50 Greatest Guitar Solos

This link is to Guitar Worlds top 50 greatest guitar solos.... http://www.guitarworld.com/50_greatest_solos
Now....really want the real top 50 greatest guitar solos ever....go here...
........ http://www.steelydan.com/discog.html

thanks Starpulse for pics... http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Steely_Dan/Pictures/

Get Your Guitar Geek On At...

I recently Googled "funny shaped guitars" and came up with the Ed Roman Guitar King of Las Vegas site....wow.It is real eye candy for guitarist,with pictures,artist original models ,and detailed info.And the selection of guitars for sale is awesome too.So go ahead and get your guitar geek on at Ed Romans site.....
http://www.edroman.com/
....and here are two blowout sale items...
Dean Blue Burst V Custom
Block Inlay, Body Neck & Headstock Binding
The 79's do not have Block Inlays or Bound Headstock


http://www.edroman.com/guitars/IS_blowouts2.htm

Del Mundo
Steel String Pao Escrito Back & Sides

Quick Music Fact...Figuring Out Chord Changes

The first thing that will help in determining,for starters,what the chord is in a song,listen and figure out the bass guitar note that is being played with the chord.That will usually be the root note of the chord.Then,is the chord a Major chord,minor chord or diminished or augmented?It will fall into one of those main groups,usually Major or minor for simpler songs.Of course their are 6ths,7ths,9ths,11ths,13ths,and altered,but we are talking basic here!And eventually your ear will start to hear the chords in the song,and you will know just by sitting and listening.So start your ear training soon by listening to and figuring out the chord changes to your favorite songs.

Death Row Records Sold

It's main artist was, Tupac Shakur.It was an L.A. gangster rap label,Suge Knight was head of the label.....
http://www.laweekly.com/slideshow/view/230526/3
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/01/22/gangster-style-business-ops-jack-up-kaye-scholer-bankruptcy-bill/

For The Curious

Cool Audio On New and Cool Music Equipment

Listen to gear reviews, interviews and news at PremierGuitar.com.
Very informative audio on new and cool gear that was at the NAMM 2009 show.Some of the topics are:
Joe and Chris are back from California with the scoop on new gear and hot boutique amps from AES and the L.A. Amp Show
Joe Satriani Talks Touring and Gear
posted 08/18/2008
In this interview with Joe Satriani, we cover his insane touring schedule; working with Leslie West, Corky Lainge and Mountain; and his new Vox pedal.
5 Acoustic Builders You Should Know
posted 06/15/2008
Adam is once again joined by James as your hosts learn about 5 unique builders in the acoustic world.
Beyond Boutique
posted 05/30/2008
Pete Skermetta is on the line to talk with Adam and Joe about all that goes into being a one-man guitar builder.
All About Cables
posted 05/14/2008
Adam and Joe return to the studio and are joined by Dan Berkowitz, "The Dean of the Blues Bass," to discuss cables past and present.
...So check it all out at Premier Guitar on line: http://www.premierguitar.com/Media/Podcast.aspx

Finger Stretching For Guitarist

Here is a video showing a neat and simple finger stretch exercise.And this is an earlier post i did, Woodshedding,that talks about warming up and finger stretching...
http://guitaranswers.blogspot.com/2008/07/wood-shedding.html

Learn Finger Stretches for the Jazz Guitar -- powered by eHow.com

Top Ten Sellers For 2008

Here is 2008's top 10 most selling artist,and AC/DC is number 2....
No. 1 Taylor Swift:Sales: 4 million albums.Was the top-selling artist last year.
No. 2 AC/DC:Sales: 3.4 million albums.Rock legends AC/DC came out with their16t full-length album
No. 3 Lil Wayne:Sales: 3.3 million albums.
No. 4 Coldplay:Sales: 2.7 million albums
No. 5 Metallica:Sales: 2.5 million albums. Hard rockers Metallica sold 2.5 million albums last year.
No. 6 Kid Rock: Sales: 2.4 million albums
No. 7 Jonas Brothers:Sales: 2.3 million albums
No. 8 Sugarland:Sales: 2 million albums
No. 9 Nickelback:Sales: 2 million albums
No. 10 Jack Johnson:Sales: 1.8 million albums

... AC/DC pics... http://www.starpulse.com/Music/AC-DC/Pictures/

Get Your NAMM On...Video at Harmony Central

Go ahead...get your NAMM on at Harmony Central,and as mentioned before....prepare to drool :-).
http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM09/

Jazz It Up With Mixolydian Mode

This is a quick lesson on the Mixolydian mode.It is basically a major scale with a flatted 7th note.In the key of C Major,the flatted note would be the B natural,flatted to a Bb note.So,any Major scale can become a Mixolydian by simply flatting the 7th note,or moving the 7th note down a half step,or one fret.
The defining features of the Mixolydian mode are the major 3rd and the minor 7th intervals. These two intervals give the mode the characteristic dominant sound.
The Mixolydian mode is extensively used in Jazz improvisation over most dominant 7th chords.Note...the dominant 7th chord has the Major 3rd note along with the flatted 7th note.So again,the chord is the ruler,it determines what choice(s) of scale(s) you have to play!An artist that comes to mind using the Mixolydian a lot is George Benson.The diagram(pattern) below can be used in any key,simply memorize the pattern.Then i suggest you learn the Mixolydian starting on the 5th string,4th,etc(different fingerings!).
.....
Intervals: 1--1--½--1--1--½--1

Chords that fit: 7th, 9th, 13th

....Solid black is the Root note
Update... to help in knowing what Major scale contains the same notes as the Mixolydian,simply go up a perfect fourth.The Major scale of that note or key contains the same notes as the mixolydians original key...
example...C Mixolydian=F Major scale...the same notes..D Mixolydian=G Major..E Mixolydian=A Major scale
remember..all modes are simply a major scale in another key!
...this is to help you grasp the Mixolydian,but you still need to realize the intervals in each mode,their fingerings,and how to execute from the root note

Quick Music Fact...Chords and Their Scales...Soloing

When choosing a scale to play,it's better to look at the whole chord progression to determine the scale for soloing,than trying to play a different scale for each chord.

