Newsletter Vol. 1 # 20 – July 22, 2001

Dear Guitar Player,

Welcome to Guitar Noise News, the weekly update for Guitar Noise. This newsletter will keep you up to date with the latest news and developments on our site, including all our new lessons, advice, and links added within the past week. Subscribers to this newsletter are warmly invited to be active in our growing guitar community.

We are currently looking for someone who is knowledgeable in the area of guitar effects processors. Every week we receive many questions in this area and we are trying to find someone who can respond to them effectively. If you feel you can answer questions concerning effects please contact me.

Carrying on with our “How to Buy Equipment” theme we have a new lesson this week that explains the different parts of an acoustic guitar. Also, our Easy Songs for Beginners lessons return with the eleventh installment in this series. If you feel anything has been left out of this newsletter please let me know.

Easy Songs for Beginners

Bookends
by David Hodge (20 July 2001)
Last time out we learned some basic fingerpicking with House of the Rising Sun. Today we’re going to do something that is both a little easier and also a little harder with an old Paul Simon song called Bookends. It’s a very simple song to learn and it will help us to develop some more coordination in our fingerstyle play. Specifically, it will serve to teach us to use two fingers on two different strings at the same time. And just to keep things even more interesting we’ll get to look at time signature changes within songs as well as what I call “planning ahead” in regards to finger placement.

Indie Music Reviews

Metaphor – Starfooted
As it is part of being human to compare things, the first parallel one will draw while listening to this CD is the Genesis influence. Not that it sounds like what Genesis did, but rather like what Genesis would be doing now if Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel had stayed… And if Phil Collins had continued playing drums. Yet that’s the only parallel one can draw: The rest is totally original. How someone could not fall in love with this album is beyond me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited about an album. Starfooted is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. There is not a weak moment on this album. Every song has its place, every second of every song is pure pleasure on the ears and the mind.

Don’t miss our exclusive here.

Thonk – Earth Vision Impact
A wholly instrumental piece, Earth Vision Impact is an album which combines many moods and many musical styles. At times it will remind you of some of the great Emerson, Lake & Palmer jams, while at others the sound is just original. From Rock to Classical, through Fusion and Jazz, Thonk will take you on a ride. Without being too pretentious, they have the talent and they show it. It’s easy to appreciate it.

Steve Hackett with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
This is an album which was recorded in 1997 as Steve was invited to do a show with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The music was all composed by Steve Hackett. The album was originally released by EMI Classical, but sold out rapidly. It has been unavailable for years. Camino, Steve’s own company have now made this recording available once again. Hearing Steve Hackett play the Classical guitar is always great. Hearing him play the Classical guitar, while being accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is incredible! This album is a must for everyone who enjoys the Classical guitar. Hackett’s particular style is unique throughout the guitar world. As much as he innovates on the electric guitar, he does also, on the Classical.

Recommended Reading

Ear Training: One Note Beginning Level by Bruce E. Arnold
This book and accompanying audio CD presents a new and exciting method of developing relative pitch ear training. It has been used with great success and is now finally availabe on CD. There are three levels available depending on the student’s ability. This beginning level is recommended for students who have little or no music training. This book provides a solid basis for the development of good relative pitch and is the required text at both New York University and Princeton University.

If buying a book is not your thing, we have our own series of lessons on ear training. Check out Happy New Ear, Unearthing the Structure, and Solving the Puzzle all by David Hodge if you are interested.

How to Buy Equipment – July Topic of the Month

This week A-J Charron takes you through the different parts of an acoustic guitar.

What To Look For In An Acoustic Guitar
Acoustic Guitar Lesson # 7
by A-J Charron (22 Jul 2001)
When you are looking to buy an instrument which will last you most of your life you should take the time to make sure you’re buying something good and something that you will enjoy in the long run. Don’t get taken in by salespeople who don’t know what they’re talking about. This article will educate you about the different parts of the acoustic guitar, what they are made of, and most importantly what you should look for when choosing which guitar to take home.

