Guitar Lesson: How to Play In the Pocket

Рет қаралды 127,930

12 жыл бұрын

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In this free online guitar lesson, Berklee College of Music assistant professor and Berklee Online course author Michael Williams will show you how play "in the pocket" when playing blues guitar. He is joined by Berklee Online academic advisor Doug Orey.
About Berklee Online:
Berklee Online is the continuing education division of Berklee College of Music, delivering online access to Berklee's acclaimed curriculum from anywhere in the world, offering online courses, certificate programs, and degree programs. Contact an Academic Advisor today:
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About Michael Williams:
Michael Williams has been active as a blues and jazz guitarist around New England since 1987. He has performed extensively throughout the United States and Canada as a member of Grammy winner James Cotton's blues band, and with many other artists, including David "Fathead" Newman, Mighty Sam McClain, the Bruce Katz Band, Sugar Ray Norcia, Darrell Nulisch, Toni Lynn Washington, Michelle Willson, Jerry Portnoy, the Love Dogs, blues piano virtuoso David Maxwell, and his own band, Michael Williams and Friends.
Williams performed on James Cotton's CD, 35th Anniversary Jam, which won a W.C. Handy Award and received a Grammy nomination for the Best Traditional Blues Album in 2003. He performed on Bruce Katz's 2004 release, entitled A Deeper Blue, and his playing, songwriting, and arranging are featured on Michelle Willson's CD So Emotional, which earned a four-star review in Down Beat magazine. In 1999 Williams released a CD, entitled Late Night Walk (Blue Tempo Records), which features ten original compositions with guest artists David "Fathead" Newman on tenor sax, Sugar Ray Norcia on vocals, and Bruce Katz on Hammond B3 organ and piano.
Originally from Northern California, he has written jingles for radio and television, and performed on extended tours throughout Europe with jazz and theater groups.
Williams is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he has taught since 1987. He specializes in teaching a mix of blues and jazz styles, and has traveled to Europe and South America on several occasions as a clinician and performer for the college.

Пікірлер: 49

@doordashh 5 жыл бұрын

I love how this guy spits all this knowledge, then seamlessly just plays what he explained. (with no edits). what a boss. 🙏

@stefanoschipani 3 жыл бұрын

Are you serious? He doesn't explain anything but he does what you have to do... Quite common attitude..

@Mythki11er 3 жыл бұрын

@@stefanoschipani He explains what he's gonna do, then does perfect examples of each. It's an advanced lesson, that's why i have to pause and analyze each part lol

@tommystrazza1561 6 жыл бұрын

Mike was my teacher at Berklee in Spring semester of 1991. Still sounding great!!!

@liamthebastard 8 жыл бұрын

This is the best tip I've heard in a long while. Gets you away from being a slave to the click track and lets you start to feel that groove instead.

@lolobuggah2670 4 жыл бұрын

Really great exercise. All the best players and teachers use this back beat practise. It's helped my rhythm tremendously.

@rorycracroft6271 8 ай бұрын

I swear this is some of the nicest playing I have seen

@Mythki11er 4 жыл бұрын

I've watched countless youtube guitar vids and this is one of the best. It's 5 minutes...

@Berklee_Online 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@huynguyenngoc135 9 жыл бұрын

look simple, sound awesome, but it still take a lot of time to practice ! Love these video

@14thetruth 10 жыл бұрын

It's a pleasure hearing someone speak and demostrate what they are talking about. Thanks. B.

@BananaMango99 10 жыл бұрын

Learning so much from these, super like

@zannpaci 10 жыл бұрын

love these videos!

@bobwright4945 4 жыл бұрын

A master at work

@themerchant123 11 жыл бұрын

i love this guy

@blockman1377 9 жыл бұрын

pure skill

@Roozo411 8 жыл бұрын

This guys an absolute monster!

@GuitarsAndSynths 5 жыл бұрын

All well and good but how do you lock in with a singer in a band and the other guitarist? Like knowing when not to play, when to enter playing the rhythm guitar part and so forth?

@andystephenson5407 8 жыл бұрын

any good instructional books I should buy. Berkley has a few of them

@justeleblanc1863 8 жыл бұрын

Feeling like I found the perfect channel

@babo85 9 жыл бұрын

How I love that jazz/blues piece! I wish I knew how they call that style so I could find a lesson on it :(

@loren6000 8 жыл бұрын

+babo85 Jazz blues rhythm guitar should get you good results if youre still interested

@babo85 8 жыл бұрын

I usually get the basic E rythm.. I really like the walking bass style, but no luck so far.

@KudosCultureCartel 5 жыл бұрын

That move with the picking hand closer to the bridge 2:20

@DaveRobertson85 12 жыл бұрын

NIce walking bass line!!

