Blind Guitarist
Posted on August 2, 2007
Filed Under Blind Guitarist | 2 Comments
(this response was given to a question regarding blind guitarists and various musical concepts. - JDM)
John,
Thanks for your question. I remember answering the question that you referred to but I’m not sure where that answer got posted. I’m not an expert on this subject but I’m glad to give you my thoughts.
I haven’t had the opportunity to work with any blind guitarists, so I have no first-hand knowledge of any kind of special learning method that might be particularly helpful for you. I have done a significant amount of reading over the years and have noticed that there are a number of world class guitarists who were blind. Rev. Gary Davis, Doc Watson, Jose Feliciano and several blues guitarists from the early 1900’s come to mind. Other blind musicians who have had a huge impact on the world include Fanny Crosby who wrote thousands of hymns, Ray Charles who can play the piano and sing like no one else, Stevie Wonder a musical and creative genius and Turlough O’Carolan a 16th Century Irish harpist whose music is still performed and enjoyed today. While the methods through which these people became musicians are probably as varied as the people themselves I would expect that their blindness did much to shape their musical voices.
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Breaking the Frustration
Posted on August 2, 2007
Filed Under Growing as a Guitarist | Leave a Comment
(This response was given to a question regarding musical frustration. The person who sent the question is currently serving in the armed forces. - JDM)
Donald,
I have had a number of students who have come to me with the same type of musical frustration you are experiencing. Here are a couple of pointers that should help you get you out of the doldrums.
The short version: Make sure your rhythm is in good shape, learn which chords belong to which keys, download chord sheets of songs you like and start playing along with the CDs of the songs you downloaded. An even better recommendation is: find other guitarists who are a little more experienced than you, and learn everything you can from them. Playing with others is always a good learning experience.
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Chords and Keys
Posted on August 2, 2007
Filed Under Simple Music Theory | Leave a Comment
Scales, Chords and Keys, they all work together.
Scales - A major scale is a series of notes that are separated by whole
steps and half steps.
The formula is:1w 2 w 3 h 4 w 5 w 6 w 7 h 8 (w=whole step-two frets; h=half step-one
fret).
Chords - Diatonic Chords (chords using only of the scale) are built by playing musical leap-frog - choose a note, skip a note, choose a note, skip at note. It takes at least three notes to make a chord.Keys - being in a key means using only the notes that come from the scale.When playing the guitar there are two good ways to think of chords: across the neck and up the neck. The across the neck approach means that you use a variety of different chords forms and play with in a five fret area on the neck. As the name implies, the Up the Neck approach allows you to use a couple of different chord forms and simply move them up the neck.
Electric v. Acoustic
Posted on August 2, 2007
Filed Under Guitar Types | Leave a Comment
Hi I was wondering what the difference is from an acoustic guitar and acoustic/electric guitar? Does the a/e guitar sound different? Help me out please.
Thanks, Colin
Colin,
An acoustic electric guitar is an acoustic guitar with some type of electronic pickup system installed. Acoustic guitar players and builders are always searching for the perfect way to amplify that wonderful, pure acoustic sound we all love. So far the exact sound hasn’t been fully captured but there are a number of pickup systems that do a very good job. There are: acoustic guitar pickups that resemble electric guitar pick-ups; systems that amplify the sound of the vibrating wood, systems that use microphones inside the body and various combinations of each of these systems.
The problem with getting a truly natural sound is that the voice of an acoustic guitar is very complex. It covers a wide spectrum of the sonic range. And the overall sound of an acoustic guitar is a combination of vibrations from the entire instrument – front, back, neck and sides. The difference between an acoustic and an acoustic electric has to do with the difficultly in balancing all the sounds that an acoustic guitar produces. Each type of pickup system is primarily design to pick up one or two aspects of the total sound. For example, most magnetic pickup systems do a great job of picking up the string sound but don’t capture anything from the body. That tends to make an acoustic sound like an electric guitar. Pickup systems that focus on the vibration of the sound board have a nice warm sound but often miss the “sparkle” of the strings.
I’m guessing that you are in the market for a guitar and are wondering if you should buy something that has a pickup system. Thinking about why you need a pickup system will direct you to the type of system you need. Here are some things to consider: Where are you going to be playing? In your living room for your own enjoyment – you don’t need a pickup system. With a band? You need a system that will emphasize the high frequencies and resist feed back. As a solo or duet act in a coffeehouse? You need a system that makes the guitar sound as natural as possible. Do you want a general purpose system? Most big companies make decent guitars that come with a build in general purpose system.
The companies that are making the best systems which I am aware of (in my price range) are Fishman, L.R. Baggs and EMG. The set-up I use for my guitar has components from each of these companies.
All the best,
John
Welcome, Once Again
Posted on July 29, 2007
Filed Under General Interest | Leave a Comment
We finally decided that it was time to bring our site into the blog age, to allow more interactivity between us and you…and between you and others just like you. So we wiped the slate clean and we’ll be starting all over, beginning with your questions. We invite you to submit others as they pop into your head.
Bear with us as we get the site up to speed. Please check back very soon!
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