(PRWEB) May 04, 2014
A “riff” is the catchy part of a song that sticks in your head. One of the most recognizable guitar riffs of all time is “Smoke on the water” by Deep Purple.
In this rhythm guitar lesson, Jon MacLennan demonstrates a riff that is played over a C7 chord. Jon starts off by playing the B flat note on the first fret of the 5th string and slides it to the C note on the 3rd fret and then frets the upper part of the triad by baring the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings at the 5th fret. He plays the 2nd and 3rd strings with his 2nd and 3rd fingers of his right hand and then strikes the 4th string with a guitar pick and follows that with a hammer on to the 8th fret of the 4th string with his 4th finger, this technique is called “Hybrid Picking”, and then plucks the 2nd and 3rd strings again with his fingers. Jon then again alternates between the 4th and then the 2nd & 3rd strings two more times to complete the lick. Jon recommends practicing this cool riff in other keys as well. Guitar TAB’s are available for this funky blues riff at BluesGuitar.com.
Danny Gatton, a native of Washington DC, began playing the guitar at the age of 9. Danny joined his first band at age 12 and was an active musician from the 1960’s through the 1990’s until his death in 1994. He fused rockabilly, jazz, and country to create his own signature style of playing. Gatton is still considered as one of the all time greatest guitarists by his peers and played on 20 albums over his career.
Jon MacLennan
Los Angeles based guitarist Jon MacLennan began his career at the age of 16 and is one of the busiest upcoming session guitarist, artist, composer, producer, and professional educator in LA. Jon has done session work for Julian Lennon, Steven Tyler, and British pop star Jamie Cullum. He has appeared on Disney channels “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and on the sound track to the movie “Marley and Me 2 – The Puppy Years”. MacLennan earned a bachelor’s in ethnomusicology and jazz guitar studies from University of California, Los Angeles, and has been mentored by Carl Verheyen, Wolf Marshall, Kenny Burrell, Anthony Wilson, Tamir Hendelmen, Jimmy Wyble and Ron Anthony which has made him a highly sought after guitar instructor today.
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