Hammond Music

Posts Tagged ‘guitar tips’

The great motivator Earl Nightingale came up with the following definition of success…
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” I love that definition! What does this definition mean to you? Let’s take a closer look at the worthy ideal part of it…

Please spend a few minutes writing down what the words “worthy ideal” mean to you. I feel that it is my vision of perfection…a vision of what I would ideally want & like things to be.It is a vision that I fine very energizing & inspiring!

If your success with guitar is totally dependant on working towards a worthy ideal, doesn’t it make sense that you first need to figure out what YOUR worthy ideal is? How can you progressively realize something if you don’t know what it is? Let’s do some exercises to figure your one out…

Please invest at least a couple of hours doing the following exercises. They will really help you to build a picture of your worthy ideal in your mind’s eye…

Exercise 1:
Try to imagine how you would like to play.Try to imagine what your guitar playing skills will look like, sound like, and feel like.What kind of guitar techniques are you an expert at? How does your improvising sound? What about your composing? You can write down your answers now.

Exercise 2:
I want you to imagine your ideal guitar playing career. Would you be a master guitar teacher? What about a wonderful perforing artist? Or what about performing as part of a highly successful band? How about being an in demand studio guitarist? What do you TRULY want to do? You can write down your answers now.

Exercise 3:
Jot down your ideas for a worthy career in guitar playing. Write your goal down in the present tense like you have already achieved it.Try to make it into a one paragraph statement.

Exercise 4:
If you will invest 5 minutes every morning & night that will help you to reach the goal you want to achieve. This will be a factor in helping you stay motivated and focused on the goals that you want to achieve.

Clarity is essential. If you don’t do it, you might not be able to start developing an effective career geared towards your goal.

You will find that while you are answering the questions that self-doubt will start to creap into your mind. You may doubt whatever you right down will be possible or not! This is completely normal. Just write down your answers anyway You don’t need to know right now HOW you will achieve your worthy ideal. It’s easy, just figure out what it is.

You can improve you guitar playing. You only learn by doing.

Everyone wants to learn how to play a guitar, even if few ever do. Those who do take a giant leap towards becoming professional musicians.  Guitars are a great way to express yourself and relax. However, there are many misconceptions and fallacies about playing a guitar.  Here are the myths and why they are wrong:

Myth: You should learn on an acoustic guitar.
Reality: It’s better to start on an electric guitar because it’s easier to play, has lighter strings, lower action, and a smaller neck. It’s also more interesting for younger players as you can add distortion and effects and keep the learner more interested in the process.

Myth: The best way to ‘get’ a famous player’s sound is buy a pedal that has player presets.
Reality: Although some multi effects DO have some famous presets, it is far better to learn the correct technique to make the sound rather than trying to copy it. Generally, the sound made by famous players comes from their fingers, their talent, guitar, and amp. You hardly ever find these guys using digital effects

Myth: You have to have a big amp to get a big sound
Reality: Some of the most huge sounds that have been recorded have been done with smaller amps10 -20 watt, tube cranked up loud. Many famous bands have stacks of amps on stage that are empty of speakers and a small amp hidden behind the stack that is mic’d up into the PA system. Some players are also using digital recreations (POD, Digitech) of their amps in the studio but most purist players still use a real amp and analogue pedals.

Myth: You should use lots of ‘string wrap or turns’ around the machine (tuning) head to get stable tuning.
Reality: Although B.B. King does use this method, a better way is to have about 3  ‘turns’ of string on the machine head and about 3-4 turns on the higher strings. However, the best way is to have NO turns of string at all and instead use locking machine heads such as spertzel or grover machine heads where the string is literally locked into place without any string wrap.

Myth: Single coil pick-ups sound the best but they are too noisy.
Reality: While this may be true, there are many ways around this problem. The best way is to use a hum canceling coil.” The other way is to put a “dummy load” pickup in the guitar i.e. a pick up that is wired in the guitar (sometimes under the scratch plate of a strat guitar) but does not produce any sound, it just cancels the hum and noise.

