Volume 1: Scale Mastery

We hinted about it here — and was a bit more blatant about it here — so it’s not really a surprise announcement by conventional standards. But, we (Fretterverse) are quite pleased to announce the release of its first eBook — Scale Mastery.

Over a year in the making, Scale Mastery takes you way beyond the typical scale-learning methods available on the market today. I promise this eBook to be an original solution to an old problem.

Whether you are a beginning guitarist just starting out, an intermediate player having trouble getting certain sounds under your fingers, or even just a player who’s bored with his playing and wants a fresh approach, Scale Mastery will open up your eyes and ears to new possibilities.

The best part is, we’re selling the eBook (along with accompanying audio backing tracks) for $10. Yes, only ten dollars USD. That’s a bargain.

Please visit our Products page for more information about Scale Mastery, as well as a link to purchase and download the eBook instantly.

Buy a copy, tell your friends and family, or just buy them copies, too!

Fretterverse Releases First eBook in Series is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Hear ye! Hear ye! This eBook will revolutionize the world!

It’s taken me a year to finally be able to make this great announcement.

I’m happy to tell you all that I am now putting the finishing touches on the first volume in the Fretterverse Guitar Concepts eBook series, which will be available for sale very soon! Volume 1 is called “Scale Mastery” and, obviously, details a new method for learning scales and modes.

Surely, there have been hundreds of books, videos, and Internet websites dedicated to learning how to play scales. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone has a “trick.” So what makes this one so special? Why should you check out my eBook when you’ve probably already spent way too much money on everyone else’s?

If you really want to know, keep reading…

I’m not going to give away the farm just yet, but what’s important to know is that Scale Mastery is first and foremost not a book with a list of scales showing pictures of all of the available notes on the fretboard. (That, in my opinion, is not a good way to learn scales.) Nor is Scale Mastery a book of licks that hints at a certain “sound” that you can throw into your bag of tricks. Licks are great – everyone should have some – but again, not a great way to learn scales correctly.

No, Scale Mastery is a system of exercises that will teach you how to Deep Learn a scale; how to really get the sound in your ears and under your fingers so you can use it freely as opposed to shoving into your favorite line. There are no tricks, no secret hints that can shorten your learning curve so you sound like Pat Metheny in two days. No tricks, just a method for honest, hard-working guitarists to become better players and better musicians.

I will be releasing more information about the book in the next few weeks, so stay tuned. I promise it will be good, and I promise it will be more than affordable.

If you like reading Fretterverse, please spread the word. Sales of the eBook will help support this blog and keep it running.

Cheers!

The eBook is Coming! The eBook is Coming! is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Get Cash Back for Online Music Shopping

Mark the date and time: 08/24/2010, time depending on when you read this.

Today is the day when I forgo my usual brilliant commentary on the state of guitar, captivating all and capturing the hearts and minds of the people.

Today is the day I get into the depressing reality of today’s economy, of our hardships, of the desire to close our eyes, click our heels, and wish that everything was right in the world again.

Today is the day I officially sell out… to myself and to you. Sort of…

Today is the day when I put it all aside and selfishly say to you all, “Hey, here’s something that will benefit both you and me. Check it out!”

One of the big trappings of becoming a blogger is the possible revenue you can generate by being successful. When you first start researching how to blog you find all of the great stories about bloggers making six-figure incomes from affiliate links, Google ads, and eBooks. The reality of the situation, however, is that when you’re just getting started it’s not quite that easy; especially when you are blogging about something like guitar where the blogging community is already dominated by absolutely amazing sites, such as 300 Guitars, Strat-o-Blogster, Guitar Noize, and I Heart Guitar. I can only hope to someday be as good as these guys, and although generating revenue isn’t necessarily my end-game, having some come in would certainly be nice.

Okay, so the point I’m trying to make is that money is on everyone’s mind, especially lately. My GAS list is as long as it has ever been, but like everyone else the money just isn’t there. It’s hard enough to justify a Friday night movie date with your wife nowadays let alone getting that 8-string Ibanez guitar you’ve had your eye on. (Yeah, I’ve had my eye on it.)

Despite whatever is on your GAS list, at the very least you’re always going to need some stuff from the music store. Cables, strings, picks, a strap, or maybe even the latest MP3 CD on iTunes from your favorite group. At the very most you might be lucky enough to still buy that axe you’ve been saving for.

When making your purchases, the best you could possibly hope for would be a sale on something you need, but most of the time the sales are for items you would never want to buy. Essentially, you’re stuck paying full price for stuff you probably need more than you want, in a down economy. What could be more depressing?

Now, what if I told you that there was a way to get cash back for shopping online at your favorite music websites; would you be intrigued?

Well, there is a way, and I’m going to tell you about it.

I must tell you up front that while you will get the benefit of receiving cash back for your purchases, I will also get a benefit by earning some residual income by providing the referrals. Lest you think I’m purely doing this out of the altruistic goodness of my heart, there is something in it for me. (Not that I don’t want to help y’all out, of course.)

