Tips on solo guitar with NO accompaniment
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 13. 04. 2019
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Text 078900 67773 or e-mail paul_ursusarctos@hotmail.co.uk. Visit this link for info âą I now offer guitar les...
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Tips on solo guitar with NO accompaniment
EQUIPMENT
Gibson ES-335 (year 2005)
Marshall Astoria Custom (30W all valve)
Pedals: Reverb and Delay, both from TC Electronics
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That playing at the start is gorgeous
Well thank you Harmonious Concepts. Appreciate your lovely comment đ
How could this only have 511 likes? It should but about a million đ
Thank you Timrod1984 đ
Two years later......just learned you are not able to carry on teaching guitar cause of the day job and young family...............only came across your channel by accident but man I am glad I did just to see and hear your intro here. Genuine player fabulous............ good luck with everything, your soul will keep you in harmony..
Ah, what a lovely comment man, cheers and much appreciated đ
Excellent lesson thanks.
Fastly becoming my fav guitar channel.
Thank you Brian! đđ
wow Sounds Amazing!! great performance! thanks for sharing my friend!!
Exactly the lesson I was looking for. Thank you for this.
My pleasure man, Iâm delighted you liked my wee vid đ
Iâm a bit late to the party, but Paul, I love your playing. Thank you and keep âem coming. Cheers!
Impeccable sense of timing ! Greetings from Akron , Ohio USA ! Hi Paul , nice video , great tone , and so SMOOTH !
You opened my eyes with this one.Thanks
Glad you liked it, cheers đ
Yet again you amaze me!!!! đđ€đž
Ah, thanks man! Great comment, smile now across my face!
Real nice explanation of things. The sound of your es 335 is amazing. Thank you Mr. Paul
Thank you James!
outstanding!
Thank you Michael, appreciated.
Awesome playing paul.đđž
Thanks Paul, cheers mate đ
Beautifully mellow.I love it
Thanks David! Cheers for watching đ
amazing!
Ah, thank you Isilvaj đ
Great involved video for us mere mortals, awesome stuff, your 335 is a natural blues machine I love it
Thanks Ross. Yes, it seems I canât put that dam guitar down, ha ha.
Out standing Paul đđœ
Thank you Karl đ. Chuffed you liked the clip.
This is great, need to learn this. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers Philson đ
Thanks Paul.
Cheers Ionut đ
That's a hand full of tone you got there!, your really good, and you play with soul and understand what you are talking about very informative.
What a lovely comment! Thank you MPNNag đ
A great lesson Paul, thanks âșđ
Cheers Glenn, glad you liked the clip đ
Such great playing!! And great tips as well.
Thank you kindly Jonathan! Delighted you like my playing đđ
@@paulstaffordcook8799 not sure how anyone could not. đ
thanks a lot, big respect!
Thank you Jeff
Love that guitar....
Love it! Been playing for 25 years or so now. Only really starting to get in to this style in the last year or so. This was great. I'd love to hear more about soloing when transitioning from one chord to another
Thanks StrawPete, delighted you liked the clip! Yeah, Iâll probably do more of this type of video. Cheers mate.
great!!!
My uncle (a thoroughly talented musician himself) recommended your channel to me. And Iâm glad he did. Really loving these concise but thorough concept overviews.
Thank you Zach! Delighted to read Iâve been recommended. Cheers for watching đ
Hi Paul ! You are playing some great Blues chops in this video ! As always , I am always impressed at the level of emotion and note choice you use in your music ! Greetings from Akron , Ohio USA ! Keep up the great videos , I really appreciate them !
Thank you Kenneth! Delighted youâre enjoying my wee videos. Looks cold tonight in Akron... just checked my weather App... Similar to here in Edinburgh, Scotland, around freezing đ.
just caught up with your channel : ) i'll be watching as many as i can , , luv your insightful pointers
Thank you John, delighted you liked my vid. Cheers John
As of today, not a single "dislike" . No one dares!!