Myth: Cheap cables are just as good as expensive ones and I save money.
Reality: It is way better to buy a good quality cable that has, quite often, a good guarantee. It will last longer and there will be a big difference quality, which will produce better sounds. It's no use having a great setup but low quality cable. Its like buying a Ferrari and putting re-tread tires on it. Get the best cable out there. Quite often you end up buying one good cable instead of cheap ones every 6 months, making this a much cheaper long term investment.

Myth: There is nothing you can do about strings rusting and losing their tone so may as well buy cheap ones or no name brands.
Reality: There are several ways to make your strings last longer. The simplest method is to always clean your strings after playing with a lint free cloth such as a handkerchief and use a string product such as finger ease or fast fret, which coats the string with a protective chemical.

Products that coat strings in teflon help prevent string corrosion and tone loss. Though more expensive, they break less often and last much longer.

There are a lot of myths about playing the guitar. Hopefully this article convinced you they aren’t right and you can play on a new or used guitars, acoustic or electric and still have a good time with the guitar.

Classic Rock is a term used to describe bands and artists from the 1970s.”

Most of the musicians were very original and have become a big influence on subsequent generations. No matter what era you were born in, almost any band you listen to has been influenced by artists and bands from the 1970s. Moreover, even if you are only in your teens and you think your favourite band is “totally original,” chances are they were influenced by a musician or group from that era, even if they don’t consciously know it.

This decade was one of the best decades for groundbreaking music. Nothing was copied or rehashed and everyone had their own sound. The 1970s represented a culmination and expansion of sounds that were experimented on in the 1960s. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Free, Allman Brothers, Queen, Black Sabbath, Cream, David Bowie, Status Quo are all examples of acts who made their start in the 60’s but found their sound and style in the 70’s, and therefore gave rise to many other bands who then added their own flavour to these styles. All of these acts were guitar legends.

Lesser known bands such as Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Grand Funk Railroad, Scorpions (who became quite huge in the 80’s), and Thin Lizzy are worthy of mentions but would not necessarily legends, where as other acts such as Queen became absolutely huge and remain so to this day.

It is the same with other rock bands. Every guitarist has heard of the greats but there are other, less known musicians, who were equally influential and deserve attention. Two such examples are Richie Blackmore from Deep purple and Michael Schenker from UFO. You will find some modern players such as Kirk Hammet and Dimebag Darrel were heavily influenced by Michael Schenker, but Schenker has not really achieved THE “god like” status some of his contemporaries like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton have.

I could go on for hours about classic rock and there are hundreds of excellent albums that are still available today but some songs and albums deserve special mention for their guitar prowess and are worth your time to have at least a quick listen. Here’s a quick list of four lesser known gems of classic musical genius that are worth a listen:

Deep purple:
Guitarist: Richie Blackmore:
Choice albums:  Made in Japan and Deep Purple in Rock
Songs: Highway Star, Child in Time.
Some of the most blistering guitar work you will ever hear recorded in the early 70’s and held the Guinness Book of Records title as the loudest recording ever made!

UFO:
Guitarist: Michael Schenker.
Choice Albums: Phenomenon and Force It.
Songs: Rock Bottom
One of the most exciting and dynamic solos ever recorded, he was about 18 at the time!

FREE: (later to become” bad company” another excellent act!!)
Guitarist Paul Kossof
Album: Best of Free.
Songs: All Right Now, Fire and Water, Mr. Big [live]
It had a simplistic and slow natural style!!! A Les Paul plugged straight into a marshal, no pedals and no tricks.

WISHBONE ASH:
Guitarists: Andy Powell & Ted Turner.
Choice albums: Argus and There’s The Rub.
Excellent melody and twin harmony lead breaks, copied by many acts since! Very complex arrangements.

Your first musical gig is always an exciting event for a band. Many hours slogging it out in the garage or rehearsal room finally come to fruition with the offer of your first gig.

