Guitar Noise » Nick Torres

The Fabulous Flea Market Band Live at the Black Cat

Nick Torres — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:36:24 +0000

Two riddles for you:

What do you call four Norwegians gathered around a single mic?

If one of them is holding a trombone, then it’s Flea Market Band playing Norway’s finest Bluegrass punk.

And

What are the odds that someone you met online who lives half a world away would end up playing a club three short blocks from where you work?

One hundred percent, it seems!

Imagine my surprise when I found out Lars and his band, The Fabulous Flea Market band would be playing the Black Cat club here in Washington DC. From Oslo to right next door, go figure.

The Black Cat is a small club in DC where at 8:00 on the dot they roll up the garage doors to let indie band fans stream in. Black Cat is famous for cheap tickets, cheap beer and great indie music. Tonight was no exception.

The Fabulous Flea Market band is a four piece band with a fairly typical bluegrass makeup: Mandolin, banjo, guitar, upright bass, violin and uh, the occasional trombone. It wasn’t hard to pick out Lars. He looks just like his picture, plus the trombone is a dead giveaway. He also sings harmony, plays harmonica, guitar, egg shaker and violin, all very well.

The band looks like an old fashioned bluegrass band, well besides Lars, and they play around a single mic a la Flatt and Scruggs in the early years. Very tight harmonies complete the bluegrass image. However, in complete contrast to that image the music they play in very modern, with modern themes and a catchiness that borders on pop. Although there was a small crowd at the Black Cat that night, they all got into it, clapping, dancing, singing and hooting and hollering. We even sang along on some of the songs in Norwegian. Who knows what we were singing, something about being a stalker I think, but it was a blast.

I was going to put down my favorite song here, but I loved them all. It was a fantastic show. I hope to see them again. Maybe I’ll even drive down to see them in Richmond.

If you have a chance to see them while they’re here, do it. You can find the schedule here.

The Fabulous Flea Market Band is:

Chris Gambert
Anders Bjornvold
Lars Kolberg
Kurt Amundsen

And right here you can see “The Drunkard’s Daughter,” recorded live from the Black Cat!

Flashback # 9 – Notes from Nick

Nick Torres — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 03:54:58 +0000

Editor’s Note: I don’t know about you, but I constantly find myself thinking, “What was Nick thinking about five years ago?” Yes, being a cat I have lots of time to think about things like that. Fortunately, I can also answer this question by looking back at a wonderful “NOTES FROM NICK” that he wrote back then:

So I’m sitting around on the porch, guitar in hand, working out the final wrinkles of “Here Comes the Sun” and I think, “Well the neighbors have probably heard enough of that, what’s next?”

And you know I couldn’t think of a single song.

I sat and thought a while and absolutely nothing came to mind.

“That’s impossible. I have to know at least twenty to thirty songs, don’t I?”

Then I had a thought. David had printed up some books for the Riverside Jam. (Thanks David, by the way). So I went inside and got the book. There had to be a hundred or so songs in there, just the chords and words printed out, but it’s a great resource.

I leafed through the book, and lo and behold there were twenty to thirty songs that I knew well. I was right. But that couldn’t be all could it?

Now I was on a mission, so off I went to the computer and wrote down all the songs in the Guitar Noise song lessons for beginners and intermediates. Hey whadda ya know, I’m up to almost fifty songs that I can play well.

There must me more! Down to the basement I went, into my studio/teaching area. Let me grab those Acoustic Guitar magazines from the past ten years. Wow, I forgot I knew “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” and “Caleb Meyer”, and ”Makin’ Pies” and “Forgot that it was Sunday” and about 20 others. The total number of songs I know and can play is now seventy-seven!.

Hold on don’t I have Hal Leonard’s acoustic Beatles, the one with the excellent acoustic transcriptions? Well yes I do. We are up to eighty-eight songs. Which reminded me, didn’t I see some Beatles thing on the easy song forum?

Back to Guitar Noise and the easy song forum, uh-huh here we are. Now we are over one hundred and five tunes.

Hold on a sec, didn’t I create a bookmark of all my favorite www.olga.net tunes I know? Well yes I did.

This went on for the better part of four hours. Think, find, print, hole punch, stick in the book and think some more.

I went from not being able to think of a single song to having over two hundred tunes to play that I can play well.

You know the very cool part about it? I didn’t have to learn anything new or practice. I just had to remember the things I didn’t know I knew.

The point being, make yourself a book and keep it up to date. It’s a heck of a lot easier than what I just went through.

Easy Roll Guitar Method by George Pittaway

Nick Torres — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:09:50 +0000

You should know two things about me:

I’m a sucker for a great bargain.
I don’t play flashy, fast stuff.

Well, you can pretty much scratch number two off the list.

I was scrolling through the forum pages on guitarnoise, when I came across a post from Al (“allman1979″), asking about George Pittaway’s “Easy Roll Guitar Method.” I was told the trailers on the website were humorous, and lo and behold, they were. And $15? Really? For a DVD by the guitarist from 4 out of 5 doctors, the nationally touring and signed to a label George Pittaway? Puh-lease…see number one above. I plunked down my cash and anxiously awaited the arrival of the DVD.

So what is this Easy Roll method? Well, it’s based on hybrid picking with what George calls “engines”. These three, count ‘em three, simple patterns will allow you to play with speed all over the neck. You can use a flatpick and fingers, thumbpick and fingers or just fingers. George is right! It is easy to get the rolls going. Heck, some of the patterns play with only one finger of your left hand. In fact, the first pattern George shows uses only one finger, and only one fret. As George says on his website, if you can drum your fingers on the table, you can do this. There is a lot more content than just that on the DVD though, it will take a while for you to get through it all. It’s an incredible value.

You can learn a lot of stuff from the internet or reading a guitar book, but you miss out on the little snippets of expertise you’d get from sitting around with an experienced player or teacher. George manages to get this information through to you in this DVD.

When you get your DVD, don’t be intimidated by the beginning section. It’s a showcase of what you can do. It takes several minutes before you get into the actual instruction section. George teaches in an easy to understand, light and humorous way that makes watching the DVD enjoyable as you learn.

If there is any drawback to Easy Roll it is this, there is so much information packed into the DVD that you will spend a tremendous amount of time rewinding to go over what you just saw. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

George also includes more video, FAQ and additional information on his website. You can take a look at the word by word content, (and more) of the DVD in George’s DVD Companion freely available on his website under the “Get DVD” tab.

This DVD is an incredible bargain at $15. Go take and look at the videos on his site and buy it. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in hybrid picking and opening up their soloing. This DVD is for the advanced beginner and beyond.

Website: www.ezrollguitar.com

The Rosetta Stone of Guitar

Nick Torres — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:42:13 +0000

Wow! Eureka! I understand!

It isn’t often that I get so excited about a guitar book/DVD. This review of The Rosetta Stone of Guitar by Fred Pool took me longer to write than any other review ever. It took me hours to craft just a few paragraphs. Why? I got so lost in practicing what I just read that I forget that I was reviewing it. Suddenly the fretboard was deciphered. It all made sense. It was like someone had given me, well, uhh, a Rosetta Stone of Guitar. Have you ever wondered why all those fretboard patterns are there? Have you wondered why the shapes you are supposed to memorize make sense? Have you ever wanted to just be able to land anywhere on the fretboard and play? Don’t you wish someone could translate the thing for you? How about a really easy set of patterns to use? Well look no further, The Rosetta Stone of Guitar is here. After reading this book and watching the DVD, the way the fretboard is laid out became so, so…obvious, almost simple. I see it. Why didn’t I think of this myself?

Now look, you aren’t just going to have a quiet read by the fireside and suddenly be a guitar virtuoso. You still are going to have to practice. And I’ll tell you the truth, I had to read some sections twice before I understood the simplicity. It was almost like my brain refused to see it because it was that simple. But stick with it, take your time, read the sections a couple of times and put your fingers on the fretboard to practice. You will be amazed at how much you’ve learned in such a short time.

I wish I had this book and DVD years ago. Yes there are other books out there with scale patterns, and yes you can use this book to solo up and down the neck almost immediately. Keep in mind though, The Rosetta Stone of Guitar isn’t about learning to solo, it’s about learning to see. Once you can see the fretboard you’ll never be lost again.

The DVD is very professionally put together, easy to navigate and full of information. You can print the book out directly from the DVD. I recommend you do this up front.

The Rosetta Stone of Guitar is on my must have list. All of my students are getting a copy.

For a limited time, guitarnoise readers can get a 25% discount on this wonderful DVD and printable book. Hey…that’s $10 off, enough to buy two Triple Venti White Mochas, (with whip), to keep you up all night while you fiendishly work your way through the examples.

Click here to get the special discount price.

You’ll need the following login information to get the special pricing:

username: guitarnoise
password: approved

You can thank me later. No really, go buy this now.

The Guitar Lesson Companion by Susan Palmer

Nick Torres — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:40:33 +0000

On the surface Susan Palmer’s The Guitar Lesson Companion seems to be a throwback to the Method books of old. You know the ones, “this is the sixth string, this note is E, it’s played like this, here is what it looks like on the musical staff.” And as a reward you learn to play “She’ll be coming round the mountain” Ah, but to dismiss this gem of a book as that beginning guitarist’s nightmare would be foolish. This book is more of a hybrid of lesson companion, instruction manual and method book.

This book is presented as a method book to guide teachers and students on a logical path through the learning process. The Guitar Lesson Companion isn’t really a book for beginners to use on their own; the material needs to be supplemented with direction and exercises from a teacher. But what if you don’t have a teacher? Well the book does come with a CD with tracks to supplement your learning experience, but here’s an extraordinary value for you, Susan has put together a companion website for the book with video lessons that match the book. Videos are no substitute for a teacher, but these videos with Susan, who has been teaching guitar in Seattle, Washington for 10 years, are a close second. If you are looking for a method book to teach yourself to read and understand music, look no further.

Be aware that the book is written in standard notation and if you have no intent of learning standard notation you won’t find much use for the book.

Who is it for?

Teachers who want a thorough method book for their students.
Students who want to learn standard notation
Students who want their current teacher to take a more methodical approach to their lessons

Who isn’t it for?

Tab readers who are happy with tab

What’s in the book?

Standard Notation
Major Scale Theory
Reading studies
Chord Changing exercises/Barre Chords/Jazzy Barre Chords/ Chord Formulas
CAGED

You can check out the video lessons and buy the book from www.leadcatpress.com

It’s a well thought out book, easy to use with the CD and an excellent value with the videos.

PlaneTalk by Kirk Lorange

Nick Torres — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 06:35:39 +0000

How to Play Slide Guitar in Standard and Dropped-D Tunings by Kirk Lorange

You may know Kirk as a regular on these forums and a frequent contributor of wonderful video lessons to this and other sites. Kirk also has several of his own sites/forums and is also author of the amazing PlaneTalk book.

This is a great DVD for beginner slide players, or for those who are trying to move from the more common open tuning to Dropped D or standard. Although standard tuning requires a slightly different approach to slide, the advantage for us non-sliders is you don’t need to relearn the positions and what you already know about the fretboard.

After explaining some of the basics, such as the different types of slides, action and muting, Kirk goes through what he calls “String Sets” or where you can find portions of chords on which strings. While he’s showing you this he uses a fantastic three-way split screen method that displays slide placement, the left hand and the right hand all at the same time.

Playing a couple of Kirk’s own tunes, you can see how all of the information you’ve gone through can be put to use in a practical manner. The example tunes are played both full and half speed so you can catch what Kirk is doing.

In addition to all of this, Kirk makes tab for all of the lessons and examples online at www.bottleneckguitar.com.

Kirk’s lessons are phenomenal. His easy going manner and camera persona make these DVDs just like having a personal lesson, albeit one you can pause and rewind at will. The video itself is very high quality as is the sound.

You couldn’t possibly get all of the information contained in this DVD in three months worth of lessons. How much would you have to pay an instructor for that?

