How to guides: 2010

Amazon and Ebay both give you the potential to make some extra cash selling items. There are however many differences that you should know. The link below point to an article that will help you decide which is best for you.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/954521/selling_on_amazon_vs_ebay.html?cat=3

How to make money selling old video games

Most people have old video games and if you have the right ones in the right condition you could have the potential to make lots of money selling them on the Internet. The link to this article will help you do just that with some needed tips and advice.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5712456/making_money_selling_old_video_games.html?cat=19

How to sell on Amazon to make money

Selling on Amazon is a great way to make some extra cash. There is no cost to sell on Amazon unless you actually sell an item so there is no way to loose money either. The link to this article will help you with selling on Amazon.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5731724/how_to_sell_on_amazon.html?cat=35

How to protect your PC from virus, malware, or spyware

Virus protection should never be paid for because there are great programs out there that will do the job at no cost to you. Having the correct overlapping of programs will give you great protection. This link to this article will let you know what programs to use and they are all free at no cost.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5797576/how_to_protect_and_clean_your_pc_from.html?cat=15

How to keep your PC running at peak performance

Keeping your PC running fast and smooth is a benefit for everyone. Free services are out there for you to get some much needed application. This article is a how to guide that will help you to keep your PC clean and running the best that it should be without having to pay any money.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5803808/how_to_keep_your_pc_clean_and_running.html?cat=59

How to use great and free tools for your PC

There are all kinds of tools a person can use for there PC and the best ones out there are free to use. There is no need to spend money for a service if you don't have to.

Here is an article for using the Iobit Toolbox which is a great free tool that has a bit of everything for PC maintenance and repair.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5828322/how_to_use_the_iobit_toolbox_for_keeping.html?cat=59

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Dimebag Riff Crawl Into

Here is a great Dimebag riff that will help you with your up and down picking as well as slides and some vibrato bends without using the whammy bar. I will have the tab as well as myself playing the riff in a short video below. This song is in Drop-D Tuning. Here is the tab for you.

Click to enlarge

Here is a video of myself playing for you to watch. It will help you see where the bends and slides are.

I will create more videos in the future. As for now practice this intro and remember to use up and down picking. Don't cheat.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Creating Scales

While you are learning different riffs and practice pieces it is always important to bring it all together. Keep everything you learn or have done on your mind and make it your own. Change the things you have learned and create new riffs or practices for yourself. If you are practicing a scale, for example, make sure to always make it challenging for yourself. A great way to change a scale is to add chords into it or mirror the scale and play it higher and lower.

One of the best ways to get creative with scales is to first play a chord. It can be any chord type. After you play the chord try and find some notes that make sense and fit with the chord you played. If you have a recording device then you could play the chord and then try and lay down a scale to it.

There are no rules that have to be followed when it comes to playing music so allow yourself to be free and make things happen the way they sound good to you. If you are designing a scale for a chord and a note doesn't sound right to you then just find a better one. After you do this with more and more chords you will start to realize that you are able to lay down a solo to any number of different riffs.

Learning to scale in this way will keep you YOU. It is great practice to learn scales but it is even better practice to learn how to create your own scales. It will have more of your playing essence than going through a predetermined scale sequence.

In my next post I will get into some solo tabs from Randy Rhoads and Dimebag so get your fingers ready.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Joe Satriani - Circles

Here is a really great song to learn how to play. This tab is from some place on the internet. I would have made the tab myself but this is close enough. If you listen to the song you can hear where you might need to change some things around. this is the acoustic beginning of the song before it goes into Jo's guitar solo and heavier part of the song. Here is a link to listen to the song. This is a live version so he has a more elaborate beginning than what I tab for you here. Right when the drums start and then he plays is where the tab starts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APUZj-nV2lE

Click to enlarge

P.M. stands for palm mute. You mute the strings with your picking hand so make the notes sound cut them off to stop the sound.

Again I apologize for the quality of the tab. Consider it your opportunity to use your ears instead of relying on only your eyes.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Developing Smart Fingers

This exercise involves diminished chords. The key to this exercise is to first learn the seven chords. Once you have the chords down then try the exercise. Play each chord clean and accurate and then mute the strings with your picking hand and move to the next chord. Take your time and play this exercise very slow and make sure you are playing the chords clean without any buzz or open strings. Play the chords up and then back down the neck. Once you can do that then you can try and pick up the speed a little bit.

Example 2 is a good variation to play that can really help your fingers muscle memory. When picking for example 2 us a down up up up down up up up.

Here is the tab. Click image to enlarge.

