Newsletter Vol. 3 # 4 – August 15, 2005

Greetings,

Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #4 of Guitar Noise News!

In This Issue:

  • News and Announcements
  • International Songwriting Competition
  • Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow
  • Notes From Nick
  • Buried Treasure Of The Internet
  • Forum Findings
  • Additional Buried Treasure Of The Internet / Forum Findings
  • Email Of The Moment
  • Emails? We Get Emails!
  • Tutorial Tips
  • Digging Through The Archives
  • Event Horizon
  • Reviews
  • Random Thoughts

News And Announcements

August is flying by and we’re marking the middle of it with the latest edition of Guitar Noise News, Volume III. Since we’ve last chatted, a lot has been going on behind the scenes of the Guitar Noise website. And we’re not even talking about maintenance or upkeep.

Normally Guitar Noise takes a month to eight weeks for a “sabbatical.” This year, Paul and I hoped to pretty much eliminate doing so, even though both of us have some big things going on outside the parameters of the site. But things caught up with us these past two weeks. I promised Paul a bit of a break in the action so that he could attend to a major event and (hopefully) everything has fallen into place. And while this may mean that little in the content of the site has changed these past two weeks, we’ve got a very full newsletter for you that will give you plenty to mull over while we get our feet back on the ground and running.

New articles should begin popping up on Guitar Noise starting almost immediately. Look for new articles from Peter Simms, Dan Lasley, Jamie Andreas, Chris Standring, Allan Abbott, one or two new pieces from Tom Serb (more on him later) and more. There’s even a possibility that a certain aging bald guitar player might (finally) have a few lessons for you as well. So watch the front page for all the latest!

In the meantime, sit back, kick your shoes off and relax. Unless you’re reading this at work…

International Songwriting Competition

It’s getting to be that time of year again! This year’s ISC deadline is October 14. Here is there official blurb:

Gain exposure in the music industry and have your songs heard by top professionals and recording artists. One of the largest songwriting competitions in the world, ISC offers entrants a chance to compete for over $100,000 in cash and prizes, including an Overall Grand Prize package of $10,000 (US) in cash and $20,000 in merchandise.

ISC presents a unique opportunity for artists to get their songs heard by some of the most influential members of the music industry, helping up-and-coming artists get a head-start in this highly competitive market. “We’ve always been impressed with the talented songwriters who participate in the ISC. This is a great A&R source to find new artists.” – Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records)

August 2005 Updates: ISC 2004 Winners Compilation CD Released Every year, ISC compiles a CD, consisting of its Grand Prize winner and First Place category winners. The CD is used to promote its winners and to help them gain more exposure for their amazing talent. This year, record labels and publishing companies who have requested to receive a copy of the CD include: Universal Motown Records Group, Inspire Entertainment, EMI Music Publishing, Capitol Records, Chrysalis Music Group USA, Atlantic Records, Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Columbia Records, ATV Music Publishing, Sony Urban Music, The Island Def Jam Music Group, Rounder Records, Sony Music Labels Group, Wind-up Records, Verity Records, Curb Records, Inc., Warner Bros, Geffen Records, Zomba Music Publishing, V2 Music Publishing, Nettwerk Management, Lava Records, Epic Records, Maverick Records and many more…

Sonny Rollins Joins 2005 ISC Judging Panel ISC is honored to have Sonny Rollins included as a judge for its 2005 competition. He is widely regarded as the most talented and innovative tenor saxophonist in jazz and received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 from the Recording Academy.

ISC 2004 R&B/Hip-Hop Winners’ New Single is iTunes “Single Of The Week”

“Stop The Music,” by New Zealand Hip-Hop artists P-Money and Scribe (ISC 2004 R&B/Hip-Hop category 3rd Place Winners), is the iTunes “Single Of The Week”. Download the song for free here.

ISC 2004 Finalist To Play Dewey Beach/ISC Showcase ISC has secured a showcase spot at the 2005 Dewey Beach Music Conference & Festival and has selected 2004 Honorable Mention winner Adam Kowalczyk to perform at the event.

Sibelius G7 GiveawayISC will give away G7 software (retails at $149) to five lucky winners. To qualify in the drawing, just email us here and put “G7 Giveaway” in the subject heading. The winners will be notified by email. Deadline to enter this drawing is September 15.

