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A John Frusciante-Style Guitar Lesson

I consider myself to be extremely fortunate in that I've had the opportunity to interview John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers, solo artist, etc.) in-person, three different times between the years 1999-2002. These interviews were conducted at Frusciante's former residence at a certain well-known hotel on the Sunset strip, and at different Red Hot Chili Peppers' rehearsal studios. (Frusciante also granted me numerous "follow-up" interviews, whereby he allowed me to contact him by phone.) These interviews, which contain information many Frusciante fans (myself included!) consider to be highly revelatory and illuminating, were published in Guitar One magazine as cover stories, all of which are still available as back issues:

Guitar One: August 1999

Guitar One: April 2001

Guitar One: January 2003

Out of all the guitar players I've gotten the chance to interview, I have to say that these Frusciante interviews have been my favorites. It was great to be in the same room, totally one-on-one, talking with a person as perpetually inspired as John, who clearly has dedicated every ounce of his being to music, art, and creativity in general. Each interview, in my opinion, showcases a different aspect of John's greatness—the personal sacrifices he's made to get where he is today as a musician (Red Hot Once Again!), his integrity, purity, and uniqueness as an artist (A Chili Pepper Goes Pop!), and his understanding of music theory and how it assists his creative guitar playing (Play Like a Pepper!). In fact, the most recent John Frusciante cover story to appear in Guitar One (Play Like a Pepper!) is, in my opinion, one of the ULTIMATE opportuinties to get inside this picker's head, at least from a playing and theoretical standpoint. Every guitarist who's struggling to "connect the dots" between the physical act of playing and the spiritual side of self-expression (improvisation, composition, musical interaction, etc.) should read it!

Prior to this John Frusciante Lesson issue's on-sale date, Guitar One provided the Red Hot Chili Peppers official site with PDF versions of some of this lesson's pages. I've taken the liberty of posting direct links to them here. As far as the lesson's musical figures go (all TAB and standard notation), all the exercises, licks, rhythm guitar passages, scale fingerings, etc. seem to be there! Meanwhile, the MP3 audio files for this lesson (all the "light blue" links below) were actually played on G1's web site by li'l 'ol me! I hope you like!!!

—Dale Turner

[Fig. 1] Opening Chord Improvisation
[Fig. 2] E7b9 to Am (frames)
[Figs. 3A-B] E9sus4 to Cmaj7(frames)
[Fig. 4] ”I Could Die For You“ Chords
[Fig. 5] Modal Progression
[Figs 6A-B] A Mixolydian vs. A Major
[Figs. 7A-B] A Dorian vs. A Minor
[Fig. 8] A Dorian Linear Pattern
[Figs 9A-B] G Natural Minor vs. C Dorian
[Fig. 10A] A Dorian in Single Notes Along One String
[Fig. 10B] A Dorian in 3rds Along Two Strings
[Fig. 10C] A Dorian in 10ths Along Two Strings
[Fig. 11A] Basic Barre Chords in C-G-Am-F Progression
[Fig. 11B] C-G-Am-F Progression Implied w/10ths
[Fig. 12] Improvisation Using 6ths Intervals
[Fig. 13A] A Dorian, Harmonized Using 7th Chords
[Fig. 13B] A Dorian, Harmonized Using 6th Chords
[Fig. 14] Hendrix-Style Rhythm Figure in C-G-Am Progression
[Fig. 15A] C7#9 Funky Scratches (w/partial fretting)
[Fig. 15B] C7#9 Funky Scratches (standard L.H. muting)
[Fig. 16A] Reggae Chords & Strumming Groove
[Fig. 16B] Funk Chord (C7#9) & Strumming Groove
[Fig. 17] Fingerstyle Funk, à la ”Mellowship Slinky“
[Fig. 18] Fingerstyle Funk, à la ”Funky Monks“

Like this JOHN FRUSCIANTE Lesson? Well..... TONS more of my 100% FREE ONLINE GUITAR LESSONS can be found on my PsYcHo LiCkS 101 Page:
	PsYcHo LiCkS 101
Learn riffs and licks in styles ranging from jazz and blues, to funk and full-blown shred! Or go gonzo on this page's picking/technique exercises! Also featured are numerous rhythm guitar lessons geared towards the multi-stylist! All w/MP3 & TAB.

Meanwhile, here are some links to two Red Hot Chili Peppers books I wrote a while ago:

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Guitar Signature Licks Performed by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. For guitar. Includes instructional book (song exerpts only) and examples CD. With guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal melody, lyrics, chord names, instructional text, performance notes, guitar notation legend and introductory text. Funk rock, alternative rock, hard rock and instructional. Series: Hal Leonard Signature Licks. 70 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.695173) See more info...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Bass Signature Licks Performed by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. For bass guitar. Includes instructional book (song exerpts only) and examples CD. With bass tablature, standard notation, chord names, instructional text, performance notes, bass notation legend and introductory text. Funk rock, alternative rock, hard rock and instructional. Series: Hal Leonard Signature Licks. 56 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.695285) See more info...

And, for entertainment purposes only, here's a link to a John Frusciante cover (“Mascara”) I did in early 2001 for an internet-based tribute album that never materialized. WARNING: It's raw as hell, recorded on the crappiest acoustic I own, played “live” into a single mic. For the curious, this is the same cover version I had posted on the famed “Poppy Men” website a couple years ago (now offline). Hopefully I don't get busted for putting this up here....

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Select John Frusciante Links:

John Frusciante sites @ Art Directory

Invisible Movement - John Frusciante unofficial website,
containing everything about John Frusciante, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' guitarist
and solo artist: a well-updated news log with archives, articles, gallery with
many pictures, downloadable media, wallpapers, discography, gigography,
lyrics and misc info on mr. Frusciante.

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