Mando Magic with Mike Marshall
Thu, 07/10/2014 - 9:19am
For anyone who missed it, here's the full video of our recent "Mando Magic with Mike Marshall" workshop. Moderated by Scott Tichnenor of Mandolin Cafe, we were also joined by some of Mike's mandolin students as well as ArtistWorks Dobro instructor Andy Hall. We had a blast getting into some interesting mandolin related topics, and of course there was some jamming as well! Thanks to everyone who tuned in live and especially the students here who participated and helped us get the word out. See you next time!
Improvising Guitar over Jazz Chords
Thu, 07/17/2014 - 12:46pm
In this sample lesson from Martin Taylor's Online Fingerstyle Guitar School, he goes over improvising over jazz chords using a 2-5-1 progression consisting of Dm7, Gm7, C.
The 2-5-1 progression is simple but effective and it's a great way to practice your improvisation skills. All you need is a long backing track or loop with the right chords, then let those notes sing with your own melody for as long as you like.
For a beginner first learning improvisation or even if you have been playing awhile, this exercise can be a good way to practice clean and tasteful soloing without too many notes. Just let the feel of the 2-5-1 dictate where you place the notes and from there focus on creating your own melody.
I Label Yooooouuu...
Fri, 07/18/2014 - 3:51pm
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert
Here is my latest pedalboard. I used these pedals a lot while recording the new Mr. Big album, and I plan on taking them to the G4 Experience as well.
To make the pedalboard "indestructible," I attached the pedals to the board with Velcro, used black gaffer tape to keep the knobs at my favorite settings, cut small strips of Velcro to hold the cables down, and did some important labeling.
My (well-meaning) guitar techs have blown up several of my power supplies over the years (by plugging into the wrong voltage), so I've learned to label my power supply with big numbers. I haven't blown one up since. 120 volts for G4!
I recently started using a Jimi Hendrix Cry Baby wah wah. I've wasted a few soundchecks in the past by thinking that my amps sounded a little strange, then readjusting all the EQ settings, then realizing that I had accidentally left the wah wah on. I labeled my wah wah to remind myself to check. Is it OFF?
Finally, on the left (in dark brown) is a TC Electronic MojoMojo. It has a small switch in between the knobs. I like the switch in the "up" position, but I often forget to check it. The upward pointing arrow will remind me.
Now, I'm ready to jam!
Thank you,
Paul
