Synapse ST-2FPA Custom Review

Price paid: £ 550

Purchased from: GAK

Features: This guitar was built in Korea, made with hard maple and a flame maple top with trans-blue paint. It's pretty much the R2-D2 of guitars, it packed with features for such a small guitar. Rather than the traditional Steinberger graphite neck, it has a 3-piece maple neck and a graphite core, with a 24-fret phenolic fingerboard. The pickups are EMG 81/85, and additionally, it has a piezo built into the bridge, controlled by a pot that can go from full magnetic pickups to full piezo. Aside from the master volume and piezo blend control, it has an onboard EQ for treble and bass boost/cut.

When playing standing, it has a strap extension which balances the guitar perfectly, which was originally the reason for removing the headstock on the original L series. While playing sitting, it has a fold-out leg rest, and it also has a carved back so it fits against your body incredibly comfortably. To keep the lead out of the way, it has a recessed jack input, and a recessed Tool holder that has some allen keys, so you don't have to carry a little bag of them around with you.

One of the biggest innovations of this guitar is the built in capo, which, if set at the 2nd fret, the guitar is a Standard 22-fret 25.5" scale guitar. Set at the zero fret, it is a full Baritone guitar, and the capo can be easily rolled up to the 11th fret. A slight flaw with this design is that there are two large grooves running all the way up the 12th fret, however, these are easy to get used to. Another thing which is a bit hard to get used to is that the fret markers on the fretboard are Standard, with the double mark at the 12th fret, but on the side of the neck they are pushed up two frets to show the frets when the capo is on the 2nd fret. It's not a bad idea, but it's a bit frustrating the first few times you play it. // 9
Sound: One of the original complaints with the L series was that the amount of graphite used in it took away from the tone and made it sound sterile, however, the Synapse series uses a substantially larger amount of wood to give it a more conventional tone, I suppose. It still has a fair amount of graphite in the neck to find a good balance of tone. EMGs have become synonymous with metal in recent years, and it gives the guitar a much wider tonal range in comparison with the piezo, which can perfectly emulate Acoustic tones. I find a 50% magnetic/piezo blend using the neck position EMG (the 85) can get a really great clean tone. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar was set up to be immediately played. The trans-blue paint on the flame maple looks beautiful, and physically this guitar isn't biased towards any one genre. I might lower the action at some point in the future, but it doesn't need any drastic changes. I'm not sure how it comes from the factory as it's been in a shop and handled by the staff, and possibly adjusted. I can't find any flaws with it, though. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I'm sure this guitar will last a long time. There's a video on YouTube of Ned Steinberger lying the guitar down with the ends on two chairs, checking it's in tune, standing on the guitar and bouncing around a little, then getting down and checking it's still in tune. If this video is anything to go by, I'm sure it'll last a good long time and hold up as a live guitar. I've been carrying it around in the soft case that came with it, and because of the small body and lack of headstock, it's incredibly easy to carry around, despite the Baritone scale length. // 10

Impression: I like to play around with a lot of different genres, but ultimately, I'm a metal player. The EMGs are well suited for the style of music I play, and they can be tuned to a higher output (the piezo can, too). If I could change this guitar in any way, I would replace the HardTail bridge with a Trans-Trem, however, the string spacing is different and it would need some serious routing done to it.

As great as this guitar is, if it was stolen or lost I'd save my money and try to find a GM on Ebay, as they're discontinued and is my dream Steinberger. This isn't to say it's not worth replacing, but I don't see the value of getting multiples of the same guitar. // 9
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20 Tips For Better Phrasing

This article is only a tap into topic of phrasing. I will mention some of the options you have, and go deeper into them with other articles.

Take 2 notes – the note from which you begin, and the note on which you end a phrase. Those notes will be your referance points, while you focus on everything that happens between them, in order to enhance your phrasing diversity and vocabulary. In this article, I'm going to point out 20 things you can work on to make your phrasing more interesting and colorfull:

1. Scalar progressions

This is most obvious way to phrase. Play all notes between starting and ending note in scalar form, in descending or ascending order, or even not. It may be whatever

lenght of notes or their order your imagination wants – wholes, halves, eights, sixteenths, tuplets. You can also mix all of those in phrases. You can experiment with legato and with picking.

2. Using rests

Sometimes rests can make a strong statement in a phrase.

3. Thrills

Using short and long thrills can be very colorfull. You can do it with notes of any interval you desire, and be sure to try all of them!

4. Bends

Bending notes is always effective. It can be done in slow and in fast solos. You can bend any note in the phrase you like, and you can bend it up to 2 whole tones, or even more, but be sure to keep the accuracy of pitch.

5. Pedal notes

These ones are found most oftenly in neo-classical phrasing, but it can be used in any genre of music. Work with pedal notes below, above and in the middle of your referance notes.

6. Slides

Sliding from note to note is sometimes way more expressive than just hitting the next note. You can combine sliding with tapping technique, as well, when you do it with your tapping finger. Having spontaneous slides to the note, or from the note can sometimes enforce your that note.

7. Changing the 'return note'

I don't know any other term for this note, but it often occured to me that, when I get into certain phrases, I have one or more notes on which I often return. My phrases got lot more interesting when I began to change those 'return notes' into higher or lower, when I actually returned to them.

8. Reaching higher and lower notes

You can make some runs that go into higher notes than your beginning or ending notes, and then get back to your ending note. And of course, you can make runs that go into lower notes than your beginning or ending notes, and then get back to your ending notes. The idea of this tip is not to get stuck only in between the first and last note.

9. Vibrato

One of the strongest tools you have as a guitar player is firm and creative vibrato. Try slow vibrato's, fast ones... Mix vibrato and bends. There is a sea of options in this one. Take one note and play with it for hours, you might get really surprised with what may come out!

10. Repeat

Repeat certain parts of phrases in right rhythm and you might get really effective, dazzling solo.

11. Dual melody

By dual melody, I don't refer to polyphonic melody, meaning, you get only 1 note playing at the time, but you make 2 melody lines.

12. Tapping

Tapping may sound really exotic. You can tap on the same notes you already played, you can tap on the notes next in the scale, you can tap on notes one octave higher, or any other.. There are many options on this.

13. Chords

It is really powerfull to put a few chords on higher notes when you're in the middle of the solo, but this has to be really carefully worked out.

14. Open string notes

If the notes of one or more open strings fit your key, be sure to try using them.

15. Same notes

Try playing same notes on different strings, or same notes on same string. Try playing them in various speeds. Tremolo pick them, slide to them, bend to them, play them with your teeth! ;)

16. Octaves

You can play up to 2 octaves in the same time (if you have enough wide fingering range). Adding octaves to your melodies is really powerfull.

17. Harmonics

You can play artificial, natural or tapped harmonics instead of regular notes. Even try playing several natural harmonics on different strings at the same time. You will get really interesting sound. See where do you have natural harmonics available on your guitar, and how they can fit in your phrase.

18. Prolonging the notes

Try prolonging the note into next measure of your phrase, and then resolve it.

19. Intervals and multiple melody lines

Having more than one guitar playing certain melody line, in different intervals, is really effective. Be sure to try how each interval sounds, and think of where you'd like to hear it.

20. Whammy bar

Whammy bar can be your source of really intense, emotive and innovative phrases. See what you can do with it when transitioning only from one note to other, as well as when 'whammying' whole phrase. There are countless things to do with whammy bar – dive bombs, screams, weird vibratos, artificial chorus.. really anything!

Mix all of those tips. Don't get held on only one of them. Of course, when you learn, you should have all of your focus on only one, but when you actualize the phrase or solo, have all of those options in mind!
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Dashboard Confessional Strips Down For Year-End Outing

Two members of Dashboard Confessional will offer a stripped-down version of the band's sound on the road this fall in support of its just-released new studio album, "After The Ending."

The group's Chris Carrabba and John Lefler will leave their electric guitars at home for the acoustic trek, which kicks off November 30 in West Hollywood, CA. The outing, which concludes December 15 in Orlando, FL, will feature opening support from New Found Glory, who will also go acoustic for the road trip.

"After The Ending," Dashboard Confessional's sixth studio album, hit stores earlier this week. The set, produced by Butch Walker (Weezer, Fall Out Boy), is the band's follow-up to 2007's "The Shade Of Poison Trees," which peaked at No. 18 on The Billboard 200.

Carrabba told Billboard.com in October that he was having trouble deciding whether the album should be a full-band electric project or a stripped-down acoustic affair, so he chose both options; the default version of the album includes electric versions of the material, while a deluxe version includes a second disc with acoustic versions of the same tracks.

