Newsletter Vol. 1 # 48 – April 12, 2002

Hello Guitar Players,

Welcome to the April 12, 2002 issue of Guitar Noise News. There is so much to report this week, I only hope that I haven’t left anything out in my haste to finish before the weekend.

There is a little exciting news for me today. I finally get to see my picture on the home page again. Ever since I was young I’ve always dreamed of being a writer. Yet, my duties for this website usually keep me too busy to write. This week I got my act together and interviewed author Bill Edwards and have another published piece to my name. Now I can plaster my face on the home page for at least a week.

In this newsletter:

News
New Guitar and Bass Lessons
Acoustic Guitar Tip
Recommended Reading
CD Reviews
New Links
Email of the Week

Why not help a fellow musician? You can do them a favor by forwarding them this newsletter.

News and Announcements

Feedback – Our Readers Write
I often keep copies of a lot of the letters and feedback you send every week. I enjoy the good ones and pay careful to the negative comments. Some of the important messages I cherish in my mail folder for a long time. Here is an example.

Hey Paul
Your new web page format is great…Luv Mum

Now, how many of your Mum’s are cool enough to be surfing Guitar Noise?

Let me take this opportunity to say, “Hi, Mum.”

Guitar and Bass Lessons

Soloing And Improvisation – Learning To Fly

Throughout the Spring of 2002, Guitar Noise is happy to feature articles and lessons on the topic of Soloing and Improvisation. We’ve found some incredible guitarists and writers from all around the world to share their thoughts, knowledge and experience with you. Soloing and Improvisation are as much mindset as technique. The theory and technique behind them can improve everyone’s playing, whether you are just starting out or have been playing for years. Even if you consider yourself to be strictly a rhythm guitarist or if you are a bass player, this is knowledge that will aid you in learning to fly, in creating great riffs and basslines that lay the foundation for your bandmates to soar over.

To improvise means “to make or do with whatever is at hand.” An individual’s style come from his or her own creative impulses. We at Guitar Noise would like to give you as much quality knowledge as possible to have “at hand” so that you can make your musical vision a reality that you can share with the world.

Bill Edwards Interview
by Paul Hackett (12 Apr 2002)
Bill Edwards’ gift to the guitar world is the best selling guitar book on both Amazon.com and Guitarnoise.com That is no small feat for a self published book in an industry seemingly dominated by giants like Mel Bay and Hal Leonard.

Improvisation For The Fingerstyle Guitarist
by Gilbert Isbin (12 Apr 2002)
To compose something decent, you not only need the goodwill of the muse but also at least some insight into harmony and compositional techniques. As improvising is ‘instant composing’ you will definitely need all these tools.

Playing With Euros
by Hans Fahling (12 Apr 2002)
Initially, I ventured into making a living as a musician with a pretense of “yeah, I’m going to be a guitar star and won’t have to get into this boring business, corporate, hierarchical rat race that every other conventional career has to offer.” I have to say that I got lucky in this respect by abandoning that notion early on.

Acoustic Guitar Tip

This week our tip comes to us courtesy of Guitar Man Acoustic Guitar Tips.

To Pick or Not to Pick … That is the question

Question:
I taught myself to play and never used a pick, however, all my friends use picks and a lot of artists that I have watched also use picks. I’ve tried to learn how to use a pick but I’m finding that the strumming sounds horrible and hitting individual strings is extremely difficult. Is it something that I should just suffer through to get better at, or am I ok with just using my fingers. Thanks for any help you can give.

Answer:
It depends on what style of playing you want to do. I’ve never seen a flamenco guitarist use picks but on the other hand I identify with you completely. I tried to use a pick and it didn’t work for me either. I also tried finger picks, however, now I am limited to the style of playing I do. I play accompaniment finger picking and strumming with my very hard fingernails but it would be difficult for me to play fast leads or scales or flat pick in a bluegrass group. The best way to be is…(and it is possible)…be able to do both. I’m pretty content with what I do and have found ways to get around things but if you on the other hand want to play a lot of different styles of music, work on using picks as well.

Gman ( o )==#

For more tips visit Guitar Man Acoustic Guitar Tips.

Send your tips to Guitar Noise with “Guitar Tips” as the subject.

Guitar Noise Reviews

CD Reviews

Pain of Salvation – Remedy Lane
It seems to me that the sound has matured to a point which places this band among the best of what’s out there. There is an intensity in their music which is difficult to find elsewhere. What’s more is that this intensity is not shown as simple riffs, but as very strong melodies carried by each instrument.

The Lens – A Word In Your Eye
A look back at The Lens, 20 years later. This album comprises material that the band performed way back when and new material from the duo. It’s a rather “spacey” music, tinted with what was to become “New Age” influences. But definitely something that keeps you moving right along in step with it.

Software Review

This week we also have a software review as well.

Guitar Breakthrough
Guitar Breakthrough, a guitar tuition software created by Len Collins, manages to do a great job of making things even simpler for the beginning guitarist. After installing the software, you are given an introduction and then a few choices, depending on what level of guitarist you are or what aspect of the Guitar Breakthrough lesson interest you most.

New Sites

Audio Courses – Audio Courses has a distance learning “Studio Recording Engineer” programme. Get a head start and get a career in the industry…no experience needed and available anywhere in the world. FREE downloads and streaming audio lectures available.
Hand Craft Inlay – Custom hand cut inlay art for electric and acoustic guitars, basses, and other instruments.

Email of the Week

Speaker Types
I love sound with all my soul, and I want to know almost everything about sound. I have a question (that doesn’t mean I know everything barring that): What is the difference beetwen omni-directional speakers and uni-directional speakers? Next question: What does the term “sum” mean in the live section?

Dan’s Response
Omni-directional speakers usually send sound in all directions, front and back. They are not standard, and are usually found in outdoor plazas.

Uni-directional speakers only send sound in one direction – forward. This is normal for most PA speakers.

There are also omni-directional microphones, which are not good for live music. It is better to use microphones with a “cardiod” pattern.

The “Sum” is sometimes called “Mono”, as it is the combination (or addition) of the Left and Right signal.

Dan Lasley

This week was a busy one and I am sure you can tell with all the new content just published today. Take your time reading and enjoying it all. If you know anyone who might benefit from this free information please forward your copy to them.

Have a nice weekend,

Paul Hackett
Executive Producer