Lessons

Guitar Columns by David Hodge Lessons

Breaking Out of the Box? By David Hodge Your favorite songs don't excite you anymore. In fact, you get bored playing the same stuff over and over. Even playing before people is more a chore than an enjoyment. Everything you write sounds the same. It's ironic that, in spite of the fact that the guitar is such a versatile instrument, so many guitarists find themselves stuck in a rut.

The Underappreciated Art of Using a Capo By David Hodge What is a capo and what does it do? Should I get one, and if I do how should I use it? Will it really be good for my playing? David Hodge addresses these and other practical matters in his detailed discussion of the capo.

Theory Without Tears By David Hodge The very word theory conjures up images of geometry class, or worse, physics lab. Scary stuff. Scarier, when you put the word music in front. Music is supposed to be fun, carefree, an expression of our feelings. Music is not science. Is it?

Open Tuning Part I - Look, Ma, No Hands! By David Hodge When playing the guitar there are only three types of tuning that can be used. They are standard tuning, open tuning and alternate tuning. This article is the first of two parts by David Hodge about the use of open tuning.

Open Tuning Part II - Here There Be Monsters By David Hodge This article is the second part of David Hodge's look at open tunings and deals more with the applications of them. See them in action and play along. But beware of monsters and don't forget to use a map.

On Gifts and Giving - An Interlude for the Holidays By David Hodge David Hodge is in a festive mood so he has written a column On Gifts and Giving. This holiday interlude may get you into the holiday season and remind you what made you want to make music in the first place. Aside from the personal style of writing this article includes some great pictures from David himself.

Happy New Ear By David Hodge Wouldn't it be great if you could figure out any song by ear without the help of tab? David Hodge reveals the secrets involved in his latest series of inspiring columns.

Unearthing The Structure By David Hodge In this next part of his guide to figuring out songs for yourself, David will have you digging through the many layers of a song to find the simple structures that most of them share.

Solving The Puzzle By David Hodge The third and final part in David Hodge's series of articles on figuring out songs by ear. In this column you will put the final pieces together and with a little luck complete the task of figuring out songs for yourself.

Multiple Personality Disorder - (or making (many) friends with your fret board) By David Hodge What do you do when someone asks you to play a song you've never played before? If you have heard a song before and you know it, you can play it. Armed with the knowledge given in this lesson and a bit of practice, you can pretty much sit in on most songs, including ones you've never played before, and sound like you know what you are doing.

A Before E (Except After C) By David Hodge In A Before E (Except After C) David Hodge delves into songwriting and reveals some secrets about chord changes. Note, this column has a companion piece by A-J Charron called A Simple Song.

Scales Within Scales By David Hodge Not everyone is keen on scales (including our humble author). However, they are important and valuable tools. Don't wait too long before figuring out their uses, but don't obsess over them either. Let David Hodge set the pace in Scales Within Scales.

Keeping Up With The Times By David Hodge This column tackles strumming patterns, how to learn them and get them down pat. Strumming is supposed to be easy but many wanna-be guitarists fun into trouble because they don't learn to do it right.

All Down The Line By David Hodge A fill is nothing more than an interesting transition from one chord to another. If you listen to good guitarists you'll note that they often put in a riff or a run of notes when changing from one chord to the next. Often what keeps a good beginner or intermediate from making the next step forward is an inability to incorporate fills into his or her playing. We'll be looking at and analyzing fills as well as the theory behind them which should give you plenty of knowledge to come up with fills of your own.

Picking Your Poison By David Hodge Both hands are equally important in playing the guitar. There is usually a lot of emphasis on teaching the neck of the guitar while there is not so much emphasis on your strumming hand. In this column we will work at developing techniques for your strumming hand, go over the basics of picking (with and without a pick), and set some guidelines to help you remember to work on your other hand.

The Rites of Spring By David Hodge Buying a new or used guitar can be an emotional ordeal, especially if you haven't the faintest idea of what you are looking for. This is why it's important to do a bit of thinking and investigating before even setting foot inside a music shop. It doesn't matter if it's going to be your first or fortieth guitar, take a moment to gather your thoughts.

