So you want to do something different and spice up an old song. You’ve heard all of these old Christmas songs a million times and now you need to play one yourself. Going with the traditional arrangement is a safe bet when leading a sing-a-long but where’s the fun in that? I just finished watching Adam Neeley’s video, Christmas Songs, but they’re in a 15/16 time signature, and was inspired.
Add a little spark to an old traditional arrangement
Not everyone is ready to use 15/16 on tried-and-true Christmas songs. You can still have some fun with much easier and common adjustments. For example, I played Silent Night in 4/4 for years before I found out it is actually in 6/8. My favorite version of that song is the Simon and Garfunkel version from the album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme – 7 O’clock News / Silent Night. I thought it was in 4/4 and learned it that way. It works rather well slowing it down for a more pensive feel.
A fellow musician friend of mine, Karen England, who helped review my latest video creation, was surprised to hear Silent Night in 6/8. She expected to hear O Holy Night. She is used to hearing that song in 6/8 and not Silent Night. I expect to hear O Holy Night with a lot of swing, as in Brian Setzer Orchestra kind of swing 😉
How to spice up an old song
Now that you are inspired, let’s get down to brass tacks. Before you can effectively mess with the timing of any song, you need to work on your own sense of timing as I explain here. Getting good and comfortable with counting and proper timing is crucial to success here.
Break the habit
Old songs are like old habits: difficult to break. The tendency will be to pop back into the familiar rut you’ve been in for all of these years. To break that cycle, get the melody and a metronome that will accent the first beat. Sing along if you can or play the melody while the alternate rhythm is playing. Going from 3/4 to 4/4 may sound easy but it can be tricky as you figure where to lengthen notes or cut measures up to fit.
Go with the Feeling
Another good way to start getting out of the rut is think about the words and where you would place accents if actually speaking them. Natural speech has pauses and lengthened syllables to provide emphasis. Go with the feeling! Play as if you were speaking the words. The verses may lead you in different rhythmic directions as the natural fluctuations of what is being said arise.
And finally
Don’t be such a tight a$$! Loosen up and let the music flow through you. The first time through may feel a bit clunky and things may fall apart but that’s good! Go back and try it again correcting the things that got you too far off course. Playing music instrumentally will give you freedom that you may have never known. That will be a bit strange at first but is a doorway to creativity on your instrument. That is what we are after.
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Why are there no Thanksgiving songs? There might be one: Over the River and Through the Woods. I am not so sure about that one. That one seems a bit…uh, generic. Here are my guesses why this holiday is missing theme songs or any others for that matter.
Let’s face it. This is a busy time of year with all of the holidays coming one after another. There is a lot going on. The reason could simply be that we are all too pressed for time to squeeze in a little tune. We just got finished with Halloween and Christmas is right around the corner. Cram in Hanukkah and other celebrations and where did the time go?
Wait a minute, though. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on and Open Fire) was actually written during the summer. The writer, Mel Torme, was trying to think cool thoughts during a hot season when air conditioning was a very expensive luxury, at best. This started as a list of those thoughts. That song is huge and it wasn’t even written during the holidays! Not to mention, preparations for holiday shows and pageants start long before even autumn. My band, The Regeneration Jazz Band, starts working on selections for Christmas in the summer. Maybe that’s not it.
Thanksgiving is a Uniquely American Holiday
It could be the worldwide appeal of something like Christmas just created a critical mass of writers. One of the most popular Christmas songs is Silent Night and that was written in Germany – Stille Nacht. But there are a zillion songs for holidays like July 4th – Independence Day. Many countries have their own versions of this holiday, as well.
Nationalism is a strong motivator for music to express pride but to also motivate citizens to action. Entire movies have been made with the nationalism theme that have spawned many of our favorites – Holiday Inn, Yankee Doodle Dandy, for example. It does not seem to be an American thing.
Too Much Sports?
One thing that is associated with the holiday that does have music of a sort is football. Many of us put together pick-up games while we wait for the big meal. Others wait breathlessly for the college games that fill the day and let them play in the background of our gatherings.
