I did a couple quick videos for students this past week, so I thought I’d share them here:
First up, a simple solo you can play over Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”. It’s pretty much a short version of the sax solo that’s in the original version of the song. A good intro to this sort of playing.
Next up is one of the coolest theme songs ever: Dog Pound Hop, AKA the Ren & Stimpy theme song! This solo is quick and cookin’
Tons O’ fun it is!
I’ll be honest: I’m not a huge fan of this solo. Mick Ronson was a great guitarist, but he doesn’t seem particularly inspired here. I prefer his solo from the Ziggy Stardust concert movie. There’s more varied melodic content, some really cool sequences, and the big, aggressive bends that people love about this solo are still there.
I prefer to use the bar, but Mick just rocked that bend for all it was worth. However you prefer to tackle it, just go all out. That’s what counts here.
Alright, last week I did Duane’s solo, this week it’s Dickey’s. Where Duane played entirely inside an Am pentatonic scale (with a few 9ths popping in occasionally), Dickey took a few more risks with some stuff that was deliberately outside. There are 9ths, tritones, both 13ths, even a couple major 7ths hidden in here. It feels at times like Dickey was scrambling to find his place on the neck and in the bar, but he always brings it back in.
Both of these solos present their own unique challenges, but I prefer Dickey’s for how far how he ventures from the minor pentatonic.
Give it a shot!
It’s ironic that after all the trouble that Johnny Winter solo put me through I get a Duane Allman solo. But it’s not a slide solo! It’s “Whipping Post”, and this solo rocks. There are lots of really cool pentatonic ideas in here, and the occasional inclusion of the 9th really gives it a unique flavor. Dickey’s solo uses a lot of the same ideas, but today we’re focusing on Duane’s.
One of my students wanted to learn this song. He had already learned all the natural notes in first position, so I put together this arrangement that stayed in that area and introduced a few sharp notes.
It also stays almost entirely within the staff (he was having a bit of trouble reading the low E string notes, so I avoided them).
I’ll upload the notation/tablature later.
No, I didn’t give up or quit making videos. I’ve just been busy and this was a hard song… the hardest yet actually! I’m not a slide player, as I say several times in the video, so this was completely outside my wheelhouse.
I imagine it’s quite simple for seasoned slide dudes, just as “Kid Charlemagne” was quite simple for me given what I normally play, but this one was really tough. I made a couple adjustments to my guitar that helped out (raising the action, putting a shim under the nut, and playing some heavier strings) but I’m still not quite satisfied with the feel of it. I’m not sure if I need to tweak the guitar some more or if I just need to play slide more often.
In any case, it was really fun. Hopefully some real slide players will catch this and throw some pointers my way.
Taking a break from the 100 Greatest list this week. Next up is the Johnny Winter version of “Highway 61 Revisited”, and I’m not a slide player, so it’s some extra work. So we’re looking at Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet”.
This was a request from somebody on YouTube. It’s pretty straight forward, all minor pentatonic stuff. Pretty short too, so try it out.
This solo has been one of my favorites ever since I first read something in a guitar magazine about it being one of the first recorded examples of tapping.
Of course, that’s not entirely true. A) there’s only a single tapped note in the whole thing, and B) Steve Hackett had been doing much more intricate tapping licks for years by the time this record came out (hell, Emmett Chapman was already building sticks!)
In any case, that’s how I first heard of this solo, and the inaccuracy of that statement in no way lessens its awesomosity.
I was always intimidated by it, but I was surprised at how easily it came to me. I imagine that won’t be the case for everyone, as the shifting positions and general lack of traditional solo boxes can be quite foreign to most people, but it was right at home for me.
It’s a great case-study in playing to the changes as well! Carlton does a fantastic job of navigating some odd chord changes without leaning too heavily on the roots.
Anyways, here ya go:
I uploaded this one a few days ago, but forgot to share it here!
It’s really easy, but you absolutely need a whammy pedal. It’s pretty boring without it (and doesn’t sound remotely close). I used the +2 octave setting on a Boss ME-80.
So if you’ve got a whammy (or similarly capable pedal), give this one a shot.
Been a long time coming with this one… nearly a month. My schedule keeps getting tighter and tighter, leaving less time at the studio for me to record these videos. I’m not bailing on the idea, but my schedule may be a little erratic going forward.
Anyway, I’ve never been a big fan of Clapton’s playing. He’s had tons of great songs that I really dig, but his guitarin’ just never grabbed me.
Lots of good stuff in this song though (which I wasn’t familiar with before). People often have a hard time using major pentatonics; their phrasing pulls towards the 6th (implying the relative minor) rather than the tonic. It’s understandable, as most pentatonic licks people learn are for the minor, but even when improvising people will often try to resolve phrases on the wrong note!
This song is a gold mine of major licks utilizing a shape people typically associate with minor. Definitely worth a try.