Riff Journal | Winter 2018 | Issue 13 by Riff Journal

alternate (Tunings) Universe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS 5 A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER It may not be easy, but it’s inspiring

6 TOM DEMPSEY: THE SOUL & SLICE OF

NYC JAZZ

What it takes to live, work, teach, gig in the New York jazz scene today

14 RIFF RAFF WITH SHANE THERIOT:

THE SOUL AND SLICE OF NYC JAZZ

PODCAST EPISODE 04 WITH DAVID GRISSOM

The big Apple and Tom Dempsey

Shane and David talk about Texas blues, string bending, steel guitars and more...

18 GUITAR & THE POWER OF CREATIVITY

Greg Bennett’s motivational video sheds light on what makes us human (and guitar enthusiasts)

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28 LESSON: EASTERN DELIGHTS FOR

BLUES AND ROCK

LESSONS

Tony Smotherman shares an approach to Indian ornamentation and sound

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE

RIFF RAFF FEAT. DAVID GRISSOM

INDIAN MUSIC

Give a listen to Shane Theriot’s podcast guest, David Grissom

WORLD MUSIC

INTERMEDIATE

GUITAR & THE POWER OF CREATIVITY

Sometimes we just gotta muse and Greg Bennett lights our way

32 LESSON: PLAYING IN THE B.B. BOX

Study these exercises to build dynamic blues licks of Robbie Laws’

EASTERN DELIGHTS FOR BLUES AND ROCK Written by Tony Smotherman

36 LESSON: ALL ABOUT D7

I’m often asked by other guitarists about some of the more eastern-sounding things that I incorporate in my playing and music. My first introduction to Indian music was through the music of Ravi Shankar. I was mesmerized the first time I saw a video of him playing in which he played all these amazing runs on one string Here’s another one using roughly the same concept. But here, there are some twists and turns. These were and I thought to myself, “Now there’s an idea!” I imagined the concept of using thatbysame fordifferently. blues or created orderingapplication the pitches a little For the ascending part, the 4th degree (G) is played before the 3rd (F#). Descending, the b3 (F) is played before the 3rd (F#), and the b5 (Ab) is played before the 5 (A). Get the rock.

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idea?

In depth study of this chord will serve as a spring board to inspiration

I began deciphering all the scales that I knew and worked them out on each string linearly. I worked things out in every key to the point where I would feel comfortable in most situations navigating the fretboard in this manner. One of the first things that I did to re-create this sound to apply the Indian influence on guitar was to actually take a major scale and play it across the fretboard. RIFF 19

42 LESSON: ETUDE FOR BEGINNERS:

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EXAMPLE 1A

CHORDS & NOTES

Getting this etude under your fingers will help you play the songs you want to learn

No. It’s not really “All about D7” or “Everything I know about D7.” Rather, these are more like “seeds.” Most of these start and/or end on the 6th string. That was done so that you can see the range of possibilities. When practicing, do these in all keys, all positions, different rhythms, different starting pitches etc. Always try new stuff!

EASTERN DELIGHTS FOR BLUES AND ROCK Give Gamaka a go

ALL ABOUT D7

In Ex.1A let’s take an E Major scale in a linear fashion across the fretboard, you’ll notice quickly that it doesn’t really create much of an exciting effect right off the bat, but if you play a drone over that note (open E) you will see that you can hear the effect between each degree of the scale against the droning note (Ex. 1B). At this ABOUT THE EDUCATOR point, you could actually use some ornamentations on the scale notes to begin re-creating an Indian sound very Jon Finn quickly.

The devil’s in the (D7) details

44 LESSON: EXOTIC SCALE CHOICES FOR

EXAMPLE 1B

BLUES SOLOING

A guitarist since age six, Jon Finn has been a professional musician for most of his life. Joining the guitar faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1988, he started the Jon Finn Group later that same year. Jon wrote a monthly instructional feature for a national magazine called Guitar. Jon has also authored several books for Mel Bay Publications. In his freelance pursuits, he’s played guitar for the national touring companies of many contemporary musical theater productions such as Rent, Aida, Mamma Mia, Grease, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Copacabana, and many others.

Joe Pinnavaia shows us how to jazz up your blues with “blues transfusion” exercises VIEW JON’S COURSE LIBRARY RIFF

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PHOTOS BY AL I SON HASBACH

SMOKIN’ JOE

Six-string wizard “born to play the guitar”

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JOE ROBINSON: SMOKIN’ JOE

Learn more about Joe from his thoughtful interview with Brad Wendkos O F C O U R S E N O N E O F I T L O O KS L I K E W O R K , B UT T H E N

T O T H E O UT S I D E W O R L D , N E I T H E R D O E S P LAYI N G YO U R G U I TA R . YE T W E A L L K N O W : I T ’ S CA L L E D P RAC T I C I N G , A N D I T ’ S A N E S S E N T I A L PA RT O F G E T T I N G W H E R E YO U WA N T T O G O .

THE MUSE(IC) OF MOVING PICTURES

David Hamburgers gives us the low-down on writing music for film (and donuts) on smaller independent films). TV shows, particularly cable shows, are often produced and staffed up by a production company, which is creating the show and delivering the finished product to a network. In this case, your client might be the showrunner, who keeps everything moving on the project, or someone in post-production, which is where all the pieces – picture, dialogue, sound effects, songs and/ or score – are assembled and finalized. And because someone in post might want to make changes to your music on the fly, you’ll probably be asked to provide stems, or synchronized audio mixes of the various elements of your music – guitars, rhythm section, percussion, keyboards, strings, etc – to facilitate that.

@TRUEFIRE: DREAMING OF A ONE-STOP SHOP

overall job. They might reach to a specific composer to create one or more tracks for consideration.

THE MUSE(IC) OF MOVING PICTURES

When I was a kid, I read Tommy Tedesco’s “Studio Log” in Guitar Player every month, not because I had any idea what he was really talking about, but because he was a smartass, and because the way he described getting paid to be a guitar player sounded, well, totally excellent. What strikes me when I reread those columns now is Tedesco’s proud embrace of the 9-to-5, service-sector work ethic he and his colleagues made their living with on countless live film and television recording sessions, for decades on end. Most of the composers I know, and successful teachers, touring musicians and songwriters, for that matter, take similar pride in possessing the craftsmanship and discipline to make the work, satisfy the client and get it all done on time. Not surprisingly, in order to have work as a freelance composer, it takes the same kind of day-in, day-out hustle to make that happen. Hanging out, meeting people, finding ways to be around filmmakers, ad creatives, other composers and music house folks, staying in touch with the people you do meet. Of course none of it looks like work, but then to the outside world, neither does playing your guitar. Yet we all know: it’s called practicing, and it’s an essential part of getting where you want to go. Writing music to picture isn’t ultimately any more mysterious than playing well or having other kinds of work, it just takes knowing the territory and honing your craft so that when you do land the gig, you know how to deliver.

The ins and outs of composing for film

TrueFire’s Tommy Jamin shares a day-in-the-life with Guitar Army and the bigger dream

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Finally, advertising jobs can happen a lot of different ways. With national brands, the client (KFC, Lexus, Dr. Boring’s Cardboard Squares) hires an agency, who then hires a music house to create the music for the ad. The music house probably has at least a composer or two on staff, but often also puts out the call to freelance composers to create and submit demos. The music house communicates the creative direction of the spot to the freelancers and funnels the results to the agency, delivering sometimes dozens of demos for consideration on a single spot. At the more regional or local level, an agency might have a more direct, personal connection with a composer and hire him or her directly for the gig. And in other cases, it might be a production company (who are the people actually shooting and editing the spot), which has responsibility for commissioning the music as part of their

TRUEFIRE’S NEXT TOP GUITAR INSTRUCTOR: JOHN HATCHER

RIFF’S CLASSIC VIDEO VAULT

“A dre am you dre am alone is only a dre am. A dre am you dre am together is re ality.”

The students have spoken and the winner revealed - check him out!

PHOTOS BY A L ISON

Classic video performances from the archive: Tony McManus, the Celtic Wizard

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PHOTO BY AL ISON HASBACH

RIFF JOURNAL ARTIST DIRECTORY

@TRUEFIRE: DREAMING OF A ONE STOP SHOP

Full listing and interactive links from the featured artists and educators

The Guitar Army is one milestone in a TrueFire journey

RIFFAGE: FEATURED ALBUM COMPILATION

Get your FREE download of featured music from Riff artists

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CONTRIBUTORS “I have a very definite theory - let’s call it a theory, so that I can be wrong - that a work of art exists only when the spectator has looked at it..” - Marcel Duchamp Meet the Riff Band. We can’t wait to present our edition to you and share our passion with readers each quarter. In the meantime, shout out to us anytime online with feedback, questions and tasty tidbits.

RIFF BAND

riffjournal@truefire.com

@riffjournal

ALISON HASBACH Editor-in-Chief

Ali (a.k.a. prioress of the ‘Fire) is a founding partner and chief shooting & branding officer who likewise holds a M.B.A. (master of brewing administration) in Coffee Imbibement. She is fanatical about all things artistic (especially TrueFire Artists).

BRAD WENDKOS Publisher

Born in a cross-fire hurricane to itinerant Appalachian mountain people and then sold for a barrel of gunpowder to a wandering clan of Eastern European gypsies, Brad (thankfully) found his way home at TrueFire.

TOMMY JAMIN

Studio Department Editor

Tommy Jamin is a graduate of the Recording Arts program at Full Sail University and has been crafting top-quality video and audio content as a professional digital media producer over the last 14 years. In addition to being Director of Production at TrueFire, he’s also a singer-songwriter, production gear & tech enthusiast and family man.

AMBER NICOLINI Creative Director

Amber is a easy going pixel crafter with a flair for all things typographical and music related. She holds a BFA in Graphic Design & Digital Media from the University of North Florida and has cozied into her niche as Creative Director here at TrueFire. WINTER 2018 | ISSUE 13

facebook.com/riffjournal

JEFF SCHEETZ

Educational Department Editor

Jeff is the Director of Education at TrueFire, has released 8 music CDs, and 6 video instruction courses. He’s been a teacher for over 30 years and brings his own method and style to students from around the world. He has written guitar columns for many magazines and conducted workshops and clinics throughout the US, Europe and Mexico.