There is a great song by Adrain Belew poking some fun at the sports obsession that might be fun to learn for the day – Adidas in Heat. The fretless bass and guitar work are stellar but it may be a challenge 1) to get others to sing along and 2) learn all of the lyrics. If you have never heard the song, you will know what I mean when you do 😉
I once made the mistake of playing this one at a party of a heavy metal band I was in years ago. We all took turns being DJ’s for the party playing our favorites and I ended my set with this song – funny, right? They didn’t think so |-(
Maybe singing your favorite team’s fight song is not a good idea. Could start a riot with visiting relatives from a rival college town.
Sleepy?
Turkey can do that to a person – sleep inducing food. I may be inspired but I am too sleepy to act on it! There is also the games mentioned above. I was never a sports aficionado and it seemed like an excuse to take a nap for one of my younger brothers. As soon as I would turn off the TV he would wake up and say, “Hey! I was watching that!” Sure you were 😉
Meanwhile, it seems everyone finds a comfortable seat and slouches into a slumber after eating only to wake up later and do it all again. Add to that Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Jim regaling us with stories of their last camping trip near a national monument…zzz… Oh! Sorry!
Opportunity in the Making: Write Your Own Thanksgiving Songs!
So, no one has a decent song for Thanksgiving. Maybe it is time to write one! Think of it. You could be famous as the one person who came up with THE song for the holiday. That would be one way to get noticed. Now we just need a mega famous person to make it popular. Easy!
Coming up with a way to get the word “Thanksgiving” to roll out of a song in an attractive way may be the biggest challenge. Kind of like rhyming with Orange. Not sure how that’s going to work…
Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Happy Thanksgiving!
Good time means good rhythm and you will need it. I write about getting started in a previous post entitled, Learn To Play Guitar For Adults, and touch on this. One topic comes up most frequently and that is how to play rhythm well. We dedicate one entire courses at Just 2 Play Guitar to focus on just that skill alone: Becoming a Rhythm Ace.
Watch this video of a drummer who is just fantastic: Sonny Emory with his band Sonny Emory’s Cachet. If you are not a drum solo kind of person, bear with me for a minute. There is something important going on here you need to learn for yourself. This is critical to keeping good time for yourself. A video with Al DiMeola addresses this and he makes the same point.
Keep Time on your Body
Watch the left leg, the hi-hat leg, of Sonny. Pay special attention during sections where it seems like the rhythm is off the rails. That leg never stops keeping time for him.
Watch the greats closely and you will see the same sort of thing – the beat is maintained by some part of the body. I tend to tap my foot but will switch feet and bob my head. That beat is going on somewhere. Tap your foot, bob your head – whatever it takes. Get the beat going on you somewhere!
Good Time: There’s a Trick to It
Now you might be tempted to think you are already doing this and still having trouble so – useless advice, dude! There’s a trick to it. The temptation is to tap along with whatever the rhythm guitar or drummer is doing – i.e triplets, ghost beats, etc. The trick is to keep the 1-2-3-4 (or 1-2-3 or whatever the time is) count going no matter what the rest of the song is doing. The first time you do it, it will not be easy. For the new guitarist, it can really mess with your head.
Tap out 1-2-3-4 through an entire song without deviating. It will be difficult at first not to tap along with drum rolls and other fills but it will break you of the habit. This will help you identify the time signature of a song, as well.
As you progress, try some more difficult songs with odd ball timing such as The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five. Pink Floyd’s Money is also a great one to count out as it changes time signatures for the solo section.
When you work with songs in 3/4 time, you can break out of the or waltz rut by doubling up the count to 6/8. This will break some songs out of that sameness in a set and keep things interesting for you and your listeners. It is good practice to change the time even when you don’t really need to. Keep things fresh and produce alternate versions of common patterns.
Liven up your playing and tighten up your rhythm by getting the count down solid. When you lead music, everyone will thank you! Let’s do a number on the old jag on guitarists and their lack of rhythm and timing!
Getting good at guitar or anything takes time. But how much time? You might be surprised at the answer: It depends! You don’t want to hear that but it is true. Your level of “good” is a function of just what you are trying to play. For most of us, it is not really that much time.
Working on new music always reminds me of the days when I was young and had hours to spend playing music. There were times I would put on an album and figure out the songs as they came at me and then challenge myself to play straight through without a break. Sometimes that would take 45 minutes, other times it would be well over an hour for a live album. CD’s just increased that time as they could hold more music than the old vinyl records.
