Newsletter Vol. 3 # 78 – November 17, 2008
Greetings,
Welcome to Volume 3, Issue #78 of Guitar Noise News!
In This Issue:
- Greetings, News and Announcements
- Email of the Moment
- New Lessons and Articles
- Coming Attractions
- Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow
- Podcast Postings
- Emails? We Get Emails!
- Even More Emails
- Reviews
- Random Thoughts
Greetings, News and Announcements
Hello!
And welcome to the November 15, 2008 edition of Guitar Noise News, your twice-a-month newsletter from Guitar Noise. Taking a cue from the United States government, we’re sending this out on Monday, November 17, just to make the start of your week a little more enjoyable! We are, of course, also working on making every day that you get the Guitar Noise News an international holiday, but this plan may take a little time!
And when (notice “when” and not “if”) this does finally happen, you can find out about it even faster than waiting to hear about it in the following issue of Guitar Noise News. You can actually get all the latest news from Guitar Noise on “Twitter.” I had no idea Paul was even doing this until five minutes ago!
If you’re a “Twitter” person (and I’m sure there’s some sort of cool name for you – I’m just not cool enough to know it!) and you want to get the latest Guitar Noise News, just go here and sign up: https://twitter.com/guitarnoise1
I don’t know if I’ll ever get to Twitter myself, but at least I can now keep tabs on what Paul’s doing with the website!
Speaking of websites, and in case you missed it last time, let me remind you that Nils’ terrific website (Nils, of course, being a long-standing Moderator of the Guitar Noise Forum pages), has recently undergone a change of URL. And because it’s such a cool place with some very good information (especially on changing strings and performing your own guitar set-up), we want to make sure you can find it. So here’s the new @ddress: http://home.roadrunner.com/~nils/
And don’t be shy about dropping Nils a line – either at his website or via PM at the Guitar Noise Forum pages.
In another repeat of last time’s news, we’ve recently begun the seventh year of the Sunday Songwriters Group (or “SSG” as we tend to refer to it on the forum pages). Who would have thought, began back in the Fall of 2002 when Nick Torres and Ryan Spencer thought it would be great to have a place where both aspiring and seasoned songwriters could hone their craft, that this section of the Guitar Noise Forums would still be going strong?
Even more exciting than that news is that the SSG has a new head honcho, none other than our own Vic Lewis. Something about those British folks (first Nick, then Bob and now Vic) must make them so keen on songwriting and assisting aspiring songwriters. I kind of feel lucky to have snuck in there for the past year!
If you don’t know how the SSG works, well, each week we get a new assignment to work on and the group also helps each other by offering critiques and constructive suggestions to those who submit their work. So far in this new SSG Year, Vic has been concentrating on building songs out of specific chord progressions and the early results have been very positive.
Songwriting (just like playing) requires practice and feedback, so why not come on by the SSG page on the Guitar Noise Forums. You’ll find it here.
Don’t forget to say “hi” and maybe “congratulations” to Vic. Give a listen to what’s been written and pass along some suggestions of your own. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find yourself writing a song or two in the near future!
And one final bit of silly (and somewhat self-indulgent) news, those of you with too much curiosity and hopefully great senses of humor might be interested in catching some of your Guitar Noise community “on the air.” Thanks to John “the Celt” Roche and his wonderful wife, Karen, a recent show here in the Berkshires (specifically, Dewey Hall in Sheffield, Massachusetts) was captured on videotape and will be broadcast on local cable access television. This, of course, means that the whole world can watch via online feed. Just click here for the program.
And then click on the “Watch Live” icon at the appropriate date and time. So if you’ve ever wanted to watch Nick or Kathy Reichert or some other GN regulars at play, here’s your chance. Part 1 of the show will be airing on these dates and times:
Friday, November 20, at 4:00 PM and again at 9:00 PM
Saturday, November 21, at 8:00 AM
Sunday, November 22, at 9:35 PM
These times are local, “local” meaning Eastern Standard Time in the United States, which, I believe is GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) minus five hours. Set your clock accordingly! And be kind. There were LOTS of mistakes. But it was also a lot of fun.
Okay, on with the rest of the newsletter. Let’s see what’s new at Guitar Noise since the first of the month. But first:
Email of the Moment
Hi David
Did I miss the “Feelin’ Groovy” lesson ?
You mentioned it a couple of months back and I know it’s probably an easy song but I would like to learn it if you posted it on your GN site.
Thanks
Hi and thanks for writing!
No, you didn’t miss it, I did! Unfortunately sometimes my enthusiasm and desire to get everything done runs smack into real life and then things don’t get finished at all. But the good news is that I am getting caught up and the better news is that you won’t have to wait any longer to see this lesson up online! Voila:
New Lessons and Articles
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)
Songs for Intermediates #24
by David Hodge
We’re going to combine a very simple walking bass with some of our Travis picking (and “pinching”) and create a light, lilting arrangement of this Simon and Garfunkel song. Even beginners can tag along as we’ll be using chord shapes that involve only one or two fingers of the fretting hand!
