Laugh along…

A ‘C’, an E-flat, and a ‘G’ go into a bar. The bartender says: “Sorry, but we don’t serve minors.” So, the E-flat leaves, and the C and the G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished: the G is out flat. An F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough.

A D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, “Excuse me. I’ll just be a second.” An A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor. Then the bartender notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and exclaims: “Get out now! You’re the seventh minor I’ve found in this bar tonight.”

The E-flat, not easily deflated, comes back to the bar the next night in a 3-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender says: “You’re looking sharp tonight, come on in! This could be a major development.” This proves to be the case, as the E-flat takes off the suit, and everything else, and stands there au natural.

Eventually, the C sobers up, and realizes in horror that he’s under a rest. The C is brought to trial, is found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an upscale correctional facility. On appeal, however, the C is found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless.

The bartender decides, however, that since he’s only had tenor so patrons, the soprano out in the bathroom, and everything has become alto much treble, he needs a rest - and closes the bar.

On Monday I went to see my favorite band, The Black Keys, perform at the 9:30 Club in DC. We journeyed in by Metro, stopping first at Chinatown and had dinner at California Tortilla - which has an excellent southwestern salad.

The opening act was Buffalo Killers, which, while I dug the music, the singer was a tad bit shrill. Think Robert Plant, but without the stage presence. I’m going to have to look up one of their albums and give them a second chance.

The show was sold-out and packed to the rafters. We were in the center of the floor, and even I had a hard time seeing the stage with a bunch of tall bastards in front of us.

After a half hour of the opening act, and a half hour setup (which included inflating a giant tire) - The Black Keys finally took the stage.

They opened strong with a bunch of songs from different albums - All of them were great songs. They sound great live, and both guys play hard and with energy. It’s amazing what just a drum and guitar can accomplish.

I’ve just created a musician’s page on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/travisestrella) that has some of my older music on it. Eventually, I’ll start swapping out those with newer songs I’m currently writing. I’m getting a bit better - but head over there and friend me. And if you haven’t friend-ed me on my personal MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/ai_joe) - feel free to do so, just drop me a line first so I know who you are…

I’ve put together this handy PDF of my progression and circle of fifths chart. You’ll need the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print it. I’m putting together more charts like this. It really seems to help me learn.

Chord Progression and Circle of Fifths Chart (169KB pdf)

I’ve been working day and night trying to get this project done at work. However, I did take some time to use some of my Christmas gift cards and purchased the Boss DR-880 “Dr. Rhythm” drum machine. I had an older model that was from the 1990’s (the 550mkII) but it was 8-bit and had no practical way of backing up the patterns. I decided that I needed to upgrade. This sucker has multi-measure patterns, bass patterns, AND a Boss GT-6 guitar processor built-in. It has 500 user patterns and 500 preset patterns, each pattern can be assigned a bass line and guitar effects - all can be linked into songs which can be stored in 80 banks. That’s some pretty powerful stuff. The important part is the bass patterns. I’m currently still writing my song, and I’m trying to work out the chord progressions and beat. This is helping tons.

Now this is Boss’ promotional video for it. These guys are pretty ridiculous, but showcase the machine’s features:

I know, my puns are getting worse.

Happy New Year to all. 2008 is the year I’ll finally “get it” about music. I’ve put together the following chart to explain an anomaly in building key signatures while also explaining chord qualities in relation to scales.

I’m trying to come up with some charts for learning progressions in several keys. I’ve come across an anomaly in the chart that first confused me, but after working it out it seems to make sense. Hopefully, one of you can tell me if my thinking is correct:

Looking at the following chart, you can see that there are missing key signatures. According to the Circle of Fifths, there are 30 key signatures (15 major and 15 relative minor). The reason why there are missing keys for D# Major, G# Major, A# Major, B# minor, E#/Fb minor, and Gb minor is that they cannot be easily assigned accidentals through the key signature system.

The anomaly is from a notation standpoint. Writing out a G# Major scale, for example, would have

G# - A# - C - C# - D# - F - G

something that a key signature would have difficulty indicating since it contains both a G/G# and a C/C#. Using it’s enharmonic twin, Ab - the scale would read correctly with

Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - F - G

Now it contains the correct sequence of ABCDEFG and has the correct number of flats that corresponds to the Circle of Fifths and it’s appropriate key signature.

Next I’ll get into how the chords lead into each other and how special chords work within this paradigm.

My Christmas and Birthday turned out alright. Spent Christmas day with my family including my nieces and nephew. The kids got guitars which made me happy. If I can keep them interested and maybe show them a thing or two it would be great. I received a bunch of audio stuff from my mother (she was my secret santa this year, and I was hers). I received a M-Audio Oxygen 8 MIDI controller, a Weeping Demon Wah Pedal, and a 10 channel mixer. I also received a power conditioner which will hopefully eliminate the dirty power problem I’ve been having with my apartment.

