In this article we will explain some ways to create a melody and to make harmonies using different intervals and also gain a general understanding of how to use this knowledge. We will have to understand first of all what an interval is, how many there are and how they sound. We will then pick a scale, harmonize it and build the chords found in the scale (triads & 7th chords). Finally, we will write a chord progression and follow some simple steps in order to create a simple melody and then expand it into what we want it to sound like. The 1st part will focus on how the intervals sound against a chord progression. Let’s start.

Anthimos Manti is one of Greece’s top rock/shred guitar players, having worked alongside many established musicians and with two solo releases under his belt. His latest album “Time to Turn”, a blend of funk, rock and shred guitar with catchy melodies, has received excellent reviews so far. We caught up with him shortly after his performance as the support act for Paul Gilbert…

Hi everyone. It's been a very interesting month and now we have the results. 67 entries were submitted of which 22 received points. Out of those 22 we have the top 3.

Yngwie Malmsteen is undoubtedly the most inspiring guitarist when it comes to the neoclassical style of guitar playing. I don't know any single neoclassical fan that doesn't put Yngwie at the top of their list. He was a huge inspiration to me when I was discovering this style of playing. After he released his first solo album, the new guitar revolution had started and guitar playing wasn't the same anymore. He introduced a kickass technique with arpeggios, picking and catchy melodies mixed into rock, metal and baroque style, all played extremely fast. Some guitarists inroduced similar playing before Yngwie but when he came onto the scene, everyone got addicted. I trully recommend his masterpieces: Rising Force, Odyssey, Trilogy, Seventh Sign... All these albums completely changed my way of playing guitar so I decided to show you some of my favorite Yngwie licks and I hope that neoclassical fans will find it useful.

Enjoy.

We have reached the end of the 3nd competition. There are 67 video responses and we are very pleased with the quality of playing. The judges are now confirmed and the results will be published in 7 days.

Good luck everybody.

Hi and welcome to my 2nd lick of the week. This time I have a pretty fast pattern in A phrygian dominant which works well over many different grooves.

Enjoy

Marcel Coenen is a Metal guitarist from the Netherlands. He has had a career of over 20 years as a teacher, songwriter and performer. He has collaborated with people like Bob Katsionis (Firewind/Outloud) Mistheria (Artension/Emir Hot/Mistheria) and many others. He also has under his belt nearly 10 studio albums with different bands, instructional DVD’s and signature guitar models. He is currently signed to Lion Music. We caught up with him to tell us some more information about his career.

Alternate picking is arguably one of the most used right hand techniques on the guitar amongst sweep/economy picking and strumming. This technique is especially popular in shred (fast soloing) but you can use it in any style. In this article I will try to explain this technique from very basic examples to some real world examples where alternate picking works as a great solution.

Welcome to my Harmony and Theory Bible series.

These articles will aim to teach you how to approach theory and harmony,in a fun and creative way. Here you will find everything from beginners' areas like intervals, chords, scale construction and modes, to more complex harmony analysis and soloing approaches. Whether you are total beginner or somebody looking to recap on some knowledge, this is the place for you.

In today’s article we are focusing on the 3rd mode of the major scale – Phrygian mode

Terence Hansen’s style is unique because he plays two guitars at the same time while singing. His album, Songs For Two Guitars, is a showcase of his songwriting and performance skills in this context. He performs using a tapping technique where the bass and rhythm guitar are played by the left hand and the lead guitar, piano, strings, organ, Rhodes etc. are tapped by the right hand guitar and layered with a guitar synthesizer. He has performed all over the U.S. and Europe with artists such as Human Rights, Robert Palmer, Jennifer Batten, Fates Warning, Jonathan Edwards, Keith Urban, Morgan Cryer, and Gary Hoey. Terence has also been a columnist for JAM Magazine, a songwriting coach for Singing For Success ‘03-‘04,  a mentor for Season for Non-Violence song camp ‘07, a musical director for Progressive Insights guided meditation/relaxation program, film scorer for the full-length feature film Nightfall and he has played on and produced scores of records, commercials, bands, and poets. He was recently the Music Director for Paul Green’s Rock School in SLC, and now is directing the year-round show band for the school. He has also presented product and educational clinics for: Lexicon, Digitech, Stephens Amps, Starsmith Music, Musicians Friend, Abel Axe Guitars, Singing For Success, Summer Jam, Music Garage, Vocal Boot Camp, and the Music Factory.