ALL ABOUT GUITAR

Technical Tip #7: May The Force Be With You!

2008-10-15T07:07:00.002-07:00

There is a very common condition many players suffer from that is a sign of improper practice. When they start to play faster, the volume becomes lower and lower, eventually notes are missed, and finally, a speed is reached where the fingers or pick do not even make contact with the string. So of course, no sound is heard.

This comes about because as the speed increases, muscle tension throughout the arm and hand increases as well, and eventually chokes off all control. One of the contributing factors to this condition is the lack of an essential element during practice: enough time spent on "forceful" practice, that is, LOUD playing.

One of the elements that produce the ability to play fast is muscle strength, the other is control. Both of these elements must be developed in our practice. Many students play everything SOFTLY. Ask them to play a scale, and you see this timid little action with the pick, making these timid little notes. You have to put your ear up to the sound hole to hear them! I call it "wimpy picking"!

Realize that part of your practice, usually the beginning of your routine with an exercise or whatever you are working on, should begin SLOW, LOUD, AND FORCEFUL. Keep the force there as you work up the speed. THIS CAN BE DONE IF YOU MAINTAIN RELAXATION BETWEEN THE NOTES AND DO NOT ALLOW THE MAINTENANCE OF MUSCLE TENSION. IF you allow muscle tension to build and accompany your playing, you will literally choke off control.

Over time, you build STRENGTH and CONTROL. One of the hallmarks of a well developed player is the ability to produce fast, LOUD notes. In other words, a developed player keeps the volume (loudness) of the notes even as the speed increases, instead of the notes "withering" away. When you are developed in this way, you have the ability to go the whole dynamic range in your playing, from very loud to very soft, even at fast speeds. Otherwise, you will be limited to only soft playing (which is not intentionally soft, but actually "weak").

Technical Tip #6: Electric Vibrato

2008-10-15T07:07:00.001-07:00

(The following is a description of "wrist/arm vibrato" done on electric guitar. It is the most used, and most difficult to do properly. These guidelines do not apply to "finger vibrato".)

Some things we need to learn to do as part of playing the guitar are by their nature extra tricky to learn. This is because to do them properly, a certain amount of strength in the right muscles must be developed. But in the beginning of practicing such moves, the lack of strength in those muscles makes us use the wrong muscles, and so the muscles that need to develop, don't.

Vibrato on electric guitar is such a move. A good vibrato is one of the biggest challenges a developing player faces. It is also one of the hallmarks of a good player. If your vibrato sounds good, you sound good as a player. If your vibrato is bad, you will sound like an amateur.

Here are the things people tend to do wrong when learning vibrato on an electric guitar:

They keep their thumb BEHIND the neck (which is proper for normal acoustic playing, but NOT for electric vibrato). The thumb should wrap around the neck to give support and leverage to the hand.

They try to move the string with the fingers, using the muscles that extend the fingers. The correct way is to use the larger muscles of the arm. Most of the work of moving the string back and forth in vibrato is done by the muscles that rotate the forearm. Put out your left hand and pretend you are turning a dial. That is the action used in vibrato, a twisting motion of forearm and wrist, with the force directed by a firm wrist and finger, onto the string.

Because the wrist is weak in the beginning, they allow it to collapse and go out of line with the hand. The wrist and hand should remain straight and in line with each other while doing vibrato.

Here are some things to make sure of when practicing vibrato:

Make sure your thumb is wrapped around the neck in what used to be called a "bad" position, and in fact is bad for normal acoustic-type playing. Make sure the thumb is helping you move the string with a pumping, squeezing kind of action.

Make sure your finger, the one touching the string to vibrate the note, remains firm during the movement. Look in a mirror to make sure the string actually moves. Sometimes people are shaking their hand all over the place, but the string isn't moving!

Make sure the little finger side of your hand keeps its distance from the neck and does not collapse and come to squeeze against the neck. If it does, it is a sure sign that the wrist and finger have collapsed, and so are not properly directing force to the string. This side of the hand will come in toward the neck, then move away from the neck, in the course of doing the "dial turning" action of the wrist and forearm described above.

