Category: Hip Hop

Play like Bruno. Be like Bruno.

Bands, Funk, Guitar, guitar lesson, Guitar Tutorial, Hip Hop, music, Performance

“Nothing On You” Straight from the source.

Learning to perform acoustic versions of songs is much easier when it’s the artist who has performed it. It settles all arguments and for sure gives you the correct fingerings and chord voicing if you are unsure.

 

Of course, you had to figure that Bruno Mars played guitar. A musician of his stature has learned many things most of us never see out of pure necessity. More importantly, Bruno Mars is not just an entertainer, he is much more than that. He is a very wise musician who knows how to cultivate success. He knows how to write material with a groove unmatched in its groove factor more than anyone else in the last forty years.

 

But, there’s another angle, dare I say formula, which Bruno knows well. Surround yourself with top-flight musicians who are flawless in execution and navigating the stage. Choose also musician’s who share your mind-set. Don’t grasp for musical mechanics who can play your music backwards and forwards, chose the ones who take the gig because they belong there.

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Learning “Nothing On You” is a great way to get back the the foundation of a song. To see it’s parts in an unfiltered environment and to play like Bruno.

“Nothing On You” Tutorial

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XXXTENTACION bares his soul on “Depression and Obsession”.

Bands, Composition, Cover Song, Guitar, guitar lesson, Guitar Score, Guitar Tablature, Guitar Tutorial, Hip Hop, Metal, music, Music Review, Music Theory, Nu-Metal, Rap, Review, Videos

Less definitely is more when you are trying to get a message into a song. The less clutter instrumentally, the less business in the harmonies and sections the better. It enables the vocal part to stand out and brings every nuance to the forefront. On “Depression and Obsession” by the late Alternative, Hard Rock, Nu-Metal, Rap, and Hip-Hop-influenced artist, XXXTENTACION (Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy), this is certainly the case.

Take a somewhat rough acoustic guitar part, mix it with a tight beat and let the vocals do the rest. I’ve gone to great lengths to make this tutorial as close as possible to the original. This is not an “Easy Guitar” version, which serves collect views and deceives many to believe that anyone can strum along captured the vibe of a song that is far deeper than they could ever imagine. No, this version shows the rough edges and the way to play it with expression.

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You will use only three chords throughout this song. But, in these three chords be prepared to dig deep if you want to bring life into this magnificent, minimalistic expression of darkness and pain.

PERFORMANCE NOTES: I’ve decided to use Drop-D tuning for this version. The reason is that I hear the lowered sixth string ringing out in two specific places. It makes the chords slightly more difficult to play but, I feel that to be authentic in replicating other’s songs, you should attempt to get as close as possible. The only chord that may take more work is the GMaj7. For that chord try to land your pinky first. It will take slow practice but, that chord shape comes up a lot in an Am/G context in many songs.

Here is the tutorial:

Depression & Obsession Tutorial

Here is the PDF of the tab:

Tab:

Guitar Pro Tab

 

“Love Lies” Khalid & Normani (Tutorial)

Bands, Cover Song, Guitar, guitar lesson, Guitar Score, Guitar Tablature, Guitar Tutorial, Hip Hop, music, Music Education

This is the electric guitar part for the song, “Love Lies” Original Video “Love Lies” written by Khalid Robinson, Normani Kordei Hamilton, Jamil Chammas, Ryan Vojtesak, and Tayla Parks.

This is a very clever and fun guitar part. If you want the guitar to pop out of a mix this is the textbook way to do it. Take three chords, and arpeggiate them using a Fender Stratocaster set for position 2. That gives the guitar a “mellow bite” that is perfect for parts you want the listener to focus on.

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Here is the guitar tab for the song. I’ve included the very brief legato run that occurs in measure 5 during the intro. Take your time with this as it may be a little tricky at first, especially the changes during the pre-chorus and chorus.

Here is the link for the guitar tab:

Love Lies Guitar Pro Tab

Here is the kink to the YouTube tutorial:

Love Lies Tutorial

 

“Find Me” – XXXTentacion’s Guitar Fronting Again

Bands, Cover Song, Guitar, guitar lesson, Guitar Score, Guitar Tablature, Guitar Tutorial, Hip Hop, music

“Find Me” Guitar Tutorial

XXXTentacion has once again placed the guitar front and center in another of his mixes. The young man continues to use the instrument that was missing in the genre since the days of the famous collaboration with Run DMC “Walk This Way”.

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X’s guitar is very unlike Joe Perry’s as there are no wild guitar solos and few power chord excursions. What there is though is pure rhythmic and melodic contours that light up his music.

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For this song you will need a clean electric and delay. Check out the tutorial and I’ll have more to say here.

“Find Me” Tutorial

“Find Me” Guitar Pro Score/Tab

XXXTENTACION “Indecision” Guitar Tutorial and Guitar Pro Score.

