วันอังคารที่ 14 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2550

Metallica - Garage Bands Rule!

Metallica - Garage Bands Rule!
Before all the fame and fortune, before all the million selling albums and sold out world tours, Metallica was just another band, playing cover tunes in bars out in California. In fact, at their very first live performance in Anaheim, back on March 14, 1982, they played just three originals and seven cover songs. One of the songs, "Am I Evil," is still used by the band as an encore and was first released by the heavy metal band Diamond Head in 1980. When Metallica got their start back in 1981, they learned songs from the massive record collection of drummer Lars Ulrich. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Lars was the son of Danish tennis pro Torben Ulrich. He was attending concerts since the age of five, seeing the Rolling Stones and Deep Purple before he turned nine. He met James Hetfield in high school and they decided to start a band. Soon they were joined by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney. They released a demo cassette in 1982 titled "No Life 'Til Leather" that quickly became a smash hit among tape traders across America. The tape sparked interest by several major labels and the band signed with Elektra in early 1983 and released their awesome debut, "Kill'em All."
Internal tension caused Mustaine and McGovney to leave the group. Their replacements were Cliff Burton on bass and Kirk Hammett on guitar. It was time to record another album, but the band just wasn't ready for the strain. Instead, they opted to just record some of their favorite cover tunes. They picked "Am I Evil" by their favorite band, Diamond Head and "Blitzkrieg" which was by the English band of the same name. A tour of England was planned to promote their new album "Ride The Lightning." They issued the single "Creeping Death" to foreign audiences to promote the tour and put these two cover songs on the "B" side as a gift to their fans abroad. While on the overseas tour, Cliff Burton was killed when their bus overturned in Sweden.
Back home, they hired bassist Jason Newsted to replace Cliff, and hit the road to fulfill some tour dates that had been previously booked. During this time the band was invited to perform at the huge Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington in England. Elektra Records suggested they record a few new songs to help promote the prestigious gig. They went in the studio but were only able to write one new song. While skateboarding, singerJames Hetfield fell and broke his arm. Time was running out. There was no time to write and record new songs. The answer was simple, record some cover tunes and give the record company something to promote the upcoming tour. They recorded five of their favorite cover tunes and released the famous "The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited" collection. It contained their versions of "Helpless", originally recorded by Diamond Head, "The Small Hours" by Holocaust, "The Wait" by Killing Joke, "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" originally done by Budgie and "Last Caress / Green Hell" by The Misfits. They released the collection in August of 1987. The EP was so successful, the band decided to record a few more cover songs during the next few years. In September of 1988, they recorded two tunes to use as "B" sides for the single "Harvester Of Sorrow." Again they picked songs byBudgie (Breadfan) and Diamond Head (The Prince), two of their favorite bands.
During the studio sessions in 1991 that produced the "Metallica" (Black Album), the had two cover tunes on tape. The first was "Killing Time" by Sweet Savage and the second was "So What" by Anti-Nowhere League. When the band released the single "Unforgiven" in November of 1991, these two tunes were used as "B" sides. They recorded a version of the Queen hit, "Stone Cold Crazy" especially for Elektra Records compilation called "Rubaiyat." Queen guitarist Brian May was a huge influence on Metallica during their early years. It was a chance for them to pay tribute to the band.
During studio sessions for the "Load" album in December of 1995, they were invited to an all-star jam at the Whiskey in L.A. honoring bassist Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead. Metallica declined the jam session but offered to open for Motorhead, unannounced, as a tribute band. In preparation, they began rehearsing some Motorhead tunes. With a DAT tape running, they recorded four songs that would appear as "B" sides to the "Hero For A Day" single. The classic Motorhead tunes captured on tape were "Overkill," "Damage Case," "Stone Dead Forever" and "Too Late, Too Late." Metallica recorded a massive amount of material during the September 1996 to October 1998 period. They released an amazing two albums during this period, "Load" and "Re-Load." In addition, they recorded over 15 cover tunes during the process. It had become a tradition with the band to always break in a new studio by warming up on some old favorites before getting down to basics. As always, they keep the tape running in the studio. This time, rather than just play a few tunes, they recorded over a dozen classic versions. Once they listened to the tapes, they realized they were to good to just sit on a studio shelf. Thus the decision was made to release an album of all cover tunes. Due to massive fan requests, they decided to issue a 2 CD set. Disc one would include eleven of the cover songs they had just recorded. Disc two would be a special collection for the loyal fans. It would contain all the other rare cover songs they had recorded during their career, collected all on one disc.
Released at the end of last year, "Garage, Inc." shows Metallica at their brutal best. Unrehearsed, unedited and raw. The way it was in the old days, playing for beer at all the grungy clubs on the west coast. Each song on disc one was carefully selected by the band and represents certain phases of their career. Covering such time honored war-horses as "Turn The Page" by Bob Seger, "Tuesday's Gone" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "It's Electric" by Diamond Head, "Sabbra Cadabra" by Black Sabbath, "Astronomy" by Blue Oyster Cult, "Whiskey In The Jar" by Thin Lizzy and "The More I See" by Discharge. As drummer Lars Ulrich states, "Our songs are dissected bit by bit by our fans, so it's cool to just blast through some cover songs. It's a fun thing for us to do. As long as there is a Metallica, we will do cover songs."
This year looks busy for the band, they plan to tour later in the spring. They have a handful of original songs ready for the next album. Their website is doing fantastic on the Internet. The band is healthy and happy, both on and off stage. There are even rumors of joining Detroit rocker Ted Nugent when he brings back his "Whiplash Bash" New Years Eveconcert at the end of this year. Life is good, crank it up.

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 2 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2550

Music and theory: harmony, dissonance, and tonality

Music and theory and harmony: A descriptive treatment of harmony and dissonance as they are defined under the principles of tonality.

Harmony is the relation of notes to notes and chords to chords as they are played simultaneously.

Harmonic "patterns" are established from notes and chords in successive order. Melodic intervals are those that are linear and occur in sequence, while harmonic intervals are sounded at the same time. Whether or not a harmony is pleasing is a matter of personal taste, as there are consonant and dissonant harmonies, both of which are pleasing to the ears of some and not others.

Music history tells us that the definition of harmony has evolved over a period of time as different music forms have developed. In the Middle Ages, harmony was simply a two-note combination. During the Renaissance, three-note harmony was popular with the introduction of the triad. The Romantic Era expanded chords into four-part harmonies. The only method or technique for music endings was to resolve into a tonic chord built on the 1st and 5th notes of the scale in that key. Contemporary music has broadened the meaning of harmony to accept dissonant chords that never resolve into tonics of the key.

Basic to harmony is the triad mentioned above. A triad is the most common chord form. It is built on the first, third, and fifth notes of the scale and is symbolized in music notation by the Roman numeral I. A triad built on the second note of the scale would include the second, fourth, and sixth notes of the scale, still keeping one scale degree between each jump. A triad built on the second note of the scale is symbolized by the two lower case "I's," written as ii. Triad chords may be built on all seven notes of the scale (with the eighth note a repeat of the first.) Chord symbols for the triads built on the third through seventh notes of the scale are as follows: iii, IV, V, vi, and vii. Just as the I chord is named the Tonic, the IV chord is also called by the name Sub-Dominant. The V chord is the dominant. And the vii is referred to as the Leading Tone, as it is often used to change (or "lead") into a new key. This organization around tones is known as "tonality."