The best advice I can give you is to watch good players do vibrato and study their hands. Also of course, pay great attention to the sound of a good vibrato. Eric Clapton and Angus Young (AC/DC) come to mind as examples of great vibrato.

Technical Tip #5: Pull-offs Done Correctly

2008-10-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

On the list of things most often done wrong on guitar, the Pull-Off holds a respectable place. In fact, I remember I was playing for many years before a teacher pointed out to me that I was doing them incorrectly, resulting in either distorted rhythm, or missing notes.

A Pull-Off means playing a note and then pulling the string downward toward the floor with the left hand finger used to fret the note, and then releasing it so a second note is sounded by just the force of the release. You can pull to an open string, or (more common) to another note already prepared by a left hand finger.
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If going to an already prepared note, keep these things in mind:

1) The holding finger MUST hold the string firmly, straight to the fret, and not allow the string to move at the fret where it is held by the "receiving finger" during the Pull-Off. It often does NOT hold the string firmly, and should be checked in a mirror.

2) Very often a player will not really pull the finger, but will just lift it straight off the string. This does not keep the string in vibration, and the second note does not come out, or is very weak, especially at fast speeds.

Depending on the speed of the music, and other considerations, both fingers may be placed at the same time. The first is plucked, then pulls off, keeping the string vibrating so that the second note is heard even though it is not plucked by the right hand.

So when you do Pull-Offs make sure of this: the pulling finger pulls the string down a bit toward the floor, while the holding finger holds the string, pinned down as it were to the fret board, and not moving along with the pulling finger. Then both notes will be clear.

A note of warning. This action requires strength and control, which must be developed carefully or harmful tension will be locked into the muscles during practice. As much as you know and understand about "The Principles of Correct Practice," use them in practicing Pull-Offs.

Technical Tip #4: Hitting the Spot

2008-10-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

There is a saying "the devil is in the details." Well, it is also true that "God is in the details." If you don't know the details, you get Hell. If you know them, you get Heaven. Here is a detail for guitar players.

When you put a finger down on a string to play a note, you must be very aware of the exact spot on your finger that touches the string. For every playing situation there is one spot on the finger that is the best, that gives you the most pressure on the string for the least amount of your effort, which translates into better playing. There is one spot which you can sense if you pay attention, that leverages the weight of your arm just right for the position your fingers need to be in. For example:

When you play a first position G chord, your 2nd finger needs to overlap the string a bit, not go straight down on the tip. This is because you will be pulling it toward the 1st string when you place your 3rd finger on the 1st string. If you put it down on the tip, it will come off the string when you place the 3rd finger.

However, when you play a scale, such as the 2nd position G scale, your 2nd finger, which starts the scale, needs to go down right on the tip.

Just as being on the right spot leverages the weight of the arm and allows you to play with minimum effort and maximum relaxation, being on the wrong spot will have the opposite effect. Being on the wrong spot can tense up your entire arm, greatly hindering your playing ability.

Work with this concept, and you will discover many things.

Technical Tip #3: The Right Hand Get a Grip (But Not Too Tight)

2008-10-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

I am going to be real basic here, and talk about a problem that often begins right at the beginning for players. It is often overlooked, and takes root as a major handicap for future playing. I am talking about the right hand of the pick style player.

Here's the point. Most people tend to grip the pick too tight! They have A LOT of extra tension in their hand that they don't recognize as tension. It feels normal to them. Then, to make matters worse, when they contact the strings with the pick for a note or a strum, they tighten their hand even more without knowing it.

Don't do this! Look at your right hand as you play. Here are two tip-offs that you have extra tension: the fingers not holding the pick curl into the hand, as if to make a fist, or the wrist presses itself onto the face of the guitar, while the unfortunate guitarist continues to play as well as they can under the circumstances. (Another sign will be pressing on the guitar with the pinky).