This is an exercise from a Joe Satriani guitar book in case you were wondering.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Dimebag Riffs

I promised some Dimebag so here it is. I am going to put some riffs down that I think are very helpful. Dimebag has a particular grove that most guitarist never achieve. If you do not know of Dimebag from Pantera then do yourself some justice and listen to him now. Even if you are not into metal you will appreciate how completely ahead of the curve Dimebag was.

For starters I we will look at the intro to "Shedding Skin" off of the "Far Beyond Driven" album. If you don't know or remember what the song sounds like here is a link to listen to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_igViwDG_nw&feature=related

Click images to enlarge

The beat count is 72 and it is played 4 X's before the change. Mess around with how you pick the notes on the guitar. There are a lot of different styles of picking that would work. Down up down up is not always the answer. This lick will also help you with moving from string to string.

This next riff is the intro to "5 Minutes Alone" which is also off of the "Far Beyond Driven" album. Here is a link to the official video. Sorry about the youtube commercial just wait a few seconds and it will start.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m7njvwB-Ks

This riff will help you learn how to slide a power chord both up and down the neck of the guitar. The little X marks on the tab mean that you don't really play a note. You instead hover your hand above and create a high pitch ringing sound instead. A type of sloppy harmonics if you will.

The end of the riff has a really great downward sliding scale that really puts a great ending to the opening riff. Just one of Dimes signature moves.

This next song is off of the "Vulgar Display of Power" album and it is called "This Love". Maybe one of the more popular mellow songs from Pantera. It is a nice easy mellow style that will help put more licks under your belt.

Here is the link to the official video for you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tymWpEU8wpM

I know that these songs are not the most complicated for all people but even if you are a more advanced player it never hurts to revisit some older tunes.

This next song is on the 101 Proof Live album. It is called "Where you come from" and is one of two studio songs on the album. This song really shows Dimebags Texas Blues influence in his metal playing. Make sure you listen to this song if you never have. Here is a link for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfKdgQ8kHPo

The song really is not as hard as it may first seem. There are a lot of hammer on and pull offs mixed with a lot of bends but when you get the rhythm of the song down you will get to where you want to be in no time. If you noticed the A.H. on the tab that means Artificial Harmonic. Artificial Harmonics are created by pinching your guitar pick very close to the edge and just barley hitting the string with it along with part of your thumb. This creates an artificial harmonic tone. These are not easy to do at first but try doing them all over the neck and on different strings. You will notice that some notes are much easier to pull this off than others.

In future posts I will focus on Dimebags soloing. Like Randy Rhoads he is a great composer of guitar and his solos are legendary. I hope you enjoyed learning some Dime and if you do not own the music you should remedy that problem now so you can continue to learn guitar from one of the greatest to ever play.

Rest in peace Dime.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Silent Lucidity - Queensryche

Today I am going to post a beautiful song. Silent Lucidity by Queensryche. Everyone at one point new about this song but it has fallen away from popularity and I am glad in a way because over hearing something takes away from it eventually.

This is a beautiful acoustic guitar song. You don't have to use an acoustic of course but it always sounds better. This song is a great exercise for using your fingers to pick instead of the pick. You should rotate from your middle finger and your thumb with your right hand. Left if you are a lefty I suppose. You could use whatever fingers feel comfortable but I use my middle finger and thumb. Maybe some would use there pointing finger and thumb it really does not matter. If you want to you can even use your pick which I actually do most of the time. For a beginner it is an easy song to toy with picking with your fingers however.

Anyway, here is the tab for Silent Lucidity. Again, always click on the image to enlarge it.

It is just the first run through of the beginning of the song before it breaks and the drums kick in. Take your time with this and use it to learn how to play soft and accurately. Once you have that accomplished you can even use this song to practice singing while you play if you are at all interested in doing that. I love every part of this song. You have to remember that there are two guitarists in Queensryche, as well as a bass player, but it should sound fine if you play it properly.

Have fun with this one.

I also want to add that if you have any suggestions or requests for some song tabs just let me know in the comments. You have to remember I am a picky musician so if I don't like your request sorry. That is a reminder for all of you wannabe misfits who want to learn "Smoke on the Water". Get real!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Harmonized Scales

Today I would like to talk briefly about Harmonized Scales. There are lots of scales that a person can practice and I suggest that you do so but most people no nothing about Harmonized Scales.

If you are new to this then it might seem a bit weird at first. Always remember to take it slow. The benefits to learning this type of scale are very great. Once you get better and better at playing the guitar you will find that using these types of scale progressions or even just one part as a small chord will come in handy. At first they will sound a little off but as you get better at playing it you will be able to make them sound more fluid.

