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Guitar Tut: Open String Runs
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Guitar Tut: Open String Runs

on Oct 1st 2010 with 14 comments
Tutorial Details
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
  • Time: 20 minutes
  • Requirements: A guitar!
Download Source Files
This entry is part 1 of 16 in the Creative Session: All About Playing Guitar Session
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Here is the first of Toby Pitman’s guitar tuts. I’ve been looking forward to these! In this video guitar tutorial we’ll cover the basics of open string runs. It’s like having a sustain pedal for your guitar!


Introduction

Open string ideas are a great way to embellish your ideas on the guitar. In this video lesson I’ll show you the basic ideas behind it and cover some common scale ideas and patterns.

There’s some TAB provided so you can follow along. The idea is to show you how it works. You can then take that away and do what you want with it!

Happy guitaring! And let us know in the comments if you’d like more tuts like this!

Download the QuickTime version of the video here, and the TAB here.

 
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Rollover to read this author's bio or click through to see a full list of posts by this author.

For the past 18 years Toby has worked as a freelance session guitarist and programmer. A self confessed 'studio nerd' Toby also writes music for TV/Advertising as well as doing the odd bit of production/writing for various artists. He spends most of his time in his studio staring into a monitor or playing guitar. Recent clients include George Michael and David Arnold.  

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  • MJ

    Excellent Tut! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and talent. Keep’em coming!

  • http://www.movolans.com Mo Volans

    Now this is high quality stuff… I didn’t even know Brad Pitt could play guitar. Excellent work.

    • http://tobypitman.com Toby
      Author

      Your too kind Mo! It was 7am when I filmed it too! :)

  • ExtremRaym

    Very professional video.
    Sound is perfect.

    thanks for sharing ^^

  • http://www.colinmansfield.com Colin Mansfield

    Very nice! Didn’t look like a first-timer at all. :-) A suggestion for an upcoming video (or a set) — an explanation of the different modes, especially as they relate to guitar. Oh, and a really good one — how to a) practice these scales, and how to incorporate them into different styles of music… :-)

    • http://www.colinmansfield.com Colin Mansfield

      Oh, right. That would be three or more videos…

    • http://tobypitman.com Toby
      Author

      Consider it done!

      It’s an often asked question this one. I’ve got a load of good practice examples too.

      Glad you enjoyed it! :)

    • http://www.vaporizerkits.com Zephyr Ion

      Yea, Toby looking forward to more great stuff from ya!

  • melodicaster

    Very nice — a quite refreshing and welcoming “atmosphere,” given the nature of too many of today’s single-note phrasing lessons on the Internet. Even among many good country music guitarists, these types of open-string runs are often overlooked. These are also great for even early intermediate-level players to help them avoid what I call the “stuck in the boxes” pattern syndrome. In the heat of the moment, during all the heavy fretting and string bending while soloing, working a few of these in can help save us from our own laziness and clichéd habits. And allowing the open-string notes to ring through during the phrases adds that wonderfully airy, harp-like quality. I might have missed a mention of it during the video, but adding some moderate phaser, flanging and/or in-tempo, one-repeat delays can make these even more fun. I’d love to see further explorations, because the possibilities are almost endless. Thanks! Very well-done.

  • http://jeremyjarratt.com/ jeremy

    Everybody knows the guitar can’t do that. Obviously this man is practicing witchcraft.

  • Alex

    Great tutorial!

  • http://www.PlayGTR.net Gianni

    great video, really enjoyed your tutorial, thanks.

  • Kevin

    Loved the tutorial. Thanks and keep them coming!

  • slackandsteel

    This is a terrific lesson! Great instructor and excellent information.