A Slow Summer

Yeah, the music-making gets slow when you don't have too many friends around. I was thinking about just dropping off the face of the map and ignoring this blog, but I decided to keep it for when we get back to school. So far, I've been learning quite a few new songs, but I really can't bring myself to record them without a vocalist, since it's about the same chord progression over and over again. Some new songs, though: Let Her Cry by Hootie and the Blowfish, Unwell by Matchbox 20, Mr. Jones by Counting Crows, and What Sarah Said by Death Cab for Cutie. New picking song: The Devil's Tears by Julia and Angus Stone.

On another note, I've been getting back into photography again, so I may post a link here if I get something going.

Finally: Collide

So, now that we're just days from leaving for the summer, we finally got to recording Collide. Yesterday, we spent the evening coming up with a new set for next year's Open Mic-- we've got some awesome songs lined up. We'll definitely do Collide, and we're also working on You and Me by Lifehouse. The next thing we're working on is a duet for Hallelujah. Last, we're going to try and get enough people to perform Ed Sheeran's cover of Wayfaring Stranger. Miguel's got the perfect voice for it, and he and Rose may end up doing a duet.

A word on Hallelujah before I post Collide: We were practicing last night, first with guitar and viola, then with guitar and voice. The chords are easy enough, minus the barre chords which are slowly ruining my hand. The rhythm was also decently easy to pick up on, once I found the right video to practice with. So, we we're playing, and Miguel went at it with the viola, which sounded great. Then we moved to a study room, and he started singing...and holy shit. I mean, holy shit. I knew he was a good singer-- but this is just crazy. I mean it, I'm trying to convince him to record it with me, because he absolutely blew me away. We were playing, and we got to the second verse, and then all of the sudden I just missed a chord cause I was too busy listening to him sing. The notes he hits and the quality of his voice are just incredible. I can't wait to record that one.

But before then, here's our video of Collide by Howie Day. The strange frame is because we had to use my phone to record, since we blew out the mic on my computer with this song before. Below is the tab, as usual. Sorry you can't see my strumming hand, but the pattern is consistent throughout the song, so you should be able to get it by listening to the intro.




Verse and Chorus:
            G        Dsus2   Em7     Cadd9
e |-------3-------3-------3-------3-------|
B |-------3-------3-------3-------3-------|
G |-------0-------2-------0-------0-------|
D |-------0-------0-------2-------2p0h2---|
A |-------2-------0-------2---3---3-------|
E |---3---3---2---2---0---0-------x-------|

Bridge:
e |--------3-----------3----2-------------|
B |--------3-----------1----3-------------|
G |--------0-----------0----2-------------|
D |-----2--2-------2---2----0-------------|
A |--2-----2---3-------3----0-------------|
E |--------0-----------x----x-------------|

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you, yeah

I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find you and I collide

I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know
I'm always on your mind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find you and I collide

Don't stop here
I lost my place
I'm close behind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find you and I collide

You finally find you and I collide
You finally find you and I collide

Time for Three and some new tabs

So, my friends and I went to this concert about a week ago where Time for Three played with our orchestra-- and they were amazing. Solo, they played a bunch of songs, including a cover of Hallelujah. Miguel turned to me after they had finished, eyes and mouth wide open. The first thing out of his mouth was, "Can we play that?" He sounded like a little kid asking for the biggest birthday present. What could I say? Of course the answer was yes, I just had to find some tabs. Fast forward to Thursday night, when classes are over and a few of us are hanging in the lounge. Béa fell asleep on the couch, she was so tired, but Miguel and I stayed up listening to some music I hadn't shown him before.

And that was when one of his comments really struck me. First, we were testing out our ranges, and he was trying to figure out how high my chest voice goes-- kinda hard when you can't do scales. But after that, I was showing him some things we could try for Open Mic: Hang You Up by Yellowcard, Hallelujah (of course), Cascada by Jesse Cook. Then we were discussing Time for Three, and I remebered a song I wanted to show him. Cook's Bay by Regina Carter has the most gorgeous strings part. So, we're listening to it, and he's echoing it to figure out the notes, and pretty confident that he can learn it. Then he asked if there was a guitar part, and I said no, it's mostly strings drums and piano, and he responded, "Oh, well it's not worth it then."

That was what really got me. One, because I was thinking, how could it not be worth it to learn that song just because there isn't a part for me to play? Then I realized, everything we had been discussing was for practicing together and performing together. More than half the fun is having someone to collaborate with, having someone to help arrange the song. So I started thinking, what we might try is to translate the piano and percussion to the guitar, and work something out that way.

Cause that's where the fun lies, right? Taking on something you think can't be done. So go have fun with it!

-Kal

Is the road to social robots a Boulevard of Broken Dreams?*

Two posts in one!!!

So, I realized it's been a while since I posted any new songs for practicing. I was practicing Boulevard of Broken Dreams a few days ago when it reminded me of the book I'm reading for an English paper. In the first section of "Alone Together", Turkle talks a lot about sociable robots and what they offer, but also why they seem so appealing. She talks about their highlights, but also their dark sides. Through her research, she has come to the idea that what sociable robots really do is make up for the vulnerabilities we feel as humans-- and in the end, they keep us from truly learning how to relate to and interact with each other.

Here are just a few examples, if you're looking for a reference point:
- Cog
- Kismet
- Leonardo
- Domo

So, the thing that got me relating it to the "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was Turkle's point that perhaps we are expecting far too much out of these robots; that when they don't perform up to par, we tend to dumb ourselves down, stooping to what we know the robot can accomplish, in order to make it appear as though it meets our needs. And meanwhile, we're totting around the idea that robots will eventually replace us in caring for children and the elderly. As the children she's interviewed have asked: "Don't we have people for those jobs?"

Anyway, on that note, here's a new song for you to practice. Excuse the fact that this song is very much at the low end of my range. As per usual, the tab can be found below.

(Em,G,D,A)2x Capo 1

 I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

(Em,G,D,A)
Em                              G  
  I walk this empty street
D                      A                        Em     
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
                    G   
Where the city sleeps
          D                   A                         Em
and I'm the only one and I walk alone

G,D        A                    Em
        I walk alone, I walk alone
G,D           A
I walk alone, I walk a...

[Chorus] (Solo is the same)
C    G            D             Em              
  My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
  My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
  Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
C      G      B
  'Til then I walk alone

Em      G      D      A     Em
  Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah,
      G      D      A  
Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah
Em            G       
  I'm walking down the line
D               A               Em
That divides me somewhere in my mind
       G 
On the border line
D               A             Em 
Of the edge and where I walk alone

Em,G,D,A,

Em       G           
  Read between the lines
D                    A            Em
What's fucked up and everything's alright
         G         
Check my vital signs
   D              A                 Em
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone

G,D
       A
I walk alone
        Em
I walk alone

G,D
       A
I walk alone
      
I walk a...

[Chorus]

C    G            D             Em
  My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
C    G       D                Em        
  My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
C     G       D                Em
  Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
C      G      B
  'Til then I walk alone
Em      G      D      A     Em
  Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah
      G     D
Ah-ah, Ah-ah
       A
I walk alone
           
I walk a...

Solo (C,G,D,Em)3x
     (C,G,B)
Em            G          
  I walk this empty street
D           A              Em
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
          G     
Where the city sleeps
    D            A
And I'm the only one and I walk a...

(Repeat chords for chorus)

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone...


-Kal

Just because you're not speaking doesn't mean you have to be silent

So, there was a bit of confusion over Day of Silence, but my friends and I celebrated it yesterday. I ended up having to talk during my bio lab since we were planning an experiment, but other than that I lasted the entire day.

Now of course, one fo the interesting conflicts was my love of singing and playing. There are plenty of songs that I've been working on, and songs where I want nothing more than to sing with the strumming of the strings. One of the great things though, was that since I knew I wasn't supposed to be singing or speaking, all my attention was focused on the chords. I actually started looking at a few new songs yesterday: Goodbye Days by Yui has a very interesting chord progression, and one that's actually pretty difficult at first.