ZACH WENDKOS

Technology Department Editor

Zach holds a real M.B.A. and scavenges the planet for the latest and greatest in online marketing and technology applications. He leads the charge in honing the student online experience at TrueFire and dreaming up the new and cool.

KYLER THOMANN Music Editor

With Creative Utility Knife skills, Kyler bridges web and print, video, and digital images and has a passion for live events and all things musical. With his finger on the pulse of the live music scene, Kyler brings a keen editorial spirit to the magazine..

A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER

P HOTO BY AL IS O N HAS BACH // W INT E R S U RFE RS OF F THE SOUTHWEST COAST OF I RELAND

It’s Not Easy

e had Oz Noy in the studio this week. Jon Herrington the week before. Johnny Hiland, Henry Johnson, Jon Finn, Andrew Ford, before them. We get to hang and catch up on their going-ons during lunch and dinner breaks. They’re all juggling dozens of balls to bring home the bacon. As Oz put it, “It’s not easy. It’s pretty hard making a living as a musician today.” And it’s a pretty hard thing (it’s not easy) And it’s hard (it’s not easy) Well, it’s a pretty hard thing (it’s not easy) It’s not easy livin’ on your own Short tours with their own band, sideman gigs with other bands, recording and selling their own records, doing session work, producing educational content, composing or arranging tunes, authoring books, teaching at universities, and the list goes on. There’s no place where you can call home Got me running like a cat in a thunderstorm Just a big bed and a telephone On top of that, most top pros today do their own promotion, booking, advancing, website, social media, and all other business-related activities. Very few professional musicians are fortunate enough to have a label or management group to turnkey all of that for them. They’re on their own. All of the things that you used to do If they’re done now, well they’re done by you It takes conviction, passion, drive, and extreme degrees of dedication to make a living as a musician. Especially in today’s music business climate. It certainly isn’t easy. At the same time, watch their eyes sparkle as they describe their latest project, record or musical collaboration. That’s how you know it’s all worth it. Sit here thinking with your head on fire Go think the same thing and never tire This Riff’s for you!

Brad Wendkos || Head Smoke Jumper

P.S. Props to Mick & Keith for one of my all-time favorite Stones songs, which lyrics I copped to help with this foreword. RIFF 5

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PHOTO S BY AL I S O N HAS BACH

hen you think of NYC Jazz, you think of gritty, yet polished - cutting edge, yet steeped in tradition. If you were a rock musician in the 80’s you might have set your sights on playing the Roxy Theater or the Whiskey a Go-Go in Los Angeles. Likewise NYC has a long list of legendary venues whose names are whispered with reverence by wide-eyed young jazz musicians as soon as they learn their first diminished 7th arpeggio. Names like the Blue Note, Iridium, Birdland or the Village Vanguard are the Holy Grail for jazz musicians seeking to be a part of a real jazz scene. Tom Dempsey is an in-demand player and teacher living the jazz life in NYC. I talked with him about what that’s like, how he got here and what kind of advice he could share with anyone wanting their own slice of the Big Apple jazz pie.

Tom keeps busy with all kinds of gigs and says, “The gigs I play are all over the map: solo, duo, trio, quartet and beyond. And sometimes it is not even a jazz setting per se. Tonight I played at the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center (a totally different kind of gig). It can be as low as gigging three times a week, but it can be as high as gigging 7 nights a week with multiple gigs on some of those nights.” That is a lot of playing time! But you don’t just start at the top. I asked Tom about his early days. “I was 8 years old when I first started playing guitar. As a kid I remember always being fascinated by the instrument. We would go to my grandmother’s house and she would have ‘Hee Haw’ on the television. I just loved the music… Buck Owens, Roy Clark, and all the musicians. There was also this priest at the church we went to who would play the guitar at mass. His name was Father Mike Bassano. A priest playing guitar

at church was a good hook to get me to go to mass!” “Hee Haw” isn’t usually the first thing you associate with inspired improv in a dimly lit Jazz club, but sometimes it just takes a spark to start a fire. Tom says, “I began playing folk music…singer songwriter stuff. I even sang a little. Then I got into rock and blues. That led me to jazz.” Tom’s path from early guitar excitement to pro jazzer could be a whole book in itself. Suffice it to say Tom believes he’s had a lot of help and inspiration along the way: whether it’s been from motivating teachers to peer musicians that pushed Tom to grow as a player. He was also inspired when, “In my high school band room in 1984, I discovered a poster for a new

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T HE S O U L & T HE S L I C E O F N YC JA ZZ

program called the National Guitar Summer Workshop. One of the guest artists that would be attending was Larry Coryell. I had several records by him that I had borrowed from the public library, but I thought, to be there in person would be incredible. At the time I had a paper route, so I saved all my money and attended the one week that he was going to be there. That same week included faculty from the metropolitan New York area that also changed my life.” Tom loved his time at the NGW so much that he found himself returning as part of the faculty. “From that first year until the program closed in 2012, I remained involved teaching and being the Director of Music. At NGW I was able to play with so many of my guitar heroes including Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Tal Farlow, Bucky Pizzarelli, and many others.” Tom’s love of teaching and his desire to share his knowledge has led to his gig as Associate Professor of Music at LaGuardia Community College. His in-depth and well-organized instructional courses have made him a student favorite at TrueFire. Often the idea of jumping into a jazz gig can be intimidating for young players. Tom says the key is being prepared for anything. “Sometimes I get to rehearse with the band. Most times not. Sometimes you have to do your own research and preparation ahead of the gig. Sometimes you are playing standards. Sometimes you are at the mercy of the leader calling those standards. Sometimes you are reading original music all night long for the first time. That’s where having all of your skills together is so important. Being broad and complete in your approach is very important.” Other tips on putting yourself in a good place to get the call? “Knowing the repertoire is key to gigging. You can play decent solos, but if

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“Knowing the repertoire is key to gigging. You can play decent solos, but if you can’t play solid changes to ‘Embraceable You’ in the key of G major, as well as the other keys, it is going to be hard to work.”

you can’t play solid changes to ‘Embraceable You’ in the key of G major, as well as the other keys, it is going to be hard to work.” While it seems that the competition among players would be stiff, Tom winces at that notion. “Competition. Not a big fan of this term when it comes to dealing with playing music and living in a creative space. I can see how it would be easy for some to look at your fellow guitarists as competition. I prefer to look at all of my fellow guitarists and musicians as inspiration. At the end of the day, in NYC, my colleagues are musical creators who I draw inspiration from and want to live within the same breathable space. This is a community.” Good advice. When asked about the steps for a young player, Tom offers, “My initial reaction is that any jazz musician should spend some time living and playing in New York City. Having

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“I prefer to look at all of my fellow guitarists and musicians as inspiration. At the end of the day, in NYC, my colleagues are musical creators who I draw inspiration from and want to live within the same breathable space. This is a community.”

traveled a significant amount throughout the world, I feel that the soul of the music lives in NYC. However, there are great musicians living all throughout the world. If you see a scene there, become a part of that scene. Hang out in the clubs. Play. Be known by your presence and your playing. Present yourself professionally. When you go to a club look like you are coming from a gig with your instrument in hand. Don’t look like you rolled out of bed. Professional appearances lead to professional work. Hang and be known. Don’t sit in your apartment posting videos and strategizing your next social media campaign.” That professional attitude has led to Tom performing or recording with some of the most renowned jazz musicians in the world. He has toured the world playing jazz and in 2012 performed on behalf of the US State Department as a Music Ambassador throughout the country of Tunisia. The next year has Tom recording, teaching and keeping the music alive. His plans are focused and clear, “My resolve is to serve the music. I want to serve it in a way that allows for my musical voice to speak. I feel that we need to be part of the solution to how we create the opportunity to expand our audience, create new opportunities through our work, and educate the future musicians to carry on the integrity of the music.” With this point of view it is a sure bet that Tom will continue to have a presence in the jazz scene of NYC and beyond.

www.tomdempseymusic.com

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WINTER 2018 | ISSUE 13 P H OTO S BY AL IS ON H AS BAC H

D A V I D

G R I S S O M

E P I S O D E

N O .

ABOUT RIFF RAFF

N YC S NAPS HOT P ROV I DED BY S HANE T HERI OT

Hi there, my name is Shane Theriot. I’m a professional musician and guitarist. I like stories. I mean I REALLY like stories. Over the years, I’ve been lucky to work with many amazing people and musicians who have amazing stories. I want to capture these stories for other people to enjoy. Some people like to garden, or take photos…I like to document these stories. I hope that you enjoy them as much I enjoyed getting them together for you. This podcast is about the creative process, and yes, being a guitar player we do talk shop, gear, life in general…oh yeah…and we usually jam a bit too! – Shane Theriot

EPISODE NO 4: DAVID GRISSOM

Episode No 4: David Grissom

What is it about Texas and its reputation for gunslingin’ killer guitar players? You know the old cliche’ “something in the water?”, well, this certainly applies to the Lone Star State...think of the guitarists that have emerged from here...Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughn, Eric Johnson, Billy Gibbons, David Holt, Charlie Sexton, and newer cats like Carter Arrington etc. But way up at the top of that list is my guest today - Mr. David Grissom. A veteran of the John Mellencamp band, Joe Ely, Storyville and the Dixie Chicks, he’s also appeared on many records as a session player and songwriter. I’ve known David for a long time as you’ll hear - we toured together for a few months in the late 90’s with BB King when I was in the Neville Brothers and he was in Storyville. In this interview we talk early days in Austin, string bending, influences, gear, Mellencamp, Lloyd Maines and steel guitar as an influence, Norman Blake, Ringo Starr, solo records etc...and much more. Couple of great little jams in here too! RIFF 17

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FOREWORD There are many things that make us happy, but the ultimate source of joy and fulfillment as a human being comes from the creative process. The ability to create something of value out of nothing eclipses momentary financial or personal rewards, and instills within us a sense of meaning and purpose that validates our very existence. Creativity, the ability to think about an opportunity or problem in a fresh innovative way, is the driving force behind the advancement of the human race. Throughout history, we have seen the ghastly consequences resulting from the suppression of free thought, and, when individuals are free to pursue their dreams, how remarkably society is benefited. The guitar provides a threshold for people to be introduced to the creative process and does it in a way that is exciting and fun. Engaging a young person in the process gives them a perspective on life that will serve to enhance the joy and fulfillment in every other aspect of their life, not just music. - Greg Bennett

Watch the Full Video Online

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Hello everyone, and thank you so much for joining me for this first in a series of presentations that explore the power of the guitar to enrich our lives, both as individuals and as members of our community. Those of you who already play understand, and I suspect understand at a very deep level, the satisfaction (the sheer joy) that comes with expressing yourself through music, through your guitar. And those of you who might not yet play, I’m confident you have been to enough concerts to have experienced this expression of joy firsthand, and typically this is what motivates most people to pick up the guitar and start playing. It’s fun! It’s just great, great fun.