Here is the scale. Remember to click on the image to enlarge it

Take it slow at first and then after you get it down start to bring up your speed. A metronome would be very beneficial if you have one to use. If not then tap your foot or something.

Play around with these and come up with some of your own scales if you would like. Over time you will understand how greatly important this exercise is to your guitar playing.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Where to begin

I mentioned in an earlier post that Crazy Train is a great place for a guitarist to start so here is the guitar tab.

Click on images to enlarge

This is the introduction from the CD version of the song. I think that learning this song will help you greatly with using your ring and pinky fingers. Use your pointing finger on the beginning notes and then use your ring and pinky on the following notes. Do not cheat. The point is to strengthen your fingers to the point that they become stronger and in time it feels more natural. Transitioning to the chords at the end is a great way to practice as well.

If you are a person who is new to guitar tab the idea is simple. The top is actual music notes but the bottom is the tab. There is a line for every string on the guitar. The lowest line is the lowest sounding string. The highest line naturally is the highest sounding string. The numbers on the string indicate what fret number to place your fingers. Simple right? I hope so. To make it even simpler, and this is not always the case, the number 2's are your pointing finger. The number 4's are your ring finger, and the number 5's are your pinky finger except for the cording in the final bar.

That is, like I said, the intro to the CD version of Crazy Train by one of the greatest guitarists I have ever had the privilege to listen to and learn. To hell with "Smoke on the Water". This is a better place to start.

When you play this you need to take it slow and in parts. Don't try and master all of it if you are struggling. The main thing is to get stronger and practice. Speed will come quicker than you think unless you try and rush it. It might sound silly but going slow is actually a quicker way to gain speed.

This next part is the main riff of the song. The key to playing this correctly is to try and hit the chords with your fingers at the same time as opposed to slapping them on one by one. Here is the songs main riff.

A lot of people find this part of the song hard but again if you take it slow and in parts you will do fine. Also do not forget to practice with your mouth. I can't stress that point enough. At the end of this section there are nice little pull offs before Ozzy Starts singing. When I say pull off I mean your finger is on the string and you pull it off causing the note to sound without having to pick it. In this song diagram S means slid and P means pull off.

This main riffs follows through to the solo that I will now add.

For this part of the solo T means Tap on and in this instance you should Tap on with your right hand finger. It doesn't matter what finger you use with your right hand. Use whatever is comfortable so you can still be able to hold the pick and get back to it after the right hand taps are done. The last thing you want to do is drop your pick. The little forward slashes in pairs means to repeat.

Continue

The three notes in (parenthesis) are played but only with slight pressure on the strings so they make a quick sweeping sound but cut off right away. Don't push the strings down to the fret but just press them slightly and keep them suspended above the fret. B means bend and in this instance a whammy bar bend up and down over and over to give it some flare.

Continue

This part contains hammer on and pull off. H mean hammer on. It means to slap your finger hard on the string with out picking in order to make the note sound. This part of the solo is great strength practice for anyone who wants to build strength in this area. You also slide your hand up the neck to get to the following parts. The more this is done the more it will become smooth and more fluid.

Continue

This is the last part of the solo and the most difficult. Don't rush it and don't get discouraged either. What seems hard at first will, over time, become not so difficult. Make sure to take the last part in small chunks that make sense together. There is a really nice scale at the end that will make you feel really great if you can accomplish and learn it properly.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I will include more and more as time goes on. I wanted to start with Crazy Train because it is where I started. If you are a beginner then have lots of patients with the solo. You might want to not even attempt the solo yet until your finger get a little stronger. That is up to you. This guitar tab is very accurate so don't be fooled into thinking someone else has better tab. This tab comes directly from the Original Randy Rhoads guitar book by Wolf Marshall. I have not seen any other that are as accurate.

Next time I think I will have to post some good old Dimebag.

Metallica

I have to address the issue of Metallica so I will do so now.

Metallica was once a great band. I remember when I first heard Master of Puppets. I was playing Castlevania at the time on my Nintendo. I was given the Master of Puppets tape, yes tape, by my friend. He was very adamant that I listen to it. He always liked listening to me play the guitar and wanted me to learn some Metallica. I was addicted before the first song was over. I could not believe how awesome it was. Really heavy and great guitar riffs. A guitar players dream come true. I remember that shortly after that great day I rode my bike down to a record shop here in town called the Last Place on Earth. I purchased Kill Em All and Ride the Lightning with literally only pennies to spare in my pocket.