When I started playing bass in bands, it was not unusual to spend two or more hours practicing. There were always new songs to learn and the old set lists to refresh and improve on. I also played guitar in my church every single Sunday. Christmas Eve included two services with 30 minutes of carols before each. I played a lot.
Don’t get the idea that I am some sort of super guitarist as I had my niche and stayed in it for the most part. There is more to getting good than just time. You may have heard it takes 10,000 hours to achieve greatness but that idea is challenged in an article I read recently called, The 10,000 Hour Rule Is Wrong: How to Really Master a Skill. Let’s apply the concepts in the article to our guitars.
Iteration as a Key to Progress
You need to be able to hear what you are doing. Get some way to record yourself and listen. Getting someone knowledgeable to listen and guide you is for extra credit. It may take going to a guitar teacher to listen critically and help see your trouble spots.
As you listen, look out for timing issues. Many of us are quite poor at keeping time. Use a metronome or drum machine to help hear where the beat is in relation to your playing.
Listen for the feel. You may be getting the notes but it sounds mechanical and stale. Dynamics come when the notes are almost flowing out intuitively from you. Now you can back off from the challenge of just getting the notes and chords right and play it like you mean it! If you are following the format outlined in a previous post, Guitar Practice Makes Perfect, stick with the new stuff until it flows so easily it’s like you are talking to someone with passion. You will only start to hear this when you can listen to yourself.
Practice Intentionally
The post mentioned above touches on this but let me emphasize that you should avoid just playing anything and calling it practice. Pick a song and work it until you nail it. Pick a phrase and drive it until you make it your own. As the practice time on a particular skill, song, phrase moves along, the obvious progress will further inspire you. Take breaks occasionally to let your brain internalize what you are doing but stick to something and get it down.
This has the major benefit of creating a library of well worn phrases and songs you can recall later. Rhett Shull talks about this in his video here and he recommends creating a mixtape of stuff to practice. I use this idea by creating playlists in YouTube. I then share them with the other guys in my band.
Hey, Teach!
If you ever want to know how well you know a subject, teach it to someone else. First, you will need to refresh your memory in order to speak coherently on the subject and, second, you will identify gaps in your knowledge. The gaps are usually where we are assuming everyone knows what we are talking about.
Teaching my wife really revealed a bunch of gaps in my knowledge. She did not grow up being interested in music as a hobby and never thought she could learn to play an instrument. There were a number of ‘a-ha’ moments as I glossed over things that were completely foreign to her. How to explain various musical concepts to someone not into the jargon can be a real eye opener.
So, What Does It Take to Get Good at Guitar?
Getting good requires a level of understanding many others do not possess. It is the defining characteristic in my opinion. You might be able to play all kinds of great stuff but can you teach it to me? I find explaining rhythm to be the most difficult 🙂
Getting back to something I said in the opening paragraph about just what level of ‘good’ are you trying to achieve. You do not need to be a hotshot player to be respected and have others enjoy your music. I often remark to my wife about how some rather famous musicians were never really that great at their instrument. What they did have was songwriting skill and they surrounded themselves with others who filled in the places where they were weak. As I have heard many times: Be the worst one in the band and you will learn, provided you are humble enough to do so 😉
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I taught myself how to play fingerstyle guitar at an early age. I’m not great at it, it is not the most orthodox approach but it gets the job done and I have been able to build on it over the years. As one friend said to me recently, if your method works then it is the right method for you. How I got started can be traced back to Smoke on the Water, a common beginner guitar song.
Like many other budding guitarists, I learned the iconic Smoke on the Water. Before you ask, yes, I learned it incorrectly 🙂 but that’s not important right now. Deep Purple became a passion of mine and Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar playing, in particular. When I had exhausted my older brother’s record collection, I was on the hunt for more.
Down at the used record store, I found a copy of Rainbow’s live album – On Stage. The track, Sixteenth Century Greensleeves, has an intro where Blackmore plays a fingerstyle, kind of classical, version of Greensleeves. It was inspirational, I had to learn it. There was no video I could reference to see how he did it but I had learned a bit from my guitar teacher years before. Off I went.
Next Steps to Fingerstyle
I am quite good at learning by ear and was able to pick up most of the song by just working it out that way. With just a couple of minor modifications, I was able to come up with a version for myself that I play to this day.