@GanenRo 9 жыл бұрын

Great video. But if some one could help me to better understand cuz all i saw was a professional playing well. Does anyone know of a different video where this pocket idea is explain a little better. I really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

@carlrhoads 9 жыл бұрын

dan B the meaning of the pocket is to play with that feeling that makes you wanna dance, its not only playing the chords and the melody, is to thighten up with the groove of the drums and bass, in this case, the backbeat its very important, the 2 and the 4, 1 (2) 3 (4), so wen you play you have to accentuate them, i hope you understand, sorry for my bad english.

@GanenRo 9 жыл бұрын

Your English is just fine and thank very much for the explanation. To spite what i was able to understand, i am better off with visuals because seeing it work in tandem with its context is very helpful to me. Thank you so much. I'll continue to study what you've said and search for more info.

@tandybare 2 жыл бұрын

To me it's playing with precise time and with great feel. it's a feeling that you're in sync with a pulse, and having a developed feel for beat syncopation that exists as well. in his example he uses back beat which is a syncopated off beat.

@JayStapley 2 ай бұрын

This is one of the most misunderstood things about playing in a band. I’ve seen loads of Degree dissertations on the subject. The closest I’ve come to a definition of the pocket is that it a concensus reached by the members of an ensemble as to 1.) where they feel the mathematical centre of the beat to be and 2.) where each of them is going to play in relation to that agreed centre (😱and they don’t all necessarily need to play in the same place.) A great example from my own playing career was when I played with the great drummer Andy Newmark. He sits way behind the beat (which is why he sounds so tough) and if you go and join him there, he goes further back resulting in the band grinding to a halt. I learned that with him, every member of the band had to be confident in their own time and ability to find their own place in the pocket. It was one of the best moments of my music.al life when he said to me in rehearsal one day “Man; that’s a very deep pocket you have there!”

@mgardner70 7 жыл бұрын

DAMN!

@dm5098 7 жыл бұрын

Why is the backbeat considered so important? What makes it special compared to the other two beats? Also, what would the backbeats in other time signatures, such as 6/8 be? Thanks.

@ReinhartCoetsee 2 жыл бұрын

Hi, I don’t know if you ever found the answer within the past 5 years. The backbeat is mainly important in genres stemming from Blues, Jazz, Pop and Rock music. It’s special in these musical styles because it drives the rhythm and makes note subdivisions easier for musicians to groove between the beats. 6/8 time, however, is a compound time signature with 2 strong beats. Which means that it’s basically a child of 2/4 time (not 3/4), but we divide those two quarter note beats into triplets. When we do that we are left with 6 eighth note beats with 1 and 4 being emphasized. For example: *1 2 3 *4 5 6 In the case of 6/8, the backbeat will only land on 4. But from my experience the backbeat is not often emphasized more than the first beat in 6/8 songs.

@JerseyMiller Жыл бұрын

He's focusing on the two and four back beats to teach you pocket from a different angle. Think of it as playing along with the drummers snare drum. It's a way to help develop your groove so you don't sound like a starched button up collar.

@kashmeere 8 жыл бұрын

Is it ok to be front or back of the click sometimes ? I practice with recording and trying to strum on the grids. Is that the true way or am I working wrong ?

@YourMusicPress 8 жыл бұрын

+Alper Berber probably should aim behind the beat a little bit to get in the pocket

@jkl.guitar 2 жыл бұрын

I wish i found this a long time ago

@jay2xtremefy 7 жыл бұрын

Hes really on time. Okay practice with the backbeat!

@teejayped Жыл бұрын

Obviously he's a good player etc, but can't believe no one's mentioning the fact he's going on about how people don't play in the pocket and how to count to the beat, then proceeds to count in out of time, and play out of time for the first 10 seconds :)

@williamf.buckleymusic666 9 ай бұрын

Mike is a great player. But what bugged me was all the examples are of him playing "ahead" of the beat. Would have liked to have seen a discussion about playing "on" and "behind" the beat, and how that changes up a groove while still playing in the pocket

@guitarevirtuoso 10 жыл бұрын

In the Pocket

@Jason_wears_stuff 10 жыл бұрын

all up in the pocket !!

@Jason_wears_stuff 10 жыл бұрын

god i still have so much to learn , fuck :( , amazing video

@patrickhaggerty5861 11 жыл бұрын

he holds his pick different

@imslicc 7 жыл бұрын

i felt like he was a bit messy and wasn't specific enough with the notes when he was playing the funk thing. it's all about hitting the notes, syncopated, without filling it in between. i dunno

@KevinSmithdc 6 жыл бұрын

Perhaps you should enlighten us with your own video.