gharris3
Verified buyer
04/21/25
The Sound of Soul
If you heard the soul sound but don't know how to figure it out this is the guidebook.
Soul Guitar Guidebook
Key Rhythm & Soloing Approaches for Soul Guitar
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About this course
The seminal guitar work of Steve Cropper, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Bobby Womack, Cornell Dupree, Reggie Young and other majorly soulful guitar innovators has influenced virtually every future generation of blues, funk, rock, R&B and pop players.
If your ears perk up, your feet start tapping, and your hands automatically reach for your guitar every time you hear a soul classic, then you’re a bonafide soul man and Jimmy Reiter’s Soul Guitar Guidebook is your key to a lifetime of six-string happiness.
Comin' to ya on a dusty road
Good lovin' I got a truck load
And when you get it, you got something
So don't worry 'cause I'm coming
I'm a soul man.
Jimmy was lead guitarist with US Blues singer/harmonica player Doug Jay for over ten years. He’s also played with numerous international artists on their European tours. Jimmy released High Priest Of Nothing in 2011, as his solo debut as a front man. The CD won the German Record Critics' Award and launched his career as a bandleader and frontman. We’re very proud to welcome Jimmy to the family with his first TrueFire course, the Soul Guitar Guidebook.
”In the Soul Guitar Guidebook, I’ll show you all of the crucial elements of soul guitar and how to establish your spot in the groove to create that great Memphis soul and New Orleans R&B vibe. We'll explore key concepts to help you develop your own soul guitar sound, such as mixing up major and minor scales, using open intervals, short fills, and the essential right hand techniques. You’ll be able to apply these soul guitar skills to whatever musical styles you love to play.”
In the first section of the course, Jimmy guides you through five key concepts and techniques of Soul Guitar: Rhythm Guitar, Right Hand Techniques, Scales, Double Stops, and the bVII-IV-I Progression.
In the second section, you’ll play your way through 10 performance studies applying the key concepts and techniques from the first section. Jimmy demonstrates all of the performance studies over jam tracks and then breaks them down emphasizing the techniques you’ll need to play them.
All of the performance studies are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and/or slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons. Plus, Jimmy generously includes all of the jam tracks for you to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s get soulful with Jimmy Reiter!
If your ears perk up, your feet start tapping, and your hands automatically reach for your guitar every time you hear a soul classic, then you’re a bonafide soul man and Jimmy Reiter’s Soul Guitar Guidebook is your key to a lifetime of six-string happiness.
Comin' to ya on a dusty road
Good lovin' I got a truck load
And when you get it, you got something
So don't worry 'cause I'm coming
I'm a soul man.
Jimmy was lead guitarist with US Blues singer/harmonica player Doug Jay for over ten years. He’s also played with numerous international artists on their European tours. Jimmy released High Priest Of Nothing in 2011, as his solo debut as a front man. The CD won the German Record Critics' Award and launched his career as a bandleader and frontman. We’re very proud to welcome Jimmy to the family with his first TrueFire course, the Soul Guitar Guidebook.
”In the Soul Guitar Guidebook, I’ll show you all of the crucial elements of soul guitar and how to establish your spot in the groove to create that great Memphis soul and New Orleans R&B vibe. We'll explore key concepts to help you develop your own soul guitar sound, such as mixing up major and minor scales, using open intervals, short fills, and the essential right hand techniques. You’ll be able to apply these soul guitar skills to whatever musical styles you love to play.”
In the first section of the course, Jimmy guides you through five key concepts and techniques of Soul Guitar: Rhythm Guitar, Right Hand Techniques, Scales, Double Stops, and the bVII-IV-I Progression.
In the second section, you’ll play your way through 10 performance studies applying the key concepts and techniques from the first section. Jimmy demonstrates all of the performance studies over jam tracks and then breaks them down emphasizing the techniques you’ll need to play them.
All of the performance studies are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and/or slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons. Plus, Jimmy generously includes all of the jam tracks for you to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s get soulful with Jimmy Reiter!
What you'll learn
- Use minor pentatonic scales in soloing
- Creating authentic soul guitar parts
- Understanding soul guitar rhythm techniques
- Develop techniques for playing in a band context
- Developing groove-based playing style
Release date: 07/28/2016 • 2h 21m runtime
Sample lessons
Right Hand Techniques
Concept 2
Patio Boogaloo
Performance
Patio Boogaloo
Breakdown 1
Patio Boogaloo
Breakdown 2
What's included
30 lessons • 15 charts • 10 Jam Tracks
Soul Guitar Guidebook
Hi, I'm Jimmy Reiter, and welcome to the Soul Guitar Guidebook! Soul guitarists are not known for their flashy in-your-face solos - they're all about playing in the pocket. In this course, we'll focus on finding your spot in the groove and learning crucial element to create that Memphis soul and New Orleans R&B vibe.
