Nick Jennison - Expressive Techniques
Lessons Included in this Course
Course Content Overview
This comprehensive course provides a deep dive into the core techniques that define expressive guitar playing. You’ll not only learn the mechanics of each technique but also how to apply them musically to create soulful and dynamic performances. The lessons are structured to build your skills progressively, ensuring you gain both competence and confidence.
Here’s a breakdown of the lesson contents:
- What is Expression?: Understand the fundamental concepts of musical expression and how to convey emotion through your instrument.
- Bending Mechanics: Master the art of string bending, from basic pitch control to advanced bending techniques.
- Vibrato Mechanics: Develop a rich and controlled vibrato, one of the most crucial techniques for expressive playing.
- Sliding Mechanics: Learn to execute smooth and precise slides, connecting your musical ideas with fluidity.
- Bending Exercises: Practice targeted exercises to build your bending accuracy and strength.
- Sliding Exercises: Improve your sliding technique with a series of focused drills.
- Bending Applications: Discover how to apply your bending skills in real-world musical contexts.
- Sliding Applications: Integrate slides into your playing to create more dynamic and interesting phrases.
- Combining Expressive Techniques: Learn to blend bending, vibrato, and sliding to create intricate and emotive performances.
- Solo Study: Analyze a complete solo that incorporates all the expressive techniques covered in the course.
This Course is Ideal for Players Who...
This course is perfect for intermediate to advanced guitarists who feel they have hit a plateau in their playing and want to break free from robotic, uninspired performances. It’s designed for those who want to:
- Add more emotion and feel to their guitar solos.
- Develop a more personal and recognizable playing style.
- Understand the nuances of phrasing and articulation.
- Improve their ability to connect with an audience through their music.
- Learn the secrets of expressive guitar playing from a world-class instructor.
What will I achieve from completing this course?
Nick Jennison’s Expressive Techniques is more than just a collection of licks and exercises. It’s a systematic approach to understanding and mastering the art of musical expression on the guitar. Nick’s clear and engaging teaching style makes complex concepts easy to understand and apply. Each lesson is accompanied by high-quality video demonstrations and backing tracks, allowing you to practice and internalize the techniques at your own pace. By the end of this course, you’ll have a complete toolkit of expressive techniques at your disposal, enabling you to play with more confidence, creativity, and emotional depth. This course will not just teach you what to play, but how to play it with meaning and intention, transforming you into a more complete and compelling musician.
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Nick Jennison - Expressive Techniques
"Nick Jennison - Expressive Techniques" is an exceptional guitar lesson series available on LickLibrary.com, meticulously designed to elevate your guitar playing by focusing on the nuances of expressive techniques. These lessons, crafted and presented by the talented Nick Jennison, delve into the core aspects of guitar expression, offering a comprehensive understanding and practical application of various techniques. Below, we explore each segment of this series, highlighting the benefits to the viewer.
What is Expression?
Expression in guitar playing refers to the ability to convey emotions and feelings through your instrument. It's what transforms a technically sound performance into an emotionally engaging one. This segment introduces the concept of musical expression, demonstrating how subtle nuances in playing can evoke a wide range of emotions. Learning these principles will help you connect more deeply with your music and audience.
Bending Mechanics
Bending is a fundamental technique where a string is pushed or pulled to change its pitch. In this lesson, Nick Jennison explains the mechanics of bending, including finger placement, string tension, and proper execution. Mastering bending mechanics enhances your ability to add emotional depth and intensity to your solos, making your playing more dynamic and expressive.
Vibrato Mechanics
Vibrato involves oscillating a note to create a fluctuation in pitch, adding warmth and sustain. This section covers the mechanics of vibrato, focusing on hand movement, speed control, and consistency. Understanding vibrato mechanics allows you to infuse your notes with a singing quality, enriching your overall sound.
Sliding Mechanics
Sliding is a technique where a note is played by moving the finger along the string to reach another fret. This lesson breaks down the mechanics of sliding, emphasising smooth transitions and accuracy. Mastery of sliding mechanics facilitates seamless note transitions, making your playing fluid and connected.
Bending Exercises
Bending exercises are crucial for building strength and precision in your fingers. This part of the course provides a series of targeted exercises designed to improve your bending technique. Regular practice of these exercises will increase your bending accuracy and control, allowing for more expressive phrasing.
Sliding Exercises
Sliding exercises help develop coordination and fluidity in your playing. In this section, Nick Jennison offers a variety of exercises to practice smooth and accurate slides. These exercises are essential for creating effortless transitions between notes, enhancing your melodic playing.
Bending Applications
Applying bending techniques in a musical context is vital for expressive playing. This segment demonstrates how to incorporate bends into solos and melodies, showcasing their emotional impact. By learning bending applications, you'll be able to add expressive bends to your playing, enriching your musical expression.
Sliding Applications
This lesson focuses on integrating slides into your playing style. Nick Jennison provides examples of how sliding can be used effectively in different musical contexts. Understanding sliding applications enables you to add expressive slides to your solos, creating more dynamic and interesting phrases.
Combining Expressive Techniques
Combining multiple expressive techniques can significantly enhance your playing. This part of the course teaches you how to blend bending, vibrato, and sliding to create more intricate and emotive performances. Learning to combine these techniques will make your playing more versatile and expressive.
Solo Study
The solo study segment is where all the techniques come together. Nick Jennison performs a solo incorporating the expressive techniques covered in the lessons. Seeing these techniques in a performance context is incredibly useful as it provides a real-world application, showing how they can be used to create compelling and emotive solos. Watching a professional like Nick Jennison perform also offers inspiration and a benchmark for your practice.
Techniques Covered
About The Tutor
Tutor Profile
Nick Jennison
I’m Nick Jennison, a guitarist, vocalist, producer and educator from the North East of England. It’s pretty cold up here, which seems like the perfect excuse to stay inside and make a bunch of great guitar-related videos for your viewing pleasure. I’ll be covering topics from technique, tone and musicality,...