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Miasma
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Reply #840 on: March 12, 2008, 12:33:41 PM

penfold
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Reply #841 on: March 13, 2008, 01:55:25 PM


That's a particularly stupid lawsuit. They were in partnership with Activision for years on GH, there's prior art in form of some of the Japanese Bemani games, and the patent itself doesn't resemble GH at all.
stray
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Reply #842 on: March 17, 2008, 02:56:29 AM

Lol, before I begin, yes, I'm still on a Steve Stevens kick. Just at the right time, I guess.. A lot of interviews are popping up, since he just released a new album.

I mentioned awhile back that the shit that really gets me about him are those cool little riffs he does on the top strings. In the case of White Wedding, I found this bit really interesting:

Quote
I just want to pull out one last bit about Billy here. “White Wedding”, your rhythm on the verses is different. The accents seem so strange but they’re perfect.

Well that was really influenced by a…there was a band in New York that Billy and I used to go see and it was called, Suicide. And it was a singer/keyboard player; it was only two people on stage. It was the keyboard player was Marty Rev and the singer was Allen Vega. And Allen was sort of this weird kinda Elvis, like this out-of-space Elvis Puerto Rican guy and Marty Rev would play the bass lines with his left hand and then he’d do these keyboard stabs against it. And I remember they had this song called, “The Ghost Rider,” and it had these kinda staccato dotted 1/8th rhythm to it and I thought it was so cool. When we were working on “White Wedding” I said, “What if I do like a Marty Rev idea with the guitar?” and that’s that guitar figure that comes in on the second verse, so I think I was looking at keyboard parts more than guitar parts.

That's the shit.. I never would have guessed he was copping Suicide! (Just for reference: Ghost Rider)


Anyhow, I got that song down now on acoustic. Hybrid picking and all. I'm so proud of myself.  smiley I haven't actually sat down and learned new techniques in a long time.
Sky
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Reply #843 on: March 18, 2008, 06:48:51 AM

Cool, man! New techniques are so tough when you've got a solid comfort zone. I'm working on the old classical fingerstyle, with all bass strings played by the thumb, I find it very difficult. I'm using the opening melody chords of Sleepwalk (Santo & Johnny, I'm doing the Setzer version), fingerpicking rather than raking/muting. Great song to play for the fiancee when she lays down for a nap or at bedtime. Funny watching the old Setzer video, he plays it so much smoother and confidently now.

I've also started working on Devil Went Down to Georgia, it's nowhere near as tough as I thought it'd be. Just one of those songs I know from my youth that has a magic appeal of zomgtough fast playing.

As always, memorizing the parts is way harder than actually playing them, for me.
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Reply #844 on: March 18, 2008, 07:08:25 AM

Sleepwalk is one of my favorites. I don't play it like Setzer, but I've always liked playing it without a slide, as he does. The difference is that he chords everything, which is cool, but I prefer to drop the chords after the intro and play the leads by themselves. I like the sound of the original Santo and Johnny version, but since it takes two guitarists, I just compensate with a lot of feedback!
Sky
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Reply #845 on: March 18, 2008, 08:23:35 AM

I'm really trying to focus in on chording, too. So it works out well. I'm doing a lot of exercises like only using three strings and trying to invert chords to fit in different positions and stuff. It's tough as hell and half the time I feel like I'm barely making sense....but it works out and sounds great. Good mental exercise, though I need to concentrate more on notes and names rather than shapes and numbers.
stray
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Reply #846 on: March 19, 2008, 06:34:51 AM

I don't think I'll ever truly think in notes. Not to say I don't care about musical arrangements making sense.. I do, of course... But it's just more of an intuitive thing. I know the basics, and the rest of my musical sense is just garnered from all of the listening I do. I'm not sure what thinking in notes would change? To me, what really determines your sound is simply what's influencing you. Not necessarily an understanding of theory. And I don't mean just the stuff that I like, but also the stuff that I hate too!  tongue
« Last Edit: March 19, 2008, 06:39:02 AM by Stray »
Sky
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Reply #847 on: March 19, 2008, 11:16:01 AM

Yeah, but theory allows you the freedom to go beyond a few memorized riffs and really open up to playing what you hear inside.

