How To Play Guitar With 'Feel' - Part 1

[@RabeaMassaad]

I guess I summed all these techniques under the heading 'feel' Really it's more just to teach a little bit of technique with regards to things I would consider a 'feel' thing. Either way, I hope it's helpful to some! Thanks for watching ;-)

[@BV_Beve]

+Rabea Massaad Thanks for the vid. Learning more is the goal for sure .... phrasing and timing and that tone under the fingers ... hopefully one day!

[@HoracioGarciaMusic]

+Rabea Massaad It's funny because another guitar teacher Papa Stache also uploaded a video about "feel." Cheers from Austin!

[@kieroncaton6334]

+Rabea Massaad hello its me, I was wondering if I could teach you how to feel? that could work XD

[@matthiasverstraete8191]

+Rabea Massaad Could you do a lesson on strumming patterns and accents like you did in your Fender Strat shootout around 10:15? Thanks

[@HesJustaPoorBoyNobodylovesHim]

What gauge strings do you use ???

[@brianburke808]

playing with feel is a 3-step process. 1. buy a strat 2. shove your head into a lemon for proper guitar face 3. enjoy your newfound accolades. For extra feel, change your legal name to Mayfield Ray Clapdrix excellent video!

[@CamRebires]

Is "shove a lemon into your head" also correct? Because I think, I messed it up. O_O

[@juliAnarchist]

steps not clear enough, ended up with penis stuck in the ceiling fan

[@dcsdccsydc7272]

Didn´t work for Yngwie...

[@foreveralive6949]

Your passion and interest in what you're doing really comes across in this video. You offer great explanations and descriptions for every point of your discussion. Nicely done.

[@theartist124]

I have been waiting years for someone to address this, great channel Rabea! I learned from a pretty famous guitar player, who was my guitar teacher in the mid 70's, and he said you need to know your scales well enough to get to a place where you can solo without thinking, and let it all be feeling, let your focus be on the rhythm and notes that you're playing to/with, it takes a while but if you approach it consciously this way, you can do it! Some days are better than others, but once you're in the flow of the music, it's almost like an out of body experience, and you should just be playing and not 100% even knowing what you're doing, you may have heard other musicians do this, where someone says play it again, and they say I can't, I don't know exactly what I was doing. In the end it's about hearing the music inside of you, and making your body release that music.

[@madstreaker84]

I describe my playing as feel, mainly because I know bugger all theory

[@funyun000]

hope u guys can manage to do a sounds like for Prince.

[@hazardeur]

For ensuring that the vibrato on top of a bend (and the bend itself as well) is in key it helps a lot to have the pedal/root note played underneath. helped me tremendously. you can either play it beforedoing the bend or just have it as playback/loop

[@2550marshall]

Great vid! This reminds me of a guy I played with many years ago. He told me something I will never forget. He said, " being polished is better than all the fancy stuff". I said, "Polished?" He said, " yeah, play what you can do and do it well". Best advice I ever got. Back when I use to give lessons I always gave an exercise like this: Play two notes, bend, vibrato, slide, mute hammer on and pull off but only play those two notes. See how many different sounds and "feel" you can get out of it.

[@marcbudicin]

I enjoyed it. I thought the teaching was great. Definitely want to see more like this

[@Mr_Double_U]

Wise words spoken Rabea. The Strat has a beautiful tone to help the 'feel' shine through.

[@johnvinter]

This is an really underrated guitar tutorial~~~~U describe the bend, vibrato &slide in a way so concise & accurate it really help me much~~~~totally in my playlist that will keep on revisit~~~thanx Rabea!

[@sunsetsarenice]

Really is all in the hands, not to mention - never stop learning. Simple but often overlooked points. Great vid, sir!

[@danielferreiradearaujo9151]

Since i've been loving you from Led Zepplin, I think, is a good example of everything you taught in this video. You're not only a great guitar player, but an awesome teacher too.

[@timjenkins502]

raking the pick when striking notes is something no one talks about but makes a ton of difference. getting that percussive sound going into a bend gives it a more dynamic sound

[@JYelton]

Bea, I love the dynamics you add to your play style. Thanks for sharing insight in this video about how you approach and think about it.

[@jorolo70]

Bea Massad, you are a great teacher, please continue to show us how you approach guitar playing... be sure we'll listen to you... massive respect and love from Chile... Jorge out!!!