"I can even point to one track, and I won't tell you which it is, that was my least favorite track once completed on the full-band version of 'Alter the Ending,' even though other people love it," Carrabba told Billboard. "And the acoustic version has become my favorite song on the record."

The entire album can currently be heard streaming at the band's MySpace page.

Thanks for the report to Livedaily.com.
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My Chemical Romance: 'Our Fourth Album Is Concept Free'

My Chemical Romance have spoken about their as yet-untitled fourth album and have revealed that for the very first time it will be concept free.

Singer Gerard Way said they originally struggled to let go of the idea of a concept album but believes it is all the better for it.

Gerard told Kerrang!: "To be able to let go of your game plan is really hard.

"There were many times where we had to really move on our feet very quickly and say, ‘No, the album’s taking a turn and we need to accept it, because if we fight it we’ll end up with a record that doesn’t make any sense’."

He continued: "Everything is taking so much longer, in a really great way. We’ve never been able to go through the songs like this and get things as great as we possibly can.

"It’s always been like, ‘You’ve got three months to record and two weeks to mix, then you’re back on an airplane to go tour again!’. This time, we afforded ourselves the luxury of exploring every song."

The follow-up to 2006's "The Black Parade" will be released next year.

Thanks for the report to Gigwise.com.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers Announce Comeback

Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced their comeback concert.

The US funk rockers went on hiatus in 2008 after 25 years together, but have said that they will play the charity concert MusiCares 2010 on January 29, honouring Neil Young for his services to the musicians' charity.

Three members of the group played the same concert earlier this year which was honouring Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis, but this will be the first time the whole group has played together since they completed the last leg of their "StadiumArcadium Tour".

In May 2008, Kiedis announced the band was taking a break of "at least a year".

He said: "We're disbanded for the moment. We actually took a very long time to make the 'Stadium Arcadium' record, it took forever. It was really a gruelling, long haul and it followed two other very long hauls, 'Californication' and 'By the Way'."

However the "Under The Bridge" hitmakers returned to the studio last month to record their follow-up album to 2006's "Stadium Arcadium" which, according to drummer Chad Smith, will be released next year.

In September, the band were nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - in their first year of eligibility - and will find out if they have been awarded the honour in the new year.

Other artists playing the MusiCares 2010 concert include alt-country band Wilco, jazz singer Norah Jones and veteran singer James Taylor.

Thanks for the report to Contactmusic.com.
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Diamonds In The Rough Review

Released: Sep 16, 2008
Genre: Hard Rock, Metalcore
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Number Of Tracks: 11
Avenged Sevenfold’s latest CD/DVD Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough is likely to reinforce the love-hate relationship the band has with audiences.

Sound: I seem to recall there being quite a split among Ultimate-Guitar users during 2007’s end-of-the-year “best-of” poll, with one particular band causing the greatest division. The group in question was Avenged Sevenfold, and in many ways the quintet’s latest CD/DVD release Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough is a good indication why there is such a rift. Namely I’m referring to the DVD portion, which broadcasts the best and worst of the band. On one hand you get exceptional guitarists and some truly catchy melodies, on the other hand Avenged Sevenfold often has a tendency to convey the “I’m-a-big-rock-star attitude.” Some DVD viewers out there might not even take notice of it, and in the end Avenged Sevenfold does at least know how to put on an engaging show.

The CD portion, Diamonds in the Rough, features quite a few bonus tracks and/or intended B-sides from the self-titled album of 2007. If you purchased the original 10-track version of the Avenged Sevenfold CD, the new release should have quite a bit of unheard material for you. The studio quality is just as strong as any of the singles, with every track emphasizing the amazing technique of guitarists Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates. Highlights in that area include the insanely good scale-oriented solo on “Demons” and the bluesier, Slash-like “Tension.”

The CD includes alternate versions of the hits “Almost Easy” and “Afterlife, ” although the changes aren’t radically dramatic. “Almost Easy” feels very much like the original except for a few tweaks, while “Afterlife” does feature the addition of a string section. Avenged Sevenfold takes a stab at a few covers as well, with Iron Maiden’s “Flash The Blade” and Pantera’s “Walk” making it onto the playlist. While the guitar work is flawless on “Flash The Blade, ” it’s hard to equal the charisma of Bruce Dickinson’s delivery. They fair better with “Walk, ” with vocalist M. Shadows doing a fantastic job of matching the manly grunts of Phil Anselmo and Vengeance providing a fitting homage to Dimebag.

Going back to the DVD, which was filmed at the Long Beach Arena on April 10, 2008, it definitely keeps your attention and not every band can accomplish that. The only slight annoyance – and it might not bother anyone else out there – is the air of cockiness. There are panties thrown onstage at various points in the concert and Shadows knows he has the crowd wrapped around his finger. There are moments when it does seem like he’s emulating Axl Rose (complete with aviator shades), but if he can pull it off, more power to him. And hey, Motley Crue thrived on attitude/sex during their shows, so you can’t be too mad at Avenged Sevenfold for bringing out a few dancing girls during the course of their show. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: It’s very likely that you’ve already heard a good number of the songs performed on the DVD, and if you’re an Avenged Sevenfold devotee, the B-sides/bonus songs might be old news as well. However, if you haven’t had an opportunity to hear any of the newly released material, you shouldn’t be disappointed in terms of the lyrics. “Girl I Know” might be on the sleazier side, but in general you get a good mix of topics, with the songs “Tension” and “Demons” standing out as a few of the strongest offerings. // 8

Impression: In terms of setting out to entertain the masses, the CD/DVD Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough accomplishes the mission. The CD feels very much like another fresh studio release if you haven’t been exposed to the B-sides, while the DVD features a sound mix that is just as strong as if it was also recorded in the studio. The band does deserve credit for adding a little personality into their extras section, too. There are several humorous skits featuring the band members, and they actually evoke some chuckles here and there. If you felt a disconnect with the band onstage, the offstage antics are likely to change your opinion. Out of everything on the DVD, it was most refreshing to see that a successful, panty-receiving band like Avenged Sevenfold still might juts be a bunch of average Joes when they don’t have thousands of screaming girls in front of them. // 8
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Phrazes For The Young Review

Released: Nov 3, 2009
Genre: Alternative Rock, Electronic, New Wave, Synthpop
Number Of Tracks: 8
The Stroke's singer's solo project. It feels very different from the Strokes, very electronic.

Sound: The Stroke's singer's solo project. It feels very different from the Strokes, very electronic. Think of it as like First Impressions, with more synth and electric keyboards. There are very catchy songs on here, like Left and Right in the Dark, and 11th Dimension. River of Brakelights sounds like Juicebo from First Impressions. Ludlow Street has a very countryesque feel to it. I found that overall, the new instrumental style actually helped support the melodies better than the Strokes straightforward rock. My only disclaimer is that at times the keyboard/synth melodies sound out of place. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: Julian is a great singer and this album showcases his skill. He is able to make exceptional melodies, like in 11th Dimension, 4 Chords of the Apocalypse and River of Brakelights. His lyrics are conventional lyrics, but there are some memorable lines in the album. The lyrics match the music's mood quite well. The upbeat songs have happy lyrics and the somber songs are matched by more solemn subjects. I think overall, the lyrics were great. // 9

Impression: The album is very different from the Strokes, and if you were expecting that coming, be prepared. It has a techno feel, and is like an extension of Ask Me Anything from First Impressions of Earth. Exceptional songs are Left and Right in the Dark and 11th Dimension. This is essentially showing what Julian could do if he was let to run a musical project, and it's great, but I'm not into the new electronic sound he's created. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be happy for the person who stole it but I'd most likely just go and buy the new Strokes CD coming out next year. // 8
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Hello Hurricane Review

Released: Nov 10, 2009
Genre: Alternative Rock
Label: Lowercase People Records
Number Of Tracks: 12
On their first release since parting ways with Columbia Records, Switchfoot are enjoying the freedom to think outside of the world of cookie-cutter formats.

Sound: After playing by Columbia/Sony BMG Records’ rules on their past few albums, the members of Switchfoot have rediscovered creative freedom. Frontman Jon Foreman candidly stated they “wanted to start with a clean slate because the last couple of records felt kind of compromised.” One can imagine that the record execs wanted an album chock full of radio hits that follow a pretty common format, and while Switchfoot’s 7th studio album Hello Hurricane comes close to that ideal, it’s obvious that the quintet wanted to get a bit more artsy in the process. There’s an underlying pop-rock vibe that is the driving force behind the CD, but Switchfoot still shows off their experimental side in a big way.

