Reaching New Guitar Playing Heights

Now that you have learned the basics of Rhapsody, you are ready to take your guitar playing to the next level! Find some great music and start playing along. Here are some tips that are guaranteed to get you well on your way to being a well rounded guitar player: I have selected a variety of songs to play along to and have indicated possible scales that you might find useful for soloing. But as with any song, there is never one correct scale. Just let your ears be your guide.

1. Blues - Regardless of what your preferences are, developing basic blues skills will go a long way towards building improv abilities and will improve your ability to play from within, from the soul. And believe me, that will carry over to your own personal style. If you listen to players like Satriani you will notice how they add elements of blues into their playing to give them very unique styles of expression. Call up some blues on Rhapsody and play along to the greatest bluesmen of all time. If a more modern, rock blues style suits your tastes, then definitely check out Steve Ray Vaughn, Neal Schon and Gary Moore. Andy Timmons also can play some serious blues. And let's not forget the fluid, melodic blues of David Gilmour.

   Song	Artist	Scale Ideas
   Falling Down	Andy Timmons	G Min Pentatonic
   Cherry Red Wine	Luther Allison	D Min Pentatonic
   Story of the Blues	Gary Moore	A Min Pentatonic
   Still Got the Blues	Gary Moore	G Min Pentatonic

2. Jazz/Fusion - One of my greatest regrets as a guitarist is ignoring jazz and fusion for so long. I often wonder what sort of guitarist I would be today if I had studied jazz early on. In any case, with Rhapsody at my fingertips I am certainly making great strides. Don't worry about all the theory that tends to go along with Jazz. Just play along. As long as you have a basic knowledge of scales, chords, and arpeggios you will be able to develop an ear for jazz. I once read a quote from Allen Holdsworth. He says he never learned scales and such. He just has an idea of where he is going to start a run and where he is going to end. All bets are off for everything in between. And if you listen to Jazz sax players you get the feeling that they are taking a similar approach. Some recommended choices to dial in on Rhapsody are Pat Metheny, John Coltrane, Allen Holdsworth, Larry Coryell, Pat Martino, John Abercrombie, Jimmy Bruno, Larry Coryell, Larry Carlton and Al DiMeola.

   Song	Artist	Scale Ideas
   How Insensitive	Larry Coryell	D Harmonic Min (and many others...)
   Circular Quay	Frank Gambale	Bb Maj (you'll want to throw in some outside notes...)
   Peril Premonition	Allan Holdsworth	Just go with it!
   Labor Day	John Abercrombie	Just try and emulate the interplay between guitar and sax!

3. Spanish/Flamenco - Especially if you have an acoustic guitar, playing along to Spanish and Flamenco guitarists will instill in you a new found sense of passion and fire. And with a heavy reliance on Minor and Harmonic Minor scales, playing along to this sort of music is more readibly accessible than the more free form nature of jazz. I highly recommend taking a listen to Paco de Lucia, Armik, Gypsy Kings, Al DiMeola (his work with Paco de Lucia and John Montgomery on the albums Friday Night In San Francisco, The Guitar Trio and Passion Grace and Fire) and Jesse Cook.

   Song	Artist	Scale Ideas
   Mediterranean Sundance	Al DiMeola, Paco de Lucia	G Maj
   Lagrimas de Guitarra	Armik	Gb Harmonic Min

4. Classical Violin, Celtic Fiddle - We don't have to limit ourselves to other guitarists for drawing upon inspiration and influence. Much like how playing along with Jazz sax plyers can do wonders for your jazz guitar playing, playing along to solo violin virtuosos and celtic fiddle masters will open up a whole new dimension of phrasing. Fiddle players take advantage of the instrument's tuning in fifths to play those firey, wide intervallic runs. Check out the album Celtic Fiddle Festival to get yourself started. Emulating fiddle players will have your hands moving all over the fretboard and will do wonders for coordination!

   Song	Artist	Scale Ideas
   Sonata No. 6 in A Min, Paganini	Scott St John	A Min
   Dionne Reel / Mouth Of The Tobique	Kevin Burke	D Maj
   Sonata No. 1 in G Minor - Presto, Bach	Nicholas Goluses	G Min*
   24 Caprices, Op. 1 - No. 16 in G Minor, Paganini	Ilya Kaler	G Min*

   * These pieces should be learned note for note. Learning these will do absolute wonders for your alternate picking chops!

5. Instrumental Rock - Of course I can't leave out Instrumental Rock. In particular, Joe Satriani seems to be at the top of his game lately. Give a listen to his latest album and play along to Satch the Great. In particular, check out his new tune Theme for a Strange World and Redshift Riders which both lend themselves very well to soloing over with Harmonic Minor. Though not as well known as Satch, Andy Timmons is another guitarists who will make you want to be a better player. He has one of the most unique styles of the Instrumental Rock genre. He has some serious blues and jazz influence and in general has such interesting note choice that it makes him nearly impossible to emulate. Other must check-outs are Neal Schon, Neal Zaza, Steve Lukather, Eric Johnson and of course Steve Vai (Vai's #7 track is always his best on all his CDs...).

   Song	Artist	Scale Ideas
   Movin On	Joe Satriani	C Min Pentatonic, Bb Maj
   Deliver Us	Andy Timmons	G Harmonic Min
   Blue Passion	Neal Schon	D Min, D Min Pentatonic
   Whispering on a Prayer	Steve Vai	E Maj
   Cry For You	Andy Timmons	Db Min, Db Min Pentatonic
   Up in Flames	Joe Satriani	C Maj, D & A Min Pentatonic
   Carpe Diem	Andy Timmons	Tonality changes a lot Ab Maj, Bb Min Pentatonic for starters
   Camel's Night Out	Eric Johnson	C Maj (make use of wide intervals)
   Theme For a Strange World	Joe Satriani	A Harmonic Min, A Melodic Min for starters; C Harmonic & Melodic Min
   Super Collosal	Joe Satriani	Db Min Pentatonic, Gb Maj (especially the Db Mixolydian mode)
   Moon Dust	Neal Schon	A Min Pentatonic
   If I Could Fly	Joe Satriani	A Maj, B Min Pentatonic

I have also created a playlist called Great Guitar Music Mix that contains a majority of the above songs. It contains about 4 hours of superb guitar playing! You have to first sign up for a Rhapsody membership. Afterwards, you will have instant access to my playlist!

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. I think you will have a profound appreciation for the wonders that Rhapsody can do for your playing. If you are currently in a slump, then this turorial is a guaranteed recipe to pull you up and over the wall. Good luck on your quest to reach guitar playing salvation!

Regards,

Brian Huether