The first (and my favourite) of Farida’s Artist designed range is the J-FT, designed in collaboration with UK folk-punk sensation and former Million Dead front man Frank Turner. He reached the climax of his career and his largest audience with a greatly acclaimed folk-based solo career, however this is folk with punk genes that he then passed through to the J-FT. Perhaps I love the guitar so much because not only does it typify Franks musical attitude but also my own. At heart it is a classic guitar but is set apart with some unique, indie features.

Still with me? Good! I’ll start looking at the actual guitar now and the J-FT has a jumbo cutaway body style, with a construction of solid Engleman spruce and Rosewood. I think the best word to describe the sound of this guitar is loud! But luckily it doesn’t compromise the definition and it still sounds really crisp and focused with great low-end response. This is definitely enhanced by the Fishman rare Earth pickup, which adds a beautifully rich and articulate tone. From these features you can clearly see what Frank Turner was going for when he was designing this baby, loud and defined, perfect for live situations.

In terms of looks the Farida J-FT is an absolute stunner, no question. Upon closer inspection you can see the amount of care and craftsmanship that his been put into making them. It’s the smaller things like the gold closed machine heads, the Walnut binding and the finish, nothing special but it just looks and feels luxurious.

I think one of the reasons why the J-FT is such a success is because of wonderful relationship between artist and manufacturer. Farida are a company who pride themselves on supporting independent artists ‘left’ of the mainstream and it would be a fair statement that Frank Turner fits that description. When playing the guitar you can see the cooperation that has been done between both parties and unlike typical signature instruments the new range aren’t simply clones of the artist’s instruments, each one built to the exact specification of the guitar Frank Turner is currently playing.

Despite all this, the main feature of the guitar is its exclusivity with only 25 available worldwide. It’s a real shame really, as it’s a beautiful acoustic and deserves to be mass produced; but for the lucky people that get their hands on one have not only got themselves a great guitar, but a brilliant investment.

Guest post by Steven Williams

Source: Farida J-FT Frank Turner Signature Guitar – Review Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!

Standard D tuning is quite simply dropping standard E tuning by one whole tone on each string. It produces a lower, more growly sound, which can be really cool on the guitar.

There are hundreds of alternate tunings for the guitar, so when you’re deciding which one to use, you really need to consider what you want to do with it. One of the big benefits of standard D tuning, as opposed to some of the open tunings, is that all the same chord patterns you’re familiar with still work. You’ve only just dropped things down by a whole step.

Keeping that in mind, in standard D, if you play an open D major, that will now become a C major. Likewise, G becomes F, A becomes G, etc etc. Definitely something you’ll have to think about, unless you’re the only person playing.

One thing you might want to consider if you’re using a lot of alternate tunings is to setup a guitar just for that tuning. It allows the guitar to settle into that tuning, and also allows you to tweak the action and string gauge specifically for that tuning. For instance, with many of the drop tunings you’ll get a better tone out of a heavier gauge string. Of course, if you play mostly in standard tuning, you may not want a heavier gauge string on there all the time. So that’s something to have a think on.

Alright, you ready? Let’s dive into the lesson.

Standard D Tuning Lesson:

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Source: Standard D Tuning on Guitar Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!

This riff comes right out of the E pentatonic minor scale, which hopefully you’re familiar with by now. Why E pentatonic minor? Well, the chords in question are Em and G, so those overlay perfectly with the Em scale. However, if you take a look at the notes that are being used, you’ll find they also are found in Root 5 B minor diatonic scale as well, which is relative to D major… which is the key the example chord progression is found in.

Personally I find it just a little clearer in my own mind to relate to it from Em, but either way is technically okay. Probably the B minor scale makes more sense to most people.

In case you want to play along, the chord progression I demonstrated this with is just D A Em G A.

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Understanding your chords and how they integrate with your guitar scales is the key to finding riffs like this one. I recommend my Guitar Scale Patterns lesson as a great place to start.

Source: Em to G Embellishment Riff Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!

A bar chord (sometimes also spelled barre chord) is called that because you essentially create a ‘bar’ with your index finger, fretting all six strings at once. Then, you create the chord shape after that with your remaining fingers. Naturally, this type of chord is going to require more finger strength, because you’re physically pressing down more strings than with open chords.

The fact that bar chords require a bit more strength to play however, should not be a deterrent. It should simply be a good healthy challenge to take your playing up a notch. Let me explain why.