The Oxygen 8 is a pretty decent controller. It’s only 2 octaves, which makes it great for travel - but it hosts a bunch of knobs and transport controls that works great with Reason. Thankfully, it’s also USB powered - no power cord!

I’ve only briefly been able to play with the Weeping Demon wah pedal - but it sounds nice with my Micro Cube amp. I can’t wait to put it to use.

The 10 Channel mixer is for my apartment. I intend to hook up most of my audio components through it, including my entertainment center, so I can use my headphones for everything and have the luxury of routing everything to my recorder or computer if need be.

My birthday was good. I’m starting to feel the heaviness of getting older. I miss my twenties, and I don’t have much further to go before I reach forty. Time flies. Erika took me to see Sweeney Todd - and I highly recommend the movie to anyone that can stand the blood. I was a fan of the play and Tim Burton did it justice.

I hope everybody had a great holiday. Cheers.

I’ve been looking around forever for a simple stand for some of my smaller equipment but couldn’t find exactly what I needed (and for cheap) so I came up with this idea. It’s just a board attached to a short mic stand. It cost me about $22 in materials.

The Materials:
• MDF Board (Hardware or lumber store)
• 3 #4 - 3/4″ Wood screws (<$2)
• A Female Mic Flange ($10 - www.sweetwater.com) [note: make sure it's female!]
• A Short Mic Stand ($10 - www.musiciansfriend.com)
• and eventually some Acrylic Primer, Paint, Clearcoat, and sanding pads…

The Tools:
• Saw (fine hard toothed)
• Drill w/ Bit smaller than the screws
• Screwdriver
• Particle Mask [warning!: MDF particles are harmful to breathe, wear the mask!]

Measure out the size of the board you need. Remember, this is a Mini-Stand, so be mindful that it is no larger than, say, 12″x12″. Mark the lines with a pencil and saw away outside. Wear the mask.

Once you get the size you want (in my case it was 10″x7″ - the size of my MicroCube), measure off the center. It’s pretty important that you get the center right, otherwise the stand will be unstable since it sits on top of a thin post.

Put the flange on and center it using the marks. Put the pencil through the holes and mark out screw holes. Drill small holes on these marks (about a quarter of an inch) and then screw the flanger onto the board.

It’s that simple. Attach a short mic stand and you have a great stand while sitting and playing the guitar. I plan on making a few more of these for my Fostex MR-8mkII recorder and other interfaces. Saves my back from reaching down all the time.

I also intend to prime it and then paint it black - like the song. I’ll add that part later, in the meantime, enjoy!

The last three years I’ve been trying to learn guitar. I’ve acquired a mass of learning materials. I’ve made a list of most of them and whether or not they have helped me. Most of them are about quick fixes - they either gloss over the most fundamental points of music or they assume that you know it already. Some of them simply have no visuals to further explain the lesson at hand. I’ll do my best to help you avoid the mistakes I’ve made in buying some of these and what to look out for on the others.

The Materials

Monster Guitar Method Volumes 1-5 (DVD)
Green Monster Music
John Maurice Doyle
(www.greenmonstermusic.com)
This is simply the best series hands down. It’s the closest you’re going to get to having a real instruction give you lessons. The DVDs each are broken up into about 4 week sessions. The idea is that you would watch a session per week, learn and master it and come back next week - just like you would with a real instructor. Each DVD comes with a packed booklet to accompany the lessons, and a Jam disc audio CD that has backing tracks to play guitar over. Mr. Doyle is very clear and concise and will teach you guitar and music theory in a relatively short time. He does it in the right order and almost at no time are you asking “What did he mean by that?”. Everything gets explained. He also is the only instructor out of all this that will explain rhythm and note structure. This is definitely the best out of all my material. Do yourself a favor and buy all 5 discs - you will want them. This is not a quick fix, this is teaching properly.

Fender Presents: Getting Started on the Electric Guitar (DVD)
Hal Leonard (2002)
Keith Wyatt
(www.amazon.com)

Fender Presents: Getting Started on the Accoustic Guitar (DVD)
Hal Leonard (2002)
Keith Wyatt
(www.amazon.com)
This was my first DVD. While I really like Keith Wyatt, it just went over my head. He assumed too much, talking about fifths and roots without explaining what they were. I did pick up some chords, but everything else I was left asking, “Why?”. No answers to be had. Also, it is very hard to see what strings he is pressing.

