Alt%20Guitar%20Techniques

Oh no! It’s the attack of the advanced scale theory! Bullets can’t stop it (and we’re fresh out of cartoon superheroes). Anyway… the diagram below is a compact representation of 14 scale types as represented for a single string. I could get into a long discussion about what they are supposed to be called but all that would accomplish is letting you know that even music teachers are not fully agreed on standard names for scales. ...more

In order to achieve a professional sound, whether it is distorted power chords or fingerstyle chowder, it is necessary to reduce the ‘accidental’ noises. The more you jump around on the neck, the more audible the sounds of shifting become and the more awkward and amateurish the playing sounds. ...more

In attempting to categorise the types and varieties of alternate tunings I have focused on tunings with related patterns of intervals. Phrased that way it seems like something complicated and awful, designed as an intellectual exercise. Nothing could be farther from the truth – if you have worked with the major scale you have already begun solving the problem. So let’s take a fresh look at scales. ...more