To sum up “How to play Slide Guitar in Standard and Dropped-D Tunings” has great production, great content, a great teacher, and amazing value.

Kirk Lorange : PlainTalk – The Truly Totally Different Guitar Instruction DVD

Just in case you are reading this review without seeing any of my other reviews of Kirk’s teaching products, let me start by saying I’m a big fan of Kirk’s stuff. He’s easy going, teaches to you directly and has high standards for his productions. Just to show you how far he’ll go to teach he plays the guitar on his knees at a right angle to normal just to get the right angle for demonstration.

The DVD covers much of the material offered in PlaneTalk, Kirk’s terrific tutorial book, but not all. It’s a visual and audible presentation of the information, which is great for us visual learners. Seeing and hearing what Kirk teaches in PlaneTalk is a powerful reinforcement to the concepts learned from that book.

The DVD begins with the mess of chromatic notes that is the guitar fingerboard and sifts all the notes out into three easily identifiable patterns. These patterns are not only so much simpler than what one learns from the CAGED system, they are much more practical as well. One of the problems with CAGED is that people tend to stick to the pattern or two they’ve memorized and stay within those boxes. Kirk’s PlainTalk system doesn’t have that limitation. You can play wherever you want to play. Because you have such easy patterns/landmarks to keep track of, you can always get back to where you should be quickly if you ever should get off course.

I love the book PlaneTalk and highly recommend it, but combined with PlainTalk the DVD, it’s a truly powerful learning tool.

During the month of March you can get The PlaneTalk Package – Book, DVD, slide rule plus the Chord Tone Blues CD for $70 plus shipping and handling.

$70? You ask. Is it worth it?

Look, let’s forget about Chord Tone Blues for a moment and just say you get the book and DVD. That’s $35 each. Well that’s how much I pay for a forty-five minute lesson. Let me break out the handy dandy calculator and, yes, that’s the equivalent of two lessons then, isn’t it? It’s an easy decision. The incredible volume of information you get, plus an easy to use system for seeing the fretboard, plus Kirk’s examples and the ability to stop, rewind and replay the lesson, plus…oh never mind. Just get the package, it’s an astounding value.

By the way, just in case you were wondering, I don’t get a cut of the sales. It’s just my honest opinion about a powerful learning tool. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to open up the entire fretboard for soloing, this is a must have.

PlaneTalk by Kirk Lorange

When I die, assuming I might, I want to make sure that one thing does not happen. No not the obvious, that I find out Heaven is a polka only zone. No, I want to make sure that my guitars do not show wear on only the first five frets.

Why? Because I do not want to be known as just a first position player. And as I am sure that it will be impossible to fit all of my guitars into my coffin, someone would be able to find out by looking at the wear on the fretboard of one the guitars that doesn’t make it in. How embarrassing would that be?

I want to be known as the guy who could solo all the way up the neck, who could play inversions in many different positions, the guy who was not limited by his lack of fret board knowledge.

Well, as luck would have it, I no longer have this worry for I’ve found an answer in PlaneTalk by Kirk Lorange.

You may have heard about Kirk’s secret to opening up the fretboard. You may have seen posts asking what it is and the keepers of the secret denying your request for knowledge. Well let me tell you, it is a secret that is beautiful in it’s simplicity.

What does this book do?

It gives you an amazingly simple secret to mentally mapping the fretboard. How simple? It makes CAGED look like brain surgery.

It teaches you basic theory by using diagrams, pictures and a free fretboard slide rule.

It teaches in an amazingly simple fashion.

“Really?” You ask.

What if I told you that most of the book is written as a comic book?

It is a well-written book, and the pictures, contrary to Kirk’s disclaimer are excellent.

As an added bonus there are no exercises and no theory to memorize.

In order to get the most out of this book, I suggest you read it three times. Once breeze through. Second time through, try to grasp the concepts concretely. Third time, try to take what you are learning and work it out on the fretboard. Do this and you’ll be amazed at your sudden understanding. And it’s really easy too. I mean how hard is it to read a comic three times?

If you are beyond the absolute beginner stage, and by that I mean past memorizing the open chords and able to play the basic barre chords, and you want to completely open up the fretboard, not to mention your mind, this book is a must have in your guitar library.

Go buy it. You’ll thank me.

You can get the book here:

http://www.thatllteachyou.com/

Tell him Nick sent you.

Oh and by the way, if you happen to be at the funeral, make sure my Collings and my Breedlove make it into the coffin, would you? Thanks.

Eric Mantel – The Unstruck Melody

Nick Torres — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 12:23:03 +0000

I’ve got to tell you that on first listen you are struck by what an amazing guitarist Eric Mantel is. There is no doubt that he is master of many genres. Listening to him play is a pure pleasure. If you want to hear a tutorial of how to play everything from subtle to shred, and play them well, go buy this CD. I enjoyed every minute of listening to him play.

But what is the beauty for the guitarist is the beast for me as a CD listener. You just never know where you are about to go. The first track is a harbinger of things to come. You hear somebody scanning up the radio dial hitting different stations with different styles. But is it a concept album? Well, no, it’s the anti-concept album concept album. Don’t get me wrong, the tracks are all done well but they don’t really link together. I think it’s disconcerting to go from Pop to Rock to Blues to Jazz to whatever and back again. I can’t get into a listening groove. Maybe I’m just old but I liked listening to how an album flowed. Now if you are an Ipod random shuffle type of listener this shouldn’t bug you at all. All the songs are great. But what do you know, you young whippersnapper?

Anyway don’t read too much into my love for the lost art of concept albums, it’s a great CD by a great guitarist.

Check him out at:

www.ericmantel.com

Am I too old to make it?

Nick Torres — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 08:00:50 +0000

To answer your question, if you are twenty-six you have plenty of opportunity to make it. Then again you will always have opportunity to make it.

However, you will need to better define “make it”.

There are many questions you need to ask yourself.

Do you just want to play as your sole means of financial security?

Would you consider teaching? Maybe a part time job too?

The answers to those little questions make a big difference.

Are you willing to treat playing as a job?

It won’t be a hobby anymore. You will need to formalize what you do. You need to put aside certain hours every day for writing music, real practice, band practice, PR, calling people, arranging gigs, collecting past due money, negotiating contracts, writing checks for posters, buttons, shirts, arranging travel, booking hotel rooms, etc.

Are you ready to play when you don’t want to? Don’t feel well? Are tired? Burnt out?

It’s not glamorous. Is that what you mean by make it?

But wait there is more.

Are you talking about the music or the money? If you play great music that is loved by many, but can’t support yourself solely on the proceeds is that success or failure?

See the problem is defining the question. You’ll see this quandary often in business and science and ethics classes and well, everywhere. If you don’t know the question, you won’t know how to get to the answer. A business wants to grow and be profitable. Is acceptable growth 2% or 20%? Is $10,000 of profit the goal or $1,000,000? Is making it living in a small apartment and driving a used car or do you want a big house and a new car? See what I mean?

So let me help you define the question. Don’t call it making it.

Personally I’d call it four things.

What do I love to do?
What am I willing to do to do the thing I love to do?
Where is the balance?
Will I learn to recognize and appreciate what I have when I have it?

Once you know the answers to those four go and do some homework. Get a book from the library on managing a band so you can see what goes on. Talk to people in the business. Do some soul searching.

Then again, maybe you shouldn’t ask me because I have already made it.

I teach and work and play out. Sometimes I play in front of a hundred or so people. That’s a big crowd for me. Sometimes I play in front of ten, a small crowd. I enjoy both equally. I play around campfires, with strangers, with beginners and experts. I play for kids in school and the occasional church service. I met a homeless guy playing on a street corner near where I work. I asked if he minded if I join in. Whenever I find someone to share music with I know I’ve made it.

I enjoy teaching guitar. When I get a student past a hurdle or they master a new song, I know I’ve made it.

I also enjoy my work. My co-workers want to know where I’m playing and they show up and support me. When people show up like that you get all warm and fuzzy and you know you’ve made it.

I have a bunch of the most wonderful and amazing friends. You know I’ve only met them a dozen times, but I think of them as some of my oldest and dearest friends. I play guitar with them a couple of times every year, wherever they are come hell or high water. Playing with these friends is more important to me than playing in front of a stadium full of people. Yep, once again I made it.

I’m a perpetual beginner guitarist. I always will be no matter my level of technical proficiency. Whenever I learn something new I know I’ve made it.

Just about anywhere in the world I could email someone and tell them I’m bringing my guitar and I’d not only have a friend to jam with, but probably a place to stay too. Uh-huh, I made it.

I’ve had a song written about me. I’ve got a musical nickname. I’ve got my picture hanging in a basement in Chicago. I’ve made it baby.

You’ve probably guessed that for me the most important question is the fourth one. Once you’ve got that one you really have made it.

And finally, just in case I got you down, remember this quote (by Dr. Wayne Dyer) from a past newsletter:

There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love; there’s only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen.

Newsletter Vol. 3 # 12 – December 15, 2005

Nick Torres — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 12:53:20 +0000

Greetings,

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #12 of Guitar Noise News!

In This Issue:

News and Announcements
New Articles and Lessons
Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow
Notes From Nick
Buried Treasure Of The Internet
Forum Findings
Event Horizon
Reviews
Off Site Sightings and Works In Progress
Random Thoughts

News And Announcements

I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, and I’m certainly not reveling in the misery of others but:

Harmony Central lost almost all of their user’s post counts. Some people with 10,000 posts now have 70.

The unofficial Larrivee forum owner forgot to renew the domain name and the site is currently unreachable.

The official Larrivee home page server was stolen, and they had to recreate things post haste. Currently their email is pretty limited.

I wish the best to the owners, moderators and sysops on these sites. Believe me, we know how you feel.

On to the newsletter…

New Articles And Lessons

Infant Holy Infant Lowly
by Doug Sparling

Doug Sparling graces our pages once again with this beautifully arranged Polish carol, also known as “W Zlobie Lezy” (“Lying in the Manger”). It’s in standard tuning and it’s a delight for the holidays!

Standard Notation (Part 2)
by Tom Serb

In the second installment of Tom’s series on reading notation, you’ll learn about ledger lines, repeat signs and other musical “traffic signals,” as well as delve into accidentals and key signatures. Plus you get an arrangement of “Jingle Bells” to get you going for the holidays!

Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow

We started learning about modes last time. Let’s pick up the trail again, and explore some fundamental questions about modes.

First, we noticed how playing a scale a certain way can be just like expressing the same feeling of a chord. We played the C major scale starting from note A and ending on A, and got the feeling of an Am7 chord.

But how do use modes? When do we use them? And how do we practice them?

You can use modes when you don’t have a playalong partner like a bassist or recording, and you need to hear a certain chord. You’re tired of playing the same old chords, so you do what horn players do: they play arpeggios or play modes.

Here’s an example:

First, the chords:

|-----------|-1----1----|-1----1----|-----------|
|-1----1----|-3----3----|-0----0----|-1----1----|
|-0----0----|-2----2----|-0----0----|-0----0----|
|-2----2----|-0----0----|-----------|-2----2----|
|-3----3----|-----------|-----------|-3----3----|
|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|

Now, the modes to achieve the same basic feeling as the chords. These are all eighth notes, but bars 2 and 4 have eighth note rests on the last eighth note.

 E E E E E E E E   E E E E   E E E E
|-----------------|--------------------|
|-----------------|-3------------------|
|-----------2-4-5-|---4-5--------------|
|-----2-3-5-------|-------5---3-2------|
|-3-5-------------|----------------5---|
|-----------------|--------------------|

 E E E E E E E E   E E E E  E E  E E
|-------------1-5-|-3--------------------|
|---------3-5-----|---5------------------|
|---2-4-5---------|-----5-4--------------|
|-5---------------|----------5-----------|
|-----------------|------------5--3------|
|-----------------|----------------------|

To hear more clearly how these modes work, play the chord associated with each measure, both before and after you play the measure. Example, play the C major chord before and after bar 1.

Thanks for reading.