Aside from that, I took a look at Hang You Up by Yellowcard, which I'll post just as soon as I have a singer. That one's just three chords, but the progression takes some concentration.

There's also For One Day by Evermore, which I really haven't touched in a while. That has some pretty strange chords, for which I'm not even sure there are proper names.

Point is that sometimes our attention gets drawn away from what's really important to us (I actually wrote about this in my essay yesterday-- Thoreau's sacred spaces and such). I've been so caught up in the idea of performing that I've stuck with songs that are easy and safe. I have to say though, it's much more satisfying when you come back to a song that you haven't been able to play for weeks, and you finally understand the chord progression or the finger positions. In addition, it's definitely worth checking back at ultimate-guitar every month or so, since new tabs are posted.

I actually didn't realize this part at first; like we read in English (Barlow), our generation sorta tends to see the Internet as a product (like a printed book) instead of a process. Of course if you're reading a blog or on Facebook it's different; you expect it to change. But information for us has always been steady, constant. For updated information, you would just find the most recent edition of a book-- and even then, not a lot had changed. With web databases though, which can be updated whenever, new info can pop up any time. So, it's definitely worth checking on some new tabs when you start to get frustrated.

-Kal

A chord library is a bit like your own personal bar

It's something that's developed over time, not something you can build overnight. Since I began playing, I would collect the tabs for songs in the "lyrics" section of iTunes. Some of them are proper tablature, and some of them are simply the chords listed above the lyrics. As I've encountered, and as people have pointed out, one of the biggest issues with being a self-taught guitarist is the very immediate ignorance you face when first finding songs to play. Oftentimes when you find a tab that consists of chords, the chords will be listed out in this format: G (320033).

Just as often though, chords aren't listed. If you use ultimate-guitar, you can often mouse over the chord and see the website's suggestion. This is fine for simple chords, A through G and some of the minor chords. When you get to more complicated chords though (often variations on F and B, the main barre chords), the site's suggestions aren't so great. And often, the fingering for these chords is not set in stone.

When you collect tabs though, you have a lot of people's opinions at your fingertips. One person might list a Dsus4 chord, which may be used but not tabbed out in another song. There are also plenty of variations on these types of chords (Xsus and Xadd type chords). Don't ask me what these mean; I just know how to play them.

On a new page (Chord Library) I'll list the information in my chord book, as well as my own chord library, developed over almost two years of collecting tabs. Don't be surprised if you see multiple or repeated fingerings, and don't be afraid to try these variations in the same song. Some variations sound better than the suggested chords. And aside from that, you can sometimes substitute things like Cadd9 (032033) for G (320033), and they sound basically the same. Conversely, you can insert a Cadd9 into a line that's supposedly all G, in order to make it sound more interesting. But I suppose that's a demo video for another post.

-Kal

You might just get everything you wish for*

Strangely enough, everything I posted about last time just started happening today. Right now, I'm just hanging in my dorm with two friends, one maybe a little unexpected, with some awesome acoustic stuff being played on my unplugged electric.

A friend came up to get some darts for HvZ, and then he just plopped himself down on my window seat with Béa and we all started talking. Then I realized he hadn't seen Moonlight yet, so I pulled her out, and he asked to play, so I said sure. I guess to get a full grasp on this, you have to realize that he can sometimes be a bit much to hande in anything but small doses. And if you can't get past that, it's hard to realize anything else about him.

See, we've had this love-hate relationship for a while, where he basically opens himself up to teasing, and I jump at every opportunity. Watching him perform at Open Mic though, and listening to him play now, it's actually kind of amazing. He's a really talented guitarist and musician, and when you give him a guitar, he just shuts up and plays the most amazing riffs.

And I have to say, one of the things I envy about him, watching him play now, is that his hands are way bigger than mine, so he gets these amazing spreads across the frets. The one he's playing right now is capo 6, and maybe a 5 fret spread.

Right now, we're all just hanging, soft acoustic in the background, his voice just floating over the strings, all of us just...being here. It's nice. I'm going to make this happen more often.

-Kal

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen all at once*

...except that sometimes, it still does. Sad to say, we ended up not performing at Open Mic, due to a lot fo things culminating at once. I personally didn't feel prepared enough (having only practiced together three times) to get up on stage with such short notice, aside from the fact that I had an exam the next day. Miguel was still going to perform his rendition of Schindler's List, which sounded AMAZING when he was playing back in the dorm, but again schoolwork reared its ugly head, and that didn't happen either.

Hopefully, since this week is Humans vs. Zombies and we'll be leaving the dorm as little as possible, we'll be able to get some recordings up. The songs we were going to perform are Collide (which I know I promised but have yet to post), and Kiss Me (which is still gonna take some work as far as arranging).

On another note, I wanted to touch on the "nostalgia" of the young, as Sherry Turkle puts it. She talks about how this generation misses the time they never had with parents who are now always attached to their phones. They miss the times when you could just call someone up and talk, or the times when people would write proper letters to each other instead of just "poking" on Facebook to say, "hey, I'm thinking about you". The point is though, they miss all these things they never had. They long for how life "must have been" in their parents' days.

I remember when I was little, and getting a letter was such an exciting thing. I remember that I didn't start emailing people until middle school, and even then it was through my parents' account. And I do remember in middle school, when it was cool to just chat on the phone with a friend for hours, until mom yelled at you to stop tying up the phone lines. I was on the cusp of that transition.

The point of all this though, is that this type of "nostalgia" crops up in all fields.

As a biologist, I imagine the times when there were fewer regulations on the types of animals you could house. As a pre-health student, I miss the times when clinical trials were subjected to less rigorous standards.

As a guitarist, I miss the times when I could play a single song without my phone going off-- these are times I never had, but I still miss them. As a performer, I miss the times when you could just play with friends for the heck of it and not have to worry about a deadline. And not worry about being judged, for that matter. I imagine what it must be like to be able to sit around a campfire with your friends and just strum quietly in the background till someone recognizes the tune and everyone starts to sing along. I miss how music used to bring people together.

Why is this important though, if we miss all these things we never had? Well the point is, it doesn't matter what everyone around you is doing, and it doesn't matter how society is changing. All those little things? You can change them. When I'm playing, I can turn off my phone. I can knock on a friend's door and be like, hey, I'm kinda bored, lets go play for a bit.

No one's stopping you from writing letters or calling people or having proper alone time or proper friend time. It's all on you. Time to stop worrying about being judged, and go hang with the people who really matter to you.

Oh yeah, and don't forget to go outside every once in a while. No one likes that computer tan. Besides, it's nice to play in the sun.

-Kal

So where do I find all these tabs anyway?

When you first start out looking for music, you'll probably type something like "collide howie day tab" into Google. You'll get a zillion hits from sites like www.e-chords.com, www.911tabs.com, www.azchords.com, and of course, YouTube. I will tell you right now though, your best bet is this little thing called www.ultimate-guitar.com.

If you simply go to the site, it can be pretty overwhelming. You can search for songs, artists, albums; you can find tabs, chords, drum tabs, bass tabs, solo tabs, acoustic tabs and chords. They also have this thing called "pro tabs". This will show you the tab and will also play the song, allowing you to follow along. Sort of like a sing-along.

Point is, the site itself is a little difficult to navigate if you don't know what you're looking for. Or even if you do. What I like to do is search something like "howie day tab" on Google, and click on the ultiamte-guitar link that says "Howie Day Tabs: 89 Tabs total @ Ultimate-Guitar.com". They always mention the number of tabs available; that's how you'll know you've got the right link. I try to avoid 911tabs because although the site shows up frequently, it's often just a bunch of reposting of the same tabs.

