how to

Guitar World has a fantastic selection of guitar tabs

April 20, 2008 by Chris

In all honesty, good readership, when I first started to pick up my axe again after a huge break, I didn’t even think about using the internet to look up how to play tunes. Yes, what a rookie move. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until I started searching online that I began to use tabs at all!

I used to read music all the time no matter which instrument I was playing. So over the years I eventually drifted away from this method of playing and used my memory for most tunes. After a while there were far too many little parts that I had forgotten and it made me quit disappointed in my playing ability! Nowadays, I don’t know what I’d do without guitar tabs. They certainly make it easier to learn a new song!

Although I’ve only used a couple of sites in the past, this site, Guitar World, really stands out to me. Browsing through the site I soon realized that if I was either a beginner, or advanced player of most common instruments, this would be a website to seriously bookmark.

This is a fabulous site to use if you’re looking for some great tunes to add to your repertoire no matter what instrument you play!

I’m a huge Beatles nut from way back in the day so I decided to see what they had. I actually found some refreshing new ways to approach some old standbys that made a lot of sense in my mind. The Guitar World’s Beatles guitar tabs section is very impressive to say the least! The videos in this section were nice, and simple to understand, just the way I like them!

They had so many unique interpretations of how to play certain tunes that I just had to stop and think about where in the song could I squeeze them in. Besides, there is nothing better than having the ability to change up and improve songs when you’re playing live. Always remember that when playing live in front of other musicians, they will take apart everything you do on or off stage. If you add different approaches to a song, you make it that much more appealing to those in the know and they WILL be impressed!

Their nirvana guitar tabs category is a must check out area as well! The tabs here have that subtle differences that you’re looking for in order to keep the crowd attentive and wanting to hear more from ya.

This is a must site to see, I’ll guarantee you!

Keep on Jammin’

Taking Guitar Lessons

December 12, 2007 by Chris

If your a guitar player who thinks that he or she knows it all, then you should just skip this post! Also, this post is VERY LONG as well!

Every once in a long while I come across a guitar player who thinks that they know it all. I think that we’ve all met a person like this who fits the category? I understand that in order to be a great player you have to have this invincible attitude or ego to obtain these lofty goals but come on, you can’t know everything. There is always someone out there that knows something that you don’t.

In my younger days, there were moments when I had this type of footprint attached to my persona. Sometimes upon entering a Brantford music store some musicians put down what ever they were playing and looked at it as if they didn’t know what this thing was that they had in their hands. Sometimes at a party or other social event guitarists would not play while I was playing or afterwards for that matter. This I thought was good for my ego, but later on I realized that we all were doing was just cheating ourselves out of a learning experience. After not playing for many years, I started to understand this problem.

While living in a dorm/frat house I started to play with many levels of musicians. I realized that some had these guitarists were playing these great little progressions that I had never heard of before and it spurred on my thirst for more musical knowledge. I made great efforts to stunt my level of playing and let other people shine. This approach made others relax and play without intimidation.

Fast forward to today, I think that it is time for me to take lessons again, not to figure out songs/styles but for technique. I know proper positioning, how to change chords efficiently, but I could use some work on understanding progressions better.

Another area is finger picking.

My classical picking is now at the level of a hack, but I can achieve the action and dexterity that I need to pull off a song or style without any noticeable problems. The classical stance is something that I do not use to any great extent but it does come in handy once in a long while.The real problem is with my thumb drone or an alternating bass picking style. The easiest way to understand this is to imagine a piano. You have the left hand working the bass or lower notes and the right hand doing the phrasing/melody. In guitar, your thumb is the bass and the rest of your fingers are the right hand playing the phrasing/melody.

Bruce Cockburn is the master of this in my eyes! It’s almost impossible to pigeon toe his style into one word but this is one of his many fortes. The best example of this is one Going to the Country which I have been trying to finger out or master for many years. I wish that the intro to the song was there to introduce to you to what I mean about his playing ability.

So now I am toying with the idea of taking lessons at the 12th Fret by a gentleman call Dave Martin. He specializes in picking, he loves the some style of picking that I do and best of all he has the same length of fingers that I have. While talking to him, he told me that he has come up against the same playing/technique problems that I have so it would be nice to have someone who has similar issues in this area.

They charge around $22.50 a 1/2 hour so I’ll try him out for a bit and see how it works out! I’ll get back to you later on the results and besides, he probably knows something that I don’t!

Tremolo Bars

August 2, 2007 by Chris

Has anyone ever wondered what the tremolo setup in their guitars look like, but was too afraid to take it apart. I’ve never had a guitar with a tremolo bar but my buddy did and one day he decided to show me.

My buddy in Brantford was a collector of guitars. He was rather talented, but was more into collecting them, then playing them. Nice hobby if you can afford it. I was very fortunate one evening to see a “59 Fender Strat” that he had picked up for his collection.

