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#1 Video Lesson
Just 3 days after its launch, this video lesson is already #1

Mike Stern
Tune in live performances from the legendary Mike Stern

Play Like Jeff Beck
Featured in Guitar Player magazine, TrueFire's Brad Carlton deconstructs Jeff Beck

7 Deadly Session Sins


If you are booking time in a pro facility soon, the guys behind the glass will thank you to mind these 7 Deadly Session Sins, each of which is nearly guaranteed to drive a recording engineer absolutely batty.

1. Arriving unprepared.
Unless you are Keith Richards and have an inexhaustible budget, coming unprepared is simply inexcusable (and often quite costly). Have your parts rehearsed ahead of time and know what results you want to achieve. Practicing the parts you intend to lay down is a simple but effective way to make sure the session flows smoothly. Before the session, think about the intended outcome: What exactly do you want to get done, and in what time frame? Have you done all you can do in advance to ensure the goals will be achieved?   

2. Hanging your headphones on the mic stand.
Ouch. I can’t even count the small but meaningful pains I’ve had to deal with when clients hang their cans on the music stand or mic stand and then knock them off seconds later. Those 3- and 4-foot drops take their toll, and a busted pair of headphones can literally grind a session to a halt — and represent a significant replacement cost to the studio or engineer. When you’re between takes or a break, place the headphones on a table or even around the base of the mic stand on the floor. They are safer that way. >> Continued...

TrueFire Lessons on GP2
GP2 is a new, online and free publication from Guitar Player magazine. Free TrueFire video lessons are featured in the January edition of GP2.

Tune in Andy Aledort's Slow Blues Power guitar lessons in the January issue online now!
 

A Fireside Chat with Mike Stern
A legend among modern jazzers yet still a hard-working musician, Mike Stern is a rare breed of guitarist. Even those who don't know his name have probably heard his playing. Stern has been a band mate of Miles Davis', best buddies with Jaco Pastorius, and a muse-in-arms with Billy Cobham. Oh, and he was also nominated for 5 Grammys.

With a long list of high-profile gigs and a substantial catalog of adventurous solo releases, Mike Stern had all but conquered the known musical world; and has made his mark by rethinking the jazz and rock traditions that inform his playing.

>> Read the interview...

The Second Guitar
Buying a second guitar is a rite of passage for a guitarist. It represents a commitment between artist and art, not only spiritually, but financially, too. Buying a second guitar says, "I am serious and committed to expanding my craft." And it is my firm belief that a guitarist only really needs two guitars - an acoustic and an electric. Which explains why I have seven guitars crammed into my tiny downtown apartment. I don't even own a couch. It's a disease. More...



Pat Metheny's One-Man Band
Pat Metheny released Orchestrion this past week. If I’ve counted correctly, beginning with Bright Size Life in 1975, this is Pat’s zillionth record. Not a full minute into the 15:48 opening cut, my jaw was already on the floor. I’d never heard him quite like this. It was identifiably Metheny, but the ensemble setting was just unreal with its incredibly tight unison runs, light speed tempos, and complex countermelodies. More...