So, what do you do once you get to this page? You'll see an alphabetical listing by song title of every song by this artist that has been tabbed by ultimate-guitar users. If the song is a "tab" that means you'll get this notation:

e|------3-3-3-------3-3-3---|------3-3-3-------3-3-3-------| B|------1-1-1-------1-1-1---|------1-1-1-------1-1-1-------| G|------0-0-0-------0-0-0---|------0-0-0-------0-0-0-------| D|------2-2-2-------2-2-2---|------0-0-0-------0-0-0-------| A|---3--3-3-3---3---3-3-3---|---2--2-2-2---2---2-2-2------|
E|--------------------------|------------------------------|

------0-0-0-------0-0-0---|------0-0-0--0----0-0--0-0-----| ------1-1-1-------1-1-1---|------1-1-1--1----1-1--1-1-----| ------2-2-2-------2-2-2---|------2-2-2--0h2--2-2--0-0-----| ------2-2-2-------2-2-2---|---3--3-3-3--3----3-3--0-0-----| ---0--0-0-0---0---0-0-0---|-------------------------------|
--------------------------|-------------------------------|


If the song is in "chord" notation, you'll get a set of lyrics with the chords listed out above the words, like this:

CAPO 4
G- 320033
Dsus2- 200233
Em7- 022033
Cadd4- 032033

G Dsus2

The dawn is breaking

Em7 Cadd4

A light shining through

G Dsus2

You're barely waking
Em7 Cadd4
And I'm tangled up in you

The great thing about ultimate-guitar is that there's almost always both; and if it's an electric song, chances are there will be a tab for an acoustic version, too. So, take your pick! Eventually, you'll get an idea of which you prefer.

Now on to your next question... Since users contribute tabs to the site, there can be upwards of 20 tabs for just one song. If there are that many, how do you know which to pick? Well, the site also lets users rate their tabs. If you see a tab that's rated 5 stars by at least 20 people, that's probably the one you're looking for. These highest rated songs (and the ones with lots of votes, not just one or two) are a great place to start. If something doesn't sound quite right, or you want to see what other people have done, just go back and click on another. I usually try and stick with 4-5 star tabs. Even 4 star tabs are pretty good, even if they might need some tweaking. Stars and votes are something you have to look at in concert: if one tab has 5 stars with 2 votes versus another with 4 stars and 20 votes, the latter is probably a safer bet.

Another benefit of having so many tabs on one site: some songs (case in point, Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls), excuse my Japanese, are A BITCH to tune. Iris, by happenstance, is EBBBBB when played live. No one wants to do that. Often though, users will transpose these tabs into "normal people" terms, so you can keep your guitar nice and happy and in tune.

The last thing to watch out for (on any tablature site) is that some people won't tell you if a song needs a capo. My favorite case of this was when I found the tab for Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer. It had 4 stars, 38 votes (that's pretty good by my standards), so I went to play and DAMN it was awful. I don't know what possessed me to start playing around with the capo, but I think I may have found another tab that suggested capoing the 3rd fret. And poof, the song sounded perfect. Moral of the story: feel free to explore other tabs, feel free to combine them, and don't be afraid to just play around.

Hope this helps, and if anyone needs a little more guidance in navigating ultimate-guitar or has a tab that they absolutely can't find, feel free to comment and I'll see what I can do.

Also, this totally isn't a plug, but ultimate-guitar also has an app which is epically amazing for looking up tabs on the spot. It's also a little easier to navigate than the comprehensive site.

-Kal

A New Cover

So, I know that we promised you a cover of Collide, which Miguel and I have been working on, I swear. This is a really busy week, and we really haven't gotten a chance to actually record it. Plus with Open Mic Night coming up this week, I may end up memorizing another monologue if we can't pull our act together with the songs we were arranging.

However. In lieu of this song*, I decided to record another cover in order to illustrate a point I've been meaning to make. So, here's another recording of Say It's Possible by Terra Naomi:



Now, I know we've done this one before (see Beginner Song: Say It's Possible for the chords)-- Rose and I covered this for Open Mic, and she's a wonderful singer. I've tried singing this before, and I absolutely cannot hit the notes in the chorus. I've discovered a neat little trick, though. I'm sure this has some basis in music theory, and I'll ask Miguel if he can explain it to me later. But the idea is, since the song is usually capo'd on fret 2, I can just ditch the capo and drop the song to a lower pitch-- one that's within my voice range. I can also put the capo two frets up (4th fret, in this case), and raise the pitch. I'm pretty sure the only time this works is when the song is played on the 2nd, 4th, or 8th fret, or open strings.

Other songs this works for:
- Collide by Howie Day (originally 4th fret)
- It's Been a While by Staind (originally tuned half a step down, but can be played capo 1)
- Swing Life Away (also half a step down, but can be played capo 1. I also think this can be played open frets if you're really lazy, though I'm not sure musically why that works)

I'll let you know if I find any others, but play around with it. It's a great trick to bring songs into your range.

Another quick thing to note, is that sometimes when you do switch the pitch of a song, it can be a bit weird to sing if you haven't practiced. It takes a little bit of trial and error to hit the appropriate notes (take note of my little slip at the beginning of the final chorus, when I slip down almost an octave). With some practice though, you'll be able to tell when you're hitting the right notes.

Also, sorry if I blew out the mic. I put some fabric around the computer to absorb the sound, but the acoustic is really loud and the mic is really bad.

-Kal

There is no spoon*

So, we watched The Matrix in class a few days ago, which was probably one of the most epic classes ever. We spent a lot of time afterwards discussing the symbolism-- what the glasses mean, the roll of the robots, the significance of the telephone as the connection between the worlds-- but of course the one thing that stuck out to me again was everyone's favorite line, "Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth.There is no spoon... Then you'll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself."

I thought this was an awesome quote the first time I watched the movie-- and of course I immediately went home and tried to bend a spoon, so obviously I missed the point of it the first time around. And admittedly, this time it took me at least until I got back to my dorm to make the connection.

But, just a few days ago, I picked up my electric (now named Moonlight), and set my mind to finger picking. I tuned the guitar down half a step (see Tuning...and its Hazards for more info) and decided to leave it like that, since a bunch of my favorite songs are tuned as such, and I'm quite lazy. The first song I chose was Broken (Seether, feat. Evanescence's Amy Lee), since the picking is very distinct. I barely even thought about it, just looked at the tab (shown below) named the positions in my head, and started playing. And lo and behold. The technique that for almost a year has been the bane of my guitarist existence suddely just...happened. I don't really know how to explain it otherwise. I sat down, and I decided to take a different approach. Since chords are my strength, I looked at where in the song I could keep my fingers planted, and tried to relate them to chord positions I already know:

D
e-2h3-------3--3---------3------------2h3-----3---3--------3------------|
B-------(0)------3------3----3-------3------0--------3-----3----3------3-|
G---------0------0---0-------------0-----------0------0---0-----------0---|
D-2------------------------------0-------2-----------------------------0-----|
A-----------------3--------------------------------------3---------------------|
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
                                                 D
e-2h3------3--3--------3-----------0h2-----3p2----0h2-|--------3p2-----|
B-------0-------3------3---3------3------3----------3-------|-3---3-----3----|
G---------0-----0---0-----------0-----------2----------------|----2---------0--|
D-2----------------------------0------0------------------0----|------------------|
A----------------3----------------------------------------------|------------------|
E----------------------------------------------------------------|------------------|

The first position reminds me of a D chord (xx0232), so that's what I named it. A little later in the song, an actual D chord position comes up, so I named that one as well. Once I was able to figure out those positions, I was able to just focus on my plucking hand.

Then I guess as I was playing, that's when it sort of hit me. About the spoon comment I mean-- it's like mind over matter. Once you overcome that mental construction of yourself that can't play, it's no longer a self-defeating construct. Like he points out, the spoon isn't bending-- likewise, the guitar isn't complying, because it's not the guitar that's the issue. You instead, bend around the guitar. You learn to move with it, to work with what you're given, your strengths and weaknesses. You learn how to relate what you can't understand into terms that you can.

