Acoustic Guitar Player

The other day I posted about a blues scale that I invented in my very active musical brain about 3 or 4 in the morning.  So now it’s time to dig a fraction deeper and spread it across thre octaves and also add a few guitar lick exercises.  Scales are great to add to the toolbo, but it needs to be done intelligently in a non-robotic manner, else a person can become a great scale player, yes and that’s it a great scale player. The work that I am interested in with music is about supplying things that make guitar players think, feeling first, yes, but let’s think things through to develop our musical chops, instead of just running the fingers up and down the freatboard in a ‘dig me I’m fast style’, having the ablity to play fast is good but it’s something that is just there for when it’s sensible to use it. 

How to Work with This Scale:

It’s been written over 3 octaves, from the low open E to the top E on the 12th fret of the first string. 

I have intentionally included a few open notes, this gives you the breathing space to move to the 4th fret and then the 7th. This method player is different to a lot of players that play a very horizontal stlye, straight up and down the neck.  I like the sound of the open strings, and with a scale like this it will give you some great guitar solo options.  As stated in my previous article it is a good mode / scale to use over the E7th chord in a blues. 

To download the printable version, click the following link E Blues Scale Super Altered Scale

It’s pretty hard to have an acoustic guitar site or blog without mentioning Tommy Emmanuel at some point.  Over the years I’ve seen him play many times in different settings, both acoustic and electric.  Although I’ve never been fortunate enough to play guitar with him , I did have him play one of my guitars one day in a shop when I was buying a Polytone Amp, he played some George Benson on my Gold Top Les Paul.

I find that solo acoustic guitar is on of the best ways to really hear a player, so I’ve posted this youtube blog article with Tommy playing solo guitar, the reason I chose Amazing Grace is because it’s a very common turn that most peple would know.  When you hear a player play a common tune it’s a great way to hear own personal musical voice.  Enjoy it.

Todays video youtube post is Lighning Hopkins, the classic acoustic blues guitar player, he has influenced thousands of players across the world.  He was a Texas Blues player and was inspired by Blind Lemon Jefferson. His music holds an important part in Blues Guitar history. There are two songs here, they speak for themself, in it you’ll hear where many of the riffs and guitar lines that are played across the world have come from. Hopkins often included the talking style of vocals. It’s a music lesson in itself.

Enjoy!

It was about 35 years ago when I first purchased a Stefan Grossman guitar book on blues, in those days, very few music books had guitar TAB. That may sound odd to a lot of people now. The books back then were generally arranged for Piano/ Vocal, that means they had little to do with the guitar and were really just a piano arrangement of the tune. Here’s a few Acoustic Blues Guitar Books worth exploring to help you be a better blues player.

Stefan Grossman’s Early Masters of American Blues Guitar: Mississippi John Hurt Music by Mississippi John Hurt, transcribed by Stefan Grossman. Guitar tablature songbook and examples CD for acoustic guitar. Series: Stefan Grossman’s Early Masters of American Blues Guitar. 96 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. (AP.F3176GTA) See more info…

Complete Acoustic Blues Method: Beginning Acoustic Blues Guitar By Lou Manzi. For Guitar. Guitar Method or Supplement. Acoustic; Blues. Book & CD. Published by Alfred Publishing. (22866) See more info…

Stefan Grossman’s Early Masters of American Blues Guitar: Blind Blake Music by Blind Blake, transcribed by Stefan Grossman. Guitar tablature songbook and examples CD for acoustic guitar. Series: Stefan Grossman’s Early Masters of American Blues Guitar. 96 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. (AP.F3432GTA) See more info…

I first heard of Ralph Towner in the mid seventies when he played with the acoustic ensemble/ band called Oregon.  I rember at the time they .played 72 instruments amongst the four members, Colin Walcott (late), Glen Moore,  Paul MaCandless.  Ralph Towner single handedly opened the door for many players to follow, he played a form of contemporay jazz on the nylon string guitar and also 12 string guitar.  Ralph Towner is also one of my favourite piano players, his chord playing at times reminds me of Bill Evans. His guitar playing is a mix of jazz improvisation and classical (to say the least).  You may hear him play straight jazz tunes at times but his approach makes them unique.  Personally I think he is one of the truly great guitar innovators of our time and his impact on a lot of players has been to think a little differently about the nylon string guitar.

