As you can probably tell if you have been to my blog before, I am a big fan of guitars and workshops. In my opinion, the benefit of being surrounded by like-minded guitarists for an extended period of time is invaluable. Even private lessons fall short because you are only exposed to one teacher. This year Austin Peay State University is holding their first annual summer guitar workshop and competition. Christopher Davis (who is finishing his Master’s Degree at APSU) forwarded me the info and it looks like it is going to be an amazing event.
This workshop will be focused on classical and fingerstyle styles and will be held on the campus of APSU from June 27 through July 3. Each day will be a mix of masterclasses, lectures, ensemble rehearsals and performances. The cost for the workshop is $550 for a residential student and $390 for a commuter student. I have been doing workshops and logistics for these types of events for years and I don’t think I have EVER seen a quality workshop that is this great of a deal. If you are considering going to study guitar in college, you MUST do everything you can to attend this workshop. I really wish I would of had something like this available to me before I started my freshman year at MSU.
I recently came across a great resource for artists and bands who want to get their website together. My website is built on WordPress, one of the most popular CMS out there. The big advantage to WP is the amazing level of customization you can have. Most people start with some basic theme that they like and then they tweak it from there. One of the best themes aimed at musicians is at BandWebsiteTheme.com.
I have spent the last few days playing with this theme and I found it to be not only easy to modify, but a great way to get a professional web presence going without breaking the bank. There are a few features that really stand out to me.
The first one is the integration with all the major social networks. All you need to do is enter the URL of your profile and click a button and it automatically places the proper links on your website. Another great feature is the ability to host a solid e-commerce area right on your website. If you have t-shirts, posters or pretty much anything else to sell, this website comes ready for that.
If I was just starting out and I wanted to get a website up and running in a hurry, this would be the first place I would go to get started.
One of the most difficult parts of learning a new style is developing a basic vocabulary. Most times that involves long hours of transcribing licks from your favorite musicians. Although I believe that is the most effective way, another option is to analyze and play pre-written etudes. Guitarist Joshua Breakstone presents a collection of well-written jazz etudes over standard progressions.
The book begins with a very helpful look at alternate picking. In this section Breakstone analyzes several common jazz rhythms and gives suggesting picking for each. A common myth is that all alternate picking is strict up and down. According to this article, all downbeats should be played with a downstroke and upbeats with an upstroke.
The etudes are in the category of easy to intermediate, but they are very melodic. A recording accompanies the book where Breakstone plays each etude and then demonstrates certain passages. Along with each example, there is a corresponding lesson that discusses the concepts used in each etude. To me, these are the most valuable part of the book. Similar books are not uncommon, but where the disconnect occurs with students is how someone got from point A to point B. This book demonstrates exactly how certain phrases and techniques are created.
Overall, this is a great book for students who want to develop their jazz vocabulary. Another added benefit is that these etudes are great for getting your sight-reading together. Many times while working through this book, I would just open to a random page, start the metronome and begin to play. Highly recommended.
Music Success in Nine Weeks is a book that tells you exactly what is found inside. Author Ariel Hyatt is a music publicist who specializes in developing an online presence for independent artists.
First, let me tell you what this book isn’t. This book isn’t a collection of case studies of artists who were in the right place at the right time. Nor is this book a way to make your music better. This book gives you the tools and strategies to use the Internet to make you a more successful independent musician.
I love how this book is organized. Each chapter covers a list of tasks that you are to accomplish over the course of a week. Topics such as developing your pitch, understand Web 2.0 tools and getting into blogging are covered. Along with those tasks, Ariel gives you worksheets, quick tips and assignments to make sure you keep on the ball as you are developing. This is an EXTREMELY practical guide (something I wish more books strived to be) and anyone who picks this book up will find something useful immediately.
The best part of the advice Ariel gives is that it applies to more than just musicians. If you are a freelancer of any kind, these exercises and methods will work just as well for you. I found a few ideas that I am going to put to use with this blog.
Essentially, this is one of the best books of it’s kind around. Ariel is great at what she does and this is a handy DIY version of her more expansive CyberPR Campaigns.
Disclosure: Ariel is a good friend and she sent me a free copy of this book for review purposes. She is great at what she does and you should take a serious look at this book if you want to spread your gospel.
Truefire.com contacted me recently and asked if I would be interested in reviewing one of their products. They sent me 50 Jazz Licks You Must Know by guitarist Frank Vignola. I have seen some of Truefire’s earlier material and thought they were cool, so I agreed to check the new stuff out.
The whole idea behind the “50 Licks” series (which also comes in blues, rock, acoustic and country) is to give you some solid vocabulary that you are able to inject into your own playing very quickly. Frank Vignola is an excellent player and is able to dissect and explain each lick and give context to the phrases. Each lick is grouped by tonality (Major 7th or Minor 7th licks etc..), application (such as Jazz-Blues), and even some more complete ii-V7 licks that would be great not only for developing your vocabulary, but also becoming more comfortable with the fretboard by moving the licks to different keys.
Vignola demonstrates each lick at a moderate tempo. Along with the video, both PDF and Powertab files are provided. Once you have the fingerings down, a jam track is provided for you to practice along with. It is good to hear that Truefire didn’t use canned MIDI backing tracks for these.
Overall I think the 50 licks series is a solid product. This is a great product to jump start your playing or to broaden your knowledge of a certain genre. However, there are a few thing I think TrueFire could improve. The first one is PLEASE ditch the PowerTab. Every lick is tabbed out in PDF and demonstrated. I didn’t find any need for the PT files.
The other issue I had was with how the licks were grouped. It would be more helpful if they were grouped by key in addition to context. Both of these issues are really minor and don’t really take anything away from the product.
As I was working with this DVD, I thought about some ways a student could get more out of this. Here are some ideas:
Write out a composed solo or etude with the ideas presented in the DVD. This will give you practice not only with the compositional process, but it will allow you to internalize the licks easier. It would be great if TrueFire included a couple of these with each course.
Take one phrase and write as many variations as you can. Change the rhythm, key and context and pretty soon you have an entirely new phrase that is your own.
If you have any ideas on how to make instructional products more helpful, I would love to hear them in the comments below. Take a minute and check out all the other instructional DVD’s and guitar lessons at TrueFire.com
Here is a video of Frank Vignola and Bucky Pizzarelli playing Limehouse Blues:
