Neo-Soul Riffs, Ahren Shreeve, PJD St. John

Vivid Guitar -
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“My interest in making music has been to create something that does not exist that I would like to listen to. I wanted to hear music that had not yet happened, by putting together things that suggested a new thing which did not yet exist.” —Brian Eno

Guitar Practice

Neo-Soul Guitar Riffs

In the last issue, we took a look at a couple Neo-Soul lines, focused around Major 7th chords.

Let's dive a bit further into neo-soul, with a few more riffs. In addition to using plenty of hammer-ons, pull-offs, and sliding into notes, neo-soul commonly uses a combination of chords and single notes.

In this first riff, we use several different chord voicings, along with some single-note hammer-ons and pull-offs.

Neo Soul in D
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Next, lets look at a couple examples of Major 7 and Major 6 hammer-ons, which is another technique common in Neo-Soul and R&B.

Major Chord Hammer Ons 1
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Major Chord Riff 2
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Guitarist Spotlight

Ahren Shreeve

Ahren Shreeve is a Boston-based session guitarist and educator known for his dynamic playing across genres like blues, funk, soul, and R&B. Raised in central Massachusetts, he began playing guitar at a young age, focusing on improvisation—a skill that remains central to his musical identity.​

With a picking and slide style reminiscent of Derek Trucks, Ahren's playing is creative, melodic, and drenched in soul - and people are starting to take notice.

Ahren has performed with artists such as Dwayne Haggins, Erika Van Pelt, Tomo Fujita, The A-Beez, Los Elk, and Juniper, contributing to a variety of musical projects. Notably, he co-founded the indie rock band Juniper in 2017, blending alternative rock, folk, R&B, and pop influences. ​

His performances have taken him to venues like the Hampton Casino Ballroom, The Sinclair, and aboard Joe Bonamassa’s “Keeping the Blues Alive” cruise. In addition to live performances, Ahren is passionate about teaching, offering lessons and workshops to aspiring musicians.

Ahren also shares his musical journey on Instagram, where he began posting guitar videos at age 15. This platform has become a space for him to connect with fellow musicians and share his evolving artistry.

At only 24 years old, Ahren stands to be a force in the guitar world for many years to come, and we look forward to watching him continue to develop his style.

Key Gear

  • Josh Williams Guitars Mockingbird
  • Williard Guitars custom T-Style guitar
  • Gibson SG
  • Victory Amps V40 Deluxe amp
  • Blue Chip TD-40 picks

Check out Ahren Shreeve

Website | Instagram

Gear Showcase

PJD St. John

We're big fans of UK-based PJD Guitars, and their offset St. John is possibly our favorite model of theirs.

With a body style that sits somewhere between a Jazzmaster and a Mustang, the PJD St. John draws inspiration from some of the Fender-style offset guitars mentioned above, but also has it's own thing going on. It's a simply stunning offset electric guitar.

While it's offered in a dual-humbucker pickup configuration, we love the P90 neck pickup paired with the bridge humbucker, as it really helps the St. John stand out tonally.

The 25.5" scale length, bolt-on neck feels right at home for Fender guitar fans, while getting a wide variety of tones that sound great both clean or with overdrive.

The Standard St. John features a satin finish on the body, a nitro finish on the neck & fretboard, and is offered with either a maple or rosewood fretboard. The PJD Custom Shop offers an Elite model, which takes an already great guitar up a notch, with flamed maple tops, and optional semi-hollow body, and other customizations.

Standout Features:

  • 22 frets
  • High-end pickups
  • Belly cut and arm rest contours
  • Wonderful neck
  • 25.5" scale length
  • C shape neck
  • 10" fretboard radius

Check out PJD Guitars

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News & Notes

  • Fender is having a Memorial Day Sale, offering up to 20% off.
  • A couple products Fender announced earlier this year at the NAMM show - the Limited Edition American Vintage II 1951 Telecaster in Prototype White and the Blues Junior™ IV 30th Anniversary Edition amp are both now available.
  • Cory Wong interviewed Brad Paisley on his podcast, discussing fishing, Phish, his new signature Fender Telecaster, and more. Apple | Spotify
  • Rick Beato interviewed guitarist Mike McCready and bassist Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam.
  • Rob Chapman posted an interesting video discussing the 'brutal truth after playing 4,000 guitars'. In the pretty quick vid, he discusses the main things to look for when shopping for a guitar, the fact that the price of a guitar is often not related to the quality of the guitar, and more. Spoiler: A cheap guitar with a great setup will often play better than a very expensive guitar with a poor setup.
  • Music instrument retailer Thomann is acquiring amp company Hughes & Kettner.

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