My Top Ten of favorite players and music using rhythmic displacement comes to a conclusion in this episode. Any guesses about the finalists? Here’s a hint: …a little bit of country and a little rock ‘n’ roll.

This infinitely useful but little understood musical device adds interest and energy to your playing—guaranteed.

The adventures in rhythm continue. And so does the Top Ten Countdown of rhythmic displacement licks. How do B.B., Wes, Slowhand and Pat Martino put those vital ideas to work in their music?

Last time we got acquainted with the idea of rhythmic displacement. Now it’s time to meet the rest of the family.

In this series I’d like to introduce a few of the guitar’s most essential open tunings and give you some repertory to play in those tunings.

This time we’ll be looking at two close sonic relatives of Drop D tuning. These have various folksy and colorful names but often are simply called “Double D tuning” and “High Drop D Tuning.”

Last time we looked at some applications of Drop D tuning in the hard rock and pop genres. This time we’ll take a detour in a different direction and explore some possibilities in jazz chord-melody style.

In this installment we’ll explore another vital resource in the world of alternate tunings, the modal tuning DADGAD (often affectionately called “Dad-Gad”).

This time we’ll continue with a second and equally invaluable option, Open G tuning.

Open G is one of the most used and most versatile alternate tunings in the repertory. It is especially common and indispensable in traditional and modern blues styles.