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July 2012

Episode 083 ~ Generation Gap
July 29, 2012

This week’s segments will include the Intro,
2 students made it into the Student Spotlight.
The Question of the Week is postponed until next week.
News is about the Guitar Player Editors’ Pick award recipient
and Take Note is about guitartechniquetutor.com website
and Guitar Technique Tutor podcast changes.
The show is brought to you
by RaptorPicksUSA.Com

Intro

How was your week?

Here, we were dealing with crazy weather!
Torrential rain and hail, then beastly heat,
then storms again. It was wild.
Students are shifting into and out of my schedule
because of summer vacations.
I want to say, “Hi,” to Bridget who is on vacation now
but who will begin lessons in a little over a week.
She is the daughter of a former student. I’m not kidding.
I taught her mom 15 years ago
while she was pregnant with Bridget’s older brother.
Her mom stayed busy raising Bridget and her 3 siblings
and never had time to return to the guitar.
I was so delightfully surprised when Sharon called me.
It was a happy reunion and I’m looking forward
to us beginning lessons next week.
I also want to say, “Hi,” to Mike
who called about guitar lessons a few days ago.
He lives across the street from my elementary school
and we have a consultation scheduled
after Arno’s lesson on Wednesday evening.
Mike, I’m looking forward to meeting you
and if we decide to go ahead with lessons,
I will gladly accompany you to purchase a guitar.

While Bridget’s family is at the beach,
or as we in NJ say, “down the shore,”
I took her mother’s guitar with me after our consultation.
I put a fresh set of DRs on it and replaced the end pin,
which came out over the past 15 years.
It’s all ready for her and I’ll drop it off
next Monday, when the family is back from vacation.

So the Olympics began Friday. Go Team USA!!
I hope all the athletes remain healthy, uninjured
and safe for the entirety of the games.
I also hope the extraordinary work and accomplishment
of all the athletes remains untarnished by any dopers
or any other variety of rule breakers. That’s always sad.

In addition to changing the 15 year old
strings on Bridget’s mom’s guitar,
I put fresh DRs on my guitars.
I’m in audio heaven with all the guitars
in our apartment sounding beautiful.

If you haven’t been able to see the Les Paul
in Mahwah exhibit at the Mahwah Museum in Mahwah, NJ,
you won’t be able to visit until it reopens in September.
But at that time, if you’re traveling to NJ, NY, CT, PA
or any other nearby locale, consider visiting
the Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit
at the Mahwah Museum in Mahwah, NJ.
It’s amazing and inspiring.
All the details are available at the Mahwah Museum web site.

Of course, on the topic of Les Paul,
don’t forget that you can reserve your copy of
Thank You, Les the Documentary and album
put together as a tribute to Les Paul.
As I mentioned last week, Joni was nice enough
to send me a sneak hear of the CD.
The roster of artists and the music is fabulous.
Mine is reserved.

And kudos to the Mahwah Museum
for sending my friend Tina of Tinaspicks.com
a pick for her collection.
She’s over the moon about it and is so appreciative and so am I.
By the way, Tina has a donate button on her web site.
You have to really look for it.
I think it’s navigable the “And Finally” button.
Take a look and if you’d like to spread the love,
I know Tina has a need that a little bit of cash
from her Twitter friends and web site fans can alleviate.
I’m not a hypocrite - I was the first contributor.
Hi Tina! See you online.

Don’t leave your axe in the car for even 10 minutes
during hot or cold weather -
or even if it’s temperate but the sun is shining.
It can mean expensive repairs or worse.

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Here are 4 descriptions of genuine Raptor™
“R” Series guitar picks with which I wholeheartedly agree:

"Tools for the Creative”
From the moment you pick up the Raptor™ "R" Series
it's obvious a great deal of thought has gone into its design
and from the second you touch a string
you can both feel and hear the difference
between a Raptor and other picks you’ve tried.

“Beautiful and Tactile”
Genuine “R” Series Raptors™
have three carefully sculpted picking tips.
They’ve been created using the same sophisticated
design and modeling techniques employed
to produce formula one racing cars
and the result of this design effort means
they’ve been able to take the humble pick
to a completely new level of performance.

“Absolutely Amazing”
Each picking tip forms complex curves
designed to glide effortlessly over your guitars strings.
Raptors produce clean tones with almost imperceptible attack
that range from that of the brightest thinnest pick
through to the warm rich tones
normally associated with much thicker picks.

"The Pursuit of Excellence”
All genuine “R” Series Raptor™ picks
are subject to very strict quality control procedures.
Each "R" Series plectrum is precision molded
from high grade Acrylic, then individually printed
and inspected to ensure it meets their high standards
prior to leaving their UK based factory.

Like and follow Raptor Picks USA
on Facebook and Twitter.
Liking the FaceBook page will enter you
into a drawing for a free Raptor in September.
Tell your guitarist friends, too.

Visit RaptorPicksUSA.Com to see and hear
the incomparable Raptor pick.
Free Raptors with every order of 4 picks or more
is just another way of “spreading the excellence one guitarist at a time.”
Like and Follow Raptor Picks USA on FaceBook and Twitter.

Raptor™ picks are a registered design all rights are owned by Black Carbon.

Links

DR Strings
Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit at the Mahwah Museum
Reserve your copy of Thank You, Les
Raptor Picks USA - genuine Raptor picks
Raptor Picks USA on Facebook
Raptor Picks USA on Twitter
TinasPicks.Com

Student Spotlight

In the warm glow of the Student Spotlight this week
Lani AGAIN and Mike.
Lani did very well but I sense that she’s
sliding back into old habits.
It will be interesting to see if I’m reading it correctly or not.
Lani: don’t neglect your practice.
You just have to manage your time.
I know you can do it.

Mike: Dude, for a guy who almost never gets to practice
- you play amazingly well.
I know you have a photographic memory
and you’re brain isn’t too bad either - but still
you did extraordinarily. Amazing, really.

Students: there’s plenty of room in the Spotlight.
Let’s see what this week will hold.

Question of the Week

There is no Question of the Week this week.
Nothing came in by email
that I haven’t addressed recently
and I had a small student schedule
and none of my students had any questions
that rose to the level of addressing them here.

Email Me if you'd like to submit a Question of the Week or suggest an additional segment topic.
If I use one you submit, I'll send you a Guitar Technique Tutor pick.

Links

News

In the news this week is
Guitar Player Gives Epiphone DR-212 Editor’s Pick Award
Congratulations everybody at Epiphone!

Be sure to check out the
September 2012 issue of Guitar Player.
On page 94, Art Thompson reviews the
Epiphone DR-212 acoustic.

Here’s some info on this affordable 12-string;
DR-212 By affordable, I mean well about $170.
The DR-212 is a true 12-string acoustic guitar
with the big sound and fine engineering you expect from Epiphone.
The DR-212 is not just a dreadnought with 6 extra strings.
They designed the DR-212 to take the stress of
extra strings and not just support the Spruce top
but provide the proper bracing so what you hear is
a balanced, cutting, and attention-getting tone.
The 12-string dreadnought has often been thought of
as the classic-go to guitar for blues, folk, rock, country
and everything in-between.

