Hi all, I’m back. Sorry once again for the lack of a new lesson last week. We upgraded our server and the move kept us offline for a couple of days.

Kirk’s Weekly Guitar Lesson

This week I’ve done a nice waltz for you, an original I call ‘Rainy Day Waltz’. Yes, we finally got some rain here in Queensland. I didn’t quite know what it was falling out of the sky for the first few minutes, it’s been so long. The tune has a bit of a Celtic flavor to it, to my ear anyway, and it’s a fun one to wrap the fingers around … not too tricky, but no piece of cake either.

Here is the lesson: Rainy Day Waltz

We’re nearing 20,000 members now at GfB&B … not bad, considering it’s only been up and running in its present form since last November. There’s a wealth of experience and talent there, so if you’re not already one of us, come and join up and join in! We’re just installing a new forum dedicated tot he art of improvisation, as there’s a lot of interest in the topic. What twanger doesn’t want to be able to invent lines, melody, solos, riffs and licks on the spot? Speaking of improvisation …

PlaneTalk – The Truly Totally Different Guitar Instruction Book

Improvisation is a whole lot easier if you can literally see the music on the fretboard, all the possibilities laid out from one end of the fretboard to the other. I’m not talking about scales and modes and box patterns, either. They can certainly be useful, but if the music is not strictly in key (which is most music) then something else needs to come into play. PlaneTalk shows you what that something is, and it’s so simple you won’t believe it. There’s a whole lot of practicing that comes into it, of course, nothing about playing guitar is easy, but once you digest what this ‘trick’ is all about, you will never look back … guaranteed. One recent customer wrote me to say he’s “packed away hundreds of guitar books” he’s bought over the years. He tells me he doesn’t need them taking up shelf space anymore.

So, in a nut shell, if you’ve hit that plateau, you’ve learned scales and modes but they’re still just scales and modes; you can fake some improv as long as it’s 12 bar; you only feel comfortable playing in and around the first 5 frets and the rest is scary no man’s land … you hear stuff in your head that you can’t translate to the fretboard … do yourself the favor! Drop in and read all about it. It comes with a DVD and a forum, too, so you ask me and close to 1,000 other PlaneTalkers any questions you may have. It ain’t cheap, but it’s the last money you’ll ever need to spend on instructional material.

How to Play Slide Guitar in Standard and Dropped D Tunings

I started playing slide in standard and dropped D tunings back in 1969, so I do know quite a lot about it. I recently finished production of the 70 minute DVD in which I reveal all my secrets. For example, did you know that standard tuning is in fact a bunch of mini open-tunings all living side by side? That all flavors of chords — major, major7th, minor, minor7th, augmented, diminished, sus4, 11th, 9th, 7th — can be expressed with a slide in standard tuning? Have a listen to my Slide a Lorange Radio at BottleNeckGuitar.com … all played in standard or dropped D. If you like it, I show you how on the DVD.

That’s it from me this week, see you next.

Kirk Lorange
http://www.kirklorange.com