Last chance to save 50% off my new course Elevated Open Chords here: samuraiguitartheory.com/p/elevated-open-chords?coupon_code=LASTCHANCE&product_id=5063529
@@theotenaguillo7671 ok. See I was hoping this would spark a speculative discussion and then maybe the Zen master would enlighten us. Alas, these are the dreams of a naive fool... But thanks for getting it started!
Dude, the "try pretending to be someone else" is bulletproof; I started doing that a few years ago and it REALLY helped me diversify my approach to serving a song with more 'appropriate' styles of solo.
About the singing along ( 8:47 ) hack, what really changed my mindset when I changed from "singing what I'm playing" to "playing what I'm singing", we are much more musical when our technical instrument barriers aren't there, soo when your shapes and scales aren't muscle memory, you'll see that this change will make the solos much more interesting and musical.
A guitar player in Nashville showed me the dotted eighth trick back about 1972. It’s still cool today. Singing along with you’re playing aka “scat singing” or “scatting” makes people think you really know what you’re doing. George Benson used it well in “On Broadway”. The db meter trick is a new one on me. Great idea.
Lead me to get an Echo-Plex (tape delay) and some various analog/digital delay pedals and running 3 at a time. Usually one for extra fat reverb and the other two for polys.
With minimum feedback (just one repetition), you can also play some of jonny greenwood’s riffs in The Smile, like Thin Thing, or even Radiohead, like Present Tense (as he plays it live)
As in intermediate player of 20 years I cannot tell you how USEFUL and awesome these pieces of advice are brother! You rock! The mantra is something I`ve been doing for a few months now and idk how, but that stuff works at a very subconscious level psychologically. The story visualization is also another which has changed the game for me. Keep up the awesome content fellow rockstar! Much love from Bangladesh
I think playing with confidence and conviction is one of the best tips. I was just thinking about that yesterday. There is an audible difference between confident playing and uncertain, timid playing.
Your emotional/psychological advice is by far the highlight of this…and all your material in general. I’ve been a private, (and occasional class), guitar teacher for 20+ years. Thank you for helping guitarists elevate themselves as people. It’s so needed, and actually what led me to other instruments. 😅 I’m still a guitarist, at the core. 🤓🎸
I’ve been doing that pick slanting thing since I was about 18! I’m still slow af though… I don’t know who you were going for, but your fingerstyle is like slide without the shrill highs. Pretty wild. Gonna try the record two solos thing as soon as this video is done... OMG! Breathing! Back in college I took History of Jazz and it was taught by John Earl, the jazz drummer John Earl. He said to play like your instrument is your voice, breathe with your playing, like a Trumpet or Sax. It humanizes it. Great ep, Sammy!
Watch Hendrix, he sings along to his solos all the time; I always thought this was why his solos sound like the guitar itself is singing; the fusion between his singing of, and playing, his solos is why his solos speak to us, because they are as expressive as the human voice.
Amazing video!!!!!! This was extremely helpful. I am a gigging musician for the last 15 years but I would rate my guitar skill as intermediate. This did in fact help me sound better immediately
I find that singing along with my playing helps me get better at being able to play what I hear. But to really stop “playing by finger”, I like to record some scratch solos only singing. Then go back to the guitar and incorporate some of those ideas.
The delay pedal trick is the best! "Echo Song" by Paul Gilbert is one I suggest everyone try. There's videos by him where he breaks it down and once you get the time right and play it, it's one those OMG moments. It made me feel like I knew something lol.
my guitar hack/pro tip is: put your amp to ear level so you hear the real sound coming out of the amp when adjusting your tone, or just sit on the floor so the speaker is pointing to your ears. high frequency waves are very directional so all that harmonic richness gets lost if it doesnt reach your ears. you dont hear with your ankles, do you?
if i do that ill probably get ear damage considering my practice amp is a 4x12, i usually sit as far away as possible, but i do record my playimg at times to get a sense of my real sound
Band members not listening to each other was one of my absolute biggest pet peeves when recording bands. I recorded a band live off the floor and each guitar player was just doing their own thing and didn't seem to be remotely aware or considerate of what the other was doing. What a fucking nightmare.
yeah - very similar to kids posting on FB or IG or texting but rarely replying completely. A one-way generation. We were given two ears and only one mouth for a reason and we are meant to use them in that proportion.
