Hey Sam, hope you are doing good :) can you please tell us how to improve the picking hand. Is there any particular exercise that has helped you tremendously with your picking technique ? Thanks.
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What are some guitar books you'd recommend?
I have already answered a similar question a few weeks ago, check back on my profile! Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions :)
How da f*** marco sfogli made his amazing songs?armonically are very easy but everyone has something catchy xD ,what do you think
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hey sam, whats your favourite 8 string pups?
Dimarzio D'activator and Ioniser :)
which kind of playin do u enjoy more. Alex hutchings or guthrie govan,and why? thanks :P
Both. Because they both do great things and have their own voices!
It is a good idea practise naked?I feel i am one with the guitar...
Yes. If you have a tremelo system be careful not to get your bits tangled up/caught.
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Who makes you laugh?
Matt Berry: And countless other British comedians who are based around the same 'group' of comedians. And most other things, life makes me laugh, music is funny, guitar is funny, its all funny...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjOEcoMy2fI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjOEcoMy2fI
where did you get the black and blue fretwrap?
Here! http://www.gruvgear.com/
hey sam , do you think that have girlfriend when you are in progress to be a good musician like buckethead or guthrie a girlfriend is a distraction/or be interested in a girl?
If you are with someone that doesn't support your passions then it's up to you to question if that relationship is really working. Its only a distraction if you get distracted by it. Its all about balance and what you want from life and finding someone who supports that.
What is it that makes you say you know you are not a great player? what makes a "great player" anyway to you?
When I said that I meant more as in how I view myself, not others. I am slowly finding out roughly what I want to be able to achieve with music and I know that I am nowhere close and I have a lot to learn!
In general though, its about music and expression to me. Passion. For me if a musician has that and you can feel that from listening to their music, or it moves you then I get moved by that.
In general though, its about music and expression to me. Passion. For me if a musician has that and you can feel that from listening to their music, or it moves you then I get moved by that.
what tuning does mask of judas use?
Standard Low F# to E :)
Hey Sam, I've seen some Steve Vai concerts with classical musicians where Vai plays a random lick and the musician instantly plays the same thing on his own instrument. Do you believe that level of mastery is possible in Guitar too? and any suggestion about how to get that? Thanks :)
I think it's possible for any musician. Those concerts are composed and rehearsed, they know exactly what lick he is playing, they probably have it written down on the score. It is very possible on guitar with lots of jamming, ear training, learning theory getting a good level of technique it becomes fairly easy (depending on the lick of course!) to copy back what someone plays to you. I would say ear and technique is the most important thing, the jamming is so you can test yourself out. If you have some friends that play guitar, have a jam, sit back to back and try and copy each others licks. Start simple!
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Hi Sam, how do I improve my lead techniques (alternate picking, legato, tapping, sweep picking etc) and come up with my own patterns, sequences and musical ideas? I am confused about how does practicing certain exercises from books helps me improve my technique. I hope you got my question. Thanks!
your reply to my pg question was absolutely great! Thank you :) BTW,i forget to say that i feel great playing that song,but with one particular thing. I pretty much economy pick most of the parts,do you think that play PG songs with economy picking is kinda cheatin?:) thanks
Awesome. Nope, technique is there to attain the notes, dynamic and sound you want. If you find it easier to play that way, then nobody is stopping you. There is no such thing as cheating in music when it comes to finding ways of performing things and getting the result you want.
If you want me to be critical though from a tone standpoint, i would say economy picking doesn't quite give the same aggression and attack as alternate picking. When you listen to PG he is very percussive and dynamic with his picking, he really shapes the contour of his runs with his pick angle attack and light palm muting. The accents in his runs are caused by the picking direction through the sequences he is running.
For example: Check out the repeating picking lick in Scarified after the solo that the drummer accents on his snare, I feel that would be a lot harder to get that accent with economy picking, but with alternate picking, it kinda has to sound that way because of the picking directions and the velocity of the lick!
I think I am ranting now, I hope this helps. To summarise, keep doing what you doing if you dig it, it ain't cheatin!
If you want me to be critical though from a tone standpoint, i would say economy picking doesn't quite give the same aggression and attack as alternate picking. When you listen to PG he is very percussive and dynamic with his picking, he really shapes the contour of his runs with his pick angle attack and light palm muting. The accents in his runs are caused by the picking direction through the sequences he is running.
For example: Check out the repeating picking lick in Scarified after the solo that the drummer accents on his snare, I feel that would be a lot harder to get that accent with economy picking, but with alternate picking, it kinda has to sound that way because of the picking directions and the velocity of the lick!
I think I am ranting now, I hope this helps. To summarise, keep doing what you doing if you dig it, it ain't cheatin!
Hi sam,if i tell you,i can play note for note paul gilbert's technical difficulties,what level of technique do you think i have?thank you
It depends on how effortless it feels to you. If you can deliver it well without thinking to much and having it sound great then I would say you have a very good level of technique. However, I really don't feel it really matter's what 'level' someone's technique is, its something that everyone keeps improving on for their own musical applications. Technique becomes a totally different beast in live performance situations, a good technique isn't necessarily about playing fast, its about being in control of the notes you play so you can concentrate on delivering the music focusing on dynamic, intonation, timing etc.
