By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Do The Collapse “Things I Will Keep” is one of my top favorite GBV songs of all time, which is a tough list to whittle down (as we all know). It also features my favorite guitar solo by Doug Gillard. “Cheyenne” and “Slick As Snails” are also top contenders, […]
Tag: Guided By Voices
Elfin Flower With Knees
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Universe Room “Elfin Flower With Knees” uses an open string drone guitar technique, with a fretted note on the second string along with the open third string. The fretted note on the second string drops down to an open string for the song’s main riff, but there are a […]
I Will Be A Monk
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Universe Room For such a brief song, there are a lot of fun guitar lines to play in “I Will Be A Monk,” including Doug Gillard’s lead parts, for which he employs a wah pedal. You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please […]
Dawn Believes
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Universe Room “Dawn Believes” was the Universe Room track assigned to Doug Gillard to record all instrumentation, so of course we can expect it to have some embellishments on Robert Pollard’s original composition. Using an array of layered guitars, Gillard altered some chord voicings and added some transitional fills, […]
The Great Man
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Universe Room “The Great Man” was the second single released from the Universe Room album and features an insistent, rhythmic guitar riff accentuated with Psycho inspired string stabs. For the main guitar riffs, Robert Pollard uses an open string drone technique, with a fretted note on one string along […]
Action Speaks Volumes
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: The Pipe Dreams Of Instant Prince Whippet The guitar work throughout “Action Speaks Volumes” consists of a single stum of a chord (there are many of Robert Pollard’s favorite chord shapes included in this song) followed by two E notes on the open sixth string. With this constant rhythmic […]
Fly Religion
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Universe Room “Fly Religion” is the first single to be released from the upcoming album Universe Room, and it sure does whet the appetite. There’s nothing groundbreaking here in terms of song composition or guitar work, but it’s just another great song by Robert Pollard and company with a […]
Flunky Minnows
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: English Little League The majority of the guitar work in “Flunky Minnows” relies on Robert Pollard’s guitar technique that I refer to as “open string drone.” He’s playing notes on the sixth string (both fretted and open) and keeping the open fifth string ringing out at the same time […]
Hangover Child
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: The Bears For Lunch The main guitar riff in “Hangover Child” uses a Robert Pollard guitar technique that I refer to as “dropping the bass,” which involves playing a power chord and then moving the finger being used to fret the lowest, or bass, note of the chord. In […]
For The Home
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Nowhere To Go But Up The main riff in “For The Home” features a type of guitar arpeggio that’s used less frequently in Robert Pollard’s arsenal. His typical arpeggio includes a fretted note (most commonly as the lowest note) followed by two open strings (most commonly the next two […]
