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Speed Soloing Off the 7 Modes and 2 Strings Lesson
2007-12-10 21:45:00
Here's another video for you ATOMIC fans. A lot better picture quality. Let me know if you have trouble with this lesson since there are no tabs. I slowed down the sequence a lot so you can slowly see everything I'm playing. My only concern is for those of you who don't already know your 7 Modes of your Major Scale.
More About: Speed , Lesson , Strings , Odes

3-Note-Per-String Pentatonic Speed Riff Lesson
2007-12-10 04:46:00
Check out this 3-note-per-string Pentatonic speed riff in Em, ATOMIC fans. Make sure to warm up properly before attempting to play this one, especially if you'll be playing it in the lower register. You might be able to pull it off from the 5th position, but be aware that you could be injured. So play at your own risk. By the way, I play this all legato, all hammer-ons and pull-offs. No, I'm not Paul Gilbert or anything. He's awesome, but I'm too lazy to play like him... To tell you the truth, come to think of it, this is actually something along the lines that gilbert would play as legato. He'll shred it if he wants to give you a concussion. Also BTW, better lighting to come... I'll get better at this guitar vlogging thing.
More About: Note , Speed , Lesson , String , Riff

Ripping Myself Off Guitar Jam
2007-11-29 22:14:00
Hey ATOMIC fans, I took some musical ideas from some of my other recordings and put them all in this one. Enjoy! Or hate... Play MP3
More About: Guitar

Rock Music Blogs Discovery Project
2007-11-26 23:02:00
What is it? The Rock Music Blogs Discovery Project is for linking together the Rock blogosphere for 1) discovery of Rock blogs, and 2) "link lovin'." This is how it works: Take this pile of links and add yours to it, along with any other great Rock blogs you know of (Rock guitar, drum, bass, vocal blogs o.k.). Paste the links into a new post explaining what the Rock Music Blogs Discovery Project is. Other Rock blogs will link to yours and you'll discover all kinds of awesome music blogs to read/network with. Modern Music | Metal Music Video Blog | Rolling Stone Rock Daily | Midwestern Housewives | The Soul of Rock and Roll | Jim Dubh on Music | EtherBomb | Soul Drift Music Blog | Debaser | Beatle Blog | Real Rock News | Online Music Blog | Guitar Noize | IG Blog | Strat-O-Blogster | Guitar MX | Mad Stratter | Guitarz | Guitritus | Musician's Notebook | GuitarToyBox | ATOMIC Guitarist Easy Copy and Paste: <a href="http://www.themodernmusic.com/"> Modern Music</a> | ...

2007 New Rock Radio was So Uninspiring
2007-11-26 21:24:00
Haven't done this in a while, ATOMIC fans. It's time to lay down the law with a post thrashing and bashing bands. This time 2007 New Rock radio bands might want to take cover. How much of popular New Rock was inspiring looking back on this year? A few that come to mind that did make we want to groove or jam on my guitar were Modest Mouse, the White Stripes, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, the Bravery, Jet, and I actually like that new Silversun Pickups group. Any good ones to add? I know I'm leaving out some others. Some of the uninspiring groups on the radio in 2007 (along with my ruthless cutdowns) were: Jimmy Eat World: Weezer wannabees. Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: Cheesy. Incubus: Need to take a time machine back to the 60s, so an acid head might be able to tell what the lead singer's talking about. Linkin Park: ?I want to be a screaming and rapping Bono.? Three Days Grace: Just not inspiring. Flyleaf: Get some medicine. Puscifer: Post Modern Rock gone awry. Daughtry: Talent does...
More About: Radio , Opinion

Don't Try this at Home Guitar Jam
2007-11-25 00:09:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. Today I made a recording using some legato speed soloing exercises from my two free method ebooks. A guitarist should never use speed in this way throughout an entire song or jam, annoying your listeners or bandmates. That's why I'm calling this guitar jam, "Don't Try this at Home ." Play MP3
More About: Guitar

