Swing Guitar - Part Nine

The Soloing primer

As an additional appendix to the swing guitar workshop, I wanted to provide students with the bare bones approach to soloing so they would have a jumping off point.  That being said, the truth is sort of grim:  There is no easy method to soloing.  Every method I have ever seen or studied takes time and effort to master.  That said, when I got started in soloing (which wasn't long ago) I found a few things pushed me ahead further than others.  Here are a few of those techniques.

First and foremost, I can't recommend enough that you learn the melody (also referred to as the head) to any song you are soloing over.  The melody is full of every element that will make a solo sound good and should NOT be overlooked as a starting place.  In fact, in many styles of music (i.e.: bluegrass, swing) playing the "head" of the song perfectly is considered to be the best solo you could possibly do.

In order to get the dexterity up and muscle memory to really make learning melodies easy and then creating solos, the best place I know to start is the major scale and its modes.  Now, I'm not going to advocate that you spend hours and hours trying to remember and play each of the modes by name.  However, I do advocate learning to see the major scale in five positions on the neck.  This is how I approach it and it has done me a ton of good.

Basically, we are playing the major scale and extending it across the finger board both up and down as far as we can while staying within a given position.  Each of the positions is named for the degree of the scale which they start on.  So, for shape 5, we start on G since G is the 5th degree of the C major scale.

After you have mastered the five positions, a good next step is to work through arpeggios within those shapes.  Arpeggios are another lesson altogether so we won't get too much into it here.  But, they are incredibly useful as a soloing tool since they will basically outline the chord changes in a tune as you play!

But don't stop there!  As you go, you should look for other scales to build solos from as well.  Scales like minor and major pentatonics, harmonic minors, whole tones, and blues scales just to name a few.  With each new scale, try to play solos using only those scales and really work it up in the woodshed.

Another key part of soloing is building speed.  The best way I know to do this is to go slow and use a metronome.  Remember that guitar playing is just like any other physical activity in that we have to build up muscle memory in order to sort of automate ourselves.  By practicing things slowly and accurately, you will build up that muscle memory so that when you speed things up, you will be more accurate and sound better.

Lastly, just a couple of notes on practicing.  We live in a very fortunate age as musicians because we have access to some awesome practice tools that our predecessors didn't.  Namely, computers and all the great things they do.  I use an iPad when I practice and it has helped a lot.  That said, you don't necessarily need one.  But, assuming you have computer access since you are reading this, I would say you need to have the following:

- Tuner
   * Either a clip on or something on your computer/iPad/iPhone
- Metronome
   * I use one on my iPhone/iPad
   * Small units can be gotten fro $20 at most music shops
   * There are numerous free online metronomes
- Recording software
   * I use Soundcloud and DAW
   * You could also use a digital recorder or a micro cassette recorder
- Backing track software
   * I use iReal Pro and it is amazing for the price.
   * There is also Band in a Box, but it is pricier.
   * I have also found one or two free online backing track makers that are useful.

The biggest need on that list (outside of a tuner of course) is something that you can use as a play along.  Whether you are typing in chord changes that the computer plays back (iReal Pro, Band in a Box, etc) or recording yourself using a digital recorder (or Soundcloud, DAW, etc), having some way to play over changes (chord progressions) is a must.  Once you get a certain shape or scale memorized enough that you can play it fairly regularly, then start trying to play that scale up against a play along backing track.  This way, you can start to hear how the notes line up with the chords.

~Danny

Swing Guitar - Part Eight

My eighth installment of Beginning Swing Guitar is going to be a bit of a review and give you some good reference material to get you moving forward with chords.

So far, we have taken most of our chords from two basic families.  Knowing these two families intimately will be invaluable to you over time and make chord building very easy to do on the fly.

Before we get too far along, take a look at this reference chart.

I've blocked out the regular dominate 7 chords in solid dots and left some relevant intervals (such as b3 or b5) to give you some reference.  You can use this chart to quickly learn and find different qualities of chords.  Use it as a reference at first and then start trying to remember the chords.

Building Extensions

To build extended chords we need to understand what we are meaning by that.  Basically, an extended chord is one beyond a simple 7th chord.  You may have seen these are 9ths, 11ths, or 13ths.  To create one of those chords, we need to understand what the 9th, 11th, and 13th interval is.  Basically, just keep counting.
 

