Jazz Guitar Harmony by Jody Fisher

I love chords. Love ‘em, love ‘em, love ‘em!

I’m one of “those” guitar players that gets off on hearing great guitar rhythm playing/comping than a great solo. Especially in regards to jazz, comping and playing the right notes and chord voicings is where it’s at. There is nothing like hearing a new chord underneath a nice melody line in a ballad that sends shivers up my spine.

Let’s be honest. Guitar solos are great. We all know that; that’s why we started playing guitar to begin with, right? Without a great harmonic background to support that ripping solo, however, it’s just not the same.

And so, in my desperate quest to try and pass myself off as a jazz guitar player (still working on it…) I purchased pretty much every jazz guitar harmony/chord book there is. We’re talking dozens and dozens of books. I think I kept the jazz guitar education community gainfully employed for a few months.

Off all the books I bought, only a few managed to stick out and stay on the top of the pile. Though most covered the same material, it’s all in the presentation. Jazz Guitar Harmony, written by guitarist Jody Fisher, is one of the books I continuously turn to time and time again.

You can tell a lot about a jazz guitar player by his chord voicings. I believe, even more so than how he solos. So there must be something about Fisher’s playing that I really like, because I love this book! All of the material you would expect and require from a jazz guitar harmony book is covered here. I think it’s the way Fisher presents the material that strikes a chord (pun intended) with me.

There is not a lot of text explanation, but there are lots of examples to play and practice. Chapter 1 – a very short chapter on triads – is the only group of pages without direct practice material. But once you quickly get into Chapter 2 you are off to the races!

It’s both apparent and obvious to me that Fisher is a very good teacher, as his book builds progressively upon previous chapters to expand your chord vocabulary and knowledge of jazz harmony concepts. But it’s not just a book of chords to learn (though I have circled many a chord voicing to make sure I add to my playing). Rather, it’s a book that gives you just enough material to immediately add to your bag of tricks but also plenty of inspiration and a pathway to work out other ideas on your own. Nothing is too far-fetched or out of place; Fisher provides you with exactly what you need to know to get better quickly and build upon the foundation in your own way.

In addition to chords, progressions, leading tones, backcycling, passing chords, reharmonization, tritone substitutions, and a whole host of other ideas are presented in the book – all with simple but easy-to-understand explanations and lots of examples. I guess I should also mention that every example is written in standard notation and tablature, so you don’t have to be a sight-reading guru in order to get a lot out of this book.

I was hoping to be able to show a few pages from the inside of the book, but for copyright reasons I thought better of it. You can, however, see some example pages from Amazon’s page, so I encourage you to check it out and see some of the material.

Jazz Guitar Harmony also comes with an audio CD in case you are one of those players (like me) who learn better when you can hear what’s going on along with seeing it on the printed page.

If you couldn’t tell already, I highly recommend this book. It is densely packed with important information but not so big that you will feel overwhelmed. A great book for both beginner and intermediate jazz guitar players.

The Rock Lock

Every once in a while a product comes along that is at the same time inherently simple in concept and completely brilliant. Products like these have always lingered in the “wouldn’t it be cool if…” parts of our subconscious, but for one reason or another never poked its way through to the “hey, we should build this” part of our brains.

How many times have you just finished your set at a gig and worried about your guitar? As much of a hassle as it is to unplug it, put it back in your case, and then cautiously glance over at it every ten seconds while relaxing with your beer, you had no choice. The last thing you wanted was someone picking it up and playing it without permission, or even worse to have some drunk jerkoff knock it over or spill beer on it. I’m sure I’m not the only one that has had to babysit his guitar in between playing because he doesn’t want anyone touching or stealing his precious axe.

We can all now rest a little bit easier, as The Rock Lock has come to along to save us (and our guitars) from the backseat of someone else’s car.

The Rock Lock, up close

It’s been a long time since the guitar world has seen such an ingenious product. Perhaps an argument can be made for the Polytune or the Morpheus Droptune, but to me these products seemed inevitable. As great as they are, they seem to be much of a no-brainer. It’s not hard to see that these products would eventually come out. The Rock Lock, however, should have been invented a long time ago.