Am I picking my guitar strings too hard?
2007-11-24 00:34:00
ATOMIC fans, the first few years I played guitar I remember other guitarists telling me that I picked my strings too hard. I really used to lace into them when playing anything. For a long period of time I thought you shouldn't pick your strings hard. Then one day I was doing some research on jazz legend Joe Pass. I had heard he was the best guitarist in history, so I went to see what he was all about. Come to find out Pass would lace into his strings so hard that he had a habit of breaking his picks. And he probably used, you know, those little heavy jazz picks. He picked harder than I ever did. As a child of the 90s I didn't even know what shredding was until 18-years-old. I began studying and listening to some shredders like Malmsteen and Batio (who I can't stand today,... so shoot me). I noticed the shredders were picking their strings abnormally hard. So to answer the question, ?Am I picking my guitar strings too hard?? I think it all depends on what you're playing, ...
More About: Advice , Guitar , Hard , Strings , Tring

Happy Thanksgiving ATOMIC Fans
2007-11-23 00:57:00
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have fun playing guitar for your families and what not. Unfortunately for me I won't be seeing my family this year, having made a move out of state. I just don't have the gas money. Know what I mean? Sorry to bum you out if I did. Anyway, here's Brad Jones playing "Wild Turkey."
More About: Fans , Happy , Atomic , Hank

Guitar Pentatonic Scale Secrets
2007-11-22 02:08:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. The guitar Penta tonic Scale (well, the scale on any instrument) is known as something along the lines of the ?Father of Rock Scale? because it seems like every note you play within that scale sounds dead on, with no tension whatsoever. Although it's good to have control, it's also a blast to be reckless with the five-note scale. Perhaps what makes it even more ?magical? is that you can, for instance, play the Em, Am, and Bm Pentatonic scales all in the key of Em. There are no conflicting notes. This gives the scale a modal feel in itself without even thinking of the 5 modes. I think a good term would be ?harmonious versatility? (if I'm wanting to sound like a music professor or something). There are no secrets to guitar playing, but there are things that small percentages of musicians know. For one this includes playing fast full-neck runs with Pentatonics. A small fraction of guitarists have done this/do this. Most use diatonic seven-note scales and modes...
More About: Advice , Guitar , Secrets

Download Guitar Lessons Free
2007-11-21 22:58:00
Guitarists on the net are always looking to download guitar lessons for free. I have some great videos and media in mind that you can save right onto your computer so you can go back to them. Some I've listed you can't actually download, but you can view them for free. Here are some great downloads for beginners to advanced players. Guitar Basics (Right Click and Select ?Save Link As?) How to Tune a Guitar Finger and Thumb Position Guides and Pivots D Cadd9 G Chord Progression Scales for Beginners Barre Chords Check out this page for some great Rock guitar lesson videos. Download s For Intermediate and Advanced Guitarists (Right Click and Select ?Save Link As?) Pentatonic Speed Demon Check out the 24 free lessons at Guitar Tricks. I'll continue adding to this list over time, so you might want to bookmark it. If you have any great instructional vids to add, feel free to comment with your links.
More About: Guitar , Free , Lessons , Guitar Lessons

How to Both Practice and Enjoy Guitar
2007-11-21 02:01:00
Hi ATOMIC fans. Some of you are high schoolers, some college students, some working adults like me. If you're one of the first two (or a pro), you have plenty of opportunities throughout the day to tackle a strict practice routine. You can sustain higher levels of performance and play difficult styles like Tech Rock, Neo-classical, Classical, and complex Jazz. We have wives and kids and 8 million bills to pay. We might have an hour or two to practice and enjoy our guitars each day. We really don't have time to both practice to sustain the highest levels of performance and have fun with our instruments. So the question is... How can those of us who have the busiest lives (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) both progress our playing levels/sustain performance levels and enjoy our time with our guitars? Say you have only an hour to play guitar each day. I recommend finding balance between 1) practicing and learning new things, and 2) vibing out and recording. You should make t...
More About: Advice , Guitar , Enjoy , Practice

