|
Why do we have to learn things other than how to play?
Let me first tell you a story about my NASCAR racing experience.
When my son was born, I wanted him to have the best experience in life
that he could. I was never involved with sports and was set aside
when the guys started talking about the game. It was a lonely time
and I did not want my son to go through that. My wife ant I decided
that if we were going to teach him how to be involved that we must first
get involved. The first thing that we did was go to the store and
look at the toys. We saw the little collectable race cars and
thought they were cute. We started buying them for him so we could
learn them as well. It was fun to test each other to see if we could
name the number, sponsor, make, and driver. One Sunday, we turned
the TV on and there were our little cars going around the track; we knew
who they were and most everything about them. From that point, we
were hooked. We could talk about it with anyone. My son grew
to love it as well. I even built a race car of my own but never
raced it. I sold it and the new owner (with his special changes) won
the first race that it had ever run with it. Click
here if you would like to see it. As time went on, we started to
like other things and we didn't have time to keep up with the latest
changes. However, we could get back into it very quickly if we
wanted to.
What does that have to do with music? From the toy section
to a winning race car, I learned that a person will enjoy something much more if
they learn about it. I can hand you a violin and place your
fingers on your first chord and you might say it hurts. It might
also feel like a cheap box that is hurting you. On the other hand,
if you have heard about a Stradivarius violin with it's value, beauty,
tone, and the artist's touch, then your eyes might light up as you anticipate
that first sound as it vibrates your soul. That is why we need to
know a little more.
There are musical artists that destroy guitars on stage to make a great
show. That works for the people that don't know what they are
looking at. Those guitars are made by real people that put their
heart and soul into them and any harm to the instrument is a direct slap in
the face of the maker. Yes, they were paid for their work but their
pride was punished. Another thing to look at it is: the wood used
primarily comes from the rain forest, take for instance, Brazilian Rosewood. It is some of
the most beautiful wood on Earth and is on its way to extinction. To
destroy that, is like laughing at nature when we should cherish it.
I build violins and my friend, Doug Trivette, builds "D
style" acoustic guitars. Doug is the best bluegrass guitarist
that I know and will be working with me some on this site. Doug builds
guitars completely from scratch and everything that is in him, is in each
instrument. I can't imagine destroying one.
How to lay out the frets on any
instrument.
Have you ever looked at the pattern on the
frets on your guitar and wonder how they knew where to put them?
Well now you will know. I learned this from talking with Doug and
then derived a formula for you to use and understand. Though you
might not ever use it, it is part of the learning that I was talking
about.
This is a "D style" acoustic
guitar neck. First look at the fret board as a perfect
rectangle. In this case, the total length is 25.6875 inches and the
distance is1.4415 inches from the nut to the center of the first fret. The
number 17.819979 is a number used to create a formula. When the
distance from the nut to the first fret is not known, the formula would
look like this: Fret 1 = Total Length /
17.819979
This formula is used to find the location
of the first fret. Draw a line from the corner upward the same
distance as the first fret distance. Draw a line from that point to
the end at the bottom of the bridge. From there, use a compass or a
set of dividers to draw the curve that you see at the first fret in the
picture. Where the curve stops, start the next curve with the new
distance. This continues until you are finished. The twelfth fret must end up exactly in the center of the string length. Now let's not
all go build one at the same time.
Guitar
| This bluegrass run just might be the most used run
ever played. It is used in the song "Uncle Pen" just
after the words, "you could hear it talk, you could hear it
sing." In other songs, it might not be as powerful but if
you will listen, it is there. First of all, this example is in
the "G" position. I am referring to the position
because if a capo is used, the fingers are in the same position
though the sound is different. Using the up and down picking technique,
follow the diagram to the right. One thing that you can not
see in the picture is the hammer ons and pull offs. A "hammer
on" is a place where you don't pick the string but instead,
fret it fast enough to make a sound. This is done to make the
sound of 3 and 4 which are not picked. A "pull
off" is when you have a string fretted and you let your
finger slip off of the string causing it to sound with out picking
the note. This is done on 6 making the sound of 7. In my
example, I will show you a hammer on and then a pull off. Then
I will play the section all together. The Tony Rice style
sometimes will not use the 1 but hesitate after the 2. Click Here to hear it! |
 |
The next guitar examples are done by my friend Doug Trivette. He is the best guitar player and maker that I
know. I hope to see him a lot in these future pages.
| Hi, I'm Doug Trivette,
I would like to show you some runs that I use in many
songs. Many runs, as short pieces, are linked together
depending on the chord played, the transition from chord to chord,
and the melody of a song. Try this example and see what you
can get to work. No two musicians play just alike so if you
find something out of this that works, use it and add your own
twist. Example
1 thru 3
|
 |
 |
|
Part 1
|
Part 2
|
| Many times, songs are slow and only have
so many melody notes. While strumming is one option, another
way is to use a roll. Try this one and give it some time. When
there is nothing else happening in a song and it is time to rest,
add this run to fill it in. Hear
my Example
Here is an example where it can be used. Remember that you
can use the Transcribe program to slow these notes down if you
want to learn the entire piece. Click
Here to hear it.
|
|
|
Roll used as rest |
Mandolin
| This is a section from a song called,
"Greens Fees" by Dan Tyminski. There is a
slide from 2 to 3 in section 1. The pattern hear is very
much the way that a mandolin lead is played through out most
any song. I can not stress enough the using the
Transcribe program is the way to understand what you hear. |
From the
 Carry Me Across the Mountain
CD
|
Section 1 |
Section 2 |
Section 3 |
Now
listen to my example. |
|
