As any student of music is surely aware, there is a virtually unlimited number of instructional resources available, often for free, online. Even when I was learning guitar, I relied heavily upon a number of websites for tablature, playing exercises, and technical guidance. Now, with the accessibility of homemade videos and ebook self-publishing, online resources are both more technologically complex and far more abundant. In this blog, I’ll review as many websites and lessons as I can, and I’ll try to compile a list of the best online resources available. Check back often, I’ll plan on adding new reviews every week!
Coming Soon: Website Reviews
Posted in Music Lessons, Pedagogy, Reviews
Tagged Banjo, Free lessons, Guitar, Mandolin, Music lessons, Pedagogy, Reviews
Leave a comment
Muay Thai
Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing, is the national sport of Thailand. Though it has ancient origins, Muay Thai developed into its modern, standardized form in the twentieth-century. Its mythology and history is deeply embedded in Thai culture and it is considered representative of the grace and power characteristic of Thai men, and Thailand as a nation. Muay Thai is also referred to as “The Art of Eight Limbs,” because punches, kicks, knees, and elbows are all legal strikes.
Yodphet, in the red gloves, is a trainer at Jun Muay Thai, in Koh Samui, Thailand.
Coming Soon: The Mike Op Music Beginner Guitar Series!
I’m just putting the finishing touches on my new instructional program the Mike Op Music Beginner Guitar Series! Hopefully this online guitar course will be available for purchase before Christmas. Here’s what it’s all about:
This eight-part program is intended to get you started with the basic chords and strumming patterns and concepts you will need as you progress in your exploration of the wide world of guitar.
This course is intended for adult and young adult learners. It is appropriate for anyone ages 13 and up. You can expect to spend between one and three weeks absorbing and mastering each lesson. Continue reading
Posted in Music Lessons, Pedagogy, Products
Tagged Guitar, Music lessons, Pedagogy, Products
Leave a comment
Gear Review: Brossard Picks
Brossard Picks: Wood, Bone, and Horn Guitar Picks
Although they are expensive, Brossard Picks are certainly worth a try and make for an ideal gift for guitar or mandolin players. There are many options for package sets in the 20-30 dollar range.
I received a set of four Brossard picks as a gift last holiday season. The set included picks made from ebony, rosewood, bone, and horn. Each pick is truly a work of art. They are visually appealing and are designed so that they may be attached to a chain and worn as a necklace or bracelet. The true appeal, however, lies in the sound. The use of exotic materials results in an extraordinary range of timbres and tonal varieties. Each pick is approximately 2.5 to 3 mm thick, so they are well suited to jazz or flatpicking styles. My personal favorites are the bone and ebony picks.
The bone pick has a very clear and pronounced articulation. The tone is loud and clean, and basically jumps out of your instrument. The ebony pick has a similar effect, but is slightly warmer than the bone, with a less punchy sound. The horn pick is more mellow than either the bone or ebony, producing a softer sound perhaps better suited for strumming. The rosewood pick, while beautiful, is too soft for my liking. It is fine for strumming, but does not produce the “pop” of the others.
The only downside to Brossard Picks is that they wear down relatively quickly. This is obviously due to the nature of the materials. I have always been rough on picks, as well, so my personal playing style certainly is partially responsible for the accelerated wear and tear.
Book Review: Unlocking the Guitar – Notes on the Neck, by Chuck Anderson
Unlocking the Guitar – Notes on the Neck, by Chuck Anderson. Anderson Music Publications, 2002. ISBN#0-9719730-0-8
This book provides an approach to one of the trickiest topics guitar players of any level face: learning the notes on the neck. The author offers a superior method for learning the notes through the use of particular frets as reference points or “key frets.”
The preliminary exercise in the book familiarizes one with these key frets and their application in identifying notes at every point on the neck. After mastering the prescribed methodology, Anderson suggests a variety of ways in which to internalize this information. These exercises include visualization techniques, application of chord and scale shapes, randomization, and identifying notes (in real-time) during improvisation.
This book also explicates the need for complete knowledge of the neck. The application of such knowledge extends to composition, improvisation, notation, note-reading, communication with other musicians, and practically every aspect of musicianship.
