The Bluesy Side Of Joe Satriani – Part 1

For many, Joe Satriani is the ultimate modern guitar virtuoso. He combines finely crafted songs featuring vocal-like melodies with flawless technical execution and musical integrity.
Some may even refer to him as a ‘Shredder’ although he’d probably distance himself from that one-dimensional and inherently musically meaningless terminology.

While possessing great command over many modern playing techniques, from his signature legato phrasing to innovative two-handed tapping a la ‘Midnight’, Joe also has a deep connection with the Blues. In the following video I’ve put together five Joe Satriani Blues Licks and turned it into a short solo study.

Joe Satriani Blues Licks – Solo Study and Lick #1

 

Joe’s love for the Blues is evident in all of his work. The most prominent example of his blues playing can be found on the 1995 album ‘Joe Satriani’ as well as his work with his supergroup ‘Chickenfoot’ featuring Sammy Hager, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith.
Also check out his live work with Deep Purple. Joe was filling the guitar slot after Ritchie Blackmore quit the band in the early 90s.

In this series of articles I want to discuss a handful of Joe Satriani Blues Licks. I am going to start with the simple opening lick shown in Ex.1.
At the end of this series you will be able to play the entire solo study demonstrated in the video above and have a good understanding of how to incorporate these Joe Satriani Blues Licks into your own playing.

Joe Satriani Blues Licks – Lick #1

This triplet based lick is a great way to start a solo or a ‘call-and-response’ kind of improvisation.
It also shows the Jimi Hendrix influence as you could easily find it on any of his recordings

.Ex.1

A good tip to get more out of this lick it to play it once as it’s written out and then repeat it but end on a different note – the note A for example, on the 5th fret of the e-string.

This technique is referred to as ‘call-and-response’ or ‘question-and-answer’ technique. The concept is simple: you play the first phrase, the ‘call’, and then repeat the same phrase but change it slightly, the ‘response’.

This is a powerful way of creating meaningful musical material and has a long tradition in the Blues and Blues-related music. And it beats mindless pentatonic noodling hands down.
If you ever found your playing to be without focus, try this approach. You’ll be amazed at how structured you solos will sound.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Joe Satriani Blues Licks, where we look at how Joe gives the old pentatonic a modern make-over.

Make sure you check out Joe Satriani’s latest album ‘Unstoppable Momentum’ – visit http://www.satriani.com  for more

Rock well

 

Quick Guitar Tip on How To Practice Guitar Without Your Guitar

Every now and then I find myself in a situation where I have plenty of time to practice guitar – but no guitar available. So, how can I turn this into some practice time?

Well, there are many ways, in the video below I share one of them

Practice Guitar Without Your Guitar

And to get you started, here’s a blank fretboard diagram for you to download: Blank Fretboard Diagram

Do you also have interesting ideas on how to practice guitar without your guitar?
If so, please leave a comment below

Sweep Picking Arpeggios Made Easy – Your Guide To Ripping Up The Fretboard

A great and relatively easy way to play fast is to use Sweep Picking Arpeggios over three strings. Sweep Picking means you drag or ‘rake’ across the strings with a single, consecutive motion, playing only one note per string. This is an easy technique to learn but difficult to master and requires dedicated practice.

But sweep picking is very useful for playing sweep picking arpeggios across the fretboard with minimal effort. However, if you have already had some experience with sweep picking arpeggios you know that the more notes you add to the arpeggio, the more difficult it gets.

That’s why we’re concentrating on three-string sweep picking arpeggios.

Check out this video for a detailed explanation.

 

Sweep Picking Arpeggios Exercise

Check out this sweep picking arpeggio exercise. Note that we’re only playing the Am arpeggio at the 12th fret and that we’re not incorporating any hammer-ons or pull-offs and we’re not barring but fret each note with a different finger.

I actually got this exercise from Dream Theater’s John Petrucci, and he is probably one of the most technically accomplished guitarists around.

 

This fingering is important, because we can concentrate on the sweep motion. Be sure to mute each

Sweep Picking Arpeggios Etude

Now lets have a look at a Sweep Picking Arpeggio Etude, which contains an arpeggio sequence that uses the same approach that we’ve already practiced in the previous exercise

• no hammer-ons or pull-offs,
• a different finger for each note (i.e. no barring) and
• straight up and down sweeping.

 

Once you’ve got your fretting hand fingers in sync with your picking hand you can take this kind of lick ‘to infinity and beyond’.
But start out slowly and practice with a metronome.

Here’s the Backing Tracking Track to the above Sweep Picking Arpeggios Etude.

Sweep Picking Arpeggios Made Easy – Backing Track

I hope you found this article and video helpful. Please leave a comment and share this with fellow guitarists.

Rock well

Chris

 

Top 5 Tips For Developing Your Alternate Picking Technique

When you start developing your alternate picking technique there a few basics that are important to get right. Otherwise you may not make progress at the rate that you could.

I see this a lot when I take on new students who have been playing for a while and are frustrated with their progress. Often they are self-taught and have reached a plateau in their ability to play solos and lead lines. The majority of times it comes down to some ‘bad habits’ they have picked up and that are holding them back.

Here is a list of the top 5 things to look out for when developing your alternate picking technique:

How to hold you pick:
Hold the pick on the side of your index finger and secure it with your thumb. Cup your hand as if holding an imaginary egg. Place the plectrum on the side of the first joint (or distal phalnax as the doctors say) of your index finger and place your thumb on top. Don’t tense up. Check out Paul Gilbert’s video for a more detailed explanation.

How to angle your pick:
Hit the string in a steady and relaxed manner. Try hitting the string at an angel of 30 to 45 degrees. This allows for less string resistance and a warmer tone.

How to move:
When playing on a single string, the picking movement should come from the wrist and not from your elbow or the thumb and index finger. Observe yourself in a mirror – or video record yourself if you’re a more gadgety type of person.

How to attack the string:
Only attack the string with the tip of the pick, especially when playing fast single note licks. Using more surface area of the pick is OK for acoustic guitar strumming but for lead lines you should only use the tip of the plectrum.

How to sound good:
Use a clean tone with no delay or excessive reverb to start with. Aim for a nice and full tone. Any effects will mask mistakes and make it more difficult later on.
Once you start using overdriven and distorted sounds, make sure you mute any unwanted strings with the palm of your picking hand, your remaining fingers of your picking hand (i.e. the ones that don’t hold the plectrum) and your fretting hand.
What you are looking for is a ‘clean’ distorted tone.

If you are looking to improve not only your alternate picking technique but are also looking for more and different techniques and concepts for lead guitar playing, check out my DVD ‘Taking The Lead – Picking Techniques and Strategies for Lead Guitar’  and ‘The Essential Guide To Alternate Picking’ E-book.