It’s a lot like having an affiliate ad on my site, but whereas in traditional ads you don’t get any added incentive over the product purchase, and you have to buy the specific product being advertised, I’m giving you a way to get money back for anything and everything you purchase.

How It Works

Let’s get to it. The steps are very simple:

1. Go to www.sanuk-shopping.com.
2. Create an account (it’s free, and no spam) by clicking on the Sign In at the top right of the page.
3. Create your account (duh!).
4. When you are logged in, click on the Partner Stores tab.
5. Click any of the partner store names to be directed to their site. (You can click on the “Music” category on the right to get the stores you really want.)
6. Shop like you would normally shop on that store’s website.
7. When you place your order, you earn a percentage of your total order as cash back. The percentage will depend on what store you shop on. For example, Guitar Center, iTunes, Music 123, Musician’s Friend, Sam Ash, Sheet Music Plus, and zZounds all offer 2% cash back on your purchases.

How To Get Paid

The cash back accumulates in your account on sanuk-shopping.com. How long it takes for the cash back to show up generally depends on the store; many stores wait for the duration of their return policy so you don’t order something to get the cash back credit and then immediately cancel your order.

When your cash back grows to $50.00 or higher you can immediately request a check to be mailed to you.

Any web-based coupon codes you would normally use on these sites can still be used through my method, too, which obviously makes your savings even greater. The only thing you need to remember is that you must be logged into the sanuk-shopping.com website first, and then click through to the other sites from the Partner Stores page. (This is the critical step to remember; otherwise the site you are shopping on won’t know that you came from sanuk-shopping.com and your cash back won’t be credited.)

By Anything You Need From Virtually Any Website

Moreover, your purchases and cash back is not relegated to music stuff only. The website has over 3,600 partner stores and over 50 million products (way more than Amazon, by the way…), so you would be very hard pressed to try and buy something online that the site or partner stores don’t have.

So there it is. There really is no excuse for not getting cash back while buying all of your music gear and necessities online. Especially with the state of the economy as it is today, why would you not want to get money back for nothing more than an extra mouse click?

Get Cash Back for Your Online Music Shopping is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

John Coltrane

Welcome to what is, perhaps, the hardest aspect of jazz improvisation; what has made many a musician cower in the corner while others step up to the plate, knock back massive grand slams, and take home the hottest girl in the club (hopefully not the girl that came in with the guy now cowering in the corner).

To date, the rite of passage for aspiring jazz musicians has been whether or not they can effectively improvise over the song Giant Steps, the seminal composition by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.

What makes the song – and others like it that Coltrane wrote – so challenging, is a sophisticated chord progression that has proven to be very difficult for most to play, let alone master.

So, What Are the Changes?

The basis of Coltrane Changes lies in the interval of a Major 3rd. This interval divides the major scale into three equal parts – C, E, and G#/Ab – for example.

Where it gets a little tricky is understanding where (and how) these changes get applied. Let’s take a standard ii-V-I progression in the key of C Major – Dm7 / / /  |  G7 / / /  |  CMaj7 / / /  |  / / / /

What we want to do here is target the last CMaj7, but we get there by substituting the rest of the progression with the Coltrane Changes. Since we know we want to end up in C Major, we can use the Major 3rd cycle to get there. In this kind of progression, where the ii-V-I lines up evenly across four bars, the changes line up like this:

Dm7 / Eb7 /  |  AbMaj7 / B7 /  |  EMaj7 / G7 /  |  CMaj7

What we’ve done here is worked forward towards the CMaj7 while moving backward in intervals of Major 3rds. So, after two beats of Dm7 we know we want to get to Ab Major (Maj7 chord). To get there we put its V7 chord in front of it – Eb7. So, two beats of Dm7 and then into a V-I in Ab Major (Eb7 to AbMaj7).

After Ab Major we want to go down another Major 3rd to E. (If you are having trouble with this, maybe a quick review of enharmonic note names will help.) Precede the EMaj7 chord with its V and that gives us B7. To finish things off we want to have the V of C Major lead us to the last chord, so we use G7. You might be able to visualize it better this way:

-- (V7  | I)    (V7 | I)    (V7 | I)
Dm7 Eb7 | AbMaj7 B7 | EMaj7  G7 | CMaj7

Where this becomes even more interesting is when you apply this Major 3rd/Coltrane Changes principle to reharmonizing other jazz standards. As a very basic example, try improvising over the above changes with the song “Impressions.” Since Impressions uses a long modal vamp on Dm7, you can think of that Dm7 as the ii chord in C Major. The above example is technically in the key of C, so you can really open up the way you approach a solo by playing thinking these changes while you solo over a long Dm7 chord pedal. Very cool stuff!

Coltrane wasn’t necessarily the first person to play around with the Major 3rd progression, though he certainly is the one to bring it to the forefront. The song “Have You Met Miss Jones” by Rodgers and Hart (1937) has a bridge section with a Major 3rd cycle. You can check out the Wikipedia page on Coltrane Changes for a bit more information about that.

