Guitar Playing 102 (Don’t fret, you can do this….)

Guitar Playing 102 (Don’t fret, you can do this….)

Monday January 22nd 2024

Okay back in November I tried to lay out the first few considerations about getting realistic about starting the guitar, if you missed that, might I humbly suggest you check it out first?

https://bloggerrhythm5.blogspot.com/2023/11/guitar-playing-101.html

And….we’re back. I’m going to assume you’ve got your guitar (or ukulele maybe) now, you've tuned it, and you’ve learnt a few chord shapes, waved your hands at it a bit, but it’s all coming out a bit buzzy or random. The phrase I hear constantly from students is “it just doesn’t sound like music”. Remember that tutor I advised you to get? Well here’s what they should be telling you about your fretting hand, imho….

Firstly…

When you’re fretting a chord (a collection of notes) or a single note, the optimum place to have your fingers is immediately behind the fretwire. A clear note is the result of the string vibrating between where you’re fretting and the bridge (the bridge is where the strings attach to the body of the guitar). If you’re immediately behind the fret you don’t need to press as hard to get a good note. It’s not always perfectly possible, but generally too little pressure and you’ll get a buzz, too much pressure and you can stretch the string out of tune. And it hurts your fingers. Be Goldilocks...

Secondly…

The first chords most people learn are “open chords”, so called because they involve both fretted and unfretted (or open) notes. It’s important then to play the fretted notes in a way that doesn’t mute or foul the open notes you want. Try to use the tips of your fingers, not the pads, and, sorry Wolverine, you may need to trim those nails. There’s nothing worse than going to all the hard work of learning that chord shape only for it to sound a bit…meh. If you pick through the notes slowly, you should be able to hear each one, if one sounds dead or muted, try and work out why! The difference between success and failure can be millimetres.

Thirdly...

Another common struggle is getting to grips with the fact that some chords don’t want you to play all the strings. In fact, out of what might be considered your average selection of “open chords for beginners” E, Em and G are the only ones where you strum all six strings. For A, Am, B7, C and the like, it’s five strings, and for D, D7 it’s only four. Actually then, for the majority of the time you don’t want that pesky bass E string at all. The answer is not to avoid it, but to mute it by reaching your thumb over the top of the neck for certain chords. I stress “mute” it, so, “just touching / in contact with” not fretting or actually pushing down. Lots of tutors, particularly those orientated towards classical playing, will tell you to always have your thumb on the back of the neck, and there will be times you need to do this….but now isn’t one of them, (unless your aim is to learn traditional, classical technique).

Lastly...

This is a more general point, but I'm not sure it can be emphasised enough. Listening to what you're doing is massively important. Yes, it's difficult sometimes playing in big groups, or when you're in the grips of an open mic performance or whatever, but you MUST try to listen critically to what you're playing. If you can't hear what you're doing, or take the time to work out why it might be wrong, it's going to be an uphill battle.

Record Time

Haven’t done a proper one of these in a few weeks now. One record I have reconnected with recently is “Thirst For Romance” by Cherry Ghost. In all honesty I think I remember it got slated in critical review upon release, but I’ve got a lot of time for it. It’s got a ‘Coronation Street meets the Great Plains of Wyoming’ kind of vibe. Make of that description what you will ;-) Until next time!

The First Gig (of the year, and how Coustics began...)

The First Gig

Friday January 5th 2024

No sooner has the new year come and gone, it’s time to get on the road again. I mean that figuratively really, because I don’t actually tour per se, I mean it’s time to get back to work. January’s Guitar Club night is usually the first booking of the year. I’ve always thought it appropriate in many ways because the club is where the music portion of my life began to take shape properly. So…..

Come with us now on a journey. Through time and space, to the world of…well, not The Mighty Boosh certainly, this is a country pub in Crockerhill, Sussex, circa 2006.

I have a new neighbour, his name is Eric. Eric is, (or now sadly, was) an endlessly enthusiastic, generous and friendly sort, quite literally in a permanent rapture as to the glorious wonders of music, mini golf and homegrown tomatoes. Upon learning that I had “flirted” with playing the guitar for a few years, I was eagerly invited to join him at a new guitar club, his music tutor Sally was running for her students at the pub. I still believe the offer to join him was honest, and in the spirit of friendship and musical adventure......the fact that Eric needed me to drive him there on dark evenings was entirely inconsequential.

Everybody squeezes themselves into the bar, warm beer is ordered and wonky music stands begin to sprout like weeds from the sticky carpet. What few locals there are are hoping for a quiet night... and they're disappointed. The classic rock and pop of the 1960s, 70s and 80s appear to be the tunes of choice, and to my surprise, I really quite enjoyed it. Which is lucky, because Eric LOVED it.

As time passed, Sally became unable to run the club, and some of us stepped up….

It is now 2024. The venue has changed, but the format has little. What’s always a bit of a wonder to me is that many of the faces haven’t changed either. It’s a testament to the strength of Sally’s original concept and that original group of people, who, 18 years later, are still clocking in every first Thursday of the month to strum a few tunes. New faces and friends are great and valued, but here’s a special shout out for the old guard for the first gig of the year, you know who they are. It would literally not be the same without you.