To start, I was taught PIMA. Basically, the thumb plays the bass strings while the next three (index, middle and ring) cover the other strings. Use this as a starting point and don’t get too hung up on which finger plays what string. For example my father, who was an excellent fingerstyle folk player, never used his index finger. He told me he didn’t know why he learned that way it just seemed to work out <shrug>.
If you look closely at the big names in fingerstyle such as Chet Atkins, Tommy Emanuel and Doyle Dykes, you should notice they get the job done with whatever fingers they need. Start with PIMA and season to taste. Digging into other styles such as chicken picking (Albert Lee, for example) will require you to get practical with this technique in short order.
Find the Melody in the Chords
To get the melody, start with the chords. Most of the melody notes will be in close proximity to your chord fingers if not right under them. The trick here is to pick the melody a bit louder than the rest of the notes in the chord. The object is to make them stand out from the picking pattern of the chord. This will take some finesse to master. For one, picking too hard can cause excessive fret buzz. Secondly, you want to avoid causing the string to spank against the fretboard.
The first notes should be right under your fingers but you may find one or more is not within reach. Time to try alternate chord voicings to get them within reach. If you have not progressed to the point of learning alternate positions for chords, this will motivate you and give you a reason to learn some. Hopefully, you will find they come easily and lead you to more experimentation to find others.
Putting it All Together
Finally, get the melody to sound above your picking pattern and practice changing chords smoothly. I find that the melody tends to drive me to the next chord position. While I am playing the individual notes, my hand has time to fret the rest of the chord as needed.
Do not be afraid to only fret what you need. Economy of playing is an excellent thing to learn and will drive you to the next level. It can take some time to 1) break the pattern of always fretting entire chords and 2) learn to play only the specific notes necessary for the phrase.
If Greensleeves/What Child Is This? isn’t your thing, try something else but go easy at first. I have also worked out Silent Night, Holy Night this way and it is fairly easy. I find Christmas music can be a great place to start because it is so well known it comes to mind almost intuitively. The real trick here is to get started and then practice!
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MAYA means Most Advanced Yet Acceptable. A term coined by the legendary father of industrial design, Raymond Loewy. Major changes in any industry, even music, do not happen unless there is “something familiar yet surprising” in the mix. Consider Eddie Van Halen who just passed away. He is credited with being one of the most influential guitarists of the modern era, if not of all time. His music was familiar yet surprising. How can we implement that into our own music?
My band, The Regeneration Jazz Band, loves to play challenging bebop selections with lots of good opportunities to solo. However, we have struggled with the need to play more familiar swing tunes as that is what our audiences tend to favor. The more challenging stuff gets great reactions but too much and the audience becomes detached. It becomes “music for musicians” and we will get requests for more familiar selections.
Back in the day when I was in a heavy metal band, we had a few originals that were really quite good and crowds seemed to like them. They would sing along or yell out the chorus when prompted. However, the clubs wanted cover bands. Why? Because people want to hear the familiar. Consequently, they would fill a club and buy alcohol. Wedding bands make a living playing the familiar old songs. Take a look into the history of just about any successful band and you will see they started with covers:
Van Halen – You Really Got Me, first album
Beatles – almost all covers before their first album.
Chicago – covers until they left town to record their first album.
We love the originals but they all had to survive on the familiar until something happened to break them out. Still, covers were employed on many of their first albums to bridge the gap.
MAYA in the Style
So, you have forged a new style. Progressive music has been struggling for years and has yet to make a significant dent into the American market. Why is that? With a very few exceptions like Yes, progressive music remains mostly a fringe style with small audiences in the U.S. My understanding is that it gets more attention in Europe.
The American music scene tends to be dominated by blues-based music. When you delve into the roots of the blues, it is firmly rooted in the states. When the British invasion got rolling with Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck (all spent time in blues bands in the U.K.), they all state their main influences being American Blues artists. Even the Beatles couldn’t help but cover blues-based music from the U.S.
How do you get popular in American guitar music? Play something bluesy in addition to your new thing.
Breaking Free
What about all of those groundbreakers that have changed course of guitar history? Boston is one example that seemed to blast out of nowhere with their debut album of completely original music. They still used something familiar even though it really did go in a different direction than the prevailing music market of the time. There are blues licks all over their music – the familiar.