I don't think anyone's gotten 3, he's less known and also pretty hard to imitate so I don't know that I did a great job. But John Scofield is who I was going for
The 3 note to a string is solved my following to the next string with a down, so dud on the 4th to dud on the 3rd. This is instead of dud/udu. Much more efficient, and speed players have done it for decades.
Theory of learning that the brain feels frustration at getting something wrong, then is able to form new synapses to get it right. Works both with the frustration of not getting music right and the frustration of not getting your painting right. The essential elements are the frustration, time, and trying again. Your brain will do the rest.
I sometimes duel myself. I'll play something on the bridge pickup, and then pretend I'm another guitarist trying to replicate what I just heard, using the neck pickup. Also, switching guitars helps when you're stuck in a rut playing the same things over and over. If I'm playing my Ibanez Jem Jr., I'm always doing something heavy. If I switch to a Les Paul, I end up playing more melodic rhythm stuff.
Love the idea of musical storytelling. I remember once being advised to learn a simple poem (or piece of Shakespeare) and go through this in your head with each syllable as a note from your solo, pausing your playing as the poem pauses…if that makes sense.
You wouldn't believe how many times my cousin and I fought over the volume level of our amps. I can't believe I never looked for a DB meter on the freaking appstore. He kept on turning his amp's volume up every 2 songs (sometimes in the middle of a song) so I had to mess with my settings every 2 songs too because now my distortion pedal was too low, my cleans were nowhere to be heard, and by the time I was done with my settings I was being buried by his amp's loudness again. He kept me overplaying, strumming harder and harder in order to hear myself a little in the mix. Now that he's given up on the band I could not believe how easy is for me to be relaxed while playing when I'm not fighting against someone else's volume.
I always tilt my amp 45 degrees, the sound is directed towards my face and ears, not my legs, so I can hear what I'm playing and the sound is much better
I think all guitar players hold their breath at some point. I haven't met a guitarist who hasn't. I catch myself doing it from time to time. It's kinda funny because I'm completely unaware that I'm doing it until, out of nowhere, I take a HUGE DEEP breath.
I'm all about the leaving more space thing! Fun exercise, record or loop yourself soloing but intentionally leave space, maybe even a little more than you're comfortable with. Listen back and note how short the space really was to how long it felt leaving it while playing. Edit: Ha! typed the comment before the rest of the segment--nailed it.
Never ceases to amazes me how much faster that space sounds back live. At times I wish I could access the ‘college guitarist’ in me. Back when I only used the Pentatonic Scale and crushed that wah. I got into trouble the day I learned triplet runs…then got into country. 😞 Should’ve just stuck with Frusciante.
Can you make a video, a short even, going over your affirmation “conviction is worth more than the occasional mistake”? I’d love to hear why that is yours and what it means to you
Singing along actually made guitar way more interesting to me. Previously strumming the same old chords felt lame and boring. But then, once you got a little tune to hum along, and then even some words/lyrics, those lame chords finally find their purpose. I'm not a great singer, and I wont be anywhere near all the rockstars, but it made everything so much more fun. Suddenly I saw myself strumming the simplest of chords and having a ton of fun just because I brought myself to sing to it. I'm sure my neighboors hate me, but they just dont have taste imo
RE: Leaving space... Coltrane to Davis: "Once I get going, I just go and I don't know how to stop." Davis to Coltrane: "You take your horn outcha mouth." Few know about leaving space like Miles Davis.
0:55 Thats gotta be the most beautifull les paul I've ever seen. I want it. Please tell me this is a model you can still buy somewhere. I need to know what this model is called!
My (old) style was based off the limitations of my equipment. I played with NO open space for the same reason Johnny Ramone did, if you stop the guitar will feed back and kill everyone. 🤟🧙♂️🤟
Okay I’m in a predicament. I have to be in the office tomorrow at 08 for recruiting assistance with the marines in dress blues. It’s now 0426 and I didn’t realize I had watched so many RUclips shorts. I’m leaving the house at 0645. Should I stay up and just push with caffeine or should I risk going into deep sleep and blowing through all my alarms?