Anyway....last night's club was surprisingly well attended, given that many of the roads around our way have been flooded for about 2 months now, and it's January. Nobody likes January. I didn't get any good photos last night, so I thought I'd keep driving down that partially flooded memory lane and dig out some of the oldest guitar club photos I could find. I may not be thanked for posting these ;-)

Eric is the one in the second picture, looking after all the ladies. The old smoothy.......

The Open Mic Experience (Seen it all? Apparently not...)

The Open Mic Experience

Monday December 18th 2023

I’ve been to a few open mics nights. In fact I’d guess somewhere in the region of at least 1200, because a friend and I have been jointly hosting them in local venues for almost 15 years now. You could assume then therefore, that playing at any open mic night for me was no big deal. Au contraire.

Hosting, and playing in a duo, can be very different from performing by one’s self at somebody else’s event. It can take guts. People’s comfort zones can be pretty narrow, whatever level they perform at. The sweaty palms, sausage fingers and fluffed lyrics, been there, done that. Still do that actually. So if you’re ever watching somebody perform, be attentive, kind and supportive, particularly if you’re hoping they’ll do the same for you. And anyway, if you really don’t appreciate what they’re doing, they’re probably only going to do it for about 15 minutes. Go buy a drink.

Another assumption you might reasonably make is that, in those 15 years I’d have seen it all. Drunken sea shanties, laments about the origin of boiled eggs, dogs who recite poetry, vacuum cleaners and inflatable parrots, all have rubbed shoulders with award winning singers and international jazz musos. One time, we met Charlie Dimmock from Ground Force. On another occasion we were told to expect the guy who played the saxophone on Gerry Rafferty’s hit “Baker Street”, but he took too long eating his dinner at Pizza Express to arrive in time to play. Encounters like these are all totally normal in an evening’s work.

Last week I attended an open mic in a 19th century chapel, which was recently converted into a community arts space. It’s a spectacular place, and a far, far cry from the public houses many open mics reside in. There’s the usual selection of guitarists, (including me) performing a mixture of originals and covers, (also me) and quite a few spoken word artists, because their recital night got rained off. Potentially transgender performer with overdriven, phaser toned bass, performing “All I Want For Christmas is You” with a distorted vocal tone…..very, very good, far less common, but not actually the first time that’s happened….

The last performer however, when called to the stage, proceeds to take her clothes off, revealing a simple but beautiful ballerina outfit. She changes into ballet shoes, explains that the piece is dedicated to her mother, and dances. Poetry is recited over a sweeping orchestral backing track for 10 minutes. There is a standing ovation. 15 years, 1200 shows, and something can still be new and amazing.

All open mic performers are amazing in my book. “Amazing” however does take on different forms, Ability does not necessarily equal entertainment value. Originality does not equal acceptance. Confidence does not equal success. Variety and diversity are the only things that truly matter on such nights, and I cannot encourage you enough to support them.

Record Time

This week’s record time goes out in memory of Raphael Ravenscroft, the “Baker Street” saxophonist we would have met if he hadn’t been forced to wait for his quattro stagioni…. Gerry Rafferty’s ‘City To City’.

Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself

Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself

Thursday November 23rd, 2023

I googled, “Why do people write blogs?” and the answer I got back, (in 0.41 seconds) was, “...at its most basic, blogs can help you develop an online presence, prove yourself an expert in an industry, and attract more quality

leads to all pages of your site.”

That doesn’t really sound like me. Online? Clearly…. Expert? Hardly. I’m a middle aged man trying to process his thoughts. Trying to share some passion and experience that the common musician, possibly hiding out in their basement or attic, with an inkling towards actually playing in front of real people, might find useful. Or at least, vaguely interesting and occasionally funny. Google suggests that these are potentially secondary goals for blog writing. I don’t care. They’re my goals.

So again, without getting too hung up on definitions, please allow me to introduce myself, as a “professional” musician, with no formal training what-so-ever. I’ve gone from hiding out in my attic to playing at (and running) guitar clubs, teaching, open mic'ing, and gigging at regional theatres and festivals….oh, and now songwriting (and blogging). More on all of these later.

This blog is not about conquering the Spotify playlists, mastering studio compression techniques or driving your Rolls Royce into a swimming pool for kicks.....I mean it might ultimately be, because I’m on a journey like everybody else. Our journeys are probably different, but we might share a parallel course for a bit, and that’s the bit I’m counting on.

This blog is about what I’ve found out whilst trying to play, and what I find useful. How I got to where I am, and what I’d like to do next. I am fortunate to know some friends further down the musical road than me, I hope to enlist their help. They don’t know it yet. It’ll be fine.

And I’m going to try and share good stuff I’ve seen, read or listened to. I encourage you to do the same, with me, or your friends….and we’ll see how it goes.

So in the spirit of sharing, whilst I’ve been writing this, I’ve been listening to the album “Southeastern” by Jason Isbell, who is for me, a relatively recent find. Fans of the “Americana / singer songwriter with a conscience” genre are probably screaming in disbelief right now, given the kinds of artists I’ve listed on my profile as influences, that I should have discovered him sooner. If only some like-minded soul had made a recommendation….