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
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
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
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
Sunday, March 18, 2012
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
-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
Thursday, March 15, 2012
But Honestly: A Special Song for a Special Someone
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
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
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
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
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
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