Dave Kain

Improvising over jazz standards can be a very difficult thing to do. Once you learn all your scales, arpeggios, licks etc., you may find yourself in a rut with what to do with all the harmonic knowledge you have learned. For me, an incredibly important as aspect of improvisation that is overlooked is phrase placement. Where you start and end your phrases can take your solo from a predictable, boring and safe one to a strong assertive and climatic one.

When I am improvising, I am extremely aware of what, where and when I am starting any and all phrases. Becoming conscious of this is going to be more difficult if you don’t know the tune very well. So, applying this concept may be too difficult if you are still struggling with the harmonic elements of any tune you wish to use this idea on.

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StrumSchool.com

For those people who want to learn guitar and are completely starting from scratch — I’m talking the people that don’t even know that the guitar has six strings — it can be be difficult to try and figure out exactly where to begin. Surely, youTube, Fretterverse, and plenty of books and DVDs have plenty of information to use, but there aren’t many places where you can actually sit down from the absolute beginning.

If only there was a website that catered to the Day One guitarist…

Enter StrumSchool.com

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I’m going to let the video speak for itself; what do you guys think?

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Triads are pretty much a guitarist’s best friend. We start out learning to play open chords on the guitar, built from triads, and if we expand our playing into the classical, jazz or improvised music realm, these three-note chords expand to take on a whole new meaning and level of significance in our playing.

While you may be familiar with open-position chords, and other closed-position triads across the neck (where all three notes fit within one octave), few players explore triads beyond these standard voicings and applications.

In this article I will introduce you to spread-voicing triads. We’ll look at how they are built, apply them to chord-scale exercises and dig into using these voicings to develop right-hand control and dexterity. So, let’s dig in to spread-voicing triads!

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Teles are sexy!

The Fender FSR American Standard Hand Stained Ash Telecaster is a very special guitar and should be treated as such. In fact, FSR stands for “Factory Short Run,” and this limited edition guitar has been released from Fender’s iconic Corona facility. So, this Tele isn’t going to be aimed at you’re average Joe guitar player; it’s more of tycoon collector’s item with only 250 models available worldwide. However, saying that it’s surprisingly cheap, baring in mind what it is, and could possibly be a purchase to anyone who’s been looking for something to cure the dreaded mid-life crisis or a sure investment that even in the current climate, won’t depreciate in value. The American Standard Telecaster is the first guitar to be released in this range, and if this is anything to go by then they’ll sell like hotcakes.

One of the most unusual features, and I’m sure its already grabbed you’re attention, is its “hand stained ash finish.” The switched body from Alder to Ash isn’t totally unfamiliar; George Harrison played an Ash Telecaster and it was all the rage back in the 50’s. However, the hand-rubbed satin lacquer finish is slightly more unusual. In typical Fender style, the matte finish was chosen for practical and aesthetic reasons, and is expected to age magnificently, so it may even appreciate in value. This finish is translucent to emphasise the dramatic wood grain of the ash, which looks awesome and basically means that no two guitars are exactly the same.

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AIRS - A Rock Opera

I can remember a moment, not so long ago, when the music world collectively sighed at the prospect of the Internet and what effect it would have on “the biz.” CD sales dropping, people buying songs instead of full albums, the inundation of thousands — if not millions — of bedroom musicians and bands being thrust onto the same playing field as the big boys. It was a time of worry for many.

But what most everyone seemed to miss was perhaps the single greatest advantage of the Internet: the power of bringing people together. Such was the case for Germany’s Steve Brockman and American George Andrade, who met online, became friends, and collaborated on the 2012 release of a concept CD: AIRS – A Rock Opera.

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Get Me Out Of Here!

Oh minor pentatonic scale, how I love you. You are easy to learn and you sound at least reasonably good in a great many musical situations. Blues and rock music would not be what they are without you, and lots of my favorite players use you all the time. But minor pentatonic scale, I also loathe you. I have heard you sounding just awful in the most inappropriate of musical situations. You are overused to the point of ridicule, yet you seem to have no shame.

Can’t you just go away every once in a while?

This is a snapshot of my love/hate relationship with the minor pentatonic scale. Some of the coolest riffs and solos of all time make use of the minor pentatonic, and I truly believe that there are a truckload of fantastic songs yet to be written using it. So how is it possible that this musical Swiss Army Knife can make me so angry? Because the minor pentatonic scale’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness.

What is its greatest strength, you ask? I’ve already mentioned it: It’s easy to learn and sounds at least reasonably good in a great many musical situations. The same qualities that make it such a wonderful tool also make it ripe for abuse. Let’s examine further.

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Anyone Can Fake It; You Can, Too!

I remember about 15 years ago I was offered an interesting one-night gig. A co-worker of mine had a band that was playing a show that evening. That morning, their guitar player severely cut his hand in a bizarre weed-whacking accident. (I kid you not.) As this was a pretty important show for them, the thought of cancelling was more or less out of the question. They asked me to fill in, to which I said “no problem!” I figured it couldn’t be all that bad to fill in.

But there was a catch. (Isn’t there always?)

I had to learn 15 songs in 4 hours!

We’re not talking jazz standards either, folks, we’re talking 14 completely original songs and 1 cover song by the Rolling Stones (of who I have never actively listened to). I could have turned it down, as obviously learning that amount of material in such a short period of time was insane. But I didn’t. Do you want to know why? Because you have to Fake It ‘Til You Make It!

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But can you play guitar?

Kids these days.

Seems like every generation says the same thing about the younger ones. “When I was your age, yadda yadda yadda” is something we always hated to hear growing up, but now seem to find ourselves saying it more and more.

I’m not here to lecture anyone on sociology, the trouble with kids these days, every kid gets a trophy, blah blah. What I am here to talk about, however, is the responsibility I think we – as guitarists who have “been there and done that” – have to the younger players out there today.

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It's not easy to sing and play at the same time

For many people, myself included, the guitar is not just an instrument; it’s an accompaniment. I have always enjoyed expressing myself through music, in particular by singing. Not long after I really started getting interested in music in my teens, I decided to purchase an acoustic guitar at the age of 19. At the time, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to achieve. Naturally I started by learning basic chord shapes and progressions, mostly from my Oasis chord book (and still love a bit of Brit-pop today!).

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