Small indications of that experimentation are apparent in a track like “Needle and Haystack Life,” which immediately introduces a much richer guitar tone that we’ve heard from the band in the past. While that particular song still sounds like a perfect fit to play over the credits of any random hip TV show, “Mess Of Me” begins to take the album in a more intriguing direction. If you prefer the edgier, more straight-up rock side to Switchfoot, you’ll love “Mess Of Me.” Starting off with a sonic, distortion-seeped guitar hook, it also features an interesting arrangement in which a cappella vocal lines often trade off with the rest of the instrumentation.

It’s very likely that Foreman and his bandmates had a ball playing around with various effects/synth equipment. There’s been a quote going around regarding how Hello Hurricane delves deeper into both the band’s acoustic and electronic sides. As odd as it sounds, it’s an accurate statement. Not every song includes this combo, of course, but the album is full of paradoxes to be sure. A song like “Sing It Out” is an aural free-for-all, starting out with some eerie Pink Floyd-like crying guitar effects. The bass line is the guiding force underneath Foreman’s solemn vocal work (which is also eventually joined by a string section), and you’ll even hear a subtle robotic-like vocal line mirroring his lyrics. There’s also a lengthy, fairly ghostly instrumental outro that sounds to be primarily synth work.

While “Mess Of Me” and “This Is The Sound” are the big rock numbers, the mellower offerings take up the bulk of the album. “Enough” is just a little too predictable in comparison with the rest of the tracks, but it does score points for its sentimental factor. “Your Love Is A Song” begins by being a fully electric ballad, but the band quickly strips everything down to only an acoustic and vocals. There are a few transitions of that sort in not only “This Is The Sound,” but in songs scattered throughout the CD. The acoustic doesn’t always take the spotlight on the ballads, however, and you’ll notice that Switchfoot became fond of a keyboard effect that produces a chiming effect that you might hear in a nursery rhyme. It’s the little details like those which indicate that Switchfoot is truly attempting to think outside of the box. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: There’s a common theme that runs throughout Hello Hurricane, namely that of self reflection. Whether Foreman expresses, “I still believe you can save me from me” or “the sickness is myself…I made a mess of me,” the album probably had a cathartic effect for the singer/songwriter. The main issue is that there is a fair share of the normal/typical rhyming patterns (“I’ve got my back against the wall; I can still hear the blue sky call”), and that often becomes distracting. The candid themes relayed, however, allow you to often overlook any predictable rhymes that show up on the record. // 7

Impression: Recalling Switchfoot’s big hits from The Beautiful Letdown (“Meant To Live” and “Dare You To Move”), there does seem to be creative growth for the San Diego natives. While it’s fascinating to hear what effects, drum tracks, sampling are chosen (and where they are placed), it’s just as satisfying to hear a dirty riff show up in the middle of Hello Hurricane. Somehow with all of the experimentation, Switchfoot still manages to sound commercially acceptable. The band didn’t necessarily play by a major label’s rules this time around, it would still be no surprise if a number of Hello Hurricane’s tracks find Billboard success. // 8
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Bon Jovi's Copyright Case Resurfaces

Bon Jovi's legal battle over their baseball anthem is far from over - the man who filed a $400 billion plagiarism suit against them last year is dragging the case back to court.

Massachusetts-based musician Samuel Bartley Steele filed papers last October alleging the group copied lyrics from his 2004 song (Man I Really) Love This Team, which was used as the theme tune for his Boston baseball team The Red Sox.

Steele alleges the group's New Jersey-born frontman Jon Bon Jovi heard the song while campaigning for US. Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004, and used the track's lyrics to create hit song I Love This Town - which was later used as a promotional track for Major League Baseball.

A judge dismissed the case in 2008 after Steele's own musicologist agreed the songs weren't very similar, but Steele has decided to challenge the decision. He filed an a notice of appeal to the First Circuit Federal Court on Friday (November 06).

Thanks for the report to Contactmusic.com.
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Metallica Interviews Alice In Chains

James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of Metallica interviewed Alice In Chains for FMQB Productions' "Inside Alice In Chains: Black Gives Way To Blue" broadcast special, which will air on radio stations across the country starting tomorrow (September 25).

When asked by Hetfield what the album title means to the band, guitarist Jerry Cantrell explained that the title track is a song about late Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002. "It's a really intense song and a really open-hearted song because of Layne and the experience that we all went through," he said. "It's [about] facing up to that stuff and all the good and all the bad and moving forward together. It speaks to [the fact that] things were pretty black for us. It's pretty literal, and things are starting to get a little lighter."

Cantrell also stated that having Elton John play on the song was an honor, because Elton was the first musician that he really admired. "It was a really heavy thing for me, because my whole journey starts with him. That was the first guy I really got into," Cantrell said. "Then I started discovering guitar bands like AC/DC and Kiss and all sorts of other stuff. But Elton was the first thing that turned the light on for me. So to have that come full circle for all of us – for what we've all been through – and for who that song is about, it's a pretty heavy thing. It's one of the few moments in life where the universe really lines up and tells you you're doing the right thing."

The band was also very candid about going through their own battles with addiction after Staley passed away. "We kind of went off the rails and stopped touring with two number one records back-to-back because we were not in really good shape. We tried to take time off, and the plan was to focus on living a little bit," Cantrell said. Drummer Sean Kinney added, "The plan was to stop because I knew for a fact, if we were to stay out on the road, death was imminent. It wasn't just Layne — it could have been me, it could have been anybody. We pulled back from that and the theory was to try to get our act together so we could live and move on."

Later in the special, Hetfield asks Alice In Chains singer William DuVall if it was strange for him to sing someone else's lyrics. But as DuVall pointed out, music is always open to interpretation, and he takes away his own meaning from the lyrics, whether they were written by Staley or Cantrell.

"Truth is truth, and I'll relate to it on that level," he explained. "It's similar to the older songs; a tune that might be really personal to Jerry, like 'Rooster', Layne sang those songs with a lot of conviction. I come to that stuff singing a song like 'Dirt' or 'Junkhead' with my own experience, because the feelings behind those lyrics are universal. The impetus for writing them may be extremely personal, but that's the beauty of music. That's the power of it. It's all the blues to me, and I know a thing or two about the blues. I'm a blues person!"

Hetfield joined Alice In Chains on stage on November 26, 2006 at the Warfield in San Francisco to perform the song "Would?". Watch a fan-filmed video clip at YouTube. A professional-quality clip of Hetfield playing "Would?" with Alice In Chains at the Rock am Ring festival in Nürburgring, Germany on June 2, 2006 can be viewed here.

When asked by Revolver magazine if he had a close relationship with Staley, Hetfield replied, "I wasn't really close with Layne, but I remember going to see Alice In Chains many times. I remember when we were down in L.A. [in 1991, making 'The Black Album'], I left the studio early to see them play on Clash of the Titans with Slayer. I was driving like a madman in this rented van, going on the median and scaring the shit out of my friend — 'We gotta get there!' And we get there, and they'd just got off. I was like, 'Aw, man!' [Laughs] I hung with them a little bit, always just loved their music, and I'd say that Jerry [Cantrell, AIC guitarist] and I share some life experiences, like getting a second chance at life and realizing how cool things can be. So we've got kind of a kinship that way. And seeing them play — I just love hearing those songs. Those songs are awesome and should be heard, you know? They were so unique, so ahead of their time. And out of all the Seattle stuff, that stuff is the most timeless. Unfortunately, Layne just loved the junk too much, man, and that was that. I just read in his lyrics his obsessiveness about it. And he knew where he was goin'! It's like, in the school of driving, look where you want to go — and that's what he was doing, it seems like."

Thanks for the report to Blabbermouth.net.
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Megadeth: 'We're Living The Dream Because We're Awake And We're Working It'

Gav Ross of Australia's Beat magazine recently conducted an interview with Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the fact that talking about his craft and answering the same questions over and over again is far from a chore:

Dreams are for people who sleep. We're living the dream because we're awake and we're working it. It's really important that we remember that things aren't just going to happen by us sitting back and waiting for something to drop into our laps.

On Megadeth's new album, "Endgame":

Part of it was written in the studio; part of it was some riffs I'd saved over the years. I'm just really excited about how it all came together. Granted, there's a lot of stuff I'd like to have had happen with this record, like doing it all in one sitting rather than having all the interruptions that we had with tours and stuff. Sometimes it makes it so difficult — you're in a creative moment and then you've gotta stop.

On the unexpected generosity he encountered while putting together his recording studio, Vic's Garage, in San Marcos, California:

We had a guy come into (Vic's Garage) and he and his wife were huge fans. While I was a little uncomfortable with his offer, he has now — no shit — dropped over $100,000 in sound-proofing the studio for free. His son is a drummer and they've already done some recording in here too.