THOSE OF YOU WHO ALREADY PLAY UNDERSTAND, AND I SUSPECT UNDERSTAND AT A VERY DEEP LEVEL, THE SATISFACTION (THE SHEER JOY) THAT COMES WITH EXPRESSING YOURSELF THROUGH MUSIC, THROUGH YOUR GUITAR. There is, however, a side to this instrument that rarely––if ever––receives the attention it deserves. A side that produces benefits personal and cultural that go far beyond simply making music, as rewarding and enjoyable as it may be. The guitar introduces people to the creative process––a process that as our understanding grows becomes the greatest single asset we have in not only dealing with the challenges of this world, but in living productive, rewarding lives. Lives we can look back on with tremendous pride. And, the most glorious aspect of this thing we’re calling a process is that there is no set formula. There’s no standard operating

procedure. The process becomes unique to each individual based on their knowledge, their experience, and whatever level of passion they apply to their creative efforts. And if you look at history, many if not most of the great discoveries––the great inventions that lifted civilization, that serve to advance our enlightenment––were the result of someone realizing that their imagination, their talent, their creative vision, lay beyond the scope of the process they were using and by simply re-crafting the process to accommodate their special talent, their creative vision was realized. And with it, our lives were changed in ways that can only be described as profound. When a person plays guitar––this remarkable instrument with a range of expression that runs from a young mother singing a lullaby to a newborn to a sophisticated jazz trio to the heaviest metal band blowing the roof off of some sports arena in front of 35,000 sonically crazed fans––it’s not just about the personal rewards that come with making music or performing or even the arts. It’s about creativity, and specifically the creative process. This force, this energy, that from the very beginning has provided us with all of our opportunities, that has produced a standard of living that just two short lifetimes ago would have seemed unimaginable. And all along, it’s served to solve our problems. Problems are not anticipated, that’s why they’re problems. They may not seem logical, they don’t follow linear thought, and solving them requires a difference; a very special kind of thinking that the guitar almost imperceptibly involves us in: thinking creatively. Of all the living creatures on this planet, only human beings have the ability to reason, to conceptualize, to envision a better way. This is in fact the defining characteristic that distinguishes humans from animals. And the highest use of this faculty is creativity––to take chaos and give it order, form, beauty. To create something

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of value out of nothing, and most interestingly, all the while we’re striving for greater and ever greater levels of perfection. Somehow within our hearts we know it’s never fully achievable and yet this is what inspires us to keep pushing, to relentlessly challenge ourselves to be better. The historian Paul Johnson expressed it so beautifully when he said, “creativity is the sovereign remedy for the ills of our existence.” Einstein believed it to be more important than knowledge. His colleagues had every bit as much scientific knowledge as he had, and some would argue more, but Einstein had the creative spirit and it gave him the confidence, the courage, to challenge himself and his colleagues to look at things differently, to think creatively. The only real foundation for legitimate progress. We’re constantly encouraged to accept the notion that knowledge is power. And, obviously knowledge is critically important: Centuries ago, the great Sir Francis Bacon summed it up perfectly. He said, “man is but what he knoweth.” We are what we know, and I know today, many believe we are what we eat. This may be true, but who we are is what we know. This also led him to say, “knowledge is power”. But on this, and respectfully, I have to disagree. Knowledge is information. At best it’s a resource, and possibly a truly magnificent resource. At worst, it’s noise. Lots and lots and lots of noise. If you doubt this, I’d invite you to hop online for a moment. The power they speak of––true power––is in the mind of an individual who’s developed the ability to think creatively. An individual who can look at those resources––the exact same resources available to all of us––and yet somehow envision a superior, a more beneficial, a more creative way to use them. These resources are not just physical and financial–– the greatest, the most valuable resource of all is human. People. Nothing happens, nothing can happen, until someone is inspired to take action. And so, it’s through the minds of these creative individuals that we determine how and to what extent we’re able to use these precious, limited resources. It’s through creativity that we determine what we do with what we know. And ultimately, this determines the quality of all our lives. Knowledge without creativity is the equivalent of a giant block of beautiful white marble before someone like Michelangelo engages his creative ability to both inspire and guide his knowledge and experience in the process of revealing within that block of marble the statue David–– what many believe to be the most truly s ublime expression

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of the human creative spirit. Of most deep concern, it’s like that young person who graduates college having spent the previous sixteen years diligently and at great expense filling their head with knowledge. The raw material, the potential for greatness. And yet, tragically, they have no earthly clue what to do with it. And if I were to be completely candid, I’d have to suggest that this inescapable contradiction and what most people regard as “smart” is at the core, the very heart, of most of our social (and now political) problems. Problems, it could be argued, that shouldn’t even exist. These ideas, of course, are not new. Thousands of years ago, the great philosophers, the ancient thinkers, had already developed tremendous insight into the importance of all this and they also understood that music provides not only a unique but an extraordinarily powerful means to access and develop this ability. Plato, whose ideas were so beautifully detailed by philosopher turned historian Will Durant, believed that rhythm and harmony find their way into the secret places of the soul, making it graceful. And in so doing, the individual develops a disposition towards justice. [Plato] went so far as to ask the question, which I’m paraphrasing only slightly, “how could anyone who is harmoniously constituted ever be unjust?” And like so many thinkers before and after, he understood that music is grounded in number; math. It’s about intervals, relationships, order. This is what allows scales and harmony to work. And so, because of this, he believed that when a person developed musical ability, they became uniquely qualified to manage, to govern, to lead. And that ultimately, these very special people come to represent civilization’s greatest resource. The only guarantee we have of a bright, prosperous, future. The point of all this, as I’m sure you’ve gathered by now, is that creative ability is the key. It’s the key that unlocks the promise, the ultimate potential that lives within all of us. And as with so many things in life that are truly worthwhile, there’s a challenge. This ability, this behavior, is not automatic. It’s not driven by instinct––it requires, in fact it demands, a conscious choice on the part of the individual. A choice far too many of us do our very best to avoid: Thinking. Going out on that intellectual limb and exposing ourselves to criticism and rejection by presenting bold, fresh, innovative new ideas that almost certainly will be met with resistance, as has been the case with most all great ideas.

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TRANSCRIPTION EXCERPTS OF THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE PERSONAL REWARDS THAT COME WITH MAKING MUSIC OR PERFORMING OR EVEN THE ARTS. IT’S ABOUT CREATIVITY, AND SPECIFICALLY THE CREATIVE PROCESS.

Fortunately, there’s an answer. This instrument, the guitar, serves as a threshold that introduces and engages people in the process and does it in a way that’s exciting, that’s fun, that can be enjoyed on any level. And as a person’s involvement deepens, as their understanding of the process matures, and most importantly, as they experience, as they actually feel the emotional and intellectual rewards that can only be achieved through engaging this most human of all our abilities, it conditions them. It becomes their perspective on life, regardless of career path: doctor, carpenter, accountant, mechanic–– whatever they choose to do, they see life through this creative prism. When you can send a young person out into the world equipped with this ability, unlike most people who sadly will stand by passively watching as their aspirations, their dreams are either stalled or destroyed by the very same obstacles, the very same challenges that we all face, a person with this ability sees in these obstacles the opportunity to create. The chance to engage their imagination. They see quite

literally the opportunity to create a better reality. And as it turns out, not just for themselves, but for everyone whose lives they touch. Creativity is the ultimate expression of what it means to be a human being. And through the guitar, we’re able to reveal and nurture this most miraculous of all human gifts––the ability to create; the ability to make this world a better place. And the only true source for a life of meaning, a life of purpose, and to find not just for the end, but for the entire journey, true happiness. On behalf of the entire guitar playing community, I’d like to invite you to stop by your local guitar shop, visit with the staff––a group of people passionate about the guitar making music. They’ll be delighted to help you get involved. And whether you choose to do this for a family member, for a friend, or for yourself, the simple truth is that this may very well be one of the wisest choices you ever make. Once again, I’m Greg Bennett with Franklin Strap, thank you for your time, your attention, and your consideration. I’ll see you soon.

Written by Greg Bennett

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RIFF 27

LESSONS

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE

INDIAN MUSIC INTERMEDIATE

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WORLD MUSIC

EASTERN DELIGHTS FOR BLUES AND ROCK Written by Tony Smotherman

I’m often asked by other guitarists about some of the more eastern-sounding things that I incorporate in my playing and music. My first introduction to Indian music was through the music of Ravi Shankar. I was mesmerized the first time I saw a video of him playing in which he played all these amazing runs on one string and I thought to myself, “Now there’s an idea!” I imagined the concept of using that same application for blues or rock. I began deciphering all the scales that I knew and worked them out on each string linearly. I worked things out in every key to the point where I would feel comfortable in most situations navigating the fretboard in this manner. One of the first things that I did to re-create this sound to apply the Indian influence on guitar was to actually take a major scale and play it across the fretboard.

EXAMPLE 1A

In Ex.1A let’s take an E Major scale in a linear fashion across the fretboard, you’ll notice quickly that it doesn’t really create much of an exciting effect right off the bat, but if you play a drone over that note (open E) you will see that you can hear the effect between each degree of the scale against the droning note (Ex. 1B). At this point, you could actually use some ornamentations on the scale notes to begin re-creating an Indian sound very quickly.