The fingers holding the pick, and indeed the whole right hand, must be trained to be a sensitive instrument that is always responding to the needs of each playing situation. If a harder attack is desired, the hold on the pick will increase slightly, but never more than necessary. And you will never maintain that extra tension after it is not needed anymore.

Technical Tip #2: The Distal Joint

2008-09-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

I find myself focusing a lot lately on a real flaw in many people's techniques. It has to do with the left hand distal joint. This is the joint closest to the fingertip. It often must BEND, in order to do what is required. And many students do NOT bend it as they should. This is especially true of the 1st finger, and the 4th finger.

A lot of times, this joint does not want to bend, but must be made to when doing finger drills, scales, and other exercises. It is very important, for instance, to make sure this joint is bent on the first finger while doing a C chord.

For those using the Foundation Exercises in "The Principles", be warned about this: the exercises involving the left hand, (All Aboard, The Crutch with Heavy and Floating Arm) should all have the distal joints BENT, directing the force and weight of the arm down to the string, thereby enabling you to play with minimum effort. Make sure you LOOK AT THE PICTURES AND COMPARE IT TO YOUR OWN FINGERS!

I am trying to shout at you, because most of the time, when I check my own private students, they are missing this in their at-home practice, and the only way I can get them to pay attention to it is to SCREAM!

(Excuse me while I take a deep breath and calm down.)

So start examining your distal joints as you play and practice. If you work with it, it will become more and more flexible, and will be another move forward in your ability as a guitarist.

Technical Tip #1: Pivot Fingers

2008-09-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

The concept of Pivot Fingers is of immediate use even to beginners, and needs to be kept in mind constantly while practicing. It simply means that if a finger is already down on a note, and is needed in the same place either right away or shortly, DON'T TAKE IT OFF THAT NOTE.

Examples:

an Em chord to a B7. Do the Em with fingers 2 and 3, and leave 2 down while switching.

a C chord to an Em, leave 2 down and place 1 on the other note.

a C chord to a first position full F bar chord. Leave 3 down and pivot around it as you place the other fingers.

Always look for opportunities to use pivot fingers. You will find them in chord changes, scale passages, slur passages, all over. Every time you find one, you have just made that passage easier, and improved your overall technique. Sometimes, I find one I have never noticed before, maybe in something I have been playing for years and years. I am always glad I found it, but I feel pretty dumb for not noticing it before!

How to Make Guitar Chords

2008-09-02T05:15:00.000-07:00

Learning to make guitar chords on your own without expert guidance can be hard. Many people have given up the desire to play the guitar as they failed to learn how to construct chords.

It can be a good idea to learn to play chords by taking lessons from a qualified instructor. However, not all of us can afford a personal instructor and are lost trying to learn by ourselves. There is the option of purchasing an online guitar course that comes with an audio and visual guide giving step-by-step instructions.

If you know the right techniques, it can be fun making guitar chords as it is quite easy if you know the major scales and the right formulas. Most basic chords comprise of three scale notes and are referred to as triads. There are basically four triads that are commonly used. The major, minor, augmented and diminished chords.

Major

If you wish to play a guitar cord initially you can write down the key. If you want a D major chord, the major scale will be as follows when written down D E F# G A B C#

You have to use the 1st, 3rd and 5th note to get the D major chord which is D, F# and A.

Similarly if you wish to play the B major chord...

B C# D# E F# G# A#

The 1st, 3rd and 5th notes which are B, D# and F# give you the B Major chord. You can play using any note of a chord as long as all notes are used. The formula is 1-3-5.

Minor

When the 3rd note in a major chord is flattened the chord is termed as the minor chord. The chord is played as 1st note, flattened 3rd note and then the 5th note...

C D E F G A B

The c minor chord goes as C, flattened E (Eb) and G. The formula is 1-b3-5.

Augmented

In augmented triads the 1st note, 3rd note and a sharp 5th note is used. The formula is 1-3-#5.

Diminished

In diminished triads the 3rd and the 5th notes are flattened. The formula is 1-b3-b5.

