Further guidelines for good fingering: tricks of the thumb

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

Maurice Ravel has been an enduring part of my world, both as a performer and teacher. As a little girl I played the Mouvement de menuet from his Sonatine at a piano competition, which the renowned pia

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

ONE OF MY biggest musical influences is the king of blues power, Albert King. There are so many things that define his unique approach to playing, and I think about these things every time I pick up m

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

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