On the general support he has received during his career and his position as something of a guitar deity:

I haven't felt as honored or respected [by] our fans or the heavy metal community as much as I do now. It's so rewarding and almost inebriating. I've never been one of those guys to get caught up in the hype because I put my pants on just like everyone else, y'know?

On Megadeth's recent Canadian tour with Slayer — the first time the two bands played together in almost 15 years:

(Because) we hadn't played together in quite some time we didn't really know how it was going to go. The concerts were great; the fans were great and the bands will continue to grow closer over time. We'd had some problems in the past, but we're considerably more mature now and I've changed a lot, so anybody that's waiting for me to say something to ruin the tour, they're going to get disappointed.

On being on the road for long periods of time:

I don't really tire from the touring as much as a normal guy would because I take really good care of myself. The touring rigors will eat you alive if you don't get your act together. It's real easy to be out on the road and to lose sight of what's good for you; you can get sick really easy out there by following some bad habits or doing some stuff with people.

On Megadeth's upcoming Australian tour with Slayer:

That's the problem when you're in the situation of there being more than one band (on the bill). Because it's a co-headline show both bands get exactly the same amount of time. They're closing, we aren't, but we're going to play as many songs as we can in the amount of time we have. The four concerts we did Canada were only 60 minutes and that only allows us to play about 12 songs.

I'd like to play longer, but I also know that we're being followed by a very capable band and they're going to be just as exciting to listen to as we are. My main goal is to play the best that I absolutely can on this tour and be in the best physical shape I can be.

Read more from Beat magazine.
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Aerosmith: Joe Perry Interviewed

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry was interviewed on Monday, November 9 by Chuck Nowlin of Boston's WZLX 100.7 radio station. A few excerpts from the conversation follow (as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net).

On whether Steven Tyler has left Aerosmith:

Perry: "I don't know. There hasn't been any communication with his managers. He hasn't talked to anybody in the band. So [the report on Classic Rock magazine's web site is] the only thing I've seen or heard.

"Right after the [Abu Dhabi] show [on November 1], I jumped in the car and went to the airport and flew to London for the Classic Rock Awards show. And so we got back a couple of days later than everybody else and when we plugged in and got online and saw [the Classic Rock article], it was kinda... 'OK, well, I guess that's what he's doing.' I knew we were gonna be taking some time off, but I guess he just announced what he was gonna be doing during the time off."

On whether there was any talk with Steven at all during the recent shows in Hawaii and Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates:

"No. He was off in his own dressing room, he stayed in different hotels from the band, travelled on different planes. We never saw him until we walked on stage on any of those shows."

On Steven telling Classic Rock magazine that he wants to concentrate on "Brand Tyler:"

"I guess. That's what [the article] says. That's what he's gonna do. I guess. Maybe we'll get a telegram from him; I don't know.

"Like I've been saying since the tour got cancelled, we're gonna be on hiatus. He was like that during the [ill-fated Aerosmith] tour [with ZZ Top], too. I mean, he was pretty much travelling on his own, with his own group of people. So there really wasn't much talk about what was going on. And after he fell off the stage the second time [in Sturgis], I don't think he was physically up to finishing the tour — even if he hadn't broken his shoulder. I knew we were gonna be off for a while, so that was it. And I guess he's announced what he's gonna do online.

"I've been pretty verbal about what I'm doing [referring to his recently released solo album. — Ed.]. I've told the [other] guys [in Aerosmith], I've played them the record — at least gave them the record. I know Brad's [Whitford; guitar] listened to it, I don't know if the other guys have. But I never let it get in the way of [Aerosmith]. But... that's life."

On whether any of the new Aerosmith album has been recorded and whether Steven completed any vocals for the new songs before the recent tour:

"No. The only thing we have is a bunch of stuff that's been left over from past records. Some of those [songs] we were gonna put on the [next] album, but he didn't do any singing at all for this record. I can't really understand that. We had some pretty good stuff laid out, and working with [producer] Brendan O'Brien, I thought it was gonna be a slam dunk, but for some reason, he just wasn't interested."

On having Aerosmith end this way after being together so long:

"Well, I don't really think... As long as we're still kicking, it's not over. We'll probably get bored and come back. I don't what everybody's gonna be doing. We've talked about getting someone else to sing in the band, we've talked about just doing... I don't know... whatever."

On whether they have anybody in mind as a replacement for Tyler:

"Not really. And the thing is, it can't be Aerosmith with... at least not the Aerosmith that we know. For it to be valid and have something real about it, it would have to be somebody that would bring something to the party. It would be the four guys that have been playing forever, and using that weapon with somebody that's got [something] to bring in. But I don't know yet. We've really just kind of got knocked back on our heels, and everybody is just kind of settling back and figuring out what's going on."

On whether he or any of the other guys has reached out to Steven:

"I did call him when we were in Hawaii, because we had some gigs that were offered to us to do in South America — like, three gigs that we were gonna do in December. And I called him up and asked him if he would consider doing them, and he hung up on me about halfway through the conversation, so I kind of got the hint that he pretty much wants to be alone and wants to do his own thing."

Tyler told Classic Rock magazine following the Middle East concert that he intended to work on "Brand Tyler" instead of a new Aerosmith record for the foreseeable future, saying, "I don't know what I'm doing yet, but it's definitely going to be something Steven Tyler: working on the brand of myself — Brand Tyler."

Perry told the Las Vegas Sun that he believed Tyler had been planning to leave for a while, saying, "Obviously he hasn't been giving 100 percent to this thing for a long time . . . To disregard his brothers to the point where we have to find out about it on the Internet — it's like, 'See you later, Bud.' I still care for him as a person, or at least the person I used to know. But things change."
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The Origins of the Curvy Classical Guitar

Did a Woman’s Body Inspire the Creation of the Classical Guitar?

Anyone can tell you what a guitar is if asked. But how many people can actually tell you where the guitar originated from and how old it is? Here is a simple, but accurate overview of the classical guitar’s history.

The Vihuela & the Crude Spanish Guitar

The early guitar was derived from a sixteenth century instrument called a vihuela, which had 12 strings. When the vihuela became unpopular, the guitar made in Spain took its place. This guitar took the form of a woman with rounded shoulders, a waist and rounded bottom but with only 4 strings. These instruments were small for easy carrying. Spanish guitars have wooden string pegs. The first three strings were made of sheep gut, while the last three were metal wound on silk thread. The first of these small guitars had four strings much like our modern day ukulele. Then came one with five strings, and finally in the eighteenth century a sixth string was added.

Founding Composers for the Guitar

Composers such as Fernando Sor (1778-1839) and Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) were enthusiastic in their composition for these instruments. Sor Composed more than three hundred works and today these are being played by modern classical guitarists. He was the first guitarist to be asked to play with the London Philharmonic Society. He also wrote a guitar technique book in 1830 called Methode pour la guitare.

Early Guitar Makers

Luthiers began to try to keep pace with the demand to produce better instruments. Two of the lutheirs are Johann Georg Stanfer (1778-1852) and Johann Gottfried Scherzer (1842-1870) of Vienna. Scherzer worked on improving the guitar tone and producing fine concert guitars.

Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909) was a teacher at both the Madrid and Barcelona Conservatories. His influence is seen in modern performers such as Miguel Llobit and Andres Segovia.

The Father of Guitar, the Man who Made it Popular



Andres Segovia did much to improve the guitar’s popularity. He believed the guitar should be played as other instruments were; on stage, in concerts and by important musicians instead of just the peasants in a bar.

Segovia made it his life’s ambition to bring the classical guitar to universities and conservatories. He learned classical guitar by himself, since he had no teacher. He transposed classical transcriptions for piano and organ into guitar music. He raised the standard for guitars by his musicianship. Today due to his influence, guitar classes are offered at high schools, universities, conservatories, and more.

In the 1850’s Christian F. Martin came from Germany and began the Martin Company. He built the first dreadnought guitar to satisfy the demand for larger guitars. At the same time, factories were building inexpensive instruments to sell and so were the mail order catalogs. The guitar became an instrument for young ladies because it was thought to be feminine. With the advent of jazz players the companies began to build steel string guitars as well as the nylon classical guitars.

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Make Friends Playing The Guitar

Who doesn’t need more friends? Making friends just got easier. The guitar is an incredible way to enjoy being with your friends because you’ve got something cool that everyone can do. This page will help you see why guitars are the magnet to attracting more friends.

The need for guitar players

Almost every band that is formed has at least one or more guitarists in it. Guitars have increased in popularity and need over the past few decades. Punk bands are now the largest type of bands around and they have guitars galore that range from bass guitar to lead guitar. Face it, guitars are cool.

