Milestones to Success

I'm pretty excited that with this posting, I will more than likely meet one of my personal milestones, 100 pageviews on my blog! I appreciate everyone who stops by and checks out the updates. I know that 100 pageviews isn't a huge accomplishment. There are plenty of websites out there that get hundreds, even thousands of views every hour (some of them even feature people with their cloths ON!!)

The fact that it isn't a gigantic success isn't the point. Just like with your personal progress with the guitar, there is nothing wrong with setting small goals for yourself. First learn one chord shape, then two, then learn how to take three chords and play a blues progression. It doesn't have to be huge, just keep moving forward. The point for me is that it is helping me to organize my thoughts and my practice routines, and most importantly, helping others learn to enjoy guitar the way that I've come to enjoy it. I have received several emails from you guys, saying that you have been thinking about starting, but never really had the motivation to take the plunge. The questions range from gear recommendations for beginners, to fears about how difficult starting to play may be. That is awesome, because it's exactly what I want this blog to be. I want to help others learn and grow musically, which I believe, also helps them learn and grow personally.

So keep the questions coming! Tell your friends about it! Eventually, I would like to get enough followers to get the attention of some vendors and retailers, and be able to give away some gear to help make it even easier to get started... Nothing easier than free stuff. The next goal is 10 followers, so next imte you stop in, be sure to register and become a follower. Thanks again, and I'm looking forward to talking to you again soon!

As always, don't forget;

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

B

Simple Songs: AC/DC - Back in Black

Music doesn't have to be complicated to be good. Take one of my favorite bands for example... AC/DC. The song Back in Black, a rock and roll classic, is basically three chords repeated, E-D-A. Don't believe me? Try it out here.... Think about the rhythm and play these chords:

E--D-D-D--A-A-A 

The first little turn around is a very simple backward E scale, looks like this:

.e:--3--0---------------------

B:--------3--0---------------

G:-----------------3--2--0--

D:---------------------------

A:---------------------------

E:---------------------------

Then right back into the chorus, E-D-D-D-A-A-A. The next turn around is a simple walk up, looks like this on the low E string:

E:--7--4--7--5--7--6--7--7\0

When you play that last note slide down to the open E and start the E-D-D-D-A-A-A rhythm over again. Basically every verse just repeats these alternating chords and turnarounds. Now, for any melancholy purists out there, I don't care if this is how Angus played it on the original studio cut in 1977 or whenever. The point is, it's simple, it's easy, it rocks, and it's fun to play! Especially if you can get some distortion out of your practice amp (now your all kinds of Rock Star!!) Learn this and whip it out at your next party or social gathering, just make sure your wearing your shorts, chucks and school-boy jacket when you do it, and you'll bring the house down! Seriously, everybody knows that rhythm, don't care who they are.

The chorus, if you get really adventurous, just a simple play on this E scale:

E Scale

.e:-------------------------------------------0--3--

B:------------------------------------0--3---------

G:--------------------------0--2--3---------------

D:-------------------0--2-------------------------

A:---------0--1--2--------------------------------

E:--0--3------------------------------------------

And this A scale, which looks just like the E scale, just move it up one string, like this:

A Scale

.e:----------------------------------0--3--

B:------------------------1--3--4---------

G:-------------------0--2-----------------

D:---------0--1--2------------------------

A:--0--3----------------------------------

E:-----------------------------------------

Run up and down those scales a few times, then try this out for the chorus:

E Riff

.e:-------------------------------------------

B:-------------------------------------------

G:-------------------------------------------

D:-----2--0-------------0-----0-----0------

A:------------2--0---------0-----1-----2---

E:--0----------------3----------------------

Play that four (4) times, then shift up to the A scale:

A Riff

.e:------------------------------------------

B:------------------------------------------

G:------2--0------------0-----0-----0-----

D:-------------2--0--------0-----1-----2--

A:--0----------------3---------------------

E:-----------------------------------------

Play that twice, then back to the E riff and play it two more times (E-E-E-E-A-A-E-E). Now, bring it aroooouuund toooowwwnn back to the verse:

.e:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

G:---------------------------------------0----------------------0---------------

D:-------------------------------------------0----------------------0-----------

A:--0-----2--0--2--0-------2--0--2------------0------0--------------0-----0--

E:------0----------------0----------------------------3---------------------3---  

Play this whole thing twice.... then G bar chord:

.e:--3

B:--3

G:--4

D:--5

A:--5

E:--3

And finally, resolve to a few D bad chords:

.e:--x

B:--7

G:--7

D:--7

A:--5

E:--x

That is basically the whole song minus Angus' solo. Remember what I said about playing with tab. Tab is a tool so you know what scale and chord shapes to use. Before and while you are playing, go on to youtube or grooveshark, and look up the song. Listen to the rhythms, pause it and practice it a piece at a time. When you have the rhythm down, practice playing the whole thing through, along with the song or video. Start slow... a little piece at a time.

Always remember....

Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast!!

B

What I'm Listening To: 1/25/2011

I love Pandora Internet Radio..... Love, love, love it!! If you are already familiar with Pandora than you probably already know why I am so enthusiastic. If you aren't in the know about Pandora, let me bring you up to speed. Pandora is an internet "radio" service that takes a song or artist that you like, matches it with other similar songs and artists, and plays a mix of music that is similar in one way or another to what you like. For example, my favorite Pandora channel is my White Stripes channel. Because of the eclectic style of Jack White, I get a wide range of interesting music, from rock (Wolfmother, Black Sabbath) to blues (Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Canned Heat) to alternative (The Hives, Cake) to bluegrass (the "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack). By getting a good mix of styles and artists, I have been introduced to music that I probably never would have listened to before. Granted, not all of it is great, but if I don't like it, I just give it the big "thumbs down", and never have to hear it again.

The last four songs I have set out to learn have been "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues" by The White Stripes, "All Night Long" by Buckcherry, "Get Over It" by Ok Go, and "On My Way" by Billy Boy on Poison. What these songs have in common are 1) They are all rather simple to play with bar chords, 2) they have a little bit of guitar vamping, but nothing really crazy as far as solos, and 3) they all have kind of foot stompin', and heavier "good times" rock and roll beats and rhythms. I can hear a "style" starting to come through in my playing, something like a mix between an AC/DC style rock with a heavy blues influence. Besides the fact that these are the kinds of music I enjoy, they also play to my strengths (and weaknesses) as a player. I am sure that my abilities have influenced my music choice at least as much, if not more than the pure esthetic.

For the time being, I am not going to tab songs on this site, maybe some time in the future, but for now, I get pretty much anything that I play from Ultimate-Guitar.com If you are new to using guitar tab, here are a couple of hints. Don't try to figure out a song just by looking at the tab. If you aren't really familiar with the rhythm, the tab can be really frustrating.  If you want to learn a certain song, the first step is to listen to it... a lot...  If you don't already own a copy of the song, you can get a video for just about any song there is on Youtube, or you can go to an iTunes or other digital music site and download it for  around 99 cents. Once you have the song, and can listen to it over and over, try to play along. This is where the tab comes in handy. Use the tab to identify the chords and changes, then follow along as you listen to the music. A warning.... not all tabs are created equal! A lot of tab is submitted to public sites by regular Joe's (or Jane's as the case may be) just like you and I, who liked a song,  sat down and banged out something as close as they could to what they are hearing, and wanted to share that with others. That being said, use tab as a guideline, not a rule. If you play the tab and it doesn't sound just right to you, then change it up!

Keep rockin', and remember.....

Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast!!

B

Seven String Guitars

Reading through several guitar periodicals, I have noticed a trend in monthly features regarding seven string guitar method, licks and tabs. I spent a couple of days thinking about and researching the topic and I think the next guitar I get will be a seven string, and here's why...