EXAMPLE 1B

Example 1B - Major Scale w/Drone

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Let’s take the same notes and and add some ornamentation (Gamaka is the Indian term for this). Just as in any style, sliding and bending notes around the fretboard will bring your notes to life (EX. 2)

EXAMPLE 02

Example 2

Next, let’s try something a little more exotic; like the Phrygian Dominant scale. You’ll see that by using the same techniques that we used in the earlier examples and altering the notes to sound more exotic we’re going to get a far east sound right away (Ex. 3A). Just as in the Major scale example, the real magic begins when we slide the notes around within the scale (EX.3B). Creativity is key here. As long as you stay in the scale, have fun and create some interesting sounds, be sure to add vibrato and slides to what sounds good to your ears.

EXAMPLE 3A

EXAMPLE 3B

Example 3B

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EXAMPLE 4

Example 4

In EX.4 we use a common technique in eastern music where you hit a target note and play the note right behind it (staying inside the scale) and slide back into the target note again and ascend up the notes of the scale as a tool to get from one position of the fretboard to the next. I hope you enjoyed these examples and can begin applying them to create your own eastern sounds in your playing. Be sure to check out my TrueFire Instructional “World Rock Guitar” for more examples in this style.

ABOUT THE EDUCATOR Tony Smotherman Tony Smotherman is a guitarist that resides in Jacksonville Florida who plays his own brand of World Rock along with many other genres. His music is an eclectic mix of influences, bringing together the sound and feel of music from around the world into a rock setting with his band “The Tony Smotherman Project.” Tony is a well-respected educator of the instrument having taught at numerous guitar clinics, workshops, and private sessions.

VIEW TONY’S COURSE LIBRARY

| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V13

RIFF

LESSONS

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE

B.B BOX GUITAR LICKS

BLUES

PLAYING IN THE B.B. BOX Written by Robbie Laws

EXAMPLE 1

EXAMPLE 2

EXAMPLE 1: Using a diagonal scale is a very effective way to move through multiple scale box patterns. We’ll start with the A Major diagonal pentatonic scale as we play our way through scale box patterns #2 and #3. Building musical continuity in any lick often requires a basic motif that you can build on. The triplets are the drivers in this example, and they work really well to convey a sense of urgency to get to the top as part of an effective motif. The first triplet will start at the 5th interval (E) and then move up to the 6th (F#) with a jump up to the D string to hit the Root (A). The second triplet will begin at the 9th (B) and up to the Major 3rd (C#) on up to the 5th (E). Finish this run with the 6th (F#) and move up to the Root (A) with some nice vibrato. EXAMPLE 2: This lick is similar to lick #1 but different. Again, we start out with the two 8th note triplet groupings to create a motif to build on. We begin with the minor 3rd (C) to the Major 3rd (C#) and up to the 5th (E). The next triplet we’re using consists of the 6th (F#) then up to the Root (A) and back down to the 6th (F#). Next we’re up to the 9th (B) and bending to the Major 3rd (C#) and back down to the Root (A). A big part of B.B. King’s magic was his innate ability to blend Major and minor lines together in a very cohesive fashion. B.B. King was the Professor of Phraseology. He could really put a call and response together like no one else.

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EXAMPLE 3

EXAMPLE 4

EXAMPLE 3: In example #3 we’ll be applying the triplet motif once again but, this time we’ll be using three triplets to create some real dynamic flow. Triplet #1 starts at the #5th (F) interval then moves on up to the 6th (F#) and finishes with the Root (A). Triplets #2 and #3 play out primarily on the B string. Start with the 9th (B) then moving to the minor 3rd (C) then down to the Root (A) and finish on the 9th (B). The third triplet begins on the 9th (B) and drops down to the 6th (F#) and finishes up on the Root (A) interval. Finish up with some nice vibrato. EXAMPLE 4: In examples #1 #2 and #3 the licks exhibit more of a overall Major tonality. Lick #4 conveys a bit more of a minor attitude by way of the minor 3rd (C) and the flat 5th (D#). We’ll begin this lick by bending the 9th (B) interval up to the minor 3rd (C), then return and pull-off to the Root (A). Now with triplet #2 we slide from the dominant 7th (G) up to the Root (A) and back. For our last triplet we begin at the flat 5th (D#) sliding to the 4th (D) then a pulling-off to the minor 3rd (C) and finishing up on the Root (A).

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EXAMPLE 5

EXAMPLE 6

EXAMPLE 5: This lick exhibits some great dynamic content, with some real ‘digging into it’ going on here. Start with the triplet minor 3rd (C) to the major 3rd (C#) and up to the Root (A). Next, a bend from the 5th (E) interval all the way up to the dominant 7th (G). That bend is a full step and a half. Return back to the 5th (E), followed by a hammer-pull starting at the 4th (D) up to the flat 5th (Eb) and back to the 4th (D) again. Then start at the minor 3rd (C) up to the 4th (D), back to the minor 3rd (C) and pull-off to the Root (A). EXAMPLE 6: Lick #6 is an expressive response line. The lick is essentially a descending A Major arpeggio. Start by sliding from the minor 3rd (C) on the 8th fret of the high E string to the Major 3rd (C#), then descending to the B string to the Root (A) continuing down to the 5th (E). Now repeat that last triplet again, Major 3rd (C#) to the Root (A) and to the 5th (E). Finish up with the 4th (D) and the Major 3rd (C#) and tag the Root (A).

EXAMPLE 7

EXAMPLE 8

EXAMPLE 7: This lick is a whole lot of fun to play! You can build some dynamic momentum with this great repeating phrase. Start out from the G string, play the #5th (F) and slide to the 6th (F#) and move up to the B string and grab the Root (A). For the repeating triplet part, we’ll begin on the 2nd (B) then move to the minor 3rd (C) and repeat the triplet several more times.

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EXAMPLE 8: Our final lick is a unique phrase that requires some creative fingering to execute properly. Played a few times slowly, you’ll begin to get the cadence of it. We’ll begin on the B string from the Root (A) to the minor 3rd (C), bend 1/4 step and move to the 4th (D) then to the 5th (E). Start with a 1/4 step bend from the minor 3rd (C) and move to the minor 3rd (C) on the high E string at the 10th fret. Slide up to the Major 3rd (C#) dropping to the B string to grab the Root (A) and down to the 5th (E). Repeat the 5th at the 12th fret on the high E string and finish up with the minor 3rd (C) to the Root (A) with some nice vibrato. Enjoy!

ABOUT THE EDUCATOR Robbie Laws Robbie Laws is one of the most decorated and in demand blues guitarists in the Pacific Northwest. As a ‘Hall of Fame’ member, Robbie has been honored with 21 Portland Cascade Blues Association Awards, nine of which were for ‘Best Electric Guitarist’, the ‘Best Blues Act’ award from the Seattle based Washington Blues Society and the ‘Outstanding Achievement in Blues’ award from the Portland Music Association. He was also chosen as Expertise Top Picks Guide as ‘Best Guitar Teacher in Portland, Oregon’ for 2017. Robbie has over twenty years of experience as a professional guitar instructor. He teaches all skill levels with a wide range of musical styles. He is proud online educator with Truefire.com.

VIEW ROBBIE’S COURSE LIBRARY RIFF

LESSONS

SKILL LEVEL - BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE

SCALES

ARPEGGIOS D7

ALL ABOUT D7 Written by Jon Finn

So here’s a D7 chord. No. Not all the inversions. Just this one for now.

Here’s an arpeggio fingering that goes with it.

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Now, here’s the D mixolydian scale. It’s commonly used as a companion scale for soloing over D7. Yes. There are certainly way more options. But this works pretty well.

Cool. Now we got a little flow going. Here’s a D7 pentatonic I like to use sometimes. You can think of it in at least two ways: 1) D minor pentatonic with major 3rd.

2) D7 arpeggio with 4th degree (G) added.

The basic idea is this: “Take what you already know, and find a different angle on it.” I find that when I do that, I can come up with way more things than if I “just wait to be inspired.” Of course, I have to be willing to wade through a bunch of bad ideas, but the good ones are always buried in there somewhere. I just need to keep looking. Let’s keep going and see where it takes us. Here’s a D7 arpeggio with the 2nd degree (E) added. You may want to call this a D9 arpeggio. That’s fine too, but to me the 9th implies an octave displacement.

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Here’s another way to play the exact same thing. This one will “feel” kinda like an A minor pentatonic, but with F# replacing G.

This next one is tricky to think about, but sounds really cool. Because you never play the root of the chord, every note sounds like it “could” go someplace else. The root always works, but it has a way of conveying “I’m home now. There’s no place left to go.” It’s based on F# minor pentatonic with b5. F# is the 3rd of D7. The b5 of F# is C; which is the b7 of the D7 chord. Verbally, this sounds much more confusing than it really is. Play it and see:

This version of D mixolydian pentatonic #3 probably “looks” more like F# minor pentatonic b5. It might illustrate the idea a little better:

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Let’s mess with it a bit more. Here’s a D9 arpeggio. Notice that the 9th of the chord is played before you begin the next octave. Because of this the phrase “doubles back.”

This is a variation where the 13th (B) is added:

So what else? How about chromatics? Ok, sounds good. I like talking to myself. This example is all the chromatic pitches I could find (using my ear to decide what I like/don’t like). This is what I came up with.

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Here’s another one using roughly the same concept. But here, there are some twists and turns. These were created by ordering the pitches a little differently. For the ascending part, the 4th degree (G) is played before the 3rd (F#). Descending, the b3 (F) is played before the 3rd (F#), and the b5 (Ab) is played before the 5 (A). Get the idea?

ABOUT THE EDUCATOR Jon Finn A guitarist since age six, Jon Finn has been a professional musician for most of his life. Joining the guitar faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1988, he started the Jon Finn Group later that same year. Jon wrote a monthly instructional feature for a national magazine called Guitar. Jon has also authored several books for Mel Bay Publications. In his freelance pursuits, he’s played guitar for the national touring companies of many contemporary musical theater productions such as Rent, Aida, Mamma Mia, Grease, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Copacabana, and many others.

VIEW JON’S COURSE LIBRARY

RIFF

LESSONS

SKILL LEVEL - BEGINNER

CHORDS BASS RUNS

GUITAR

ETUDE FOR BEGINNERS: CHORDS & NOTES Written by Jeff Scheetz

When you first start playing guitar, there are usually two tracts of study you will encounter. Playing Chords. This is of course where most players start as it leads directly to being able to strum along with some of your favorite songs. Playing Single Notes. You will work on this when you play melodies, start learning to read music, or just want a break from having to strum full chords. However, the truth that beginning guitarists discover is that most songs are a combination of chords and single notes. Having the ability to transition smoothly between playing chords and playing single notes will ultimately be necessary to advance as a guitarist. This simple etude is a great way to work on both! Play it all with downstrokes, and use quarter notes, which is just one strum or note per beat.