When you understand these simple formulas and apply them, you find that making chords on the guitar is rather simple and enjoyable. It is not necessary to memorize them by just their shapes. Instead if you understand the formula you will begin to construct chords without much of a fuss.

How to Choose a Guitar

2008-09-02T05:09:00.000-07:00

So you have decided you would like to learn to play the guitar, but are completely lost about what kind of guitar to get, where to find music that you can play, what style of music you would like to play, and just in general, where to start. Well do not worry, it is common to feel this way when you are first learning to play guitar, and with a little help, is not nearly as daunting as it first seems. In this article, I would like to help you to choose your first guitar. This is an important step, and should be taken into very careful consideration.

When choosing your first guitar, you will want to focus on the larger guitar manufacturers such as Fender, Ibanez, and Gibson. But don’t think that just because these are big names in the guitar industry, you will be paying an arm and a leg, this is not the case. Each of these brands will have beginner models of their guitars that are perfect for the new guitarist, often times coming in great little packages that include a bag, guitar tuner, picks, and a strap. Your best bet is to head to the local music store and ask them what kind of beginner guitars they have, and if they have any beginner packages as I mentioned above.

There are a few things you don’t want to do when choosing your first guitar. You don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on your first guitar. Not only will you not have the ability to truly utilize your nice new guitar, but you will not know how to take good care of the guitar, such as tuning properly, changing strings when needed, and just keeping it in nice shape. If you were learning to ride a motorcycle, you wouldnt go out and buy a Harley Davidson for your first bike would you? One beginner mistake and you might end up laying the bike down, and feeling rather embarrassed. Instead you would buy an old used bike for a few hundred to learn and gain experience on. Then eventually upgrade to a much nicer bike. My advice is to take the same approach with your first guitar. Choose a nice beginner guitar, and once you feel like you are ready for an upgrade, go for it. One more thing that you really should not do is buy one of the cheap $20 guitars off of E-bay. I have personally made that mistake, and the guitar was a piece of junk. I would recommend budgeting up to $200 for your first guitar, but no more.

I hope that this article helps you to choose a great beginner guitar to learn with. It really is a great feeling to learn and play your favorite tunes. Just remember that for your first guitar, you do not need the rolls Royce of guitars, whether it be an electric or an acoustic. You will just want a quality guitar that has a good sound and feel. Good luck and have fun!

HOW TO GET A GREAT BASS SOUND IN YOUR HOME STUDIO

2008-08-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

I spent more time in the early part of my engineering career trying to get a great bass sound than anything else. I tried going through a direct box. I tried miking the amp. I tried different amps. I tried different mics. I tried everything!

No matter how hard I tried, I always fell short of the mark. I went in search of the Holy Grail for bass sounds but never found it. I realized with time that the answer wasn't a singular prescription for success, but a collection of techniques that could be used as each situation dictated.

The first step in getting a good bass sound is of course, having a good sounding bass. "Good" being a subjective word, of course. With that in mind, let me simply say that the bass should have a nice balance between a rich bottom end and an articulate top end, great intonation, nice sustain, and no rattles or buzzes.

A few basic things to know about recording basses; First, and maybe foremost, the player has a great deal to do with the sound. As with many instruments, it's mostly in the fingers.

Second, the natural sound of the instrument is important. If the tonality isn't there to begin with, it's difficult at best to fake it. All the tube preamps and eq in the world can't hide a bass sound that's dull and lifeless.

Third, the strings. Round from flatwound, brass verses nickel. They all have a sound. The sound you like will be a personal choice. But, let me add that the song you're recording can and should dictate the type of sound you are going for. In other words, the bottom shouldn't sound alike for every type of song.

Fourth, recording a bass guitar with a direct box sounds differently than recording the bass by miking the amp.

Fifth, the tone you get on the bass itself will play a major role in getting your sound. Don't set and forget the onboard tone controls. Experiment.

Let's start with a direct box. There are many different brands. Some sound better than others. Do your homework. Ask your friends or engineers you know which they prefer. Try to find the brand and model which gives you the most bottom end, while also giving you the most definition or attack on the mid range frequencies. My personal favorite at the moment is made by Sans Amp.