Also new this month are the following articles:

Some Musings On Online Instrument Buying
(or “Sittin’ On The Dock Of ‘eBay”)
by David Hodge (15 Jul 2001)
In this article I’d like to do is offer up some observations and advice to those of you who are thinking about getting your next guitar online. Even for someone such as myself, who much prefers dealing with a real person, the lure of the Internet is a siren’s call. And I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to someone who is thinking about getting his or her first guitar. Please remember that these are my own opinions based upon my own experiences and those of the people who have been kind enough to share their experiences with me. There will always be better stories and there will be worse ones.

How To Buy A Bass Guitar
by Dan Lasley (08 Jul 2001)
This column will review some of the numerous things that go into the design of a bass guitar. Some matter more than others, and different people have different tastes. Hopefully, when you are done, you’ll have an idea of what to look for the next time you’re in the mood for a new bass. Please note that this is geared toward the novice bassist. If you are an experienced bassist recording your third studio album, you will undoubtedly have your own opinions on these matters.

Shopping
by Laura Lasley (01 Jul 2001)
I find that shopping for a guitar is much like shopping for anything else. The available information can be overwhelming, especially on the internet. There are a million web sites about every kind of guitar and every style. I have a few simple shopping rules that I like to follow which apply to clothing, TV’s, cameras, cars, houses and yes, guitars and guitar accessories.

Here are some of our older articles that deal with buying equipment:

New Sites

  • Fretted Instruments School of Guitar and Banjo – A site devoted to quality transcriptions and midi files of Fingerstyle blues and folk guitar, bluegrass banjo and Chet Atkins (note for note) arrangements. All files created in the TablEdit format
  • Muse’s Muse Songwriting Resource – Your place for songwriting tips, tools, interactivities and connecting with other songwriters around the world. Includes a free monthly newsletter, popular message boards & chats, CD reviews, a songwriter radio show, a huge list of songwriting organizations & other helpful links, prize give-aways and lots more!
  • Heavy Guitar Company – Learn how to become a blues/rock guitar master, in record time, without ever having to read a note of music! Take your guitar talents to dizzying heights you only dreamed.

Email of the Week

This week our email of the week covers the subject of outdoor sound needs. Recently we have received email from people putting on shows who are looking for help with Sound Engineering. Our sound reinforcement specialist Dan Lasley is happy to answer these questions.

I’m setting up a show on the beach and need to provide sound for some 3-4 piece surf rock bands. I’m a total layperson…what do I need for them to cover 20,000 sq ft. adequately (considering no wind, and a 20A power limitation). Thanks. Chris.

Response:

That sounds like quite a project. 20,000 sq ft is huge (100′ wide by 200′ long). Here are a couple of quick questions, and some ideas to start.

First, is the stage protected and secure? Are your going to have to tear it down every night? Either way, be sure that you get a rack with locks for your mixer and effects. Also get a DJ style CD player for the rack. I’d get a Mackie CFX (12 or 16) if I was spending other people’s money. The biggest problem with outdoors is that the bass disappears into the sky. You should consider sub-woofers and put them as low as you can. For the PA, I’d get 3 pairs of full-range speakers, one pair points in toward the dance area, the next pair points out further down the beach, and the last pair point back at the band, as their monitors. (As described in my columns)

Fender and JBL make some nice all-weather cabinets. You’re going to need a good amount of power, figure 200W for every speaker, plus the sub-woofer. Plus, even though the bands are small, you’re going to need a lot of mics, because you’re going to have to mike the drums and guitars. But buy cheap ones ($50 max). You’ll need a snake and cables – can you put the mix board up on a lifeguard tower (too cool!)?

OK – reality check – do you really want to “light-up” the entire beach, or just the dance area in front of the band? It gets a lot simpler when you don’t have to cover the large area.

Do you have a local music store that you trust? You’re going to need one, and you’re talking about some serious bucks.

If you are looking for more information about putting on a live show check out Dan’s columns on the subject and join the discussions on the Guitar Forums.

Peace,

Paul Hackett
Executive Producer