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One of the goals with playing this kind of a piece is using “minimum motion.” In other words, you don’t want to lift your fingers or move your hand any more than is absolutely necessary. This also helps you determine which finger you might need to use to make it easy to get between chords and single notes. This particular kind of playing is also referred to as incorporating “bass runs” into chord progressions. Work on this and you will soon find that the combo of chords and single notes will make you sound like the songs you are listening to!

EXAMPLE

Standard tuning

= 60 1

E-Gt

0 1 0 2 3

0 1 0 2 3 3

0 3

3 0 0 0 2 3

0 3

ABOUT THE EDUCATOR Jeff Scheetz Jeff is the Director of Education at TrueFire. He has released 8 CDs of original music. His name has been on the Ernie Ball Super Slinky string package. He has toured the US, Europe and Mexico, and performed over 300 guitar clinics worldwide for Yamaha guitars. He has been featured in Guitar, Guitar Player, Guitar School, and Guitar World magazines, as well as numerous magazines in Japan and Europe.

VIEW JEFF’S COURSE LIBRARY

RIFF

LESSONS

SKILL LEVEL - LATE INTERMEDIATE

EXOTIC SCALES FUSION

BLUES

EXOTIC SCALE CHOICES FOR BLUES SOLOING Written by Joe Pinnavaia

Over the years I have grown a greater appreciation for the blues and ways that one can expand on their vocabulary choices in soloing. That may sound a bit backwards to some of you. I can tell you that in my early years, I did not focus on blues playing, nor did I take the steps to get that foundation. It was not until the last five to ten years that I really started feeling inspired by the blues. Instead, in those early days, I opted to learn threenote-per-string modes and scales (thanks to Joe Satriani), as well as jazz based concepts. Sure, I knew what the pentatonics were then and I used them, but I could never get the feel or the phrasing of blues. Fast forward 30 years and here I am. Still not very bluesy by any means, but with my knowledge base of scales and how to apply them I decided to bridge the gap between the blues and fusion. Which leads to a blues transfusion of sorts and the inspiration for my next Foundry Course. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at some ways to bridge the gap and put some fusion into your blues! EXAMPLE 01: If you know the pentatonics and the blues well and you feel like you want some different choices to spice your lines and start you on your way to new ideas - this will help! For dominant-based blues there are some options that you should consider. One way to get outside sounds is to combine both the blues scale and the mixolydian scale into a hybrid scale that adds the minor third, flat five as well as the major seventh in relation to the root of the chord. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say the chord is a G7 then we would have a Bb, Db and F#. You could also add the Eb as well and see how that adds more tension. EXAMPLE 02: That keeps us close to the root of the chord, but what if you want to use even more outside flavors? Well, you can try the harmonic minor. This one I like because it adds a more exotic flavor and creates nice tension and resolution. If we stick with our G7 chord we have to think of this chord as a V7 of a minor key. The would be C harmonic minor. So the notes you would have would be C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab and B.

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EXAMPLE 03: I like the harmonic minor scale options because you can tie in some nice diminished ideas as well. This adds to more interesting resolutions. EXAMPLE 04: Harmonic major is an interesting choice mainly because it focuses on the flat 9 of the dominant. This can have a cool effect which yields slightly diminished sounds against the dominant chord. If we stick with G7 we can use C harmonic major - I look at it like a C major scale with a flat sixth. It’s a haunting and beautiful sound in my opinion and the way you can resolve it to a chord tone - either G, F, D or B makes it a good choice to work with. EXAMPLE 05: Melodic minor is one of my all time favorites as you can look at the dominant chord in 2 ways. One as a V7 chord and the other way is to look at it as a IV7 chord or lydian dominant chord. So there are essentially two melodic minor choices for every dominant 7 chord. In the example we look at C melodic minor over G7, but if you were to look at as a lydian dominant then it moves to the position of a IV chord and that belongs to D melodic minor. You can even use both C and D melodic minor as well to build lines from. There’s a great amount of info there to work with! All of these options can be used independently or in conjunction with each other and remember that your resolutions must be strong and convincing in order for the listener to not feel as though the notes might be “out of place.” If the resolutions are weak, then the tension may not feel as though is was resolved. This skill takes a while to develop and I suggest working on improvising with these scales slowly and deliberately. This will train your mind to slow down and process what it is you need to do. This may feel unnatural but yields great results. Then when you are up to the desired tempo you will feel prepared and not intimidated. You will be able to make music which is the Ultimate goal that we are after in the first place! All the best!

RIFF

Exotic Scale Choices for Blues Soloing EXOTIC SCALE CHOICES FOR BLUES SOLOING Joe Pinnavaia JOE PINNAVAIA

Standard tuning

= 80 Ex. 1 G Mixolydian Hybrid Scale

S-Gt

Ex. 2 C Harmonic Minor Over G7 3

7 10

6 10

8 10

7 10

8 10

9 12

13 11 10

10 13

12 13

10 12

Ex 3. Diminished Idea From C Harmonic Minor Over G7 5

10 10

Ex. 4 Harmonic Major Over G7 7

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8 8

13 10

1/2

EXOTIC SCALE CHOICES FOR BLUES SOLOING (CONT.) JOE PINNAVAIA

Ex. 5 C Melodic Minor over G7 9

7 7

9 10

ABOUT THE EDUCATOR Joe Pinnavaia Joe Pinnavaia is a world class guitarist and instructor having been a featured artist on Steve Vai’s Digital Nations Label. He is now a TrueFire instructor teaching students of varying levels from all over the world from the U.K., U.S.A and Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Germany and Russia. With nearly 30 years of playing experience and 20 years of teaching experience Joe completed his musical education at Villa Maria College of Buffalo and at the University at Buffalo.

VIEW JOE’S COURSE LIBRARY

RIFF

WINTER 2018 | ISSUE 13

RIFF

WINTER 2018 | ISSUE 13

PHOTO S BY AL IS O N HAS BACH

ne of the very special privileges we enjoy at TrueFire is introducing talented new artists to our community of guitar enthusiasts. That’s the primary objective of this RIFF article, but in this case, “new” might not be quite accurate as this 25-year old guitarist has been blowing minds since he won the Australian National Songwriting Competition at the age of 13. Over the next couple of years, he was touring regularly and sharing stages with artists such as Tommy and Phil Emmanuel, both of whom served as mentors. In 2005, he released his first album of original material, Birdseed, at age 15. At 16, he won the 2008 Australia’s Got Talent television series competition and took home $250,000 after performing Tommy Emmanuel’s arrangement of “Classical Gas” in the final round. Over the next several years, he was awarded the title of “Senior Grand Champion Performer of the World” at the World Championships of Performing Arts in Hollywood, voted “Best New Talent” in the Guitar Player Readers’ Poll, and earned a spot in Australian Guitar Magazine’s Top 50 Best Guitarists. NPR says, “Australian guitarist Joe Robinson has accomplished what most musicians can only dream of.” If you haven’t yet had the pleasure, allow me to introduce you to a self-taught guitarist born in the backwoods of Temagog, Australia — Smokin’ Joe Robinson. While Joe may not necessarily be new to the scene, the trajectory of his career has only just left the launch pad.

RIFF

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Joe has spent the last few years continuing to blow minds in North America and abroad (China, Japan, Europe, and Australia) playing festivals and headlining clubs. After touring as a soloist for quite some time, Robinson toured predominately with his own trio over the course of the past few years. Wherever he goes, the accolades follow: “Robinson’s technique is dazzling — his bluesy licks go by in a blur, and his harmonic savvy is apparent in every chord he plays,” says the Nashville Scene. Joe is as gifted with a flat pick on electric guitar, as he is playing fingerstyle on acoustic guitar. He’s also a very impressive singer-songwriter prompting the Washington Post to say, “It’s not hard to imagine him rivaling the popularity of, say, John Mayer in coming years.” Joe is also a very passionate and enthusiastic educator, which is how our paths crossed here at TrueFire. We feel fortunate to be collaborating with Joe so early in his career and our hope is to grow his library of educational material in parallel with the growth and direction of his career. On top of all of his musical talents, Joe possesses a maturity way beyond his years and desire to surround himself with people who he can learn from. He’s smart, personable, generous and all around good people. He’s got everything needed to take his game to the top of mountain. There’s just no stopping Smokin’ Joe Robinson! We asked Joe to answer a few of our Proust-like RIFF questions so you can get to know him a little bit better in his own words…

RIFF

What is it about the guitar that attracted you to it originally, and still fascinates you today? Originally the selling point for me was portability! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s difficult to carry a drum set or piano around, but the guitar is capable of playing melody, chords, percussion etc. and you can carry it on your shoulder. The feeling of strings under my fingers feels so natural to me, I think different people are naturally suited to different instruments, I feel I was born to play the guitar. Your idea of happiness? Curiosity. A sense of purpose. Self awareness. A sense of community. Good health. Creating order from chaos. Whether living or dead, who would you like to have dinner with?

Curiosity. A sense of purpose. Self awareness. A sense of community. Good health. Creating order from chaos.

Leonardo Da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Aristotle, Mozart, Alexander The Great. Name three things a player can do to improve their musicianship. Establish regular playing & practicing habits. Surround yourself with better musicians than you. Continually push yourself out of your comfort zone. If not yourself, who would you be? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m grateful to be me! I see no merit in wishing to be another. Given the changing business landscape of the music business and how tough it is to sell records etc, what are the positives about the current evolution of the music business? I think it is easier than ever to record music; it is easier than ever to share it with your audience; it is easier than ever to monetize your craft. I think complaining is toxic and we live in one of the most remarkable times to be making music in the history of humanity.

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| ONLINE LINK DIRECTORY | RIFFJOURNAL.COM/LINKS-V13

Austrialia’s Got Talent Finale Performance

Temegog Rap Video

TED X Talk Nashville

Skyline

Baptized

Your favorite motto?

The musical dual of Beethoven and Steibelt in 1800.

