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When Chris and Walt married

1/10/2026

OK, I'll admit it. For decades I've tried to write songs and have crashed and burned each and every time. I'm totally aware of why this has happened time and again. My personal standards. i.e., what I expect of myself are most likely way too high. It seemed like everything I wrote came out like D-class James Taylor or Paul Simon. It was embarrassing and with one small recent exception, no one ever heard my efforts.
But that began to change just a bit a couple years ago when I read Jeff Tweedy's wonderful book "How to Write One Song." I've always loved his music and his book is self-deprecating, often funny but also encouraging. "Hey, maybe I can do this...." is what he wants your starting point to be. He offers many great ideas and writing techniques and everything he says makes perfect sense.
One small glimmer of light I should note. I have about two dozen or so pieces of music I've written and recorded with the idea that maybe, just maybe a couple of them will serve as foundations for lyrics. So, I guess my problem is not really writing songs, it's writing lyrics.
Once in a while I get students who are very interested in how songs are created and we discuss it at length based on what we've read or heard by famous songwriters. So many fascinating concepts are there if you look for them. To me, one of the most fascinating is the idea of cooperative writing. It blows my mind that musicians who don't normally play together but are friends can get together for the express purpose of writing, and from everything I've read they seem to love the process. Wow. My reaction to this is always: these people must really, really trust each other. To reveal deep inner thoughts, to not be afraid to fail, to blossom with the encouragement of another person....I'm convinced only certain people can do those things.
About a month ago Kathy and I were down in Dallas visiting our son Matt and his wife Alli. One of the areas we always love to wander around is the Bishop Arts District. There are dozens of very cool little shops, cafes, restaurants, bars (often with live music) and much more. One of the definitely funky shops we always check out is a must-do because you just never know what you might find beyond the dozens of pairs of used cowboy boots, vintage clothing, old and sometimes bizarre knick-knacks and much more. This time I noticed a big old bowl filled with random very old black and white photos. With absolutely nothing in mind or any purpose I began sifting through the hundred or so old photos. One, quite small but in good condition caught my eye. I looked at it closely, including the pencil note on the back where someone had written: "Aug 15, 1947. When Walt & Chris married"
Who knows why, but it struck me. There was an amazing amount of small details that instantly had me intrigued. Walt and Chris are standing close together with two dogs at their feet, nose to nose, almost like the hounds were meeting for the first time. The newly married couple seem to be dressed modestly but in their Texas-best, especially Walt in his freshly pressed pants and cowboy hat. Leaning against the modest but tidy ranch house are a pair of crutches. Showing the picture to one of my students he remarked: I know what those crutches are there. Look at Chris's right leg. She had polio at some point in her life.
And lo and behold, I'm sure he's right.
They are not young people. The empty corral behind the ranch house with the plains stretching out beyond made me wonder: Was - or is - Walt a cowboy? If so, where is his horse? In a barn we don't see, perhaps. Or maybe his riding days are long gone.
Chris wears a modest dress and upon looking closely with a magnifying glass, she seems to be smiling slightly. How did they meet? Did she work in town in a bank or a livery where Walt did business?
We'll never know who took the picture. Could it have been a child from a previous marriage or perhaps a close relative of one of the newly married couple? Are there more people out of camera range? Again, we'll never know.
One of my long-term students has been attempting some original music over the last couple of years. I've offered suggestions and with each effort her results have improved and matured. She is very creative and when I suggested we dive into a song about Walt and Chris she has very psyched, as I was. For the last month we've been throwing ideas back and forth and slowly but surely the song is emerging. I remembered a piece of music I wrote and recorded a couple years ago and upon listening to it for the first time since I came up with it, I thought....yes. That's it.
We still have some polishing to do but we're in agreement about the "tone" of the lyrics, a rough approximation of the intro/verse/chorus/bridge/outro sequence and how important it is to avoid cliches. It would of course be pretty easy for it to be a basic country tune but we're trying to not totally take that route. Because, quite frankly, I feel like there is a lot more going on in that old photo than meets the eye and I just don't want to do an injustice to Walt and Chris, even though I will never meet them. We'll see what happens but I'll tell you this - it sure is fun! I may even post the finished product. When it's ready.
Peace & good music,
Gene

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Who's the best? Who cares??

12/2/2025

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Guitarists are a funny lot, taken as a group. "Civilians" i.e., our spouses and friends will agree; my wife sure does. We tend to be VERY opinionated on just about everything music-related and even more so (if that's even possible!) when it comes subjects like: What is the best guitar? Is learning a song note-perfect really necessary or even worth the time and effort? But nothing comes close to the real biggie: Who is the "best" guitarist? After a while most guitarists realize there are way too many variables to answer that question definitively but it still gets asked.

That's only natural. Take sports, for example. It's easy to drown in an ocean of statistics. It's a great way to back up one's argument because most statistics in sports are beyond dispute. How those statistics are interpreted, that's where things get sticky. Music is a totally different beast. Sure, there are statistics like how many recordings are sold by a particular artist or how many times a song has been downloaded or streamed; how many weeks a song is popular based on those metrics, how many times it's been covered by other artists. Pre-orders of soon to be released recordings, selling out huge concert venues, appearances on TV. To an avid fan who is not a musician it would be natural to draw a line between popularity and expertise.

Is that fair, or even correct? From where I sit I must answer with a resounding NO. Last March and April I volunteered at a wonderful place, Fogartyville Community Media and Art Center in Sarasota, Florida. I will put in a link below and if you are going to be in the Sarasota area and are interested in learning more about this wonderful place I promise you will be impressed. I mostly checked in audience members and showed them to their seats at evening shows. The experience was all I'd hoped it would be and then some! The folks who run Fogartyville are warm and friendly; the place is truly a treasure. I'll most likely do it again this coming March and April, if they'll have me back ;~)
https://wslr.org/fogartyville/
The music I heard there was incredibly good, played by touring musicians and locals who were passionate about putting their craft in front of an audience. As you would imagine I was mostly listening to and watching the guitarists and wow, did I hear some good ones! Applying some metric about how well known they were relative to the quality of their playing would have been downright silly. Sure, most of them would probably like being more widely known and that was certainly one reason they were on the road.