For those of you who might like to know more about Darrin, let me direct you to his website, Maximum Musician and also to his page here at Guitar Noise.

Once again, let me thank Mr. Koltow for his continued presence on the Internet. Darrin helped inspire many to contribute their knowledge online and I know that many of the readers of Guitar Noise appreciate his efforts.

Buried Treasure Of The Internet

Here are a few random lesson sites culled from my favorites list.

A bit of theory:

http://www.jazclass.aust.com/scales/scamaj.htm#01

Cool Celtic tab site:

http://www.celticguitartalk.com

Forum Findings

Here is the topic for this week’s Sunday Songwriters:

From Bob:

This week has tended to revolve around numbers. I’ve been dealing with quotes, profit margins, sales figures and all the usual kind of business malarkey that I usually try to avoid. Numbers are going toour inspiration this week’s assignment. I’d like you to write a song in your preferred style which uses numbers.

Some examples of what I mean, to avoid confusion,

If I had a million dollars – Barenaked Ladies
One – U2
Car 67 – Driver 67 (I think)
99 Red Balloons – Nena

You’ll get the idea

Good writing

Event Horizon

Supporting Guitar Noise and the Guitar Noise community is not always about money or time. Sometimes it’s about being there. Literally. As musicians, it’s always good to support each other simply by being at a gig if it’s at all possible.

One thing we’d really like to do is to help promote your shows, whether it’s in a stadium or at a ten-seat coffee house. Not only is it a great way to help support each other, it’s also a terrific way to meet more musicians!

So please feel free to write me if you’ve got some gigs coming up. Remember that Guitar Noise News is sent out on the first and fifteenth of each month. Usually I will have it ready to be sent out a few days ahead of time, so plan accordingly. For instance, if you’ve got something coming up in the last two weeks of July (that is, after the fifteenth), then let me know by the tenth or the twelfth.

If you’ve already got a show in January, let me know, too! It’s never too early to plan for things!

Send your gig dates to me at dhodgeguitar@aol.com and try to put “gig alert” in the subject header.

Reviews

Reviews go up almost all the time here at Guitar Noise. But we also know that what we post is, pardon the cliché, the very tip of the iceberg. If you’d like to pass along a review of an album, concert, DVD (tutorial, concert or otherwise), book or even a guitar or guitar/music product, feel free to drop me a line and try to put “proposed review” in the subject.

For those of you who are always thinking about “giving back to the community,” this is certainly a fine way to do so.

King Crimson – 21st Century Guide To King Crimson Volume 2
Review by: Jimmy Caterine

21st Century Guide To King Crimson – Volume 2 is an amazingly brilliant, flawless compilation of the last 25 years of this avant-garde wall of sound, featuring extraordinary musicians with uncanny artistic ability, known as King Crimson.

Niacin : Organik
Review by: Pete Crane

Organik is the latest release from the virtuoso jazz-rock trio NIACIN, featuring the legendary bassist Billy Sheehan, with John Novello on keyboards and Dennis Chambers on drums.

Indukti : S.U.S.A.R.
Review by: Pete Crane

Indukti is like taking a trip around the world. It’s a rich wealth of sounds and textures flying at you from every direction. Nice and heavy with plenty of crunch. But it has so much more to offer than just that.

Random Thoughts

Well, here I am at the end of the newsletter again.

This week I played at my office party. What a cool experience. I came in second in the “Idol” style competition and won myself $500 and anywhere in the USA round trip airfare for two.

David helped me with my arrangement of “I’ll be around” and it was a great success.

From what I hear David is pounding away at his book, but soon to be back here writing newsletters. There may be one more letter’s worth of suffering with me, but he’ll be back soon.

Words of wisdom: If you are carting stuff back and forth and think your guitar will balance on the cart you have to wheel across some brick sidewalk and a curb….don’t do it. Slow down. Make the extra trip and carry it. It didn’t happen to me but to some guy playing in the same hotel and it almost made me physically ill. Silly thing to say isn’t that. Hmm, I guess it could’ve made me mentally ill. Glad I clarified it for you.

At the party as I was up at the mic getting ready to play in my mojo hat and sunglasses when I realized I was almost completely blind. I paused a moment and said to the audience in my ultra cool mojo voice: “I can’t see a damn thing”, which cracked everyone in the audience up. Anyway, It’s better to look good than to see good.

And finally, and I’m quoting myself here, two things for you to think about:

I was stuck on an elevator this past week for a couple of minutes. I turned to the guy standing across the elevator and said:

“It’s just God’s way of telling us to stop and smell the elevator.”

Get it? Stop and smell the roses? But we were on an elevator. Oh, never mind.

I think the guy was really happy when the elevator started moving again.

And…

In talking about the internet and the ready access to almost unlimited information of questionable worth:

“The ability to cut and paste has usurped the desire to stop and think.”

So take the time to enjoy yourself as we rush headlong into the New Year. And where ever you are, stop and sniff. Enjoy.

Peace and play well.

Nick

Newsletter Vol. 3 # 11 – December 01, 2005

Nick Torres — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 12:39:46 +0000

Greetings,

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #11 of Guitar Noise News!

In This Issue:

News and Announcements
New Articles and Lessons
Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow
Buried Treasure Of The Internet
Forum Findings
Event Horizon
Reviews
Off Site Sightings and Works In Progress
Random Thoughts

News And Announcements

Unbelievable, another year over already.

I know I have another newsletter to go, but I wanted to try something a bit different. We had so many disasters and unpleasant things happening this past year it seems like it’s almost a good year to forget. But you know in the Ying and Yang of things a lot of good things happened this past year too.

So here is your assignment, (should you decide to accept it); email me what you think were the best parts of last year as it pertains to you musically.

Did you reach any milestones? Play out for the first time? Get some new gear? Meet new people? Learn a song you only dreamed you’d ever play?

Do you want to pay tribute to a musician who passed last year? Send it to me.

How about best post or funniest post on the forum? What was your favorite article?

Surprise me.

Send your emails to me at nick@guitarnoise.com and I’ll publish the best next week in the newsletter.

New Articles And Lessons

The Huron Carol
By Doug Sparling

This lovely fingerstyle Christmas carol comes to us from Canada, where it’s still sung in churches at holiday time. Doug gives us a little history on The Huron Carol and then walks us through this terrific arrangement, done in open G minor tuning.

Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow

Exploring Chords

Without harmony, there is no music.

The more you understand harmony and chords, the better your playing will sound. Understanding chords makes learning tunes, melodies, improvising and licks much easier. How do we get this understanding? Exploring, playing and tinkering with chords. Just reading about chords won’t do it. Plus, how much fun is reading compared to playing?

Here are some practical facts about chords. Search on MaximumMusician.com, other web sites, in music instruction books — not just those for guitar — and your guitar teacher to learn more about each of these.

The V7-I progression
This is one of the strongest and most common chord progressions. Play G7 to C and you’ll hear how musical it is. Learning just this one simple progression in several keys and with different patterns on the fretboard launches you toward a mastery of music.

The “sweet note”
The “sweet note” of a chord is its third. It makes a chord basically happy (major) or sad (minor). Changing just one chord’s sweet note can affect the whole mood of a tune. Master your mood by studying all notes of the chord, especially the third. You can start by strumming your favorite tune, and singing the third of each chord, instead of the song’s usual melody.

The forbidden interval
The tritone interval sounds so unstable, it was banned from being played in the Middle Ages. In the G7 chord, the tritone is formed by the notes B and F. Study this vital part of the music you enjoy and play.

Strongest interval
What do Amazing Grace and the beginning of the theme to Star Wars have in common? The interval of a fourth. The strongest chord progressions, including the V-I, also use it. When you understand and use it, your playing grows stronger. Examples: notes G to C, F to F and A to D. If you know the Cycle of Fourths, you know all movements by a perfect fourth.

Roman numerals
Roman numerals are used frequently in lessons on chords and harmony. Without understanding how they’re used, you won’t understand lessons that contain them. Here are the chords that Roman numerals represent in the key of C major:

Key centers
Key centers are the “home base” for a section of music. Each key center is a central tone that other tones are drawn to. The ii-V-I progression (Dm-G7-C, for example) fully creates a new key center. Once you grasp this idea, you learn new songs fast, because they are no longer collections of isolated chords, but a flowing network of key centers.

Chords from thirds
Most chords are built from notes in a certain way — in thirds, which give the chord a defined sound and clear feeling. By exploring this topic, your fingers will begin to automatically choose fewer wrong chords and more of the right ones.

Practicing in several keys
Practicing any lick, chord or other musical fragment in just one key enslaves your mind, fingers and ears to that key. Free yourself by practicing in other keys. On guitar, a good way to start this project is to learn the I-IV-V chords in the keys of C, F, G, A, E, and D.

Arpeggios
Melodies would not exist without arpeggios, which are the notes in a chord. Studying arpeggios is an easy way to sound musical.

Solos
Sweet solos are often built heavily on chord tones. Improve your solos by studying chord tones.

Connect arpeggio and chord patterns
Learning the fretboard is much easier when you see connections among patterns for arpeggios and chords. One approach to seeing these connections is to study basic Chord Melody playing. This means you’re playing the complete song, both chords and the melody.

Simplify chord names
Some chords look strange and difficult on paper. But learning a song from notation becomes easy when you realize that “C6/9″ is really just a C major chord. Also, when you see a Cm9, Cm11 or Cm6, you can replace the chord with a plain Cm7 or Cm. Learn how to simplify other chord names.

Much success in your further exploration of guitar chords.

For those of you who might like to know more about Darrin, let me direct you to his website, Maximum Musician and also to his page here at Guitar Noise.

Buried Treasure Of The Internet

All right, I’m going to cheat here and direct you to one page with a couple of marvelous things to listen to:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5032223

I want you to listen to two, Susan Tedeschi who has a new album out “Hope and Desire” and one that sounds like I wrote the title “Hearing Voices: My Guitar is better than Prozac.”

Susan Tedeschi has the most amazing voice I’ve heard in a long time. When you hear her play, (on her first album, not this one), you’ll be amazed too.

You can also listen to her here, http://www.susantedeschi.com/

It’s like listening to Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin blended together.

Forum Findings

Wow, year 4 of the Sunday Songwriters group. I really have to get back in there. I do keep threatening too. Well there is nothing to fear, Bob is gentle with newbies.

Here is the topic for this week:

Hi Everyone

This week saw the sad, but somewhat inevitable, passing of the footballing genius that was George Best. His exploits on and off the field were a source of inspiration and scandal in equal measure and it got me to thinking about heroes. Particularly about flawed geniuses and how they make us feel. So that’s what I want for this week’s assignment – I’d like you to wtrite a song about your hero (or one of them if like me you have too many to mention). I don’t want the song to be about their life I want it to be about their impact on your life, how they made you feel, how you tried to emulate them etc.

Good writing and as for George may he rest in peace.

Bob

Event Horizon

If you happen to be in or traveling through Costa Rica…

The Flash Doo-Right String Band will be playing at the Hotel Gilded Iguana in Playas de Nosara, Nosara Costa Rica every Tuesday starting next Tuesday. Guest guitar player Bill MacPherson of Native Vibe will be leading the charge. Bring your own guitar and sing when we’re on break!

If you’ve already got a show in January, let me know, too! It’s never too early to plan for things!

Send your gig dates to me at dhodgeguitar@aol.com and try to put “gig alert” in the subject header.

Reviews

For those of you who are always thinking about “giving back to the community,” this is certainly a fine way to do so.

Monica Yonge: Rock On
Review by: Jimmy Caterine

If you like music like good down home rock and roll with a lot of slide guitar, an air about it reminiscent of the late 60′s early 70′s and a strong female voice. Monica Yonge’s Rock On is right up your alley.

The Mother Hips : Red Tandy (EP)
Review by: Jimmy Caterine

The Mother Hips apparently are in tune with the movement to recapture the 60′s. Their sound certainly resonates with the music of the decade. Red Tandy is an EP released at the request of their die-hard fans and it is the perfect appetizer for a full length LP due out sometime in 2006.