Never trust a philosopher who isn’t an athlete.

Your favorite heroes in fiction?

What do you dream about? Literally.

Dagny Taggart & Yoda.

I keep a folder in the app Evernote called “Dreams”, here is a recent excerpt:

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

In prison in the middle east. Bilal is playing a club show. I’m allowed to go. Door charge is $15. I rent a TKO bag to sit on, guy tries to charge me twice. There is a suspicious girl seeming to stare at me. I sneak past the barricade, down to the front with TKO bag and a huge follow spot comes down on me. Bilal stops performing. What are your aspirations? To give back to more people than have helped me. To live with integrity, leading by example, to inspire, energize and motivate. To cultivate a lifelong curiosity, to make optimal use of my talents and to develop and use my artistry to communicate behavioral truth. To make the courageous choice to live in congruence with truth (reality) and virtue. To become the one of the great musical artists in the history of human civilization. What one event in music history would you have loved to have experienced in person?

My family. Your favorite food and drink? Produce from the small family farm I grew up on and fresh rainwater. In your next life, what or who would you like to come back as and why? I would want to come back as myself. I see the desire to be another as self-betrayal. The natural talent you’d like to be gifted with (other than music)? Determination. In life or in music, what is the one central key learning that you’d like to pass on to others? You become the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with.

www.joerobinson.com RIFF

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RIFF

I T M AY B E YO U R M U S I C , B UT I T ’ S N O T A B O UT YO U . I didn’t get into writing music for advertising, documentaries and television until I was nearly 40. Up until then I’d done a typical freelance plate-spinning act involving teaching, performing, sideman and session work, plus some music journalism and authoring of how-to books, magazine articles and instructional videos. I got started in composing through a series of only-linear-in-retrospect circumstances: Digidesign, the parent company of Pro Tools, released the first Mbox, a generous engineer friend offered to teach me Pro Tools (and did), and a guitar student of mine who worked as a writer in advertising – and knew I was learning to record myself – gave me a shot at demoing my first jingle for one of his agency’s clients. I won the spot (a Krispy Kreme radio ad, if you really want to know), which was, as the kids in my neighborhood used to say, totally excellent. Once the dust settled (and the check cleared), I immediately set about invoking Dave’s “Rule Of Recurrence”, which goes: If you get away with it once, they’ll probably let you do it again. Of course, that only raised the question: Who are “they”? In other words: how do you find more work like that? It turned out there were a lot of things to learn, not just how to find the work. Commercial composing is often a solo pursuit, requiring at least some capacity to wear more than a half a dozen hats, including, but not limited to, producer, engineer, writer, arranger, session musician and mixer. It also involves knowing how to communicate with clients, translate their visual and emotional language into musical ideas, manage one’s time wisely and above all, operate creatively on a deadline. As composer Jeff Rona puts it, “It’s not what you can do, it’s what you can do on time.” Still, when I meet a fellow guitarist who’s interested in what I do, the first thing they usually ask is, “how do you find work like that?” So here’s a short tour of the territory…the different kinds of jobs, the people who make them happen, and some of the attitudes and points of view involved in doing them. (I

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IF YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE WRITING MUSIC FOR MOVING IMAGES, YOUR JOB IS TO MAKE THE PICTURE LOOK AND FEEL AMAZING. RIFF

SCORING, OR MAKING CUSTOM MUSIC, TREATS YOU MORE LIKE A CRAFTSMAN

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haven’t included game music, which is a huge part of this world, simply because it’s an area in which I have no personal experience, much to my 11-year-old son’s chagrin.) Composers often use the catch-all phrase “music for picture” to describe writing music for advertising, film, or television – in short, anytime you’re marrying music to moving images. Dig that it’s “music for picture,” not “music for music’s sake.” Having spent time as a sideman and session musician for singer-songwriters, I tend to think of it this way: picture is the diva. If you’re writing music for moving images, your job is to make the picture look and feel amazing. Just like a hot session cat doesn’t play a million notes unless it’s right for the song, you only need the music that makes the picture work, and nothing more. Which means, essentially, it may be your music, but it’s not about you. If you’d rather front the band than groove in the shadows, music for picture might not be your bag. Writing music for picture is different from licensing your music. If you have a song that you’ve made a recording of, and someone takes that existing work and finds a way to use it in a commercial or a film or a show, that’s a licensing situation: they’re taking your work as is. It’s still your song, they pay a fee to use it in a specific way for a specific project, and that’s that. Writing to picture means creating new music specifically tailored to the images, the mood and the situation at hand on the screen. On a film, it’s called scoring, despite the fact that licensed songs often make up a significant part of the overall soundtrack and that combination of scoring and songs can be referred to collectively as “the score.” Advertising people talk about “custom music” to mean music written specifically for the job, or scoring, as opposed to, once again, licensing an existing song, or using library music, which is (primarily) instrumental music written ahead of time by various composers and held in huge online collections ready to be licensed for a fraction of what it costs to put “Satisfaction” or a Black Keys song in a Target ad.

Song licensing treats you, more or less, like an artist: you make what you make, the way you want to make it, and if they like it, they like it (and hopefully use it). Scoring, or making custom music, treats you more like a craftsman: you have conversations about what your client wants, you go off and make some stuff, you come back and play it for everyone, people weigh in, ask for it bigger or softer or darker or more purple, and off you go and try again. You’re not done ‘till they like it, and whole tracks that took hours to produce can be vaporized in a line of email just because someone doesn’t get how cool your tremolo guitar part is (“We hate the version with the cheesy warbling sound”).

I T O F T E N T U R N S O UT T H AT H AV I N G T O R EV I S E T H I N G S M A K E S YO U D I G D E E P E R , T RY H A R D E R , A N D U LT I M ATE LY C O M E U P W I T H B E TTER AN D STRONGER WORK .

And yet the craftsman role has a lot to offer. At its best, it has the potential to be much more collaborative. Deadlines teach you how to crank out work without moping around just because the Muse got stuck in traffic. And, once you’re done bristling (privately, after the client has hung up the phone or left the studio) at having your music misunderstood (it happens), it often turns out that having to revise things makes you dig deeper, try harder, and ultimately come up with better and stronger work. Because just a few key people on any given job usually handle decisions about music for picture, you’re ultimately aiming to please a very small audience. “The client” might be one producer, a couple of creative directors, a webisode writer or some grouping of similar folks. Consequently, where the work comes from and who you’re delivering it to varies accordingly. Film scoring jobs might be initiated by a director (especially

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O F C O U R S E N O N E O F I T L O O KS L I K E W O R K , B UT T H E N T O T H E O U T S I D E W O R L D , N E I T H E R D O E S P LAYI N G YO U R G U I TA R . YE T W E A L L K N O W : I T ’ S CA L L E D P RAC T I C I N G , A N D I T ’ S A N E S S E N T I A L PA RT O F G E T T I N G W H E R E YO U WA N T T O G O . on smaller independent films). TV shows, particularly cable shows, are often produced and staffed up by a production company, which is creating the show and delivering the finished product to a network. In this case, your client might be the showrunner, who keeps everything moving on the project, or someone in post-production, which is where all the pieces – picture, dialogue, sound effects, songs and/ or score – are assembled and finalized. And because someone in post might want to make changes to your music on the fly, you’ll probably be asked to provide stems, or synchronized audio mixes of the various elements of your music – guitars, rhythm section, percussion, keyboards, strings, etc – to facilitate that. Finally, advertising jobs can happen a lot of different ways. With national brands, the client (KFC, Lexus, Dr. Boring’s Cardboard Squares) hires an agency, who then hires a music house to create the music for the ad. The music house probably has at least a composer or two on staff, but often also puts out the call to freelance composers to create and submit demos. The music house communicates the creative direction of the spot to the freelancers and funnels the results to the agency, delivering sometimes dozens of demos for consideration on a single spot. At the more regional or local level, an agency might have a more direct, personal connection with a composer and hire him or her directly for the gig. And in other cases, it might be a production company (who are the people actually shooting and editing the spot), which has responsibility for commissioning the music as part of their

overall job. They might reach to a specific composer to create one or more tracks for consideration. When I was a kid, I read Tommy Tedesco’s “Studio Log” in Guitar Player every month, not because I had any idea what he was really talking about, but because he was a smartass, and because the way he described getting paid to be a guitar player sounded, well, totally excellent. What strikes me when I reread those columns now is Tedesco’s proud embrace of the 9-to-5, service-sector work ethic he and his colleagues made their living with on countless live film and television recording sessions, for decades on end. Most of the composers I know, and successful teachers, touring musicians and songwriters, for that matter, take similar pride in possessing the craftsmanship and discipline to make the work, satisfy the client and get it all done on time. Not surprisingly, in order to have work as a freelance composer, it takes the same kind of day-in, day-out hustle to make that happen. Hanging out, meeting people, finding ways to be around filmmakers, ad creatives, other composers and music house folks, staying in touch with the people you do meet. Of course none of it looks like work, but then to the outside world, neither does playing your guitar. Yet we all know: it’s called practicing, and it’s an essential part of getting where you want to go. Writing music to picture isn’t ultimately any more mysterious than playing well or having other kinds of work, it just takes knowing the territory and honing your craft so that when you do land the gig, you know how to deliver.

Written by David Hamburger

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RIFF PHOTO BY ALI SON HAS BACH

RE C OM M EN DED READI NG

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RONA, JEFF: THE REEL WORLD (2ND EDITION)

MAYRAND, ALAIN: SCORECLUB.NET

A great all-around text on television and film scoring. Rona walks you step-by-step through several of his own projects, showing you what it takes to prepare for and produce full-scale orchestral sessions, create electronic scores using custom samples, and meet the grueling schedule of scoring a weekly TV series.

Hands down, the best resource I’ve found for learning all of the “legit” aspects of composing: harmony, counterpoint and orchestration. Alain’s courses are some of the best teaching I’ve ever experienced, online or elsewhere, and worth every nickel if you want learn to write “real” music.

BORUM, JEREMY: GUERRILLA FILM SCORING

HENSON, CHRISTIAN: CHRISTIAN HENSON MUSIC (VLOG)

Focused, as you might guess, on film scoring. Borum does a great job of clarifying the broad number of skills it takes to be a one-person scoring shop, while offering plenty of ideas on how to hone those skills, too.