That's where a lot of jazz starts to fall down, when it becomes theory and technique for it's own sake (I won't even get into deconstructionism).

But for me, playing around with theory allows me to play in any position comfortably and to try out new chord shapes to keep the very basic style of music I play fresh and interesting, without getting in the way of the passion that is integral to the style.
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Reply #848 on: March 19, 2008, 01:12:36 PM

Yeah, I hear ya on that. I could use a little more understanding, just for the sake of transitioning well in different positions, etc.. I guess I'm just saying that it's not really a starting point for me as far as composing goes (sounds like you're saying the same thing). Usually when I hear someone who writes from their heavy understanding of theory and technical prowess, then it sounds lifeless.

Although... Every once in awhile, a guy comes along (say, Randy Rhoads) who has both elements in spades. Nothing to be mocked at all!
Selby
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Reply #849 on: March 19, 2008, 08:11:33 PM

So, anyone have problems with their finger tips splitting open and bleeding every now and again?  I never used to have this problem when I played for hours on end, but ever since I've been playing more regularly I noticed that every other week or so I split a finger tip playing and it hurts like hell for 3-4 days before I can play again.  Any advice for how to better care for my fingers?  My guitar instructor was a classical guitarist and said there was an art to maintaining your fingers as well as your technique, but he died before I could find out what he meant by that.

And for the record I am not playing that much or that hard, just an hour or two every other day or so.
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Reply #850 on: March 19, 2008, 11:58:36 PM

My guitar instructor was a classical guitarist and said there was an art to maintaining your fingers as well as your technique, but he died before I could find out what he meant by that.

Hah! Man, I'm sorry, but that's pretty funny. It sounds like the plot to Dragonslayer. Or dozens of kung-fu flicks.  wink


Anyways, I've never had the problem of bleeding per se, but I suggest that you simply keep trying to play as much as possible. Play more, not less. Eventually you'll develop callouses and toughen up.
Sky
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Reply #851 on: March 21, 2008, 07:00:05 AM

Where, exactly? Nail bed, pad? Nail bed is from heavy bending, and it's awful...and nothing you can really do about it except superglue it shut. I call that procedure 'The SRV'. Splitting on the actual pads is odd. Are your calluses healthy or all gnarly? Mine can get pretty gnarly because my fiancee refuses to do dishes (and I do all the cooking  Ohhhhh, I see.), if I play guitar with the calluses moist it wreaks havoc on them. When I was unloading trucks, I always had to moisturize them because the cardboard sucked all the moisture out and that's really the only time I've ever had anything with bleeding on my left fingers.

I'd say it's probably best to stop playing until the splits heal or you'll exacerbate the wound.

On my right hand, I'm used to that being a mess. I don't play enough bass to keep it properly callused, so I always get blisters. Played some metal bass with some guys about 6 or 7 years ago and my middle and index fingers blistered, broke open, and bled all over the place. I kept playing. I did feel bad about the bass...since it was borrowed and bloody. So metal, though. Didn't hurt until after we got done playing, I get a wicked adrenaline high when I play.
Selby
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Reply #852 on: March 21, 2008, 06:28:47 PM

Nail bed once (OUCH, took like 2 weeks to heal).  Mostly just the pad.  It's only on my ring finger, never the index or middle (or pinky, but it isn't used all of the time and is the wimpiest).  They are pretty healthy and decent on all fingers except my ring.  It's all funky-fied and cratered (which is odd) and there isn't a ton of sensation in the tip of it compared to the rest of my fingers (except when you know, it's split open and bleeding).  It's healed and I can play again, but it sure is strange.

I do all of the dishes too.  I also work with transformer oil alot and rubbing alcohol\arctic silver on a regular basis recently.  I have thought about moisturizing, but I'm not sure if that would help or make the situation worse.
Sky
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Reply #853 on: March 24, 2008, 10:42:28 AM

Learned the bulk of Stray Cat Strut sunday. I wasn't concentrating on learning it so much as analyzing the solo section, so I still have a few fills to actually learn...but I tend to like to learn the thought behind the fill and just throw my own in, less to remember. Setzer is a goddamned master, just picking apart the way he sets up solos, so simple yet so elegant. It reminded me of our talk about theory, he's a great example of theory serving the song rather than the reverse.
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Reply #854 on: March 24, 2008, 12:08:44 PM

Yeah, he's a very knowledgeable/technical player too... But beautifully simplistic as well.

