blog

Set up

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 04:01:37 +0100

A new guitar often needs 'setting up'. This is a little like getting a car that has never been 'tuned' and never having it serviced.
Guitars are precision machines that need to be operating at their best to make it as easy as possible to play, and to make the guitar sound as clean and 'in-tune' as possible.
A good guitar technician (www.walcott.guitars.com.au) will look very closely at your guitar and all of the variables that can be changed.
Aspects such as the neck relief (bend), neck tilt, nut height and angles, bridge saddle height and angles, intonation (fine tuning) and fret levelling can be adjusted to bring out the best response from your instrument.
In many instances, the action (string height) can be far too high even on brand new instruments and it makes the guitar difficult to press down the strings. This is harder for beginners of course.
A set up is a relatively inexpensive way to bring the best out your instrument. I have a Fender Deluxe Stratocaster that has been set up a number of times in the 12 years I've had it. Each time it is done, the guitar feels and sounds so much better. It generally gets 'out of whack' in a very gradual way and we don't always realise it is happening and then all of a sudden it sounds bad and won't play in tune and may buzz or rattle.
You would need to find a good guitar technician who can bring it back to life. It will cost a little but is always worthwhile.
I use Pete Walcott at www.walcottguitars.com.au. He lives close by and I trust him with my many instruments. Ask around your area and seek the advice of experienced guitarists.
I hope you have found this useful.

Be a versatile guitarist

Tue, 18 Oct 2016 05:39:22 +0100

So, I am writing this little blog as someone who read many years ago that versatility is a key way of both enjoying music and making a living from it.

Do you need to be able to play every genre and style flawlessly? Ah...no.

But..we need a little bit of an idea on many styles to be truly versatile.

I know musicians who are fantastic in a cover band situation and take time to learn the parts of every song their band plays. Unfortunately, this doesn't always translate well when required to sight read a chart and play an improvised solo but they might fudge their way through it if the music is not too complex.

Likewise, the need to be able to play over more complex chord changes often leaves a pop or rock specialist guitarist grasping to find notes or chords that sound right.

The 5 things that have enabled me to continue working as a guitarist for 40 years are:

Being able to read music. (NOT TAB!) Chord charts and single notes. Being able to read music will never make you a worse musician. (I have heard people say that). It will take time and effort but is worth it.
Having a thorough understanding of basic theory and harmony and how it applies to the guitar.
Being a person who makes the gig easy for the band leader and the other musicians around them. Don't be a prima donna. Be confident in your abilities.
Have reliable equipment and practice until you sound great with your equipment. If you can't afford the best gear it doesn't matter. A cheaper guitar can have a couple of hundred dollars spent on it for pickups, set up and new hardware and sound great. Spend as much on getting an amp as you do on a guitar. A $3000 guitar through a $400 amp won't do the guitar justice.
Be able to play over chord changes. Learn the arpeggios and scales that facilitate this skill. Even if you don't do any groundbreaking solos, you will survive the gig and not make a fool of yourself.

I had a keyboard playing friend who was a fantastic music reader. I asked him how he got to be so good at it. He told me that he borrowed scores of piano books from the library and just read and played them once only. He would then take those back to the library a couple of days later and borrow some more and repeated the process until he returned back to the first lot he had borrowed. By this stage he had forgotten the music in them and was sight reading again.

Classical guitar music is great for guitarists because of it's harmony/bass/melody content. It also exercises right hand technique and common sense left hand fingering. Start easy and build in complexity over time.

So.. learn theory, learn to read (NOT TAB!), learn to play over changes, sound great and be easy to get along with!

The Circle of 4ths (Part 1)

Fri, 05 Aug 2016 04:37:52 +0100

The Circle of 4ths (or 5ths)

The Circle of 4ths contains a huge amount of information when we understand it in some depth.
A songwriter may know nothing about the circle of 4ths but use it all the time in their songs. It is particularly useful in performance, composition, playing by ear, improvisation, arranging teaching and general understanding of music.

After playing music for many years, the circle of 4th's has become second nature as so much music uses the movement laid out in it. For example; C chord often goes to F. G often goes to C. D often goes to G.