This video may as well be called "Guitar Hacks To Instantly Sound Better" because that's what this video was. Now I'm Even more technically capable than Joe Satriani. Samurai guitarist is like the secret weapon to music. 10/10
I’ve also learned over the years to “sell it” to the audience… that means moving, banging your head, make occasional eye contact to share a moment, maybe even strike a pose or two… your face should show the pain you feel trying to pour every last ounce of your skill into that note/riff/run… if you don’t look like you’re having a great time, your audience probably won’t be that into it either. I’d rather embarrass myself by going overboard and enjoy myself rather than stand like a zombie vulture staring at my fretboard… unless that’s your schtick (shoegazers! 😉)
I slowed it down to .25 to watch your wrist... if I'm seeing it, it sure is subtle. Barely there at all. But it's drop dead hilarious listening to you explain it drunk. 😂
Last chance to save 50% off my new course Elevated Open Chords here: samuraiguitartheory.com/p/elevated-open-chords?coupon_code=LASTCHANCE&product_id=5063529
Hiiii Sammy G!
also no i will NEVER pay attention to my breathing, i have ADD i *CANT PAY ATTENTION TO ANYTHIIIING* >:D
First person you were trying to sound like was SRV? Second, maybe Jeff Beck? Third I feel confident was BB King.
@@jamesdykes517 First one i would have said Derek Trucks
@@theotenaguillo7671 ok. See I was hoping this would spark a speculative discussion and then maybe the Zen master would enlighten us. Alas, these are the dreams of a naive fool... But thanks for getting it started!
Dude, the "try pretending to be someone else" is bulletproof; I started doing that a few years ago and it REALLY helped me diversify my approach to serving a song with more 'appropriate' styles of solo.
This guy is the most helpful obscure guitar tip guy. His lessons must be amazing!
Not so obscure. 🙂 With over a million subscribers.
I've never seen a second person humble brag before
@@ВячеславЧех-ь7е I think they meant the tips were obscure, not Steve.
Wait. His name is Steve? I thought it was Sam
He uses the circle of fourths, not fifths, cause, you know, metric system.
About the singing along ( 8:47 ) hack, what really changed my mindset when I changed from "singing what I'm playing" to "playing what I'm singing", we are much more musical when our technical instrument barriers aren't there, soo when your shapes and scales aren't muscle memory, you'll see that this change will make the solos much more interesting and musical.
A guitar player in Nashville showed me the dotted eighth trick back about 1972. It’s still cool today. Singing along with you’re playing aka “scat singing” or “scatting” makes people think you really know what you’re doing. George Benson used it well in “On Broadway”. The db meter trick is a new one on me. Great idea.
The green top on that LP is gorgeous
The dotted eight note delay trick... aka the Edge from U2's most famous signature sound
Lead me to get an Echo-Plex (tape delay) and some various analog/digital delay pedals and running 3 at a time. Usually one for extra fat reverb and the other two for polys.
Rob Scallon also used this trick in ‘Rain’.
With minimum feedback (just one repetition), you can also play some of jonny greenwood’s riffs in The Smile, like Thin Thing, or even Radiohead, like Present Tense (as he plays it live)
i think about Rob Scallon's "Rain"
Mike Einziger of Incubus uses it a lot too.
The Edge even has his own signature delay pedal though!
As in intermediate player of 20 years I cannot tell you how USEFUL and awesome these pieces of advice are brother! You rock! The mantra is something I`ve been doing for a few months now and idk how, but that stuff works at a very subconscious level psychologically. The story visualization is also another which has changed the game for me. Keep up the awesome content fellow rockstar! Much love from Bangladesh
I think playing with confidence and conviction is one of the best tips. I was just thinking about that yesterday. There is an audible difference between confident playing and uncertain, timid playing.
Your emotional/psychological advice is by far the highlight of this…and all your material in general. I’ve been a private, (and occasional class), guitar teacher for 20+ years.