Love this and that guitar
Thank you Indobiker61đ
Brilliant, a very inspirational piece with some very tasty licks and phrasing....Makes me regret selling my 335!!
Thank you Mike! Appreciated. And yes, maybe another 335 will find its way into your hands one day đ€
Nice thx
Cheers talmenik07 đ
Thanks Paul, that was awesome. Many of us would love to see you demoeing stuff at Andertonâs along with Danish Pete. That would be colossal.
Ah, thanks JSpic, appreciated đ
That "Stairway to Heaven thing" Cracked me up Paul :) How many times I have visted a Guitar shop to hear a Badly done rendition of that iconic tune.
Yeah, it makes me smile every time someone does it.
That chord that you said that is two frets up from the 1 is called a "Secondary Dominant" because it acts like a 5 chord from the 5 chord. Killer playing by the way :)
Thank you MisterMist Seven! I did not know that, and now I do, thanks to you đ. Delighted you like my playing too, cheers man đ
Late to this Paul but this lesson is perfect. Thanks.
Glad you liked it Ian đ
Paul, your "little embellishments" are just a little bit gorgeous. Excellent stuff, man. Keep doing it.
Glad you like them! Thanks Ken đ
Wow man thanks for giving me all that to work on with some fun, I like how you make it look easy well it ain't.
Thanks Del Ray! Happy practicing man đžđ
đ€ŻđđŒoff to practice that now...
Ha ha, delighted this vid put you in the mood đ. Itâs a great thing to be able to play with no backing, it really lets the tone of the guitar shine through. Cheers Jonathan, happy practicing đ
I see your really liking on that 335. Great vid, breaking a few things down in a simple kind of way. You mentioned Govan, watched some of his string bending Master class vids last night. Then about a two hour Culture Clash concert with the Aristocrats. All three great musicians. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Tony đ
You heard it andertons... Give Paul a call and watch the viewing figures go sky high..er!! Great lesson as always paul. Be amazing seeing a jam with yourself and Danish Pete!
Man, Iâd love that! I donât think my channel will ever be big enough to appear on their radarâŠ. but one can hope đ. Thanks for the vote of confidence Steve
Great insight on self-accompaniment! One thing I struggle with is thinking about rhythm. How to emphasize the beat when not playing a riff, which beats to land on the target notes etc.
Thank you Brian đ. Yes, sometimes I like to liberate myself from the constraints of a âbeatâ, and simply play a phrase with feeling, and then linger (maybe on a chord)....
Suffering christ beautiful playing again! About to pick the guitar up and copy as much of that as possible đ
Thanks man, really pleased you liked my playing đ
I finally found someone who thinks of chords the way I do. What you do is play functionally, when you say 1, 4, 5, then back to 1, I use the term T, S, D, T. Your 2nd that you mentioned is a dual function which means it will function as both S and/or D chord (4,5). The power of playing this way means you can literally play anything so long as you follow the function TSDT, the chords themselves mean nothing, it's the function that holds the value to how music works.
Great job, I adore your playing.
Thank you Leigh, delighted to see weâre on the same page as regards how to think about chords. đ. Cheers for watching
...what...? Do tell.I need to know this.
Leigh what is the D in your sequence? I play it as Tone,Semi Tone,Tone following the 1,4,5 progression but Cook is delightful.Iâm not.What is the 2nd? Do you mean the minor 2nd? The TSDT you refer to is an intervallic structure? Sorry every one Iâm not getting it. Anyone with the patience to help is truly welcome.Please enlighten me .
@@themrtomward Hi Tom the concept myself and Paul use is something based on Functional Harmonic Theory - There are 2 types; Freestyle and Improv. There isn't any online framework for this, this style seems to be innate to Paul whereas I spent time writing my own theory for this concept. I try to refrain from explaining it in a comment section due to people wanting to pick it apart, argue and debate about what they've been told in school and are so indoctrinated with western theory music notation that they make it difficult to explain. However I will be happy to show you this outside of the CZcams comment section as it requires a slight change of mindset of how to think about music.
