Muito Ninja

Of course to people like W. C. Handy who were brought up singing in church, the piano was the natural instrumental accompaniment to their songs. But the guitar is portable and always was popular so it had to have a place in blues and jazz. Blues guitar players like twelve string guitarist Leadbelly and future electric guitar player B.B. King were making sure the guitar would be an integral part of the blues. Other blues guitarists made their living in smoky saloons playing slide guitar using a bottle neck or the blade of a knife to fret the notes.

After the Second World War young artists like Elvis Presley and Bill Haley were wrapping the blues in a new package called "rock'n'roll" and the players of the electric blues guitar like B.B. King were heralding the arrival of the lead guitar, soon to be a great attraction for both musicians and audiences. Throughout the evolution of the blues the guitar had always taken its turn for solos in jazz bands but now it competed with the singer for the attention of the audience.

Blues guitar can be played in any key that takes your fancy and comes in three basic forms: eight bars, for example "Heartbreak Hotel", sixteen bars like "Saint James Infirmary" and twelve bars like "St. Louis Blues". For some reason the twelve bar blues form is way more singer-friendly and popular with audiences than the other two, and it is the basis of many great songs outside the blues idiom.

If you go poking around the internet you will find that the blues scales are just your garden variety major and minor scales except that the third, fifth and seventh notes are played flat. However, you may be astonished to learn that blues players managed for centuries without knowing about European musical theory. They learnt to sing and play from their families and friends just as many of the young white blues players of the nineteen sixties learnt from imitating the artists they heard on records.

And this is where the blues takes another direction. After years of imitating their idols something odd happened to the white blues guitar players in Britain and the USA. They developed their own authentic, original styles. The older blues players even began using the new arrangements of classic songs and adopting some of the unbluesy musical innovations introduced by young white guitarists like Eric Clapton. So the beat goes on. A foreign culture influences American popular music and in turn gets fresh input from a new generation of guitar players from all over the world.

: article by sas_ricky ]]> http://igblog.wordpress.com/?p=975 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:34:49 +0000 ig http://igblog.wordpress.com/?p=975 According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has turned down offers to feature Led Zep tunes in Guitar Hero.

As mentioned in the article, “the band isn't comfortable with the prospect of granting outsiders access to its master tapes, a necessary step in creating the games.” “It ain't about the money,” the band’s rep said in the article.

The Led Zep decision comes as bands like Aerosmith and others join the Guitar Hero craze to feature music centered on single bands. Surely the collaboration with Guitar Hero will create new sources of income for the bands, not to mention the pleasure of letting fans (old and new) join in the fun.

Where do you draw the line? Is it good news that Jimmy Page is making a stand? If so, good news for who? Real guitar players? Anyone else?

If Jimmy Page is concerned that Led Zep songs will be altered in some way, can listeners and gamers really tell the difference? Do they care? I think of all the hundreds of thousands of bands that cover Led Zep tunes and realize that listeners everywhere experience Led Zep tunes in many different ways. But, whichever way a Led Zep song is experienced (whether from an original recording of the band or another band covering the song) to fans and listeners the songs are Led Zep songs, period.

...

The strings of an electric guitar are under particular strain, and so nylon would simply not be sufficient as far as its tensile strength is concerned. Typically the steel strings of either electric guitars or steel strung acoustic guitars are made either from a collection of alloys, rather than pure steel itself, and these alloys usually include steel, nickel and even phosphor bronze. The strings of bass guitars are manufactured rather differently from the acoustic or electric guitars, and rather than having a single fibre or string, those incorporate into the build of a bass guitar tend to be wound instead. The strings of a guitar are strung very tightly against the neck of the guitar, and kept parallel to it for the whole distance.

Running behind the strings for almost the full length of the fret board or neck are frets, small ridges which, if the string is depressed by the finger, will catch the string at a certain, measured distance from the body, shortening the string by a mathematically calculated amount, resulting in a change of resonance or frequency that produces a distinct note. The actual method used to strum or pluck the strings of a guitar varies widely, and this can depend upon a number of factors, including the type and model of guitar, and the style of play. For example, Spanish guitars and flamenco guitars tend to be plucked, whereas some guitars are hit rather than plucked or strummed. Strumming involves pushing a nail or plectrum against the strings, usually striking all or most of the strings in ascending chromatic order.

