hey everyone-ive got some serious extra time today so I am going to take a try at posting some of my ideas. when i started gospel i was doing fills like a rock guitar player. nobody was digging it. when the organ players would do runs, they were swift, clean and got the other bandmates goin crazy. i realized that the guitarist has a role in gospel. lay low and do swift fills.
1. laying low
you dont want to chomp on bar chords or anything like that. try 2 or 3 note voicings of chords. h-hammer- p-pulloff
example Amaj or A7.
---------------5slide7slidebackto5--------------E
---------------5slide7slidebackto5---------------B
this is very stylistic of otis reddings guitar player
------------------------------------------e
---------------5----------5----------------b this one has a country feel
-------------4---h6-----4--h6p4--------g
--------7------e
-----------8---- b
-------6---------g this is A9. great for shout music.
--------7------- d
-----------9---------e
----------8-----------b
-----------9--------g
--------7------------d this is A7. if you flat the 9 to an 8 on e it becomes Aminor 7. if you keep the 9 where it was in A7 and then sharp 8 on b so it becomes 9 , now you have a Amajor 7.
2.swift runs
get a metronome and slow your pentatonic scales down to start.
go down the scale with alternative picking and make sure each note is loud and full as the next. Do up/down picking every note. When you are moving downward or southward your picking should go down, then when you go for the A string gravity will assist you in picking downward again. the same when you go upward . it would be up down, when you get to the b string you should be picking up again.
Important.
this is easy easy stuff that can go a long way. get a metronome and tighten up your chops. then when you try runs, maybe start from '1and' of the beat.
next lesson will be a little more smooth i hope.
take care all.
zach