Latest articles by Andy Aledort
Jeff Beck on his relationship with Eric Clapton, jamming with Hendrix, and turning down John Mayall
In a 2010 chat with GW, the always creatively restless virtuoso discusses his love of John McLaughlin, what he sought out to do when venturing into the world of classical music, and the musical icon he wished he had had the chance to collaborate with
Tracking the phenomenal guitar lineage of John Mayall in 12 essential releases
We trace the evolution of the six-string linchpin behind the British blues rock boom of the 1960s
John Mayall changed blues music forever – and introduced the world to some of its greatest guitar players
“The Godfather of British Blues” left us in July at age 90. We look back at his many achievements, triumphs and essential releases
The guitar greats describe a good solo as a “song within a song” – here’s how to make it happen
In his final In Deep column, the great Andy Aledort teaches us how lead guitar can maintain a compelling conversation over changing chords
“Stevie wasn’t a fluent songwriter”: The making of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Couldn’t Stand the Weather
In 1984, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble needed new tunes and needed them bad, and necessity became the mother of invention as they put together a bona fide blues classic
How I went from guitar journalist to Dickey Betts’ right-hand man
Guitar World’s Andy Aledort played over 250 shows around the globe with his hero. He traces his history with the late Allman Brothers Band icon, and shares his personal experience of working with the complex, generous guitar legend who once gave him one of Duane Allman’s slides
The 25 greatest Allman Brothers Band songs
From Dickey Betts’ iconic instrumentals to the tracks that made ABB one of rock’s most revered jam groups, here are the best Allman Brothers Band cuts from across their catalog – and the stories behind them
All your favorite guitarists know how to lock into a groove with their leads – and learning to solo deep in the pocket will elevate your style immensely
In this video and tab lesson, inspired by the Shuggie Otis classic Me and My Woman, we're thinking rhythmically while we're soloing, which is an essential skill for any player
“That take was live from beginning to end, 7 minutes of pure guitar energy without a single miscue”: Stevie Ray Vaughan’s producer and bassist recall being in the room when SRV tackled his game-changing cover of Voodoo Child
SRV’s other massive Hendrix cover proved a pivot point in his playing career – helping the Texas bluesman to find his way through his fraught second album sessions
One of the greatest things about the guitar is its capacity to emulate the nuances and expressiveness of the human voice – improve your phrasing now with this lesson in how make your playing more vocal
By making clever use of string bends, finger slides and vibrato, you can make your guitar sing
How Jimi Hendrix’s groundbreaking techniques are still influencing the modern rock, blues and R&B styles of today’s players
This tab and video lesson details how Hendrix inspired the likes of Melanie Faye, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Marcus Machado, Ayla Tesler-Mabé, Joanne Shaw Taylor and Ayron Jones
How to create melodies that connect relative major and minor chords
Pull solo ideas from both sides of the happy/sad spectrum of tonality
How to solo over relative major and minor chords
It's one of the oldest tricks in the book, used by everyone from the Beatles to Neil Young and Pink Floyd, but playing around the major and minor tonalities can produce melodies that stick in the mind forever
Remembering David Lindley: A tribute to one of the greatest slide players and multi-instrumentalists of all time
Sideman and session player to Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and more, David Lindley leaves behind a formidable musical legacy
How to get more from oblique bends, a staple of blues-rock guitar playing
Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Johnny Winter all used this technique to great effect – here's how you can make the most of it in your solos
How to combine one and two-string melodies with drones for more melodically inventive approaches
This lesson will help take your soloing outside of muscle memory and learned playing habits
How to make the most of open strings in blues guitar solos
Learn the pentatonic solo approaches epitomized by Muddy Waters and adopted by every blues player since
Jimmie Vaughan names his 12 favorite Texas blues guitarists
“This is a serious list,” says Vaughan, and that is no word of a lie...
Stevie Ray Vaughan producer Richard Mullen: “When he played Voodoo Child live, he brought a life force to the song that no-one else could possibly do”
The late Richard Mullen was there as SRV became one of the greatest blues guitarists the world has ever seen. In this classic interview from 2003, he offers his perspective on a one-off talent
"It was a wild scene up there": The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell recount the explosive, and chaotic, Woodstock set that changed the world
In this classic GW interview, Hendrix's late-period rhythm section reveal the highs and lows of one of rock's most immortal performances, and what it was really like to collaborate with the ultimate guitar hero
How to incorporate open-string drones into an improvised blues solo
Taking inspiration from Muddy Waters' Rollin' Stone, this lesson will teach you how to make your one guitar sound fuller
Stevie Ray Vaughan's 10 greatest guitar moments
Dig deep into SRV's six-string artistry with our compilation of his finest performances
Learn the slippery soloing style of Muddy Waters
This improvisation on the Muddy Waters classic, Rollin’ Stone takes electric blues back to the source and plants an almighty hook in an E minor pentatonic lick
Warren DeMartini, Steve Stevens, Lita Ford and an all-star panel share their guitar highlights of the ‘80s
Some of the biggest names in guitar look back on the era of big solos and even bigger hair to share their favorite riffs, shredders and, yes, haircuts of the decade
"I love playing the blues, now more than I ever have before": Johnny Winter reveals how he paid tribute to his favorite blues greats on Roots in 2011 GW interview
In this classic chat, the late guitar legend touches on the songs that led him to the blues, his experience working with Muddy Waters and his indestructible Music Man 4x12 amp
