26

(12 replies, posted in Acoustic)

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>west10ray wrote on Sat, 17 February 2007 19&#58;21</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
But, it might be worth it if it came with the cool Zorro hat and sunglasses
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if you could get the hat and glasses they would probably be cheaply made too...

27

(12 replies, posted in Acoustic)

I would not recommend esteban guitars to anyone, unless they are pretty sure they aren't going to like playing, in that case they just shouldn't get a guitar.  I've played on some of them (new ones) and the strings were way too far away from the neck up in the higher area, the action was rediculously high.  The Esteban guitars are designed to take advantage of novice players.  They are extremely low quality, but that kind of thing is difficult to tell if you are a beginner.  If you want a good starter guitar, get a yamaha or some brand of guitar that isn't being sold by a complete phony, depending on which store you go to.

28

(13 replies, posted in Acoustic)

I am a classical guitarist.   Please, if you are going to get a book, I highly recommend Pumping Nylon by Scott Tennant.  It comes with a great DVD.   If you don't know who Scott Tennant is, I'm sure you could look him up online.  But I can tell you that he is a member of the world renowned Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Professor of guitar at USC, which is arguably one of the best schools for classical guitar in the country.


This book is unassuming and methodalogical.  It doesn't teach you how to read really, but it will show you exactly how to practice to become a great fingerpicker!


I don't mean to sound like a commercial, I just think that this book will help anyone who wants to learn classical or fingerstyle guitar.

29

(11 replies, posted in Electric)

the intro riff to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is a good one...


cytania, do you know how to play the blues scale?

30

(36 replies, posted in Electric)

how about John McLaughlin

31

(9 replies, posted in Electric)

I think that when you're fingerpicking, you should really not anchor your pinky.  That can cause some serious tension...also, you want to be able to move your right hand freely.  You can acheive different tone colors the closer or farther you are from the bridge and anchoring your pinky can more or less stop that. 


But...


I know that for banjo and genres like bluegrass, anchoring the pinky is standard technique...


Classical music is the only genre where you can say what is right and what is wrong as far as technique is concerned...I think that ultimately, playing without the anchor will help with speed, but speed isn't everything...

32

(11 replies, posted in Electric)

"the only reason I pick up my guitar is to have some fun, learn something, or make some money"

                  -Charlie Christian

33

(7 replies, posted in Electric)

I don't care what it sounds like, no electric guitar should cost $75,000 dollars like a '50s strat I saw in guitar center on 23rd street in Manhattan.  Maybe Segovia's Hauser is worth more than that...But it's in the Met museum of Art.


I also hear that if you buy a classical guitar from a luthier, they will charge collectors more for a new unstrument...

34

(1 replies, posted in Electric)

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>gitaardocphil wrote on Tue, 13 February 2007 18&#58;00</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
<img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_mad.gif" border=0 alt="Mad">  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy"> It will be always a mystery, how a group can be famous. I think they all start with that idea, some have luck, others, with maybe better musicians don't. In stead of protecting themselves, they should, without being stalked by people, try to live a normal (??!!!) live.

On one hand they all want to be recognized, on the other hand, once they are there, rush, rush.. to disappear
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The NYC scene sucks!  You have to already have a following to get gigs...That's why I moved to New Paltz NY...about an hour and a half north.  You can actually play a gig that lasts longer than 45 minutes, unlike NYC, and this is a town that is begging to be rocked!


Maybe I should just compose ring tones, because that is the only field of the music business that is lucritive right now...

Whether you play classical or not, a great book/DVD to help with left hand technique is called "Pumping Nylon" by Scott Tennant.  Look at the part about finger independance...I think that a teacher is almost imperitive but that is just because I am one...just kidding (not really)


Also, practice easier chord changes first-Am-C, E-Am, F-Dm and backwards...might help...


alex

Congrats!!

Play it well. 