Guitar Blogs Discovery Project
2007-11-19 18:15:00
What is it? A project aiming to interlink the guitar blogosphere for 1) the discovery of guitar blogs and 2) a little "link lovin'." Here's how it works. (If you write a guitar blog) take all of the links on this page and add yours to it, then publish a blog entry like mine. Make sure to explain what the project is... just don't copy and paste my post or it will be marked as duplicate content. The blogs you've linked to will discover you, and readers all over the net will discover your pile of guitar blog links and your blog within. I mentioned "link lovin'''.The project will also gain you effortless one-way links all around the guitar blogosphere. Most of all, it's just cool to interlink every guitar blog. Guitar Noize | IG Blog | Strat-O-Blogs ter | Guitar MX | Mad Stratter | Guitarz | Building the Ergonomic Guitar | Guitritus | Musician's Notebook | GuitarToyBox | IGUITARGOD | Mr. Blues Guy | markmcguigan.com | Acoustic Guitar Player | iFingers Guitar Experience | Play...
More About: Discovery , Project

Pentatonic Speed Course
2007-11-19 00:39:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. I have completed yet another method ebook today, called "Penta tonic Speed Demon." The two were part of my goal this weekend, and I barely made it. You can download my newby here. What I've done is taken some exercises from my Ultimate Pentatonic Soloing Lesson and compiled them together with some new crazy speed runs. The method is fun and the exercises sound great, but I have to warn you, there's some extreme stretching involved. Techniques may cause injury, so use my method at your own risk. See ya everybody.

What is the Ultimate Guitar Chord?
2007-11-18 18:14:00
ATOMIC fans, I've decided to go into ?supply and demand mode? today and provide information on what guitarists are looking for on the web. Roughly 16,650 per month want to know what the ultimate guitar chord is. As dumb as it sounds, I want to try and give insight. Ultimate Chord s for Rock Guitar ists The ultimate guitar chord for Rock/Alternative/Metal guitarists is the perfect 5th diad, or ?Power Chord?. Power Chords consist of the root note and 5th degree on the major scale. They're by far, although simple two note chords, my favorite. Metal guitarists will tune down to drop D (DADGBE) and barre the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings using their index finger in order to play that perfect 5th. In standard tuning, you can invert Power Chords, which is also done a lot in Metal. Check out this video by Rock House on how to play Power 9 Chords and Inverted Power Chords. Ultimate Chords for Singer/Songwriters There's not one chord that is played most commonly by acoustic singer/song...

Find a Guitar MySpace Layout
2007-11-18 17:37:00
ATOMIC fans, did you know there are sites dedicated solely to providing guitar MySpace layouts? Someone doesn't have a life, but it's pretty neat if you ask me. Perfect for your personal page or ?band page? if you're a solo artist. Check it out. Ibanez Theme (I think) Gibson Guitar Layout Stratocaster Contact Table Eric Clapton MySpace Theme Find a killer theme at Guitar-MySpace-Layouts.com.
More About: Myspace

Unlock Your Guitar Speed
2007-11-18 04:14:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. I'm exhausted. Been compiling my "Key to Speed " Unlock Your Guitar Soloing Speed in 3 Days Method ebook. While creating the book I took some old lessons out, put some new ones in, and created a 3 day regiment for tripling your guitar speed (you know, if you're not already a monster player). I'll give it to you for free here. You fellow guitar bloggers who have been chatting it up at ATOMIC lately, I've been wanting to get to your sites and check out the buzz! I'm dying to, but first I must go hang with my girlfriend before she Stone Cold Stuns me (not like she could, but you get it). Talk to you fellas later. Take it easy.

Is Free Guitar Tablature Gone?
2007-11-16 04:01:00
What's goin' down ATOMIC fans? It's likely you've been wondering where all the free guitar tablature has gone. Since the early beginnings of the internet, the primitive form of music notation has been available to us. Guitar ists figure out songs by ear and write tabs, most not 100% accurate, yet good enough to figure out the rest of a song. Every day guitarists are still searching for Bob Marley, Nirvana, Metallica tabs, even Christmas song tabs. Now when you search for tabs, you likely get taken to a site with all advertisements, no actual tunes. You get the run around, sent to different sections of the site. The sites we used to love such as Fresh Tabs, AllGuitarTabs.com and GuitarTabs.com are like that now. The sad part is these sites are still up and running acting like they have guitar tabs! So we search and search for resources and end up with nothing but advertisements. I feel sorry for these website owners, but not sorry enough for them to be giving musicians the ...
More About: Free

Best Guitarist of this Era?
2007-11-16 01:16:00
Hi ATOMIC fans. I was reading the Ultimate Guitar forum today and came across a huge discussion on Who's the Best Guitarist of this Era. Check it out. I keep hearing guitarists lately say John Mayer is so great, not just at the UG forum, but all over the place. Gag me with a spoon... John Mayer is actually pretty good, but I do the opposite of vibe out when I hear it.