Its no secret, the guitar is the friend making machine

The guitar is the perfect instrument to increase your circle of friends. From rocking with old buddies, to serenading the ladies, to campfire outings, a guitarist can always catch everyone’s attention. Guitarists end up being the life of the party. It’s a known fact that some of the most romantic scenes show being with a loved one, on the beach, guitar in hand, and singing a way. Thanks to the mobility of the guitar this scene can occur so many other places, such as: in front of a fireplace, candlelight dinner, picnic at the park, and on and on.

The benefits of playing the guitar

There several reasons why guitars carry such a popular pull. First, they are easy to learn, yet still offer a challenge because guitars take a lifetime to master. Second, they are transportable and convenient. Third, they are one of the few instruments that sound great by themselves and with other instruments. Fourth, this instrument makes you look good, by not requiring your face to be distorted by blowing into anything. Fifth, it’s an instrument you can share. Whether teaming up with your buddies and their guitars or just allowing your friends to sing along it’s still going to be a group involved activity.

Go get ‘em tiger!

At any rate, the only way to know that the guitar is for you and your friends is to give it a try. Good luck and maybe this can be one of those things that you can look back on and say, “I am sure glad I learned to play the guitar!”
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Electric Guitar History

Learn the history behind the electric guitar and how it was invented.
What is an electric guitar?

The definition of an electric guitar is a guitar with either a hollow body, semi-solid body, or a solid body with pickups. These pickups amplify the vibrations of the strings electronically.

The reason musicians wanted a louder guitar

When the guitarist played with a band they found that the brass and drum sections overpowered them. Many times the guitar player would be placed in the front of the stage with a chair and a microphone and could not move or he would not be heard. Sometimes any movement at all would cause the microphone to feedback and ruin the performance. This was when some of the guitarists began to think of ways to electrify their guitars.

Beginnings of the Electric guitar

The electric guitar came to life as a result of the Hawaiian guitar. The Hawaiian guitar was very popular in the 1920’s to 1930’s. It was the only guitar that depended on electricity to make it sound at that time. This fact led guitarists to begin to toy around with the idea of an electrically amplified solid body Spanish guitar.

It is believed that Audiovox may have built an electronic guitar with a solid body around the 1930’s. It is a well known fact that Adolph Rickenbacher (Now spelled Rickenbacker) began working on an electric guitar as early as 1931 when he got together with George Beauchamp and Paul Barth. They started the Electro String Company and began producing Hawaiian guitars. These guitars used tungsten pickups. Their popularity gave incentive for Gibson and others to try their hand at electric guitars.

Les Paul Contribution

One of the most well known guitarists to influence electric guitars was Les Paul. To begin with he used a gramophone needle to electrify his guitar. He used a semi-acoustic guitar and tried to improve on it, but found that there was too much feedback and electrical problems. He got the idea for a solid body guitar from learning about a solid body violin made by Thomas Edison. In 1948, he built the Telecaster. This was the beginning of a long line of solid body electric guitars of every make and model. He developed his own line of guitars called the Les Paul Series. Of course they are now much more refined that the first ones he made.

Leo Fender makes a guitar with a new pickup

Leo Fender teamed up with Doc Kaufman to form the K& F company and made solid body guitars. He tried a new, smaller pickup in a solid Hawaiian shaped body with a regular guitar neck for a demonstration and it became popular. He built the Stratocaster in 1954. Fender thought that the set in neck (Neck blued into the guitar) was too hard to design and repair. He decided to bolt the neck to the guitar body which is the way most guitars are today. The pickguard covers the wiring for the pickups. Both Les Paul and Leo Fenders solid body guitars models are copied today by many companies.

Today electric guitars are used in a variety of ways. Mostly they are used by rock bands. They are also used for lead guitar and rhythm guitars. They are also used as solo instruments and to accompany singers.
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What to Look for When Buying a Bass Guitar

There are many things to look for when buying or looking for a bass guitar, these include: the body style, neck, tuning machines, intonation, bolt-on, neck-through, fingerboard, number of frets, scale length, pickups, wood, and the finish.

The first and most important of these items would be the body style of your bass guitar. Choosing styles anywhere from solid-body electrics to semi Hollywood, for a rounder sound, will make all the difference in what you want to play.

Next, you have the neck of the guitar, which depends on how large or small your hand is. You may choose from oval, round, asymmetrical, and flat back. If you want a five or six string bass guitar your neck will be much wider.

Many think that tuning your bass guitar is not important, but it is required for you to hold your pitch. The most common tuner would be one that is an enclosed machine that does not need as much replacement.

Intonation is one thing that many people pass over when looking for a bass guitar. Intonation is when your guitar is in tune while moving up and down on the neck of the guitar. This is very important when doing a performance or doing a recording.

There are two kinds of bass necks to look for, bolt-on and neck –through. Bolt-on have a punchier tune, but have dead spots once in a while. Neck-through is the stronger of the two and has much more note resolution.

There are also two fingerboards, coated and uncoated. Coated fingerboards have a tendency to give fretless sounds unlike uncoated, which give a warm sound to the song. Again it depends on what you wish to hear.

There are a certain number of frets a guitar has and a bass guitar has. Bass guitars can have from twenty-one to twenty-four frets. Make sure you get the number of frets that fits you.

The scale length is another thing that you need to make sure you have the way you think sounds best. Scale length determines your vibration by how far your distance is from the nut to the saddle.

One important sound of your bass is from your pickups. Make sure that you don’t choose active pickups if you don’t want to change your battery often.

Finally, last but not least is the finish of your guitar. Though this does not affect the sound of your guitar, you need to find one that is appealing to you and that fit with your style.
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Read This Before You Buy A Used Guitar

Before you buy a new guitar, you need to read this article about used guitars! It will help you understand the benefits of a used guitar and what to look for when buying one.

You’re here because you are thinking about a very important expenditure that could be simply put as “getting your guitar.” Whether this is your very first purchasing experience or whether this is your tenth experience, the information contained in the following paragraphs is what you have been looking for and will make this next purchase of yours one of the most rewarding purchases ever!

First of all, be sure you keep an open mind in regards to what kind of a guitar you are going to buy. Many have in their minds eye an image of an incredibly brand-new, top brand, and gorgeous guitar that makes Elvis Presley’s guitar look like a cheap rig picked out of a yard sale. However, there are many things to consider when buying a guitar and the appearance of the guitar is just one of them. Sound quality and playability are the kind of elements that can either make you glad of your purchase or ready to pawn the guitar in six months.

Four Wonderful Way’s of Checking Your Guitar in the Store

Warped: Is the guitar neck crooked or bent? Take a look down the neck as if you were looking down a gun. If it’s straight, you are on track. If it’s bowed you might as well just put the guitar down and walk away.

Wood: Is the guitar top solid wood? A solid wood guitar will retain and increase its value over time and sound better. However if you are doing a lot of traveling and will be taking your guitar with you, the recommendation would be a laminated top. Thus, the best route to take is to know what you want and need before you go shopping. Is the top of the body perfectly level? If it has bulges or dips this means that the bracing of the guitar is bad or has become loose.

Wrecked: Is there play in the neck of the guitar as you twist it while holding the body still? This can be fixed but would be pricy, so make sure that it will be worth your time.

Wrong: Is the guitar right for your style of playing? Its simple to see that a classical guitar would do no good if you are a heavy metalist. However, for playing more along the lines of a flamenco style you would be in business with a classical guitar. Also, a country artist would usually prefer an acoustic guitar. It is up to you because you are the one who will be making the music.

Finally, the benefits of buying a used guitar lie in the genuine sound that can only come over time. Some of the most expensive guitars are the oldest guitars, and it’s not because they are antiques, it’s because it’s the best sound you can find.
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Guitar Practice Tips

Sometimes the best thing you can do is to get some one on one advice from an experienced guitar player. Jim Lee is an expert at the Bass Guitar. You can download his bass guitar video tutorials. We also include some important guitar practice tips below.

Be sure to practice guitar scales because they will help you to become accustom to the sounds and tones the notes on the guitar. Guitar scales will also strengthen and improve

the flexibility of your fingers.

If you are interested in playing punk rock or metal guitar it would be good to build up the muscles that are required to pick the guitar strings appropriately fast.

Practicing the songs you’ve already learned is an efficient method for retaining the skills you’ve gained when first learning that song. That is why day in day out before moving on to new material practice the guitar songs you have already learned. Then on top of the old guitar songs you put the new guitar songs and that way you will be able to have a large group of songs that are easy to access.

In an effort to becoming a guitar soloist it is important to recognize that you will need to use alternate picking methods. This means that instead of the regular down strokes you will need to have up and down strokes with varying rhythms.

