101 Reply by mrjay

(19 replies, posted in Bands and artists)

I see some great names here. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Roger Waters, etc... are truly among the greatest. But I think we're overlooking the "modern-day" talents :

- Ray Lamontagne (some people don't like his voice, but his song Jolene really shows his writing ability. It's almost as if he paints the picture of his story with his words)
- Dave Matthews (great performer & song-writer)
etc...

Many people say that the folk genre isn't what it used to be, and people have lost interest in "real" music. I thought the same way until I found out about all the artists that seem to be overshadowed by the commercial pop & rap & "rock" bands. I think we just need to look a bit harder for them because the industry isn't as keen to bring them into the public eye as in the 60s/70s. It's a shame really... there are still many artists out there who still feel that music is an expression of the soul rather than a way to be rich & famous.

Anyway, my top 5 (at the moment) list:

1) Bob Dylan
2) The Beatles (G. Harrison especially)
3) Neil Young
4) Dave Matthews
5) Roger Waters

and because I agree with Doc and I'm a fan of francophone music, an honorable mention for the great Jacques Brel.

Play on Chordians...

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102 Reply by mrjay

(2 replies, posted in Song requests)

Arkady posted a great link.

Here's another to get a feel for the finger-picking:

http://www.dmbtabs.com/song.php?sid=77

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103 Reply by mrjay

(3 replies, posted in Bands and artists)

Looks like you guys got a small taste of Tim Reynolds.

This guy is an amazing acoustic guitarist. He often tours with Dave Matthews and they perform acoustic sets of Dave's songs together. I definitely recommend checking out some videos of them on youtube.

Here's a video of them performing Tripping Billies together : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYqsz-TH … ature=user

you may want to fast forward the story-telling part at the beginning.

Enjoy smile

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104 Reply by mrjay

(47 replies, posted in Acoustic)

I believe that would be at the 7th fret.

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105 Reply by mrjay

(4 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Hi Doc,

I think there are several reasons. The three that I can think of at the moment are the following:

1. Open tunings are great to simplify chord positions for your fingers. I remember James McCormick sent me a link to a website about one of his favorite artists Richie Havens who uses this tuning because it's chord formations. Check it out on this thread: http://www.chordie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5471
For example, to play any major chord, all you have to do is bar the fret (open D tuning, barring 2nd fret = E Major Chord, barring no frets = D Major chord)

2. I recently got into Acoustic Fingerstyle and I noticed that a lot of artists who play this type of music (Andy Mckee, Kotaro Oshio, etc...), use open tunings in a lot of their songs because they allow them to perform all types of techniques (slapping, tapping harmonics, slide), without having to compromise the tonal quality of their music. In open D, doing slaps gives a rich aggressive tone and doesn't require difficult chord formations. This allows them to focus a lot more on their actual technique rather than trying to remember complex fingering.

3. For the sound. Try tuning your guitar to Open D (DADGAD), and transposing the chords of a song you know to this tuning. You'll immediately notice that the "bass" strings give a much deeper sound and therefore add a different quality to your music than if you were in Standard Tuning. I like playing around with different tunings to find a sound that compliments my music in a different way.

In any case, I would definitely recommend you to experiment on your own. At first, I was reluctant but I can say now that it helped with my music in different ways, mainly with my understanding of music theory in general, as well as opening my mind to different ways of playing. Here are a couple of pieces by some great artists played in Open Tuning (you can find videos on youtube):

- Andy Mckee - Drifting
- Kotaro Oshio - Wings (you are the hero) - This one's a blast to play

Enjoy,

J.

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106 Reply by mrjay

(3 replies, posted in Electric)

mhdmhd, I think the only way to get good at strumming with picks is practice. Also practice your flatpicking (picking individual strings with a pick). As with a lot of guitar techniques, the only solution is practice and more practice.

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107 Reply by mrjay

(33 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Russell_Harding wrote:

roger i call mine "sweetheart" it just came about off the top of my head and ive been doing it erver since altho i dont know why on another subject i have really messed up my profile page and i dont know how to correct it,i contacted my space and they said they would look into it that was three days ago the problem is i put a slide show on and it threw off the page allignment  so i went to delete it in the band members area and cool chasers had installed there codes for the theme and layout design i deleted cool chasers codes and i thought the slide show would go with it and i could start from scratch. but Noooooo it still remains so i deleted the show from slide .com but its still there and the page is still screwed up i cant think of any alternative but to delete myspace account and start from scratch.any ideas?