Being able to play bar chords adds so much versatility to a guitar player. With bar chords in the bag, there are no limitations to which key you can play in, which chords you can use… everything becomes roughly equal. An Eb bar chord is just like playing an E, a Bb like a B.

For lead players, bar chords allow you to play along with the rhythm in a tight grouping close to where you’ll be soloing, allowing quicker and easier access to the scales you want.

For rhythm players jamming with others, bar chords allow you to play the same thing as the other players, and yet sound different. An open G sounds quite a bit different from a G played elsewhere on the fretboard, and the two played simultaneously sounds great. They really complement each other. So if you’re able to throw in the odd bar chord here and there, or even play your entire part using them, you’ll really be adding a new flavor to the song.

Because I’ve seen quite a few guitar players struggling to learn bar chords in particular, I decided to make a proper guitar lesson focusing on exactly that subject. The result is Bar Chords Made Simple, my newest 2 hour guitar lesson. At that link you’ll find a free guide that explains in detail how you can get started with your first bar chord.

Who Should Learn Bar Chords?

This course is aimed at guitar players who have at least a minimum level of experience in playing open chords. If you’re comfortable playing chords like G, C, D, E, Am, Em, etc, then you’re ready for this course as a next step.

Likewise, perhaps you’ve played guitar for quite a while, but for whatever reason you’ve just never got around to mastering bar chords… if that is the case, then this course is also for you.

You’ll get a good, although brief, introduction to the fretboard, so this is a useful course for those who want to move on to soloing later on.

If you’ve ever attempted to learn bar chords before, and yet never quite managed to master them, then this course is for you. I’ve included a few “cheater” ways of getting part-way there without having to go all the way; nice half-way steps to get started with. I’ve also included finger exercises that will really build up your finger strength, stamina, and stretchability. (Sorry, I just had to throw another ‘s’ in there).

In Bar Chords Made Simple we’ll go through from the ground up, assuming nothing, so you’ll have a systematic approach to the fretboard and guitar chords that will serve you well, forming a great foundation for future studies.

Click Here To Get Started

Source: Bar Chords Made Simple Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!

Basically, this is a 12 bar blues progression I just jammed up for teaching purposes; maybe you can make something of it! The progression is simply I IV V using power chords. So that’s B5, E5, and F#5 as the rhythm section. If you’re unclear about that, please checkout my lesson on power chords for a refresher.

The riffs come out of the B pentatonic minor scale, which starts at the 7th fret. Again, if you need a refresher, checkout my lesson on the pentatonic minor scale. There are a couple small modifications in there as well, but I explain those in the video.

This lesson ties together a few different concepts that we’ve covered over the past while, so it is a bit more advanced than some of the other lessons. If you’re having trouble playing it all, then just pick a single riff out of the lesson, and go work on that. If you can pickup the whole thing right away, then great! Go off and jam with these ideas and make them your own. Don’t feel like you have to play the rhythm or riff the same way I do.

Add your own interpretation. Be creative. And have fun.

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Source: Guitar Riffs #6 – Fun Rhythm & Riff Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!

Man, the guy was frustrated. He’d tried all kinds of things in order to learn how to solo.

He’d learned the pentatonic minor scale (a GREAT start by the way) but he couldn’t figure out how to make his solo sound like anything BUT the scale.

He’d tried copying solos verbatim (ie ‘covers’) but that wasn’t doing it for him either.

He was still having a really hard time unlocking whatever it was that held him back.

I felt bad for him, because I’ve seen a number of people stuck in this conundrum.

There seems to be a mental block on the creative drive, and it needs to be smashed somehow.

My advice to him? He’d gone in a little deep, and was starting to get tunnel vision over his failures, so I instead I recommended he learn some simple guitar riffs that worked with the pentatonic scale he knew.

Sometimes seeing how the riffs relate to the scale, and then hearing how arranging those notes in different ways can sound so cool can really crank up the creative juices.

It seemed to with him, anyways.

Speaking of learning new riffs, Steve Stine’s course 96 Rock Licks was just released this past Tuesday, Feb 21.

You can find it here

Another common problem is that other guys have learned a few riffs, but have used them so much,over and over again, that they’ve fallen into a creativity rut as a result.

It’s not so much that they can’t solo, it’s that every time they do solo, it sounds just like the last time.

In those cases, oftentimes learning a new riff and hearing the sound of it as you play it can break the funk.

I’ve had it before where I learned just one new lick and it made such a difference.

Steve’s course has not one, not ten, not fifty, but ninety-six great riffs taught in great detail so you can capture every nuance of each one.