@@themrtomward sorry seems like I answered your earlier question/comment from 4 days ago.
D = 5th ( the sequence you describe above, I'm guessing is the minor scale sequence, if so then yes).
The 2nd is the is a major 2nd I.e a whole tone from 1.
I hope this is what your second comment asked.
Made that shit look easy, well done brother
Thanks John. Letâs just say it took me more than one take đ.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Hey paul, check out 2 songs by this dude.
Chris stapelton
Was it 26 and outlaw state of mind. If you like him I will tell you some damn good songs to check out.
Pat attention to the vocals and guitar.
Be advised, it can be addictive :)
@@paulstaffordcook8799 one more song by that dude , good tele jam.
Think youll like it.
The song, "i was wrong "
Wow, what great stuff! There is so much . . . . . voicings, melody, articulation . . . . your playing is so damn MUSICAL, and IÂŽve only worked throught the first 40 seconds. Lot of chords and voicings in there that IÂŽve never heard in a blues context. And I find that IÂŽm shaking all my chords to get that vibrato now. And that thing where you only vibro one note of a chord, absolutely impossible, never seen anyone do that. IÂŽll work on the next 40 secs tomorrow.
Delighted youâre enjoying that video Tom! And Iâve just received a donation from you into my PayPal đ. Thank you Tom, that is very thoughtful and kind, and is very much appreciated!
brilliant, but not simple :) lovely sound
Thank you Charlie! Yes, Iâm loving that 335 đ
hey paul thank,s man think your great, player, keep up the great work.vancouver Mal
Thanks Malcolm! Greetings to you in Vancouver. I visited there in â95, by myself. First night in China Town (that was a bitâŠ. well, scary), and second night in beautiful Stanley Park. Wonderful part of the world đ.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 thank,s for reply wondering if you like sal clemison or not your bag, oh keep your show going love it specialy diminished see ya pal.
Ha!...this was great but whilst I've got the guitar playing bit down, I just can't get a hang of the facial expressions thing yet!....practice!practice!practice!.....
Thanks Paul, sounds great, but jeez i need lessons!!!!
Well if you ever find yourself in Edinburgh, look me up and weâll have a Jam, ha ha. Cheers for watching Robbie đ
Blues with a feeling.
Thanks Greg đ
Paul, you always get such a fantastic sound, no matter what guitar and amp you play through. I would play a lot more if I could get such pleasing tones. But I'm rarely even remotely satisfied. I can't seem to replicate the sound in my head.
Thank you REM1956. Thatâs such a common feeling among a lot of players learning guitar... theyâre not satisfied with their tones etc. Having given quite a number of guitar lessons, Iâm guessing that if I asked you to play me a quick demo of some stuff - and pleased donât be offended, Iâve never heard you play - I might hear the following:
1) rushing the licks so that they stop sounding like music
2) the notes youâre playing sound a bit âun-lovedâ.... you donât seem to be caring for the note (via nuance, dynamics, vibrato, timing)
3) youâre maybe not fretting some of the notes cleanly enough
4) when I ask how often you film / record yourself and study the playback, you reply âneverâ.
This is just my educated guess, I could be completely wrong. But if you pick something simple, practice it up to a level where you think you could perform it on stage, and then record it on your iPhone and watch the playback.... Then play the part of judge. Itâs a hugely beneficial thing. It teaches you to love each note. Maybe Iâll do a vid on this. The point is, if you can play a very simple phrase with love, nuance, dynamics and vibrato (where appropriate), youâll sound fantastic. Regardless of you guitar / amp / tone choice. Hope that helps. đ
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks for the detailed, thoughtful reply, Paul. When reading my initial comment again I believe I was going a bit overboard with my statements. I've played guitar for 45 years, with a few bands, and other people seem to think I sound fine. My dismay stems from having not played consistently over the past several years. So I don't sound like I think I should. More time playing will solve the problem. But you sound great EVERY time you post. I'm only a bit jealous! Thanks again for the encouraging words. Regards, Ed
Thanks man, đ
thank you for verifying my choice to go with a Tele and not a 335 or 339.
