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| File |
Comments |
| TuneUp.mp3 (209kb) |
Tune your guitar to this note. |
| Ragtime Ramble.mp3 (848kb) |
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Dadalada.mp3 (776kb) |
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| Just What the Doctor Ordered.mp3 (716kb) |
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| Boogaloo Down LaRue.mp3 (776kb) |
Here is the first part of the tune in guitar TAB format. On request, I will scan some more of it :) |
| Ragpickin.mp3 (975kb) |
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| Coney Island Cakewalk.mp3 (1,479kb) |
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| Bloozinay.mp3 (1,366kb) |
| Note that the above tracks are listed in order of "difficulty"; that is to say, in an order which (according to the book I learned them from) approximates the acquisition of the necessary skills with which to move onto the next tune. Actually, I found the "harder" tunes are easier to master than the "beginner" ones...but each to his own. |
| File |
Comments |
| The Ventures - Sleepwalk.mp3 (2,073kb) |
This is a good tune for developing technique...ie. it is tuneful and slow |
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Stuff - Foots.mp3 (3,783kb) |
Stuff were a wonderful US band comprised of the best session musicians on offer. Aside form the cool drumming of Steve Gadd and the bass of Gordon Edwards, the guitar playing of the great Cornell DuPree in this tune demonstrates that you don't need to play fast to be a monster player. |
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Al Di Meola - Mediterranean Sundance.mp3 (4,942kb) |
Here is a true master of the guitar! He played with Chick Corea when he was only 17. He is just as good on acoustic as he is on electric. Again, this is not difficult once you have acquired a little speed. |
| Tarrega - GrandeValseTheme.mp3 (489kb) |
Here's a good example as to why classical guitar is also so cool :) Sorry about the boomy quality to the sound...I think I recorded it in the bathroom... |
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Here's how to learn to play the Di Meola tune (above). First, practice it slowly, then, when you can do that, move on and practice it at tempo. |
 The late Randy Rhoads So...who are some guitarists to listen to?? Well, I would advise anybody to take a good listen to Randy Rhoads, Eddie van Halen, Al di Meola, and maybe Joe Satriani. Of all of them, I prefer the late, great Randy Rhoads, but EVH is also a monster player. Also, to see what exactly can be done on a guitar, try and see a tuition video of Michael Angelo...the guy is crazy!...and awesome! His tuition videos are really very good; he is fairly laid-back and he explains everything clearly. The best guitar solo of all time?? This is a difficult one...however, EVH's solo on the Michael Jackson track Beat It! is right up there. The most over-rated big-name guitarist IMHO?? Easy...that would have to be Eric Clapton. I'm not saying he isn't a fine player or person...obviously, he is. I merely think he is a little over-rated ??!! And, the most under-rated guitarist IMHO?? No question...it's Don Felder of the Eagles. He is the one, by the way, who is playing the tasty lead guitar on Hotel California (with a little help from the always-cool Joe Walsh). And the guitar solo from the Eagles track After the Thrill is Gone is a really nice one for a beginner to learn. It was also the first guitar solo I ever taught myself :) And if you want to know the finest guitarist I have ever heard aside from the acknowledged "greats", I would unhesitatingly name Kevin Bayley...a Kiwi who was, most notably, in Rockinghorse, a top NZ band of days gone by. His playing had to be heard to be believed...for such a nice, unassuming guy he was an absolute madman playing that Telecaster live on stage! (If you see this, Kevin...I was the young guy who came to gazillions of your gigs with Rockinghorse/Short Story etc. with my good friend (and yours too, of course) Keith Norris. |
Some More Interesting Guitar Solos etc
| File |
Comments |
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Steely Dan - Chain Lightning solo (1,156kb) |
Here is an example of tuneful and clever scalar playing. |
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Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water solo (977kb) |
Sure...the tune needs no introduction, but listen carefully to the skillfully crafted, but too often ignored, solo. Interestingly, Ritchie Blackmore once stated that Bach was a major influence on his playing, and this classical influence can be heard on other tracks on the seminal Machine Head album. |
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Australian Crawl -Not You Again intro (565kb) |
Listen to the melodic playing, involving both acoustic and electric guitars. |
| Pretenders - Chain Gang intro (448kb) |
Now this is melodic and is easy to play too :) Listen to the separate instruments (guitars/bass/drums)...they all seem to be doing their own thing, yet it gels nicely. |
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Commodores - Easy solo (661kb) |
A melodic and slow solo with a really chunky sound. |
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Nirvana - Teen Spirit (solo) (271kb) |
Well, if 2 notes can be more meaningful within the context of a tune, I have yet to hear them. This is great! |
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Steely Dan - Reeling in the Years intro (479kb) |
Elliott Randall is another player to try and emulate. This famous introduction to the Steely Dan track Reelin' in the Years is a good example of his scalar, but tuneful playing. The word is that this excerpt was virtually improvised in the studio! Get a hold of the entire track and also enjoy his simple-sounding, yet technically daunting solos. And - hey - he has a homepage too. |
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Steely Dan - Kings solo (136kb) |
Another cool example of Randall's technical mastery. This is a chromatic scale played crisply and, oh so fast! Just goes to show that some guys do spend time on their scales. |
More soon, time permitting... |