On The Tuning Awry By David Hodge DADGAD! What is that? No, it's not John Wayne swearing. It is what we guitarists call an altered tuning. David Hodge explains in his first of three articles dealing with non-standard tunings.

Cover Story By David Hodge This lesson looks at how to use alternate tuning as a tool for arranging imaginative versions of other people's songs and coming up with wild interpretations of old familiar tunes.

Alternate Writing Styles By David Hodge Lots of fun this week - a neat way of using alternate tunings, a really, really cool alternate tuning to use, the surprising return of the C major scale and an original song!

If I Only Had... By David Hodge It is much more important to know how and why something works than it is to "just do it." But the sad fact is that most guitarists truly believe that the art of playing well is strictly a matter for the hands. Give them a guitar to play and their minds switch over to automatic pilot.

Leading Questions By David Hodge Chances are that you took up guitar with an image of yourself playing soaring, blistering solos in front of hundreds of thousands of screaming and adoring fans. Back to reality, if you can't play a solo David Hodge has written this lesson introducing the fundamentals of a melodic solo.

Tricks of the Trade By David Hodge This column looks at four basic tricks of the trade: hammer-ons, pick-offs, slides and bends. It goes over some examples and also takes a look at how they can be used as fills. While generally considered the tools of the lead guitarist, this lesson show how these four techniques can add depth to a rhythm guitarists style.

Once More With Feeling... By David Hodge The trick to being a better guitarist is you have to be able to work both inside and outside of the box. To make your own music that is worth listening to you have to write using your imagination and connect with the music. Ironically, while getting connected to the music can not be taught, it can be learned.

Picture in Dorian Gray By David Hodge Okay, you’re jamming with some people, having a grand old time and suddenly someone shouts out, “Take a lead!” and you realize that everyone is looking at you! Now that can really put a shock to your system, eh? Oh my God, what key are we in? Which scales will work for this? Panic takes over and you frantically shake your head yes or no (you don’t know which) so maybe you’ll play and maybe you won’t.

A Question of Balance By David Hodge Everyone has his or her own idea as to what constitutes "practice." But if there's one thing on which we can all agree it's that there is a difference between "practice" and "play." If the reason we practice is to get better, then the way we practice should be designed with this in mind. Let's take a look at why and how we practice and see what we can do.

Five To One - (or Home, home again...) By David Hodge How many times have we asked how to find out what key a song is in? Is it really important to know? When we listen to a piece of music we create a "home" for ourselves and that "home" is the key signature of that song. In an effort to simplify what music theorists call tonality, pitches and tonics, David Hodge brings it on home with familiar and easy examples.

You Say You Want a Resolution... By David Hodge In our last column we started discussing tonality and the use of the V to I cadence. This week's column delves a little deeper into musical phrases and introduces two other common types of cadences. If nothing else, it should show you that while theory is a terrific tool, there can be dangers on using it as your primary tool. Sometimes something just sounds right. Hopefully we can use theory to explain why.

Christmas in June By David Hodge More than anything else, melody defines a song for us. Whether we love or loathe a song, it's the melody that keeps recycling on endless loop inside our heads. Join David Hodge and his special guest Rudolph as they lead us on a tour through the basics of the theory of melodies. It's never too early to get a jump on the holidays!

Building Bridges By David Hodge This week's column looks at song structure. More specifically we are looking at the bridge, which has been around almost as long as the study of music. You can find examples of it in classical music, religious music and, of course, the popular music of any given era in history.

Group Therapy - (Assembling a Piece for the Ensemble) By David Hodge Just like the guitarist, the songwriter has to begin somewhere. And the best place to begin is someplace where you feel comfortable. Do something (relatively) easy and then set out to branch out and grow. Also, again like the guitarist, a songwriter has to have a motive. Why am I writing this song? Do I have something to say? Something to share? Money to make?