One night I was invited to bring my HiWatt and Gibson RD to his house with a couple of buddies to jam. I had come in, set up my amp and he gave me a beer. The boys always looked forward to jammin’ with me because I was one of the few guitar players who liked to challenge myself with different playing techniques. Most of the time they just watched and asked questions. That always drives me crazy! Then my buddy went over and brought out a guitar case and placed it in front of me.

When he opened the case, I felt my body shaking inside. It felt like someone had just opened up the “Ark of the Covenant” and was looking at the “10 Commandments” written by God and given to Moses on the mountain, inside!

I had never seen this legendary 59 Strat let alone had the ability to play it.

I just looked at it for a while and then he said “why don’t you plug it in?” I then picked it up and studied it intensely. After 10 minutes of viewing every angle and part of this mythical beast, I plugged it in and played for around 2 hours straight.

After I stopped playing I asked him “What does the Whammy (Tremolo) Bar system look like?”. He drew a quick picture on a pack of smokes and then asked me if I wanted to see this one’s? The guy who he had bought it from then took it from me and started to take off the back to expose the inner workings of it. It looked something like this:

Now to give you a better understanding how it works, I have a video for you.

So if you have one of these on your axe, you now have a better idea of how it works and how to roughly adjust it. I strongly recommend that you take the back cover off it and just take a look around just for an educational experience.

Remember by taking the cover off the back of your guitar to take a look, you won’t blow it up! This will make you more aware of your overall guitar and make you feel more comfortable with it. Knowledge is power and besides, it makes you look like you know what your talking about.

Take pictures and save them. Later on this may become a life saver if you do start adjusting it. This will allow you to see what it looked like before you started. Actually, take pictures of every stage of it. There is nothing worse then having a couple of screws left over when you think your done! It happens to the best of us!

Keep on Jammin’

The Guitar Resource

June 16, 2007 by Chris

Just like every other guitar player on the planet, you realize that there is always someone out there that knows more then you do. You may spend your time, like I do, by searching, and then figuring out different styles to play that will help develop a unique sound that you can call your own. This does take a long time. Or, you can search the web for sites that can dramatically speed up this process.

Some great guitar sites even expose you to different ways to listen and understand overall musical structures. Well, I think that I have found one that does all the above and then some. The site is called The Guitar Resource. This is like one stop shopping for technique!

The Guitar Resource has an article called Circle of Fifths that will help with everything from finger exercises all the way to chords and chord progressions.

Not only does the Guitar Resource provide information on how to play, but it has a great selection called How to Read Tabs that compliment and makes the site that much more informative.

The videos that he makes about his topics are top shelf! He has the uncanny ability to make you feel relaxed and he doesn’t talk down to you. His posts also make you sit down and think about what and how to achieve all this without all that dry musical theory stuff. It gives you the very basics and lets you go from there. If you want more detailed info, then just ask him. It’s just that simple.

The tools provided at The Guitar Resource are simple and straight to the point. You don’t need all the bells and whistles to achieve your goal, and I think that he has that aspect all sowed up since he started in March 12th, 2007.

I also found a fabulous book in the portion of his site called Recommended. The book is called the “Practical Theory for Guitar”. Yes it certainly is a must have for any guitarist regardless of his/her level. I looked at some articles and found it simple and straight to the point, so I’m seriously thinking of buying it! I have to hand it to this fellow, he certainly got it right on this one too.

If you visit the guitar resource be sure to check out the tabs that you will find across the top of the site. He has a section called The Store. Within the store you will find a featured product as well as a selection of categories such as Guitars, Amps, Strings, concert shop, guitar instruction, parts and accessories and whole lot more.

All and all, as the name says, The Guitar Resource it is a great resource site to fit all aspects of your guitar playing needs.

Keep on Jammin’

How to restring your guitar

April 6, 2007 by Chris

NOTE: This is for beginners -as in people wanting to learn more about restringing techniques.

You know, this is my favorite but most dangerous part of guitar maintenance that I or you will ever do. Watch you fingers when working with the strings at the head of the the guitar. Look at some previous posts for medical advise.

(1) Take the strings out of the package. You either have strings that are colour coated, with a chart on the box or you can figure them out by looking closely at them. The thickest string is at the top and the thinest at the bottom.

(2) Put the string through the tail piece (on the body of the guitar).

(3) Place the body of the guitar on a table, with blanket on it so you don’t scratch the bottom of guitar. It also helps you move the guitar fast and smoothly when working. Make sure that you can have access to a chair so you can work at a good eye level to watch closely at what your doing.

Part (4) is background info that you need to understand before proceeding to part (5) & (6)

(4) Follow these visual steps. The last picture shows a little gap from where the bottom of the string is to the remaining part of the shaft of the tuning peg. I leave enough string or slack allows me to keep turning the tuning knob until the bottom of the string completely fills that space. I do not like to see any part of that shaft exposed. The more string that is attached means, a tighter wind and less room for the string to stretch. A change in the tension of the string = a change in tuning.

