ANDY JAMES

CUSTOM METAL SERIES 2

Welcome to custom metal series two. For those of you who
stopped by and purchased series one, i thank you all.

This series is a little bit different as i tried to delve more into what
makes a simple backing track bring a more melodic element into
your playing. For me personally, it takes more inspiration to write
a melody than shred, as this is generally the thing that initially
draws the listener into your music. Some times when you hear a track, it makes you want to pick up your guitar and
Jam away and hopefully with this series that feeling is there. As always, there is my take on the kind of thing you
can accomplish over these jamtracks, but by no means is the gospel as to what to play, the power is your hands to
express yourself as you see fit, you just might learn a few neat tricks and phrases along the way.

Eyes of the world: this track is a very straight forward more rocky track with an element of european metal
thrown in. The progression is a very simple one in the key of B minor. There is plenty of space to jam over this track
and explore a more vocal side to your playing. As the track progresses it just heavies up the same progression to
keep it familiar and gives you less to think about when you’re shredding it up

Sixth Sense: this is a laid back groove in the key of A minor. As the track is laid back for some reason my take
on this was more technical than the other tracks. Some tracks allow you to express yourself more comfortably at
speed depending on the bpm and key. I happen to like playing in A minor so its more natural for me. There is a little
development in this progression but only to make the lead more interesting, not to throw you difficult changes.
Hopefully in turn this will help you develop some nice melodic chops.

Time and Time Again: Here is a more full length track and performance. I tried editing a shorter version,
but thought it deserved to be presented in its full form. With this kind of track comes the most challenging thing
any guitarist faces, playing with feel and emotion. Its hard sometimes to sit back and let notes breath before letting
rip, but with my performance, i tried to build the solo as the track builds so it takes you on a journey rather than
blowing my wad in the first ten seconds. I would suggest paying attention to that kinda thing when jamming over
a track like this, your listener will thank you for it. This track is in the key of E Minor

A New Dawn: another groovy tune with a slightly euro feel to it, this song is in the key of C#minor. Nothing to
difficult with the progression, again, allowing you to explore as much melody as you can making whatever you play
the main focus. Some nice ideas in there from the performance that might inspire you to add more 5ths and 9ths
into your playing, especially in arpeggio terms. These natural minor progressions are some of my favourite to play
over as i find them really inspiring, especially if you get the right groove going as well.

Horizons: These type of tracks make you wanna play notes for as long as you can to try and milk every last drop
of emotion out of your guitar. This progression has got a very grand feel to it and an interesting change of pace in
the groove between the so called verse and chorus sections of the track. Such changes in groove can greatly alter
your choice of phrasing, making this a great track for improvising over without getting bored of the same groove
and chord vamp. This song is in A minor.

AJ April 2012