But I would venture a bigger reason is something that non-musicians might not understand. For most professional musicians, putting yourself out there is really the only way to truly test yourself or put another way, determine just how "good" you really are.

We can practice diligently in the safety of our homes and there are ways to measure our progress. I encourage my students to use the memo app on their phones to make short recordings of what they are currently working on and save them in a file. BUT....do NOT listen to them! Wait at least a couple months, maybe more, then give them a good listen. In most cases you will hear some measure of improvement and regardless if that improvement is substantial or small you have a legit reason to pat yourself on the back. And no matter how much we may want to deny it, there are times when a good pat is just what we need.

Another quantitative way to measure our progress is using a metronome. For the last few years I've been urging all my students to use one. A metronome clicks and/or flashes and is set by selecting a beats-per-minute setting. Start slowly - considerably slower than what you hope the finished product will be. Fifty or even 40 beats per minute is a good place to start. Important: do NOT turn it on and just start playing in hopes of connecting with the beat, which is much more difficult than it may sound. Let the thing click away and begin counting sequences of beats. You'll most likely be in 4/4 time (4 beats per measure) and you will want to try sequences of three beats if the music is in 3/4. Count at least two measures before diving in. If you've never used a metronome before there will be moments when you want to throw the thing at the nearest wall. But with a bit of practice you'll get the hang of it. Beyond the fact that practicing with one will make you a better player if you want to play with others there is a more important benefit: You now have a solid way to measure your progress. Starting slow but after a practice session or two when you feel confident you can "lock in" at that slow beat, start increasing the speed gradually, something along the lines of just two to five bpm. Just like doing those recordings and listening to them much later you have a solid way to judge your progress.

But getting back to The Big Question: Who is the best player? I will give you my thoughts on that and I fully expect there will be those who disagree. A better question is: Which player makes me go - wow, I sure would like to be able to play like that! In the jazz world my favorite player is Martin Taylor (best guitar name ever!) who is generally considered to be the best finger-style jazz player on the planet. In blues, Keb' 'Mo is by far my favorite player. Keb can play any blues style and does it with grace and class and passion, plus he is a great singer. Among modern steel string acoustic players the late, great Tony Rice has been my favorite for decades and while there are many younger players who have learned that style very well (Billy Strings being the current champion) I will always admire Tony because he was the first to bring elements of jazz into the bluegrass realm along with the great David Grisman on mandolin. I don't really have a favorite among finger-style acoustic guitarists, which is strange as that style is what I mostly play.

On the other side of the coin.....Although he certainly has monster chops, Tommy Emmanuel is just a bit too over-the-top for me with his percussive style that sometimes seems like he's challenging his guitar to stay in one piece as he wails away on it. But I can see his appeal, especially to younger players who impressed by flashy playing. In the world of electric blues, Joe Bonamassa pretty much reigns supreme these days but to me he subscribes to the same rule book as Tommy E. in that he would much prefer to play a hundred fast notes where some might feel (me) that half as many played with deep feeling and phrasing might serve him better. I felt the same about the late Stevie Ray Vaughn. Repeating, though - I don't doubt for a second any of those guys have massive talent.

So.....see what I mean? Answering the question of who's the "best" I will leave to others. One thing is for certain. Bringing up that question among guitarists will surely spark some lively conversations!

Peace & good music,
Gene

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Practicing without your guitar. Wait...What???

11/18/2025

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For a whole boatful of reasons, no one I know gets to put in the practice time they'd like. That certainly describes Yours Truly. My excuses are even more lame (no pun intended) over the last month due to being mostly house-bound as I drag around a cast that runs from just below my knee to halfway down my foot. While I've been able to continue teaching, that's pretty much the extent of my physical activity. Lesson prep and transcribing new songs for myself and some for my students at least allows me to not feel that the last month has been a total waste of time. But practice - honest challenging myself to work on things I absolutely SHOULD be practicing, um, no. That didn't happen.

Just in the nick of time and totally by accident a classical guitarist/teacher who sends me various dispatches from his world touched on the value of "ear practice." He highly recommends listening hard to pieces he may or may not know from a music student's perspective. What instruments are present? Do the player or players stretch the rhythm a bit at certain points to accentuate dramatic passages? Or are they strictly on the beat because the piece has always been played that way? Does the song remind you of other songs by the same artist or others and if so, why? He also stresses that those questions and many more can and should be asked about any type of music, not just classical guitar stuff.

I'm frequently asked by students if there is any beneficial way to strengthen their hands and at the same time enhance flexibility without actually playing their guitar. Over the years many devices have come (and gone) on the market to help guitarists do just that. About the best thing I've found is a simple foam rubber-type ball. This type of ball has just enough "give" to make it feel good to squeeze and although I can't scientifically prove using one improves your guitar playing but it seems logical that it must, to some degree. I keep one in my car and one in the room where I watch TV so I can mindlessly squeeze and release it. Many years ago, I knew players who swore by those triangular hand exercisers that are designed for athletes who need to maintain a good grip on things like baseball bats, tennis racquets and golf clubs. I bought one a long time ago but found it too tight and downright painful with frequent use so I abandoned it.

In recent years I've been forcing myself to improve my posture, both when sitting and standing. Good posture is a vital part of playing and singing well. It fosters productive and unincumbered breathing, which helps encourage relaxation. This is something I wish I'd done many decades ago. Like most guitarists, throughout my playing life I've unconsciously hunched over the body and neck of my guitar to see where my fingers are on the fretboad. A much better strategy is to hold the body of the guitar absolutely flat against my belly and chest. Yes, you still will have to look over the neck to some degree but relying on your ear and muscle memory of the various hand and finger angles rather than totally depending on their placement relative to the frets via your eyesight is a hugely valuable skill to master. So these days I make a serious effort to sit up straight, keep my head back and drop my shoulders when sitting in a chair or driving my car. Trying to unlearn hunching over the guitar is not easy but I'm beginning to see some positive results.