In a previous post about how to Break Old Habits, I mention the pentatonic scale and how to break out of that. It can become a worn out pattern that you go to simply out of habit. Add something, anything! A note or a beat or dramatically change the tone. A common move I make is to set a song in a different style to change it up. Ideas begin to flow as the style suggests alternative ways to hear the same old phrases.
The key is to anchor your new stuff in something familiar. People latch on to that and become more accepting of the unfamiliar thing you are introducing. Even if you are experimenting with a new take on an old stand-by, couch it in the familiar – set between two common songs, for example. Quoting a familiar melody in the middle of your solo, a typical jazz technique, reacquaints listeners and draws them back in to your original or your more obscure cover song (i.e. deep album cut).
Learn a trick from ol’ Raymond Loewy and MAYA in industrial design to make your music resonate with your audience!
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Building v.s. buying a guitar can become an obsession for some players. Eddie Van Halen fueled the building craze back the 70’s with his Frankenstein creations. Other notable guitarists and bassists have also experimented with building their own. Steve Morse being another notable example. A good friend of mine enjoys building not just for himself but helping others either build their own or building one for them. His ‘Barncaster’ creation is an especially notable accomplishment. See below.
The Barncaster custom build by Kenny Kitzman with Nomoonlaser Guitar Bodies
So, should you build or buy? Your first guitar should be a buy, definitely. Work on your playing first and that will guide you to what you really need. Try a number of guitars to narrow down your choice then keep notes, mental or written, about what could be improved for you. If you go budget, your first can become the experimentation platform. Just make sure you have a backup in case you get the guitar apart and something delays the reassembly 😉
Your first steps
While you may be tempted to buy parts and just go for it, many start by modifying the electronics. It is the easiest way to get started. The typical Fender style with all of the electronics mounted on a pickguard makes it easy. There are no holes to navigate with wires except for the output jack, typically, and everything is exposed simply by turning over the pickguard. Most people start with the pickups. The eternal search for tone (It’s All About the Tone, Man) is one that may never end. For me, it is an eternal search as I love a wide variety of styles and one tone will never satisfy. As my wife will attest when she asks, “How many guitars do you need?”
There is a distinct difference between single coil pickups and double coil (humbucking) pickups. The differences are a topic for another blog post! Once you decide which general type is right for you, the differences become more subtle. Add to that position on the guitar and the combinations become endless.
To build on what I said before about learning to play first, you need to realize how you play and where you play in relation to the pickups. Answer the question why you prefer one position over another and you will move a long way towards your perfect tone.
Hardware Selection
The next place to fuss over is in the hardware. Simple changes such as nut and saddle material can influence tone and sustain. The type of bridge is a big determiner of sustain. Heavier, denser materials properly attached (coupled) to the guitar increase sustain. Remember, floating bridges work well but they must contact the body thoroughly to avoid losing sustain.
When I work on an archtop, for example, I take a lot of time gradually sanding the bottom of floating bridges to make certain they fully contour to the surface of the guitar. This is one of the many ways inexpensive guitars save money on manufacturing. It takes time, and that means expense, to get the fit right.
If you examine the nut material closely, you may find your budget guitar is using plastic. Just changing that alone can dramatically improve your guitar’s sound. Harder is better and bone is a good starting choice. There are other materials such as Tusq and Micarta that are worthy alternatives to consider. That also goes for bridge and saddles, too! Saddles are usually an easy replacement but nuts will need to be fitted by a qualified luthier.
Going All In: Bodies and Necks
Finally, we have the materials that make up the body and neck. This can be a can of very expensive worms. Wood prices vary widely and synthetic options can bust your budget if you are not careful. As I mentioned above, the Barncaster was a great looking build. In addition, it was not expensive. The drawback is taking a chance on the unknown.
As with bridge material, heavier and denser materials typically yield better sustain. Once you wade into a discussion about necks and bodies, be prepared for some rather opinionated responses. There is a lot of passion on this topic. Don’t take it too seriously, though. Use your own ears and make your own choice. As boutique jazz guitar luthier, Bob Benedetto, has pointed out: guitar material choices have more to do with tradition than tone. He once made a guitar from pine to demonstrate this fact. While it was a quality instrument, he recognized it would not sell due to the aversion of guitarists to non-traditional materials.