Starting with songs that have only three or four chords is an excellent start for mastering those chords. Finding a song that consistently repeats a new set of three or four chords gives you that chance to practice those chord changes again and again. There are many songs out there are simply three to five chords and so don’t give up if you don’t find a ton of them at first. They’re out there so look.

You may want to begin early to train yourself to use your pinky. This finger is hard to work with and train but in the end you will be able to use this finger for playing more guitar chords. This will enable you to make guitar chord changes faster and allow you to play melody with your pinky.

Sooner or later you will be asked to play songs you have never learned and so what can you do to prepare? Practicing popular songs by ear will help you match the tunes you hear in your head to the sounds that come out of your guitar. Enough of this kind of practice and you will be able to play on request even when you don’t know the music behind it.
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Everything for Guitarists, at the Best Prices in Town!

The World's Largest Music Gear Company

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Who Is Synister Gates ??

Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. (born July 7, 1981), better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn or "Gates", is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist and backup vocalist for American hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold.

Guitar World magazine has ranked him as one of the top 50 fastest guitar players of all-time




Brian has a younger half-sister named McKenna, brother named Brent, stepbrother Robert C. Eldred. Nickname is Johnny. His father, Brian Haner Sr., is a musician and comedian known as "Guitar Guy" or "Papa Gates" and is currently on tour with Jeff Dunham.

Brian cites Django Reinhardt, Dimebag Darrell, Eddie Van Halen, Slash and John Petrucci as his favorite guitarists and major influences. In June 2008, Guitar World magazine interviewed Brian, reader Shawn Butterfield asked "You're one hell of a guitarist. But who do you really look up to?" to which he responded "Definitely Slash, the Ozzy guitar dudes, Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom, Jimi Hendrix of course, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin Matt Spiller, a lot man!".

Brian went to Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California and also Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, California.

He graduated from the Musicians Institute in Hollywood as part of the GIT program, studying jazz guitar. Up until that time he was primarily self taught by watching music videos and reading books, which is surprising because his father was/is a songwriter and guitar player, having played with Frank Zappa during his career. After six or so months of being there, he got a phone call from The Rev (and the rest of the current line up of Avenged Sevenfold barre Johnny Christ) asking him if he wanted to join the band as lead guitarist. Brian joined up with them rather than continuing his education and becoming a studio musician.

Brian joined Avenged Sevenfold when he was 18 at the end of 1999, right before the recording of the band's first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. He was featured on their EP, "Warmness on the Soul", and on the reissue of their first album.

In the Avenged Sevenfold DVD All Excess, to emphasize the seemingly random placing of names, Brian stated that his name was thought of on a drunken drive through the park with The Rev. Also, his band members claim that he originally thought that he was too good to play for the band. He corrects them by saying he said no such thing.

He has won numerous awards, including the "Young Shredder" award of the year in the Metal Hammer awards in 2006 and the "Guitarist of the Year" Award for Total Guitar Magazine in 2006.
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Tke Care Your Guitar, Take Care Your Investment

The important thing is to remember that a guitar isn’t a pack of gum where if its gets old you just throw it out and pull out a new one.

Guitars like everything else need to be taken care of. This article will discuss several key steps to take in preserving the sound, beauty, and overall life of your guitar. It is important to understand that these instruments are fragile.

We will list some “do’s” and “don’t” for how to take care of your guitar.
Do’s

* Be aware of how you handle it and how you store it. Excess dryness will cause the wood to crack and excessive humidity will cause the guitar to warp. You may need to buy a hand-held guitar humidifier if you live in an arid place. These humidifiers are cheap and can save your guitar.
* The best thing you can do to protect your investment is to have a guitar case, preferably a hard shell case. There are a large variety of guitar cases, but keep in mind that the important thing is whether or not it’s thick enough to protect your guitar in case it falls or gets stepped on.
* If you are not planning on playing your guitar for a while, be sure to loosen the strings so the tension will not affect the neck of the guitar.
* The strings are sensitive to the oil that comes off of your fingers and so it’s a good idea to wipe down the strings with a cloth after you have finished playing the guitar.
* The wood on your guitar is important to keep in prime condition in order to maintain good sound quality. Guitar polishes and wood oils should be applied regularly and abundantly.
*

Don’ts

* If small children or pets are around, be careful not to leave your guitar out. You might even want to get a lock for your guitar.
* Don’t wipe your guitar down with water. It will take away the oils on your guitar and dry it out.
* Don’t loan out your guitar unless you are sure you can really trust the person. At any rate, if you have someone who wants to try out your guitar, go over some basic ways of how to hold it and how to be careful with it.
* Don’t leave your guitar in the sun. The heat and exposure will ruin the guitar.
* Don’t put on lotion before playing the guitar. The oil in lotion will affect the sound in your strings.
* Don’t ever stop playing the guitar just because you get frustrated. You can do it! Read more...

Learn to Read Guitar Tabs in Five Minutes

This lesson will introduce the basics to reading and playing guitar tabs. As you read, make sure to play the examples given so that you'll understand it better. After you finish this lesson, be sure to learn the next lesson guitar strumming patterns.

Why You Need to Know How to Play Guitar Tabs

Guitar tabs were the first way of writing music for the guitar and it is still extremely popular. You can find guitar tabs for almost any song by doing a search online for the name of the guitar song you want to play with the word "tab" after it. So if you want to play your favorite songs whether you like country, punk, or rock and roll, you'll need to learn how to read tabs. This lesson is designed to give you a basic understanding. You'll need to learn the lesson on advanced guitar tabs in order to play more than very basic songs.
How are Guitar Tabs Created

Most of the online guitar tabs are created by people who just listen to a song and pick out the notes and chords; because of this, online guitar tabs vary in quality and accuracy. For example, you might get a guitar tab for Ozzy Osbourne’s “Dreamer” but when you play the tab version, it might sound quite different from the real sheet music version. Now you know how to play simple guitar tab songs!

Guitar Tab Notation

There are two main ways to write or notate guitar music: sheet music or tablatures. Tabs were actually the first method musicians used to record guitar music. A Tab is simply a diagram of the six strings of a guitar. It is a two dimensional system. The x-axis is indicates time while the y-axis indicates the string. The numbers in a tab represent the fret where you should place your finger. So to indicate the note low F, there would be the number 1 written on the bottom or lowest string:

E|-----------|
B|-----------|
G|-----------|
D|-----------|
A|--0--------|
E|-1---------|

To indicate that an open string should be played, a zero is placed on that string, in the above tab it shows an open A string needs to be played after the F. So the above tab is showing the strings of a guitar with the smallest string on E on top and the lowest string E on bottom. Below are the tabs for “Mary Had a Little Lamb”:

Mary Had a Little Lamb

E-4-2-0-2-4-4-4-2-2-2-4-4-4--4-2-0-2-4-4-4-4--------
B----------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------

Go ahead and try playing the song and you’ll know if you’re doing it right because you’ll recognize the melody.

Practice the C Scale Written as a Guitar Tab

Below you can see a tab of the C scale written in tabs. Practice it a few times before moving on to the next section.



What Tabs don’t Tell You

As you can see, most guitar tabs don’t tell you how long you should play each note, this is one of the biggest disadvantages of guitar tabs. Most guitar tablature is written for the standard EADGBE tuning, unless the author of the guitar tab indicates otherwise. Tabs also don’t depict which finger needs to be used to play a note. Another downside of tabs is they fail to show rhythm or strum patterns. In order to make a guitar tab sound good, you need to listen to a recording of the music and then use the guitar tab for the notes while you use your ear to pick up on the rhythm, note timing, strumming pattern, and pick pattern.

Basic Guitar Tab Lesson Conclusion

In conclusion, tabs are a way of showing a guitarist where to place his fingers on the fret board and which strings to play. Proper guitar tabs actually have notation to indicate the count for each note and the strum pattern but it is usually more difficult to read than regular guitar sheet music. The internet has a plethora of guitar songs for which people have written tabs. Read more...

Guide to Soloing with a Guitar

Soloing with a guitar may not be as difficult as you think. As the matter of fact, most solos are prepared and are not just blurted out on the spur of the moment. Understand a few techniques will teach you to be successful at soloing with the guitar.

Most guitar soloists create and plan their solo. They usually know how many measures are in a song and what chord changes will take place throughout the song. Therefore, most create their guitar solo with a well formulated beginning, middle and end. They also construct good points of dynamic tension and release. The experienced soloist takes a lot of time and effort to construct the solo. Most guitarists can improvise well, but most cannot play a guitar solo on the spur of the moment. Anyone can learn to play a guitar solo well with practice and some knowledge of guitar music theory.