Tonality provides the basis for the establishment of keys. The I, or Tonic chord, determines the key. For instance, when the Tonic is A, the piece is said to be in the Key of A. Another issue in tonality is major and minor. Pieces built on the tones of the major scale are termed major and those built on a minor scale are said to be in a minor key. Major composers - Schubert, for instance - wrote a variety of music in both major and minor keys. Examples are his quartets in "A minor," "D minor," and "G major," pieces that were melodious and full of modulations from key to key. Some of his more well-known chamber music includes "E major Quartet" and "Allegro in C minor."

Harmony that brings about a concordant or agreeable combination of notes is termed consonant. When chords do not fit into an accepted pattern of harmony, they are said to be dissonant or unstable. Dissonance is often used to create moments of suspense that later resolve into more pleasing tones of consonance. Dissonance is sometimes not considered harmony by some teachers of music, although most pedagogy classifies harmony as dissonant or consonant.

Music is based on structure and order. Harmony, dissonance, and tonality are key elements in that school of thought.

How to write great music

Writing great songs are not as difficult as most people think. Use this easy to follow guide do learn how to write great music.
What makes good music? It’s a very subjective question because there are so many different kinds of people in the world and as many different types of music.
But it isn’t necessary to have a degree in Music Theory to write a satisfying song. You only need to have some inspiration and a strong feeling you want to share with others.
Outstanding songs have several components that make them superior and memorable. The lyrics should be filled with truth, sometimes hard truths and sometimes joyful truths. To accomplish truth in lyrics it’s important for the artist to zero in on a certain feeling: joy, despair, love, sadness or even lust.
However it is equally important to keep the central idea of the song simple. Great songs convey very straightforward ideas or emotions in a fresh way.
The second factor of a good song is something more elusive. It’s called the ‘hook’. The only way to learn about the ‘hook’ is to locate it in other songs. A hook is usually a catch phrase of words that sum up a commonly recognized emotion, set to a rhythm for impact.
Examples of good hooks in lyrics:
‘Don’t be cruel. . .’
‘Every rose has its thorn. . .’
‘Amazing grace how sweet the sound. . .’
‘Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head. . .’
Listen to songs from every genre and locate the hooks. Then listen to your favorite songs and analyze what each hook says to you. This will help you determine what kind of music that you want to write. Hint: the hook should strike a note of familiarity in you, a feeling of déjà vu should strike, as if: “hey! I know that feeling!” When that happens you’ve found your hook.
Your hook will be your chorus. A chorus usually repeats a few times before going to the second and third verses.
Another extremely important element is melody. A common mistake of beginners is they write wonderful lyrics but set them to the wrong music. For example, you wouldn’t write a song about newfound love and set it to a slow ballad in a minor chord. Your music’s tone must match the theme of your lyrics. Lyrics about the loss or death of a lover would be ridiculous set to a jaunty tune like “Happy Birthday.”
There is no rule requiring lyrics to rhyme, but your syllables must fit the beat; this is extremely important. Listening to rap music is a great way to find words that fit well into unusual tempos.
Once you have a few verses written, and a chorus, don’t forget to write the ‘bridge.’ What is a bridge? A bridge is a part of a song that seems like a departure from the verses and chorus. Bridges are more prevalent in modern and popular music than in older music from a century ago.
Sometimes the bridge will move up a half a key and convey the song’s innermost message in an even stronger way. Sometimes the bridge will issue an ultimatum to a lover, or even tell the ‘rest of the story.’
Listen to your favorite music. Locate the verse and the chorus. When the song departs from the verse and chorus you have identified the bridge. This departure from the song will be one or two lines long, sometimes four lines long, and almost will always rhyme, even if the verses and choruses do not rhyme.
These are the basic technical elements to a rewarding song, but there is one more fundamental facet left to cover.
Do not write music for anyone but yourself. Attempts at trying to commercially manufacture music that has no truth will only be a frustrating exercise in futility. Music is art, and should be respected as such. Do not try to write music aimed at a certain market with dreams of earning big money as your ultimate goal. The song itself should be the ultimate goal, and writing the best, most honest song that you can write will produce the most gratifying and powerful music.

Band tips: how to stay together

Being in a band isn't easy. Here's how to deal with typical problems that arise.
Anyone who has ever been in a band, particularly a band that’s enjoyed some longevity, will tell you that “a band is just like a marriage”. The main difference is that the love is for the music, not necessarily for each other. Nevertheless, the principles are the same when it comes to staying together. Here are a few typical dynamics that you’ll encounter and some practical ways to deal with them.
#1 – The “Big Ego” Syndrome
Typically assigned to the lead guitarist or the lead vocalist, the “Big Ego” syndrome can be deadly to a band. It can take the form of tantrums at the severe end or passive-aggressive control at the low-key end. The question here is – how do you want to deal with it? When faced with such personality conflict, the best thing to do first is to evaluate your personal gut reaction. Listen to your self-talk. Listen to the things you don’t say. Is the other person’s big ego competing with your ego? Since you can’t control the other person (number one rule), how can you best control yourself? There are a few stances you can take. One, you can simply blow it off, ignore it, chalk it up to the other person’s immaturity and play on. That’s fairly easy to do if you have your own ego together and in perspective. That means that your heart and ego are with the music and for music’s sake and nothing else – assuming the band you’re in is really where you want to be. Anything that happens outside of that is peripheral and inconsequential. That’s hard to do sometimes but there will always be times when the friction seems less than worth it.
The one afflicted with the “Big Ego” syndrome may have good reason to be so. Are they a leader with a clear vision? Are you there to support that vision? If the answers are two consecutive yes’s, then you’re probably in a position to resign yourself to dealing with the Big Ego. Do you have a clear vision of your own? Then perhaps the conflict is deeper than mere irritation. If what arises from your self-talk and an honest assessment of your own needs and desires is that your vision conflicts with their vision, then you might do better to move on. Sometimes we endure the tension and tantrums because we think we have to and sometimes we endure because we don’t know better, and sometimes we endure because we fear moving on. Which is it for you?
#2 He/She is not committed
Here’s an interesting problem. There’s one person in the band that, for some reason that no one can discern the closer you get to your goals, the less they seem interested. Just like in a marriage, communication is key. A band has to constantly communicate their mutual goals and renegotiate their goals every step of the way. Some members might believe at the outset that they are in it to “go as far as (they) can”. But when it comes down to it, and play becomes work, they’re no longer as committed. Honest and open communication can settle this problem as soon as it’s detected. That goes for problem #3.
#3 – Pressure to “Make it”
Once a band has acquired a local following and things really begin to heat up, one or some members might jump the gun and quit their day jobs in order to commit themselves entirely to the music. Usually this happens because the money’s coming in from steady gigs and that’s so much more attractive than the mundane day job. Things look good, but that’s when the trouble starts. The pressure is now on to gig continuously and for good pay, in order to sustain those otherwise unemployed. What started out as fun is now “work”. This creates undue tension and breaks a band that has already been through much and gone far. Decide as a group to decide when to make what moves. It’s not fair to other members to put that kind of tension on the group. The best thing to do is again, to communicate and decide together, as a group, when and if the group wants to strike out and go fulltime.
There’s no way around it. You are responsible for your personal decisions and the effects they have on the group. The smart thing is for the group to make all decisions together by continuously communicating mutual goals. The bands that make it far are the ones that communicate and agree as a group.