Hey Sam, do you have some specific musical targets for 2015 or are you just gonna go on with the everyday life and see what comes up? Happy new year :)
Thank you, you to and sorry for the late reply!I have lots of music work coming up which is great so I am working on those projects. But in terms of my own artistic and musical development I am looking into the following areas:
-Vibrato/Timing
-Slide Vibrato/Emulation
-New Sequences
-New 'patterns' and concepts for the shreddy stuff.
-Chord Progressions/Inversions/Substitutions.
-Melodic Minor Harmony
All of this to create the result of more freedom in improvisation, composition and style emulation.
These are areas I have been working on for the last 2 years, but over time I am learning more about what I want from MY playing. I think my other 'goals' are more mind and career based:
-Finish, release and tour the new Mask of Judas album
-Write and Record my own Solo Album/EP of anything that happens to come out of my head.
And of course I LOVE doing stuff with Laney/Ibanez/LickLibrary/Guitar Interactive etc, more of that stuff is always welcome.
One of the biggest things I need to kick is a habit which I am sure annoys some people and annoys me to a large extent. I realise that I need to stop being down on myself, what I am about to type slightly contradicts that last 'goal' but hear me out....whilst I KNOW I am not a great player, certainly nowhere near some of the guys who are breaking the guitar scene right now, I need to realise that it doesn't really matter, its more about making content that means something to me. I am very fortunate and lucky to have a small group of dedicated followers which really means the world to me and I am very grateful of their support in what I do. And if I love what I am doing and a couple of people love what I am doing, and I can keep making a living out of doing what I love doing then I am happy :)
-Vibrato/Timing
-Slide Vibrato/Emulation
-New Sequences
-New 'patterns' and concepts for the shreddy stuff.
-Chord Progressions/Inversions/Substitutions.
-Melodic Minor Harmony
All of this to create the result of more freedom in improvisation, composition and style emulation.
These are areas I have been working on for the last 2 years, but over time I am learning more about what I want from MY playing. I think my other 'goals' are more mind and career based:
-Finish, release and tour the new Mask of Judas album
-Write and Record my own Solo Album/EP of anything that happens to come out of my head.
And of course I LOVE doing stuff with Laney/Ibanez/LickLibrary/Guitar Interactive etc, more of that stuff is always welcome.
One of the biggest things I need to kick is a habit which I am sure annoys some people and annoys me to a large extent. I realise that I need to stop being down on myself, what I am about to type slightly contradicts that last 'goal' but hear me out....whilst I KNOW I am not a great player, certainly nowhere near some of the guys who are breaking the guitar scene right now, I need to realise that it doesn't really matter, its more about making content that means something to me. I am very fortunate and lucky to have a small group of dedicated followers which really means the world to me and I am very grateful of their support in what I do. And if I love what I am doing and a couple of people love what I am doing, and I can keep making a living out of doing what I love doing then I am happy :)
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what do you think about the ibanez rg8?
Fantastic guitar, you should also check out the S8, the pickups are great in that!
What strings do you use in your guitars? (brand, gauges...)?
Whatever suits the guitar best. My Ibanez RG's are set up with 9-42, the 8 string has 9-72. My semi-hollow body Artcore has 10-52, my GSA60 has 10-46. The Ibanez FRM250 I am borrowing has 10-46.
In terms of brand its either D'addario Nickle Wound, or Ernie Ball RPS strings.
In terms of brand its either D'addario Nickle Wound, or Ernie Ball RPS strings.
Do you think breathing is a very important key element while playing the guitar? And have you ever tried to have a control of it or become conscious of it?
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Do you like classical music? What are your favourite musicians?
I love classical, I wouldn't say I know much about it though! I am going to go with the very clichie Paganini, Chopin, Handel and JS Bach as I have listened to lots of their compositions.
I'm just gonna ask this! After achieving professional musicianship and building a solid musical depth, do you still sometimes get so frustrated that you feel like quitting everything( including guitar)?
Yeah, I sometimes feel that way...but I remember how much I love music, I can't give it up! There is so much of it to learn from and enjoy. Plus, I am so grateful that I get to be a professional musician!
Hey Sam, really digging your improvisation videos on Youtube. Which one do you prefer/use more? Inside the strings picking or outside the strings picking? and when it comes to string skipping which one do you like to use? Thanks :)
Thank you :) With alternate picking you really have to use both inside and outside if you want to move around with it. For string skipping I generally pick outside ala Paul Gilbert.
WHO are your guitar heroes?:)
Guthrie Govan, Paul Gilbert, Greg Howe, Hendrix, Mark Knopfler, Brian May. The list could go on and on!
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Sam, are your solos from "Jam With Sam Bell" dvd improvised instantly or composed? Fantastic Dvd btw :)
Thank you! They are mostly improvised, I did come up with some licks to base my improvisations around when it came to a couple of the advanced jams however.
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What's your cool childhood memories ? Is there anything you could tell us:)? Thanks buddy
I was obsessed with Buddy Holly. When I was 5/6 I used to sing his songs on guitar in the playground at school whilst all the other kids were doing their Spice Girls routines. I even made cardboard glasses to look like Buddy Holly. Another cool memory is hearing Purple Haze by Hendrix for the first time when i was 7, blew my mind, a neighbor showed me the main riff. I also remember playing Purple Haze and some Buddy Holly/Chuck Berry stuff at Center Parks (a holiday resort) when I was 9. That was fun, it was also terrible, but a great memory never the less!
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