I never tried learning that one (uh, except the rhythm I guess). I should try that.

[edit] On another note, I need a new acoustic. I'm mainly playing my classical now, because the steel string sucks. It doesn't have a wide enough neck. This is what I've learned with all of this fingerstyle playing I've been doing. I didn't realize that so many fingerstylers are using wide necks this whole time either.. No wonder why they're good.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2008, 12:19:50 PM by Stray »
Sky
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Reply #855 on: March 24, 2008, 12:29:04 PM

Yeah, I need a nylon string something fierce. My steel acoustic really needs a new shim in the bridge, so I've mostly been playing the Baby Taylor for my acoustic stuff. My fingerstyle is partly inspired by my classic training from school, partly from my horrid technique from after school (a mishmash that I adopted just to play songs we were writing, many broken 'rules'), and the inspiration of Conrado Garcia, one of my favorite musicians. He's from Chile and plays in a traditional style, kind of a flamenco. I asked him for tips on certain passages he played and he laughed and said "I just play the way I need to play....don't think about it" So that's what I'm doing, trying to use my previous training while forgetting about it. Kind of hard to explain. But a wider stringing would benefit the single-note runs that are basically from my bass playing style.

Listening to Iron Maiden on Saturday, blisters on my right index finger from my bass. But I can still pump some of that stuff out, I love it. Two songs til blister, and the middle finger didn't actually raise a blister!
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Reply #856 on: March 24, 2008, 12:45:30 PM

Listening to Iron Maiden on Saturday, blisters on my right index finger from my bass. But I can still pump some of that stuff out, I love it. Two songs til blister, and the middle finger didn't actually raise a blister!

I need to start playing Number of the Beast again.  Some nice bass work through that song.  Very straightforward, but fun to play.

"Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."

-  Mark Twain
Sky
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Reply #857 on: March 24, 2008, 01:23:33 PM

Two songs to blister were: The Trooper and Revelations. The Trooper was one of my warm-up and practice songs. I had it on a tape looped over and over and would play one side of the tape to build my triplets. One tune I've always meant to learn was Rime of the Ancient Mariner, one of my favorite maiden tunes. But what got me pumped up Saturday was the album Iron Maiden, not the Bruce stuff. Don't have much on CD, just Iron Maiden and Live After Death. I'm ashamed to admit it!
stray
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Reply #858 on: March 24, 2008, 01:37:07 PM

Yeah, I like that album. Phantom of the Opera  Rock Out
Raph
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Reply #859 on: April 04, 2008, 12:15:51 PM

I haven't picked up  an instrument of any sort in weeks. Just thought I would share. angry
Sky
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Reply #860 on: April 04, 2008, 12:22:25 PM

BOO ON RAPH!  Shaking fist All work and no play sucks!

I've been wanting to make my live debut for a couple months now, but circumstances are kicking my ass. Haven't been to an open mic this year, iirc. Maybe in Jan? Don't remember, don't think so. I think the last one was December, it's a massive jam and fund-raiser.
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Reply #861 on: April 04, 2008, 03:44:50 PM

I re-remembered how to play Over The Hills And Far Away by Zeppelin the other night.  Amazing how quickly it comes back when you just glance over the tab and make a few run throughs.  I used to play it all from memory without missing a beat.  I used to be good dammit, what happened?  Oh yeah, I went to college for 6 years after deciding that music would never be a good money maker.  I've even taught myself 3-4 songs over the last few weeks too just for fun and I'm amazed at how easy it is becoming again.
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Reply #862 on: April 04, 2008, 06:31:38 PM

Stupid newb guitar player question incoming.

Since reading this thread has rekindled my urge to learn to play guitar, along with watching black snake moan, I went out, got a guitar, and have been practicing scales, and such.