Five reasons rock bands break up

Here's five reasons why bands break up. Many fledgling rock bands hope for that one big professional break, or at least enough steady work to earn a living. When neither event happens, bands may fail.
One common fantasy from our teenage years is forming a great rock band and touring the world. Album sales would go through the roof, and we would be the envy of millions. At least, that was the fantasy. Anyone who has actually attempted to form a rock band soon learns the truth about the music industry and one unknown band's place in it. A real band requires extreme dedication from all of its members, a fanatical rehearsal schedule, and enough word-of-mouth advertising to be considered for paying gigs. Forming a successful band is difficult at best, and few bands survive the first formative years completely unscathed.
For those who are considering forming a working rock band, you may want to consider these five common reasons that bands break up, so you can recognize the warning signs before it is too late.
  1. Apathy towards the music Some bands fail because individual musicians fall 'out of love' with the music you've chosen to create or cover. A heavy metal guitarist won't be happy in a 70s cover band any more than a country singer would enjoy playing jazz. Sometimes tastes change, and one particular band member may decide that your sound does not match their interests anymore.
    As the leader of the band, you should make every effort to include everyone's personal tastes into the set selection process. Perhaps your jazz-influenced guitarist would be happy with a solo piece thrown into the mix. If your drummer prefers a hard thrash sound and you are primarily a 60s cover band, you might try finding some new music in that genre that calls for furious drumming. If you're happy with the band as musicians, you need to make an effort to appeal to them as individuals as well. If the band member has a real problem with your chosen style, you may be better off without their disruptive influence.
  2. Solo careers Every once in a while, a talent comes along who is so amazingly good that any band would be blessed to have them. In fact, it is often this same talent that causes the band to break up. Many rock bands are a balance of egos and abilities, which can be much harder to maintain when one member begins to get so much more attention than the rest. A virtuoso lead singer or an Eric Clapton-level guitarist can put a band on the map, but it may not stay there long if tensions build. Some bands become comfortable with the idea of being a 'backing group' to an incredible talent. Others begin to feel less appreciated and lose interest in the entire project. Once word of the lead singer's extraordinary talent gets out, he or she may be pressured into leaving the band to pursue a solo career.
    As the leader of the band, you have a delicate balancing act to perform. As the gap between wunderkind and band begins to widen, you should try to get a feel for where individual band members stand on the issue. Are they comfortable with their more subdued roles behind the raw talent, or do they feel underappreciated? This situation is not to be taken lightly. If you cannot coordinate a truce successfully, you may have to make some serious cuts in personnel or else risk losing the most talented member of the band. You must also get some idea on the aspirations of your virtuoso. Are they satisfied with the band arrangement, or are they seeking a solo career? You don't want to stand in the way of true talent finding its own level, but you also need to know where things stand right now.
  3. Lack of financial incentive Band rehearsals take a lot of time and effort, not to mention money. Equipment must be maintained, upgraded or replaced. Instruments may require expensive repairs or new accessories. Time spent in the band may be time taken away from more lucrative ventures, such as a second part-time job. Many beginning bands split up simply for economic reasons. Gigs may be few and far between at first, and whatever money that is generated must be split among a lot of hands. An out-of-town club may offer good money, but travel expenses may eat up the profits. Getting a new band established takes promotion and advertising- two very expensive propositions for the leader/manager. Some band members cannot continue pursuing a musical career while trying to support a wife and children. The band may not break up as much as dissolve through lack of finances.
    To address this problem, you must be open and honest with the entire band. Don't try to tapdance around the issue of money. Tell the band what sort of budget you have to work with, and let them know what sort of sacrifices they may have to make in order to achieve success. If you have a talented band member who is struggling financially, you may have to offer some support until the incomings start matching the outgoings. Never overextend your band's ability to cover expenses. If your band is offered a food or beverage tab, keep an eye on the bottom line. It can be very tempting to eat and drink the entire night's profits.
  4. Outside influences Forming a working band is much like forming a marriage or a business partnership. You will be spending quite a bit of time away from your family, whether in rehearsals or in performance. You may find yourself putting the needs of the band over your own personal commitments. Tensions may begin to form with spouses who feel neglected or employers who feel like your primary job is not important to you anymore. Not everyone can truly commit themselves to a rock and roll lifestyle and also stay committed to the other elements in their lives. Bands often break up due to the influences of those outside the confines of the band itself. Loyalties and commitments may be questioned, creating tremendous pressure on a band member who is uncomfortable in his or her role. Personal decisions may adversely affect professional aspirations.
    As a leader, you must be sensitive to the band members' individual situations. Asking a bass player with a wife and three children to spend an entire weekend out of state may be pushing the limit. Be prepared to hear a few 'no's' where the band is concerned. Avoid issuing ultimatums when choices do exist. Hire a replacement player for that one gig, or restructure the music to cover for the loss. Until a band becomes financially viable, you should always keep an open mind towards band members and their levels of commitment.
  5. Artistic differences This has almost become a cliche in the music business, nonetheless artistic differences can break a band up fast. Band members who become proficient at their own craft may start seeing small cracks in other members' armor. The drummer doesn't seem to keep a good beat, or the bass player has no creative ability whatsoever. The original songs written by the guitarist are way too simplistic, and are not commercially viable. The manager hasn't gotten a paying gig for the band in a month, and the new record sounds terrible. None of these situations may be true in an objective sense, but that is how a band member might begin to think. Once a player starts feeling restrained by his or her current circumstances, they may inevitably lose interest in the band. Artistic differences may be the number one killer of fledgling bands everywhere.
    All you can do as a band leader is follow your own path. You select the music that the band will play, and the image your band will project. If you write your own music, it will sound like your own music no matter what. Band members should respect each other's varying abilities and be willing to offer constructive criticism when needed. If that system doesn't work for a particular band member, they should feel free to leave. Rock bands are not always democratic- certain personalities will be more dominant than others. Tough and often unpopular decisions have to be made. You want the back-and-forth dialogue of a good band at work, not the disruptive influence of a disgruntled bandmate. Changes in personnel do not necessarily mean a break-up of the band itself. Oftentimes, the change in line-up leads to a stronger, more stable band in the long run. It's ultimately YOUR vision, so do what you must to make it happen.

A guide to types of bands

Different kinds of bands, their instrumentation, their sound, and what they do.
There are many different kinds of bands out there, including both the typical ones like marching, concert and jazz and less typical ones.
Marching band: This is a band that performs at football games, parades, and other similar events. Most high schools have one, as do most universities. They are large bands, consisting of anywhere from 50 - 300 members. Marching bands consist of trumpets, trombones, mellophones, sousaphones, percussion, and usually clarinets, flutes, and saxophones. Percussion is typically made up of cymbals, snares, quads, and bass drums. Some marching bands don't include any woodwinds. Bands will march in straight lines when they are performing in parades or moving anywhere. They may also perform shows where they make pictures on the field during half-time or pre-game shows. They also typically lead school songs and spirit cheers in the stands during games.

Pep Band: This is a band that performs at other school sporting or pep events, including basketball games, pep rallies, and potentially other sports. Most high schools and universities have one. These include, typically, only brass, although some include woodwinds. For percussion, they may have only snare drums. They are much smaller than marching bands (perhaps only 20 - 30 players) and they sit in the stands during indoor games. They lead school songs and cheers.

Concert band: This is an indoor, sit down band, which usually plays standard repertoire. It is typically a learning environment for young musicians and maybe even for older ones. It consists of a full range of brass, percussion, and woodwind players (including oboe, bassoon, euphonium, tuba, and melodic percussion). It can consist of 30 - 75 players, and is a generic term for any band that plays indoors.

Symphonic band: This is a large indoor ensemble, which consists of 60 - 70 members, including full clarinet and trumpet sections (3 or 4 players on each part. There are usually three parts for each instrument). The music is usually thickly scored with not too many solos. The sound is well-blended and complex, because the group is so large. Wind ensemble: This is a small indoor ensemble. It consists of only 30 - 40 members, with one or two players on a part. Clarinet and trumpet sections may have only 4 - 6 members. It plays repertoire that is much more thinly scored and which contains a lot of solos.