For the next year I was a Metallica nut. I learned most every song I could. It was refreshing and great fun the entire time. I never was a Kirk Hammet fan but the rhythm guitars for the albums were so great. Metallica during those days were the best at putting changes into there songs. Just when you thought the song was super cool they would always take it a step further and blow your mind again before the song ended.

It is too bad that those days are over. Metallica is now a complete shit band that I wish would just fade away. Everything after about half of the Black Album has done nothing but completely suck. They sold out in the worse way possible. Every time I get asked if I like Metallica I always say, "I use to but not any more".

I have a theory as to why they suck. I think it all started with the death of Cliff Burton. Cliff was probably the creator of most, if not all, of the great music. I never payed much attention to bass players but Cliff really stood out. He would have never allowed Metallica to take the turn that it has. It is my opinion that they still had a bunch of left over material from the Cliff days that eventually ran out half way through the Black Album.

That is of course just my opinion and I am entitled to it. I can't think of any other explanation that would describe the level of suck that they now perform. I have seen Metallica live two times. Once for And Justice For All and again for the Black Album tour. I have to tell you. They sucked both times live. If I am sitting there in the crowd and know that I can play the songs better then there is something wrong. I was not impressed. Especially both times they murdered the solo for the song Master of Puppets. Talk about noise pollution.

Anyway, when I write things for my guitar blog here I try and keep it to things that come up for myself and my guitar playing. Everyone always wants me to play Metallica. I don't mind playing real Metallica but I will always hiss and grunt if I am every asked if I know anything beyond that. I always voice my distaste and let them know I would never play that crap.

That brings me once again to the moronic bar bands. You know the ones I am talking about. They have a slew of Metallica songs to pick from and what do they play?

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Yep, your guessed it. Enter Sandman.

How incredibly stupid is that. Probably the one song on And Justice For All that sucks. Do yourself some justice and don't even bother with this song. It has been done to death. You can't even watch a Hockey game without hearing it on the stupid PA System in the background. Anything that is played during a sporting event is a good hint of a song to stay away from.

Lets get back to another moronic move. How about the sickening drummer. That guy needs to shut up and play the drums. Every time he talks I want to put my foot in his ass. They were getting rich as all hell and this guy starts whining about people downloading Metallica of the internet. I mean really. They were on the road to making tons of cash and he stands up and gets involved in attacking people who download music off the internet. It has not stopped anyone. I do it all the time and always will. If I like something enough I will buy it. If not then I don't. Metallica isn't even good enough to download for free so Lars doesn't have to worry about me.

Then the dip shit washed up drummer has the gull to say, "Metal is Dead". WHAT? Could you repeat that because I can't believe my fucking ears. How stupid is that. Maybe there metal is dead but metal is certainly not dead. Tell Prong, or Soul Fly that one. They would laugh in your face. I couldn't believe it when I heard it. It not only pissed me off but confirmed that Metallica was dead in my book. They can have there fake drones that they have now for fans and stay out of my ears. I will never buy, download, or listen to Metallica ever again. Accept for the Metallica that I grew up with and still love. Cliff would have punched Lars in the face for that one.

If they would have continued and never changed then Metallica would have been one of the greatest bands of all time in my book. It always seems to go sour however. A good thing never really seams to last. At least we had four and one half good Metallica albums and that is better than none.

Rest in piece Metallica because you died with Cliff long ago.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

More clues that no one talks about

I keep thinking of what I do when I play guitar and something else came to my mind. Stretching. No one ever really talks about stretching. The first thing you should do before any type of activity is to stretch. This is just as much true for a musician as it is for an athlete.

Before I play I always open my hand as far as I can and hold it for a few seconds. Then I make a fist and hold it for a few seconds. I do this a half dozen times or so before I grab my guitar. I also make a fist and roll my hands in a circular motion before I once again stretch my open and closed hands.

The important thing that you are doing is allowing your wrists and hands to perform there natural motion. This is very important so that you do not get cramps or the most dreaded for all guitarists. Carpal Tunnel or how every you spell it.

After stretching I like to do the Dimebag warm up. It is a simple exercise that will help your fingers gain strength and endurance. Simply grab the guitar and first tap on and pull off your first and second finger on the first two frets up and down the strings. Strike each string one time up and the next string down as you progress. D means down pick and U means up pick.

If the image is too small just click on it to open it up larger.

