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Tips, tweaks and observations

12/18/2020

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Over the years I’ve picked up quite a few little tricks and tweaks from other guitarists and discovered a few of my own. None of these are revolutionary, but I use all of them and they have made the guitar owning and playing experience much more enjoyable. Here are a few:
 
When changing a string, put a slight bend in the new string as close to the ball end as possible. This makes the ball end securely seat itself on the interior bridge plate, which of course is vital if the string is to transmit its vibration to the top of the instrument. Without that bend, it’s possible for the ball to press up on the bridge pin rather sit tight against the bridge plate, which in the most annoying cases can suddenly turn that bridge pin into a projectile as it pops out when you’re tuning up. And believe me, because I’ve been there, finding that escaped bridge pin can be a major challenge in a cluttered space like my studio!
 
Also on the subject of string changes, do your best to avoid even the slightest bend elsewhere in that new string when you remove it from its package. A bend between the nut and the saddle has a negative impact on the tone of the string because that bend is a slight impendence to the string vibrating evenly. It’s a real bummer when you are expecting to enjoy the crisp, clear sound of a new string only to have it sound not much better than the old one you just removed. 
 
And do change the strings as often as you can afford. It is the most basic and inexpensive way to keep your guitar sounding as good as it possibly can. When you do get around to changing strings, don’t take all the old ones off at once (except for very occasional cleaning and polishing the fretboard). Instead, replace them one at a time. That way pretty consistent and constant pressure is maintained on the guitar. Your guitar is used to that pressure and if you suddenly remove and then reapply about 200 pounds of pressure (the approximate amount generated by steel strings) some nasty things can happen, the worst of which is accelerating the need for a full neck reset, something just about every acoustic guitar will need sooner or later. Be sure to tune each sting up to pitch as you go, too. You will have to do a fair amount of retuning the first few times you play but these days the steel strings that are sold by all manufacturers are very good at settling in and staying in tune quite quickly, thank goodness. Nylon strings however are a tuning nightmare for the first couple of weeks they are on because of the stretchy nature of nylon.
 
Try to get into a short warm-up routine and stick to it. Some players have a particular song they like to play right off the bat, some do scale work. I find scales pretty boring – although I certainly recognize the legitimacy of practicing them – so if I’m going to use a flat pick I pick out simple melodies such as Ashoken Farewell and The Ashgrove to get the fingers moving. This is as good for my ear as it is for my fingers. Being able to predict what the next note will sound like is an essential skill for any single note passage or in improvising. Playing familiar melodies forces that skill.
 
Make a point to play in different areas of your home. I have no explanation of why this works, but it does: hearing your guitar in a variety of places makes you play for a longer amount of time, which is always good! My studio is where I do most of my playing, probably 90% of the time, but I’m always amazed how different my guitars sound in rooms of different sizes and with varying amounts of reflective surfaces. There are many stories of famous guitarists playing in their bathrooms, for example. Some have even done some basic recording in those spaces, just because that space sometimes yields tonality that is very desirable. And there’s already a good, armless seat for you to sit on in there when you play!
 
This next one is a bit more serious but very important. Take a bunch of close-up detailed pictures of your guitar. I hope you’ll never need those pictures for this purpose, but if your guitar is stolen or damaged you will have proof of its existence should you need to file a police report or insurance claim. Be sure to write down the serial number too, which can be found inside your guitar either on a paper label or stamped into the neck block. It’s a good idea to forward the pictures and the serial number to your spouse or a relative, too, in case you are not able to access them for some reason. Plus, doing that will give you a back-up of that information.
 
A bit less serious but equally important. Think long and hard about what your personal policy is about letting others play your guitar, even going so far as having a little speech memorized if you are nervous about others handling and playing your prized instrument. It is really, really embarrassing to be confronted by someone asking, “hey, can I try your guitar?” if you don’t want anyone else handling it…. but you also don’t want to make things too awkward. I usually try to make a joke about it along the lines of: Sure, if your last name is Clapton! This usually gets the message across. If you’re fine with others playing your guitar, especially good friends or relatives, that’s fine. But I’ve had a couple incidents in days past when someone proceeded to beat on my expensive guitar when I handed it over. Suffice to say, I won’t ever let that happen again!
 
From time to time, record your playing. Today’s smart phones all have a “voice memos” app that can record at least part of what you’ve been practicing. You’ll often hear things like unwanted rhythmic variations that you’ve overlooked. But don’t be too hard on yourself. The recording quality will be satisfactory, at best, and very few of us really sound the way we think we do while we’re playing or singing. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, just different.
 
Lastly for this post I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy new year. Goodbye, 2020. Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry?!? This has been the most trying year most of us have ever endured. But I truly, sincerely believe that better days are coming soon. Stay well, stay safe, stay sane.
 
Peace & good music,
Gene

 
 
 
 
 
 
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News from my world, musical aspirations

12/13/2020

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With the tentative forecast of 12 – 18” of snow coming in a classic New England nor’easter next week I thought I’d post some random stuff. Because (if the breathless news anchors, TV weather people and reporters are right) I may be without power for a while. Best to jot down these things that have been running around in my head lately, plus some news from my world.
 
