Guitar Solo and Improv with a dose of noodling

Here is a bit of a guitar solo and some improv over the chord progression from the last guitar lick. I've written out the basics of the first part of the solo in guitar tab. The solo as played is improvised around the tab but you will notice variations from the tab. Use the tab as a guide to create your own licks. I've used the B Minor Pentatonic shape as a springboard but tried to incorporate notes from the Dorian mode and chord tones as well. Warning this video contains copious amount of guitar noodling.

Melodic Guitar Lick

It has been awhile but here is another guitar lick to get your fingers moving. The chords in the progression are: B5 / D5  / E5 / B5|A5 /

The guitar lick changes bass notes to match the chord for the first section while the underlying notes remain the same. In the guitar video I improvised a bit and then returned to the guitar  lick a few times. The guitar lick kicks off using notes from the B5 chord. The main lick is all eighth notes. The fingering can be a bit tricky so experiment with what works best for you.

Celtic Guitar Lick with tab 2 "Dance among the heather"

I'm working on some Celtic style guitar licks in the hopes of busking this summer. This one I came up with uses a capo on the 5th fret. I'd like to work this one into an original song called "dance among the heather". The guitar tab is only a rough rhythm interpretation try to aim for a light dancing feeling.

Celtic Guitar Lick with Tab

I came up with this Celtic flavored guitar lick. The rhythm in the guitar tab is approximate so listen to the music for a better grasp of the phrasing. Note the dotted eight notes and the 16th note triplets which give this a Celtic rhythm.

Guitar Contests Vote Now

So June and July seem to be months for some great guitar contests. I've entered two so far. The Epiphone one is closed but you can still enter the jammit.com one yourself. I find if you need some motivation and a challenge these contests are a great way to move forward in your guitar playing. Here are the links to my entries again and a QR code as well. I'd encourage players of all abilities to enter. If your not in the contest I'd appreciate your vote and sharing these links with your friends on social media - especially guitarists and musicians who would hopefully enjoy them. 

The Epiphone link is: 

http://www.epiphone.com/Contests/2014/Video/Ultimate-Epiphone-Video-Contest-Vote.aspx

you can vote once a day NO registration needed on this one. My entry Dave Ward Charlottetown PE.  

QR code:

The jammit.com link is you need to register and can vote once. https://www.jammit.com/contest/entry/5747

QR code:

Epiphone Video Contest Voting Open

You can vote here for the 2014 Epiphone Video Contest!

Mine is  Dave Ward Charlottetown, PE, Canada. 

http://www.epiphone.com/Contests/2014/Video/Ultimate-Epiphone-Video-Contest-Vote.aspx

Guitar contests are a great motivator to share your music with other guitarists and musicians and are a lot of fun. My favorite source of information for various guitar contests in one place is the great site: www.truthinshredding.com

Fusion Guitar Lick and Improv

Happy Father's Day. Hope your enjoying a nice Sunday with your respective Dads. Here is a little fusion guitar lick that I came up with. I tabbed out the main idea and the improvised over the backing track a little. There are only four chords in the rhythm guitar:

Here is the lead guitar lick:

Crunch Time - Your Vote could win me a Schecter Guitar

I need your vote!!

The Jammit.com contest is heating up and I am trailing slightly. I'm determined to win this Schecter Guitar. You can help by voting now and sharing this link and asking everyone who is a guitar fan to vote.
 Here is the link please vote and share.

http://www.jammit.com/contest/entry/5747

T minus 15 seconds

Well the Jammit 15 seconds guitar contest is heating up. Your vote counts so please take a minute and check out the entries and vote for your favorite. Here is the link to my entry http://www.jammit.com/contest/entry/5747

Jammit 15 Seconds Contest

Another day another guitar contest. This one is short but sweet and involves jammin over a track from jammit.com for 15 glorious seconds. If you like my entry to this guitar contest please vote for it here.

https://www.jammit.com/contest/entry/5747

Epiphone Video Contest 2014

*update looks like the voting starts in July now. In the meantime feel free to listen RT and give feedback at the link provided.

Here is the link to my video user "jimifan": http://disq.us/8instm

Altered Tunings - DADGAD

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Here is another solo acoustic guitar piece inspired by some digital art I created. It is in DADGAD tuning. the title is 'Skywriting Rainbows'. Here is the art and the music. 

In future posts I'm will post some guitar tab using some licks and riffs from these pieces. 

http://youtu.be/3h506iazanY

Epiphone Video Contest

Hey I wanna win a guitar!! So please vote for my contest entry to the Epiphone Video Contest. Voting starts June 1, 2014 but if you dig the guitar video start spreading the word now.  Better yet pick up your favorite Epi and submit your own video!! Cheers.

Contest details here.
http://www.epiphone.com/Contests/2014/Video/Ultimate-Epiphone-Video-Contest.aspx

Art and Music

I recently watched a documentary called  'Tim's Vermeer' that starred a fascinating guy by the name of Tim Jenison. The documentary itself was pretty cool and I'd recommend it. However, what was more interesting than the documentary itself was its main character. Tim Jenison at least as he is portrayed in the documentary came across as a modern day Renaissance man. Need  to study Vermeer - learn Dutch. Need a set - build it by hand after learning how to woodwork. Want a lens, grind it yourself, need some 17th century quality paint- learn to mix it. This guy was a tireless learner and experimenter. So because I've been so lazy updating this blog I decided to draw some inspiration from Tim and combine some art and music. I've created some digital art and decided to make music to go along with it.

The first piece is called ' Dervish Whirling'. It is a solo acoustic guitar piece in DAGDAD tuning. Here is the art and music. In our next post I will break down some musical passages from this and give you the guitar tab for them along with some related guitar licks.