In essence, The Rock Lock is a cable and lock system that attaches to your guitar and something preferably large and immovable (though your amp will suffice). When you have to leave your guitar unattended for a period of time, you simply attach one end of The Rock Lock to your amp, table, or your drummer’s leg (if he’s into that kind of stuff) and the other end onto the neck of your guitar. As stated by The Rock Lock’s creator – Chris:

The Rock Lock was created to provide serious guitarists with an opportunity to secure their instruments and eliminate the possibility of losing a great guitar to theft.

I have to say, it’s such a great product idea I wish it had come out 20 years ago.

The Rock Lock retails for $49.99 and you can pre-order it from their website. I am confident that this product will be a huge success and will find its way into the music stores in time. It’s just too important of a product to not be a required gigging accessory.

Kudos to Chris and The Rock Lock team!

Is this enough to be successful?

I was recently listening to an audio speech on business development. Yes, every once in a while I listen to something completely unrelated to guitar. Sorry to disappoint the Fretheads! In the audio, the speaker was talking about Attitude and Knowledge. His point was that in order to be successful in what you do – in his case, business – you needed both attitude and knowledge; that you couldn’t achieve the right attitude without knowing what you are talking about, and that you couldn’t learn what you needed to know without the right desire, commitment, and passion for what you are doing.

I ended up turning off the audio at this point, not because it was bad (quite the contrary) but because it got me thinking about how Attitude and Knowledge relate to guitar – music in general, really. In order to be “successful” at music/guitar, does it take a combination of both Attitude and Knowledge, or can someone achieve greatness without one or the other?

As I went through my mental Rolodex of all of the bands and players that I liked throughout the history of my music career, more or less every one of them is a very learned scholar. From Holdsworth to McGill to Satriani, all of the players I admire seem to have a very intense and passionate grasp of music theory and the technical aspects of guitar. I’m quite certain this is what has shaped my musical personality to be so pro-music education. It even came to a point in my development where I thought knowledge and proper technique were more important than vibe and feel. (I have since backed off this opinion greatly.)

But all of these great, knowledgeable players also have the right attitude. Attitude in the one sense of being committed to mastering their instruments and the genres they were playing in, but also attitude in the sense of having the balls and ego to go for it and become the guitar giants that they are. You really can’t be timid and shy and achieve the level of success  they have (at least on stage and on CD).

So there it is, right? It takes both attitude and knowledge in order to become truly great at music.

Well… not quite.

Punk rock legend Sid Vicious

As much as I like to pat myself on the back and do the self-congratulation routine for having figured out another one of life’s big mysteries, just as I was about to declare another mental victory, I thought about Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols and jazz guitar great Wes Montgomery. I think it’s safe to say that Vicious wasn’t exactly the most musically intellectual bassist we’ve ever seen or heard. Montgomery, great as he was, couldn’t read music. Both had great ears, obviously, but neither were particularly knowledgeable about the inner-workings of music by any measurable standard. Yes, they were knowledgeable in terms of having a grasp of the music they were playing, but hopefully we can both agree at least on the point that attitude was a much more important measure of their musical personality than knowledge was.

There are, of course, many more examples of great players who didn’t know much at all about the technical aspects of music, theory, or even how to properly tune their guitars (as sacrilegious as that is, don’t get me started), so I don’t think I can just easily dismiss “attitude only” as a legitimate path to success.

Though I think both are important to being a well-rounded musician (and person, to be frank) don’t dismiss one over the other. You can be the most well-educated musician in the world but get no attention because you don’t have the charisma to carry your audience, and you can have the greatest rock tattoos and leather pants in the world but fail to sell a single CD because you always play in F while the rest of your band is playing in E.

Does his playing move you?

I think it’s time to balance out the karmic discordance from my post on Guitar Heroes Just Don’t Get. It was a fun post to make, but hopefully you realize that it was mostly done tongue-in-cheek and my general focus here on Fretterverse is to promote good will and positive vibes among guitarists. Too much trash talking and ego-stroking is not a good thing for us axe slingers.

Throughout history there have been thousands of phenomenal guitar players. It seems like the list gets exponentially longer every day as more youTube videos and guitar blogs appear. But some players have transcended time and become true guitar legends thanks to their contribution as players. Many a guitar conversation has taken place where you were told you must listen to such-and-such because he is such a great guitarist. To not be a sycophant and shout praise for said player from the rooftop is akin to blasphemy and being cast out. So you check that player out, but for whatever reason you just weren’t blown away. You thought they were very good, and you can certainly see why they are hailed as legends, but they didn’t move you as much as you were expecting them to. Ever happen to you?

