Clothes to Make the Guitarist

As a part of my recent mission to finally get off my fanny and play the music I love in more places, I've started to invest in clothing to fit the part.  Nothing too fancy, just a handful of short sleeve (for guitarist reasons) dress shirts, one new tie, and a pair of suspenders that have yet to be purchased.  Basically, I'm going for a 1930s-ish look to match the songs that dominate my set list.

Today, after my happy hour set at Headrush Roasters, I came home and put away my clothes (shirt in the hamper, tie on the hook, pants back on the hanger) and stepped back to look at my closet.

The shirts I've been getting are colorful prints that fit the era.  For me, my wife has been the eye of decision at the department store.  I had the idea of what I wanted, but she is far better a judge on what palette fits me.

Hung on their hangers (not the one I wore tonight, remember, it is in the hamper), the shirts make my closet look colorful in a way that old t-shirts and jeans just can't pull off.  It's a cool sight.

What I'm learning is this:  As a musician grows, they take on a style not just in their music, but in their person.  It's a part, a bit, a character.  It is reflected in the way we present ourselves.  In a small way, I'm finally seeing that form for me. 

~Danny

Vintage Archtop Market

If you are at all like me, then you love the music of the 1920s and 1930s. And as a guitarist, I'm also all about vintage archtops. With all of the great guitars that are out there, it is easy for me to find lots of eye candy. Gibson and Epiphones from the '20s and '30s mixed in with the Kay and Harmony models from the '50s. Lots to love.

About two years ago (2012ish) I started first watching the market on vintage archtops.  Back then, you could get a Harmony or Kay archtop for around $100 if you were patient and knew where to look.

About three months ago, I noticed a jump.  The same guitars are now starting bids at $400.  In most cases, these are showing higher than their blue book values. Sounds like vintage may be a great investment.

The thing is, I've noticed that little or none of these guitars are selling!  Even in a few cases where bids are going up (even into the $5,000 range on one Epiphone I've watched through four separate auctions by the same seller), they aren't hitting their reserve prices.

Then, two weeks ago, a buddy showed me this article:

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2013/08/hot-jazz-new-york

(Let's not even get into the author implying that New York is solely responsible for this rise in swing music. I have other thoughts there...)

My guess is that some collectors or even resalers noticed a small increase in demand and started raising the prices.  I'm not necessarily against costs rising to meet demand.  I did marry the daughter of an economist...  But, I keep going back to a simple belief that items are only worth what an individual would pay for them. So, if no one is buying these things, then the artificially high prices are wrong.

Okay, so this post is simply a rant.  I don't have any solution for what is essentially a free market occurrence.  I'm just annoyed with it.  Personally, I found a nice old National Archtop that I'm kind of falling in love with and I got it for cheaper than I believe it is worth. 

So, yeah... I'm just venting.

Warming Up

Recently, a guitarist I admire a lot put me in my place.  Not in a bad way, but he reminded me that I need to follow my own advice and not be big headed about what fundamentals I should be working on.  He did this with one of the easiest technique building exercises out there.  One that I had been prescribing to students for years.

I'm going to refer to it the same way he does:

The Warm Up

Simply put, the Warm Up is an exercise that is mostly non-diatonic (so it doesn't follow a regular scale) and is more about developing good left and right hand technique and less about music theory.  In fact, I'm pretty sure we can ignore music theory for a minute on this one.

We will start at the lowest string (E for guitar, G for ukulele*) with our index finger. Number off your fingers from index to pinky as one two three four.  This should correspond to the first four frets of the instrument.  So, first finger, first fret and so on. Now play the tab below:

Notice that we are moving ascending chromatically up each string four notes regardless of any music relation.

The point here is not to make music, although you can do it in a rhythmic way.  The point is to develop our left hand fingers' touch and the tone we get on the instrument.  Also, we can either pick or finger pick the strings and work on our right hand technique as well.

Now, once we have done this up to this point, we need to move back down the strings again. Before we do this, we slide up one one fret. Then, play your way down in the following fashion:

Dave: Wait, why don't you descend chromatically on each string as you come back down.

That was actually a question I got.  Like how I did that?

You can do that if you want.  But, by following the pattern above, you are breaking your fingers up from thinking going-down-a-string-is-always-descending.

Now, once you have gotten to the highest point you are comfortable playing (something like twelve or fifteen frets; maybe ten if you are on a soprano ukulele) we need to come back down the neck.  We'll do this in a similar fashion, only this time we will descend on each string. So, it will look like this:

This time, we are descending.  As you guess it, we will work our way back up the strings again in a descending chromatic manner.

The Good Part

So, this is a good exercise and I encourage you to do it slowly and thoughtfully at first trying to get your fingers doing things right rather than fast.  Once you can work your way up and down without any mistakes, you then want to get out our good friend Mr. Metronome.