Epiphone knows you want your 12-string
acoustic guitar tone to be distinctive and f
or your instrument to not come unglued.
A lot of 12-string guitar makers expect you
to be satisfied with an ‘ok’ sound
hoping that the novelty of having a 12-string
will detract from the fact it sounds thin.

The DR-212 is the only classic 12-string dreadnought
that comes with a Limited Lifetime Guarantee
and Gibson 24/7/365 customer service
along with the experience of a century of guitar making.
Start with the best. Make a statement.

SPECIFICATIONS
Body: mahogany,
Top: Select Spruce, Neck: mahogany,
Nut width: 1.75, Scale: 1.68”,
Fretboard: rosewood with dot inlay,
Hardware: Nickel, Color: Natural (NA)

Visit Guitar Player on-line to read the article when it’s published.

Links

Guitar Player Magazine
Guitar Players Editors' Pick
Epiphone DR-212

Take Note

My take note topic this week
is my annual summer web site overhaul.
If you have been with me since the very beginning,
when I just had news of the week in a side ba
r on the guitartechniquetutor.com home page,
you’ve seen the site evolve from
neon yellow, neon green, dusty blue and red
with a stylized guitar logo,
to the same site but with colors toned down
to red and black. I liked that red and black so kept it
when I changed all the plain rectangular buttons
to rectangular buttons with
color changing guitars last summer.

Last summer I was fortunate enough to have been given
-- yes, I said given, my iMac.
It was a couple years old but after the drive was scrubbed,
it was a virtually new computer for me.
But, I had software cataclysms. Because my OS was upgraded
my web design software, my photoshop and
other software I need to use had to be replaced
and they were so different from the older versions I was using,
I lost a few weeks adjusting to the new applications.

Then there was the change of podcast name on iTunes
- that’s why iTunes only has only 36 episodes
(excluding this one when it goes live).
During August, I hope to - and that’s as committed as
I can be about it - do a little web site housekeeping.
2010 and 2011 podcasts will be archived as .mp3 files only.
There’s no need for the pages and pages of show notes
that were published with those shows,
so I will pare down
the sheer volume of pages for the site.
I don’t know how much extra time it may take
to re-syndicate those shows to iTunes and FeedBurner.
If you’re very interested in me doing so,
please drop me an email or dm me on twitter.
I’m on the fence and I need to get it done during August.
All things being equal,
I should be able to accomplish it,
but today, E-Rex was not himself and we’re
closing down on him having to begin his radiation.
Things will be fluid once September arrives.

So, 2012 podcasts will remain available
with their intact show notes.
Pre-2012 podcasts will be available solely as .mp3s

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Once in a great while, something comes along
that's literally revolutionary.
The Raptor™ R Series guitar pick is just such a creation.
It affords its user a sublime quartet of sounds
which can be summoned with a mere rotation
of the brilliantly designed Raptor™ pick.
Not only is it a beautifully executed, ingenious idea,
but the first experience of playing with it
is almost impossible to describe because
it’s so different from anything you’ve ever employed.

Get past the unusual feel of the Raptor™ guitar pick
and the door to faster, cleaner and
more creative playing swings wide open.
Your grip will be sure. Your attack will be silent.
Your projection will be enhanced.
Add to that the technology that enables the pick
to glide over your strings, rather than bluntly striking them
and the genuine Raptor™ “R” Series pick
stands alone as an asset to every guitarist who uses one.

Seasoned pro?
This pick allows for more subtle differences of expression
because of the variety of timbres it produces.

Intermediate recreational guitarist?
Improve your sound by upgrading your pick.

Rank beginner?
Prime your creativity right from the outset.

Like and follow Raptor Picks USA on Facebook and Twitter.
Liking the FaceBook page will enter you into
a drawing for a free Raptor in September.
Tell your guitarist friends, too.

Genuine Raptor™ “R”Series guitar picks
are available at RaptorPicksUSA.com.
Free Raptors with a purchase of
4 or more is just another way of
“spreading the excellence, one guitarist at a time.”
Raptor™ picks are a registered design.
All rights are owned by Black Carbon.

Outro

Don’t forget to keep your guitar
in an environment in which you’re comfortable:
not too dry, definitely not hotter than you’d be comfortable
and be sure it’s humidified if you have the A/C on.
You’ll only hear me say this a few times:
Do Not go to the Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit
at the Mahwah Museum in Mahwah, NJ
during the month of August because the exhibit will not be open.
Making plans for September is another story.
Check out Tinaspicks.com and
spread the love if you’re so inclined.
She’ll will appreciate it.

Yeah, I’m really going to teach a second generation. Wow.
Excellent work Lani and Mike.
Lani, don’t disappoint me next week.
Keep managing your time well.

Congrats to Epiphone for your DR-212
being awarded the Guitar Player Editor’s Pick Award.
GuitarTechniqueTutor.com will have some
podcast page modifications during August, I hope.
All audio files will remain available but show notes
from 2010 and 2011 will be disappearing.
I may get the earlier 47 episodes
back up on iTunes and FeedBurner
if it isn’t too time consuming.

signiture

Subscribe to this podcast or the show notes or both.

Yes, there are some lesson times available in my schecule.

Contact me if you're in the towns where I teach and your schedule is flexible.

Spread the excellence and suggest other guitarists listen!

recorded July 29, 2012

Email Me if you'd like to submit a Question of the Week or suggest an additional segment topic

Episode 082 ~ Do You C?
July 23, 2012

This week’s segments will include the Intro,
The Student Spotlight which is shining on two students,
The Question of the week is about
parentheses in music,
The News is a Save-The-Date
reminder for Experience PRS 2012 ,
Take Note is about how important
the shape of your left hand is,
and of course, the Outro.
The show is brought to you
by RaptorPicksUSA.Com

Intro

How was your week?
Our friend Gerry, Dot’s widower
wanted to go to the beach.
Here’s where I have to say to you non-New Jerseyans
that we in NJ use the colloquial term “down the shore”
when the rest of the world says “to the beach.”
He invited us to join him so we said sure.
We like the shore but don’t go too frequently.
Of course Gerry chose 100 degree day.
Wow, it was hot.
Aside from the blistering heat,
it was a good change of pace.
We’ll go down the shore with him
whenever he asks this summer.
I just hope there won’t be more 100 degree times.

My student Shira came home for 2 days
between the weeks she just spent in Israel
and departing for camp today.
Before she took off to Israel,
I promised to lend her my old Tuff Touch.

I just did a quick search and these are no longer being sold.
Shira seems so surprised that I would allow her
to take mine to camp with her. I hope she will use it.
If you don’t know what a Tuff Touch is,
it’s a plastic molded replica of
the 5th - 9th fret of a guitar neck, strings and all.
Shira isn’t taking her guitar but doesn’t want to lose her calluses
- and that’s precisely what it’s for.
I got my Tuff Touch when I was a very young guitarist.
I’d use it on long car rides to maintain my calluses
and work on unusual fingerings (before I was old enough to drive.)
It wasn’t perfect but it was sure better than nothing.
Shira, I hope you’re going to actually set aside
some time to USE the Tuff Touch!
That’s why I’m lending it to you.
I’ll be looking forward to you returning from camp
and resuming lessons.

