A New Start

Ok, this site has become severely neglected. I'm still playing guitar, but I quickly became bored with creating lessons, so I'm going to use this site as a place to just talk about guitars...and music.

I am no expert, but I love playing. I'll try to use this site to keep inspiration, and hopefully to connect with other players allowing an educational, and fun exchange of music and guitar playing.

With that said, I'll go into my practice habits. Maybe someone out in the internet world can critique my style of practice, give tips on improving my technique, etc.

So every night after dinner, and after the kids are settled into bed, or close to settling into bed, I pull out my acoustic. I have two folders of music, one filled up with contemporary worship songs, and the other with random rock tunes I enjoy.

I usually go through about 10 worship songs, just to stay fresh in case my church comes calling for a substitute worship guy. After the worship songs, I'll pick a rock song to practice. Maybe its the Beatles, or King's X, whatever it is, I'll try to get a part down until I think it sounds right. Unfortunately, I have to try to have more patience, because I want to get that tough part of the song right away, or I can become tempted to ignore it, or fake it.

After playing one or two rock songs, I will try to work on any licks I've created on my own. This can get boring, because I don't feel like I'm the most creative guy in the world, so my licks can sound totally uninspired at times. However, I think it is important for all guitar players to avoid getting stuck in that "cover song" attitude. You know the guy. He can play all of the popular songs with no problem, but if you ask him to lay out a jam, 1-4-5 in D he's left scratching his head.

That brings into the last part of my practice, which is the most neglected. Theory and technique. I don't know about you, but I just want to pick up the guitar and become awesome. So I often neglect this key element, and as a result, I know my playing suffers. When I remember, I try to pull out an instructional book and work on some theory, or picking techniques, perhaps a few odd scales or chord patterns. I hate this part, but have to admit, I find myself expanding my guitar playing when utilizing that which I learned during the technique and theory portion of my practices.

So, it seems that a big chunk of practice is just myself tooling around on someone else's song, a bit on my own, and tiny fraction spent on theory.

Anyone else have a similar session? How about any tips for practice that you found useful? I'm not sure if there is any wrong way to practice.

Mandolins

Well, I know this is a blog made strictly about guitars (well, guitars and all things music), but I was given a Mandolin over the weekend. It is an 8 string Ovation Acoustic/Electric and a gift from my dad. My mandolin knowledge is limited, in fact it is an entirely foreign instrument to me.

The action is terrible, so I'm not sure if that can be adjusted, and I haven't even figured out the standard tuning. On top of that, I don't know many songs that feature the mandolin, but I do know that the mandolin is a cool instrument.

Ok, so a quick wiki search reveals the standard tuning as GDAE. Simple enough. And obviously the mandolin is in the lute family of instruments, so the transition should be quite simple. I'm not much of a bluegrass fan, but there are plenty of modern artists in more mainstream forms of music who have incorporated the mandolin into their music.

I have yet to even attempt to play it (the high action is the speed bump here), but I think a new instrument is in order for me. While I love the guitar, I've been stuck on a plateau for a long time now, and I'm feeling very uninspired. Maybe the mandolin will be a nice diversion while I reach the next plateau.

If anyone has any experience with the mandolin, please feel free to give out your advice.

About Guitars I've Owned Past and Present

Take some time to really practice the Major Pentatonic mentioned below. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment me. If something is wrong, please let me know, we are all teachers and students in the world of music.

Occasionally, I will use this site to discuss the ins and outs of the guitar. This is a newer thing for me. There are probably plenty of sites that break down the mechanics and design of the guitar nice and thoroughly. Me, I'll try to keep it simple, and hope to reinforce the workings of a guitar myself by writing about it.

To start off, I currently play a Larrivee D-03 with a B-Band preamp. Though the D-03 is considered their entry level guitar, it still put me out by about 950.00. I knew little about Larrivee before I first picked this up, but became an instant fan. I was at the local Sam Ash's trying out various Taylor and Martin guitars priced at a higher rate, and for kicks, picked up the D-03. I was sold within minutes, but spoke about it over lunch with my wife. This was probably about 2 years ago, and I have used it at fire camps, plugged in at church, at home and anywhere. Sounds great unplugged, and sounds awesome plugged in.

