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Do these sound familiar???!

6/28/2019

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Every once in a while I like to rehash some of the issues I see with beginner and intermediate level guitarists. Maybe some of them will make you think: oh yeah, I do that. If not, well, you can be pretty confident your technique is on track. Some of these things are easy to fix, some may take work and you may almost feel like you’re starting all over, especially if you have habits and muscle memory that go back a long time. If you’re satisfied with what’s coming out of your guitar and you are doing some of the things I’ll list, God bless, it’s supposed to be fun and my intent is NOT to make you feel badly about your playing. However…..
 
These days what I’ve been focusing on with many students is the need to “see” groups of chords. That is, not just deal with a new piece of music on a chord-to-chord basis. Of course, when a piece is unfamiliar and brand new you must attack it chord by chord but as soon as possible it’s important to visualize sequences or groups of chords. This is simply because to play a song with no breaks in the rhythm you must think ahead. This allows you took watch your fretting hand and imagine the chord or better yet, a few of them that are about to be played. Every great guitarist does this. If you don’t believe me, watch the lead guitar player in a band, that usually anonymous guy standing behind the star. His eyes are almost always on the neck of his guitar and I promise you, he is not looking so much at what he’s playing but rather at what he’s about to play. Learning groups of chords in sequence makes this much easier.
 
What goes hand in hand with this (pun intended!) is recognizing the repetitive nature of almost all popular music. Consciously or unconsciously, songwriters have known how important this is for hundreds of years. If a song is to be popular it MUST be repetitive. Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus is a common pattern. The verses are almost entirely the same in terms of chord sequences, as are the choruses. So if you learn one verse and chorus, you’ve learned almost all the song. This can get boring from a listener or player’s perspective though and this is why a bridge (an entirely different part of the song) is sometimes used to break up the verse/chorus/verse/chorus monotony. And inside the verse and the chorus it’s common for there to be chord sequences that are repeated from line to line, or with a different line in between. 
 
Our brains thrive on a piece of music being predictable. And there is no better way to make a song predictable than by using repetition. Conversely, this is why many people have a hard time becoming emotionally attached to jazz. It’s just not predictable! But that’s why very accomplished musicians are drawn to it; the challenge of improvising in a fresh and unpredictable way that still conveys emotion is almost irresistible to advanced players. But even in jazz, having a “head” or melody that is based on a predictable chord sequence is almost essential. Take the classic “I’ve Got Rhythm.” That chord sequence is so common in jazz songs that when one player is calling out a tune to others who may not know it, if it has that sequence all he has to say is: “Rhythm changes, key of B flat!” and the others instantly know the song.
 
Maximizing practice time. This is so, so important. Very few of us have the time in our busy lives to practice as much as we would like. So it’s vital that the time you do have is put to the best possible use. In the case of someone taking lessons – and paying for them – beneficial practice only makes sense if you hope to progress and see results from your investment. So how to do that? First of all, if possible, try to dedicate a certain time each day to pick up your instrument. I have students who practice right after or before dinner and even ones who begin their day with playing almost as soon as they get up. This way, practice becomes part of your daily routine and you will notice if your routine is disrupted. Practicing at random times is probably the norm with most people but the danger there is that a number of days may pass when it’s easy to convince yourself that you have a more compelling activity.
 
So what do you do when practicing? With my students, this is what I recommend. Start by selecting a song or even an easy exercise that you know you can play pretty well and go for it. This builds your confidence. Or play a few that you like! Warming up before tackling harder music is always a good idea. Then begin attacking your latest piece of music. Rejoice in small triumphs within that piece and don’t be too hard on yourself about parts that are more challenging. Always separate those parts from the piece and practice them on their own. But be sure to add a few measures before and after that hard part, too, as the transitions from less difficult to more difficult to easier parts can become as big a problem as the hard part itself if they’re not dealt with. 
 