I certainly won’t claim to have mastered this concept; not by a long shot. But I really like the idea of superimposing a seemingly unrelated chord progression and making it work. Consider this concept – Coltrane Changes – to be a goal to aspire to, so you can get your girl back from you-know-who during the next local jam session.

What Are “Coltrane Changes”? is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

For me, Spock’s Beard is such a band, and I am most certainly a fanboy.

The California-based progressive rock band recently released their 10th CD – appropriately titled “X” – and it’s a doozy. I’m not even going to try and create suspense and mystery like I usually do to get you to click the “Read More” link. This CD kicks ass outright and needs no more explanation.

But if you’d like to hear more about the CD, then follow me…

Spock's Beard - Nick D'Virgilio, Alan Morse, Dave Meros, Ryo Okumoto

One of the great things about progressive rock is that, when done well, the music can have hints of everything from rock to classical, jazz, electronica, pop, and metal. (A good supply of cowbell never hurts, either.) One of the great thing about having a band full of ridiculously talented musicians is their ability to seamlessly integrate all of those elements into great songs. While most prog bands and spending their time working out the most complex riffs and “bet you can’t play this” nonsense, the boys in the Beard and busy crafting songs. Yes, actual songs that groove, have great vocals, and essentially blow the mind.

From the first notes of the opener “Edge of the In-Between” I knew I was going to be in for a treat. “Epic” is certainly a good description. Quickly moving into a an awesome verse groove, one thing I was pleasantly surprised with were the lyrics. Yeah, I know, this is a guitar blog. Deal with it! SB have typically been somewhat hit-and-miss with lyrical content in the past, so it was really nice to hear some well thought out concepts.

Guitarist Alan Morse shines with his solo over a rockin’ 7/4 pattern, mixing quirky figures and nuanced mastery of his Sustainer guitar. At 10:30, this song is the quintessential prog epic and they could not have picked a better song to lead off the CD.

The Emperor’s Clothes is a cross between the Beatles, Ben Folds, Gentle Giant, and Jellyfish. Strings, french horn, sitar, and their trademark contrapuntal vocal lines add a great contrast to the first song. Keyboardist Ryo Okumoto gets to stretch out and show why he’s such an in-demand player. I also absolutely love drummer/lead vocalist D’Virgilio’s vocals on this record. Brilliantly sung!

If you’re a fan of old-school instrumentals like those from ELP, then Kamikaze will be right up your alley. Written by Okumoto, Kamikaze grabs you by the nethers from the first note and doesn’t let go until it’s over four minutes and fifteen seconds later. Morse also shines once again with a fantastic (albeit quick) solo. This is one of the coolest instrumental songs I’ve ever heard a prog band write. Period!

At close to seventeen minutes, From the Darkness finally settles the listener in after three songs of progressive bliss. This is a bit more of a “rock” song compared to the previous three, but to simply call it a rock song would be somewhat misleading. The song mellows into an almost ambient trance while it builds back up again. D’Virgilio again sings beautifully in this section, leading to some solos and building into yet another kick ass 7/4 riff that Morse gets to solo over. (It makes me wonder if he actually prefers to play solos in complex time signatures.)

The Quiet House is perhaps my least favorite song on the CD, though it has a very cool chorus. It’s not a bad song, but it has not – as of yet – knocked me on my butt like the others. Though there are some proggy moments, this is perhaps the most straight-ahead rock song of the lot.

Danny Elfman comes to mind with the opening of Their Names Escape Me. I felt like I was about the watch the beginning of a new Tim Burton movie. I love the concept of this song, if you’ll allow me a quick aside.

SB decided with this CD that they were going to produce it independently. Their record label went under and rather than try to “get signed” again they decided to go it on their own. To help finance the project, they reached out to their fans and asked them to contribute to the production costs by placing a pre-order sale while they were still recording. The benefit for them? Well, the guys wrote a very cool bridge section of the song and proceeded to sing/name all of the people who contributed.

At first you may think the concept will fall flat on its face, but it’s actually quite brilliantly conceived and executed. If you missed the idea of naming all of these people in a song called “Their Names Escape Me” this is where you go back and read it a few times and then slap yourself in the forehead. As some of my business associates say, “That one will catch you on the way home.”

If they had simply named everyone over the same riff it would have gotten old very fast. But they were smart enough to keep the music moving forward (dare I say, progressing) and it turned out as not only a great piece of music but also an innovative and very cool tribute to their fans.

The classic Spock’s sound returns for the next song – The Man Behind the Curtain. I can’t help but think that D’Virgilio’s close friendship and musical relationship with songwriter extraordinaire Kevin Gilbert has rubbed off on him here. “Curtain” is at the same time both chaotic and controlled, melodic and cacophonous, but it all works very well together. There is a balance to it all, and the closing acoustic guitar/vocals is the perfect ending.