Nice to see a fellow Scottish guitar CZcamsr. Great work, keep them coming out and they will come (subscribers) I get more views from my holiday stuff but the builds and repairs do pretty good. BTW we have the same influences, mainly Gary Moore, Santana, Clapton, Jeff Beck, Lizzy and the classic rock stuff. Page and Hendrix never done much for me ;0/
Thanks man! Appreciate you watching. I will give your channel a wee browse đ
Scott Henderson (I think that is his name) said you can play the standard minor pentatonic shape (the one we all start with) two frets up and it works. So for example you can play it in A rooting it on the 5th fret and also two frets up on what would be considered B. Iâve tried it and it works. Great playing friend.
Youâve got me all in a pickle Wade.... When I read your comment, I was like âSay What?!â..... so I tried it..... and now Iâm even more confused. So maybe Iâve picked you up wrong. Have I got this right? I play a typical blues backing track, in Am, involving your typical 1 chord, 4 chord and 5 chords. I start jamming to it, using the Am blues pentatonic. All is well. Then I move my soloing up 2 frets and Iâm now playing the Bm blues pentatonic.... to my ears, it ainât sounding musical.... should I have chosen a major key instead of minor? Or have I picked you up wrong? On a side note, thanks for watching my clip, delighted you liked my playing. đ
@@paulstaffordcook8799 . It works best on a static chord. Try it over like a funk groove 1chord. You can also play a fifth up ,as well. (E position) Its a bit odd at first but if you resolve back to the key ots kinda cool.
Maaan, great playin, always enjoy your vids. Cheers đ
Thank you amazing. Could be great with some additional explanation on scales and inversions.
Thank you PerrinG! Itâs funny, I chuckled when i read your comment about scales and inversions..... because Iâm really not much of a theory guy. I just experiment by deliberately playing outwith the typical blues pentatonic.... sometimes playing notes I know will sound rubbish.... but I record myself all the time, so if something sounds great (by accident), I have it recorded. I then go back, analyse it, and try to keep it in my repertoire. Fast forward many years, and Iâve ended up with a nice bunch of scales and positions by doing that. If I had to name them, Iâd struggle..... but Iâll summarise by saying I play a mixture of the minor blues pentatonic (the one everyone plays to death) plus the major pentatonic (think flavours of BB King), and I throw in notes from diminished chords and augmented chords to add spice . Add in a whole bunch of techniques and youâve pretty much got me all summed up đ
Paul Stafford Cook well it works :-). Tastiest playing Ive seen almost.
Good advice. Keep on posting :-) best Marcus
That's my goal it's always been my goal to wow people just by myself. I don't think I can reach that goal without hybrid picking. I seem to avoid things that are difficult. But I am honest with myself. The video was awesome.
No
No what. Finish reading it I added something
Well thank you Guitar Ocd, Iâm delighted you liked the video. Youâre right, itâs a very rewarding thing to just play completely solo. Iâll probably do a follow up video to this one soon, as my subscribers seem to want to learn more on this subject. Cheers for your comment đ
Amazing stuff. Be great if you could take a few steps back and cover the scales and chords too
Hi Jim. Yeah, maybe thatâll make a good vid. After all, that vid has gained in popularity a bit, so maybe Iâll revisit it. Iâll stick it on my âto doâ list of vids. Cheers đ
Beautiful. We call that up 2 frets chord a 5 of 5. Its the fifth of the fifth chord.
Ah, that makes sense! Thank you ivrz đ
Could you do a video on how you learnt the guitar, I know you mentioned it in parts in your videos but never really gone through it. I often thing Iâm practicing but i always think will this lead to where I want to be.