These chords can be major, minor, 7th or any other chord type.
'Autumn Leaves' is a popular song.
The chord sequence is:
Dm
G7
C
F
Bm7b5
E7
Am

Take the chord endings off to make the root movement clearer.
D G C F B E A

Check these out by starting on D on the circle of 4ths.
Follow the arrows clockwise and you'll see that the next note is G then C then F.
At this point the cycle breaks and goes to a B.
Keep following the arrows and you'll see that E is next and and then A.

Not all songs follow the cycle and rarely do songs follow the cycle through all the notes.
'Down in Brazil' by Michael Franks is an exception. It begins on A.
Then Am to D7 to G. Then Gm to C7 to F. Then Fm Bb7 to Eb. Then Ebm Ab7 to Db. Then Dbm Gb7 to B. Then Bm7 E7 and then returns to A to begin the cycle again.

We have barely scratched the surface of the circle of 4ths.

Buying your First Guitar

Tue, 26 Jul 2016 04:27:53 +0100

BUYING YOUR FIRST GUITAR

Buying Your First Guitar
Congratulations!! If you are reading this you have probably decided to begin learning the most beautiful and rewarding of all instruments. These brief guidelines come to you with the compliments of your guitar tuition specialist to help you sort through some of the probable questions you may have regarding the purchase of a new instrument.

Where to start?
Most guitar teachers deal with one or two music stores with whom they have developed some trust or business relationship.
These stores will be offering advice on your purchase, so you need to have confidence in them.
As with any purchase, if you feel unsure about the advice you have been given, seek another opinion.

Guitar Types

(1) Acoustics

The Classic Guitar:

(a) Has nylon strings
(This means that three strings are plain nylon like fishing line while the other three are a silver compound that is wound on a nylon thread.)
These strings are generally soft on the left hand fingers. This makes these instruments ideal for beginners.

(b) Wider neck than a steel string
A wide neck can cause problems for someone with small hands because of the reach required to play some passages of music and particular chord fingerings. The wide neck may be an advantage for players with chubby fingers as they have more space between each string. Your music dealer should be able to advise you of the best choice for your hand size.

(c) Soft, mellow tone
The classic guitar has a particularly warm and sweet sound and is great for classical, Spanish and fingerstyle playing. The sound is not particularly suited to strumming styles, however the ease of playing more than makes up for this in the early stages.
Steel strings should never be used on a classic guitar as it is designed for the lower tension produced when strung with nylon strings.

The Steel String Guitar:

(a) Has steel strings

(This means that two strings are plain steel and the other four are metal wrapped around a steel core.)
The steel strings give the guitar a bright, brilliant tone but 'cut in' to the fingers. This makes playing a little painful in the early stages until calluses are developed on the fingertips.

(b) Narrower neck
The narrower neck on most steel string guitars makes it easier and generally more comfortable to play. A player with large, stout fingers may find difficulty producing a clear tone.

(c) Great Rhythm guitar sound
The steel string guitar has a full, ringing tone quality that is not possible with a nylon string guitar. This makes a steel string a good choice for modern pop, or rock music where the guitar is usually strummed.

(2) Electrics

The Solidbody Electric:

(a) Has steel strings
Although the electric guitar has steel strings, it is usually easier on the fingers than a steel string acoustic. This is because the strings are thinner (a lighter gauge) than those required to vibrate the top of an acoustic guitar.

(b) Narrow neck
See above.

(c) Bright, versatile sounds
The solidbody guitar is the most popular of all electric guitar sounds because of it's ability to be used in so many styles. It is an excellent choice for rock, blues and most modern styles.

The Hollowbody Electric:

(a) Has steel strings

(b) Larger body
Generally the hollowbody, (or semi-acoustic) guitar has a larger body than a solidbody instrument. Many people find this to be both cumbersome and uncomfortable, but is one reason why this guitar has such a beautiful warm, jazzy sound. (They also look really cool!!). Some companies are making smaller bodies to accommodate players looking for the jazz tone without the large body shape.

