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.
Showing posts with label the frustrations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the frustrations. Show all posts
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
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
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
Thursday, March 22, 2012
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
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
Saturday, March 17, 2012
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
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
Sunday, March 11, 2012
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
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
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
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
-Kal
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
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:
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
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
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The "To Learn" List
Alright, the promised intro on playing the guitar will come in the next week, but this week has been incredibly busy with exams and papers. I myself have barely found time to practice; mostly, guitar has been some minor stress relief this week, and I haven't found a whole lot of time for learning new techniques or organizing my thoughts in the best way to teach the basics.
So, here begin the guitarist's frustrations: first, in finding the time to play, and to play what you really want to learn. And second, as I'm looping my playlist of favourite songs, in finding songs that I can actually play and sing. This requires a little more explanation.
Let me start by saying that it's one of the worst feelings, to think "I'd really love to play that song"-- only to find that there are no [readable] tabs on the internet. As musically inclined as I am, I am for the life of me, completely tone deaf. I've mentioned before that I can't simply write my own music: one of the frustrations is having to rely on someone else for that.
The second frustration is that, even if I can read a tab, I can't necessarily play the song. Especially if it involves bar chords or finger picking. I really lament this, because I play for the emotional and mental aspect of it. You sing a song, and you feel like you're singing for someone. But it doesn't feel complete without the guitar. Conversely, playing a song but not being able to sing is just as frustrating. And let me tell you, overcoming that first hurdle in figuring out how to sing while strumming is quite an ordeal.
Below, I'm going to list off the songs that have been the sources of my frustrations in the past month or so. Maybe that'll motivate me to power through learning them once this crazy school work is past.
1. Desperately Wanting- Better Than Ezra (finger-picking, and very evidently an electric song. I'm currently trying to find an acoustic cover).
2. Closer to Fine- Indigo Girls (simply, a very fast-paced song, and a little too advanced for me at the moment).
3. Who Will Save Your Soul- Jewel (entirely finger-picking, and not a song that I've found can be pulled off with simple chords).
4. Even If It Kills Me- Motion City Soundtrack (electric and finger-picking).
5. Face Down- Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (even the acoustic version is throwing me off with the strumming pattern during the chorus).
6. The Islander- Nightwish (the one acoustic Nightwish song, and it's finger-picking).
7. Story of a Girl- Nine Days (this one is a possibility, if I can replace the bar chords with something comparable).
8. Winter Song- Sara Bareilles with Ingrid Michaelson (a beautiful song, but played entirely on the piano).
9. World Spins Madly On- Weepies (pretty fast strumming, and difficult chord transitions).
10. Goodbye Days- Yui (numerous bar chords, and I'm still trying to figure out the chord transitions).
On the other hand, we've found some pretty simple songs that might go on our set list for the next Open Mic Night. Among those are: You and Me (Lifehouse), Kiss Me (Sixpence None The Richer), With Me (Sum 41), and a number of Death Cab for Cutie songs.
So, here begin the guitarist's frustrations: first, in finding the time to play, and to play what you really want to learn. And second, as I'm looping my playlist of favourite songs, in finding songs that I can actually play and sing. This requires a little more explanation.
Let me start by saying that it's one of the worst feelings, to think "I'd really love to play that song"-- only to find that there are no [readable] tabs on the internet. As musically inclined as I am, I am for the life of me, completely tone deaf. I've mentioned before that I can't simply write my own music: one of the frustrations is having to rely on someone else for that.
The second frustration is that, even if I can read a tab, I can't necessarily play the song. Especially if it involves bar chords or finger picking. I really lament this, because I play for the emotional and mental aspect of it. You sing a song, and you feel like you're singing for someone. But it doesn't feel complete without the guitar. Conversely, playing a song but not being able to sing is just as frustrating. And let me tell you, overcoming that first hurdle in figuring out how to sing while strumming is quite an ordeal.
Below, I'm going to list off the songs that have been the sources of my frustrations in the past month or so. Maybe that'll motivate me to power through learning them once this crazy school work is past.
1. Desperately Wanting- Better Than Ezra (finger-picking, and very evidently an electric song. I'm currently trying to find an acoustic cover).
2. Closer to Fine- Indigo Girls (simply, a very fast-paced song, and a little too advanced for me at the moment).
3. Who Will Save Your Soul- Jewel (entirely finger-picking, and not a song that I've found can be pulled off with simple chords).
4. Even If It Kills Me- Motion City Soundtrack (electric and finger-picking).
5. Face Down- Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (even the acoustic version is throwing me off with the strumming pattern during the chorus).
6. The Islander- Nightwish (the one acoustic Nightwish song, and it's finger-picking).
7. Story of a Girl- Nine Days (this one is a possibility, if I can replace the bar chords with something comparable).
8. Winter Song- Sara Bareilles with Ingrid Michaelson (a beautiful song, but played entirely on the piano).
9. World Spins Madly On- Weepies (pretty fast strumming, and difficult chord transitions).
10. Goodbye Days- Yui (numerous bar chords, and I'm still trying to figure out the chord transitions).
On the other hand, we've found some pretty simple songs that might go on our set list for the next Open Mic Night. Among those are: You and Me (Lifehouse), Kiss Me (Sixpence None The Richer), With Me (Sum 41), and a number of Death Cab for Cutie songs.
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