I hope you’ve enjoyed the issue so far: 50 Rock Licks, an exclusive Nile Rodgers interview and lesson, The Beatles fingerpicking styles and a lovely rendition of Verdi’s Hebrew Slaves Chorus from Nabucco. Talk about eclectic and wide ranging! The fun doesn’t stop there though, as long as you’ve the stamina and curiosity to continue. We kick off with 30-Minute Lickbag - short and sweet ‘in the style of’ features like this are always popular with readers keen on sourcing new riffs and licks. Onto Blues where we bring you two solos demonstrating the trademarks of great players from the past 50 years; it’s a treasure trove of fantastic phrases -check out Joe Walsh this month, whose blues-rock soloing goes far beyond The Eagles. Rock is next and the focus is on 70s-era Wishbone Ash where twin-guitar arrangements and melodic phrasing formed a major part of their appeal.
‘Guitar techniques’ are of course a focus point for all of our articles, and Chris Brooks’ Rock Legato series will prove involving for anyone who wants to play quicker and more smoothly. Moving to the 90s we then look at Suede, with a great piece that encapsulates many of the stylistic trademarks of guitarists Bernard Butler and Richard Oakes. Rounding things off are two great articles: Shaun’s long-running Creative Rock sees country-rock stylings, Mixolydian key centres, chromaticism and intervallic jumps combine for an involving and intense study piece. Then a short taster of the joys of chord tapping with Charlie Griffiths - think Satch’s Midnight, or Day At The Beach - brings the issue to a close. Keep well, keep active and keep woodshedding. See you next month!