Saturday is “Ask Brian”
Saturday is ASK BRIAN, where we post actual questions from Rock Dojo students and provide answers right here on the Rock Dojo blog. TODAY’S QUESTION: “Who is Your favorite band?”
Brian’s Answer
That’s a really challenging question because my favorite bands are evolving all the time depending on the musical concepts I’m working on in my personal guitar practice. For example, when I was learning about the minor pentatonic scale, my favorite artists were Albert King, Freddie King, and Jimi Hendrix. These musicians defined the sound of minor pentatonic soloing. For that reason, I listened to them for hundreds—if not thousands—of hours over my first four or five years of learning to play the guitar.
When I learned about the major pentatonic scale years later, it was like going from black-and-white-television to full color. Suddenly, I couldn’t listen to the same guitarists anymore. Instead, I listened to a lot of southern rock with bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Marshall Tucker Band, and The Allman Brothers Band. As a matter of fact, I developed a healthy obsession for The Allman Brothers Band, who are masters of major pentatonic scale soloing.
When I discovered the natural minor scale, I left southern rock behind and fell in love with the sound of British metal. For months, I listened to Somewhere Back in Time by Iron Maiden. I just love Iron Maiden’s approach to songwriting. They’re like classical composers who write gorgeous themes and develop them with lots of twists and turns. And their guitar playing, my God! I never hear the names of Dave Murray or Adrian Smith mentioned when it comes to the greatest guitarists of all-time, but every note they play is absolutely perfect!
Today, my personal practice is all about the rock guitar basics. For me, that’s rock rhythm guitar. Nobody does that better than AC/DC’s guitarist Malcolm Young. He used those big open chords with perfect tone, timing, and feel.
Next week, you’ll learn your second guitar chord: the A Major Chord! Once you have two chords in your arsenal of musical destruction, you’ll be ready to learn a handful of tunes! In the meantime, you can contact us on the Rock Dojo Facebook page if you have any questions!
GET A BLACK BELT IN ROCK!
The Rock Dojo offers award-winning, introductory-level guitar lessons for kids after-school in Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Lake Oswego. You can check out the Rock Dojo FAQs to learn how our colored-belt systems works (hint: it’s like karate. As your students improve on the guitar, they graduate belt levels just like the martial arts). Do you have a specific question about our guitar lessons for kids? Drop us a line at (503) 484-6417 or contact us on the Rock Dojo Facebook page.