Love your playing!!
Thank you DannyBoy! Yes, I think I will do more âplaying tipsâ style videos, as a few people have asked. And I might include a back to basics âHow I learnedâ. But Iâm the meantime, if it helps, hereâs how it happened for me:
1) I learned a few basic chords, nothing fancy, just enough to be able to play your typical 3 or 4 chord progressions in a rockânâroll 12 bar
2) I got bored with chords and learned to play single notes, cleanly, which lead to learning tunes like Parisienne Walkways etc.
3) This is where thereâs a fork in the road.... if youâre finding that you have a natural talent for the instrument (great or small), or you discover you have a great ear, then you go down the âfast trackâ, i.e. the road that visits vibrato, damping, speed, feel etc. And itâs a never ending road of delight. Thereâs no real need for lessons or Theory for people on this road - youâll just copy by ear and make your own discoveries.
However, if youâre not finding it easy, or you donât have a particularly good ear for harmony and music, then you kinda have to take the other road. Thatâs a more difficult and frustrating road, where you will greatly benefit from help through lessons or CZcams etc. You might also have a greater need to learn Theory, then hopefully, you will have some âlightbulbâ moments and discover ways to get better, or you might discover certain talents you have. You might even discover you LOVE knowing the Theory.
So in conclusion, I seemed to fall into the first category. Consequently, Iâm not a Theory guy particularly. I just discovered that I could make my notes sound nicer than my friends could. My notes seemed to have a smooth vibrato and feel, whereas the notes played by my friends seemed to sound lifeless and lacking in tone. This spurred me on and deepened my realisation that I had a talent for the instrument. Hope this helps đ
Well done! I'll give Lee a ring for ya....I wish, haha
Cheers kmdracer!
Paul that playing at the start was incredible! Any chance you have transcribed a tab of it?
Thank you Rob! Always a thrill to read that someone enjoys my playing đ. Unfortunately, no, Iâm not one who picks up a pen when it comes to music. I canât read music, nor have I ever looked at Tab.... itâs all ears and eyes with me.
Tones sound like the blues plus.
Great video, thanks - Iâve really changed my direction of practice to stuff that sounds good solo, given that this is how I play most often! Can I ask please (and surprised no one else has), what scales youâre basing your embellishments on? Sounds like playing the changes with blues scale/minor pent. but I could be wrong.
Also this video makes me sorely regret selling my Epi 335 a few months ago đ
Thank you Saladzingers! Glad you liked my wee vid. Yes, I love to fuse the minor pentatonic with the major scale (when in a major key). In addition, I âwalk upâ chords, meaning I will arpeggiate chords, giving the impression that Iâm free-styling but Iâm actually just playing the notes in the chord, with maybe a passing note or two. And then to âplay the changesâ Iâll target notes that are unique to the chord Iâm currently on. Lastly, I love to make use of âpassing chordsâ like diminished and augmented. So thatâs a snapshot of how I think. The best way I can explain it is to watch me go from a learner to experienced, in one song: czcams.com/video/Gr0VtjB3lcE/video.html
What's your pickup-string-distance on your 335 Paul? Sounds so smooth, amazing playing by the way,đ
Thanks Marco đ. Yes, Iâve just ran upstairs to have a look at the 335.... itâs about 2mm at the bridge and 3mm at the neck. So fairly close to the strings..... Iâm assuming therefore that the pickups must be of the PAF style, i.e. fairly low output and therefore benefit from being fairly close.
Very nice Paul, I wonder have you tried flat wound strings, I have been using them on my 335 and I love em?
Well.... it never even occurred to me. Iâve never played flat wound in my life! So Iâve just watched a CZcams video on flat wound vâs regular.... Iâm sold on the idea! So Iâve just ordered some on Amazon and will let you know how I get on! Cheers Michael.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 just curious: did or do you like the flat wounds? I'm just trying catch up! Thank you!