And well...I'm still working on that with the acoustic, since it's a lot tougher on your hands. But don't forget-- THERE IS NO SPOON!!!

Till next time.

-Kal

Recording: Session 1

I don't think I've ever spent an hour and a half playing one song before. But thanks to Miguel, that's just what I did today.

Ok, ok, so it sounds a little harsh and a little bitter when I put it like that. No, it was a lot of fun. I really love practicing with different people. Maybe that sounds a little weird, but I feel like it gives you a new perspective on them, like you understand them at a different level. You start to understand what parts of themselves they're comfortable with, and which parts they're not. You learn their strengths and weaknesses, how harsh they are on themselves, and you get to know each other a little better.

I guess in that sense the best example that I can give is that when you've been practicing for so long with someone, some things just don't need to be said. You learn to read each other on a different level, and you can predict the other person's reactions. On the most rudimentary level, this means that after practicing a certain song with someone for so long, you don't need to tell them how many intro measures you're going to play. They just know when to come in.

Then after you've been practicing for a while, you learn where the other person is likely to have trouble. As a guitarist, this means cue-ing your singer in. Sometimes, it means you help them along with the pacing of a certain verse-- and if the singer doesn't need to be coached along, sometimes it means that you end up with some really cool harmonizing when all the recording is said and done.

On top of that, you get a little more comfortable with each other. Both of you have things you need to work on, and eventually you're not afraid of showing the other person that you're not perfect-- because you realize that they're not judging you. You feel comfortable pointing out the things you need to work on, and the things that they need to work on. And you're cool with helping them learn it. And then on top of that, it makes you really happy when the other person gets something that they've been working on.

Like when we were recording, and Miguel hit the high notes in the song. That made me really happy. He probably didn't notice the smile on my face for the rest of the song, but I really enjoyed it. I don't think he realizes what an amazing voice he has.

So by this point, you're probably wondering where this lovely recording is. Well, it doesn't exactly exist yet. This was the first time that we practiced together, and we spent almost the entire time on just one song. We played for an hour and a half and recorded maybe twice. By the end of all of this, the pick slipped from my hand, and my chord fingers were really starting to wear out. By the last recording, I had to stop and say I couldn't finish. Like I said, I've never done just one song for that long before. Since you're using the same fingers (all 4 of them in this case) plus the same muscles in your hand, it's tiring. So, we're back to the mic tomorrow to have another go at it.

And that's not to say that today wasn't productive-- it was very productive. It was a lot of fun. I actually can't wait for tomorrow.

On another note, Miguel, Rose, and I are just now looking at a set for Open Mic Night next Thursday. If we aren't able to pull it together by then, I'm happy to perform with Miguel or try to memorize a monologue by then. But this set list is going to take a lot of work on everyone's parts. Rose has to learn the lyrics and learn to harmonize with Miguel. I'm learning a song from scratch, and Miguel is basically putting together a violin solo by ear.

If not next week though, we'll try to record it for you right here.

Oh, and if I haven't mentioned this, I'd really love to record with Béa as well, if not this school year than definitely during the summer.

-Kal

For What It's Worth...*

...here is all the knowledge and experience I have with finger picking.

The two ways you can begin picking are 1) with just your thumb, or 2) with all your fingers. Usually it's just about what feels comfortable, and sometimes beginners feel more comfortable relying on just their thumb. I know I do. But when he saw me finger picking, Senpai suggested that you try to pick with all your fingers, by assigning each finger to a string. Even if you don't feel comfortable picking with your ring finger or pinky (watch the video to see just how uncomfortable I am with this), practice with your first three fingers and work up to that point. You'll be able to pluck a lot faster once you get the hang of it.

Next thing is that you can pick with your bare fingers, which is fine, or you can get these really cool picks that slide onto your fingers and make the sounds a lot more crisp. It's like the difference between strumming with your fingernails and strumming with a pick. The sound is just a lot less murky with the plastic. As you'll see in the video, I only have the pick that slides onto my thumb, but they make ones for your fingers too. And as you'll see from the video, I haven't used that pick in a while and I'm sort of messy with it. In fact, I abandoned it all together until I picked a song on just one string.

Lastly, there are three techniques that come into play with picking: hammer-ons (placing your finger on a fret after you've plucked the string), pull-offs (the opposite of hammer-on), and sliding (smooth transition, sliding your finger from one fret to a higher or lower one).



Tabs used:

Time- Hootie and the Blowfish
Dsus4
-------------------------3----------------------------3--
---------3------------3----3---------3------------3------
------2------------2--------------2------------2---------
--0--------0-h-2---------------0-------0-h-2-------------
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------


Sunny Came Home- Shawn Colvin
e------------------------------------------------|
b------------------------------------------------|
g------------------------------------------------|
d--------0-2-0------------------0-2-0-2-4--|
a—2/4---------4-2-0-0---2/4---------------|
E------------------------------------------------|

e---------------------------------------------------|
b---------------------------------------------------|
g---------------------------------------------------|
d--------0-2-2/0--------------------0-2-0------|
a—2/4------------4-2-0-0---2/4---------4-2-|
E---------------------------------------------------|


The Tain- The Decemberists
E|--0--3--7--6/7/6--3--0--3--7/10--11--12-----------------------|

E|--0--3--7--6/7/6--3--0-3--7/10--11--12-------------------------|
     Here upon this pillow

E|--0--3--7--6/7/6--3--0--3--7/10--11--12------------------------|
    Made of reed and willow.           You're

E|--0--3--7--6/7/6---3-0-3---5--7--0---12-11-12-----------------|
    a fickle little twister, are you sweet on your sister? Your

E|--0--3--7--6/7/6--3--0--------------------------------|
    fallow won't leave you alone.

-Kal

The Frustrations of Sudden Temperature Changes

No, weather changes isn't really that much of a hazard, but it's still something to pay attention to. And yes, there is a difference between the hazards and the frustrations, however subtle. Hazards usually involve some sort of bodily harm, while the frustrations are the little bumps you might encounter along the way.

Anyway.

It's gotten really warm and a little humid out these past few days, so my guitars have been slipping out of tune more easily. People mostly use that phrase "slipping" out of tune for cold weather-- because materials shrink in the cold, tuning pegs will become lose, and it's quite hard to keep the instrument from going flat. Now that it's spring though, the warming is causing the wood and all of my tuning pegs to expand, tightening the strings. The past few days when I've gone to play, my strings have been sharp instead of flat. The changes can be mild, and sometimes not noticeable for someone who doesn't have perfect pitch, but you should be careful to check your strings before you play when the weather starts changing rapidly.

-Kal

The Hazards of a New Electric

There's actually a few to list. Principally, as with any new guitar, or really any new string instrument, you'll have to re-tune a zillion times the first few times you play. I've been practicing for over an hour total between the acoustic and the electric. When I picked up the acoustic, it was set to go. I had to tune the electric when I picked it up later, and I've had to re-tune about 3 or 4 times since. It's probably a good idea to check the strings every 2 to 3 songs if your instrument is new, to make sure you're getting the right sound. And if it's really out of tune, don't be worried; just be careful. My high e was tuned all the way down to a B, and I had to tune it a full 3 notes up, which took a good 4 full cranks on the tuning peg. Just go slow and you'll be fine.

The second hazard for me at least, since I'm used to the roughness of the acoustic strings, is that I feel like I can play the electric for a whole lot longer. My fingers don't hurt from the strings, and my wrists don't hurt from the bar chords. Now, this might seem like a plus at first. No pain means I can keep on playing, right? Well, as I put down the guitar to write this post, I glanced down at my hands, and my fingers are of course torn up more than usual. The strings actually tend to be farther away from the fretboard on an acoustic, so they take more energy to hold down. It's very easy on the electric, and requires a whole lot less effort (though as Will can tell you, it's still not "easy" by any stretch, if you're not used to it). The strings though, wear on your fingers just the same. So, I've probably gone through a few layers of skin by now, and I'll probably regret it by tomorrow. But for being able to play, and finally being able to practice hammer-ons, it's totally worth it.