Applied Science By David Hodge So, you're saying, what good is knowing all this theory stuff anyway? Why shouldn't I just learn the stuff I like straight off the recording (or better yet, the TAB that someone else has gone through all the trouble to figure out) and be happy with that?

Recharging Your Batteries By David Hodge For every hour of practice that you somehow manage to squeeze into your already crazy schedule, Carlos Santana gets to play two or three (or four or five or six) a night. And he (already) is what, thirty to forty years of experience up on you? No wonder it’s so easy to get discouraged. Might as well quit now if you can’t be the best.

The Musical Genome Project By David Hodge It has occurred to me, looking over all your questions about scales and leads and chords and melodies, that now is as a good time as any to answer these as fully as possible. In order to do that I need to take you back to the beginning steps of music theory once again.

The Power of Three By David Hodge Once you have all your notes figured out and are (somewhat) familiar with scales, you’re ready to take the BIG step. Today we’re going to look at how to put together chords. Before we get going too far, you might want to take a little time to reread (or read for the first time) Jimmy Hudson’s 'A Study On Intervals' as well as 'Happy New Ear.'

Building Additions (and Suspensions) By David Hodge Today we'll look at how chords other than our four basic ones (major,minor, augmented and diminished) are created. Melodies and chord progressions move from one point to another and that movement helps us to define matters. Musicians and songwriters should be constantly aware of the purpose of a chord pattern, of the function that a particular chord can serve in a song. "Sounding good" is always nice, but believe it or not there are reasons why certain progressions "sound good."

Just Because You've Got Six Strings... - (...doesn't mean you have to play all six all the time!) By David Hodge Today we're going to look at our "six-string orchestra," as Harry Chapin once described his guitar in song, and wonder why we're compelled to play all six strings at the same time.

But Then Again... - (or, Lost My Shape...) By David Hodge After spending all of last week harping on not playing all six strings, David does a complete one hundred eighty degree turn and encourages you to pound away at your guitar. Hidden somewhere among all the cool examples from the Who, Counting Crows and even a piece by our esteemed columnist himself, is a great lesson on chord shapes. Learn some theory in spite of all the fun!

Thanks (Giving and Getting) By David Hodge Has it only been a year? Where has the time gone? That gets me to thinking about everything else that has gone on as a direct result of my writing. I know that sometimes I can get on these "tangents" which, for better or worse, can get much more philosophical than instructional. But if you've been reading me for any length of time then you know that this is part of the package.

Sustained Tones: An Animated Discussion By David Hodge This week we take a look at an unusual phenomenon that occurs in many songs by Oasis. The chords seem to remain the same and change at the same time. In fact it is so unusual this week it took two writers to explain. This week's column is co-written by Abel Petneki.

Harmonic Convergence By David Hodge This week we answer some common questions and look at harmonics. What are they, how are they produced and how can they be incorporated into songs are all covered in this in depth lesson.

Singing In A New Year By David Hodge Today we are going to take on those always scary playing and singing at the same time jitters. Singing requires, in many respects, the same sort of attitude we bring to the guitar. The more realistic we are in our approach, the better our chances of being happy with our performances. Not everyone has a great voice, but just about everyone has the ability to develop a passable one.

Putting Things Together - Theory/Songwriting Workshop 1 By David Hodge A lead is simply the guitar playing a melody of sorts. Over the next few months we’re going to be examining how melodies and chords work together. I’ve called these columns “workbooks” because not only will we look at specific examples from all kinds of songs, we’ll have exercises to try out original ideas as well.

Home On Your Range - Theory/Songwriting Workshop 2 By David Hodge Whether or not you realize it, you yourself may be one of your biggest obstacles when it comes to songwriting. Think about how you go about writing - especially if you’re one of those “let’s strum around and see what comes up” sort of folks. Chances are you pick up your guitar and the first chord you play will be an E, A, C, D or G. Unless, of course, you happen to be in a mad, sad or bad frame of mind and then you pound out an Em or an Am.