The examples I have for you above are in eighth notes.  Playing at a slow speed, say 60 bpm to start, work through the exercise up and down without stopping.  Once you can do this in time at whatever speed you started at, move up a few clicks (like say 63 in our example) and try it there.

The goal with developing speed is starting slow.  You need time working something slowly to get the muscles in your hands working together and using their memory (muscle memory) first before you can speed up.

Bonus

Four bonus for today:

1) After going up and down, take a moment to stretch out the muscles in your fingers and hands.  Think like you are a soccer player.  You would end up with a major injury if you walked out of your locker room and started playing a game without a warmup and stretch.

2) Do this every day to build it up.  You don't always have to start slow.  You will know where to start as you get more proficient, but always start at a slower speed than you are wanting to work up to.

3) To work on your swing rhythm, try using the metronome as if it is only clicking on beats 2 and 4.  So if you are wanting to go 100 bpm, you need to set it at 50 bpm.  Then count 1, click, 3, click to get yourself moving. This will be hard and suck at first, but it will payoff loads later.

4) Finally, the patterns of up and down that I gave you above are a starting point.  You can, if you feel up to it, work on alternating fingers in inventive ways.  For instance, instead of 1, 2, 3, 4 try 1, 3, 2, 4 going up and then 4, 2, 3, 1 going down.  Mix it up and make those fingers start to think for themselves!

* Yes, I know that re-entrant tuning that would not be the highest string.  Let's imagine that you have a low G tuning for a minute.  Also, ignore the possibility that you own a baritone uke.

How to Buy a Guitar

I've been spending a lot of time at my favorite guitar shop lately, Guitar Syndicate, and I have come to the conclusion that there are a bunch of people out there who play guitar who need help.  They need help figuring out how to buy a guitar.  The guitar buying experience is extremely personal and exciting, but when you make a mistake doing it, you can end up with an instrument that is just no fun.

For beginners, I would say that the best thing to do when buying your first guitar is to talk to your instructor and have them help.  Most of us (instructors) are happy to help.  Have your instructor not only help you pick one off the wall, but play it too in order to really hear what the guitar is capable of.


If this is not your first guitar and you aren't a beginner, then here are a few steps to walk through that I'm sure will help.

First: Budget accordingly

Know how much you are going to be able to spend before your drool dries on the first one you picked off the wall.  This includes not just how much cash you have in your pocket and how much you may be getting on a trade, but also three other very important factors:

1. Case or Gig Bag (if not included)
2. New Strings (almost every guitar will need them)
3. Setup (by a pro)

Also, realize that retailers are not there to be nice, they are there to make a profit.  There may be some room for wheeling and dealing, but you shouldn't expect to get a 20% discount because you are a self proclaimed master of negotiations.

On the same token, if you are trading in a guitar, don't expect to get every penny you put into back.  In fact, take the total that you have spent on it (minus strings and maintenance), and divide that by half.  That is about the only reasonable expectation.  (Lastly on trading in or selling: know everything you can about what you have.)

Second: Know what you need

Notice the word "need".  It isn't spelled w-a-n-t.  Six months from now, where is this instrument going to be in your toolbox (so to speak)?  Are you needing acoustic or electric?  If acoustic, does it need a pickup?  If electric, what kind: solid, semi-hollow, or hollow body?  What sort of tone are you looking for?

It might seem silly, but write this stuff down on a piece of paper and take it with you to the shop.  Keep yourself on track with what you are expecting to get out of this.  Take a pen with you to jot down notes in case that may change a bit as you shop.

Third: Talk to the salesperson

At most shops, the salesperson is going to be a great ally in finding what is right for you.  Don't treat them or think of them as a used car salesmen.  Tell them what your budget is and what you are looking for.  They spend all day with that inventory and likely played everything on the wall as it came into the store.  They know that stock way better than you do!

Fourth: Try it out

This is where most guitarist start to fall off a bit. Not because they don't play around with what they want, but because they don't play to test, they just play to play.  Every function that this guitar has should be examined.  Check the neck, frets, tuners, pickups, bridge, tailpiece, body, etc.  Are there any visible places where some tech work is needed?

Plug it in and play clean at every possible tone and volume setting.  This is very important.  Don't plug it into an amp, max out the amp's lead or crunch settings and start wailing away.  You won't hear the guitar, you will just hear the amp.  Play it clean first for a good long time on more than one amp, then play with the dirtier tone settings.

Also, if you are adding this to an existing rig, bring in your amp and toys.  Try it out through your stuff to make sure it sounds good.

Five: Sleep on it

The worst thing about buying anything is the emotional part.  We can get super excited about stuff and not think it through.  Once you have played with the guitar and put it through it's paces, take a step back.  Go home and wait a night then come back the next day.

