Happy New Year!!!! It’s, once again, time to make a resolution like lose weight or learn a language and promptly break it. Last year, my resolution was to start this blog and so far it’s been everything I could hope for. Thanks to all for reading and commenting on my articles. This year, I have many personal resolutions but a few do pertain to the guitar and this blog. Post more to Guitar Musings: I apologize that I haven’t posted much in the past month but there will be more posts in the future and am excited to move into Guitar Musing’s second year. Also, if you have any requests, please contact me with your idea and I’ll see what I can do. Get some playing recorded, both tape and video. As my friend Hercules states: “I gotta push that big red button.” Learn the fingerboard: Acoustic Guitar Magazine has a great article on how to learn the finger board and know what notes you are playing. Also, http://www.guitarcardio.com/ is a great place to do this as well. Be proud of my playing and don’t be too critical on what I do. It inhibits my progression of becoming a better …
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I try to frequent as many guitar shops as I can, just to dream a bit; to see what is out of my reach and also to realize what I have isn’t so bad. The biggest beef with some of these stores, both big and small, is that they don’t take the time to setup what they are trying to sell. Old strings, truss rod hasn’t been adjusted or something simple, like tuning. Basically, it’s in the same condition when it came from the manufacturer. My Plea: If you expect for me to spend hundreds, if not, thousands on a guitar in your shop, please invest thirty or so minutes in setting it up. First impressions are important and if the guitar isn’t setup right, I will not take a chance and buy. So please, put on a new set of strings, adjust the truss rod to the new environment and tune it. I won’t guarantee that it will sell the guitar on the first day but it’s a nice start.
I’ve had many successes and failures in learning a new song on my guitar. I don’t necessarily have a set procedure when learning a piece. It depends on how much I like the song and/or how difficult it is. I do make mistakes in my routine and in trying to address this, I have compiled a list of my top five. All of these tend to create bad habits that impair my ability to learn and put the whole thing together into a successful performance. Top 5 Mistakes: I don’t sight read the whole piece when initially getting to know the song. This keeps me from getting the full picture and I tend to have trouble putting it all together. I can’t tell you how many songs I learned where all I could perform was the first minute or so. Try to play it at full tempo too soon. This tends to create mistakes or bad habits like poor fingering or timing issues. I’m getting better at playing slower tempos and then working my way up but still “fall off the wagon” every once in a while. I don’t give it a rest when needed. I get so obsessed with …
Nail Polish and Strengthener for Guitarists In a past post about guitarist nail care, I threatened that I might try Nail Envy to strengthen my nails, avoid chips and breakages. I finally followed through with my Twitter threats and bought both Nail Envy original and matte. How does it perform? After the first application, I immediately noticed the difference in strength of my nails. It not only protects my nails from cracking and breaking, I have noticed the tone in my playing has improved with a fuller sound similar to using an extra thick guitar pick. I’m able to attack the strings with authority and without worry. Nail Envy leaves a shiny finish, once applied so if that is something that concerns you, buy the matte. That’s what I did because I got tired of all the “girly” nail jokes and seriously, my nails were reflecting light like mirror. The matte finish is just as effective as the original, in strength, but applying it requires more patience. It takes a bit longer to dry and until then it has a rubbery like consistency for about an hour or so and was easy to scuff or damage during that time. After …
If you follow me on twitter, you know that I recently purchased a Fostex MR16HD multitrack recorder. I was inspired by the “Big Red Button” post by Hercules Castro, so I finally bit the bullet and ordered one. Anyway, UPS delivered it the other day and thought I would share my first impressions during the unboxing. First Impression? While removing it from the box, I was surprised how compact it all was, about 15’’. I don’t know what I was expecting but I still envision those huge consoles in the studios that you see in the magazines and TV. I ended getting the black unit which, aesthetically, is more pleasing to my eyes. Knobs and Buttons The overall unit is pretty impressive with man buttons and knobs but not too much to make it intimidating. Keeping consistent to the Fostex claim of keeping it simple to let you get inspiration down. The sliders for the main volume and each track feels a bit cheap to me. I’m not saying that they are cheap, it’s just that I’m more used to the “weighted” feel of other consoles that I’ve worked on. The screen seems a bit small to me but is …