Paul. Awesome stuff mateđ Just trying to pick up some electric bluesy riffs. Played acoustic for many years, but never anythingelse. Any chance you have Tabs for this anywhere? I'd love to have a proper crack at this, and not just chords on my acoustic đđ
Thank you Brian, delighted you like this vid. Iâve never used Tab before, nor do I read music Iâm afraid. Itâs all be ear, eyes and years of noodling. Hopefully youâll pick up what Iâm doing here by watching and listening, and rewinding etc. Thatâs how I learned (although it was tape recorder in these days). Also, CZcams can be slowed down to half speed via the cog icon....
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Tape recorders. Yes. I certainly remember using those haha. Thanks anyway Paul, and I will crack on with picking bits up from your vid. Love your bluesy style, and I only hope to play anything near to you in the future ;-) Keep up the good work, and I look forward to many more videos ! (Thanks for the slowed down tip - I'd forgot about using that ! Some things are a little better than tape.....lol)
Could you explain how to do enhanced nice phrasing please ?
Hi Belo Blues đ. Good question! And yet thereâs no magic formula - just years of listening to great players, and being inspired. Basically, as I play through these nice chords, I hear little ideas in my head. All I have to do is work out how to play these ideas on the fretboard. So a lot of it is just having a good imagination, based on years of listening to great players. And thankfully I have the vocabulary and technique to get most of it out my head and on to the fretboard. Thatâs a best answer I can give.... Hope that helps đ
Did you take lessons? Or just self taught. It's amazing how u play
Hi Bernhard. My Dad taught me a few chords and then it was all just listening to records..... Iâve never taken lessons, and I only know basic theory.... I donât know anything about modes or stuff like that. Thank you for the lovely compliment đ
Hi, awesome as usual ...but do you play in a band ? Kindest regards from France
Thank you! Yes, I used to play in a band years ago but now I just enjoy playing for CZcams and Instagram. But I certainly miss the buzz from playing in a band, and if I found the right set of musicians then Iâd jump at the chance to do it all again đ
Are you from Scotland or Ireland? I always get confused. Sounds like Scott. When you started jamming it for a second sounded like Albert's Shuffle by Bloomfield!
Hi Jeffrey. Cheers for watching. Iâm Scottish - Edinburgh to be precise đ
I can do all the chords and all the embellishments, but I struggle with the faces, is that where Iâm going wrong đ€đđđcheers buddy
Yeah, the faces took years to perfectđ€Ł
right that embellishment at 4:37, what is THAT!? sounds amazing
ok i slowed it down to quarter speed, is it just a mix of major and minor pentatonic? Im interested to know how you came up with that
Hi Grantburgh1 đ. In the mid 80âs a Video Company called Star Licks teamed up with a handful of guitar heroes (Brian May, Steve Lukather, Tony Iommi, Albert Lee etc) to produce instructional tapes on VHS. Being a huge Albert Lee fan I was quick to buy Albertâs tape when I was about 16 years old. Hereâs a CZcams clip of that very tape..... if you scroll to 24:20 youâll see a very young Albert play a lick on a big Gibson J200 acoustic..... voila! I stole that lick immediately and incorporated it into my playing. Itâs evolved a bit since then, but you can see exactly where I got the inspiration đ€Ł. I categorise the beginning of it as notes from the major scale, but jumbled about in an order that is not intuitive. Hence why it sounds interesting. Glad you like it. All credit to the wonderful Albert Lee. đ.
Hereâs the link : czcams.com/video/m2X0n_JX5IE/video.html
Enjoy JB tonight đž
Thank you Ross, canât wait!! Think you said you were going too, so hope you enjoy too đ.
nice soft touch, you could shave a mouse in its sleep and not wake it up.
Cheers Sten, Iâve never had a compliment quite like that before, but Iâll take it! Thanks for watching man đ