If you’re traveling to NJ, NY, CT, PA or any other nearby locale,
consider making to the Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit
at the Mahwah Museum in Mahwah, NJ.
During July, the exhibit is open on Sunday from 1 - 5 PM.
It’s amazing and inspiring.
And don’t forget that you can reserve time to play
one of Les Paul’s guitars with one of his amps
. All the details are available at the Mahwah Museum web site.

Well, it was inevitable… my DRs need replacing.
Now, my guitars are painful to hear.
Since I love my Raptor picks so much and can’t stop playing with them,
I’ll change my strings this week.
If you have never used DR Strings on your guitar or bass,
they’re incomparable. Give them a try.

Don’t leave your axe in the car for even 10 minutes
during hot or cold weather -
or even if it’s temperate but the sun is shining.
It can mean expensive repairs or worse.

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

From the moment you pick up the Raptor™ "R" Series
it's obvious a great deal of thought
has gone into its design
and from the second you touch a string
you can both feel and hear the difference between a
Raptor and other picks you’ve tried.

The phrases that have been used
to describe these picks are:
"Tool for the Creative,” “Beautiful and Tactile,”
“Absolutely Amazing” and my favorite,
"The Pursuit of Excellence”

Raptors have three carefully sculpted lobes.
They’ve been created using the same
sophisticated design and modeling techniques
employed to produce formula one racing cars
and the result of this design effort means
they’ve been able to take the humble pick
to a completely new level of performance.

Each lobe forms complex curves
designed to glide effortlessly over your guitars strings.
Raptors produce clean tones with
almost imperceptible attack that range from
that of the brightest thinnest pick
through to the warm rich tones normally associated
with much thicker picks.

They decided from the outset that all Raptor™ picks
would be subject to very strict quality control procedures.
Each "R" Series plectrum is precision molded
from high grade Acrylic, then individually printed
and inspected to ensure it meets their high standards
prior to leaving their UK based factory.

This extraordinary tool for the discriminating guitarist
who strives for excellence is now available in the US.
Visit RaptorPicksUSA.Com to see and hear
the incomparable Raptor pick.
Free Raptors with every order of 4 picks or more
is just another way of “spreading the excellence one guitarist at a time.”
Like and Follow Raptor Picks USA on FaceBook and Twitter.

Raptor™ picks are a registered design all rights are owned by Black Carbon.

Links

DR Strings
Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit at the Mahwah Museum
Reserve your copy of Thank You, Les
Reserve Performance Time on Les Paul's Guitar
Raptor Picks USA - genuine Raptor picks
Raptor Picks USA on Facebook
Raptor Picks USA on Twitter

Student Spotlight

In the warm glow of the Student Spotlight this week
are Andy and Lani
Andy, for the 2nd time in a row
and Lani, for the 1st time in quite a while.
Yay! You both did excellently.
Andy, I know I saw you
just before you were taking off for a while.
You’re really on a roll and I hope you’ll continue progressing.
Can’t wait to see you
when you return from your extended vacation.

Lani, I could tell that you were motivated
by possibly being in the Spotlight this week
because it has been a long time since you were.
Well, the work paid off, didn’t it?
I hope you’ll continue to be conscientious with
your practice during the summer. Great work!

Just a memo to my students wha are away:
If you have your guitar with you - and that’s about half of you,
practice as though you were seeing me on your usual lesson day
and when that day comes,
assess whether you think I would put you in the Student Spotlight or not.
If not, you know what you need to do.
If so, consider yourself an honorary Spotlight sharer.

Question of the Week

"This week's question from an email from Catie.
"What does it mean if there ’s a note
in parenthesis in my music?
That the note is optional?"

Good question with a few answers, Catie.

You didn’t specify what kind of music you’re playing
so let me give you a range of answers.
The most commonly seen parenthetic notes
are the notes that only appear in a particular verse of lyric
s and for another verse, there are no words or syllables.
In that case the unnecessary note or notes
that lack corresponding words or syllables,
are enclose with parentheses.
Although this is the opposite of what Catie asked,
when the reverse is true: that there are additional notes
and corresponding words or syllables after the 1st verse,
those additional notes are usually written extremely small.

Yes, I know that most guitarists
play the guitar part and not the vocal line of songs,
but when my beginners are not yet sufficiently equipped
to play the guitar part of songs they like,
I often have them work on the melody line.
This could be the case with Catie.
What the songs lack in harmony is made up for
by the complexity of their rhythms.

Parentheses are also used on bend notes.
Some publishers use them to enclose the fretted noted
instead of a small note, when a bend is required.
Other publishers use parentheses for the destination pitch,
rather than the fretted note of a bend.
Then, sometimes you’ll see parentheses around
a couple notes of a chord.
I’m thinking of a circumstance in the notation of
Stairway to Heaven, about a half page before the solo,
in which a phrase that has been played several times before,
is fleshed out with a some extra notes.
Sometimes, if those notes are in parenthesis,
the notes are played by another guitarist.
Other times, it’s truly optional or
just an alternate rendering of the music.
If the publisher is aware that there is a disparity
between early recordings and a live version,
they may give you an option.

I’m sorry I can’t be more specific,
but there are a lot of possibilities
AND you didn’t give me a concrete example.
Please, Catie, if you’d like to follow up
with a more clarifying email, I’ll answer more clearly.

That was a good question

Email Me if you'd like to submit a Question of the Week or suggest an additional segment topic.
If I use one you submit, I'll send you a Guitar Technique Tutor pick.

Links

News

In the news this week is the Experience PRS 2012
dates and details. PRS Signature club members
are acquainted with this yearly happening,
but for the uninitiated, I mention it
a time or 2 during the summer.
The Paul Reid Smith guitar factory
opens its doors for factory tours,
clinics throughout the days,
and what would an event like that be without some food?
Compliementary bottled water, soda and coffee will be provided,
but food and beer are for purchase.

You Signature Club members
who attend the members only event on Thursday night
will be treated to a light fare dinner at no cost.

When and Where

September 14th and 15th, 2012
(Signature Club Event - Sept 13th)
Location: PRS Guitars Factory
380 Log Canoe Circle in Stevensville, MD 21666

Registration is now open
When you arrive on event day,
you will need to check in at the registration tent
upon arriving at PRS to pickup your credentials.
You MUST wear your credentials at all times during the event.

Signature Club Member Exclusive:
Badge pickup will be open to registered Signature Club Members only
beginning on Thursday 4:00pm – 6:00pm.

Hotel Information

If you are in need of a hotel room,
you may contact one of the hotels listed below.
Availability is limited. All guests are responsible for
making and managing their individual hotel reservations this year

O’Callaghan Hotel
174 West Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tel: 410.263.7700
Rate: $165/night plus tax

Reservation Instructions:
Contact the reservations department
on 1-866-782-9624
Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
and reference the PRS Experience.
www.ocallaghanhotels-us.com
on the booking page under SpecialRates -
select Group Block Rate – and type in PRS2012.

