Posts Tagged ‘Guitar’

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Tips on How to Buy Your First Guitar

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Here at TakeLessons, we book guitar lessons daily.  Many times our students ask us what type of guitar they should buy for their lessons. While some of our teachers have guitars for the students to use in lessons, many still want to buy their own. One of our Rancho Cordova guitar teachers, Robert (Bob) C. sent us the following advice when selecting a guitar for a beginner guitar student.

Bob C. writes:

Starting music lessons is a wonderful idea and can improve a person’s life.  It has been shown that students who seriously study music develop structures in their brain that MRI studies demonstrate are used for Math and Physics concepts.  In fact, Einstein credits his conceptual creativity on learning the violin at age four.  As you learn, your brain grows musically and you’ll enjoy music much more.

When my students start lessons, I am more than willing to help them obtain a reasonably priced, easy-to-play instrument.  Unfortunately students often show up with a guitar-shaped toy. Parents say “If he/she likes it, we’ll get a better one.”  Well, it rarely works like that. They are generally impossible to play; they hurt your fingers and the sound is not optimal. It might discourage the student to think they can’t play guitar when really it’s just the instrument.

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My recommended starter guitar:

A steel string guitar has 220 pounds of pressure, and usually has a narrow neck.  It is much easier for the student to start on a nylon string, usually called a classical guitar. Nylon strings are much easier to play and there is more space between the strings making it easier to play chords.

Many children want to learn electric guitar.  However, electrics are a much more expensive proposition. You have to pay for a guitar, electronics, cables and an amp.

You also want to look for a solid top. Why a solid top?  That’s your speaker.  As it is played, it will quickly open up and sound better and better.  Plywood tops will never get the same sound, so look for tops made of quality woods.

I also recommend buying a tuner. Tuning is a fairly difficult task, and learning to tune a guitar with a tuner makes it much easier to do. Tuning is tricky since it involves listening and getting used to adjusting the pitch.   Tuning takes practice and is not easy to do, but an out of tune guitar can really sound terrible. Be sure to purchase a tuner that will let you set which string you are on.

If you go to a store to buy a guitar, there are a few basic things you can check.

1:  If you put a straight edge from the neck, it should hit the bridge, ideally, at the bottom of the saddle.  If not, the angle is off, and the guitar is not one you should buy.  A yardstick or ruler is ideal for this.  If the angle is wrong, the only repair is a neck reset which can cost about $150 or more.

2:  If you push the guitar string down on the top and bottom fret the string should come close to hitting every string, with no more than a 1/8th of an inch.  If not, it will be warped and difficult to play.  Sometimes you can adjust the truss rod and straighten the neck.

3: Play every note on the guitar and make sure that all of them clear the next fret and don’t buzz.

4: It should be as easy to press down on the 12 fret as the first fret.  The notes are closer together up high on the fingerboard.

I recommend that you go to a store to purchase a guitar with someone that knows how to play, whether that is your teacher or someone that works there.

In summary, a playable guitar is a musical instrument, not a toy.   If you buy a toy it may be money wasted and lead to discouraging your child from really playing.  A good student guitar is not very expensive, usually between $100 to $200.   I personally try and keep a few that I sell at cost to students as I want my students to be successful and have a great time.  One last thing to note is that a good guitar will likely appreciate in value over time.   So a good, used, solid-top guitar that is well taken care of can actually be a better investment than the toy option.

And once you purchase your new guitar, remember to always wash your hands before playing.  The acids and dirt on your fingers may ruin the strings and even the guitar itself. Washing your hands will prolong the life of your new investment.

Bob C. TakeLessons Guitar Teacher

Bob C. TakeLessons Guitar Teacher

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So You Wanna Learn to Play Guitar (pt.XX)

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Kirk Hammett

Here is the latest entry from our excellent San Diego guitar teacher Jason M

So how do you play a Washburn acoustic?  One of the least asked questions I get is that of knowing your tone.  I don't play a Washburn acoustic but I think that it's important to note the tonal qualities of the guitar you own.  The sound that comes out of your axe will shape and define your unique voice to the point that it will eventually become "you". 