Keep a steady beat when practicing a song, even if that beat is much slower than what you know the finished product should sound like. I always say this to students: Rhythm is the Great Equalizer! What I mean by that is any piece of music played to rhythmic perfection, regardless of how slow, i.e., with a steady beat, will be easier to gradually speed up to the desired tempo compared to playing only easy parts of a song fast while stopping or slowing down on the harder parts. I always have to ask them to believe me when it comes to this concept because OF COURSE we want to hear a song up to tempo and part of our brain allows us to be satisfied with parts even if the whole is flawed. Always remember that from a listener’s perspective, even a very simple song with few chords that is played rhythmically perfect is much more pleasing than a fancy song that is stopped again and again. Rhythm bonds the listener and player.
 
Some students seem to almost fight with their guitars when I first see them or they are beginning lessons with me after playing on their own for a long time. Awkward motion and outright pain when playing almost always come down to something quite simple, which is posture and holding the guitar correctly. Assuming the player is sitting (and almost everyone does this rather than standing up) it’s vital to select a straight-backed chair with no arms and sit up straight. The natural tendency (and I am often guilty of this, although I’m better than I used to be!) is to kind of slump over the instrument. Why? To see what the heck you’re doing! A bad habit that goes along with this holding the guitar with the body tilted slightly toward being flat on our lap, again to better see what’s going on. The problem is, both slumping and holding the guitar toward a flat plane makes reaching around the neck much, much more difficult and in some cases makes arching the fingers for clear tone all but impossible. The back of the guitar should rest flat against your belly and chest. The neck must be at least parallel to the floor – holding it on an upward angle is better – but never, ever allow the head of the guitar to point down toward the floor and rest your forearm on your leg. The best way I know to help mitigate these bad habits is to use a strap when you play, usually adjusted to a shorter length when used while sitting compared to its length if you were standing. This way the weight of the guitar, especially the weight of the neck is off your hands. Sad to say, you just have to get used to looking over the neck and body as well as possible without slumping or tilting the guitar. Not easy, but it CAN be done. You’ll thank me for this some day, ha!
 
There are a few other things that I see all the time that stand in the way of students reaching their potential; I’ll probably get into those in a future post. Until then…..
 
Peace & good music,
Gene

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Feelin' Alright!

6/25/2019

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Best to check in here as my faithful readers have been wondering where I’ve been hiding. Thanks for your support, by the way! The beauty of doing a blog is that you can say pretty much whatever you want, within reason. I do sincerely appreciate your patience and forgiveness if I offend anyone. 
 
So anyway, I’ve been super busy for the last few weeks. I’ve cut down the days I teach to Tuesday through Thursday, which has proven to be a very workable and enjoyable schedule. Some days I may do a half dozen or more lessons and that can be a bit tiring but I constantly remind myself how fortunate I am to have a skill that people want to learn that’s not only gratifying to me personally but also fun. 
 
As I mentioned in the last post, there have been quite a few local musicians showing up to sit in at my weekly gig at the Daily Brew Café. What a great time we’ve had! The players are of various levels of ability and have wide ranges of taste in music but the results have been some pretty darn good music, if I don’t say so myself. This coming weekend promises to be more of the same with a friend who plays accordion, another who’s a guitarist and possibly a fantastic mandolin player talking of showing up. My new toy, an IPad on which I have over 120 songs ready to call up via the OnSong app has proven to be fantastic. Paired with an Air Turn Bluetooth pedal for page turns it has allowed me to tackle songs I haven’t played in years with the certainty that I’ll get the lyrics right. 
 
Which leads me to singing. After many years of de-emphasizing singing during lessons to concentrate on guitar parts I’ve been working hard on getting my singing chops back to where they once were and I’m seeing some success. Just like a guitar player who “knows what he knows” and is satisfied with the results, taking singing for granted leads to bad habits and poor technique. Breathing, posture, phrasing and pitch are now foremost in my mind when I sing. So far, so good. And just like guitar playing, some days are better than others. I’m still trying to not tighten up on parts of songs that are a challenge – this will always be my habit, I think – but even that is getting better. The biggest hurdle that I wish I could pass is being able to hear and sing harmony. This has been something that has been a challenge my whole life. I’m even considering some voice lessons to help deal with that.
 