Yesterday was my last live performance at the Daily Brew for what is likely to be a long time. With the new state restrictions came the edict: No live music in restaurants.   Ugh. I guess it makes sense on some level but I defy anyone to prove that even one case of Covid-19 can be linked to a musician playing in a restaurant. I know in the grand scheme of things this is no big deal. After all, I have my health as does the rest of my family and for that I am very, very grateful. I’m hoping that my age plus a documented “heart incident” about 15 years ago will get me toward the front of the line for one of the vaccines. In discussing the new rule with Joni, the manager at the Daily Brew at the conclusion of my gig yesterday she said they are fearing a closing of restaurants in the near future or at the very least, curbside delivery of orders only. So she has a lot more to worry about than me, even though it will hit me pretty hard in the monthly bottom line. But Joni was quick to say that the moment the no-music restriction is lifted I will be back doing my weekly gig. I am still teaching at the Brew, upstairs where no customers are allowed right now, after closing time. And for that I am also very grateful.
 
I’m going to start doing my live sessions from my studio via my Cape Cod Acoustics Facebook page as I did all last Spring. Not nearly as much fun as playing at the Brew but at least it will keep me learning new songs and practicing. I had fits with getting good sound for my live sessions, both in my studio and at the Brew but at least in my studio I have more control of the sound and there won’t be any background noise of people talking and the smoothie blender doing its thing. If you haven’t “friended” my CCA Facebook page yet, please do so you’ll get a reminder every time I go live. I’m hoping that at least some of my listener/watchers will chip in a couple dollars via my Venmo account. If you have yet to use Venmo I recommend it highly. It’s free to download the program and a great way to pay someone or a business. My Venmo account is:   
 
www.Venmo.com/gene-bourque
 
An email I always look forward to comes from classical guitarist and teacher Allen Matthews. His writing is always interesting and he often has some great tips for all guitarists, not just those who play classical guitar style. His website is www.classicalguitarshed.com and I recommend it highly. You can request getting on his email list for those weekly emails, too. I had a wonderful little back and forth with Allen when I asked him if he minded if I quoted him in this space and he kindly said yes, which is why I wanted to pay it forward.
 
In a recent newsletter entitled “Duke Ellington on Choosing the Right Music to Play,” Allen quotes Ellington:  "The wise musicians are those who play what they can master.”  This is fantastic advice and it took me a long time to come to the same conclusion. As I think I’ve mentioned here before, in my dreams I am a great jazz guitar player. But alas, after struggling with that style for a couple decades I realized that was just never going to happen. So for the last 15 or so years I’ve been working very hard on styles I do know I can play pretty well for my students’ sake but also my own. I think in a macro sense the underlying message of Allen’s letter was that with our limited time on this earth it is much more gratifying to see real progress in a style you know well rather than beating your head against the wall trying to conquer something stylistically that takes away from your gratification in playing the guitar. 
 
But….I’m not saying you should only play the easy stuff, regardless of the style. We must all challenge ourselves if we hope to progress. I still dive into jazz stuff from time to time, especially after hearing my idol, Martin Taylor make it sound so emotional, effortless and exciting. My jazz chops have improved but I know pretty quickly when a piece is beyond me and probably never will sound as good as I hoped it would. I let go of those kinds of songs pretty quickly. Maybe if I had a friend who was a great jazzer to play with I would begin to see more rapid progress. Maybe not. But I’ve gotten past the idea that simpler kinds of music cannot be as gratifying as playing a Charlie Parker tune note-for-note. The upshot of all this is that I’m more pleased with my playing now than ever before, most of the time anyway!
 
I’m sure you saw the news of Bob Dylan selling the performance and publishing rights to his huge catalog for a reported $300 million+. Good for him! I’m assuming he put in a provision that allows him to still perform his songs. Dylan has always been very savvy about the business side of music. But the funniest quote I read by people reacting to the news went something like this: Man, are they going to be disappointed when they find out he can’t sing! (ha!)
 
Many famous musicians were not so savvy in the early days of pop and rock music. John Fogerty is the most blatant example of that. His entire Creedence Clearwater catalog was purchased by someone back in the 1980s (without his knowledge or approval) and for about 20 years he was not allowed to play ANY of the songs he wrote for the band. He eventually regained control of his catalog. But some were not so lucky. Sly Stone had signed away all his rights at the peak of the Family Stone’s popularity and I read a very sad story recently about him living in an old beat up van that a friend of his allowed him to park in his driveway. 
 
I hope you and your family are holding up as the pandemic rages. I just read online that the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine will be headed out for delivery to hospitals today, but for most of us it will a while before we have access to it. Some people are very nervous about taking the vaccine due to its possible side effects. I get that, but it won’t stop me from getting the shot (or shots) as soon as I possibly can. The nut cases who won’t get it because they think it’s a government mind-control plot can refuse it if they want; I’m guessing most of that group don’t wear masks either because they don’t want their “rights” trampled on. Fine. If some of them get the virus and go to the great Trump Rally in the Sky that just means I may move up in the line to get the vaccine!
 
Wishing you and yours a happy, peaceful and safe holiday season.
 
Peace & good music,
Gene
 
 
 

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