Archive for March, 2010
When you listen to a song do you listen to the music or the lyrics? If the lead instrument in a song is the bass guitar, I think most people listen to it along with the lyrics. Same thing if a song has a really great electric guitar solo, it is my belief that most people associate with the guitar as well as with the lyrics.
While I am of the opinion that the music makes the song I think there are some songs that the lyrics help make the song a hit, “On The Road Again” by Willie Nelson is a great example, the lyrics of the song do help the finger picking sound of the acoustic guitar.
It is also my opinion that most people listen to the lead instrument of the song as well as the lyrics and don’t really listen to the other instruments in the band, unless you happen to be into playing music like I am. When you play an instrument you seem to listen to the whole arrangement not just the lead instrument.
The ability to have great music with good arrangements as well as fantastic lyrics are what separates the super groups from the good groups.
Bass guitars are the most overlooked members of the classic four-piece rock band, but Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers may be the exception to the rule. It is difficult to believe that the band has been around for over 20 years, and through all of their various incarnations, the iconic bass player and his custom bass guitars have remained a constant. Not only has Flea garnered acclaim through his role in the band, but he also has dabbled in acting, most notably in the film The Big Lebowski. Over the years, the sound of the band has changed, but the consistent quality of the bass guitar riffs hasn’t waivered.
Although I am a fan of much of their music, I have to admit that the lyrics and vocals of lead singer Anthony Kiedis have grown tiresome. That being said, the musical renditions from Flea and guitar savant John Frusciante are more than enough to keep listeners entertained. Some of their best music, in my opinion, comes from jam sessions between the two where the vocals are absent.
Are you playing a bass guitar, acoustic or electric guitar? A question you might want to ask yourself is “Do guitars have souls”? My answer to you is yes they do.
Have you ever heard the same being song played by a few people and they all seem to sound different, That’s the soul of the guitar coming through. The same can be said about singers, the one whose voice has soul will always sound better. Playing guitar is the same thing, if you just stand there playing your chords with a ho-hum attitude it will sound that way, on the other hand if you play the same song with the same chords with soul your guitar will have soul too.
The same theory applies to bass guitar as well as lead guitar, you get out of it what you put into it.
Jimi Hendrix possibly or probably the best electric guitar player ever, depending upon who’s doing the rating has made the music news about 40 years after his death. Weekending March 14Th, his new album “Valley of Neptune” had its debut on the billboard charts, it broke into the charts at an unprecedented #4.
Prior to this Elvis Presley had the record, having a top 5 hit 26 years after he was dead. The news of Jimi came a few weeks after Johnny Cash who has been dead a little less than 7 years ago hit the Country charts with ”American VI: Ain’t No Grave.
When you think about the music today and the fact that these singer guitar players can top the charts in their music genres to me makes a bold statement. To make that much of a difference 7, 26 and 40 years after your dead says a lot of the artists that are out there today to choose from.
Are your practice sessions getting boring? Are you beyond just practicing your fingering and scales? Are you losing interest in playing guitar because of the boredom? How about practicing with your favorite artist or band.
The good thing is no matter what type of music you like there are plenty of songs by your favorite artists that are easy to play. With the use of the Internet finding tabs for the songs is easy, and if your not sure of some of the chords there are a host of sites with chord charts.
“Teardrops On My Guitar” by Taylor Swift is a good example of an easy song to learn. Just four chords make up this song, G Em7 Cadd9 Dsus. This song sounds great on an acoustic guitar as well as an electric guitar. Another easy country song to play on acoustic guitar is “Ring Of Fire” by Johnny Cash. This song involves playing a G C D7 and that’s it.
I consider myself a very lucky guy. I am 58 years old, retired from my job of 30 years and now live on 20 acres in South Carolina. Being retired I get to spend my time doing the things I really enjoy.
I now do woodworking in the shop I have on the property. The name people know me by is Southern Yankee Woodworking. I do commercial and residential jobs around town, but only by work of mouth, I do not advertise.
My next love is music, which is why I opened a music store that specializes in guitar packages . Being in music since the sixties my main instrument is bass guitar, I have also played some rhythm guitar, along with tenor saxophone.
One of the perks to having a music store is that I’m like a kid in a candy store, I get to try anything and everything I want. I have gone so far as to have devoted an entire room in my house to music. In this room I have my bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitar as well as my amplifiers. The decor is made up of guitar gifts I gave to myself, like a guitar rug and a guitar lamp.
Getting the right guitar amplifier is as personal as getting the right electric guitar. One of the things you must ask yourself is, Where am I going to be playing. Another question is, How are you going to be using the amp.
If you live in a small apartment, or if you will playing your guitar in your room a 10 watt amplifier with a 6″ speaker is more than enough to deliver a good sound without someone else in the house getting angry with you. If you plan on playing outside the confines of your room, let’s say in a band, you might want to take the next step and get either a 20 or 30 watt guitar amplifier. While the decibels goes up slightly the larger speakers, ( 8″ & 10″ respectively ) will make them sound even louder.
One thing to consider is as you increase the size of your amplifer the weight of it is also going to increaase, this is important because you are the one that will be carrying it around along with your guitar and the rest of your guitar accessories.
As you go up in size the amplifiers will have more features also, like one with a built-in reverb on it. Keep in mind if you play bass guitar you need a bass amplifier. These amplifiers have speakers that are beefed up to handle bass tones.
Acoustic guitar or electric guitar is an old question that everyone asks themselves, especially if they are just starting out thinking about learning the guitar. My personal feelings on the subject is to have at least one of each of them.
Starting with the looks electric guitars mostly come with a high gloss look along with a solid wood body, while acoustic guitars mostly have a more natural looking gloss to it, along with being made of frame that is veneered with real wood.
Each guitar has its’ own unique sound. The electric plays loud, it plays with the kind of energy you would expect if you were playing rock. Acoustics on the other hand have a more quiet, lighter tone to them. The way they are made makes them have more echo and reverb thanks to the sound hole.
Last up is how each one is played, the electric is mostly played with a pick, while the acoustic are mostly played with the fingers.
Don’t overlook the acoustic electric guitar. This is an acoustic guitar with a pick-up so it can be played through a guitar amplifier.
It doesn’t matter whether you have an electric guitar package or just an acoustic guitar with no guitar amplifier the one thing they both have in common is you need to know how to play chords. Practice can get pretty monotonous just playing your scales and simple chords.
How about spicing up your practice with a few songs that involve playing just 3 chords. Can you play a D G & C chord, if you can you play “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. How about playing a D G & A chord for the song “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones.
If your feeling adventurous try playing “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by The Eagles, it a step up to a song with 4 chords but with a real easy pace to it. The tabs for these songs can be found on line. Playing these songs is a way to spice up your practice and keep your interest while doing your scales.
All too often in life people are judged specifically on face value. When it comes to music artists are often judged on the music genre they are associated with.
When people hear the name Waylon Jennings they immediately know him playing country music on his custom black white and telecaster electric guitar, what most people don’t realize is that he actually started out playing bass guitar for Buddy Holly. He played bass with Buddy on the last gig of his life. Waylon was scheduled to be on the plane that went down with Buddy, after being hounded by J.P. Richardson also known as “The Big Bopper” they flipped a coin and Waylon lost.
In the 1990’s he was an influence on Metallica’s “Load” album after being friends with the band and especially their frontman James Hatfield.
“The Dukes of Hazard” can be found to this day in reruns. The voice in the opening song “Good Ol’ Boys” as well as the narration throughout the show is that of Waylon Jennings. The shows popularity is as big today as it was in 1979 when it started, the song is one of the most recognized in television history.