So with that in mind, today I thought I would take a slightly different approach and talk about some players that are obviously great but for some reason I never really got into them. I certainly listened to them a little bit, and their contribution to the guitar is quite obvious, but I never truly fell in love with them as players.

Let me state up front that this is not intended to imply that I (or you) hate any of these players as the post title suggests. Hey, good title creation is Marketing 101. (Don’t hate the player, hate the game!)

The point is that even though I never really fell in love with the playing of these guys, I still checked them out to see what they were doing and wanted to know why everyone else considered them masters of the guitar. You have to do your research; you can’t just focus on the stuff you like otherwise your blinders will eventually blind you completely.

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

I really hope I don’t need to explain why he’s considered a guitar genius. He pushed the envelope and created sounds with his guitar that had never been heard before. I can only suspect at this point it’s the younger generation of players that may not have heard Hendrix, but they should.

I had a phase of about six months where I listened to Hendrix religiously. Pretty much every day, all day was spent absorbing his playing and trying to get it in my ear. As I did this, however, it seemed more like research than passion. Though I certainly get why he had such a strong impact, his impact was not of my generation. By the time I was old enough to really start to get influenced I had been seduced by the sounds of metal and prog rock.

Kenny Burrell

Kenny Burrell

His CD Midnight Blue is generally accepted as one of the must-have jazz guitar CDs. His playing imprint has been on many recordings, and his influence within the jazz guitar community is quite widespread. And that’s not to mention that he’s still going strong and playing around the world to this day.

Talk to most jazz guitar players and they will list Burrell as either a direct influence or someone of immense talent that has garnered that player’s respect and admiration.

For me, however, Burrell’s playing style just never grabbed me. Now, I fully admit that I have only been a big jazz fan for 7 or 8 years now, so I accept that I just might not be getting him yet due to immature ears, but I’m much more into Montgomery, Bruno, and Bucky. I think, for me, Burrell is a little bit too “inside” of a player and I prefer something a little more aggressive and dirty.

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton

Good old “Slowhand” himself. Clapton has been one of the preeminent figures in blues guitar for several decades. From songs like Layla to Crossroads, Clapton has retained god-like stature for over 40 years. His less-is-more approach garners legions of die-hard fans, and his phrasing is awesome. Tone? Check. Emotion? Covered. Clapton certainly has it all. So why don’t I really dig him that much?

I’m not sure, to be honest. I like the songs Layla and Crossroads, certainly, but I can certainly take a pass on Tears In Heaven. I think perhaps, like Burrell, his playing is just a bit too clean and sanitized for my ears. I apologize if that sounds blasphemous, but it almost seems a bit too spot on and perfect, especially for a blues player.

I haven’t really heard anything from him in a while so perhaps he’s playing a bit differently now. Perhaps?

Tom Morello

Tom Morello

I should start off by saying that I was a huge Rage Against the Machine fan when their debut CD came out. The whole rap/metal thing really spoke to me, as I was at the time also a huge fan of Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, and N.W.A. The riffs were solid, the drumming was grooving, and they had a lyrical message that appealed to my early 20′s angst.

But, the praise Morello would receive for his “innovative” guitar playing didn’t quite capture me the way it did many others at the time. Though he certainly pushed the envelope of our instrument and showed that the guitar could be used to create soundscapes in addition to the traditional notes and chords, it never really caught on with me. I’ve always been something of a plug-and-play guitar to amp guy, never really getting much into effects and guitar “tricks.”

With all of that being said, and with all of the reasons why I am not the hugest fan of these guys, and also completely unlike my previous post on guitar heroes I just don’t get, I wholeheartedly suggest that you dig in (deeply) to these players and try to understand why they have had such a massive impact and influence on the guitar.

Do Your Homework

Your mileage may vary, and you may hate these guys completely or fall in love with them instantly, but either way their mark on guitar music has been indelible and you should absorb the contributions they made. Learn from them. Try to understand how their styles developed. Analyze their approach and see if you can figure out why they play what they play – and when they play it!