Hilton Garden Inn Annapolis
305 Harry S. Truman Parkway
Annapolis, MD 21409
Tel: 410.266.9006

Rates:
King Evolution Room at $139.00
Queen/Queen Bed Evolution Room at $139.00
Includes Complimentary Wireless / Wired Internet Access,
Free Parking and access
to their 24 hour workout facility and business center

Reserve your room http://www.annapolis.hgi.com

Enter “Group/Convention Code”: GUITAR
Select room type, and enter requested information
Or call a reservation specialist at
1-877-881-2683
(Ask for the “PRS Guitars 2012” Group rate,
and give them the group code)

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Historic Annapolis
2451 Riva Road
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tel: 410.224.4317

Rates:
Queen/Queen Room at $169/night
Includes complimentary hot breakfast bar,
free high-speed Internet access
and a 24-hour business center and fitness center.

Reservations by phone: Group Code: PRS

This is an awesome event.
It's a perfect early autumn weekend
road trip for PRS lovers and
guitarists who appreciate PRS's
masterful design aesthetic.

Links

PRS Guitars
O'Callahan Hotel
Hilton Garden Inn Ananpolis
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Annapolis

Take Note

My take note topic this week
is one that I have mentioned a few times
since this podcast began.
It has manifested a few different ways.
It seems that with ever few new students,
I have to cover it again.
I imagine my new students are
a fair representation of guitarists,
so it’s time to bring up left hand/arm technique AGAIN.
I am currently working with a new student
who is a lefty and who has a few form problems
from before we began working together.
The lefty part is a benefit because this student
has their dominant hand on the neck,
which is great as far as dexterity and strength go,
but dexterity and strength without a good wrist angle
don’t get you very far.
In the case of this student, they found it very difficult
to separate the larger knuckles
of their index and middle fingers on the left hand.
I haven’t come across that issue for a while
and decided to bring it up again in the podcast
because it is a recurring
and besetting manifestation with many beginners.

It’s that pesky wrist position again!
Hey listeners: the shape of your left hand
and the angle of the left wrist have everything to do
with whether you will achieve separation needed
to keep your fingers over the frets they need to play
(as opposed to moving your left hand over the fingerboard
to play a different finger in the same position [or set of 4-5 frets])

I know you long time listeners are tired of hearing this,
if you’re already using proper form when you play,
but I know there are some listeners
who have crummy form when they play.
So, here we go again:

Your left hand should be somewhat shaped like the letter C,
except that the very tip of your thumb
should not touch the neck and the joint of your thumb
should not bend inward but rather
it should sort of lock with your thumb tip straight
or in my case & the case of anyone who has played a long time,
with your thumb tip pointing away from the neck.
This totally un-natural grip is what is necessary
to push your left wrist out in front of the neck,
rather than beneath it and that will get
your elbow out of your side, which will give you
more efficient attack in whatever position you’re playing.
It will also cause your left hand to be that modified C shape.
Yes, I know it’s weird.
Yes I know it will stress the muscles and tendons
that run over the top of your left hand.
Yes I know you may not maintain that hand position as a rule,
but you should.
Your thumb should move around the back of the neck,
but not to the abandonment of that modified C shape.
Yes the shape will change a little but not much.
This aspect of proper form which yields the best playing technique
is what I most often find lacking in self-taught or poorly taught guitarists.
Trust me, if you’re strangling the guitar neck
with your palm on the neck and your fingers close together,
it will impede your progress later.
The sooner you correct it,
the sooner it will cease to be your besetting obstacle.

To capsulize: left hand shaped like a C
but with your thumb straight or locked
so the tip points away from the neck of the guitar
but the joint is making good contact with it.
Wrist slightly in front of the neck, not beneath it.
Elbow away from your waist.
Adopt these elements of correct playing form
and you will find that some of the challenges you encounter
will lessen or disappear.

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Once in a great while, something comes along
that's literally revolutionary.
The Raptor™ R Series guitar pick is just such a creation.
It affords its user a sublime quartet of sounds
which can be summoned with a mere rotation
of the brilliantly designed Raptor™ pick.
Not only is it a beautifully executed, ingenious idea,
but the first experience of playing with it
is hard to describe - in a good way.

Unless you already play with some kind of "alternative" pick,
the first thing you'll notice is that the body of the pick
is a combination of raised and depressed areas,
unlike a traditional flat or thumb pick,
both of which have basically flat grip surfaces.
If you're prone to losing grip on your pick or
if your hands sweat a bit
and your pick shifts around as you play, the Raptor™won't.
Its raised and flat area combined with the
irregular shapes of its perimeter
will prevent unelected pick shifting.

If your thing is speedy chops, you probably like
a small or traditional size very pointy pick.
The Raptor™ is slightly larger than a standard pick,
and I really mean slightly.

The smallest Raptor™ tip is precisely beveled
and shaped for speed and accuracy.
I refer to the beveling as spear-like,
just what's needed for lightening fast licks,
sweet picking, shredding and clean, declarative playing alike.
This narrow acrylic tip offers great projection
and power for acoustic players as well as electric guitarists.

Players who are not speed obsessed will appreciate
the Raptor™ pick's middle size tip.
By design, it isn't pointy.
This tip has the same "spear-like" beveling,
and offers all the power and projection of the pointy tip,
but the comparatively rounder picking edge
warms up the sound of everything played with it.
The best way I can describe the difference
in the sound of the 2 already-mentioned tips
is like the difference between playing an open string and
its first closed unison pitch.
(ie: 1st string open vs 2nd string 5th fret -
assuming traditional tuning and your guitar is in tune.)
It's subtle, but offers a guitarist the opportunity
to slightly alter the sound of repetitive passages
with the rotation of thier plectrum.
So cool!
Add a little variation of where on the string you're playing
and you have numerous timbre possibilities.

What about that bulbous tip?
Think about the fattest and phattest,
hollow-body jazz guitar music you're ever heard.
Or, think about the warm harp-like tones of a well aged
and well played, hand made classical guitar.
The unifying word I come up with is round.
Round? Yes, round and bell-like tones are the result
of such an unusual shaped pick tip.
This tip has the same spear-like bevel for great string attack.
Rich, silky, satin for the ears,
is the sound attainable with the third voluptuous tip.

So, there they are, the 3 playing tips, where's the 4th sound?
Look carefully at the voluptuous tip.
Notice a little notch cut out on one side.
Although if it were just ornamentation,
this extraordinary pick would be worth it's weight in gold,
but it is not just ornamentation.
That notch is probably the most innovative aspect
of this revolutionary pick design.
It's perfect for pinch harmonics!
A traditional pick requires some kind of thumb
or hand rotation to achieve a good pinch harmonic.
This notch is the perfect space in which
the pad of your thumb can lay to enable you to play
pinch harmonics easily and without any contortions.
You can also use it to pop a string,
if popping is part of your usual articulations.

