The Guitar Resource

In light of the fact that I posted recently about Languedoc guitars now being available to the general public, I thought that for this week’s great guitar video I could show you one in action so you can see how sweet they really are. This week’s great guitar video is a 1994 performance in Glen Falls, NY by my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands- The Divided Sky by Phish.

Phish is known for their improvisational work and are one of the most famous jam bands of all time. Besides being a great improviser, Trey Anastasio, Phish’s lead guitarist and vocalist, is also a fantastic composer. Trey is a beast on the guitar (as you will see in the video) and always amazes me when I hear him play.

If you have never listened to Phish before now is the time to drop all your hippie/jam band stereotypes and give them a shot. If you want to play along you can get tabs to The Divided Sky at emilstabs.org. Enjoy the video:

There are a lot of simple things you can do to spice up your guitar soloing. One great technique many guitar players use is string skipping. There are many different ways to use string skipping to beef up your chops. But for this post I just wanted to focus on one simple method you can use.

Paul Languedoc, the maker of Trey Anastasio’s (Phish) famous guitar is now selling guitars to the general public. These guitars are really sweet and if you listen to any Phish, you know how great they sound. There are a few models for sale and they are all built after you order, so you know you are getting a great new guitar.

A lot of guitar players first learning music theory and scales find it hard to remember notes from the scales and chords they are learning. Forget about remembering the notes of complex modes and chords, even remembering the notes of major and minor scales and chords can be tough.

A helpful way for me to remember chord and scale notes is to create note cards. I do one note card for each major scale (so there are a total of 12 cards). I put the cards in the order of the Circle of Fifths. On each card I have the major scale really big across the top of the card. Then I number each note as follows: 1, 2/9, 3, 4/11, 5, 6/13, 7. The reason I give certain notes two numbers is because it will help me remember their extension names as well. Then I also circle the notes 1, 3, 5, 7. So now I can visually see what the essential chord tones are (I put the numbers below each note).

Now I start writing out common chord names and their notes. So for example on the C major card I would write:

Now that you know how to build a basic chord and how to build a 7th chord we are going to talk a little bit about adding chord extensions to your chords.

What is a chord extension?
A chord extension is a basic chord with extra notes added on to give the chord a more complex sound. Think of it like a painting: A painting of a tree may look nice. But if the artist adds in other details like birds on the branches, drops of rain dripping off leaves, and flowers at the base of the trunk, then the painting starts to come alive with color and reality. Chord extensions are like the colorful details in a painting that will give your chords extra life and texture.

How to create a chord extension
There are many different chord extensions. But knowing some basic principals of chord extensions will allow you to learn them much quicker and build them on your own.

When you solo your lines should be an extension of what you here in your head. The better you get at guitar, the less you will have to think about what to play and the more you play what you feel. Getting to that level of guitar playing takes some time and practice. But one of the ways you can speed up the process is by training your inner ear to recognize the sounds in your head, and training your fingers to execute those sounds on guitar.

Wes Montgomery is one of the most, if not the most, famous jazz guitar players in history. He was a true pioneer of jazz guitar. Even if you do not like jazz music, it is hard not to appreciate his mastery of the guitar. Here is a great video of Wes Montgomery performing “Full House” in 1965. Take note of Wes’s great sense of rhythm and his use of octaves (which has become his signature technique of his).