Recently I published guitar tutorials on how to play a simple version of “The Star Spangled Banner” & a rock version of Pachelbel’s “Canon In D”.  Now, I’ve got new versions of both!

Here’s the new screaming, overdriven version, “The Star Spangled Banner Electrified”.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1386

If you missed it, or want to start with a simplified version, here is my earlier beginner tutorial.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1325

Here’s the new, classical guitar version of Pachelbel’s “Canon In D”.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1373

If you missed it here is the rock shred style arrangement.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1308

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Have a safe & happy holiday season.  Enjoy!

Recently I posted a tutorial on how to play a simple, single note melody arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner”.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1325

I also did another tutorial on the blues.  But this one is a 16 bar blues with some jazzy elemetns, instead of the standard 12 bar blues!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1342

I also did another GT Channel episode:

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=17943
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1nfxarNGA

My previous one is still viewable here:

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=17553
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2LZrJme8cI

Happy viewing & listening!

I’m covering a lot of stylistic ground lately!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1316

In this Soulful Rhythm & Blues tutorial I play & teach some classic R&B style rhythm parts & lead licks. This style is of course rooted strongly in the blues. The melodies are distinctly bluesy, combining major chord harmonies with minor scale notes for a bittersweet or melancholy sound. You can also hear the blues in the rhythmic and percussive nature of how the chords are played. There is also a bit of a funky approach in the use of syncopated, percussive and staccato rhythms.  There is also a little of the sophistication of jazz in the use of extended chord voicings and advanced progressions.

So, the primary characteristics of R&B guitar style are: blues melodies and funky, syncopated rhythms with jazzy chord voicings and progressions.

And then, for something completely different, I did a rock shred style arrangement of Pachelbel’s “Canon In D”!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1308

Enjoy!

I just got back from the 3rd annual Nashville Amp Expo!

http://www.nashvilleampexpo.com/

I saw old friends & met a few new ones; saw lots of great gear.  But, I spent most of my time hanging out with Obeid & Anthony in the Reason Amplification room.

http://www.reasonamps.com/

Their new model is the Reato: REverb plus vibrATO equals Reato (ree-AH-toe).  Here is a teaser video of Obeid playing the demo model.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjEIOk2bb1Q

I also ran into Forrest Lee, a great country picker that did some lessons for GT last year.  I keep seeing him at the trade shows!  He’s a really hard working guy & a great player.  I also met a couple of guys that do a guitar gear podcast.  They are going to interview me in the near future, so I’ll post a link when it is available.

http://www.outwestrecords.com/

http://gearforguitar.ning.com/

Finally, I just published a brand new Guitar Tricks tutorial on building pinky strength & dexterity; in which, as usual,  I used my Reason amp.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1292

Enjoy!

In this new tutorial I show how to connect the 5 pentatonic box patterns using tapping technique ala Van Halen. The idea is to start with a simple lick that involves seeing and playing one pentatonic box pattern with a hammer-on and a pull-off. Then, we see and play the next higher box pattern with a tapping technique. Finally, you apply the idea to all the boxes & cover the entire fretboard!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1277

This tutorial is meant as a kind of companion tutorial to my other recent ones on rock style guitar; the whammy bar one & the 70s arena rock.

If you aren’t a GT subscriber you can still get a free preview from this tutorial via the GT newsletter:

http://www.guitartricks.com/newsletter_archive.php?xid=aad7cd71fa

http://www.guitartricks.com/courselesson.php?input=bT9lPTFlZzI4OA==

I’ve also added another old song to my YouTube channel, “The Secret Detective”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Ij7b9_hBM

Enjoy!

In this tutorial I teach some rocking riffs in the style of 1970s arena rock bands. I grew up in the 1970′s listening to and learning the music of Deep Purple, Montrose, Kiss, Van Halen, ACDC. These bands were well known for their powerful, energetic, melodic take on rock music.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1251

Enjoy!

