You cannot get away from the influence of Rock in guitar. As a pro player, it is important to know the “greats”! For me, learning from the “guitar gods” in a weekly rotation is paramount to success. By keeping the licks and harmonic motion of those players constantly in front of you, not only are you aware of the techniques that make that player great, you also become aware of the sounds and licks that have influenced the culture and the culture’s perception of guitar in general.
Though this is not an exhaustive list, I try and learn a solo or song from each of these artists each week: John Paturicci, David Gilmore, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knophler, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, among others.
By keeping a tight, focus rotation of these players’ music, I keep practicing fresh and fun, because I find going back, “always wanting to know that solo…” and getting to do it proves infinitely more helpful than practicing random modes or whole tone scales…