Jeffrey Osbourne : From The Soul
Review by: Jimmy Caterine

In the R&B world Jeffrey Osborne is a household name. In his 35 year career, this legendary singer/songwriter has produced hits with the 70′s R&B outfit L.T.D. and followed that with a successful solo career. On From The Soul, Osborne has recorded all of his favorite R&B numbers but there’s a twist. He has done them in the genre of smooth jazz, and it is a monster.

Random Thoughts

So how was your Thanksgiving?

Mine was good, thanks for asking.

Even better was the Black Friday Jam hosted by none other than our own gnease.

For me it’s about a two and a half hour drive, probably more if you aren’t driving a BMW 5 series with a radar detector after drinking a venti triple shot Mocha. But still that’s a long way to go for a jam isn’t it?

Well no.

I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

The music is like, well like I said above “My guitar is better than Prozac”

It’s cheaper than therapy. Well unless you buy guitars like I do in which case its much more expensive. Also once you start the obsessive compulsive buying of guitars you really need therapy so you end up spending twice as much. Then you end up seeing a therapist who it turns out has a thing for guitar players and next thing you know you and your wife end up in court with a….a…

Uhhh, I digress.

But music soothes the soul. Zen guitar is meditative, and I don’t know for sure but I think it cures whatever ails you.

And it is so much more than that. You get to meet people who share your common interest. You get to meet people who love to teach, share, jam, make fools of themselves, zone out and sometimes play incredible music that is above their capability, and sometimes play music that just does not suck and who love life and the music they can make in it.

It is you guys that I am thankful for.

Peace and play well.

Nick

Newsletter Vol. 3 # 10 – November 15, 2005

Nick Torres — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 12:34:09 +0000

Greetings,

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #10 of Guitar Noise News!

In This Issue:

News and Announcements
New Articles and Lessons
November CD Giveaway
Exploring Music with Darrin Koltow
Forum Findings
Event Horizon
Reviews
Off Site Sightings and Works In Progress
Completely Random Thoughts

News And Announcements

“Hey, Where did my post go?” It’s a common refrain for the past couple of days. It does appear we are having a few issues with.

Pick one:

Code
New features
Our server
Memory leaks
Disappearing posts

I just want to say hang in there. If a post is missing it isn’t because we deleted it. The problem should be resolved shortly. Paul and our Hosting provider are working on it diligently.

New Articles And Lessons

The Number System
by Jimmy Crabtree

First-time Guitar Noise contributor Jimmy Crabtree details the workings of the “Number System” (also known to some as “Nashville Numbers”). This is a good reference to get you acquainted with the basics of the number system, which is used a lot in studio work.

Standard Notation (Part 2)
by Tom Serb

Top Secrets Of Common Sense – Part 1
by Tom Hess

No matter what level of musical skill you have, there are going to be many significant challenges ahead of you. Your attitude towards these challenges can be single greatest factor in determining how much you will achieve as a musician. Tom Hess looks at the importance of having an attitude of positive thinking.

November CD Giveaway

This month we are giving away two CDs to two lucky winners.

Enter to win a copy of soul/jazz man Jeffrey Osbourne’s latest album From the Soul. Contest ends 12/4/05!!

Enter to WIN a copy of french Chatuese Ilona Knopfler’s latest CD Live the Life. Contest ends 12/4/05.

Check out the Guitar Noise review for Ilona Knopfler’s newCD below.

Good luck to everyone!!!

Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow

Soloing over minor chords

We’ve been exploring the use of scales for soloing to learn which scales go with a particular chord. Please see archives of this newsletter on GuitarNoise.com for details.

Let’s look at minor chords now. What scale can we use to solo over an E minor 7 for example? Let’s rephrase and ask this: in what scales does E minor 7 appear? If we limit our choices to major and melodic minor scales, we get this:

C major: E minor 7 is the III chord
D major: E minor 7 is the II chord
G major: E minor 7 is the VI chord
D melodic minor: E minor is the II chord.

If you are just starting out soloing or learning about how scales and chords are connected, you might have had the idea that there was only one scale you could use for a particular chord, E minor 7 in this instance. But now you’re a bit more savvy, and maybe even relieved, to see that you have many choices for melodic improvisation. The point? Learning a bit of chord scale theory can enrich your playing.

Before we move on, do please try each of the aforementioned scales over E minor 7. You can have you mind filled with memorizations of possible scales to use for a given chord; but until you get “inside” the music and *do* it, you won’t truly be soloing.

A note about modes. Get out your guitar and play a C major scale — except start the scale on the E note instead of the C note. After you play the scale, play an E minor chord, preferably in the same area you played the scale.

The purpose of doing this is to get you to hear that you can imply a chord by playing the *modes* associated with that chord. How is that possible? We’ll cover that next time.

Thanks for reading.

For those of you who might like to know more about Darrin, let me direct you to his website, Maximum Musician and also to his page here at Guitar Noise.

Forum Findings

Well finding your post the next time you log on can be an adventure, but I wanted to alert you to some real quality stuff being posted in both SSG, hear here and Easy Song Database.

First off, it seems the SSG has become partial to creating MP3s of the work being submitted. Now don’t let this put you off if you don’t feel comfortable recording your own work, but it’s great to listen to hear the ideas of the lyricist.

By the way, go take a shot at composing some lyrics this week.

Speaking of recording, we’ve got some good posts going on how to record. Believe it or not Kristal and Audacity are the most often mentioned…AND they are both free.

http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Once you’ve downloaded them, you should check out some of Smokin’ dog’s online jam tracks. Ken has got something for every level of user.

And finally, some of the best stuff I’ve seen posted as far as tab goes is appearing in the ESD forum. One of my favorites just appeared, Father and Son by Cat Stevens. Thanks Matt.

You can also find the Who, Coldplay, David Gray and more. Check it out.

Event Horizon

So please feel free to write me if you’ve got some gigs coming up. Remember that Guitar Noise News is sent out on the first and fifteenth of each month. Usually I will have it ready to be sent out a few days ahead of time, so plan accordingly. For instance, if you’ve got something coming up in the last two weeks of December (that is, after the fifteenth), then let me know by the tenth or the twelfth.

If you’ve already got a show in January, let me know, too! It’s never too early to plan for things!

Send your gig dates to me at dhodgeguitar@aol.com and try to put “gig alert” in the subject header.

Reviews

For those of you who are always thinking about “giving back to the community,” this is certainly a fine way to do so.

Ilona Knopfler: Live The Life
CD Review by: Jimmy Caterine

Ilona Knopfler describes her latest CD, Live The Life, as “a tribute to my unconditional love of music.” This album comes highly recommended to jazz lovers as well as those who may not listen to jazz but are looking to expand their musical horizons. After listening to Live The Life you will know that Ilona Knopfler is one with the music she sings.

Completely Random Thoughts

Guitar Noise was down today for a while and the forums are still just a bit wacky. I had to keep checking back though to make sure it was okay. Withdrawal is hell. It’s a tribute to all of you who read, click advertisements, download articles and contribute on the forums that the place is so darn addictive. So thank you all.

I played at a song or two for a gathering of children this past week. I was playing a song I knew and when I got to the flatpicking break in between verses I screwed up. I mean wrong notes, had to stop playing screwed up. So I just strummed a chord or two and started the next verse. I decided to play the break again and screwed it up again. I know this song cold. Still I couldn’t do it. Ah well back to the verse. Third time through I got it. Now I was embarrassed, but I remember something I learned way back. Don’t apologize or make excuses, take a bow and exit gracefully. Don’t put yourself down; leave that for others to do. So I didn’t. I held my internal self-criticism in.

You know I can’t tell you how many people said “thanks for playing” and “that was great” and “the kids loved it”. I thought I had just dragged my nails down the chalkboard and I’m pretty sure I did, but I didn’t make it worse by dwelling on it. Not a single person came up to me and said, “Man, what happened?” or “Dude you suck”.

So two things:

A. Cut yourself some slack, you aren’t supposed to be perfect.

B. Always try to be professional; playing ability is only part of the equation, presentation is another.

Believe in yourself.

Peace.

Nick

Newsletter Vol. 3 # 9 – November 01, 2005

Nick Torres — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 12:21:01 +0000

Greetings,

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #9 of Guitar Noise News!

In This Issue:

News and Announcements
A word or two from Paul
New Articles and Lessons
Exploring Music with Darrin Koltow
Forum Findings
Event Horizon
Reviews
Off Site Sightings and Works In Progress
Completely Random Thoughts

News And Announcements

Last night was Halloween here in the USA. Picture this if you will:

Costumed people are standing ’round the door, goodie bags in hand.

Slowly it opens.

‘Trick or treat’ they all yell.

‘Oh, my, what have we here?’ says the little old lady.

‘I’m pretending to be a pirate.’ says the first one.

‘I’m pretending to be a werewolf.’ says the next.

‘I’m pretending to be a spaceman.’ says another.

‘AAAAAYYYYIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!!!’ the old lady screams. ‘What the heck are you?’

To which I reply ‘It’s me Nick. I’m pretending to be DAVID HODGE.’

Muahahahahaha….

Scary isn’t it?

On with the show…

A Word (Or Two) From Paul

Help Wanted: Reviewers Needed

We need 5-10 reliable people to do reviews.

Send us a sample of your writing, for instance a review of a recent CD purchase or book purchase. No more than 2-3 paragraphs.

What do you get?

You get access to a private forum. You get first shot at free promo CDs and other materials we receive for review.

To get started send a message to reviews@guitarnoise.com.

Guitar Noise Wiki

Do you think you can improve Guitar Noise? Now is your chance to prove it.

Together we are building a guitar wiki where you can edit and create articles. This Guitar Noise Wiki is a collection of articles and information on playing guitar. Users familiar with the website Wikipedia will have little trouble using it as it uses the same MediaWiki software.

You can feel free to write anything you think would be helpful for other users. If you see a section lacking content, feel free to add on to it. If you wish, you can also create a whole new section of useful information. As with the forums, you must register before doing anything to the wiki.

Don’t be afraid to edit pages on Guitar Noise Wiki – anyone can edit, and we encourage users to be bold! Find something that can be improved, either in content, grammar or formatting, then fix it.

Check out the Guitar Noise Wiki and get started fixing articles.

Contest Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the October CD giveaway. The winners picked are: Tom Maxfeldt, Dennis Day and Lisa Cletcher. You will each be receiving a copy of Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon’s new CD Sixty Six Steps. We hope you enjoy it.

Keep an eye on the homepage for a new contest beginning in November.

2005 Donation Drive

Do you want to give something back to the Guitar Noise community? This year we’d like to try something different.

Throughout November and December we will be posting links to some worthwhile charitable institutions, like the Red Cross, for your consideration. Maybe it’s because we started the year with a tsunami, maybe it’s because of all the hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters, or maybe it’s because it’s impossible to live in this world without knowing that everything could disappear in a heartbeat – whatever reason works for you, pick one.

We urge all Guitar Noise visitors to donate generously to ongoing disaster relief efforts. “Generously,” of course, will be different for each individual. The point is to give what you can. Every donation, no matter how big or small, will be greatly appreciated. We are creating a list of some organizations that are accepting donations directly to aid those who have suffered from recent disasters. If we have missed any valuable links please let us know.

See the Guitar Noise support page for more.

New Articles And Lessons

Removing The Barriers To Musical Expression
by Jamie Andreas

It’s the age-old argument – style versus substance, or, in the case of the guitarist, technique versus emotion. While everyone admits that we truly need both, we’re quick to point out any number of technically gifted, yet ‘soulless’ players. Yet it is not possible to express musical feeling without technique adequate to the task. Jamie Andreas takes a look at this seeming paradox and offers some much needed advice and encouragement.

More Tips And Riffs From The “Forty-Something Guy”
by Allan Abbott

Allan’s back and this time he’s got a lot of good advice to pass along on the subject of power chords and double stops. As in his first article, “Forty-Something Guy Learns Guitar From The Internet,” this piece includes a lot of links to other helpful articles as well as numerous musical examples.