Liam Finn Radio Hit in 2008
2007-11-15 01:08:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. Rolling Stone Magazine put out a cool article giving insight on what new bands and artists will be all over the radio in 2008 . You can view the 10 Artists to Watch here. One particular singer/songwriter who sounds interesting I thought was Liam Finn (New Zealand performer). "Liam Finn is such a dynamic performer that a biker gang once forced him to play all night." "...channels Elliott Smith..." As I've said before in 5 Most Influential Rock Guitarists (You May Not Know), I thought Elliott Smith would influence future generations. I guess it's starting early with Finn. I'm looking forward to hearing his album, although I don't hear the melodic guitar work of Elliott Smith in his tunes I've heard. Hopefully he's not being blown out of proportion (well, I'm pretty sure he is, but I'll give it a shot). ...Because the right melodic and creative singer/songwriter stuff strikes the heart chord with me every time. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Elli...
More About: News , Radio

Crash Course in Guitar Music Theory
2007-11-14 19:38:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. What's happenin'?! Haven't been around lately. Been a little under the weather. I'm sure you're adjusting a little bit to the flu season too. Anyway, I'm taking a poll right now asking What's the Biggest Problem With Your Guitar Playing? It appears a ton of guitarists consider not knowing music theory their biggest problem. So I wrote this little introduction to/crash course in basic useful theory. I think you'll especially like the last section, "Chord Families." The Major Scale Scales are how we understand the guitar. The Major Scale is the scale all players should learn, the Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do scale. The Major Scale has 7 notes, with each note referred to as a "degree." For instance: The C Major Scale is made up of C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C again. The first degree is C, the second D, and so on. The G Major Scale is comprised of G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, and G again. The first degree is G, the second A, and so on. If you understand intervals, know...
More About: Music , Theory , Crash , Theo

Lobsta Face Guitar Jam
2007-11-10 21:38:00
Hi ATOMIC fans. Here's a little ditty guitar jam eloquently called "Lobsta Face ." Play MP3
More About: Guitar

18-Fret Legato Speed Run in Em
2007-11-09 23:30:00
What's up ATOMIC fans? To conclude my lust of soloing legato style in the key of G/Em, I have this mega 18-fret legato speed run in Em for you. It cuts through all 7mode shapes. Burn. Take the Lesson
More About: Speed , Gato

Guitar Polls Results
2007-11-09 22:09:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. I've closed a number of guitar polls from the past couple months. Some of your results are funny, some interesting, some pointless... Check 'em out. Who would you rather take guitar lessons with? Eddie Van Halen 17% (59 votes) Joe Satriani 34% (120 votes) Steve Vai 15% (53 votes) Slash 24% (84 votes) Jason Parker 10% (34 votes) Total votes: 350 Would You Give Up One Testicle to Instantly Posess the Abilities of Your Favorite Guitar ist? Yes, I'd sacrifice a ball to instantly have those guitar skills 68% (1217 votes) No, my jewel would remain within the family 25% (442 votes) Only if I could also receive a pair of those light goggles Steve Vai wears on stage 8% (141 votes) Total votes: 1800 Which dead rock star would you rather play in a band with? John Lennon 32% (9 votes) Brad Nowell 0% (0 votes) Jim Morrison 14% (4 votes) Kurt Cobain 14% (4 votes) Jimi Hendrix 39% (11 votes) Total votes: 28 Which guitar would you rather have (for playing, not selling or collec...
More About: Results , Polls

