Spotlight Licks: John Berret ....the baby edition

This edition of "Spotlight Licks" is brought to you by me, John Berret, a guy who loves being a guitar teacher here in Augusta Georgia. The lick is a beast. It is based in E minor and moves from one end of the neck to another. I have put numbers beside each section of the tab so that I can break down each part and tell you about it. In the beginning, on part 1 you are doing some country-esqe pull offs. Be sure to have your 1st finger kind of anchored on the 3rd fret of the high E string.This lick ends on a slide up to the 5th fret with your 1st finger. In part 2 you start out the same as one but end pulling off on the E and B strings ala Randy Rhodes. Part 3 is identical to part 1. Part 4 is a flurry of pull offs on the E and B strings. Part 5 keeps with the randy rhodes pulls off but takes it to the G string and ends with a 1/4 step bend on the G note, 3rd fret, of your low E string down to an E power chord. Part 6 takes us up the neck. We are using the D and G strings on this. Watch my fingerings in the video and try and use the same as I do. The most important part of executing this part is the use of "outside picking" throughout all of this part. Part 7 is in the same vein as part 6 with the outside picking and how the lick is constructed except that you will use your pinkie to slide up from the 12th fret to the 14th fret and then pull off back to the 12th fret. Take it real slow to get this part. On part 8 you have some wide stretches that contain hammer ons and pull offs ion the same lick. This part is ripped right out of a page of Dimebag Darrell's playbook. Be sure to do this slow and take your time getting it right and smooth. Part 9 is descending arpeggio that goes back up and slides down. Part 10 is in the same vein as this. The last part, part 11, ends it on a nice little bluesy, pentatonic run that ends with the same 1/4 step bend on fret 3 of the low E string as we did in part 5. Take your time and go slow on this one. Once you got it start milking as many licks out of it as you can. Have fun and enjoy!!!!!

since i cant get the video to load click on this to go to youtube to watch it and play along with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGMRgdIJFbU&feature=youtu.be

What Cha' Doin' with Miss Shauna Price

This edition of What Cha' Doin' is with a young lady named Shauna Price. Shauna is 7 years old, almost 8 ;), and has been takin lessons of me a while. She is a super student at school and is involved in all kinds of activities. She is as bright as they come and has a great personality. One of the coolest things about her is how much she loves music. One of her favorite bands is Panic At the Disco! and she loves listening to them with her mom. Her GaGa helps her with her guitar playing and her everyday practicing. Her mom and GaGa are her biggest supporters and fans. This is what Miss Shauna price has been up to, click on the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGhuu-cNDfE&feature=youtu.be

Jammin Gift Ideas for Christmas

It's that time of year again......The time when you spend quality time with loved ones and buy gifts for them. Every year i get asked what would be some good gift ideas for the musician in some one's life. I am gonna give you some good ones.

For the guitar and bass player in your life some good under $10 gifts would be pick holders that attach to the guitar and look like over sized picks. Also some picks, guitar cleaners and cleaning rags are cool. Some cool gift ideas under $20 are guitar stands. You can always use a guitar stand. Instructional and music song books are always a great idea, there are even some for drummers too! Some head phone and ear buds are an awesome idea for parents who want their kid to play but could use some piece and quiet too! There are a Marshall set of ear phones but they are over $20. Also in around the $20 range is guitar slides, glass and metal ones. They are so much fun to use. A couple packs of strings and capoes are always use full. Close to $20 bucks are some cool old school looking Fender tins. They have awesome pictures of Fender guitars and amps of old and ooze old Americana. They look great hanging in any jam or practice room and are even good looking enough to go in any room of the house! For $14.99 Rock Bottom has some really cool 3 pack of Fender strings that come with a cool fender collector baseball. It is very unique and a present that will make anyone look cool who gets it for someone. Prices from $20 up are some really good guitar/bass cables. We carry top quality Fender and Dimarzio brands. For a big gift for the musician in your life are any T.C. Electronic floor pedals. They are top quality pedals. They have many kinds like delay, phaser, etc. Always a winner are the fender Mustang amps. They hook up to your computer and have a million effects and sounds that are down loadable. The Mustang 1 starts at $99. For the electric guitar player the hot new guitar is the Charvel DC series. They are hot rodded goodness that look incredible and sound killer. They start at $349. They have a finish on them to die for. Also I have heard that Jonathon bought out a music store that was going out of business and we are the only store that has the amount of these that we do. They are not available to retail again until after the new year. Rock Bottom has scored a bunch and they will go really quick so get down and get one! For the acoustic player the new E.S.P.s are really hot. That company has really upped their game and come out with a great product. We also have some good quality guitar packs that have everything you need to get started. Depending on the kind of guitar it has a guitar, amp, strap, picks, tuner and dvd that come with it.

