Guitars = Money + fact + True Story

QUESTION: if money wasn't an issue, what guitar would you buy?

ME: a Rainsong Black Ice (then I'd paint it all white!)




You know, money really isn't the issue. i think sometimes, we have to get to a certain point in the love we feel for music and playing our instruments before we can blow a thousand bucks on a piece of wood. Because, ultimately - that's what it comes down to until the perceived value of that guitar goes up.

AKA, you've gotta make it past the learning curve on any instrument to get to a place where you can save for anything over $300.00!

Also, you've got to see the magic and blessings associated with your cultivated gift to understand the value that the guitar will be at - when it blesses other's lives. Especially your family and friends.

How amazing would it be to play at a party that one of your friends is having, get 2 hours worth of cover songs, gently insert some original songs of yours in each setlist, and finally - to express yourself in the way you perform them?

OBVIOUSLY you've thought about how cool it would be to play one of your favorite songs, but did you know that about 7/10 times, someone else has already done the hardest part of the song-covering process?

go to www.ultimate-guitar.com & search for your top TEN absolute favorite songs, then email me here for more help on making those songs, pages in your cover song binder!!!: troyinlasvegas@gmail.com

To Collaborate or NOT to collaborate...that's a Darn Good Question

One fact that is immensely true is that, YOU are the only person who can translate the music inside your head, to a CD through writing it out, TAB-ing it, or scribbling down the chord diagrams.

 It's up to you! Nobody can act on behalf of your musical voice and presence. You are you.

These affirmational statistics about the real creating power you hold are innately a part of you as a human-being. Even if you don't play an instrument yet - there is music living inside of you.

Ultimately, I know this because of my personal and positive musical attributes: healthy Beliefs, strong moral Values, personal Identity and personally created Reality have been helped by one book in particular, "Zen Guitar" by Philip Toshio Sudo. Check his book out and have fun with the lessons because it's one of those lifetime books! Inside it covers the reasoning behind the authors purpose for writing it. Philip says, "In the Zen Guitar Dojo, we're not so much concerned with the how of guitar-playing as we are the why". So this is the key focus for your efforts as a new guitarist. A popular Zen phrase says, from one principle learned, you'll be able to learn a thousand. That's the same with guitar; as you get better at guitar, you'll be learning how to sing as an accompaniment.

Check out my link to the left on discovering the "why" of guitar-playing. In my opinion, it's a really fun and interesting read that every guitarist should experience. To me, books really engage YOUR specific brain. There aren't any "cliff notes" for the gifts you'll receive by "taking your brain by the hand" and helping it "try on" these ideas and ways of thinking about guitar playing & music writing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, VISIT: www.zenguitar.com

Buying Used Guitars

Alright! You've decided to buy a used guitar. Sweet.

There are a lot of used guitars out there in Las Vegas & even if you're not from Nevada, there are usually at least a dozen guitars in each pawn shop in your city. For the most part, these guitars aren't in the best condition & the prices are somewhat marked up. Yep, pawn shops are trying to make their money too! They're almost as sneaky as a used car salesperson.

So! If you're looking for something to help you get past the "learning curve", take a friend that definitely knows how to pick out a quality guitar - that way you don't end up with a totally crappy hunk of wood. It might "look" good (i.e. the paint job or design) but it's what's inside and how well it's been maintained over the years/since it was first made that counts.

Usually, the strings on these used pawn shop guitars are beyond dead - meaning...you can't even tune the strings to see if the guitar itself is worth the money they're asking. So it's a really tough battle to find a "keeper". The old saying that, "it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack..." - i can somewhat be applied here.

Your best option would be to buy from a small or large music store. One that has consignments or "used gear". If they don't have it advertised, try getting to know the owners or the people who make the calls & decisions like that. It's vital to form a good solid relationship with musicians in your community. that's how "success" is "found". From here, you can let them know what you're looking for so they can keep an eye out for your new, errr....used guitar. heheh. ;)

Ultimately, it comes down to caring. If you care about the people you interact with, genuinely want them to success as much or more than you - it can only help you in the world of music. Whether you want to just learn cover songs for yourself & family - or, you want to get "Oprah Rich", no one has ever gotten anywhere of worth by cutting corners. There has to be value in whatever you're doing or buying. And if it's not worth it, it's just NOT worth it. Trust me.

About 2 weeks ago i found Washburn acoustic guitar at the Summerlin Guitar Center. It was marked $99, no joke. I put it on layaway & was puzzled why it was so inexpensive. Well, after getting it home & getting new D' Addarrio strings put on it, i found out that the bolt on the 4th string's tuning peg was stripped and wouldn't tighten against the headstock of the guitar. Also, the holes on the bridge looked like they had been super-glued to keep the string pegs from slipping out. CRAZY.

So you see, even what seemed like a great used gear deal - was in fact, not as great of a "score" as i had thought. I'll probably have to invest in some new tuning keys/machineheads for the acoustic but i really like the tone of the guitar & it has a "root beer" color to it! All in all, not to bad of a find. It's just really easy to get stuck with a crappy guitar. The better route would be to save up for at least a $3-600 acoustic electric guitar or try a fully electric guitar for around $125-200.

The main point that has to be understood is that - buying a guitar, is an investment. It's kind of like buying a Harley Davidson motorcycle - they only APPRECIATE in value over the years. And when it comes down to it, when you meet the right guitar for you... YOU'LL KNOW IT.

Tuning & Ear Training MUSTS

Tuning your guitar as close to pitch as possible can be one of the best things you can do for your guitar. Think of it like this - what you think you sound like as you hear your own voice isn't actually what others are hearing. this is because your laranyx & vocal cords are vibrating so close to your head & ears that you percieve a different frequency or pitch that the note your singing is acutally registering at.