Alternatively, individual strings may be plucked to bring out single notes, and usually in most guitar music it is a combination of these two methods which provides the backing chords and sound of the music, with the individual notes being picked out as a separate line of music. Because of the strain on the strings, it is possible that over time they stretch or loosen slightly, and so at the top of the neck is the headstock, where the strings end, and each can be tightened slightly using a turning screw. By tightening the string the length and thickness of the string is altered slightly, and this can adjust the frequency and therefore the note associated with that string. It is therefore important that prior to a performance the guitar is tuned to make sure that each string is stretched to the correct note.

: article by Victor Epand ]]> http://shufflocity.wordpress.com/?p=78 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:35:16 +0000 shufflocity http://shufflocity.wordpress.com/?p=78 available from:

CD Baby

Nowadays, most recordings are created in small studios using computers to both record and generate the music. This has freed us from the tyranny of the big music companies that care only about profits and little about art.
It has allowed incredible musicians of limited means all over the world to share their talents with us and give us -- as consumers -- access to a variety of music that  just a few years ago would have been unimaginable.

However, the explosion of digital music has had one negative consequence. That is the reduction of opportunities for the live and spontaneously created music that occurs only when real people get together to perform. There are many other factors contributing to the decline of live music, to be sure, but the ease with which one can create layer upon layer of synthesized, overdubbed, corrected tracks has resulted in a certain sterility in many recordings.

I have been as guilty of this as anyone. All of the CDs that I have released over the years have been produced in this way -- one track at a time, using the computer to play most of the tracks (even those I could have played myself).

With this album I was determined to create as *live* a feeling as I could. To start with, all of the cuts feature a strict quartet format: guitar, bass, keys, drums. There is no layering of numerous keys, strings, or brass. All of these arrangements could be played live *exactly* as they are recorded here. Of course the guitar parts are played *live*. In addition, I played all the bass parts *live*. However, I must admit I cannot play drums or piano well enough. So, those parts are still handled via midi programming. However, I paid particular attention to programming parts that would be what real musicians would play, and to rendering them realistically.

Ultimately it will be up to you to decide whether I have succeeded in capturing the energy and drive of a live performance. I hope you enjoy these tracks.

• Cluckin' Hen
• Wreck of the Old 97
• Carrickfergus

This is a great project and I hope all of you take the time to get involved in some way.

Wolfgang also has a YouTube video up featuring his playing and some pictures from his trip to America.

"freaks of nurture" is a poppy little romp through my last few weeks, and simultaneously through years of field work in the area of relationships and human interaction.

MUSIC

this was another song written from the "guitar." this is often a good bet for me, if i give it time and enjoy playing the instrument. as a keyboard player and drummer, the guitar is both a nice break and an environment with welcome limits. the verse section of this song is a testament to that: very simple and melody driven. the "chorus" has a "strange change" that i think helps get its' point across, even though the "nothing new under the sun" theory still applies.

for the geeks: i go to the the four chord for the chorus, but make it it IV, IV/I, #IV. what the hell?.

also for the geeks, or anyone who feels like singing along, the melodies in the verse and chorus start exactly the same way...with the same five notes, but in different keys! yay!! this is one of those "continuity" issues that i was really happy with.

after writing the core of the song on my back porch with guitar and voice and verse one lyrics (and coffee), i went to Ableton Live and laid down the fake drums and keyboard parts. i was going for simple, synthy, and a bit funny. i then added guitar, bass, and background vocals that were vaguely in my head from early on, but as usual, came together during the recording process.

WORDS (also known as "lyrics")

whew...ok...well. this is another song in the "serious" category, which i'm getting increasingly comfortable with for some reason. while it's understandably vague (i think), it stems from a short list of things:

1. the maplympics (july 4th weekend of events here)

2. girls

3. human nature, social verses innate

4. a funny compound plural noun coined years ago by my friend, steve williamson: "freaks of nurture"

5. a couple of recent dates i've had.

woah. dates? i won't get into it here. but let's say that i know some lovely people. this song isn't "about" anyone but me ultimately, but touches on some of my "romantic" relationships, and the conflict and joy therein. in this song, it's something that reminds me of how wonderfully humans are made (creationist theory), and how interesting and tricky it can be to operate as one (inherently).

