It’s incredibly interesting when this sort of thing happens because people will invariably line up on either side of an issue and it turns into an “either / or” scenario. Even when someone agrees that you can do both, he or she will add “but you’re still better do it the way my side does.”

This particular discussion then took the additional turn of turning into a definition of “musician” – again with one side saying that the full definition of being a musician includes reading music and with the other side saying that one can be a musician without reading music.

And, as it always is in the case of something like this, it all turns on what one’s definition of “musician” happens to be. Or what one personally wants it to be.

If you go to dictionary.com, for instance, they try to cover both sides of the coin:

1. a person who makes music a profession, esp. as a performer of music.
2. any person, whether professional or not, skilled in music.

Merriam Webster’s Deluxe (which happens to be sitting at my desk so I’m using it solely for convenience) goes more for he vague approach, saying only:

a composer, conductor, or performer of music; [i]especially[/i]: INSRUMENTALIST

This (kind of conveniently) takes reading and even writing music out of the equation,  leaving (again kind of conveniently)
 all sorts of room to make a case for either side. There are certainly composers who don’t write or read. Or you could take from this that they have to. It’s actually more interesting that they seem to take a swipe at vocalists, who most certainly should be considered musicians.

Or maybe I should say “some of whom should be considered musicians” because more often than not these sorts of arguments are about defining things according to our own experiences and education, not to mention to our own liking or to the point we want to make in a discussion. If someone is making a living playing music (playing in a band or on his or her own) and doesn’t read music, does that make him or her [i]not[/i] a musician? Or how about someone who plays in a band, does read music but never uses that skill in his or her work with the band (which is entirely possible)? Or how about someone who can read music but who does not play (and I have three siblings that prove this is possible, too!   )

Whether we like it or not, definitions are important, but usually because they define us, who we are and what we believe. Because of this, definitions are also both highly flexible and, depending on the word being defined, subjectivity also has to be taken into account.

Of course, you’re more than welcome to disagree with my definition of definitions!  

Regardless of who considers whom a musician (and whether or not reading music is part of one’s definition of being a musician), the ability to read music can be helpful. Extremely helpful and useful. And anyone who wants to grow as a musician has to make the call as to whether or not he or she will use this tool which is certainly available to him or her.

But even more important is just how inclusive or exclusive you want your definition of musician to be. I guess that ultimately decides how you’re going to define something. 

Peace

There’s an original song on Steinar Gregertsen’s first CD, Southern Moon Northern Lights (http://www.guitarnoise.com/review/steinar-gregertsen/), called “Will the Wind Ever Remember,” which could easily be considered a tribute to the late, great Jimi Hendrix. Steinar obviously has a great love of Hendrix’s style – not only as a guitarist but also as an arranger and a producer.

Steinar’s latest CD, Standing Next to a Mountain, carries this love and respect of Hendrix’s music one step further by giving us incredibly beautiful and original interpretations of nine of Jimi’s songs, taken from various points of his career.

It’s only appropriate that “Will I live tomorrow?” the first line from “I Don’t Live Today” (from Hendrix’s debut album Are You Experienced?) opens up the CD. Steinar’s arrangement begins very open and stark, using a single note pedal on the bass with intertwining guitar lines to hypnotically build momentum until the song explodes in an electric crash of volume and distortion. His guitar solo is not only clearly inspired by Hendrix, it is also worthy of him in terms of emotion and expression.

You can hear Hendrix’s legacy throughout the entire CD, not just in the soloing but, probably more importantly, in the little details. While the lap steel guitar provides the “vocal” melody in “Angel,” it’s the silky smooth, Hendrix-inspired rhythm fills that make the piece stand out.

Likewise the wonderfully moody and sparse arrangements of “May This Be Love” and “Bold as Love,” both with Claudia Scott on vocal, could have been way overdone. But with its intricate interplay between acoustic, electric and slide guitars, it’s a perfect example of how a great arrangement is all about space and not about filling every space with notes.

While Steinar handles most of the instrumentation (and some of the vocals) on the CD himself, along with great drumming and percussion from Tom Rudi Torjussen (who really puts the groove into songs like “Drifting” and “Belly Button Window” – both of which, and “Angel” as well, come from Hendrix’s posthumous album, The Cry of Love), he also shares the musical spotlight with other very talented musicians.  On “Remember,” Tom Principato contributes a terrific guitar solo that makes this early blues / R&B styled arrangement positively jump. And “Manic Depression” is given an old timey music hootenanny make over with Espen Larsen on guitar, Geir Emanuelsen on banjo, and Ole Kelly Kvamme on the acoustic bass. It’s absolutely magical. Espen Larsen also contributes the beautiful acoustic guitar work in the closing number, “Pali Gap,” an instrumental song from the posthumous Rainbow Bridge album. Marianne Rodvelt provides beautiful harmonies on both “Pali Gap” and “Remember.”

