Guitar Workshop
Ben Gowell
Electric Guitar
Ben Gowell
Scriptures
Psalm 33:3 Play skillfully and shout for joy
1 Chron. 25 All the musicians were trained and skilled in music for the Lord
The electric guitar plays a supporting role
Electric guitarists role in the band
Communication
Listen to the rest of the band
Create space for each instrument and work together
Electric guitar is generally looking to play higher up on the neck than you would
with an acoustic guitar
Compliment each other dont compete
Be engaged in the music
Prefer one another
Bring all you have to the part that you are playing, no matter how big or small
Barre Chords (E, A, C and D forms)
These are moveable chords that allow us to play different types of chords in many
different positions on the fret board. This gives us a variety of chord voicings and
options to work with.
Learn what notes are on each fret of the low E string
E
F
F#
(open) 1st fret 2nd
G
3rd
G#
4th
A
5th
B!
6th
B
7th
C
8th
C#
9th
D
10th
E!
11th
E
12th
F
13th
F#
14th
G#
11th
A
12th
B!
13th
B
14th
G
15th
G#
16th
Learn what notes are on each fret of the low A string
A
B!
(open) 1st fret
B
2nd
C
3rd
C#
4th
D
5th
E!
6th
E
7th
F
8th
F#
9th
G
10th
C
C#
15th 16th
** please note: minor7 (!5) and half diminished are the same thing
** diminished 7 and fully diminished are the same thing
What Can I Do
(Using the D Major form on the 5th fret)
7!
4!
G Form (simplified)
2!
6#
"1
3#
"5
1#
5#
Power Chords
Great for rhythm parts and thickening up a song
4 different shapes
Chords of the song Hosanna
Triads
Great smaller voicings that get you higher up on the neck
Creates space for the other instruments
C triads (top 3 strings)
3rd fret
5th fret
7th fret
9th fret
12th fret
15th fret
F triads
3rd fret
5th fret
7th fret
9th fret
12th fret
15th fret
3rd fret
5th fret
7th fret
9th fret
12th fret
15th fret
5th fret
7th fret
9th fret
12th fret
15th fret
5th fret
7th fret
9th fret
12th fret
15th fret
G triads
A minor triads
3rd fret
D minor triads
3rd fret
E minor triads
3rd fret
5th fret
7th fret
9th fret
12th fret
15th fret
7th fret
9th fret
12th fret
15th fret
7th fret
9th fret
12th fret
7th fret
9th fret
C triads (D, G and B strings)
3rd fret
5th fret
F triads (D, G and B strings)
3rd fret
5th fret
15th fret
G triads (D, G and B strings)
3rd fret
5th fret
12th fret
15th fret
A Greater Song
Two-note Intervals and Octaves
Great tools for mixing up your soloing or creating parts
3rds key of G (D and G Strings)
3rd fret
5th fret
7th fret
9th fret
12th fret
15th fret
Octaves
Great for fattening up a lead solo line or a melodic hook
Works well for many different styles of music
A & G string octaves
D & B string octaves
G & E string octaves
E & D string octaves
Other Techniques
Work on right hand control
Work on dynamics using palm muting
Be intentional about the notes you are playing
Make sure to work on muting with the left hand so that there are not extra
strings ringing out that arent in the chord
The more you practice, the more your muscle memory will develop and the
cleaner youll end up playing
Lay back in the groove and work playing in time
Practice with a metronome!
Make your picking and strumming steady and even
Effects Pedals
Painting with your sonic palette of colors
Bens live pedalboard
Pedal
Power
Supply
Boost
Pedal
To Amp
Tuner
Pedal
WAH
Pedal
To Guitar
Tremelo
Pedal
Distortion
Pedal
OverDrive
Pedal
#2
OverDrive
Pedal
#1
Tap
Tempo
Pedal
Volume
Pedal
Delay
Pedal
(for delay)
Example of a good effect chain live
Boost
Delay
Tremelo
Distortion
Overdrive
Tuner
WAH
Volume
If youre going to use your amp distortion, youll
probably want to run the time-based effects (delay,
tremolo, etc.) through the pre-amp out jack of your
amp if it has one
In the studio, these same time-based effects are almost
always placed after the micd speaker for the best
effect. This eliminates the beats that result from
delay before distortion
Examples of Good Amps
3 broad and basic categories of tube amps:
AMP
Tubes
VOX TYPE
EL84 tubes
FENDER TYPE
6L6 tubes
Crisp and glassy sounding.
Brief
Description EL84 tubes become the
most noticeably
compressed-sounding
power tubes when pushed.
Lots of upper-midrange &
treble definition
Clean and full
sounding. 6L6 tubes
are larger tubes &
sound very round with
depth of bass response
as well as a clear
presence on top
Player
The Edge (U2)
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Example
Vox AC 30
Voc AC 15
Other good amps in these categories:
Vox Type
Matchless DC30
Badcat Blackcat
Savage Rohr 15
Trainwreck
65 London
Dr. Z Mazeratti
Fender Type
Mesa Mk. 1
Fender Bassman
Top Hat Ambassador
Laney
Fender Deluxe (6v6 tubes)
Marshall Type
Bogner Shiva
Orange Rocker
Park
Hi-Watt
Mesa-Boogie
Fender Super Reverb
Fender Twin Reverb
MARSHALL TYPE
EL34 tubes
Thick and rich. EL34s
break up smooth.
Excellent for hard rock.
Very thick midrange
response
Eddie Van Halen
Marshall Plexi
Marshall JCM 800
This is a very brief description of the most common guitars out there. There are of
course many other styles like Gretschs (one of my favorites that I own is a Gretsch
Tennessee Rose with Filtertoon pickups), PRS, Rickenbacker, and many others.
However, these 3 listed above are a good place to start. These are by far the 3 most
copied and emulated guitars by many different luthiers and manufacturers.
Soloing and Scales
Learn scales, but try to make your solos melodic. Musical solos are ones that dont
just run through a scale, but they have a melody and rhythmic variation.
Some scales to work on:
5 positions of the Pentatonic Scale
= minor root note
= major root note
A minor / C Major
1st position
5th fret
7th fret
2nd position
9th fret
7th fret
9th fret
11th fret
3rd position
9th fret
12th fret
5th position
14th fret
16th fret
4th position
12th fret
14th fret
Other important scales:
st
1 position Major Scale A Major
4th fret 5th fret
7th fret
3 note per string Major Scale
Starting on A string A Major
12th fret
14th fret
16th fret
Harmonic Minor Scale A Minor
5th fret
7th fret
3 note per string
Major Scale A Major
5th fret
7th fret
9th fret
Natural Minor Scale A Minor
5th fret
7th fret
