Happy Holidays Everyone
It's gonna be light on here until after January 1st.Between normal holiday stuff and gigs it's a bit too nuts for me at the moment to get anything substantial up.See you all in the new year. I've got...
View ArticleThe Lady is Right
A reminder to keep your head on straight."Don't love yourself in art, love the art within you."-- Stella Adler
View ArticleEnlarge the Circle: How One Thing Leads to Another
A few months back, a drummer friend and I were talking about how it feels like we're constantly hustling. Always on the lookout for the next money gig, it can become easy to get tunnel vision and...
View ArticleImprove Your Groove Part 2: 7 Metronome Tricks to Become a Groove Monster
What Time is It? Time for More ExercisesI covered 3 exercises in Part 1 of this two-part article, and now for Part 2 with four more exercises to improve your time-feel and groove.At the end of this...
View Article100,000+ and Counting
A couple weeks ago I hit more than 100,000 unique page views to this site. Again, this thing has become wildly more popular than I've ever imagined. I really didn't think there were that many people...
View ArticleThere's a Reason Why Your Time is Bad: Blame Your Brain
I was listening to the excellent podcast Radio Lab the other day and heard something fascinating.Karl Von VierordtThe entire, short podcast was about peoples' perception of time, especially how it...
View ArticleTranscription/Pentatonic Lesson: "The Song Remains the Same" Guitar Solo
The Guitar Solo That Taught Me How to Play Fast I think my favorite Led Zeppelin record is Houses of the Holy, and part of the reason is the right-out-of-the-gate attack of track 1, "The Song Remains...
View ArticleSummer
Many of you have noticed the lack of posting for a couple months on this site and commented on it. I'm thankful that so many of you visit so frequently.The thing is, it's Summer.It's tough during a...
View ArticleJonatha Brooke
Jonatha, yours truly and cellist Rebecca AronsI just finished five days in the great city of Minneapolis, MN rehearsing and performing with extraordinary artist and musician Jonatha Brooke.I've been a...
View ArticleJim Hall, One of the Greatest
I was just telling a friend how one of the most mind-blowing things I ever saw was Jim Hall playing "All the Things You Are" solo with the melody as the bass line and he reharmonized all the chords on...
View ArticleThis is Why You Keep Practicing
This has been making the rounds lately though this is the first I've seen of it in video-form. Absolutely worth watching if you haven't seen it, and watching again if you have.Ira Glass of This...
View ArticleTop 10 Ways to Improve Everything Now
A friend turned me on to this great piece by guitarist and songwriter Bryan Baker called the Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Guitar Playing Now -- however I'm calling it the Top 10 Ways to Improve...
View ArticleJohn McLaughlin Interivew
A reader who did this interview passed the video along to me and I'm only too happy to share it as I'm a big McLaughlin fan.He has a lot to say about the state of the music industry and even reveals...
View ArticleVijay Iyer: Jazz in the 21st Century
A producer for a Public Radio show called Open Source sent this interview with Vijay Iyer over to me and it's absolutely worth your time. I first became aware of Vijay about three years ago through...
View ArticleMore Metronome Madness
I got an email a couple of days ago from Lukas Kyska over at TheAspiringGuitarist.net. He let me know that he had referenced my metronome series How to Improve Your Groove in a new post he had written...
View ArticleSting on Letterman and Live with Kelly and Michael
I'll be performing with Sting on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS), Thursday December 11 and on Live! with Kelly and Michael (ABC) on Friday morning, December 12 (which will air December 23) in...
View ArticlePerformance with Sting on Late Night with David Letterman
Well, that was fun. I performed a few times with Sting this past Thursday and Friday and I'm still reeling from the experience.The guy is the real deal, a true musician and totally pro. It was an...
View ArticleRhythm is Music
My friend and sometime-bandmate Antonio Sanchez scored and played the drums for the Alejandro SanchezGonzález Iñárritu film "Birdman."He has gotten a tremendous amount of positive reviews from critics...
View ArticleNile Rodgers Clinc Reveals the Funk
You have to dig a little to get the diamonds out of this clinic by the great Nile Rodgers, but it is absolutely worth it if you're a songwriter or enjoy playing funk guitar.Be patient. It starts a...
View Article"The Oracle" for Bb Instruments
A reader asked for a Bb version of the Steve Coleman solo transcription for "The Oracle" I posted a while ago. Just wanted the rest of you to know it's up if you need it.Here's a direct link to the...
View Article"Hallelujah I Love Her So" Transcription
I had to learn "Halleluja I Love Her So" by Ray Charles for a gig I had awhile back. Normally when I learn a tune and it comes to the solo, I like to improvise my own. But I always check out the...
View ArticleCaptain Beefheart's 10 Rules for Guitar Playing
Presented without comment, because to even try would be to miss the point.Captain Beefheart’s “Ten Commandments of Guitar Playing”1. Listen to the birdsThat’s where all the music comes from. Birds know...
View ArticleHerbie Hancock and Miles Davis -- Something that Happened
"When you hit a wrong note, it's the next note that determines if it's good or bad."—MilesAnother thing I can't improve on. This short video can teach you a lot about playing music and how to live.
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