Thank you for helping guitarists elevate themselves as people. It’s so needed, and actually what led me to other instruments. 😅
I’m still a guitarist, at the core. 🤓🎸
the impressions:
1.) john mayer
2.) SRV
3.) bb king or clapton
I thought 1) was BB King then I heard 3) and didn't know who was who. 2) is also SRV to my ears
Number 1 gotta be Derek Trucks
@@planej6315 without a slide?
I was thinking #1 was Chris Buck
Yes, like Derek Trucks if he played without a slide. The phrasing was spot on@@trevorclark7985
I’ve been doing that pick slanting thing since I was about 18! I’m still slow af though…
I don’t know who you were going for, but your fingerstyle is like slide without the shrill highs. Pretty wild.
Gonna try the record two solos thing as soon as this video is done...
OMG! Breathing! Back in college I took History of Jazz and it was taught by John Earl, the jazz drummer John Earl. He said to play like your instrument is your voice, breathe with your playing, like a Trumpet or Sax. It humanizes it.
Great ep, Sammy!
Watch Hendrix, he sings along to his solos all the time; I always thought this was why his solos sound like the guitar itself is singing; the fusion between his singing of, and playing, his solos is why his solos speak to us, because they are as expressive as the human voice.
Amazing video!!!!!! This was extremely helpful. I am a gigging musician for the last 15 years but I would rate my guitar skill as intermediate. This did in fact help me sound better immediately
I find that singing along with my playing helps me get better at being able to play what I hear. But to really stop “playing by finger”, I like to record some scratch solos only singing. Then go back to the guitar and incorporate some of those ideas.
You do these videos like no one else on here - great content!
The delay pedal trick is the best! "Echo Song" by Paul Gilbert is one I suggest everyone try. There's videos by him where he breaks it down and once you get the time right and play it, it's one those OMG moments. It made me feel like I knew something lol.
my guitar hack/pro tip is: put your amp to ear level so you hear the real sound coming out of the amp when adjusting your tone, or just sit on the floor so the speaker is pointing to your ears. high frequency waves are very directional so all that harmonic richness gets lost if it doesnt reach your ears. you dont hear with your ankles, do you?
And if you have a full cab, does it matter then? Or only pay attention to the top amp?
But my ears are really on my ankles 😢
This is especially true if you need to play quiet for someone reason. I keep my practice amp on an amp stand. Helps tremendously.
if i do that ill probably get ear damage considering my practice amp is a 4x12, i usually sit as far away as possible, but i do record my playimg at times to get a sense of my real sound
My positive mantra, when I often feel anxious about walking into a venue to play a show: "What would Omar (Rodriguez Lopez) do?"
*starts dancing uncontrollably*
Band members not listening to each other was one of my absolute biggest pet peeves when recording bands. I recorded a band live off the floor and each guitar player was just doing their own thing and didn't seem to be remotely aware or considerate of what the other was doing. What a fucking nightmare.
I'm having that one friend... ow it can be very exhausting sometimes
yeah - very similar to kids posting on FB or IG or texting but rarely replying completely. A one-way generation. We were given two ears and only one mouth for a reason and we are meant to use them in that proportion.
Thanks! Always enjoy these tips videos 😊
4:15 - Angling your wrist so the motion of the stroke… 😂
The getting up and moving thing works.
Freaking weird.
Works on puzzles too.
every one of these is gold.
Does this work with a jellifish pick?
The 20+ pedal pedalboard is making me ridiculously happy, and it doesn't even matter what they are. Go big.
My Guesses:
1) Derek trucks
2) SRV
3) ??
Don't know the 3rd either...
Maybe it's a country guy like chet atkins or brad paisley? @@miguelhenriques3308
I don't think anyone's gotten 3, he's less known and also pretty hard to imitate so I don't know that I did a great job. But John Scofield is who I was going for
@@samuraiguitaristHa! It was just as interesting as the others. Got it! Gonna listen from him...
Thanks in advance for the John Scofield rabbit hole I'm about to go down @@samuraiguitarist
The 3 note to a string is solved my following to the next string with a down, so dud on the 4th to dud on the 3rd. This is instead of dud/udu. Much more efficient, and speed players have done it for decades.
I think Justin Sandercoe also tries to explain pick slanting, but your explanation seemed better. I got the idea straight away.
0:20 This is something that I know to be true for art, when you think the piece looks crap, walk away from it, come back with fresh eyes.
