Guitar Noise

Greetings,

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #99 of Guitar Noise News!

In This Issue:

• Greetings, News and Announcements
• Topic of the Month
• Guitar Noise Featured Artist
• New Lessons and Articles
• Coming Attractions
• Exploring Music with Darrin Koltow
• Event Horizon
• Random Thoughts

Greetings, News and Announcements

Greetings and welcome to a new month! Today is October 1, 2009, and this is your latest issue of Guitar Noise News, your free twice-a-month newsletter from Guitar Noise (www.guitarnoise.com).

It seems that at least one Guitar Noise member managed to make it to see Tom Hess at his clinic in Cincinnati last week. And it sounds like it was an informative presentation. Hopefully Tom will have some more clinics later in the year, or one can always hope to attend one next September.

Today also marks the start of FODfest. If you’re not familiar with this event, let me give you a description, straight from Todd Mack, who founded FODfest:

In 2002, the world came to know Daniel Pearl as the Wall St. Journal reporter who was abducted and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan. What happened to him was unconscionable. To film his murder and use the video as a means to propagate the hatred that motivated it…there is no word for that. In response to this heinous act, Todd Mack, a close friend of Pearl’s, started FODfest (Friends of Danny festival) as a way to honor his friend with a legacy that reflects the ideals by which he lived rather than the tragic way in which he died.

In addition to being a journalist, Daniel Pearl was a talented musician who believed in the power of music to bring people together regardless of the differences between them. A classically trained violinist and avid fiddler & mandolin player, music was Danny’s way of connecting with people and learning about the local culture as he traveled the world. In a unique performance experience that is part jam session, part song swap, part concert, FODfest is a living celebration of this ideal. Some of the musicians performing were friends of Danny’s, while others didn’t know him at all. Most are meeting for the first time on stage. They all share Danny’s belief in music as a universal language.

MISSION
FODfest, Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and strengthen community through the universal language of music by producing publicly accessible live music events and multi-media projects.

HISTORY
In just five years, FODfest has grown considerably from its humble beginnings as an informal backyard jam to a full-fledged national tour. To date, FODfest has toured to 20 cities with more than 350 musicians from across the country and across the globe participating. FODfest ‘09 will include a 31 day national tour this October as a featured event of Daniel Pearl World Music Days, which is organized by the Daniel Pearl Foundation. All of the concerts are free and open to the public, with the exception of the two shows at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival (October 8 and 9 in Pittsboro, NC).

Having played in FODfest the last three years, I can attest to what a magical time it is. This year the shows are going around the country and also will be in Taiwan for the better part of a week! Here are the scheduled dates and venues:

Oct 1 7:00 PM Narrows Center for the Arts Fall River, MA
Oct 2 12:00 PM TBA Boston, MA Playing on the streets of Boston/Cambridge
Oct 2 7:00 PM Frontier Cafe Brunswick, ME
Oct 3 7:00 PM Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Great Barrington, MA
Oct 4 4:30 PM City Winery New York, NY
Oct 5 7:00 PM TBA Washington, D.C.
Oct 6 7:00 PM Beit Tikvah Baltimore, MD
Oct 8 12:00 PM Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival Pittsboro, NC Set times TBA.
Come visit us at the FODfest booth. *Cost: $35 – $95
Oct 9 12:00 PM Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival Pittsboro, NC Set times TBA.
Come visit us at the FODfest booth. *Cost: $35 – $95
Oct 10 3:00 PM Candler Park Fall Festival Atlanta, GA Danny Pearl’s Birthday!
Oct 10 7:30 PM Lake Claire Community Land Trust Atlanta, GA Danny Pearl’s Birthday Party!
Oct 14 – 22 FODfest will be in Taiwan with an appearance at the Taichung Jazz Festival on Saturday October 17
Oct 24 7:00 PM Blue Moon Coffeehouse – Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, IL
Oct 25 7:00 PM Legion Arts Cedar Rapids, IA
Oct 26 8:00 PM High Noon Saloon Madison WI
Oct 27 7:00 PM Café Carpe Fort Atkinson WI
Oct 28 7:00 PM Village Players Performing Arts Center Oak Park, IL
Oct 29 7:00 PM Kent Stage Kent, OH
Nov 1 4:00 PM Infinity Music Hall & Bistro Norfolk, CT

More information, including who you can expect to see performing, can be found at the FODfest website (http://fodfest.org).