Raptor™ picks:
the guitar pick of the 21st century
that will revolutionize your playing
and enable you to play more creatively.
A New Look • A New Feel • A New Shape
Many Sounds

Great for an all around or specialty pick in your pick arsenal.
Without question, a unique gift
that will impress the hardest to please guitarist in your life.
The pick that will change everyone’s playing,
from rank beginner to seasoned pro.

Now, are you ready to sound better
and have your creative juices primed?
This extraordinary tool for the discriminating guitarist
who strives for excellence is now available in the US.
Visit RaptorPicksUSA.Com to see and hear
the incomparable Raptor pick.
Free Raptors with every order of 4 picks or more
is just another way of “spreading the excellence one guitarist at a time.”
Like and Follow Raptor Picks USA on FaceBook and Twitter.

Raptor™ picks are a registered design all rights are owned by Black Carbon.

Outro

So, don’t’ miss the Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit
at the Mahwah Museum in Mahwah NJ.
The exhibit extension is GREAT news!
For the month of July
it’s open from 1 to 5 on Sundays only.

Make sure your guitar is humidified if it’s dry
from air conditioning or the general environment.
Make sure you tune your strings down a whole step
if you’re leaving your guitar home.
Don't leave your guitar in a closed car if the sun is out.

Reserver your copy of Thank You, Les.
Based on my sneak hear, t’s going to be fabulous.
Shira, I hope you’ll use my Tuff Touch and not lose it at camp.
Congrats Andy and Lani. You rock.
Parentheses can have various meanings in your music.
If you’re playing from a book, see if there is a symbol legend.
Save the date and make your reservations
for Experience PRS September 13 - 15.
Don’t let poor left hand prevent you from playing well and advancing.
Try a Raptor™ pick!

signiture

Subscribe to this podcast or the show notes or both.

Yes, there are some lesson times available in my schecule.

Contact me if you're in the towns where I teach and your schedule is flexible.

Spread the excellence and suggest other guitarists listen!

recorded July 23, 2012

Email Me if you'd like to submit a Question of the Week or suggest an additional segment topic

Episode 081 ~ Pinch Me
July 15, 2012

This week’s segments will include the ever diverse Intro,
The Student Spotlight which is shining on one student,
The Question of the week is about pinch harmonics,
The News is ground-breaking news from
our friends at Martin Guitars,
Take Note is about an innovative
tool for any guitarist who sprinkles
harmonics throughout their music,
and of course, the Outro.
The show is brought to you by RaptorPicksUSA.Com

Intro

How was your week?
Did you play enough to satisfy yourself?
Enough to satisfy your love of playing?
Enough to satisfy your short term goals or
satisfy your self in approaching your technical hurdles?
If you play out regularly, how was your work last week?
Did you satisfy your audience - especially those
who have heard you before or
was it just the same old same old?

My week was great. Thanks for the
positive response to my sponsor Raptor Picks USA -
your source for genuine Raptor™ picks.
My DRs will probably last a week or so more
before I’m jonesin’ for new sets.
They’re still okay but not as beautiful as when they first go on.

I did have to uncharacteristically cancel out
on a few students on Thursday. Sorry, gang.
Earlier in the day I had been out doing errands and other things.
Then I went home, made lunch for E-Rex and me
and when I left to go to teach, the car was dead.
It exhibited some bizarre manifestations:
When the key was in and the so-called ignition was turned on,
it didn’t do anything. But, when the key was removed,
all the gauges buzzed and jumped and
there was a strange thudding noise coming out of the dash board.
It was so weird! When all was said and done,
it was just a battery, but E-Rex, who has had a long relationship
with everything under the hood of a vehicle
had never seen anything like it before.
Me, I just kept thinking the car was going to blow up
or E-Rex was going to be electrocuted or drop from heat prostration.
It was an inconvenience and
canceling on my students was my only option,
since we became a 1 car family about a year ago.
Oh well, what can you do? It could have been much worse.
One of my friend’s cars was totaled in a terrible accident this week.
So my whacky battery problems
were really minor in the scheme of things.
E-Rex was bordering on over exertion during the issue
but he seems none the worse for wear.

Karrie had her first lesson and did well.
I was glad for her feedback, which was that some blanks
in her musical understanding were filled in -- and that’s good.
We began working on her technique and
I gave her enough to keep her busy.
I think she’s going to do very well. She’s inspired and zealous.

Don’t forget that the Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit is
still open and for the month of July you can visit
from 1 - 5 on Sundays.
This exhibit is worth a trip from anywhere. You’ve got to see it.

Reserve your copy of Thank You, Les!
Someone in production over there
sent me a sneak peak - or I should say a sneak hear.
I was sworn to secrecy, but I can tell you the 21 tracks I sampled
were not just excellent, but truly fitting tributes.
The array of artists that have contributed
to the album and documentary is remarkable.
I was so thankful for the ability to anticipate
with real foreknowledge what will be coming.
Thanks Joni.

Don’t leave your axe in the car for even 10 minutes
during hot or cold weather -
or even if it’s temperate but the sun is shining.
It can mean expensive repairs or worse.

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

The phrases that have been used
to describe these picks are:
"Tool for the Creative,” “Beautiful and Tactile,”
“Absolutely Amazing” and my favorite,
"The Pursuit of Excellence”

Raptor™ picks are a registered design all rights are owned by Black Carbon.

Student Spotlight

In the warm glow of the Student Spotlight this week is Andy.
He has only been here a few times.
Dude! You’ve made some life changes
and I wholeheartedly affirm them.
Your significantly improved playing is
a testimony of some great choices you have implemented.
I’m sorry you’re going to be taking off
for so much of the summer
when you have made such great strides.
I know you’re taking your axe.
The big issue will be whether you can/will

be able to allocate time to play regularly.
I think you will, if you maintain
the new kind of self-discipline you have adopted.

Congrats, Dude.

I think there would have probably been one more student
who is not a stranger to the spotlight, in it this week
had he not had a grave family crisis.
Things were okay when last I spoke to him.
You know who you are. Your family is fine and intact
and that’s all that matters. I hope I’ll see you soon.

Question of the Week

This week's question came from a term used
in one of the Raptor Picks USA spots I read last week.
A student who plays an acoustic guitar and
whose musical taste does not run to the any heavy genre
asked what are pinch harmonics?
Great question. You may be wondering too.

The student who asked has played harmonics
and artificial harmonics, but never pinch harmonics.

So a harmonic is a sound that is produced
when strings are touched at particular frets
but not fretted in the traditional way.
It creates a bell like open sound. It’s very pure.
The reason it’s advisable to tune all strings to harmonics
is that string timbre does not distract the guitarist
from hearing and comparing the sounds.
If you tune an open string to a fretted string,
frequently the difference in quality of the sound
deceives the player’s ear.
When each pitch is of the same quality,
like when you tune a harmonic to a harmonic,
that timbre disparity doesn’t exist.
It’s easier to hear because one is listening to a purer sound.
Ordinarily, harmonics are created at the 12th, 9th, 7th, 5th
and very carefully at the 4th fret.
There’s a long explanation of why those frets
produce the sound of a harmonic.
Let’s just leave it at that it has to do with physics
that are far too lofty for me to fully understand or explain.
What do you do if you want that sound at a different fret?
You play what is called an artificial harmonic
on an acoustic or nylon string guitar.