No prog CD would be complete without an epic to close things out. At 16:22, Jaws of Heaven acts as almost like a summary of everything that came before it. Like “Edge of the In-Between” as the opener, “Heaven” is the perfect closer. It all builds up to the last few minutes where the melody soars high above, thanks once again to Morse’s incredible guitar work.

I’m tellin’ ya, you guys gotta check this band out.

Spock’s Beard‘s “X” could not have come at a better time. It’s been a while since a truly great prog band has put out a truly great prog CD. And with my band Din Within (shameless plug) currently working on the music for our sophomore release, I am feeling re-energized and inspired thanks to four guys from California keeping the torch well lit and shining bright!

Spock’s Beard – X is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

How to Properly Wrap Your Cables is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

John Petrucci - Dream Theater

For a long time I blamed Dream Theater‘s guitarist John Petrucci for making me quit. Yes, that’s right, I said MADE. I could not justify in my head why he was able to play something as beautiful as the solo on Under a Glass Moon and I not only couldn’t come up with something just as cool, but I couldn’t even cop his solo! At the time it seemed perfectly justified to blame him for my woes. In high school and college I was the shit; everyone thought I was a great player, and I knew that I was – to the point of major arrogance. Along comes this guitarist in a progressive metal band (my cup of tea) and completely shatters all of my confidence. I wanted to be a professional musician, but how could I with that guy around? In essence, he had taken all the fun and glory away from me and it pissed me off.

Now, granted, especially to the outsider you’re probably thinking I’m absolutely nuts for this line of thinking. To that I say, “yeah, you’re right. I was crazy.” Bear with me, please, I’ll try to work this back and save my reputation.

So, I stopped playing. For 7 or 8 years. I just couldn’t pick the guitar up. I had lost all of my confidence, my creativity, and my passion. I couldn’t write a song if you gave me the chords to do it with. I had no fire.

The Epiphany

I don’t exactly remember what the turning point for my return to guitar was. I don’t think there was one specific “a ha” moment that turned things around for me. As I look back on it now I got my sanity back and realized that I didn’t have to be as good as Petrucci. Only Petrucci is as good as Petrucci. There are millions of guitarists out there who are not Petrucci (or Benson, or Martino, or Segovia, or Satriani) and are doing what they love – playing guitar. And that’s when it hit me; it’s not about being a great player, it’s about playing guitar simply because I loved to play guitar! Well holy shit! As soon as I said that to myself it all became so brilliantly clear (and obvious) that I almost got depressed that I had wasted so many years for all the wrong reasons.

The Greatest Band Ever!

A New Goal

And so I began to play again, this time with a new goal: HAVE FUN! I was able to pick up the guitar and play without a specific target to focus on. I learned a few songs, wrote a few riffs, and starting learning jazz. Most importantly, I stopped giving a crap about any silly competition I had in my own mind. Certainly Petrucci didn’t care what I was up to. I had exorcised that demon once and for all and was as happy as I was the first day I jammed along to 2112 by Rush (the greatest band ever, by the way…).


It’s been a great journey ever since. I started up lessons with my guitar teacher again, I was learning jazz and transcribing solos, I was writing songs with friends, and I was experimenting with different styles of music. Everything was new to me again, it all sounded so fresh and exciting. I was back, baby!

Someone Up There is Testing Me!

Last night I started learning to play Andy McKee‘s beautiful song Rylynn. I’ve never attempted to play this type of fingerstyle guitar before, so I thought it would be a fun challenge to see how it’s played and whether or not I can learn it. To say it’s not a song you just pick up and start jamming would be a massive understatement. Within a few minutes I was struggling pretty bad to get it under my fingers. I had a small crisis of faith, wondering if I would ever be able to learn this song and play it. I immediately stepped back and thought about it for a minute; was it about playing the song so I could play the song, or was it about playing guitar? Once I thought about it in those terms I went right back to learning Rylynn and actually making better progress than the first few minutes. My mindset had changed, my focus had increased, and most importantly I was an engaged, passionate guitar player rather than a mindless wannabe.

Can You Pass Your Own Test?

If you are having a crisis of faith with your playing – or anything in your life for that matter – my advice to you is this: don’t worry about it so much; enjoy the moment of creating and being able to express yourself through your instrument. Maybe you or I won’t be the next guitar god. Perhaps the most you or I will make of our “music careers” is the occasional bar gig and playing Beatles covers on an acoustic at a friend’s party. Is that such a bad thing? I don’t think so. In fact, what could be better than opening up your heart and soul to those closest to you? Nothing.

Keep Going!

Why I Quit Playing Guitar is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

As a guitar playing parent, this is probably one of the proudest moments you’ll have, the day your child comes up to you and tell you that he wants to start learning to play guitar. Think about the endless hours of bonding you can do while playing together, all of the gear you can convince your better half that needs to be bought in order to keep the little one happy, all of the trips to the music store to check out the new swag being peddled… it’s practically a dream come true!

