Guitar Musings

In previous posts, I have complained about miscellaneous aches and pains that I have been experiencing from playing so much.  It became apparent to me that the only time I would get relief was to not play and lay off of the computer for a few days. 

The little light came on above my head and I had an idea when watching Muriel Anderson on YouTube.  I noticed that she was using the classical position using a foot rest or crossing her legs.  Trying to emulate Tommy Emmanuel’s style of both feet on the ground stomping away,  I strayed away from using the classical position.  My foot stool collected dust while my aches and pains began to grow.  The guitar wasn’t supported well enough and I had a tendency to slip on my lap.  I would then contort my body to keep it steady which put a lot of pressure on my arms and back.  After a few songs, I noticed that I began to ache and needed a break.  The frustration as began to grow as well.

After my moment of enlightenment I dusted off the old foot stool and began to play the classical way.  I immediately noticed the difference and was able to play a lot longer and was able to relax.  I have to keep in mind that I always play a bit better when I make a change so we’ll see how this holds up in a week or two.  I’m pretty hopeful that my aches and pains will subside.  Will keep you posted.

A few weeks back, I wrote a post about a guitar repair shop finder on the web, mentioning that I purchased the book “The Acoustic Guitar Adjustment, Care, Maintenance, and Repair,” so I could get a better idea of the inner-workings of my post about a guitar repair shop finder on the web, mentioning that I purchased the guitars.  I have become a firm believer that the more you know about your instrument, the better you will play.  At least that’s one reason why I feel I have improved.

First Thoughts:

After I started reading this book, I began to think that I might have went a bit over my head.  With some chapters like “Disassembly and Reassembly of Guitar bodies,” “Pearl Inlay Technique” and “Finishing and Refinishing”, I was wondering whether I would be able to use any of this information.  This book was definitely meant for someone with some experience in woodworking.

What I Found Useful:

After getting over the initial intimidation, I did find some chapters that I could use for myself.  I was able to utilize “String Action and Tension Rod Adjustment” and “Intonation and Bridging” to tune up and lower the action on my Seagul S6. 

Final Thoughts:

This book is obviously meant for a more experienced repairperson with more than a basic knowledge of guitar repair.  If you are curious about some of the techniques and tools used for some of the more extensive repairs, you might find this a good reference.  It has certainly increased my knowledge/appreciation of my instrument and the Luthiers who repair them.

Links:

http://www.repairmyguitar.com/

There are a ton of guitar lesson sites available for all of us to use.  Some are invaluable tools that I frequent often and others are completely worthless.  If you don’t have the money to pay for online lessons, your chances of running into a worthless site are even better.   I don’t actively look for site to rate but I have stumbled across this and felt it worth a mention.

A guitarist by the name of Rob Bourassa is giving a “7 week primer” on YouTube which will “..enable the student to learn to play by ear.”  It is a course with a weekly lesson video and 5 minute practice companions to help you stay on task.  The first 3 courses covers scales and and fingerpicking (Travis).  I’m running through the lessons myself because I’m curious on what the lessons will bring and  my daughter is learning the guitar and he has great insight on teaching.  Rob has been playing for 40 years and is an incredible guitarist and is a  frequent contributor to the Acoustic Guitar Magazine Forum.  

So if you are just learning or know someone who is, check it out.  What Rob has done is incredibly generous.  Lessons like these would cost thirty to forty dollars if you wanted to get it on DVD.

Rob’s YouTube Lessons

7 Week Lesson Forum Thread

I’m a huge fan of podcasts and video podcasts and I love the the wealth of information that you can obtain from them.  I have probably 20 or so on my iTouch as I write this and it keep on growing.  One podcast that I am having a hard time finding is a good instructional podcasts for music. Most music podcasts that I find are usually radio shows presenting recommended listening in a certain genre.  Great tools to expose yourself to new music but not what I’m looking for.

I did find is the Musicology Show from Pandora. which is a true instructional show that digs inside the nuances of music it’s styles.  One show will teach you about metric modulation (aka time signature changes) and the next week you will learn about aspects of composition or what a madrigal is.  For some it will be a refresher course and for others, it will expose you to different aspects of music that would otherwise stay unknown to you. 

Give the Musicology Show a listen and tell me what you think.  Are there any good guitar/music instructional podcasts you would recommend?

http://blog.pandora.com/podcast/

Now that I have found tab that will point me in the right direction in learning Tommy Emmanuel’s Borsalino, it’s time to get practicing.  What I usually is listen the hell out of a song and watch any videos I have to observe technique.  I had a great version of Tommy performing Borsalino from the Sierra Nevada Center Stage show that aired on PBS.  It was on my DVR for quite a while and knew it would always be there.  At least I thought it would be.  Turns out my Tommy show got recorded over because I failed to protect it so needless to say, I was crushed and pissed.

Technology taketh away and technology giveth back!  Did a quick search on YouTube and found the performance that I once had.  Not to big of a find since YouTube has tons of videos available at anytime but I didn’t want to visit YouTube everytime I need to look at the video.  I want to be able to watch it on my iTouch any time I felt like it.  Thankfully, many have addressed this need  with programs and services that assist me in getting YouTube videos on my iTouch.  It’s called “YouTube to iPod Converter” from dvdvideosoft.com.  It’s a simple little program where you enter the URL of the video, specify where you want the .mp4 video to save and click on the “convert” button and you are set.  I now have my Tommy video back and can reference it any time I like. 

This is yet another great resource for musicians who need to reference music on they fly when they are practicing.  This video conversion method isn’t relagated to just iPods.  You can do conversions for your PSP, Zune, Windows Media or any other kind of media player. 

If only this software could transcribe the song for me and then I would be set.  : )

Links of Interest:

YouTube to iPod Converter

Another YouTube Converter (Online)

Tommy’s YouTube Video