Anywho, I've noticed that I tend to "fat finger" things a good bit, particularly chords. It just seems that my fingers tend to overlap, and touch other strings unless I really concentrate on it, to the point of having to bend the strings away from each other a bit while contorting my hand in new and unusual ways.  Is this par for the course as a newb, or is it just the guitar, which is just a cheap Burton for learning purposes, or my fingers just to thick, and I am just SOL, or some combination of the three.

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
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Reply #863 on: April 04, 2008, 07:09:00 PM

I doubt you're SOL.  I've seen guys with fingers as big as a side of beef fingertap.

I assume your problems come when you try to play the same fret on adjacent strings.  One solution with big fingers is to stagger your fingers a bit, sort of like a stair case instead of a straight vertical line.  You can buzz if you get too far from the fret bar, but you just have to press a little harder.  In other cases you can bar instead of using a finger per string, meaning you use the side of one finger to fret a bunch of adjacent strings.  About half the guitar players I know bar E minor and A major chords, for example.  The trick here is avoiding barring the other strings, although you can be sloppy with chords generally and it won't cause problems.  Another option is getting a guitar with a wider neck.  Classicals tend to have much wider necks.  But then you need to deal with more stretching and finger yoga to make up for it.

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Reply #864 on: April 05, 2008, 11:28:45 AM

Could be just newb problems... Not sure. My hands are big too, but I don't run into quite the same problems (can't recall if I ever did). I do know that I do some things weird... Like how I finger power chords --- with my index and pinky, instead of index and ring finger.


Selby
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Reply #865 on: April 05, 2008, 07:40:38 PM

I do power chords with my index and then ring and pinky.  Gives middle finger the chance to do something crazy from time to time and more control over what the other two strings are sounding.  And I''ve got extremely long fingers (not overly fat, but just long) so I've had this problem whenever I learn new finger positions or new songs using strange positioning compared to what I am used to.
Sky
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Reply #866 on: April 07, 2008, 06:03:42 AM

Yeah, you probably just need to learn what works for you. I've got short fingers with wide tips, so I don't do a whole lot high on the neck and the open A chord is a stone bitch for me (actually that chord shape in any position is difficult). I usually just bar it. Only chord I really have trouble with, but not much I can do - simply a limitation of genetics.

Not nearly as bad as having short fingers on a bass, that was tough, way more movement than necessary.

I fake the solo in Over the Hills. On a bootleg, Ottawa Sunshine, Page plays the high part at the end of the beginning section (the part just before the band kicks in) over the space between the verses. So I do that sometimes. Watching Page live is great, you can really get a feel for his intention for a song, which parts are written and which are to be jammed (most).
« Last Edit: April 07, 2008, 06:06:18 AM by Sky »
Selby
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Reply #867 on: April 07, 2008, 07:31:34 PM

...and the open A chord is a stone bitch for me
If I have a bad night with it, I lay down my middle finger on the 4 & 3 string and use the ring for the 2.  Terrible form, but it works sometimes.  I really try and stagger the fingers to get them all on the fret without having interference, but I usually mute one of them on accident.  Just more things to practice.

Watching Page live is great, you can really get a feel for his intention for a song, which parts are written and which are to be jammed (most).
All of the people I have ever played with refused to even think about covering a Zep song.  It's some "sacred ground" that absolutely has to be played perfectly every time to be worthy of Page's honor.  Anything less is heresy.  I always ask if they ever heard Zeppelin live or saw how Page plays, but they say it doesn't matter.  Hell, the 2-3 live albums I have of theirs, half the songs have a consistent basic structure and various licks and solo changes that are completely different than the album version.  And it all works.  Purists can really annoy me sometimes (I've probably bitched about this before).
Sky
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Reply #868 on: April 08, 2008, 06:23:08 AM

Not to mention Page was often wicked sloppy. I didn't like him when I was a kid, for that reason. I can definitely appreciate it now, though.

Purists, bah. I ignore 'em, you can't really win them over to an improvisational mindset if they're not there already. Why not just hire a DJ? One thing I was working on a while ago was taking Clapton's shitty mid-career rock stuff and forging it into delta/chicago blues ala muddy. After Midnight lyrics over Catfish Blues music. Stuff like that is fun.
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Reply #869 on: April 08, 2008, 06:37:39 AM

If you want to appreciate Page, just listen to Satriana, Malmsteen, and Dream Theater.  Yes, those other guys are technically clean but it sure does get sterile and boring after a while.  Page and Clapton I can listen to for hours. 

"Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."

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Sky
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Reply #870 on: April 08, 2008, 07:31:57 AM

There's a Satch concert that's been doing the rounds on the HD circuit. He has moments (Satch Boogie), but for the most part it's almost laughable. Dream Theater I haven't listened to a ton of, but I haven't liked anything I've heard. Malmsteen also has moments of greatness (Black Star).

Clapton is ok, I liked him a lot more before I got into the blues deeply. I like his Mayall stuff, the Yardbirds stuff, but that's a bit...I dunno, spastic? All the sped-up blues the brits did. My favorite Clapton album is From the Cradle, I also like his Johnson tribute.

But I lean more towards Muddy, who has always surrounded himself with great players. Buddy Guy is great, his phrasing and spontaneity is still amazing (and he turns 72 this year iirc). Otis Rush, Junior Wells on harp. So many great blues players, and it's almost never about technicality, it's all technique and feel. Bends, vibrato, phrasing rather than a scale lexicon and speed. Some of the later cats like Luther Allison and Son Seals are badass, too. Then you can crawl back to the acoustic era and really get blown away by guys like Big Bill Broonzy. To me, they're still the best. I remember reading in a blues history book written in the 60s, talking about the transition to electric around WW2. The electric bands had a real difficult time meshing with the old-timers because the acoustic guys wouldn't leave any room for them to play. Their feet were the percussion, they played the bass, rhythm and melody lines and sang. And loud enough to be heard over a bar-room full of people.
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Reply #871 on: April 08, 2008, 08:13:27 AM

Add Steve Vai to the list of technical guitarists to sleep through. Not that all technical guitarists are yawn inducing - Robert Fripp is one of the most accomplished guitarists alive, and yet he manages to remain interesting no matter what band or solo thing he's up to. Likewise John McLaughlin. Steve Howe and Allan Holdsworth are somewhere in the middle and can captivate or bore depending on what they do. But yes, there are many more proficient guitarists that are great enough players and who are incredible entertainers. I wouldn't put Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, Brian May, The Edge or even Jeff Beck into the same league technically as virtuosos such as Fripp or Howe, but they're certainly among the 'best' guitarists as far as this listener is concerned.

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Sky
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Reply #872 on: April 08, 2008, 09:07:49 AM

It seems a lot of jazz players get lured down the technical path, too. There's always been something about jazz I don't care for, yet my favorite guitarist is probably Setzer, who I'd put squarely in the jazz vein. But he knows how to keep music as the most important element and let his technicality serve the song, rather than wankers who think the song is just a backdrop for their technicality.

I guess that goes into jam music, too. Though I'm all about extended improvisation these days, I don't like most jam bands. The songs suck and are just wankery excuses. But throw on some Allman Brothers, where the jamming is in the context of a great song with killer hooks, and it works great. My current favorite 'jam' album is Fleetwood Mac's Live in Boston. I've had it a couple years now and I never get tired of it. Peter Green and Kirwin pwn.
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Reply #873 on: April 08, 2008, 11:44:51 AM

I still contend that the only people that enjoy true jazz music are the ones playing it. 

I'll second the Fleetwood Mac recommendation. 

"Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."

-  Mark Twain
Amarr HM
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Reply #874 on: April 08, 2008, 04:39:16 PM

Heavier gauge strings help for detuning but it really depends on how much I play open C tuning and use 0.11 on my leccy guitars. Jimi used to downtune a half step(correction made by stray) and use heavyish strings for a more gritty tone. but I presume you might be talking for metal and be downtuning a couple or more octaves. Also if you have a floating bridge I hear it can cause some problems (I reluctantly removed mine from my strat cause I write a lot of music in open tunings.)

Also my contention is the majority of people are happy to hear guitarists who play with a bit of feel and pizazz over someone who is lightning fast, its a form of expression not motor car racing.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2008, 08:05:42 PM by Amarr HM »

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