The most important component in all music is rhythm. If it's not there it doesn't matter how many fancy licks you can play, without a steady beat that's all they are - random samples of notes without purpose. All popular music (in order to be popular) has lots of repetition in terms of chord sequences, individual chord changes and mostly identical verses in terms of length and chords with a chorus that comes around again and again. There may be a bridge, which is a short section that is different than the verse and chorus. This is no accident. The more the songwriter can make you remember a song in the shortest amount of time, the more likely it is that you'll be able to recognize it and decide if you like it - or not. When a song comes on the radio while you're driving, try to count the beats before a noticeable change comes along. Then, when the next verse begins try to predict when that change will occur again. If you do this a lot, when you dive into a new song you want to learn it's likely you'll find it easier to make your chord changes at places that just sound "right." And they probably are!

Closing my eyes and imagining the guitar neck in my hand with my fingers moving between invisible chords and single note phrases is definitely not a waste of time, even if it looks a bit silly when I'm doing it. Sometimes I hum the melody to the song as I'm doing this, which helps my hands move to their approximate positions (assuming of course that I have the chords of the song memorized).

If you tend to like organization in your life, think about what worked and what didn't the last few times you sat down to play. Write stuff down if you're afraid you might forget. Think about jumping right into a song or an exercise that is a bit challenging rather than just sitting down and noodling through some chords or riffs - the same ones you've been playing for years. Taking an immediate chance with a challenging piece of music is especially valuable if you are like me and I suspect the majority of players who just automatically begin by playing a sequence or even just a few of the same old chords. Yes, I know, that's stress free and don't we all want to sound good, if even for just ourselves? Problem is, doing that every time you sit down to play can easily put your creative urges on the back burner. Not only that, when you do decide to try something more challenging and creative you have trouble abandoning that back burner....because it's safe there! To break the habit of the same old, same old riffs and chords when you begin playing it helps a LOT to have a game plan, which is another thing to think about and construct while you're sitting in a car or at the breakfast table or on a bench in a park somewhere.

What this all comes down to is the simple fact that you CAN be developing habits that will improve your playing even if there isn't a guitar in sight. Sure, there is no absolute guarantee this practice without your guitar thing will yield quick results and it just might produce very little that creates a straight line to better playing. But I can guarantee it's a lot more satisfying than paying attention to politics or trying to justify paying seven dollars for a cup of coffee at Starbucks!

Peace & good music,
Gene

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Expressing your views in performance - Yeah or Nay?

10/27/2025

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Lately I've noticed quite a bit of shade thrown at my generation, now generally known as the Boomers, those born in the "baby boom" after World War II. That designation is generally applied to those of us born between 1946 and 1964, covering a slightly wider range than those labeled at Gen X'ers, Millennials and those even younger. There seems to be a growing belief that we had it easy. On the surface, I can certainly understand what they are saying. For many it was a time of seemingly no limits to what we could achieve and opportunities were everywhere if put in the effort to achieve them. Television shows like "Father Knows Best," "Ozzie and Harriet," "The Jackie Gleason Show," "The Andy Griffith Show" and many others purported to reflect our own families, if not in total reality but in ways that usually had elements with which we could relate. It was a time when it was possible for our parents to have jobs that were secure with the potential for advancement and maybe even work for the same company until retirement. Father was the breadwinner and it was possible to earn a living wage for his family; no need for Mom to go out and work, and her "job" was to maintain a happy, safe and nurturing home.

But now appears a growing number of Millennials and Gen X people look at the state of our world and our country and their own lives and say: You Boomers are in charge and have been for a while. Why the hell did you let things get to where they are now? How did all your altruism that you were so proud of morph into complacency? Is it simply a case of something like - "I've got mine and I worked hard for it. That's what you need to do! Get your eyes off your f'n phone and do something constructive!"

OK, all that is a grossly inadequate and simplistic way to explain our present reality from a Boomer's point of view and that of some younger people. Beyond that, to a person of color who grew up in the 1950s and 60s all the above could very well have zero relevance. In a very roundabout way this leads me to where I should be in this blog - talking about music.

A local musician I know posted a very interesting question on social media: Should a performer's political persuasion factor into whether or not he or she gets a gig? And the follow-up question: Should a bar or restaurant owner's political beliefs factor into whether or not a performer will even want to play at their establishment? As you might imagine, there were some very strong opinions expressed on BOTH questions. Without getting into the politics that caused those questions to be asked in the first place, I have been trying to figure out what I would do if there was no way to avoid them.

I consider myself to be part of a subset of the Boomers. In my formative teenage years many of my peers began questioning the validity of the values our parents hoped to instill in us. Injustice, lies from those in charge and the "America - Love It or Leave It!" doctrine seemed to be engulfing us. A foreign war in a place most of us had never heard of was claiming lives at an ever-increasing rate. That war was being fought in large part by young Americans whose socioeconomic reality didn't offer a way to avoid it, thanks to the draft. Some went willingly, in the beginning anyway.

At the same time, as has always been the case the arts were one of the first places where questions were raised as the harsh light of the reality began to shine. Famous rock and folk musicians began writing, recording and performing songs that addressed the inequality and injustice. Many of those songs were soon learned and covered by local musicians performing in small and large venues. I would venture that the majority of my peers who took up the guitar in the 1960s learned to play Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" as one of their very first songs.

This was not the case everywhere. In parts of America where country music was overwhelmingly popular, just the opposite was happening. Almost without exception the voices in country music viewed any questioning of national policy as unpatriotic at the very least and their music reflected that view. More importantly, their fans agreed with their message.

Both sides made passionate and increasingly angry music to make their points and their music was learned and played by both recreational musicians and those who played in local establishments. The reactions of listeners were equally passionate, both for and against what they heard.

What I'm saying is this: What musicians face these days is not new. But things have changed. Regardless of one's political persuasion there is one thing on which I think we can all agree: Our country and our Constitutional democracy are being tested as never before. The rest of the world is watching with either fear or hope that what happens here will have a direct effect on them, too.

Musicians are just like everyone else. They have deeply-held beliefs but they also have the power to express those beliefs that most non-musicians do not have. Should they use that power in a way that leaves little doubt which side of the divide they inhabit?

In my view, no. I know some will vehemently disagree. But in the end, you will most likely find yourself in one of two places, either despised by those who do not share your views or "preaching to the converted." Both places are a waste of your time and effort. The idea that being preached at via a song will force the listener to have some kind of epiphany and change their point of view in any substantive manner speaks more to the performer's ego than anything else.