There is no need to be overly urgent here.  Guitar shops don't turn out that many sales every day and you shouldn't be afraid that someone else will get it.  Sure, that is possible, but if it happens then just take the hit and move on (that guitar wasn't good for you anyway).

This part of the buying process is why I try to not bring cash (or cards) with me when I'm shopping.  Shop one day, buy another is always a good strategy.

Six: Second opinion

Another good reason for waiting a day is to bring someone else with you to check it out.  Maybe it is a band mate or a fellow guitarist or your spouse.  It doesn't matter who as long as they are willing to be honest about how they think the guitar sounds.  Maybe you can't pull off a pink guitar and you need your best friend to call you out on that!

Finally

It may feel like this is a lot to consider when going out shopping for your next axe, but remember that you will likely be making at a minimum of a year's investment in this thing. Or perhaps longer.  Plus, whether you are spending $300 or $3000 that may be a large chunk of change to you.  Make sure you know you are getting what you need and want out of that.

In the end, with a little patience and wisdom, you could be getting more than a guitar.  You could be getting a good friend.

~Danny

Chord Grids and Neck Charts

Update

I didn't realize how popular this post would be.  As a result, I'd like to offer everyone a blank chord chart and neck chart for helping me get traffic to the site.  Have at it!



/End Update 



During our monthly jam session and workshop for the North Kansas City Ukesters (NUkesters), a question came up that caught me off guard.  Not because I didn't know the answer, but because I didn't think to explain it.

I showed a neck chart with the G min pentatonic scale on it and it met with blank stares.  Little did I know that neck charts, which are second nature to me now, were completely foreign to some of my students.  Luckily, a quick explanation and we were back on our way.

I felt a little bad about it during the lesson, because this fundamental slipped past.  As an instructor, I should have made sure that everyone was on the same page before moving forward.  Lesson learned!

With that experience, I thought it best to do a short lesson on two methods of showing information on a the neck of ukuleles and guitars: Chord Grids and Neck Charts.

Top 10 Things Every Guitarist Should Master

Ten things every guitarist should master

 1. Anatomy

This may not seem really important, but it is. You need to know how to do many things like communicate to guitar techs when there is a problem. Also, this goes further into buying the right strings, self maintenance, and even being able to finesse the right sound out of your instrument.  Also, knowing what guitar will produce what sound, what pickups sound better for one style over another, what bracing patterns in acoustic guitars do, etc. Don't neglect this area of playing guitar.

 2. Notation

Any method that is used to convey how to play a certain bit of music on your instrument is important to understand. There are many who will tell you to only learn tablature; that it is all you will need. But they are wrong. You need to understand all of the following:

- Tablature
 - Chord Blocks
- Neck Diagrams
- Music Notation

The last one is more important than many give it credit. Though it is true oat guitarists can have long, wealthy careers without learning this, you need to learn it. Music for every other instrument is written this way and you need to be able to communicate with them. Plus, in a studio setting, the player that can read music will be more valuable than one who doesn't.

3. Tuning

Again, it may seem simple, but you need to master this. Whether it is using a tuner or using your ear, tuning is very very very important!  The best musicians in the world have what is called perfect pitch and can tune any instrument completely by er.

4. The CAGED System

These are your basic go to chords for most styles and you must have them under your fingers. Know the shapes for major, seventh, major seventh, minor, and minor seventh at least. But, you should venture out into the sixth, augmented, and diminished chords as well. Along with the chord shapes is learning the scale shapes that the chords are built on.

5. The Major Scale

 Almost our entire music theory system is based off of the major scale. Most guitarists can't play one shape of the major scale much less build chords or licks from it. Mastering this scale and it's many shapes and modes will open a world of possibilities to you.

6. Chord Theory

Once you have the major scale figured up, the next thing is learning how chords are created. Knowing this and having a firm grasp of it on the fretboard will make playing music and creating your own arrangements much easier.

7. Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales

These have been the go to scales for soloists in many styles for years. Mastering these scales and their shapes will get you soloing. Also, many tunes use a pentatonic scale within the melody which will give you a leg up when learning that tune.

8.  Building Bass Lines

As a soloist, you will find yourself needing to play a duel role often when playing for yourself or comping for another soloist. Bass lines will help create a dynamic accompaniment. And, it will set you aside from other guitarists.

9. Sight Reading

 Being able to play chords, melody, and a basic accompaniment with little or no run throughs on the music.  This is another skill that will need to constantly be refined and practiced.

10. Listening

We often forget about this very necessary skill.  I'm not talking about listening just to your playing or your band mates, but to every bit of music you can. Developing an ear for a lot of styles and what other professionals have already done will go a long way towards your mastery of guitar.

Simple Blues Backing Track

As I promised (or will be promising) my friends at the Northland Ukesters meeting, here is the backing track for a simple 12 bar blues in G.

Blues in G

Hope this helps you learn some soloing in G!

~Danny