Scott's Tips (Part 2)

Tip #6

A Beginners Guide to Purchasing an Inexpensive Guitar or Bass

Let's face it, anybody can spend alot of money and get something good. In fact, many people can spend a bundle and get something crummy! The real trick is finding a good or a great instrument at a reasonable price.
  1. Take along someone who knows what to look for in guitars Offer to buy them dinner or a six pack of their favorite drink. (yeah, bribery) If you do know what to look for in an instrument you might pay a "fair" price for a real piece of crap. If you do not know anyone who can help you, stay away from the pawn shops!
  2. Try a guitar that is way out of your price range. Notice how close the strings are to the neck, how it sounds, the weight, etc. Now, proceed to try instruments within your price range. With this in mind, you may have more success finding a higher quality budget guitar.
  3. I reccomend buying guitars at a pawn shop if you are on a tight budget. Let someone else pay the depreciation.
  4. Buy from a reputable local music store that also services instruments. Often you can find good used and new instruments at a fair price. Also, that store will remember that you purchased it there and usually will service the guitar for a reasonable rate and in some cases, (minor repairs) for free.
  5. Try to haggle the pawn broker or music dealer down in price. Don't be alarmed, this is common! For example, on a $200.00 guitar, I will typically offer 3/4 to 2/3 the original price. (about $125.00-$150.00) If you are shy about this here is a "nicer" way (less assertive)to indirectly haggle. Simply ask the salesperson, "What is your lowest cash price on this guitar?" Which brings me to the last point.
  6. Mail Order Catalogs or Internet Purchases(BEWARE!) There are good deals in many popular mail order or web music stores. The inherent danger is that you do not know what you are going to get. The instrument may be fine, slightly damaged, broken, or flawed in some other way. As far as amps and guitars by mail go, my success rate has only %33.
  7. Have a Price Range in Mind a) For a used bass, acoustic or electric guitar, your bottom-end price will be about $100.00 (if you are really lucky) to around $250.00. b) For a used amplifier(small practice amp) you will probably be looking at about $75.00 to $200.00.

Physical Characteristics of "Decent" Guitar

  1. Straight Neck Sight down the neck like you would a rifle. The geometric plane that the fingerboard (flat part of the neck) is on, should be perpendicular to the floor. You should not see any extreme curves or twists to the neck. Slight curves in the neck can probably be fixed by a repair person adjusting the truss rod. A truss rod is like a long bolt that runs through the length of the neck. It is tightned or loosened in small amounts to create or relieve tension on the neck. If you haven't a truss rod and your neck goes "goofy" on you; you will have two choices. Get a new guitar or pay for an expensive repair.
  2. Good Action Action is the word used to describe how close to the neck the strings are. Too close and they will rattle against the neck, too far away and you will need to have the strength of a small gorilla to press down the strings. This is especially a factor for younger beginners as they have smaller, less muscular hands, and actually need better "action" than an older player. If the distance between the strings and the neck is even approaching 1/4 inch at the 12th fret, stay away from that instrument.
  3. Has not Been Previously Broken Examine the instrument to see that it has not been glued back together at some point. A typical point of breakage is at the head-stock. If so, it will probably not take much to break it again in the very same place again. Even if the guitar holds together, it probably will never be the same as it was. (whatever that was)
  4. Has a Good Tone (Sounds Good) (If you can't tell, ask the friend you bribed to go along with you)
  5. The Bridge is Not Pulling Away from the Face of the Guitar Lay the guitar flat on a table, strings up. Glance across the body of the guitar at a 90 degree angle from where the strings meet the body. This is called the bridge. The wood supporting the bridge should show no signs of "pulling-up." In other words, the face of the guitar should still be flat and un affected by the tension the strings have placed on the bridge.
  6. Looks Good Last and Least; I'd rather have a butt-ugly great guitar than a great looking piece of poo.
More to come as I think of it,..

Tip #7

Starting Your First Band, Or ANY Band for That Matter!

  1. Choose songs that everyone can handle/be realistic
  2. Practice regularly
  3. Set collective goals/long and short term - STICK TO THEM OK, let's talk foo, foo be on the same page with the other members of your band.
  4. Demand People be on time to rehearsals
  5. Demand People be ready for each rehearsal (If you have come to a consensus on songs to be learned by the next rehearsal, THEY HAD BETTER BE LEARNED)
  6. Demand People be respectful of each other
  7. To Be Continued

Tip #8

Mental Rehearsal/Visualization for the Musician
Many things musical can be memorized or mentally practiced (reinforced) away from one's instrument and regular practice area. Such things can often be done without making a sound. The point of this article is to stress the importance of thinking of musical concepts while away from your typical practice area.
There are many things that musicians can play or have access to playing if their "computer screen" makes it immediately "visible" to them. For example, if a musician wishes to play a C major scale from top to bottom, he or she need only think the following notes; C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C,B,A,G,F,E,D,C. By thinking what is to be played, the musician can free him or herself from sheet music for much of what they play in a typical practice session. Doing this allows the ability to monitor technique, build a better understanding of theoretical concepts, and develop a better knowledge of one's instrument.
I also reccomend the use of index cards for writing pertinent musical questions on one side and writing the answers on the other. Keep the cards with you and refer to them during "down time." (Traffic jams, bus rides, while waiting in line, etc..)

