Guitar tabs,electric guitars,acoustic guitars

I was reading this morning on From The Woodshed blog about how Joe, the guy behind the blog, works his way on the guitar by structured techniques and not just by ear. That kind of made me think for a minute. I remember when I started programming, I didn’t know a lot of stuff, but I used to keep a paper and a pen on my desk and used to write down all the new terms I was hearing around me and then searched for them on the internet and in the documentation. That helped me a lot since I learned a lot when doing this. If I think about it, this is a form of organizing yourself, which, to be honest, is not one of my forms of expression, if you know what I mean…

I proposed to myself to also be more organized in this area of music and guitar. It is not difficult to do it, just that you need a bit of dedication. I think I should also write down what I want to learn or practice and take it one at a time. I want to practice more scales, well, put it down on paper to see it and remember it.

Personally I would like to work more my tapping techniques. I am not a tapping and arpeggios guitar player. I love power metal and heavy and Satriani and stuff, but I was never able to put enough time to study this properly. The fact is that while at a party in my university years, I had a stupid accident that left me with a cut tendon on my left hand.

I had surgery for this (the doctor say that if it wouldn’t have been my guitar playing she would have let it like this since it is not a major thing! Damn it! It’s good I play the guitar!!). After the surgery I had to recover but my little finger on the left hand didn’t fully recover the same mobility like before so I couldn’t manage to use it properly for arpeggios so I just managed to play an other way.

So, to those thinking that guitar playing is over in such cases, well, trust me, it isn’t!You just need to find other way of expressing yourself. Music is not just about technical skills but about expressing yourself.

Regarding this thing with my finger, in that period I was in the studio with my previous band, Kapela. We were recording a demo album that was never released,unfortunately. However, I felt terrible, I was really pissed off about this thing with the surgery. I had a large (literally: LARGE!!!) bandage on my hand with a wooden stick inside it, to keep my finger on the right position. Well, imagine me going to the studio with this thing on.

I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to record anything since I had only 3 fingers to use (I don’t count the thumb so even at that time I had 5 fingers, really!) My part in the band was rhythm guitar and the guys were really cool to understand me and support me back then. I managed to record my parts after more takes, with a bit more attention.

I do have some pictures from the studio back then, with my monstrous bandaged finger, all my friends used to laugh at me back then, I was the only one not feeling like laughing, really.

Anyway, time passed and now I am loving every moment playing my guitar, even if I don’t do those elaborated arpeggios. But I don’t stress myself about it, music is about feeling and expression. By the way, I do solo guitar and I don’t complain, my fingers work very well, thank you! Including that little finger. However, no arpeggios, OK?

PS: This post started in a direction but led me to an other one. That’s OK for me. OK for you?

“Q: What do you do when you don’t have inspiration to write anything on your blog?

A: Go and play the guitar.”

Your’s truly

Did you know that if you are not happy with the way your guitar controller for Guitar Hero 3 looks like you can get some pretty wild ones at DecalGirl.com?

They look pretty wild, beautiful colors, almost made me think of normal electric guitars.

And they all come at $14.99. I think it is worth to make your gaming more spicy, right?

What really makes a guitar player? Is his unique playing style, along with his own sound?Is it creativity? OK, if I think about it, creativity helps defining the style. And sound also, so I think I can stick to this “style” thing. It is about being recognized (again marketing?!) out of the crowded space of guitar playing.

Let’s think for a bit and create an artificial environment where you put a guitar player in a closed box, so you can’t see him, don’t know who’s inside, give him all his equipment and let him create a piece of music.

Can you tell who the guitar player is just by listening the musical piece he created? If you can, you probably have a great name there, a guitar player that is sure of himself, with strong roots, a real “guitar hero”.

