1 Reply by Artless

(12 replies, posted in Acoustic)

That works for me, mrmayor; I like flexibility of approach. I'm a fan of Fred's teaching, too. His soft-spoken, easy to follow instruction is great.

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2 Reply by Artless

(12 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Here I am displaying my ignorance, but . . .  so is the 3rd string considered one of the bass notes? Is that all the time, or just in this song?  I thought the lower three strings (6, 5, 4) took care of that?

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3 Topic by Artless

(12 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Here's a nooby question for you more experienced players:

I'm starting to learn picking patterns and I have a question about the use of the thumb. I was watching a video by Fred Sokolow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_bkPWq6 … re=related) about picking "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," and the pattern he teaches is 5/2/3/1, in which the thumb alternates between the 5th and 3rd string, and the index and middle finger pick the 2nd and 1st string. However, I was under the impression that strings 1 - 3 (open E, B, G) should be picked by the ring, middle, and index fingers, respectively.

Is there a reason to use the thumb to pick the third string, or is this just a matter of personal style and/or preference? Do you get a different kind of sound if you are picking down with the thumb rather than up with the index finger?

I'd appreciate any additional advice you'd like to share about picking "Don't Think Twice."

Thanks!

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4 Reply by Artless

(5 replies, posted in Songwriting)

I enjoyed the lyrics and the chords, Jeff. I really like that D - G - A progression. Maybe you should send this to Shania Twain--in the wake of her traumatic divorce and recent remarriage, I bet she'd find it very meaningful.

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5 Reply by Artless

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

i looked around a bit, and there are a bunch of videos featuring these kids (know as "The Tuttles"), including this one in which they're a little older and playing a concert with their Dad. They've also added a little sister who plays mandolin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wCwHyF9 … re=related

In the original video that guitardude posted, the oldest daughter, Molly, was apparently going through chemo  and her hair had fallen out--hence her rather large hat. Looks like she's healthy now,and singing like an angel.

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6 Reply by Artless

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

bensonp wrote:

The girl almost looks like shes a million miles away.  They are great.  As I have always told myself, you either have it or you don't, which is why I have to practice like crazy just to play half as good as them.  Go figure.

Hey Pete,

Whenever I practice and sing at the same time, my dog comes over, jumps up, throws his paws over my left arm to stop me from playing, and then looks me in the eye as if to ask, "Are you o.k., or do I need to get a doctor?". He's an excellent judge of music.

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7 Reply by Artless

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

Yeah, they're good . . . but I bet they can't eat as much as I can!!!

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8 Reply by Artless

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

Good one, Dude!  You've given me some ideas for my next camping trip.

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9 Reply by Artless

(11 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Thanks Zurf, I'll check out those videos!

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10 Reply by Artless

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

Lucky (think "Napoleon Dynamite")

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11 Reply by Artless

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

auxi wrote:

Oh, man... I'm not on Facebook so I can't see your page. sad

Wow, and I thought I was the only person in America not on Facebook!

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12 Reply by Artless

(4 replies, posted in Acoustic)

badeye wrote:

chech this out for some blues..

scroll down to blues and standards.  songs with chords.


http://kristinhall.org/songbook/Songbook.html


badeye   cool

Thanks for the great link, Badeye!

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13 Reply by Artless

(4 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Guitarpix wrote:

okay... weren't sure if you were asking for songs for the ladies (that kind of player lol)

Well, heck Guitarpix, why not put together a "Playa's List." I'll start . . . how about "I want to make it with You" by Bread. Or, "Let's Get Drunk and Screw" by Jerry Jeff Walker?

Now, as it the original question (which I think concerns fidelity of charted chords to the sound of an original recording), I believe most of the charts for Neil Young's songs create a fairly authentic sound when played.

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14 Reply by Artless

(4 replies, posted in Songwriting)

arkady wrote:

Hi Artless
Looks like you've got the third person nailed with these lyrics lots of She's and He's in there.....
Well done getting the Chropro correct.
ark

Thanks arkady--it was a challenge to get the Chordie formatting correct, but I'm glad I did it.   By the way,I thought of another third  person song, and this one always brings a tingle to my spine--Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." My first girlfriend's father was a ships captain on the Great Lakes,  and knew the captain who went down on the "Big Fitz." He could scare the crap out of you when describing the storms he encountered on Lake Superior.

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15 Reply by Artless

(4 replies, posted in Songwriting)

KAP54 wrote:

I like where you are going with this Artless, smile
You need to throw in a strong chorus, to make this feel more complete.

