Vamps, Jams and Improvisation
Frank Vignola
Frank Vignola obviously likes to keep busy. Not only has he recorded scores of albums, he also has a couple dozen educational products on the market. Not content to stick to a single format, Frank has been at the cutting edge of instructional technology for the guitar.
Vamps, Jams & Improvisation is an impressive work. For less than the cost of a single lesson with a guitar teacher you get all sorts of learning materials. First, there are the TWO DVD's in which Frank demonstrates all of the material as well as explaining how to make it your own. This is already a generous package, but there is more.
Frank has teamed up with TrueFire.com to provide some extras. When you buy the lesson material you are given your own PIN to login to the TrueFire.com web site. From there you can download the extra material, about another 50 Mb worth! First, you get the music from both lead and rhythm parts in both notation and tab. Then you also get MP3 files with the backing tracks for you to practise over. Finally, you get the material in PowerTab format, along with a copy of the PowerTab program. (Unfortunately PowerTab only runs on Windows computers, so Mac and Linux users are out of luck with this part.) PowerTab lets you edit the notation and tab as well as change the tempo, allowing you to slow down the hard parts and gradually get them up to speed.
What about the material? Well this is about as complete an approach to improvisation as I have seen in a single set. Never jammed before? Don't worry! Frank starts off with how to play effective rhythm guitar over a single chord. Next you get to solo over the vamp that you have just played. Here is where you can really start to appreciate the talent of Frank Vignola: if you have never soloed before you get a great start, but if you have been soloing for years you will also get great tips on breaking out of the musical ruts you find yourself in to explore more of the guitar. This is a set that really lives up to its sub-title: "The Quintessential Rut-Buster"!
Frank covers a good deal of theory on these discs but you will barely notice. First you will hear it played by Frank and then he will explain what he was doing and the necessary theory behind it. You get the chance to try out every concept as it is presented. The notation and tab is very complete, so if you like a particular riff or chord progression you can find it easily and make it your own. Frank has such an easy-going style and introduces ideas so naturally that you will be playing more advanced progressions and solos before you realize it. I am very impressed at the way he is able to take any idea and immediately translate it into a groove that is both recognizable and fun to play.
A note about style: This course is not about jazz improvisation, or blues, or rock, or funk. The concepts presented apply to any type of music and where you take them is up to you. Frank's demos move fluidly from jazz licks to rock to blues to funk and beyond so smoothly that all you hear is one coherent solo. And the good news is that you will learn how to do this yourself.
I am particularly impressed by the emphasis given to rhythm guitar playing. Frank gives great advice on making the rhythm part interesting without over-playing. If you have heard him play you know that this man is an amazing rhythm player as well as one of the best lead players around, so he is a great person to show you how to feed ideas to the lead player and provide support in interesting but unobtrusive ways. In fact, I found the rhythm playing some of the best fun in this course.
And ultimately that is what this course aims at - you having fun while expanding your horizons, whether you jam professionally, with a few friends, or at home with a CD or the MP3's from this course. Frank Vignola provides an excellent learning experience that will stretch your imagination and get the music out of your head and into your fingers.
Very highly recommended!
You can purchase the lessons from TrueFire in a number of ways: as a direct download, a data DVD playable on your computer, video DVD's, and a combination of direct download plus data DVD. All have the same great content. Find them at http://truefire.com/vampsjams/vampsjams_frank.html
Still not convinced? There are a number of video clips that you can watch for free by going to the link above and clicking on the "Video Samples" button at the top right. CHECK IT OUT!