An artificial harmonic is fretted normally.
The right hand, however, has a more complicated task
. I play my artificial harmonics with the index finger of my left hand
barely touching the string 12 frets higher
than the note my right hand is playing,
also directly over the fret,
not where you would depress the string if you were fretting it
AND the ring finger of my left hand actually plucking the string.
It’s fine to use the middle finger for that purpose too.
I think most guitarists do but I feel like
my unused thumb kind of balances my left hand
and I can keep it level when I use my ring finger.
My hand is not as relaxed when I try the same maneuver
with the middle finger of my right hand.

So the principal is that to create that harmonic sound
a length of string that spans 12 frets must be vibrated.

Now, if we take that to a situation where we have
the marvelous technical assistance found with an amped electric guitar,
we can produce screaming harmonics -
ordinarily referred to a pinch harmonics.

In this case, gain on the amp is turned way up, t
he left hand frets the note desired
and then it is picked at that location that is 12 frets higher
and stopped immediately, usually by the thumb.
The combination of the amp’s gain and
the elimination of all overtones but the ones created
by these exotic harmonics creates the unmistakable sound of pinch harmonics.
Lots of rock and metal guitarists use them.
Do a little reading online.
If you like and or play rock or metal
and you haven’t played pinch harmonics,
it’s likely the bands and/or guitarists you admire do
. And if you do play pinch harmonics -
you have to try a Raptor pick.
Besides that it’s an amazing and versatile all around pick,
it’s fabulous for pinch harmonics.

That was a good question

Email Me if you'd like to submit a Question of the Week or suggest an additional segment topic.
If I use one you submit, I'll send you a Guitar Technique Tutor pick.

Links

News

In the news this week is something amazing
that has just hit the news this past weekend,
with the southern NAMM show.
If you’re one of my students and I have
shopped for a guitar with you, you have heard me say
that you can’t buy a guitar that sounds as good as
a vintage axe, because the years and years of the wood flexing
causes subtle cellular changes in the wood,
which rounds out and warms up the sound of the guitar.
That’s why when I sold my very well played
and beautifully aged American made Epiphone Texan
that was the original year and model of the Paul McCartney reissue
a few years ago, I got not a pretty penny for it,
but rather a gorgeous chunk of change.

Well, the folks at Martin have been up to something interesting.
They have created a series of new acoustic electric guitars
that recreate a vintage sound, digitally.
Some of us had heard rumblings of this,
but I for one was imagining some innovation in the aging of the wood,
like not just aging it but subjecting it to
continuously alternating vibrations in the tonal range
of a traditionally tuned guitar.
I was looking for that cellular change I spoke about earlier, to be rushed along.
I didn’t even consider using digital DNA to acquire it.
Here are excerpts from an online article by John Jurgensen
that appeared on speakeasy.com this weekend.

In the museum at C.F. Martin & Co.,
the famed acoustic guitar maker in Nazareth, Pa.,
a D-45 holds pride of place.
It was a custom model made of Brazilian rosewood,
and in the years preceding World War II
only 91 of them were produced.
Martin bought its 1942 museum specimen from a collector for nearly $300,000.
Now, the manufacturer is using digital technology
to try to recreate the rich sound of that instrument
and other vintage guitars from the ‘30s and ‘40s,
whose butter-smooth tones developed naturally
over decades of picking and aging.
Compared to antique guitars,
new instruments are generally much easier to play.
Their necks are svelter. Their strings are lower to the fretboard.
But it can sometimes take years of breaking in
before their bright, fresh-from-the-factory sound mellows.
The goal behind Martin’s Retro Series of instruments,
which was unveiled this past weekend
at the NAMM show in Nashville:
make brand new guitars that sound old.

Recreating the look of the historic steel-string models
Martin chose in addition to the D-45—a 1941 D-28, a 1937 D-18,
and a 1934 000-28–was “the easy part,” says Tim Teel,
the 179-year-old company’s director of instrument design.
To borrow the “sound DNA” of the older models,
the company relied on techniques developed by Fishman,
the company that builds the gear used
to amplify Martin guitars designed for the stage.
In the instant that acoustic sound gets transmitted
through a guitar’s electronics, it can be digitally modified.

Technicians captured the properties of each vintage Martin
not by strumming them, but by using a calibrated hammer
to “excite” its surfaces.
Sensors attached to the guitar measured its vibrations
and patterns of projecting sound.
That data was then plugged into an algorithm,
which gets used by the electronics in the new guitar
to “infuse” its tones with that of the vintage instrument, Teel says.

The next step in this aging process
occurs when the guitar’s tones are out-put to an amplifier.
Working with producer Bill VornDick,
Martin and Fishman used an array of vintage and
specialty microphones to replicate sounds that would have been captured
in a mid-century recording studio.
The data produced from VornDick’s equipment
was used to create nine different microphone settings
that were built into the new guitar models.

The Retro Series instruments will hit stores in the fall
with price tags ranging from about $3,400 (for the D-18E model)
to $12,000 (for the D-45E).

Speakeasy hasn’t played the new guitars or had them tested, s
o it’s not possible to say whether the technology
amounts to a marketing gimmick or a breakthrough in guitar design.
Martin is betting on the latter.
Teel says, “What we’re trying to create is a time machine of sorts.”

I don’t know about you, but I think this is not only fascinating
but it also opens the door for other companies to consider
offering new vntage instruments - not just a reissue
to look like the vintage model, but to sound like ti too.

Granted these guitars are not going to be for everyone’s budget,
and I know there are Taylor and Breedlove and Martin camps out there,
and Martin may not be your acoustic electric of choice.
But now, if the neck and body profiles suit you,
you may just have to open your mind
if you were not previously in the Martin camp.

Links

Martin Retro Series

Take Note

My take note topic this week is keeping with
the question of the week’s topic of harmonics.
I recently came across a most ingenious device, called Harmonik Gloves.
It’s like its cousin the Spider Capo,
which I either mentioned on this show when I was doing
a segment on capos or perhaps as a recent Christmas/Hanukkah time approached
and I was suggesting gifts for various budgets.

Well, the Harmonik Gloves is a device you attach
at the 12th fret (or other) on your guitar neck -
and it does not need to wrap around the neck,
so even nylon string guitar players can use this device.
With it, you can selectively mute or semi-mute
particular strings, which makes the playing of
harmonics and fretted notes a simpler task.
I submit to you that there is probably a learning curve with this device,
but if you love alternate tunings and also like to
sprinkle harmonics into your music, this may be
a fabulous addition to your accessory box.
I haven’t used one, but I can see how it would be
worth the learning curve time to easily and accurately
create a blend of fretted and harmonic tones in your music -
especially if you’re a gigging musician.
That sinking feeling of just missing a nice round harmonic
and only getting a little piece of it or a plink or thud
would become a thing of the past.

