Setting up Your Floyd Rose

Did you buy a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo only to find yourself cursing into the wind when it came time to change your strings? Okay, don’t panic! Owning a guitar with a real tremolo system can take a little getting used to. And because I get a lot of questions on how to set up a Floyd, I did some searching to find a decent video to help you understand more clearly how to approach this problem.

FLOYD ROSE TREMOLO SET UP

So, if you were worried about buying a guitar with a Floyd Rose trem system, because you thought it was going to be a lot of hastle to set up, you were right! But, despite the extra time and effort it takes to set up a professional trem system, it is important to be able to be aware of how gadgets like this work, if you plan to move forward with your playing. The first few times you set one of these trems up, it will seem like a bear. But, I assure you, once you’ve done it a number of times, it becomes lots easier.

Do you want others to recognize the air guitarist guru that you truly are? If so, then be sure to check out the iAirGuitar ap for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Visit:

www.iairguitar.com

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Being Assertive in the Music Community!

Hello everyone! I know that i have been away for a few weeks, but I would like to thank everyone that has supported me through these trying weeks. Todays blog is about being assertive within the music community. You might be asking yourself, what’s up with this? What I am talking about is each and every one of us putting ourselves out there consistently to the masses. More importantly by doing this those who you are looking for will find you and vice versa. By putting yourself out there I mean do what you do, but do it well! By making sure that it is of the utmost quality at your level or ability to be done, this is how you can set yourself apart and get your viable message out. We are all guilty of expecting to be found or discovered for what we do or wanna do. This I will admit is how I thought, I then realized through time and a long amount of time spent that this mentality was naive. The end result of all of this push yourself and your product at the same time maintaining quality.

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Theocracy (Metal, Christian, Progressive)


After listening to this band, you might want to talk your pastor into booking them to play at your next church function. Okay, that might be a little too much for the old blue haired folks who sleep in the back rows. The reality is that Theocracy truly rocks. The rhythms are powerful and tight, the singing is melodic and orchestral, and you can’t help but move to the music. Before I forget, it is about time that someone put Frosty and Rudolph in their place. You will just have to listen to their Christmas song to know what i mean. Although, I would have liked to have heard them put Santa in his place too. They sound like Dream Theater meets Savatage with richer vocals. So, I definitely recommend checking these guys out, if you are into fast heavy metal with great singing.

To check out Theocracy, please visit:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=150053352

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The World of Harmonizers and Pitch Shifting

Eventually, the bug is going to bite and you are going to want to enhance your guitar sound with pitch shifting and harmonizer effects. Of course, if you are a normal human being, you won’t likely be able to afford an Eventide Harmonizer. But, even if you don’t have a ton to spend on effects, you can still get your hands on a decent pedal or rack that can give you pitch shifting and harmonizer capabilities for a reasonable price. What is a harmonizer?

INTRO TO HARMONIZERS AND PITCH SHIFTERS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcXnB1MsjKI&feature=PlayList&p=8792948706480727&playnext=1&index=23

Okay, now that you know what a harmonizer is, let’s check out one that I think sounds a bit smoother than the last one we heard.
BOSS GT10 HARMONIZER DEMOS

Here are a couple more demos of the Boss GT10 unit in action.

Another Boss product that you can use to do harmonizer type of effects is the Harmonist pedal.

BOSS HARMONIST PEDAL

DigiTech has also released a number of harmonizers over the years, and this next product might be just what the doctor ordered to help your rig out.

DIGITECH HARMONY MAN

This next video demonstrates how to use pitch shifting with other effects to produce some interesting sounds.

PITCH SHIFTING WITH DELAY AND VOLUME SWELL EFFECTS

I hope this little demonstration about harmonizers and pitch shifters has been helpful. This is one of those types of effects that can dramatically change your overall sound if used properly. Also, be sure to check out many different types of harmonizers and pitch shifters before purchasing one. Although technology in this area has improved dramatically, the truth is that a lot of harmonizers on the market are simply not very good. So, you really have to watch what you get.

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Larry Coryell on Jazz Minor Scales

  This is one of those lessons that will probably make your head spin a little.  It is rather theory intensive.   In the same breath, it is also a very useful lesson for learning to break free of the traditional grind in order to incorporate a bit more jazz style into your playing.

LARRY CORYELL: Jazz minor scales part 1  

LARRY CORYELL: Jazz minor scales part 2

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Some Assorted Jazz and Blues Ideas

Here are a few videos covering some interesting ideas to help you begin to develop more of a Jazz feel to your playing–especially in a blues context.

LARRY CORYELL: Jazz Guitar Lesson Blues In C

BILLY WILKIE: Jazz & Blues

PETER VOGAL: B FLAT MIXOLYDIAN MODE LICKS

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The Art of Slide Guitar

In this lesson, we will be covering a few ideas in the area of slide guitar. To start us off, Keni Lee Burgess gives us a brief history behind Resonator type guitars and what to look out for when purchasing one.

KENI LEE BURGESS: Resonator Guitars & bottleneck slides

Next, Keni offers up some helpful tips to those who are interested in getting into slide playing.

KENI LEE BURGESS: Tips to get you started

Now that we know what we are dealing with, Keni takes us through the paces by teaching us how to play an actual song using a slide.

KENI LEE BURGESS: Lesson on how to play bottleneck slide

Finally, we have an example from Sonny Landreth involving playing electric slide with other effects that I felt would be a nice addition to this lesson.

SONNY LANDRETH: Slide Lesson & Plays Next To Kindred Spirit

The nice thing about learning to play slide is that it gives you a perfect excuse to mess around in alternate tunings. This is generally due to the fact that a lot of songs played using a slide are composed in open chord tunings, which differ from the A440 standard tuning. Playing in these tunings forces you to pay attention to your theory in order to really learn your way around the neck again. And slide guitar is another way to introduce a little variety into your playing from time to time.

The iAirGuitar is finally here for the iPhone and iPod Touch. To find out how you can purchase a copy of this fun to use iPhone ap, just visit:

www.iairguitar.com

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Spiral (Progressive rock, Alternative)


  When I first ran across the band Spiral, I half expected their music to be modeled after the Japanese anime by the same name.  The dark disposition of their music would seem to suggest that they might be Blade children in disguise, but we would have to check to see if they are missing a rib to be certain.  On a more serious note, this fabulous group comes to us out of Poland.  Their music at times strikes me as sounding rather tribal, not what i would expect to be a huge focus of Polish culture from the homeland of my own ancestry.  I would even go as far as to say that their sound verges on being a little psychedelic at times, which makes this band all the more interesting to listen too.  Their songs definitely retain an alternative flavor.  So, be sure to check out Spiral and let me know what you think.

To check out Spiral, please visit:
http://spiral.pl

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