I use an ESP KH2 "Skully" Kirk Hammett signature model guitar with dual EMG 81 pickups.  It has 24 frets, an original floyd rose locking tremelo set up with a Jackson reverse dinky headstock and a body that looks like an MII Deluxe.  The neck is a little bit wider than your average electric guitar and has an almost "classical" feel to it when you grip it.  Rather than an old "file down the fret" cliche that allows for optimal shredding, my guitar has jumbo "rounded" frets which if pressed down hard enough can actually make a string bending sound.  The floating bridge takes some getting used to and if you haven't used one before you can actually make the guitar sound out of tune by leaning on it too hard with your right hand palm mute.  It has a 3 way switch which unlike a strat and more like a Les Paul you can "cut" the sound immediatly and make a really nice Morello sounding percussive "on off" sound. 

I also use a Line 6 upgraded AXSYS212 ampliphier with a floorboard that carries both a volume and a wah pedal.  The Line 6 was the first digital amp to master the art of "tube tone" back in the mid-nineties.  I don't think I've ever thought of it as a solid-state amp to be honest.  With 32 presets and 32 user presets with 4 channels each, the options are pretty infinite.  This model can not only replicate the greatest artists of all time but holds

Jason M

countless configurations of individual amp models/effect pedals/cabinet sizes/ and even offers a "noise gate" that you can open or close at will. 

Now that's not my only rig.  I also play a Zakk Wylde custom Epiphone "Les Paul" with 22 frets that I've tricked out with his custom ".60" string set up.  Getting used to a set of strings of that caliber requires a huge change in the amount of hand strength that you need.  It's also got a set of dual EMG pickups and the ability to "cut" the sound out immediately when you toggle between the rhythm and treble pickups (having one volume all the way down of course) like the KH2.

I play that one through a Scott Ian signature Randall ampliphier that has an EQ option of being able to shave your eyebrows off under the right amount of pressure.  It's got a much more pure clean tone than the Line 6 and ultimately I think the distortion channel is superior as well, but it lacks in the pedal effect options.  I like this amp because it has an L and R input in the back that I can hook my CD player or digital studio into and use as a monitor while I'm training. 

As the amp and the guitar make up your unique sound I have a digital studio that completly changes all that.  I record with a Boss BR-532 digital 4-track that has it's own effects that just don't match up to the tones that I can get live.  So technically I have a "recorded" voice and "live" voice.  There are a lot of subtle things that you have to pay attention to in the studio like thinking about "loop effects" and pre-post effects that you can alter during a mastering. 

I bring these things up because as you continue playing you may start to realize that you can't sound like Dragonforce on an acoustic.  Black Sabbath unplugged only works for "Planet Caravan"… and maybe some of their Dio stuff.  If you want to develop your own tone I believe it's important to understand how to control those factors. 

Breakdown your own rig and let me know if you have any questions that might help create your ideal sound.

Until next time, enjoy your tone!

Jason M

Jason M

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So You Wanna Play Guitar (pt.XIX)

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Chord

Here is the latest blog entry from our talented guitar teacher Jason, covering his thoughts on Music Theory:

I'm pretty excited about some of the response I've been getting from my students about questions they have about Music Theory.  Some of my students are in college, some of them are looking for the lost art of grimoire, and some just wanna know how a chord is built.  I'm finishing up some touches on a book that I've been making and am pleased that my ability to make it has been solely on the requests of those that had the balls to question.

Why Music Theory? 

Music Theory doesn't really have a beginning in my opinion.  It is what it is and I don't abide by it.  I'm also not a hypocrite so let me give you some thoughts on how to know the rules and then break the rules. 

Things to know: Circle of Fifths… a basic diagram of the universe that is music.  Also known as the cycle of 4ths.  It's a circle that can help you determine the Major and minor key signatures and see how they relate to each other.

Modal Scales: Ionian/Dorian/Phrygian/Lydian/Mixolydian/Aeolian/Locrian….. all the same thing.  Ex: CDEFGABC, DEFGABCD, EFGABCDE, FGABCDEF, GABCDEFG, ABCDEFGA, BCDEFGAB.  But is that it?  No, you need to learn the interval structure as well.  W=whole step, H=half step Ex: WWHWWWH, WHWWWHW, HWWWHWW, WWWHWWH, WWHWWHW, WHWWHWW, HWWHWWW.  But is that it? No, now you need to be able to transpose those into all other keys.  Take the same intervalic structure and apply it to the Circle of Fifths in any Key to check out the magic.

