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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Posts by Zurf
Two of them -
1. Hillbilly Idol out of Columbus, OH area
2. Burnt Taters (now just the Taters, but they'll always be Burnt Taters to me) out of Richmond, VA - Last Rebel, you would certainly appreciate their version of "No Teardrops Tonight". It's not Hank, but it'll do.
- Zurf
Pirate for me this year. I've got the puffy shirt, blousy pants, sloppy leather boots (not real sloppy leather boots, but stage style overshoes). What I'm missing is a sword, which I have no intention of getting another (the one I have is a huge claighmore style and not at all appropriate for a pirate who needs a cutlass or scimitar). The other thing I'm missing is a hat. I'm going to go with a bandana. Last year I used one that has a baby blue background and smiley faces on it. I'm not a terribly imposing or scary pirate.
- Zurf
"If I Don't Die By Thursday, I'll Be Roaring Friday Night" - Jimmy Buffett
- Zurf
I suggest a book called The Complete Guitar Player Songbook. It has what you're looking for.
Most songs don't have strum patterns for several reasons. One, it'd make writing it out quite complicated as strum patterns change a LOT in songs. Further, being a beginner, you'd find trying to strum along difficult but a simpler arrangement is something you can do. So not only would you have to find strum patterns, but strum patterns arranged for beginners. Two, not everyone "hears" the song the same. In general, the songs that people know are played by bands, and when you play at home it's generally just you. So, let's say you have two guitars, a bass, and a drummer - the classic rock quartet. Anyone writing from four instruments to one is going to have make an arrangement on the song based on the way they hear it and what they think is important in what they hear. Some people hear the lead, some the rhythm, some the bass line. Which would you get? Hard to say.
Third, Tabs tell you which strings to play. You listen along for the rhythm and look at the tabs for what strings/frets to play. So, you get what you're asking for by looking at a Tab of a song and a Chord sheet of a song. The problem I have with Tabs is what I said above about everyone hearing the songs differently.
- Zurf
Based not on guitars, but on having formerly been a woodworker for a classic airplane reproduction, there's a big difference between wood from trees of the same type from different regions. In our airplanes, we used spruce spars. The spars had to be from a particular kind of spruce from a particular region to be aircraft grade wood. I don't recall the type of spruce, but I do recall it was from Alaska. The short growing seasons made for a very tight grain. The consistant weather patterns year to year made for a very strong wood.
Considering that other agricultural products are particular to growing methods, regions, and 'vintages' for harvest have dramatically different effects, it's my guess that the same would be true for woods.
Whether you can hear it or not, I'd think yes - with a well-tuned enough ear. Just like onophiles can taste the difference in wines depending on the types of soils the grapes were grown in once they've developed an experienced palate, I would expect that guitarophiles (new word, I hope you like it) could hear the differences in wood resonances or luthier workmanship.
- Zurf
For a moderately priced acoustic, I think it's hard to beat a mahogany back and spruce top. The spruce is vibrant and loud, and the mahogany has a mellowing tightness to it. The sides at that price point probably don't make much difference.
The biggest step up of course is from a composite body and top to a composite body with a solid top (usually spruce). That's a huge difference. It happens around the $200 price point here (U.S.).
The next step up is to a solid back. I like mahogany, but spruce, koa, and other woods work too. That's getting into the $500 price point. Electronics and better woods are generally trade-offs in that price category.
I don't know much about guitars better than that, as I don't expect that I'll ever go much beyond the $500 price area for a guitar. Gretsch had a solid body with koa and mahogany that sounded real nice, but was pretty heavy. There are any number of guitars with mahogany back and sides with a spruce top in that price range. I think that's an excellent combination of woods.
As far as wood for necks and fingerboards, I'm out of my league. I couldn't tell rosewood from zebrawood from onyx by the sound. On my basses, one is onyx and the other is rosewood. I can't tell a difference. My electric is a rosewood fingerboard. I have no idea about my acoustic guitars. Rosewood seems to be the wood of choice in my price range. I would assume that's based on a combination of availability, suitability to purpose, ease of working it for the luthier, and price.
Of my basses, one of the bodies is solid mahogany (wonderful!) and the other is ash. The ash is nice and light. The solid mahogany is far from light, but MAN does it have sustain. I could hit a note with it on the wall, go cook and eat lunch, come back and have to mute it before playing the next note. My electric guitar is maple. It makes a good electric body, but I don't know about acoustic. I've seen flame maple acoustics before with 'bookmarked' patterns, but I think that's mostly for looks and not as much for sound. But what do I know? I'm no luthier.
- Zurf
Can we include basses? If so, then I want McCartney's Rickenbacker violin bass. Man those Ricks play nice. I saw a 1970 era model 4004 (I think) at a guitar shop and gave it a go. There wasn't a price tag on it. I guess it's one of those "If you have to ask you can't afford it" things. But I played it and it was like someone else was playing 'cause it sounded way better than I know how to do.
- Zurf
Sure, but it's directly behind me just now.
- Zurf
Oklahoma - Oklahoma! - Rogers & Hammerstein, from the musical of the same name
New York - New York's Not My Home - Jim Croce
Illinois - Sweet Home Chicago - Magic Sam and about three thousand other blues artists.