[@KungFuMaintenance]

That was great man!!! I definitely be watching for more of this. Thanks for sharing your insight and understanding. I like your approach and communication style. It's Friday 11:30pm in California and peoples want to sleep but I just feel like playing guitar now!! Guess I'll dream I'm playing! Very well! Have a great weekend!!!

[@dylanhardina]

I agree with all of these. They're something I think we all keep working on as players throughout our lives. Phrasing is something that adds a lot too. It's one where I've always gotta be searching for the best (in my mind) choices of notes and technique to compliment the note choice.

[@Alec_McCloskey]

I really never had a problem playing with feel, but the one thing I struggled with was the vibrato at the top of a bend. I never made the connection that you need to over bend so the more audible note is the lower one. made a huge difference! Thanks!

[@Chord_The_Seeker]

Great video Bea. Yes, more of these please. That was really helpful.

[@CraigSteele12]

This was awesome Bea! I'm at ACM doing the guitar degree and watching this really made me go back and reevaluate the basics of my playing, gave me a few techniques to focus on improving & look at anew! Cheers:)

[@adamjones4220]

"This is a quick video" 20 minutes...ahahaha! Love it dude!

[@rickGPT]

Great job again, you can add to the dynamics conversation with volume swells, and or whammy bar gently vibrato while people work on hand strength. I lost all my grip strength after surgery and have been working for 5 years to be able to play "right" again but it forced me to experiment with dynamics and oh, mixing in finger and pick playing, maybe you can share with folks how you do that?

[@eddiecarlile8152]

Man I just really enjoy all of your videos on all the channels. You do a great job explaining things and really enjoy watching you play. Keep on keeping on!!

[@tigerhearted87]

Thank you so much Rabea Massaad, i'm a musician myself, been playing bass mainly but also picked up the guitar, ive never had any classes or training of any sort, and i was very aware of how shitty i sounded for most of the time that ive been playing, even now i still have people much younger then me already doing some vai, while i still struggle with simple chords, but i love music, and i really appreciate all the videos people like you put out to help us out, i might not be naturally talented or even know where to really look to become better or faster, but i'm definitely getting better! and i love music to much to stop now. thank you!!

[@tigerhearted87]

+tigerhearted87 By the way Dorje is amazing!

[@matteodellell4905]

Great video and fantastic tips, thanks Bea ! It will be nice to see something about some right hand techniques.

[@stephenbudge4313]

This has been my best lesson ever. You really are helping me personally. Thanks so much. Steve

[@ortanchibiri]

Well, you may be still looking for your feel, but you sure sounded full of inner energy and expressiveness on that video of a pre-show jam I saw about two months ago. I hope you find it, and I hope I get to witness it! Keep the good work, mate!

[@xXjuangarciaXx]

I love the little bit of relic-Ing right at the top/back of the body by the tummy cut

[@keithmason1841]

Thanks, this was really helpful. I play a totally different genre (old school) but all your techniques still apply. Looking forward to the next one.

[@serafsup99]

Rabea, Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on what it means to try to play with feel. Thanks to players like you , who constantly inspire people not because you can shred, which we all know you guys can, and yes it does sound FN awesome but.. in my opinion climbing the ladder to mid 40s ..for me its seeing the true passion you have for the instrument. That's when you can tell when a person is playing with part of their soul and experiences that ring through your arms to your fingers down to the amp. It seems you guys really enjoy and love to work so hard and do what it takes to move a person or to make a person have a feeling through the sound coming from your hands. I've been playing since I was 13 all by ear.. but of course i think I sound like RHINO ASS!! So thanks to you and I have to mention Rob for so many dedicated hours of passion, laughter, and great instruction! God Bless ! Bob T. Myrtle Beach South Carolina..

[@northof50now]

I believe matching your playing style to the proper gauge strings should be the first thing you do before trying to perfect vibrato or bending. Too light of strings will not provide you with enough resistance; too heavy will cause excess effort, causing the loss of control.

[@aussierule]

You're so right man, I struggled for so long playing blues because of the string gauge I was using. It was way too light for me and I didn't know any better so I was always overbending WAY too far and not willing to adjust my playing style because I liked the way it felt. It eventually led to me bringing up this exact point to someone who simply suggested, "why not try heavy strings?". Changed my world. It's amazing how such a perceived small difference is actually a massive one.