Minor Scales: Aeolian is another term for minor, but there are two that you can meld w/the minor to form some almost european metal sound called the Harmonic Minor…. (looks like a minor scale 'sept the 2nd to last note is sharped in a Major fashion) And the Melodic Minor (looks like a Major Scale except the 1st 3 notes look like a regular minor scale ascending/descend just like a regular minor scale)Jason

Chord Theory: Major (1,3,5) Minor or - (1,b3,5) Delta or "triangle" (1357) 7th (1235b7) Augmented or = (13#5) Delta 9 (13579) Know it to the point where you can just say…"so what" and mean it.

Relative Minor: Built on the 6th degree of the root or "1" tone.

The "5" Em minor pentatonic or G Major box patterns: Fun little thing to know before you can think outside the box is to learn the box you wanna think out of.  Move your box shape back three frets and you've uncovered E major or C#minor.

Arpeggios: Just chopped up chords played in a sequence that can be as little as say 3 notes up to 12 notes or more.  Typically you just need to know how far you need to reach to get a solid grasp when really your just playing (CEGCEGCEGCEGCEG) or (AC#EAC#EAC#EAC#E)

Composition:  I wouldn't be in the postion I am today if I didn't write all this down.  Start writing immediatly or you're just blowin' smoke.  Well, not really… but if you wanna understand what the heck you just played or what you're playing… jot it down/put it in ink/immortalize that sucker. Know what a G clef is know that an F clef is for bass, think above and below the ledger lines, understand the rhythm structures.  Write your own TAB.

Harmony: A lot of really great bands have 2 guitar players…those that don't often have a doubled guitar of themselves going while they lead.  Learn to build doubled guitar parts or add a bass part.  Add a vocal melody and you're good.  4 part harmony right there.

Chord progressions: I IV V, basic blues… everything else is out the door.

Now what?  "So what" man… don't quit, be yourself, and remember that everything I just mentioned is just a bunch of… well, second thought.  Study it, then play a few power chords of your own to create what you can call yours.

Rock,

Jason MJason1

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So You Wanna Learn to Play Guitar (pt.XVIII.2)

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

B.B. King

In this latest entry, our guitar teacher Jason M offers his in-depth insight on Blues Guitar, inspired by greats like B.B. King:

Now you've probably had your own path of music that you've been following since you were born and hopefully there was something magnetic about why you enjoy what you do and you thrive off that completely.

I mentioned some of my blues influences last time, and before I talk about the actual music itself I'd like to bring up the individuals.  Let's start with someone like B.B. King.  My dad is still a huge B.B. King fan, he's been to the shows, listens to the CDs or cassettes, tunes into the blues station on the radio, and when he's on T.V. he still watches him.  Now what makes B.B. King or any other bluesman a great artist?  Let's take what we know and figure out how to learn more ways to find out how to get their sound. 

The Guitar: Everyone should know that B.B. King plays a guitar named "Lucille"; a Gibson semi-hollow body with 2 "f-holes" for extra blues tone.

From there you discover what kind of amps he used/what kind of pedals he likes/ and where he prefers his settings when he plays.

Now to go a little deeper without getting personal… what gives B.B. his sound?  So you'll start to listen and discover that not only does he trademark a signature "A blues pentatonic" in 8th position, but with one single note… a single decending string slide from the 8va area on the high E you can tell it's B.B. King, or atleast someone trying to play like B.B. King.  Another thing you might notice is that he doesn't sing and play at the same time.  It's (line, lick, line, lick, line, lead, line solo etc…)

If you've made it this far; now you can look into see more about who the artist likes… is he a fan of Clapton, does he like Buddy Guy, who were his primary influences, who was influenced by him?  Those kinds of questions will help broaden your perspective to find more music as well as newer or older artists.  It doesn't really end…

Deeper perspective; B.B. King articles/biographies/books/ and columns are out there.  You can actually learn how to play like B.B. King…. from B.B. King.  A few years ago he had his own column in Guitar World magazine, and it's true you can use that same resource to get complete transcriptions of his stuff.  A common beginner mistake, which isn't necessarily a mistake is to try and figure out how to play a tune without hearing it first by reading the transcription.  (I've discovered how to play songs I didn't know before and years down the road I finally heard the song on the radio and was like "ah, I've known that riff for 10 years… that's how it goes") So what I suggest, and this is how I'll support the record industry is to go out and buy the CD… you'll never get the same experience through a download.  Ok, so let's say now you got the CD and you have the transcription… you've got the chords located at the top of the page, you know his scales he uses, you've got his tone. 

