A nice little Blues shuffle lick in A There are some position shifts required, so take it slow. The hook consists of a Major 3rd being played against the minor 3rd, very tasty.
202 03-12-10 15:03:20
Re: Lick of the Week (15 replies, posted in Lick of the Week)
This is a flashy lick in G Major, its about as flashy as Im likely to get as a player, but its a great legato exercise. Watch the articulations and especially the slides as the positions shift. Play it slowly to start with. There are lots of ways to change it up, once you get the idea down.
203 03-12-10 14:47:48
Re: it seems like low watt amps are getting a lot of advertising these day (13 replies, posted in Amplifiers)
I kind of liked the Orange Tiny Terror, but they seem a bit over priced.
204 03-12-10 14:44:09
Re: Brands for your guitar amps? (21 replies, posted in Amplifiers)
My current Electric Amp is a BlackStar Stage 60 2x12 combo, and my Acoustic Amp is the Fishman Performer Pro Tower.
205 03-12-10 14:39:37
Topic: Teaching songs (8 replies, posted in Common Student Issues)
Many times a student wants to get started learning chords and playing songs. Assuming that we all agree that songs like Mary had a Little Lamb and Nursery Rhymes aren't gonna float for people, what songs do you like to expose, or start the student out, that wants to learn to strum their acoustic and start playing?
Another thing, is how do you "sell" those songs. These days people tend to have a very limited exposure to other genres, so if you get kids that have never heard Pink Floyd, how do you expose them to Floyd if you want to teach them, or even get them motivated to learn Wish You Were Here, for example.
I'd like to hear other's thoughts on this. Many times I have a kid thats never heard the song they are now learning. It can be tough.
What are some of your songs, and how do you go about teaching them?
Instructor
206 03-12-10 14:28:47
Re: Lack of feedback (17 replies, posted in Common Student Issues)
The place I struggle with is, is when they have a question to something that's not yet been covered. Like we will be on Triads and they've just learned a lot and can name every Major and Minor chord, and so they say, "What about 9th chords, I just heard about them" I Have to say, we'll get there. Many times they have a little pre-existing knowledge and they'll say, "Oh can you show me how to solo in Mixolydian?"
And I'll say, "Yeah we'll get to that" And they say "Cool, when can we get to that?" And you have to say, "Well you see, first we have to get the fundamentals down, and triads and Major Keys and..." and you can see on their face, they realize it's not gonna happen next week.
That's never a fun thing, but we push on.
Also, there may be times where a student needs a break from theory, and we'll say, "hey man, lets just jam", or "hey can you teach me this song", and well take a few weeks sabbatical from the theory and throw a bone to the students...and that really IS a good thing, and I quite enjoy it. There's nothing wrong with saying...hey, time for a little break, lets change it up a bit!
Good points, Don!
Instructor
207 03-12-10 14:20:15
Re: Getting started doing lesson part two (16 replies, posted in How to Start)
At the physical school, first of all, we don't have many vacancies usually. This wasn't something that came about overnight, it's built over the last 10 years to where it's become that popular, and we dont have a strong dropout rate at all. So I say that, because to be fair, the demand to get into the place makes it easy to fill locally, when we have an open slot, which is rare.
But before I accept a student, I schedule a free evaluation session with the student. I am actually qualifying that student to see if they are suitable for what we teach. I sit down with them, be they a kid or adult, and I ask them why they want lessons. It may seem like a strange question, but you can get a lot from people. You can also tell how ready they are. If they shrug and say "I dunno", they may be a little shy, they may need some extra handling to get them to open up, for example. I can guage a lot about what they might be as a student. If on the other hand they are clear and articulate about their goals, and why they are there, that tells me something as well about their expectations.
Then I go through the program, and what's expected of them. I ask the parents "how are they at doing their homework?" "Do they have competing interests?" It surprises a lot of people because I'm not selling them on what we do, but I have them sell me on what they can bring to the program. I demonstrate chord skills. If anyone in the group has any knowledge of music I say, "Name any chord" sometimes you get a guy that has played guitar for years, and knows a few exotic chords, so he says "G Major 9" - when I say "G B D F# and A" a half second later, they look at me like I just hit them with a truck, as they realize that even "THEY" as musicians cannot replicate that.
The reputation of the school and our students actually help "sell" the place, so in my case it's not like other instructors, and I realize this. But even before we became the place others wanted to attend, I was doing these things, as far as qualifying the student.