Jazz band: This is a generic term for any band which plays in the jazz style. It typically contains piano, drum set, bass, saxophones, trumpets, and trombones. They play only jazz-style music, which is written in a swing style often with mutes (the "wa-wa" sound of the cup-muted trumpets is common). Bass and piano figure prominently into the style, and there are many solos. There are different kinds of jazz bands, including cool jazz, big band, and more.
There are many different kinds of bands in today's world. Many of them are found in the schools, as well as in the community. They play an integral role at sporting events, parades, and concerts -- all events that are highly attended by the public.

A guide to types of bands

Different kinds of bands, their instrumentation, their sound, and what they do.
"Choosing A Teacher"by Tom Hess

The electric guitar has advanced far beyond the time when someone could teach himself (or herself) to become a world class player. If your ambition is to become a competent player and a competent musician, you need a competent teacher. Even if your goals are more modest, you can reach those goals far more quickly, easily and efficiently with the guidance of the right teacher. Much of the information that is needed to learn about guitar playing (and music in general) is available from many different sources. There are hundreds of books, instructional videos, CD-ROMs and, of course, the internet. Even though a lot of information is readily available, there exists a lot of incorrect, incomplete and otherwise bad information (this is especially true for a lot of information found on the internet!). You will need the aid of an excellent teacher to teach you how to fully understand and apply the correct information. You can save yourself a lot of unnecessary frustration and disappointment by studying with the good teacher. Remember that text books, CD-ROMs, instructional videos and the internet cannot answer your specific questions. They cannot offer you advice on your playing, song writing, ear training, etc. They cannot listen to your playing and point out any mistakes or flaws that may be present. Some text books are great and I have seen some pretty good CD-ROMs out there too, but you still need the aid of an excellent teacher to guide you through everything and to help
you to develop your abilities and musicianship correctly and efficiently.
Great teachers manage and schedule new materials and effectively explain its importance and meaning. A teacher should encourage you when you are doing well and correct you where you may have gone wrong. Good teachers will show you how to better organize your practice materials and show you how to effectively manage your practice time (this is crucial to your progress!). They help you to build up your confidence level (even if you are not consciously aware that this is happening). A great teacher will help you to become secure with your technical skills so that you can execute difficult techniques on your guitar comfortably. These teachers emphasize creativity (song writing & improvising) and performing. Great teachers want to make sure that you fully understand what you are learning and, most importantly, teach you how to apply it by giving you detailed explanations and encouraging you to ask questions when something is unclear. A good teacher sincerely cares about your musical growth and development. An experienced and competent teacher will take you far beyond what you could learn on your own.
Unfortunately, guitar teachers are not licensed and there is no organization that oversees or regulates them. Anyone can claim to be a good teacher and there are lots of people who make this claim. The number of competent teachers, however, is limited. This brings us to this crucial question; How can a student find, choose, and then accurately evaluate a guitar teacher? Here are some questions that you should ask any teachers that you are considering to study with. I have also included my own comments for each question:
In addition to asking the questions above, here are some other things to watch out for:

  • When students ask how to approach a certain technique or how to hold the pick correctly or how to most effectively mute strings that are not supposed to be sounding, the advice of some teachers is to do whatever feels natural to you. Sometimes what you may think is the natural way to hold your left hand may not be the correct way at all. It is the teacher's job to know those types of things, the teacher should be teaching, not letting you do whatever you feel like. For most things, there is a right and wrong way and you will better off learning it the right way from the beginning.
  • Just because a teacher may have some talented students, does not mean that the teacher is good. This might seem like a good criteria for evaluating a teacher, but the fact is that sometimes advanced students were already good players before taking lessons from this new teacher. The only time that judging a teacher's teaching skills, based on his or her student's playing skills, is really a reliable criteria is when those advanced students started taking lessons from the same teacher since they were beginners.
  • Some teachers tell their students to try to learn from as many sources as possible and then leave it up to you to sort through it all and decide what works best for you. How are you supposed to decide that? How is a student to know what the best fingering is for a particular scale? Students typically won't know how to determine what the right way is. This is one of the reasons why you have a teacher, it is his or her job to teach you these things, this is why you are giving the teacher your money!
  • Do not assume that a someone is a good teacher just because he or she may be an excellent player or has good credentials. I know plenty of competent players with advanced music degrees that I don't believe are good teachers. I was fortunate to have some truly great teachers, but I had some incompetent ones too, along the way. Whenever I realized that a teacher wasn't good, I looked for a new teacher.

The following things are not required for someone to be a good teacher, but it certainly is to your advantage to have a teacher who, in addition to teaching you about guitar and music, can help you in some of these other ways:

  1. Guitar Pedagogy. This is learning how to teach guitar. If one of your goals is to be a guitar / music teacher then you would benefit greatly from a teacher who can teach you how to teach a variety of techniques, music theory, ear training, song writing, improvisation, etc. You will also need to learn about how to deal with a wide variety of personality types. Every student is different and each of those students may learn and comprehend information in different ways. It is important for any teacher to understand this. You need to know how to explain the same information in several different ways so that you will be better able to teach all of your students well.
  2. Recording advice. The better you become as a musician, the more likely it will be that you will want to record your guitar playing. If you have little or no experience in this area, then having someone who can help you is especially helpful.
  3. Music business. If you plan to record, release and sell your own CD, now or in the future, there is a huge amount of music business information that you will need to learn if you want to make any money. Some teachers who have released their own CDs, and are promoting it themselves, can be the best source of help for selling your CD. You can also learn other things like how to set up gigs for your band and how to get the press to write about you.

So now that you have a better idea about what to look for in a teacher, the next question is, Where do you look for a really good teacher? This depends on if you are looking for a teacher to teach you privately (face to face) or if you are looking for a teacher to teach you through correspondence. Both are good and there are advantages to both ways. If you are looking for a private teacher to teach you face to face, check out these places first: Contact the music department at universities and colleges near you. Even if they can't help you directly, they can usually refer you to someone who can help. Next, you can try your local music shops (where guitars are sold). Most music shops offer lessons, most of the teachers found here are not of the highest quality, but sometimes there are some really great teachers that you can find at these shops. When you call one of these shops, ask to speak to the manager or owner. Ask him or her, who are the most qualified teachers for you (your style of music and skill level). After you get the teachers names, make arrangements to speak to each of the teachers privately. Ask those teachers all of the questions that are written above. If you are not satisfied with any of those teachers, keep looking.

If you are looking for correspondence lessons, your search will be a little different (and these lessons are usually a little cheaper in the long run.) You can look on the internet for these types of teachers and you can also contact universities (in any part of the world.) The best thing about correspondence lessons is that you can take lessons from any teacher in the world (that teachers via correspondence)! What I would look for in a correspondence teacher is someone who has been doing this type of teaching for a while. Someone who always allows you to ask questions about your lesson via e-mail or telephone (for no additional charge!). I personally don't think that courses (like CD-ROM courses) are a good idea because then you really are not getting the private and individual instruction that is needed to learn in the most efficient way. Even though correspondence lessons are not face to face, the lessons should be personalized for you, your skill level, your musical knowledge, your style of music and your musical goals. Stay away from a one-size-fits-all method or the cookie-cutter style courses. Everyone is different and is at a different level, has different musical goals, likes different music, so the lessons (whether face to face or correspondence) should be tailored specifically to your needs.

After teaching guitar and music for over 11 years now, I can tell you that using the information above can really make a huge difference in finding an experienced high quality teacher. An incompetent teacher can severely hinder you ability to fully develop your guitar and music skills. If you are not progressing well, but you are spending a lot of time practicing, find another teacher.