[@blkjakk]

Rabea, you did a beautiful explanation.👍🏻😊

[@malboyce3468]

The first time I got vibrato on a 'bend' ... orgasmic!! I rang the band and all my mates it was that such a feeling :-) Vibrato, bending 1/4, 1/2 etc and space/time = feel. I love your stuff Bea :-)

[@titidou714]

That was, at this very precise moment of my guitar journey THE LESSON I most needed. Thanks man, Cheers from France

[@thejaxter1995]

Loved the video Bea, both the teaching side of it, and the playing. I'd also love to see jam videos, whether it's just you or with the guys again. I reckon that would be great! =)

[@CraigMC.]

Thank you for this video Rabea! I really like how you explain and demonstrate everything. I have a terrible time explaining musical concepts and this helped me greatly. Cheers!

[@anthonytorres7150]

great point my brother Bea. playing with feel can make a grown man weep. I have heard less is more and more is more and believe both have their place as long as it is done with feel. from California, I've been Tony

[@AwakenLife]

Well done. When I think of feel, It is as you say an emotion more than plain technique. A great example that comes to mind is Bill Nelson's Solo on "Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape" song from the Be Pop Deluxe live album.

[@hanomag251]

The lick at 16:51 to 17:31 is very nice. A lot of feeling there! Thanks for the lesson. There is a lot of things learn other than technics. I think feel is an important part. But on the other side, it is hard to teach someone how to feel. Maybe the important point here is to practice all the basics and perfect them and then explore with what we have.

[@ScoobyChad]

Love it mate. I'm a beginner and can't do bending really that well and I can't do vibrato at all. But watching this made me pick up my guitar and try to copy you, so, nice one for that. I think it's a great idea to keep adding little tips like this. Lots of channels will go over lots of things all in one video which is too overwhelming for someone like me. I need small spoons feeding me, not machine spoons! Nice one brother!

[@bwd01]

Great lesson! I've always enjoyed watching and learning from your playing, thanks! I'm now ready for part 2 ;)

[@Daren67]

This was a great reminder for me... Its not what you play, but how you play it. Cheers Bea

[@AhmadSleeq]

Rabea we love you man , alot of the things I learned recently were from watching you play

[@Firetuna1]

Not fingers only, but the whole hand! Great advice! I've always wondered why som players shake the guitar. I've tried shaoing it when doing finger vibratot - does not makes sense. But your advice, using the whole hand, makes the guitar shake! Ive been playing for 46 years, and never heard this before. THANX!

[@dkuntz2155]

Rabea, thank you for sharing your knowledge, experience and insight!

[@gubberotoole]

Thanks Rabea. This was very useful. Thanks for taking the time to help other people.

[@jacksguitarcovers]

Great video! What I would like to see is a tutorial on how to listen to dynamics within a band, the bands I'm in, we tend to mix it up a bit playing covers by changing the dynamics of the song, but at times it gets a bit sloppy, a tutorial on tightening this up would be great!

[@toddlanctot643]

Thanks for the video Rabea. The vibrato tips were really helpful.

[@connorsykes564]

Spot on vid Rabea, really helped with my playing Thankyou very much and I'll see you in May at Sheffield, can't wait !!

[@sterlingarcher3678]

Great video the letting yourself go and trusting your instincts are paramount. Great video

[@HappyMediumProject]

You are very quickly becoming my favorite guitarist. Love the video

[@Enski94]

I love this, alot of the things you said about doing vibrato are things that I've never thought about before. really interesting, great video as always Rabea!

[@JimSlimjimCassi]

Also one of the quickest ways to build callus on your finger tips, beginners will only be able to do this a short time before the finger tips start really hurting, but no pain, no gain.

[@ottoman666]

Real inspiration there bea makes me think I need to really listen to my playing and improve my technique

[@letzrockitrite8469]

Thank you very much for sharing your skills with John Q. Public (me), Rabea.... your kindness knows no bounds.. cheers

[@krang07]

vibrato can be from the slowest finger rolling action that is almost more visual than audible, to fast and wide bending as a metal shredder might do. Then theres the bending up to pitch, waiting a brief moment, then give it some vibrato, like singers often do to add feel to their vocal lines.

[@s4tchowns]

Thanks for the vid Bea! Very helpful. Often thought about this topic myself and found myself struggling especially with the combination of bending and vibrato. I will keep the slight over-bend in mind now :)

[@DanielJMBA]

Fantastic video Bea, really well worded and such a joy to listen to. When you started to do slides and vibrato I got a Derek Trucks kind of vibe, which I really thought sounded great! - Would love to see more videos like this man, keep it up \m/

[@stickman0504]

I liked the way you explained everything, pretty straight, as it is. Thanks, keep it up!

