All my guitar-focused resources & lesson articles: covering familiar ground as well as global topics (plus Spinal Tap…)
Lesson Articles | Altered Tunings | Online Tuition
Above all, I aim to enthuse fellow musical searchers, connecting new sounds and textures to the human voices, cultures, and passions behind them. I cover topics loosely related to raga, jazz, and global improvisation, drawing on my study of guitar, tabla, sitar, and santoor in India and the UK.
• Join my PATREON! •
In the past few years I’ve written for Darbar, The Wire, Jazzwise, Jazzed, MusicRadar, and Guitar World, on subjects spanning Coltrane and Hendrix to microtonal guitar tunings and West African polyrhythms. I also teach guitar & global music (hit me up for Lessons). Here’s a list of nearly everything so far…
• Lessons & Articles •
Assorted lesson articles: fresh perspectives via global ideas, and reappraising some familiar fretboard topics along the way…
- West African rhythm: Saharan kora harps & Ewe polyrhythms
- Golden-age hip-hop: arranging classic loops for the guitar
- Short jazzy loops: concise, self-contained chord sequences
- One-chord songs: from rock and blues to folk and orchestral
- Guitarless learning: practicing without an instrument around
- Jazz walking bass: capturing melody, harmony, and swing
- Zero-th fret awareness: incorporating open string tones
- Odd-time songwriting: building groove and a versatile ‘feel’
- Alankar ‘decoration’: India’s incredible melodic ornaments
- North Indian basics: two raga snapshots, and the tintal cycle
- Spinal Tap – up to 11: their ‘hidden’ roots in jazz, Bach, & raga
- Percussive acoustic guitar: techniques & animal rhythms
- Creative wah pedal use: vowels, circuitry, & classic Hendrix
- The ‘fretless fretboard’: using nothing but natural harmonics
- Flamen-konnakol rumba: Spanish-Carnatic translations
- Prasanna’s Hansadhwani: Transcribing Carnatic guitar
- Shakti’s ‘Remainder Bar’ rhythms: odd-time groove tricks
- Jazz chord formulas: all the important interval structures
GUITAR LESSONS: SAMPLER
—Jazz walking basslines for the guitar: how to really make them groove [Guitar World]
“There are few things in music more satisfying than a perfect walking bassline. In this lesson we explore the sounds of classic jazz walking bass, learning how to adapt the ideas to the fretboard and use them for new harmonic-melodic inspiration.”
- Ornamented walking line in Am:
—West African grooves: fascinating rhythms from Mali, Ghana, and beyond [Guitar World]
“This lesson gives a rhythmic taste of two extraordinary traditions from West Africa – the kora harp playing of Mali’s jali lineage, and Ghana’s polyrhythmic Ewe drumming….We will also explore some of the human lives, routines, and beliefs behind them. Cross-cultural borrowing must always come from a place of open-minded respect, and musical ideas will only yield their full blossom when connected to their real-world contexts.”
- Reworking melodic ideas from the kora harp:
—Awareness of the zeroth fret: incorporating open string textures, chords, and scales [Guitar World]
“When soloing higher up the neck, the open strings tend to get forgotten. We rarely ‘look the other way’, missing out on a fascinating array of musical opportunities…This lesson will build your open-string awareness, allowing for new textures, patterns, and chord voicings.”
- ‘Harpifying’ a lick in A Dorian with open string tones:
—Odd-time songwriting grooves: five fresh rhythms based on classic tracks [MusicRadar]
“Basic counting isn’t the problem. Master percussionists are never really doing this anyway – rhythmic flow must be intuitive…It’s more about exposure than anything else. Bulgarian wedding guests have no problem dancing in 11/8 – it’s easy if you’ve grown up doing it. If you listen to enough irregular grooves then they’ll sink in.”
- Radiohead-style chordal movement in 10/4:
—Basics of Hindustani raga: adapting some North Indian classical ideas to the fretboard [MusicRadar]
“What are the basics of Hindustani music? I think these are the most important first concepts for Western instrumentalists: raga (a melodic ‘recipe’ to guide improvisation towards particular moods), tala (‘clap’, or rhythm cycle), and alankar (ornamentation and ‘musical decoration’).”
- Short ‘gat’ melody in Raag Bageshri:
A few general learning principles:
- Listen to lots of different music: feed the brain with good sounds
- Train the ear: this gives you the ‘toolbox’ to teach yourself any style
- ‘Sing inside’ as you play: music is about emotions, not finger muscles
- Experiment freely: constantly create your own patterns & variations
- Enjoy it! Find fun in improvement…then mastery is no struggle
EADGBE tuning tones:
George Howlett is a London-based musician and writer. I play guitar, tabla, sitar, & santoor, focusing on raga, jazz, and global improvisation. Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, connecting fresh vibrations to the human voices, cultures, and passions behind them.
• Join my PATREON! •
Recently I’ve worked long-term for Darbar, Guitar World, and Ragatip, and published research into tuning and Coltrane’s raga notes. I’ve written for Jazzwise, JazzFM, and The Wire, and also record, perform, and teach in local schools. Site menu above, follow below, & get in touch here!
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