On our season two finale, the country legend details his lead-guitar tricks on one of his biggest hits.
Get out the Kleenex, hankies, or whatever you use to wipe away your tears: It’s the last episode of this season of Shred With Shifty, a media event more consequential and profound than the finales of White Lotus and Severance combined. But there’ll be some tears of joy, too, because on this season two closer, Chris Shiflett talks with one of country music’s greatest players: Vince Gill.
Gill’s illustrious solo career speaks for itself, and he’s played with everyone from Reba McEntire and Patty Loveless to Ricky Skaggs and Dolly Parton. He even replaced Glenn Frey in the Eagles after Frey’s death in 2017. His singing prowess is matched by his grace and precision on the fretboard, skills which are on display on the melodic solo for “One More Last Chance.” He used the same blackguard 1953 Fender Telecaster that you see in this interview to record the lead, although he might not play the solo the exact way he did back in 1992.
Tune in to learn how Gill dialed his clean tone with a tip from Roy Nichols, why he loves early blackguard Telecasters and doesn’t love shredders, and why you never want to be the best player during a studio session.
If you’re able to help, here are some charities aimed at assisting musicians affected by the fires in L.A:
https://guitarcenterfoundation.org
https://www.cciarts.org/relief.html
https://www.musiciansfoundation.org
https://fireaidla.org
https://www.musicares.org
https://www.sweetrelief.org
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
Grez Guitars has introduced the Grez GrandTour Bass, a short scale semi-hollow carve-top instrument available in 4-string format.
The Grez Grand Tour Bass, designed in collaboration with bass powerhouse Ian MartinAllison is, like all Grez instruments, a modern sleek interpretation of the classic instruments from the 50’s and 60’s.
The instruments feature a carved Spruce top, Honduran Mahogany body and neck. The 30" scale construction includes a Macassar ebony fretboard, 12” radius with 21 jumbofrets. Each bass comes equipped with a Halon bridge, Grez string anchor and LaBellaDeep Talkin’ long scale 45-105 flatwound strings. Electronics include Curtis Novak Bisonic/Darkstar pickups with coil tap.
The Grand Tour bass features a nitro finish and is available in a variety of colors(pictured here in custom Toasted Marshmallow).
Grez Grand Tour Bass with Ian Martin Allison
Barry Grzebik explains: “I love process of design instruments, marrying acoustical,electrical, visual and ergonomic engineering with industrial and artistic design. In this case creating something that artfully balances the desire for a robust acoustic voice with the need to hold up to professional touring and stadium stage volumes. One small notable detail is that although this is a short scale instrument, because of the after-length of string past the bridge, it uses standard long scale strings which dramatically increases sting options and availability.”
Ian Marin Allison shares, “I’m inspired by the unique character of vintage hollow andsemi-hollow basses, but they don’t always live up to our modern expectation of stability, playability, versatility and QUALITY. I’m proud to have helped create something that does”.
The Grez Grand Tour Bass, is available now from Grez Guitars and their dealers with astreet price starting at $5,999. Light customization is welcome with delivery times aslittle as 8 weeks.
Think triads are boring? Try a few of these improv ideas.
Intermediate
Intermediate
• Build intriguing lines that outline the changes.
• Use 16th-notes to create syncopated subdivisions.
• Combine odd groupings to heighten rhythmic interest.
Let’s take a look at building cool lines using root-position diatonic triads taken from the major scale. What is a triad? A triad is built by stacking three alternating notes from a scale. For example, if we take a G major scale (G–A–B–C–D–E–F#) and build a triad on the root by skipping every other note we get G–B–D, a major triad. Another way to think of this is to stack a minor third (B–D) on top of a major third (G–B). If we extend this process throughout the scale, we end up with the following triads: G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, and F#°.
Because all these chords are diatonic to a single key, we can use them to create some interesting lines. Many rock and fusion guitarists who are inspired by saxophone players use this approach in their improvisations. Larry Carlton, Frank Gambale, and Steve Lukather are just a few of the notable 6-stringers who incorporate this approach into their phrasing.
When beginning to build lines with triads, many guitarists find that it can feel a bit dry and uninspiring. It’s not the most classically “guitaristic” way of approaching the instrument, but it can lead to some incredibly melodic playing and faster lines that really pique the listener’s ear. In this lesson, we’ll explore ways to practice our scales to get more comfortable with triads. I’ll also demonstrate techniques for building lines and then conclude with an improvised solo for you to check out.
The first six examples use notes from the G major scale. However, they’re played over an Am7 chord to give us an A Dorian (A–B–C–D–E–F#–G) flavor. In each audio example, the line is played up to speed and then at half the subdivision speed, so you can practice along. Take these ideas through each position of the major scale, both ascending and descending.
In Ex. 1, I’m playing diatonic triads up the scale in eighth-note triplets. You can use any articulation you wish (picking, legato, or hybrid picking). The goal isn’t to attain speed, but a sense of musicality when playing through these examples.
Ex. 1
For Ex. 2, we’re playing the triads “backwards,” starting on the top note of each root position triad and descending with triplets.
Ex. 2
Ex. 3 showcases the classic zig-zag technique often used by saxophone players. Here, we ascend the first triad and then descend through the next triad. This sequence continues through the example. As an extra bit of practice, try starting with a descending triad into an ascending one at the start of the exercise.
Ex. 3
Now let’s look at how to make these patterns sound compelling. Ex. 4 showcases the use of straight 16th-notes, where each triad is played in groups of four. This way we can get more out of each triad before moving to the next one.
Ex. 4
In the next lick (Ex. 5), we take our 16th-notes and create some odd groupings. The five-note pattern is to ascend two notes in one triad and then ascend three notes of the next triad. By playing a five-note pattern in groups of four, we give the line a syncopated, rising feel.
Ex. 5
We’re sticking with a five-note pattern for Ex. 6, but this time we are using a 1–3–5–1–3 pattern on each triad before moving on.
Ex. 6
Now that we’ve tackled some exercises to help get our fingers wrapped around the triads, let’s put these ideas into a more musical context. Ex. 7 is an eight-measure solo in the key of B minor. I won’t break it down note-for-note, but I encourage you to analyze it and pick out the triads I used. As a bonus, I’ve included the backing track I played over, so you can develop your own melodic phrases based on these techniques. Dive in!