Once your students have started to develop their own licks as discussed in last month's post, they should begin to apply them. One of the most wonderful tools available to musicians of all styles is the backing track. In the past backing tracks were something that could only be purchased or self-created, but with the advent of the Internet and YouTube there is an literally thousands available for free.
If you are unfamiliar with backing tracks, it is a piece of music written in a certain key, tempo and style for musicians (in our case guitarists) to practice with; most often used to practice soloing. These backing tracks run the gamut from "low budget" to "professional quality". Interestingly enough, backing tracks can be a simple 12 Bar Blues or a "recreation" of a classic rock song. Some tracks even indicate the chord changes and various scales and can run up to 10 minutes and longer!
Although YouTube is filled with endless backing tracks, you may want to give Guitartonemaster.com a look. The folks at Guitar Tone Master offer backing tracks for guitar, bass, drums while also giving guitar neck diagrams for all sorts of scales - from pentatonic to the modes. There's a lot there to sift through so enjoy yourself - subscribe to their YouTube channel and like their Facebook page. These folks a fabulous resource for guitar teachers, students and players of all levels!
If you have any favorite backing tracks drop me a line and let me know. Next month I'll drop a list of my top 10 favorite backing tracks!