You should use 11 gauge strings.  They will compliment the warmer tubby sound while still keeping it possible to make the screaming bends!


Happy Plucking!!!


also,

does anyone know the year that Gibson bought out Epiphone?

37

(9 replies, posted in Electric)

It is completely up to personal style, however, there are reasons for not resting the pinky on the soundboard.  I think the main reason to not rest the finger is because it stops the soundboard from vibrating as much.  It can also cause some tension if you're fingerpicking, but not for everyone.  But if you're playing electric, that doesn't matter so much because when you play electric, it takes less pressure, so it really doesn't matter as much


I believe it's truly personal, but it's good to know why...


When I play lead, I sometimes rest the side of my palm on the lower strings...not for any reason other than comfort, maybe sometimes for palm muting effect...


IDK...I'm sure I rest the pinky sometimes and I don't realize it...

38

(3 replies, posted in Electric)

Walk the Line, Johny Cash

Act Naturally, not sure who wrote it, but it was on rubber soul

House of the Rising Sun, Trad--Am-C-D-F/Am-C-E/Am-C-D-F/Am-E-Am-E

Wish you were Here, Pink Floyd-The intro is pretty simple and the only chords are

            G, D, Am and C



What kind of music do you like?

39

(59 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>Al Bradley wrote on Fri, 15 December 2006 07&#58;07</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Remember that Michael Jorden grew up in K-Mart tennis shoes, and Jose Conseco had a K-Mart glove and bat --- it's not the equipment. Learn to make your current guitar sound good and then later go buy the "best acustic". 
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right on!! buy a used guitar!!!!! especially if you are a beginner.  but, when you are searching look for these signs;  if the soundboard is bulging on the opposite side of the strings, this damage is as good as irreversable, same with concavement under the strings next to the bridge (they go hand in hand).  If his damage is there, it will raise the action too much and if you adjust the trust rod, it will mess up the intonation.  If you already have a guitar and you want to prevent this, keep your guitar humidified and in the case,  If it is permanently on a stand, make sure the room is humidified.  dryness is a killer...

40

(59 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

look in the classified section of the newspaper.  Good used instruments are harder to find, but they usually sound better (they've been broken in a little).  Also, if you do this, make sure the instruments were well cared for...

also, they are almost always priced better because the people who are selling them don't realize that their instrument is valueable (if they are)

it doesn't matter what brand of guitar you play, especially if you are a beginner, just don't buy one of those starter kits, they are usually awful and need more work than they are worth.

41

(5 replies, posted in Acoustic)

the best way to keep your wrist when you strum is beyond relaxed, make it limp.  Hold the pick like it's a potato chip or something very brittle...if you hold it too tight it will crack, too loose and the strings will knock it out of your hand.  now that you're limp wristed, make the up and down strumming equal.  keep it at sixteenth notes.  When I strum, i am constantly maintaining the strumming motion.  i'm not always hitting the strings, but my hand is going up and down the whole time.  to add rhythmic variety, emphasise the up strums, then the down strums.  do it fast and slow...

also, try hitting only top strings and then only bottom strings...hit all the strings...this practice session is a fun one.  Strumming might be one of the most fun things to do on guitar...it is certainly an agression reliever!

42

(8 replies, posted in Acoustic)

[quote title=jerome.oneil wrote on Tue, 13 February 2007 19:54

Absolutely. That CAGED sequence is the order. 

Play C at the nut.  Thats the C chord form.

Play C at the 3rd fret.  Thats the A chord form.

Play it at the 5th fret.  Thats the G chord form.

Play it at the 8th fret.  That's the E chord form.

Play it at the 11th fret.  That's the D chord form.

That works for any chord, anwhere on the fretboard, and gives you full voicing all the way from nut to bridge.

The more I learn about the layout, the more amazed I am at how it all works together.

Hey thats cool...I knew of the concept but I never heard it wrapped up so tightly in a mnominc device...ill use that in lessons for sure!