I think of a few that I would recognize in such a case:

• Joe Satriani - one of the most creative guitar players IMO, close to my heart since a long, long time. His own high tech guitar sounds and his unmistakable riffs put him there as one of the main guitar icons of the last 20 years
• Steve Vai - OK, maybe this time it is me not being that creative, probably you think that sure, this guy is some kind of Satriani fan, how could he not like Vai? And so it is, but this is not the reason I put Steve Vai here. Now really, can you have Steve Vai playing in that closed box and not recognize him? I think that those long-finger licks he patented make him sure of his place here.
• Slash - I don’t particularly find Slash to be such a great technician, but his fat Gibson sound and the way he always falls on his feet when soloing, plus his licks of a particular sweetness ask for a place here.
• Joe Perry of Aerosmith. Well, I can only think of the ending of songs such as Crazy, Crying and I could tell he’s in the box, no doubt about it.
• Frank Gambale. Here’s the fact that he started to study guitar by listening to keyboard players so his way of playing the guitar is quite unique. If you also count his personal method of fast picking and his upside-down scales, he’s there!
• Gary Moore - He’s got the blues, man!! I know I would recognize him in a moment. Wouldn’t you?
• Stevie Ray Vaughan- I would have put here also SRV from the start but after listening Andy Timmons playing “I remember Stevie” I was amazed by how he managed to catch that particular style of SRV. OK, I said above that each artist should play his own style, not try to sound like somebody else, so SRV should be put there also
• Brian May - no need to say more, he’s there.

Yngwee Malmsteen - no doubt, one of the most powerful influences for skilled players with his own sound and style. However I don’t add him here since too many guitar players copied him that you can not say anymore who’s ho nowadays. But if the list was made 20 years ago probably he would have been the first.

Who did I miss?

Later edit:

• Yngwee Malmsteen - for creating an unique style, neo-classic rock, even if so many followed him that today they assimilated his style that you can not tell the difference. Jon of GuitarNoize.com convinced me to add Yngwee.
• Jimi Hendrix - OK (still Jon)
• Paul Gilbert (Jon)
• B.B. King (Jon)
• Carlos Santana (thanks Pilgrim)
• Albert King (Pilgrim)
• Glenn Kaiser (Pilgrim but I don’t know him so…)
• Fank Zappa (thanks Dr J)

Anybody else?

If you are like me, and I guess you are since you read these lines, you often felt like playing the guitar in the middle of the night. I know it used to happen to me quite often. And also, you probably know that it is not a good idea, unless you live by yourself. If you don’t, well…then you know what I mean.

But how about playing a guitar that is…silent. I know it sounds somehow like playing the air guitar, but it is not about the air guitar (that one still makes noise when turning up the volume on your CD player, you know!!) but about Yamaha Silent Guitar! Yep! You probably know it, I know about it for some time now (was released somewhere in 2002, I think), but I haven’t had the opportunity to test it personally yet. However, I know I would like to own one for those sleepless nights when I feel like playing.

The interesting thing is that, at least in the video below, it sounds quite interesting (OK, through a sound processor). Also, Yamaha SLG 100N model comes with nylon strings and the fact that you can plug in a CD player makes it great for rehearsing since you can play over your own previously recorded material.

General belief is that if you want to make it as a rock musician, you must play either electric guitar, bass or drums. I am not speaking about singing, that’s an other story. The fact is that indeed, general belief is …generally right, you have way more chances to succeed when playing one of those instruments. But of course, there are bands like Apocalyptica…

Other musical styles are more permissive and allow you to make a name for yourself in a less than classical way. When I say this, I am thinking about Jake Shimabukuro and his ukulele music.

His interpretation on ukulele of some widely known melodies, like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” puts the instrument under a special light. Also, with songs like “Let’s dance”(see video below) he takes the instrument out of it’s usual musical area and this is exactly what makes it interesting.

Here he plays a flamenco-like song. While played on an acoustic guitar it would not make that a big impression, on ukulele it made me smile and listen it all the way to the end.

Of course, when you decide to try standing out from the crowd in a place where you would not normally belong to, like playing cello in a rock area or flamenco on ukulele you take a risk, people may reject you from the start.Or if you break the resistance and if you really have something to say, a consistent and unique musical presence, then you stand out from the crowd for good. You find your niche.