Henson is a cofounder of Spitfire Audio, the British sample company, and his Youtube videos offer a wideopen, entertainingly opinionated window onto his life as a working composer for television and film.

FISHER, JEFFREY: CASH TRACKS

SIDRAN, LEO: THE THIRD STORY (PODCAST):

PHILLIPS, WINIFRED: A COMPOSER’S GUIDE TO GAME MUSIC

PRESSFIELD, STEPHEN: THE WAR OF ART .

A thorough discussion about entry-level ways to find the people and places who might want your music, as well as the mechanics of running your own business. You don’t have to follow all of Fisher’s advice about how to set up your taxes or your home studio to still get a lot out of this book.

Ok, so I haven’t read this one yet, but it’s on my list, because it’s gotten fabulous reviews, and I’ve got to enter the 21st century sometime.

Do a search for Sidran’s 2017 series on music and advertising, which includes fascinating interviews with freelance composers, music house owners, session musicians and advertising creatives.

A short, bracing book on how to show up and do the work, whatever field you’re in.

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@ truefire

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“A dre am you dre am alone is only a dre am. A dre am you dre am together is re ality.”

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PHOTO S BY ALI S O N HAS BACH

ohn Lennon once quoted the words of his wife Yoko Ono, “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” As we fold up the legs on the last of the light stands and lock up TrueFire Studios for the night, I look back down the hall at the dim glow of the salt rock light in the atrium area where we just wrapped up a shoot. With this last glimpse of the newly polished stained concrete floor and the reflective glow of the ambient light in its sheen, those artful words come to the surface of my consciousness. This is but the flicker of a glimpse into the next chapter of our dream. Six weeks ago we had just put the last coats of paint on the walls and hung the wall decor in the brand new TrueFire offices. It was a warm spring afternoon in the heart of a downtown St. Pete amidst an explosion of growth and development. Computers and supplies were being rolled in from truck beds into the newly erected workstations. Studio wise, we were still in the interim phase, our leg of the buildout was only mid-construction (guitar lesson production was still happening offsite), but the rest of the team was moving in. About a mile away, Brad, Ali, and I sat on the verandah of one of the sunshine city’s oldest and most laid-back-Florida feeling hotels, the Renaissance Vinoy. We were gathering there for a meeting with one of our favorite new artist educators, Guitar Army, a supergroup of guitar gurus and songwriters John Jorgenson, Lee Roy Parnell and Joe Robinson. With guitars in hand, these gents are nothing short of incredible to watch, but they’re a great hang for good conversation too. We gave them the traditional tour of what working with TrueFire is all about. We talked about educational courses and the new platforms for private lessons and self-produced content. We talked shop about our grandiose new studio still under construction down the road. And then we discussed the idea which laid the groundwork for the shoot which we just wrapped. The idea was to bring the trio down for a four-day shooting spree, netting each of them a TrueFire course in addition to a variety of interview footage and other content they could use to promote their upcoming tour. We’d been percolating on this idea for some time now and it seemed to be a perfect opportunity to try it.

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To survive in the music industry today, even more than ever, artists are finding it harder and harder to keep up with their fanbase’ insatiable appetite for content. Today, that content is typically produced in several different studios, with a lot of moving parts and timelines; we’re talking about recording studio sessions and producers, still photography shoots, educational video content producers, content for promotion and social media, etc. It’s a lot to manage especially for the growing number of artists who restlessly serve themselves as both the talent and business executive. So, what if an artist could show up at one powerhouse production studio (in the heart of sunny St. Pete, Florida) and leave with an exclusive digital package of audio recordings, photos, and video elements like interviews, educational courses, and song lessons direct from the artist? What if they could net all of this in one excursion, and better yet, have a team of producers that were passionate about helping them prosper in today’s new entertainment landscape? Throw in a house concert or two and you’ve got the makings of a truly amazing one-stop shop for both the artist and the executive. That’s the dream. The Guitar Army seemed like a great place to start.

We began this blitzkrieg by producing a course with the young gunslinger, Joe Robinson. He’s an incredible singer and songwriter and he rips through fingerstyle pieces just as effortlessly and tastefully as he burns electric solos over a blues. Joe’s course, Fingerstyle Synergy, focuses on ten essential studies to help students master the marriage of bassline and melody in fingerstyle arrangements. It’s a truly difficult skill to get under your fingers, but Joe’s got a way of making it seem accessible. Up next we shot Lee Roy Parnell. He’s one of the most humble-hearted and honest people I’ve met, clearly part of the formula for how he engages you in his experiences both via his songs and in the lessons he teaches. His new course is due out this Spring so make sure you polish up that slide. John Jorgenson is probably the biggest musical overachiever I know. On top of being one of the greatest guitar players on the planet, he plays too many other instruments on

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too many major records and tours to even list (must be fake news!). With John, we shot his first two of many courses to come, Gypsy Jazz Journeys, and Eclectic Electric. The next day we assembled the crew at TrueFire for a multi-format shoot day with the trio. Up first we’d have the guys shoot still photography with Ali. While she shot in her studio, we were staging the atrium next door for a five-camera video session to include interviews, stories from the guys and some impromptu performances from Joe, John and Lee Roy. Technically speaking, this was a simple set up, but we wanted it to feel intimate and casual so we went with a couch and coffee table look. We mounted one camera on a slider, two more on sticks, a GoPro in the office window overhead, and finally an establishing shot from down the hall. We used lavs for vocals, SM57s on the guitar amplifiers and recorded to a couple of Zoom H6N’s that we’d have to sync later in post. We started with a list of liners to promote their upcoming tour dates, followed by the interviews, first with each artist independently, and then as a group interview/EPK video for the Army. The day grew long and by the time the guys went home for the night, we had the stills, about six hours of video footage, plus five or six songs recorded from that session too. Twas a solid day to say the least. Looking back, it’s pretty stunning to think about the amount of content we produced in such a short period of time. Altogether we logged nearly 60 hours of video footage alone, over the span of four days, amounting to over six terabytes of data. We wound up with four educational courses, six exclusive performances, still photographs, interviews and promotional footage, which can be leveraged by the band and their management team for a variety of purposes. Upcoming sessions will include things like pristine audio recordings and new editions for our multi-view “In The Jam” player software. Our in-house production studio isn’t even done yet, so while this was, in a way, a sort of prototype for future productions, we took the first step toward making this “together dream” a reality, and it’s really incredible to see.

Session videos

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NTGI INTERVIEW PHOTOS BY A LIS O N H AS BAC H

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JOHN HATCHER

TRUEFIRE’S NEXT TOP GUITAR INSTRUCTOR WRITTEN BY JEFF SCHEETZ

TrueFire’s Next Top Guitar Instructor (TNTGI) contest has one goal in mind: Find amazing guitar instructors that deserve exposure to our amazing students. The flip side of that coin was also to find those awesome instructors because our student’s deserve the best instruction! Out of hundreds of entries and multiple rounds of voting, one instructor remained. John Hatcher has a long history of being a “top” guitar instructor in his own right. His tasty fingerstyle blues playing along with his ability to break lessons down into understandable, bite-sized chunks makes it easy to see why students voted him to the top. With winning TNTGI, came a trip to the TrueFire studio to record his first TrueFire course, Fingerstyle Blues & Roots. This has turned out to be a student favorite from the moment it was released! Check out our conversation with John about the experience of winning TNTGI and working on his course, and take a look at the course here.

TF: How did it feel to win TNTGI? I was on cloud nine. The minute I got the word from Team TrueFire, I ran straight outside and let out a “wooohooo!” that anyone within a block heard. I’ve been a student of TrueFire’s for years so I knew this was a big deal. I couldn’t have been more honored and excited. I still can’t believe it. TF: Have you gotten a lot of good feedback since you won the contest? Since the contest, I’ve gotten a lot of positive support from my students and even other professional guitar teachers. It’s been cool to hear the feedback from my students because they were the reason that I was even nominated. There’s a collective respect for what TrueFire does for the guitar community and I think that my students were happy that I’d be a part of it.

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TF: What was it like going to Florida and recording in the TrueFire studios with the gang? First of all, I had a blast! We got a great deal of work done in a short time period, but somehow it still felt laid back and relaxed. I felt like TrueFire family from the minute Ren put a great cup of coffee in my hand :) Beyond that, I was extremely impressed with how professional everyone was, it just seemed like a great group. There was a perfect mix of professionalism and just hanging out and making music. It helped me feel relaxed once the cameras were rolling. TF: You often talk about your obsession with acoustic blues players like Etta Baker, Keb Mo and Blind Blake and how you were able to trace your obsession with this style of music to one song - Eric Clapton’s version of “Hey, Hey” by Big Bill Broonzy. What specifically about it in that particular song that fascinated you to that degree? That lick! The one that happens at the end of the progression...it grabbed me immediately. I was a kid when the Unplugged album came out and I was innately drawn to the bluesy tunes on that record. But “Hey, Hey” stood out because it just didn’t sound like any blues tune I’d ever heard. It’s very unique the way the melody and rhythm are melded together into one bluesy little package. It’s just brilliant. Of course, Clapton’s version is great, but at some point, I started backtracking to Broonzy and the other Blues greats that Clapton covered on that album. It’s been a journey ever since then. “Hey, Hey” put me on the path and Keb Mo’s first album made sure I stayed on it! TF: Most blues players use a pick and don’t have fingerstyle chops. Even if you’re one of these players (mostly using a pick), is it possible to get fingerstyle skills? I first started playing hard rock on an electric guitar. I thought fingerstyle sounded cool, but it wasn’t for me. I just couldn’t do much past pluck out the intro to Stairway! So yeah, I think it’s possible to learn fingerstyle because I was one of those pick-only players that transitioned into fingerpicking. It takes dedication and some good picking exercises, but I believe most players can build their fingerstyle skills and have fun while doing it. It’s pretty rewarding to be able to play the bass, rhythm and melody for a piece of music all at once. For me, it’s worth putting in the time to build these chops. TF: Tell us a little bit about your new TrueFire course... At its core, Fingerstyle Blues Roots is a crash course in the fundamentals of acoustic fingerstyle blues. We cover the most common picking techniques and give players exercises to help build the physical skills needed to play great Fingerstyle Blues. The really fun part comes in the performances. Each one covers a different set of concepts that are very common to acoustic blues.