Theory of learning that the brain feels frustration at getting something wrong, then is able to form new synapses to get it right. Works both with the frustration of not getting music right and the frustration of not getting your painting right. The essential elements are the frustration, time, and trying again. Your brain will do the rest.
Thank you sensei ❤ Truly the best advice I've heard on YT and I have listened to a lot of guitar teachers. Keep up the good work dude
@tel247 um what
I sometimes duel myself. I'll play something on the bridge pickup, and then pretend I'm another guitarist trying to replicate what I just heard, using the neck pickup. Also, switching guitars helps when you're stuck in a rut playing the same things over and over. If I'm playing my Ibanez Jem Jr., I'm always doing something heavy. If I switch to a Les Paul, I end up playing more melodic rhythm stuff.
Singing while playing solo is a great way to improve improvising and just know the notes you feel to play. Must have hack
Love the idea of musical storytelling.
I remember once being advised to learn a simple poem (or piece of Shakespeare) and go through this in your head with each syllable as a note from your solo, pausing your playing as the poem pauses…if that makes sense.
You wouldn't believe how many times my cousin and I fought over the volume level of our amps. I can't believe I never looked for a DB meter on the freaking appstore. He kept on turning his amp's volume up every 2 songs (sometimes in the middle of a song) so I had to mess with my settings every 2 songs too because now my distortion pedal was too low, my cleans were nowhere to be heard, and by the time I was done with my settings I was being buried by his amp's loudness again. He kept me overplaying, strumming harder and harder in order to hear myself a little in the mix. Now that he's given up on the band I could not believe how easy is for me to be relaxed while playing when I'm not fighting against someone else's volume.
I always tilt my amp 45 degrees, the sound is directed towards my face and ears, not my legs, so I can hear what I'm playing and the sound is much better
Good advice here!
I think all guitar players hold their breath at some point. I haven't met a guitarist who hasn't. I catch myself doing it from time to time. It's kinda funny because I'm completely unaware that I'm doing it until, out of nowhere, I take a HUGE DEEP breath.
I'm all about the leaving more space thing! Fun exercise, record or loop yourself soloing but intentionally leave space, maybe even a little more than you're comfortable with. Listen back and note how short the space really was to how long it felt leaving it while playing.
Edit: Ha! typed the comment before the rest of the segment--nailed it.
Never ceases to amazes me how much faster that space sounds back live. At times I wish I could access the ‘college guitarist’ in me.
Back when I only used the Pentatonic Scale and crushed that wah.
I got into trouble the day I learned triplet runs…then got into country. 😞 Should’ve just stuck with Frusciante.
The first "someone else" was DEFINITELY Chris Buck. It has to be him. Love him too
I could drop my guitar on my foot and instantly sound better than when I try to play the bloomin’ thing!
So many great tips, thank you!!
Only found you channel last week and I really like it.
These are some great tips, will definitely implement the space and sing-along solos. Thanks for the video!
I'm so waiting for a Christmas bundle of all 5 courses 🤞, hope my saturnalia miracle come true 🌲
Decibel reader… brilliant!!
Very cool chanel. Subscribed from Canada 🇨🇦
Ok, like directly on no.1. Soooo true..
I have a pedal called the weapon! My buddy gave it to me! And basically transformed me over night!
Sammy my man, did you get a new Les Paul? Never seen you play this one before. I love that color man!
Mike Einziger of Incubus uses that delay trick a lot
I always played with pick slanting because when I began learning guitar I was big into thrash and speed metal like slayer and what not.
God I wish that was real lol
You are a clever and smart dude.
Can you make a video, a short even, going over your affirmation “conviction is worth more than the occasional mistake”? I’d love to hear why that is yours and what it means to you
I placed a decibel meter on my pedal board a few years ago, it really helps.
These are magic! Part 2 Please!
Your first impression was Derek Trucks, and the second was Steve Ray Vaughn
The motion of your stroke is very important........when it comes to pick slanting that is
Nice, I think this is my favorite vid from you so far😊
Great tips, thank you.
Hey! I'd love to see you talking about the circle of fifths and chord progressions! I feel I would finally understand it! 😂
Great tips!