C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15

So, if we wanted to add a 9 to a chord to get a nice swingy sound, we would simply find the 9th degree of the scale and put that in the chord.  Since the 9 is the same as the two, we will often replace the root chord with a 9 by going up from the root two frets.  We used that in the previous lesson where a 5-4-3-2 shape with the 3rd in the base became a 9 chord.

Try playing around with the chord shapes, their qualities, and some extensions and putting them into your rhythm playing.

Swing Guitar: Part Seven

This is part five of my Swing Guitar Workshop which I will be teaching at the Folk Alliance Winter Music Camp this coming February.  Make sure to visit their website and get signed up for the camp.  There will be tons of great classes from local and national musicians on all types of music.

That Extra Something

When playing either solo or as an accompanist to another instrument it is sometimes a good idea to really try to take a song a long way to really bring out some of the chord movements.  This is particularly true with swing guitar.  To illustrate, let's take one last look at "Six Foot One" and see what else can be done.

A great move that I learned early on is one that moves from one chord to another that is a fourth away.  This particular move is designed around a moving bass note that is traveling up the scale from the starting chord to its fourth.  In "Six Foot One", we have two measures of A7 that eventually goes to a D7.  This is a perfect spot for this move.



Another move that we can use in this tune which is equally useful when moving a fourth is one that utilizes a 9 chord.  Check out this example:



Now, let's put that all together:



Here is a video to explain what is going on here.

Djangoloy with Robin Nolan and Howard Alden

This week I'm a little overwhelmed with lots of busy work.  To hold you over until the next Swing Guitar lesson, here is a video of Robin Nolan and Howard Alden talking soloing and playing the hell out of Djangology!

Swing Guitar: Part Six

Simple Moving Bass Notes

Six Foot One is a good example of a tune that we can use the simple concept of alternating bass notes.  As in many forms of music, bass lines can be very simple in Swing (they can also be very complicated walking bass styles). 

Alternating bass usually refers to alternating between the root (or tonic) note of a chord and the fifth as the bass of the chord.  To create the alternating bass style we are going to use a couple of chord shapes that we have already seen together.

If you don't remember the chords to Six Foot One, here is a refresher.

Now, let's look at how we alternate those bass lines.




And the video...

Notice how the alternating bass line moves the rhythm of the song.  This is really useful technique for adding that sort of moving or driving sound to your playing.

A word of caution, though...  When playing with a bass player, this sort of movement can really get in the way of the overall sound.  It's important to let the bass player be a bass player.  Just like it is important for them to let you be a guitar player!

That said, in ensembles where there is not a bass player, and especially when you are playing solo or accompanying a soloist, this method is really useful.  Just to play around with it, try not using a pick and just using your fingers!!!

~Danny

Swing Guitar: Part Five

This is part five of my Swing Guitar Workshop which I will be teaching at the Folk Alliance Winter Music Camp this coming February.  Make sure to visit their website and get signed up for the camp.  There will be tons of great classes from local and national musicians on all types of music.

Six Foot One, Tons of Fun

Again, we need to change names around.  I'm betting you know the tune. It's FIVE times as fun as a FOOTball game played by TWO leprechauns.

Hehe...

This tune makes a great teaching platform from the Circle of Fifths because it basically follows the circle in a dominant cycle.  Plus, after we learn the regular tune, we will come back to this and look at it with some fun bass note stuff in another lesson.

made with iRealb

 Just in case you didn't know, the symbol "N.C." in the last two measures of the B section mean "No Chord".  Basically, after you play the G7, there is a break there.  When I play solo, sometimes I will mute all the strings and strum (or scratch as I call it) to the bit to keep time.

Take a look at this handout I'm using for the class for an explanation of the chord shapes that I will be using.

Now, here is the example via SoundCloud:



Take a look at this and play around with it. We will get some variations into the tune in a future lesson.  In the mean time, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

~Danny

Swing Guitar: Part Four

This is the fourth installment of my series on Swing Guitar comping.  As I've mentioned before, this is my prep work for an upcoming workshop that I will be teaching for the Folk Alliance's winter conference.  Check them out for more information. I hope to see you there!

This lesson will focus on a tool that musicians of every level and genre use: The Circle of Fifths.