Artists have always felt the need to express themselves though their chosen medium and sometimes to comment to a greater or lesser degree on what they see around them. I hope this is always the case. It's up to the viewer or listener to decide whether or not they want to pay attention and accept or deny the validity of the artist's vision.

Music, in its purest sense, transcends just about any experience we mere mortals can have. Allowing yourself to fully embrace that transcendence makes decisions about what's right and what's wrong much easier to make. Those decisions are deeply personal and need no justification, just a clear and open mind.

Peace & good music,
Gene

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Reserving judgement

10/16/2025

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I HAVE to get back to regular posts on my little blog, said Gene to himself. Lots has happened since the last post, perhaps of interest, perhaps not. But if nothing else, putting down some thoughts and ideas about guitar playing, the music biz and suggestions to help us all weather the societal storm that is raging all around us with music can't hurt, right?
So I'll dive right in. I know my site is primarily about acoustic guitar but here's a suggestion for something that may brighten your day. Bad habit of mine: being "late to the parade" when I discover a group or artist that I instantly love but who's been around for a long time. I try to keep an open mind and do a good amount of research but I often depend upon friends and relatives to turn me on to people making great music. Often, it's my son Matt who I'm proud to say has very eclectic tastes in music but often steers me in a direction I would not have considered. While we will never agree on certain things (his occasional recommendations of some hip-hop "artist") and my love of bluegrass/newgrass but a few months ago he strongly recommended singer/songwriter MJ Lenderman and as it happened, I was teaching a recent song by the alt/country group Waxahatchee called "Right Back To It" that featured him as a guest artist singing harmony. Love the song, excellent lyrics and a catchy chord sequence over a solid melody (check it out!).
Anyway, I did my due diligence and checked out MJ. He's a bit too much of the "shoe gazer" variety of younger musicians but some of his songs caught my attention and I'll be spending more time getting to know his stuff.
I am proud to say that way, way back I used to play a mix tape (remember them?) on our long-distance camping trips when Matt and his sister Joanna were kids. Matt credits that old tape with helping him discover some music from his dad's misspent youth that he really liked. It included songs by Santana, Traffic, Beatles (of course!) and the long, live version of the Stones "Midnight Rambler" recorded at Madison Square Garden in 1969. If you haven't listened to that one in a while I strongly endorse giving it another go. Whew, barely controlled chaos by the Stones at the height of their pure power.
But back to my recent discoveries of music and artists I should have paid attention to a long time ago. The group Los Straightjackets just released their first album of totally original material in over eight years, called Somos. They are unabashed carriers of the spirit of pure electric guitar twang ala Dick Dale and Duanne Eddy, sometimes called surf music back in the day. BUT.....thanks to modern recording technology and the fact that they are all virtuoso players they surpass anything done in the 1960s. All the 15 songs on the album are instrumentals and only one clocks out at barely over three minutes in length but wow, wow, wow. Some of the songs feature strong melodies at moderate speeds and one reviewer said: this is what the Beatles would have sounded like at the Cavern in 1962 if the Beatles were much better players with much better equipment. And I agree 100%. However, the majority are straight-ahead rockers and if your foot isn't taping after the first few licks you'd better check your pulse! You can buy the album to download or download-plus-CD from Yep Roc records where you'll find MANY other great artists. This album has become my go-to when I want to forget the latest news from Washington, at least for a few minutes and have my soul rubbed clean. Oh, and all the band members wear Mexican pro wrestler masks when they perform. Why? Why not!
My own performing over the last couple of months has been more frequent than I thought it would be. After my 13-year tenure at the Daily Brew ended I did beat the streets a bit in hopes of finding a similar gig but nothing came of that. Finding gigs has never been my strong suit anyway; I very much admire musicians who brush off rejection almost immediately and continue their efforts. I have never been that guy, nor will I ever be. I don't deal well with rejection and that is pretty much what it comes down to. But thankfully and for reasons no one really understands, when people are looking for a guitarist to play a wedding ceremony or for a private event here on Cape Cod my site seems to come up frequently. Thanks, Google, I guess.... (!) So over the past three months I've played four wedding ceremonies, a couple of them included the cocktail hour, two private parties and two more of the wonderful Music at the Table events that I wrote about earlier this year. I'll be doing another one of those next week. For the second year in a row, back in August I played the North Falmouth Porchfest accompanied by my friend and sometime-student Tom Austin. It was great fun, the weather was picture-perfect and the crowds were estimated at twice what they were last year and they were very enthusiastic. In spite of a couple glitches in PA system at our location Tom and I were very pleased with our performance and some people we know said it was the best they'd ever heard us. I absolutely LOVE playing with Tom. His pure joy in making music is infectious even to this old musician. The best part for me is that I can totally depend on Tom to be there on the chord changes and better yet, he adjusts when I go a bit off the tracks.
I also had the opportunity to meet some very good local musicians who played Porchfest at our location and I'm hoping to get together with a couple of them in the coming weeks to try some tunes in a slightly different setting than I'm used to.
Which brings me back to what I said at the beginning of this blog entry. We are in the middle of an existential moment in history. Every day it seems there is a new crisis that seems to challenge the very existence of our democracy. No matter which side of the political fence you inhabit, try hard to not make instant judgements (and for me personally, that is very hard to do sometimes). Gather as much information as you can, from as many sources as possible. Don't fall for easy answers to complex problems. And for me anyway, the best way to channel emotions is via that wood and steel contraption sitting on my leg. It doesn't pass judgement although at times it will challenge my honesty - my honesty with myself. More than anything, it offers an escape where you can rebuild your strength.

Peace & good music,
Gene

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Tackling a new song, Part 1

8/2/2025

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So, your good friend and playing partner just called and said: “Hey! I just heard this GREAT song! We should try it; it doesn’t sound all that hard. I think we’d KILL it!”

So he forwards you a copy of it or maybe a link to a You Tube video of the artist performing it. You give it a good listen. And he’s right – great song, fits what you do stylistically and you can tell it will be fun to play. You listen to it again. But this time, just a hint of a shadow of a doubt creeps in. And then your negotiation with yourself begins.

OK, yeah the song sounds pretty awesome but can we sing like that? It seems to be a bit of a stretch, key-wise. Can we change the key and find one that’s more comfortable to sing in without losing the overall vibe? And those chords… They don’t sound too fancy but I’d better do some research on that. How about the bass and percussion? Can we do without those things and still have the song sound good?