The method I used to teach myself guitar was based upon shapes and patterns. Incidentally, I think a mistake that a lot of teachers make, mostly because it is in every method book you pick up (Mel Bay, Fender, etc...), is to spend a ton of time on open chords. Not that there is anything wrong with open chords, they are full and bright sounding. But when someone wants to learn guitar, it is typically because they want to play songs. Open chords simply are not the fastest way to learn your favorite songs. Especially when it comes to younger students, whit shorter attention spans, I think it would be more fruitful to teach them an E-shaped bar chord and a few rock progressions and let them have at it. Then, teach them the A-shape, a few more songs, maybe mix up the E and A shapes, and let them rock out. Then, teach them the major and minor pentatonic, which are minor variations of the same shape, and teach them a couple solos to go along with a couple of the songs they already learned the chords for. I think it would keep them excited longer, and thereby keep them practicing and improving.

Now that I have become comfortable with bar chords and the pentatonic scale, I have started experimenting with different sounds and textures. I think this is probably a natural learning progression. All that to say, because of the intervals of the seven string guitar, it is very simple to transition these same shapes from a six string. The bar chord shape for a major chord on the seventh string, a low B, is the same as the E shape on the sixth string.

Check this out:

E shape, open fretting, E chord (six string)

.e:--0
B:--0
G:--1
D:--2
A:--2
E:--0

E shape, open fretting, B chord (seven string)

.e:--2
.b:--0
G:--x
D:--1
A:--2
E:--2
B:--0

Don't let the last three strings fool you, if you strum the B, E, A and D strings, you get a nice full and powerful low B. Move this shape up the neck and you get a C, C#, D, and D# that are all lower than any chords you can get on a standard tuned six string. Of course, you can play these lower chords by drop tuning your six string, but this has two negative effects in my opinion. 1) drop tuning messes with your chord and scale shapes, and 2) you lose the high end of the register because you have to down-tune your high e string.

All in all, I am excited about experimenting with a seven string. I am a firm believer that great things can be accomplished by focusing on mastering the basics. A SWAT instructor of mine once told me that the difference between basic and advanced is the number of repetitions. In other words, the difference between a beginner guitarist and an advanced guitarist is how quickly and accurately you can play the same scales. Not that I feel that I have mastered any aspects of the six string guitar, but a seven string is a natural progression of my learning theory. A while back, I won an American Standard Stratocaster in a giveaway. I'm not a huge fan of the single coil sound, so maybe I will use that traditional little beauty to trade my way into a decent Schecter or Ibanez seven string....... Hmmmmmm

Remember...

Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast!!!

B

Peavey AmpKit Link Review

I was pretty excited when I read about the Peavey/ Agile Partners AmpKit Link in last months Guitar World. The idea of being able to sit in my recliner and play without dragging out my amp and having power and guitar cables strung across the living room was pretty appealing. The same issue ranked the Amplitube iRig as one of the top apps of the year, so I was interested in comparing the two. Based on the articles, both products are quite similar. I own a Peavey guitar with which I have been very pleased, and a friend of mine swears by Peavey amps. Those factors as well as the fact that Peavey is an American company and the Ampkit Link is about $10 cheaper led me to my decision to go with the Peavey product. I called Guitar Center to make sure they had some in stock, and headed across town on my day off to get my new toy. 

First, I downloaded the free version of AmpKit onto my iPhone 3G. The free version comes with several emulators;  a Peavey Valve King head, a 1x12 and 4x12 cabinet, two microphones, a noise gate pedal and what boils down to an overdrive pedal. 

Next, I opened my new treasure, chucked the el-cheap-o batteries that come in the package, and put in two brand new, name brand AAA batteries.....Check. 

I plugged the link into my iPhone..... Check.

I plugged the guitar cable into my Ibanez AM77 (with black nebular finish!!).....Check.

I fired up the AmpKit App and chose the Valve King with 4x12 cabinet with no effects pedals..... Check

I plugged the guitar cord into the Link and got the green light..... Check

I wind up in my best Pete Townshend fashion and strum a monster E power chord ................ Nothing.

I checked the volume on the guitar, the iPhone and the amp head, all were OK. I unplugged the headphone jack and plugged it back in. Other than a tremendously horrible scratching noise..... nothing. In my frustration, I went for the users manual. When all else fails, read the directions! Only problem is there is no manual in the package. But, lucky for me, the box says there is a manual available online. So I go onto Peavey's site, but to my disappointed, there is no users manual to be found anywhere.

