
Yeah, probably, I think so, because I’ve been recording some instrumental stuff, just guitar, so I think maybe somewhere. More like soundtrack stuff, very heavy to jazz fusion to metal, all in one. Probably after next year I’ll start working on it. You know what, I’ve already started working on it. I’ve got three songs that I’ve recorded.
Alison Richter interviews artists, producers, engineers and other music industry professionals for print and online publications. Read more of her interviews right here.
Oklahoma natives and southern-infused hard rockers Anti-Mortem have released an exclusive acoustic performance video for the song "Hate Automatic."
The song comes off the band's upcoming debut album, New Southern.
Formed in 2008 and raised on southern rock and heavy metal, the combined average age of this Oklahoma quintet is just 21-years-old.
The band dole out bottom-heavy and groove-laden anthems with every track and infuse a modern sense of melody that is the signature trademark of all the metal greats they've learned from.
New Southern will be released in physical and digital formats on April 29, 2014 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by the esteemed Bob Marlette (Black Stone Cherry, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shinedown, Rob Zombie).
Watch the band play "Hate Automatic" acoustic-style below:
New Southern track listing:
01. Words Of Wisdom
02. New Southern
03. 100% Pure American Rage
04. Hate Automatic
05. Black Heartbeat
06. I Get Along With The Devil
07. Path To Pain
08. Wake Up
09. Ride Of Your Life
10. Stagnant Water
11. Truck Stop Special
12. Jonesboro
BONUS TRACK:
13. A Little Too Loose (MR. BIG cover)
Robert Francis is set to release his fourth album, Heaven, June 3, 2014 on Aeronaut Records.
Recorded with his new backing band The Night Tide, the album’s 13 songs were produced by Robert, mixed by Mark Rains (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Jeff Buckley, Nirvana).
Following the release of his third album Strangers In The First Place, Robert nearly abandoned his music career after a near nervous breakdown derailed his supporting tour of the album.
Immersing himself in drugs and alcohol, he shaved his head and moved to Michigan with a girl he’d met on the road, unsure of his future. That is until his passion for music came calling again, allowing to him find new inspiration in these experiences and setting the path toward a new album.
Check out the album's first single, "Love is a Chemical," below:
“I’d never known a life other than one consumed by music,” he says. “I had to lose myself in order to rediscover who I was in the beginning. I was able to do that in Michigan but eventually left to start over and pursue a series of songs that kept showing up in my dreams.”
Heaven is a record that utilizes every facet and flaw of his being. Through his kaleidoscopic lyrics and vivid musical landscapes, Francis paints the picture of a man on the fringes of himself and reality. “Heaven is an idea, place or feeling in which all of us are after yet cannot fully understand. Most of the songs on this album are concepts dealing with things that are much bigger than us.”
Robert Francis and The Night Tide tour dates:
6/11 – Hi Dive – Denver, CO
6/12 – Record Bar – Kansas City, MO
6/13 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
6/14 – Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA
6/15 – The Space – Evanston, IL
6/16 – The Drake – Toronto, ON
6/17 – Middle East – Cambridge, MA
6/18 – Cafe Nine – New Haven, CT
6/19 – Rough Trade – Brooklyn, NY
6/20 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
6/21 – Boot & Saddle – Philadelphia, PA
6/22 – DC9 – Washington, DC
6/23 – The Mothlight – Asheville, NC
6/24 – Vinyl – Atlanta, GA
6/25 – High Watt – Nashville, TN
6/27 – Fitzgerald's Downstairs – Houston, TX
6/28 – Stubbs Jr. – Austin, TX
7/1 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
7/2 – The Crux – Boise, ID
7/3 – Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA
7/4 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR
7/5 – Cosmic Pizza – Eugene, OR
7/8 – Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
7/9 – SoHo – Santa Barbara, CA
7/10 – Independent – San Francisco, CA
7/11 – Harlow’s – Sacramento, CA
7/12 – Slo Brew – San Luis Obispo, CA
7/16 – The Casbah – San Diego, CA
7/17 – The Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA
Introducing a new Acoustic Nation series, Sunday Strum.
We’ll be posting a new easy strum pattern every week with an instructional video.
Take a stab at it and increase your strum repertoire. Enjoy!
In the first episode of Sunday Strum, we try a pattern in ¾ time. The emphasis is placed on beats 2 and 3.
This time signature is close to 6/8 and they can be easily mistaken for one another.
Sometimes they can be distinguished by the use of an abrupt accented pattern.
There are other factors in a piece of music that will determine which time signature is present. This is just a simple example.
After mastering this rhythm, try to accent different parts of the measure to see how it changes the overall feel. Don’t forget to check back next week for Episode 2 of Sunday Strum!
