A couple of days back; I attended a service celebrating the life of a friends son. I never met this person, yet I felt a connection and found myself getting emotional from time to time. Throughout the service I heard how much he loved the guitar and music and was surprised by how we enjoyed the similar musicians and songs. One song that particularly grabbed me was Joe Satriani’s “Always with you, Always With Me” that the played early on. This is my absolutely favorite Satch song and whenever hear it, I will now think of Jeff; a fellow guitarist. The connection is that six string wonder that can frustrate the hell out of you and comfort you in times of trouble.
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It won a silver medal in the Acoustic Guitar Readers choice poll in 2008 and I’ve seen many opinions (good and bad) about Learn and Master Guitar (LMG) on the web. Now it’s my turn to check this guitar course out and give you my Two cents. First Impression: Opening the kit, I found 20 DVDs, five audio CDs and an instruction booklet; a bit intimidating seeing so much information and potential. I could see someone thinking to himself or herself that this is way too much to learn and being overwhelmed.As I examined the contents, I began to see the system. Sessions: Each DVD contains two of what are called “Sessions.” A session goes over an aspect of learning the guitar. IE, scales, chords, styles, etc… and is about twenty to thirty minutes long. Steve Krenz, the course creator and instructor, walks you through each session with examples and explanations. At the end, a review and assignments from the book are given and then you are expected to practice. If you need help practicing, that’s where the “Bonus Workshops” come in. Bonus Workshops: (Expanded Edition) The bonus workshops are meant to as a companion to your session discs. They …
I have threatened and promised that I would put something on YouTube for the past year but have yet to do anything, until now. Finally got the right take and a good recording of me playing Tommy Emmanuel’s Dixie McGuire. Hope you like and I plan on doing more. Any requests? : ) I hope you enjoy! Notes: The tab I used was the same that I wrote about in my Tommy Emmannel Tabs post. Also, there is quite a bit of flexibility required for this song, especially between the index and middle finger on on your fretting hand. I found that the stretching exercises in John Petrucci’s Rock Discipline were very helpful. Are there any you would recommend?
Hola, fellow twangers! In my last blog entry, I promised that I would offer up an instructional based on the pentatonic scale in my next entry. OK, I lied. Kind of. Turns out, as I began to write the entry, I kept coming up with idea after idea after idea. As it stands, I still plan on writing on this topic, but it’s going to take some time as it’s going to be a big one. In the meantime, I give you Amusing Inconsistencies and Subtle Nuances. Amusing inconsistency number one: the use of the word tremolo. On a guitar, it’s the thing that changes pitch. On an amplifier, it’s the effect that changes volume. I blame Leo Fender. Mainly because his biographers blame him. Speaking of Leo, amusing inconsistency number two: a radio repairman who didn’t know how to play guitar creates one of the most successful guitar brands in the world. Huh. And to segue into the ‘subtle nuances’ discussion, inconsistency number three: frets. If I were to say “put your index finger on the 12th fret of you high E string”, chances are you’ll put your index finger between two pieces of wire over a couple of …
Last Thursday (3.19.09), I had the pleasure of attending the Dougie MacLean concert at the Colfax Events Center in Denver. In case you didn’t know, Dougie is a Scottish singer/songwriter that has written wonderful songs like “Caledonia” and “The Gael” from the movie, “Last of the Mohicans.” The Concert: Dougie’s performance was a pleasure to witness. He performed songs like “Singing Land,” “She Will Find Me” and “Caledonia, to name a few. He also performed a new piece that he recently finished, new enough to have the lyrics taped to the side of his guitar. Inspired by the loss of some friends the past year, this song (he didn’t give the name), was touching and made me fondly think of loved ones I have lost. I hope he includes this on his next release, so I can find out what the name is. As Dougie said, this wasn’t a concert where you sit, cross your arms and just listen. He wanted us to be a part of the evening as well. Dougie engaged the audience; sometimes making us laugh and many times, having us sing along with the chorus. He wasn’t shy about letting us know when we were off …