We'll look at a few concepts that will help you develop your soul guitar sound, such as mixing up major and minor scales, using open intervals and short fills, right hand techniques, and others. I'll show you some of the tricks used by players like Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Steve Cropper, Bobby Womack, Cornell Dupree, and Reggie Young - tricks that can also be an inspiration for a blues guitar player!
As always, this course comes with tabs, extensive backing tracks, and extra information with every lesson. Well enough talk, let's get busy!
We'll look at a few concepts that will help you develop your soul guitar sound, such as mixing up major and minor scales, using open intervals and short fills, right hand techniques, and others. I'll show you some of the tricks used by players like Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Steve Cropper, Bobby Womack, Cornell Dupree, and Reggie Young - tricks that can also be an inspiration for a blues guitar player!
As always, this course comes with tabs, extensive backing tracks, and extra information with every lesson. Well enough talk, let's get busy!
Soul Rhythm Guitar
Grooving rhythm guitar parts are an essential ingredient in soul music. The guitar player must use chords and fills with typical intervals to make an interesting guitar part that supports the song. It’s important to find your spot in the groove and lock in with the rhythm section.
Think about whether it's necessary to play full chords, or if maybe triads or double stops will serve the purpose better. Triads are easier to play and take up less of the band's frequency range, thus making the band sound more transparent and leaving more room for the vocals or a solo instrument to stand out.
Think about whether it's necessary to play full chords, or if maybe triads or double stops will serve the purpose better. Triads are easier to play and take up less of the band's frequency range, thus making the band sound more transparent and leaving more room for the vocals or a solo instrument to stand out.
Right Hand Techniques
Right hand techniques such as hybrid picking or tremolo picking can be used to spice up your solos. For example, hybrid picking (i.e. using your pick AND one or more fingers of your right hand at the same time) is very helpful when playing double stops that are across three strings; a technique that Buddy Guy uses often in his solos.
Tremolo picking means strumming the strings with your right hand as fast as you can. It can make a simple lick sound a lot more interesting and also works great on double stops.
Tremolo picking means strumming the strings with your right hand as fast as you can. It can make a simple lick sound a lot more interesting and also works great on double stops.
Scales
The Mixolydian scale and the major pentatonic are typical scales used in soul and R&B music, as well as the good ol' blues scale and the minor pentatonic. Every once in a while I like to use the Fahrenheit scale, too.
OK, to be honest with you, I'm not a scales guy, but it certainly doesn't hurt to know and understand a few fundamental concepts so you can develop your own personal approach.
OK, to be honest with you, I'm not a scales guy, but it certainly doesn't hurt to know and understand a few fundamental concepts so you can develop your own personal approach.
Double Stops
Soul guitar solos and rhythm parts are full of double stops. Using typical intervals like sixths and thirds will instantly give your playing a touch of soul. Steve Cropper, one of the greatest rhythm guitarists of all time, played hundreds of double stop licks on soul classics such as "Soul Man" or "The Dock of the Bay".
The intro to King Curtis' "Memphis Soul Stew" is another great example of this concept. The guitar player is sliding sixth intervals across the fretboard, creating a funky, instantly recognizable lick.
The intro to King Curtis' "Memphis Soul Stew" is another great example of this concept. The guitar player is sliding sixth intervals across the fretboard, creating a funky, instantly recognizable lick.
bVII-IV-I Progressions
The bVII - IV - I progression can be heard in many great soul songs. If you've heard songs like "Cissy Strut" by the Meters, "Born on the Bayou" by CCR, "Get Out of My Life, Woman" by Lee Dorsey or "Hard to Handle" by Otis Redding, you've heard this progression in one form or another. There are many ways of playing it: using full chords, using triads, or just using double stops to imply the chords.
Patio Boogaloo
This funky groove, often heard in soul and R&B music, is called a boogaloo. This example will give you a few ideas for using double stops and the Mixolydian scale to play a solo that's a bit more interesting than a conventional minor pentatonic solo. Check out Magic Sam's "You Belong To Me" or "Shotgun" by Jr. Walker & The All Stars for great examples of this kind of groove.
+ 23 more lessons
Reviews
19 results
BertyJ2021
04/14/23
Soul brother
Every lesson here is a joy, really loved playing along with the performances provided and proves you really don't need to be shredding every bar of a solo to make the point. 5 stars for me , thanks Jimmy and already for the second course.
Tim G.
07/19/22
Little Things Matter
There are so many little details that Jimmy Reiter brings out in this course. I picked up on some nuanced picking and finger placement. I've been playing the Sun catalog for around 7 years now and wish I had this course when I first started. I feel like I've become a better player after working through the lessons here.
Dave58
Verified buyer
04/18/22
Great!
Been looking for a course about the secrets in the southern soul style for a long time. Then give a teacher who can teach everything in a pleasant way, interesting lesson examples and techniques. In the meantime also bought the second part. Great!
otisredine
Verified buyer
12/10/21
Excellent guide for the guitarist who wishes to master this style. Franck from France.
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