Working on a new riffing concept I call “joint shifting” for a song that has a working title called “Candle Power” (the name will probably change). This is where various notes on various frets are stretched while other notes in the chord are held. It requires a whole new set of brain and finger muscles that utilize finger independence. For me it’s very difficult but the resulting sound is unique. I had to work a week to get even 8 bars of this technique to sound the way I imagined it. The challenge is the finger strength that’s necessary and the independence of moving various finger joints that seem attached to other fingers. It’s a little mind boggling at first. Plus, it wreaks tremendous havoc on your fingertips. I thought my calluses were in good shape until I started working on this. Now they are all torn up and throbbing, but for some reason that always feels good to me. Feels sort of like accomplishment. I’m very eager for people to hear this and hope that some players are moved enough by this technique to take it to a whole new level. In my minds eye and ear I can imagine a piece of music consisting of the heavy use of these joint shifts. I’m sure there are players out there that are doing this, I just haven’t seen any. I know that it would create a melodic movement that doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard. Please… go for it!