So, as a teacher, why do I recommend this book? Because this is essential knowledge. Every piano player or horn player knows every note as they play it; it is a disgrace that most guitarists are completely ignorant of this basic and fundamental information.
Suitable for all skill levels of guitarists
Available at: http://www.howtolearnjazzguitar.com/wordpress/books/
Free Mandolin Lesson Now Available
Another new mandolin lesson is now available under the Sample Lessons on this site. Here we have a three part lesson dealing with melodic variation, using “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” as our model.
Enjoy!
Album Review: Moanin’ by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Moanin’, by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, 1958. Blue Note, 95324
On October 30, 1958 Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers recorded the album Moanin’ at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey for the Blue Note label. Moanin’ is one of the most influential and important hard bop albums due to its outstanding compositions, arrangements, and personnel. The quintet at this time consisted of Pittsburgh native Art Blakey on drums, and trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, bassist Jymie Merritt, and pianist Bobby Timmons, all from Philadelphia. Benny Golson wrote the arrangements and contributed four of the album’s six tracks. The title track, “Moanin’,” composed by pianist Bobby Timmons, became the greatest hit of Art Blakey’s lengthy career. Continue reading
Album Review: The Best of Mississippi John Hurt
The Best of Mississippi John Hurt, by Mississippi John Hurt, 1990. Vanguard, 19/20.
This album is a live concert recording from Oberlin College, 1965, of one of the most influential and imitated guitarists of the 20th century. Though recorded near the end of his life, Mississippi John Hurt’s distinctive fingerstyle guitar playing and wonderful singing voice are in good form throughout.
The concert actually covers a variety of song genres, all subject to the John Hurt interpretation. Gospel tunes such as “I Shall Not be Moved” and “Nearer My God To Thee,” blues tunes including “Avalon, My Home Town,” and “Salty Dog Blues,” and the folk songs “Chicken” and “You Are My Sunshine” are representative of Hurt’s broad repertoire.
Many of the songs on this album have become standards in the playing of acoustic blues players. “Avalon,” “My Creole Belle,” and “Stagolee” are a few of the examples of the ubiquity of John Hurt tunes and arrangements in the finger picking guitar community.
Musically, the highlights of the album may be the gospel tunes for the beauty of the simplicity of the guitar accompaniment and the prominent attention given to John Hurt as a singer. Hurt’s instrumental prowess is evidenced on guitar breaks in tunes like “Avalon” and “Sliding Delta.” Finally, “Spanish Fandango” and “Talking Casey” feature open-tuning playing, with the latter exhibiting Hurt’s slide technique.
This album is a classic and a must-have for fans of blues, folk music, and guitarists. The song selection serves as a repository of American folk music and styles, and the restrained, but sophisticated, aesthetic sense of Mississippi John Hurt makes this album a pleasure to hear.
Free Mandolin Lesson Now Available
This is a mandolin lesson on the topic of melodic embellishment. The tune “Nine Pound Hammer” is used as a model through three successive variations.
Tablature, notation, and analyses is provided in the pdf files. The audio examples are midi files. When I return to North America I’ll post recordings using real instruments. Continue reading
The Grateful Dead, Dark Star Orchestra, and Representation
In a very interesting article appearing in November 2012, in The New Yorker (“The Vast Recorded Legacy of the Grateful Dead”), Nick Paumgarten writes about many aspects of the culture surrounding the Grateful Dead. However, his perspective is unique in that it focuses primarily upon the implications and practice of recording Grateful Dead shows, either acting in the capacity of an official recording engineer for the band (Betty Cantor-Jackson), or as any number of unaffiliated audience members.
One of the questions posed is, considering that the Grateful Dead were known primarily as a live act, buoyed by the Deadhead culture that followed them on tour, why did this practice of recording, and listening to live concert recordings, become so deeply imbedded in the experience of the fans of the Grateful Dead? Paumgarten rightly notes that no two shows were the same, and, due to the extensive improvisational tendencies of the band, “variation was built into the music.” This variation occurred not only within songs during performance, but also in the context of constantly evolving stylistic traits throughout the band’s four decades of playing live concerts. Continue reading
Posted in Ethnomusicology, Performance, Reviews
Tagged Ethnomusicology, Performance, Reviews
Leave a comment