From there, there are a couple more things you can look at.  Who transcribed them?  Was is Jeff Perrin or Andy Aledort?  A lot of times the person that transcribed the material has reference notes available before the transcription that can help you get the strum pattern; be it "medium-shuffle" where an 1/8 and a quarter note has a triplet feel or a "down down up up down up" pattern.  Often they'll include a box scale pattern you can use to play that A minor pentatonic blues scale in 8th position.  Even some secret tricks the artist has used where the standard chords notated are actually played inverted for example.  From there transcriber will often breakdown the modes/notes played with some interval theory as well.  Study that stuff.

Last and not least is take a look at the record label B.B. is on.  Is he on Geffen, has he always been with Geffen?  Who else is on Geffen?  What label was he on before then… you'll discover her started off on Crown records and from there you can look to Crown Records to find similiar artists that you might enjoy as well.  Record labels like to maintain a diverse but similiar quality that can help you branch from there.

It might be fun just to start rockin' out to B.B. once you have your music on and guitar plugged in.  But here's a head's up if you have the transcription: learn to read through it with the song going before your 1st attempt playing it.  This way you'll be ready for the changes and will be able to follow through and anticipate the changes and see the techniques involved.  Either way, just have fun and enjoy rockin' out to some seriously great blues.

Jason M
Jason M

 

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So You Wanna Learn How to Play Guitar (pt.XVIII)

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Eric Clapton

Here's the latest entry from our awesome guitar teacher Jason:

Rock History 101 (the Atomic History)

One of the questions I get asked most from the ladies is, "Why do you like "Metal" so much?"  Or something similar to needing a way to find out what I'll call "Rock Appreciation".

It basically starts out as a "who's who" list and goes back into a bit of history.  So without giving you the official history of rock and roll, I'll give you the insight on what's exactly taken place to get you up to speed with this whole rock gig.

I grew up listening to my fathers blues tapes which gave me a glimpse of such artists as Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Jimmy Thackery, Stevie Ray Vaughn, ZZ-Top but didn't really get into rock until I hit 14.  The blues background is a great start for any guitarist as it resonates a feeling I think most people can relate to.

At 14 it hit, Metallica.  From there it opened up the doors to Pantera, Ministry, Megadeth, Anthrax, and White Zombie.  It's important to know the guitar players from these bands rather than just think "agro".  Metallica has James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett, Pantera had Dimebag Darrell, Ministry had Al Jorgenson, Megadeth has Dave Mustaine and a former Marty Friedman, Anthrax has Scott Ian, and White Zombie had J.Yeunger.  These are still very important players even in todays culture.  I believe it's important to see what these guys have to offer.

Around the same time I started discovering other bands.  Nirvana, Soundgarden, Hole, the Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, and Primus.  Nirvana had Kurt Cobain, Soundgarden had Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil, Hole had Courtney Love, the Smashing Pumpkins James Iha and Billy Corgan, Alice in Chains had Jerry Cantrell, and Primus has a bass player named Les Claypool.

It was at this time, circa' 97 that music really started taking a dive.  Record labels dropped most of their bands and there was no myspace yet to discover anything new so all you had to go on was MTV and they were doing this whole competitive thing between genres that was just really stupid. I got into the whole rockabilly thing for a about a month which was just long enough to learn Brian Setzer is a great guitar player and there was another great guitarist named Danny Gatton who was a like minded country-blues shredder.

Guitar wasn't around much again for a few years… sure you had Godsmack and Orgy, but they were following the industrial trend started by Nine Inch Nails (one of the great pioneers of industrial metal).

Now that you've got that solid background I can mention a few other bands that you can discover just by being fans of the previously mentioned:

Motorhead/Deftones/Darkest Hour/Obituary/Shadows Fall/Children of Bodom/Dope/Opeth/Powerman5000/Guns and Roses/ACDC/the Misfits/Dead Kennedys/Between the Burried and Me/Prong/Opiate for the Masses/Machine Head/Trivium/Queens of the Stone Age/Slayer/Exodus/Marilyn Manson/Black Sabbath/Deep Purple/Iron Maiden/Black Label Society/John5/Die Krupps/Butthole Surfers…. the list doesn't really stop, but this should be a good jump start.

I didn't really mention much in terms of classic rock like the Rolling Stones or Queen just cause that wasn't the route I took.  To me the Metal genre players have always had a bit more edge and a sort of excitement about their playing.  Regardless of whether or not it was rebellious most of the riffs are just really awesome to play.  And many times that riff is all you need before you realize that nothing else matters.Jason

Rock,

Jason

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