-------------

thanks for listening! if you'd you find me interesting enough to send you updates about "song of the week" postings, please click HERE for the mailing list.

if you don't, thanks for your patience.

j

Review

GUITAR HERO: AEROSMITH

2/5

Pros
Not a bad song in the bunch
If you love Aerosmith this is your game
Still Guitar Hero
You actually play with Aerosmith

Cons
If you don’t like Aerosmith you won’t like this game
Fret board is harder to see
Way to expensive
Not enough songs
To easy
Some songs are overcharted

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Okay there are a few things that need to be said before I go on with my review of this game.  I love, love, love, Aerosmith, they are one of my favorite bands of all time which is one reason this game did not get a 1 out of 5 from me.  So a bit biased but oh well.

Anyway it seems like Neversoft just wanted to get a game out there just to hold people over until GH: WT.

Amazing (Track List)

Now I would like to start out with the best part of this game and that is the soundtrack.  The soundtrack to this game is simply incredible, not only does it have most of the greatest Aerosmith songs ever, it also has songs by bands Aerosmith has played with.  So what you get are songs ranging from Cheap Tricks “Dream Police”, and Ted Nugents “Cat Scratch Fever, to Aerosmiths “Rag Doll” and my personal favorite “Train Kept a Rollin”.

Yet for some reason even though this is an Aerosmith game, there are some Aerosmith songs missing.  And good ones too, “Eat the Rich”, “Cryin”, “Amazing”, and “Janie’s Got a Gun” are all mysteriously absent.  Unfortunately that adds to a negative aspect of the game which I will get to later on.

Dude Looks like Steven Tyler

Now the overall look of Guitar Hero Aerosmith is pretty good but not much has changed since GH:3, except for one difference, now everyone knows how in GH:3 you could play against and unlock Slash and Tom Morello, and on a couple songs get Poison’s Bret Michaels to take over singing for your band.  Well in this game the band is Aerosmith, all of Aerosmith, you get Steven Tyler swaying his hips back and forth, you get Joe Perry strutting his stuff, you get Brad Whitford playing the bad ass mutha f**ka, Joey Kramer banging away on the ol’ drumset, and Tom Hamilton making a beat with his bass.

What’s cool is that all of the band members signature moves are represented.  One slight though is that Joe Perry‘s guitar fretboard gives you eye strains, be prepared. I guess I don’t got much else to say about the graphics then.  Moving on.

I’m  Cryin’

That was about all the good, now the bad.  To start off this game is $60, yes that’s right $60, now I’m sure I’m not the only one in the country that can see how much of a rip off this is right… right?  Obviously not because some people are still buying it.  Even though there are only 41 songs it’s still being sold for full price.  That’s just wrong, give it to me for $30, hell even $40 and I’d be fine with it, but 60 bucks for what is just an expansion, it’s not right.

Also this game is way to easy now I get that, Aerosmith has some of the best guitar around but they don’t got the super shred cred, that a band like, Metallica does, that’s fine but how does Neversoft try to fix this you may ask?  Well they over chart the hell out of some songs.  They seem to have a problem with this as there were some songs with the same problem in GH:3 and it bugs me.  This is most notable in Train Kept a Rollin’ in which your constantly playing notes that don’t exist.

Train Kept a Rollin’ and you should to

Overall I was just crushingly disappointed with this game and I was looking forward to it to.  All right now if you are die hard Aerosmith fan like I am then definitely rent this game it’s worth at least that, but if your not a fan of the legendary rockers stay away from it play GH:3.

Review by:  John Callahan

Ascoltare per credere ;)

FACT

-Release is Currently set for October 2008

-Players can play either the guitar, drums, or perform vocals.

-All instruments are wireless

-The new guitar has many added feature: a touch pad on the neck next to the buttons that allows for altering notes during sustains or tapping, a back select button that looks like a bridge, a bigger body, a d-pad that looks more like a knob.  In-game customization options include body shape, finish, color, decals, fret board inlay, headstock shape and finish, pick guards, knob shape, pickups, bridge, and string type.