Common Sensei - (or, The Myth of the Self-Taught Guitarist) By David Hodge Today we are going to examine the myth of the self-taught guitarist. Everyone got help of some kind in order to get to whatever level of playing ability he or she currently enjoys. And in order to reach whatever that next stage of development may be, more help is going to be needed.

Finding The Right Words By David Hodge If you think about why you listen to a songwriter, often to the point of getting all his/her/their work (or even simply listen to the same CD or even the same song over and over and over again), it is because you identify with this artist. You have a bond with this person who wrote these lyrics. You can’t wait to hear what the artist comes up with next. Believe it or not, the same thing applies to you. There will be people who will want to hear about anything you have to say, simply owing to their interest in listening to your unique spin on things.

Turning Notes Into Stone - A Basic Guide To Transposing By David Hodge If you ever decide to play music with musicians other than guitarists (and bass players don’t count!) you will very quickly run into a situation where one of you knows a particular song in one key while the other knows it in another. The guitar has a natural disinclination towards keys that contain flats. Unless you’re incredibly adept at barre chords knowing how to transpose a song will prove to be an invaluable skill.

Minor Progress By David Hodge Songs written in minor keys can be sad, mysterious, ominous even. To the listener, they deliver an incredible variety of emotional ranges. And to the fledgling songwriter, as well as the experienced music theorist, songs in minor keys can cause no end of emotional impact as well, usually frustration and bewilderment. But hopefully today we can dispel some of the mysteries and anxieties that surround these wondrous sounding songs.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes - (or, Everything in Modulation) By David Hodge Today I want to introduce you to the subject of modulation. Modulation is a great song writing tool and, more importantly, a key subject to grasp if you want to know more about how music is put together. And, fortunately, there are lots of examples of modulation in recent pop/rock/whatever music as well, which we can use to explore this technique.

Some Musings On Online Instrument Buying - (or Sittin' On The Dock Of 'eBay) By David Hodge In this article I'd like to do is offer up some observations and advice to those of you who are thinking about exploring the idea of getting your next guitar online. Even for someone such as myself, who much prefers dealing with a real person, the lure of the Internet is a siren's call. And I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to someone who is thinking about getting his or her first guitar. Please remember that these are my own opinions based upon my own experiences and those of the people who have been kind enough to share their experiences with me. There will always be better stories and there will be worse ones.

A Celtic Air By David Hodge Traditional Celtic music is way older than the guitar. Contrary to what you might think, there is no such thing as a Celtic scale or Celtic notes, any more than there are scales or notes used exclusively by any genre. So when someone is talking about playing Celtic style on the guitar they are actually talking about playing the guitar in a way which makes your mind think of things Celtic.

Do You Genre Dance? - (or, “Playing An Old Stand-By”) By David Hodge Knowing the little nuances of differet musical genres can help you in a lot of ways. Perhaps the most important, though not always obvious, thing it can do is to make you flexible. The more styles you can play, the more music you can play.

Your Very Own Rosetta Stone - A Guide To Reading Musical Notation - Part One By David Hodge A quick guide to reading music notation. This is something that many of you have asked for. It is also something that any and every serious musician needs.

Moving On Up By David Hodge Let's get serious and take a long look at a question we get asked a lot how to take the next step in becoming a better guitarist. It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or an intermediate or even an experienced player, we all want to improve on the skills that we have. And as I've said before, sometimes the quickest way to improve is to simply be aware of what you already know.

Scaling The Heights By David Hodge Today we'll take the next step in building a strong foundation on which we can become good (or better) lead players and improvisers. But let me add that it's not just the lead guitarist who benefits from this knowledge - the rhythm guitarist can learn to be much more than just a strummer by adding interesting riffs and fills that become an integral piece of the rhythm.

Double Your Pleasure - A Guide to the Twelve-String Guitar By David Hodge For those of you who have always wondered, let me take some of the myth and mystery out of this beautiful instrument. If you can play a six string, you can play a twelve. But just as playing an electric guitar requires a different mindset than playing an acoustic, one also needs to develop the right feel for the twelve.