Merry Xmas smile

Ken

Thanks for the advice about adding a chorus! Hadn't thought of that; it'll be something to work on . . . after I get over the stress of formatting the song and actually putting it up for other people to look at--if you know what I mean.

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16 Reply by Artless

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

Has anyone ever seen a Strumbly? Like Seasick Steve's electric guitar, it has only three strings and  I think it's fretted to play only whole notes. They are remarkable easy to play, or so I'm told.

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17 Reply by Artless

(15 replies, posted in Acoustic)

mekidsmom wrote:

I've thought about that Toots, but I'm scared to fiddle with it myself.  I have measured the string height, and figure the nut could probably be lowered a hair, though it is right AT the "standard specifications".  I've thought about paying someone to do it for me, but with my guitar costing me as little as it did, it seems silly to spend so much on it.  I figure... I'll just get by and wait until I can afford a nicer guitar and get it all set up right and then maybe experiment a little on this one!  Either that or save my money to head south for a jam and request Pix brings  his files with him wink  LOL!

You could try what I did, and use sandpaper to slowly work down the height of the nut from its base. The seal formed by hide glue that keeps the nut attached to the neck can be easily broken without damage to the guitar or neck. After removing the nut, I placed a sheet of fine sandpaper on a firm, flat surface and slowly worked the bottom of the nut. Nuts are cheap and easy to replace, so if you sand too much you can always buy a replacement. Of course, it helps if you have a micrometer to measure precisely and evenly how much to take off. I don't have a micrometer so I had to use simpler methods.

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18 Reply by Artless

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

Excellent!  Pure roots music.Thanks all who provided links and information.

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19 Reply by Artless

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

"Ukulele stories"? I didn't know such things existed! Don't go, Tom, without sharing at least one!

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20 Reply by Artless

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

You're right, Katie, Chordie is an amazing resource. When I found out about it, I couldn't believe how many songs were available for study--from Christmas to Classical. I especially like going through public song books to find songs I like but had forgotten about.  Check it out if you haven't already done so.

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21 Reply by Artless

(3 replies, posted in Songwriting)

I listened to both versions, too. The acoustic is, like daddycool said, clearer, but I really liked the percussion on the other version, and I thought the plucked banjo added a weird but appropriate sound. I imagine after you get a chance to fully rehearse it, this version will be very effective. I have to say, that your voice reminds me a lot of Bruce Springsteen--do you do any covers of his songs?

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22 Reply by Artless

(15 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Thanks for the information dude, I appreciate it. Here's another question, if your guitar as a scale of 24.5 is that a relatively small or larger scale? What's the scale for an average Fender?

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23 Topic by Artless

(4 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Thanks to all your examples of songs using third-person narrative, I decided try and write one for myself.
I just hope I got the formatting right! I didn't include the musical introduction or break between the bridge and the final verse because I wasn't sure how to format that, but the essential information is here.

He Was WrongThird-Person Narrative


4/4 time




[G]When she came into his [Em]life,


[G]Never knew he’d pay a [Em]price.


[F]She’d be just another [C]girl


[F]And he’d take her for a [C]whirl


But he was [D]wrong




[G]Planned to keep her at arm’s [Em]length


[G]Knew he’d always have the [Em]strength


[F]She’ll mean nothing much to [C]him,


[F]Cuz his feelings always [C]dim,


But he was [D]wrong,


Bridge



[C]She gives him [D]love and respect


[C]He gives her [D]hurt and regret


[C]She longs [D]for someone better


[C]He laughs, [D]sure he’ll forget her.




[G]When she finally says good-[Em]bye


[G]He tries to keep her one more [Em]time,


[F]Swears he’ll be the man she [C]needs


[F]Prays those words she will be-[C]lieve


But he was [D]wrong,


And now she’s [G]gone.



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24 Reply by Artless

(15 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Guitarpix wrote:

Scale length and fretboard radius!   You're A&L is 24.5 scale length (shorter scale means less tension to string to pitch thus easier fretting) and I imagine the ones you can barre easier on have more radius/curve to the fretboard.

Hi Guitarpix,

Dumb question, but could you explain what scale length means. I've never understood what it represents. Another dumb one--is the fretboard curved? I thought it was flat.

Thanks!

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25 Reply by Artless

(11 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Well, if your mum still plays, or if you've got a friend who plays, I'd ask one of them to go with you to help you choose. The 150.00 limit is going to naturally confine you to certain selection of guitars, and as a beginner, I'd want a guitar with good "action"--and only someone with experience playing a guitar can help you determine that.

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