Jimi Hendrix is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential electric guitar players of all times. By creating new, interesting and exciting arrangements of his songs, Steinar Gregertsen not only pays honor to his guitar hero, but also keeps Hendrix’s spirit of innovation alive and strong.

You can find Standing Next to a Mountain at CD Baby:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steinar2

And you can also find it on his own website:

http://www.gregertsen.com/audio.htm

I highly reccommend it.

Peace

As I mentioned last time, I’ll be taking part in two of the three FODfest shows this coming weekend – playing in the “back up band” and hopefully helping to make everyone sound their best.

The shows will all be at 8 PM and they will be at these terrific musical venues:

Friday, May 28 at the brand new Club Helsinki in Hudson, New York

Saturday, May 29 at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Sunday, May 30 at the Infinity Hall and Bistro in Norfolk, Connecticut

All shows start at 8:00. There’s going to be a “pre-show show” at the Colonial Theater in the lobby starting at 6:30. I’m told we’ll be having some special guests and you might even have a chance to play a song yourslef, backed up by the FODfest backup band!

You can catch the artist line up for each show here:

http://www.fodfest.org/memorialdayweekend

And here’s some very big news for those of you not in the area: all three shows will be streamed live on the Internet! You can watch at this link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/fodfest-2010-memorial-day-weekend-concert-series

You’ll also be able to chat with people watching from all around the world. At the radio show last night we had listeners from Taiwan!

I’ll be at all three shows and would love to say hello to anyone from Guitar Noise. Come on by! Or just watch from home! But do make a point to take part in the music and magic!

Thanks!

Peace

I’ll be taking part in two of the three FODfest shows this coming weekend – playing in the “back up band” and hopefully helping to make everyone sound their best. Not quite sure what instrument (s) I’ll be playing as it will mostly be determined by what everyone else is playing. Probably a lot of Tahitian ukulele is last year is any indicator.

Anyway, if you’re in the area of any of these musical venues, come on and see the show. They’re all free and they are all a lot of fun:

Friday, May 28 at the brand new Club Helsinki in Hudson, New York

Saturday, May 29 at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Sunday, May 30 at the Infinity Hall and Bistro in Norfolk, Connecticut

All shows start at 8:00. There’s going to be a “pre-show show” at the Colonial Theater in the lobby. I’m told we’ll be having some special guests. You can catch the artist line up for each show here.

And for those of you not in the area, some of us will be playing a local radio show tomorrow night on WCBR-FM at 8:00 EST. You can catch live streaming of the show here.

I’ll be at all three shows and would love to say hello to anyone from Guitar Noise. Come on by!

Peace

Hi David,

 I have played guitar for forty-two years. My life evolved around major, minor, 7th and 9th chords. I am now learning to read and understand theory and dabbling in some jazz stuff. I seem to be doing alright however I am having trouble with diminished vs. diminished 7 vs. half diminished and so on. After speaking with a few others if seems that I am not the only one confused about the differences. Your fantastic lesson on diminished and augmented chords helped vastly however I was hoping you were going to touch on the “other” versions. My question is – is there a chance that maybe you could write a short lesson on this subject?

Thanks

Hello and thanks for writing.

Hopefully, we may be able to cut through your confusion without resorting to an entire article.  Let’s start with the diminished chord. As with all four of the very basic types of chords (major, minor, augmented and diminished), the dimished chord is built on the triad of root-third-fifth. However, both the third and the fifth have been lowered a half-step from what they would be if they were part of a major chord.

Major Chord:     Root     3rd     5th

Diminished Chord:     Root    flat 3rd     flat 5th

In jazz music, the term “full diminished” refers to the diminished seventh chord. To create a diminished seventh chord, you start with the diminished triad and then add the dominant seventh after it, too, has been lowered a half step. In other words, it’s the “flat flat seventh,” which is the same as the sixth position of the major scale.

A “half diminished” chord is a diminished chord (root, flat third, flat fifth) to which the normal dominant seventh (that’s the flat seventh)  has been added. Typically this chord will be labeled as “m7b5″ on a chord sheet.

Using the key of C as an example, here are your chords in question:

C Major – C  E  G

C Diminished – C Eb Gb

C Diminished 7 – C Eb Gb A (A being “Bbb” if you will)

Cm7b5 (or half diminshed) – C Eb Gb Bb

I hope this helps clear things up. Please feel free to write again if you need further (or better!) explanation. I look forward to chatting with you again soon.