These are the standard tricks of the trade you hear whenever a blues player grabs the bar.

The previous tutorial on whammy bar was in a rock style and covered more basic info about how the bar works, how to keep it tune (or try!) and approaches the techniques from a rock player perspective.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1219

But no matter what style you are playing, the basic ideas still apply:

1. Use the bar musically.
2. Aim for specific pitches.
3. Aim for specific rhythms.

And most of all, have fun with your whammy bar!

Recently, I’ve been publishing a lot of jazz lessons.  I’ve published three tutorials covering the basics of extended harmony chords (7th, 9th, 11th, 13th):

Extended Harmony Chords Series 1
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1166

Extended Harmony Chords Series 2
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1185

Extended Harmony Chords Series 3
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1195

And most recently I did another series on the style of Joe Pass!  Using, of course, my Joe Pass model Epiphone Emperor.  In this one I cover the basics of jazz lead lines.

Joe Pass Series 4
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1205

I’ve also started another project.  I am taking my tunes from “Until”, an older CD that are already published (CDBaby, iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.) & making YouTube videos of them with scrolling lyrics.  Some of these tunes we once sent to singers, arists, publishers with the intention of having them recorded by other artists (for example, people that are better singers than me) and me making money from the publishing. 

But, of course, no one wanted to do my music.  So, as usual, I did it all myself.  My idea is to offer them for free listening to see if I can spark any further traffic or new interest for them.  The first one is up and running here:

“Sad Cafe” from Until by Christopher Schlegel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_m_etU7nJw
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/schlegel2

Enjoy!

An extended chord is one in which the triadic formation process has been extended beyond the normal three notes that form basic major and minor chords. Basic major and minor chords only necessarily contain the
1st, 3rd and 5th scale degrees.  Extending the concept further yields 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th chords.

In earlier lessons I covered the basic 7ths chords: dominant 7th, major 7th and minor 7th.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=479
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=499
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=500
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=501
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=513

The first new tutorial builds on those chords and introduces: diminished 7th, dominant 7th/flat 5th, minor 7th flat 5th, and minor major 7th. I show how to play each type of chord rooted on the E, A and D strings. Then, I show how to use them in the context of a ii-V-I jazz type progression.

Extended Harmony Chords Series 1

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1166

The next one covers various 9th chords from a jazz guitar perspective: 6/9ths, minor 9th, dominant 9th, dominant 7th flat 9th, dominant 7th flat sharp 9th (also called dominant 7th flat augmented 9th).

Extended Harmony Chords Series 2

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1185

I have at least one more planned on 11ths & 13ths!  Happy jazz guitar playing.

The idea here is to demonstrate two distinctly different applications: close mic studio situation vs. room mic.

I’ve always liked the idea of room mic, because WYHIWYG in the actual room with the device. I can extrapolate what that room sound will translate to when I close mic it in the studio. But, this is a skill you learn from experience.

I’ve seen many times an inexperienced or hobbyist player hears that his fave guitarist uses such and such an amp. So, he goes to a music store or gear show and tries the amp. And he thinks, “This doesn’t sound anything like the demo.” These two videos demostrate that difference.

There is just no way to grasp how much the Reason Bambino stack mode sounds like you are close miking a roaring, modded Marshall stack until you put it in the right context. So, I did. And I love to be able to tell interested parties, the sound in those demo is all Bambino. One is close mic’d and run into a multitrack DAW so you hear what you’d normally hear on a studio recorded album. But in both I used no effects boxes or post-processing of any kind. The entire signal chain is: guitar -> cable -> Bambino. That is a powerful argument.

Bambino & Fat Strat Demo Room Mic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXR4LsyUsgg

Bambino & Fat Strat Demo Close Mic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFUxA7HxGxA

http://www.reasonamps.com/

This is also the project guitar I put together on video tape and made into a Guitar Tricks tutorial on how to assemble your own electric guitar! If you have a subscription:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1121

Enjoy!