I'll also ask them if they have any questions, that we can answer, because we want to make sure that they are sure about this. If I have doubts about a student, I will say so. If I am not sure if this is the fad of the week, I'll tell the student. I never "close" a sale, I want to simply provide them the information, so that they can go and make an informed decision. Even if they don't sign up, I want them to leave knowing they were treated honestly and that we truly care about helping them. And that's what I do. If they say nothing, I say, "Well it looks like we can help them, are there any other questions we can answer?"
Sometimes they may say "I have to think about it" and I say, "great, well if we can help you out let us know". We dont want their money if we cant help them. And everyone knows that sometimes a parent may sign up a kid and the parents more interested than the kid, and no one wants to see a parent burn their money on the kid when the kids not motivated or its "flavor of the week". So we will step in and say, "No, if he can't help pay for this, he's not ready". If that kid were to enroll, and then drop out, because he was not ready, it DOES reflect badly upon your school, as if you somehow failed. "Yeah we enrolled Little Johnny at the Academy, but he just wasn't doing the homework, so we took him out"
This could mean a lot of things to the person:
Johnny's into too many things and not ready to commit to one interest
Johnnys lazy
The Teacher failed to connect with Johnny
The Teacher failed to motivate Johnny
Johnny didnt like the guitar or that it required more than he was willing to give
The listener might have also percieved that the Teacher had a weak personality or was boring, just as easily as they might have thought, "Johnny's not ready".
And I don't want that. I want to reach every student that enrolls and letting one go thats not ready is sometimes the best way to go. So I suppose in a way, I dislike selling. I am passionate and I believe in what we do, and Im 1000 percent convinced that when they enroll, they are at the best place that I can think of to learn. So, my role, is to answer those questions, but let the people decide. I don't like sales and I don't like the pressure of needing a sale, so I just never close, or care if they sign up or not, because I only want people in the program that are a good fit FOR the program, and who feel like its a good fit for them.
And to be fair, our local reputation is so strong that people already have heard about us by the time they've come in, and we are more THE place to go to learn, and so many times they hear, "We are not accepting any students in person, but here's information about our online enrollment". Which was a major reason why I had to bring the school online...after a while, a 6 month waiting list became pointless.
But I still think its better in our case, and its something that Ive done since the beginning is, schedule an evaluation for the student, 15-20 minutes at most. Have them bring their guitar, or what they will be learning on. I sight the neck, measure the action, look at their fingers, size them by having them show me what they know or don't etc, and then make any recommendations, be it a neck adjustment etc. Someone told me after I had been doing this for several months, (and I didnt realize it), but when you do this, the parents are very impressed that you as a teacher, know your stuff, and they perceive you more as an "expert" than a "teacher" because of your willingness to check out their instrument, they dont think you're simply out to take their money.
Which I think is a good thing!
Instructor
208 03-12-10 13:48:30
Re: Help with my theory (13 replies, posted in Music Theory)
Theory is best understood in terms of the Major Scale, as it is the wellspring by which all parts of it are ultimately evaluated.
So that understood, lets also understand that by using this, the "key"" of a song is best expressed by, "What note does everything seem to want to resolve to?" Let's take a quick rundown of a song by Troy, "Open Fire" and see what we learn.
We see that the song seems to gravitate towards the A.
So what is the A major scale?
Its A B C# D E F# G# A
Thus the chords in A Major are, A Bm C#m D E F#m G#o and back to A
The chords in Open fire are A C D E G
So in the Key of A we don't have a perfect match. Does this mean it's wrong? Not at all, but if you tried to apply the chords of a Major to the song, it wouldnt sound right.
So what do we do now?
Let's consider 2 approaches, first lets keep A and analyse the chords as such:
A is the I
C is a bIII
G is a bVII
D is the IV
and E is the V.
That's one way that we can do this and its perfectly valid.
However another way we can do this, is to look at the song as possibly being in A minor.
The difference of a Minor scale to the A Major scale are the modification of the notes in the scale, - b3, a b6 and a b7.
Notice in my above analysis I called the C a bIII? Thats right in line with A minor, isn't it, as is the G being a bVII. So depending upon your understanding of theory and harmonic notation (Honestly, to start transcribing using theory, you should definitely have a handle on Roman Numeral Notation) you should be able to identify this "key" is in A minor.
Now when you plug in the chords in trying to work out what the changes are you will find they all line up.