Next step, I email Agile Partners customer service point of contact designated for any Link problems. Now, the longer I wait, the more frustrated I become. After several hours of checking and rechecking, deleating and redownloading and changing every conceivable setting, it' stime to go to bed, back to work for me in the morning. Due to long work days, I didn't have a chance to mess with the Link much for a couple days. Unfortunately, it took Agile roughly three days to respond to my initial email.They recommended I try the Link on another iPhone, so I tried it on my wifes to no avail. I emailed them back with the results, at which time they told me it is probably a bad link, take it back and exchange it. So, it's back across town. I exchange the defective link for a new one, which I test out in the store with a demo guitar, and to save myself another 1 hour round trip. 

This time, my iPhone identifies the Link, and its beautiful music..... Well, sort of... I was getting a lot of static. I remembered reading in a forum that some users had issues with excessive static. Many blamed it on their phones. For me, I quickly identified the culprit as being low E string buzz!! So, after a few turns of the bridge screw on the low E side and a quick tune-up, any noise was virtually gone and it was back to playing. The Valve King head provides a very punchy and bright sound. I switched it to the lead setting, and it gave a gravelly grumble, but not the dirty, garage rock tone I was hoping for. I am a big fan of the Fender Hot Rod DeVille, so when I saw the "American Rebel" available in the gear store, I just had to know. For $4.99 I am now the proud owner of yet another virtual amp. I should learn to read the descriptions better. This amp only comes with the 1x12 cabinet, not the 4x10 I was hoping for. Getting past that, I readjusted my settings, picked the DeVille and matching cab and gave it another shot. At first, the sound was drowned in low end. I adjusted the equalizer, bumped up the treble, turned down the bass and tried again. Better, but this emulator sounds nothing like the warm, classic blues/ rock tone of the DeVille line. I suppose that for $995 less than the real thing, it isn't awful. 

All in all, if you are looking for a replacement for an actual amp and cabinet, this is not for you. If you are looking for a cool and affordable gadget to make practice more fun and convenient, than it's worth the $30 for this little piece of kit. 

Gear Upgrade - Line 6 Spider IV 30 Review

While the SP-10 is a great little starter amp, it just didn't have the lungs to keep up when playing with the band. When I first showed up, the room where we play is roughly 15'x20', with about a a 10' peaked ceiling. My little 10 watt amp with 6" speaker had to compete with a full drum set, a Fender Jazz King, a Marshall combo, and a bass head with 2x12 cabinet. So needless to say, I was a little out gunned! I really didn't want to spend a ton of money, but I wanted to be able to run with the dogs, so to speak.

 I first looked at tube amp combos, and quickly realized these were out of my price range. Then I started shopping online for solid state combos. I found there to be three relevant price ranges for me. The first was anything under $150. Most of these amps were only slightly larger than what I was currently playing, 15 to 25 watts with 8-10" speakers. Some had a few effects, but nothing to get excited about, and certainly nothing worth spending 150 of my hard earned dollars on. The next group was the $250 and over crowd. Some of these were very nice, mostly when you get up to the $350- 400 range. Decent power (40+ watts), some neat bells and whistles and even some foot pedals. But for the most part, at the lower end I found stripped down versions of the nicer amps. Better than the $150 amps, but not nice enough to justify $300. A friend of mine first recommended the Line 6 amps. He owned a pod, and had high praises for Line 6's amp, cab and effects modeling capabilities. So on my next day off, I drove over to the guitar shop and checked out the Spider IV 30.