Most lead guitarist play one of the following categories:

1. the rhythm guitar
2. the melodic guitar
3. the slashing guitar
4. the effect guitar

The melodic guitar is the best category for the beginning soloist. This is because the melodic guitar follows a series of chord changes, which are easily remembered or memorized. A melodic solo can be learned and played on the acoustic, the electric or the classical guitar and it will sound good. Many guitar soloists try to learn to play solos by copying other soloist; however, this does not necessarily make them good. Copying other guitar soloist is good practice, but it will not make you a good solo guitarist.

One of the hardest things about playing solos on the guitar is knowing which notes to play and when to play them. This is not as hard as it sounds. The secret to knowing which notes to play is knowing which key the song is written in. It is good to know how many sharps and flats are in a song. Most songs are grouped into pattern progressions or chord progressions. Knowing the key the song is written in and the chord progressions will help you memorize and remember the song. Also, you should realize that most songs start and end on the same chord of the main key of the song.

In addition to chord progression, you also should know about the primary and secondary chords. For example, if a song has G, A, D, F#m, chances are that the key is Dm, Bm or A. If you listen to the song played, you should be able to identify the primary and secondary chords. Knowing the key is not always an indicator to what notes to play. However, understanding some theory and how chords work within a song will help you become a great soloist. Knowing the key is important and it is just as important to examine and know the chords of a song to be able to figure out which notes to play.

Here is a sample of a guitar solo that you can try:



In conclusion, soloing is not copying other soloist; it is a skill of learning what notes to play and what key changes are taking place. Planning a guitar solo is the key to being a successful soloist. With a well constructed beginning, middle, and end, a little knowledge of theory and how chords function and relate to one another, and a lot of practice, anyone can play an amazing guitar solo. Read more...

The Method You Choose to Learn to Play the Guitar Matters

What is the Best Way to Learn to Play the Guitar?

The best way to learn to do anything is to be taught by someone who is not only an expert in that area but is also a skilled teacher. A guitar teacher will be able to customize the guitar lessons to your needs and will also save you time by pinpointing your weaknesses and giving you tools such as scales and exercises to overcome them. It will do you know good to have a masterful guitar player try to teach you if he or she has no patience or teaching skills.

How to Find a Guitar Teacher

So how do you find a guitar teacher who will take the time to show you the basics, teach you at your own speed, and finally not drain your financial resources? One solution is to take a guitar class at your local college or university. If you are already attending college, just add the class to your schedule. Another way to find a good teacher is through community education programs. Finally, shop around for local private teachers and see if you can afford their rates. If the teacher's fees are expensive, try to work out a deal with them. If you absolutely can't find a teacher, the last resort is to teach yourself.

What to Look for in a Guitar Teacher

A good guitar teacher will have many years of experience. You need to find a guitar teacher who uses proper techniques and uses guitar method books to give structure to guitar lessons. Make sure the guitar teacher you find can play the style you want to learn.

Teaching Yourself to Play the Guitar

Whether you're going to take guitar lessons or teach yourself, you need to decide what style of guitar you want to play. Obvious styles are Rock and Electric Guitar, Country Guitar, Jazz Guitar and Classical Guitar. Just like going up a ladder, you need to start with the first step which is the basics of guitar. You should learn about basic guitar chords and practice chord transitions first.

Guitar Books, Videos, and Websites

Use this site to give you a quick grounding in guitar basics and music theory. Go through all the lessons and practice along with your guitar. Buying a method book is also recommended. If you are a visual learner, go to the library and rent a guitar lesson video. In just a couple of hours you'll be up to speed.

How effective is self–teaching?

If you want to save money and teach yourself how to play the guitar, it can be done. Go to Guitar Lesson 1 to start your adventure. Some of the best guitar players were self-taught. Teaching yourself will take more self discipline and patience than being taught by a teacher. The reason why self-teaching is so effective is that it is based upon the principle of going at your own pace and developing your style. Originality is usually what draws the crowds to guitarists because everyone likes to hear something new. Not everyone will benefit from self-teaching and not everyone will benefit from having a teacher, so the important thing is to give both methods a try and see what works best for you. Read more...

Understanding Guitar Chords, the Key Element to Mastering the Guitar

Don't get discouraged if you're trying to learn the guitar. Follow the steps below and soon you'll be playing your favorite songs by using basic guitar chords.

Popular Songs Sometimes Only Have Three Chords

Have you ever heard “Wild Thing” or “Louie Louie” and wondered what chords make up these songs? Maybe you haven’t, but at any rate you might be interested to know that these songs along with “Twist and Shout” and “Hang on Snoopy” are all built from three major chords. They are the A, D, and E chords.

What Exactly is a Chord?

What is a chord? A chord is two or more notes played together. A common type of chord is called a triad, which is three notes played at the same time. With the guitar, you can make chords by strumming, as a minimum, three strings simultaneously to send out three notes or more. It’s simple to see that with the guitar having only six strings that the max number of notes in a guitar chord is going to be six.

Basic Chord Types

Now it is important to understand that there are many different variations of chords. Three of the most common types of chords are major, minor, and sevenths. The way in which you use these chords will determine the type of music or mood that you will make. For example, if you need some solemn and meditative chords, use minor chords. If you want a really solid and stable sound, then you will want to be using major chords. If you want a jazzier yet somewhat incomplete sounding chord, you would want to go with seventh chords.

Commonly Used Chords

Just as you would need to know several basic phrases in the case of learning another language, so you will need to learn around 6-16 chords fluently in order to really have a grip on playing the guitar. Some of the most common chords are listed below.

A, G, C, D, E, F, Am, Em, and Dm chords (note: the lowercase “m” next to the letter means that it is a minor chord.)

Get Out your Guitar and Strum Some Chords

Now that we understand the need to learn chords, let’s look at what steps there are to help you learn chords.

1. Get a chart of guitar chords and look at where the fingering is for each chord.

2. Start by simply choosing at least two of the basic chords and work on the transition between the two.

3. Make sure that it sounds good. The fact is that if it sounds good you are probably doing it right. (HINT: If it doesn’t sound good to you, press down on the strings firmer with your fingers.)

4. Now learn to enjoy playing guitar chords by choosing a few of your favorite songs that have these basic guitar chords and play them until you can sing along. (FYI: Beatles have a great selection of well known songs that use basic guitar chords as the foundation.)

5. Play daily! You must remember that although its hard at first, you are going to make progress and it will become easier to play the guitar by consistently playing it.

6. Practice! Practice makes perfect! Read more...

Lesson on How to Strum the Guitar

You can strum the guitar with a pick, your thumb or your finger. If you use your back fingernail you can imitate the sound of a pick quite well. Strums fit in two main categories: up strums and down strums. When you strum up, you should only play the first three strings. In guitar method books when two strum symbols are connected together, it indicates that the second strum should be up and the first should be a down strum and both strums need to be played during one beat.

Many guitar players prefer to tap their feet to keep the beat of the song. Your foot should be down on your down strum and up when you do an up strum. An alternative to tapping your foot is counting out loud by saying "one and two and three and four and.." While saying "and" make sure you are strumming upwards.
Guitar Strumming Technique Tips

To create the best sound, you need to strum differently for different types of guitars. An acoustic guitar sounds best when you strum directly above the sound hole. With an electric guitar, you strum over the main body because that is where the pickups are located. Strum firmly across the strings so you get a clear ringing sound. Always make your down strums and upstrums produce an equal amount of volume. Avoid rattling the strings by not strumming hard enough. Make sure you use your elbow as the pivot point for your strumming, even though you don't strum the strings every up or down movement, you should never stop. This will keep you on beat. Your wrist should not bend as you strum.

Below is a pattern you can use to practice your strumming skills:


More Advanced Gutar Strumming Techniques
Now you are going to learn about the dead (muted) strum. This strum appears in notation like a regular strum sign only with a line through the top. The result is an X on top of a line. To play a dead strum, place the palm of the right hand over the strings and leave the hand there while your finger or pick strums across the strings. In other words you are striking the strings with a pick while you are muting them. If you couple the dead mute strum with a regular clean strum, you can make interesting patterns and sound effects. Once you start to get the hang of it, you'll be addicted and you'll start creating your own mixtures of clean and muted strums. Read more...

Picking The Perfect Guitar Pick

Guitar sound is most affected by the type of the guitar, strings, and pick that you use. This article will address how picks impact the sound coming from the strings on the guitar.
Why Pick?

