Sup fooz! Okay We've all fallen off the blog bandwagon lately but I figure a blog shared by three people! That shits gotta get updated!
Lately the Missus and I have determined we waste too much time "Smurfing de Weeb" and playing games (in my case) and blogging (obviously in hers, not mine.) So I actually threw together a schedule for the week which lets me address some of the other things I should be doing in a week. Things like working on my degree, learning French, Rollerblading and of course Guitar.
I've put in about 1.5 hours this week, basically just working on Don't Speak by No Doubt again. The verse is a piece of cake, the chorus is starting to smooth out a little but all those quick changes of barre chords are playing havoc with my wrist, right now I'm trying to really nail down the solo. I have the pattern in mind and I found a couple of short cuts to take some of the teeth out of it. I'm going to keep trying it 'til I can play the whole song (Something I always fail to do with guitar playing.) I don't think tonight is a dedicated guitar night, but we'll see what happens.
Until next time Rawk out!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
I've got the power.
I can certainly tell I have a new job. I have money. Money to spend on a BOSS DS-1 Distortion pedal. The TO100, you see, is actually a Tube Overdrive pedal.. not distortion. Although I can create a bit of a distortion with it, it's not enough. I need some serious, serious distortion. TheWife was most impressed with the sound I was producing with the small orange box.
I was actually hoping to find another cheapie Behringer at Macaulay's, but alas it wasn't meant to be. The BOSS wasn't a bank breaker though, retailing at $70. I didn't feel like driving up to Long and McQuade's, as the roads were a rink. Hopefully I didn't get hosed.
So, after unboxing the mutha and finished just toying with it, I started playing Fire, Water, Burn. Courtesy of Grindy's "power chords" lesson the last time we jammed together, I was able to get a little bit of a groove going. I'm not fast enough to keep up with the actual track yet, but I have a good handle on the theory behind it. Hopefully it won't take too long to get a complete handle on.
Lastly, I've continued trying the position provided by Philipi Hii (see my last post), and that does seem to help. It's taken a bit of the pain away-- which is a good thing. I'll try fiddling with barre chords again later. For now, I'll just enjoy the tasty sounds of my distortion pedal.
I was actually hoping to find another cheapie Behringer at Macaulay's, but alas it wasn't meant to be. The BOSS wasn't a bank breaker though, retailing at $70. I didn't feel like driving up to Long and McQuade's, as the roads were a rink. Hopefully I didn't get hosed.
So, after unboxing the mutha and finished just toying with it, I started playing Fire, Water, Burn. Courtesy of Grindy's "power chords" lesson the last time we jammed together, I was able to get a little bit of a groove going. I'm not fast enough to keep up with the actual track yet, but I have a good handle on the theory behind it. Hopefully it won't take too long to get a complete handle on.
Lastly, I've continued trying the position provided by Philipi Hii (see my last post), and that does seem to help. It's taken a bit of the pain away-- which is a good thing. I'll try fiddling with barre chords again later. For now, I'll just enjoy the tasty sounds of my distortion pedal.
Technorati Tags: guitar, guitar theory, Pedal, BOSS DS-1, Review
Monday, January 8, 2007
12 Pains of improvement.
Catchy title huh? It's just that though. Well.. not completely.
I was looking at what Grindy was working (ie don't speak, which led me into trying out power chords and more barre chords. I decided to investigate what Ultimate-Guitar had to say about the subject, as I'm all about the self-edumacation. I went from
-----
-----
--5--
--5--
--3--
-----
to
-----
-----
--5--
--5--
--3--
--3--
and experienced new pain. Sure, it looks similar, but I moved my left third finger in such a way that a sudden shock up pain run up and down through the digit. I tried to do it again, and blammo, it happened again. Once again, I believe that I have to be schooled in hand placement. It's one thing to get pains in your wrists (which I did), but getting them in your fingers too? Something has to be wrong. And as I once heard someone say, "pain is nature's way of telling you you're doing something wrong."
I continued my edumacation by looking for proper techniques. The best I could find was this by Philipi Hii. Something about this doesn't feel right though. I may have to try it out a little more and see how it goes.
To sum up, I didn't really get anything accomplished today other than pain. Perhaps tomorrow will be less pain and more gain.
