Wanna Learn How to Play "Need You Now" by Lady A? READ ON.

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OKay, First of all. There's your cheat sheet down below if you don't wanna stop and start their CD 20,000 times in each minute. Thank God we don't have to do that with cassette tapes anymore. Well, unless you're Mr. T's cousin or something.

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/l/lady_antebellum/need_you_now_crd.htm

Anyway, bad 80s joke. MOVING ON!

heheh.

So this song shifts back and forth from "F (major)" to "Am (minor)" but it's a little different than other hit songs or smash singles in that - it doesn't have 4 chords for the VERSE of the song. It's simply relying on all the other lead guitar and maybe a Rhodes piano lightly following along with the chord structure.

So play the INTRO with all the filler music along with the CD to get the starting point down solid. Usually, what I do with a cover song when I'm working it out for the first time is:

1) Get used to "the way the chords feel" as they change on the tips of my fingers.
2) You're trying to develop a) muscle memory & b) "sight/eyes" on the left hand.
3) I only STRUM each chord once...
4) Divide your concentration 80% on your left hand 20% for your right hand. Rhythm is secondary to being ON BEAT.
5) On the other 3 beats in a 4/4 time signature - i sing the lyrics real SLOW...
6) Next I process half or all of the next line's LYRICS...
7) Once I get familiar with the VERSES - I practice the 4th verse line and then 1st CHORUS line.
8) After that, I'll "PALM MUTE" the verses and develop a nice, FULL strumming pattern. This ACCENTS and SEPARATES your  structure of the cover.
9) Remember to KEEP YOUR TONE and vocal style.
10) Right hand rhythm DETERMINES your GENRE. (more blogging on this later!)


11) FINALLY, use tricks like STACCATO to beef up your full renditon!  

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Rockband T-Shirt GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will Steven Tyler Be an Ellen Jr. or a Voice of Rock to Redeem the Corny Idol Factor ONCE AND FOR ALL?

 Well, we really can't answer that question just yet. So let's get to speculating. HAHA! I think that's what blogging is all about by the way. It's all just speculation, but the great thing about a "web log" is that this is what connects us in a new way beyond mere in person bickering. It's logged, it's documented, it's plain as day for all who read, look and respond. It's really a new way bonding with our fellow man and woman. It's objective AND subjective.



Below is DOMINIC PATTEN'S hot of the press and seemingly highly controversial report of the possibilities in future 'Idol' fans' hearts, minds and eyes:

A HARSH REVIEW OF AEROSMITH'S FRONTMAN JOINING AMERICAN IDOL? >>> CLICK HERE TO IF THE VERDICT WAS FAIR.
 
PS - he's from here too: www.TheWrap.com

I say, unless you know exactly what goes on behind the production and cutting and splicing of video, i wouldn't judge or look too much into it for now. I'm more of the respectful reviewer. I like solid results and when the verdict is in on who will be the new Idol judge, I'll be watching along with my wife.

When it comes down to the black and white of the heart of the matter, the only thing that really matters is how much GOOD can the artists that are featured on AMERICAN IDOL, CREATE and SUSTAIN. Or at least, that - is what matters to me. People like David Archuleta and Crystal Bowersocks are the real artists AND - they're humble as all getout!!!!! :o)



READ ABOUT STEVEN TYLER AND HIS ROCKIN' BAND, AEROSMITH HERE - IN THEIR OFFICIAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY!!!!:

Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith

Today, i'll let you in on a secret that songwriters and coverbands have known for years. Music Theory - is the key to unlock the inner workings of the songs we know and love.


Here's the book on the left. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<


As you can see, it's color coded. The top portion that's yellow covers where music starts. The "Key of C". This point is known i nthe world of written music, espeicallly on piano. AKA "Middle C" as the least amount of tension or centerpoint. It's the Lodestar of understanding HOW music WORKS.


Buy this and you'll be ahead of SO many others. This is for ANY type of music. From Folk to Rock, Jazz and Country, Classical and even Death Metal. It's all the same. Even if you don't even know what you're playing - music theory contains the reason, logic, answers, and pathway to being a true professional musician.

And the great thing is that it's not as hard as the average person thinks. Even BETTER, the book is litterally less than a tenth of an inch. Maybe around 20 pages. AWESOME RIGHT?!!!!!

How to Network Effectively (IN MUSIC OR ANY OTHER FIELD INVOLVING CREATIVE ART/THOUGHT)

First off, you really have to develop your own personality first before you start trying to sell a product, your artwork, songs or even a service.

Next, you have to believe in the product like you know your name. Like it's a fact.

Then, you need to become animated with it's description - because in life - you sell EVERYTHING. point in case: ever had a friend tell you something interesting and then you told someone else to let them know about it. BAM - that fact was SOLD to you. You believed it - in it even.

So it's the same for almost anything else. Attention is said to be the, MOST BASIC FORM OF LOVE. And when you communicate what your selling or networking about, with a smile - it speaks volumes about everything that's going on behind the scenes of your mind, heart, and gut.

For most people, they will never know what it's like to be 100% passionate and totally committed to something - to the level of mastery. But for people like us (you know who you are), it's just something that we really don't want to choose NOT to do. How can we not - be ourselves. What this comes down to is being true to yourself will allow you to be true to other people. But if you're living a lie - or worse, selling one...then that's where lives start to get incongruent and out of balance.

2010 seems to be a year to gain and maintain a sense of added balance. And what better way to do that than to give back to the people who you care about. Or even reverse of that - pay it forward; makes sure a complete stranger benefits from a talent that you possess, and never communicate with them again. make it completely anonymous. don't give the other person the opportunity to "pay you back".

PAY IT FORWARD.