You’ll be doing yourself a great disservice if you just dismiss the greats that came before you simply because you don’t like the genre they play in or some other crazy reason. Do your homework and build your foundation stronger.

Guitar Concepts DVD by Joe Dochtermann

Joe Dochtermann, author of one of my new favorite books on audio recording and production, was kind enough to send me his new DVD – Guitar Concepts – which is available for purchase on his website.

It’s always interesting to look at a person’s sophomore effort after hitting such a huge home run. Kind of like wondering what the Phillies were going to do after winning the World Series. (They sort of lived up to our expectations. Damn you, Yankees!)

Going into the review I had very high hopes for the DVD since his book on recording was of such high quality. Because I pride myself on always trying to focus on the basics, the fundamentals, any and every beginner or intermediate guitar method piques my interest.

So, with interest piqued, I dove in to see what Dochtermann had to offer us in the DVD world…

The first thing that struck me was the angle the video was recorded. I have never seen an over-the-shoulder camera perspective before. For the first few moments it seemed weird to me, but then it made perfect sense. It’s pretty much the best angle to see what the teacher is doing. Kudos to Dochtermann right off the bat for figuring this out.

I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a “basic” DVD, however; perhaps an high beginner DVD is the best way to describe it. This probably isn’t the DVD for you if you don’t know how to tune your guitar or hold a pick. Intervals, bending, and 6th dyads are covered right off the bat, so you probably need at least some playing under your belt before tackling the content here.

The Chord Shapes section was very good, especially the extreme close-up shots of the fingering. All of the basic chords are covered here, with the goal being to internalize them and burn the chords into your memory.

Chapter 2 – The Chord Scale Connection spends a lot of time in the major pentatonic world, with plenty of blues bends and feel. It’s apparent that Dochtermann lives in the blues rock world. I probably would have liked this section to specify pentatonics a bit more in the title, as it was slightly misleading to me at first. But, the information is good and easy-to-understand, so I’ll give him a pass.

Arpeggios and more chord progressions are shown in the subsequent sections, which really drive home the connection between chords, scales, melody, and arpeggios. It’s nice to see other guitarists spending time teaching this way; we’re a small minority, after all!

One of the chapters focuses on using the material taught by applying them to famous songs. The instruction is very good here, but I wasn’t too sure about the material; as great of a song Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits is, I don’t know how many young players are going to feel inspired by it. For my generation, yes, but for the younger kids perhaps not. He does, however, redeem himself a bit by teaching some Pink Floyd, which is absolutely timeless and good for all ages. AC/DC is on the fence for me, but it is pretty simple stuff. Dochtermann does a good job, however, of demonstrating and explaining both the rhythm and lead parts, so you get plenty of pointers!

I was pleasantly surprised at the last chapter – Guitar Setups. I have never seen anyone put this information on a DVD. It’s something of the guitar tech’s secret handshake, and most guys don’t really want to give away the information. So, I think it’s great that Dochtermann does share this information with us. For me, since I guess I’m a bit more advanced as a player, I found this section to be the highlight of the material covered.

Overall, I think this is a very good addition to the DVD instruction market, and Doctermann can rest assured that the sophomore curse hasn’t bit him in the butt. Another thing to mention is that each order also comes with the ability to download PDF files for the DVD material.

If you are looking for a somewhat beginner DVD that teaches differently, albeit effectively, then I encourage you to check out Guitar Concepts. Here are a few youTube examples from the DVD. Enjoy!

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?

This magazine issue changed my life forever!

There comes a time in every guitar player’s musical upbringing when they find that one record, that one pivotal piece of music that completely destroys any hope they had of a non-musical future career. It’s that one CD (or LP/cassette in my case)  that is so moving and inspirational that you lose your mind and block out anything and everything that is not guitar-related.

For me, that record has a little bit of a back story. I remember going to the local 7-11 one day to pick up the latest issue of Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine. Back in the day, this was the magazine to buy. If I remember correctly, Guitar and Guitar World were the only two magazines for guitar out. (I could be wrong about that.) So, I picked up the March 1986 issue and started pouring through the pages. At the time my favorite section was the transcription area. I wasn’t that great at reading music yet, and certainly my ear wasn’t developed.