For information about me, check out my web site at http://hess.4t.com

Phrasing

Phrasing
Guitarists, pianists and percussionists have the luxury (or is it a curse?) of not having to provide wind for our instruments. Vocalists, woodwind and brass players spend years developing their stamina and breath control while most other instruments don't have to consider this particular problem at all. Unfortunately, as these musicians build these skills, they also (either actively or subconsciously) build their ability to shape phrases.
You can liken a musical phrase to the sort of phrases (or sentences) you encounter in the English language. Phrases can stand alone: "He went to the store", be terse and brief "Go home!", or awkward and/or incorrect "How old that dog is?"
Generally, we subconsciously shape our phrases as we speak, and most people are masters of this. We usually automatically raise the pitch of our voice near the end of a phrase to ask a question "What did he think he was doing?", if we are agitated we may phrase in short staccato bursts "Please ... do ... not ... do ... that ... again!" We are such masters of phrasing and interpreting phrasing that we can often infer subtle meanings from phrasing (the use of sarcasm), and we can even sometimes guess what was said by listening to the way it was said even if don't hear the words or if it was spoken in a different language.
Here are some thoughts/exercises:
  1. Play many solos focused not on licks or scales or even "right notes" - try to project every emotion you can think of. You would likely speak differently if you were happy or sad or angry or afraid, and this would be reflected in the words you choose as well as the speed at which you say them and the inflection of the words. Be angry, and let your phrasing reflect that. Be heartbroken, and reflect that too. Imagine how you would need to play so that a listener 3 weeks from now would hear a recording and say (wow! he was sure upset when he recorded that".
  2. Sing out loud to yourself while you play, and play what it is that you are singing. I recommend writing your own lyrics on the spot. This will force you to pause as you breathe, and follow a natural sort of phrasing (likely based on your emotional state). Don't worry about feeling foolish as you do it.
  3. Play melodies or solos that you already know differently. What would happen if the first notes were all a lot slower then usual? What if you put pauses here and there?

The Perfect Player

The Perfect Player Part IV
The Importance of Sound-Check
Hello everybody and thank you for your patience. I know it has been a long time since my last article, but these are very busy times. The good thing is that from these busy times I got the idea for this article. What I will discuss today could make the difference between a great show and a so-so (or horrible) one, so please read on...
What we will discuss today is the importance of doing sound check, and some ideas to make the most out the little time you usually get. Though this does not mean to be a comprehensive discussion on sound-check, it includes some ideas that I think you might find useful when preparing for a live performance.
First off, make sure that you do sound-check. This is the very first step (and a crucial one) to any show you will do. It is of extreme importance to all bands, but especially to all of you out there who don't have a sound man (more on this later). When talking to promoters, club owners, or whoever is hiring you, make clear that you will need to do sound-check in order to perform at your best. More often than not, people won't like this (it means having people at the venue early, having to pay them, etc.), and try to talk you out of it.
I make sound-check a top priority for my shows, and I feel you should do the same. Hold your ground; explain that a good sound-check makes for a better show and happier customers. This probably won't work, but will at least show you are professional and you act like one. If you just chicken out for fear of losing the gig and accommodate everything this guy demands, don't be surprised if you will be abused in the future. This holds true in most cases, but use your own judgment to evaluate different situations. If this is a very important gig for you and the owner of the venue gives you some logical reasons for why a sound-check is not possible (festivals do sometimes present problems), be professional and see what works best for you AND the guy.
So let's say you are given a chance to do sound-check. Most likely, if you are serious about your music, you will try to get as much time as possible. Just as likely, the venue will try to convince you that 5 minutes is all you need. Again, it is up to you to make the call. I did a show in Italy this summer, and demanded a whole afternoon of sound-check for a 29 minute show. Mixing electric guitar with an orchestra is not easy, and that was what I felt was required for the situation. I was also lucky to find very accommodating people to work with, and to be in a position where I could make requests. If your band is a four piece and you practice 5 days a week, you might need less time, it is really up to you.
Whatever time you get, it is now your responsibility to make sure that you make the most out of it and set the base for a perfect show.
Rule number one is: be nice to everybody.Rule number two is: be nice to everybody.Rule number three is: you guessed it, be nice to everybody.
Don't forget that these guys are getting paid whether they treat you well or not, and whether they make you sound good or not. Always keep in mind that what makes a good show good is not only you. It is all the people who are involved in it.
Remember, though, that sound check is YOUR responsibility. The people you will work with can be more or less cooperative, enthusiastic, and professional, but don't ever assume that things will get done without your input. This holds true for anything in the music business, really, but especially here. Nobody will raise the high end on the cymbals unless you say so. Nobody will give you more bass in your monitor if you don't specifically ask for it.
Second, worry about one thing at the time. A good place to start is the drums, then move on to the bass, then the guitar, then the vocals. We all have different ways of doing this, so whatever works for you, go for it. What is important is the sound you get on stage. Monitors placement, which is often overlooked, is key. Really spend some time experimenting and finding what works best for you.
Here is where most bands (I am talking on my own personal observations, of course) commit their biggest sin. Everything sounds good on stage, everybody looks happy, so they just wrap up and go to dinner. What they have forgotten is that the most important thing at a show is not what you hear onstage, but what the audience will hear.
So before you go eat (or whatever you do between sound-check and the show), make sure you walk around the venue, at different spots, make mental note of what sounds good and what needs a little adjustment. Maybe the mix could be better, or maybe that cool reverb you used in the studio for your guitar is just mudding the sound when added to the natural reverb of the hall. This is why you should always have sound-check: every venue is different, with different physical qualities.
It is also true that once the people are in the hall, they will mess up good part of your settings (eq, reverb, and so on), and that's where a good sound man can make the difference. But at least you did your part of the work (especially if you don't have, or can't afford, a sound man).
You might even bring that long chord or wireless system and walk around the venue while playing with the rest of the band onstage to get a better idea.
Oh, by the way, only one person in the band should be in charge of the sound-check. Again, this is one of those universals in music; there should always be one member of the band who has the final say. Especially in this case, when you are trying to accomplish a lot in little time. Put all egos aside, whoever can do it best should do it. It is for the good of the band. Listen to your band members, accommodate their specific requests, but be in charge of the overall sound. This, of course, if you are the best for the job. Otherwise, step aside and let somebody else do it.
When you are done, get out and relax. Have a good meal; hang out with your friends and family… Realize that all you could do to make the show better, you did. What is left is something nobody can teach you: putting on a great show and being the best musician you can be.

So I Didn't Become a Rock Star

So I Didn't Become a Rock Star
But I Still Love To Play Guitar More Than Anything Else by Bud Sloniger

In 1976, I wanted to be a rock star. I was filled with energy and teenage angst and saw those Marshall Stacks and hard ear-splitting stretched E-strings as the only relief from it. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Peter Frampton, REO Speedwagon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, Boston, Santana, Journey, and some punks from Pasadena named Van Halen. Rock and roll guitar was it. I was saved from a life of glum boredom. I loved the electric guitar, and still do! It is a very large part of who I am. But I'm not a rock star. I'm just a guy that plays guitar, IMHO pretty well. But I'm also a husband, a father, friend, member of the community, Technical Systems Architect...

I'm a rock and roll guitar player, and a rock and roll singer.
The reason I'm writing this seemingly disjointed soliloquy is that learning to play the guitar has been the single most important factor in my life. Period. Absolutely no doubt about it. It's the only thing I've done consistently for the last 25 years. Girls (and wives), children, jobs, cars, friends, houses have all passed away or have been replaced. But not my guitar.
"Never spend your guitar or your pen." was a line written by Pete Townshend. It is so true. For those of you that are new to this journey, vocation, skill, hobby, obsession that we call "playing the guitar", all I can say is you're in for quite a treat if you continue with it.

