Guitar Noise Forums

The word "scale" literally means "ladder" or "climb" - it's from the Latin word scala . It can be used to refer to any set of two or more pitches that rise (climb) through a range of one octave. In terms of songwriting or improvisation, a scale is the set of notes you draw from to make melodies and ...

"Key" can mean several different things. It can mean the key signature, the tonal center of the piece, or the scale being used. And in some pieces of music, each of those three definitions can lead you to a different answer. So let's start with tonal center - you say it "has a B minor feeling", so t...

Sure Rich - you can send it to me at my music school: tom.serb@mwmusicacademy.com

That's a protective film to guard against scratches during shipping and while it's on display. It's not supposed to stay on once the guitar is sold (and you've probably got one on the pickguard too). Just peel it off.

I'm just guessing here, but I think the problem may be with the neck attachment itself. A Strat neck is attached with four screws that go through a metal plate, then through the body, and into the bottom of the neck. Your issue could be with one or more loose screws, or with worn or damaged wood in ...

There is no such thing as a m6b5 chord.

The notes would be C-Eb-Gb-A, which is a Cº7 chord.

I'd start with learning to read standard notation. You don't need to "sight read" - in fact, you don't even need to be able to translate what you read into guitar playing - but the fact is, all of music theory is based on standard notation, and tablature is not a substitute. Example: C-F# is a diffe...

Oh yeah... since you've changed out the bridge to give it more compensation, there's one more thing: Either the problem was caused by BOTH the nut and the saddle, which is possible due to wear, or you've now got too much compensation at the saddle end. The only way to check this is to get a really a...

Pitch is determined by the string mass, tension, and length. Since you're not changing the mass or tension when you fret, the issue is with the string length - and that means it's a problem that originates at either at the bridge saddle or the nut. When you tune the open string to pitch an fret, the...

You're going to need a solid substrate to properly secure the bridge. So first mark out where the holes are going to need to be. If they're too close to the existing holes, you've got a problem. You might end up needing to route a pocket, glue a solid inlay piece into it, and then drill into that. B...

It's exactly ten years ago today I opened my music school. Tens of thousands of lessons later it's still a lot of fun. The best part of this past week? One of the students who was with us on day one was a nine year old girl who wanted to learn to play piano. On Thursday she came in for her lesson - ...

Minute/second isn't much use to a musician, because we don't think of time that way. We think of time in beats or in measures . Either one of those will tell you when the chord changes; minutes/seconds won't, unless you're looking at the clock - and if you are, you're not really thinking about the m...

Take the top of the guitar. If you're going to do it right, you need to be able to clamp the joint you're gluing. You're gluing two pieces together: the neck that's snapped off, and the neck block - which is inside the body. So... how are you going to clamp it? The distance from the sound hole to th...

I haven't seen that specific construction before - it was doweled to the neck block (a wood support inside the body). Most guitars with a separate neck block use a dovetail joint with a lot more gluing surface and supporting wood. It's probably fixable, but not easy. And the effort probably isn't wo...

It's a broken wire (or insulation) somewhere. As you play, sometimes it's in a position to carry current to the amp, and sometimes it's not - either through a gap if it's a broken wire, or a short if it's insulation. First thing to try: use a different patch cord. Because they move around so much, t...