Peace

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that all the last bits of work on the upcoming Complete Idiot’s Guide to Guitar are all falling into place so that I can try to get myself back on a somewhat more regular schedule, especially in regard to Guitar Noise. If all goes according to plan, you’ll have a brand new song lesson up online today on the traditional tune In the Pines, which some of you may know better as Where Did You Sleep Last Night, which appeared on Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged sessions (as well as the accompanying CD).

Nick Torres at the Off the Beat 'n' Track Studio

This lesson also is a bit of a sneak preview for the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Guitar as you’ll get to hear Nick Torres singing two verses of the song on the final MP3 file in the lesson. I am honored to have Nick’s participation in this book project. It certainly wasn’t easy! His task was to sing two dozen different songs (multiple versions of some of them!) in keys that I had picked for guitar teaching purposes, not to cater to his vocal range.  And he more than lived up to the challenge, often bringing an interpretation to the song that I couldn’t possibly hope to do myself.

Part of being a musician is giving of your abilities to make something beyond yourself, in this case a song. Working with Nick, whenever I have the opportunity to do so, constantly surprises me because more often than not it’s the subtle musical touches that end up making a song truly memorable. I’ve been very lucky to get to play with many musicians who have helped me become a lot better, as a guitarist and as an accompanyist.

Peace

It’s very cool when the music you listen to at home and /or in the car comes from people that you know. This winter I’ve bought or received some CDs created by members of the Guitar Noise community as well as from people who have contacted me through Guitar Noise. And I’d like to share my thoughts about some of them with you.

First up is Fingerstyle Collections, a disc of 13 single-guitar instrumental arrangements performed on either the classical or acoustic guitar. Joe Hempel has crafted together this wonderful disc of ten songs, arranged for the solo fingerstyle guitar (he plays both classical and acoustic). His arrangements are spare and elegant, allowing the songs to captivate the listener with their melodies and harmonies.

The song selection itself is both eclectic and interesting. There are songs dating back to the Renaissance (before the guitar as we know it today came about) as well as music composed for movies (the Jurassic Park Theme) and video games (Breezy and Kids Run Through City Corner, both from the Final Fantasy series). Joe has done quite a few of these arrangements himself, not to mention composing Magic Castle (one of the CD’s best tracks), and he has a great instinct when it comes to letting the songs speak for themselves. Fingerstyle Collections is quiet, thoughtful and contemplative and the CD’s strength and beauty is in its slow, peaceful mood.

Joe’s CD, available at CD Baby, is an excellent disc for those looking for beautiful, understated solo guitar music to help them put aside the cares of any day. It’s not only getting regular rotation at my home, I’m also eagerly awaiting his next venture.

Joe is also going to be gigging in support of his CD. It’s the first gig he’s ever done, so I figure that if you’re in the Cincinnati region, you might want to drop by and give a fellow Guitar Noise community member your support. Joe will be at the Borders Book Store at 5873 Deerfield Boulevard in Mason Ohio (phone – (513) 770-0440) on Saturday March 27th at 8 PM. If you can, stop by and say hello from me!

I really enjoy your Guitar Noise website and thank you for taking the time to create it and maintain it.

I just have a question about flatpicking. I’m going through the lesson for the song Behind Blue Eyes. When I pluck individual notes using a pick I do not rest any part of my hand on the guitar. Now some people I see online, they kind of let their pinky or ring finger or both sort of glide near the pick guard, probably for stability or something. Is there a correct way? If I want to get faster should I let my pinky or ring finger hang out a little? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Hi and thank you for writing.
And thank you as well for your kind words concerning Guitar Noise. I’d love to take all the credit for it, but it’s Paul Hackett who created the website in 1995 and who still owns and maintains it today. I’m simply one of many volunteers who help out when spare time allows.

There are many arguments, both pro and con, when it comes to using the pinky and / or ring finger as an “anchor” when strumming. In fact, if you type the word “anchor” into the search engine on the Beginners’ Q & A page of the Guitar Noise forum, you can read up on quite a few of those arguments. People who use an anchor usually do so for positioning purposes. It helps to keep the strumming hand in a certain area and also keep it from slipping while strumming. But one can easily do that without an anchor as well. It pretty much depends on what one is used to.

Speaking only for myself, I sometimes use an anchor and sometimes don’t and I don’t consciously know when I do or don’t. But I have to admit that it’s something I don’t pay much attention to and don’t even watch for when looking at others play (unless it’s a student of mine and I am trying to track down potential snags in his or her strumming / picking).

There are no definitive proofs that it helps one’s playing and, likewise, none that it hurts someone’s playing. And there are no deinitive proofs that anchors help improve speed. But, again, it does help some people. Or I should say that some people claim it helps them. Sometimes we believe that doing things in a certain way makes our playing possible and perhaps the belief itself is what makes it work.