Harmonik Gloves

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Once in a great while, something comes along
that's literally revolutionary.
The Raptor™ R Series guitar pick is just such a creation.
It affords its user a sublime quartet of sounds
which can be summoned with a mere rotation
of the brilliantly designed Raptor™ pick.
Not only is it a beautifully executed, ingenious idea,
but the first experience of playing with it
is hard to describe - in a good way.

Unless you already play with some kind of "alternative" pick,
the first thing you'll notice is that the body of the pick
is a combination of raised and depressed areas,
unlike a traditional flat or thumb pick,
both of which have basically flat grip surfaces.
If you're prone to losing grip on your pick or
if your hands sweat a bit
and your pick shifts around as you play, the Raptor™won't.
Its raised and flat area combined with the
irregular shapes of its perimeter
will prevent unelected pick shifting.

If your thing is speedy chops, you probably like
a small or traditional size very pointy pick.
The Raptor™ is slightly larger than a standard pick,
and I really mean slightly.

Raptor™ picks:
the guitar pick of the 21st century
that will revolutionize your playing
and enable you to play more creatively.
A New Look • A New Feel • A New Shape
Many Sounds

Raptor™ picks are a registered design all rights are owned by Black Carbon.

Outro

So, don’t’ miss the Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit
at the Mahwah Museum in Mahwah NJ.
The exhibit extension is GREAT news!
For the month of July
it’s open from 1 to 5 on Sundays only.

Make sure your guitar is humidified if it’s dry
from air conditioning or the general environment.
Make sure you tune your strings down a whole step
if you’re leaving your guitar home.
Don't leave your guitar in a closed car if the sun is out.

Reserver your copy of Thank You, Les.
Based on my sneak hear, t’s going to be fabulous.
Congrats Andy. You rock dude.
Pinch harmonics are an electric guitar technique
that requires skill and a high gain setting on your amp.
Martin has done the amazing with their Retro Series
- they’ve created a new guitar that sounds 60 years old.
Amazing.
Check out Harmonik Gloves
to more easily and artfully blend fretted notes and harmonics.

If you really want your creativity level to escalate,
get some Raptor picks.

Next week's show should be back to the usual format.

signiture

Subscribe to this podcast or the show notes or both.

Yes, there are some lesson times available in my schecule.

Contact me if you're in the towns where I teach and your schedule is flexible.

Spread the excellence and suggest other guitarists listen!

recorded July 15, 2012

Email Me if you'd like to submit a Question of the Week or suggest an additional segment topic

Episode 080 ~ News, Reviews & Schmooze
July 9, 2012

This week’s segments will be the Intro,
News, in which I will review Roma Picks,
(George was nice enough to send me some samples for review),
Take Note reveals the the short cut
to reaching your goals and the Outro.
The show is brought to you by RaptorPicksUSA.Com

Intro

Hey, how was your Independence Day celebration?
Ours was spent with our friend, Gerry,
who is our friend, Dot’s widower.
Those of you who have followed the show for a while
know she passed away on January 24th.

I don’t know how it was near you,
but with the 4th falling on a Wednesday this year,
the whole week was filled with fireworks.
Some nearby towns had their fireworks on Tuesday,
some had them on Wednesday and
others had them on Friday and Saturday.
That unmistakable smell of gun powder
seemed to be in the air every night.

Since it was a holiday week, here in the USA,
I didn’t teach so I don’t have a Student Spotlight
nor Question of the Week,
so this will be an extremely untraditional podcast -
but I think it’s okay to depart from the usual format once in a while.

I want to Welcome Kari into my schedule.
I’m recording this on Monday, July 9
and she will take her first lesson on Wednesday.
She already plays a bit but she recently purchased
a gorgeous Gibson guitar and wants to do it justice.
I think she’s going to be an excellent student.
I sense her zeal to learn and master the guitar
so I know that although her life is full and busy,
she’ll make time to practice.

I want to offer Danielle, my student
who is off for the summer, some comfort
. She broke her right hand pinkie finger.
Fortunately, it’s the only finger one doesn’t need to play
-- well, she doesn’t play flamenco
so rasqueados aren’t a concern.
Danielle, I shattered the larger knuckle
of my LEFT HAND INDEX FINGER when I was a young guitarist.
Don’t do what I did.
Follow your orthopedist’s instructions to the T.
I’m sure it will heal in a few weeks.
Whatever you were doing when it broke ….
don’t do it any more. Ever.

In July theLes Paul in Mahwah exhibit
will be open on Sundays 1-5 p.m.
The exhibit will reopen in September
and run until June 2013.
This exhibit will allow visitors to learn about
the essential facts of Les Paul's life and career.
It has sections on invention and innovation,
a display of one of a kind precious guitars made especially for Les,
enthusiastic support from many famous current-day artists,
a recreation of the studio in which Les did his work,
a performance space where, at special times,
patrons can play one of Les's guitars,
and many hands-on video and audio displays.
Learn how this creative genius transformed rock, country and jazz music.

While I’m talking about Les Paul
I want to remind you to reserve your copy
of Thank You, Les the tribute of all tributes to Les Paul.
It’s a documentary and album and
you can reserve your copy now.
Mine is reserved.

I’d like to correct something I said in a Tweet a week or the last show.
(Yeah, it’s been that kind of week even with not working)
I think I said my 100th podcast was probably be in October
(I can’t figure out how I came up with that month!)
If things go well for E-Rex’s radiation, which should begin in September,
and I don’t lose any time doing regular shows,
the 100th episode should occur before the end of the year.
We’re at 80 this week.
That leaves 20 more shows, which is about 5 months.
That takes us to early December.
I’ll probably take a few of those weeks of
f - so Episode 100 should go live in December or early January.
I’m still in the planning stages but I can tell you
there will be some interesting interviews
and there will probably be some contests
for products various people have provided.
I’ll keep you posted as it takes shape.
Maybe Thank You, Les will be available by then
and I will be able to review it.
Maybe Showplace Music Productions will contribute one
for a 100th podcast give away.
I doubt any other podcaster mentioned Les Paul
as much as I have since September.
I’ll have to speak to them as it gets closer.

Keep an eye on your hygrometer and humidifier.
Be sure to prevent your guitars from drying out
and being destroyed -- too terrible to think about.

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

The phrases that have been used
to describe these picks are:
"Tool for the Creative,” “Beautiful and Tactile,”
“Absolutely Amazing” and my favorite,
"The Pursuit of Excellence”

Raptor™ picks are a registered design all rights are owned by Black Carbon.

Student Spotlight

The Student Spotlight is dark and dusty.
I didn't teach this week.
The Student Spotlight will return next week.

Question of the Week

There are no questions this week.
I'm confident there will ba a student or
email question for next week's show.
Like I said, last week was a vacation week.

Links

News

In the news this week is is a unique guitar pick
that is not a Raptor. It’s a Roma.
Being Italian, I like the name, immediately.
The pick itself is a work of art.
It’s carved out of thick delrin, acrylic, padauk wood or beech wood.
The carved image is a rose
so the colors of the picks are referred to as
gypsy rose ________ whatever the color is,
on the Roma Guitar Picks web site.

