This past weekend, we had some friends over to play music and work out arrangements of songs and Helena was kind enough to take this photo. And we got another five inches the night after she shot this! 

Only eighteen days until spring…

Peace 

Right now, the view is dramatically different (and I really should get myself a digital camera sometime in the near future) - ice and snow and only the pine trees still have their green needles, so there are more bare trees than you can shake a stick at. But in its own way it’s still beautiful and breath taking.

And even when the landscape is cold and frozen, it’s hard not to know that it’s always changing. That spring will be back in less time than it takes to think about it and then summer and autumn again will come and go. This is the start of my fifth year here at my not-so-new-anymore home and I can’t always work that fact, that that much time has passed already, into my head.

Maybe because it’s so much easier to just look out my backdoor and get lost in the moment…

Peace

You can find the first Podcast up online at the  Guitar Noise Blog. This initial series of lessons will focus on strumming and all the various aspects of it from the very basics to simple ways to spice up your strumming patterns to tips of ways to play rhythm when you’ve multiple guitarists. GN Podcast #1 introduces the very basics of strumming. Next time out we’ll explore more with alternating bass lines and also start adding very simple hammer-ons and pull-offs to liven up any basic strumming pattern.

In the near future, we’ll also be looking at “missing” downstroke beats during our strumming patterns. This may sound easy, but usually gives many beginners a bit of a fit. But once you can get this under your belt, you shouldn’t have any trouble getting any strumming pattern at all, with a bit of practice of course! Down the line we’ll  have lessons on cross-picking, partial chord strumming, palm muting and percussive strumming, how to figure out complex strumming patterns and strumming with an ear towards voice leading and chord melody playing.

So drop over to the Guitar Noise Blog and give our first lesson a listen. Hope you find all the GN Podcasts as helpful as this one.

As always, feel free to drop me a line with any questions, comments, concerns and/or suggestions. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

 Peace

We spent the better part of the end of 2007 putting together a CD of live performances, taken from various shows at the Monterey General Store. Ten original songs - seven of mine, two from Kathy Reichert (who also contributes two lead vocal performances) and one from local Berkshire singer/songwriter John Roche - grace the disc and a wonderful cast of friends - Kathy, Karen Berger (piano), Greg Nease (guitar), Jim Martin, Helena Bouchez, Will Curtiss (all on bass), Anne O’Neil (percussion) and Joel Schick (harmonica) - performs.

For more information on the CD (song listing, musician credits, etc.,) and also for information on how to order it, just go to the Songs & Sandwiches page here on the website.

As always, thanks for listening. And my best wishes to everyone for a magical and musical 2008!

Peace

Paul Hackett, creator of Guitar Noise and many other websites, has started a Guitar Noise Blog. We’ll be using it as a bulletin board as well as a place to post smaller articles and mini-lessons that may be of interest to Guitar Noise readers. Come by and visit and let us know what you think!

Peace 

And I hope that you’ve all had a fun and wonderful summer (or winter depending on where the equator lies in relation to your home). It’s funny, because at the beginning of the year, I was telling Karen that the only thing missing from life was the chance to do a little more playing out and, lo and behold! it’s looking like I’m going to be in for a busy time the next four months.

Check out the new performance schedule on the Gigs and Performance page. In addition to a “solo” show, I’ll be backing up some truly gifted singers, writers and performers, such as Kathy Reichert, Nick Torres and local icons Todd Mack and Joel Schick. Not to mention playing along side of the talents of Karen Berger, Helena Bouchez, Jim Martin and the incomparable Greg Nease.  

And if you happen to be in the area, please do come and say hello. It’s always good to chat and you’ll be treated to some terrific music.

Peace

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1592573118/theonlineguitarc/

As with any book, there are a number of mistakes that were not caught during the printing process (not to mention a few created by the process!) and I’m at work creating a page to specifically address any and all of these mistakes. The link will be here when it’s ready, hopefully in a few days.

In the meantime, if you’d like to post a review, please feel free to do so. And, as always, if you’ve any questions, let me know and I’ll try to answer them straightaway.

And again, I cannot thank all of my readers enough for allowing me the opportunity to write this. I hope you find it both educational and inspirational.

Peace

In the October 2006 issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine (featuring a great interview with Cassandra Wilson, who’s on the cover), you’ll find two new lessons of mine.

In the “Here’s How” section, there is an Introduction to Ear Training, which focuses on the basics of how to listen to chords and to figure out what is being played on the guitar. Get yourself started on the road to being able to tab out guitar music for yourself.

Hand in hand with this article is a Basics lesson called Read Tablature Intelligently. It’s a primer on teaching yourself how to stop reading tab “note by note” and to start seeing all the fingering and positioning clues that come with any tab. If you’re a slightly advanced beginner who gets lost reading tab, this should help you out a lot.

As always, you can find these articles online at www.acousticguitar.com as well as in the magazine itself.

And, as always, my thanks for reading them. Any comments, as well as suggestions for new articles, are more than welcome.

Peace 

As always, my thanks for your interest and support. Hope you’re all having a great summer.

Peace…

The latest issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine, their “August 2006″ issue with Dave Grohl on the cover, should hit the stores any day now. Look for my “Transposing Made Easy” lesson in their “The Basics” section. Plus, you’ll get a transcribed arrangement for Broke And Hungry, a traditional blues song, written out in three keys so you can try out your new transposing skills.

You can also view this lesson online at Acoustic Guitar Magazine’s website.

As always, thanks for reading.

Peace…