There was this joke with the 2 shoes salesman sent to sell shoes on a jungle village. The first one says “man, I don’t stand a chance, nobody here wears shoes I won’t sell anything” while the second says “what an opportunity, nobody here wears shoes yet!”

I think that it is not about what you do is more about how you do it and of course, what’s your unique point of sale, about how you identify your opportunities and the ways to exploit them. Nobody here plays cello in rock music?!What an opportunity! I’m in!

It is marketing if you think about it. Music nowadays is nothing but marketing.

Since GuitarNoize and Guitar Channel posted about this, it may not be news anymore, but due to the fact that I love Joe Satriani’s work so much, I just couldn’t let it go. So I point here the fact that on April 1st, 2008, Joe Satriani will release his 13th solo album under the funny name of Professor Satchafunkilus. Whatever that means…

I must admit I don’t know what the album will sound like, but after playing instrumental rock so many years, experiencing electronic sounds and later warmer jazzy touches, we could expect almost anything from him. I think the fans will be there no matter what the musical style will be.

And if we count the fact that ZZ Satriani, Joe’s son is playing the sax on this album, well…

Without assuming the paternity of these lines (I found them on the internet at one point, I just don’t remember where) here’s the…

Funny Top 10 List For A Successful Power Metal Band

1. In a power metal world, everything steel is good, and anything good must be compared to steel.
2. You are allowed to be blonde.
3. Pick a theme and stick to it. Manowar are warriors of true metal, and they don’t get to sing about anything else. Rhapsody has their Algalord chronicles. Hammerfall has their steel, hammers, and templar. Running Wild has pirates. Blind Guardian has Tolkein. None of them are allowed to sing about anything else.
4. If at all possible, be Michael Kiske. If this is not possible, pretend to be Michael Kiske.
5. Your album cover should include at least one of the following: fire, steel, weird glowing magical items, irregularly muscular men, fists thrust into the air, weaponry, magic creatures (preferably dragons), or bright beams of light around somebody/something.
6. 16th notes are the only notes. Unless you’re singing, in which case you are not permitted to hold a note for any less than 2 bars. By the way, you need at least two guitar players. How else are you going to have dueling guitar solos?
7. If you can’t be Michael Kiske, you can at least be Timo Tolkki. Actually, don’t be Timo Tolkki.
8. Wizards! You need wizards!
9. Wear armor if at all possible. Hammerfall can give you an idea of the variety of acceptable armors, ranging from leather to ring-mail.
10. Never leave Europe.For purposes of the above, Japan may be counted as part of Europe. Oh, and South America was colonized by Europeans, so it can count too.

Just as a note to those of you already angry at me for publishing this list: guys, please keep in mind I am a fan of power metal. I lived on Helloween rhythms, I love Michael Kiske’s voice and used to fall asleep with Eric Adams (Manowar) screaming into my ears. When being 17 years old I remember I fell asleep and the phone started to ring and I remember thinking (in between sleeping and waking up) what’s that sound that I have never managed to hear before…

It was my phone ringing and my mother screaming at me to turn the stereo down…

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OK, no guitars in this post but because it made me laugh and due to cultural associations (you know, Gothic rock and stuff) I have decided to post this here. So, here we go!

This guy walks his fiancee on a leash all day long. While trying to get into a bus the driver stopped them by telling them that on his bus no dog is allowed. Man, was this one funny guy or what?!! Am I retarded or is the world going too fast for me?

You can read the whole story here.

Well, today I have discovered (thanks to Dr J) an other way of singing (not playing) hard rock! I can tell you that in the beginning I didn’t understand what it was all about, then I got it and it made my day!

I feel like in that movie, Sliders, where people travel from one universe to an other (it runs here on TV, OK?) where Apocalyptica does not exist under the same form I used to know, but exists under the form below.

What can I say other than I love it!!! Now Stumble that!