Let me help you further with a few loose rules of thumb. Rock, and metal, most times will be in minor keys, the same with blues. The only time you might question this, is in instances where the first chord is clearly a Major Chord, say a Strummed G to start out Knocking on Heavens Door, Or a D in Sweet Child of Mine, (also outlined by it's arpeggio-like main riff).
Many times a song will change keys, and its important to have the experience to discern this. Theory helps, but you have to break down and analyze songs a while using it to hear it. For example, Sweet Child of Mine, once again, in the Guitar solo the inclusion of the B7 is a strong indicator that if you were trucking along figuring it in G all along, suddenly it takes a key change turn. You can pick up a lot of things in transcribing and Harmonic Breakdown of that song, but it all starts at the Major scale, and being able to break down things in simple keys.
My advice, if you don't know theory, learn it. If you don't know harmonic Notation, learn it. Start on smaller easier songs and make sure that you understand how to do those, in a simple diatonic sense. After a while, study the idea of Parallel Key Changes or borrowed chords, from that Parallel. With these tools and tips, you can really get underway at understanding the process of figuring out songs and keys.
By the way, I too cut my teeth on Troy's books, Though I never finished any of them, I did memorize and learn most of the solos in Lead 1, and think he's one of the best out there when it comes to lead guitar techniques. To date myself a bit...the companion music that I had with the book, at the time I learned these songs...was a tape cassette! 
Don will no doubt have some more to add to this, but I thought I'd break things down a bit using a Troy song as an example. In any case, having a strong hold of the fundamentals I covered, will make a huge difference.
Instructor
209 03-12-10 01:53:28
Re: What do you do if the student does not turn up? (15 replies, posted in Common Student Issues)
The student pays every 4th lesson. They pay 4 lessons in advance.
This means on lesson 4, their next payment is due, not on lesson one.
If they don't show, they've paid for that lesson. They just didn't take it. They will still be due on Lesson 4.
When you start out with those ground rules, you'll find a lot of issues go away.
Let's say though, that once in a while someone just flubs...especially after youve been teaching a while, you learn to be graceful...sometimes life happens. But you'll come to know those who are sincere and always do things, from those who are flaking.
I dont think a guitar teacher should ever feel bad about asking for the fee, or even what they are asking. We are not beggars for alms, we are legitimate service providers and professionals, and we are worth what we ask. We should never put ourselves subordinate to others, as if we are just begging for their scraps. People will walk all over you.
If you go get fuel in the car does the attendant have to beg us to pay? No. If we eat at a restaurant, does the cook have to come out and beg us to pay? No. Neither should it be with ourselves as service providers, if we truly believe in what we do, and that it is a legitimate service.
As long as we are seeing ourselves as professional, others will as well. Never beg for your bread, amigos.
If I have a student that continually calls in or misses, I gently suggest that I may want their time slot for someone that can make it more, not in a shaming way, but why keep this prime slot if you can't make it. Tell you what, next time you're free, call me and I'll tell you what I have available.
9-10 times, they get the point and the problem is solved. They make their lessons more regularly.
Instructor
210 03-12-10 01:46:03
Re: Lack of feedback (17 replies, posted in Common Student Issues)
This is a great question. I have faced this myself. Some of what I have learned....
Avoid asking them any questions which can be answered with a "yes" or "no" answer.
Some things I might say, are....
"So, tell me what you've been working on since we last met..."
or
"Show me what you've done on the homework..."
I usually "verify" that they are getting it, I don't take it by what they say. That's why on my lessons site even (as Don will attest) homework and finishing assignments are a part of the learning process. "OK, show me what you've done to this point with what I've taught you..." "Go home and bring me back 2 progressions in Dorian, one for Bb and one in F#, using principles we just went over today."
Once they do that, I can tell if there's a disconnect on the process. It's sort of important that you maintain control over the flow of the lesson. It sounds good on paper to say to the student "What would you like to learn" but I think the student needs to feel that the instructor has a game plan and is going to be shown what it is. Don had it right, there needs to be that flexibility to answer questions, and maybe even take small detours, but there's also a need for that to be done in moderation. Its detrimental for the student to be leading the teacher down a lot of random rabbit holes, and sometimes you will find a student's must have's change from one week to the next, and nothing is really accomplished.
Instructor
211 02-12-10 21:43:48
Re: The Rock n Roll Lifestyle (9 replies, posted in Bands)
I would say that if it was improvised all the way through, he's a monster. My sense is at least most of it is written out or at the very least, targeted for the ending notes. The pentatonic blues sections not so much, but definitely more than improvised.