Foe the bass player lots of stuff listed above works plus the hot bass amp right now is a little practice amp called the Ampeg BA112. It is small but packs a ton of power and boom. It has that classic Ampeg sound too! There are also bass packs that got everything you need to get started playing. One thing that is good for a bass or guitar player is a cool new strap. They come in leather, have your favorite bands name on it and come in tons of colors and are made from a ton of different materials too.

For the drummer in your life his favorite type of sticks is always a winner. There is also some cool double stick set holding stick holders that clamp to a drum stand or cymbal stand. That way they can always have a stick within reach when playing that gig! They come in at under $20 too! Any drummer can always use "more cowbell." Cowbells start at $14.99 and go up from there. There is also tons of cool percussion stuff that adds color to any drummers playing. Things like Cabasa or a Guiro.

For any musician a ukulele is a cool little gift. They seem to be real popular right now. Rock Bottom has them starting at $39 and have soprano, baritone and concert sizes! Rock Bottom also has an assortment of hip T-Shirts and Hats that sport your favorite amp, guitar, drum, musical brand and even Rock Bottom!

These are some of what I think makes cool gifts at all levels of price range. Something I think makes a great gift too is GIFT CERTIFICATES for lessons! I got them and they make great stocking stuffers ;) Rock Bottom offers them for the store as well. So while your out Christmas shopping this year come hit Rock Bottom!

Learn From: Alice In Chains

This edition of "Learn From" is from the 90's alternative/metal/grunge band Alice In Chains. Alice In Chains formed in 1987 in Seattle Washington. They came into prominence as part of the 90's grunge movement along with Soundgarden, Nirvana and scores of other flannel wearing rockers. The original band consisted of Layne Staley on vocals, Jerry Cantrell on guitar and vocals, drummer Sean Kinney and bass player and current "Celebrity Rehab" alum Mike Star. Star was replaced in 1993 with Mike Inez. I guess they just wanted someone with the same name so they couldn't forget what the bassist name was! The band has sold over 35 million albums. They released the albums Facelift, SAP, Dirt, Jar of Flies, Alice in Chains and the new album with new singer Black Gives Way to Blue. Their music was worlds different than their contemporaries in grunge. They were to metal to be grunge and mellow to be metal. Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell wove beautifully dark and melodic vocal harmonies. The likes of which had not been heard since bands from back in the day like the Beach Boys and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. They did them in a way all their own though. It seems like every hard rock band out today has ripped off the way A.I.C. did their vocals. Just listen to any modern rock station and you will hear it. Godsmack, Taproot, Shinedown and way way too many others to list. None can do it quite like Alice and none ever will. There is years worth of vocal study in these A.I.C. albums. The songs take you on a journey. They go from the snarling heaviness of a song like We Die Young http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XtZUWeADM0 to the seductive and hypnotic-ness of a song like "Don't Follow." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBB2OS4IoTs&feature=related
.They have made some of the best most original songs ever.period. Not since the likes of Led Zeppelin has a band been able to be heavy as hell and mellow at the same time. The lyrics were second to n one also. Layne could make you feel what he was singing. Growing up were I did my friends and family were living his lyrics. We related to him. Even if you could not relate, Layne wrote so well you felt his story. The band was amazing together. Tight as any in music history. Jerry Cantrell could play his ass off to. Not only a monster riff writer but a soloist up with the best. Here is some of his licks I am diggin at the moment. The song "Got Me Wrong." While there is no official solo for the song, he weaves some hellfire licks throughout the whole song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkI2W52ut-4
Alice In Chains is one the bands from the 90's that will go down in musical history much the same way as Black Sabbath, Led Zep and the Beatles. They are that damn good. Check them out. Layne Staley died in 2002. Singer William DuVall has replaced him. He is not Layne but is doing a great job. Their last album, Black Gives Way To Blue, is as good as any Alice album. In 2011 original bass player Mike Star passed away. The re-united Alice is everyone but Layne from the 1993 line-up. Do yourself a favor an get all the Alice In Chains albums and get to learning everything you can from them. It will make you a better player, songwriter and singer!