Move up the neck as far as you can stand it. Push yourself a bit but don't hurt yourself. When your notes no longer sound right don't worry. It is about gaining strength not accuracy. Accuracy will come more and more and you will be able to go further and further up the neck and eventually the entire neck up and down.

After using your first and second fingers take a break and do the stretches. When you feel rested you can then use your second and third fingers on the same notes and the same frets as far as you can go as well then repeat the rest and stretching before moving on to your third and forth fingers. DO NOT NEGLECT THE THIRD AND FOURTH FINGERS!!!

Over time you will get very strong hands and you will be able to play longer and longer without hurting. I know this exercise is boring but force yourself to do it each day you play and you will benefit from it.

To take things further you can take a scale you like and move it up and down the neck for the same effect.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Rap is not music

Scratch a record, program some sounds, and talk with it. That is the recipe for C-rap. Glorified Karaoke. That is all we are talking about here. There is no talent. There is no music. It is just a bunch of noise created by a propaganda machine, known as the music industry, and then some can't talk straight limp brain puts his moronic life lessons over the top of it all. Splash in some subliminal messages and make a video using half dressed women all glittered up and wallah. You just made the world a better place. NOT!

Why on earth do people listen to this C-rap?

I will tell you why. They do not know a shred about music in anyway, shape, or form. They allow the world to dumb them down more and more to the point of completely being musically handicapped. Anyone could do it. ANYONE! There is not one single aspect of C-rap that could not be done by anyone at all. It is an enemy of music.

As a matter of fact there are a ton of people who are doing it. You see here is the recipe.

You buy a box for about fifty dollars or more depending on how many different songs you want it do generate. Then you buy a mic and plug it in an BOOM. You are a C-rap star. That is all you need to do. You don't even need to be able to speak well. You can mumble and yeah ah yeah ah all you want to. The only difference between you and the other limp brain on the television and radio is that the other limp brain got lucky. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time or maybe his crack dealer happened to be in the right place at the right time. It really doesn't matter. It is the worlds easiest job that pays way too much.

If you happen to be one of those people who are going to try and tell me that there is more involved in C-rap then let me just stop for one second and address you for a moment.

Okay. Back to the issue. If you are listening to or know someone who is listening to C-rap then stop yourself and them. Do it now before you get lost in the abyss of musical stupidity. Once you get trapped there. You will be forever ignorant and never musically inclined for the rest of your life. I have to say that if you are a C-rap listener and are still reading this then maybe you have a chance. Maybe. There is still that incredibly hostile chance that if you do get into real music you will poison it with C-rap influences and you would then be in the category of musical traitor.

A musical traitor is of the worse kind. They know a little about music but allow the dark side of low brained C-rap to infiltrate there subconscious mind. They are the ones who fall victim to the onslaught of popularity.
(Translation: Complete poser)
Some of the musicians I have loved over the years have done this to myself and I have to say I will always hate them for it. There is a reason Anthrax sucks. It is called mixing metal with C-rap.

The only thing that could possibly be even more sickening would be to have to listen to Country mixed with C-rap. Ehhhhhh. Double whammy of complete and utter vomit.

I should not have to right a blog about this nonsense. You people in the world had better get with the program and start showing a dislike for these things. Accepting it makes you part of the problem. If you are out at the club and someone plays it on the universal radio or something start to boo. Get other people to follow suit. If a car drives by pumping loud bass no different than the last guy then give him a big thumbs down sign to show him your distaste. If some girl starts talking about how she likes some C-rap artist ask her if her brain actually fell out of her head or has she not considered that thinking for herself was an option. If you notice a C-rap CD close to the check out counter put your stuff down and say, "I change my mind. I didn't know you supported musical abortion."

Here is my bottom line. C-rap is noise that takes away from music. It causes more people, especially young people, to become musically ignorant. If you are into it then you are a low brained musical moron. If you are not into it then I am sorry I wasted your time. At the least you will be in agreement and I would welcome more examples of how to get rid of C-rap in the comments section below. Any comments that are pro musical abortion will be promptly deleted thank you very much. So don't bother and just go back to downloading torrents of Dr. Gay or whatever you would like to think it is called.

Friday, April 16, 2010

The emotion of guitar

There is one thing that is very important while playing an instrument.

Emotion

Are you thinking happy thoughts, sad, angry, or scared? These are important questions that need to be in your subconscious at all times while playing guitar. It is the essence of your music.

I always see my music as a movie in my head. Maybe I am feeling a car chase or funeral setting. It doesn't really matter what it is. It just matters that it is something. Otherwise you are going to come out monotone or not have any feel to the notes you are striking.