-Kal

Like an artist with no artform...*

I know I've posted before on why I'm doing this, but I feel the need to express it again, maybe because I didn't do so adequately the first time. This might seem a little weird to try and say in words, but there's just this feeling in my chest now, and the overwhelming need to communicate it to someone. It feels almost like a moment of enlightenment, and like I want someone else to be able to feel that. It's like watching a sunset and not having anyone to share it with, or like singing your feelings to an empty room. The point is, I think that's why I'm doing this. I've been through so many "artforms"-- there's dance and gymnastics, writing, poetry, theres drawing and sculpting, and there's music. All these ways of expressing yourself, in the hopes that maybe, maybe someone will understand what you meant when you painted it or wrote it or performed it. Like the song says, "if I get it all down on paper it's no longer inside of me, threatening the life it belongs to". Maybe it seems elementary, but I started this because it became a way of expressing myself when words escaped me. Before I was a guitarist I was a writer, and before I was a writer, I was an artist. Maybe this is just another phase, but if it's a way of getting me to the next wave, then I'll go with it. Right now, this is my way of reaching other people, of finding that connection we all so crave. Right now, the guitar is my release when no other exists. Right now, my guitar expresses everything that I can't.

-Kal

Messing With the Electric

Alright, crash course for anyone just picking up an electric guitar (like me!):

First thing that's actually really awesome, is that all the tuning pegs are on the same side. No more snapping that G-string! Turn the tuning pegs Away from you to tighten the strings, and toward you to loosen them. As you can also see, there are two metal platforms that hold down the highest four strings (DGBe). This becomes important when re-stringing your guitar-- all you have to do is make sure the strings feed under the hooks.








Next thing: there are so many ways to mess with the tone on an electric guitar, especially between the dials on the guitar and the amp. If you watch the video below, you'll get a quick tutorial plus you'll be able to hear the changes that each dial causes (and if I sound like I'm pretty new to this...........I am):



Other than that, here's a brief and probably more organized tutorial of what all the dials do:

First of all, the changes in tone are possible because of these three pickups. The top one is sensitive to lower tones; the middle one, to middle tones; and the last one, to higher tones. The principle way of controlling these is with this switch and these tone dials:



















The switch has five settings: all the way to the top is the top pickup, or the lowest tones. Next is the top and middle pickup. The middle setting turns on the middle pickup. The fourth position turns on the middle and bottom pickup. Last setting turns on just the last pickup, which means you'll get more of the higher notes.

The next way of controlling tone is with the two dials: the top dial controls the top pickup, and the bottom dial controls the bottom pickup. Basically, if you for example, turn the top pickup all the way up and the bottom pickup off, you'll get a very twangy sound. If you use just the top pickup, youll get a very full, bassy sound. To change the tone on the middle pickup, you have to play with both dials.

The last thing you can do to change the tone with the pickups has to do with where you play: if you strum closer to the top pickup, you'll get a much fuller sound, where strumming over the last pickup will give you a very twangy sound.

As if that weren't complicated enough, there's also the dials on the amp. This one has three channels, all of which have volume dials, in addition to the master volume. Then there are the tone dials, low dnd high. Low gets the bassy notes, and high gets the higher notes. I've been told that for playing live, it's best to turn the high knob up most of the way, and the low knob a little bit less so.


Yes, this does seem quite overwhelming at first. And by at first I mean that I'm still overwhelmed by it. It's very difficult to get the right sound for certain songs, especially when you're not familiar with this kind of equipment-- or this kind of control. Usually when I'm playing I'll set the pickup switch to either the second or fourth setting, I'll put the tone dials about halfway, and I strum between the first two pickups. Mostly, you just have to play with it to figure out what everything does, and what sounds good for which songs.

The key here though, which I can't stress enough, is BALANCE. Some people love to pump up the bass, and I can tell you primarily as a listener that it is not appealing when you can't hear the singer or the high notes of the song. That said though, it sounds very unattractive as well when you turn the bass all the way down, so that all you get is a low hum in the background while the high strings are buzzing against the frets. Sometimes it's cool to play around at the extremes of high tones or low tones so you get a sense for what everything does. But please, for the love of God, balance the tones when you're actually playing.

That is all.

-Kal

But Honestly: A Special Song for a Special Someone

This is one of those songs I've been practicing since I got the acoustic-- I mean it sounds like a pretty acoustic song, like it should be played unplugged. But something about it just never sounded quite right when I was playing. The notes weren't clear or crisp enough; everything just sounded very muddled and monotone. Especially on the higher frets, where the strings start to pull away from the fretboard on the acoustic, it gets harder to hold the notes. This song also goes up to the 14th fret, which is about the highest I can hit on the acoustic.

So, here's a quick practice session to demonstrate how much easier it is on the electric. (To see the tab, view the video in YouTube and check the description).



Of course I'm a newbie at this part, so I spent a lot of time fiddling with the balance and the volume (and my mic is still not that great), but if you can get the EQ just right, the notes sound so perfectly crisp. I can hit the highest fret (21st) with no problem, and my fingers slide so easily down the strings (very important for this song). Actually, for someone who's used to rough strings, it's a little hard to judge where my fingers are on the fretboard if I'm not paying attention.

Quick disclaimer, the strings are probably not entirely in tune since I did them by ear again.

And of course, I do have to mention that this video is for a certain someone by the name of Will, who is the reason I've been working at this song since I started playing. I remember when I first got Carmine I was so excited, and I really wanted to do somethign special for him-- but of course, our taste in music had a very narrow margin of overlap, and there weren't a whole lot of acoustic songs I could play for him. This I suppose, was our compromise, since Everlong and Best of You were way above my skill level at the time. Now at least, I can start paying him back, on this appropriately special day.

Now, I know you Foo Fighters fans reading this are ranting in your heads about how I changed the tab to make it easier and I didn't play the song all the way through  I didn't even get to the solo. Patience, patience, I just started on the electric yesterday, and I've barely started to practice picking yet. Next on my list is definitely the picking and slide intros I was never able to do on the acoustic.

Anyway, next chance I get, I'll try to do a post on the basics of an electric guitar, which will probably be a lot of me fiddling with the EQ. Till then!

-Kal

Why am I lamenting my lack of tuner when I'm on break with no guitar?

BECAUSE I'M NOT LACKING A GUITAR AND I HAVE AWESOME FRIENDS, THAT'S WHY.

Yup. Ok, lemme start from the beginning. Really, the place that it started was when Senpai texted me asking if I'd mind getting my birthday present early. For reference, my birthday is in May, and I'd be home from school on my birthday. But, he said it was pretty cool and he wanted me to have it early, regardless of how ridiculously early spring break was. So I'm like, ok cool, I'll let you know when I'm home.

So, I flew in last night, and we got to hang out today. I had actually gone downtown to see some old teachers, but thats beside the point. He had said to meet him at his house after he was done working and picking up my present. I get to the door, and he's got a guitar case on his back, which isn't too unusual for him. We head upstairs, and we're just chilling for a bit, till he runs downstairs and grabs an old amp. I've seen this thing before in the corner of his room, it looks kind of old and worn but it sounds good as new (not that I'm an expert on amps or anything, but it sounds awesome). He asks me sorta casually, so are you walking home later? And I'm like yeah, it's not that far, why? Response?: Well, I'll have to walk up with you cause you're not gonna be able to carry this thing home.

Um. Excuse me?