I travel a lot for work, and a guitar is a companion I take along with me whenever I can. Even when I'm too tired to play, it's just a comfort to have it around. Like a sentinel in the corner to remind me that my work is not all that I am. I was on a long weekend recently and my mother was along with us. In the evening I came out to the patio by the pool carrying my guitar, and then sat down and softly began to play "Norwegian Wood". She asked "Do you still play very often?" And I said something like "Well, whenever I can get a chance." She said "That's good. It's nice to see something that you learned as a child has meant so much to you and the people around you for so many years." Gee...Mom...don't get me all misty-eyed here.

But she is right. Even my mother, who stomped on the kitchen floor and yelled down the basement stairs "Turn that thing DOWN!" But also sat on the beach with me and the rest of the family and sang old Beatles songs until we were hoarse.
My guitar playing started out as a frantic obsession. Lessons, friends to jam with. I couldn't learn too much too fast. Songs to write and arrange and record. Songs to learn, bands to form. The bands turn into an extended family, albeit somewhat dysfunctional in nature. But family just the same. I did, for a short while, play professionally. My only job was to play guitar and sing. Those were some of the most memorable times of my life, and I don't regret it for a second.

But, life got in the way of all that, as it does with young men. And life begat school and girlfriends became wives and became young mothers and school became budding careers more profitable than playing guitar in bars. And yes, my mother did at times ask me when I was going to get a real job. And eventually I did, and I don't regret that I didn't become the next Gary Richrath or Ted Nugent. Well, not too much.

And the reason I don't regret it is that in spite of all the tumult that life throws at me, I still play guitar. I play with friends in little pick-up rock bands and blues jams. Open mic nights or jamming with friends from work. I play at church, accompanying myself, or the choir, or groups of little children singing like cherubs (see my Gibson EDS1275 review). I've played and sang at weddings and funerals, in lonely motel rooms and crowded airport concourses. I have played and sung love songs to a pregnant wife, then lullaby’s to a fussy infant. I've played guitar to accompany my young son's squawking on a harmonica, and my daughter's beautiful voice.

So, get your axe out of the case and grind it a while. Play a new song you learned for one of your friends. Get your kids to dance and sing. Make your spouse roll her eyes and shake her head while observing the expression on your face while trying to master a Satriani riff or something! Play guitar. It's always the best thing to do.

How To Buy A Guitar Amp, Part 1

How To Buy A Guitar Amp, Part 1

Beginning The Quest For Tone
by
Jeremy Ledford

You go just into the store and buy whatever amp, right? Yes, it could be that simple. But, without proper information, one could end up making a very costly mistake (trust me, I have). So, we will delve into the world of tone and the steps to making a more informed buying decision.

Because that's what you're looking to find - the right tone. Tone is the combination of your guitar, your amp, and your fingers. The amp is crucial because it provides the means for self expression.

This is the first installment of two articles that will try to help you choose an amplifier. I will focus on beginning players today and intermediate players in the next installment. First, what style of music do you play? There aren't as many amp choices as for guitars, but they are more or less designed for specific groups of players and/or genres of music. This doesn't mean one amp won't do most things in the world of tone, but they usually shine in only a few areas. Last, but definitely not least, PRICE! Some of us can go out a buy whatever our hearts desire, but for the majority of us, price plays a major role in the search for tone.

Although I know you want to, as a beginning guitar player, you don't need to go out and buy that massive Mesa or Marshall stack or even a 2 x 12" combo amp. Start with something basic. A small practice amp with an 8", 10", or 12" speaker should be sufficient. Channel switching is very nice to have. Channel switching allows you to go from dirty to clean with push of a button on the front panel or with a switch on the floor. Reverb, as well as chorus, is a nice option to have. (Don't hold your
breath for chorus, though.) These features make playing much more fun.

I wouldn't spend more than $300 on an entry-level amp, and that figure should probably end up somewhere betweeen $100 and $200. I don't recommend buying below $100 dollars. I don't think they sound all that good. At the sub-$300 price level, pro tone hasn't entered the building, and tubes are hard to find (there are a few, but we won't go into that here). Decent noise can be had, though. For most tones, the entry level amps of the major manufacturers are great buys. I would stay away from tube amps, because they tend to show more mistakes. This can be very frustrating when just starting out. All that is needed is an amplifier that sounds relatively decent and will keep you playing.

As a beginning guitar player, you don't have to play in the store. Have the sales guy take a particular amplifier through its paces. Listen closely to the amplifier. Is the sound clear? If applicable, how does the reverb sound? Lush and warm or "Boingy"? We want as close to lush and warm as possible. Channel switching? Does it pop when changing the channels? What kind of range do the knobs produce? A large margin of frequency cutting is what we want here, for the purpose of getting as many sounds as possible. Cheaper amps tend to only have passive tone controls, (i.e they only cut frequencies). The more expensive amplifiers can sometimes have active tone controls, (i.e. cutting and boosting of frequencies is possible). The Peavey 5150 II is like this. Remember that the sales dude has most likely been playing with all these amps for 4 hours a day for several years, and he may sound a lot better than you do, but he also knows the amps.

If you do feel up to playing in the store, we need to define some of the terms that you will find labeled on the amplifiers and what some of the jacks on the front do. Some of the amps in the higher end of this category may have jacks/controls on the back, too. On the front the amplifier, you will find one or two 1/4" input jacks labeled input. With two jacks, they are either labeled high and low or 0db and -6db. The high/0db input is for guitars with passive pickups, and the low/-6db is for guitars with active pickups, which have a higher output signal compared to passive pickups. The one, lower input is padded to help control input distortion, which can sound pretty bad. I have found that the only difference is in volume with transistor amps, but your experiences may differ.

Next are the controls. The number of controls can vary from one to about twelve, and more have been seen. Generally, you will find a volume control, a bass control, a middle control, and a high control. These are pretty explanatory. Sometimes, the volume control will be labeled post gain. On amps with channel switching, a pre gain control is usually present. This controls the amount of dirt or distortion. If you are lucky enough to get an amplifier that has reverb, there will be a control to adjust the amount of "echo" that you hear, from none to full saturation. With amps that have more than this minimum number of controls and channel switching, a separate set of tone controls are usually added for the clean channel, so that you don't have to use the same settings on your clean channel that you use for your distortion channel. With chorus, the controls are rate and depth. Rate is the speed of the effect and depth is the amount of the effect you hear.

For power, ten to thirty watts is all that is really needed. Anything more, and hearing loss, parents, siblings, and neighbors become a problem. If the amp does have channel switching, I strongly recommend purchasing the footswitch that goes with it. You will thank me. Specific manufacturers to look at are Peavey, Fender, Marshall, Randall, and Waller (this is a new manufacturer that puts out some great sounding amplifiers). If you do have the budget to get an effects box along with the amp, I don't recommend getting a distortion pedal. Let the amp do the work. Besides, noise problems will usually pop up, especially with transistor amps.

In closing, choosing a starter amplifier is more about getting a decent sound that will keep you playing than stroking your ego or looking good in front of your friends with the latest and greatest amplifier on the market. The tone of your favorite guitar player isn't necessary, and can even be foolish. If you spend alot of money and don't keep with it, you have bought your self a very expensive door stop. Remember, purchase what you want and listen to your ears!

"Why Aren't You a Better Guitarist?"