A pick is a tool that is used to create a clearer and sharper sound from your guitar. The majority of your guitar playing will be done with pick in hand unless you are finger picking. It may be a meaningless detail for men but for women who want to protect their fingers from the strings, the pick sure comes in handy. Most of the time the sound produced from a guitar player’s fingers aren’t comparable to the volume that is created by a pick.
Sizes and Shapes

The most commonly used pick is the original pick that is in the shape of a triangle. There are guitars that are shaped into extremes such as circle picks, diamond picks, or heart shaped picks. There are finger picks that go on your finger like a ring and other ones that go on your thumb called thumb picks. There are large triangular guitar picks that some current band artists use (i.e. Carlos Santana). On the other hand, there are tiny picks that are similar to mandolin picks.
Thick and Thin

The thickness of your guitar pick has an impact on the amount of volume that you can generate. The thicker it is the greater the volume and usually the better the tone. Thinner picks do not sometimes carry the weight it takes to get the strings to really vibrate. The truth is once again it depends on your preference. The lighter pick is easier to maneuver and usually faster. If you are playing faster song a flimsier pick will ensure that your strings remain safe.
Plastic, Nylon or Metal

Most nylon or plastic guitar picks are brittle and cause a clicking sound off of the strings when played. Finger picks and thumb picks are usually made out of metal which helps the picks not break and metal picks send out a very precise tone. If you are looking to become like a certain guitar artist then copy what type of guitar or amp they use and then try to figure out what pick they are using. Sometimes you might even be surprised by learning that they use objects such as pennies, schillings, or pesos.

Try out as many different picks as you can and when you like the sound you get and the feeling you get, then go with it. Read more...

7 Common Problems With Learning Sweep Picking

Sweep picking is considered by many to be a technique that separates average players from highly advanced players. Unfortunately, there are many challenges to be overcome with this technique before one can successfully adapt it as part of his or her style.

First, for anyone who may not know, sweep picking is a technique used by guitarists to play arpeggios. It is typically done when using distortion, but this technique is also used in other styles when clean guitar sound is used. The use of distortion makes it very challenging to play arpeggios quickly and cleanly.

In this article, I will present several of the most common problems that I have seen many people run into with sweep picking. Based on my own experience as a player and after replying to dozens of e-mails on this topic from students all over the world, I noticed that many students seem to be experiencing many of the same problems. Of course there are also likely to be issues that are specific to each student, but these questions are best addressed in person with a competent teacher.

So there are 7 main problems that I believe prevent many students from either learning sweep picking at all, or (for those who are more advanced,) with using this technique in expressive ways. Not all students have every one of these same 7 problems of course, (most have various combinations of them), but I think that by listing them all here, it will help more people to become aware of ways to improve their playing even if a specific problem may not apply directly to them.

These problems are:

01. Practicing too fast

Yes, this is common sense advice that we’ve all heard a million times, right? However, even though this advice is commonly heard, it is shocking how many people either choose to ignore it, or simply are not aware that they are practicing way too fast because the general words such as “fast” or “slow” are often misleading and meaningless because they mean different things for different people. Just remember this (as a general guideline), if you are practicing and your playing sounds sloppy, inconsistent in quality and filled with mistakes, then chances are you are practicing much too fast. Just remember that you can play ANY combination of notes perfectly if you play slowly enough. If you keep trying to increase the speed but your playing is full of mistakes and sloppy string noise, then you are just learning to play sloppily. On the other hand, if you play slowly enough to play without mistakes and you only increase the speed once you are sure that you can do so without sacrificing the quality of your playing, you will be teaching your hands to play the technique perfectly. So this piece of advice is twofold: first play slowly enough to play without mistakes. And second: only increase the speed once you are sure that you will not be sacrificing accuracy.

Is this piece of advice common sense and common knowledge to most people? Of course it is. But is this also one of the most common things to see guitarists doing wrong? You bet it is! For example, we all know that exercise and working out is good for our health (this is common knowledge) but how many people actually DO exercise on a regular basis? So this means that even though the need to practice slowly is obvious to most guitarists, many of those who struggle with their progress would benefit greatly by slowing down their playing and focusing more on accuracy. I hope you are starting to see where I’m going with this.

02. Paying attention to muting of the strings

This is a very common problem that makes itself especially evident with sweep picking. What do I mean by this? Well, the main goal of sweep picking is to only have one note of the arpeggio sounding at any one time with the other notes being completely muted (this is the only way to get the arpeggios to sound clean and precise when playing with a lot of gain and distortion). There are two main ways of going about this: either to use the palm of your hand to mute the strings you are not playing (this method is the most common and is used by players such as Rusty Cooley, Michael Romeo and Yngwie Malmsteen) and to use the thumb of the picking hand to do the same thing (this method is used by virtuosos such as George Bellas and Tom Hess) The main point here is to pay attention to how effective your muting technique is (regardless of which of the two methods you choose to use) and evaluate its effectiveness by Listening to how clean your playing actually is when you play slow and when you play fast. The best way to do this is to either record yourself or to ask for honest and unbiased feedback from your teacher about your playing. If your playing is not as clean as you would like it to be, then I highly recommend paying careful attention to the way you mute the strings and perhaps change your technique a bit if necessary to fix that problem.

03. Trying to “strum” the arpeggios with the right hand instead of hitting each note individually

When sweep picking, each note should have definition and rhythmic placement. If you simply strum or rake the pick across the strings, the notes will sound sloppy and out of time. You need to make sure that each note has definition and you should be able to play the arpeggio slowly to a metronome and have it be in time. The arm moves in a continuous motion across the strings but each note must have definition.

04. Not isolating the “rolling” motion of the left hand to practice it exclusively until it is no longer a challenge

If you have spent any amount of time trying to learn sweep picking, then you have most likely encountered (or at least heard about) the technique of “finger rolling” that is used in some arpeggio shapes. The best way to tackle it, is to isolate it and practice just the rolling motion by itself until it no longer poses a challenge. Make sure to practice slowly of course and avoid having the notes ring together (this is a very common problem) Many players simply play the arpeggios that contain the rolling technique up and down hundreds of times in hopes that the problem will simply solve itself. But you will be MUCH more effective if you are able to get specific about the nature of the problem. In this case, the problem is the rolling itself, not necessarily the rest of the arpeggio, so by focusing your attention only on the problem you save yourself time and are able to be much more effective in your practice.


05. Not making the pull off at the top of each arpeggio articulate enough

Many arpeggio shapes require you to perform a pull off at the top of the shape (usually on the high E string). Many players make the mistake of letting the pull off sound way too weak compared to the other notes of the arpeggio (which are picked). This creates an unevenness in volume and the arpeggio lacks precision and rhythmic control. What I recommend is spending a bit of time only on the pull off part of the arpeggio and practice making the pull off as LOUD as you can (of course I'm referring to how strong your pull off itself is, not to how loud you can turn up the amp). When you do this, you will notice a big difference in your arpeggio playing.

06. Not learning how to build chords and arpeggios and how to use them in a musical way

Do you know what the word “arpeggio” means? Do you understand the principles of chord construction and how chords are grouped into keys? Can you name diatonic triads and diatonic seventh chords in any key? Do you understand the concepts of voice leading? The answers to these questions can Greatly help you expand your creativity with sweep picking. Many players learn several arpeggio shapes and may even be able to play them up and down pretty quickly and cleanly. However without knowing how arpeggios can be used in different musical contexts such as soloing or songwriting, that player will be stuck playing the same shapes in the same way for months and years. These problems can easily be prevented and fixed by studying music theory and chord construction. For some beginning resources, check out this free Music Theory Master Class as well as this article: Voice Leading Part 1.

07. Only using standard shapes and limiting the creative potential of this technique

It is unfortunate that many players box themselves into using only simple major/minor/diminished arpeggios in ways that have already been done many times. There are so many other ways in which this technique can be used creatively. Some of the most obvious ways include the use of seventh chords in combination with triads, extending arpeggios using tapping, using different picking/articulation techniques to play the arpeggios, and connecting the shapes using the principles of voice leading. Many of the creative approaches can be discovered by studying chord theory and knowing the names of all the notes on the fretboard. This will help spark ideas for how sweep picking can be used in more expressive ways that will help you enhance your songwriting. Then you will not need to search the web for “sweep picking licks”, because you will be able to come up with your own creative ways of using the technique to express yourself.

At this point, we have looked at several problems that guitarists typically have with learning this elusive technique. What should I do now, I hear you ask? Well, if you don’t think you have any of the above problems, then great, you’re on the right track! But if you think that some of these points can apply to you, then you now know what you need to work on to take your playing to the next level. Read more...

What is Cymbal ??

Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note (see: crotales). Cymbals are used in many ensembles ranging from the orchestra, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, heavy metal bands, and marching groups. Drum kits usually incorporate at least one suspended cymbal and a pair of hi-hat cymbals. Read more...