I talked a little in previous lessons about how this was used in terms of dominant cycles.  This will be just a brief explanation of how to use the Circle of Fifths as a comping tool and as a reference tool.  There are so many different uses of the Circle that I won't be able to cover all of them here, but I do hope to give you a good working explanation as well as how to use it in Swing Guitar.

What's a Fifth

When we say a fifth, we are talking about an interval between two notes.  In this case, a root (or tonic) note and the fifth degree (or note) on a scale.

To find that fifth, we count the root as one and work our way up the scale.  In the key of C, the fifth note is G.  To build our circle, we keep doing this until we come back to C natural.  In all, there are twelve notes (just like there are twelve positions on a clock; weird!).


The Circle

As a cool little mathematical (read: magic) result, by moving through the twelve notes around in fifths, when we reverse it, we are working in fourths!  Notice that "F" is the fourth degree of the C major scale.

Minor chords

As a reference, many people who use the Circle tend to group the relative minors of each key/chord with the majors already listed.  To find a relative minor, we simply count up six notes on the major scale.  Notice that would be "A" on the C major scale so we use Am.

Below is the circle with the relative minors written in for you.

Dominant Cycle Exercises


Learning to use the Circle as a practice tool can making learning new chords shapes, progressions, scales, arpeggios, licks, or any other melodic or rhythmic device a lot more fun.   Here are some ideas on how to use dominant cycles for practice:

Scales
- Choose a scale such as a mode of the major scale
- Use one fingering to play the scale in C
- Move a fifth to play the scale in G
- Keep moving in fifths around the circle
- Do the same as above moving in fourths

Chord Progressions
- Pick a progression in C keeping chords within two or three frets
- Move a fifth to G and play it again
- Keep moving until you have gone around the circle
- Do this again moving in fourths

Chord Shapes
- Pick a chord shape you are trying to master
- Play the C version of the shape
- Move a fifth to G and play it again
- Keep moving until you have gone around the circle
- Do this again moving in fourths

Again, working in dominant cycles in a great way to learn the relationships of different chords and notes.  And by playing though exercises using the circle, you will inevitably learn the fretboard as well.

Backcycling

Last but not least, I wanted to share something that makes the circle really useful in jazz.  Backcycling is  method of following the chords of a particular key backwards.  Let's look at the C major scale notes again and then harmonize them.

C - D - E - F - G - A - B

Now Harmonized (make them chords)

Cmaj7 - Dm7 - Em7 - Fmaj7 - G7 - Am7 - Bm7b5

Now, let's put them in order with the circle.  Note that the if we look at C and move around the circle in fifths until we run out of notes on the C major scale, we end with B.  So, that is where we will start.

Bm7b5 - Em7 - Am7 - Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7 - Fmaj7

Now let's look at the numbers for those chords:

vii - iii - vi - ii - V - I - IV

Here is a look at it with all that on the circle.

 

Notice the ii - V - I in there???  In fact, some tunes you will see this cycle work through from start to finish!  This means that if you can master this harmonization of the circle in all keys you have the bare bones to learn a lot of the jazz and swing repertoire that is out there!

Take a look at all this and have fun with it.  If you have any questions, feel free to post them and I'll do my best to help explain!

~Danny

Swing Guitar: Part Three

This week is the third part of my series on swing guitar comping.  We will be learning our first tune!

Before we get started, there is a bit of confusion to alleviate.  Copyrights are difficult.  Getting your own stuff copyrighted and then knowing how not to infringe on the copyrights of others.  It can get really confusing!  Without getting too technical, the copyright on music here in the U.S. lasts as long as 120 years.  This means, the only music that you can count on being public domain is something that was written 1893 or before (it's 2013 today).  Since most swing music came out of the 20s and 30s, it presents a problem.

Like the tune "Bye Bye Blackbird" which I want to use for this lesson.  Written in 1926, it won't be public domain until 2046.  So, since guitarists are so clever, those of us not wanting to tempt fate will either use the chord progression (always a derivative) and use a clever pseudonym.  For our use, I'm calling this piece that I just wrote "Goodbye, Dark Grey Bird". (I'm hilarious!)

Moving On...

First, the chord chart (and an explanation):

Created Using iRealB

For the most part this isn't just totally hard to understand.  But, there is some symbology that may need to be interpreted. (In the final outline of this class for the conference, I'll probably have already covered it...)