And so it begins. Even though it’s a pretty new song it’s already easy to find some arrangements of it online. Trouble is, when you try what’s been posted it just doesn’t sound…. right. So you dig deeper and find another arrangement and that one doesn’t sound much better. And guess what? You’re right! Those arrangements are, at best, sketches of what the artist does on the recording. Maybe in your younger days when you first picked up the guitar it would have been OK, but those days are gone. You’ve been playing long enough to want and need to be as accurate as you can, otherwise you’ll never be quite satisfied with your finished product and even after putting in some serious time and effort you end up abandoning the whole thing. Or you default to the ol’ “That’s just my take on it! No reason I can’t make the song my own, right?!?” But you’ve been playing long enough to know that’s kind of a cop-out. Based on past experience you know the only way to make that justification palatable is to learn it as close to the original as you can, and THEN start experimenting with variations.

I spend a lot of time listening and searching out new songs for my students. Or new/old songs that I remember from long ago that still have something to offer in terms of advancing their skill. Sometimes students suggest songs or artists I’ve neglected or introduce me to music that I end up loving. But most of the time it’s musical detective work, which I love to do. Inevitably though, those questions I posed above are factored in. I still ask myself those questions too, as it relates to music I want to learn that has little to do with what I teach. So here are some of the answers I’ve come up with over the many, many decades I’ve been picking up a guitar.

I start with a foundation. That foundation is composed of determining what is absolutely essential for a song to sound as close to the original as possible. That doesn’t mean every little thing, although that would be nice sometimes. Often it’s more like including signature lines, otherwise known as “lead lines.” In many cases they are absolutely necessary if there’s any hope the song will be recognizable. Think of the classic guitar line from the wonderful Motown song, “My Girl.” It just has to be there. Or the signature line from Mark Knopfler’s “Sultans of Swing.” The intro to the electric version of “Layla” is another great example.

But being even more basic, an absolute necessity is determining the meter sign. Is this song in 4/4 (it usually is) or perhaps ¾, 2/4 or 6/8? For me that’s pretty easy, but I know for many people it is not. I tap my foot and count beats. I can hear instantly where measures begin and end but I know most people struggle with that, especially when they first start learning guitar. Why? Simply because most people have never thought much about the beat of a song and even fewer people have ever tried to count beats. It’s not their fault. I’ve said many times in this space that rhythm is the most taken for granted musical skill of them all. We all have natural rhythm in the form our heartbeat beating. Some people are fantastic dancers (not me!) and they are most certainly responding to the beat. And most everyone can clap and keep time to a song.

Unless you have previous experience with a musical instrument you’ve probably never thought about rhythmic structure at all. But when you play the guitar, or any instrument for that matter – and I’m including your voice – you must be locked in to the beat. When you discover that not only must you count beats in the beginning to give each chord the correct amount of time, and then count identical groups of beats that we call measures it can be really, really frustrating. So your first task in learning that new song is determining just how long you need to stay on each chord before you change to the next one.

Here's a hint. Try to ignore just about all other musical elements and listen to the bass. In most popular music the bass plays many notes “on the beat,” that is, assuming you’re in 4/4 time (four beats to each measure) you can depend upon the bass to play one note per beat, or sometimes in certain types of music like traditional country music, on beats one and three. Of course they often do much more than that, but in the beginning stages of working out a new song count the beats by way of the bass part. Bass players often play the “root” of the chord (the single note that is the name of the chord) on the first beat of a measure. When you hear that note again, assuming you’ve counted with beat one assigned to that distinctive note it’s not all that hard to determine where a measure begins and ends. Then it’s a matter of determining how many rhythmic sequences – measures – a chord receives before a chord change occurs.

Even though those basic sketches of songs you can find online are often incomplete (or sometimes, outright wrong) you should use them as a starting point. Write out at least a verse and a chorus or enter it in a word processing program. Then put in the chords you see right above words where new chords are found, at least according to the person who posted the version of the song you’re trying to learn. Next, put a number next to each chord name to indicate how many measures you’ve counted out for each chord to receive. Now you have a basic sketch of the song. But naturally, you want more. Don’t get discouraged. What you’ve done is put together the skeleton of the song. We’ll put some meat on the bones in my next entry!
Peace & good music,
Gene

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Tribute bands vs The Real Deal

7/28/2025

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In the last few years, a trend in live music has become almost ubiquitous: so-called “tribute” bands. For example, this year’s season of acts at the Cape Cod Melody Tent included a total of EIGHT tribute bands. The CCMT is a nationally recognized live music venue and they often feature groups or single performers who are very well known; some of them are and have been truly legendary. I can’t tell you how many fantastic musical performances I’ve experienced at the Melody Tent. So why do they book so many tribute bands?

I guess I just didn’t realize how many music fans are out there who are perfectly willing to pay big bucks to hear music by a famous group played by impostors!

“They sounded JUST LIKE (fill in a name) and every song was just like the original!” say some of my students and friends. And I have no doubt it is true. There is certainly an undeniable justification for tribute bands. In many cases the original musicians are either unwilling or unable to do what they did (gulp) fifty or more years ago and some have passed away. But the love of their music has hardly diminished and in some cases has even grown. As regular readers of this blog know, I am as hardcore a Beatles fan as you could find. I’ve heard quite a few Beatles tribute bands that were absolutely fantastic, down to details that only a guitarist would notice. The use of period-correct guitars and amplifiers is something that puts me on their side before they’ve played one note!

For me, that’s where my interest in tribute bands ends. I respect the talent of the musicians involved; many of them are truly world-class players and singers. So how do we account for their obvious popularity? I think it comes down to basic emotional responses to the music. Most of us of a certain age have no trouble remembering how the music made us feel when it was fresh and new and we want to recapture that. Tied to that are memories of wonderful experiences we had while a certain band or song provided the sonic background. Those memories are very, very powerful and precious.

But I have a different outlook. Last night Kathy and I and our friends Rick and Ellen had the pleasure of seeing and hearing The Buckinghams at the Barnstable County Fair. There is usually at least one act in the yearly schedule that was famous back in the 1960s and we’ve seen all of them for the modest cost of admission to the Fair. I’m always psyched that in all those acts there has been at least one member of the original group; last night it was the lead singer and the bass player.

