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Greg Koch has been called a "twisted guitar genius" to " an eclectic virtuoso" by guitar pundits but in fact, these are just descriptions of someone who loves what he does has found a way to make a living doing it on his own terms by being able to sound like just about anyone to just about no one, all delivered with the irreverence of a "plectrum-wielding skullduggarist" (to use his verbiage). As a result, he has successfully moved beyond his local hero status in the upper Mi... (more) Greg currently offers 58 guitar lessons at JamPlay, with 58 lessons in our Artist Series.
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Finding your way as a guitar player means more than learning licks and phrases. It means digging deep and honoring the nuances of many of the guitar greats in an identifiable and flavorful way - their expressiveness, the techniques, and all of their melodic and rhythmic sensibilities. But at the same time, you have to put your own twist on those roots. You have to personalize them over time, and make them your own. Greg Koch is excited to share with you fourteen of his go-to techniques and concepts for all out guitar savagery. We’ll look at his approaches to chicken picking, vibrato, hybrid picking, all kinds of bends, travis picking, pinch harmonics, double stops, standard tuning slide and a ton more!
Greg Koch welcomes us to "Gristleman Guitar" in this TrueFire Collection course!
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Let’s dive into some Pluckin’ and Cluckin’! This is a style I was inspired to play years ago when I first heard the great Mark Knopfler. Back then we didn’t have access to the “intergoogle” so I actually found out about Mark through Guitar Player Magazine. There was this picture of him playing his red Strat with this crazy grip. I knew there had to be something to this, so I ditched my pick and got to work, here’s what I learned!
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Now let’s jump into a tune that I have played for a long, long time! This is a song called “Spank It”, I came up with this song years ago and can best be described as sort of a country onslaught. I didn’t grow up with Country Music, it wasn’t really my jam, but there was something I loved about the Chicken Pickin’ sound that made me carry it over into this tune.
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Now let's talk about Chicken Pickin’ with pickin’ fingers. When I started Chicken Pickin’ I used to stash my pick between my fingers, and while this is something I still do from time to time, after hearing some great guitarists like Albert lee and James Burton I decided to give it a try. It wasn’t easy but it’s totally worth it.
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In this next series of videos I’m going to play two choruses of “Spank It”. This tune is played in a Blues progression. After that I’m going to break it all down for you in detail!
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Years ago when I was in college I met my buddy Rob, or Uncle Rob as he’s known. Rob was an amazing musician and had the ability to play all types of instruments and styles. One of the styles Uncle Rob was great at was Travis Pickin’. In this video I’m going to cover what Ol’ Uncle Rob showed me and some of the other things I learned along the way.
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Now let's take a pass at "Spank It" using some of the Travis Pickin' techniques I got from Uncle Rob. First I'llperform it then I'll break it all down in detail.
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For me, I think Vibrato, bending, and phrasing are some of the most important parts about playing. In this video we’re going to take a look at Vibrato specifically.
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In this next series of video I will be going over a tune I’ve heard both Albert King and Roy Buchanan do titled “Drowning on Dry Land”. First I will perform it then I will break it all down in detail!
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I like to use large bends because I grew up a big Albert King fan. In this video I’m going to cover his influence on me and what I learned from him and others from when I first heard them on Milwaukee Public Radio until now.
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In this next series of videos I’ll be covering some Beastly Blues Bends inspired by Albert King and Albert Collins. First I'll hit you with the performance then I’ll break it all down in detail!
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One of the things people notice about my style is that I like to use prebent chords. Years ago I was playing the James Burton Guitar Festival and I heard him play this bent chord. This really got my attention so I began to incorporate it into my own sound.
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I’m a huge Allman Brothers fan and I got to know a guy by the name of Johnny Sandlin who was in the band The Hourglass with Greg and Duane Allman. Johnny and I used to work on a song together called “Steppin’ Out”. This is my unique take on that tune. First I'll perform it, then I'll break it down in detail.
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Now let’s have some fun with pinch harmonics and some various other ways I do harmonics that cause maximum sonic malfeasance!
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In this next series of videos I’m going to play over two choruses of my song “Death of a Bassman” in the shuffle format. First I’ll perform it, then I’ll break it all down in detail!
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Something I’ve always thought was extraordinarily important is to be able to groove like a banshee in heat with the rhythm guitar because unless you have the groove and the swing goin, all the “schweedle-schweedles” doesn’t make a load of difference as far as I’m concerned. In this video we’ll take a look at how we can get that groove and swing goin!
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In this next series of lessons I’m going to do a track I wrote during quarantine called “I Gained a Quarantonne”, which is something I think we can all relate to. First I will perform it, then I will break it all down in detail!
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In this video I’m going to do a solo over a shuffle in E, but don’t get too comfy. I’m going to be using a style of play that engages open strings like “double-stoppy” drones. This works great in a band format because it makes everything sound fuller but also works in a solo because you basically are accompanying yourself.
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Alright! This next series of videos I’m going to solo over “Quarantonne”! First I will perform it, then I will break it all down in detail!
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This is a tune I came up with called “Soul Stroll”. I really like the progression of this track.
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In this next series of videos I’m going to play the rhythm part to a tune of mine that I did with my ensemble, The Koch-Marshall Trio. First I will perform it, then I will break it all down in detail!
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Get ready to dig into a crash course all about slides in standard tuning!
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In this next series of videos I’m going to play a song called “Soul Stroll” by The Koch-Marshall Trio. First I will perform it,then I’ll break it all down in detail!
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The power of Rock compels us all! So let’s dig into what some of the best that was would do, double-stops!
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In this next series of videos I’ll be covering a tune from my ensamble, The Koch-Marshall Trio, titled “Luna Girl”. First I’ll perform it, then I’ll break it all down in detail!
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Constructing longer solos is all about going back, listening, and taking notes on your previous solos. While we all may think that what we played had major gaps, many times this is just our mind playing tricks on us. In this video I’ll talk a bit about what you can do to help construct and build longer solos.
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In this video I’m going to play the outro to my ensemble's tune Luna Girl. First I will perform it, then I’ll break it all down in detail!
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One of my first compositions was a tune titled “265”. In this particular tune I was going for an organ melody type of sound, something like block chords on a hammond. This is a great tool to help you add depth to your sound!
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In this final series of lessons I’ll be covering my tune “265” , a song I wrote in my college years that I wrote as a Blues Shuffle vehicle. First I will perform it, then I’m gonna break it all down in detail!
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Hey! Thank you so much folks for tuning in and taking this course! I really tried to give you a good spattering of some of the things that I do so I hope it was instructive. If you walk away with one thing that becomes part of how you play from this point forward you’re doing doggone good, anything more than that is FANTASTIC! Remember you can find me at GregKoch.com and don’t forget to check out my band The Koch-Marshall Trio! Thank you all again and I’ll catch you on the next one!
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