Cover Song, Guitar, guitar lesson, Guitar Score, Guitar Tablature, Guitar Tutorial, Hip Hop, music

“Indecision” by the 19 year old rapper XXXTENTACION is easily one of the most angry displays of angst and rage that’s come from an artist in years. This is “real feel”.

The reasons for such emotional displays are well-known by his fans. One thing is unmistakeable, this troubled, young man is one clever musician who knows how to creat a vibe that gets traction, and respect.

The music is dark and brooding, with a falling, chromatic bass line leading you astray. With this dark-minor dirge, XXXTENTACION drags you into a world of his own with the guitar becoming a willing ally in his misery and revenge-filled cries.

The guitar part is not difficult to perform technically, but the vibe is. It’s a one shot ode to life in the life of crime and swagger. Sounding “very” improvised this short but potent part is fun to play as one can feign anger and injustice from the perspective of, “Hey, glad it’s not my life, but I can pretend.”

To properly capture the emotion of this song use a messy-sounding overdrive setting on your amp and hit the strings like the hours are counting down and the bills are due. You can then unashamedly drench the guitar solos in reverb and play with the upmost feeling.

“Indecision” Electric Guitar Tutorial

“Indecision” Guitar Tab

A 1:01 “It’s Strange” cover takes off!

Collaboration, Cover Song, Guitar, guitar lesson, Guitar Score, Guitar Tablature, Guitar Tutorial, Hip Hop, music, Music Review, Music Theory, Review

Acoustic Guitar Tutorial for  “It’s Strange” original by Louis the Child (Feat. K. Flay).

For this tutorial I think it’s fair to warn you that you’d better be  ready to work that right hand. Guitarist Ashley Juno is a firecracker of a player and is off the charts on this one minute barrage.

Handling both electric and acoustic guitars with ease this young lady is breathing fire into the word of pop and rock covers. She plays with an creative aggression not seen for a long time. Finally!!!!

I have provided the tab and tutorial for the first two measures! What? Why only two measures? Well, there is so much going on that I was not leaving any detail out of this wild acoustic guitar display. The into consists of only two chords, D Major 7 and an E minor 7. They are root 5 structures and will certainly get you up to speed on the shapes.

The challenge will be in the right hand. Well, I’ll have more to say about that soon!

“It’s Strange” Guitar Pro PDF

Youtube Video:

“It’s Strange” – Youtube Tutorial

A Music Nerd Who Is In Search Of The Beat

Hip Hop, music, Music Education, Music Review, Music Theory, Rap, Review

 

Yesterday, beginning at 1:00 pm I set out on a mission of sorts. I left early to assist a current student on her first day at Jiffy Lube Live (Live Nation). I won’t go into the details of the early part of the day but let’s just say the she saw the “other side” of the music industry up close and personal.

After our three or so hours in purgatory we took 5 minutes to recover and then moved into the house area. She and the majority of the 16,000 (more or less) fans understand well what was to come. But I remain perplexed. As I got closer the music got louder…much louder. As I descended the steps into the pit area the energy was as high as I can ever remember in my two plus years working on the floor.

I can still feel those first few moments. But alas, I am left this morning with a puzzling problem that won’t go away. Why do I remain in a state of confusion over an element of music that I was sure I had mastered. An element that is present even when it’s not obvious, that is, the beat.


The show, G-Easy and Logic was basically, and for lack of a better term
, was (mostly) White Rap. The crowd was energized and looking at the faces of the mostly 17-24 year old audience I realize once again just how powerful this music is.


There’s no use, nor is it my intention, in analyzing or getting into the lyrical content, the delivery, or the sometimes conflicting messages and  meanings behind this musical phenomenon. I have a bigger issue with the music, and if you are honest with yourself, you can find socio-lyrical dilemmas in all styles and genres of popular music.

 

It’s been bugging me for a while that I cannot get what makes a good hip hop/ rap beat. I know, and can construct, rock beats, Latin beats, jazz beats, funk beats, metal beats, and electronic beats. But when it comes to rap I don’t have it “locked in” yet. I just want to understand it in theoretical terms


I’ll say one thing for rap, they have the bass sound locked and loaded. There was a point last night where I thought my body was going to split in two. I was positioned directly in front of and slightly below the wall of bass cabinets that were stacked on top of the stage. The bass was not just loud but was vibrating every cell in my being.Wait, I think I’ve hit on something here! Is it possible that the bass supersedes the beat and is subservient to it? If this is so then hell, I’m letting it go. I mean, I’m not going to become a rap dj or a producer of rap beats for that matter. But wait, I’m a nerd. I have to know. I can’t drop it.


Someone help! I need the beat! Just tell me what is different a
bout the role of the beat? What should it have? What shouldn’t it have? Do I need a cowbell?

 

 

-Mark Jeffery Campayno