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

LAST MONTH, I demonstrated my approach to soloing over the song ”Hard Wired,” originally released on my 2023 self-titled album. We began with the breakdown section, over which I play simple lines over

LAST MONTH, I discussed the role of the turnaround in a 12-bar blues. To review, the turnaround occurs in the last two bars of the progression. Its function is to set up the return to the beginning of

Improvisation. For many pianists, the very word can feel intimidating. We see a jazz player fly across the keys and assume they are simply making it up. But improvisation is not a random act. It is ro

Music cannot work a magic spell. It can, however, do wonderful things. In recent issues of BBC Music Magazine, we have explored the benefits to mental health of listening and playing music, not least

“ACE OF ACES” is the debut track from the 2018 self-titled EP by the Fearless Flyers, which is a side project from the band Vulfpeck that consists of me, guitarist Mark Lettieri, bassist Joe Dart and