Introduction This blog post is about improvisation, the concept of determinism, and what happens at the intersection of the two. My primary goal is to redefine what it means to improvise and to provide players with a clear way of doing it honestly. The post is set up in five chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) Determinism... Continue Reading →
If you guys are anything like me, then you probably struggle to maintain consistent practice habits. A recap of a typical week of practice may go something like this: Today I played for three hours but yesterday and Thursday I didn't play at all. Monday I had a long rehearsal with my band. Sunday I... Continue Reading →
Playing guitar well lives and dies in the trench of your tone. Capturing the right sound is more than adjusting the knobs on your amp, though. Good tone requires that you be thoughtful about everything that has to do with making sound on your instrument: technique, amps, settings, guitars, pick-up selections, the weather, your mood,... Continue Reading →
Introduction In this post, I've compiled a list of advice for the gigging musician. It's divided into three categories: (1) equipment and gear, (2) repertoire development, and (3) band dynamics. As a bonus, I've included a gig day checklist and a video tutorial. Equipment and Gear You should probably ditch your tuner. How else are... Continue Reading →
I think of improvising as an intellectual challenge that is analogous to meditating. When I'm reading the chords of a song, or watching the hand of a chording guitarist and improvising at the same time, I am engaging in an activity that requires every bit of my attention, every bit of my know-how, and every... Continue Reading →
To solo harmonically is to make melodic decisions based on chords changes. The experience of soloing in this way is similar to the experience of strumming through a chord progression. Both skills require that you know a song's changes. This blog post will map out the concept so you can get started with this kind... Continue Reading →
This post explains how to handle the dreaded mid-performance string break.
Chasing the Chords 