For electric, I have been playing a Schecter Diamond Series 006 Elite. The Elite 006 was a pleasant Christmas surprise from my significant other going back about 5 years now. From metal to blues and everything in between, the sound has been great. I do plan on changing my humbucker out to something with better pickup clarity, but other than that, I have no complaints whatsoever.

Now, going back in time, my first guitar was a folk guitar built by Sears, I believe. This was a birthday gift from my parents. I wanted an electric, but they got me the folk. I did learn Smoke on the Water and Stairway to Heaven on it, but I did not get too much into it back then. By the time I was 17, that guitar was so destroyed, I decided to put it out of its misery and smash it. >Sniff<

At around 14 or 15, I finally landed an electric guitar. This was a heavy Ibanez that had terrible action and the pickup was crap. I kept this for a couple years, eventually giving it to my uncle, who now passed it on to his 15 year old son. I think they put some work into it, and it probably sounds better than ever. I would have retained it, had I known then what I do now about hand-built Japanese guitars (try buying a guitar made in Japan today).

At about 17, I got a rather small Washburn, with white paint, a whammy bar, and a new set of strings all for 150.00. Around the same time, a friend gave me her Martin acoustic. I wish I still had that, but sadly, it is no longer breathing (not my fault). The Washburn served me for about 5 years, as I was a poor student with no disposable income. I finally gave that to one of my roommates who played the drums, but had a small interest in the guitar.

Along the way between my Washburn and Martin, I have also had a Takamine Acoustic (given to my sister-in-law, this one was technically my wife's), a Giannine Classical (old thing, but worked ok), and a 12 string of which I cannot remember the name, and couldn't stand to play anyway.

I plan on keeping my current guitars, as I am forever sentimentally attached to them. My next major purchase will probably be a new amp for the Schecter, as the 30 Watt Marshall is not sufficiently loud enough for bragging rights.

Until next time, reply back with your favorites or your dream guitars. Remember to keep the practice sessions up, and don't let yourself become discouraged. The guitar was meant for enjoyment after all.

The CAGED Method Introduction

For starters, a good technique to release the mysteries of the guitar is to begin the process of learning the CAGED guitar methodology.

If you understand your basic open chords, you are well on your way learning the neck of the guitar (even if you don't realize it). If you have learned some basic songs, then at this point you obviously know the five basic triad(*1) chords of C, A, G, E, and D (Hence the acronym CAGED).

Now, I will go into further detail later, but as an example, let's take the form of the basic triad chord C.

Play the C chord slowly.

The first note on the A string is the C note or 1st (root).
The second on the D string is the E note or 3rd.
The third note on the G string is the G note or 5th.
The fourth on the B string is the C note (again!) or 1st (root again).
The fifth on the E string is the E note (again) or 3rd (again).

Now, looking up, just focus on the numbers on the end of those five sentences. There is a pattern developing. Keep going, it will soon make sense.

In a triad chord, the basic rule for a MAJOR chord is that it must have a 1, a 3, and a 5.

1,3,5. The C chord technically only has 3 notes to complete it. There are two roots, and two thirds, 1 fifth.

Once you know where the root fits on this basic C chord, you can then move up the neck of the guitar to create the next note, D:

The last note (the second 3rd) is optional. Most simply play the 1 - 3 - 5 -1 without the third. Practice this in D and other notes up in down the scale. Pick one note at a time, and sing the number of that note for the chord (1), then the second (3), so and so forth. Once you remember the number pattern of C in the CAGED method, you will be able to add scales easily.

Let us get it rolling

I have been playing guitar for over 10 years now. Before that, I was a band geek playing trumpet for about 10 years also. I love music, and I love the guitar.

Currently, I am involved with my church as a sort of back up worship leader. The Larrivee D-03 with a B-Band preamp has sufficed so far. This has been my favorite acoustic guitar.

Having recently purchased a house, I have a room that is going to be setup as my practice room. Right now my Schecter occupies it along with my most basic amp, the Marshall.

I love the guitar, and I love discussing music. Please feel free to stop by and post any opinions and reply backs.

Any topic that you want covered? Let me know. I'm open minded about anything. Slack tuning your thing? Teach me about it. Stuck on the capo and want to escape? I can show you how!

This is sort of my intro entry on this blog. I hope this progresses into a site full of information and lessons garnered for the guitar player, or future guitarist.