The intro was, exactly, down to the wording what i thought when i saw the video
1. derek trucks
2. srv.. mayer?
3. john scotfield?
I think you were the only one who got all three!
I think leveling all your pedals will be very revealing as to whether they actually sound good or if they're just louder.
Can you do more bass videos
Singing along actually made guitar way more interesting to me. Previously strumming the same old chords felt lame and boring. But then, once you got a little tune to hum along, and then even some words/lyrics, those lame chords finally find their purpose. I'm not a great singer, and I wont be anywhere near all the rockstars, but it made everything so much more fun. Suddenly I saw myself strumming the simplest of chords and having a ton of fun just because I brought myself to sing to it. I'm sure my neighboors hate me, but they just dont have taste imo
6:32 ooooh, go for it go for it
RE: Leaving space... Coltrane to Davis: "Once I get going, I just go and I don't know how to stop." Davis to Coltrane: "You take your horn outcha mouth." Few know about leaving space like Miles Davis.
1:08 ahh the good ol Edge hack
0:55 Thats gotta be the most beautifull les paul I've ever seen. I want it. Please tell me this is a model you can still buy somewhere. I need to know what this model is called!
Room humidity and placement of your speaker/amp, is the most important last step that most people don't do.
that green paul got me feelin things
My (old) style was based off the limitations of my equipment.
I played with NO open space for the same reason Johnny Ramone did, if you stop the guitar will feed back and kill everyone.
🤟🧙♂️🤟
Okay I’m in a predicament. I have to be in the office tomorrow at 08 for recruiting assistance with the marines in dress blues. It’s now 0426 and I didn’t realize I had watched so many RUclips shorts. I’m leaving the house at 0645. Should I stay up and just push with caffeine or should I risk going into deep sleep and blowing through all my alarms?
Was solo #1 Chris Buck!? 🤩
#2 SRV
#3 No clue…
I think #1 was Derek Trucks
That's a particularly gorgeous Les Paul ... you don't see many of them in green!
Gotta ask, love the green les paul where can you get a green gold top?
This video may as well be called "Guitar Hacks To Instantly Sound Better" because that's what this video was. Now I'm Even more technically capable than Joe Satriani. Samurai guitarist is like the secret weapon to music. 10/10
For 1) I thought of Allman because of the slide moves you were emulating. Agree with the others on SRV for 2). 3) don’t know.
I’ve also learned over the years to “sell it” to the audience… that means moving, banging your head, make occasional eye contact to share a moment, maybe even strike a pose or two… your face should show the pain you feel trying to pour every last ounce of your skill into that note/riff/run… if you don’t look like you’re having a great time, your audience probably won’t be that into it either. I’d rather embarrass myself by going overboard and enjoy myself rather than stand like a zombie vulture staring at my fretboard… unless that’s your schtick (shoegazers! 😉)
I slowed it down to .25 to watch your wrist... if I'm seeing it, it sure is subtle. Barely there at all. But it's drop dead hilarious listening to you explain it drunk. 😂
Very helpful, and very useful. Thanks!
Man I wish I had internet access at home as a kid. It took me years to figure out the pick slant trick
Truth.
1. Derek Trucks
2. SRV
3. ??
John Mayer, SRV, Keith Richards
Sammy!!!!! Love the channel!!! 🤘🎸🤘
Can you still palm mute when you slant the pick both ways? When your palm is older and wrinklier.
Great tips Sammy G. Maybe some more detail on some of these?..
@1:22 dog of wisdom
Some great ideas.
You know you are a pedal head if you use decibel meter app , but that is great advice
Pretty sure it was Chris Buck, John Mayer, then… not sure. Great insights though!
I aspire to get to a soloing rut
I too, have a mantra. ''Stop torturing yourself.'' ''You'll never afford it!" ''Live in the now!". 😂
5:00 I'm guessing Derek Trucks, Carlos Santana and Scofield. Or would that just be a few of my preferences?
Love your videos dude. A question though: are there any decent apps for guitar on windows or android (other than guitar tuna)?
Guitarists mimicked: Derek Trucks , John Mayer, Keith Richards
Green les paul 🥰🤩
We need SamuraiJenny vocals