Uncategorized – Weeping Willow Guitar

Fretboard Fluency – Learning the Notes on the Fretboard

Craig — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 21:20:15 +0000

I'm not going to lie, I'm surprised at the number of guitarists that are quite good and have been playing for a considerable amount of time that don't know the names of all the notes on the fretboard fluently. Don't be tempted to skip past this post if you kind of know the notes and are able to figure them out if given enough time. The objective of this lesson is to know all the note names fluently. And by fluently, I mean able to play or name a note instantaneously, without thinking. If I told you to play every C on the guitar, you could play 12 of them, one after another, in less time than it takes you to read this sentence. Or, if someone points out the 15th fret of the second string you call out D without thinking twice.

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Allman Brothers Band – Blue Sky – Dickey Betts’ Solo

Craig — Wed, 09 May 2018 03:58:22 +0000

In the 3rd and final installment of my Allman Brothers Band "Blue Sky" lesson we take a look at the 2nd guitar solo (Dickey Betts' solo) from the "Eat A Peach" album.

Dickey Betts' solo is pretty much a masterclass in taking a handful of notes and weaving them into an endless number of beautiful melodies. This solo is based out of an E major pentatonic scale with the added 4th degree (also known as a hexatonic scale).

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Rhythm Charts – Part 2

Craig — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 22:20:20 +0000

In part 1 we talked about some of the advantages of using rhythm charts and took a look at a few basic charts for the songs "Black Magic Woman" and "I Shot The Sheriff".

As you recall, rhythm charts use a combination of standard musical notation as well as some vague (or less-defined) notation to create a musical shorthand. In this post, we will discuss the notation and symbols used to communicate the form of a song.

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Rhythm Charts

Craig — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 22:37:29 +0000

Rhythm charts are a quick and easy way to map out songs and can save a lot of time at rehearsal or when learning a bunch of songs quickly. They're also a great way to archive all the songs you learn, so you don't have to start from scratch when relearning a song.

There are so many applications for rhythm charts that I can't honestly think of a single good reason not to learn to read and write them. In essence, a rhythm chart is musical shorthand that combines standard musical notation as well as a more vague notation that allows you to map out a song using the most important information to convey the part to the player.

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Mastering the Minor Pentatonic Scale – Video Lesson

Craig — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:45:19 +0000

In this lesson, we are going to learn all 5 CAGED positions of the minor pentatonic scale.

The Minor Pentatonic Scale

The minor pentatonic scale is often one of the first scales learned by guitar players, and certainly one that is very frequently used. It's provided the melodic foundation to some of the most classic solos and riffs of all time, and is found in almost all styles of music. In order to master this scale, you must first understand how it's constructed and how each note in the scale functions. You should then familiarize yourself with each position on the fretboard and be able to maneuver between shapes.

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