The Open-D Tuning Guitar Spot

Richie Havens and Open-D Tuning

2009-04-18T08:18:00.002-04:00

Not that I had any idea when I developed Guitar-eze, but open-D tuning has been utilized to tremendous effect by Richie Havens.

His site reveals all his playing secrets, all in open-D tuning.

I had heard of Richie before Guitar-eze, even had the Woodstock album, and had seen him in the movie. I never made the connection, though, that he was playing in an alternate tuning - probably because of the mesmerizing performance itself. But Richie on his site demonstrates how easy guitar can be to learn in open-D, and he, like me, developed his own unique approach.

I could never play like Richie Havens. But Guitar-eze is another approach to the same tuning, just about as intuitive, but slightly more rooted in traditional guitar technique (although I am no technician as a player either!).

Richie Havens - one more reason why open-D tuning rocks.

Free Guitar Lessons Online

2009-03-15T08:04:00.004-04:00

That's a hot one.

How can they possibly do it - give away free lessons on guitar?

There are several answers, and none of them are particularly inspiring or refreshing to me:

1) Most "free" lesson sites are exceptionally limited in what they actually offer free. I've seen the most silly "lessons" out there, from holding the guitar, to listing off the parts of the guitar, and on and on. It's obvious why the lesson is "free" - it's virtually pointless and could be found anywhere free.

2) This makes their "free" offerings a teaser strategy to get you to sign up for - what else - paid online lessons. Let's face it - the "com" in .com stands for commercial. They all want to sell you something. Even if they are giving all their lessons away, they probably want you to buy something else of theirs on the same site.

3) In the rare instance where the lessons may all actually be free and comprehensive in scope, then the site it likely cluttered with all sorts of advertising and other offers - from Google AdWords to banner ads, to pop-ups, links and anything else trying to grab your attention away from what your were seeking - which was free guitar lessons.

4) The reason for all those banners, AdWords, and pop-ups is that the owners of the site get paid for displaying them. So their generous nature is actually a front for a money-making venture of another type, designed, really, to distract you away from their site so they get paid. Nice.

At Guitar-eze, at least I'm fairly direct at what the site wants you to do - which is buy Guitar-eze. I offer up a lot of information about what the method is all about, what you get when you buy, how open-D will help open up the world of guitar for you, but I don't hide behind a facade of "free" anything. I'm also happy to report that to date, I have resisted all forms of outside advertising on any of my pages (except a very limited links section at the bottom of my Testimonials page). I hate all that stuff when I'm surfing (as I'm sure you and everyone else does), but particularly on guitar sites.

Maybe in some future post I'll rant about how generally pointless it is to try and learn guitar while sitting in front of a computer screen...

So, to conclude, "free" anything online should be taken for what it generally is - nonsense - and nowhere is this more true than the wonderful world of guitar on the internet.

Open-D Recordings Now Available

2009-03-14T16:10:00.002-04:00

I have decided to show the world what I have done with open-D tuning, recording-wise. It occured to me that I have some remaining stock of recordings made with my two bands, the Highway Hepcats (1993-1999) and the JumpKatz (2003-2007) Both bands recorded original material, the vast majority of which was played, by me, in open-D tuning.

The recordings, I feel, chart both the versatility and fullness of sound when playing in open-D, as well as my personal growth and development as a guitar player (and vocalist).

I'll have them on offer on the site, until they're sold out.

Playing By Ear in Open-D Tuning - Part 2

2009-03-07T14:08:00.003-05:00

The other way open-D tuning is superior for the ear player is in the area of experimentation.

Now, for the experienced (standard tuning) guitarist, experimentation may not be a big deal. After all, for those folks, with the background, the theoretical knowledge, the experience with chords, harmony, etc., experimentation is readily achievable, with all that you already know (surprisingly it does not apply to all experienced guitar players).

But for those inexperienced, novice, frustrated guitar types who feel like they have music in them, but just cannot get over the hump of priming needed in standard tuning, open-D tuning offers a nifty by-pass. The neat thing about a tuning such as open-D is that you need virtually no musical background out of the gate. Your guitar is tuned to such a user friendly starting point - a beautiful, common, usable D major chord - that the door is held wide open for you to get playing guitar, by ear, right away.

What do I mean by this?

Consider it - you strum your guitar, and you have a common major chord, with no fingers to fret. All it takes to create a second usable chord is to add one finger to one fret - and it matters not which - any string, any fret (heck, even any finger!). You have another new chord. An actual, playable, legitimate chord - and you really don't need to know the name of it (although Guitar-eze does get into a minimal amount of theory for those who may desire it).

Add to this the fact that a single finger can replicate that starting D major chord all the way up the neck of your guitar, creating Eb, E, F, F#, etc., and you have opened up a world of guitar, with an absolute minimum of technical or theoretical knowledge. For an ear player, or experimenter, or intuitive guitar player, it's heaven.

That's what open-D tuning is - heaven.