Student Spotlight: Carter Kight

This edition of "Student Spotlight" is on 13 year old, North Augusta middle School student, Carter Kight. Carter has been playing guitar about 2 and 1/2 years and started lessons with me back in the beginning of January 2011. Carter originally wanted to play drums at first, but drums take up a ton of room in a house, so his parents got him a guitar for Christmas instead. Carter is the only one in his family who plays an instrument. His family loves music, they just dont play and are very encouraging to him about his playing. Carter's dream guitar is a vintage K Archtop. He doesn't really have a favorite band or player, he likes to many to choose just one, but if he had to choose one on the spot it would be Son House. If he could be a guitar player for any band in history it would be the White Stripes. Carter loves Jack White's slide work. If he could play any where in the world he would play in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a ship. It would just be really cool. After he goes to high school he would like to go to college and major in music. Carter is regularly jammin with his buddies, two of which are fellow guitar students of mine, Taylor Temples and Brian Yonn. Musically in 5 years Carter sees himself jamming in a band and writing songs, getting out there and performing so he can reach people that would like his music. What is he most valuable thing Carter has taken from lessons so far? He says learning all the chords in all the voicings has been the most valuable. Gets him able to play all over the neck. Carter loves guitar so much he plays before he goes to school and plays everyday from the time he gets home from school until he goes to bed, taking a break only for homework and chores! The most embarrassing thing on his Ipod? It's a bunch of Hannah Montana and Jonas brothers songs that "accidentally" got put on there fro his sister. Carter has some advice for someone wanting to play or just starting. The advice is don't give up. When you first start it's really hard and can get boring. Play every day and you'll get better, have more fun things to play and you will get good. Just stay with it. Carter has really been working hard lately. He has improved a ton over the past couple months. It is obvious that he has a tremendous love for music and guitar. He has shown me a great work ethic on his guitar. he has learned and completed all work I have gave him. His is going to turn into a hell of a player and is sounding good now. He has a love for great music that lets him have really broad musical tastes. He just doesn't like one style of music, he likes music that is good, be it Avenged Sevenfold or Son House. I look forward to seeing good things from Carter Kight as he grows up. So here is to you Carter......keep rockin'........keep playin'.........and keep having fun!!!!!!!!

Student Spotlight: Grace Dickens

This edition of "Student Spotlight" is on 14 year old West Side High School student Grace Dickens. Grace is a mild mannered shy girl who is really kicking some butt as of late. She comes from a very musical family.Her Grandma plays banjo, her aunt plays guitar, hers sisters play piano, her uncle plays guitar and thats just to name a few! I asked Miss Grace why she chose to play guitar. She told me she just wanted to learn an instrument and the guitar was it. Her favorite bands right now are Black Veil Brides and My Chemical Romance. I would say that Grace is the biggest My Chemical Romance fan I have ever seen. Grace's dream guitar is a vintage Fender Stratocaster. She just happened to get her dream guitar too! Her aunt (who must be amazingly awesome) gave her a 1973 Fender Strat! If Grace could play a gig anywhere in the world it would be anywhere in California. Why? Because California is just awesome! Right now Grace enjoys learning new songs and jammin with her best friend and jam buddy Sydney. They jam on My Chemical Romance songs together. If she could play in any band in history it would be .....you guessed it.....My Chemical Romance!!!! My Chemical Romance is also the home of her favorite guitar player, Ray Toro. She loves the way he plays and says "He is just a beast!" In 5 years she hopes to be playing in bands, jammin around and playing a gig or two. In the long term she hopes to be a professional musician. She plays guitar everyday, around 1 to 2 hours everyday. The thing Grace said she has most got out of lessons is how to play the guitar in general. The advice Miss Gracie has for any new players or new students..."Practice everyday, try hard and have fun. And have fun because it is fun." The most embarrassing thing on her Ipod? It's the First Piano Adventures Cd! Grace Dickens is a smart girl with a ton of raw talent. She works hard and is on her way to being a good player. She is makin me proud. Here is to you Grace.....Keep Rockin......Keep Playin'.......and Keep Having Fun!!!!!