NAMM 2009...Countdown

Two days till Nirvana....
Check out the latest post over at Harmony Central...
http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM09/

NAMM 2009...Through Mike Levine's Eyes

If you are wondering what the NAMM Show is all about,well wonder no longer.This is a fairly good representation of what it's like.The video is presented by Mike Levine,for Electronic Musician magazine,a great magazine,may i add.So check it out and.....well,have a napkin around to catch the drool from your mouth :-)....
http://emusician.com/ms/namm/
http://emusician.com/ms/namm/namm_news/
2008 NAMM Show Photo(top left) by Peter Feldmann... http://www.bluegrasswest.com/gallery/namm_photos.htm

Quotes From Guitarist....Slash

"There's always something new to learn "- Slash
Official Slash Site... http://www.slashonline.com/
Slash Fan site,lot of info on Slash... http://www.snakepit.org/

Quotes From Guitarist...John McLaughlin On Improvising

I’m very curious about is McLaughlin’s personal approach to improvisation, obviously a huge part of jazz rock fusion. “In improvisation, if you’re thinking, you’re not playing. And if you’re playing, you’re not thinking. In true improvisation you have to learn a lot of things. You have to learn rhythm, melody, harmony, phrases. It’s like learning a language. You learn some words, then you put a couple together and you make a little phrase, then you learn some more words, and then you start improvising, you change the phrase, you add this word. And it’s the same in music. You need to start developing a vocabulary of phrases that correspond to the way you feel. And the other thing that happens in music is that every day is different. We’re changing constantly, and I’m different today than I was yesterday, and I hear a little bit differently. Now, one day to another’s not much, but over six months, you’ll really notice it. This is why I continue to work, because my phrasing that I hear in my imagination, which is behind my musical playing, is also evolving. So I have to work just to keep up to date with my own imagination, if you know what I mean.”.....John McLaughlin
... read the full story over at... i heart guitar
... http://iheartguitar.blogspot.com/

Cut Your Own Vinyl Records

It's a a .... a DJ robot :-) ....nope...it's a vinyl record recorder!!!
Hum...this is interestingly cool!I know to my ears and most ol' skool ears,vinyl has always been the best sounding media!Yes,who has a turntable anymore,well...the really eccentric still use them,along with 'master" cd's.And the vinyl still wins in audio quality over the cd.it really is just cool to think of having your master on vinyl :-).Anyway,here is a short excerpt and the web site...
Fritz and Ulrich Sourisseau are self-proclaimed vinyl-cutting aficionados, based in southern Germany. Their latest venture is the development of a contraption that fits on to a Technics 1200 or 1210 MkII (as ‘industry standard’ as things get in DJing circles), and enables the user to cut their own vinyl discs.
http://www.vinylrecorder.com/

NAMM 2009 Update...Greg Howe

Greg Howe and his band will be performing Friday, January 16th at Tone Merchants, which is located 5 minutes from the Convention Center in Orange, CA. Opening for Greg will be Dave Weiner of the Steve Vai band. Greg is one of my favorite players!He is so versatile,and such a monster player,and has some great songs to boot!And check out the Sound Proof album...wow!
Show starts at 8:00pm and Greg goes on at 9:00pm. You don't want to miss this performance as Greg and Dave will jam with a very special guest at the end of the show.
Call or email Tone Merchants to reserve your tickets at 1-714-288-9583 or noel@tonemerchants.com
Greg Howe's MySpace page... http://www.myspace.com/greghoweguitarist

Prince Plans 3 Albums For 2009

I recently was reading about Prince and his 2009 schedule and projects.He plans on doing 3 albums in 2009.He will seek only a distributor to distribute the albums for sales.It's nice to see independence in an artist with such a large following.The article is over at BBC .And there are additional articles on Prince which are interesting also,so check it out...
The musician told the LA Times he was in "final negotiations" with a major US retailer to distribute the music, which will also be made available online. Four guitar-heavy new songs were premiered on Los Angeles radio station Indie 103 shortly before Christmas.... BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Prince plans three albums in 2009...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7808098.stm

The Ride...

Winter NAMM 2009...Godin Gets Ready

Montreal based Godin Guitars brings news from the North to Winter NAMM every January, and this year is no exception. With another huge unveiling of exciting new models, Godin will certainly have plenty on hand for visitors to feast their eyes and ears on in room 211A....
article at Harmony Central... http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM09/Content/Godin/PR/Godin-NAMM-January-2009.html

The Ride..The Latest Release From Greg Waters

Download the latest release from Greg Waters...The Ride
(Additional Merchandise)... http://www.cafepress.com/gregwaters