Necks are a whole other category of discussion. When you consider fretboard materials with neck selection, the combinations begin to spiral out of control. To start, go with the traditional combinations and work from there.
Bolt-on necks are great for experimenting in this regard. You can directly compare an all maple neck with a neck made with a rosewood fretboard on maple in short order. The only caveat being you are careful about what neck fits what body. For example, there can be differences in heel fit between Fender American and Squier (Fender brand made outside the USA) and even minor scale differences due to fit. Just be careful!
Build or Buy?
I guess you could say, “That depends!” I hate to give that as an answer but there are too many variables to consider. The final consideration is your own confidence in taking on a project. There are many “project” guitars for sale that can be cheap learning experiences. Hand the completed project off to a beginner and try another.
Finally, you can always buy a kit and there are many out there! You can get kits with unfinished necks and bodies and finish them any way you like. That’s the ultimate customization. Just ask Eddie!
You will learn a lot from building just make sure you have a backup!
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When it comes to guitar philosophy, where are you on your journey? You have some skills, have some songs and some cool ideas. Getting to the next level is going to take some thought and force you to go deeper. This post is your introduction to the beyond…
What is a PhD? Pin-headed Dope, Piled Higher Deeper are some fun aphorisms but the degree actually means something. That something has to do with philosophy. When you think about it, there are three levels of learning: knowledge or the what, mastery or the how, and philosophy or the why. Once you start to think about why you should play something at what time, you come to a level most guitarists never approach. I believe it leads to greater satisfaction with your own music.
Knowledge: The What
You can read books about a topic all day long and get to be something of an expert but until you actually put that knowledge into practice, it means nothing. I guess you would call that “book smart.” We all know people like this. All talk and no action. It seems like most guitarists start just the opposite way, though: learn songs and show off our prowess by playing some guitar hero’s signature jam. I know you have heard something like, “You’re good but can you play <insert challenging song here>?”
I would challenge you by asking: do you actually know what you are playing? What are the chords, scales, rhythms that are being employed? If you don’t know, it’s high time you start getting some of those “book smarts.” A good place to start is with Adam Neely. He throws out a number of books in his videos that are worth checking out. Some are bit esoteric but he has a load of good suggestions.
Mastery and The How
As I mentioned above, many guitarists tend to start here. We get excited about our newfound skill or talent and can’t wait to tackle the next cool riff or solo. Off to the races! Someone challenges us to play Eruption and we spend the next week working to nail down everything perfectly. That’s great but, as Phil X points out, you will never get it perfect no matter how hard you try. You are not “that guy”. You have your own personality, style and way of looking at the music. None of that is bad but obsessing over it can stomp you out of playing. Go with your quirks and be yourself!
Check out this version of Drivin’ South by Chris Duarte. He isn’t Jimi Hendrix but his version rocks! Most people alive today will not even remember who did the first version. Make a song your own and have some fun with it. I love to go into the deeper cuts on old albums and find lost gems to learn.
Guitar Philosophy and The Why
Here we are now. You’ve stayed with me this far and now it is time to get cerebral. Many guitarists I know struggle with getting beyond box patterns, the same old chords, and their sound. The basic question to ask is: Why am I doing these things in the first place? I always have to ask the ‘Why’ questions. I am a consumer of Rick Beato YouTube videos and love when he gets into the details about music and production. Rick has a great video on the various scales – Natural, Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales. My first question is “How does he know to do that?” and then “Why does that work the way it does?”
Think about this for a minute. Why does a minor scale sound differently than a major scale and when should you take advantage of that? Consider the song, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman. The key is E minor and, thanks to A Christmas Carol movies, it can sound quite dark and forboding. However, dig this version from The Barenaked Ladies. It is an excellent lesson in how to make a minor key sound…well, merry! It is a minor key but not all depressing in the way it is usually heard these days.
Your guitar philosophy should have you digging in to why certain combinations work the way they do and get you experimenting. Take any song and slow it down or speed it up. What happens to the mood of the song? When I needed a pensive instrumental background for something in worship services, a simple technique was to take one of the songs and slow it way down. Finger picking or arpeggios complete the feeling and I did not have to come up with anything new on the spot!
