Matt Schofield"s Blues Guitar Artistry DVD Review
Matt Schofield's Blues Guitar Artistry DVD offers us a peek in to the creative mind of one of blues guitar's most promising stars.
Matt Schofield's teaching style is informal and conversational, more like a guitar masterclass instead of the usual '20-licks-with-tab' approach.
Throughout his video, Schofield proves himself to be a blues master of the highest order.
Backed by his 4-piece band, Schofield's emotive solos on the live performance segments are simply incredible.
Notes drip like honey from his fretboard, and I couldn't help but marvel at his range of nuance and sense of dynamics.
Citing a video performance of BB King, Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan as the main reason he picked up the guitar, Schofield says that he was soon jamming along with his father's blues records.
Although he claims to never learning complete solos note-for-note, he chose to develop his blues vocabulary by improvising along with records, copying certain licks and studying how they worked over certain chords.
Throughout this dvd, Schofield stresses that it is essential to study and be familiar with the blues tradition as well as the idiomatic phrases one could use when improvising over a 12-bar blues.
In the Tone and Technique section, Schofield treats us to some cool licks that illustrate his penchant for descending raked triplets, a technique he often uses to end his phrases.
Schofield can makes his Stratocaster both sing and purr, proving unequivocally that tone is in the hands more than in the equipment.
As far as his right-hand technique, Schofield plays with the pick's rounded end, while occasionally using a hybrid technique where he uses his bare fingers to give emphasis to certain notes.
He also discusses a technique he uses to get certain notes to 'bloom' or get louder after the string is picked.
If you aren't already hip to this concept, you need to check out this chapter of the DVD! I should mention that this DVD does not come with any type of notation or tablature.
This might be great for the intermediate or advanced player, but it'll definitely leave the novice in the dust.
Some form of notation to illustrate Schofield's choicest licks and ideas would have been a great addition to this DVD.
Perhaps the publisher, Hal Leonard, is planning to release a book of solo transcriptions from this DVD in future.
My only niggle with Schofield's playing is that his Robben Ford influence is readily apparent, much in the same way that Joe Bonamassa uses a lot of Eric Johnson's licks almost verbatim.
However, Schofield infuses enough of the standard blues influences of BB King, Albert King, Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan, stirring up the pot enough to create a style that is fresh and exciting.
I'll leave you to check out the remainder of the DVD where Schofield thoroughly discusses his harmonic concepts as well as just how he applies them in both his comping and soloing.
Matt Schofield's teaching style is informal and conversational, more like a guitar masterclass instead of the usual '20-licks-with-tab' approach.
Throughout his video, Schofield proves himself to be a blues master of the highest order.
Backed by his 4-piece band, Schofield's emotive solos on the live performance segments are simply incredible.
Notes drip like honey from his fretboard, and I couldn't help but marvel at his range of nuance and sense of dynamics.
Citing a video performance of BB King, Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan as the main reason he picked up the guitar, Schofield says that he was soon jamming along with his father's blues records.
Although he claims to never learning complete solos note-for-note, he chose to develop his blues vocabulary by improvising along with records, copying certain licks and studying how they worked over certain chords.
Throughout this dvd, Schofield stresses that it is essential to study and be familiar with the blues tradition as well as the idiomatic phrases one could use when improvising over a 12-bar blues.
In the Tone and Technique section, Schofield treats us to some cool licks that illustrate his penchant for descending raked triplets, a technique he often uses to end his phrases.
Schofield can makes his Stratocaster both sing and purr, proving unequivocally that tone is in the hands more than in the equipment.
As far as his right-hand technique, Schofield plays with the pick's rounded end, while occasionally using a hybrid technique where he uses his bare fingers to give emphasis to certain notes.
He also discusses a technique he uses to get certain notes to 'bloom' or get louder after the string is picked.
If you aren't already hip to this concept, you need to check out this chapter of the DVD! I should mention that this DVD does not come with any type of notation or tablature.
This might be great for the intermediate or advanced player, but it'll definitely leave the novice in the dust.
Some form of notation to illustrate Schofield's choicest licks and ideas would have been a great addition to this DVD.
Perhaps the publisher, Hal Leonard, is planning to release a book of solo transcriptions from this DVD in future.
My only niggle with Schofield's playing is that his Robben Ford influence is readily apparent, much in the same way that Joe Bonamassa uses a lot of Eric Johnson's licks almost verbatim.
However, Schofield infuses enough of the standard blues influences of BB King, Albert King, Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan, stirring up the pot enough to create a style that is fresh and exciting.
I'll leave you to check out the remainder of the DVD where Schofield thoroughly discusses his harmonic concepts as well as just how he applies them in both his comping and soloing.