LESSONS INTRODUCTION
Jason Sidwell describes the musical goodies in this month’s action-packed lessons section.
For several of us on GT, it was only a few weeks ago that we were in Bath teaching at IGF’s guitar summer school. One of the many great aspects of attending this year was the mixing in with each other and I had the pleasure of guesting in both Blues and Jazz classes while teaching my Top 40/Funk course. While there were variations in my approach and vocabulary - Blues was about blending Dominant 7th arpeggios and Blues scale for 12-bar soloing, and Jazz was about navigating soul-jazz songs - I played the same clean electric guitar tone for everything. It’s times like these (cue Foo Fighters...) that we realise musical divisions often stem more from genre styles than actual music making. A clean electric tone can be anything we want, be it soloing, riffing or strumming. Similarly with a crunchy tone; there are ways that we can play 13th chords and still sound fine. In short, an open mind is the best outlook to possess when seeking development. As you engage with this month’s magazine, please bear this in mind. Our articles’ ‘shop windows’ make prominent usage of genre types in order to provide a clear appreciation of each topic. Same with artists; Joel Hoekstra (Rock) on p28 and Stevie Ray Vaughan (Blues) on page 56 are obvious references here. Do not overly rely on such segregations though, as regards what you will gain from studying them; good vocabulary is good vocabulary however it’s dressed up with techniques, guitar tones or effects.
Learning a few of Joel’s licks and pairing them with a few of Stevie Ray’s is a really good thing, as you’ll absorb cool new ideas. Same with linking rhythmic chords from The Crossroads (page 42) with Spanky Alford’s neo-soul barre chord flutters (page 66). For sure, all of the above (including Joel!) can be achieved and enjoyed with a simple clean electric guitar tone. Why not try it for yourself?
Until the next issue, keep happy, keep listening, and keep playing!