And he just watches my face as I realize that this is my present. But oh no, he's not done. He had told me earlier that it was in two parts, black and white, and you can't use one without the other. So I'm thinking, holy shit. And he's not done. So he stands up, grabs this thin guitar case off the chair, and says, you know this case is yours too. I mean it's a pretty nice case...and I guess whatever's inside is gonna have to be yours too.







Wait wait wait. Back up. The amp is one thing. A freaking electric guitar? (Ok, I didn't say "freaking". I was way too excited for that). You have to remember-- this is the guy that gave me Carmine when he was gonna chuck that acoustic. I owe him basically everything I've learned since that summer. I owe him for the direction that a good portion of my life has taken. An electric guitar?? Holy shit. No way. No, not just an electric guitar. A Fender Stratocaster. Holy shit. This is the guitar I was going to save up for two full years for. Black and white, like a perfect equinox. She's absolutely beautiful. The strings are so smooth, the plastic is on the pick guard like it's never been played. Twenty-one frets and I can hit the 13th and 14th so easily, and my fingers glide across down the neck like baby oil.



I was absolutely speechless for probably a full 20 minutes. Felt like my brain had exploded and plastered itself across the floor of his bedroom. When I finally got a hold of myself, he handed me a pick, plugged in, and had me play through a song while he fiddled with the dials and switches to show me what everything did.

Speaking of all the dials, I'll have to get on some new lessons about the electric guitar. There's so much you can do with the sound, the EQ, the tone, literally everything. You can do hammer-ons and pull-offs, slide between frets and bend the strings.

See, it's funny beause apparently this entire time he's just been reading my blog and laughing to himself. Reading my fantasizing rants about hammer-ons and how beautiful they sound, and thinking to himself, she can't even do that properly on an acoustic, this is gonna be great!

And meanwhile, I've been talking to all my friends at school about how much I miss playing his guitar when I'm not home (same style by the way, but a really beautiful off-white. His guitar is actually essentially a character in a story I'm writing on the side).

Well, the next thing up is names. One for the guitar, one for the amp. I'm thinking something that captures the essence of the equinox (like I said, my first thought when I saw her), day and night, light and dark, something like that. Maybe "Sombra" for shadow or "Luz" for light or "Luna" for the moon. I'll have to think on it.

Then after that I'll probably record a quick demo song to test out the sound (and try not to blow out my mic), and I'll get to the lessons as best I can. It'll be a learning experience for us both, since I really have no experience with the electric.

Oh yeah, and when I finally got home I realized I had no capo and no tuner, so I had to tune by ear. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Or experience in this case, I suppose.

I still feel like I'm floating through a dream right now. The acoustic was one thing. My mind is still spattered across my floor, I think. I'll let you know when I've shoved my brains back into my head enough to crank out a song.

-Kal

The Hero's Journey

Funny, that I should have called my ongoing guitar experience "the journey", when just a few weeks after starting this blog we read an excerpt from Campbell's "Hero With A Thousand Faces", detailing the steps of "the hero's journey" (which by the way, was the basis for The Matrix). And really, I don't want to be overdrammatic here; I don't know really how much of my experience fits the steps or the idea of a "hero's" journey. But in a way, I suppose it reflects what I'm trying to do. "The hero's journey always begins with a call"-- maybe you've already experienced something like this in your life. Something doesn't feel quite right, or something simply compells you to do something that's completely out of your normal character. For me, this came at a time in my life when I had abandoned everything out of the ordinary. I had given up, since I was little, on ballet, gymnastics, ice skating, violin, tae kwon do, and sculpture. Then all of the sudden, I realized that I was stagnating. I wasn't writing, I wasn't reading, and I really wasn't doing anything outside of school. I had always admired guitarists and songwriters, so I decided it was time for me to try. I started researching, found a Yamaha on Amazon for 200 bucks, and I was ready to fork it over just so I could get a taste of that world.

That's when Senpai came along with his so-called "piece of shit" guitar, which is now my adored Carmine.

So, the first step was abandoning my fear of failure, and just going right for it. When I had some trouble with the chords (my biggest obstacle), my "guide" came along to help me, and he's still here to help me. And yes, as Campbell describes, the trials grow increasingly more difficult if you stick with it. (Right now, my latest trial is that I'm on spring break and lacking my guitar, so my calluses are going to be gone by the time I get back to school). But I stick with it because there's so much I want to learn. Bar chords and finger picking and singing while I play, hammer ons and pull offs and palm mutes.

Of course, Campbell's rendition of the hero's story involves an epiphany, a sort of final boss confrontation, and then a final escape from the "woods" back into "reality". The hero brings something back to the world that the world is missing, and must figure out a way to deliver it. Somehow, I don't think my story is as dramatic; certainly no "final" confrontation here. Perhaps I could equate it to the calluses on my fingers or the pain in my wrist from trying bar chords that my fingers can't quite reach, but that's hardly a life or death confrontation.

I am trying to bring a piece of what I've learned back into the world, though. If I can share my experience with someone, and perhaps spark that person out of stagnation, into their very own hero's journey, then I've done my job. And if I can do that while still maintaining on my own journey, then I've done my job well.

-Kal

Perplexing: An Update

Well, I filed down the one callus on my index finger yesterday, and it seems to be doing fine today. It feels about the same as the others now that the callus isn't as thick. This is one thing that I really love about guitar: constantly learning things, both about playing and about yourself (physically and mentally speaking).

My thoughts about what happened: for myself, I think that part of the pain may have come from my clipped nails. I hadn't trimmed down the corners after I cut them, so the sharp edge of my nail may have started to dig into the skin. As far as the callus, my assumption is that there was so much dead skin accumulated at my fingertip that it was compressing the healthy skin under it. That would explain the sensitivity to pressure. I also found when I got in the shower yesterday that it was more sensitive to heat than the rest. I assume that more blood was being pumped to the area, since that's a natural response to damaged tissue. And of course, the inflammation (swelling and blood rush) would contribute to the pain.

Now, I know I've said in the past not to pick at calluses because they're actually good for protecting your fingers. I still stand by that: actually peeling away the dead skin can pull at healthy skin, making it even more painful, and sometimes causes bleeding. It's sort of like peeling down your cuticles. If they start to hurt abnormally though, (and I don't mean an hour after playing, that's normal), feel free to try filing them down. You'll know when they get really thick because the sensation in those fingers will be much less than in normally callused skin. You'll get to know your body, and you'll figure out for yourself what feels like abnormal pain. As a general guide, I'd say that surface sensitivity (like localized pain from rubbing the skin or sometimes from pressing very hard), as well as heat sensitivity, is normal. If pressing very lightly  on the area (as I said yesterday, about the pressure of typing on the keyboard) makes it hurt, that's probably more of an abnormal pain. If you start to get this sensation of the skin stretching or pulling across the tips of your fingers, that would be a good clue to file down those calluses.

For filing, a simple cardboard nail file will suffice. I'd go after whichever area is the thickest, but try not to file the edges too much, so as not to shrink the physical area of the callus. Leveling them off is a better way of thinking about it. In addition, don't file all the way through the callus; the skin underneath will be very sensitive. And lastly, try to stay away from the healthy skin. Filing that will make your fingers very unhappy.

As always, I hope my mistakes will help you in your journey.

-Kal

Perplexing

So, I woke up this morning with an incredibly sore index finger. Of course my fingers are usually sore from playing the guitar (especially my chord fingers), but this is unusual. It feels almost like a bruise, or like it's swollen, which is not when callused guitar fingers usually feel like. They burn, they itch, they might hurt when you press right on the calluses themselves-- but this feels like I slammed my finger into a door. It doesn't look all that different (not swollen or anything), except that it maybe looks a little more red where it hurts, though that could easily be me making things up. The other weird thing is that the pain is asymmetrical, more towards my pinky than my thumb. I suppose it could be from playing too much (sometimes really thick calluses will start to hurt), but the pain radiates down the nail on one side, all the way to the cuticle. I'm probably going to try filing down the callus a little bit later, but I don't think I'll be able to play the guitar for a bit. The thing hurts when I press on the callus, or anywhere on the one side of my nail, plus when I press down on my nail from the top. I can even feel it as I'm typing now. I'm actually really confused about this; I'm usually pretty good at at least divining a source. I really don't think that guitar was the source of this, but then again, stranger things have happened. I suppose all I can do for now is wait, and maybe try my file later.
 