Singing well benefits from having good sound reinforcement equipment and lately my cash has gone into a couple of new and somewhat pricey microphones. Two models by Ear Trumpet are now my go-to mics after using a Shure Beta 87A for a few years. Before that it was the tried and true Shure SM58, which is still probably the most popular mic used in live performance. The problem with that mic (and somewhat less so with the Beta 87A) is that I found myself “pushing” my voice too much and the results were not pleasing. The Ear Trumpet mics are remarkable. They are large diaphragm mics with a very cool retro look, designed to pick up not just vocals but also instruments when players gather around them and they are placed at about shoulder level. This they do exceptionally well, delivery a crisp but pleasing sound but best of all, the field of coverage is very specific so feedback is hardly ever an issue. After reading glowing endorsements from the likes of Jerry Douglas and seeing them used on the PBS Tiny Desk Concerts series I decided to give them a try and I’m so glad I did!
 
As far as guitars and amps go, I think I’m finally G.A.S. free (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome). I know, I know, I’ve said that before but the G.A.S. symptoms have not appeared in quite a long time as I now have a Martin Custom Shop D-35 Seth Avett model, a Martin Custom Shop OM-13-CS and a new-ish Martin 00-18, all with K&K pick-ups. They all shine in different types of music and in different settings, plus they are all gorgeous to look at. And all three play like a dream. I wouldn’t mind adding a 0000/M Martin to the stable but that can wait. 
 
The amp I’ve been using for the last year or so is the Italian-made ACUS OneforStrings8, which is truly the best, most natural sounding acoustic amp I’ve ever heard. I run a RedEye pre-amp between the guitar and the amp to give a bit more coloration to the K&K’s, plus the K&K treble boost allows me to easily adjust for changing conditions in the rooms I play. A bit more treble lets me be heard better in a full, loud room rather than just turning up the volume. The ACUS is not well known in this country and a bit hard to find but it blows away any of the high-end acoustic amps I’ve ever owned or heard. I also have a Bose S1 Pro for use where power is not available (it has a long lasting battery) but it does not sound as good as the ACUS plus the controls are poorly designed, so that one doesn’t get a lot of use. For larger gigs I still have my Carvin AG300 with extension speaker. Although it sounds pretty good as an acoustic guitar amp I use it primarily as a small PA when needed. 
 
How about lessons? Well, I have a great group of students right now including a couple of boys age 11 and 13 who just started. Those two have reaffirmed my belief that not all pre-adolescents are sullen and disdainful of oldsters like me! They are both very excited about learning the guitar and best of all, seem to have totally open minds about music, a rare thing in that age group. I certainly didn’t! My older students are wonderful too and a couple of them have become very, very proficient; so much so that I’m constantly challenged to find them new and interesting music. This is a good thing, and I mean that. My own playing is better for it, too. Lesson planning is still my least favorite part of my job but it is necessary and even vital if I’m going to keep my students’ interest and enthusiasm. 
 
 Yup, things are busy but good. So I’ll leave you with a joke:
 
Knock knock.
 
Who’s there?
 
Ah.
 
Ah who?
 
(sung) Werewolves of London!!
 
Peace & good music,
Gene

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Let the Good Times Roll!

6/9/2019

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Latest dispatch for these parts, where the tourists are arriving, the sun is shining and summer is just around the corner, whoo hoo!!
 
