Clapton Need Not Worry

Guess what?  John says my rhythm isn't as bad as I think--I just need to practice the one-TWO-three-FOUR count a little more.  I pointed out that not all songs go like that and he agreed but said it was handy when playing with someone else.  Okay.  I'll go with that.

I took the electric guitar with me this week and it was a lot of fun.  After he listened to me play Smoke on the Water, Iron Man and the "hip" chords with hammer-ons (from which the rhythm discussion ensued), I asked him which kind of chords to use with Hotel California and he told me what I had already figured out.  The musician needs to know how to make each chord in all its different forms in order for the song to flow.  Makes sense to me.  Fortunately, I'm not starting from scratch.  Unfortunately, it'll be a while before I master it.

This week's lesson is Cream's Sunshine of Your Love.  It doesn't seem too hard so far, but I'll admit I've only practiced a couple of nights.

Wednesday night I went to writers group at the Barnes & Noble in West Ashley.  Man, what a fun group that is.  Most of the time.  One of the great things about it is the leader, David Moulton, is a singer/songwriter and sometimes he brings his guitar to sing us one his songs.  Lately, a musician friend of his has been coming and bringing his guitar and that's what happened this week.  He sang us two of his songs and along with the lyrics, I was interested in his guitar playing technique.  He finger-picked, which is something I want to learn, and he wore three (or four?) finger picks on his right hand. 

I was not in the right seat to see very well, but it's cool to watch someone do this.  I still don't get it though.  I think I need to study my theory more in order to figure out which strings to pick to make it sound good.  Oh!  And then I have to remember what I just did, when I do make something sound decent, eh?  Hahaha!!

Anyway, I'm making progress.  I hope to get together with my nephew, Conner, sometime and see what I can learn from him.  Just having more than a half hour at a time to play with someone would be helpful. 

In the meantime, Eric Clapton's job and reputation are safe.  Hahaha!!

Old fingers, new tricks

Just when frustration takes over and I think, there's no way I can do this, my fingers surprise me and stretch--or stay put--or whatever I ask them to do in practice.  This week it's bar (or barre) chords.

On Monday, I was excited to show off my "hip chord" skills to John so, of course, he added a "hammer-on" to the mix.  Oh, and my rhythm still stinks, by the way, so instead of his being able to play along with me (or the other way around) he's just going to have to listen to what I came up with.  Thank goodness he's got a great sense of humor and is not a stickler for perfection.  He even comes up with spontaneous riffs for me to work on.  The least I can do is practice diligently.

Which is what I've been doing.  We're working on the E based bar chord this week and he pulled out the Proud Mary riff for me.  Hahaha!!  And how come I can do it in his studio, but when I get home, it sounds like a four-year old banging on the strings?  (Still laughing at myself.)

I posted my frustration on Facebook and pleaded for advice from all those musician "friends" I have out there.  The one response I got was from Mike C., a Marshall friend who was one of my original inspirations to play guitar in the first place.  He recommended that I switch from the acoustic to the electric, and bar chords might get easier.  I did, and they have.  Thanks, Mike!    

So anyway, the first problem I had was keeping my E fingers in the E formation as I worked my way up the neck.  'Course the major problem was keeping my #1 finger across the strings.  Very little in life comes easily.  Ta-a-a-ke a deep breath.  Try again. 

I worked out some drills for myself--do some scales using just the bar with #1, and then do them with the chord.  Put them together and I'm getting better. Not nearly perfect, or even good, but better.  Now my complaint is there's not enough room for both the 3 and 4 fingers inside the 12th fret.  And I don't have fat little fingers.  In fact, my fingers are about the only non-chubby parts of me.  Whatever.  I'll keep working on it. 

Yesterday I found a book I bought at Barnes & Noble . . . God only knows when . . . called Total Guitar by Terry Burrows (1998, Carlton Books Limited) whose author notes on the dust jacket flap include the following:  "He is an eclectic musician responsible for over 40 commercial releases since the mid-1980's, in a bewildering variety of styles and guises."  I looked it over when I brought it home, but there was so much I didn't understand.  I checked it out yesterday and it was like a light bulb went off over my head.  Oh-h-h, now I get it. 

And I'm looking forward to my lesson next week when I walk in with my electric guitar.  I mean, John teaches me on his electric.  My favorite music to listen to comes from electric guitars.  Why haven't I taken it before now?  Eh, (shrug) who knows?

Look out, John, here I come!

A Big Oops and "Hip" Chords

No wonder my rhythm is so bad.  Apparently I can't count.  Even though my last post was titled "Lesson Number Three," it was actually lesson number two.  It was post number three.  I'll try to keep better count of which is which from now on.  Oy.

It normally takes me a day or two to digest my lesson before I blog about it and this week is no exception.  I am late however, because of the Super Bowl.  Well . . . a Super Bowl party and the way I felt on Monday morning--d'oh!  I would not have been the optimum student on Monday and John was gracious enough to reschedule me for Wednesday.  Thanks, dude.

I got a little frustrated during practice last week, which is not the point of taking these lessons.  My fingers stretched out nicely but I started stressing about little things like not resting my fingers on the pick guard while strumming the two-string songs and trying to control my fingers better on Smoke on the Water.  When I voiced my concerns, John settled me down and didn't make a big deal of either issue. 

I also needed to work on my chord changes.  Now, keep in mind I learned these chords back in the Dark Ages (i.e. before Van Halen) and the popular music in Huntington, West Virginia during that time was what one would call "Country Rock" or "Southern Rock."  Some of the bands I'm talking about were Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, early Eagles, 38 Special, Charlie Daniels--you get the picture.  I learned to make basic chords with traditional fingering.  So when John said he would show me the "hip" way to make C, G and E minor, I was all for it!

A self-taught guitarist learns to make chord changes the fastest way they can, and I'm sure there are others who have done a better job of it than I ever did.  I was already making a G, in certain circumstances, using my 2, 3 and 4 fingers, so I guess John figured I could handle what he was getting ready to show me.  Starting with the G in that configuration, move finger 2 to the 5th string for C, and use finger 1 on the same string in the fret above for E minor.

What a revelation!  This has made all the difference, especially the change between C and G.  I mean, I finally got the fluidity I've needed between the intro and the verses of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.  Wheeeeee . . . ! E minor has never been a big deal to me, but even that's easier in songs like Violent Femmes' Blister in the Sun and Green Day's Good Riddance.

For this week's neck work I have Black Sabbath's Iron Man riff, which I'm doing all right with, though I still have to work on that visual problem I had last week.  John also gave me chords for the Eagles' Hotel California, for which (so far) I'm finding traditional fingering might be the best.  We'll see about that.  My brother-in-law is supposed to be working on this song too, but I just may be able to pass him up if I work hard enough.

I'm psyched again--no more stress!  This is supposed to be fun and that's what it's gonna be. 

Last Friday the North Mississippi All Stars opened up for Robert Plant and his Band of Joy at the Performing Arts Center.  Man, the NMAS rock the blues and I'm not kiddin'!  For being just one guitar and a drummer onstage, their sound was amazing. 

I was prepared to hear the more folksy, country sound of Robert Plant and Band of Joy, so I wasn't as surprised as some people seemed to be.  Plant's signature voice hasn't lost a step. His  harmonies with Patty Griffin and the rest of the band were rich and full, and Buddy Miller's guitar work seemed effortless as he switched from rock to country, folk to bluegrass to gospel.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss more songs from Plant's solo career as well as Zeppelin, but this incarnation presented an opportunity I'm glad I didn't miss.