The bottom line is that there is no single “correct” way. How comfortable you feel when playing, or how awkward a position makes you feel when playing should be the determining factor.

I hope this helps. Thank you once more for your email and I look forward to chatting with you again.

Peace

Dear Guitar Noise,

Hi. 

 I am a freshman in college. I was lollygagging online searching for guitar lessons and I came across your website. I’m primarily self taught where most of my knowledge comes from guitar tabs of songs I like to learn and play, and occasionally from my other friend who is a really good acoustic player (his rendition of Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead is my favorite, he includes a harmonica and everything).

But that’s not really the point. On your website, your Pink Floyd page caught my eye and I delved into your Wish You Were Here interpretation, a song which I’ve already learned and consider myself “mastered”, by that I primarily mean I can play through the entire song without any harsh mistakes.

After finishing your solo page, I noticed that you do not have the second solo as a lesson, and this bugs me not because of you particularly, but mostly because I cannot find it TABed or written out anywhere. I cannot figure out the whole thing just by ear, so I was hoping if you could help me out. 

Thank you for your time and keep doing what you do!

Hi!

Thanks for writing. We actually do have an arrangement of the second solo of Wish You Were Here at Guitar Noise, but it’s part of the “Guitar Columns” section and not a song lesson, per se. This is because the object was to find a way to be able to play both the first and second solos with one guitar, no mean feat when you consider the first solo is in regular tuning and the second one is done on a Dobro in open G tuning.

Be that as it may, you’ll find that lesson, called Applied Science, here.

As far you not being able to find the second solo anywhere, and heaven help me I know I’m going to sound like a dinosaur for writing this, but it is actually written out in numerous books that contain Pink Floyd music. In fact, they are one band that have a huge amount of their catalogue available in guitar tablature.

Being in college, there’s a good chance that your school’s library may actually have copies of them that you can use at your leisure.

I hope that this helps you out. 

Peace

Hi David-

I recently stumbled over your articles regarding Choosing Colors-Turning Scales into Solos.

I’m a 47 year old guitarist that plays great rhythm but has struggled being able to figure what scales to play over what chords for guitar solos. This article series has helped me, but I’m still struggling and still don’t seem to be able to figure out what to play. I’m more of a singer than lead player, but I’m being asked to sing with a guy and take some guitar solos at an acoustic gig coming up very quickly. I really need to figure out what I’m doing wrong.

As an example You Don’t Mess Around with Jim by Jim Croce: On the surface, it’s a I, IV, V progression (E, A, B7). However, when I try playing the E Blues scale, there are a lot of clams in there. Same with the E Major Pentatonic Scale and E Major scale. I’ve tried playing the Blues scale 1 1/2 steps lower, but that also seems funky.

Might I ask what scale you’d use for this song and more importantly, how would I know what to play?
I totally should know how to solo by now, but I’ve always had lead players with me.

Thanks for your time!

Hi

 Thank you for writing and thank you as well for your kind words concerning my Turning Scales into Solos series. I’m glad to hear that they are being of some help.

 When faced with the many choices one has when soloing, sometimes it’s really best, at least at first, to start out very simply. For instance, in the case of You Don’t Mess Around With Jim, you correctly put the song in the key of E major. The flavor of the song is definitely blues-y, especially in terms of the melody line, which contains numerous G and D natural notes in it (two of the three blue notes for the key of E).

 Rather than go with the blues scale, why not simplify somewhat and use the Em pentatonic (E, G, A, B and D). You get the two blue notes that are used extensively in the melody and you avoid the Bb (flatted fifth), which is probably the biggest source of your “clams,” as you put it. Part of the reason for the Bb of the E Blues scale clashing so much is that Croce’s melody line hangs around the B note quite a bit. Dissonance is an important part of soloing, but having that much dissonance front and center can be jarring.

 In addition to using the Em pentatonic (which I believe Maury Muehleisen, in the video, is using to solo, pretty much hanging out between the seventh and twelfth frets), you also want to take a cue from him and play short, sparse fills. Just a phrase of three to seven notes here and there fills up a lot of space. More importantly, it decreases your risk of playing notes you might wish you could take back. Keep your phrases short and clean and you’ll be surprised at how much better you sound and at how much better the song sounds.

 Soloing, like everything else, requires practice. It also is often the result of experience. You’re going to make mistakes, but the more you can hash out ahead of time by coming up with some short-phrase-solos, the fewer mistakes you’re bound to make playing live.

 I hope this helps. Please feel free to write again should you have more questions.

 I look forward to hearing how the gig goes.

 Peace