[@crazyjoe1540]

This is the best video on this topic on youtube. Full stop.

[@kylehurley5651]

Great video, your tips have broke me out of a spot before and I kno this one will to without a doubt!!! Keep on being awesome 🤘🏻

[@MariaBethaniaCabrera]

Great video. I just have a suggestion. It would've be perfect if you would've mention the right hand thingies you did at your last improvisation like mixing light muting and then releasing the string, also the changes of intensity. Your right hand did a lot of things there that complemented the left hand work . Congratulations for a great job.

[@jamesdodd8163]

That's a really good video, bea. That sort of stuff is kinda what we probably all do without really thinking about it but don't really know how we do it. So I bit of a pointer on how it's done is definitely gonna help with improvement.

[@debangsubanerjee2155]

Great topic addressed Bea!!. Thank you..Could you share your experience on practice habits to play as awesome as you..

[@gordontubbs]

Whenever I do lessons, I bundle up these tips into an acronym. Playing with your MOST. M-- "Music", always be listening to music with expressive lead playing. This will train your ears and inspire you. O-- "O-face". Playing guitar and forcing out an "O-face" will inherently make you do something fanciful with your fingers, even if you feel ridiculous. I personally dislike "O-faces" when performing, but in the privacy of your own home, it's fun. S-- "Sing your notes". Try singing what you play. This will force a natural phrasing element to your solos by interjecting moments where you need to breathe to keep playing. It also reinforces your ears and fretboard knowledge. T-- "Technique". Vibrato, bends, slides. This video absolutely killed it when it came to technique!

[@clarkfeeley1959]

+Gordon Tubbs What's the S and T, scrotum and testicles?

[@gordontubbs]

No, it's Shit Talk.

[@ijOkErStAr]

+Gordon Tubbs dude, its Summer Time :DD

[@jacobdaube6483]

Definitely agree with the "simple executed perfectly"! Thats the shiver down ya spine stuff!!! my favourite example of this is "What god want Part 3" played by Jeff Beck on the Roger Waters album Amused to death! If you havent heard it, you must! Awesome vid by the way!!!

[@ohabaws]

I think sound that you're playing with gives me the feel and music playing in background

[@russell90ful]

great video peter green was a master of playing with feeling your right sometimes less is better like on need your love so bad I got into a bad habit just using my fingers going to try using my hand see how I get on

[@stevey1000able]

Fair play i really like Rabea - great guitar player, seems like a really humble top bloke. love your videos dude, thanks for all the tips.

[@yuppysoul]

good job on this video. Maybe you could do a video on putting songs together. I sometimes find myself with a good riff or line but really have no idea how to flesh it out into something bigger.

[@maximeb190]

These bending techniques are mostly relevant if you are holding the neck with the thumb way up or around the neck, the classic blues / rock hand position like Rabea here. You'll rarely see shredders or guitarists with the classical guitar position use this movement of the wrist since they don't have that axis of rotation or point of attach for their hand / wrist. They rely more on their fingers, with the thumb hidden at the back center of the neck. I think the same will go to 7+ strings guitars, if you dint have a giant left hand, you will end up with the thumb behind the neck and it gets way harder to twitst the wrist with every bend or vibrato.

[@spiritzweispirit1st638]

Really Great Concept of explanation and Instruction Rabea ! and also Good Light Contrast in post production to help Tame the gloss on the Frets to see exactly what How your Playing the Note!Thank you! Peace and Great Tone to You!!:)

[@mikeg2939]

Hi Rabea. I would be interested to hear your opinions and tips regarding right hand technique, particularly whether or not to have fingers touching the guitar below the strings and the pros and cons of different hand positions for picking.

[@watcherofvideos3117]

Your vibrato in the beginning is very David Gilmour...which is awesome in my book. Smooth and steady good job man.

[@hardtobearit]

nice to see a long vid on my birthday. love the tips Bea

[@77warhorse]

Like the video... Like the pace ... Explanations and technique. Can you do one on keys on the fret board? What they mean to soloing? Etc.

[@oi-yeah-nah-mate7731]

The part at 15:20 reminds me of Joe Walsh's solo in Outside by Foo Fighters. He barely plays anything but it's incredible

[@simongummer4515]

great video love it..I find I great to watch this stuff as I dont have anybody to talk guitar with so these vids are essential. ..more please bea

[@elserrg]

Thanks for this man! This video has improved my hand stamina a lot!