Funky Bad News
2007-11-07 21:58:00
Hi ATOMIC fans. I have some funky bad news. I found out today that someone in my family I'm close to is about to get sentenced to possibly a year in jail on this coming Monday. So I actually have to drive 6 hours tonight to go visit him (before the holidays). I might be able to find a computer to get on ATOMIC Guitarist, but likely I won't be posting anything else until Monday. Have a great weekend everybody. ~Jason
More About: News , Bad News , Funky

Around the Guitar Blog Horn
2007-11-07 01:00:00
Jon of Guitar Noize has been letting us know about some crazy guitars like this football helmet guitar. Nick from Guitritus displays a nice chop-building lick/run by Jon Bjork. The one and only Guitar God talks about building guits. IG gives us some insight on where your thumb should be placed, relating it to working a Guitar Hero controller. JP at Stratoblogster discovers Michael Landau "the guitarist's guitarist." Kyle at Guitar MX is promoting a free Green Day guitar lessons video by Guitar Alliance. Mad Stratter displays a humor list called Things I've Learned About the Blues. GLW over at Guitarz talks about a really weird looking bass guit (with pic).
More About: Blog , The G , Horn

Talking About Playing Guitar...
2007-11-06 02:10:00
What's up ATOMIC fans? I think I'm going to take the day off from blogging about guitar today and just rip it up on my axe more instead. There's only so much you can blab about playing guitar until you start repeating yourself (that or appear to be a guitarophiliac). I did a mean guitar lesson yesterday you should check out. It might open up your playing or then again, it might just be something you already do. I'll probably jump on here for a sec later though and chat if anyone's commenting, so I won't be far away. I know you just don't know what to do without Jason Parker's ATOMIC mouth for a day. Catch you on the flipside.
More About: Guitar , Talking

Fretboard Command and Blazing Legato Speed Lesson
2007-11-05 23:11:00
Hi ATOMIC fans. I have a really dense lesson for you today. Within are 10 and 12 fret long legato speed runs you can use to set your fretboard ablaze. Also are exercises that will give you fretboard command across 10 frets... Across 3 mode shapes you'll be able to move around anywhere on the fretboard in your soloing. Tare it up! Take the Lesson
More About: Speed , Command , Gato

Are You Not Down with Shredding?
2007-11-05 01:12:00
Robert, a guitarist who's taking my ATOMIC Key to Speed course, replied with in an e-mail today: "I've been taking Key to Speed for a few weeks. I love it. I'm wondering though, where are all the lessons on shredding? Do you not like guitarists like Yngwie Malmsteen? Everyone calls him the one and only guitar god. Are you not down with shredding?" Robert, I appreciate incredible guitarists like Yngwie Malmsteen and Michael Angelo Batio. They have amazing talent. But your assumption's right. I'm not all that down with guitar shredding. I like intense rock and some shredding in metal, but all-in-all all that picking and cockiness irritates me. I'd much rather listen to legato playing, although I know it's easier to do. It's just a matter of preference. Shredding is all about being cocky, something that came from the 80s. I'm a child of the 90s, so maybe I'll never understand. While I'd love to have the ability to shred like Malmsteen, I'm not willing to put ...
More About: Opinion

My Stupid Little Guitar Poll Getting Props
2007-11-04 17:39:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. My stupid little guitar poll somehow made its rounds on Digg Music and StumbleUpon Guitar this weekend. Haha... I swear (for real) I had nothing to do with it. Not sure why it saw around 10,000 visitors. The results are pretty funny and actually interesting now that there were a ton of voters: Around 70% of voters said they would give a ball to instantly possess their favorite guitarist's skills. I was one of the voters who chose "no." I don't think I'll ever be as good as the greatest guitarist who ever lived, but I wouldn't be willing to become half a man to get there either. But it would be tempting. I think the results show you guitarists think that acquiring all of the most amazing guitar skills are out of reach.
More About: Stupid , Poll , Prop

Too Much Fast Food Guitar Jam
2007-11-03 15:28:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. Been eating too much fast food lately and it's making me lazy and fat (and not good). So here's a guitar jam somewhat reminiscent of Scott Kannberg a.k.a. Spiral Stairs' guitar work (Pavement/Preston School of Industry). Play MP3
More About: Food , Guitar , Fast Food , Fast