Instructor
212 02-12-10 21:40:49
Re: Have Played my mates 74 telecaster now I want one. (19 replies, posted in Guitars)
jamesd74 wrote:
Where's the big post gone??????
I went and edited it out, I'm not here to make anyones experience a negative one.
Instructor
213 02-12-10 18:59:08
Re: Whats a good song to learn for a complete beginner. (26 replies, posted in Newbie Section)
The You Tube I am referring to is just anywhere where theyve made a video of the original songs. Depending upon the age of the student, many have never heard the song before, so it's a challenge to teach, unless they hear it a couple of times and understand what its supposed to sound like.
Instructor
214 02-12-10 18:57:05
Re: Introductions (4 replies, posted in Introduce yourself)
I'll do my best, to help where I can.
Ive already posted some in theory sections, have you seen those yet?
Instructor
215 02-12-10 18:52:43
Re: 6 string'n (4 replies, posted in Your Recordings)
How long have you been playing? It's fun when you are tinkering and you get a little riff idea that you can follow to see where it goes!
Instructor
216 02-12-10 18:43:35
Re: Getting started doing lesson part two (16 replies, posted in How to Start)
These are good points. I believe that it all comes down to how you view your services.
In my opinion a man is worth his wages. The problem with the free lesson idea, in many cases is the Instructor is the only one that has skin in the game. I believe that if something is free then to the person it's worth nothing. In my school, I want the person sure that they are ready, as its an easier time, than some one not sure. Many times that means not as dedicated, not as motivated. I have had other prospective students in here and I tell the parents..."Look this kid is so ready to learn guitar, even if he doesnt attend here, I have a feeling that they are going to go out and find some way to keep learning". These are the ones that are internally driven, they have the music in them. Experience has taught me these are the students to have. The casual ones who werent sure and arent sure, are often times not going to be the best when it comes to buying in and doing their homework either, or practicing, and they end up taking up a lot of time and you're always in this sense of trying to make it "hook" for them. Sometimes it works, but its hard to get much from students with no sense of buy-in.
I tell parents buying it for their kid. Make sure he has a sense of "paying for this", have them help grandpa clean the garage, or something, make sure they have a sense of ownership, and that they are helping to "Pay" for their monthly tuition bill.
Nothing against those who do free lessons, but I have never been able to do that, because what I teach, I see is a service and worth what we ask. The person that comes over and says, well OK lets do this, is the one that does well, the other that says, Im not sure...isn't ready, and I can't make them ready. They can research me, talk to others and ask questions, but I see no benefit in a free lesson.
For one I don't know what their expectations are for that lesson, or the threshold of progress they will have expected or wanted to see. I might also easily dissuade them from moving forward if they feel the pace is too slow, or basic. But a beginner isnt necessarily in the objective place to judge how fast they should get it.
If they cannot hold strings down for example and that first lesson was, thump thump and blocked strings or something thats not overly exciting to them, they may incorrectly conclude that the idea of guitar lessons is quite dull and they are not jamming that Metallica like they wanted. I think you need a buy in of about 2 months to really help them see the wind in their sails. Anything less and they simply arent ready to do what its going to take, at least in my situation.
Id be interested in knowing what an introductory lesson consists of. I cant even do that, on my own site.
Question for you, in that regard, Don, since youve now taken and finished our Notes on the Neck course. You'd agree it does what it claims to do, and delivered well, right? But would giving them lesson 1 for free, "sell" the average person and say, "oh yeah Im gonna keep going, heres my money"?
In my honest opinion, you need to get a few lessons into it till you really see the benefits and progress, and where its going, and then it hits all at once "Hey I know the neck now, and I can do this in a couple seconds!"
Would you agree? I"d like to hear your perspective as one who teaches, and as one of my students. I can imagine the same with Lesson one of the Lead Guitar Phase one Module you're now taking, that that lesson alone doesn't quite "sell" the benefits, because they seemingly start out "basic". Now you are on Lecture 2, of the Lead Course, and from the standpoint of someone that might be new, you can see why Lesson 1 was organized as it had been, because you have to have a solid grasp of Lecture 1, to successfully understand Lecture 2, would you agree?
Instructor
217 02-12-10 16:44:28
Re: Have Played my mates 74 telecaster now I want one. (19 replies, posted in Guitars)
And, on my part I apologize for any offense I have caused this user. I can only hope that he returns and allows me the opportunity to mend fences with him, as I think he's got me all wrong...