The King Of Love My Shepherd Is
by Doug Sparling

Doug Sparling brings us another wonderful Celtic melody, arranged in DADGAD tuning for fingerstyle guitar. This is a beautiful little piece, which, since it’s not too technically demanding, can allow you to explore putting some feeling and emotion into your playing.

The Future Of Music Careers
by Peter Spellman

Peter Spellman is director of the career development center at Berklee College of Music, Boston and the author of The Self-Promoting Musician, The Musician’s Internet, and several other career-building books. In this first in a series of articles for Music Careers, he reflects on where things are at and where things may be going in the music industry.

Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow

You know I’ve always missed Darrin’s newsletter. I can’t tell you all how much it pleases me to present it here.

We’re exploring the melodic minor scale for soloing over dominant 7 chords. Please see archives of this newsletter on Guitar Noise for details.

The last time we looked at playing the D melodic minor scale over a G7 chord. We saw how that D scale contains all the notes in a G7.

Now we’ll see that D melodic minor is not the only scale to contain a G7. Look at the C melodic minor scale:

C D Eb F G A B C

Just one note different from the C major scale. Once again, G7 is present: notes G, B, D, F. We’re going to use this C scale to solo over G7. Here’s a pattern:

|-------------5-7-8-|-7-5--------------|
|---------6-8-------|-----8-6----------|
|---5-7-8-----------|---------8-7-5----|
|-------------------|----------------9-|
|-------------------|------------------|
|-------------------|------------------|

Record yourself strumming the G7 chord onto a tape recorder and then play back the recording. Play around with the C melodic minor pattern just given.

Let’s cap this exploration of using the melodic minor scale for soloing over dominant 7 chords by adding one more point:

It’s possible to use two other melodic minor scales over the G7 chords, besides the D and C scales mentioned. Without getting into details here, you can try the F melodic minor scale and also the Ab melodic minor scale. Neither fully contains the G7 notes, but both may still sound good to you.

Thanks for reading. Next time: soloing over minor chords.

For those of you who might like to know more about Darrin, let me direct you to his website, Maximum Musician and also to his page here at Guitar Noise.

Forum Findings

This coming Sunday, November 6, marks the start of the fourth year of the Sunday Songwriter’s Group. I was a bit stunned by the math – it seems like yesterday that Ryan and Nick came to me with the idea of putting together a weekly songwriting workshop and here we are, some one thousand and fifty-six songwriting assignments later, starting in on a new year of work.

While the SSG was Ryan and Nick’s brainchild, much of the credit for its continued success goes to Bob, who has been chief moderator of the SSG for the past two years. This means coming up with all the weekly assignments as well as handling his other moderating chores. I think that everyone will agree he’s done a superb job.

I’m proud to say that Bob has told me that he intends to continue to manage the Sunday Songwriter’s Group for the upcoming year. So, in honor of both the SSG’s anniversary as well as in thanks to Bob for his great work, I’ve managed to coax him into giving a short interview for the November 1 issue of Guitar Noise News.

If you’ve never visited the SSG before, I highly recommend taking the trip. Who knows? You might get the songwriting bug yet!

SSG Year 4 Interview

Q: This may be old history, but people would probably like to know just how you got involved with the SSG in the first place. What brought you to it? What was your first “assignment?” How’d you end up moderating the place?

BOB: I got involved in SSG as I was exploring the wider GN site. I came across GN whilst searching for the TAB for Van Morrison’s Have I Told You Lately. At that time I was also writing a little poetry and some cringe-worthy songs. It was then I stumbled into the forums and found Ryan and Nick leading the SSG. I watched from the outside for a while until I was confident enough to take part. The forum seemed friendly but not overly sweet, in fact I remember the song I produced in my first assignment contained one verse Nick particularly disliked and he was honest enough to tell me. Far from discouraging me, it actually spurred me to do better and the next assignment I took part in was written from somebody else’s title. From then on I was hooked and started to try to take part more regularly. My own writing improved over this time, as did my playing.

I became a moderator when Nick asked for help as Ryan’s commitments outside of GN and Nick’s commitments inside of GN grew to the extent they have. Ventures such as GN and SSG only survive if people give as well as take, so I felt I needed to give some time to help out something I felt had rewarded me.

Q: How do you feel that the SSG has improved your own songwriting? Do you think that this can be true of anyone who posts his or her material at the SSG?

BOB: I take a more considered approach to writing now. SSG taught me to stay away from the obvious and the clichéd, something I’d found hard to do before. I think about what I want to say and try to make it meaningful. I’m nowhere near as prolific as some of our regular contributors, who still amaze me with what they can turn around week in week out. Personally, l find it incredibly difficult to marry music to lyrics which is the most frustrating aspect of my own songwriting journey.

Anyone who posts material onto the SSG is taking the first steps in becoming a better songwriter. By posting, people realize they’re going to get critiqued and probably have things pointed out to them they hadn’t considered before. We don’t rewrite their song for them but give a personal opinion of what works and what doesn’t. It gives that person something to think about when they look at the song again.

Q: Many people who start writing and posting assignments for the SSG take a little time to learn that posting critiques of other peoples’ material is also a great way to learn about writing. Do you have some words of encouragement along those lines?

BOB: Just jump right in with comments. Do try to make them constructive. Don’t just say ‘I don’t like it’ or ‘I really like it,’ try to explain why. People want to know where they’re falling down or where they’re making a strong impression.

Q: Not to put you on the spot, but what are some of your favourite SSG memories? Are there some SSG submissions (your own included) that you still find memorable?

BOB: Nick’s song written about the time of the sniper hiding in the boot of the car (in Washington I think) indiscriminately taking pot shots at people – I think it was called Take The Back Roads. That was a powerful piece of writing.

Ja’mir writes some lovely Celtic style songs and it’s always a pleasure to hear them.

Scratchmonkey wrote a fabulous piece about a hobo who played the bones, which really stood out.

The contributions we get each week never cease to make me feel humble as a songwriter because the quality is usually so high.

Personally, I have a song called The Preachers of which I am immensely proud.

Q: What assignments have you thought worked very well? Do you have any favourite assignments, ones you look forward to posting because you think you’re going to get some great responses?

BOB: Collaborative ones work well. They take some of the pressure away from individuals and let them build on someone else’s ideas. I’d like to do more of these and have some finished products that people can hear. But organizationally, they’ll need thinking about.

Anything that moves you out of your ‘comfort zone’ of writing is good. Just to stretch your mind and write in a different style adds depth to your song writing, which rewards you back.

Both of these approaches are particularly useful for band members.

Event Horizon

So please feel free to write me if you’ve got some gigs coming up. Remember that Guitar Noise News is sent out on the first and fifteenth of each month. Usually I will have it ready to be sent out a few days ahead of time, so plan accordingly. For instance, if you’ve got something coming up in the last two weeks of November (that is, after the fifteenth), then let me know by the tenth or the twelfth.

If you’ve already got a show in December, let me know, too! It’s never too early to plan for things!

Send your gig dates to me at dhodgeguitar@aol.com and try to put ‘gig alert’ in the subject header.

Reviews

For those of you who are always thinking about ‘giving back to the community,’ this is certainly a fine way to do so.

Completely Random Thoughts

Well it’s November 1st. You know what that means. Christmas catalogues and merchandise and store displays. I used to be put off by this crass commercialism, but now I just use it as a reminder that I need to start practicing my Christmas tunes. So just in case you forgot, start breaking out those carols and start now.

I don’t follow football all that much, but last week the hometown team beat up on the visitors by 35 points. This week they lost by 36. Sometimes things go completely your way. Sometimes they don’t. Keep playing. Go with the flow. It evens out in the end.

It’s been a year of natural disasters, then last week three bombs go off in India. I don’t know about you, but I’m all death and destructioned out. Can someone tell me what the point is? Not just India, but anywhere. Sometimes I just want to hide in a mountaintop with the trusty guitar. I’d probably end up breaking a string.

I didn’t play guitar from Tuesday until Friday. You know what? It was a good thing. I feel refreshed. I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t play, but when it seems like it isn’t fun try putting it away for a day.

My son got out of bed last night and came downstairs. Before I could tell him to turn around and go right back to bed, he told me he forgot something. ‘I love you, Daddy.’

It’s all going to be okay.

Peace.

Nick

Lazy Lefty Blues and Little Brother’s Lessons (Volume One)

Nick Torres — Sat, 14 May 2005 05:59:02 +0000

You may have seen Little Brother, (aka Doug Jones) posting links to his video lessons on the forums here at Guitar Noise. Well, Little Brother is also a mover and shaker over at the online site Acoustic Player Magazine and he maintains his own site with lessons, links and general info.

I have always wanted to venture into the world of Mississippi John Hurt and Fingerstyle Blues in general. So I was really excited when Doug sent me a copy of his Lazy Lefty Blues and Little Brother Lessons Volume One.

First, let me tell you about the production quality. You know that I’ve come down on some video lessons before because of the lack of quality. Well, Doug’s production shines. Everything from the title page and the menus, to the lighting, the split screens and the sound is professionally done.

The content is really well done also. Doug’s teaching style is a little bit different than many video lessons. You really get the feeling that you are just sitting down with him in the living room jamming and learning.

The Lazy Lefty lesson is based on Mississippi John Hurt and Robert Johnson’s style and the technique you learn will enable you to play just about any song in the genre.

Split screen shots of the fingering and picking are fantastic. Doug plays up to speed, slow and one note at a time. It’s like a great guitar player is sitting down and teaching you his chops with the patience of a saint. You don’t even need the tab.

The Lessons Volume One is the same genre, but based on the styles of multiple legends of the blues. You get Frank Edwards, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, and Charlie Patton styles a la Little Brother. Now these lessons, available on DVD, are a little more advanced. Doug doesn’t use the split screen here, but I don’t find this as a big drawback. Both hands are clearly covered together and one at a time.

I can’t say enough good things about these lessons. 5 stars, Excellent, a cinematic tour de force…well okay, maybe the last one was over the top. Look, I love a good value and believe me this is one.

You can get the entire Lazy Lefty Blues lesson online for $12.95. Heck that is less than the cost of a pack of Elixirs. You couldn’t even get a 15 minute lesson for that little money.

Still not convinced? Well you can see lesson one for free on the site.

I mean it. Go buy this. Click on the link above and you can see the preview and plonk down your hard earned cash to buy it.

You can get the DVD of the excellent Little Brother’s Lessons Volume One for only $14.95. Again, this is a must have resource for your Blues lesson library.

To buy the DVD, go to the Little Brother Blues website.

If you need me I’ll be out on the porch playing Lazy Lefty Blues.

ScaleSMART – Tutorial Software

Nick Torres — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 06:58:04 +0000

Now I’m not a person for IM abbreviations and emoticons, but I just got a copy of NSA Software’s ScaleSMART.

It’s the most amazing scale tool I’ve ever seen.

Why don’t we begin with what I look for in a software tool for guitar?

1. It has to have relevant and pertinent data.

ScaleSMART succeeds here on both counts.

2. The software has got to be easy to use.

I was an expert at using ScaleSMART about 1 minute after loading it. The interface is intuitive and laid out well.

3. The price has got to be right for starving artists and students.

Well it’s about the same price as a set of Elixirs, $14.95

But enough about me! How about if we just walk through an example and let the product speak for itself?

It’s really simple to use.

1. Pick a key. Why don’t we go with G#? You can start anywhere on the scale of course.

2. Now you can pick a scale. You can take your pick from all of these scales and modes: Major, Pentatonic, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Gypsy Minor, Chromatic, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian, Arabian, Hawaiian, Hindustan, Hungarian, Javanese, Leading Whole-Tone, Lydianminor, Mohammedan, Neapolitan Major, Oriental, Overtone, Persian, Rumanian, Spanish, Super Locrian, or Symmetric.

How about we choose Dorian? No, that’s way too easy! How about Javanese? No…I know…Rumanian!