(c) Warm, rich tone
The warm, rich tone of the hollowbody make it the most used style of guitar in jazz.

Where to next?
The acoustic guitar requires no further equipment once your initial purchase is made. You should aim to get the best deal you can that includes:
carry bag (essential)
strap (optional)
picks (optional)
extra set of strings (optional)
capo (optional)
pitch pipes for tuning (optional)
electronic tuner (optional)

Many music shops will include some picks and a set of strings with your purchase. Be sure to ask for them though, as this is not automatic.
The electric guitar requires an amplifier. This is a considerable extra cost on top of the guitar. A first amplifier need only be a 'practice' amp. These are small and relatively inexpensive although you will need to take the cost into account when deciding how much you want to spend.
Note that 'small' does not necessarily mean quiet!!

My advice is to not spend a lot of money on your first guitar purchase. Resale is not that good. (If you find out you're not going to be the next Eric Clapton!!) While it may make a nice conversation piece to tell people how much you spent on your new guitar, it won't make learning the instrument that much easier.

Up the Steps

Most guitarists move up in steps from the beginners model, through a middle price range up to the more expensive models.
For example:
When I began playing in the late 1970's, I bought a $15 classical guitar (second-hand from a friend). It was pretty hideous, but it was a guitar and I thought it was great.
After about a year of playing, I traded my old one in (for $10) and bought a new steel string for $65.
In another 6 months I was ready to trade up to an electric and spent a whopping $110 on that one!! ($50 trade on the old one).
This process cost very little and my initial outlay was small.
At the time of this writing, I advise my students to jump in steps of $400- $500 except for their first instrument.
1st Guitar $100-$150 (usually nylon string classic guitar)
2nd Guitar $500-$650
3rd Guitar $1000-$1500
4th Guitar $??!!
Some students require different motivations than others and a new guitar, (or even the promise of one), can work wonders in encouraging the student to work harder. I have seen many students who lag behind a little with their playing and, (if it is appropriate), I will suggest a new instrument to the parent. This often brings about a whole new dedication to practice and performance.
Other players are self-motivated and will not need this type of encouragement for some time, however, when they receive a new instrument they work even harder as the sound and feel of the instrument is better.

New or Second-hand?

I only advise a beginner to buy a second-hand instrument from a music store recommended by their teacher unless you know someone who can help you choose via Gumtree or Ebay. A pawnbroker or general second-hand store can not offer the same follow-up service and specialized knowledge on every product they sell.
Most music stores are willing to back up their sales with a reasonable warranty on second-hand instruments.
New instruments, (if they are well looked after), give better resale or trade-in value.

Coda:
I generally recommend a nylon string classic guitar for beginners. Ease of playing is an important factor for beginners and it can be painful until those calluses develop.
You could expect to pay around $150 for a reasonable quality beginners guitar with a carry bag, picks and spare set of strings.

I don't usually recommend that a student begin on electric guitar.
There are two reasons for this opinion:

Cost. You can expect to pay around $600 for an electric guitar, amplifier and hard case.
Tone. Many guitarists who start on electric guitar have trouble producing a good strong tone. They may also struggle to play any other kind of guitar well.

The desire for an electric guitar is normal (especially in boys 12-16 years of age!!), and may help provide motivation when the 'going gets tough'.
Your teacher may also know of someone who wants to sell their instrument privately.

I hope you have found this information useful.
Please feel free to email me with any feedback, questions or ideas.

Arranging for Guitar 103 (Practicalities)

Fri, 05 Aug 2016 01:41:23 +0100

Big Band
Over the years I have noticed that many school big band charts are virtually unplayable for the guitarists. (Particularly for middle school aged students!) This is largely due to the commonly used keys and the extended chords that are often present in such charts.
An easy option is to use tritone shapes. These are often the 3rd and 7th of the chord and the extensions are handled by the piano and horns.

The example below shows an easy way for a guitar player to play the chords shown (moving in 4ths). It is easy to play and in a swing style it can be very effective as the entire chord is not required.