Instructor
218 02-12-10 01:23:12
Re: Blackstar Amps (14 replies, posted in Amplifiers)
Is your amp a tube, or one of the solid state MG series?
Blackstar Techs/founders were formally part of Marshall, in fact, they have the ISF knob which dials between the tube sound of a Marshal, and a US High Gain amp, like a Mesa.
So the Blackstar is like the Marshall +, I suppose, without some of the fatal flaws, such as making the sockets such that as it hung vertically and got hot that it started cold solder disconnect issues on the board, of the old Marshalls.
Plus in some aspects it's similar to a point to point hard wired (Blackstar) amp, and it can have some custom voicing mods performed on it, at the board level.
Instructor
219 02-12-10 01:15:53
Re: Have Played my mates 74 telecaster now I want one. (19 replies, posted in Guitars)
alun wrote:
Instructor wrote:MY best suggestion is don't buy a Fender. Get a Seymour Duncan Antiquity set in that, a nice well made Maple neck, and some Goteh or Grover Tuners, and you'll be in heaven.
Instructor
Discuss: What's the problem with Fender?
I'll tell you if you really want to know. But I expect it to be received as controversial, as Fender is one of many people's "Sacred Cow's" that I'd be tipping over.
Before I do so, tell me a little bit about your background and playing as a musician, and the depth of your association with Fender products. I don't want to offend people, needlessly.
Instructor
220 02-12-10 01:09:03
Re: The Rock n Roll Lifestyle (9 replies, posted in Bands)
That's all true. Speaking of the Eagles, I got to meet Don Felder, about a year or two ago, and that was the highlight of my year. As he's the genius behind one of the best solos IMO of all time, Hotel California, I am in sheer awe of the intelligence of that guy. Sure I could play it, but I dont know that Id have ever thought of writing it that way, it's brilliant.
Instructor
221 02-12-10 01:06:02
Re: Using Modes for Writing Songs (13 replies, posted in Music Theory)
^^ I hear you there, friend! ^^
Yeah, it can get a bit deep in here, but a fundamental orientation with theory sure helps!
Instructor
222 01-12-10 19:39:15
Topic: Blackstar Amps (14 replies, posted in Amplifiers)
Anyone else played them? For the money and being all tube they are some of the best Ive played in their price ranges. Their cleans are boutique level clean. And their versatility on the high gain channels are really nice. My new live rig for the electric is a Blackstar Stage 60 2x12 and the footswitch. No effects, nothing...and it sounds incredible. My largest show, was a 7000 person one a few months back, and I was playing my Rev through it and it just sliced through the crowd with an angelic tone!
Instructor
223 01-12-10 19:34:49
Re: Have Played my mates 74 telecaster now I want one. (19 replies, posted in Guitars)
jamesd74 wrote:
Its looking like I am going to build one.
I have been collecting Wilkinson parts, what does anybody think of Wilkinson.
Two thumbs up, I was going to suggest Wilkinson.
Instructor
224 01-12-10 19:33:20
Re: What's your guitar and why? (7 replies, posted in Guitars)
It's actually a misprint, sorry...its 30 guitars, not 20.
My favorite in my Acoustic is my Breedlove Cedar Top and Rosewood back and sides, its what I use when I perform live, as a singer songwriter. I power my rig through a Fishman Performer Pro Tower and a Shure 58, and it never lets me down. I've performed in front of as many as 3000 with that rig. It's the closest to my heart.
On the electric, my sentimental favorite for coolness is the 61 Gibson 330. But for playing out, its my Reverend Sensei by far...just too much cool....
Instructor
225 01-12-10 19:29:30
Re: are you in tune? (20 replies, posted in Guitars)
I'll give you an example. Basically you are matching the fretted notes to the natural Harmonic.
So I'd pluck and let ring the 12th fret natural harmonic....
then I'd fret the 7th fret of the 5th string and play it, it's also an E, and with the Harmonic ringing, it would be tuned to match as a perfect unison with the Harmonic. Then I'd do the same thing, and this time Pluck the 12th fret Harmonic, but go fret the 4th string 2nd fret, which is *also* E, and tune that to match the 12th fret harmonic.
Thus
<>6,12 ---> 5,7
<>6,12 ---> 4,2
Does that help explain it better? Like I said I know no one else that does this, its just one of the things I worked out years ago, and have used it ever since. I don't know where I came up with it, as most things I come up with. I like to think of it as "tripping over something that was there all along".
About 10 years ago I published it as a white paper over the internet but I dont know what if any exposure that actually had.
Instructor
