Guitar Nine Columns

Putting yourself in the shoes and sticks of the drummer.

As far as instrumental goes, when you can`t sing yourself, you tend to write without a vocal part in mind. If you could add vocals to it, that would be one thing, but I decided that I would like the guitar to shine through on what I was doing. So I decided to make the project instrumental.

Progressive Instrumental Guitarist Releases EP-CD

Delivering Impressive Guitar & Heartfelt Music

Two-Handed, Melodic Mood Music

Guitar Company Releases Instrumental Artist Collection

Heavy Metal Guitar Instrumentals

Duo Creates Stylistic Melting Pot

Hard Rock Group Looks To Enter The Popular Mainstream

Dedicated Guitarist Plans Solo Instrumental Project

Four-Piece Instrumental Group Releases First CD

The odds of doing anything significant in the music business are long from the start, but artists who can't think beyond the short term have it thousands of times harder.

A few words of practical advice from Tonya`s new book "Hidden Secrets To Making And Promoting Your Music Revealed".

Gerry Magee continues his multi-part series on expanding your mind, as well as your fretboard, with an article on focusing your mental energy.

Peter Neri on how to get those fingers (and thumbs) flying.

Don Lappin discusses the endless possibilities of the 5-tone tapping technique.

The talented artists associated with Guitar Nine relate stories of their best, worst or most memorable live dates.

Surf Meets Jazz -- South Of The Border

Hi-Fidelity Six String Blast

Striving For The Big Time

Stoner Rock EP From England

Squeezing Vitamin "G" From Boundless Intensity

The second installment of practical advice from Tonya`s new book "Hidden Secrets To Making And Promoting Your Music Revealed".

Systematically deaiing with our musical need to improvise.

If you thought playing gigs was the only source for good `story material`, wait until you visit Mr. Bochar`s personal lake of fire. Don`t get burned.

Sweep those old sweeping techniques under the rug! Marshall Harrison`s got some great ideas in store for you.

Music industry consultant Christopher Knab contributes his knowledgeable views on the current state of affairs.

The past few years have seen the rise of several new ways to get your music promoted and selling, leveraging the strengths of the Internet.

I was never a fan of direct guitar sounds but for some reason this album ("Zone") is full of direct guitar. All of the rhythm tracks, clean and dirty, were recorded direct. I find that this gives the punchiest sound out there. The Sans-Amp rack really helped also. It is one of those `plug and play` pieces of gear which tone just oozes out of.

The only recording I do at home is for demo purposes. My engineer and I have actually built a commercial studio in San Luis Obispo, CA. The studio is a 3,000 sq..ft., 24 track, digital facility. It was a huge project, spanning two years. The great thing is I don`t have to worry about the clock anymore. There is a tremendous feeling of freedom when I can spend the time needed to record my songs, the way I feel they should be.

Planning To Saturate The Instrumental Rock Scene

Seductively Corrosive Solo Guitar

Honky-Tonk, Blues & Big Guitar

Fingerstyle Acoustic...And More!

Sharing His Inspiration - With A Guitar

High Energy Rock Guitar

McAvinchey signs off on the popular series; what will the future bring.

A no-holds-barred look at a common problem between band members.

Insightful thoughts on the precious gift of music from one of today`s hottest guitarists.

You don`t have to be a shredding, virtuoso guitar player to learn proper phrasing, and your solos will stand out from the pack.

But even with my success in Belgium, it was impossible to get any industry support/interest generated. It was then the time of Kurt Cobain and friends, people like Tony MacAlpine and Greg Howe weren`t having any luck, what hope was there for me? Releasing my own CD seemed like the only answer.

Post-Apocalyptic Acoustic Fingerstyle