Newsletter Vol. 1 # 36 – January 17, 2002

Dear Guitar Player,

Welcome to Guitar Noise News for January 17, 2002.

After two weeks of procrastination here is the first newsletter of 2002. This week our newsletter includes a new interview, two new guitar lessons, a recommended book, a CD review and a product review, several new links and an email of the week. If you would like to make a guitar related announcement in this newsletter please email me at Guitar Noise.

In this newsletter:

News
Guitar Pick
Guitar and Bass Lessons
Recommended Books
CD Reviews
New Links
Email of the Week

You can recycle this newsletter by passing it on to a friend you think might benefit from Guitar Noise.

News and Announcements

If you have a guitar website of your own you can now start earning some many with an affiliate program that has worked very well for us. Join the Guitar Alliance Affiliate program by following the link that says get paid. You can thank us later.

Visit the complete What’s New page at Guitar Noise.

Guitar Noise Interviews

Guitar Picks features interviews with guitarists and other musicians about their songwriting techniques and experiences with independant or major record labels. These frank answers by people who have already made it often deal with songwriting, inspiration, working within the limits of record companies’ wishes, and guitar techniques.

James Byrd
by A-J Charron (12 Jan 2002)
After listening to Byrd’s Flying Beyond the 9 album, I felt I had to talk to this guy. The quality of the songs and this guy’s guitar skills made him an excellent candidate for an interview at Guitar Noise.

Guitar and Bass Lessons

Easy Riffs of the 90s
by Matt Heger (12 Jan 2002)
While many guitarists complain about the lack of solos in 90s alternative rock, they contain many intense and memorable riffs. These songs have become essential to any guitarist’s playing library.

Relaxation
Guitar Principles Essay # 14
by Jamie Andreas (01 Jan 2002)
I think very likely there exists a very common mis-conception about this word that we hear all the time, and one that I use often as well: relaxation. I will make my best attempt to bring your understanding of this subject up to a higher level

Guitar Noise Reviews

Byrd – Flying Beyond the 9
Here’s a guitarist who has nothing to prove and enough sense to use his guitar wisely. This album could easily have been buried under layer upon layer of guitar tracks, but it’s not.

Woodies G-Band
Colin Woodland of England has created a wonderful gadget for the guitar that opens up all sorts of possibilities for beginners and experienced guitarists alike. And the things it can do for songwriters…

New Sites

Again, too many new sites have been added in recent days to list them all here. This is just a sampling of new links.

Woodies G-Band – The G-Band is designed to allow Guitarists to hold down the top or bottom E String while playing below, above & around it. Its function is to hold the first or sixth string down at the Third Fret “G” or up to the 12th fret.
Virtual Fretboard – chord and scale generator. – Guitar chord and scale generator software. Supports unlimited instruments , tunings, chords and scales. For all levels of player. Full support for left handed players. For learning chords and scales etc…
Karen Hunter official site – One of New Zealand’s finest guitarist singer/songwriters, Karen Hunter combines a funky fleshy finger style with a sublimely sensual voice.
Serena Matthews – Tender acoustic guitar melodies and soulful, melodic female vocals. Straight-to-the-point songwriting that sends a message as well as pleases the ears. One of Nashville’s best kept secrets.

Email of the Week

This week’s expert answer was provided by the Other Side.

Finding Other Musicians
Hello– I’ve really enjoyed looking at your website, and I’m hoping you can give me some advice. I’ve been playing for awhile now, and I feel ready to try playing with other musicians… as long as they’re sort of losery and beginner/intermediate level, like me. None of my friends seem interested in playing music. I live in a college town next to a big city (Dallas), and answering “musicians wanted” ads has gotten me nowhere, because there is a serious music scene here, and all the ads are seeking experienced, “dedicated” musicians (and I am fortunately encumbered with a job and a husband and a life). What would be the best way for a girl to find other musicians to play with just for FUN? Newspaper ads? Bulletin boards in music and cd stores? How is the best way for a girl to advertise for other musicians without attracting stalkery types? Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Laura’s Response
Glad you’re looking to play out there. I, too have the job/hubby/kid thing going on, so I understand about not being in a ‘real’ band; the time commitment is a lot!

Have you tried to post on college boards? There may be some amateur musicians in school that would be willing to jam. I know that’s how I played in college (some years ago!). The other good resource is a music school that teaches guitar lessons, drum lessons, etc. Students are usually encouraged to play in some kind of ensemble, so jams can be arranged with them through teachers. I’ve found that to be a great resource for me.

I understand about being wary of unsavory types; always a concern. I’ve usually found most musicians to be pretty mellow, but I agree, you should be careful. Staying with schools to post (as opposed to music or cd stores) is one filter for stalker types.

Have you tried posting on our Jam Board? You may get some responses there.

Wish I lived in your area; it would be fun to jam.

Good luck finding some folk to play with; let me know how it goes!

Laura Lasley

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Paul Hackett
Executive Producer