For the non-guitar playing parent, however, the task can be much more daunting. The price, the noise, lessons or no lessons, what kind of guitar to buy, where to buy it, do they need an amp, whether or not they will stick with it for more than two weeks – all of these questions and more are sure to make even the strongest parents weary and tired.

I think Douglas Adams put it best when he wrote:

It’s okay, help is coming. This article is for those of you in the latter category; the ones who want some solid, unbiased advice on what to do and what to buy.

I’m forgoing the part of the conversation where you ultimately decide whether or not to buy your child a guitar. As a guitar player, I’m certainly going to tell you what a wonderful instrument it is, and of the countless hours of entertainment it has provided me, not to mention how much it has helped my concentration, ability to study, social skills… (so much for forgoing the conversation, right?). Let’s just assume you are reading this because you have already made up your mind to buy your child his first guitar. Here is what to look for and some things to consider:

Acoustic or Electric?

I believe this is the first, most important question that needs to be answered when purchasing a guitar for a new player. Though it is rare, I assume that your child wants to buy an electric guitar (thanks to music videos and the Rock Band/Guitar Hero phenomenon), but to be sure you are armed with all of the information, let me explain the difference between the two with a very watered-down explanation:

Acoustic Guitar

An acoustic guitar is hollow, with a sound hole cut into the top piece of wood to allow sound to be amplified and heard. The vibration of the strings is picked up by the wood and carried through the sound hole.

Although an acoustic guitar is certainly cheaper as a first purchase (no need for an amp or cable), it’s also a bit more difficult for children to play, especially when first starting out. The string action (the height of the strings in relation to the fingerboard) is often much higher than that of an electric guitar – causing much more hand power to be used to play correctly, the guitar itself is generally bigger than that of an electric, and you can’t plug headphones into an acoustic guitar like you can on the amplifier of an electric guitar, so if your kid is learning the bar cover-band staple Free Bird, you are going to hear him play it over and over and over again.I personally love acoustic guitars and own three, but for beginners I think the safe bet might be an electric unless your child is determined to learn bluegrass or classical music, in which case an acoustic guitar is absolutely the way to go.

An electric guitar

An electric guitar requires a little more explanation. Most of the time (but not always) an electric guitar is a solid piece of shaped wood that produces a very quiet sound on its own. In order to make the guitar sound louder and be heard above a whisper, an amplifier is required. When plugged into an amp, the vibration of the strings is captured by a magnetic pickup (which is a part of the electric guitar) and sent through a guitar cable to the amp, which amplifies (go figure) the signal and makes it louder.Although many acoustic guitars also have pickups and can be plugged into an amp, they are still going to be significantly louder when unplugged.

In my humble opinion an electric guitar as a starter instrument has several advantages to an acoustic:

• Your child can play an electric with the amp off, sparing your ears and those of your neighbors.
• Most smaller amps today have headphone jacks, so your child can still rock out to that crazy heavy metal music they like and no one else will hear them.
• The string gauges on an electric guitar can generally be lighter than that of an acoustic guitar, meaning less hand strength is required to produce an even sound.
• Electric guitars, in addition to the amp, have volume controls, so much to the reluctance of your child there should be plenty of wiggle room for the inevitable “turn it down!” argument to take place.
• If your child wants to play guitar because of Rock Band/Guitar Hero, get an electric. An acoustic guitar probably won’t be enough to satisfy their rockstar fantasies. (Hey, I’m just being honest!)

In the interest of fairness I should note that I started learning guitar on an acoustic and I loved it. But, there were also many less options available at the time in terms of affordable electric guitars.

Size of the Guitar to Buy

Guitars come in many sizes. The good news is that over the past ten years or so there has been a concerted effort by the guitar manufacturers to create smaller-sized guitars specifically for kids. Call it clever marketing or what have you, the bottom line is that regardless of how big your child is – and especially how big his hands are – there is a guitar out there for him. If your child is very young and has small hands, I would suggest a 3/4 size guitar. If you child is a little older, a full-size guitar will allow him to grow into his instrument. It may prove to be a bit more difficult initially for them to play a barre chord, for example, but it will save you from having to replace a smaller guitar with a full-size guitar. Your best bet is to take your child to the music store and let him play one to see what’s best.

What Guitar Shape Should I Buy?

Yes, guitars come in many shapes, too. There are a few classic shapes that have stood the test of time, and several more modern shapes that are akin to the hard rock/heavy metal genres that have become very popular with younger players. The aesthetics of a guitar shape is certainly in the eye of the beholder, so be prepared for your metalhead rocker to want a Dimebag Darrell edition Dean guitar:

There is nothing wrong with this at all (he was a huge influence on my metal playing – RIP, Dime!) but generally these are large guitars and might be uncomfortable for smaller kids to play. The major, traditional guitar shapes usually fall into the Fender and Gibson guitar camps – the Stratocaster and Telecaster are both made by Fender, and the Les Paul and ES-335 are made by Gibson. All of these shapes are conducive to young, beginner players; heck, they are conducive to players of all ages and ability levels!