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ABOUT THE CHET ATKINS APPRECIATION SOCIETY (CAAS)

The original Chet Atkins Fan Club was started around 1951 by Margaret Fields. In 1983, Jim Ferron, along with Mark Pritcher, started a new society honoring Chet. However, instead of a traditional fan club, they envisioned a society who would honor its hero, but would equally focus on the musical legacy and multi-faceted career of a unique musical genius. They formed the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society for those with a sincere interest and appreciation of Chetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music. Through 2000, Chet himself participated in the annual conventions, and his presence was warmly appreciated by the members. Since his passing, they continue to preserve his legacy, and encourage young and old alike to keep his music alive and appreciate the many contributions he made to the guitar and the music of America. Each year they meet in Nashville for four days to watch, listen and learn about the music of one of the greatest musicians the world has ever known.

ABOUT TONY MCMANUS

Tony McManus has come to be recognised throughout the world as the leading guitarist in Celtic Music. From early childhood his twin obsessions of traditional music and acoustic guitar have worked together to produce a startlingly original approach to this ancient art. In Tonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hands the complex ornamentation normally associated with fiddles and pipes are accurately transferred to guitar in a way that preserves the integrity and emotional impact of the music. Tony is a frequent player at CAAS and someone whose playing always moves us here at TrueFire.

other LINKS: CAAS http://www.chetsociety.com Tony McManus http://www.tonymcmanus.com

Video Performance

Tony McManus at TrueFire https://truefire.com/celtic-guitar-lessons/ celtic-journeyman/c703

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HOUSE NEWS

ARTIST DIRECTORY Artists Featured in this Edition of Riff

DAVID GRISSOM David Grissom has toured and recorded with artists such as John Mellencamp, Joe Ely, Storyville, The Allman Brothers Band, The Dixie Chicks, Chris Isaak, Robben Ford, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Ringo Starr, Buddy Guy, and John Mayall. His songs have been recorded by Trisha Yearwood, Lee Ann Womack, John Mayall, Shannon Curfman and Storyville among others. David is currently doing sessions and working on his 5th solo studio album.

DAVID HAMBURGER David Hamburger is a composer for film, television and advertising and a performing guitarist/songwriter whose most recent work includes scoring the CNN documentary series High Profits. His music is featured in two ongoing series on A&E, Shipping Wars and My 600 Pound Life, and his score for the film When I Rise debuted at South By Southwest in 2010 and has aired multiple times on PBS’ Independent Lens.

GREG BENNETT A 40-year veteran of the guitar industry and an accomplished fingerstyle virtuoso, Greg understands both mechanically and emotionally what makes a great guitar. Spend five minutes with him and you’ll see his passion and love of the guitar are not just obvious, they’re downright contagious. Greg has done hundreds of concert clinics all over the world, explaining in easy-to-understand terms what drives the performance characteristics of various guitars.

JEFF SCHEETZ Jeff is the Director of Education at TrueFire. He has released 8 CDs of original music. His name has been on the Ernie Ball Super Slinky string package. He has toured the US, Europe and Mexico, and performed over 300 guitar clinics worldwide for Yamaha guitars. He has been featured in Guitar, Guitar Player, Guitar School, and Guitar World magazines, as well as numerous magazines in Japan and Europe.

JOE PINNAVAIA Joe Pinnavaia is a world class guitarist and instructor having been a featured artist on Steve Vai’s Digital Nations Label. He is now a TrueFire instructor teaching students of varying levels from all over the world from the U.K., U.S.A and Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Germany and Russia. With nearly 30 years of playing experience and 20 years of teaching experience Joe completed his musical education at Villa Maria College of Buffalo and at the University at Buffalo.

JOE ROBINSON Joe Robinson is considered uniquely gifted as a virtuoso guitarist and singer/songwriter. Hailing from backwoods Temagog, on the mid-north coast of NSW, Australia his six-string ability and compositional insight have already earned him a worldwide following. He walks a tightrope between the instrumental music that has put him in the spotlight and a unique fusion of rock, blues, jazz, and R&B thats entirely his own.

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JOHN HATCHER John Hatcher runs Blues Guitar Institute and is dedicated to teaching acoustic blues with a simple, straightforward approach. Growing up with an electric guitar in his hands, John was constantly listening to rock music from the 60s and 70s. After hearing many of his favorite guitarists cite blues artists as key influences, John dove head first into the blues.

JON FINN A guitarist since age six, Jon Finn has been a professional musician for most of his life. Joining the guitar faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1988, he started the Jon Finn Group later that same year. To date, they have released three CDs internationally.

ROBBIE LAWS Robbie Laws is one of the most decorated and in demand blues guitarists in the Pacific Northwest. He has been honored with 21 Portland Cascade Blues Association Muddy Awards, nine of which were for ‘Best Electric Guitarist”, the “Best Blues Act” award from the Seattle based Washington Blues Society and most recently, the “Outstanding Achievement in Blues” award from the Portland Music Association.

SHANE THERIOT Shane Theriot is a guitarist, composer and Grammy award-winning producer. He is a highly sought after sideman/studio guitarist, he has recorded and or performed with The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, Jewel, Beyonce’, Sammy Hagar, Willie Nelson, Rickie Lee Jones, Larry Carlton, Branford Marsalis, Hall and Oates, Harry Connick Jr., Boz Scaggs, Amos Lee, LeAnn Rimes, Little Feat. Shane is currently on the TV show “Live From Daryl’s House” featuring Daryl Hall, in which he serves as Music Director/Guitarist.

TOM DEMPSEY Guitarist Tom Dempsey’s reputation in the New York jazz scene for hard swinging sophistication and pure musicality have made him a distinct voice in the New York Jazz Scene. In recent years Tom has performed and/or recorded with a virtual “Who’s Who” of world renowned jazz musicians.

TONY SMOTHERMAN Tony Smotherman is a guitarist that resides in Jacksonville Florida who plays his own brand of World Rock along with many other genres. His music is an eclectic mix of influences, bringing together the sound and feel of music from around the world into a rock setting with his band “The Tony Smotherman Project.” Tony is a well-respected educator of the instrument having taught at numerous guitar clinics, workshops, and private sessions. RIFF

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Lessons COMPILATION ALBUM

RIFFAGE: VOLUME 12 Volume 12 of Riffage is here. You can meander through the audio player and click to download the free copy of Riffage Volume 1 and listen to what our Riff Journal contributors have to say through their music... Try to put well in practice what you already know; and in so doing, you will, in good time, discover the hidden things which you now inquire about [Rembrandt]

Way Down Deep (Live) - David Grissom Ten Pounds of Trouble - David Hamburger Trippin’ - Jeff Scheetz Jacob’s Ladder - Joe Pinnavaia Uli’s Jump - Joe Robinson Sunday Run - John Hatcher Playin’ in the B.B Box - Robbie Laws Village Waltz - Tom Dempsey Gravity - Tony Smotherman

Download the FREE Album

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BEHIND THE MIX We can’t say it enough — the not-so-secret ingredients of TrueFire are the artists and educators that we are privileged to collaborate with. Not just amazingly talented educators, they are also brilliant composers, arrangers and recording artists in their own right. Enjoy their music and please visit their websites and social media networks.

Way Down Deep (Live) - David Grissom “This is a live version of Way Down Deep….. the title song from my 3rd CD. I’ve been doing a Tuesday night residency at the Saxon Pub in Austin for 6 years and this track was recorded on one of those nights a few years back.”

Uli’s Jump - Joe Robinson “Uli’s Jump is an instrumental piece from my 2012 album, Let Me Introduce You. I wrote this with my friend and amazing musician Pat Bergeson, the other performers on the recording are Keith Carlock (drums) and Michael Rhodes (bass). Hope you enjoy!!”

Ten Pounds of Trouble - David Hamburger “Description: When not writing music to picture, David writes songs, plays fingerstyle guitar, and does the occasional gig around Austin, Texas. “Ten Pounds of Trouble” is the second track from his 2015 release Pennsylvania Station Blues, which was recorded live in the studio with his working trio in three days..”

Sunday Run - John Hatcher “Sunday Run is a short, upbeat, fingerstyle number in Open D that I use to teach my students how to go beyond the basics in this open tuning. There’s a couple of cool chord moves and flashy licks to help challenge you while learning some useful guitar concepts!”

Trippin’ - Jeff Scheetz “I dig this tune because it has a southern vibe, and some snazzy harmony guitar parts. The solo is fairly melodic but has a crazy quick harmony part at the end that took a little practice to pull of clean! Just a fun feel good tune for me.”

Playin’ in the B.B Box - Robbie Laws “The B.B.Box is the third box scale pattern in the minor pentatonic scale system. This particular box scale pattern is based off of the diatonic mode Dorian. By removing the minor 3rd (F) and the 6th (B) from the Dorian, you are left with the five tones that makeup the pentatonic equivalent of the Dorian mode, better known as ‘The B.B.Box.’ One of the great things about the B.B. box is the location of it in the scale system. Your access to higher and lower registered tones is much more balanced out in this location. Enjoy!!”

Jacob’s Ladder - Joe Pinnavaia “Completed in my home studio in 2011, I went through a bit a spiral with writting and was influenced by Devin Townsend. This track used a few different guitars but the main 7 string used here was a Schecter 007. The tuning on this track was open C tuning and was a process relearning the fretboard and where all the “right” notes were. I focused on a good melody and let the rest take care of itself. This was a fun track to record and was somewhat spiritual at the same time hence the title.”

Village Waltz - Tom Dempsey “Village Waltz” is a Tom Dempsey composition from his most recent recording entitled “Waltz New” which is a tribute to the music of Jim Hall. This tune was written using the chord changes to the tune “With a Song In My Heart” which Jim Hall recorded on a recording entitled “These Rooms” in 1988.” Gravity - Tony Smotherman “Gravity is a song off my 3rd solo album “Universal Melody” This song has a fun rock feel to it. I enlisted the help of my friend and rock keyboardist Derek Sherinian to contribute the keys to the track. I recorded this track with a Fender Prosonic amp and my Vigier Excalibur guitar. We wanted a really organic rock sound on this tune, so we plugged straight into the amp and hit the overdrive channel.”

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