These days, bands usually get a school or party gig or a shared bill with a few other bands or even a band competition as their first gig. Either way, the experience of the first gig should be enjoyable and exciting. You don’t want it to turn into a nasty experience with everything going wrong, which it will if you are not prepared.

Like Murphy’s Law says “what can go wrong, will go wrong.” Every musician in the world can remember the first time they performed on staged, so make it a good experience not a frightful mess.

First, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! No matter how many times you have performed your songs in the garage, when you get on stage it will all sound different, and, if you don’t know your part 110%, you will get it wrong. In the garage, you are in one small room and quite close to your fellow band mates. On stage, you can be separated a lot and you may not be able to hear the other guys or what they are playing. If you know your songs very well, you will be able play no matter what sound problems you have.

Second, be confident. Rehearse your songs in the order you will perform them especially if you are doing a short set. If you are playing the whole night, rehearse the whole set beforehand. This will alert you to any problems such as guitar changes, pedal set up changes, singers might need a “breather” that may make you look disorganized.

Make sure your guitars have new guitar strings (but put them on at least two hours before you play and stretch them in), your drums have at least a new snare skin, check the condition of the kick drum skin too.

Make sure you have new batteries for pedals and especially tuners, and for any wireless systems you may be using. And don’t forget a guitar stand or two!! Have a spare lead close by even if you are using wireless system as it is a good back up.

If you are doing a gig with a bunch of other bands, make sure your accessories such as leads,  tuners , and microphones are clearly marked with your name or at least some special markings, it is strange how much gear goes “walking” at these gigs.

Create a song list for band members and have a few spares for other people. Make notes for the sound guy if you want any special effects done during your set. Each member should write notes on his or her list if they need to remember certain things such as pedal adjustments or guitar changes. Singers can use a cheat sheet and write down parts of a song to jog their memory. However, if you rehearse well, you won't need to do that!

Get to the gig early so you have plenty of time and bring lots of friends to fill out the crowd. Audiences generally have a ‘sheep’ mentality and if they see or hear a bunch of people making a lot of favourable noises they too will go along and get the vibe.

Enjoy your self and get the whole thing recorded on audio and visual mediums so you can show it to your family and friends and to your grand kids when your old! No matter whay, you won't forget this gig!

Guitar Strings should be changed whenever they start to look or feel rusty, start breaking, lose their tone and sound, or look dull. It is difficult to know how long strings will last as factors such as climate, how often (or not) you play your guitar, whether you are working in a band or just playing at home, all effect the longevity of your strings. In general, when playing a full night, guitar strings will only last about 6 gigs. After that, you risk the embarrassment of snapping a string during one of your glorious solos.

When changing strings leave enough slack to ensure that there is going to be 3 – 5 turns of string around the tuning head. Do no not use too many turns or wraps as this leads to tuning instability and constant string stretching. Make sure you gently but firmly stretch the strings when they are new. While connected to your tuner keep pulling and stretching the string and re-tune as necessary. Remember that nylon strings will always take a great deal of stretching to remain in tune.

There are many interesting products which can assist in tuning stability and make changing strings easy. Two good ones are the Spertzel or Grover locking machine heads. They don't need turns or wraps at all since they lock the string into the machine head.

A good idea on electric guitars with tremelo bridges such Floyd Rose types and also on Gibson style ‘tune o matic’ bridges is to change the strings one at a time. This stops the tremolo going completely out of adjustment and, in the case of the tune o matic, from falling off the guitar and losing the whole set up.

Always keep your new strings as clean as possible by wiping them down after each playing and using string life products such as Fast Fret or Finger Ease before and after each playing session. It makes a HUGE difference on the life of your strings and length of a good string tone. You can greatly extend string life by also using strings brands such as Elixir strings, which add about 8 times to the life of strings. However, they are about 3 times more expensive than normal strings.

A essential tool to have is an all in one string crank or winder or string cutter and bridge pin remover such as those made by Planet Waves or similar.