Perusing the transcriptions, however, led me to a then little-known song by a Swedish guitar player named Yngwie J. Malmsteen. (According to Spinal Tap, the “J” was to separate him from all of the other Yngwie Malmsteen’s out there in the world.)

The song was called “Black Star.”

Now, I have to be honest. The reason why the song intrigued me was the sheer volume of notes splashed all over the page. How could someone possibly play that fast? I had never seen anything like that before. I tried to play a few of the runs and was flabbergasted! I simply had to find out more.

Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force

So I ran out to the music store and found a cassette of Malmsteen’s first solo record. I didn’t have a good idea of what to expect, I just knew that there were a lot of notes and Malmsteen looked pretty cool on the magazine cover. To say that I certainly wasn’t expecting my life to change forever is an understatement.

I’m quite sure that most of you Fretheads have heard at least one Malmsteen song or seen him on youTube, so you know what I’m talking about. But you have to remember that back in 1986 there was absolutely nothing like him out there. He was literally all alone and blazing his own trail.

His music almost seems tame by today’s standards, but back then it was truly innovative and original. His neo-classical influence spread like wildfire, and without his contribution to guitar music we would not have many of the shredders and great players we have today.

I will forever be indebted to Yngwie for his Rising Force album, and to Guitar magazine for running the article and transcription. Without those two pivotal events in my musical upbringing I don’t know where I would be musically right now.

How about you Fretheads? What was the first guitar record that blew you away?

Zakk Wylde. Oy vey!

It’s Controversy Friday, everyone! Soon to be a national holiday (with paid days off, BBQ’s, and lots of bikini-clad women). Every once in a while ya gotta stir the pot a little and make sure all of the spicy ingredients that add some kick to the recipe don’t just sit at the bottom. They need to be mixed in real well to add flavor to the entire recipe.

Well, today I decided to stir the pot a little. Mostly just to provide a little tongue-and-cheek relief. But, also, because I feel that in order to have a successful blog – which I certainly hope to have someday – sometimes you have to hit below the belt, throw sand in the eyes, and talk about someone’s momma. I absolutely love talking about motivation and some of the more technical aspects of music that don’t get covered very often, not to mention steering clear of the trash-talking we guitar players love to do, but the little dude with the pitchfork sitting on my other shoulder and whispering in my ear is getting a bit impatient.

Since I’ve never been good at momma jokes I decided to talk about the next best thing: guitar heroes that I just don’t like; people who are ridiculously famous and I just don’t understand why people think they are great players.

And so, in the spirit of some lighthearted Friday entertainment, I give you a short list of guitar heroes I just don’t “get.”

Zakk Wylde

I’m not giving out trophies, but first place definitely goes to Jersey boy Zakk Wylde. The ex-Ozzy, current Black Label Society guitarist has been hailed as a guitar god for over a decade now, but for the life of me I don’t know why. I’ll give him a little credit, he occasionally does write some pretty good guitar riffs, but his overall approach to soloing and tone is just awful. The typical pentatonic bullshit “shredding” (if you can even call it that) just makes me nauseous. I don’t know if it’s the whole rock-n-roll attitude that turns people on, but the whole beer-swilling, badass biker image screams of 17-year old wannabe angst. (And let’s not forget that the dude’s stage name is friggin’ “Zakk Wylde.” I mean, seriously?)

Jack White

Jack White

The White Stripes were a very crappy band that, for some inexplicable reason, became very successful. Moreover, in the last few months he has been on the cover of guitar magazines and is even featured on “It Might Get Loud,” a DVD project with White, Jimmy Page, and The Edge, where the advertising makes him out to be a “guitar god.”

Um… what? A guitar god? I can’t think of one person I’ve ever met that has been even remotely inspired by Jack White’s guitar playing. I understand that magazines and marketing companies need to hype the product for sales, but give me a break!

Sorry, folks, I just don’t see it. Jack White has done absolutely nothing to advance the guitar.

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

The Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

The Mars Volta. Regarded as one of the best progressive rock bands out there. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, regarded as one of the most forward-thinking and progressive guitarists out there.

What?

Slap a crapload of effects on your signal, play noise for 33 minutes straight and call it a song. Talk a whole lot about gear and how picky you are so everyone thinks you are a highly-sophisticated gear junkie.

