Jenn, or “Metalichicka” as her readers know her, has outdone herself with the latest version of the Paul Gilbert VIP Method book. The book, which covers Gilbert’s playing from just about every angle possible, contains enough material to keep even the most advance guitarist locked in the practice room for years. With in depth verbal analysis, copious amounts of musical examples (with tab) and great, high-res pics, Jenn has put together one of the most detailed accounts of Gilbert’s playing ever published. Having made some important edits, Jenn has recently released the seventh edition of the VIP method book, which is available exclusively for download at her website.
In the following conversation Jenn discusses the motives behind writing the book and gives an outline of what people can expect from the tome, which is free and available in dowloadable PDF form.
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Like my website, which is mostly dedicated to the words and works of humble guitar virtuoso Paul Gilbert. The root of the VIP book, a compilation of short topics as taught by Mr. Gilbert to his VIP students, is simple: “Give selflessly. Pay tribute to this artist in a way that nobody has done previously, which will leave a positive and lasting impact on anyone who views it, and shed an inspiring, uplifting light.” At the urging of another blogger, I began my site quietly on Oct. 4, 2008, which was right around the time that Paul’s European tour began.
Eventually I realized that without some original content, I was an aggregator, and the site, while large, was not especially unique. I noticed the VIP students were the ones saying the most positive things, were receiving peer accolades, and were also happily sharing more then just about anyone else. It was this community, that freely shared their learning experiences, that finally gave me the creative spark to begin. So, I began when I sought and got permission to transcribe and release a short file.
Writing is a lifelong passion of mine. I drew on some of my interviewing and publishing experience, and decided the best format for the book was challenge-response, a.k.a question and answer. A rough draft looked quite presentable and was close to my ‘vision’. The rest fell nicely into place, with the remaining challenge being only page-layout software hiccups.
What does this book offer? It brings to the public guitar lessons by Paul Gilbert, plus hints and tips gathered from his lifetime of practicing and refining his art. Just a few of the many topics covered include: overall technique, working with rhythm, phrasing, mastering endings, left-hand work, legato, vibrato, synchronization, right-hand work, muting, control, building speed and accuracy with alternate picking and string-skipping, plus whole-life advice like knowing your own limits. Tablature and photographs richly illustrate the 76+ page, 30mb, PDF format book, called Paul Gilbert: Eleven Thousand Words-The VIP Experience, a nod to Paul’s DVD Eleven Thousand Notes.
Another goal of the project is to alleviate pressure on Paul’s commercial releases. People are recklessly, wantonly stealing from this artist by illegally downloading the commercial DVD’s and CD’s. This VIP book is free of charge. It is also free of any sort of negatives, it contains no ads or viruses, no salesmanship, no tricks, and it is downloadable directly from my website. It arguably has similar content to some of the commercial releases, which I have not seen, but by downloading this VIP book and practicing the routines within, you are still learning guitar with advice directly from Paul, but you are not harming him, or violating Alfred Publishing’s copyright.
**Check out two sample pages from the VIP book here.**
I mention that goal here, because as I compiled the information, I realized it needed to stay in-context. The content is encrypted to maintain it’s integrity, so I cannot simply extract an example and put it here in this vignette. If you are curious, please download the VIP book!
One funny thing that happened to me after I published the book, is I got several e-mails which began… “Hi Paul”. I carefully explained to these people that I am not Paul, nor am I associated with him. I then tried to answer the simple guitar questions via guiding them to the appropriate chapters in the VIP book, always prefacing them with “I don’t play guitar, and you really should e-mail Paul…” Someone asked me where to look for quick tips on right-hand work. I told them about the exercises in the book, they checked it out, and this helped them. Eureka, it worked!
Success which does not come at the expense of anyone else is such a fleeting, rare, and lovely thing. Success which is not self-centered is even more uncommon. It has been a genuine honor to compile this book. Paul’s passion for the guitar hopefully flows as freely as his ideas within. If it can rock, help, or enlighten you, then it has served it’s purpose and we can all enjoy that.
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Links
Paul Gilbert VIP Method Book Download
Eleven Thousand Notes on Amazon
Ibanez Paul Gilbert 20th Anniversary Signature Electric Guitar