Arranging Things - (An Introduction to Song Arrangement - Part 1) By David Hodge Not everyone picks up the guitar to be a strummer! But song arrangements and chord melodies do not have to be the forte of just classical and jazz players. You, too, can learn to create song arrangements to play at your own level.

A La Modal - Guitar Column # 62 By David Hodge In this column we show you how to put together any modal scale yourself. Also, we'll explore a few of the practical applications when it comes to modes. And if you're not careful, you may learn two easy songs - Green Day's Warning and that old Desmond Dekker reggae classic, The Israelites.

Something To Sleep On - An Introduction to Song Arrangement - Part 2 By David Hodge Here's something especially for those of you who think that having small children gives you an excuse not to practice - you can play this arrangement of Brahms' Lullaby at least several times each day! And we've turned it into a fairly decent lesson so that those of us without children can learn a few things as well.

Preparing To Climb - (or, So I Know A Scale. Now What?) By David Hodge Let's take some of the things we've discussed in past columns and see them put to good use. If you'd like, you can even learn how to play Lindsay Buckingham's solo from the original recording of Landslide. But you've got to promise to learn something.

Augmented Diminished Dementia By David Hodge Just the words augmented and diminished give us pause. Do we need a special degree or extra study to employ one of these chords? Not at all! Let's examine these chords, how they're formed and the functions they can serve. If you're capable of counting to twelve, you're capable of understanding and using these marvelous chords.

Money - A Song for Beginning Bass Guitar Players By David Hodge In celebration of his soon to be released book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Bass Guitar, David has put together a couple of bass lessons exclusively for the readers of Guitar Noise. Learn how to play this classic Pink Floyd song. It's as easy as counting to seven (and occasionally eight)!

Living The Dream, Part 1 - Crunching Numbers By David Hodge Just as there are all sorts of ways to make a living in music, there are more ways why people decide not to follow their dreams. More often than not, the simple task of being prepared to ask oneself questions (and to answer honestly) can get you living the life you dream about.

Connecting The Dots (Part 1) - A (very basic) Primer for Walking Bass Lines By David Hodge Walking bass lines are an easy way to spice up your playing and also learn a little about music in the process. In this lesson we'll look at a very basic walking bass line, how to put it together and how to recognize when we can use it in other songs. Plus, to illustrate the point of the lesson, we get a teeny little bit of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb thrown in.

You Are My Sunshine - (Connecting The Dots – Part 2) By David Hodge Here's an interesting twist - we're going to use a walking bass line as a way to help us get faster and cleaner chord changes, specifically between the G and C chords. Sound implausible? Well, come along and join in the fun.

Connecting the Dots (Part 3) - Walking Backward and Forward By David Hodge We continue our study of walking bass lines, looking specifically at how the timing and distance become our guideposts, helping us to map out our journey from one target note to the next. Examples from many songs, including a little of Bob Dylan's You Ain't Going Nowhere and Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day will serve as demonstrations in our lesson.

Songwriting As A Learning Tool - (or is it Learning As A Songwriting Tool?) By David Hodge For many guitarists, playing and songwriting go hand in hand. Since both skills improve with practice, why not try practicing on both simultaneously?

The Pattern Trap By David Hodge We'll be spending a lot of 2008 looking at song arrangements, so it's best to start off with a discussion on strumming patterns and the trap that you can get into by letting a strumming (or picking) pattern be your major concern.

Let Your Fingers Do the Talking - Basic Travis Finger Picking Tutorial (part 1) By David Hodge Finger style guitar is easier than you think! In this lesson we'll start with the very basics and get you going on some very cool (and very simple) finger picking patterns. Plus, we'll toss in Bob Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind as an incentive to help you practice more!

Add A Pinch - Basic Travis Finger Picking Tutorial (part 2) By David Hodge If you've read Part 1 of this tutorial, you're probably amazed at how easy basic finger style guitar can be. Now, by simply changing one small thing that we learned last time out, even beginners will be able to find themselves playing a little Dust in the Wind...

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