First, the chord symbols are a bit different.  Here is the guide:
G^7 => Gmaj7*
A-7 => Am7

These are very common jazz chord notations.  Get used to seeing them because they are used a lot in swing repertoire.

Also, you see the "%" symbol being used in a measure with no chords.  This symbol means to repeat the previous measure the same way it was played.  Again, just a common short hand that we use.

A couple of other things to point:  This song is a variation on what is know as AABA song form.  It doesn't follow it strictly, but it does follow the sense of that form.  Song forms are similar to rhyme form only in regards to melody and harmony.  Think of it as a "Verse, Verse, Chorus, Verse" form which is common in rock and folk styles.

A key difference in the AABA form of this song from others like it is that usually the A sections are the same (give or take a turnaround or ending).  That's just a good thing to note here.

Now, let's look at the chords we are using:

As I said in the previous lesson, some of our chords do not have a root or tonic note in them.  This is alright as many times we play with a bass player and we can rely on him/her to play that note.  Even solo, we can still play this chord in context and it sounds real good!

How to Practice Tunes

I'm going to assume that you are a beginner level player.  If you aren't, then learning tunes should be easy and you can skip ahead if you like.

The best way I know to practice a tune is to break it up into sections.  For this tune, we have already stated that it is an AABA form. So, take the first A section a few times and play through the chords out of rhythm.  Just strum them to get the movement under you fingers. 

If there are any chords you are having trouble fingering, then go back and forth to them from others until the movement is easy and natural.  This may take some time, but you should concentrate on building that muscle memory.

After you have one section, move to the next doing the same thing until you can easily change chords without much space between.

Now, it is time to start up your rhythm again.  Remember the four-to-the-bar rhythm?  Use that!  Set yourself an easy pace, say 80bpm or so at first.  Play through it making sure to stay at that pace. (USE A METRONOME!)  Once you can go through it easily, up the it by five or ten bpm and keep practicing until you can play it faster than you need to live.

Here is an example of what it should sound like:

Goodbye Dark Grey Bird (Soundcloud)

When you follow that link, notice that Soundcloud does a spectrum thingy (technical jargon) to display a visual of the sound.  In a straight four-to-the-bar comp style, that looks like spikes or fence posts evenly spaced. This was an unintended side effect of recording it on Soundcloud.

Melody

In the workshop, there won't be much talk about working melody and solos, but I figure I should at least give you something. 

My tune doesn't have a melody line listed, but I'm betting you could use the melody to Bye Bye Blackbird here if you wanted.

The first step to soloing is not scales. At least not in swing.  Later, those can be really cool.  In swing, the first step is being able to play the melody in time.  Once you can do that, you can build solos off of the melody using scales, arpeggios, or any other melodic device you want.  But first, LEARN the MELODY!

That's all for this week, let me know if you have any questions!


Foot notes
* The delta symbol is hard for me to type. I can't quite get it.  For now, assume that '^' is the same as a delta triangle.
** Because we rarely play the verses in swing, the A sections are actually choruses and the B is the bridge.

Swing Guitar: Part Two

This is the second in a series of posts about beginning swing guitar comping.  This is also the basic outline of what is to come for a workshop at the Folk Alliance winter music camp here in Kansas City.  If you haven't already, make sure to check the Folk Alliance out and get registered for the camp.  It will be extremely worth it!

In the last post, we talked about our first set of chords.  These were a minor seven, dominant seven, major seven, and sixth chord.  In this lesson, we are going to look at the same chord qualities, only in a different fingering.

Here is the handout of this part of the lesson:

Again, memorize these shapes.  They are extremely useful.

Along with the new chords (top line), I'm also discussing the four possible inversions of the chord and the fact that the root is not always present or on the 6th string.

Inversions are an extremely important part of swing and jazz guitar.  In this genre, we don't learn on shape for every occurrence of a particular chord (like in rock you might always play G the same way).  Instead, we learn certain arrangements of chords and their inversions that we can mover around the neck of the guitar.

Inversions just means a different order of the same notes of the chord.  In the type of chords that we are looking at here, Drop 3 chords, we keep a bass note on the 6th string and play two more chord tones on strings 4 and 3. There are many other chord groups out there that use different arrangements of the strings.

