Author Archives: bathguitarlessons

About bathguitarlessons

I rock. When I am not rocking, I instruct others in the ways of rock. I am a guitar teacher in Bath. I write for Total Guitar, I do sessions, and I play in my band. Life is good.

How to become a session guitarist

Posted on May 18, 2011 by bathguitarlessons

In last month’s Total Guitar (issue 214, with Zakk Wylde on the cover), I wrote a feature on how to become a session guitarist, called “Gun For Hire.” I interviewed 5 guys: Luke Potashnick – an in-demand session guitarist, Mike … Continue reading →

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Vibrato part 2

Posted on May 10, 2011 by bathguitarlessons

Most guitarists’ vibrato is too fast. Of course, some guys, like Angus Young and Paul Kossoff, sound cool with a fast vib, but most people sound like a sheep. The way to sort it out is to practise bending the … Continue reading →

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How to do vibrato on guitar

Posted on May 4, 2011 by bathguitarlessons

In this week’s lesson, I want to look at vibrato. If you’ve got a great one, everything you do will sound professional. Without a good vibrato, you’re a rubbish lead guitarist. Fact. I’ve never really seen vibrato taught well, so … Continue reading →

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String bending on guitar

Posted on April 27, 2011 by bathguitarlessons

String bending is the most important lead technique for electric guitar. There are hardly any great rock, blues, or metal solos that don’t use this technique. Yet many guitarists do it wrong, not getting the bends in tune or having … Continue reading →

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Tone

Posted on November 4, 2010 by bathguitarlessons

Apologies for the lack of new lessons. I have at least three more lessons written and ready to go, but I haven’t had time to record the video, and now it’s too dark. So while you’re waiting, I’ll weigh in … Continue reading →

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Blues turnarounds 3: Major pentatonic

Posted on October 30, 2010 by bathguitarlessons

Here’s another option for playing over a major 12 bar blues: the major pentatonic. Trouble is, you can’t play A major pentatonic all the way through a 12 bar like you can A minor pentatonic. It sounds crap over the … Continue reading →

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Improvising with arpeggios part 2

Posted on October 29, 2010 by bathguitarlessons

Next to “How do I get out of the pentatonic?” the next most common improvising question must be “How do I get away from the 5th fret?” Here’s another example of using dominant 7th arpeggios over a 12 bar turnaround, … Continue reading →

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How to get out of your pentatonic rut

Posted on October 29, 2010 by bathguitarlessons

One of the most common questions students ask me is, “how can I get out of playing the same old pentatonic licks?” Since you ask, here’s the first part of a series on alternatives to the minor pentatonic when you’re … Continue reading →

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