The most beautiful pieces of music in the world are the ones that give off there emotion to the listener. Pink Floyd comes to mind as one of the most memorable emotional rides that I have ever listened to. These emotions most definitely can be heard and felt by people who are listening to the music. It is as important live as it is in a studio. It is another piece of the puzzle that helps set you above or below the rest.

Changing emotion can be a very useful tool within a song or throughout an album as well. Making the person feel like they are on a journey through your music can greatly give the listener a wonderful and memorable experience.

The next time you are playing try and think about what you are feeling or what the notes are making you feel.

Nine Inch Nails Halo Shortage

I have been on a quest with my wife for sometime now to find all of the Nine Inch Nails Halos. As it turns out. We have all but one. Some of the Halo numbered CD's are easy to get but there are a few that are not because of being published in other countries or a lower number of them being printed.

The elusive Halo that we have yet to find is the CD Called Only. It is easy to find the LP but not very easy to find the CD. It is a German Import with only a few tracks on it but we only see it every so often on Ebay or Amazon. We will eventually buy this Halo as it is Rare but not impossible to find.

Then there is the announcement that Nine Inch Nails has sold all of the touring equipment and are done touring. If they are done for good or not is anyone's guess but this is a huge deal to NIN fans all around the world. Trent Reznor has announced that the band will continue to make studio albums and that means that there will most likely be more Halo's to collect in the future.

As for the cruelly named "Only" CD. I guess that will come in time. Finding it is one thing. Finding it in mint or new condition is another. There are many look alike "Only" CD's but the particular import from Germany has been lost in action since we have began looking a few months ago.

I will update in a future post to let you know how the hunt has turned out. Once it is collected then it will be the quest for a second copy of each Halo because the plan is to sell these CD's in a huge Halo Collection Pack and make a huge amount of money. These Nine Inch Nails CD's can go for quite a bit of money even when they are sold individually. I can just imagine what an entire collection would go for.

Huge amounts I am hoping. Till next time.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Bring out your soul and leave the radio OFF

I know that it can be fun to learn songs that you really like. It is a great way to learn. You pop a CD into the CD player and get your guitar tuned just right and practice with your favorite music. Most the time during my early guitar playing years I started to realize that while playing with a CD there were many little things that I previously over looked. The length to hold a note. The distance of a bend. The tone of a scream. These are the little things that separate you from the rest. It does not take too much for someone to learn how to play a song but it shows that you stand out above the norm when you can focus on and understand how to play with feel.

Playing with a metronome can greatly help a person with timing and train up there speed. It is a good way to help clean your playing up. Playing with an extra edge and getting the right feel to the music can not be achieved while using a metronome. At least not when you are learning. It is okay to shut the thing off and free yourself from any outside influence. It causes a person to focus on mostly timing. It takes away from being able to let loose and add some feel to what you are playing. I know that it not always true but when you are learning I think it is important to have only yourself to rely on and see what happens. When your jamming with a CD you can learn a lot more about the feel of the song you are playing but even still you are not going to get enough of yourself into the music.

I know that some people think playing the song exactly is what should be done and I agree most of the time but I also think that any guitarist should have his own stamp on everything he plays. Including some other persons music. People have to remember that they are not a robot. They are human. We all have individual minds and souls. If you ask me I will tell you that those two things are the most important part of any musician. If one can learn to tap into that then one can easily stand out and become a distinct individual while playing there guitar or whatever instrument. It does not matter which.

You see. The whole reason why I am even writing these posts is because all I hear all the time is a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy etc... I will not listen to the radio ever. The radio is poison to a true musician. I don't care what anybody says. Go ahead and turn on the radio and listen to the latest rock or metal music. You tell yourself if you hear much of a difference. There is too much music out in the world to chain yourself to the radio. Especially with the internet which of course you have because you are reading this right now. If you are a radio listener then I challenge you to not do so for an entire year. I guarantee your musical taste will become more unique and you will have a far greater understanding of what you really like and how you really would like to sound. If all you get is the same crap everyone else gets then your just a drone and will not have any real feel to your playing beyond the next guy. One of my favorite bands is Prong. If you listen to Prong then you already understand what I am getting at. If you do not listen to Prong then I am first mad at you and second urging you to do so.

Prong is a band that sets the standard. They are the band that other bands follow. They are one of the most unique and amazing bands that is still making music today. Look how many bar bands murder the song "Snap your fingers Snap your neck". This is a good example of how not to be a musician. I have never seen a single bar band that plays this song correctly. Ever. The very reason they are playing that song and not any other prong song is because they listen to the radio. If they had a shred of common sense they would understand that Prong has far greater songs that could be played instead of playing the same songs and set list that every other bar band plays. If you go to bars with bands like this then please stop going. At least start griping about how typical it is.