A tuner on the other hand, is never off. 440 Hertz is your A string frequency, and that doubled is 880 Hertz which is that same A note but an octave higher on your sheet music. Pretty sweet huh?

So, to develop your ear training. Practice tuning with your electronic tuner first after putting new strings on, then see how close you can get to match the tones you heard before. This is crutial in the development of your ear training. :)

Chord Transitioning

Hello!

After enduring a rigorous trial by fire in training with the US Air Force, as of Feb. 11th 2010 - I'm now a Staff Sergeant (E-5). It was definitely a learning experience thru the academic days and long nights staying up reading but i'm glad to have internalized and committed to my life, the tools and knowledge. I know that what i learned will help me be a better supervisor & person. After all, of all the learning we do in this life, it can only serve to help ourselves, our families & others out when they're most in need! IN ESSENCE, THIS IS THE POINT OF PRACTICING WHAT WE KNOW.

Alright, lets get a quick lesson in for you to master now that i'm back on the blogosphere!

Tune your guitar up & start practicing your chords that you know you know. The solid stuff. The ones you don't even have to think about.

Now here's the kicker - the goal with this "quick practice" is to use chords like A, D & G...and run through them starting at around 60 BPMs (beats per minnute) with your eyes closed.

Do this with the "A chord".

Practice looking at the fretboard and visualize the fingers pressing down on exactly the right frets for the "A Chord". Now open your eyes and make the chord. Now reclose your eyes while still keeping the chord shape and its notes fretted.

Now, this is the point where your closed eyes need to "remember" what you just saw after your visualization technique we just did. okay?

Now apply the A chord over and over with this model.

The above, helps you memorize each chord WITHOUT the use of your eyes. It allows your EARS to train themselves properly. And finally your HANDS almost develop a sixth sense.


THINK OF HOW THE BLIND USE BRAILLE!



Focus on "seeing" with your fingertips. Feel the changes as the inside portions of your left hand's fingers change/ travel from one chord to the next.


ALRIGHT! - so in theory, you should be able to fret any earthly chord in existance, then fret another chord - and be able to change freely between the two. So for starters, like i was saying in the beginning of this lesson, you'll be doing this with Chords A,D & G.

A secondary goal after you accomplish this will be to increase your tempo/speed at which you play the Chord changes.

COLLABORATING with Other Musicians - is it for YOU?

I believe each artist, involved in whatever medium, has to keep their ducks in a row first before approaching other people about collaborations. Part of that comes from the experience gained from learning other people's songs, & another part comes from the point when your desires reach a point where you feel the innate, internal need to fulfill yourself by composing original songs & recording them.

All in all, when approaching other people for combined projects, it's a great idea to have around 15 songs that are loosely structured (they can be solid as well) so you can focus in on the vision that you want to make concrete. sometimes, musically, if you don't have the above things, certain musical mis-communications develop. The vision becomes blurred & the stresses of the creative writing process & seemingly endless revisions & secondary drafts are worked out.

It's vital, essential...heck - it should be mandatory that a band or two people collaborating should be hanging out & having fun, shooting the breeze around 40% versus the 60% work that you'll all be doing, b/c when it gets down to the pressures that are associated with recording & just simply keeping the music "together" & "tight", it takes an understanding that needs to come from a place where you KNOW, that the person on the other end of that musical idea, IS YOUR FRIEND.

I've seen & heard about so many bands that fall apart by not adhering to these reality-based tips. they exist for a reason. & if we don't utilize them, we're setting ourselves up for a lot of hurt, wasted time, & overall - personal & social failure in the local scenes & within the grand range of influence in the music industry as a whole.

I'll be working on a list of specific tips in my draft blog section to help growing bands & solo musicians. Also if you guys have any yourself, feel free to post them as comments & i'll add them to the list! ;o)

It all starts with 12 notes.

So 12 notes in the chromatic scale are the well-point for every musician that's ever lived and created life from pitch. Creating music is like arranging the musical alphabet on the steering wheel of your car. Letters "A" through "G". Sometimes when you start up your car and try to back out, you might have left your steering wheel turned all the way to the left or right...in that case, if you accelerate/back up too fast, you'll get a rude awakening. That’s kind of like hitting a wrong note. Or when you're writing a song & you can't find the next note to further solidify your composition. Each note that is concrete is litterally like a piece to a puzzle. first you start with finding the end pieces, then you work on the picture and what it really is. finally you fill in the gaps, then you can even transfer the puzzle to a piece of cardboard and flip it on a table, gluing its frail pieces together - that's how you make a permanent puzzle...AND MAKING A SONG ISN'T TOO FAR OFF.



You have to work it out, hit a bunch of wrong notes (or turns) before you find the ones that are highlighted in your mind/head/brain. You have to hear a melody in your head, hum out something - then try as best you can to emulate that on the guitar. Your hands are the translators. The musical knowledge you gain and utilize will be your weapon of choice - for good. For the future of all that will listen to what you have to say musically and lyrically, as an artist.



There's a slight fear that someone's song, album, or level of success will be as good as or better than ours. That is inevitable. But this should fuel and drive us to create all the more passionately. We should be writing songs and whole albums from that place - the place where our hearts reside. The place where we go when a song is on the tip of our tongues or fingers...





And once all of the above is finished, we need to hold fast to what we know to be true: in ourselves, our past, our music and conversely, the caliber of our fans. We need not add people from Greece (unless your style of music applies and/or you wanna book a European Tour thru there LOL).