Listening

This private lesson with MI instructor Robert Calva covers: 10 complete solos in notes & tab; common scales and licks; blues, major, minor and combined tonalities; playing over changes; recommended listening; and more. Each musical example is demonstrated on the accompanying CD, which also includes rhythm-only tracks so you can practice your own solos.

Tackle tapping one-on-one in this Private Lesson with MI instructor Jean Marc Belkadi! He covers: blues and classic tapping licks; scalar tapping licks; triads and arpeggios; advanced tapping licks; string skipping, multi-finger tapping, tapped bends, pedal points, open strings and other devices; and so much more. The book is in standard notation and tab, and the accompanying CD contains 75 demo tracks for listening. Each example is played at full tempo, and most are repeated at half speed.

This book/CD pack explores all the main components necessary for crafting well-balanced rhythmic and melodic phrases. It also explains how these phrases are put together to form cohesive solos. Many styles are covered - rock, blues, jazz, fusion, country, Latin, funk and more - and all of the concepts are backed up with musical examples. The 50 ideas are divided into five main sections: The Basics - covers fundamental but all too often forgotten techniques, such as slurs and vibrato, that can breathe new life into your phrases; Melodic Concepts - explores various aspects of melodic phrasing, such as motifs, chromaticism and sequences; Harmonic Embellishments - discusses the melodic potential of harmonic intervals (dyads), chords and chord partials; Rhythmic Concepts - explores various aspects of rhythmic phrasing, such as accents, free-time phrasing and metric modulation, and how it pertains to melodic soloing; Solo Structure - all of the topics discussed in the book come together to help form the big picture. The companion CD contains 89 demos for listening, and most tracks feature full-band backing. Also available for keyboard, tenor saxophone and trumpet.

Musicians Institute instructor Robert Calva covers rhythm and lead guitar in the styles of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, T-Bone Walker, Freddie King and Albert Collins. He teaches: 24 common blues licks; common blues 'box' positions; shuffle blues, slow blues, Latin blues & straight blues; and more. The book includes standard notation & TAB, and the CD features 34 full-band tracks.