Ugh. Another guy I just don’t get.

Someone will have to explain why he and The Mars Volta are so popular, and why Rodriguez-Lopez is considered so innovative. Anyone can add a bunch of effects to their playing…

Don’t Get Crazy Now

As I said in the beginning, this is mostly tongue-and-cheek. It’s not meant to insult anyone personally or their tastes in music. These are some guys I just can’t wrap my head around. Your mileage may vary. My mileage says that I simply can’t fathom why they are considered guitar heroes. Maybe you all can help me out and shed some light on the situation.

Take a look at the picture on the left and you’ll understand why I have the utmost respect for people who put their lives on the line to protect others; people they don’t even know. (I also feel this way about law enforcement, firefighters, EMT personnel, and teachers.) A lot of military and LEO come through my dojo doors and I consider it an honor to train with them.

Yesterday, I came across a news program on TV that featured an organization called Guitars for Vets. Their tag line is “The healing power of music in the hands of heroes.”

Back in 2007, founder Patrick Nettesheim had an epiphany about how playing guitar helped ease some of his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which manifested itself as a result of his time in Vietnam. This led him to wonder if playing guitar could help with PTSD found in other soldiers.

It did.

I’ve written a lot about how music can inspire and keep you focused and motivated, but I don’t think I’ve really ever written about the true healing power of music. No matter how many words I could write on the subject, however, I could never do a better job than what Guitars for Vets are actually doing. As powerful as words can be, actions most certainly speak louder.

I strongly encourage you to see what Guitars for Vets and other organizations are doing, and hopefully you will be inspired to get up and do something. I know they accept donations of guitars to give to vets. Please consider helping however you can – even helping by simply spreading the word would do wonders.

Composite Acoustic Guitar

I think it’s safe to say that there is a stigma attached to non-wooden guitars. Although technology wasn’t ready until recently for an innovation in acoustic guitar design, even if the technology was there 20 years ago the hearts and minds of the people were even less ready. Simply put, acoustic guitars absolutely had to be made of wood; no compromises.

We gave ourselves a little bit more leeway when it came to solidbody electrics. I think Parker helped us to overcome those reservations. But for acoustic guitar it has always been wood, wood, wood.

Well, I’m here to tell y’all that wooden acoustic guitars are no longer the be-all end-all. Yep, I done said it, there’s something better out there. I’ve heard it, I’ve played it, and I want it. I’m talking about a composite guitar.

My friend Scott and I took a trip up to Mandolin Bros. in New York a few months ago. We had never been there and decided to go just to check it out and drool over all of the great guitars they had for sale. We walked around for a while, and as we were just about finished and ready to head out we noticed a few painted acoustic guitars in the corner. On a whim I picked one of them up and started playing.

I’ll probably be losing my Political Correctness blogging award for saying this, but: INSTANT BONER!

(Sorry, Barb!)

Yeah, I was completely floored by how amazing this guitar sounded. I have never, ever played a guitar as responsive. (I was playing one of the Composite Acoustic guitars.) With every chord I played, I could feel the air pulsing through the guitar’s body. I have never felt that before, and it’s the first time that I felt organically connected to a guitar I was playing. I truly felt as if the guitar and I were working together. I had always thought that feeling was just a myth perpetrated on us stupid players by famous people.

I really didn’t want to put it down. I eventually handed it over to Scott and his reaction was similar to mine (though I don’t want to speculate on his erection status).

The CA acoustic instantly went on my “must-buy” GAS list. Great sounding guitar, great feel, played and looked amazing, and I never have to worry about humidity, heat, or getting the neck adjusted. The only thing I’d ever have to worry about would be fret wear!

After putting that one down I checked out a RainSong graphite guitar. This guitar was also very nice, but it didn’t quite resonate with me as much as the CA (pun slightly intended). Don’t get me wrong, it was very nice, but the CA just spoke to me right away – kismet.

I know there are a few other composite material guitar companies out there, I just haven’t had any experience with them yet. But I’m hear to tell you that the days of an acoustic guitar having to be made of wood are very much over. If you are in the market for a nice acoustic guitar that could literally survive WWIII, then I strongly suggest you check out a composite guitar. I know Sam Ash is now selling some models from CA, so I’m sure you can find one to check out.

Don’t walk, RUN!