I often think the best songs have an interesting story behind them.
Well, back in 2006, I had a weird experience.
Storytelling with Your Guitar
Following on from last week’s post about Tommy Emmanuel, which a lot of you said you enjoyed, I wanted to give you some insight into the mindset of the guy.
On the surface, it might appear to be advice for those advanced players who can do loads of cool things on the guitar.
In reality though, this little tip is immensely powerful.
One of the things he says is that no matter how good you get, guitar playing is music and music is storytelling.
Songwriting 101: How To Write A Song Using ‘Chinese Whispers’
IMG_6616 by jeaneeem, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Every now and then I will write a song, a riff or a melody that I like, play it through a few times, and then nod my head in approval, and say to myself:
“Yeah, man, that’s the sh*t” while pouting like a rock star, only to realize with horror that this little ‘masterpiece’ I wrote sounds just like another song!
Duh, duh, durn!
[Read more…]
3 simple strum patterns on how to strum a guitar like a pro
“Loughborough six” by Matt Preston, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Most guitarists spend a huge amount of time on everything EXCEPT rhythm guitar. They spend way too much time on chords, scales and just noodling around. So much so that they don’t have the time to work on some of the things that really count – such as rhythm guitar.
If guitarists were more efficient, most would be much better players in a much shorter space of time. One area that lacks any efficiency whatsoever is their rhythm playing, and in particular – strumming. [Read more…]
Strumming mistakes
One of the things that stand out in modern metal is a guitarist’s ability to seamlessly combine elements of rhythm and lead guitar to produce rich sounding, rhythmically strong riffs that wow the audience yet keep a strong groove. This takes time to master. Players such as Dan and Pin from SikTh do this brilliantly and pretty much reinvented the wheel when it comes to complex, yet catchy guitar parts.
[Read more…]
Dave Grohl teaches you how to write a hit rock song…using bumper stickers
Foo Fighters – Rock am Ring 2018 by Andreas Lawen, Fotandi, licensed under (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters certainly knows a thing or two about writing a big hit rock song. Over the past two decades he has penned some of the best rock songs to hit the airwaves. All the way from ‘This is a call’through to ‘Everlong’ and more recently ‘Rope’, Foo Fighters back catalogue is a masterclass in songwriting. If you want to learn the bare bones of how to write a hit rock song, read on.
Bolster your breakdowns – Learn how to wow your audience
We all want stronger, catchier and more powerful songs. In modern rock and metal, the breakdown is an essential part of the song, and one that definitely needs work. Here is a very cool video from the talented Cosmin Lupu on how to build up a breakdown in modern music.