Man on the Moon
Easy Songs for Beginners #36
by David Hodge
I had the honor of playing this twice at different shows with Nick, Kathy, Greg and others in the past month and a half. It’s a beautiful song that beginners can play easily and it doesn’t take all that much to add some very nice touches to it for a solo arrangement. Plus, it offers a good look at how to “cheat” on quick chord changes.
Coming Attractions:
We’re constantly working on new lessons here at Guitar Noise. Sometimes we even get them up when we think we will! Here are some you’ll get to read (and listen to) very, very soon:
Getting Past “Up and Down”
Part 2 – Trickier Timings
by David Hodge
In the second installment of this series on strumming, we’ll look at rhythms that are slightly more complicated and involved than simple quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes. In addition to dotted notes and triplets, we’ll also take a look as “swing rhythms.”
Targeting In On A Mode
Turning Scales into Solos – Part 6
by David Hodge
Knowing a single major scale opens the world of modal soloing to you, if you know how to read the signs. We’ll take a look at how to recognize when to use the Dorian scale, and also take a moment or two to compare and contrast it with the minor pentatonic scale.
PLUS: You can expect to see this year’s offering of new holiday songs, hopefully starting up the last week of November! We’ve got quite a few this season, with chord-melody style arrangements ranging from very easy to “slightly challenging.”
Exploring Music With Darrin Koltow
Tip for November 15: Something To Push Against
Have you ever not reached a goal because it looked too easy to do, or because there wasn’t enough struggle involved in reaching it? Sometimes it seems like we need to have something to push against in order to reap some value from life. This can be true with your guitar education. For example, take two guys who are guitar novices and give one of them all the time and money he needs to get the best resources for learning guitar. Give the other guy two full time jobs to hold down and a family and lots of other non-guitar commitments. Maybe he can squeeze ten minutes out of his four hours of sleep to beat a Wes Montgomery lick to death before he falls flat on his face, where he stays until his shrieking three-year-old wakes him. Which guy is going to learn to play faster and better?
Okay, maybe this wasn’t the best example. But consider two other ideas from your own experience. Have you ever seen a preponderance of people from another country, a relatively poor one, come to your country and become wealthy? It’s like your country, which you’ve always taken for granted, is like heaven to them, or some precious gift that they dare not waste. And maybe it’s the struggle of having to learn another language, deal with prejudice and homesickness and poverty that actually spurs them on to achieve wealth.
A final example: Have you seen those nature movies where salmon leap upstream, completely against a river’s current, to reach their spawning grounds? That image is forever burned in my brain. When I recall it, a part of me says, “Stupid fish! Why the heck don’t they just…” and so on. And another part of my brain is saying, “They need to do that. They need to have the struggle.” Forget about survival of the fittest and all that, just consider the idea that you need to have something to push against to get the thing you want.
So, if you’re not reaching your guitar goals, consider looking for things to push against. “I’m going to learn this lick because last time I played it for cousin Moe, he told me not to quit the day job. I’ll show him.”
Thanks for reading.
Copyright 2008 Darrin Koltow
Podcast Postings
With a little luck, our latest Guitar Noise Podcast is going up online today. It may even already be up as we “speak.” This new one, Guitar Noise Podcast #21, begins a look at the Irish folksong, “The Star of the County Down.” First we go over the basic structure of the song and then work on creating a cool introduction for it, which is always a good thing as a good introduction can also serve as a nice interlude between the verses.
And speaking of the verses, we also start to look at how to come up with some interesting strumming ideas, fills and bass lines for the basic verse of this song.
As always, I’ll be walking you through each step, so come on along and join in the fun.
Our last GN Podcast, (#20), currently up online, looks at two main ideas – creating space while strumming, especially in slower songs.
We’ll also look at how to use different chord voicings, in tandem with the many strumming techniques we’ve used in our past Guitar Noise Podcasts, to create different moods for your music. You’ll hopefully be amazed at how many ways you can play an Em to A chord progression.
Paul and I try to post a new Guitar Noise Podcast every other Monday, and I think that we’re (finally) back on schedule, so look for the next one on Monday, December 1, 2008.
Emails? We Get Emails!
Hi there.
I have had an acoustic guitar for around two years now. I have to admit I do not try and play daily. I do however have numerous DVD’s and pc programmes and magazines which are supposed to give me some clue when I do try and play. I have a chord sheet and my left hand appears to know what its doing “okay.”
My right hand hasn’t got a clue.
I have been going over your “Horse with no Name” lesson often (I even have a guy playing the song on my mobile so I can tune my ear to it). However I jus cannot pick it up myself – It just does not sound right – even remotely familiar to the song.
Allegedly, “Horse with no Name” is the easiest song to learn according to the Internet. Do you know of any others that might help me? I went to the library and asked for “childrens’ learning books on playing the guitar” – that’s how “bad” I feel I am with guitar (I am 26).
I think some people just “can’t play” and possibly I am one of them?
I don’t want to “waste” my time trying to play if I will never be able to. Its just I can see the potential within the guitar and think, “Maybe,” then I give it a shot and sound terrible. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Hello and thanks for writing.