Lol. That's my guitar's name as well. She's a Guild GAD-50E in amber sunburst. What's yours?

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108 Reply by mrjay

(110 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Wild World - Cat Stevens

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109 Reply by mrjay

(110 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Back to "A"? I like this thread, it's giving me some new songs to learn. (Although Southpaw is whooping our butts at this). Please keep posting Southpaw!

Across the universe - the Beatles

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110 Reply by mrjay

(7 replies, posted in About Chordie)

Deearna,

If you look in the acoustic section of the forums, you should be able to find quite a few resources about interpreting tabs. I remember Last Rebel posted quite a few pointers that seem to have helped out several people.

For anything that isn't in those posts, please provide a description about what you see on the tab that confuses you.

For the tuning, some songs or intrumental pieces require an alternate tuning than the standard guitar tuning EADGBE.

For example i recently learned a song by Kotaro Oshio that is tuned in open D, so on the tabs it would look like this

DADGAD
|        | |
V       VV

This means that from standard tuning, you tune down the 6th string to D instead of E (see the arrow pointing down?), the 2nd down to A instead of B, and the 1st down to D instead of E.

Good Luck.

J.

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111 Reply by mrjay

(11 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

hey dajamu,

Kahuna's right about the action. You can have technicians from your guitar store adjust that for you (which is something you should definitely do when buying a new guitar).

As for the guitar you want to buy, personally I try to stay with guitars made from solid wood (no laminate material). But that's just me. For your price range, here are a few extra suggestions:

-Guild GAD series (I have a GAD-50E and it plays beautifully. Also has Rosewood back & sides and a Spruce top)
-Seagull (A canadian brand with a lot of models in that price range. People seem to like the S6 or other Cedar models)
-Norman (Another Canadian Brand, very well built guitars & great value for the $$)
-Breedlove Atlas Series (Personally not my first choice but I have to admit they make good guitars for a cheaper cost)

Takamines are great too but they're already mentioned...

Good luck in your search.

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112 Reply by mrjay

(110 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Only Hope - Switchfoot

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113 Reply by mrjay

(136 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

true sad ... The person below me listens to Bob Dylan

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114 Reply by mrjay

(44 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

M is for Mandolin

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115 Topic by mrjay

(0 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Hi Chordians,

I noticed in the forum posts that many you have heard of finger-style guitarists such as Justin King, Don Ross, Andy Mckee, etc... For those of you know who haven't heard of them, these guys basically are known for their unique styles in playing the guitar. They use methods such as tapping & slapping to add a different percussive texture to their music.

Here's an example : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddn4MGaS3N4

The reason why I started this thread is because I thought it would be interesting to have a place where Chordians could comment on this playing style and hopefully give some tips on how to do some of the techniques.

For example, I recently had some trouble with a technique called the "Palm and Nail attack" that an artist called Kotaro Oshio uses in many of his songs. Basically, the idea is to use your palm while you strum to do a "body hit" on the guitar, which will add a more aggressive and boomy sound to whatever chord/riff you're playing.

here's a video where this technique is used : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpLVL7X4 … re=related

I've found that the best way to practice this technique is to develop a steady rhythm only with your palm at first in order to get a feel for the body hit. Once you have that sounding out properly, you try to add the strumming in the rhythm by folding your middle and ring finger, and by flicking them both against the strings with the nails as your palm strikes the body of the guitar. Much easier said than done....

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116 Reply by mrjay

(7 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Thanks guys. I appreciate the replies.

My real worry was that the difference of tension in the strings would warp the body or neck somehow. The good thing about open-D is that you tune down certain strings instead of adding tension to them. This tuning is a lot of fun by the way tongue.

As johncross and Russel mentioned, it would probably be best to have two guitars so that I don't have to re-tune constantly. I've been meaning to buy one, and looked at some very interesting models. But now, I'm really getting into finger-style with tapping, slapping, and harmonics (think Andy Mckee, Kotaro Oshio), so I'm re-assessing the qualities of the guitar that I'm searching for. Any recommendations for this type of playing style?

James, I had heard of Richie Haven but never took the time to check him out. What a voice! Thank you for the links, fantastic music and advice.

