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TODAY I'D LIKE to talk about downpicking — picking or strumming consecutive downstrokes — and why it can be so musically effective. This is something I learned from studying the riff-writing style of

Richard Barrett is on a mission to make you a better blues player – with full audio examples and backing tracks

OVER THE LAST two columns, I’ve demonstrated a handful of what I consider to be essential “blues approved” licks that work well both as embellishments to rhythm parts or as phrases within a solo. Our

Richard Barrett experiments with suspended and altered chords to bring a sense of suspense to your compositions

The month’s best guitar music – a hand-picked selection of the finest fretwork on wax

A monthly look at must-hear artists from all corners of the guitar world, from the roots of their sound to the tracks that matter most