Strats and Teles, as they are affectionately referred to (if you want to sound hip to your kid, start calling them by these names) are smaller and lighter than Les Pauls and 335s. Their tone is also generally lighter.

Your best bet in deciding what to get is, again, to take your child to the store and let them try out a few. Some other name guitar brands (both acoustic and electric) are:

• Ibanez
• Schecter
• Dean
• Michael Kelly
• Taylor
• Yamaha
• ESP

Getting a Guitar Setup

What is a guitar setup? In essence, a guitar setup is done by a guitar repairman to make sure the electronics work, the truss rod (the metal bar inside the guitar neck that keeps it straight and aligned properly) is adjusted, the string action is even and playable, the intonation (making sure the notes are in tune relative to fret placement) is true, and generally making sure the guitar is working as expected. I recommend that all newly-purchased guitars get set up, as well as a getting an annual setup done for best playability. I’m not sure an annual setup is necessary for a $150 guitar, but you should absolutely get one for a new guitar. You can probably haggle with the salesman to have him throw in a setup for free, depending on how much you are spending. Almost all music stores offer this service in-house or work with a repairman on an outsourcing basis. Setups usually run between $40 and $60 depending on how much work needs to be done to your guitar.

Strings and Picks

I’m warning you now, your future rock star is going to break a LOT of strings and lose a LOT of picks during the first few years of playing. That’s the nature of the beast and something you’re just going to have to understand. Resign yourself to this fact right away and be prepared to make frequent trips to the music store to replenish your stock of both. Luckily (for all of us) strings and picks are not expensive, and you will often find both on sale frequently at your local music store. They also sell both string and picks in bulk packs, so you might get some added savings by purchasing a 10-pack of strings instead of just one.

In the beginning, I recommend that you string the guitar with heavier-gauge strings for a few reasons, namely:

• A heavier string tension will help develop finger strength and build fingertip callouses, allowing the hand and fingers to eventually relax while playing.
• Beginning guitarists tend to pick and strum very heavy and, understandably, a bit wildly. The harder, less controlled pick attacks cause strings to break more frequently.

Personally, I use D’Addario strings on all of my guitars. I have tried other brands, but for me D’Addario plays the best. It’s okay to experiment with strings, and especially in the beginning you’ll probably just want to go with what’s cheapest while starting out, but I have always been happy with D’Addario brands.

I would also recommend checking out Juststrings.com. Though I do not know the owners personally, I have purchased many sets of strings from them in the past and have always received excellent service, super-fast shipping, and good prices.

Picks don’t necessarily break like strings, but they do wear down which affects tone. I wouldn’t worry about this so much at this point, so it’s really a question of quantity and price. Your first trip to the music store will present you with a dizzying array of pick choices, ranging in color, size, shape, and thickness. Don’t be dismayed; your best bet is to start with a thick pick and big size. (If your child has very small hands then you can go for a little less thickness and size.) The thicker pick will make it easier for your child to produce a sound on the guitar, and the bigger size will give them more grip real estate so the pick doesn’t slide around in their hand. Picks by Dunlop and Fender are very good (I often use Fender) and will be well-stocked in every store.

An Amp, or No?

I’m just going to go ahead and tell you yes, buy an amp, especially if purchasing an electric guitar. It doesn’t have to be a 100-watt Marshall half-stack that will blow the windows out, but something small and simple with a few built-in effects will go a long way to keeping your child motivated to learn guitar. I don’t want to go into much detail on amps (this is a guitar-buying article, after all) but there are a few features that you may want to consider for a first-time purchaser:

• Headphone jack – this will allow your child to plug headphones directly into the amp so only they can hear what they’re playing.
• iPod/aux jack – many smaller guitars are now offering a 1/8″ input jack that lets you plug an iPod in so you can jam along to your favorite tunes. I really wish amps had this feature when I was growing up. (Then again, we didn’t even have Walkman units when I first started, so I guess the point is moot.)
• Wattage – a 10-watt amp should be plenty loud for bedroom playing.
• Distortion and onboard effects – virtually all amps will come with distortion, but many are now also offering other effects (sound manipulations) built in, including delay, chorus, reverb, tremolo, etc. This isn’t mandatory, but it’s a nice bonus feature if an amp you are considering also has these features.

What Else Do I Need?

A guitar cable and strap are probably the only two other things you’ll want to pick up. The cable connects the guitar to the amp to make sound, and the strap allows the guitarist to stand up and play while keeping their hands free to make noise. Both of these are relatively cheap; just make sure the cable is long enough for your child to jump around in his room without accidentally getting unplugged. A 20-foot cable should be fine.

Guitar/Amp Packages

If your child is young, you can probably get away with a guitar package. Several manufacturers now offer “starter kit” packages that include a guitar, amp, cable, strap, and picks. Amazon.com offers, as examples, a starter electric guitar kit from Fender, as well as a starter acoustic guitar kit from Yamaha. All of the major brick-and-mortar and online music stores will generally sell starter kits as well.

