thanks ark and floranicolas, i suppose these days it's all about people slapping themselves on the back for doing something they get well paid for. like those bankers, they lost billions yet they award themselves huge bonuses! what's that about?

though having said that, i watched a re-run of the UK rock awards yesterday and enjoyed that. jeff beck was amazing, but it does go to show that long guitar solo's are quickly becoming a thing of the past....even for virtuosos that can carry them off.

Having seen some of the footage of the Oscars over the last week-end, I awoke this morning with the first verse banging around my head. I've tried to reflect what I perceive as the false, shallow egotism involved in the movie industry

hi john, just because  blueridge has a good name doesn't mean that yours is the best representative of the make. i had a strat and played it for 30 + years cos i thought it was a good guitar. it sounded crap to me, and now it sits in my attic gathering dust. it put me off fenders for a long time. when the replacement got me down (a real cheapy) i tried lots of guitars, avoiding fenders at all costs. when nothing got the juices flowing, i told the shop guy to pass me the telecaster off the stand. i didn't need to play it, i knew i'd found my soul-mate. i bought it there and then and never looked back.

moral is; if your not happy with what you've got look for something you will be happy with.

phill

PS. as an afterthought, you could take your guitar to your local music shop and ask for it to be set up proffessionaly if they have a guitar doctor. if they dont, check-out yellow pages.

I've got lots of bits of paper on my desk with a couple of lines, and others with chord progressions on, it's all a case of matching them up. Worry not, you'll get there.

Phill

hi richie, welcome to chordie. i agree it's easiest to learn songs you know well rather than someone else's choice. only tip i can offer at this moment is; watch how other people play, and listen to the tones different fingerings can form. and of course...keep at it

condolences on the loss of your friend, it's such a shame that as we get to a certain age more and more of the ones we've known and loved seem to hang up the guitar and take up the harp. he's obviously left you with some great memories, cherish them.

phill

i used to play in a band with a guy who was challenged in a keeping the beat kinda way. and tone deaf to boot. but he could feel the vibrations through the stage so his timing was almost close!!!! the down side was that if he started a song off in the wrong key he wouldn't know about it till he got kicked! he got kicked quite a lot before he finally got kicked out of the band!

the moral is; if you get enjoyment from music, playing or listening, do it. not everybody is simon cowell so we wont judge you.

this song is about someone in a coma, locked in his/her own world. please feel free to comment.

phill

you can now hear a demo of this song on Sound Click, link below

a metronome is essential for recording if you intend multi-tracking. i have done many recordings (covers and originals) with or without a click, it all depends on your internal clock. russ harding tells me he has perfect meter. having done several recordings with him i can verify that. when i record i play guitar, drums, bass and keyboards, so most times i use the click. i find that i dont actually need to count if i have a beat to follow. and of course some songs sound so much more soul-full when you don't keep a strict time, eg; keep a note a half beat longer etc, so then you come back in a half beat later, (it makes a terrible mess of the metronome count though! )

just a thought. i know the i-pad is great, just wondering how it would cope memory wise as multi track recording can eat up memory like no-one's business. give it a go though and let us know how you get on. i've seen several solo acts using them on stage as backing, but they had the bigger memory.