I’ve got my ticket to Chicago, so I will be playing at the October 28 show in Oak Park, IL, along with Guitar Noise member Kathy Reichert. And I am also honoured to have an invitation to play at the final show in Norfolk, CT. Greg Nease, another Guitar Noise Forum member will be playing that show as well.

These concerts are free and open to the public. And they are all about the power of sharing music with the world. If you can, try to see a show near you. And if I’m there, do come by and say hello.

Topic of the Month

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but I have absolutely no idea what our Topic of the Month is for October! So I’m going to be just as surprised as you are when I check out the home page later today!

Guitar Noise Featured Artist

I do know, though, that the Guitar Noise Featured Artist for the month of October is Eric Clapton. Click on over to our artist profiles page for Paul’s bio on this legendary guitarist as well as links to other articles of interest at Guitar Noise.

New Lessons and Articles

How To Improve Your Guitar Technique (Part 2)
by Tom Hess

Tom Hess examines string noise and demonstrates some excellent muting techniques that can benefit advanced players as well as beginners.

Coming Attractions

We are constantly working on new lessons of all sorts here at Guitar Noise. Just to keep you updated as to what’s coming along in the pipeline, the following lessons are still on track for being posted up online in the next few months, although not necessarily in the order in which I’ve written them!

Easy Songs for Beginners: Sweet Home Alabama, Ziggy Stardust, Mister Bojangles, Banana Pancakes, Peace Train, Just Like Heaven, Yellow

Songs for Intermediates: Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, If I Had A Boat, Homeward Bound, Hello In There, Fire and Rain, Sailing to Philadelphia, Both Sides Now, I Want You Back

Plus more on the “Turning Scales into Solos” and “Beyond Up and Down” series, not to mention our new “Music Meccas” series, as well as more of our “Chord Melody Song Arrangements,” which will deal with pop and rock songs, like Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” or old standards like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and maybe even a surf tune, such as the Ventures’ classic “Walk Don’t Run.”

Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow

Tip for October 1 – Practicing Modes (Part 16)

We’re continuing our study of modes by exploring the C mixolydian, or C dominant seven sound. Last week we played the most common C mixolydian scale. This time out, we’ll manage to communicate the same basic C mixolydian sound using a scale that’s not purely C mixolydian. The reason for doing this is the same reason used any time we stray from the status quo in music: to spice things up.

As foreign sounding as some of the following scales might seem to be, keep in mind they all have a solid connection with the C mixolydian scale. Specifically, that means they all share certain notes that are essential to or evocative of C mixolydian.

First, the G melodic minor scale. It has only 1 note different from pure C Mixolydian:

|-8-6-5-----------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------5-6-|-8-|
|-------8-7-5-----|-----------------|-----------------|-------5-7-8-----|---|
|-------------7-5-|-----------------|-----------------|---5-7-----------|---|
|-----------------|-8-7-5-----------|-------------5-7-|-8---------------|---|
|-----------------|-------9-7-5-----|-------5-7-9-----|-----------------|---|
|-----------------|-------------8-6-|-5-6-8-----------|-----------------|---|

This next one’s a little more “out.” It’s from the Bb melodic minor scale. You’ll hear the C7 sound clearer with this if you play a C7 arpeggio before and after the run.

|-8-6-5-----------|-----------------|
|-------8-6-------|-----------------|
|-----------8-6-5-|-----------------|
|-----------------|-8-7-5-----------|
|-----------------|-------8-6-4-----|
|-----------------|-------------8-6-|

|-----------------|-------------5-6-|-8----|
|-----------------|---------6-8-----|------|
|-----------------|---5-6-8---------|------|
|-------------5-7-|-8---------------|------|
|-------4-6-8-----|-----------------|------|
|-5-6-8-----------|-----------------|------|

The next scale run uses a diminished scale, whose notes lay outside any major scale or common minor scale. Listen carefully for the C, E, G and Bb in between the other notes.

|-8-6-5-----------|-----------------|
|-------8-7-5-----|-----------------|
|-------------8-6-|-5---------------|
|-----------------|---8-7-5---------|
|-----------------|---------9-7-6-4-|
|-----------------|-----------------|

|-----------------|-----------------|-----5-6-8----|
|-----------------|---------------5-|-7-8----------|
|-----------------|---------5-6-8---|--------------|
|-----------------|---5-7-8---------|--------------|
|-----------4-6-7-|-9---------------|--------------|
|-8-6-5-6-8-------|-----------------|--------------|

As for fingering, leave your hand totally in position when playing the diminished scale run. You’ll stretch with pinky and finger 1 to hit notes on string 5.