Playing By Ear in Open-D Tuning - Part 1

2009-03-04T11:05:00.003-05:00

What does it mean to play guitar by ear? Different things to different people, I suppose. I apply the term differently, even to my own personal situation.

On the one side, I play guitar by ear. That means I don't need to read music notation (which I can, actually), or tab (which I can't for the life of me)to play my guitar(s). I can figure out chords, chord progressions, melody lines, solos, all without the aid of written music. I generally learn from recorded versions of the songs I like.

Open-D tuning has been a true door-opener for me in song learning, especially by ear. The versatility of this particular tuning is well documented (if greatly under-utilized) in the guitar playing world, but generally not for learning songs. But open-D tuning is a terrific way to unlock your favourite tunes. For example, just getting the basic "roadmap" of a song down - that general progression of chords, verses, choruses, codas, endings, etc. is achieved with relative ease in open-D, because at the start you can just use your lowest D string, or even the three low (D-A-D) strings, to parse out the basic chords. At first pass, you may not get all the nuances (majors, minors, sevenths, etc.), but you will be able to quickly pound out the basics of the song, and then go back and refine. During this refinement stage, open-D tuning once again shows its adaptability. In no other tuning can you "feel" the chords of a song out like open-D. If you've got a song in the key of G for example, and the the progression moves from a G to an A chord, it is quite simple to discern whether that A chord is a major or a minor, with a simple finger movement. Because the strings in open-D are tuned to a major triad, things like minors, etc. tend to jump right out at you.

So that's one side of ear playing that open-D can really help bring out. For a working musician, who learns songs to get paid with, or just to perform in general, it is a genuine guitar playing aid.

There's another type of ear playing that is just as exciting and perfectly suited for open-D tuning as well. I'll get into it next post.

Songs I Love to Play in Open-D - Tequila Sunrise

2009-02-24T11:25:00.003-05:00

I'm not an Eagles-ophile by any stretch of the imagination, but they wrote some terrific melodies and chord progressions, set to some pretty melancholy lyrics, that seemed to personify all the excesses of 1970s LA. One of my all time faves to play by them has to be Tequila Sunrise. It is a truly spectacular assemblage of chords, in any guitar tuning I suppose, but in open-D - wow!

Starting with the opening four-bar move from G to G6 (almost hinting at a Gmaj7?), which I play on the low A string (third finger, 7th fret, while barring on G) to give is a more bass-y feel, you really don't anything more than your acoustic guitar to set the feel for the whole tune.

Then for the verse, the progression moves from the G-G6 to D7, then to Am ("'cross the sky"), then back to D7 before landing back on that G-G6 pattern. The Am can be played to tremendous effect on the 7th fret position, with just the D-F#-A strings held down (A-C-E), allowing the open-D to occasionally ring (for and Am-add4).

This progression continues for another verse, before the first bridge comes in ("Every night when the sun goes down..."), which vamps on C to Em and returning on an Am-D7 and back to the verse projection. The C to Em progression can be played beautifully in the base position and both chords can also leave the high open D string ringing for effect (C add 2, and Em7 respectively).

Then comes another verse on the original progression (G-G6, etc.), and an instrumental on the same pattern (which the Eagles gave a mournful Tex-Mex treatment on guitars that might have been trumpets).

The climax of the tune comes after the instrumental, where a different bridge is introduced with the pattern of Am D Bm E Am B7 Em A ("Take another shot of courage..."), before returning to the original progression and verse ("It's another Tequila Sunrise...").

I like to vary up the second bridge part by playing the D and E chords way up high (12th and 14th fret), the B7 standard on fret 9, and then that last Em back on the bottom. The chords, melody line and lyrics all mesh amazingly throughout this section before returning home to the original progression and lyric, except at the end, "this old world still looks the same, another frame".

It's a wonderful composition (these guys were pros), but you can really give it a treatment, with just an acoustic guitar and your voice - in open-D tuning.

Playing Along to Backing Tracks

2009-02-21T10:07:00.004-05:00

I've had two kicks at the cat performing (guitar and vocals) along to backing tracks. First was about 10 years ago now, with a sequencer and drum machine (actually a Roland DR-5, which gave me a whole rhythm section - bass, drums, keys). It was a little canned sounding, but the tracks weren't atrocious, and I had the luxury of being able to arrange the songs the way I specifically wanted - length, endings, key changes. I played solo this way for about three years, to unhostile audiences, before I totally go sick of it, started (unintentionally) missing gigs and generally got bummed out.

I formed a band instead.

More recently, with the advent of ubiquitous MP3s of all types online (including backing tracks), I decided to get a laptop and try out the solo thing that way. In short order, I found over 500 tunes I could do, got some cheap editting software, and hit the stage about two years ago. While my song base was vastly expanded (I never had more than about 120 with the sequencer), and again never a complaint from an audience (God, they can be gentle and forgiving), I eventually felt the limitations of canned arrangements, unfriendly keys, less than perfect sound quality (from freebie track downloads), etc. Currently I'm on the fence with the whole concept.