-Kal

The Hazards of Cold Fingers

So, I just came back from town, new supplies in hand, eager to play-- but man, is it cold out. You ever feel like you start to move more slowly when it's cold out? Well, it's especially true with your hands. Your fingers feel stiff after coming inside, right? Most everyone knows the feeling. Well, I'd advise being smarter than me, and giving your hands some time to warm up before you start playing. Rub them together, sit on them, get the blood flowing-- cold fingers do not make for a happy guitarist. Your calluses will probably hurt more when you start playing, plus you'll probably be a bit slower at switching between chords, and strumming in general.

And on that quick note about playing, I feel the need to bring up again one of the frustrations of being a guitarist: dropping the pick. I've actually licked the contact parts of my fingers before playing in the past, to get a better grip. But often I'll losen my grip on the pick when I'm trying to play more quietly, and it will subsequently slip from my hands. If I'm lucky, it lands at my feet. If the world is feeling cruel, I hear it clatter into the guitar. Well, you can read about the last time that happened to me here, but today I happened to stumble upon the most ingeniuos solution:

 

I hope what you can see from this picture is the textured oval region near the top-- it's actually this rubbery grip inlaid to the top of the pick. I just happened to walk into my local guitar shop today, and found this sitting on the shelf. I tried it as soon as I got back to my dorm, and it feels great. I haven't found it slipping while playing yet, and the tip is actually narrower than my others, so the sound I get out of it is really crisp. And while I was there, I ended up picking up another 0.58mm pick, just in case I drop mine into the guitar again.

Hopefully now that I have another "just in case" pick, that won't happen. But knowing me, I'll drop the new grippy one instead.

-Kal

The Hazards of Not Knowing Your Limits

When I start playing, I really get into it. In the past I've tried to limit myself to an hour of practice at a time, but there are just so many songs that I love to play, and so many that I need to practice. For our next set, I really want to play My Immortal by Evanescence, and Kiss Me, by Sixpence None The Richer. This would involve Miguel, my viola friend, getting the amp up here for his electric violin, and then Rose singing. And I really need to practice for these. The chords that are giving me the most grief right now are F#m (244222) and Dm (xx0231). I've been going at this for a while, and I still need the practice, since my hands are still not quite strong enough for the bar chords. Anyway, I played earlier today, and I guess I've been going at it off and on for about 2 hours now. This is the result:



Now, the calluses and all are normal. But after playing for a while, they tend to turn white and start to peel. If you're like me, you'll get really tempted to pick at them. DON'T DO IT. It's a painful process, and it'll hurt more the next time you play. If you leave them be, they'll usually flatten out on their own.

So, if you're smart, you'll find your limit, and practice for only that amount of time. If you're like me, you'll be really determined to learn something that you definitely won't get in one night, or you'll just really get into it and play for hours on end, without realizing how time is passing. And if you're like me, you'll only stop playing when it hurts to touh the strings, and when your hands visibly start to slow down and lose strength and energy. Word of caution (and I know I've said this before, but I've dropped bowls of burning hot liquid this way): your fingers may be very sensitive to heat at this point. Just be aware of it.

And, a quick final tip: cleaning the strings regularly will actually make it easier on your fingers. Just wrap a microfiber cloth, like the one used to clean glasses, around each string individually, and run it up and down the string. You'll be surprised at how much gunk comes off, especially near the top frets where you play the most.

Happy practicing!

-Kal

Well That Was Anticlimactic

So, not a whole lot happened yesterday. We went shopping (no incident there), and even walked to the train station. I didn't have my phone and I didn't need my phone. I felt no need to be texting anyone or checking my email while I was walking, even though that's something I'll do out of habit. The biggest thing for me was the instinctively checking to make sure my phone was in my pocket-- which obviously it wasn't. Basically, I'm just really paranoid about losing it. The times I was wishing I had it were to listen to music, and to jot down a note. We were sitting on the bus when a song came on and I thought, "wow, this would be great for Open Mic Night"-- only I couldn't figure out the song, nor could I write it down, since I didn't have my phone.

So other than that, no big issue. And really, I didn't even play my guitar or read all that much yesterday. The time I did grab my guitar out was in the evening, past quiet hours, with a couple friends in the lounge. We were decorating a poster, and Dave was talking about how he hadn't played in a while, so I went to grab Carmine (my guitar, for those of you who don't know). We had a pretty cool discussion about different playing styles, and I discovered that he's way more into finger picking than me. He started playing the melodies for Sweet Home Alabama, and a bunch of other songs: Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, everything that I had started to learn on the violin in middle school. It was actually pretty interesting; he said that finger picking was way easier for him than strumming, which was a pretty big revelation for me. He said for him, it's easier to keep track of two hands, rather than two fingers. So, if he can keep his fingers in the same position, and pluck the strings in a certain order, that's what works for him. With me, it's totally the opposite-- my plucking hand is much harder for me to keep track of, but I'm fine (now) at changing chords. Maybe it has something to do with the way I started off: I worked really hard at changing chords in the beginning.

So, I guess the point is that different people have different preferences. For me, picking will take a lot more brain power to learn. For Dave, the chords are too much to keep track of at once. My brain focuses on the chord hand, his on the strumming/picking hand. In the end though, the best part was exchanging ideas. He showed me a really easy picking song (Time, Hootie and the Blowfish), which I can also use to practice hammering on (placing your finger on the string after you've plucked it). I told him that the way I started practicing chords was keeping two finger planted, so you only had two more to keep track of.

Basically, it's all about experimenting, and finding out what works for you.

-Kal

An Experiment

The day after we discussed the "tethered" life in my English class, I was running late for my Calc class, and forgot my cell phone on the dorm. Of course it struck me as coincidentally good timing, and I was rolling my eyes at myself. But as I thought about it, I realized it wasn't really all that important. I wouldn't need to be contacting anyone between class and work-- any of that could wait until I got back to the dorm. Sometimes I listen to music on my phone, but that's not crucial either. The only thing I was missing was a timepiece-- but even that was nice, not glancing at the time every five minutes.

So, I decided to try something for myself. Tomorrow, from when I wake up to when I go to bed, my phone will be tucked in the back of my desk drawer, and my computer will be disconnected from the internet (I would say that I'd put that away too, but all my tabs are on iTunes).

What will this mean? As a guitarist, it will mean no interruptions while I'm playing, which will be lovely. It will mean making my shopping trip without the ability to look up the bus schedule and without the ability to call a cab, or anyone for that matter. It will mean having to speak to my friends face to face to stay informed about plans. It will mean going to Saturday night's party without the ability to call or text anyone, to see where they are or otherwise. It will mean being able to focus on what's in front of me. It will mean not being able to check my email for a full 24 hours.

For one, it will force me to do any online homework before tomorrow. It will mean being able to read without my phone buzzing after three paragraphs. As a music-phile, it will mean having to create my own music.

Why? Well, to be honest, I'm really just curious. But when we talked about being alone, while not ever really being alone, I realized all the times I've been interrupted while playing, and it really does just kill the song when your phone goes off in the middle. Even if you don't answer right away, there's still that blip in the song, and your mind is really no longer in it. It's hovering over your phone, wondering what someone could possibly be saying. And in another sense, I'll be able to record without fear of being interrupted, so expect a new video post after this is done.

I'm also hoping that it'll give me a better appreciation of...well, everything. A better appreciation for my alone-time, the time I get with my guitar and my books. A better appreciation of the friends who are in front of me. More confidence in my ability to really rely on myself. And also a better appreciation for our ability to communicate across such distances. For a full day I won't be able to contact anyone back home, about the little things or the big things. It will test my memory, my nerve, and my ability to focus.