It's usually best to use a compressor/limiter in line to keep your bass's signal from slamming into the red on the VU meter. A 3:1 ratio with a fast attack and slow release usually does the trick. A little higher ratio will give you more "punch" - too much compression will make the bass sound squashed. As always, experimentation is the key. And yes, tubes do make a difference. They'll arm up the sound, but they won't perform miracles.

I find that with most basses, I need to add about 4 db @ 80 HZ to fatten up the bottom end coming out of a direct box, and moderate compression gives me the "thump" I'm looking for. The more you can do with a bass's tone controls, the less work you'll have to do with equalizers.

I've also noticed that many direct boxes don't have a very fast slew rate. In plain English, that means the signal's rise and fall time is sluggish. What that means to the sound is the attack of the top end is often diminished, not due to the tone of the instrument, but the inadequacies of the box. Keep your ears open, and try several models. You'll be surprised at the wide range of sounds.

For miking the bass through an amp, I'll use a Fender Precision Bass as my imaginary example, and an old Bassman amp. A classic combination. I like to mic the cabinet with two microphones. A Senheiser 421 facing directly into one of the speakers at point blank range, and an AKG 414 (or any other good condensor mic) about four feet back from the cabinet. The close mic will give a more direct sound with an accentuated attack, and the distant mic will give you more of the low end (it takes several feet of "air" for a bass wave to develop).

By using various combinations of the two mics, I'm able to get a great sound that often just can't come out of one mic. While two mics can often spell trouble because of phase anomalies, this is a case where those same problems can work to your advantage. By balancing the signals different ways, you are effecting the phase relationship between the two mics and altering the eq curve, hopefully for the better. The amount you vary the signal is of course controlled by the faders on the respective channels of the console. The amount you move the faders to change the sound can often be measured by hair widths. A little dab will do ya!

Just for kicks, you can try adding a direct box to the aforementioned scenario, and send all three signals to the same track. The direct box often adds clarity to the whole sound that is nothing short of wonderful. Lesson learned: As always, experimentation pays. Be patient, be persistent, and most importantly, don't print it to tape unless you love it . . . or your client is getting ticked-off that you're taking way too long to get the sound!

Guitar

2008-08-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

The guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments these days. The modern guitar has six strings. You can play the guitar either by plucking the string with the finger or strumming it with a pick. There is a similarity between the guitar and the lute, especially the older guitar which had a few similar strings. With its slim waist and flat back, the guitar looks as beautiful as a young girl.

It has a fretted neck. There are other types of guitars besides the 6-string guitar, which are

- 12-stringed guitar

- Bass guitar

- Steel guitar

- Lefty guitar

- Electric guitar

- 4-stringed bass guitar

- Acoustic guitar

- Vintage guitar

- 12-stringed guitar

- Lefty guitar

- Electric guitar

- Vintage guitar

- Bass guitar

- Steel guitar

- 4-stringed bass guitar

- Acoustic guitar

The steel guitar generates a sliding tone as a metal barstrums it. Four stringed bass guitar and electric guitar are compatible with rock music. They rely on electronics for amplification.

The conventional guitars that are classical, originated in Spain in the 12th century, but became popular only in 16th century when music was exclusively created for them. Fernando Sor was the master in playing guitar.

He was a composer and composed music exclusively for the guitar. The 19th century was the zenith in popularity of guitar and the credit for this goes to one of the stalw arts in the world of guitar- Francisco Tarrega.

Another interesting thing discovered about the guitar is that it has succeeded the harp, played in ancient Egypt. Over the years the harp has been modified from a bow-shaped string instrument to the one that looks like the guitar. The guitar, too, has seen many changes because of the influence of various countries. It has been gaining more and more popularity with every passing century.

Those of you who mistake the association of the guitar with the modern generation would be surprised to know that archeologists have uncovered clay plaques having figures similar to the guitar. This places the origin of the guitar to about 1900-1800 B.C.