Good Luck!

Lastly, I just want to wish you and your child good luck. As I said in the beginning, picking up the guitar has been nothing short of life-altering for me, and I can only hope that that it will bring countless hours of joy to your American Idol. If you have any more questions, please email me or add your comment to this article and I’ll be happy to help you out. Good luck!

Buying Your Kid’s First Guitar (A Parent’s Guide) is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

I know many, many people that aren’t interested in learning music theory; they don’t care what notes are in a CMaj7 chord so long as they know how to play the shape on the guitar. To those people I say simply, “You’re missing out.” There’s certainly nothing wrong with not knowing music theory – several very famous guitar players never learned to read music – but if you put in the time, the rewards will come back to you tenfold.

We’re going to start off very simple, with a look at the most fundamental aspect of music – the music staff:

Exciting, isn’t it? Basically, a music staff is nothing more than five evenly-spaced horizontal lines. Can’t get much simpler than that. Notice that the five lines also create four spaces, one space in between each set of two adjacent lines. Remember this; it becomes important in a minute.

Before we can get into how the lines function, we need to first determine what kind of staff it is. Staff type is determined by which “clef” is used. There are four commonly-used staves:

For the sake of this article we’ll use the treble clef, but I will explain the other three later as well so you are well-rounded. (Just think of the conversations you can start when buying the lovely lady a drink at the bar.)

In order for the musicians to know that they are dealing with the treble clef, you put it at the very beginning of the staff:

Now that you (and the musician) knows that you are dealing with the treble clef, it’s easy to explain where the notes are supposed to go. Starting at the bottom, the first (bottom) line is the note “E”:

Moving up from the first “E” note, we put a note in the first space. This is the note “F”:

Moving up from there, we have “G”:

I don’t think I need to go through all of the notes, do I? Good… if you go through them yourself – which you certainly should – you’ll realize that the top line of the staff is the note “F.” The cool thing is that the notes don’t really stop there. You can put notes above the staff. For example, the space above the top line (“F”) is the note G:

Go up another step from there and you have the note “A.” The problem is that without a guide it would be very hard to stick a bunch of notes in the space above the staff and have the musicians figure out which pitch the note is. Back in the day the guys were really smart, however, and came up with a way to make this much easier; they created lines and spaces above the staff. For example:

This is the note "A"

The note “B” above this would be:

You can continue this upward for a while. Be aware, however, that each instrument has its own range. Certain instruments can only reach up so high (or low). You have to keep this in mind when writing music; certain instruments (and even certain players) won’t be able to hit certain notes.

Moving down the staff, you can have notes go below the staff. For example, the lowest note on the guitar is an E, which looks like this:

You can follow the notes down from the “F” we started with (first line of the staff) to the low E note I just showed you.

Now, at the beginning of the article I also showed you four different clef types. I think now is a good time to show you how the other three work. Most likely you’ll see the bass clef most often after the treble clef. Here it is again in case you forgot:

The bass clef is also called the “F clef.” Why is that you ask? Well… do you see the two small dots? Those dots straddle the line that, as it pertains to the bass clef, is the note “F.” In essence the two dots of the “F” clef pretty much tell you where the note “F” is. (Too bad the treble clef doesn’t do this too, right?)

Using the same principle as we did with the treble clef, you can figure out what the notes are if you keep in mind that the fourth line from the bottom (straddled by the two dots) is the note “F.”

The alto and baritone clefs are slightly similar. Here is the alto clef:

See the number three looking thing? If you look closely, you’ll see that the middle line is where the two loops of the clef meet. Do you see it? In the alto clef, that middle line is the note “C.” If you look at the baritone clef (see the graphic at the beginning of the article), the same principle of finding the “C” note applies, but this time it’s the fourth line from the bottom.

You probably won’t use the alto or baritone clefs much at all, unless you are deeply into classical music. But you should know about them nonetheless.

That’s about it, Fretheads. It’s quite straight-forward. You should now be able to recognize what the music staff is and how it functions, and with a little practice you should be able to pick out the notes quickly.

Enjoy!

Music Theory Lesson: The Music Staff is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Joe Satriani – Surfing with the Alien
For those of you like me, who grew up in the 1980′s, my first pick should certainly come as no surprise. The guitar teacher-cum-guitar hero credited with teaching the likes of Steve Vai and Kirk Hammett finally got his due with the release of his second CD, Surfing With the Alien. What makes this CD so important, aside from the brilliant compositions and excellent performances by everyone, is for many it was the first time that modal playing came to the forefront and really went beyond the typical pentatonic soloing of the 70′s. You could even see the guitar magazines follow suit and start to write article after article about modal improvisation and chord voicings going way beyond power chords.

