Guthrie Govan, sneak peeks, Derek Trucks, amp sims and more
Six String Sunday is back this week with lots of great guitar stuff, previews to new posts, videos, a guitar album of the week and more! Let’s get right to the links.
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New posts on Chasing Sound — This week on the site I had a bunch of different posts go up. Earlier in the week I answered a friend’s question, and gave some pointers on what you should do when you don’t feel like playing guitar.
There’s lots you can do to spark up some musical excitement. Everything from making the most of your practice time, to actively listening to music, jamming with others, playing your favorite songs and lots more.
Later in the week I talked about how you can completely change your learning and playing, by using cover songs. If you’re looking to learn a new technique, chord, or genre even, cover songs can make practice not feel like practice. I used to do this with Metallica songs back in the day, and I think it made me a better player, faster.
What cover songs do you like playing? Do you think they’ve made your a better player or developed your musical vocabulary? Let me know!
Live chat — I experimented with a few things on the site this week. I gave away a free pair of strings, and have an entire contest week coming up in a couple of weeks. I also tried employing a live chat button right on the front page of the website.
It’s currently down, but I wanted to ask you readers if this is something you’d be into? It’d be select times of the day where you could reach out for guitar related questions. Let me know by reaching out on Twitter or Facebook.
Guitar album of the week — Erotic Cakes by Guthrie Govan — I’ve mentioned that Guthrie Govan is one of my absolute favorite guitar players of the last decade. I love his work in the Aristocrats and when he’s playing with Steven Wilson, and I also enjoy his solo work.
This week, I picked Erotic Cakes as the guitar album of the week. Guthrie always seems to know the right notes to play. He knows a multitude of styles, whether that be shredding or gypsy jazz, and he’s always super tasteful in his playing.
On Erotic Cakes you have heavy riffs, Vai-esque legato in songs like Uncle Skunk, jazzy tunes like Wonderful Slippery Thing, fiery country in Rhode Island Shred, and a number of songs in different time signatures, such as Fives and Sevens.
I could dedicate an entire month to the man. Go listen to Erotic Cakes and have some fun learning Guthrie’s riffs, a couple notes at a time.
Mateus Asato lessons — Last week I talked about how awesome Mateus Asato is. This week I’m back with three different YouTube lessons that cover his playing style.
The first video is from Juan Antonio, where he shows off some of Mateus’ major and pentatonic runs, and some very Mateus whammy bar licks.
The second video is with Mateus himself, and he joins Tim Pierce (a great guitar player/teacher in his own right), for a “10 mins with” lesson. Learn how Mateus gets into some of the most emotive guitar playing.
The last video features Mateus on Tim and Pete’s Guitar Show. This is a long one, clocking in at over an hour. If you’re looking for something really comprehensive on Mateus, check this video out because they cover it all.
Derek Trucks on the most important part of any solo — Derek Trucks is a monster player, and one of the best slide guitar players of our time. Derek talked to Music Radar to give five tips for guitar players. All of the tips are great, but the one that stuck with me was when he was talking about the most important part of a guitar solo.
Trucks said, “When you’re playing and when you’re soloing, always tell a story”. Lots of great guitar players follow this advice. Sometimes a solo is a song inside of a song. How many solos can you sing by heart? Next time you’re writing one, try and make it as memorable as that!
Guitar amp sims or real amps: What’s better? — Tyler over at Music Is Win gives you some great examples of amp simulators, and makes the case for them being similar to real amps in terms of how they sound. What’s your call? Do you like the tone of a real amp, or are you happy with an amp sim? Check out the video, which might change your mind.
Sneak peek at upcoming posts on CS — In addition to a whole week of contests coming up soon, I’ve also been playing lots more 8 string guitar. Would you be interested in any lessons on the 8 string? I’m still getting the hang of it myself to be honest.
This week on the site I’m going to have a post dedicated to teaching new guitar players how to do pinch harmonics like Zakk Wylde or Dimebag Darrell, and in early May I’m going to be heading to a Yngwie Malmsteen show, where I’m sure I’ll have lesson material from.
That’s about it for now. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
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If you have any questions or comments, you can reply to this post, let me know on Twitter or by posting in our Facebook group. I also have a fun Instagram channel where I post fun guitar pictures throughout the week.
Brian Sutich is a guitar player, audio engineer, podcaster, teacher, and hockey fan! He loves learning, helping people, and drinking way too much coffee.