Ultimate Beginner: Blues Guitar Basics (DVD)
Alfred/Warner (2004)
Keith Wyatt
(www.amazon.com)
Again, all I got out of this was some licks and the Am Pentatonic and Blues scale - although it wasn’t explained to me why it was a Blues scale or what the heck a Pentatonic scale was - or how to use it in other keys. It was another DVD that left me with, “I kick ass in the A minor pentatonic - but what now?”.

Ultimate Beginner: Blues Guitar Basics (Book/CD)
Alfred/Warner (2004)
Keith Wyatt
(www.amazon.com)
The book gives more insight about a great many things - but I still wasn’t grasping it. They can show me what TABs and patterns to play, but without explaining WHY it works that way… well…

Ultimate Beginner: Rock Guitar Basics (DVD)
Alfred/Warner Rock Guitar Method DVD
Nick Nolan
Nick Nolan does a better job about explaining some of the notes on the fret board. He’ll teach you all about powerchords and throw in some theory and string techniques - this is probably my second pick, first being Monster Guitar Method. It still left me wanting more.

Rock Guitar Beginner and Intermediate (DVD)
Rock House Method (2005)
John McCarthy
(www.rockhousemethod.com)
This is the newest addition to my library. This is probably going to be the last - I think I have enough stuff to last me. If I don’t know guitar with all the stuff I have, I never will. I’ve watch most of the first disc. It seems to rehash a lot of the stuff I’ve already been through. It is missing a lot of chances to throw in some theory. It does come with a meaty booklet with large TAB numbers (yes!) but backing tracks must be sloppily downloaded from their website. The best part about Rock House, however, is the website. Design-wise still looks late 1990’s, but it does have a very attentive forum that you can ask questions and post stuff.

Music Theory for Guitarists (Book/CD)
Hal Leonard (2005)
Tom Kolb
(www.amazon.com)
I bought this book hoping gain additional knowledge about Guitar Theory - but something at the time didn’t click. Looking at it now, a LOT of things are apparent - but I think it was mainly the approach. It is very technical, and doesn’t contain application. As a companion to other material though, it is quite top notch and once you get the basics down, I highly recommend this book.

Total Electric Guitar/Fine Art of the Guitar (DVD)
Hot Licks (2006/2005)
Eric Johnson
(www.amazon.com)
With these two DVDs, the “Fine Art” one being sort of a sequel to the first, it is an example of watching someone with total mastery of the instrument. However, as a beginner - it’s a little too advanced. I’d rent it just to see how a genius like Eric Johnson thinks. Watching him in his world, one can only hope to be at that level sometime in the future.

Beginning Blues Guitar (DVD)
Musicians Workshop (2003)
Paul Lidel
(www.amazon.com)
I’d consider this one a sub-par instructional video. Watching it, I was too distracted by the guy’s demeanor and hair - he came off, well, goofy. The only use of visual learning is a split screen of his fretting hand, which turned out looking like he had an enlarged left hand. Skip it. This guy is not the one to be teaching me the blues.

Play Guitar: A Practical Guide (Book)
Barnes & Noble Pub (2005)
Nick Powlesland
(www.bn.com)
I picked this book and the next book up as a whim at Barnes and Noble’s bargain bin. It’s pretty good and it has LOTS of licks, lessons, and tid-bits in a thick book for only $12.

Learn to Play like the Guitar Greats (Book)
Hal Leonard (2005)
Charlotte Greig
(www.amazon.com)
Again, this book doesn’t really teach you anything about the basics of guitar - but it does offer insights about the important guitar legends, some of their licks, and their equipment. A lot of info in a thick book. Good deal for $12.

I’ve been trying to get my fingers stronger on my left hand, notably my ring and pinky finger. I’ve also had some problems reaching my index finger when going over more than four frets, especially on the larger frets at the top of the neck. I came up with these exercises. Go ascending and descending, and try mixing the two runs for even more of a workout. Use all four fingers per string and try not to lift a finger once it has gone down on a string (in order to get the maximum stretch). This is going to help me master a lot of the scale runs on my guitar.

E |-------------------------------------------------------------2--3--4--5----
B |-------------------------------------------------2--3--4--5----------------
G |-------------------------------------2--3--4--5----------------------------
D |-------------------------2--3--4--5----------------------------------------
A |-------------2--3--4--5----------------------------------------------------
E |-2--3--4--5----------------------------------------------------------------
   (1)(2)(3)(4)

E |-------------------------------------------------------------1--3--4--5----
B |-------------------------------------------------1--3--4--5----------------
G |-------------------------------------1--3--4--5----------------------------
D |-------------------------1--3--4--5----------------------------------------
A |-------------1--3--4--5----------------------------------------------------
E |-1--3--4--5----------------------------------------------------------------
   (1)(2)(3)(4)