G7 is the ultimate software for writing songs and playing better guitar. With G7, you can write tab, chords, lyrics and notation, learn songs and riffs with the on-screen fretboard – and even publish your music on the Internet. G7 is so easy to use that you can capture your ideas almost as fast as they come to you – you won’t ever forget that chord progression or lick again! G7 contains a complete interactive guide to guitars, playing techniques and musical styles, with many studio-quality recordings and tab/notation examples you can use to create your own riffs and songs.

2005 Judges include: Monte Lipman (President of Universal Records); Tom Waits; Loretta Lynn; Sonny Rollins; Macy Gray; Joss Stone; MercyMe; Amy Ray (Indigo Girls); Darryl McDaniels (RUN D.M.C.); LeAnn Rimes; Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse); Jeff Stinco (Simple Plan); Steve Vai; John Scofield; BeBe Winans; Peter Hook (New Order); Benji Madden (Good Charlotte); Charlie Musselwhite; The Donnas; Keith Wozencroft (President, Capitol Music UK); Cameron Strang (President, New West Records); Dan Storper (President of Putamayo World Music); Michael McDonald (President, ATO Records); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President of Alligator Records); Alexandra Patsavas (Owner, The Chop Shop Music Supervision – credits include The OC, Grey’s Anatomy, Without A Trace, Carnivale, Rescue Me); Glen Barros (CEO/President, Concord Records); Darrale Jones (VP A&R Urban, Atlantic Records); Chris Parr (VP Music Programming & Talent Relations, CMT); Barbara Sedun (VP Creative, EMI Music Publishing Canada); Tara Griggs-Magee (Executive VP of Gospel/Urban Music, Sony Records); Leib Ostrow (CEO of Music For Little People), Thomas Brooman (Co- Founder/Artistic Director, WOMAD); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Emily Wittmann (Vice-President, Nick Records – Nickelodeon/BMG); Danny Epstein (Music Director, Sesame Street/Sesame Workshop); and Patrick Moxey (President, Ultra Records/You Records/Sequence Records/Escondid Music/Empire Mgmt.)

Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow

This week Darrin starts in on a new topic that I’m certain will interest a lot of you, namely Scales and Soloing:

Let’s get into a topic that gets a lot of guitarists excited, and some maybe a little frustrated: scales to use for soloing. Specifically, single line, improvised soloing. This could apply to rock and jazz players, but others might benefit also from learning the theory being applied.

Super practical example: You’re playing some tune in C major and want to improvise over the changes (that’s “chord changes” or “chord progression” if you’re new to guitar lingo.). What scale do you use? Correction: what scales — plural — could you use? Let’s go from the most obvious to not as obvious options.

The obvious option is the C major (A minor) pentatonic. Need a pattern for this? How about the following:

|---------------------5-8----|
|-----------------5-8--------|
|-------------5-7------------|
|---------5-7----------------|
|-----5-7--------------------|
|-5-8------------------------|

And let’s have a basic phrase in C major:

||: C major, A minor, D minor, G7 :||

You don’t need two guitar(ists) to practice this. Get a program like Power Tab or record yourself playing the change just given, and then play notes taken from this penta-pattern over it.

How does it sound? Not terrible, right? But there’s a rough spot: If you’re playing the C major pentatonic over a G or G7, you might hear this dissonance: the C note clashing with the B in the chord. It doesn’t sound terrible if you don’t emphasize the note. Just remember that soloing isn’t all about playing your fingers off. You have to listen, listen, listen.

In the next issue we’ll answer this: Is the C major pentatonic the only scale you can use over a progression in C major? I think you already know the answer.

And speaking of someone whose efforts I could laud until Judgment Day, here is Mr. Nick Torres:

Notes From Nick

You know I was wrong. Hard to believe isn’t it?

Well, I am admitting it in print. I made a huge mistake in my article on buying a used guitar: How to buy a used acoustic guitar.

When I suggested that Ovations aren’t a good choice, I made a comment about plastic not aging as well as wood. Okay, that was a cheap shot. Ovations aren’t made of plastic, they are made of Lyrachord, which is a mix of composite materials.

That was my first mistake. Now, I want to make a 180 degree about face. Ovations aren’t to be avoided as used guitars. As a matter of fact they are an excellent choice.

How do I know this? Well, some Ovation owners took exception with my comment and decided to help me make an informed decision. What did I find out? Well, you can get an amazing solid top Ovation guitar for dirt-cheap.

