A G minor inspired sweep pick lick today, not to complex but will help getting your sweep picking up to speed, and also pay attention to the shape of the arpeggio, think about how you could use this and the notes contained within it. That will then make it easier to switch to say a major version etc and help with your knowledge of the fretboard and intervals.Tab : Quick Lick 8 Sweep pickingFor those of you who lead busy lives and struggle to get guitar practice into your daily schedule, quick licks offers a way of improving your vocabulary and ear in just 10 minutes a day.For more in-depth information on maximising your practice time and finding your own voice on the instrument, check out my book Guitar Creativity - A new way of thinkingEnjoy!PeaceNeil
Inspiration
Inspiration is a very interesting topic, so I thought I would dedicate a blog post to thinking and discussing it. As a lecturer it is a concept which I try to communicate how import it is to find inspiration in whatever form it takes, and going with inspiration you feel to creating your art. I personally, go to a number of places for inspiration, primarily it is the music and performers of my formative years which provide the greatest amount of inspiration, and probably one of the biggest of those is Steve Vai. Although, inspiration for me can come from a variety of different sources, it is just a case of being open to it and seeing how an idea can inform the art you are trying to create.
Going back to Steve Vai, I remember reading his Martian Love Secrets series of articles in Guitar World (around 1988 something!) and it really did change my world. The ideas (some of which have already been touched on in my blog and in my book), really resonated with a young me, and changed not just my perspective on guitar playing but on life as well) These days, thanks to the internet, I find inspiration in so many different places and through so many musicians. I have always been a massive fan of a wide range of much from Blues, Soul, funk and Motown and have really been inspired by the musicians who formed it basis and in particular their stories. BB King has become a massive inspiration for me, and the ability to be instantly recognisable by one note and the ability to make one single note convey so much emotion from joy to sadness, is a massive motivator for me when trying to be inspired to create new material. Thinking of how others are able to create so much feeling within a simple vibration of air molecules is something which continues to inspire me.
I find that I gain a lot of inspiration from outside of music, from all kinds of creative fields, and sometime (bizarrely) people who are doing well in their lives. In particular, thanks to things like TED talks, I have found inspiration in many of their differing talks, in particular in 'just going for it' with life and doing what you have to do. You make your own life and you only get one shot, so you have to make it the best it can be. In fact, whilst not a TED talk, this video of Steve was incredibly inspirational.
Steve Vai on How to be successful
I have also just watched a fascinating documentary about The Creative Brain: How Insight Works, which provided some fantastic information about how creativity works, and how, most importantly that when the mind wanders it is at it's most creative. The programme looks issues around that ' moment when a light goes on in your head. In a sudden flash of inspiration, a new idea is born', something I am sure we can all relate to. I found it particularly interesting that the mind seemed to be at it's most creative when the person was not just doing nothing at all, but mindless (no pun intended) tasks (e.g. arrange bricks into the same colour), this would explain why perhaps we have our best ideas in the shower or out for a walk or when meditating on an idea.
I have also found that working with other people, such as students, other tutors, musicians and creatives who tend to be incredibly supportive and inspirational, sometimes in very small ways, but each inspire me to want to do more with the guitar, my music and my art and showing me that everything is possible.
In short I tend to take inspiration from everything around me, no matter how small and yes I think it is to create inspiration, by getting into the right state of mind, or being around creative and inspirational people. That would be my advice today.
Enjoy
Peace
Neil
Quick Lick #7 Country Licks for guitar
A country lick today heehaw in A, works well over an A7 Chord. As usual, try and pick it up the lick by ear and of course.Tab : Quick Lick 7 Country lickFor those of you who lead busy lives and struggle to get guitar practice into your daily schedule, quick licks offers a way of improving your vocabulary and ear in just 10 minutes a day.For more in-depth information on maximising your practice time and finding your own voice on the instrument, check out my book Guitar Creativity - A new way of thinking https://gumroad.com/l/zCAXyEnjoy!PeaceNeil
North and South on the Radio
Just a little post to say that my duo North and South, will be on the radio on Tuesday 10th February performing two of our NEW original tunes. This will be the first time that one of them has been performed live, so please tune in to ALL FM for the Caroline Boyd (@car_boyd_radio) Drivetime show at 6pm. We will hopefully be making an announcement about some other things happening very soon.EnjoyPeaceNeil
Quick Lick #6 Blues Jazz Lick
A blues-jazz today in E, works well of E7 Chord. As usual, try and pick it up the lick by ear and of course make sure you make it your ownTab : Quick Lick 6 Blues Jazz LickFor those of you who lead busy lives and struggle to get guitar practice into your daily schedule, quick licks offers a way of improving your vocabulary and ear in just 10 minutes a day.For more in-depth information on maximising your practice time and finding your own voice on the instrument, check out my book Guitar Creativity - A new way of thinking https://gumroad.com/l/zCAXyEnjoy!PeaceNeil
iRig Pro Ik Multimedia Review
A short review of the iRig Pro from IK Multimedia a one-in audio interface for the iPad, or any computer. Featuring Jack input, XLR input (with phantom power) and midi input. Very simple to use, and the unit comes with two different connections, so you can connect it via USB or via Lightning connector (i.e to an iPad or iPhone). Latency is really good when used with the iPad, and the sound quality is really reasonable for such a device!What can I say but this is a fantastic little unit, perfect for the mobile iPad studio, which I why I brought it. Simply now I need my guitar, cable, iRig and my iPad and I have a fantastic little notepad for recording ideas and getting songs down in sketch form. I have also been using it with LoopyHD as a practice tool and for some looping (yet to use it live but it could be done!). I also using with my Laptop when I quickly need to get a guitar part into the computer (for lessons etc), this makes life so much easier and it is SO small!EnjoyPeaceNeil
Visualisation - Guitar Lesson - Improve your guitar playing fast
Visualisation
Here is a guitar lesson on a concept know as 'visualisation', which I feel is something which can help you improve your guitar playing really fast. As a concept, like 'finger positivity' it is a little tricky to explain, in a video and in text, as it is all in the mind. The basic premise requires you to think about and visualise in your minds eye, scale shapes, chord shapes, licks and riffs, and at the same time try and think about how they sound as well. This is an exercise you can do at any time, such as on a bus, or train, and will really help you see your way across the fretboard.There are also a number of aspects to the concept of guitar visualisation, and another one is something which Steve Vai advocates, and this is to do with playing confidence and imaging yourself playing the perfect gig. I discuss this a little bit in the video, but will do another video about this.
The Lesson
So, check out the video, visualise your scales, chords, songs in your minds and you should find that you are maximising your ability to improve on the guitar. So, for more in-depth information on maximising your practice time and finding your own voice on the instrument, check out my book Guitar Creativity - A new way of thinking ... (Kindle Version )Enjoy!PeaceNeil