Teach someone something that will help them to "fish". Find solutions. That's what winners do - they have no other choice but to find success and blessing wherever they go and with whatever they're involved with.
I recommend this book/CD/DVD called Effortless Mastery. It discusses ways to think about loving what you're doing and becoming so enthralled with it all that it becomes fun. It's the farthest thing away from "Work" that you've experienced. It highlights the simplicity of life and the pursuit of happiness and a trade or hobby where you can become a master of something in a new way - something you never thought possible. But the key is that your thoughts on the matter is what this book is focusing on improving. WE, ARE THE CHANGE IN THE WORLD. :o)

SINGING THE U.S. ANTHEM @ THE CEASAR'S PALACE!!!!!

Okay, so during my last visit to Iraq, I heard about an opportunity to serve my country in an even more unique and musical way. Definitely cool.

So I'm in Iraq - doing my job - Making amazing friends and learning the language... and I overhear someone saying they need a singer. That's all i heard. So, BAM! My mind starts going - usually in the military, it's all numbers meetings, strategy, planning, training, more training, computer-based training, training to train better...OK - YOU GET THE POINT. But this kind of opportunity was rare and i knew it the minute I heard the words come out of the person's mouth. I wait for them to finish their sentence and enter into the seemingly background basic, "shoot the breeze" style conversation. Kind of like that elevator music that you start humming and realize it's a lounge version of Lady Gaga's new hit song. ;o)

One minute, I was sitting on a bench, trying to take a break from the relentless sun - the next minute - I had my first national anthem singing gig. It was crazy.
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We end up talking about the specifics of the performance and details of the ceremony's layout and without qualifying or doing an on the spot "sing-off". I guess I just displayed the confidence that they were looking for. And honestly, it felt pretty natural, even magical - some would call it fate or destiny. But i just think that if you focus on what you love to do long enough - things in your life start to change TOWARDS that task or hobby. I'm not trying to discredit the work that goes into everything. I'm just saying that if you attract positive people and things into your life, if you give and don't look for gifts in return - sometimes that's the only way to get ahead in life. It's gotta benefit others and help in a unique way.

Since then, being on an email distribution list made up of about 27 choice people - I feel like I belong to something really great. We never get paid for what we do - but we DO get those warm feelings of patriotism and intense pride for our Flag and the Freedoms we enjoy. It's mainly by the example and sacrifice of those that have served before us that we've been able to grow our faith in what we do.

NOTE: SPECIALIZED TRAINING CAN BE GIVEN IF YOU'D LIKE TO PURSUE THIS MUSICAL AVENUE. WE'LL WORK ON FINDING THE RANGE OF YOUR NATURAL VOICE AND THEN WORK ON WIDENING THE CUSHIONS OF YOUR VOCAL CHORDS.



IF YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR MY RENDITION (star-spangled banner) go to: www.youtube.com/committedmusic

OR GO STRAIGHT TO THE VIDEO BY COPYING AND PASTING THE LINK BELOW:

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

How Important are Guitar Effects (FX) in YOUR Music?

This is my guitar effects processor. It lets me create sounds that i never would have even dreamed of, but when i hear them come out of the speakers, it really helps me to write a song in a certain feel. From the Reverb setting that is in the picture, which has a huge stadium sort of echo - to something very lo-fo (low- fidelity) that sounds tingy and small, very subdued. The Reverb is normally used for things like huge guitar solos or even just to make the Chorus sound "bigger" than the Verses. 

However, there are a few down sides to using a huge guitar processor to model your sound after the feel you're going for. It's very much possible and somewhat EASY to lose yourself in all the programming and tweaking. But the plue to this is that, it REALLY DEVELOPS YOUR "EAR-TRAINING"! You learn to spearate the tones. You learn to pick out the drums - put them aside for a moment, then you can hear what the bass guitar or low end pitches and notes are doing.

See the process of hearing music in a new way depends on your ears. Just like the knowledge that you have now, someone else might not pickup on the details that you know to look, listen or feel for.

Check out Don Ellis (SOURCE: verbatim from http://www.wikipedia.org/)

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Don Ellis (July 25, 1934 - December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of unusual time signatures. Later in his life he worked as a film composer, among other works contributing a score to 1971's The French Connection and 1973's The Seven-Ups.



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Legacy


While Ellis's explorations with elements of form and content in jazz were undeniably innovative, his delivery of these innovations has caused many to dismiss him as pretentious or gimmicky. He used to explain to his audience how certain time signatures were divided, often with humorous twists (like joking that "33 222 1 222" is "just the area code"); his sense of humor often caused critics to think he didn't take his own music "seriously".



However, evidence shows that Ellis was a serious and dedicated musician who not only had high performance standards, he also placed great importance on teaching music. He formed a youth band in Los Angeles, led by Glenn Ferris. Sidemen such as Stu Blumberg further credit Ellis for preparing them for the idiosyncrasies of unconventional music in film soundtracks. Tenor player Jim Snodgrass remarked, "I think in many ways Don was a teacher. One thing his music taught me was that I could play anything I absolutely had to."



In spite of this, the popularity of Ellis's music waned considerably after his death. Besides Tom Scott, John Klemmer, Glenn Ferris and Milcho Leviev, few of his former sidemen have achieved a significant level of fame, and Ellis's compositions are rarely played. Columbia Records, responsible for originally releasing seven of Ellis's albums, only reissued Electric Bath (Ellis's biggest seller) in 1997 and stubbornly refused to reissue any others. The bulk of his recordings were unavailable until 2000, when labels like Koch Jazz, Wounded Bird and Mighty Quinn Productions started reissuing Ellis's big label releases. Today, almost all of his albums have been reissued on CD and are readily available.