Record Store Day 2023: Jamie Lenman

Record Store Day is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store—the staff, the customers, and the artists—to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role they play in their communities. To mark this year’s Record Store Day, we spoke to Yamaha… Continue reading Record Store Day 2023: Jamie Lenman

Record Store Day 2023: Steady Holiday

Record Store Day is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store—the staff, the customers, and the artists—to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role they play in their communities. To mark this year’s Record Store Day, we spoke to Yamaha… Continue reading Record Store Day 2023: Steady Holiday

Trading Licks: Episode 7 – Double-Stop Phrases

This month we’re going to be jamming over a mid-tempo rock track, in the key of A. We’ll be phrasing a mixture of double-stop ideas that start on the upbeat of one. Phrasing on the upbeats sounds a little more “hip” than if we start our phrases on the downbeats … I think you’ll like… Continue reading Trading Licks: Episode 7 – Double-Stop Phrases

Record Store Day 2023 – Chris Buck (Cardinal Black)

Record Store Day is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store—the staff, the customers, and the artists—to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role they play in their communities. To mark this year’s Record Store Day, we spoke to Yamaha… Continue reading Record Store Day 2023 – Chris Buck (Cardinal Black)

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Trading Licks: Episode 6 – The Dorian Mode / Shifting Keys

This month we’re going to be jamming over a swing sixteenth Dorian progression, and modulating through four different keys. We’ll be targeting the Major 6th in all four keys to really evoke the characteristic sound of the Dorian mode. The Dorian mode, simply put, is the second mode of any Major Scale. So if you… Continue reading Trading Licks: Episode 6 – The Dorian Mode / Shifting Keys

Breakthroughs | Alana Colvin

Alana Colvin is a multi-instrumentalist, recent music college graduate, and proof that even young musicians can have meaningful and significant breakthroughs in their journeys. Hi Alana. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your background? I was born in Cleveland, Ohio but moved early on to Seattle, which had a great influence on… Continue reading Breakthroughs | Alana Colvin

International Women’s Day 2023 | An Interview with JUNO the Artist

In celebration of International Women’s Day we connected with JUNO the Artist to discuss her beginnings as a musician, her creative process, and her experiences teaching guitar.

Trading Licks: Episode 5 – Adding Tones To The Pentatonic Scale

Trading Licks – Adding Tones To The Pentatonic Scale This month we’re going to be jamming over a cool R&B progression in A Minor. We’ll be using the A Minor Pentatonic scale with added chromatic tones, and the Major 6th (F#) to create our five, four-bar phrases. I’ve added the chromatic tones to create 16th… Continue reading Trading Licks: Episode 5 – Adding Tones To The Pentatonic Scale

Trading Licks: Episode 4 – Question & Answer / Ascending & Descending Lines

This month we’re going to be jamming over a blues, rock progression with a tonal center resolution point of C7. We’ll be using C9 arpeggios and the C Blues Scale to create our eight licks. I’ve also added a healthy amount of chromatic tones to each of the melodic devices this month. Those chromatic tones… Continue reading Trading Licks: Episode 4 – Question & Answer / Ascending & Descending Lines

Trading Licks: Episode 3 – Intervallic Lines

This month we’re going to be jamming over a cool 2-bar progression in the key of A Minor. We’ll be using the A Minor Pentatonic scale and the A Natural Minor scale (C Major) for those improvisations. I’ll be starting each two-bar, Intervallic phrase on the downbeat of one, in order to maximize the two-bar… Continue reading Trading Licks: Episode 3 – Intervallic Lines