It is always rewarding to see a student go beyond where they thought or intended to go while taking lessons. I believe Alan Masinter is one of those students. I do not think that when we began working together that he thought he’d be arranging music for his own playing. But, that’s where we ended up. This is his arrangement of the famed Summertime by Gershwin. I think you’ll greatly enjoy playing it and hearing a new take on a classic.
Often I am asked about books to help someone that wants to begin on their own before studying with a private teacher. I am always reluctant to give any answers to this question. Not because I am a private teacher but because I truly believe that studying with someone that can give you feedback is extremely important. It is essential for a beginner to begin good habits of playing from the beginning in order to prevent having to return to basic technique later on in their playing.
In some cases, people just have to adventure on their own until they discover the above truth. Therefore, I am currently happy to suggest the book by Greg Horne published by Alfred Publishing and associated with the National Guitar Workshop. Horne has a firm foundation in American roots music but also finds time to power in some bluesy rock. This diversity and a clear way of presenting ideas finds its way into every aspect of the book. He takes the student through the basics with clear explanations and builds on playing songs from the beginning. Each chapter reveals a new technique and eventually leads to blues playing after walking a bit through some fundamentals including American roots music basics. The book ends with the infamous barre chord. By then, the student should be ready to take on the barre without reservations. With Horne’s advice and teaching, moving from chapter to chapter is very rewarding for the “self-studying beginning guitarist.”
I will, once again, say that a student runs a chance of developing bad habits in their playing when studying on their own. However, if a student wants to go for it, then beginning with Horne’s series of books will help them to move efficiently through the basics with good instruction.
Alright, for those of you who don’t know Blackberry Blossom, this post is for you. Many folks I run into don’t understand the usefulness and joy of bluegrass guitar. I am by no means a bluegrass expert or player. However, I have learned much about myself and roots music throughout the years I have dabbled in the genre.
It is funny to me to hear a jazz player criticize a bluegrass player and vice versa. If either one looks at the style objectively, then they will notice that they are much more similar than they are different. Just take a look at the form. You play the head (melody) and then you improvise. Then lo and behold, you’re replaying the head again and the song is over. If you look at it that way, then the forms are identical. Sure each uses different chords but both take just as much practice and skill to master. Believe me, I have tried.
This brings me to Blackberry Blossom. It is considered a rite of passage in learning bluegrass guitar. It is a lovely eighth note melody that moves a player out of first position and back again. This is great for those players that are beginning to intermediate and wanting to practice moving up the fretboard. For those that are more advanced, then there is the rhythm and solos to work on. Many great performances exist on YouTube. Tony Rice is probably the standard by which the guitar playing in this genre is measured. In any case, take a look at the song and enjoy the simplistic melody and harmony that it has to offer.
If you are looking to find a method that is perfect, then keep looking. But if you are looking to find one that can really help your guitar playing in the rock genre, then look no further than the method designed by Wolf Marshall.
These book were published in 1994 and have been a standard in learning to play rock, especially lead, guitar ever since. Wolf is an amazing player that has the uncanny ability to sound like virtually any musician in regards to effects and feel. He is a true marvel when it comes to his ability to re-create a sound from a past recording.
The Guitar Method Basics 1 should be accompanied by the Power Studies of the same level. However, the Power Studies are a bit too ambitious for those players that have only gone through the Basics 1 method. There is a large gap between the two, but there is enough for a young student of the guitar to begin to get their head around the rhythm aspects of electric guitar playing. As far as the lead guitar in these books, a student shouldn’t expect to move into that too quickly based on the understanding given in the method.
The songs in the Power Studies are classics that every guitarist should aspire to play. They have the “creme de la creme” of classic guitar sounds and solos that most modern rock is based upon. Without them our current evolution of guitar playing would still be stagnant. You will also find that the later songs (by Stevie Ray Vaughn and Eric Clapton) are in an E-flat tuning. This is also a drawback for young students thinking that this method will be an end all to their guitar playing.
With only minor critiques, this method by Wolf Marshall is a shinning star. Though it should only be approached by a beginner with the guidance of a knowledgable teacher, it is a valuable asset to those that have experience and want to truly refine their playing.
If you are a little behind the times, then you don’t know that everything is shifting to “cloud” computing. This means that our information is going to be held somewhere out there in cyberspace. If you are worried about backup, then would rather back everything up with your own hardware or just know that Google and others back theirs up for you anyway.
Anyway, you need to check out this site called: Noteflight.com. It allows you to put your music down and share your files like Google Documents does. It also allows you to directly embed it into your web pages (like below). Some features are missing (like three part writing on a single staff and specialized characters like guitar strings), but with some tweaking can be overcome (like numbers in parentheses for string numbers instead of circles). Check it out and get composing.
There are many scale books out there to help you with your scale development. One over-looked series is the four Cuadernos by Abel Carlevaro. His insight into the guitar and its technique are amazing. As a matter of fact, it is a shame that these books are no longer in print. They are such a resource for the aspiring guitarist.
Cuaderno No. 1 deals with the major and melodic minor scales. I find his fingerings very effective. Most of the scales ascend and descend for three octaves. Many of them move in the higher registers above where the body meets the neck of the guitar. This gives the advanced student great practice getting to these registers. The fingerings are different from the Segovia and Sagreras scales. I find that practicing from multiple groups of scale fingerings helps with my understanding of the guitar.
This book is not meant for the beginning student. It is useful for the intermediate but the high register may cause some to wait until their technique is a bit more advanced. If you find this series, then buy them. I don’t recommend downloading them due to copyright laws but if they are out of print then make your own decision. Either way find a way to get your hands on these jewels of composition and pedegogy.
The battle persists. Rockers say there is no use for notes and classical players say rockers are ignorant. So what’s the big deal anyway?
Tab lets you play a piece with no prior knowledege of music notation. It shows you which frets to play and what order to play them in. However, most tabs (especially those on the internet) fail to give fingering of any kind and most lack any sort of defined rhythm. You must know the song and listen to it over and over to define the rhythm. But, most songs you are going to be lookin up are already in your aural memory or you would not be looking them up in the first place.
Notation solves most of the problems above but does not allow easy access to the instrument through “picture” type illustrations. You must first learn and understand music and its symbols in order to use it. This is, of course, the prefered way of classical musicians where understanding what is happening theoretically in the music and not just playing it becomes a priority. Notation shows rhythms, string numbers, proper fingering of both the left and right hand. Tab on the other hand fails miserably (I have to add that some of the new software that writes tab now allows for fingering and rhythm to be displayed).
So, is one better than the other? It depends on your desired goal. To understand the music theoretically or to play without first having a recording, then notation is the way to go. But, you will have to go through the learning process of notes. If you are just trying to play something and learn it as quickly as possible, then tab is your best bet. Either way the ultimate goal is to enjoy making music. Anything that allows you to do that is fine in my book.