The twenty concepts you need by Tom Hess
If you are like most players, you are desiring to become a better guitar player. Through my own learning experience and through teaching well over 1,000 students, I have learned a lot on this subject. Students often ask why they are not not at the level that they desire to be and what can be done about it. I have asked myself this same question many times in the past. A long time passed before I began to understand the answers.
Like you probably have done, I have read a ton of interviews with great players and articles written by many of these same players. I often found it frustrating whenever the subject of learning to play guitar came up or when advice was offered on improving one's playing. With a small number of exceptions, very little time and space was offered on this. Its not uncommon to see the player's advice be summed up in a grand total of three words: Practice! Practice!! Practice!!! Well of course we all know that practicing is the main ingredient. But rarely are we told much more than that. In my long quest to become an excellent player and to help my students do the same I carefully took note of what worked and what didn't. What parts conventional wisdom is accurate and what parts are (at least in my opinion) are not. I believe the twenty concepts that have proven to bring great results to those who use them are:
1. Educate yourself! No matter what level you are at today, you can be and should be learning more. If you are currently studying with a teacher or enrolled in a music program at a high school, college or university, you are on the right track. If you aren't doing this (or if you feel that your current teacher is not helping you enough in reaching your goals) I strongly recommend looking for a new teacher. (I have written an article on this exact topic titled: Choosing a Teacher ) I can't stress enough how important it is to find the teacher that is right for you! Your teacher (or music program) should always be Goal Orientated. If its not look for another teacher or school to study with! You don't need a teacher to simply give you information or things to practice - you can get those things anywhere, what you need is a teacher who:
  • Knows what your goals are.
  • Cares about helping you reach your goals.
  • Knows how to help you reach your goals.

2. Listen to more music. Find more of the same music you already like. There is a lot of music out there that you haven't heard. I am sure you can find something you really like and that would inspire you. Look on the internet if you can't find it on the conventional radio. Check out internet radio, you can customize what you here based on your preferences, its a great tool! Check out web sites that you know feature a lot of the music in the style you like.

3. Turn your musical frustrations into an asset in the form of a motivating force. I wrote a whole article called Musical Frustration. I don't want to repeat here everything that I wrote in that article, so read it if you haven't already. If you have read it, it may be worth your time to read it again now.

4. Believe in yourself. You have probably heard that phrase many times before. Its unfortunate how many people still refuse to invest their own beliefs into themselves. I wrote an article on Perseverance which deals indirectly with believing in yourself. Please read it if you have a problem believing that you can reach your goals.

5. Understand that becoming a better guitarist means becoming a better musician as well. When developing your musical skills, make sure to think beyond skills that are specific to guitar. Of course you will be working on many guitar skills: various guitar techniques, chords, scales, soloing, etc., but don't neglect other skills that are not guitar specific like, ear training (also called aural skills), songwriting, improvising, creativity, reading, music theory, etc.

6. Surround yourself with better players (or at least with those on your same level.) When you started out playing guitar, everyone was better than you, but now you have grown and there are less people better than you than before. The better you get, the harder it will be to find others who are superior to you to hang around or jam with. But no matter how good you get, there will always be something you can learn from someone else. Seek out those people, get to know them, jam with them, discuss music and guitar with them. Be willing to give as much (or more) as you want to take. If you are fortunate enough to be above the level of other guitarists in your area, seek out great bassists, pianists, violinists, drummers, etc. You can learn from them as well. (Even if you are not better than your guitar player friends, seek out musicians that play other instruments as well anyway).

7. Find out what inspires you and soak yourself in that. For me, going to concerts to see great players or bands inspires me to practice more. Listening to great singers inspired me to refine my vibrato and phrasing. Listening and studying the music of great classical composers inspired me to study music composition. I wanted to write great music. Watching the movie Star Wars when I was a kid, reading Lord of the Rings, etc. inspired me as well. There are lots of non musical things that have been inspiring to me. The greatest source of inspiration has been my own personal experiences in life and within myself. The desire to express that was (and still is) a constant burning desire and powerful force that thrusts my desire to improve forward. Know what truly inspires you, seek it out, surround yourself with it and soak and soak there.

8. Define your purpose. What is your definite purpose? Do you really know what it is? If I were standing in front of you right now and asked you this question, could you give me specific answers and explanations? Can you write it on paper in specific terms? This is critical to setting goals, planning strategy and monitoring the results, etc. When all the enemies of progress start to creep into your mind, you will need to bring your definite purpose to the forefront of your thinking. I have seen procrastination, fear of failure, self doubt, lack of motivation, temporary setbacks, and other negative things bring people with great potential to a halt. Knowing your definite purpose and reminding yourself of it when a negative thought comes into your mind will help you overcome it.

9. Define exactly why your purpose exists in your mind. I specifically choose to list this separately from defining your purpose because I did not want you to let the WHY get lost in the act of DEFINING. Trust me, this is important.

10. Create a strategy! You need a strategy that will layout exactly how you are going to reach your goals. Dreaming alone won't take you anywhere. Telling yourself that you are going to play your guitar everyday isn't enough. There is a lot more that goes into being an excellent player than simply playing your guitar. Ultimately you should work backwards. State your ultimate goals (on paper) then make a bunch of short and medium range goals. Think of reaching your goals as a relay race, NOT as a marathon. Each short term and medium term goal is the end of one segment of your plan and the beginning of the next segment (just like a relay race.) There are many benefits of looking at things this way as you will discover for yourself in your own way.

If you clearly know what your ultimate goals are, you can do this yourself. But if you need help in planning out the short and mid term goals to plan your strategy. Consult a teacher whom you trust and believe can help you with this - its worth it believe me. If you can't find a teacher who can do this for you, pay someone (YES I said PAY) to help you develop a specific plan to do this. The best person to approach for this is someone who is already doing whatever it is that you want to be doing.

Remember that its ok to daydream and fantasize about where you are planning to go, but it can't stop there. Don't wish without planning! Don't dream without doing! And always, always, have a strategy. You may need to revise certain aspects of your strategy as time goes on and that's ok, but don't try to go forward without one if you want the maximum results in the shortest amount of time. In my early days learning to play guitar, I wasted a lot of time aimlessly desiring to get better without having a clue as to how to plan for it. Sure I practiced a lot, but without direction and without an efficient path to follow. Most of my substantial progress as a musician came only after I developed a strategy and worked with it.