Ihave owned about fifteen albums featuring Ralph Towner, not only with Oregon but with Paul Winter, Chic Correa, John Abercrombie and numerous others  on Manfred Eichers ECM label. The youtube I have posted about is called the Reluctant Bride, it is typical of Towners playing, a cross betwen arranged music and improvisation.  What i like about Ralphs playing is his willingness to take risks and head into harmonic areas that other players don’t dare to go. 

I have been fortunate to see Ralph Towner play a couple of times in my life, once with Gary Peacock in Athens Greece and with the band Oregon in Sydney Australia. If you get the chance to see Ralph Towner live, make the best of the opportunity, it truly is a music lesson on the guitar.

This guitar blog site is updated regularly with quality content to inspire other guitar players and also other guitar teachers

Many guitar players that I have met have managed to play at very high standard but due to life’s circumstances they found themselves in situations where they virtually stopped playing guitar.  It could be because family, disillusionment with the music industry, health, substance abuse, or many other scenarios that can leave a musician feeling uninspired. Over the period of time that I have played guitar, even though I have an incredibly deep passion for music, I personally have found that have been times that I have drifted away from music. As a guitar player you often find yourself ‘between jobs’ and this is the time when a lot of life’s challenges and diversion get in the way of music.  Many of the things I discuss in my blog posts, I have never seen addressed in music books or discussed openly by most players. I have decided to write about this because I recently got together with a very good guitar player that I played with just under twenty years ago, he all but stopped playing for a number of years, this for me is a fantastic thing because good players need to play and it is a loss to all of us when they don’t.

So here are a number of things that I think will help some of the players that have stopped playing, ease back into music.

1. Find some recordings that will inspire you to play.  Make sure they are not too complex.
2. Clean up your guitar.  Get rid of any old dirt on the fretboard
3. Change the strings; I recommend going a gauge lighter
4. Make sure your instrument is set up well
5. Allot some time to practice.  Formalise it by writing it down and stick to it

Stay there for the whole session, turn off the mobile, unplug the sign, and put a note on the door

6. Do some simple exercises to get your fretting hand going
7. Do some picking exercises (fingerstyle or plectrum) to get the picking hand going
8. Write a short list of songs that you used to play.  Make sure they are not too complex, if need be get some simple charts just in case your memory is a bit foggy
9. Don’t waste time playing snippets of music that you can’t really remember, this could dishearten you; you may end up getting frustrated
10. Be really focused but keep as relaxed as possible
11. When you finish, make sure you finish on a song that you can play reasonably ok
12. Write a plan for your next session and stick to it

There are many other things that may be useful but the ones listed above include most of the aspects that require attention, these include: 

A good working instrument

A plan

Techniques

Mental attitude

Have you ever been to watch a guitarist play and he/she spend so much time frigging around on the stage before they start playing the first song that you are already wishing you hadn’t bothered going to see them? Regardless whether it be blues, classical, rock or whatever style, it’s darn annoying.

Some  players are fantastic at chatting and tuning up before they start, they have got it down so that it’s become part of the act.  This sort of skill you are born with or it comes from years of performing.  If you don’t have this skill, there are a number of things to consider. 

Here’s a list of what you need to think about:

• Are you there early enough?
• Have you checked out the room?
• Do you know where the power points are?
• Are your cables long enough?
• What PA system is available and do you know how to use it?
• Have you done a set list?
• Is there a place you can tune up quickly nearby?
• Do you have spare plectrums and strings?
• Is your guitar in good working order?
• Do you have spare batteries if you need them?
• Do you know the tunes well enough to be performing?
• Is your mobile off?  Unless it’s part of the act

These things listed above are part of a long list of things that need to be considered if you are performing in public.

And the BIG one:  Don’t ever practice the song you are about to play on stage before you play it… I’ve seen this so many times.

And do a sound check if humanly possible and tune your instrument properly

This is a brilliant duet that exemplifies how beautiful two guitars of different styles can work together, still play fast and sound musical.  Coryell’s playing in this tune, when he takes a guitar break reminds of the great player from Belgium Philip Catherine.  It’s a very fine line always, playing at a very high technical level but trying to keep musical.  Playing fast is not hard at all, being musical and playing fast is hard.  It requires technique, restraint and the correct use of both speed, space and phrasing.

DADGAD Jazz Blues is a variation of the last Blues.  I’ve still got the Blues so I thought I’d keep uploading these blues as a free download.

To download the pdf acrobat reader file click the link DADGAD Jazz Blues for Acoustic Guitar