However, as is usually the case the other band members have been with the original members for a long time so they easily fit in. Having at least one original member accompanied by long term “new” group members is what separates these oldies acts from tribute bands, to my way of thinking at least.

This leads to another question, which is quite obvious. Just why are they doing it? Money is certainly a primary element. Back in the old days very few bands owned the publishing and performance rights to their music so beyond revenue from singles and album sales and live shows there might have been zero compensation from their record companies but bills have to be paid, so on the road they go.

But I have to believe there is another element that is even more compelling. Based on the joy I see when an older band plays songs they’ve been doing for decades I have to conclude that they just happen to love the music they are playing. They know they are giving their fans a respite from the overwhelming and scary reality of today’s world. It is a wonderful circle in which the crowd and the performers can bask in the emotion of the other.

When I started playing my objective and the objective of those I played with was to sound as close as possible to the recording of the songs we loved. Even with the primitive gear used (by today’s standards) that was a very difficult task to duplicate what we heard but then as now we needed a way to measure our progress. As time pased I realized it was perfectly fine to put a personal touch on my finished product.

Making a song my own became my objective. It’s actually a LOT more gratifying than being note-perfect. Plus, I accepted that no song I play is actually “done” and there were always more possibilities to explore. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t but approaching a song in new and different ways broadens my perspective. Plus it keeps the old hard drive on my shoulders active, not exactly an easy thing these days!

When I’m tackling a new/old song the first thing I do is determine if there are any must-do elements to include. Think about the little reverse diatonic scale played on the bass strings in “Landslide,” which I’ve been teaching for decades. Without it would the song still sound right, whatever the heck that means? I think not. Also, that little scale is present in many other songs like “America” by Simon & Garfunkel, “These Days” by Jackson Browne, and “Mr. Bojangles” by Jerry Jeff Walker. So it’s definitely worth using and learning. Many Beatles tunes are almost untouchable in terms of familiar lines. “In My Life,” “Birthday,” and “Lady Madonna” are prime examples. In my arrangements I wouldn’t even consider dropping those signature lines.

Tribute bands take those requirements to a whole different level. Interestingly, I’ve heard famous bands that have tribute bands doing their music make some fairly shocking changes to their very well-known songs. Of course they have every right to do that; it’s their song, after all. James Taylor has played “Fire and Rain” roughly a bazillion times but he sticks to his very first version pretty much note-for-note, at least until he gets to end of the song when he often tries some interesting variations of the vocals. I read an interview with him a few years ago where he stated that he would probably lynched by the audience if “Fire and Rain” and “You’ve Got A Friend” were changed or heaven forbid, omitted all together. But he went on to say he’s perfectly fine with that; audiences can count of those two songs each and every time he performs and he seemed totally grateful that his songs are part of the fabric of his fans’ lives and they still want to hear them.

So, whatever floats your boat is just fine. Tribute bands aren’t going to disappear anytime soon. Beyond the emotional attachment that people have to certain artists and songs there is a totally different aspect to the popularity of tribute bands faithfully reproducing songs that are 50 or more years old to not just oldsters like me but also to much younger members of their audiences. It’s all about solid melodies and lyrics. Does that speak to the overall quality of todays pop music? I’ll go down that deep rabbit hole in another column!

Peace & good music,
Gene

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A tribute to a very special person

7/17/2025

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Among the many wonderful experiences that playing music gives us is bonding with others who share our passion for creating something that is impossible to define. I have been blessed to be able to make music with more people than I can accurately count. But one person rises above them all, my dear friend and truly my brother-from-another-mother, Andy Groag.

Andy and I met in the late 1970s when both of us were recruited to play in a totally for fun band called the Geotones. Comprised of a bunch of people who worked together at U.S.G.S. in Woods Hole, it was supposed to be a one and done thing. Some folks who were organizing it for the staff at U.S.G.S. and others from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution thought it would be cool to have an “oldies” band play a few tunes, comprised of people who worked at those places. They were lacking a guitarist and a bass player but had no shortage of singers, at least a half-dozen if memory serves. I’m not sure why I was asked to join but Andy’s girlfriend at the time worked at U.S.G.S. and she talked him into doing it. He had a beat up old Guild hollowbody bass and a small amp, basically the only qualification needed to join the band.

From the moment I met him at the first rehearsal we recognized almost immediately that we had a lot in common in terms of taste in music and that came down to one thing: blues! Particularly electric blues by the likes of James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf, all three of the Kings, Muddy Waters, Albert Collins and others. Andy was very proud of sitting in with T-Bone Walker a few years earlier at a blues bar in Cambridge.

The party was a huge success and everyone vowed to make it a yearly event, which it was for a while. The next year a guy named Tim Ling joined, who was a scientist at USGS but also a superb musician with monster chops on keyboard, bass and sax. He was also a GREAT singer. The Geotones were asked to play at the finish line of the Falmouth Road Race, set up on a flatbed trailer. We did it for a few years and it was great fun. Unfortunately, new members became involved and took the Geotones way too seriously so Andy, Tim and I thought: Instead of doing doo-wop tunes from the 1950s, how about we put a band together doing 60s music? That was what we grew up with. We recruited a guy named John Spiesburger to play drums and a woman named Candy Lane to sing. Bit’s ‘n Pieces was born and then and now for me it was the most pure fun I’ve ever had playing music. We played most of the bars in town that featured live rock bands plus many parties and other events. When Tim decided to quit being a poor scientist and move on to get his MBA from Stanford (!) in California to make some real money, Bit’s n’ Pieces was done. Tim's life story is incredible But that's for another time. Suffice to say, I miss him each and every day. Here's an explanation of the photos at the top of this post:

#1: Bit's & Pieces promo photo. Sadly, (from the left) Tim, Andy, (me) Candy Lane (& John S.) are gone.
#2.: Playing at a cool restaurant in Mashpee Commons (I've forgotten the name but it was in the location now occupied by Bleu, if you're a local please remind me of the name) Played there many times and it was a terrific location. Had to find the owner who was often hiding behind the cooler in the kitchen when it was time for us to get paid, however!
#3: Having fun at one of the many post-Falmouth Road Race parties we held at our house. I'm blocking him in this photo but behind me on the red drum set was my son Matt, then about 16 years old. It was one of only two times Matt played with me in front of an audience and I treasure those times. Hoping we can do more in the future!
#4: Playing on the Island Queen for an evening "cruise to nowhere" party. We did a dozen or so gigs on the Island Queen. Tons of fun (except for our set up area being directly over the very loud engines) but not so much for Crazy Vinnie. I did not know he was prone to severe sea-sickness and on this particular instance, our first time playing on the Queen I happened to turn around to see Vinnie's head out the window next to him as he proceeded to "chum" the waters! Most amazing part? I swear he did not miss a beat on his congas and kept right on playing!