There was so much to learn, everything from cracking the Ovation model number code to when does a mid-bowl case also fit a deep bowl guitar. There’s a bunch of friendly people over at the Ovation forum that helped me make a decision on a used Ovation. I gave them my criteria, less than $500, solid top, great action, better acoustic tone than electric and they helped me pick a guitar.

I ended up buying a 1968 Deluxe Balladeer. It was one of the first 4500 Ovations made. This guitar has a solid Sitka top, shiny bowl, fast action, and tone…like buttah baby. And how much did I pay for this guitar? I shelled out a mere $300.

Now I play this guitar all the time. I love it.

I don’t know if you can call me a fanatic…

… BUT DON’T YOU DARE CALL IT PLASTIC.

And once again I segue into:

Buried Treasure Of The Internet

Well how can you figure out this stuff? What makes a good guitar in which particular brand? What should I look out for with that particular brand? What models were made in China, Korea, Mexico or the USA? Where can I get a good deal?

First thing you should do is find a forum where the fanatics, errr I mean experts dwell.

Be courteous and ask a bunch of questions, they’ll be happy to help.

Try some of these on for size.

If you can’t find what you are looking for above, try googling, (or dogpile) guitar name and forum.

I mean I can’t be right every time can I?

Do you have a favorite place to go to get specific guitar info? Let me know.

Forum Findings

The Riverside Jam 2005 Mystery Man

Take a look at and see if you recognize the mystery guitarist with the extra dose of Mojo. You can also see the set lists from the 2005 Riverside Jam and some other pics.

I’ve got to tell you it was a blast. Friendship, good music, good food, good beer and even a riverboat to play on, what more could you ask?

That’s just one more example of why you should get out and play.

As always, we look forward to seeing you on the Forum!

Additional Buried Treasures On The Internet / Forum Findings

Me again! I’ve mentioned the folks at Soundclick.com on a couple of occasions. If you’ve never visited the site, it’s a place where you can post MP3s for people to hear free of charge. That is, no charge to you and no charge to your listeners. You can also purchase “packages” to help make your MP3 page more interesting or marketable, if your tastes and desires happen to run in that direction.

What I didn’t realize is how many Guitar Noise folks are posting their songs at Soundclick.com. Many folks who participate in the Sunday Songwriters Group have their own page and, fairly recently, GN Forum member “smokingdog” created a page. Let me give the Dog the floor:

I have created a sound click page for all the GN forum jams we have been doing. I thought it would be good to keep track of them. I can post them there and any one from GN can find them easily. I have listed the players for each jam in order and listed the host of each jam and any other needed info. I will add pics later. If anyone wants something added or taken off let me know. —the dog

So if you get a minute and would like to enjoy some of the talents of your fellow Guitar Noise readers, pop on by and listen to a jam or two.

Email Of The Moment

You never know what you might be asked by our readers. For instance:

Hi, I stumbled on to this site while trying to track down a song I heard on PBS the other night. It was August 3rd, and I was just channel surfing when I came upon a group discussion about Memphis and the Blues. There was a group on doing a rock version of “I Walk the Line”, and I loved it. I missed who they were, but I’ve got to hear that again. Do you or anyone there have an idea of what I’m talking about? I think the lead singer’s last name was Kowalzyck or something similar. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks…

I did a bit of searching around (Google can be fun) and I think that you were watching the “American Masters” series. Their program for that night was “Good Rocking Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records.” By looking up the DVD information (on Amazon.com), I found that Live was the band that played “I Walk The Line.” It’s amazing what you can do when you put a little effort and thought into things!

I hope this helps. By the way, the American Masters program that most PBS stations are running today, August 15, will be on the Carter family. Definitely try to catch that one if you can.

Emails? We Get Emails!

Hello Dave,

I’ve been playing the guitar for about four years, three years being serious, the first year me showing off that I had a guitar in the first place. I’ve always looked up little finger exercises and what not to get my fingers moving so I could play well. But then, I thought to myself “What’s good playing if I don’t KNOW what I’m playing?”

So I went to Guitarnoise.com and found your Five to One article. I must say it informed me with so much knowledge that wasn’t only just part of music theory, but the psychological standpoint of it all. How it’s how we hear it that sounds right. It’s just very interesting and very informative. Now I just finished reading just that one article but I’m in the process of looking for more. I was wondering if there are any other pieces that you do that you could link to me or anything. I would appreciate anything. Thanks in advance

Guitar Noise is literally awash with tutorial articles that cover so many topics it’s impossible to list them all! If you’re looking for more pieces along the lines of Five To One, a good place to start would be the guitar column You Say You Want A Resolution, which continues the discussion begun in Five To One.