But wait! I want to know what the notes of this scale are on the seventh fret.

That’s a piece of cake, just grab the button that says “move me” and slide it up to the seventh fret.

Voila, you have the Rumanian scale in G# at the seventh fret.

“But hold on!” you say, I’m playing in DADGAD tuning!

No problem in ScaleSMART! Just click the tuning box and pick your tuning. You can pick from Standard, Drop 1/2 Step, DADGAD, Drop D, Open D, and Open E.

And you end up with something that looks like this:

If you are looking to investigate open tunings it’s a great tool. If you are looking to explore either basic or exotic scales in standard tuning, ScaleSMART handles the task with ease.

Go and get it.

http://www.guitar-learning.com.

How to buy a used acoustic guitar

Nick Torres — Sat, 13 Dec 2003 08:00:50 +0000

Ooooooooh, don’t you dare turn up your nose at used guitars. That’s precisely the reverse of what you should be thinking. If you offered me two guitars, exactly the same except one was brand spankin’ new and the other had been gently played for the past 30 years, I’d pay more for the used one. Let me give you eight reasons why.

1. The wood ages and the sound matures, bringing out overtones you never knew existed.

When you buy a new acoustic guitar you need to be very careful the first several years that they don’t dry out or get too much humidity. Why? The wood hasn’t settled into its cured state yet. Curing of wood is so very important that done right the wood goes for a pretty penny. The old forest wood that is being pulled up from the bottom of the Great Lakes is prohibitively expensive. Some believe that Stradivarius aged his wood under water so that the cells would lose moisture slower and also be affected by anaerobic bacteria. Personally I haven’t got time to wait, so I’ll go with a used guitar. Now maybe you can’t tell the difference, but you will be able to tell the difference in the next item.

2. Used guitars are generally a lot cheaper, 50% less than what they retail for isn’t uncommon. The PK30 from Tacoma sells for $1469 US online, you can get it from guitarweb on Ebay with a cosmetic finish flaw for $749. That’s a practically new guitar. My 1979 Flyde Orsino cost me $300. New that guitar is $1500. To get the tone that my 25 year old guitar has you’d have to spend $2000-3000. All those numbers are retail folks.

That brings up an interesting point, I classify “used” guitars into four categories: old used, new used, refurbished, needs work to play.

Here is how I break them down:

Old used is at least 10 years old. These guitars have a history. They weren’t turned over just because a new model came out. Most have been gently played or played and forgotten. This is where I recommend you buy. The best bargains are here.

New used is less than five years old. “I bought it for my son and he lost interest” guitars fall into this category. “I thought a better guitar would make me play better” guitars fall in here too. Generally these are low to mid range guitars. Still you can find some decent bargains in here too.

Refurbished guitars are factory seconds or used trade in guitars that have been fixed by a reputable dealer like my friends at guitarweb on Ebay. You can find some great deals on very recent models at places like this. If you go this EBay route, look for a seller with lots and lots of positive feedback.

Needs work to play is something you should just steer clear of, unless you find a 1943 Martin that needs a new neck for $200. Buy it and take it to your local guitar shop to be fixed. The other time you might buy a guitar like this is if you are looking for a specialty guitar. For instance an old archtop Jazz guitar could be had for next to nothing. Take that into a luthier to have the neck reset for a couple of hundred bucks and you could have a real gem.

3. Most guitars don’t get used that much in the first place. More people give up rather than stick to playing. I have no idea what the actual numbers are, but I’m sure there are more guitars in basements, under beds, in attics that aren’t being played than there are guitars being played. Wouldn’t that be nice to find an old Fender Strat that was only driven to church on Sundays by a little old lady?

4. The design of the guitar hasn’t changed much, if at all, in the past 30 years. Not that I need to elaborate on this one, but aside from pickups, not much else has changed.

5. There is something satisfying about bringing the guitar home, taking off the strings, vacuuming out the inside, cleaning the fretboard and body, restringing with fresh new strings and hearing that first chord.

6. Used guitars are not like used cars. Used guitars are like vintage wine or cigars, they get better with age.

For instance, this will link you to a page with a 1943 Martin that is listed for $9000. Click on over to the next page and you’ll see one listed for $135,000.

7. There are woods available in older guitars that are no longer available. Brazilian Rosewood for example, is only available now in three piece backs. Why? Because all that can be logged now are Brazilian Rosewood stumps. True you can find really high end guitars that have solid Brazilian backs, but if you are reading this article you probably aren’t looking to spend six grand for a guitar.

8. Older guitars are often handmade. Why is that better? Because each individual unit was examined by hand every step of the way. Sometimes cutting to laser precision doesn’t make the best sound out of a naturally grown piece of wood. Luthiers used to tap the tops and listen to make sure the tone was right all over the top and they still do in high end guitars. That doesn’t happen in an assembly line factory.

Okay, let’s pretend I convinced you. What do you need to check to make sure the guitar is in good working condition? Well here is a list of 10 things to check.

How does it look? Does it look like it was well taken care of? Does it look like it was well played but still in good shape? If a guitar was well cared for it shows. I like mine to look slightly played in, so I know a guitarist was caring for it.
How does it sound? Play every note on every fret of every string. Make sure it doesn’t fret out. Could be a sign of needing a fret job, or worse yet a neck reset. If you bend strings, bend ‘em and check out the sound. Pay attention to all of the frets, not just the ones you play. Pay special attention to the ones at the sound hole end of the fret board.
Speaking of the neck here are five handy dandy tests.
a. Sight down the neck from the side. The neck should appear pretty straight. A little bit bowed is okay, a lot is not. A hump where the fretboard meets the body is a good reason to put the guitar down. Also make sure the neck is not twisted from side to side.
b. Hold down the low E string at the 1st and 12th fret, or wherever the neck meets the body. Now look at the 6th fret, can you just barely see light? If you think you could fit a first string under you are good. Any space greater than a 6th string and you need some setup work, possibly a neck reset if the action is too great and there isn’t enough saddle or bridge.
c. Gently push the neck to and fro, up and down; it shouldn’t give at all. It may flex a little, but the neck socket should be like a rock.
d. Look at the neck joint at the body, it should be flush.
e. Look at the joint of the fretboard and the top, it should fit snug.
Check to make sure the neck has a truss rod. Reinforced is okay, truss rod is better.
Check out the space directly in front of and behind the bridge. Both sides should be relatively flat. If the back bulges up a lot behind the bridge, or sinks in front, put the guitar back. A symptom of this is very high action. Some bulge and sinking is to be expected, but the distortion should be less than half of the bridge height.
Speaking of action, how is the action at the 12th fret? Is it how you like it? If not, see number 7.
Check out the bridge and saddle. Is there any room for the saddle to be lowered? Is there any room for the bridge to be lowered? If both have been lowered as much as they can be, it’s a sign the neck probably needs to be reset. The saddle shouldn’t have big grooves in it either, that’s another sign of a desperate need for a neck reset.
Little cracks are not a problem, big cracks are. Use your best judgment. They are cheap to fix.
Push down lightly on the top all over and listen for creaking. If it creaks one of your braces may be unglued.
Listen to it. Try to disregard the strings, they are probably older than dirt. Does it sound like a new set of strings would make it sing? If you really think you might buy it, ask the shop to put on some new strings. If they won’t, buy a set yourself and put them on. $4 spent to test the thing isn’t much.

Some of the problems above may be acceptable to you. I sometimes buy good guitars with necks that are coming off the body. I know ahead of time that a neck reset($200-300), or new frets($10 each), or a top crack($50) is going to be necessary and bargain accordingly.

What are some good brands to look for? Well, to each their own, but here is what I look for:

Lesser know names: Fylde, Grammer, Springhill-(Fender), Mossman pre-’76, Weymann, Marwin, National, Vega, Washburn (30s and 40s)

Better known: Guild, Epiphone or Epi – archtops, Kay archtops, Gretsch, Yamaha LL series, Gibson, Takamine – (high end only), Alvarez – (high end only)

Well known (and hard to find a bargain): Martin, Taylor

High end but sometimes a good deal: Everett, C. Fox, Froggy Bottom, Lowden, Huss and Dalton, Northwood, Lakewood, Brook, McIlroy, Breedlove

Probably should steer clear: Any old Ovation, but there are exceptions. In general plastic doesn’t age as well as wood. I do love the new ones though. If you find a refurb, that might be a great deal.

Not even if you paid me: Any acoustic Fender from the mid 70s with a Strat headstock, huge neck block and broomstick support inside.

And two more I just wouldn’t buy: Any old used twelve string. New used maybe, but the string tension over time is a force to be reckoned with. Any laminate top guitar. What’s the point? Laminate tops are strong, so strong they don’t really improve their tone with age. If you are just looking for a knockabout, this may still appeal to you.

Where should you go to get them?

Here are my favorites:

Looking to save a buck or two on a new used guitar? Can you live with a crack repair, bridge reglue, finish defect? If yes head to guitarweb on EBay. 5157 positive feedback ratings can’t be a fluke. They go through cycles on guitar brands, Gretsch is really popular now, Garrison was a week or two ago, Takamine is ever present and some good deals on Tacomas can be had. They also have a large selection of Electrics and inexpensive acoustics.

Strictly high end guitars – Shoreline Acoustic Music. Looking to step up to a better quality guitar? This is definitely a must browse site. Shoreline has McIlroy, Taylor, Martin, Lakewood, Brook, Fylde, Northwood and whatever anyone has traded in. Some great deals, (don’t confuse great deals with dirt cheap, these are high end guitars), can be found on their Dutch auction page.

All types of guitars can be found at Elderly Instruments. Got $135,000 burning a hole in your pocket? Well they have a Martin for you. Elderly also has guitars for $200 so you should be able to find a vintage guitar in your price range. Elderly does the best job of describing the condition of their guitars that I have ever seen.

Buffalo Brothers has a nice selection of mid to high end guitars and includes a special section for lefties.

Did I hear you say you want a bargain? You want something off-beat or maybe just a fun place to shop? Go to Fat Dawg’s World Famous Subway Guitars. Not only do they have a little of everything, they have good prices and a great return policy.

One other choice you might want to consider is a pawn shop. If you’d like to learn more go and read A-Js article Where to Find Great Prices.

I hope this helps you in your quest for ancient tone.

Good luck and if you have questions, I’m just a forum away.

Sounds of Wood & Steel – A Windham Hill Collection

Nick Torres — Sun, 19 Oct 2003 05:05:38 +0000

If you’ve read my articles or other postings on Guitar Noise you probably know that I like good guitars. I play some high end guitars like Breedlove, Martin, Fylde, and limited edition Ovation and Takamine.

For some unknown reason I don’t own a Taylor guitar.

So I was pretty interested in opening the CD I got for review. It seems that all of the tracks are recorded using Taylors. Here’s a partial list of who is playing on this CD:

Phil Keaggy
Doyle Dykes
Dave Matthews
Paul Rodgers
Billy Sheehan
Jimmy Messina
Jars of Clay

The CD has 17 tracks of instrumental guitar. Here’s a few of my favorites:

Listen to the beginning of track 3, “Cajon Pass”, if you need a little reminder of why you practice. Phil Keaggy blows you away with his technique and subtle melody hooks.

“Butter Fingers” by Bill Cooley with Kathy Mattea is a very cool modern ragtime piece. Just what I needed, another style I want to learn.

“I will take care of you” by Susanna Hoffs is a great example of how the empty space within a musical line is almost as important as the sound. She takes a relatively empty line and builds it into a musical wall of sound while retaining the original melodic idea.

I can’t narrow down a favorite but the two that make me pick up my guitar are Dave Matthew’s “Litho Blitho” and Jars of Clay’s “Jesse’s Song”.

If you only bought the CD for the musical ideas it brings you it is well worth the price.

Now I can’t tell you what the tracks would sound like if they were recorded on a different brand of guitars, but I can tell you I’m going guitar shopping this afternoon.

