I always get excited about learning some new guitar chords. In the latest bonus lesson (in the latest welcome video above), I found some guitar chords that I really like. Here are a couple versions of the song to see how they sound with a band. Remember that I'm not necessarily looking for the guitar part on the recording, but instead looking for the main chords of all the instruments, to make a "campfire" version of the song. This gives me an overview what the songwriter was thinking, and will hopefully give me similar tools for when I write my own songs.

The original Motown version with Jimmy Ruffin:

Here's Joan Osborne singing it, sounding incredible in the movie "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." 

The other part of this guitar lesson, is the idea of playing vocal melodies on guitar. This is very different way of playing than the blues-rock-shred guitar playing that I grew up with, and I've often been hesistant to play strict melodies like Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani, or even The Ventures. But I love this vocal so much, that I thought I'd give it a try. The result? Torn up fingertips, and a lot of fun!

Greetings, we've published a new 10 part interview with Paul Gilbert and Linus Of Hollywood (leader of punk/pop band Size 14). This guy went on to work with a long list of recording artists including Smashing Pumkins, P Diddy, Lil Kim, ODB, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and a ton of others. Watch it all in the Special Guests area or just click on the picture below to jump right in on part 1!

As you can tell from recent Video Exchanges, I've really been enjoying having "instant backing tracks" thanks to the Ditto Looper pedal. The only problem that I've had with the pedal has been... my big feet. It's a small pedal, and sometimes when I try to press the footswitch, I miss it because my foot hits the volume knob first. 

The solution? Get a saw, and cut that thing off! I always use some thick work gloves when ever I start hacking away at something with a saw. I highly recommend doing the same if you try this mod. After I cut about half way through the metal post, I used some plyers to snap it off. I left just enough of the post where I can still adjust the volume control by hand. And once the volume is where I want it, I put some tape on it to hold it in place. 

The true test is... does it still work after being abused with a saw? The answer is YES. Not only that, but I was pleasantly surprised that the pedal still remembered audio that I had recorded, even though the power was unplugged and plugged back in. My tireless rhythm guitar player is back in action, and much more friendly to my big feet!

Thank you,

Paul