Thanks for reading.

Copyright 2009 Darrin Koltow

In case you’ve never visited Maximum Musician, hurry on over to Darrin’s website. You can also read some of Darrin’s past Guitar Noise News posts over at the Guitar Noise Blog.

Event Horizon

Supporting Guitar Noise and the Guitar Noise community is not always about money or time. Sometimes it’s about being there. Literally. As musicians, it’s always good to support each other simply by being at a gig if it’s at all possible.

One thing we’d really like to do is to help promote your shows, whether it’s in a stadium or at a ten-seat coffee house. Not only is it a great way to help support each other, it’s also a terrific way to meet more musicians!

So please feel free to write me if you’ve got some gigs coming up. Remember that Guitar Noise News is sent out on the first and fifteenth of each month. Usually I will have it ready to be sent out a few days ahead of time, so plan accordingly. For instance, if you’ve got something coming up in the last two weeks of June (that is, after the fifteenth), then let me know by the tenth or the twelfth. If you’ve already got a show in October, 2009, let me know, too! It’s never too early to plan for things!

Maybe you’ll get to meet some of your Guitar Noise friends at upcoming summer (or winter) shows!

Send your gig dates to me at dhodgeguitar@aol.com and try to put “gig alert” in the subject header.

If you’re in Cincinnati, you can catch visiting Chicago guitarist tomorrow night, Friday, October 2nd at The Redmoor at 8:30pm. That’s at 3187 Linwood Avenue. Phil will be doing a solo acoustic set, opening for Julie Neumark and Dave Carducci who will then follow Phil back to Chi-town to open for him and the full band Saturday Night, October 3rd at 9pm at Quenchers
2401 N. Western in Chicago. Phil and the band will hit around 10pm.

Also in the Chicago area, my friend (and fellow left handed guitarist) Tony Nuccio will be playing in downtown Evanston, Illinois (my old stomping grounds!). He and Melanie Spector are at Bill’s Blues and More, located at 1029 Davis Street next Thursday, October 8 at 7:00 PM. This should be a fun and entertaining show!

Random Thoughts

This was recently posted on the Guitar Noise Forums and, well, I thought it was incredibly cool. Obviously it also should be posted in the “Event Horizon” section above, but I can do that in our next newsletter:

Hello everyone,

I don’t post much at all anymore, and even have stopped lurking as much as I used to as well, but I still consider GN very formative to me from my first foray’s into guitar around five years ago. In that time, I’ve messed around, laid the guitars down, picked them up months later. I was very wishy-washy. I had a musical background. I played tuba from Jr High all that way into college. But for some reason guitar just wasn’t engaging me.

Then, last December it happened. I was helping out running the sound at church and our worship leader asked if I played any instruments. Well, I told him I could strum some chords on acoustic but that was about it. “Want to try bass next Sunday?” he says to me. I said sure, get me one to borrow. I got a borrowed six string Ibanez bass on Thursday of that week! Three days to learn four songs on an instrument I’ve never played before!

It was like butter. Moth to flame. Stink to p…you get the idea. It was like I was meant to play the bass guitar. I think all those years on tuba, hearing and playing bass lines constantly, tied in with the past four years of learning my way around a guitar fretboard a little came together perfectly. I played that Sunday and did pretty darn good! There were some mistakes, but the majority of people had no idea. Plus, it’s the kind of crowd that’s very forgiving! That’s kind of built in playing in front of a church congregation. Since then, I’ve played just about every Sunday church.

This spring, I really got the itch to join a band so I hit up craigslist. After several false starts, I found a band with good people not looking to “make it”. Just play some classic rock for fun, gig a couple times a month and make some pocket money.

Finally, to the origin of coming and writing this post. My first paying gig has been scheduled! October 16th we will be taking the stage a little bar in Bay Minette, AL. I want to thank GN for all I’ve learned and all the encouragement I’ve received while being here. And if anyone is in southern Alabama on the 16th, I hope to see ya there!

Thanks again,

Louis

Much thanks for the heads up, Louis. And if we’ve any Guitar Noise folks down towards Bay Minette, I hope they make a point of seeing you later this month. There’s obviously a lot of cool music going on this month. I hope each of you manages to get out and hear some or even make some!

And until our next newsletter, stay safe. Play well and play often.

And, as always…

Peace