Transcribing 101: Learning to Fish
Thu, 07/07/2016 - 2:44pm
Transcribing is the process of transferring recorded music onto your guitar and/or the written page by means of listening. If you have ever thought, “I wish I could play like…”, then transcribing is the next best thing to taking a private lesson with that player, but it’s not just about copying licks - transcribing is how you learn style, how musical patterns work, and how experienced musicians think.
In an era of pervasive on-line tabs and tutorials, transcribing may seem like a task ripe for outsourcing, but the fact is that blues has always been and remains an “ear thing.” Notes are only the beginning - blues is built on deep qualities like touch and swing, and your ears are the only means for accessing them. Learning to transcribe is one of the best investments that you can make in your musical development - to paraphrase the old adage, “learn to fish and you’ll eat for a lifetime.”
There are no real secrets to transcribing, but if you’re new to the process here are some tips to help you get started and overcome common hurdles.
Selecting Strings for Playing Jazz Guitar
Wed, 07/13/2016 - 11:27am
When selecting strings for playing jazz guitar, there's no one set that will work well for everyone. Since within jazz guitar there are people who prefer different sounds, you need to find what works best for you. Some things to consider are your experience level, your fingers, your instrument, and your style. Think about what your needs are, and then find for the strings that best suits what you're looking for.
Talking Bluegrass with Michael Daves
Mon, 07/18/2016 - 11:07am
Get ready for another exciting episode of "ArtistWorks Live"! On Saturday, July 23 at 12:00 pm PST, we'll be talking bluegrass with the latest addition of the ArtistWorks Music Faculty: Mr. Michael Daves. Also joining us on the panel will be two of his talented bluegrass friends: Jen Larson and Don Rigsby.
This is a great opportunity to hear their insights on playing and singing bluegrass, and anyone tuning in live can ask them questions in the chat window while it's happening.
Great Guitar Escape Picks
Wed, 07/20/2016 - 5:24pm
The excellent people at Tortex picks have made some special picks for my Great Guitar Escape camp. The shape is a version of the Tortex pick called "The Wedge." It feels slightly larger than the standard shape (which makes it easier to grip.)
I've been using .50mm gauge for a while now, and I really like the "thwap" of the single notes, and the way that a thin pick allows me to play hard without getting tangled up in the strings. Everyone attending the camp will receive some of these picks, so there should be some good thwapping going on. And did I mention the pick scratches? Thin picks do pick scratches the best! Anyway, I hope to see you at the GGE!
Thank you,
Paul
Introduction to Jazz Guitar Chords
Mon, 07/25/2016 - 2:24pm
"That sound! Those chords! How can I play guitar like that?"
If you enjoy hearing great jazz guitar players like George Benson, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass - you may have wondered what exactly are they doing to get that sound? No matter what your experiene is with playing guitar, you probably know that mastering jazz guitar will take some time and effort. So how do you get started? One way to begin is learning the basic jazz guitar chords.
Jazz Guitar Chord Theory
Playing jazz guitar uses more complicated chords than pop, country or rock. Most of the chords in other music genres are made of just 3 notes, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th. For example, in the key of A, the chords are A, C#, and E. Jazz guitar adds a 7th so that you have a Major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th.
This can become complicated on the guitar, and so we created a number system which teaches you to create triads of chords. In our online Jazz Guitar lessons, you can learn how to adjust your playing to take advantage of going across the neck rather than down to get the note.
Olympic Song for EXILE (Japan)
Tue, 07/26/2016 - 7:34am
Hey all,
I'm just back from a lil vacation on the island Mallorca, Spain. Hoping everybody had a nice summer so far! The Rio Olympics 2016 is about to get started soon and I'm happy to have contributed with a new song.
Joy-Ride with the legendary Japanese group EXILE is selected as the Official Theme song for Fuji TV in Japan during the olympics. The single is released physically amd digitally on Aug 17th but the MV preview is
already out. The song was written by me, The Euroz & Ninos Hanna and I also play some guitars, keys and synth bass on it. It's an uptempo melodic dance song and the crazy dance skills of some of the EXILE-members
are being showcased in the video. The Japanese lyrics are written by the very famous EXILE lead singer Atsushi. Check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGil3-FGSVw
Regards Andreas