Speaking with the clerk at the guitar shop, he told me that Line 6 had such good modeling and effects capabilities because they use the same hardware and solid state technology in their amps that they use in their pedals. Basically it's just like having a bunch of pedals hardwired into your amp, in contrast to a central processor which processes the signal to create the effects you request. So, after a few trips to the shop, and playing a few different guitars through the Spider, including my Squier Strat, I shelled out the $199 to Firehouse Music in Wyoming, MI. When I got it home, I plugged it in and took it for a spin. The first feature I used was the built in tuner. The interface is pretty simple, there are four lights. If the far left light lights you are flat. If the far right light lights you are sharp. If both middle lights light, you are in tune. After tuning up, it was time to get rocking. My favorite feature of the amp is the 1/8' input jack which allows you to play your mp3 player or iPod through the amp and jam along, the next best thing to playing with an actual band. This is great for practice. Not only is it fun, but it helps you learn to keep time and tempo. The down side is the 1/4" headphone jack. Really? Does anybody even own 1/4" headphones anymore? Unless you are a DJ in a New York nightclub, or that dude from the Gorillaz, you just look like a big dork. Especially if you have the big spiral, stretchy phone chord ones!! But, I already owned the $5 1/4" to 1/8" converter from Radio Shack, so it was easily overcome.

While there is a wide range of tones and effects, I really didn't find "that tone" from the Spider IV. When plugged into the Squier Strat, I found the clean tones to be a bit too tinny. When using the "dirtier" settings, the bass has a tendency to overwhelm the sound. If you are a fan of metal, the distorted channels on the Spider IV will be right up your alley. The "Insane" setting has crazy saturation, and still manages to keep it's punchiness. When playing rhythm with the band, I'd usually stick to the neck pickup, and use the dirty blues channel with pretty decent results, something vaguely resembling a warm, anemic version of the Jazz King. My daughter has since inherited the Spider IV. She plays a Peavey (which I will review later) with two single coils and a humbucker at the bridge. She likes to play some 30 Seconds to Mars and Thousand Foot Krutch. Through the humbucker, she can get good crunch and sustain. In my opinion, the Spider IV is definitely more ideal for hard rock or metal, and less for classic rock or blues. All together, while the Spider IV probably isn't a "gig" quality amp, it is definitely an affordable alternative if you are looking for some decent chops in the garage with your buddies and don't want to break the bank.

In the mean time, remember......

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast!!

Have fun,

B

Getting the Band Together

After bar chords and the pentatonic scales, the next ingredient that supercharged my learning curve was playing with other musicians. About 6 months into reading do-it-yourself guitar books, online tab searches and repetitive scale exercises, my next breakthrough came from work (of all places). I had just started a new job, and was orienting with Andy, another new hire. We went through all of our training together, and eventually had to go out of state for a week of training. We both had extensive military backgrounds, so we hit it off right away. One day I was telling him about my new guitar hobby, and he told me he had been playing drums for over 20 years. He invited me to come play with him, a bass player and another guitar player.

I was a little intimidated at first, but Andy and the guys were very encouraging, and the focus was always (and remains to be today) on having fun and growing musically. One of the many benefits was helping me focus. When playing on my own, I spent more time browsing through different tabs, trying to decide what song to play and learn than I spent actually playing. When I arrived, they already had a list of songs they played on a regular basis. I had never played any of the songs before, but by the end of the night, with the help of more experienced musicians, I was able to play six or seven different songs from beginning to end. This pace of learnin was light-years faster than anything I would have accomplished sitting on my couch with a guitar tab book.

I had more fun that first night than I'd had in a long time. I left that night with a whole new level of confidence and a desire to attack my playing and keep moving forward. That excitement and enthusiasm carried over into my practice routine. With new found focus and renewed spirit, I emmersed myself in that set list. I downloaded the songs off of iTunes and listened to them when driving back and forth to work, working around the house, in the shower and when laying down for bed at night.

After a couple more jam sessions, we all felt pretty comfortable with the songs, and quite frankly, we were starting to get a little bored. So, the following get together some of us brought new material, and the learning process started all over again, this time with an expanded library of musical references built on our past experiences.

I was lucky enough to have a great bunch of musicians fall right into my lap at just the right time. However, you don't have to wait for someone to invite you to jam with them. Visit your local guitar shop, and you are likely go find a bulletin board where individuals or groups will post looking for musicians of all types and skill levels. You can post there too!! Either way, find yourself a group of fellow musicians, and it will fast-track your development to that next level and beyond.... Not to mention, it's CRAZY fun!

Keep rockin', and have a blast.
Remember, slow is smooth, smooth is fast.....

B