Sorry about that. I hate bar bands with no real talent. There are too many of them. In the small town where I live it is all I have ever seen. I have to go to Minneapolis if I want to at least hear some unique bands and different music. Where I live it is either radio music or the blues. I HATE THE BLUES. I know most of the music I play myself is of course influenced by the blues but NOT DIRECTLY. If you like the blues then fine whatever. I don't.

There is another very major part of bringing out your own feel and sound and that is your equipment itself. Not just what kind of gear but how you set it up. Music gear is expensive and there is a lot to consider when designing your sound. To this day I do not have everything that I would like to have. I will list what I have so you know where I am coming from.

I play mostly one guitar but I have four guitars. They are:

Westone Spectrum LX
Dean Dime From Hell
Washburn Black Jack
Kramer ZX20

My amplifier

Marshall Valvestate VS100

My effects

Digitech GNX 3

My Digitech is a floor processor which I plug directly into the input of my Marshall head. My Digitech has every effect you could think of and I use a mixture of mostly

Delay
Chorus
Sustain
Compression
Distortion

I mix the effects of my GNX 3 with the settings on my Marshall. My Marshall is set like this

Gain 10
Contour 5
Base 5
Middle 5
Treble 8 or 9

My Marshall also has a mix of Reverb, FX Mix, and Overdrive.

Using all my gear along with my guitar itself gives me a wide range of sound. I have been tweaking my sound my entire guitar life and still do so to this day. You should always be experimenting with your own sound and adding that very thought to your journey of becoming the type of guitarist that you want to become.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Playing accuretly

The most important thing there is for a guitarist is to play clean and accurate. Most of the time when I hear someone play guitar they are very messy and careless. It is important to keep your cool so to speak and hit the notes correctly and not act like some knob who does nothing with his guitar but try and act cool. An example of a poser guitarist would be the guy from NIN. The guy is useless.

Anyway, take things slow and start off by being able to play first with your voice. I don't care if you hum or jent jent ja jent like I do but it is important that you first know what you are playing. If you can hum it then you can play it. That might sound a little dumb but it most certainly is not. It does not matter where I am or what I am doing. I am usually softly practicing my guitar as I walk around, watch TV, or go to the bathroom. My point is to keep what you want to learn on your mind because when it comes time to sit down and play you will be more prepared.

Most people start with the same crappy song they learn at some crappy music center that is over charging for guitar lessons. "Smoke on the water". LAME

I have to say that I think that sets beginning standards to low. All that song has is a bunch of power cords and not much else. If you like that kind of garbage then fine but if you don't then start with at least something cooler like Iron Man. The first song that I learned how to play was Crazy Train. This is a great song to get a person started. It makes use of all your fingers and is a great exercise. I am not talking about the entire song for beginners. I am talking about the part that goes Da Da Nay Da Nay Da Nay Nah Nay Nay Nay Nah Nay Nay Nay Nah.
That probably made no sense at all. Whatever. If you were practicing with your mouth it would so BLAH.

My point is to get away from what everyone else is doing. I have had this situation happen to me so many times. It goes like this.

Your sitting around with a bunch of people and one of your friends goes. "Hey Kent. You should play your guitar. So and so has never heard you play before." So I pick up my guitar and play something really kick ass like "Revolution is my name" by Pantera and after playing this incredibly intricate song this schmuck has the bone head question of, "Can you play smoke on the water?" I mean really. Give me a break. I just shredded a Pantera song and your wondering if I can play smoke on the water. That is just stupid. I usually proceed to tell the individual that of course I could but will not do so because it is against my proper guitar upbringing.

I kid you not. This type of scenario happens all the time. My point is that every wannabe guitarist who has no clue only knows the stupid smoke on the water nonsense because that is the norm. If you want to be typical than that is fine by me but have some common sense and be a musician with something more unique than the next guy okay. PLEASE. There are too many copies of really crappy musicians out there and we don't need any more of them so do us all a favor.

Back to my original point. Play clean and accurate and if your starting out pick a song that is not to hard or to typical. There are plenty of songs to choose from that don't require an expert to show you how to play. Use your ears as well as your hands. Listen to the notes that you are producing. If you find yourself really flubbing things up then slow down. Speed will come later and much faster if you understand that you need to move slow in the beginning. There is no rush.

