I’ve recently published the first in a series of tutorials on how to play harmony guitar parts.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1965

This tutorial series is about creating and playing two part harmony guitar lines in rock style music. This is often one guitar part playing a melody, lead or solo part that is harmonized by a second guitar. Major scale harmony will be used to explore the basic types of contrapuntal motion: similar, oblique and contrary.

We’ll discuss the basic ways to create melodies and harmonize them. Then we’ll create several melodies and harmonize them in different ways, using different intervals, types of motion and timbres. There will be lots of backing tracks so you can get experience playing along with the various parts and doing it yourself!

Earlier this year I posted a demo video while I was working on the ideas & materials that would become this tutorial series.

Enjoy!

This is a demo of a funky blues tune I’m working on called “Greasy Lizard”. I’m using a patch on my Zoom Multi-FX pedal that combines a Mu-tron and Octaver into my Reason Amps Bambino on Stack mode.

This tune has lyrics which will be on the final version when I finish my upcoming blues album.

Enjoy!

My latest GT tutorial is more on combining rhythm riffs & lead licks.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1937

This particular riff is the one I used in this vid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4mRAQHiO2I

Enjoy!

If you start learning this one now, then, you’ll be ready to play it by Independence Day!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1325

This tutorial is beginner level single note melody arrangement of the ‘Star Spangled Banner’.  I also have another, more advanced version for electric guitar.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1386

And for students with more traditional music tastes, here is a solo classical arrangement.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1431

Finally, I did a total face-melting version for fun with my Strat for this month’s video blog.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vApCViXkLo

I’ve been working on a series of tutorials covering harmony guitar parts.

The entire series is going to be about creating and playing two part harmony guitar lines in pop-rock style music.  This is often accomplished by one guitar part playing a melody, lead or solo part that is harmonized by a second guitar.  I cover the basic theory of melody and harmonization in major and minor key tonality.  I’ll cover the basic types of intervals & contrapunctal motion used.  I’ll also show how variations in tone & timbre play an important aspect with overdrive tone, clean tone, different pickups.

Every lesson will be culminate in a musical example that the student can play along with in order to put the ideas into practice with a working application.

In the process of preparing for shooting this material I did several demos.  This month’s video blog is one of those demos!

This is a technique I learned from listening to Deep Purple, Queen, and other rock bands that played wonderful harmony guitar parts!  I used this technique to an extreme degree in my “Prometheus” symphony of Stratocasters.

https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/christopherschlegel

Enjoy!

Christopher Schlegel Update 07-08-2011

In this new tutorial I show how to connect the 5 pentatonic box patterns using tapping technique ala Van Halen. The idea is to start with a simple lick that involves seeing and playing one pentatonic box pattern with a hammer-on and a pull-off. Then, we see and play the next higher box pattern with a tapping technique. Finally, you apply the idea to all the boxes & cover the entire fretboard!

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1277

This tutorial is meant as a kind of companion tutorial to my other recent ones on rock style guitar; the whammy bar one & the 70s arena rock.

If you aren’t a GT subscriber you can still get a free preview from this tutorial via the GT newsletter:

http://www.guitartricks.com/newsletter_archive.php?xid=aad7cd71fa

http://www.guitartricks.com/courselesson.php?input=bT9lPTFlZzI4OA==

I’ve also added another old song to my YouTube channel, “The Secret Detective”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Ij7b9_hBM

Enjoy!

Christopher Schlegel Update 06-25-2011

In this tutorial I teach some rocking riffs in the style of 1970s arena rock bands. I grew up in the 1970’s listening to and learning the music of Deep Purple, Montrose, Kiss, Van Halen, ACDC. These bands were well known for their powerful, energetic, melodic take on rock music.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1251

Enjoy!

These are the standard tricks of the trade you hear whenever a blues player grabs the bar.

The previous tutorial on whammy bar was in a rock style and covered more basic info about how the bar works, how to keep it tune (or try!) and approaches the techniques from a rock player perspective.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1219

But no matter what style you are playing, the basic ideas still apply:

1. Use the bar musically.
2. Aim for specific pitches.
3. Aim for specific rhythms.

And most of all, have fun with your whammy bar!

Christopher Schlegel Update 04-19-2011

Recently, I’ve been publishing a lot of jazz lessons.  I’ve published three tutorials covering the basics of extended harmony chords (7th, 9th, 11th, 13th):

Extended Harmony Chords Series 1
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1166

Extended Harmony Chords Series 2
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1185

Extended Harmony Chords Series 3
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1195

And most recently I did another series on the style of Joe Pass!  Using, of course, my Joe Pass model Epiphone Emperor.  In this one I cover the basics of jazz lead lines.

Joe Pass Series 4
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1205

I’ve also started another project.  I am taking my tunes from “Until”, an older CD that are already published (CDBaby, iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.) & making YouTube videos of them with scrolling lyrics.  Some of these tunes we once sent to singers, arists, publishers with the intention of having them recorded by other artists (for example, people that are better singers than me) and me making money from the publishing. 

But, of course, no one wanted to do my music.  So, as usual, I did it all myself.  My idea is to offer them for free listening to see if I can spark any further traffic or new interest for them.  The first one is up and running here:

“Sad Cafe” from Until by Christopher Schlegel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_m_etU7nJw
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/schlegel2

Enjoy!

I’ve been working on a new series of video lessons for GT on the the topic of Extended Harmony Chords.

An extended chord is one in which the triadic formation process has been extended beyond the normal three notes that form basic major and minor chords. Basic major and minor chords only necessarily contain the
1st, 3rd and 5th scale degrees.  Extending the concept further yields 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th chords.

In earlier lessons I covered the basic 7ths chords: dominant 7th, major 7th and minor 7th.

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=479
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=499
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=500
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=501
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=513

The first new tutorial builds on those chords and introduces: diminished 7th, dominant 7th/flat 5th, minor 7th flat 5th, and minor major 7th. I show how to play each type of chord rooted on the E, A and D strings. Then, I show how to use them in the context of a ii-V-I jazz type progression.

Extended Harmony Chords Series 1

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1166

The next one covers various 9th chords from a jazz guitar perspective: 6/9ths, minor 9th, dominant 9th, dominant 7th flat 9th, dominant 7th flat sharp 9th (also called dominant 7th flat augmented 9th).

Extended Harmony Chords Series 2

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1185

I have at least one more planned on 11ths & 13ths!  Happy jazz guitar playing.