Great Player #2 etc.

Robben Ford is one of my current favorite players. He's able to blend elements of jazz and blues in a very smooth way. Adding in jazz runs without taking the listener out of the blues feel. His phrasing and note choice while soloing is spectacular. One thing i really enjoy about Robben Ford's playing is his ability to play interesting chord voicings and rhythmic parts while comping. This is something that you don't hear with too many blues guitarists, and is a result of Ford's interest in jazz. I'm not sure why this guy isn't more popular among guitarists. Here's some video evidence...

I love how he transitions from the fingerstyle to the pick. I think being able to play without the pick is very important.

In this second video Robben demonstrates a great use of one of my favorite techniques, the volume swell. It is not a difficult technique to use, but it can really spice up your sound when soloing or rhythm. I prefer to do this with my pinky on the volume knob when playing my strat. But i do have a volume pedal that makes it easier for me to pull this off when playing chords. maybe i'll post a video showing that technique.

In other news, i've been experimenting with a new technique for writing and i'm really close to getting some stuff out there. More to follow on that subject.

Thanks for reading,

-MD