Andy and I stayed close. Somehow we connected with a real character named Vinnie (most likely not his real name) who was a superb player of congas and other hand-percussion instruments. Then Steph Murphy who played rhythm guitar and sang joined us. She was and still is one of the nicest people I've ever met and she was a great addition because her voice was a perfect fit for the Americana type songs we were delving in to. Andy and I loved her; a great voice, good guitar chops but also she was and is a warm and sincere lady. Many gigs followed including a regular summer gig at a local bar/restaurant/hotel, plus New Years Eve. Unlike some bands, there were never any ego issues and it was a blast. If anything started to get a bit “heavy” it was always Andy who would crack a joke and bring us back to our senses.

Andy was a good, solid bass player…most the of the time! His curse was he liked playing very much but hated to have to think about the music and the more fun he was having, the more “adventurous” his playing became. The result was sometimes leaving me to walk the musical plank looking for chord changes that were supposed to happen, but didn’t – something that made my lead breaks a real adventure at times. But really, no big deal because I loved him and his enthusiasm was contagious. My standard joke with him was: If you go before I do I will put on your gravestone, “Here lies Andrew Groag. He was just one fret off !” But he was creative and RIGHT in his musical choices way, way more than he was wrong.

As our musical connection progressed it was natural that our personal stories intertwined. We celebrated many shared wonderful, unforgettable experiences unrelated to music with friends and families (and more than a few bottles of good wine!) as the years passed. The last time we performed together was at a picnic held by movie director, writer and producer Alec Sulkin at his beautiful family home overlooking Red Brook Harbor. It was not the best playing we’d ever done but we had fun, Alec and his lovely wife could not have been more welcoming and the guest list was pretty amazing, as was the food!

But after that, try as I might, after that gig I could never get Andy to come over and play some tunes and share dinner and drinks, just for fun. Over the last 15 years I asked him dozens of times to come play and he always has an excuse not to. His jewelry shop in Mashpee Commons and his tennis friends seemed to hold him more than anything else. But on a deeper level I think Andy was in something like mourning our previous musical experiences and the reality that those days were past and gone. The sudden and shocking death of our friend and bandmate Tim Ling (Geotones and Bits ‘n Pieces) hit Andy much harder than I realized at the time.

In early March of this year, my dear friend and brother in spirit Andy Groag passed away due to complications resulting from his two-year battle with cancer. My wife Kathy and I alternated taking him up to Boston every week for his treatments over the three months preceding his passing. He said over and over how much he appreciated us doing that but to us there was no question or hesitation. We loved our friend and I feel so grateful that we were able to be together frequently on those rides up and back to Boston. As his health deteriorated there were times when very few words were spoken on this trips but Kathy and I wanted to be sure he was with friends who loved him deeply. We were heading to Florida for two months and I think both of us knew he wouldn’t last until we returned.

I spoke to Andy a few days before his passing. I am absolutely sure we both knew it would be the last time. I sensed he was ready, if we ever truly are. We didn’t reminisce about the many wonderful experiences we had shared; there was really no need to do that. He again thanked me profusely for what I had done over the months before this conversation. I can’t recall the specifics of our last conversation but he certainly did not sink into woulda/coulda/shoulda territory. He was at peace and I’m sure he knew how many people loved him and that’s all that really matters in the end. His spirit, kindness, generosity, total lack of pretense and most of all, his love made everyone who was privileged to know him a better person. Goodbye, old friend.

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On perseverance.....

7/13/2025

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One of the reasons I focus on adult students these days rather than kids comes down to one basic fact: Adults are much more likely to put in productive practice time compared to youngsters. This not always the case, of course. I can cite many examples of kids I’ve taught as young as 7 or 8 who succeeded spectacularly on the guitar but they are by far the exception. In a macro sense it’s really not their fault. The primary learning experience they have is school where the learning process is fairly straightforward, at least in the primary grades. When confronted with a problem or task their results quantifiable; they are either right or wrong. Learning a musical instrument is almost always not…..that!
You could make an argument that sports teach the value of practice and I totally agree, but there are other factors involved such as speed, agility and the natural tendency for a kid to compare their success to that of others. And these days the vast majority of kids’ experience in sports is in the organized variety. Rather than just having a pick-up game on a sand lot somewhere without the influence of adults who stress the “right” way to play, those sand lot games are great for learning to play in a relaxed manner without the potentially overbearing critique of some authority figure.

The huge gray area between failure and success is something many kids have never dealt with, especially with the emergence of “helicopter moms” (and dads!) who are devoted to making their child believe they have succeeded in tasks when that success is the result of those helicopter pilots smoothing the path so much that their child never has the opportunity to fail – and learn from their mistakes.

In some instances, being less than successful on the guitar in the short term has to do with a kid’s perception of the passage of time. In the beginning, to say to a child – you must press down on sharp objects as hard as you can and yes, that will hurt, but in a month or so you’ll be able to play something that sounds pretty good – is a big, big “ask.” It’s all about faith. Faith that the teacher is asking you to do something that will yield results in spite of very little perceived progress on a day-to-day basis. I have many tricks and suggestions that will shorten the path somewhat but ultimately, I’m talking about the absolute necessity of regular practice. But all of us (adults included!) can find a reason to avoid tasks that really need to be dealt with; look at the paint chipping off my house for a prime example!

Encouraging success and being a cheerleader are big parts of my job and sometimes I literally lose sleep trying to figure out how I can improve the playing experience for certain students who clearly WANT to play well but are very frustrated. But virtually all my adult students over the many decades I’ve been teaching understand that faith thing. When they do see and hear positive results it inspires more practice, which is a gratifying thing to behold. It’s a circle: Productive practice yields more positive results, which makes the student practice even more resulting in even more success, which makes the student want to practice more! What a wonderful circle that is!

