Alex Lifeson’s momentous hard rock riffs, alongside the masterful percussion work of Neil Peart and instantly recognizable lead vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee, have appealed to millions of Rush fans for over three and a half decades.
Jazz Standards for Solo Guitar is the latest book release by Boston based guitarist, and Associate Professor at Berklee, John Stein. Containing 10 classic jazz standards arranged for solo guitar, this book uses detailed analysis and descriptions of each tune to go beyond simply presenting these charts to the reader to learn on their own. It is the analysis and accompanying CD, alongside the creative arrangements themselves, that makes this learning package a welcome addition to any guitarist’s practice room.
Five words: A Different Kind of Truth. Although having already given a magnificent 2007 reunion tour, the almighty Van Halen’s true return finally came around this year with their first new studio album in over 28 years with the just-as-legendary David Lee Roth on lead vocals.
Eric Clapton has often praised legendary blues maestro Buddy Guy as the greatest guitar player alive. Now some seventy six years young, the influential Guy is still wowing audiences, releasing stellar new records and playing hundreds of live dates a year setting the stage afire with his testifying, soulful vocals, incendiary six string wizardry, and tornadic live performances.
There are thousands of guitar method books available on the market, which cover a wide variety of fingering and playing techniques. For that beginner guitarist who’s interested in learning the guitar, choosing the wrong or too difficult guitar method book could discourage them completely from learning how to play a fantastic instrument.
Throughout the past century, guitar students the world over have been introduced to the instrument through the publications of Mel Bay, Hal Leonard, the Royal Conservatory and the Suzuki Method. As these books have grown in popularity, especially the Mel Bay Guitar Book 1 which is an institution in itself, these instructional books have become ingrained in the minds of students, teachers and parents as they have made their way into countless practice rooms and teaching studios the world over.
Love ’em or hate ’em, scales are important to any guitarist. Everybody knows the box method, with the five different patterns for each scale, and some guitarists subscribe to the 3 notes per string approach, but other than that, there haven’t really been any innovations with scales on the guitar lately. Enter New York jazz guitarist Adam Smale with A New Approach to Scales for Guitarists, which puts forth an interesting and useful 4 note per string method of learning and implementing scales.
When the British rock group, Badfinger, hit the airwaves there was a rumor that it was The Beatles, working under a different name. They had the pop sound of Paul McCartney with guitar work that hinted of Harrison, as well as some very melodic harmonies that could easily be mistaken for the Fab Four. Of course, Badfinger was on Apple Records and McCartney did write and produce their hit “Come and Get It”, so the rumors had an edge of truth to them.
Clapton: The Ultimate Illustrated History by noted rock author, Chris Welch, landed in our shop a short while ago and at first glance, we knew it was worth checking out. Sure, there’s the Clapton connection, but the book exudes high quality and we’re familiar with past books by Welch.
For those who are Fender obsessed and love the contours and sounds of Fender guitars, author Tom Wheeler’s latest book, The Dream Factory: Fender Custom Shop, offers up the comprehensive story of the Shop, complete with its compelling history, a series of stunning photos, highlights on some very cool CS axes, and the inside scoop on the genesis of the Custom Shop straight from some of the custom builders.
