Hi … I’m back!

Kirk’s Weekly Guitar Lesson

This week’s lesson is a look at a slow blues chord progression, in the key of G. It’s played finger style by simply picking through some of the notes of each chord and turning them into a sort of melodic accompaniment part. This way of playing the tones that make up chords as single notes is called an ‘arpeggio’. You’ll see how arpeggios become melody … following chord tones is in fact, to my mind, the best way to approach soloing. I spent too many years all tangled up in scales and box patterns playing the same boring lines over and over again, desperate for melody. It wasn’t until I turned my attention to chords and forgot all about scales that I finally found it.

You’ll find that lesson here: The Arpeggio Blues.

There are well over 100 other lessons there, all consisting of a movie (showing both hands), tab, notation, midi files, mp3, GuitarPro file … you can’t help but learn! You can also join in the discussion … it’s a very friendly and helpful community, so if you have any questions about anything guitar related, feel free to ask. I guarantee you’ll get your answer.

PlaneTalk – The Truly Totally Different Guitar Instruction Book

Are you one of the many who know scales, understand what modes are, know the pentatonics backwards and forwards but still can’t create meaningful melody when the tune is more than a two chord groove? Still wonder what it is that players are doing when they pull perfectly beautiful lines out of thin air against tricky sounding progressions? Can’t for life of you figure out what the underlying pattern is that these players must be seeing? If so, drop into the PlaneTalk site … read some of the testimonials. There is a very simple way of ‘seeing’ your fretboard, a way that has nothing to do with scale patterns or boxes, a way that turns the whole fretboard into the friendly familiar territory no matter what the music is doing. The book/DVD also comes with a forum where we PlaneTalkers hang out and upload mp3s and discuss the art of improvisation on a daily basis.

Slide in Standard and Dropped D Tunings

You can add a whole new dimension to your playing by slipping a slide over your pinkie and playing some of your favorite riffs n licks with it instead of your fingers. No need to tune to open tunings … standard tuning is actually brimming with positions that are begging to be slid upon. Check out the DVD I finished off a couple of months ago. It’s a 70 minute demo and explanation of the art. Have a listen to some of the tracks I uploaded on the ‘Slide a Lorange Radio’ at the BottleNeck Guitar site. They’re all done in standard or Dropped D tunings, which is standard with the bass string down a tone. I leave no stone unturned in this DVD … I give away all my secrets.

Until next week,

Kirk Lorange