Right now, I have a student who is one of the best examples of the art of perseverance I’ve ever seen. He is well into his “golden years” (please explain to me just what’s so “golden” about them?!). He’s been with me for about eight months and had limited experience on guitar before he started his lessons, enough to be able to employ mostly correct technique most of the time and a good collection of standard chords. Unfortunately, as with many of us at an advanced age he suffers from hand tremors that make formation of chords and rapid changes a much, much bigger challenge than what I usually see even with older students. But in spite of that I see more and more remarkable progress. I’m in awe of him. His is a perfect example of the benefit of committed practice. And….he’s doing this with a beautiful classical guitar that like most nylon-string classical guitars has a much wider and thicker neck than a typical steel string acoustic guitar, which make his accomplishments all the more admirable. Best of all, he is a truly nice guy and I always look forward to his lesson.

As I’ve mentioned before in this space, being able to take pride in even the smallest victories is hugely important. Remember: ALL accomplishments should be celebrated. Finally able to get a decent sound from a barre chord? Give yourself a virtual pat on the back because you deserve it!

Another element that has a definite impact on how a student progresses is their exposure to music throughout their life. If music is part of a person’s regular daily routine, even just playing music on the car radio, you’re learning things on a subliminal level that can be brought out with the help of a good teacher. Having relatives or close friends who play is another huge plus. As I’ve written in this space many times, pretty much my entire family on my dad’s side were professional musicians going back many generations so my exposure to both listening and playing music was a given.

Sometimes I get students with similar backgrounds but that is not usually the case. It takes three or four lessons for me to get a good idea of the direction we should take. The most important aspect at that point is helping the budding guitarist find gratification and pleasure in their playing as soon as possible. I can use just about any form of popular music to demonstrate the nuts and bolts of playing and this is why I give all my new students a sheet I call my “student profile” that I ask them to fill out and return to me at their next lesson. The last question on the profile is: Who are some of your favorite musicians and what is your favorite type of music? This helps me steer them into something they’ll enjoy practicing. All I ask is that they keep an open mind and avoid classifying certain types of music as good or bad. Sure, we all have preferences that determine what we’ll lean toward in terms of style and genre. But I firmly believe a student can learn valuable things from just about any style, things that can be applied to their preferred type of music. It took me decades to have that realization and I so wish my mind was more open in my early stages of learning to play guitar. I’m absolutely certain I’d be twice the player I am today if I’d resisted the trap of deeming some music good and some bad.

Don’t be afraid to ask yourself just why you want to play the guitar, and ask that question frequently because your answers may very well change as you progress. Be gracious about positive comments from listeners but also do not take criticism too seriously because 99% of the time that criticism is only in jest, even if it doesn’t feel that way when you hear it. In the immortal words of Mr. Dylan: “keep on keepin’ on!”

Peace & good music,
Gene

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The new reality?

11/20/2024

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Some things, regardless of how wrong they may be and how dangerous they are we must accept. What happened to this country I love a little over two weeks ago is something I doubt I’ll ever truly understand in a macro sense. The post mortem is filled with elements that make sense, I guess, and at the same time make no sense at all. We’re left to ask: How could (fill in the blank) happen? Are simple answers to incredibly complex problems the new norm? Is blind allegiance to a doctrine that history has shown to be destructive and immoral time and time again the way to make things “better?” Time will tell.

On a personal level, since November 5 I have been feeling an incredible weight on my soul and I know I’m not alone in that. My friends and I are left to console each other but in this case I think for most of us that consolation, while appreciated only offers a brief respite. Reality - that is the definition and name of the weight.

But one week later, something happened to give me a glimmer of hope. I had been asked some time ago to play during a weekly event here in town called Music at the Table at St. Barnabas Church and held in their Great Hall, an adjunct of an organization called A Place at the Table. This all-volunteer group provides free nutritious meals to homeless members of our community and anyone else in need of a hot meal and companionship, along with free health supplies, clothing and other necessities. A large and important part of what the volunteers do is interact with the people who attend. The purpose is to let people know that along with nourishing meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays there are people who do care; pointing the attendees toward other free services is part of the interaction but I sensed that what they were doing was nothing more or less than being a kind person who is ready to lend an ear and be a sounding board.

There were about 60 or so members of the community in the room and I learned some valuable lessons. The first was - I need to reassess what I thought a homeless person looked like. There were certainly a few who fit my pre-conceived ideas, wearing threadbare clothing that was inadequate for the brisk fall weather. But there were others whose clothing and overall looks were “normal,” whatever that really means. And there were also a few elderly people. One of the volunteers told me they were housed but had very little social interaction and no family nearby. Simply put, they were lonely. And no one should be lonely, especially in their twilight years. They came purely for the chance to make personal connections and to know that there are people who care about them.

I played mostly instrumental arrangements of well-known songs, being careful to never demand attention through volume. I knew immediately that my job was to enhance the ambiance; it was definitely not a performance in the traditional sense. And when I was through, a few of the attendees made a point of telling me how much they enjoyed my playing and thanked me for being there.

I can’t recall ever being so happy about playing for people. What I hope I accomplished was adding an element of comfort to people who have very little of that in their lives. Music has that power and it felt so good to be able to deliver it.

That night as I laid in bed I thought: Maybe, just maybe one key to healing the severe divisions in our country needs to start with making the effort to truly understand the depth of the challenges people are facing on a totally personal level. That starts with pushing back the vitriol and anger and disappointment that we have been bombarded with. This does not mean we should abandon our sense of right and wrong or that we should refrain from doing what we can to swing the pendulum back to the center - where it belongs.

All I know for sure is that music can help with that. I know this because on a small, personal level, I witnessed it at St. Barnabas. And I dearly hope that I can make my small contribution again.

Peace & good music,

Gene

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When Chris and Walt married

Who's the best? Who cares??

Practicing without your guitar. Wait...What???

Expressing your views in performance - Yeah or Nay?

Reserving judgement

Tackling a new song, Part 1

Tribute bands vs The Real Deal

A tribute to a very special person

On perseverance.....

The new reality?

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