Joel Kosche Artist Series

Artist Series Guitar Course from Joel Kosche

Joel Kosche, guitarist for Collective Soul and solo singer/songwriter, will dissect his style of playing and demonstrate all of the juicy tidbits.

16 Lessons

Complete course with step-by-step lessons and practice examples.

Multi-Camera

Course filmed with 6 cameras for the perfect angles.

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Full Course Breakdown

Joel Kosche, guitarist for Collective Soul and solo singer/songwriter, will dissect his style of playing and demonstrate all of the juicy tidbits.

1

Interview with Joel Kosche

The first episode of this artist series is an interview with Joel Kosche, guitarist for Collective Soul and independent songwriter. He will discuss his life as a musician, how he got where he is today, talk about learning guitar and dish out oodles of interesting information.

24:14 Runtime

1.0 Difficulty

2

Thoughts on Songwriting

In this lesson, Joel Kosche walks you through his process for writing songs and gives his thoughts on the subject. He also gives an example of how a pop or rock song can be setup.

10:33 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

3

Picking Technique

In this lesson Joel Kosche talks about his picking technique and how it has evolved over his career.

4:37 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

4

Hybrid Picking Arpeggio Exercise

In this lesson Joel Kosche teaches a hybrid picking arpeggio exercise that spans the neck of the guitar. This particular lick is excellent training and sounds amazing to boot.

14:50 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

5

Fake Slide Guitar Licks

In this lesson, Joel Kosche demonstrates his technique for playing slide guitar licks without the slide.

5:08 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

6

Open String Cascading Licks

Joel demonstrates how he uses the open strings to create cascading licks.

4:24 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

7

Creating a Guitar Solo

Joel Kosche talks about creating and composing a guitar solo. He uses his original song "Sunrise" as an example.

11:38 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

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8

Amp Choices

Joel Kosche talks about his preferred amplifiers for both recording and touring. He also talks about the amplifiers that he built from scratch.

9:25 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

9

Joel's Guitars

In this lesson Joel talks about his favorite guitars and why he prefers them. He also goes into detail about his self-made Sefton guitars.

10:38 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

10

Recording Guitar

In this lesson Joel talks about his preferred methods for recording guitar. He will cover topics including his choice of microphones, which effects he prefers and talk about the importance of recording a second and completely clean signal.

12:25 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

11

Pedal Boards and Effects

Joel talks about his effects setup. He discusses how his effects are routed and which effects he likes to use.

17:22 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

12

Pedal Boards Part 2

In his second lesson on pedal boards Joel demonstrates how he uses his to create a plethora of interesting sounds.

15:05 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

13

The E-Bow

In this lesson Joel Kosche introduces an interesting device called an E-Bow. With an E-Bow your guitar can sound like a violin, cello or any other instrument with high sustain.

17:46 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

14

"You Wouldn't Last a Day" Solo

Joel Kosche teaches the solo section from the song "You Wouldn't Last a Day" from his record <i>Fight Years</i>. He extends the solo slightly to work in a couple extra licks.

8:09 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

15

A Steel Cage to Ride

Joel Kosche takes a look at the solo from the song "A Steel Cage to Ride" from his album "Fight Years."

7:18 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

16

In the Moment

Joel Kosche goes over an extended version of his solo from the song "In the Moment" from his album "Fight Years."

11:13 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

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Collective Soul

  • Atlanta, Georgio
  • Playing since 1972
  • 17 lessons at JamPlay
Joel Kosche's musical journey has been a remarkable road, one that has brought the talented guitarist and songwriter to some interesting destinations along the way. At age 13, Kosche began to teach himself to play the guitar, later taking classical guitar instruction to supplement his burgeoning talent. A fixture of the Atlanta music scene, Kosche fronted the well-known local band, Steep, while earning a living as a guitar tech for such well-known artists as Steve Winwood.

Kosche eventually landed a gig as Collective Soul's guitar tech and hit the road with the chart-topping rock band. Developing a musical rapport with the band members, Kosche eventually replaced Ross Childress as the band's lead guitarist in 2003. Since then, Kosche has become an integral member, co-writing the hit "Hollywood" for the band's 2007 release Afterwords (which he also co-produced with lead singer Ed Roland). On the same album Kosche wrote and sang lead vocals on the song "I Don't Need Anymore Friends". On Collective Soul's most recent eponymous 2009 release, Kosche once again showcases his songwriting skills with the single "You" and the album track "Understanding", which were co-written with the rest of the band.

Kosche's latest destination is the release of his first solo album, entitled Fight Years. Recorded over the past 3 years, the album is filled with powerful songs and lyrics that chronicle Kosche's musical journey and allude to some seminal events in his life. From the opening swells of "Yours To Reap" to the final crushing chords of "New Song", this record remains unashamedly guitar-driven throughout but with a purpose:

"It was really important to me to emphasize the tried and true big guitar formula. There are a couple of acoustic moments to break it up including a song with a string quartet but I didn't stray too far. Another thing is that I actually made a point of not using any keyboards or synthesized instruments, I wanted all the sounds to be real even if they are a little bit wacky," says Kosche. The album boasts appearances from Ed Roland of Collective soul, who sings background on "The Passing", drums from Ryan Hoyle (former Collective Soul member and Paul Rodgers alumnus), and background vocals from Kansas singer Steve Walsh on "Always Dreaming" and "Firewalk" (Kosche tracked all of the guitar and bass parts on Walsh's 2005 release Shadowman). Former Steep members Monty Conner (bass) and Bryan Smith (guitar) even make special appearances as well as Joel's sister Tirza Kosche (violin).

The hard-rocking single, "Always Dreaming" drives home Kosche's ability to channel inner frustration and disillusionment into the will to continue pursuing his dreams. The title is a wink to one of Kosche's former elementary school teachers who complained that Joel was "always day-dreaming."

With the release of Fight Years, Kosche sheds another well-worn skin and takes one more step forward in a continuing journey to new destinations. "It truly took a lifetime to write Fight Years. There's a common thread running through most of the lyrics and some of the songs are like little snapshots of my past. To hear them come to life and to work with such talented musicians was a liberating and even therapeutic experience. Music is like a circle of energy, whether you're performing in front of an audience or writing a new song, it's a creative reward and that's what leads you into the next moment of inspiration."
Reviews & Feedback 88/100 with 50 ratings
Papadude

Three finger might just be my next grip !