Arkansas - Little Rock - current Country star, don't recall his name
Tenessee - RockyTop - "Rocky Top, you'll always be home sweet home to me. Good old Rocky Top. Rocky Top, Tenessee" I don't recall the original artist. Was it Ricky Skaggs? I don't think he's old enough, but he started when he was three so he got quite a head start.
There's a few to help fill in the list.
- Zurf
In your honor James, I will be playing "The Country Life" while sitting around a campfire in the rain (hopefully under a tarp). Alcohol will be involved.
Many happy returns, sir.
- Zurf
Carolina In My Mind - James Taylor
Willie Nelson's Martin classical. Along with the strap. I wouldn't play it, though. Just wonder about it and try to figure out who all the signatures belong to.
- Zurf
If you need an answer, the answer is mahogony.
I do not care to elaborate on why because it doesn't matter.
The reason is that it's all entirely subjective. The reason that there are menus in restaurants is that we don't all want the same things.
What you can do is to establish certain criteria for certain types of guitars and then based on the criteria establish best woods for certain results. But for a broad-based question like "which is best." The answer could as easily be any wood. Except maybe balsa.
- Zurf
Play it slowly, preferably with a metronome. Learn the strumming pattern first before singing. Play until you are comfortable (but not necessary to play it until you can do it without thinking), then add the singing. Sing quiet at first until you're comfortable, and then sing with enthusiasm.
Second option, if you're old enough and so inclined, get yourself an adult beverage, settle in comfortably in your home, take a little sip, relax and enjoy playing a song you like. Chilling out and taking off the pressure to 'get it right', and you will be amazed at how much better it'll sound. About that 'get it right' thing - that's the reason there aren't more Boston albums apparantly. And also broke up the Eagles so I hear. In each group, there was a perfectionist that had to 'get it right.' Not just right, but perfect. Of course, we know that there is no perfect in music - only perfect by one person's estimation. It drove the other musicians so crazy that they didn't want to play together any more. Forget about getting it 'right.' Get it fun!
- Zurf
All My Exs Live in Texas - George Straight
Take Me Home Country Roads - John Denver
It doesn't have a state in the title, but it's about West Virginia.
Rocky Mountain High - John Denver
L.A. Woman - The Doors
Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Walsh
Coast of Marseilles - Jimmy Buffett (OK, Marseilles is not a state, but it is a place and that fits the description if not the thread heading)
Tennessee Waltz - everybody who has ever worn rhinestones on their jean jackets without affectation
Pennsylvania 6-5000 - Benny Goodman (?)
Sure. Fender doesn't make junk. But that doesn't mean that it's good for YOU. Take it for a spin and see what you think.
- Zurf
Well done, sir. Well done. But why have you been peeking in on the Zurf manse?
- Zurf
SWEEET!!!!
Play it till your fingers scream!
- Zurf
It just occurred to me that you only have four posts and maybe don't know that I'm joking. Please don't show up at my house in a jealous rage with an axe or anything.
Thanks, guys. I guess the short answer is: play a lot and don't fret over the calluses -- just fret with them. I can live with that.
-- Etan
You've got it. On your question #5, your lover called me and told me that she doesn't mind the callouses so long as you sing to her while you're learning.
- Zurf
- What term is used when you try to play "fingerpicking style" using a pick?
Flatpicking.
About your style - PLAY IT! Play it, play it, play it, play it, play it. Do what you like. Other people play other stuff, you play your stuff. That's the way it all works. I guarantee you, the 90% that you think are better than you because they're flat-picking wizards are hearing your blocked chords getting all funky and they're thinking, "Man, I wish I could play like that."
- Zurf
Pretty much anything by anybody.
- Zurf
I was also thinking of Wonderful Tonight, Old Doll, but for different reasons. It's because the song carries such a feeling of familiarity to it. It's a man singing about what makes the woman so wonderful to him, and it's all those sorts of things that come with familiarity and reliance. Nothing is more beautiful than chosing to be with another person, and then getting more and more pleased with the decision over time as familiarity grows.
I love that song. It is counterpointed by the sadness of Clapton's "Promises" which describes what it's like when the relationship has run its course.
- Big D
Not if you don't turn it up loud or if you practice with headphones. I played a bass on a Roland 15W guitar amp for quite a long while. But I didn't crank it. It was just so that I could hear what I was playing for practice by myself. However, it won't sound good. You'll be able to hear the instrument, but to get good clean low-end sound, you should save and get a bass amp. My preference for bass amps is Hartke and Ampeg. The Hartke is a 10" 30W model that only cost about $100 new from Music123.com. Or maybe Musician's Friend. I can't remember which. A feature to look for in a bass amp is a line out that doesn't cut off the speaker the way the headphone jack does. That way you'll be able to plug into a PA and use the amp to monitor yourself.
- Zurf
Learning scales is kind of like learning algebra. You sit there wondering how you're ever going to use this stuff and then one day you've got the answer in front of you and you need to figure out what the question was and all of a sudden you're pleased that you did the work.
It's possible to play without scales, but a lot harder to figure things out. I've been a bass player most of my life, but only just started to work scales a couple of years ago and it's been tremendously helpful. I wish I had done it twenty years ago.
- Zurf
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Posts by Zurf