One more thing, don’t even think of going to the website http://www.windham.com

If you did you might be tempted to click on the promotions link on the right hand side where you can win a Taylor Windham Hill Commemorative Edition guitar.

Hey, you wouldn’t want to decrease my odds of winning, would you?

Songwriting for Intermediates

Nick Torres — Sat, 30 Aug 2003 08:00:42 +0000

So you’ve mastered everything in Songwriting for Beginners? You want more? Fine, but don’t treat this column as a “stand alone.” You still need to keep in mind the 38 or so tips that made up our “Songwriting for Beginners” article (and don’t forget all the great articles you can find on our “Songwriting Page”). Now I don’t have 38 things for you here, but these helpful hints are going to be harder to incorporate.

Let me also add that this article is going to lean a bit more toward “mainstream” song writing. By “mainstream,” I mean those folk, rock, country and pop songs that tend to reach a broad audience. You might be tempted to say “commercial” (which isn’t a bad word if you are trying to sell your songs), but since I’m much more concerned about the quality of your lyrics than your bank account, I think that “mainstream” is the better term.

There are things that make songs popular, things that make songs stick in your head. What I’d like to explore with you are the lyrical aspects of this. We’ll also go over some techniques we’ve used over this past spring and summer on the Sunday Songwriters’ Group forum page, which have produced some excellent results for those participants who used them.

Remember too, that these are all suggestions and tips and not rules. There will always be an instance where I’ll say something and you’ll point out some song that doesn’t fit my point. That’s okay. These tips are simply here to add to your skills should you wish to develop further as a songwriter.

Identify with your listener and allow your listener to identify with you

1. Write with common language. “Assimilate” may be exactly what you mean, but it isn’t what you would say. You want to write from your own personal experience, in the language that belongs to that experience.

2. Make your central character likeable. There aren’t too many Charles Manson or Ted Bundy songs out there you know. What you want is empathy.

3. Have some emotional content. A lyric that talks about the content of your lunch bag isn’t going to be very popular.

The song as a piece of drama

4. You need to identify the conflict early in the song. Pull the listener in early.

5. You need to resolve the conflict late in the song. Don’t let the listener leave too soon.

6. Try to think of your lyric as setting up a scene in a camera’s viewfinder. You need to think about what is in this scene. Is that tree branch in the way? Is it in focus? Did the props person put in too much stuff? Are the costumes ok? Is there too much shadow or vagueness? Too much light?

7. Continuing with the camera idea, ask yourself this: is my song a photograph or a movie? Both approaches have merit. Composition, or how you present your lyrics, is key and you want to start off either approach with a good set of images.

8. An excellent idea at any stage of the songwriting process is to completely forget about lyrics and simply work on imagery. Write down strong, striking images. Write down as many as you can think of. Go out and search for some – look out your window, take a walk or a drive, watch a movie, read a book, get on the computer and do a search on your favorite search engine. The possibilities, pardon the cliché, are limitless. Make a notebook of your images. Doodle around them, draw lines connecting one to another, make connections between seemingly unrelated imagery. Most important – say them aloud! Get the feel of the aural power of your images. This may, at one point, help you decide on what type of music best suits your words.

9. Use imagery to replace narrative. Instead of saying “It’s six in the morning,” make yourself a list of things that would show someone that it is 6 AM rather than simply telling them that. Write about taking a shower, about smelling the unmistakable bittersweet aroma of freshly brewed coffee, about trying to remember exactly who and where you are, not to mention the name of the person sleeping beside you! You can be running late or you can “get your coat and grab your hat…make the bus in seconds flat…” You’ve heard it since your high school English classes, “show don’t tell.” Imagery of this nature turns your song into a motion picture.

10. Let’s get back to the movie making analogy – Think about the end scene of a movie. You know the one, when the camera rises up above the scene on the camera crane. Now look down on your complete scene. Have you finished the picture?

11. And speaking of the scene, do your best to set it within your lyric. Don’t throw away the little details of where. It makes a big difference where you do something. Say you are going out on a date and your date suggests dinner. Does it make any difference to you whether it is Pizza Hut or a private candlelit dinner?

Building Art (a step by step method used in the SSG forums)

12. Start with your title.

13. If you can’t start with your title, start with the lyrical hook, your “catch phrase.”

14. We talked about the plot in the beginners’ article, but as you get more advanced your plots will become more in-depth. In the movie business you’d be creating a scene by scene storyboard. You want to do that for your song. Use pictures or use a flowchart or “an 8″x 10″ glossy photograph with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back”. Do whatever you need to do in order to show the song’s progress.

15. Go for the gusto, write down every ridiculous detail you won’t ever need. You don’t need to fill the entire song with the details you list, but you need to make these characters and situations real. And you never know – it may spark a new idea or clever line. Where are they, when, why, how? What are they wearing, doing, and seeing? How do they look or smell? What were they doing 30 minutes ago?

16. The chorus is not for exposition. Make the chorus short, sweet and to the point. The point of the chorus is housing the hook and perhaps the title.

17. Use the tools available to you. Don’t think you are cheating by using a thesaurus or rhyming dictionary.

18. In Songwriting for Beginners, I said read your lyric out loud and let your own ears edit. You still want to do that. Now though, you need to read out loud to someone else. Check to see that that person reacts the way you planned. Make sure they react the way you planned in the places you planned.

19. Distance yourself from your work when you edit. Try to look at your lyrics from an outsider’s point of view. Sometimes I get so hung up in what I think is clever, I can’t see that it has no meaning to an outsider.

20. Prioritize your lyric work. Here are the parts of a lyric listed in order of importance:

Title

Chorus

First line

First verse

Verses

21. The first verse is incredibly important. You capture or loose your audience here. What’s the first thing you do when you meet a new person? You introduce yourself. Introduce your characters and conflict first.

The Delicate Balance

22. While it may seem very easy to write a mainstream lyric, it’s actually very hard for most people to do because of one simple reason: You invariably hate what you’ve written! It’s a cliché! Everyone else has written the same thing. If you listen to the songs you like, chances are that there is simplicity and an ease of lyrics that you don’t feel from your own. Why is that? Because you have two seemingly contradictory feelings about it: (1) that it’s a very personal song that the artist has written and (2) that you yourself have a personal relationship with that song. As David wrote in “Finding the Right Words” (which means you can blame this pun on him), the song strikes a chord in you. And if you think about it, I’ll bet that most of your favorite songs do this. You, too, have to develop the gift of paradoxical writing. You want to make your unique personal experience become something that others can both relate to and experience in their own individual ways.

23. Pick a universal meaning for your song. You want as many listeners as possible to identify with your song. An easy way to do this is to think of an old saying and subtly tie your lyric into it. It’s not as hard as you think, since there is an old saying for practically every occasion. Sayings like “Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it”, “Look before you leap”, “The early bird gets the worm” are good examples of the inner meanings of thousands of songs. This meaning doesn’t have to be in the forefront. Let it just be a guide to make sure you are on track throughout your lyric.

24. Go back to our photograph/movie ideas. Think about how you feel when you experienced what you’re writing about. What will be the best way of getting that across? Is it a story? Then you might be better off going with a narrative or “movie” style. Is it more emotional, harder to get a handle on? Then you might opt for the “photograph” and let your images speak for themselves.

25. Remember to trust your audience. As much as you might want them to, it is rare that any song will convey the same exact meaning to everyone who hears it. That’s actually one of the beautiful, exciting things about music.

26. Get as much feedback as you can before you make your final edits. And don’t be discouraged if your song starts taking you on a different direction than you first envisioned. That’s not an unusual occurrence! Sometimes you may find yourself with a much better lyric than you could have ever imagined.

Taking your writing up a level is both harder than it seems and easier than I make it out to be. You have to pay attention to the building blocks. You have to pay attention to detail. You have to be objective about something personal. You have to take the time to craft the components of the lyric into art.

Think about anything that is well made. You can get top of the line stereo equipment to listen to music, or you can get some import knock off. You can get a racing bike or one that looks kinda like it. Can you tell me why on earth you would spend $1000 US on a guitar when you can get brand new guitars on Ebay for $25 US?

It’s a matter of what is your goal? It’s perfectly acceptable to write lyrics that are simply pleasing to you. There is nothing wrong with that at all.

The questions you need to ask yourself are:

1. Why am I writing lyrics?

2. Do I want to write lyrics that work, or do I want to write powerful, meaningful, hand crafted lyrics?

It’s completely up to you. Write well, whichever you choose. And, above all, have fun.

Hammer on, Pull off, Tap, Repeat

Nick Torres — Sun, 20 Jul 2003 08:00:47 +0000

Here’s a frequent question in the forums: “What’s a hammer on/pull off/tap? How do I do it?”

Once upon a time I used to play metal, had hair, wore leather pants and played guitar on stage leaning over a fan. I was a legend in my own mind. So drawing on that long forgotten experience, let’s figure out this hammer on/pull off/tapping thing using the ending section of Van Halen’s Eruption as both example and exercise.

First though, let’s define things:

Hammer on – Note generated by lightly snapping your finger down behind a fret. (Check out the music guide entry on hammer-on for more explanation)

Pull off – Note generated by removing your finger from a string, slightly pulling the string as you do.

Tap – Note generated by tapping the fretboard behind a fret with your non-fretting hand’s index or middle finger.

One thing at a time, let’s get Hammer-on down. I’m going to use an acoustic for this first part.

Now I’m not going to re-invent the wheel. I’m just going to paraphrase it a bit. I took all of this next section practically word for word from David’s wonderful article Tricks of the Trade:

On your guitar, make an open Em chord. Strum the chord and then one at a time lift, pick the open string, and hammer on with your fretting fingers. It is just a little snapping motion, bring down your middle finger where it is supposed to go. This isn’t a brute force thing. It’s simply a sharp little tap.

When you are playing alternating bass with your chords, a hammer-on helps to spice things up a bit or it can be used as a rhythmic fill.

Try this on your acoustic or without distortion if you’re playing electric:

It should sound like this:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Does it? Great! You are on your way!

Okay let’s go to the Pull-off.

Let’s stick with the acoustic. Put your finger on the second fret of the A string. Pick or strum the string with your strumming hand. This will sound the B note. Now pull your finger off.

If you’re lifting your finger straight off the string, you will not get much of a sounding of the open A. What you need to do is pull the string when you’re removing the finger and the best way to do this is with a slightly downward motion. Basically what you are doing is “picking” the string with the finger on the neck.

It should sound like this:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Here is the Exercise in C from David’s lesson. It combines hammer-ons and pulloffs. See the article for the tab.

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

And there you have it. Two thirds of what you need to know to play Eruption: Hammer-on and Pull off.

Before we go any further, here is our Guitar Noise disclaimer:

These files are the author’s own work and represent his interpretation of this song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.

Remember, too, that this is just how I do it. If you are only looking to play along with the recording this isn’t for you. I think EVH tunes it down a half step and he plays so fast I have no idea what he is doing really. But this will give you a pretty darn good approximation of the style and feel. I actually play a couple of sections on the way up that he doesn’t just to lengthen the thing a bit. Besides, practically no one will notice the difference on stage.

Now when you see this tabbed out it seems really complex. It isn’t really. You are playing sets of four notes over and over and over again.

It goes like this tap, pull off, hammer on, hammer on. Start again, tap, pull off, hammer on, hammer on.

Take this slowly and work your way into speed. It will come.

I’m going to break this into three parts. The first part is going up the neck. The next section is coming back down. The final section is eruption of the blood vessels in your forearm.

In the first section, going up the neck, each of the sections is repeated eight times. Think of these sections individually and then put them together.

Now put away that acoustic and get out the electric.

Let’s pick and hammer.

We are going to use the B string since that is where we are going to end up anyway.

So here’s what we are going to do. Pick the open B, now hammer on with your left hand index finger onto the fourth fret.

Great, but wait there’s more, leave your index finger on that fourth fret and hammer on the seventh fret with your ring finger.

Do this 43, 895 times or until your forearm feels like it is about to fall off.