This example plays the same chord voicings. Notice that the chords shapes are exactly the same. The movement is still in 4ths but the chord names are different. This is a very common movement in so many songs and arrangements. This is quite a difficult sequence to play in big barre chord shapes. (Probably around 5th -6th grade standard!)

It's a great way of getting through the chord changes.

Bb7 contains Bb D F Ab
Eb7 contains Eb G Bb Db
Ab7 contains Ab C Eb Gb
Db7 contains Db F Ab Cb (same as B)
Notice that the 3rd and 7th of th chords are used.

Arranging for Guitar 102 (Practicalities)

Tue, 26 Jul 2016 03:18:18 +0100

As a general suggestion, allow a few beats for your guitarists to go from chordal playing to single notes and vice-versa.
This would be a challenge.

A better way to write it would be:

Usually it is best to allow your guitar players time to transition from the larger strumming action to the smaller and more precise picking action.

Arranging for Guitar 101 (Range)

Thu, 21 Jul 2016 04:19:57 +0100

Arranging for guitar is a very complex and involved subject, so we will handle it in small chunks. Here are some basic 'rules'.

These are generalisation but are usually applicable to most high school aged guitarists. There are, of course, exceptions.

The guitar sounds an octave LOWER than it is written.
The open strings are tuned high to low E B G D A E. (Other tunings are possible but standard is still 'standard'!)
Cluster chords of 2nds may be unplayable.
Keys of F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb are very difficult for most young guitarists. (Usually 5th - 6th grade standard)
Sharp keys are generally preferable.
DO NOT just remove the bass clef from a piano part and give it to the guitar player.
Wherever possible add chord symbols to the part.
3 octave scale passages at fast tempos will always cause a problem.
Very fast arpeggio lines and octaves or double stops may also be tricky.
It is best not to write out an arpeggio picking pattern unless you transcribe the guitar part exactly.
Always remember that just because something sounds good on piano or a guitar MIDI track doesn't mean it will be playable on guitar.
A page with the lyrics and chords above them is often not enough information for a beginning guitarist. They need to know how to strum it, how many bars of each chord, any shots or stops etc.
Take the time to scratch out a piece of music for the guitar players. Even it is sparse, you will be doing your guitar players a great service by helping them to learn how to follow a chord chart.

Now that we have covered some of those basics, let's look at some specific examples.

Since the guitar sounds an octave lower than written, it can be quite 'muddy' in the mid range (notes on the staff) so you might want to write it an octave higher to let the notes ring. If guitar is playing unison with a flute, trumpet, clarinet or violin it might be nice to write it in the middle range to fatten the sound. If writing an octave higher, use 8va symbol rather than lots of ledger lines.
The range on a standard guitar is about 3 octaves and a 7th. Acoustic players will generally have problems
reaching the higher frets unless the guitar has a cutaway.

Here is an example of a phrase that would be difficult to play.

The 3 note clusters played as eighth notes make this a difficult phrase. Stretching the hand over 4 frets is also an awkward move.

Simply drop the lowest note off and the phrase becomes playable as diatonic thirds.
Another alternative is to have another guitar play the lower notes in the phrase.

Chord Spelling Tips and Tricks

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 00:16:39 +0100

Chord spelling with what?!
If you ask most guitarists what the notes are in a particular chord, be prepared to wait a while as they form the chord on the instrument, figure out the name of the open string, count up the number of frets, calculate the note (probably missing some flats or sharps in the process) and give you the answer like this. D major = F# D A. While this answer is correct it has taken about 60 seconds to figure out, and the notes are not in root position (1 3 5).

When I studied at Musicians Institute we had a great teacher called Bruce Buckingham. He was (and still is) a wonderful player and had many short cuts in his arsenal. One of my favourites that I use every day in my teaching is CEGBDFACE. (Pronounced SEG BUD FACE ) This simple but brilliant little word is simply the music alphabet in 3rds. I have had students show this to their classroom music teachers and the teachers have been amazed at the simplicity of it.

No sharps or flats are in this, so of course we are dealing with the key of C.

The idea with using CEGBDFACE is that it puts the notes in order and we can use the guitar (or knowledge of scales) to correct the required sharps or flats.

