Guitar Intro - 'Narrow Road'

Happy Easter! I'm a bit under the weather but could only stay on the couch for so long so decided to record a video. This is the guitar intro for a song I'm writing called "Narrow Road Home". I've included guitar tab for the rhythm guitar as well as the lead. Drums are used with permission courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks Drummer. Guitars are tuned down a half step.

The chords are Amin, C, F and G. I've stuck with the A Minor scale for the lead guitar licks. I'll try and record a few improv examples over this chord progression in the next few posts.

Doublin the bass

I was practicing 'Orion' by Metallica on the bass yesterday and came up with this little riff. The guitar and bass are played in unison. They are both tuned down a half step. Drums are used with permission from Sonoma Wireworks RiffWorks Drummer. The rest of the guitar is a bit of improvisation around the groove set up by the bass and drums.  I mainly stick to the E Major scale.Anyone wants the backing track to practice or jam to send me a message on twitter @jimifan and I can post it to soundcloud.

Drop D Guitar Riff

Today's guitar riff is tuned down a half step and then Drop D. It is a pretty basic drop D riff but I think it sounds cool. The riff starts off with a triplet pattern that repeats on the E and A strings. Then a chord based part that utilizes the Drop D tuning to get some nice heavy chords. The third section is a triplet pattern that ascends the D string. The piece ends with a little flourish of  the D Minor Pentatonic scale with a few standard rock licks. So kick on the distortion and remember to tune drop d down a half step to play along. Drum provided by Ampkit App used with permisson. Here is the guitar tab:

EMajor Pedal Point Lick

I seem to be on a major scale lick so I thought I'd finish off the week with a pedal point lick in E Major.
In keeping with the weeks theme it is a repeating pedal point 16th note guitar lick. The first section uses the repeating E note on the open E string then switches to the open B string. I mentioned ACDC's "Thunderstuck" as a cool example of pedal point riffs. Another great one to check out is "Wasted Years" by Iron Maiden. Have a great weekend. Guitar tab is below. I'm tuned down a half step if you want to play along. Drums as courtesy of the Ampkit App and are used with permission.

Skipping Down the D Major Scale

Today we look an an acoustic guitar lick similar to our last post. In this guitar lick though we are in the Key of D Major. I tend to think of this lick being in the E Dorian Mode though because of the repeating E note that is a pedal point throughout the piece. The whole guitar lick is played on the high E string. It basically shifts down the D Major Scale in a pattern that repeats as you descend through the scale steps. The best example of this type of guitar lick a more advanced context is ACDC's "Thunderstuck". This lick is simpler in that it only descends and the pattern is easier to memorize. Use alternate picking and 16th notes throughout. It makes a great little warm up exercise for guitar practice. Once you get this under your fingers try creating your own scale based patterns and licks.

Acoustic Guitar - Single String Picking Exercise

Here is a guitar lick that will make a great single string alternate picking exercise for your next guitar practice session. It is based on the high E string and uses notes from the C Major Scale. The guitar lick rhythm is based around 16th notes that are played with alternate picking. This guitar lick has a cyclical feel to it and I think sounds pretty cool when sped up and repeated. Try to stay relaxed it makes picking this much easier. I always tense up a little when recording guitar videos which you can tell from this performance. Happy Practicing!

Fusion Guitar Picking Workout

Today we look at a Fusion Guitar Lick that makes a great picking workout.Tuned down a half step. Drums courtesy of AmpKit app used with permission. It's based around a repeating pattern that moves up a fret and repeats. Haven't really analyzed the note choices I just thought it kind of had an early fusion vibe to it and liked it. All 16th notes in the pattern with the exception of the two eighth notes at the end of the phrase.

A Little Irish Style Guitar for St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you enjoyed the last Celtic style guitar lick. Here is another guitar lick with an Irish / Celtic flavor. It's similar to the last lick in the use of hammer ons and pull offs and also has a light dancing triplet feel. In the guitar tab I've tried to place the bars where the phrases end but have not worried about getting the time signature worked out so listen to the video/audio for the rhythm.

A Little Irish Ditty for Guitar

A wee bit O' Celtic Guitar to celebrate St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. The guitar tab is a rough guide to the rhythm -  listen for the articulations and try to let the melody flow a bit. There are lots of little ornamentations for guitar with both hammer on and pull offs. Aim for a light dancing quality to the piece.  Guitar tab and video below. Cheers.

SLASH – Anastasia (Cover Contest)

The guys from Guitar World along with Slash and Gibson are having a cover song contest with some interactive tab and a live version of "Anastasia". I gain a new found respect every time I try to play Slash's solo material - there is a lot of great guitar on his new album. You can check out the details of the contest here: http://www.guitarworld.com/video-contest-win-signed-guitar-slash

So here is my entry. Have fun and give it a go yourself. I believe the tab is tuned down a  half step but use your own ears.