Break the “I Can’t Solo” curse with these licks.

If you’re really struggling with the soloing, learn just one new lick today and see if that doesn’t help…

I bet it does.

Source: How To Break The “I Can’t Solo” Curse Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!

Songwriters the world over are always trying to figure out what will produce a hit, because obviously a hit song can make them a lot of money. But can such things be determined mathematically? It’s important to note too that the algorithm is geared towards the UK Top 40; so it may produce very different results in the United States or Canada, but beyond that, can a hit be mathematically defined?

It’s an interesting topic, and as they mention at the end of the video, the algorithm is far from foolproof and can be easily thrown off by other factors in society. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting 4 minute clip.

If you’re interested in songwriting, one thing they do mention in here is harmonic complexity. That’s a fancy way of saying what’s happening in the song from a musical theory standpoint. Many songwriters have told me that my Unlocking I IV V course has really helped them get a better handle on their songwriting, because it gives them the tools they need to come up with the chord progressions they’re looking for. You can find more about that here.

Ok, here’s the clip!

Source: Algorithm Maps The Way To Songwriting Success? Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!

They learn the basic chords, and a few songs as well.

They learn bar chords, to step things up a bit.

They learn a simple scale, like the pentatonic minor, and get their first taste of soloing.

They want to take their soloing further, so they get lessons somewhere.

They’re given seven guitar ‘modes’ to learn, with a separate guitar scale pattern for each one.

Their names are:

• Ionian (I)
• Dorian (II)
• Phrygian (III)
• Lydian (IV)
• Mixolydian (V)
• Aeolian (VI)
• Locrian (VII)

At this point, someone who didn’t know better may think a little tribe of small green men had just walked off a UFO and introduced themselves!

And in fact, I’ve talked to several people who just got completely bogged down at this point in their guitar playing.

They stagnated there for a while, sometimes years…

Unsure when to use the Ionian, and when to use a Dorian. (And no, that’s NOT a car that takes you Back to the Future!)

Then they came across my Guitar Scale Patterns course, which throws out that particular approach to the guitar in favor of something much less complicated.

And yet still oh-so powerful…

You see, all those modes are simply re-arrangements of the same thing – the Ionian. Each mode starts at a different scale degree, and goes through the loop.

Now I’ll admit you can do some cool things using modal playing, but I consider that to be a fairly advanced application, and definitely not something that every guitar player needs to learn.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I always catch the flak whenever I bring up this subject, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!

I know lots of guitar players that have gotten by quite happily (and successfully too – at the pro level) without ever relating to the guitar using all seven modes.

There IS a simpler way, and it can get you back on track with your playing again.

Simplify things a little, and you’ll be surprised at how the creativity comes back!

Check it out – Guitar Scale Patterns

I’ve also talked to people that passionately disagree with me.

Mostly, they just can’t get past the fact that modal theory was developed around the piano, and guitar theory should be free to develop differently.

It has become a bit of a sacred tradition of music theory… and beware anyone who tries to change it!

But hey, we can’t all think the same right?

For the average guitar player, I still think my way is faster to learn, and more easily applied.

Source: Are Guitar Modes Outdated? Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!

This riff is based of the E diatonic minor scale – if you’re not familiar with it, brush up in the guitar scales section. If you’re having trouble seeing what my fingers are doing, you can always make the video full screen, which should help.

Basically this is just a nice little combination of going down through the scale with a few little hammer ons and pull offs along the way. At the end there’s a nice minor third jump from the G to the E, which leads back nicely into the power chord progression of G5, A5, E5.

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Source: Cool Guitar Riffs #5 – Rock Riff Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!

If you’re having trouble with the stretch, you might want to check that your guitar is setup correctly, or use an electric guitar instead.

Other than that, this riff is pretty basic in its use of the pentatonic scale… just a few hammer ons and pull offs. It isn’t the complexity of a riff that makes it interesting, it is the arrangement of notes, and that’s a key thing to keep in mind when you’re working on your own material.

Speaking of keys… this riff will work well in G major, E minor, or an E ‘blues’ key with a progression like E7 A7 B7. Experiment with it. Have some fun.

So without further ado, let’s dive right into it!

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If you need a touch up on your guitar scales, then I recommend checking out my course on Guitar Scale Patterns, as it digs into that topic in detail, and will be sure to get you on the right track!

Looking for more guitar riffs?

Source: Cool Guitar Riffs #4 – Open E Pentatonic Minor Riff Guitar Tips Weekly - You want guitar lessons? You got 'em!