Newsletter Vol. 3 # 33 – November 01, 2006

Greetings,

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #33 of Guitar Noise News!

In This Issue:

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

News And Announcements

Where, oh where, is the year 2006 going? It truly seems like yesterday when I was frantically trying to put together the January 15 issue of Guitar Noise News and now today is Halloween and I can’t begin to tell you where the time has gone.

We don’t get “trick-or-treaters” where I live, but there is a full day of teaching, so let me get right to work in bringing you the latest news from Guitar Noise:

New Articles And Lessons

The Metronome – Meet Your New Best Friend
by Rob Gravelle

Everyone wants to get their playing tight and solid, rhythm-wise. Rob Gravelle returns to the pages of Guitar Noise with some great tips for working with your metronome instead of having a rustrating time with it.

Love Came Down At Christmas
by Doug Sparling

Here is a beautiful Christmas hymn, wonderfully arranged in DADGAD tuning for us by Doug Sparling. What a great way to kick off the holiday season!

Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow

Tip: Using the min7b5 in a minor ii V I progression

We’ve been exploring the uses of the min7b5 chord, a chord that doesn’t seem to get a whole lot of play. And that’s a shame, because it’s got a sound all its own. This time out we’ll use the min7b5 in a ii V I going toward a minor key center.

Time for a little background info. What is a “ii V I”? It’s a mini chord progression that sets up a key center. After you play a ii V I — Like Am D7 G, for example — you instantly know that G is the most important note, the key center.

There are minor ii V Is and major ii V Is. Minor ii V Is typically use a min7b5 for the ii — because the ii chord in a common minor scale, the harmonic minor, is a min7b5. Check out the chords in A harmonic minor:

A min, B min7b5, C major, D minor, E7, F major, G# dim

See how B min 7b5 is the second (ii) chord? And notice the V: E7. Now let’s use that min7b5 and V7 to move toward the One minor:

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

If that’s a little dry, let’s try this, which uses add bit more flavor to the plain B min7b5, to make a B min7b5 add 11.

|--------|-0------|------|
|-5-3----|-3-3----|-0----|
|-2-2----|-1-1----|-5----|
|-3-3----|-0-0----|-4----|
|-2-2----|-2-2----|-0----|
|--------|-0-0----|------|

That’s it for this time. Thanks for reading.

Darrin Koltow

I’m hoping to kick off 2007 with a couple of “compilations” of Darrin’s material, so keep your eyes out for it.

Forum Findings

The biggest news on the Forums these days is all the work that Nick and a dedicated group of others put in this past week to create the Easy Songs Forum Index. Now all the songs currently on the Easy Songs page of the Guitar Noise Forum can be found fairly easily.

Nick gives a special thanks to Dan T. (who pulled the names and links from half of the pages himself), Vic Lewis, Larsko, Sport Toxin, Mike, Greybeard and everyone else that helped put this together. And also thanks to all of the guitarists who took the time to teach us how you do these songs.

Event Horizon

I’ll be playing my first “solo” (mostly solo anyway, one set straight solo and one with piano and harmonica back up) gig in over three years on Friday, November 10 at the Monterey General Store in Monterey, Massachusetts. Show is from 7 to 9 PM.

I’m sure that folks have got some holiday gigs coming up, so take a minute and send them in. You might get to meet some of the Guitar Noise community next time you play out.

Reviews

Eric Mantel: The Unstruck Melody
CD Review by Nick Torres

A virtual workshop on great guitar playing across many styles and genres, Eric Mantel’s The Unstruck Melody is sure to strike a chord with some part of your musical psyche.

The Sheryl Bailey 3: Live @ The Fat Cat
CD Review by David Hodge

Live @ The Fat Cat, the latest CD from the impossibly talented trio of Sheryl Bailey (guitar), Gary Versace (Hammond B3 organ) and Ian Froman (drums), was recorded last November in one of New York City’s top jazz clubs and displays the Sheryl Bailey 3 at its finest.

Off Site Sightings And Works In Progress

Acoustic Guitar’s December 2006 issue should be out any day now at bookstores and newsstands and it contains some great articles and lessons. Anything from interviews with Taj Mahal and Kris Kristofferson to a tour of Gibson’s Montana acoustic guitar plant to a tutorial on CGDBGE tuning (used on, among other things, Richard Thompson’s “Vincent Black Lightning 1952” and which we’ll be seeing in an upcoming piece on “Into The Mystic” of all things) and a “Here’s How” on copyrighting your songs can be found in these pages.

You’ll also find a primer on chord melody style playing, written by yours truly, with a transcription to the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas.”

If you can’t find a copy of the magazine, you can always check out their articles and lessons online at www.acousticguitar.com.

Random Thoughts

Even as this year flies by, another “year” comes to an end while a “new year” begins. Not everything goes by our standard calendar. For example, you may be aware of the Chinese calendar, if for no other reason than we always make a bit of a to do about it here at Guitar Noise News.

Well, this coming Sunday marks the beginning of the fifth year of the Sunday Songwriters’ Group on the Guitar Noise forums. Talk about something seeming like only yesterday! Back in 2001, Ryan Spencer and Nick Torres approached me with the idea of starting up a weekly group that would be a way to encourage writers to “practice,” to take a regular regimen of working up song lyrics. The idea took off big time and the Sunday Songwriters Group, or SSG, is still going strong today.

Most of the credit for this goes to Bob, who has been handling the task of doling out assignments on a weekly basis since Year Two of the SSG. Owing to schedules, people tend to pop in and out. There are a few folks who’ve managed to turn in a song or two or three each year, but usually you wind up meeting all sorts of new folks if you stick around this forum for any length of time. That’s part of the fun of it.

The other fun thing is being witness to the growth and development of some very talented writers. And to read (or hear) some songs that deserve your attention and admiration. I’m very thrilled with the fact that my performing repertoire has a number of songs from the SSG and that I get the chance to mention these writers whenever I play.

And, on a strictly personal note, I have to thank Bob for the fact that my own songwriting has gotten better as a direct result of participating in the SSG. This past year I had a string of good assignments and a few of those songs have made it into my “must play” list. And it’s also very cool when I get to jam with some folks and these particular songs are requested.

One thing that many people don’t always take to heart is that writing lyrics is just part of the participation in the SSG. Giving critiques of others’ lyrics is essential. Sometimes simply going through the process of explaining why you like something or don’t like it or why you think it works or doesn’t gives you insights that you then can use in your own writing.

So if you need an early “New Year’s Resolution,” drop by the SSG and join in the fun. “SSG Year 5” promises to be very entertaining.

Next time out, we’ll talk about another anniversary. Until then, play well. Play often.

Stay safe.

And, always,

Peace