If you are wondering why I haven't given you a detailed explanation of the strategies I used in the past, it would be pointless for me to tell you what my strategy was, because it was specific only to my goals. Chances are, your goals may differ greatly from mine in many different ways. That is why you need your own strategy for your own personal goals. One last piece of advice before we move on, write everything on paper and read it everyday! It will keep you focused and on target.
11. Imagine yourself having the skills that you desire. Focus on that and concentrate. Convince yourself that you can do it. Convince yourself that you are already on your way to reaching your first goal - because you are. Its easier to manifest your desires when you can imagine yourself already in possession of it. Keep your positive mental attitude always.
12. Define what you plan to do with your musical skills once you have them. If you plan on releasing your own CD or making a living in music. LEARN AND STUDY MUSIC BUSINESS RIGHT NOW!! The fastest way to do that is to actually take music business lessons at a college and take private lessons from a pro (or at least a semi-pro guitarist) Yes you can take lessons in this just like you can for learning guitar, songwriting, etc. Do NOT wait until you are a great player to start learning about this business!!!!!! I can not tell you how many players make this mistake (I made it myself at first and have studying it intensely for the past few years to get my own career where it is today.)
13. Find out how your favorite players reached their goals. Often times this is hard to do since you can't always sit down and talk to some very famous musicians. But interviews exist as well as a few biographies on some musicians (especially dead ones). Despite the fact that many successful don't really talk much about this, you can find some that do. Believe me, becoming successful is a lot more than just practicing and luck! REMEMBER that their strategies won't necessarily work for you because your goals may be different than theirs were. Still you can learn from it.
14. Don't compare yourself to others. There is no need to do this anyway. Music should not be a competitive sport among people, only within yourself. Compare yourself only in relation to where you are in your strategy! Are you on your way to reaching your next short term and medium term goal towards your ultimate goals? Are you on schedule, does your strategy need to be revised?
15. Make sure you are practicing efficiently. Do you really know how to practice the guitar? Are you focused on setting daily and weekly objectives and then practicing in such a way that you will be working towards those goals? These are questions you should ask yourself. The two biggest practicing mistakes I have seen in students (besides not practicing enough) are: 1. Practicing is not goal orientated. 2. Not understanding the difference between playing one's guitar and practicing one's guitar. If you are having any difficulties with practicing, talk to your teacher about it. He/she should be able to help you.
16. Play with others in a band or some type of ensemble. It is important to have experience playing with others. It can be in a band or some other ensemble setting. Formal or informal. The main thing is to be doing it. (at least once a month). Some things you just can't fully practice alone. Besides the fact that this can be really fun, it will also help you overcome stage fright if you have it.
17. Measure your progress. Document your practice time. Keep a record of how much you practice each day. For technique things, use a metronome to see how fast you are able to play a particular scale, exercise, lick, arpeggio, etc. cleanly. Write down the result, practice it all week and see if you can play it one or two beats per minute faster by next week (or next month). Keep a record of all the technical things you are currently working on. You will clearly see if you are progressing and at what rate. For other items that are not so easily recorded with a metronome, paper and pencil, record on yourself tape or your computer each week. Keep the tapes for a long time. Listen back in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, etc. Listen to how much you have grown.
18. Do not pander to your strengths while ignoring your weaknesses. It is not necessary to be able to play all styles of music or every technique to be a good player, but certain aspects are universal, such as: technique, ear training, knowledge of theory, creativity, improvising, etc. Some musical styles will rely more heavily on certain aspects than other styles, regardless, its important to be balanced. If you are a heavy metal guitarist, chances are sight reading won't be as high on your list of priorities as technique. Likewise, a strict classical guitarist won't have much use for improvisation (unfortunately). But make sure you don't avoid weaknesses that you should be paying attention to because if you do - you will be sorry, sooner or later.
19. Discipline yourself. Unlike a sport, you do not have a coach or a trainer to work with you all the time. Nobody is there to make sure you are practicing the way you need to, when you need to, and how often you need to. You need to be totally self reliant. If this is not a normal part of your personality, fortunately there is help for you. Only you can stop yourself from procrastinating. Take the initiative now to go forward.
20. NEVER GIVE UP! Never say can't. Never say I can't. Never say someday. Never say if... If your IQ is higher than room temperature, if you have all of your fingers and if you really want to succeed, you can.

Guitar Pickups

Guitar Pickups

The job of a pickup is to convert the vibrational energy of the string into an electrical signal. This is accomplished by vibrating the metal string within a magnetic field which comes from the magnet and coils in the pickup. It's actually a pretty simple concept, but with an enormous amount of room for variations.

The primary factors that will affect how your pickup sounds are the position of the pickup, the strength of the magents, the number of windings on the coil, and the number of coils. Single coil pickups sound extremely different from double coil, or humbucking pickups.

In the early days of the electric guitar, the exact same type of pickup was often used in the bridge, middle, and neck positions on the guitar. Therefore, the only thing that made them sound different was the position. On modern guitars, a lot of people put different combinations of pickups in the different positions to emphasize certain characteristics. One might use a higher output pickup in the bridge position to give a punch for leads, and a mellower pickup in the bridge position for those "sensitive" songs.

The strength of a pickup, often called how "hot" the pickup is, can be determined by either the strength of the magnet, or by the presence of an active signal booster attached to the pickup. The layman's definition of active versus passive circuitry is that active circuitry needs a battery. EMG pickups are probably the most famous active pickups on the market. They use a 9 volt battery to power a small internal preamp which increases the output and allows for active equalization that is impossible to do with passive circuitry. The pickps themselves are not high output, but after the preamp boosts them, they can be very high ouput. An additional feature of active pickups is that they have a very low impedance and can make long cable runs easily compared to passive pickups with a high output. One thing to be cautious of is that stronger passive pickups can interfere with the vibration of the string, and can actually cause odd "ghost notes" to be present. This can also happen if you set the pickup's pole pieces too close to the strings. I see this mostly on strat style guitars with high output single coil pickups like the Texas Specials.

Additional windings on the coil increases the output as well, but favors the midrange frequencies. Because of that, you can only go so far before the pickup start to sound muddy from not having enough high frequencies in it. In addition, additional windings, or heavier winding strings, increase pickup impedance which causes more signal loss over long cable runs.


Humbucking pickups sometimes look just like two single coil pickups stuck together, which is not far from the reality. The sound of the humbucker is generally "fatter" with more midrange. They also tend to be higher output than single coil pickups. You can't really get more different in sound than a single coil versus a humbucking pickup. As the name implies, humbucking pickups electrically cancel out hum which adds to their appeal when using a lot of distortion.

The shape of the magnetic field around the pickup will also affect how much of the string is "seen" by the pickup. The pole-pieces you see on strat single coil pickups are individual magnets and give a small, focused magnetic field, "seeing" only a small section of the string vibration. On the other hand, the screws often found on a humbucking pickup conduct the magnetic field from a magnet placed underneath the cap of the pickup. There is another set of magnets in the other coil, so the combined coils "see" a larger length of string.

The material that the magnets in a pickup are made of can also greatly affect the tone. Alnico II magnets are generally associated with sweet, vintage sound, while Alnico V magnets are stronger and give a brighter, sharper attack and tone. Ceramic magnets are the hardest, and are great for hard rock players due to their high output and aggressive sound.

Pickups have a lot to do with the sound of your guitar, some say as much as 50%, though it's hard to quantify. So good pickups are worth the money. Cheap pickups feeback easier (are microphonic) and aren't as clear sounding as well made pickups. A cheap or "okay" guitar can be made to sound really good with a good set of pickups. It's long been common practice to buy a Mexican made strat for about $300 - $400 and put a nice set of Seymour Duncan or Fender pickups in it for $200 and it will sound every bit as good as a $1000 strat to most people. The best sounding general purpose pickups tend to be labelled vintage or slightly hot. Really hot pickups are great for overdrive, but usually too midrange heavy on clean tones. Single coils are synonymous wit the "strat" sound, while humbuckers typeify the "Les Paul" sound. If you want to make your strat sound more like a Les Paul, sell it and buy a Les Paul, because you'll never get there. Even drilling out your strat and putting in humbuckers won't change the body woods and materials that make a Les Paul sound like a Les Paul and a Strat sound like a Strat.

Some of my favorite strat pickups are:

Seymour Duncan SH-PG1 Pearly Gates Pickup Black/Creme Neck One of my favorite Les Paul replacement pickups
Seymour Duncan JB Jr Pickup White Neck The JB Jr. is a great pickup for strat players who use a lot of overdrive and want more punch from their lead pickup
Fender Fat 50s Strat Pickup Set The best and most inexpensive way to turn your squire or overseas made strat into a killer strat.

There are many great pickups and manufacturers out there. I suggest you stick with the tried and true like Seymour Duncan, Gibson, Fender, Dimarzio, etc. Hopefully the information in this article will help you make an informed decision about your guitar pickups.