For these chords, since we are using four notes (root, third, fifth, seventh) there are four different inversions.  On the handout, I show you each of the inversions which are used for each of the beginning bass notes (again: root, third, fifth, seventh).

So, why have the inversions at all?  There are really two reasons.  First, we can use inversions to keep chord close together.  This is a technique called voice leading, but can also just be thought of as economy (meaning, not having to move really far for a chord).  Second, when we get to a point of wanting to move a bass line around, knowing your inversions is the first step.

Practice

As I said last lesson, the best way to practice any new progression or new set of chords like this is to use the fifths.  I called it using the Circle of Fifths last time.  More formally, this is known as dominant cycles.  (Moving either in fourths or fifths.)

I don't want to glaze over dominant cycles (especially since it will lead us to one of our tunes in this series), so I will leave a better explanation for another day.

In the mean time, I went a step beyond this week.  Here is a Noteflight document of the chords played using a dominant cycle in four to the bar comping.

ii-V-I Dominant Cycles Drop 3 #2

Okay, if you have any questions on the lesson or any input, please let me know. I'd love to hear from you!

~Danny

Swing Guitar Comping Part One

I got a cool surprise last week when the Folk Alliance asked me to teach a couple of swing guitar workshops.  They are holding their conference and Winter Camp in February of this coming year and, lucky for me, like to use local musicians for teaching whenever possible.  After some showing off on my part at their store in the River Market here in balmy Kansas City, I got an email the other day asking if I would teach to which I obviously said: Yes!

Now, I'm needing to work through the workshop and create all the handouts and tunes info.  So, guess what, viewers.  I'm using you to experiment on!

Both of the workshops will be on beginner swing guitar technique, mostly rhythm (the biggest part of swing is the rhythm).  That said, basic prerequisites will apply:  Guitarists need to be familiar with basic 12 bar blues progressions, be able to play most bar chords, and understand the very basics of the major scale.

Okay, now that we are all on the same page, here we go with the first set of chords from the handout:

Take a look at that and memorize those chords shapes in the second line.  When I play swing guitar, this is my bread and butter.  It's used more often that you'd think.

I did a lot of explaining on the sheet, but there are a few extra little things you should hear to make this really make sense.

First, swing guitar usually exists in a four to the bar rhythm.  So, instead of a more complicated rock rhythm where we would use various sets of quarter notes and eighth notes. we use instead four quarter note strums for each bar.  The strums should be short and not really connected.  Think more like the hit of a snare drum rather than the hit of a cymbal.  The snare is short, the cymbal rings.  We want short.

Also, note that you are not using large six note voicings.  These smaller three note voicings are create a much tighter tone.  The strings "x's" on the chord shape should be muted with your fingers so they do not ring.  However, you do want a little bit of the percussive sound from the pick hitting the string itself.

Here is a short video of what I'm talking about in the four to the bar and muting the strings.

As for practicing, do this progressions in as many keys as you can.  I listed out the notes of the bottom two strings for you, but you should really memorize this so that you can quickly reference it in your head as you play.

Here is a good order for practicing the progression (I'm using the circle of fifths as a guide):

Am7 - D7 - Gmaj7 - G6
Em7 - A7 - Dmaj7 - D6
Bm7 - E7 - Amaj7 - A6
F#m7 - B7 - Emaj7 - E6 <-- This is best done at the twelfth fret
C#m7 - F#7 - Bmaj7 - B6
Abm7 - Db7 - Gbmaj7 - Gb6
Ebm7 - Ab7 - Dbmaj7 - Db6
Bbm7 - Eb7 - Abmaj7 - Ab6
Fm7 - Bb7 - Ebmaj7 - Eb6
Cm7 - F7 - Bbmaj7 - Bb6
Gm7 - C7 - Fmaj7 - F6
Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7 - C6

As I noted above, when you get low enough on the fretboard that the shapes used require open strings, jump up an octave (12 frets) and work the shapes there.  This will actually make it easier to play in this style.

If you have any questions on this lesson, make sure to either email me or post a comment.  I'd be happy to answer anything you got.  Also, look for the next part of this series of lessons to be coming soon.

~Danny

P.S.: This occurred to me while recording the video.  We go from the Maj7 to the 6th chord during the four bars of comping as a way of keeping the movement going.  There is a more complicated explanation I could give, but this will due for now.

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