A great rhythm to get your up and down picking going is the song "A New Level" by Pantera off of the "Vulgar Display of Power" album. It starts out with some easy slow progression and then switches to a really powerful low end rhythm that will keep a beginner busy for a while. Not to mention that it sounds very cool once you accomplish it correctly. Take that song and practice it all the time. It will help improve your picking style greatly. Experiment with it and branch it off into something of your own. Do not ever forget to do that. The best things that you will ever play in this world are the things that you have created yourself. Other peoples material can only be copied. Your very own material has your very guitar essence within it. That is so very important to develop.

Guitar Tunings

This is my main guitar. It is a Westone Spectrum LX. I have had it since the 80's and boy do I love this guitar. It has really taken a beating yet it just keeps on going for me. Not many people know about these guitars. I have played a few different brands of guitar but the fast action and great pick up quality is the best on my Westone. I really do love it. Here are the specs for those of you who really want to know.

Solid Maple body, Hard Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard with graphite nut
25.5 inch scale, 22 frets.
Pickups - two Magnaflux II UBC (Neck and bridge) and one Magnaflux IV (Mid)
Master volume control (Push/pull for coil tap), two tone controls (Push/pull for mid pickup on/off and bridge pickup phase reverse)
Bendmaster FT trem with FT string lock

My floating bridge went to hell eventually but I am not much of a whammy bar user in the first place. I only use whammy when I make recordings to add some effects, drops, or screams.

I understand that many people love to play guitar. I started playing back when I was wearing Pac-Man pajamas in the early 80's. That means that I have about 27 or so yrs. playing experience. I have learned over the yrs. that a lot of people when learning to play seem to gravitate to the soloing and don't spend enough time on rhythm guitar. This blog will be about mostly rhythm guitar. I prefer very low heavy tones when I am playing but when I get the 80's feel back inside I always return to the higher tunings. A regularly tuned guitar is usually from low string to high

E - A - D - G - B - E

bands like Metallica and White Lion for example use this tuning most the time. Another tuning type would be.

D# - G# - C# - F# - A# - D#

This is the same tuning only one note lower on each string. An example would be guitarists like Randy Rhoads, George Lynch, or Yngwie Malmsteen.

The # symbol means sharp. So C# means one note higher than C. Or one could say Db. The symbol b means flat. So Db means one note lower than D. I will stick to C#. All the notes in sequance are as follows.

E - F - F# - G - G# - A - A# - B - C - C# - D - D# - E

When you tune differently you also get a difference in pinch harmonics or more or less bend on a string. Now those two tunings or for a more 80's style music but that does not mean you cannot use them to this day of course.

The tunings that I use most of the time are much lower. I use

D - G - C - F - A - D

My favorite band, which is Prong, uses this type of tuning a lot. I, as well as Prong for example, also like to drop the low string down to C.

C - G - C - F - A - D

Which is referred to as Drop D tuning. It can apply to any standard tuning you use.

Standard
E - A - D - G - B - E

Drop D
D - A - D - G - B - E

Another tuning I use a lot is the lowest my guitar can handle. It is

C# - F# - B - E - G# - C#.

Any lower than that and my guitar strings are too loose and it sounds terrible. One way to be able to go lower and have a thicker song is to have a thicker string. The strings that I use are Ernie Ball Super Slinky. The gauge that I use are

.09
.11
.16
.24
.32
.42

You can go as thin as .08 or as thick as, well I don't know. .56 or something. If you want to go thicker than that you might as well play the bass.

There are of course many different types of tunings. Each with its own unique sound and feel. Most of the heavy music of today is always in the lower tunings. It gives a thicker heavy tone naturally. However it is not against the rules to tune higher and still play heavy. Metallica, for example, usually tunes standard E. They use to be a pretty heavy band. As for nowadays who really cares because Metallica sucks but they will suffice for my example.

Having a good tuner is a very effective way to tune differently. I don't care how well of a trained ear a person might have. It is still difficult to tune accurately form one type to the next. The best way would be to have a guitar for each type of tuning style but we all know that most of us are not made of money. It would certainly be nice to have all the guitars needed though wouldn't it?

Anyway, play around with tunings. If you are trying to learn a song and it doesn't seem to be coming out correctly then maybe you are not tuned the way you should be. I usually listen for the lowest note and then I determine weather it is standard or dropped D. I am not going to get into how you go about doing that. The purpose of this post is simply to get you to think about the different types of tunings. An experienced guitarist would already know but someone who is not to far in there quest will greatly benefit form this.

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