Newsletter Vol. 2 # 73 – February 29, 2004
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 Group / Sunday Composers
- Thoughts and Feedback
News And Announcements
Greetings!
Welcome to Guitar Noise News!
Some strange things have happened during my tenure as “newsletter guy” here at Guitar Noise, and, frankly, I think that writing an issue of Guitar Noise News for Sunday, February 29th, should be included in that list. After all, how often will it happen that Leap Day should fall on a Sunday?
I may have this totally wrong, but I think that, on Leap Day, women are specifically allowed to propose marriage to men (not that it doesn’t happen, as it should, every other day of any given year). Why this particular day? Probably because the guys aren’t watching football or something…
Leap Day or no, there’s all manner of things to announce this week. For starters, I’d like to thank everyone who braved the weather forecast (and my icy road!) to attend the very first Guitar Noise Seminar! Six of us met up last Saturday here and got a chance to go over strumming techniques and a bit of theory. A good time was reportedly had by all and the day was also marked by the arrival of something so top secret that I can’t fill you in on it yet. I know that’s unfair, but word will be out soon enough. “Watch this space,” as the saying goes…
The second Guitar Noise Seminar is scheduled for March 20th, a mere three weeks away. Here’s the program:
Seminar 2: Beginning Finger Style Guitar and Introduction to Chord Voicing
Learn to fingerpick! We’ll start with very easy arpeggios and work up to simple two and three finger patterns that can be used in a wide variety of genres. From there we’ll add in bass lines and melody and harmony parts.
And to give you some more fun reasons to practice your finger style lessons, there will be a short discussion of chord voicings. We’ll take the basic open position chords and learn how to use them all up and down the neck to come up with some cool chords that sound terrific, especially when used in various finger style patterns.
There are still a few spaces left for this, so if you are interested in attending, try to contact me as soon as possible. You can write me at my new email @ddress, [email protected] (pretty nifty @ddress, no?).
Speaking of the seminars, this time next week we should be announcing the schedule for the ones to be held in May, June and July. An excellent idea that one of last Saturday’s participants came up with was to have a seminar based on some of our song lessons on the “Easy Songs for Beginners” and “Songs for Intermediates” pages. We’d go over, in person, four or five of the song lessons, addressing techniques and the theory ideas in each and then also examine some new songs where these ideas could be applied. Does that sound like fun?
I’d like feedback on what sort of topics would be of interest to you for the upcoming seminars. Again, please feel free to email me at either of the above addresses.
Also in March, those of you who live anywhere close to New York City should mark “Friday, March 26th” on your calendars – Dan Lasley is in the process of getting together a “Guitar Noise Night at the Studio!” What is the Studio, you ask? It’s an incredibly cool place where you can come jam with all sorts of musicians. Check them out here.
We’re hoping to fill it up with Guitar Noise people for one night. There will be rooms for all sorts of musical styles and genres. And please feel free to bring family and friends and even non-guitarists! The more the merrier. I’m planning on going, so I hope I’ll get the chance to meet even more Guitar Noise folks.
For more info and to RSVP, just to the Guitar Noise Forums.
Now, on a totally different subject, did you know that Guitar Noise has a “Help Wanted” page? In September of 1999, I was visiting the page and there at the bottom, in teeny, tiny print right next to the link for the Privacy Statement, was a link to a “Help Wanted” page. Paul was looking for a writer. I don’t have to tell you what happened after that…
If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re one of more than a half-million (and growing!) who visit Guitar Noise regularly. As I’ve mentioned in many newsletters, catering to this many individuals is not an easy job, particularly when it’s not a job at all!
Paul is always looking to the future. In order to improve our site we could certainly use some help. Graphics folks are in big demand, along with any people with programming abilities as well. Writers, whether for lessons or articles or reviews (CDs and concerts, books, software and other tuition methods, and let’s not forget products!) or interviews, are always welcome. You may have noticed that one of the latest concert reviews (A Perfect Circle) came from Guitar Noise Forum Member, Pet, of England (and an enjoyable read it was!). With a worldwide community of readers, geographic concerns are nonexistent.
To this day, people are always asking what one might do to help the site, so we’re trying to give you a place where you can find what help we do need. Remember that the future of Guitar Noise is, ultimate, in the hands of its readers. If you’d like to see whether or not you might like to help the whole community, click on over to the Help Wanted page.
And finally, I’d like to also give a big heads-up to you folks in England. Len Collins, creator of the Guitar Breakthrough Tuition Software, contributing Guitar Noise writer and all-around amazing person, sent me this note earlier this week:
Frankie and I are going to attempt the worlds biggest guitar lesson. Here are the date and details
Middleton Hall TheCentre:mk Milton Keynes
May 11th 2004 Time 5pm – 8pm Lesson time 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Guests (we hope) Prizes (we have)Anyone can join in whether they can play or not, all they need is an acoustic guitar and to register (free).
Look forward to hearing from you
So, even though that’s two months away, you might want to circle your calendars right now and plan to take part in what promises to be an event! I promise to post more details as I get them.
With all those announcements, it’s easy to forget that there’s a website out there! Let’s see what’s new at Guitar Noise this week, shall we?
New Lessons And Articles
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…
Worth A Look
If you want to get some good background that will help you with this week’s lesson (playing the electric guitar solo of Landslide), then do yourself a favor and check out these old articles:
Email Of The Week
I get this email, albeit often worded differently, at least two or three times a month:
I am trying to learn to solo. I know all my scales, most in several positions, but when I try to come up with something original, it all sounds like scales to me. How do I go about improving and getting better at soloing?
Knowing scales is just one of many aspects to soloing. There’s also the matter of chord voicings, phrasing, targeting and even melodies to deal with. Hopefully, this week’s column, Preparing to Climb, will address some of your questions. We are definitely be going more in depth concerning soloing throughout the guitar columns (and other areas of the site) this upcoming year, so keep reading! And keep playing.
Forum News
Here’s as good a place as any to highlight the upcoming “Guitar Noise Night at the Studio,” on Friday, March 26. Find all the information about this on the Guitar Noise Forums.
See you on the boards!
Sunday Songwriters Group / Sunday Composers
Week 18
We’ve done plenty of writing about situations and places and following titles etc., but I though this week we could do people. By that I mean paint a picture of someone, using the normal SSG rules of metaphor and imagery rather than six feet two, dark hair blue eyes… you’ll get the idea. One stipulation the person mustn’t be real – feel free to choose a character from a film, a book, a play and give me an insight into that person through a song. Let us know whom you’ve chosen as your subject.
Good Writing
Bob
Thoughts & Feedback
So, what are you doing with your “extra day” this Leap Year? Especially since it falls on a Sunday!
Mine hasn’t gotten here yet, but I think it’s safe to say it’ll probably be like most of my Sundays. Cook up some breakfast, maybe go through the Sunday paper (I’m totally addicted to crosswords and other word puzzles), contact friends and family to say hello.
Play some music.
Maybe, if I feel I don’t want a total day of relaxation, I might do some more writing and/or recording. There’s always next week’s lesson to deal with, no?
I’ve always thought it important to spend a little time each day engaged in some activity simply for pleasure. Our lives can be so hectic and fast paced that whole days, if not weeks and months, pass by without a thought. So whether that time is fifteen minutes looking out the window or five minutes of playing Won’t Get Fooled Again on an acoustic guitar, it’s a time of pure passion. Be sure to include one for yourself on Leap Day.
And every day.
I hope you all have a grand week. Stay safe.
And, as always,
Peace
David