Here is the maker’s comment on these picks:

“Our guitar picks are ideal for any guitarist
seeking a heavy-gauge plectrum
that can play quickly and loudly,
but doesn't sacrifice tone or playability.
They're optimized for speed, precision and sound-quality;
the tip of each pick is beveled at a slight angle
and polished smooth to allow you to fly over the strings,
whether you're a left or right-handed player;
the beautiful, ornate designs are not only unique,
but add an extra layer of functionality
by providing a texture that enhances your ability
to hold the pick and keep you from dropping it while you play.”

Here’s my comment on these picks:

I think this may be a good pick for gypsy jazz,
because when you’re really playing gypsy jazz,
the picking technique lends itself to a pick of this dimension
and even the very shallow, one sided bevel on this pick.
I think there may be some folk players who might like this,
especially if they play a nylon string or
acoustic electric nylon string guitar.
This pick will be much less abrasive on nylon strings
than some other more sharply beveled picks.
I cannot play at my usual rate of speed with this pick.
It slows me down considerably
but that isn’t to say that ability cannot be cultivated.
I think the unique bevel and the wide point

These picks are available for righties and lefties and
retail for about $10 at RomaGuitarPicks.com

Roma Picks

Take Note

My take note topic this week is just a musing
about something that came to my attention during last week.
I follow someone on Twitter by the name of Aimee Francis
- a self-managed and self-promoted singer songwriter
who has caught the eye and ear of Gibson guitars
who has made her an official Gibson Ambassador.
Maybe you know her. The other day she Tweeted something like,
“Going to the studio to write a song or some songs,” or something like that.
It made me think about technology and how
writing a song no longer has anything to do with
a writing instrument or paper.
Talking to someone doesn’t mean it can be heard audibly.
Man, technology has changed so many things!

You can have a veritable recording studio in your pocket
with an iPhone and IK Media’s apps installed.
You can bend strings, playing like a guitarist possessed,
but your strings can remain in tune if you’ve modified your axe with Evertune.
You can PhotoShop a profile photo
and if you’re good, people will see you as you aren’t.

Is there anything in our lives that isn’t techified
or automated or made to manipulate things
so they seem different from what they are?
We don’t have to schlep books around
but we can read them on our tablet or e-reader or phone.
We can nuke decent meals without cooking them
(I wouldn’t go so far as to say gourmet or decadent meals, but decent)

If you’ve been listening to me for any amount of time,
you should already have the answer to the question,
considering the source.

There’s no, no, no, no, no app or shortcut for practicing.
And I’m so glad.
I read an interview with Joe Robinson,
Australian guitar phenom.
At times in his life he has gotten up at 4 AM
to practice a few hours before school
and then played another 4 hours after school.
Wow, you say? I say, it reminds me of someone I know.

I was fortunate to have an instructor when I was really young,
who instilled in me the fact that if you’re going to be excellent,
you’re going to be working hard and continuously.
I think Joe Robinson gets it.
He’s not a wanna be and he’s not admiring his accomplishments.
He’s a hard working musician whose craft is important to him.
I don’t know it because of what he says.
I know it because of what he does.
He plays. In fact he plays for hours on end,
even though he’s already highly accomplished.
That’s dedication and that’s passion.

So how are you doing in the passion department?
Do you find yourself talking about it more than playing it?
You’re in a slump? How do you get out of a slump?
The same way you get out of a ditch you fall into.
You have to exert the energy to climb out.
I think my illustration is a good one.
When you’re climbing out of a ditch,
gravity is pulling you back down and
it makes your body weight feel heavier than what it is.
When you’re in a slump, it’s easy to get pulled back down
into wallowing in your mediocrity or
the technical hurdle that seems too big.

I think at the root of a lot of this laziness to practice
and what seems like an epidemic
of consistent practice aversion, is a kind of pride.
Some of my students are unsettled
by some of the things they find it difficult or impossible to do.
I’m thinking of someone who is having
a terrible time training his ear.
News flash, if you’re only playing visually or physically,
you’re not making music, you’re making sound.
It might be impressive sound and cool sound,
but when you make music it’s done with understanding.
To this person’s credit, they are working diligently
and allowing themselves to be vulnerable
and they stick it out when they don’t do well.
They stay at it.
This person will develop and ear and confidence.
Most people can’t bear the idea
that they are sub-parr at anything.
If that’s you, forget memorizing 5 tab licks a week.
Get back to the building blocks of technique and musical understanding.
You can become a great musician if you persevere

Aimee Francis
IK Media
Evertone
iPhone
Joe Robinson

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Outro

So, don’t’ miss the Les Paul in Mahwah exhibit
at the Mahwah Museum in Mahwah NJ.
The exhibit extension is GREAT news!
For the month of July
it’s open from 1 to 5 on Sundays only.

Make sure your guitar is humidified if it’s dry
from air conditioning or the general environment.
Make sure you tune your strings down a whole step
if you’re leaving your guitar home

Hey, my 100th show should be in late December or January
depending on how E-Rex does when he begins radiation.
I will be planning some fun things for that show.
I hope to have interviews, some give aways and so on.
I’m just beginning to think about it.

Reserver your copy of Thank You, Les.
It’s going to be amazing.
If you play gypsy jazz, folk or nylon strings,
you may like the Roma pick. It retails for about $10.
There’s not excuse nor substitute for diligence.
If you acquire it, you’ll improve -
especially under the guidance of a good teacher
who can keep you narrowly focused when necessary
and broaden you when you have blinders on.
There’s no question about it.

If you really want your creativity level to escalate,
get some Raptor picks.

signiture

Subscribe to this podcast or the show notes or both.

Yes, there are some lesson times available in my schecule.

Contact me if you're in the towns where I teach and your schedule is flexible.

Spread the excellence and suggest other guitarists listen!

recorded July 9, 2012

Email Me if you'd like to submit a Question of the Week or suggest an additional segment topic

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Podcasts and Show Notes

July 2012

Episode 083 ~ Generation Gap July 29, 2012

Intro

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Links

Student Spotlight

Question of the Week

News

Links

Take Note

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Outro

Episode 082 ~ Do You C? July 23, 2012

Intro

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Links

Student Spotlight

Question of the Week

News

Links

Take Note

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Outro

Episode 081 ~ Pinch Me July 15, 2012

Intro

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Links

Student Spotlight

Question of the Week

News

Links

Take Note

Links

Harmonik Gloves

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Outro

Episode 080 ~ News, Reviews & Schmooze July 9, 2012

Intro

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Links

Student Spotlight

Question of the Week

News

Links

Roma Picks

Take Note

Links

Aimee Francis IK Media Evertone iPhone Joe Robinson

•••Raptor Picks USA•••

Outro

Episode 083 ~ Generation Gap
July 29, 2012

Episode 082 ~ Do You C?
July 23, 2012

Episode 081 ~ Pinch Me
July 15, 2012

Episode 080 ~ News, Reviews & Schmooze
July 9, 2012

Aimee Francis
IK Media
Evertone
iPhone
Joe Robinson