Most of the articles that you see posted on our Theory page might interest you, but don’t forget that many of our song lessons are also full of friendly little bits of theory that can help you become a better guitarist, performer or arranger.

If you are trying to work on a specific topic, feel free to write me directly or to post a thread on one of our Forum pages and you’ll get lots of advice as to which Guitar Noise articles might best meet your needs

Hi Dave,

We haven’t had the opportunity to meet as yet, although I can say that your lessons have taught me heaps already. I just thought I’d pass along some feedback I have just had the benefit of experiencing.

I started learning to play at the beginning of this year – no formal teacher as yet, although lessons are booked for a few weeks time.

Over the last two nights I have had the opportunity to play with a colleague of mine who plays mainly rhythm and sings. Playing with someone else has given me great insight into how to play as well as where to improve and what to work on, not to mention a major confidence boost when I was actually able to play along with him in reasonable time and he was singing. We had others in the room also watching etc, so satisfaction factor of “getting it” was excellent. I was able to work particularly on understanding strumming (as this is mainly what he does) and work on some basic tools of hearing the difference. Simple things like not hitting the bass strings on every strum, etc.

It’s a shame I leave my posting tomorrow as I won’t get a chance to play with him for a while, but it has definitely inspired me to play with others soon and I am looking forward to sitting with my teacher in a couple of weeks. Having the instant feedback and correction is something I am really looking forward to.

Keep up the good work

Cheers

It’s always good to read an email like yours. When you ask most people about the best way to learn, “playing with others” usually is one of the top three methods cited. No matter what level you are at, there is always something to learn or to teach and being a part of the creation of music is exciting no matter what.

I look forward to hearing how things go with your teacher and to reading more about your playing.

Tutorial Tips

Hi David,

I’ve been trying to build my guitar playing skills, thanks to your encouraging web site.

Recently I’ve been finding it a bit difficult playing for a long time because my wrist hurts. Initially my fingers were the problem now my wrist is. Do you have any solution? (I am still playing at the Neck of the guitar)

Also I want to learn how to do solo. Do you have a very simple and easy to understand exercise for a novice?

Thanks for writing. You neglected to mention which wrist. Is it the wrist of the strumming hand or of the fretting hand? Also, does this pain always occur or only when standing or when sitting?

Usually pain in the wrist, either wrist, is the result of bad posture and/or positioning. When people sit and play, it’s often tempting to use your knee as a “wrist rest,” letting the fretting arm lay flat on the leg and bringing the neck of the guitar down to your hand. And when people stand and play, quite often their guitars are positioned very low on their bodies, usually because they are trying to emulate the guitarists they see on video. Either way, you’re not doing your wrist (and arm) any favors because you really have to end around the neck in order to get any kind of leverage for your fingers to work the fretboard.

Ideally, you want to have your fretting hand level with your chest whether you’re playing sitting down or standing up. This should keep your wrist from having to do contortions each time you play a chord.

Also, many beginners have a tendency to tilt the body (and consequently the neck) of the guitar slightly towards themselves in order to get a better view of what’s going on. This is a very natural thing to do, but again, this action is not the best thing for your wrist. Once you get some confidence that your fingers are sitting on the frets you want them to be on, you should play more with the guitar facing outward and away from you rather than at a slightly towards-the-ceiling angle.

For your strumming hand, make certain that you can reach the strings comfortably. Some people might seriously consider getting a smaller or different shaped guitar if wrists problems continue.

Above all else, see a doctor if the pain persists. Expert knowledge is much better and seeing someone in person will help more than simply describing symptoms over the Internet.

As for soloing…

Digging Through The Archives

If you want one single, simple exercise to help you get started on soloing, well, you can’t do much better than the one Darrin gave us in earlier this newsletter. If you’d like to dig a little deeper into Darrin’s topic on “Scales and Soloing,” the Guitar Noise page on Soloing and Improvisation is a great place to start. For the beginners, I might recommend starting with the articles Scaling The Heights or Scales Within Scales. From there you might want to check out Leading Questions or Preparing To Climb in order to see how solos are put together. For those of you with a little more experience under your belts, you might try any of Hans Fahling’s wonderful tutorials.

