As many of you know, Kristi and I have been forced to leave our apartment due to its acquisition by a new owner. Therefore, we have considered all options available to us and have chosen to relocate. We were not planning on relocating as quickly as we have decided, but considering the circumstances have chosen to due so now instead of later.
We will be moving to northeastern Pennsylvania to a small city named Laporte. I will continue my teaching at The Pajama Factory (www.pajamafactory.net) in Williamsport, PA. I will be moving into my own studio where classes, performances, and private lessons will be available. Classes will begin September 13th at The Pajama Factory and my last day of lessons in Pittsburgh will be August 28th.
I have enjoyed the many relationships that have formed over the years here in Pittsburgh. I am extremely grateful for your support over the years and the support of Steve at the store. This is not a decision that Kristi and I take lightly but one that we have chosen as we look to the future to be closer to family.
Thank you all for trusting me with your guitar instruction and musical endeavors. We will miss the city of Pittsburgh and but more importantly we’ll miss the people we have come to know and love.
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.
Click to Enlarge Blackberry Blossom
Other Editions You May Enjoy:
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Many students have asked that I spend an entire lesson on changing strings on their acoustic guitars. However, I think the greatest teacher in this is experience. You are not going to get it perfect the first time. But with some practice stringing should not be done by a repair store (even though it is easy money for them) but by the player irregardless of age. Well, if you are under 10, then a little help from an adult would probably be good.
I found this little instructional on YouTube about changing acoustic guitar strings. The video is very instructive but may make you a bit dizzy at times. In any case, take this repairman’s advice to heart and change those strings.
- Power chords are everything when it comes to rock guitar.
- Power chords only use two or three strings.
- These chords are easy to play, move, and learn.
- They sound powerful, especially with distortion
- Power chords are not chords at all.
- They are neither major or minor because they do not contain the 3rd of the chord which determines the major or minor sound in a chord.
- They do contain the 1st and the 5th of the chord making them indifferent.
- Therefore, a C power chord sound fine of a C major chord or a C minor chord in a progression.
- There are two basic shapes for power chords.
- Two note (1st and 5th) power chords where the root (name of the chord) is the lower of the two notes. The chord on the left is a G power chord and the chord on the right is a C power chord.
e|-----| e|-----|
B|-----| B|-----|
G|-----| G|-----|
D|-----| D|--5--|
A|--5--| A|--3--|
E|--3--| E|-----|
- Three note (1st, 5th, and an octave above the 1st) where the root is the lower of the two notes.
e|-----| e|-----|
B|-----| B|-----|
G|-----| G|--5--|
D|--5--| D|--5--|
A|--5--| A|--3--|
E|--3--| E|-----|
- Get rockin’! Now that you know how to make power chords it’s time begin to use them. There is no need to learn a song right now, just make the chords and move them around as you like. You’ll be amazed at how good they sound and how many combinations make “sense.” They are so easy, you’ll even wonder why your not a rock star yet?
Suggested Resources:
Modern Rock Rhythm Guitar: A Guide to the Essential Chords, Riffs, Rhythms and Grooves (Musicians Institute Press)
Mel Bay Rock Rhythms for Guitar
Whether it is rock, blues, or jazz, many students are interested in improvisation. There are many benefits to learning to improvise. However, this is not our discussion for today. Our focus will be on the use of the Jamey Aebersold books with the guitar.
There is no better way, in my opinion, to learn jazz than through the use of these valuable books. There is no doubt that Aebersold was a pioneer in the learning of jazz for the masses and in the business of music publishing. There remains a problem with the books as they relate to guiter. They are written for instruments that only play a single note at a time and can only play a single not in a single place. The guitar can play multiple notes (like the piano) at the same time and has more than one place to play each identical pitch (unlike the piano). The problem lies in the fact that the guitar has many fingerings and each must be learned up the fretboard. If you only have one place to play each note, then the process demonstrated in the books becomes very achievable. However, when you have to learn the same exercise in five or six different areas of the fretboard it can seem overwhelming.
We will be dealing with the process of applying the guitar to these books in future posts. If you would like to get started early, then I suggest you get a good scale book for guitar that demonstrates the major, dorian, mixolydian, and pentatonic scales in multiple positions on the guitar. Why these scales? If you did not already know, then these are the most used scales in improvisation. I recommend:
Beginning Jazz Guitar (Book & DVD)
This book contains more than just scales. However, it gives you some parallel information to complement the Aebersold. It also gives you a clear understanding and foundation for learning the scales mentioned above. As a bonus, I use it because many students are not great at note reading (yet) and the book uses tab to demonstrate without over use of notation.
Jamey Aebersold Jazz Vol. 1: Jazz How to Play and Improvise – 6th Edition
Of course, this is the book everyone should begin with if they are going to begin the Aebersold journey.
If you were wondering whether or not I was still alive, then this should prove that I am. And, as of January 14th, I am a proud new father. With that said, you should understand why post have been stopped since the beginning of the New Year. I should be back around in a bit. For now I have a beautiful 7lb. 2oz. (as of birth) boy and a wonderful new mother to care for (I shall in no way report any weight concerning her).
Thanks to all who come regularly to learn a bit about my thoughts on the guitar. I hope all goes well with you for the next few weeks. I will be taking a break because my wife and I are expecting our first child and the holiday season is here. All the best, and I look forward to next year.
Happy holidays,
Chad
For those of you that are faithful readers of Around the Neck, you’ll have to wait a couple of days for a new post. We are out of town and not doing labor on this Labor Day. Put your guitar down, go outside (if it’s nice) and spend some good quality time with some family and friends. Even after that affirmation, if you still want to be on the computer, then look up where we get Labor Day from in the first place. It’s an interesting little bit of history and you can thank your geographically close friends, the Canadians, for it.
One of the most effective ways of learning the neck of the guitar is by practicing arpeggios and licks associated with them. You will find a great book by Ted Greene titled Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing which covers what the title emplies, single note soloing. However, I have found that the key to good single note soloing is the mastery of the fingerboard. This is the concept behind Ted Greene’s method. If you master the fingerboard, and know it backwards and forwards, then you will master the single note soloing as well.
How does he get you to master it? Through playing arpeggios and scales up and down the neck in different positions. Here is an excerpt of three of the runs he begins with in second position. He is using the C Form (C.A.G.E.D. system) or a 5/4 (5th string beginning on the 4th finger for you Berklee grads) scale to outline this arpeggio over a D major 7th chord.
Click image to enlarge in a different window.