Steve Vai – Flexable
The first time I heard Steve Vai play was the song “Blue Powder” which he wrote to promote a Carvin amp that was new at the time. (Consequently, the song was included on Vai’s “Passion and Warfare” CD.) Vai’s time with Frank Zappa is quite evident on Flexable;alien squeaks, stacked guitar harmonies, and swirling chord constructs make for a truly unique guitar record that takes many, many listens to get the full effect. Although “Passion” became Vai’s breakout CD that made him a household guitar name, it is the raw energy of Flexable that put him on the road to superstardom.

Allan Holdsworth – Road Games
UK-born guitarist Allan Holdsworth is, without question, one of the greatest guitarists ever. Dare I say he belongs in the Top 10? Brought to the attention of Warner Brothers Records by Eddie Van Halen, Holdsworth cut his teeth in bands such as Gong, U.K., and a stint with Level 42. Road Games (currently unavailable, but I suggest trying eBay to purchase) turned the world of guitar on its head. Saxophone-inspired hammer-on lead lines, haunting chord melodies, and even a vocal appearance by Cream’s Jack Bruce all combine to create one of the most sophisticated guitar records ever made. As saxophone players look to John Coltrane as the epitome of instrument mastery, so too do guitar players look to Allan Holdsworth.

Jeff Beck – Wired
In the interest of fairness and full disclosure I feel compelled to tell you that I’m not a huge fan of Jeff Beck. My personal taste tends to lean away from “blues” players, though I certainly respect their abilities and contributions to the guitar. Jeff Beck is known for his incredible tone and smooth lines, and his playing on Wired is certainly no exception. My favorite track is Beck’s interpretation of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, an class jazz song written by Charles Mingus. You can also check out Beck playing GPPH on YouTube with Vinnie Colaiuta and teen bass sensation Tal Wilkenfeld.

Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced
What could I possibly say that hasn’t been said before about Jimi? Purple Haze, Manic Depression, Hey Joe, The Wind Cries Mary, Foxey Lady… classic after classic after classic. His unmistakable tone, sexually-charged stage presence, and unique songwriting has inspired generations to pick up the guitar. Are You Experienced is the quintessential Hendrix recording and certainly a necessary fixture in your CD collection.

Yngwie Malmsteen – Rising Force
He single-handedly started the neo-classical guitar revolution and turned millions of hard rock and heavy metal guitarists onto composers such as Bach and Mozart. Lightning-fast diminished runs and three-octave arpeggios highlight Malmsteen’s virtuosity, while slower passages (what there are of them) shows a melodic and – dare I say – tender side of his playing that amplifies the mystique.

Wes Montgomery – Smokin’ at the Half Note
Wes Montgomery is unarguably (in my opinion) the great jazz guitarist to ever touch the instrument. Always at the top of everyone’s “favorites” list, Wes’ Smokin’ at the Half Note CD puts his musical lyricism, soul, and beautiful improvisational structures on display for all to hear. From his thumb-picking single note lines to his octave runs, and even his simple yet gorgeous chord melody work, this CD is a great example of everything that Sir Wes was able to do with only six strings and no pick.

Pat Martino – Live at Yoshi’s
Pat’s is an amazing story of triumph over tragedy. After suffering a brain aneurysm and losing much of his memory (including his ability to play guitar) Pat relearned to play guitar by listening to his old albums. Accompanied by Joey DeFrancesco and Billy Hart, Live at Yoshi’s is the definitive example of Martino’s minor conversion bebop style, and his searing solo lines captivate the listener. I have seen Pat perform live many times, and every time I see him I am inspired to go home and practice.

Meshuggah – ObZen
I realize that to some, ObZen may seem like a bit of a stretch for a “must-have” CD; it did only just come out in 2009. But I was so impressed with the depth and range of this offering by the Swedish math-core metal band, I am compelled to put it on my list. 8-string guitars, very sophisticated polyrhythms, Allan Holdsworth-inspired lead lines, and haunting slow passages turn the CD into a beautifully-tortuous listening experience. I’ve been shedding my picking technique to be able to play along to the breakout song “Bleed”; almost there…

Rage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine
You have to understand, when this CD came out in 1992 there was no nu-metal, no Linkin Park, and save for the Public Enemy/Anthrax collaboration on “Bring Tha Noise” rap had no place alongside rock music. Sure, Aerosmith had “Walk This Way” with Run DMC, but it was viewed more as a novelty than a legitimate music style. Fueled by polarizing political lyrics and booming grooves, RATM’s debut CD Rage Against the Machine very much turned the music world upside down. Further, Tom Morello’s quirky guitar noises, turntable scratch-like rhythms, and pitch-shifting lead lines showed the metal world that it was okay to do something different, to be yourself and, more importantly, rage against the homogenized music scene of the late 1980′s.

So as to not have this list go on forever and ever, I will spare you my personal commentary on the next 10 must-have CDs and, instead, provide you with their CD covers. Suffice it to say that all of these CDs/players have greatly influenced guitarists all over the world, and you would be missing out tremendously by not having them in your collection.

20 Must-Have Guitar CDs is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.