There are a lot of issues here, and I’ll try to answer as many as I can. First, age (once you’re past the age of seven or so) is rarely a factor in learning guitar. But your age should help you realize something important. If you’re twenty-six, then you’ve spent at least 25/26 of your life NOT playing guitar. That’s more than 96% of your life. This means that you’re not going to overcome not playing guitar in a hurry.
Second, the only time you’re going to do anything at all like playing guitar is when you actually sit and play, so the more you do it, the more you’re going to get it. Ten to fifteen minutes of playing a day is better for you than one hour a week. No amount of books or DVDs or computer programs or teachers or lessons can take the place of actually playing, or at least attempting to play.
When folks say that “Horse with no Name” is one of the “easiest” songs to learn, that is speaking in regard to making the chord changes in tempo. There is a lot more to playing any song than just making the chord changes.
You say that you’re okay with making chords, so the matter to address is strumming and rhythm. You might want to take a listen to our Guitar Noise Podcasts, which you can find here.
The other thing that I highly recommend, especially since it sounds like things are not progressing well, is to try to find a teacher or at least a friend to walk you through the initial steps one-on-one and in person. Or even taking a group lesson. Being able to get real time feedback is vital when starting something like this and will probably help you decide one way or another as to what to do.
If you are serious about giving the guitar a try, then remember what you are up against – twenty-five years of not playing. Even a couple of lessons will be more useful than you can imagine.
I hope this helps and I hope you keep with it. Please feel free to write with more questions.
Peace
Even More Email
Hello David,
I have been trying to learn your wonderful version o – ‘Fields of Gold – Sting – Songs for Intermediates # 7, and in your instruction text you mention the word… quote… “if you need to bail”, can you explain what you mean by this. I am in the early stages of learning to play, so please excuse my ignorance.
Thank you for producing such a comprehensive tutorial
Hi and thanks for writing!
First off, let me get the exact part of the lesson we’re discussing. In this paragraph, following the notation/tablature examples of the “verse rhythm”, I say:
If you are keeping your picking fingers in place, then you can use them as I described earlier. You really should make an honest attempt to do so. If you have to bail, let me suggest this – use just your thumb and index finger, but allow your index finger to “sweep” a little.”
“Bail,” is sort of slang, short for “bail out,” as one might do when the plane is going down! Granted, playing a song shouldn’t be that disastrous, but many people think so on occasion.
What I mean is that if you find you can’t use two or three picking fingers at once then using your index finger to “sweep” across the strings will give you close to the same result. It’s simply my way of telling you that you have other options than the one I initially set out.
I hope this helps explain things. Please feel free to write me again with more questions, or to tell me not to abuse the English language!
Peace
Reviews
Jan Jankowski: Tunes for Solo Guitar
CD Review by David Hodge
Jan Jankowski’s Tunes for Solo Guitar consists of thirteen wonderfully crafted tracks of Jan playing his guitar like a magician who can blur the borders of traditional genres.
Ahmond: A Boy You Once Knew
CD Review by Alan Green
Nine songs that blend influences as diverse as Inglesias and Madonna. This is a thoughtful, soulful CD with many standout tracks.
Bradford: The Ninth Ring
CD Review by David Hodge
While there is certainly more than enough guitar technique on display here, there is also a very welcome sense of melody and song. This alone makes “The Ninth Ring” worth the listen.
Random Thoughts
Last Tuesday, not the election but the week after, was Veterans’ Day. Some of you may know it as Armistice Day, the day the First World War officially ended.
November 11, purely by chance, also happens to be an anniversary of sorts. On that particular day back in 1999, Guitar Noise published my first column, Breaking Out of the Box, which can still be found here.
I still get emails about many of my old columns and lessons (as noted in the “Even More Emails” section above) and that usually sends me off the read what, exactly, I wrote. It’s always gratifying when someone writes, but it’s also very cool when someone cares enough about what was written to point out mistakes, either typos or wrong notes or tablature. Slowly but surely, I’m making my way through all of these old lessons in the hopes of correcting them. Or upgrading them in some way, such as I did when I added MP3 sound files to the second part of our Open Tuning lesson (Here There Be Monsters).
Something that still strikes me from that first lesson is this line I wrote:
“…But in order to learn and grow, we need to move beyond what we already know. Often, it is not that the music has little to offer, it’s simply that we’ve forgotten how to learn…”
Back in 1999, I was teaching part-time. Nowadays, teaching is pretty much all I do. And little seems as important as remembering, each and every day, what it takes to learn. Being able to remember what it’s like to learn something you don’t pick up easily can help you deal with all sorts of situations, especially those where patience is a must.
As I head into this tenth year of working with Paul and Guitar Noise, I also am thankful for everyone’s patience with me. And with each other. As a community, particularly a community built around learning and sharing music, our ability to learn from each other is what makes everything work. And at the risk of sounding incredibly childlike, that’s very cool.
Until our next newsletter, play well. Play often. Stay safe.
And, as always…
Peace