-The guitar player has a 6^th note played by strumming w/o pressing a button.

-The Mic has no buttons, so a controller will need to be used for menus.  Activating star power w/ the mic is done by tapping or making a similar quick sound at any time.  In-game customization options include shape, shell finish, skins, sticks, and decals.

-The drums have three pads, two symbols, and a pedal.  Star power is activated by hitting both symbols simultaneously.  These are also much quieter than Rock Band drums.  In-game customization options include microphone stand types and colors.

-Characters include all from GH II & III as well as real rockers and customs.

-Character customization can be as basic or detailed as you like.  Almost everything can be customized.

-It’s not just about classics anymore.  Confirmed artists include Linkin Park, Van Halen, Sublime, Billy Idol, the Eagles, Lenny Kravitz, Blink 182, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Foo Fighters.

 -Career mode involves touring around the world (…) and playing various venues.  Game play is non-linear, so you can start at whatever difficulty level you want.

-A new “beginner” difficulty level which is easier than “easy” is included.

-Everything you do while signed in as your main character will earn you “cash” and guitarhero.com bonuses, even if you’re not playing career mode.

-The initial disc has over 85 songs, all master recordings.

-DLC from Guitar Hero III isn’t compatible.

-There will be an in-game music store shortly after launch that includes full albums and regularly updated releases.

-You can make music w/ the music creator by simply playing, or going deeper, but there is no vocal recording.

-The Wii will have all DLC options that they PS3/360 will have.

RUMOR

-Rumored artists include the Police, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Interpool, the Answer, Aerosmith, Grand Funk Railroad, and Muse.

I'm very proud to announce this release:

Queen Bee (PAK / QB Explorer, Editor) for Guitar Hero etc

This explorer / editor allows you to modify QB files contained in PAK files.
Feature List:-
- Currently only supports Wii PAK / QB files.
- Edits a PAK's QB file in memory (No Import / Export required)
- Import / Export / Export All functionality for PAK files.
- Supports all internal QB structures contained in Guitar Hero 3 / Aerosmith
and Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (qb.pak.ngc).
- All items are editable including increasing the size of text items.
- Debug files are supported to help describe the QB file structures.
- QB files are Bit perfect if loaded and saved without changes even though
the file has been broken down and fully rebuilt.
- Saves settings on exit
Todo (soon):-
- Save more items on exit (sort order and column widths/positions)
- Fix and log bad pointers instead of raising an exception.
- Search ability

Wish List:-
- Support PC / PS2+3 / XBox (I need help to identify/resolve the differences)
- Command Line support?
Developer Notes:-
- Internal QB pointers are not used when loading files, instead they are used
to validate the file is not corrupt.
- This application was developed to allow other developers to use the code in
their code.
- The code will be released when I'm happy this app functions correctly and all
the data types are correct.

Respect to ALL who contribute to the following:
- Console Reversing
- Homebrew
- Scene News
- Custom Guitar Hero Discs (Any Console)
Your efforts and time are appreciated.

This application requires the .Net framework 2.0 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

Enjoy...

--------------------------------

Back with another release:

v0.0.0.2
- Added: Search tab. Search by String or QB Key
- Added: Save and restore splitter positions
- Added: Save and restore column widths positions and sort order
- Added: Prompt when leaving QB tab with un saved items
- Fixed: Improved performance on PAK load
- Fixed: Internal form title tweak
- Fixed: Form size and position save and restore (for maximise)
- Fixed: All QB Keys are displayed and edited as Big Endian (previously the hardware default)
- Fixed: Issue where if item had too many items Windows would run out of handles. Now shows message
- Removed: "Open QB >>" button from first tab

Please report any issues.