Apply some guitar philosophy to your sound. Ask why you use the settings you have or why you strum where you do. Change it up and see where it takes you.
Starting Your Guitar Philosophy Journey
A great place to start is with some helpful tips I have gathered in a post called, Learn to play guitar For Adults: How to Start. Be sure to check back at Just 2 Play Guitar on FaceBook and YouTube where I will demonstrate some of these things for your dining and dancing pleasure!
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Break old habits but how? I get asked how to break out of the same scale routine, the same chords, and the same rhythm patterns. As I frequently say, use what you already know and build on it. Here are three ways I use to creatively destroy and build something new from what I already have.
You already know the standard chords such as A, C, E, etc. Have you ever tried playing them somewhere else on the neck? Use the same finger positions but plop them down in a totally different place and strum. Simply sliding up the neck always produces interesting chord variations. Moving the E shape up and playing all the strings open really feels like floating in mid-air. A rich jangle of notes blows forth with some dissonance in one place and beautiful consonance in others. I have found the chords to songs I later worked out by ear this way. It comes like, “Hey, I’ve heard that before…” Next thing you know, you have a song figured out that has lingered in the back of your mind for ages.
How about trying this on for size: don’t just use the same fingering on the same strings, move the fingerings to entirely different strings. That can produce some truly magical tones. Take the lowly D7 chord. Nice transition type of chord or to end a song in an unusual way. Try playing it starting with your first finger on the third string. Now you have the oh so jazzy Amaj7. Only play from the fourth string down and you have the equally jazzy E6. You didn’t know you had jazz chords so easy within reach, did you?
New Fingerings in Strange Places
This is one I used this on my tune, First Night Late Night. I needed a song to try out what I was learning with my new DAW, Reaper, and plugins for my modeling software, Amplitube. You may know YouTube can be a pain when it comes to cover songs so I wanted to avoid that with something completely new of my own. The best way to accomplish that was to fret something, anything and see what it sounded like. With a few moves of my fingers, I found a song emerging perfect for the job! I tried my acoustics and electrics on the new progression and built the rest of the song as you hear in the video.
If you watch videos about how your favorite guitarists came up with their signature songs, one thing might pop out at you. Most of them were just trying stuff and found something they liked. They were not looking for some complicated chord structure in a mode nobody ever heard of. Mostly, the songs are from easy fingerings that fall naturally into their hands. Check out Joe Bonamasa at the Musician’s Institute talking about how he creates. His advice is spot on.
Break Old Habits by Intentionally Playing Wrong
Well, maybe not wrong but unconventionally, let’s say. You already know how to play a scale be it the pentatonic, major or minor. You have a chosen position to play it. STOP THAT! Try playing the scale starting with a different finger. For example, let’s say you are playing the A minor pentatonic. You would normally start with your first finger on the sixth string, fifth fret, correct? Try putting your third finger on that first note and play over the third through fifth frets rather than over the five and seventh. Find the notes in that position. Talk about how to break old habits! Glenn Riley shows this in his course on Rocking the Pentatonic.
Another fun thing to do is take your scale and only play every third note or every fourth, etc. Do not stop playing the scale at the seventh note but keep going until you run out of guitar. Where does that take you?
One more trick is to do a golf thing of playing were it lies by ending the scale somewhere in between and reconstructing the scale from that position. That’ll learn ya! Then go backwards down the scale the way you came up.
Conclusion
This should only get you started to break old habits. There are many more ways you can think of springing from this list. Bust loose and get to know your guitar. Check out Glenn’s class while you’re at it 😉
Ready to learn how to rock with the minor pentatonic scale? Glenn Riley has his new Pentatonic Rock course up on Just 2 Play Guitar! You may have learned this scale and even use it in your blues but how well do you know it? Can you apply it in a more Rock context?
Glenn is long time professional musician with many hours of teaching to his credit.
The pentatonic scale is one that is a first for many budding guitar soloists. It fits well under your hands, it is commonly used by popular guitarists and just sounds great…when used right. I replaced a guitarist in my church worship team and expected the leader to want something like the previous guitarist. What I had heard before was mostly bluesy, pentatonic riffs and that is what I started doing. Fine but in the right context – Doh!
There’s Pentatonic and Then There’s Minor Pentatonic
If I was to ask you to play the minor pentatonic right now, could you do it? How about the other way around? Maybe you already play minor but the major scale version eludes you. That’s good because they are closely related. Not just in notes but in fingerings. This course will show you three ways to play the scale and apply them with backing tracks. Learn how to link your riffs together to create your own.
Music Theory? Blecchhh…!
So, scales make your head swim. While a little music theory is a good thing, this course is more for the practical musician. Get in and watch Glenn demonstrate the basics up close on his fretboard. As he weaves in a bit of theory, such as fifths and thirds, it is not heavy but don’t miss it! Build on everything you learn. It makes the process that much more valuable.
Get a discount!
Contact Glenn to get a 50% off discount code! There will be much more coming from him in the future but this discount code is only for those who contact him directly via his website and only for a limited time. Save yourself some bux and let him know you saw it here on the Just 2 Play Guitar blog!
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Thanksgiving Songs: Missing in Action
Why are there no Thanksgiving songs? There might be one: Over the River and Through the Woods. I am not so sure about that one. That one seems a bit…uh, generic. Here are my guesses why this holiday is missing theme songs or any others for that matter.
Not Enough Time to Write One
Let’s face it. This is a busy time of year with all of the holidays coming one after another. There is a lot going on. The reason could simply be that we are all too pressed for time to squeeze in a little tune. We just got finished with Halloween and Christmas is right around the corner. Cram in Hanukkah and other celebrations and where did the time go?
Wait a minute, though. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on and Open Fire) was actually written during the summer. The writer, Mel Torme, was trying to think cool thoughts during a hot season when air conditioning was a very expensive luxury, at best. This started as a list of those thoughts. That song is huge and it wasn’t even written during the holidays! Not to mention, preparations for holiday shows and pageants start long before even autumn. My band, The Regeneration Jazz Band, starts working on selections for Christmas in the summer. Maybe that’s not it.
Thanksgiving is a Uniquely American Holiday
It could be the worldwide appeal of something like Christmas just created a critical mass of writers. One of the most popular Christmas songs is Silent Night and that was written in Germany – Stille Nacht. But there are a zillion songs for holidays like July 4th – Independence Day. Many countries have their own versions of this holiday, as well.
Nationalism is a strong motivator for music to express pride but to also motivate citizens to action. Entire movies have been made with the nationalism theme that have spawned many of our favorites – Holiday Inn, Yankee Doodle Dandy, for example. It does not seem to be an American thing.
Too Much Sports?
One thing that is associated with the holiday that does have music of a sort is football. Many of us put together pick-up games while we wait for the big meal. Others wait breathlessly for the college games that fill the day and let them play in the background of our gatherings.
There is a great song by Adrain Belew poking some fun at the sports obsession that might be fun to learn for the day – Adidas in Heat. The fretless bass and guitar work are stellar but it may be a challenge 1) to get others to sing along and 2) learn all of the lyrics. If you have never heard the song, you will know what I mean when you do 😉
I once made the mistake of playing this one at a party of a heavy metal band I was in years ago. We all took turns being DJ’s for the party playing our favorites and I ended my set with this song – funny, right? They didn’t think so |-(
Maybe singing your favorite team’s fight song is not a good idea. Could start a riot with visiting relatives from a rival college town.
Sleepy?
Turkey can do that to a person – sleep inducing food. I may be inspired but I am too sleepy to act on it! There is also the games mentioned above. I was never a sports aficionado and it seemed like an excuse to take a nap for one of my younger brothers. As soon as I would turn off the TV he would wake up and say, “Hey! I was watching that!” Sure you were 😉
Meanwhile, it seems everyone finds a comfortable seat and slouches into a slumber after eating only to wake up later and do it all again. Add to that Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Jim regaling us with stories of their last camping trip near a national monument…zzz… Oh! Sorry!
Opportunity in the Making: Write Your Own Thanksgiving Songs!
So, no one has a decent song for Thanksgiving. Maybe it is time to write one! Think of it. You could be famous as the one person who came up with THE song for the holiday. That would be one way to get noticed. Now we just need a mega famous person to make it popular. Easy!
Coming up with a way to get the word “Thanksgiving” to roll out of a song in an attractive way may be the biggest challenge. Kind of like rhyming with Orange. Not sure how that’s going to work…
Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Happy Thanksgiving!
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