NOTE: This is the tricky part that you will have to determine by yourself because every guitar dimensions are different. After doing a couple of strings, you will get the hang of it. IF YOU DO THIS WRONG, YOUR GUITAR WILL NOT BLOW UP, ok? Just relax. Do not attempt while intoxicated.

(5) Move the guitar on the table so you can sit in a position that will allow you have the guitar head over and away from the table to let you start winding the strings.

(6) At this point we actually can start the winding process. Now with your right hand, grab the string that your working on by having fingers (index to pinkie), pulling up on the string while using your thumb pushing down on the string.

NOTE: Have your thumb push the string down on the fret board, right near the nut, where the string is suppose to be on the neck of the guitar. This will provide a small amount of the tension you will need to start winding the tuning peg.

(7) SLOWLY turn the tuning peg in the direction that you want. For guitars with 3 strings on each side of the head of the guitar, turn the head counter clock wise; for all others go clock wise. Pay close attention to the string that it follows going down the tuning head that will cover the gap that I talked about in part (4). The more you reach the bottom of this tuning peg, let the tension that you thumb is exerting on the string off little by little until you have covered that area of the shaft of the tuning peg.

(8) Place any finger you want to use (I use my index) directly on the nut (the white piece between the top of the neck and head of the guitar) of the guitar that corresponds to which string you are replacing. I want you to put pressure on that direct spot that holds your new string in place. This will stop the string from moving anywhere while you are doing the next part.

(9) With your right hand, grab the string that you are working on and pull the string in a upward and downward direction. Remember to keep your finger down tightly on the nut. What this is doing is, by pulling upwards and downwards on the strings, it tightens or pulls the strings coils on the tuning head closer thus making them less likely to move or slip.

Note: A change in tension = a change in the note or key of the string. When they slip or loosen up, the guitar string goes out of tune. The exact tension of the strings determines how they vibrate. The vibration is the note you want. Think about how a sign wave works, if your not sure or want to know more look up the details. Remember, knowledge is power.

Keep on Jammin’

A Realization that I can play guitar

February 9, 2007 by Chris

I was just surfing while listening to one of my favorite Canadian musicians of all time, Bruce Cockburn (B.C.). I came to the realization that I am finally playing like a great guitar player of the 80’s, Mark Knopfler.

In grade 8, a song came onto the music scene that was really new and refreshing. It was a band called “Dire Straights”. The song that caught my ear was “Sultan of Swing”.

The guitar player was just a jammin’ on this tune. His name is Mark Knopfler. This popular song at the time was a song that I just had to play. I was taking lessons from the best guitar teacher of all time, in my mind, C. Peterson. I had requested that he show me how to play this tune and he said that he had already figured it out.

Mr. P. was just unreal at figuring out anything in on guitar. So off he went and started to show me the song. It was fun and challenging to play, just the way I liked it. After a couple of lessons, I could play the song pretty much inside out, which is the way he taught me.

While playing the song for many years, I decided to re-visit this song to see if there was any other way(s) to improve playing it. Mr. Peterson introduced me to the technique that Mark Knopfler used on the song but I thought that this guy was one of those off beat musicians that would fade after a short success, boy was I wrong.

I had listened to this song repeatedly over the years,and I noticed subtle tones that I had missed while playing. When I played it, it had a crisper sounding to it then what he had. His version almost had a muddled sound. In my younger years listening to the song, I had noticed that, and I thought it was just the recording technique at the time and that was it. So I then tried playing it with just my fingers and wow, it was really hard to play.

Being a classical guitar player, I was use to using my fingers but had to use my nails to attack the strings but, this guy used his thumbs and at a lightning like speed during his solo’s to boot! I tried and tried and tried but I could not get the calluses on the sides of my fingers that I really needed to pull of the song so I went back to the original way of playing the song.

Now fast forward to 2 years ago when I fell in love with the B.C.’s style of finger picking. The attack technique used here was different from my classical training but I loved the sound he got out of his axe. It was just plain fun to listen to.

So today while I was surfing and listening to B.C. at the same time, I was listening to this song called “It’s Going Down Slow” and “Mamma just wants to barrelhouse all night long”, from Waiting for a Miracle (1987). Today I can play these ones not bad and I just enjoy listening to them. It was at that moment that I noticed the similarities between both techniques and it had just dawned on me that, I can play guitar.

Keep on jammin’

Guitar World has a fantastic selection of guitar tabs

Taking Guitar Lessons

Tremolo Bars

The Guitar Resource

How to restring your guitar

A Realization that I can play guitar

Meta

Archives

Search

Pages

Blogroll

My Store

Other Sites

Meta

Archives

Search

Pages

Blogroll

My Store

Other Sites

Tags