Intro to the pop section and rests
Lesson time: (1min 14sec)
Tommy Webb introduces pop guitar, the clean tones, supportive background parts and the rests that give the style its short, sharp feel.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Guitar Method: Rock & Pop
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Welcome to Pop Music
Welcome to pop, the second style of music we'll be looking at in this course.
Guitar in Pop Music
The guitar isn't too prominent in pop music. It's more about:
- Playing in the background
- Supporting the vocals and the main melody
A good pop sound is a clean guitar.
Setting Up Your Amp
So, we're going to our amp and:
- Switching back over to the clean settings
- If you have it, or if not, rolling back the gain knob on your amp to get a nice clean sound.
It should sound like this:
‚-There's no breakup, there's no crackling. It's all just nice and clean.‚-
Pop Artists to Consider
Pop artists include:
- Dua Lipa
- Justin Bieber
- One Direction
When we think of these artists, we're not considering big guitar parts or big riffs. It's just nice little parts in the background, with the main focus being the vocals.
Learning New Notes
In this section, we're going to learn a few new notes, including C and F, and also start to play some rests.
Importance of Rests
We spoke about rests earlier, but:
- These are the gaps in the music
- The pauses
They're super important! It's often notes that we don't hear that make music feel so good.
‚-Those rests are really important to get into our playing and make sure we get nice, short, sharp endings to our notes.‚-
So, in this section, we will focus on that.
Let's Start!
So let's start!
About the instructor
Tommy Webb is a London-based guitarist who completed a BA(Hons) Degree in guitar at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, studying under Sandy Beales (One Direction, Wheatus) and Nicolas Meier (Jeff Beck). His own playing moves freely across rock, pop, indie, hip-hop, country and metal - the exact ground his guitar methods cover. Tommy has worked with a wide range of artists and bands across the country, including Jarki Monno and Indira May, sharing stages and sessions with guitarists Paul Murray (Jess Glynne, Zak Abel) and Adam Chetwood (Paolo Nutini, Mark Ronson), and drummers Alex Woodward (Black Honey), Luke Robinson and “Bambi Music” (N-Dubz, Lethal Bizzle, Wretch 32, Tinie Tempah). On stage, he has performed at the Jazz Cafe opening for soul singer Jocelyn Brown, plus venues and festivals including Ronnie Scott's, Troy Bar, The Watford Colosseum, Camden Assembly, Kensington Roof Gardens, Notting Hill Arts Club, Meraki Festival and Sundown Festival. On record and radio, Tommy has played live sessions for BBC Three Counties Introducing, Vibe FM and Pulse 88, with tracks featured on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2. He has recorded at studios including South Lanes Brighton, Hempstead Road and Titan Studios with producers such as Steph Carter (Gallows, Lyoness) and TMS / Froe Barnes (Lewis Capaldi, Dua Lipa). In his guitar methods, Tommy passes all of that working-musician know-how on to you - teaching the techniques, tones and feel behind real styles, from rock and pop to indie, hip-hop, country and metal, so you can play the music you actually love. read more