Download1

Download2

We arrived at the Excel Centre armed with all the exhibition bits and pieces as well as a 12 year old bottle of Glenfiddich whiskey. I saw some great guitarists including Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert ...oh and Jason Bonham popped past our stand as well as Courtney Pine! It was full on to say the least!. I did find some time to whizz around some of the other stands and came across the Tascam stand where the guys there had a massive jar of retro sweets - Parma Violets the lot! Well I immediately dipped into the jar with permission of course. I thought it only polite to revisit the guys with my bottle of Glenfiddich and some glasses! I was made very welcome and we made "Whiskey O'Clock" at the end of the day a statutory requirement. In fact, we all really hit it off and as a lovely surprise when on the last day of the show the Tascam guys gave me a portable digital recording studio to take back to Scotland with me!!! I was so thrilled .. what a lovely kind thing to do and I will certainly make great use of it! Those guys Rawk! I think that some of them are going to try and get along to the Ronnie Scott's shows too.

We came back from the London Music Show absolutely shattered with having been on our feet for 4 days but thankfully we had some help on the stand. We had hired in a team of promo girls and guys. It was real team work.

Back from London and with a couple of days to cuddle the cat and catch up on normal stuff I was off to Glasgow to be a judge at the Young Entrepreneur Awards. The teams I was judging were fabulous but for me there were 2 stand out entries, one school from Inverness with their "Eat 5 a day" giant fridge magnets and the other school from Shetland with their GoEco bags! Very enterprising and lovely bright kids! I even bought 3 of the Fridge Magnet packs to take back home. I wonder who finally won the award? I should find out this week hopefully.

So - Thursday 19th June and it's an early flight to get down to Haverhill for a show at the Arts Centre with Martin. I wondered if my new pink suitcase would survive the baggage handlers??? Or even arrive at the airport at all! The Royal Highland Show was on and it was a complete nightmare getting to Edinburgh airport with massive delays due to the shear amount of traffic - almost missed the flight! Phew that was close!

Thursday 19th June Haverhill Arts Center
Martin and I have been doing shows with some props - lamp, table, picture of my cat...... but of course impossible to travel with when it come to flights. As it happens the Arts Centre had fabulous green battery lamps so I managed to pull together the props I needed for the show. I ended up actually swapping the lamp for a couple of CDs ... so I have my own travel lamp now and it looks very retro. All set for Ronnie's now!

Friday 20th June - day off so made the most of it and did some shopping for some on the road essentials.

Saturday 21st June - BBC Radio 4 Show Loose Ends with Clive Anderson.

It was an early start to get to the BBC for the show and once we got our sound check done it was straight onto recording. Martin and I played "If It's Magic" and the other musical guest was pop group "James" who played a song from their new album called "Hey Ma". The chat guests were Anne de Courcy author of "Snowdon", actor David Bradley who played the caretaker in Harry Potter, Peter Moffat writer of new BBC Drama "Criminal Justice", Rachael Stirling actress who was talking to Matthew Sweet ,presenter of BBC4 documentary "British B Movies: Truly Madly Cheaply" and comedian Todd Barry from New York who also starred in TV series "Sex and the City". What an interesting day that was! Loads of great chat and laughter after the show had been recorded.

So tomorrow I have a show in Harlow - so signing off for now as I need some extra ZZZzzzzz's!
Ciao for now

Alison
x

For more info go to www.alison-burns.com

Still in badly need of a set up and while I was testing it just now the bridge pickup suddently died... Need to get it fixed but other than that its a cool guitar.

Click the image for a high-resolution version.

I stumbled upon a review from Premier Guitar about the TC Electronic G-Natural. It seems pretty solid.

"In short, any hardcore acoustic act would love this pedal. It gives you control of your sound, tuning and muting capabilities, plus fun FX and volume for solos... The G-Natural would be a great buy just to take the headache out of gigging with a variety of instruments that have different mix needs."

I don't want to gleam too much, so check out the article for more depth.

Link:http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Mar/Review_TC_Electronic_G_Natural_Multi_effects_Processor.aspx
Link:http://www.worldmusicsupply.com/guitars/accessories/guitar-effects/TC-Electronic/G-NATURAL.asp

We are witnessing a globalized political whitewash job, with artists and assorted collectors, dealers, and sycophants pouring a thick layer of avant-garde double-talk over the infernal decade of suffering, destruction, and death that Mao unleashed on his country in 1966. And as we are also dealing with the house of mirrors that is the art world, I have no doubt that somebody is ready to explain that I am confusing appropriation with approbation or that fascism is just another way of spelling freedom.