I was looking at what Grindy was working (ie don't speak, which led me into trying out power chords and more barre chords. I decided to investigate what Ultimate-Guitar had to say about the subject, as I'm all about the self-edumacation. I went from
-----
-----
--5--
--5--
--3--
-----
to
-----
-----
--5--
--5--
--3--
--3--
and experienced new pain. Sure, it looks similar, but I moved my left third finger in such a way that a sudden shock up pain run up and down through the digit. I tried to do it again, and blammo, it happened again. Once again, I believe that I have to be schooled in hand placement. It's one thing to get pains in your wrists (which I did), but getting them in your fingers too? Something has to be wrong. And as I once heard someone say, "pain is nature's way of telling you you're doing something wrong."
I continued my edumacation by looking for proper techniques. The best I could find was this by Philipi Hii. Something about this doesn't feel right though. I may have to try it out a little more and see how it goes.
To sum up, I didn't really get anything accomplished today other than pain. Perhaps tomorrow will be less pain and more gain.
Technorati Tags: guitar, guitar theory, Pain
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Don't Speak: A Spain in my ass
Don't Speak by No Doubt is a very cool song, I would say one of No Doubt's better joints fo sho. I thought the guitar in this song was catchy and sounded like a good Intermediate tab to sink my teeth into.
This song is actually finger-picked which is definitely a skill I need to work on. This is my second finger-picking song in a row which is a personal best. Anyway I got the verse down without too much difficulty :
---------------------------------------------------------
4-4--3---3--1-1---3--3--3---3---4---4----1---1---3---3--
4-4--3---3--1-1---3--3--3---3---4---4----1---1---3---3--
-5--5--5--5--3--3---3--3--5---5---5---5----3---3---3---3
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
The 445 progression is immediately identifiable as the "intro" and when you play through it a few times the rythm comes pretty natural. The chorus is comprised of everyone's favourite: barre chords
-8-------------------------8----
-9--------6------------6---9----
-10---6---8---8----6---8---10---
-10---8---8---10---8---8---10---
-8----8---6---10---8---6---8----
------6-------8----6------------
Once again not too difficult. The strumming is unique but it comes natural after a little practice. Then comes the solo (booo)
E---------1-3-1--------------------1-3-1--3------1-3-1-----------
B-4--1--4--------3---------(1)-1/4-----------1-4--------3--------
G-------------------3-0-1----------------------------------3-0--1
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
When you start playing this you think, "Ya I think I got it." Then you hear the actual recording and think. Oh crap I'm screwed! The pacing is incredibly fast. Not only that it's set to a flamenco-type cadence. It's basically fast intermixed with flurries of turbo-fast. I have a long way to go to get this down, I hope it doesn't end up on the cutting room floor like my other horrible failure this year.
This song is actually finger-picked which is definitely a skill I need to work on. This is my second finger-picking song in a row which is a personal best. Anyway I got the verse down without too much difficulty :
---------------------------------------------------------
4-4--3---3--1-1---3--3--3---3---4---4----1---1---3---3--
4-4--3---3--1-1---3--3--3---3---4---4----1---1---3---3--
-5--5--5--5--3--3---3--3--5---5---5---5----3---3---3---3
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
The 445 progression is immediately identifiable as the "intro" and when you play through it a few times the rythm comes pretty natural. The chorus is comprised of everyone's favourite: barre chords
-8-------------------------8----
-9--------6------------6---9----
-10---6---8---8----6---8---10---
-10---8---8---10---8---8---10---
-8----8---6---10---8---6---8----
------6-------8----6------------
Once again not too difficult. The strumming is unique but it comes natural after a little practice. Then comes the solo (booo)
E---------1-3-1--------------------1-3-1--3------1-3-1-----------
B-4--1--4--------3---------(1)-1/4-----------1-4--------3--------
G-------------------3-0-1----------------------------------3-0--1
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
When you start playing this you think, "Ya I think I got it." Then you hear the actual recording and think. Oh crap I'm screwed! The pacing is incredibly fast. Not only that it's set to a flamenco-type cadence. It's basically fast intermixed with flurries of turbo-fast. I have a long way to go to get this down, I hope it doesn't end up on the cutting room floor like my other horrible failure this year.
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