Joueur Guitarre is the owner and webmaster of http://lpguitar.com, a leading Internet portal for guitar information. For more guitar information and resources, be sure to visit: http://www.lpguitar.com

Different types of Guitar Amps

2008-08-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Once you have selected your guitar, you require finding an amp to go with it. Today there are various options available depending on size, sound, amplifier technology and configuration. We are here to give you some useful and necessary information that would steer you through the maze.

Various types of Amplifiers

There are basically four types of guitar amplifiers: Solid-state (analog), Tube, Modeling (digital), and Hybrids.

Solid-state Amps - These guitar amps are recognized solid-state as they use transistors for their preamp and for power sections as an alternative of tubes. They are extremely trustworthy and hardly ever require repairs. They normally have a very fresh tone, even though many come with "distortion" channels also. These amps are all the rage with players looking for a strong, dependable touring amp.

Tube Amps - Tube amps are favored by many guitarists for their tepid, fat tone and as well for the "organic" distortion. Tube amps are generally sound louder than solid-state amps of the same wattage and have an exact "feel", which you do not acquire from solid-state amps. Most tube amps have different channels, which could be switched from clean to distorted tones instantly. Tube performance could also be deteriorating over time, so tubes require changing occasionally.

Modeling Amps (Digital Amps) - Modeling amp uses digital processors to reproduce the sound of traditional and contemporary tube technology. Using software that "models" the sound of tube amplifiers (and cabinets); these amps put the sound of various amps in one box. Modeling amps are programmable, and frequently have fitted digital effects like delay, chorus, etc. Some as well comprise of digital or even for analog outputs with orator simulation for going direct in to a recording border or P A system.

Hybrid Amps - Combining the best of each kind of guitar amp into one package, these amps use a real tube in combination with the solid state power part of their amps. Marshall Valve state amps use tubes in the preamp part and solid state circuitry in the power section to make a tube tone with no necessity the use of power tubes.

An Introduction to 8-string guitar

2008-08-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

8-String guitar comes with eight strings. There are many variants of this musical instrument guitar, one maybe invented from Russia along with the 7-string guitar alternative in the 19th century. The musical instrument 8-string guitar has started gaining popularity very recently, notably among jazz artists such as Charlie Hunter, The Special Purpose, Richard Scott, and Terje Rypdal and other metal artists like Meshuggah, Korn guitarist James ?Munky? Shaffer also had also been appeared with 8 string guitar during occasional live shows.

There are constantly increasing the number of online musical instrument store and musical instrument store offering 8 string guitars, and a production eight stings is been released during 2007 by Ibanez. Some of the other main manufacturing companies of 8 and also 9 strings guitars are Novax Guitars launched by Ralph Novak and Conklin Guitars.

Advantages of 8 string guitars:

? Full range of bass notes appears from A an octave lowers than the 5th guitar string, and up to the drop-D string.

? Latest 19-century model smaller scale and thin neck facilitates access to all 8 strings, for even Barres.

? It has the ability to play 10-string range of Mertz, and 7-string Coste range.

? It has the ability to play Baroque transcriptions at actual pitch.

? It plays Baroque 8-course lute pieces from originals.

? Play drop-D pieces with contact to the usual 6-string and drop-D fingerings.

? Low D and A quiver understandingly with 2 open strings.

This period balanced 8-string guitar shaped by Reis in about 1840 is a hard surviving example of the multi-bass guitars. It is designed after the well-known Viennese builder Anton Stauffer, as many Viennese builders copied the same Stauffer's design. Note that the additional 2 strings are not fretted and they are only the open string could be played. The headstock is a usual figure 8 shape, where the gathering for the 7th and 8th strings is interlocked.

The musical instrument 8 string variations can also be found in classical nylon strung instruments.They are usually tuned with two additional basses, which differ in pitch depending on the piece being played. Another general variation is to add an additional bass and treble string. The additional treble is almost forever tuned to A, while the added bass string generally falls on A, B, or C.