(via 3QD)

--

Better, a roundup of art reflecting desolation, worlds without people and post-apocalyptic cityscapes:

This new ruin romanticism is especially evident in the Flooded London imagery, rendered up by Squint/Opera (the firm behind the visualisations for the 2012 Olympic Stadium, via Archinect - what could be the emotional motivation behind their fascination with rendered ruins?). The imagined ruin has always existed - they have been a staple artistic subject for centuries. Only the focus used to be on abandoned civilizations, the perceived hubris of the ancients. In contrast, the virtual ruination of the modern era is self-imposed schadenfreude, with all the damage and joy turned inwards. It is a feeling made universal by the internet, where planning catastrophes and architectural missteps are all lovingly chronicled and catalogued.

When I Am Legend came out, New York was briefly plastered with posters of Will Smith and his dog, walking briskly down a completely empty city street.  Commuters gazed upon the posters with wistful sighs.

Last night, the boy next door who's been learning guitar, held a little concert just outside my window.  He went through the entire White Album, and his group of friends was very encouraging of his efforts.  If I woke up tomorrow and found myself the last human on Earth, I think I'd be alright with it.  (And I wear contact lenses, so.)

4 songs, in studio... FREE downloads. Bad drawing this time, though... eh... :)

http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1346/kaki-king

The YouTubes:

~Dan - np: George Carlin - Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics

Hey Pat and Patrick,

It's great and all that you're encouraging us families to make music together - but you might want to consider the positive and the negative consequences...

I introduce Shadrach, Meshack, and the Abednegos playing Skip to My Lou with Joe (3) on Tambourine, Patrick (5) on Guitar, Pat on Banjo, Sarah on Mandolin, Mary (7) on the camera and John (1) eating grass.

Enjoy (or cover your ears)...

It's about 7 am, and I am enjoying my first sips of hot fresh coffee...the streets of Queens are quiet and only half of the street is seeing the first rays of today's sun....

This past week was fabulous. I had a knockout gig at Acoustic Long Island, spent time with my family, had some "working musician" type gigs, and today I leave for Nashville to hang out at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society yearly gathering.

Life is good. I am at peace. I am fortunate to wake up every day to infinite possibilities. I am blessed to have a worthwhile goal of playing this guitar as good as I can.

It's really not all about "guitar" though. I am lucky and fortunate in life to see meaningful goals ahead of me, and I get to spend my time and energy every day realizing those goals. I have made decisions and sacrifices to set up that type of lifestyle.

To witness the unfolding of it all is breathtaking. To see that I, as a human, have the ability to visualize something and bring it into being is an awesome feeling.

A few years ago I envisioned playing solo acoustic guitar for people and knocking 'em out. To see that the "vision" has materialized means I can create my reality, I can do it - whether it is a house, car, career - anything - I can do it. And, I'll never "get there"...it's all a delicious process.

Success is the "delicious unfolding" of one's desires. Success is living on purpose, rather than default.

I get to wake up every day and feel this good. That is wealth, abundance and success. I wish this for everyone.

When I talk to friends and family, and I see their confusion, not knowing the career direction they want, or frustration, the comparing to others and feeling like they are falling short, not looking good enough, and all the typical psycho spiritual ailments of common folks, I want to tell them......

Turn the TV off.
Turn the laptop off.
Get quiet.
Be still.
Breathe.
Allow restlessness to arise, but stay there.
Allow the chatter to go on, it is it's own thing. It's not you.
Watch what happens when it stops.
Bathe in the silence.
Breathe.
Listen.

Do this twice a day for 30 minutes and watch your life change.

=-=-=-

Time to pack...see you in Nashville!!!

19 out of 20 guitars not properly set up...that's a lot of guitars not living out their full potential.

Which brings me to my point. You and everyone else who plays guitar should learn how to do basic guitar set ups and repair. Period.

So, if you haven't, don't forget to enter IG BLOG's giveaway of Fret MD: Electric Guitar and Bass Setup and Maintenance, a DVD hosted by the man himself, Al Markasky. Just shoot me an email (igblog at aol.com) with your name on it to enter.

Winner will be announced this Thursday.

Check out IG BLOG's review of Fret MD.