For example.. If we look at D major chord again. Start at D (in CEGBDFACE) and find the next 2 notes along. That would be D F A. This is not quite D major chord. The F needs to be made sharp. If a student knows their basic scales this should not be a problem. When we play the D chord on guitar and check it out carefully, the F# note appears.

If we think of CEGBDFACE as being in the key of C then all of the triads in that key will appear.

C major = C E G
Dminor = D F A
Eminor = E G B
Fmajor = F A C
G major= G B D
A minor = A C E
Bdim = B D F

Pretty cool hey?
What about the 7th's? Again CEGBDFACE gives us the notes.

C major 7 = C E G B
Dminor 7 = D F A C
Eminor 7 = E G B D
Fmajor 7 = F A C E
G 7 = G B D F
A minor 7 = A C E G
Bmi7 b5 = B D F A

What about keys other than C?

Another way to approach CEGBDFACE is to change the appropriate note (s) in CEGBDFACE to match the key you are using. So, for G major the F note becomes F#. ( CEGBDF#ACE)

G = G B D
Am = A C E
Bm = B D F#
C = C E G
D = D F# A
Em = E G B
F#dim = F# A C

This way of thinking speeds up the whole process and gets students in the 'ballpark' of the correct answer!

Transposing Chart

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 00:17:21 +0100

Basic Transposing Chart for Capo use.

1. Simply choose the key that the music is written in from the column at the left.

2. The numbers on the top line are the steps in the scale.

3. Let's say the song is in the key of C and has C F and G chords in it. (The 1, 4, 5 in the key of C)

4. F chord can be difficult to get a good sound from and many young students struggle with it.

5. If we look across to the right, you’ll see that it can be transposed into A.

6. C F and G transpose into A D and E respectively. (Easier chords for guitarists).

7. On the far right is a column telling which fret to place the capo on when transposing from C major to A major and using open string chords.

Tuning by Ear

Mon, 24 Apr 2017 22:04:03 +0100

Why Electronic Tuners Are Not the Complete Answer.

When I first started work in a music shop, one of my jobs was to tune each guitar every day. This was before electronic tuners were just starting to become available. Now, of course, people just clip on a tuner and away they go.
While electronic tuners (tuners from now on) are great in many ways, guitarists tend to tune the open strings and hope for the best. Unfortunately, when the guitar is slightly out of tune many players can't tell just by listening because they rely only on the tuner.

What is This System?

This simple system relies on tuning the notes up and down the fingerboard. Not just open strings or using the 5th fret method. We are not using harmonics exclusively either (even though that impresses the heck out of people!) as they are not always accurate reflections of the note.
This system of tuning everything to the open high E string (1st string) relies on:

the strings being in good condition,
the frets being in good condition
the neck relief being properly adjusted
the nut slots being filed to the correct height.

So any problem in either of these will need to be fixed not just for tuning purposes but for making the guitar as playable as possible.

So here it is!

Tuning to Open E

Tune string 1 (E) or assume that the high E is in tune. This can be done with a tuner or just 'by ear'.
Go to the 5^th fret on the 2^nd string. Tune this note to the open E (1^st string)

3. Go to the 9^th fret on the 3^rd string. (E) Tune this note to the open 1^st string.

4. Go to the 14^th fret on the 4^th string. (E) Tune this note to the open 1^st string.

5. Play a harmonic on the 5^th string at the 7^th fret. (E) Tune this to the open 1^st string.

6. Play a harmonic on the 6^th string at the 5^th fret. (E) Tune this to the open 1^st string.

This summary should help. You can still use a tuner or your ear.

1^st string

2^nd string

3^rd String

4^th string

5^th string

6^th String

Open

5^th fret

9^th fret

14^th fret

Harmonic 7^th fret

Harmonic 5^th fret

There are several advantages to this system.

The ear only has to listen to and compare one note and not change for each different string.

We tune the guitar across the fingerboard rather than just the open strings. This makes our guitar sound in tune up and down the fingerboard.

Old strings or a guitar that is not set up properly may cause some tuning problems.

Hope this has proved to be useful!