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117 Topic by mrjay

(7 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Hi Chordians,

I hope this is the right place to post this lol. Apologies if it isn't.

Questions:

I've recently been practicing instrumental pieces on my guitar that are in open D tuning. However, most of the music I play is in standard tuning.

First of all, I imagine that constantly switching tunings on your guitar will take its toll on the strings eventually. But how much exactly? I normally change my strings every 2 months, so can I expect to change them more often than that?

Secondly, and more importantly, if I leave my guitar in open D tuning while I'm not playing it, does it have any effect? I ask this because I generally play in standard tuning, and I'm wondering if keeping it for a while in open D will make it sound different when I switch back to Standard. Also, does this physically affect the guitar's body or tuning mechanism in any way? Or is it just the strings?

Thanks for your help,

J.

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118 Reply by mrjay

(17 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

alvee33 wrote:
mrjay wrote:

I stumbled across this video on youtube and thought about this thread.

This little guy's name is Sung Ha Jung, and he's playing some Andy Mckee. He's 11 yrs old tongue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDzyWAao … ature=user

What do you Chordians think? Gifted or hard-working?

When I first saw Andy McKee on Youtube I never touched my guitar for 3 days. Now you show me an 11 yr old kid playing like that.

Jeez!

Might pick it back up in a couple of weeks. Definitely no talent with me. Just pure bloody mindedness that I'll one day play a recognisable tune.

LOL... sry Alvee. I get frustrated too when I see stuff like this so I know where you're coming from. Although, ultimately, I try to use these examples to constantly set new goals for myself, which allows me to improve even more than I usually would. If you're not a genius, the only way is hard work.

The good thing about that is that, like a lot of things, learning the guitar always seems to be more about the journey than the destination. The most pleasure that I get is by learning something new, struggling with it until my fingers ache, and by basking in ultimate satisfaction once I've got that new technique down.

So pick up your guitar, mate. I bet you anything that, at one point in his life, Andy Mckee himself probably said "Damn! Can't get this barre chord down!" big_smile

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119 Reply by mrjay

(17 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

I stumbled across this video on youtube and thought about this thread.

This little guy's name is Sung Ha Jung, and he's playing some Andy Mckee. He's 11 yrs old tongue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDzyWAao … ature=user

What do you Chordians think? Gifted or hard-working?

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120 Reply by mrjay

(21 replies, posted in Bands and artists)

Last Rebel, have you listened to Dave Matthews Band? They are a mainstream rock band but with a lot of influences from jazz, country, latin, and other genres as well. I prefer their live albums (Live at Folsom Field, Live at Red Rocks). You could also check out Dave Matthews' acoustic sets with Tim Reynolds (Live at Luther College) if you're into acoustic music. It's great stuff you should check it out.

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121 Reply by mrjay

(2 replies, posted in About Chordie)

ok. Thanks for the reply UYK.

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122 Topic by mrjay

(2 replies, posted in About Chordie)

Hi Chordians,

I apologize if this question was posted already but I haven't been able to find any info through the search option.

Basically, I wanted to know if it was possible to modify the title of a song in my songbook on Chordie. The reason why I want to is because I'm replacing the contents of some unwanted songs in my book to include new songs that I can't find on Chordie. However, the titles are still the same in the songbook lists even after modifying the chopro tags.

Thanks.

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123 Topic by mrjay

(0 replies, posted in Bands and artists)

Hi all,

I had the privilege of seeing this Irish band in concert last night. Amazing show with lots of energy from both the performers and the crowd.

If you've seen the movie "Once", you probably know their style of music. For those of you who don't, I guess the best way to describe it is Folk/Rock with a Celtic touch.

Here's an example of their music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anSViACU920 (I like what he says about Irish music at the end of the video)

They're currently touring in N. America. I would recommend catching their show if they come to your city. For myself, it was a great experience.

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124 Reply by mrjay

(19 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Great Song! Strong Message...

Like it alot. Would love to hear more. Do you guys have this one on your myspace?

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125 Reply by mrjay

(19 replies, posted in Bands and artists)

Best recognizable intros? here are my picks:

- Brown-eyed girl - Van Morrison
- Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
- Stairway to Heaven - Led Zep
- Wish you were here - Pink Floyd
- Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
- Don't Cry - G n' R

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