Strum pattern:
Justin Horenstein is a guitar instructor and musician in the Washington, DC metro area who graduated (cum laude) from the Berklee College of Music in 2006. He plays in Black Clouds, a 3-piece atmospheric/experimental band. Their debut album was recorded by J Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines). Justin’s 18 years of musical experience also includes touring the U.S., a record deal under Sony, starting his own teaching business, recording several albums, and playing club shows with national acts including Circa Survive, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Biffy Clyro, United Nations, Caspian, and more.
<em>Guitar World</em> and Ernie Ball have teamed up to present the ultimate spring gear offer! You can find out more by watching the video at the bottom of this story! In the meantime, you can fill out the entry form below for your chance to win!
Guitar World and Ernie Ball have teamed up to present the ultimate spring gear offer!
You can find out more by watching the video at the top of this story!
In the meantime, you can fill out the entry form below for your chance to win (Click on the item name for more information):
Guitar and bass players can now unlock their instruments' tonal possibilities with this patent-pending pickup-switching system. Combining any order of pickup coils in series, parallel, in or out of phase gives you access to the most extensive library of never-before-heard tones with access to more than 250,000 pickup combinations, without manually rewiring anything!
Changing strings has never been easier! It fits 100 percent of all tuning keys; it's 80 percent faster than tuning by hand. Never buy batteries again - comes with re-chargable battery and power adapter.
In the video below, Guitar World's tech editor Paul Riario compares two sets of Ernie Ball guitar strings — the company's ever-popular Slinkys and its brand-new M-Steel electric guitar strings.
You can see his side-by-side comparison in the top video. The bottom video, which was provided by Ernie Ball, tells you more about M-Steel strings. At the bottom of the story, you'll also find a photo gallery showing the M-Steel's many varieties.
From the company:
Ernie Ball's M-Steel electric guitar strings are unlike anything you've played before.
Short for "maraging steel"—an extremely strong alloy used in high-stress applications for the aerospace and defense industries—M-Steel wound strings are comprised of Ernie Ball's patented Super Cobalt alloy wrapped around a maraging steel hex core, producing a richer, fuller tone with powerful low-end response.
M-Steel plain strings are made from a specially tempered steel for maximum fatigue resistance, resulting in a louder, stronger string. A patented winding of steel around the ball end of M-Steel plain strings reduces slippage, resists breakage and stays in tune better than conventional plain strings.
The loudest, most expressive strings ever created, M-Steel strings provide increased output, frequency response and strength.
Jimmy relies heavily on the minor pentatonic "box" pattern illustrated in FIGURE 1 for many of his licks, using mostly the top three or four strings. When he does go down to the bottom string, he'll shift positions with his middle or ring finger on the 5th string, as indicated here. 
Jimmy also uses these same types of repeating smear/pull-off licks in different keys. For example, in his outro solo to "Black Dog" (4:12), he plays a lick similar to the one shown in FIGURE 6, but in the key of A using the 5th-position A minor pentatonic (A C D E G) box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 7. In his first two lead phrases in "Moby Dick" (:36 and :41), he uses this same fretboard shape in the 10th position (see Figure 8) to play scorching blues licks in D minor pentatonic.
One of the things that makes Page such a great lead player is his tasteful, lyrical use of string bending (he prefers extra light gauge strings because they're easy to bend and shake). FIGURE 12 illustrates a minor pentatonic box pattern Jimmy uses to play soaring Albert King-style bends like those shown in the key of E in FIGURE 13. (Notice the inclusion of the major third in this shape. Jimmy will often teeter between the major third and fourth when playing in a major or dominant seventh tonality.)
Phrase 2 demonstrates Page's judicious use of the "open-position" E minor pentatonic scale pattern. Notice how he takes full advantage of the open-string notes by playing a slick double pull-off (B to A to G) to the open G string, followed by a descending succession of fast single pull-offs to the open G and D strings.
Phrases 4-6 demonstrate Jimmy's tasteful use of a fretboard pattern many guitarists endearingly refer to as "B.B.'s box" (in honor of the legendary blues guitarist B.B. King, who relies on it for most of his signature licks). This pattern is based around the index finger on the root note on the 2nd string and facilitates the playing of major pentatonic, minor pentatonic and blues scale licks, all in the same position and key, with the index finger functioning as an "anchor" on the root note. FIGURE 15 illustrates this box pattern in E, with the root note located on the B string at the 17th fret. Jimmy begins phrase 4 on this note, then performs a gut-wrenching two-and-half-step overbend at the 20th fret on the same string, bending the G note all the way up to C (the lowered sixth) using both his ring and middle fingers to push the string (this technique is known as reinforced fingering). After releasing the bend he picks the E note again then plays the natural sixth (C#) below the root on the 3rd string at the 21st fret.
"Since I've Been Loving You" is a fine example of the expressive use of "crammed" phrasing in a slow blues context (the "wall of notes" approach). Notice also how he effectively exploits the minor pentatonic box pattern introduced back in FIGURE 1, this time in the key of C minor, and uses the ninth (D) as a "color" tone.
