Guitar Noise

Welcome to the latest issue of Guitar Noise News.

In This Issue

• News and Announcements
• New Lessons and Articles
• Worth a Look
• Email of the Week
• Forum News / Sunday Songwriters Sessions
• Thoughts and Feedback

News And Announcements

Greetings!

Welcome to Guitar Noise News!

Guitar Noise folks are popping up all over! Paul has lately been in contact with many of our past writers (Why? It’s a secret! At least for now…) and this week we got news from Stefan Leonhardt, author of the articles GAS Powered, Breaking the Law and Loup Garou over on our Amps/EFX page. He’s a busy guy! But in addition to work and family, he’s managing to play out in the world and if you’re in Germany, you might be able to catch up with him! Stefan’s upcoming gigs include:

December 2nd – Munich Airport at the Christmas Market – it’s an “American Christmas Market”, so I guess they wanted some “American” Music, i.e. Blues (don’t know yet when it’ll start)

So if you’re in the area, drop by and say hello! I’m sure Stefan will appreciate it. Rumor has it that Forum Page Moderator “Greybeard” may be in attendance at Munich.

And now, on with this week’s program…

New Lessons And Articles

More On Soloing
by Randell Young

Randell’s second piece for Guitar Noise delves into the nuts and bolts of creating interesting solos. He has a refreshing philosophy on the subject, and I think you’ll appreciate his “quality over quantity” approach. Learn why speed isn’t always your best friend and that having a melody will ultimately be more important than flying through a scale.

Hybrid Picking – Carrots And Grapes
by Curtis Fornadley

Allow me to introduce you all to Curtis, who’s been kind enough to bring us a brief lesson on hybrid picking (using both a pick and fingers!). Using TAB and MP3s from his latest CD, Curtis demonstrates the technique he used in his original song, Carrots and Grapes.

Worth A Look

Everything began somewhere. Wednesday, November 12th marks my four year anniversary of writing for Guitar Noise. More on that in a moment…

But if you’ve ever wondered what I used to write like, you can always check out that very first column, Breaking Out of the Box. If only I’d known what I was getting into, right?

Email Of The Week

Not all the emails I get concern guitars, Guitar Noise or things like playing an E mixolydian scale while simultaneously using a B flat harmonica over a ii – V – I progression in F3 minor (don’t ask ). Occasionally I get some interesting historical notes from interesting people. Such as:

I was reading the article by John Tucker “Lefties Anon.” and wanted to add this historical note:

I’ve been an amateur re-enactor of historical fighting in armor for about 18 years. The word sinister was simply the Latin word for “left”. The Latin for right was “dexter”. The current belief that sinister=evil is derived from the medieval era, alright, but not quite the way it was put. When a guy fought left handed, he would be attacking you on your sword side, not your shield side. Although the dexter fighter could also attack the unprotected side, the lefty’s instincts didn’t expect safety on that side, but the right handed fighter instinctively did think himself safe where he was open. The surprised right-handers got to thinking of sinister fighters as ones who would attack in nasty, unorthodox ways. Thus, the current meaning of sinister as evil and dangerous. It’s not really a reflection on left handedness, so much as one on being unorthodox. It’s also a compliment in a fighter. I just hate fighting lefty sword and shieldmen! But that’s a compliment…

Food for thought…

Forum News & Sunday Songwriters Group

The Sunday Songwriters Group is a Guitar Noise exclusive. Conceived by Ryan Spencer and Nick Torres, the idea is to give songwriters a weekly exercise in order to help develop their lyric-writing skills.

It’s open to everyone. Got an itch to write? Jump on in! Even if you don’t write, you should feel free to critique. After all, you probably have experience listening to songs, no?

For more info, visit the SSG FAQ.

And now that you all know what’s going on…

Sunday Songwriters Group – the Second Year!

Our big news this week is the kick-off of the SUNDAY COMPOSERS FORUM page! The Sunday Composers page is the musical extension of the Sunday Songwriters Group. Here the emphasis is on music writing rather than lyrics. Join us for exercises and discussion on the other half of “lyrics and music.”

Also, new assignments have begun on the regular SSG page. Grab a pen and paper (or just use your keyboard!) and join in on the fun.

As Nick says, “Good luck and write well.”

Thoughts and Feedback

As I mentioned in the “Worth A Look” section, Wednesday happens to be my four year anniversary as a writer for Guitar Noise. I’m certain Paul will tell you it seems like much longer!

And so much has happened in that short/long time! I can’t even truthfully tell you that I exactly remember what Guitar Noise was like then. I know there were fewer articles! But I can look at the site today and I have two thoughts that I had the day my first column went online. The first thought is “Wow!” and the second is “Now what can I do to make it better?”

As I mentioned last week, there are a lot of changes in the air. Literally. As I get ready to embark on a totally new page on my life, I realize that once again I am very much indebted to Paul and to all of the readers of Guitar Noise who have given me the courage and confidence to try to make a living doing something that I love.

And it is my hope that this move will lead to an even better era here at Guitar Noise.

But we’re going to have to weather the present to get there! The next two months are going to be a bit goofy, to put it mildly. There may be a week or two where I can’t get out a newsletter. There may be (already have been) too many projects that were started at the wrong time and will have to wait on the shelf for a short while. And I don’t even want to get into the whole computer thing!

So while I’m thanking you for your kindness in the past, let me also thank you for your patience in the presence and in the near future.

I know you’re probably tired of me saying the internet is a strange place but, to me anyways, it truly is. I often have to remind myself that people don’t live here online! You all have lives that have nothing to do with Guitar Noise or computers. When someone doesn’t respond to me, it’s more likely because he or she is having a good meal or is at a concert or doing one of the millions of things people do everyday. It may sound stupid, but I have to make myself remember that sometimes!

Once again, my thanks for four wonderful years. I hope you all have a grand week. Stay safe.

And, as always,

Peace

David