[@jonathanoakey4745]

I enjoyed the video, thanks - in fact, I think it's the best video that I've seen of yours so far. You're totally right about the idea of "less is more" - or maybe "less is Moore" :). One of the most expressive guitar parts I've ever heard is in "Brothers in Arms" (the song, but also the whole album), where Knopfler plays very simple guitar parts, but they are exquisite.That leads onto one subject which I think also could be covered in this area, which is phrasing - how do you compose suitable guitar phrases, and what techniques do you use for creating phrases in your playing? I'm thinking about things like pauses, glissandos, use of the volume knob etc.Interesting stuff, because it's what differentiates sound from music IMO :)I'd also like to see more about the different techniques of muting, which is such an incredibly important topic but which is very rarely covered in much depth.

[@GazMoz78]

I like it, and I like that Stratocaster that's for sure!

[@jyangyang]

Man you're sooooo good! Can you tour your pedalboard of this year?

[@jiimmyyy]

Great video by the way. You should definitely do more like this.

[@506thLittleberry]

I think feel is all about playing dynamics. Picking dynamics, how aggressive your bends and vibrato are, etc. But even more than the right technique, feel is about knowing the song and the emotion the song is trying to convey to the listener. It sounds corny as hell, but I think a great guitarist will try to feel the emotions in the song himself/herself while playing. I think that's the best way to know which notes to accentuate and play aggressively, when to do a rake into a huge bend, and when to dial it back and play with a really soft touch. I see a lot of guitar players on youtube who play with good technique. They can play really fast, they have pitch perfect bends and vibrato, but they don't have any dynamics, so even though they're technically playing a song 100% correct, it sounds really robotic and actually nothing like the song, even though the notes are all the same.

[@x1PMac1x]

This was a great tutorial, and I hope to see more!

[@samuelgutierrez3504]

Bea you rock man, its great to learn from you!

[@anthonybymallia7067]

very nice sound and beautiful sunburst r my fav

[@qkimat]

Rabea was a chunky boi. Now he transferred all the chunk into his guitar tone. Great job, Rabea!

[@Felixscan12]

i think it's more about develop yourself as a person while practicing, eventually you will get to the point where the 2 thing converge and then you'll know that you're turning your feels into music, i assume that takes a lot of time, im just getting that feel and i got almost 6 years playing :P, anyway, thanks for the video man! good vibes from Colombia :)

[@eprecision4146]

AWE...SOME!!! Thank you so much for the real world practical advise!!! I needed it. Keep it comin!!!!

[@playAgainMe]

Hey Rabea, Congrats on surviving the recent tour. We look forward to getting the whole band back to the Eastern US. I don't know if it is appropriate or not since his passing. Would share some of your favorite Prince phrases or licks? Best Regards from NashVegas

[@jordanhooper6237]

Nice one bea! I saw dorje in november. Beas playing was insane high ✋ him after one of his solos

[@DanMufc-jt9le]

Great lesson rabea, am having lessons at the moment and working on rhythm side of my playing, So i had an idea for you now you have become professional musician in your field, then why not give us a demonstration on how you go about everyday coming up, with new riffs/strumming patterns idea for new songs?. Would really help me out because eventually i want to be a rocky/funky player in the style of angus young,john frusciante to name a couple.

[@GuilhermeHenrique-gb8ii]

You're such an inspiration for me. Great vid!

[@THONYCONLAG]

You bought me with the ''It's all about learning more'' thing, thanks for the tips o/

[@jackwilliams6352]

Hey Bea have you heard Guthrie Govans solo on drive home by Steven Wilson

[@ThatPurpleRing]

like it, would like to see a video on keeping down unwanted buzz from unplayed strings when you play. Something that always creeps up in my playing.

[@WhaleWTFMetal]

I think that the tools you demonstrated (very well) to play with Feel (vibrato, bending, sliding) makes the guitar sound a bit like a human, a singer voice, which universaly brings the emotions to us humans ;-). Great video by the way !

[@Chris-de6rm]

Feel also has a lot to do with connecting and transforming how you feel inside with learning how to express it outwardly in a controlled manor. eg Peaceful and relaxed think Pete Green - Albatross. Aggression and Anger think Gary Moore - Parisienne Walkways Live. Just one other trick that I've learnt is to delay the vibrato slightly from sounding the note and gradually increase its intensity, much like a great singer will do.