Items a Musician May Wish to Visualize or Mentally Rehearse

  1. Names and locations of pitches on the staff (including ledger lines above and below the staff)
  2. The musical alphabet. forwards (ABCDEFGABCDEFGA) backwards (AGFEDCBAGFEDCBA) Backwards should be just as effortless as forwards.
  3. Solfege (Do, Ray, Mi, Fa etc..) Backwards should be just as effortless as forwards.
  4. Think the letter names (including sharps, flats, or naturals) for any scale or arpeggio.
  5. Drummers: Memorize all 26 rudiments! First in number order; later in random sequence.
  6. Memorize music theory concepts; time signatures, scale(where are the 1/2 steps?) and chord construction.
  7. Note and rest values
  8. Dynamic and expression markings
  9. Fingerings
  10. Song lyrics
  11. Chord Changes
  12. Form
  14. To Be Continued,.........

Tip #9

Developing Good Technique for Guitar and Bass
Practice, Patience, Persistence,....................Play slowly enough to be:................... in control of left hand technique,............... right hand technique,................ relaxed mentally and physically,................. and most importantly to be in control of a good sound!!.................
Technique, in my words, is how we physically perform an act. Having a good technique is one of the most importyant factors in becoming a good musician. Many students who are self-taught or who have studied under poor teachers often develop bad habits that severely limit their chances to progress past a certain point. Developing technique is largely common sense.
  1. Do not waste motion Keep your fingers as close to your instrument as possible. Some musicians (saxophonists for example) can leave their fingers on the keys at all times! (with a few exceptions) A matter of a few centimeters adds up to be alot of distance over many fingering changes. The idea is to get as much work done with the least amount of effort. Right?,.....Right!!
  2. Do not waste energy (muscular exertion) Do not allow tension in your playing. Tension, in my words, is an excess use of energy to execute a task. Be also aware of tension in parts of your body not directly used to operate your instrument. (back, neck, shoulders, etc....) If you notice this take a break and loosen up. I have invented two terms related to the tension issue. Micro-tension (in hands/fingers) and macro- tension (arms, legs, shoulders, neck, etc..) As soon as you detect tension, change what you need to alleviate it. Poor posture is often the culprit of macro-tension. Poor technique and/or lack of muscle conditioning is often the cause of micro-tension.
Left Hand Position- 1. "Plant" all four fingers on a single string. Keep them all there. See that your thumb is behind the neck (roughly lined-up between the 1st and 2nd fingers) This will be uncomfortable if you have never played before or if you have played with poor technique before attempting this. By forming your fretting hand in this manner, each of your fingers will be able to cover more area with less movement. The end result will be the ability to play faster passages with less effort. TEST Floating Fingers Your fingers should hover above the strings where they are going to be needed. Regardless of which finger is fretting (pressing down) a note, ALL of your fingers should remain a 1/4 inch or closer to the fretboard while doing scale type passages. (no chords, bending, or vibrato) If you can keep your 4th finger or "pinky" close to the fretboard, the rest of your fretting-hand fingers will "behave." The real trick is to spend the time in careful practice to enable the 4th finger to do this. I literally had to repeat to myself: pinky close!, pinky close!, pinky close!, pinky close!, pinky close!, pinky close!, pinky close!, pinky close!, pinky close, as I played scales songs and exercises.
You are going to see good players who do not play with this technique. I am fully aware of this. I am recommending that you work on working on making your fingers play a "zone" and to continue to work on finger independence. (You have four fingers, [I hope] USE'EM ALL!

"Digital Exercises"

The best way to develop an efficient left hand technique is through what I call digital exercises. (Many teachers employ these, I do not want you to think I invented them , because I didn't.) I call them "digital" because:
1. they are using your digits or fingers
2. Because they are using digits or numbers to describe which fingers are being used.
The first one I learned was the "1 2 3 4" In case you didn't know; your fretting fingers are numbered 1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=pinky. Start with the first finger planted at the fifth fret (any string will do). Be sure that the other three fingers are "hovering" directly above the string and fret whare they are to be needed. Pick the first finger note. Leave it "planted", then plant the 2nd finger/play the note. Leave 1 and 2 planted, then plant the 3rd finger/play the note, leave 1, 2, and 3 planted, then plant the 4th/play the note. Now Reverse it Leave 1, 2, and 3 planted, lift the 4th finger no more than 1/4 inch/play the note. Leave 1, 2, planted, lift the 3rd finger no more than 1/4 inch/play the note, lift the 2nd finger no more than 1/4 inch/play the note. All of your fingers should remain within 1/4 inch to the string. You can play 24 different combinations of "1 2 3 4". Whatever the order is on the way up the scale should be reversed on the way down. Fingers should, of course, remain close to the finger board, and alternate (back and forth/up-down) picking should be used strictly. Holding the Pick Hold the pick with the side of the index finger (curved like i hook) and the thumb. Hold the pick in a way that allows up-picking, down-picking and strumming without adjusting your grip. Do not pick parallel to the string. It creates a "slappy" sound. It also involes more surface area of the pick to be used, thus making it physically very difficult. Angle the pick slightly. This will allow a smoother sound and a smoother movement across the string. Picking is a personal thing. Everybody seems to hold the pick a little differently. I think using my tips as a starting point, you will gravitate toward what works best for you. You are going to see good players who do not play with this technique. I am fully aware of this. (Where have I heard this before?) For example, Eddie Van Halen. He holds the pick in a way that is completely grotesque! (in my opinion) I would never have a student hold the pick like him!!! But I guess he gets the job done.

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