Newsletter Vol. 1 # 13 – April 06, 2001

Dear Guitar Player,

Welcome to Guitar Noise News, the weekly update for Guitar Noise. I should say welcome back to all those people who missed us last week. A lot of people wrote in to say that last week’s update contained many broken links. In case you are still trying to figure out what went wrong, last week’s update and newsletter were sent out to coincide with April Fool’s Day. As far as I know there is no such thing as the Jack Daniel’s Tuning and it is impossible to milk your guitar. But thanks for trying. For those who enjoyed the humor it’s back to business as usual this week. That means no more Liberace videos for sale I’m afraid.

This week we return with a new section, two new lessons, a bunch of new links and some more free advice.

In the March 23rd issue of the newsletter our Email of the Week gave a helpful tip for tuning your guitar down a half step. One of our readers wrote in afterwards to suggest that when you buy a tuner you get one that includes all the notes as well as sharps and flats. In case some of you are considering buying an electronic tuner let me point out some of the differences between certain tuners.

There are two types of electronic tuner you can buy. One is a quartz tuner and the other is a chromatic tuner. The quartz tuner can usually only tell you the notes for each of the strings on your guitar and displays its reading using a needle that sways back and forth. It is less useful than a chromatic tuner. And because it uses a sensitive needle to read the tone, after dropping it on the floor only once you will probably have to replace it.

A chromatic tuner on the other hand, including the cheap ones, can withstand being dropped a few times. And it has no moving parts when it reads the notes. Chromatic tuners most often read all notes including sharps and flats and usually allow you to calibrate them to some degree. They also usually include input and output ports so you can plug in your guitar and tune it in spite of any noise around you.

This valuable piece of equipment is not expensive. Whether or not you can tune to perfect pitch using your ears, an electronic tuner is something every guitar player should have. Guitar Noise recommends the MU30 – Chromatic Tuner/Metronome by Ibanez. The metronome feature makes this particular tuner an essential piece of inexpensive equipment.

You can buy all sorts of electronic tuners through Amazon.com

New Lessons

Where Do I Go From Here? – Songwriting Column # 31
by A-J Charron (06 Apr 2001)
What do you do with your songs? That’s a common enough question among songwriters. There are three avenues you can take. Today, we’ll be looking at the first two.

Why Should I Take Guitar Lessons? – Guitar Principles
by Jamie Andreas (01 Apr 2001)
Playing the guitar is a very sophisticated mental/physical process. Like many activities, such as various sports (tennis, golf, basketball) it has evolved over many years, and continues to evolve, becoming increasingly complex, and new standards of excellence being set all the time. To hear a beginner ask “should I take guitar lessons” is like a five-year-old saying they want to be a doctor or lawyer when they grow up, and asking if it would be a good idea if they went to elementary school!

Site News

E-Letters

Since starting the Other Side back in February we have had so many people write us letters to share their stories. We have put together a page of uplifting and inspirational stories that have been sent to us.

Check out our Other Side E-Letters.

Recommended Reading

Guitar Recorded Versions are note-for-note transcriptions of guitar music taken directly off recordings. This series, one of the most popular in print today, features some of the greatest guitar players and groups from blues, rock, and heavy metal. Guitar Recorded Versions are transcribed by the best transcribers in the business. Every book contains notes and tablature.

Blink 182 – Enema of the State
All 12 songs from the current album from this alt-pop, neo-punk Southern Cal trio. Includes: Adam’s Song * Aliens Exist * All the Small Things * Anthem * Don’t Leave Me * Dumpweed * Dysentery Gary * Going Away to College * Mutt * The Party Song * Wendy Clear * and What’s My Age Again?, plus photos of the band.

New Sites

Here are all the websites added to our links section this week:

• Daisy Rock Girl Guitars – Pink, blue and yellow flower shaped guitars for girls.
• Dutch Jazz Musicians – All Jazz Musicians from the Netherlands listed
• Guitar at About – Beginner Lessons – A series of online lessons, designed to help novice guitarists learn the instrument. Lessons includes songs, scales, exercises, and more. Lesson one is aimed at those who have never played guitar before.

Email of the Week

We recieve so much email at Guitar Noise. When choosing a question and answer for the Email of the Week I always look for something that took a little bit of thought. This weeks email concerns the major scale and it is beyond the usual realm of questions: “how do I play reallyreallyreallyreallyreally fast?” and “what kind of guitar should I buy?” (not that we mind answering those kind of questions)

Question about the Major scale.

If the Major scale is comprised of 8 notes, why do I always see it written as; 1W, 1W, 1H, 1W, 1W, 1W, 1H ? Is it because of the half steps between B & C and E & F? Also, where is the 8th note? Is it the root played again at the end?

I understand that I can move this scale all up and down the fretboard as long as I follow this concept, 1W, 1W, 1H, 1W, 1W, 1W, 1H.

Example: (hopefully not to confusing)

Lets say I wanted to do a Major scale in the key of D. If I decided to start on the low E string at the 10th fret I get a D.

Low E

10th – D to E at the 12th fret , to F at the 13th fret to

A string

G on the 10th fret to A at the 12th fret to

D String B at the 9th fret to C at the 10th fret to D on the 12th fret.

I am just starting to learn to play guitar an I want to make sure I understand the major scale theory. Also, thank you for all of your fantastic articles that are available at Guitar Noise.

Thanks, Mike

Answer:

Hi Mike! Thank you for writing and for your kind words concerning my articles.

You are pretty much there, but there is one slight thing throwing you off and it’s one of those “quirks” of music. Let me see if I can explain it in one shot – if not, please feel free to write back and tell me that I’ve just confused you even further! Okay?

When you see the major scale written as “1W, 1W, 1H, 1W, 1W, 1W, 1H” you have to realize that you’re NOT counting your starting note! No lie! Whoever came up with this system takes it for granted that you’re going to know your root note and then continue from there. It’s not where is the 8th note, but rahter where is the first note. Technically, this should be written as “Root, 1W, 1W, 1H, 1W, 1W, 1W, 1H” That gives you the root on both ends and all should be well with the world.

So in the case of your D major scale, it would be:

(root)
D
then one whole step(1W)to
E then another whole step(1W)to
F# – and not F as you have it
then your half step(1H)to
G
then three whole steps to
A, B and C# (not C)
and then the final half step (1H)to
D

Again, thanks for writing Mike and please please please write again if this is not clear. Promise?

Hopefully this little explanation can be of use to some of you. If you have a question about playing fast, buying a guitar, scales or whatever – we will do our best to find you the answer.

That is all for this week. No jokes this time. This is a bona fide newsletter. More guitar lessons coming at you in seven days.

Peace,

Paul Hackett
Executive Producer