BELOW IS A VERY POWERFUL LESSON THAT MOST PLAYERS WILL LET GO IN ONE EAR – AND OUT THE OTHER (WITHOUT CASHING IN ON THE GROWTH IT CAN BRING IN THEIR PLAYING). DON’T BE THAT PLAYER!
***Using A Cell Phone? Great! Turn It Sideways***
Alright guys …and Gals… I’m going to clue you in on a little something here that about 90% of all players miss in their pursuit of being a better guitarist – which by the way… that is you!
You are a guitarist …and you can be a better one – easier than you think!
Here’s What Most Players Don’t Realize:
They, you, me, we, can take any favorite guitar solo, lick, or riff (from the softest to the most growling) listen to it, AND WE’LL OFTEN FORGET that it doesn’t matter if it has 100 or TEN THOUSAND notes played in it ….there’s one BOTTOM LINE:
*** THERE ARE ONLY 12 NOTES BEING PLAYED!!! ***
That’s it!
Now think about what I’m saying before you look at your screen saying, “huh?”!!!! …..
And don’t let that pass by you!!! Get your head around it and what I’m about to tell you!!!
There are only twelve notes on the neck of the guitar! Period!
That means anything you hear in that killer solo or lick you love and dream of playing – can only boil down to one thing …and that is this…
You simply must learn how to use those twelve notes better and in different ways.
Learn to apply cool patterns and techniques to things you know is the answer Tribe! … Not going out and slaving over learning more and more (and more) scales! PLEASE READ THAT SENTENCE AGAIN!
Make use of what you know and then move ahead.
Do this simple exercise below for a week and you will be blown away how much your playing will fire up!
THE EXERCISE
(aka… The Fire-Starter)
Take four notes out of a lick or scale that you know (Cowboy Blues 2 out of my Full Blown course is a good place to start and yes that’s a shameless “plug” for the course) and play them in an order you know and like.
NEXT…
HERE’S WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING AND TRIGGERS YOUR BRAIN TO LOCK ON!!!
See how many ways you can play the group of notes or even ONE SINGLE NOTE. I suggest doing the following with just one note.
Examples:
- Bending slow and then bending fast
- Mixing your vibrato
- Try a very slow vibrato … VERRRRY SLOW! It’s challenging to purposely play slower and slower when you have a lick or riff down that you could normally blaze through. try it. Go slow!
- Try slow to fast and more aggressive
- Light vibrato (just barely and more like a vibration than a bend)
- Muting Variations
- Mute/dampen a note (with your palm on the bridge) and repeatedly pick it up and down. Dampen hard so that it is very dull sounding. Slowly lighten the dampening and continue picking the note up and down, faster and faster. Again keep lessoning the amount of dampening you are applying to the bridge and allow that note to open up more and more. NOTE: This an excellent thing to practice when building a solo or simple lick. It adds serious “feel” to the intro or the climax of the solo.
- Reverse the muting as described in the first muting example. In other words, start off with very little muting and continue to add more and more as you repeatedly pick a single note (or group of notes). You can do so much with this! Don’t dismiss it!
- Rush, creep, and stagger
- As you begin to add a couple or more notes, practice rushing a couple notes and then going slow on the next to notes. Apply the muting variations and vibrato variation. MIX. THEM. UP!!!!
Don’t let that get by you! The secret is to create 8-10 different ways to play a note!
I like to sit and pick on one note over and over, muting it in different variations, speeding it up to blistering speed, coming to a screeching halt, starting off fast and immediately going to turtle slow, bending it aggressively, bending it slightly, stopping again, scraping the string, bend slow, bending fast again, opening up the muting on the bridge with my palm, speed up again, slow down. YES! ALL THAT ON ONE NOTE!
Getting the picture?
That’s the lesson! No video or chart needed, just YOUR BRAIN!
Once you get the hang of it, add several notes out of a lick and listen to the magic in your playing.
Do this simple drill for a week adding no new material except what’s in the course (if you are in my Full Blown Course). You’ll be blown away how much your playing will catch fire in new areas!
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
I’d enjoy hearing from you!
Take it easy!
Jerry