I’ve been busy working on this new show Heads in the Cloud for the last month. Its a little outside the Digital Pill box but I’ve posted it here for anyone who might be entertained by Episode 1. Now that we have it up and running I’ll have more time to devote to Digital Pill [...]
Tag Archives: digital pill
David Bridie – The Centre Cannot Hold
April 12, 2011
David Bridie sings The Centre Cannot Hold from the Fiasco album by My Friend the Chocolate Cake. David says of this song – From the W B yeats poem..”things fall apart, the centre cannot hold”..a war reflection..pretty simple tune, just blocked piano and droning strings … listened to Robert Wyatt’s “stalingrad” off “nothing can stop [...]
Guitar: using triads (Lucas Michailidis)
March 20, 2011
Guitarist Lucas Michailidis details his unique triadic approach to comping and improvisation. Included is a comprehensive guide to all triad inversions along with how these can be superimposed to generate a range of extended chords and alternative possibilities. Click > HERE < to download a pdf of the lesson Here’s some links to Lucas’ music [...]
Sax: stratospheric sax gliss (Dean Hilson)
March 17, 2011
Dean explains how to slide effortlessly into the altissimo register of the sax in one long continuously ascending note. Click > HERE < to download a pdf of the lesson Listen to Dean’s music here The Pearly Shells Zydeco Jump The Vanguards
Guitar: voice leading (Doug DeVries) pt 1
March 15, 2011
Doug DeVries shares some ideas on how to add harmonic and rhythmic variation to a piece of music. In this lesson he uses one of his own compositions – Astoria – as an example of voice leading in harmony as well as examples of how to increase interest by varying the rhythm. Visit Doug on [...]
Percussion: soloing (Ray Pereira)
March 15, 2011
Ray discusses using a combination of tone and slap sounds on the djembe to produce rolls of various lengths and their use in contemporary percussion soloing. More information about Ray’s classes, projects and recording can be found at raypereira.com
Guitar: rhythmic variation (Doug DeVries) pt 2
March 14, 2011
In part 2 of a series Doug DeVries shares some ideas on how to add rhythmic variation to a piece of music. In this lesson he demonstrates how to increase interest by varying the rhythm. Visit Doug on these links His website dougdevries.com Doug’s albums on iTunes
Sax: tuning the registers (Leo Dale)
March 14, 2011
Leo gives a sax lesson on how to keep the various registers of the sax in tune. Using the interval of the 6th and some handy tips he picked up from studying J. S. Bach’s cello suites. Click > HERE < to download a pdf of the lesson Listen to Leo’s music here Leo’s website [...]
Guitar: walking bass (Tim Nikolsky)
March 13, 2011
Tim Nikolsky demonstrates how to do Walking Basslines on Guitar. Tim has been performing with the vocalist Margot Leighton for the past 13 years and has developed a unique style of playing in this musical duo incorporating the whole rhythm section on guitar. The technique of walking bass on guitar is also a great way [...]





August 8, 2011
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