Some real fun times playing with friends lately. The best part is that the ol’ singing voice is coming back after quite a bit of neglect and misuse. When I’m teaching I tend to sing at a very low volume to not overpower the guitar, which I want to be the primary sound in the practice recordings I make. Now, I know better, back in the day when I took voice lessons in college my teacher emphasized the importance to relaxed singing and breathing. I’ve been trying to remember those things and it seems to be paying off; even got a nice compliment about my singing from a couple of young ladies at the Daily Brew last weekend. As an old fishing buddy once said, “Even an old dog likes to have his head scratched once in a while!”
 
Today at the Daily Brew two guys who were students of mine way back in early 1980s showed up, Don Newton and Marc Larrey. Don has an amazing collection of Martin guitars and he brought a few of them for me to try: M-38, D-76, D-45, J-40. Marc brought along his Martin D-18GE and his well-loved and battle-scarred Fender Strat that I sold to him back in the late 1970s or early 80s. He said he has done well over 1000 gigs with that guitar and it shows! Don’s Martins were all great and apparently he has quite a few more at home. Wow. 
 
Marc sat in with me for a couple songs, a blues tune and an old country-ish tune by The Band. He sounded absolutely fantastic and I sincerely hope we’ll get to play together again in the near future. He teaches at a private school and has made a successful career in music and I am so very proud to have at least in some small way set him on that course back when he was in high school. Plus, both Marc and Don are great people and we had a wonderful time discussing guitar geek stuff and reminiscing about gigs and times past. Times like these are one of the reasons I love teaching the guitar.
 
The week before I went over to another former student’s house for the first of his summer jam sessions. Another great, fun time and I’m looking forward to doing it again next week. 
 
Before Don and Marc arrived today I had a wonderful conversation with two other local musicians, Matt Beninghof and his brother John. These guys are absolutely superb musicians, both individually and when they play together. More guitar geek talk, gossip and laughs. Matt is going to sit in with me on mandolin two weeks from today and I am SO psyched! I am going to dig deep and have some tunes prepared that I know he’ll rip up. So – if possible, be there: Daily Brew Café, Rt. 28A, Cataumet, MA. Ten till noon or beyond, June 23. I hope I can keep up with Matt!
 
Another thing I’m psyched about: I finally bit the bullet and bought a new IPad (128gb), downloaded the OnSong app and spent a couple days loading in the lyrics to about 120 songs. On a few I uploaded copies that had chord changes and I’m pretty sure I can remember the changes for most of the rest. I’m a bit unclear about how or even if I can edit the songs as they were uploaded (as per what was advised in the app directions) as pdf’s. But for now, no more lugging around a big binder filled with paper copies. Also bought an Air Turn Bluetooth pedal that I synced successfully for hands-free page turns. Really looking forward to putting this outfit into operation at the Brew next weekend.
 
Apparently there is a new album coming out along with a movie to commemorate the historic Rolling Thunder Review tour with Bob Dylan and many others that took place in the mid 1970s. I heard one cut and it featured the absolute best, strongest singing I’ve ever heard from him, and here’s the kicker: That cut was one of a bunch that were recorded in a room at the Sea Crest Resort, which is about a mile from my home. I remember when Rolling Thunder was rehearsing there before the tour began. It was a poorly kept secret around town but I’m embarrassed to say I did not sneak around down there trying to hear some of the music. Although I am not what you’d call a big fan of Dylan, except when his tunes are covered by others, I think I will have to buy this album based on how great that one song sounds.
 
Another poorly kept secret of right now is that Dave Matthews will be playing at a private party in the nearby area called Grey Gables, which is part of the town of Bourne. Apparently this is the yearly event that is at the home of some record or radio person from Boston. Previous “secret” shows have featured Ed Sheeran, John Mayer and others. I am not a big fan of Matthews although I respect his musicianship and especially that of his band so I doubt I’ll try to hear it but I know many in the area will. He is scheduled to play a big show at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield on June 21 so my guess is that it will be the day before or after that. 
 
If anyone reading this has experience with using an IPad and the OnSong app I’d love to hear it, by the way. 
 
Peace & good music,
Gene
 
 

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