And of course now, I'm just itching to get to my guitar, for that sweet moment when I can close my door and know that no one, no one will break the sound of the strings except for me myself.

-Kal

Performances Sneak Up On You

Last night was Open Mic Night-- the first Thursday of every month. Rose and I realized on Sunday that we hadn't practiced anything. You get caught up in school work, you don't pick up the guitar for a few days, and then just one more day, and one more day, because there's always one more thing you could get done instead. And then it's the week of. Well, I'm not going to tell you that we pulled one out of the hat and managed a set list in four days, because we didn't. But I still went, and there were some amazing musicians. Some I had seen before, some entirely new, but it always strikes me just how brilliant some of these people are. It's always incredibly humbling, seeing people writing their own music, hearing people live that sound better than studio artists today.

It also made me question myself a little. I'm a guitarist, sure, but nothing like them. As a guitarist, walking around campus makes you wonder what's so special about yourself-- on this campus especially, it seems like every third person you meet plays the guitar. Either that, or they're way more experienced with another instrument than you've ever been with any form of music. At home if you were a guitarist, you stuck out. It was your thing, the thing you owned and the thing you loved. So what after all does make it special?

Well, it's just that. It is the thing I love. Of course I envy those guitarists who write their own music, and then can get up and perform it. It's amazing and beautiful-- and it reminds me of why I love playing. I don't strive to be better for the sake of being better. I want to learn how to play well, how to finger pick and how to sing because music it seems, can so often express what words alone can't. There's a poetry to them and the way their written, but there's an emotion to the music too, the different instruments used and the tone of the lyrics. Everyone talks so much about how talking to someone face to face is so much more real than textual communication, simply because you can see the person's expressions, hear the intonation of their voice, and cue into their gestures. Well, has anyone ever told you about this amazing song, and then sent you...the lyrics? Next time someone tells you about a song, look up the lyrics first. Don't listen, just read. It's not the same, is it? You're missing a whole element of what the piece is trying to say. Maybe the general point gets across, but music is like talking face to face.

For me though, music takes it a step further. There are so many instruments overlaid, like layers of emotion, and so many ups and downs throughout the course of the song. It's like a song bottles up* in just a few minutes what an hour-long conversation might try to say. It's like the purest form of communicating exactly what you're trying to say. It takes away yet another layer, tears down yet another barrier between people.

That's why I love playing. Why I want to be able to sing and pick and strum-- it feels like the most pure and true way of expressing exactly what I'm trying to say. I'm sure you have those few songs that, beyond being your favorite songs, they make you pause when they come on. You feel something tugging in your chest, in that hollow just below your heart, like something wanting to escape, something that can't be expressed in words-- and the music is that outlet. I play for the lyrics, I play for the music, and I play for the emotional release. In a world where everything can said rather than shown, music is my way of pushing through that barrier of text.

-Kal

More of a Challenge: I Miss You

One more song for today: I Miss You by Blink-182. The chords follow a similar pattern, where your last two fingers stay planted for the entire song (on the 3rd fret, incidentally).

This song is more difficult, simply because of the strumming pattern. The chord changes are also more frequent during the chorus portion, but the chords themselves are about the same level of difficulty. Below is a video of me playing (and singing), so you can discern the strumming pattern.

Tab used:
  G                        Dsus4 (xx0233)
Hello there, the angel from my nightmare
        Em7                                                   Dsus4/F# (2x0233)
The shadow in the background of the morgue
                                 G                Dsus4
The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley
               Em7                                          Dsus4/F#
We can live like Jack and Sally if we want
                                           G
Where you can always find me
                   Dsus4
We'll have Halloween on Christmas
       Em7                                                  Dsus4/F#
And in the night we'll wish this never ends
                                    G [this is also the starting chorus chord]
We'll wish this never ends

Chorus (G Em7 Dsus4 Cadd9)
G       A7Sus4 (x02033)     Em7*    Dsus4    
Cadd9   Dsus4/F#    Cadd9
                            (I miss you,miss you)

You'll notice that this one is particularly difficult for me to sing. I miss my cue, and the strumming pattern makes it hard to sing while I'm playing. It's like trying to rub your head and pat your stomach at the same time, for lack of a better analogy.

You also might notice as you begin to play, that first working out the chords can be a chore. Your brain will know where it wants your fingers to move, but it takes quite a bit of effort and mental power to get your fingers to cooperate. Ever tried that little trick where you link your fingers together and flip your hands, so that your left hand is to your right and visa versa? A friend points to a finger you have to lift up, and more often than not, you'll lift the wrong one. It feels sort of like that.

Anyway, this song also made me think back to my first college concert: Blink-182. I was so proud that I had score tickets-- I was so excited when I saw them on sale that I didn't even think of how I would get there. Turns out the closes bus drops you about a 20 minute walk away, which really isn't that bad if you think about it. I walk everywhere in my hometown. What I didn't bargain for was walking along our lovely local pseudo-highway. Traffic lights, sure, but three lanes of traffic traveling about 50 mph.

What we talked about in class today reminded me of this moment. We had been talking about that "coming of age" moment, that moment when you realize that you are truly, utterly alone, with no one to rely on but yourself. The point of the conversation was that this is changing, now that everyone has a cell phone, and we can be alone without really being "alone". And yes, when I made this venture, I did have my phone, albeit my dinosaur flip phone from 8th grade that was too thick to fit comfortably on my pocket.

But even with my phone, the police at my fingertips if it came down to it, I felt at that moment utterly alone. And it's terrifying. I had done all the research I could beforehand, printed out a map of the area, planned my route; but the bus dropped me off in a different location than what I was expecting. So I stood there for a few seconds, then tried to discern which direction was the right one. Eventually, I stopped and knocked on a random door, asking which way the concert hall was. The man was nice enough, pointed me in the right direction, and wished me luck as if I were setting out on some medieval quest. I kind of felt like it, backpack slung over my shoulders, walking down a stretch of road with no highway, with a prepaid phone that had about 10 minutes worth left on it. I finally got to the pseudo-highway, but it only gets better from here. Those ditches by the side of the road? Well, it was my honorable option to walk either on the road side, and be whipped past by speeding cars, or tread safely through the brambles and burrs on the other side. I chose the latter. I won't go into details about how unpleasant it was, how scared I was, or how stupid I felt (mostly stupid by this point, since I could see the road with the concert hall). I came out in the parking lot covered in those burrs with the hooks on them. They were stuck to me, my bag, my towel.

But once I got there, I was fine. I was alone, and I was wary of my stuff and of everyone around me. But the concert was good, minus the constant weed smoking. I thought I'd be bright and leave a little early, since everyone would be calling taxis to pick them up. My second "coming of age" experience came the same night. I left at maybe 10:30 or 11pm, called a taxi and waited out front. I called back multiple times, but every time a taxi pulled up, it was for more than one person. And then they stopped coming. I found out later (much later) that by that point, they weren't allowing cars right by the hall, that you had to wait at the corner of the drive and this pseudo-highway. When I called back about the 5th time, the woman told me to wait at the end of the drive. So I did. It was almost midnight. And then it was 12:30. And that's when the last cop car at the end of the drive pulled away. It's always brightest right before it goes pitch black, right? And it was pitch black. I ended up calling my roommate for a ride. Turns out she had been at the same concert.

Well, point being that yes, while still being tethered with a (granted, crappy) phone, I still felt that gripping fear of being alone, way after dark, in an unfamiliar town. If I'd had to get back to campus by myself, that would've been a completely different story-- I probably wouldn't have gone to the concert in the first place. But that was my real coming of age moment (and twice in one night!). At least now though, I know that I won't flinch in the face of being alone at night with no one else to rely on.

-Kal