Now let’s pick and pull-off.

On your B string, place your index finger on the fourth fret. Now pick that string and ever so slightly pull your fretting finger down towards the floor and off. It should pluck the open string.

Now fret the B string at the seventh fret with your ring finger AND fret it at the fourth fret with your index finger. Pluck the B string. Now pull off with your ring finger. You should sound the note of the fourth fret. But there’s more, now pull off your index finger on that fourth fret, sounding the open note.

Now the only other thing is the tap. Bring the finger of your choice down, (I use the index) on the twelfth fret. It should sound a nice and clear note. Remember you are using a sharp, but light tapping motion. In this exercise, I am ever so slightly pulling off with my tapping finger. Try it and see what you think. It depends a lot on your setup.

When you get this going you will notice an accordion-like pattern, the tapping finger goes up, the hammer-ons follow. The tapping finger goes up, the hammer-ons follow.

For examples of all of the above, check out the MP3 after the tab. I play the whole thing slowly.

Here is “Going up the neck”: Notice each section is repeated 8 times except the last which I play only four times in the recording.

Here is an MP3 of the going up section at a slow tempo.

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Onward to section two; let’s go back down the neck.

Same thing as before, but you only repeat each section three times. I tabbed it out, but notice the first 8 repeated sections are really the same set of four played twice.

Go slowly and just memorize the pattern. Once you have the muscle memory in place, speed will come quickly.

And finally, here is the section where your arm explodes. Have I said work this slowly? No need to say it here, you have no choice. This is the little finishing piece, six each of two riffs, play the first one again, skip to the last section and alternate them 1 time each as fast as you can. When your arm starts to bleed, run your fingernail or pick down your low E and hit a power chord at the bottom.

And here it is complete and up to speed. Ha-ha, up to speed, I crack me up. It’s all relative. It’s as up to speed as I’m going to get. I’m playing my 1979 Fender Heavy Metal Strat, with everything at 11, played through distortion, compression, flanger, and a dash of reverb. I stomp on a stereo phaser at the very end.

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Enjoy it, but don’t blame me when your left arm packs its bags and walks out on you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find where my arm stormed off to.

The Great Guitar Noise Experiment

This is an experiment. Use it at your own risk. No guarantees here.

The links below will take you to a short video of the lesson above. Let us know in the news section how this works for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcB3vmBnieU

Joanne Juskus

Nick Torres — Sat, 05 Jul 2003 13:30:00 +0000

Well she’s got voice.

Joanne has the kind of voice you know you’ve heard before. On the other hand it’s uniquely hers. You’ll find it impossible to say, “She sounds like…” She reminds me of either a blend of the current indie/women’s rock voice or every great singer from the late 60′s early 70′s folk movement.

Listening to her self-titled CD you can see why she has been nominated for so many awards.

Her producer/guitarist/co-writer Brad Allen does an amazing job of supporting the songs underneath Joanne’s keyboards and vocals.

Have a free listen at MP3.com

http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/158/joanne_juskus.html

Listen at your own risk. Don’t blame me when you end up spending your hard earned money to buy the CD.

My personal favorites, Intersection, Waters of March, Never Be the Same, Birthday.

An Interview With Joanne Juskus

Nick Torres — Sat, 05 Jul 2003 08:00:10 +0000

Those of you who aren’t on the East Coast of the US may not recognize the name, but it’s only a matter of time. I went to see the Joanne Juskus band here in DC and they blew me away. Tight harmonies, beautiful melodies and complex instrumentation are combined with Joanne’s talented keyboard playing, singing and amazing songwriting. After the show Joanne took a few minutes to answer some questions for Guitar Noise.

GN: Can you describe how the songwriting process works for you?

J: For me, in most cases, I hear melodies first, and the challenge is often to capture them, either by singing them or playing them on piano, and then to be open to what they are communicating lyrically. I’m someone who hears a lot of music streaming through and it’s a matter of receiving it. (I do a lot of humming — it probably drives people crazy.) I’ve heard other songwriters talk about being the recipient of songs that seem to be swirling through the ether. It seems like the songwriter’s task is to take dictation — and stay out of the way — or maybe let yourself be run over by it, smack dab in the way! Some of my songs were poems that I set to music, like Breathing Underwater and 2 Days in July. Other times, Brad (Brad Allen is producer, guitarist, songwriter) brings me chords and I listen to them over and over until I discover a melody that seems to be lurking with them, as with Good Thing. Or he’ll have full-blown songs, finished entities within their own right, that I add my own melody lines on top of, and write lyrics, such as with Intersection. Sometimes I’ll sing or play a melody for years before the words come, as with Meet You There, based on a poem by the Sufi poet, Rumi.

GN: Have you ever dealt with a time when you just couldn’t find the inspiration to write? What did you do about it?

J: I can only think of a few instances where I had to force myself to write — usually if someone requests a song for a certain occasion or something like that. Art on demand. I don’t enjoy that kind of writing. I normally don’t worry if I go through a period where I am not writing. In fact, it seems to come in waves. Sometimes, I’ll have a half-dozen songs in various states of being, written in my notebook. At other times, I’m just living, which is a necessary step in the writing process. John Prine once said “pain writes”. For me “love writes” and so if I’m lucky enough to be living and feeling deeply, especially with love, then the faucet is more easily turned on.

GN: You have an interesting mix of instruments in a lot of your numbers: violin, mandolin, all sorts of percussion, acoustic/electric guitar and keyboards. Does this affect your songwriting? I mean do you think of the final sound in the initial stages of writing a song?

J: I think Brad thinks about it more than I do, since, for one, he is a multi-instrumentalist, but also because he is the primary producer. When we are working on a song in the studio, we both hear particular instruments or sounds that seem to want to be a part of the song. But because I primarily hear melodies, or feel my way around the piano, and think in terms of the meaning of the lyrics when writing, I don’t think that much about instrumentation, at least not initially.

GN: I see you write as a team on a number of your songs. How does that work? Or is this a Lennon-McCartney thing, (or is it McCartney-Lennon now)?

J: The more we write together, the more we seem to be writing together! What used to be clear cut — I’ll write the lyrics and melody, you write the chords, or something like that — is now more of a merge. There may come a point where we do the Juskus/Allen thing (or is that Allen/Juskus?). On our first project, mostly because I was so shy, working with such an accomplished musician as Brad, and because the writing process is so personal for me, I had to be alone to write. Brad and I live about 35 miles from one another, so there’s that long drive home — on the Washington Beltway, which can be quite a journey! I’ve written several songs, notebook in my lap, on that Beltway! Or he’d give me a CD of something he was working on and I’d play it in my car or at home, working separately, and then go back into the studio and share what I had come up with. It’s been interesting watching the evolution of our writing process. I think we are a lot more comfortable with each other now, and we really like what each other does, what we each offer the music.

GN: I was trying to classify your musical style and the best I could come up with was Alternative folk/jazz -Mediterranean- Middle Eastern- Flamenco – American Indian influenced music. There must be a better description than that. Do you have one? Where the heck will they put the CD at Tower Records?

J: We have CDs in Tower Records! In the Pop section! Right there with Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. Classifying music is getting more and more difficult, which is probably not a bad thing. There is a lot of fusion going on, and with it, the potential for more interesting music. Record company executives don’t always see it like that though! When describing our music, I often call it “Progressive Folk”, mostly because we end up playing a lot of “folk” venues, but we often hear the comment that our audiences are surprised by our jazzy sound. They don’t expect to hear the variety of influences that show up in our music. This probably comes from the fact that Brad is a jazz-based player, as is Willard Morris, our violinist, both well-schooled, as well, in progressive rock. I was influenced early on by folk and classical music, because that’s what was played in my home growing up. And all three of us have had interest in eastern philosophy, oriental cultures, and such. So our sound is a merge of all these factors.

GN: So how do you write music for so many different flavors and styles?

J: I have to say that, most of the time, that is the farthest thing from my mind. I usually make no attempt to have a certain sound on a particular song. I have one song that has not yet been released — one of the first ones we recorded together — that is about addiction, but the piano part sounds sort of Chinese! There is no connection, at least not consciously, at all. It just rolled out that way! On the other hand, Within Your Fire, was inspired by the Hindu god Krishna, and I wanted an Indian sound. Brad was able to bring that about — teaching himself tablas and fooling around with sitar sounds. The result was exactly what I envisioned — and more.

GN: Joanne, forgive me for the list, but here is some of the recognition you’ve received:

Never Be the Same finalist in Women of MP3.com’s “Song of the Year” contest

Birthday Silver Prize Winner, Adult Contemporary Music, Mid-Atlantic Song Contest.

Washington Area Music Association, “Wammie” Award Nominee “Best Contemporary Folk Vocalist”, “Best Contemporary Folk Duo/Group” (Near Oblivion), and “Best Debut Album”.

..and to top it off, the Washington Post just picked Birthday as one of it’s top 10 MP3s of 2002.

So do you ever find yourself prone to fits of giggles, pinch me if I’m dreaming kind of stuff? How do you follow up on a list like that?

J: I’ve been very grateful for the attention we’ve gotten. I try to make sure it’s not really about that, though. We write because we love to write; we feel compelled to write. When people like it or are inspired by it, then that is an added bonus. It feels great to share what we do and have it well-received. The reality, though, is that you have to go after those accolades. Especially now, when there are SO MANY musicians vying for performance opportunities and record contracts and public attention. We do work hard in the PR department!

GN: Joanne, Who are your vocal influences?

J: At the top of my list of influences — both in songwriting and vocally — is Joni Mitchell. And one of my favorite vocalists is the British/Indian singer Sheila Chandra, who has an amazingly open and natural voice and who does quite a bit of experimentation, which I admire. I love the old folkies Judy Collins and Joan Baez, and used to copy their singing styles when I was barely old enough to talk! My biggest vocal influence right now is my vocal coach, the wonderful bluegrass singer Dede Wyland.

GN: You all have played some big venues, like Merriweather Post Pavilion here in the DC area. We often get questions about dealing with stage fright in our forums. For our readers just venturing out into the world of open mic, do you have any words of wisdom? Do you all still get stage fright? How do you deal with it?

J: Stage fright used to be a big problem for me, and it kept me from performing for years. There were a couple of things that helped. There is a book called The Confident Performer by David Roland. And the comedic-folk singer Christine Lavin has some great tips about performance in general on her site (http://www.christinelavin.com/tips.html) that helped me as well. The most useful thing for me is making sure I center myself before I perform, stretching and relaxing and breathing and remembering this isn’t about me! If I don’t take the time to get grounded, I can really feel the difference. The best remedy is doing lots of performing. Even if I go a few weeks without a performance, I can feel the difference; some of the momentum is lost. Eric Clapton is quoted as saying that “To play sober, to play straight, is like going to the dentist.” He said that you may be extremely nervous until the actual thing is taking place, and then you call on some reserve inside you which is just waiting. Once you get past the first couple of songs, you’ve broken the ice for yourself and everyone else. (He said this in 1994, even after years of performing!) It’s also true that a little nervous energy can be fuel for a good performance.

GN: So what’s next for you?

J: We are working on our second CD and I’m very excited about that. It is our intention to have the CD out before the end of 2003. We continue to perform, expanding now beyond the DC/Baltimore area, playing more in New York and other areas, and playing more festivals. In the future, we’d also like to add some visual components, multi-media kinds of things, to our shows. It would be nice to have our performances be more than just an auditory experience. We did a show called “Sound & Vision” at the Knitting Factory in New York recently that combined visual art, poetry and music. I’m also working with a new songwriting partner — a Swami in California! We are taking his poetry, and works from some ancient Indian devotional poets and putting them to music, as well as taking some of the many gorgeous Bengali and South Indian devotional tunes and creating new English translations for them. Brad, Willard and I recently did our first performance with the Swami at an Interfaith Center to much acclaim.

If you’d like to find out more about the Joanne Juskus Band, go to:

http://www.joannejuskusmusic.com/

Don’t miss the Guitar Noise review of Joanne Juskus.