Event Horizon

Austin, Texas Alert!

GN Forum member “yoyo” tells us that his band’s going to be playing in the upcoming Keep Austin Weird Music Fest and Marathon. You can find out more about this August 27 event here.

And now here’s a note from Tom Hess, guitarist and Guitar Noise contributing writer:

Holyhell World Tour 2005/2006:

The first leg of the Holyhell/ Manowar and Rhapsody world tour is complete and it was great. The audience response for the Holyhell band was extremely good both in North America and in Europe. The European festivals were amazing. Tens of thousands of people were at the Masters of Rock Festival in Zlin, Czech Republic and at the Earthshaker Festival in Germany. It was like an ocean of people. The fans and the European press seemed very impressed with the band. Here are some cool photos of the Earthshaker festival (in Germany).

I can tell you that touring with Manowar and Rhapsody was a truly great experience. The second and third legs of the tour will continue in early to mid 2006 and will be even bigger than what we just did in 2005. There are very big plans for the band / tour / records that are all coming together now. There will be also some other major news released at a later time (when it becomes official), right now it wouldn¹t be appropriate to talk about it (too early).

Thanks to all of you fans who came to see one (or more) of the shows of the tour.

Reviews

Reviews go up almost all the time here at Guitar Noise. But we also know that what we post is, pardon the cliché, the very tip of the iceberg. If you’d like to pass along a review of an album, concert, DVD (tutorial, concert or otherwise), book or even a guitar or guitar/music product, feel free to drop me a line.

For those of you who are always thinking about “giving back to the community,” this is certainly a fine way to do so.

Random Thoughts

On a sad note, I’d like to pass along some news I received in the latest Acoustic Guitar Wire:

Esteemed jazz guitarist and teacher Ted Greene died on July 25 at his home in Encino, California, at the age of 58. The Los Angeles native made only one recording, 1977’s “Solo Guitar” (reissued on CD by Art of Life Records last year), but his legacy is anchored by his four acclaimed guitar- instruction books: “Chord Chemistry,” “Modern Chord Progressions: Jazz and Classical Voicings for Guitar,” and “Jazz Guitar: Single Note Soloing, Vols. 1 and 2.”

I purchased a copy of “Jazz Guitar: Single Note Soloing, Volume. 1” while in college and, at the time, it was way beyond me. But I kept the book and kept working on it bit by bit and it helped me improve greatly, not only in playing, but also in listening and thinking about music.

On a happier note, I spent last weekend in Elkhart, Indiana, participating in the 2006 Riverside Jam. If you haven’t heard of the “Riverside Jam,” don’t be alarmed. It’s an annual get-together of friends and ex-bandmates that was started in 2000 by Dan Lasley. I’ve been honored to host this event three of the past six years. You can read some of the particulars at the thread Nick posted earlier.

My main reason for bringing it up in the first place was that, while the Riverside Jam has been a lot of fun musically, it’s also given me an opportunity to meet many of the Guitar Noise volunteers in person. Paul Hackett showed up for Riverside Jam 2002, held in Brunswick, New Jersey of all places! Nick Torres did me the honor of attending the following year in Chicago and he’s been to each event since!

This year I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Serb (“Noteboat” on the Forum pages) and longtime Forum Moderator Tim “Musenfreund” Bennett. And I have to marvel at my luck when it comes to Internet encounters in the flesh – I always seem to meet the nicest people! Both Tim and Tom are as kind and engaging and friendly in person as they are on the Forum pages. I hope that this meeting was the first of many!

As often as we’ve discussed playing with others this year, it’s still such a thrill to do it rather than to simply write about it. While the Riverside Jam was filled with “big” moments (such as playing on a riverboat!), it’s the little things like working on a song like Romeo and Juliet in a quiet corner with two or three other people that often takes my breath away.

And it’s a little on the awe-inspiring side of things to realize how playing with certain people seems to bring out the best of your abilities. To all of this year’s Riverside Jam players, I’d like to give my thanks for the chance to contribute what I could. Can’t wait ’til next year! And if I can drive one single, simple point home to everyone, it would be to get out and play. Or to invite people over to play. The guitar is indeed an ideal instrument for the individual artist, but you truly don’t know what you’re missing if you’re not sharing your art.

Until we see you again on September 1, stay safe and play well.

And, as always,

Peace

David