In between these times of solo performance, of course, I led two bands and played sideman in innumerable more. While machines are nice slaves, and don't talk back, unfortunately they also don't talk at all, so "interaction" with your "band" is non-existent, unless dealing with computer glitches counts.

At the end of the day, I love to play guitar and sing for an audience (all in open-D tuning), with band or without. I've even had a try at 100% acoustic, which is a different thing altother, not unlike playing and singing with no clothes on. I'm not quite down with that yet, but who knows...

Hey, Folkies

2009-02-18T13:39:00.006-05:00

On the site, I always mention the styles I play guitar in, and the many styles suited to which open-D tuning is perfectly suited. Guess which one I never seem to mention?

Folk. As in, folk guitar. As in, acoustic guitar, which is often referred to as - folk guitar.

Make no mistake - open-D tuning is beautifully suited to all songs folky. Just think Joni Mitchell and Bruce Cockburn, to name two relatively obscure open-D-ers.

Or, Bob Dylan - I shall be Free, Corrina Corrina, and Oxford Town on his very first album, and all of the album Blood on the Tracks - all open-D.

As a matter of fact, the folkie in me seems to be surfacing, the more I strum my acoustic guitar in open-D. For the past couple of years, I've even dropped the pick in favor of finger picking (or attempting to). Now, I'm no finger picker, but I do know that open-D just sounds wonderful played this way. For a more percussive attack, of course, the pick is the way to go, although some of the intricacy of a multi-finger attack can be diminished.

So in short, folkies owe it to themselves to give the folk guitar a re-tune to open-D and see the beauty of this tuning in action, in folk music.

Hey, Guitar Teachers

2009-02-17T11:58:00.003-05:00

Many years ago, when I first contemplated the idea of commercializing a guitar learning system based on an alternate tuning, I did quite a bit of research. I first learned what the predominant tunings were out there (standard, E A D G B E, by about a zillion, then all the others), and settled on open-D, which is the guitar tuning I actually learned to play guitar on. The alternate tunings were, and are, but a footnote in most of the guitar-playing world.

It was in this sea of standard guitar tuning that the little bobbing cork of open-D was launched. It's not a particularly rare guitar tuning. In fact, among alternate tunings, it does have its fair share of enthusiasts, mostly at the pro or even moreso the famous level - Keith Richards, Joni Mitchell, Elmore James, for example.

As I got around to launching Guitar-eze, though, I wanted to solicit the opinion of guitar teachers, to see what they might think of an alternate guitar tuning as an alternate starting point, for beginning students, say, or frustrated novices, or anyone else seeking a fast track to guitar.

I went online and found guitar teacher sites and polled a number of teachers. I found, to my dismay, that the ones who were good enough to respond were generally down on the idea of learning guitar in an alternate tuning, at all.

Most acknowledged that, yes, alternate tunings exist, and yes, they can come in handy. But that was it. There seemed to be no opinion or enthusiasm for the idea that starting on an alternate guitar tuning could be of help to some aspiring guitarists. It struck me odd that this should be the case, but upon reflection, it does make some sense. Consider that the majority of guitar teachers probably play in standard tuning, or with a bare sprinkle of alternate tunings on an as needed basis. Why should they see the need to teach in an alternate tuning if they needed to learn it first themselves? Also, resource materials for any alternate tuning (Guitar-eze's open-D included) are scarce, usually warranting only a footnote in some magazine article, or a chart outlining some chords.

Despite the tepid response from a random sampling of guitar teachers, I soldiered on and Guitar-eze was born, and continues to this day. I feel it's the easiest way to learn to play guitar. I encourage guitar students to bring the topic up with their guitar teachers - maybe shake a copy of Guitar-eze in their face and insist, "See - there is an easier way to learn to play guitar!".

Combining Guitar Methods

2009-02-15T16:28:00.003-05:00

I know that my system, Guitar-eze, works.

I know primarily because it worked for me. And, I know I am a lot like many other frustrated guitar players, who just couldn't get going in standard guitar tuning. Therefore, I believe, there are millions of people just like me, who would love to play guitar, gave it a try. and failed. But, they still want to play guitar. This is one niche perfectly suited to the wonderful world of open-D tuning for guitar. You are among the folks who would benefit most from the simple flip to open-D.

Think about it.

You may have a guitar in your possession, unused. You may have some songbooks, or even original song ideas, lying around. You may have a method book, which covers musical theory.

Most importantly, you have that burning desire to learn to play guitar, left unfulfilled.

Open-D tuning gives you the chance to resurrect your dream, and put all the guitar stuff you have lying around to use once more. By this I mean combining what you already have with the switch to open-D. Because anything you have learned in standard tuning is one hundred percent applicable to open-D tuning. It's just that in open-D, everything is simplified. Most of those tricky nay impossible chord formations, for example, are reduced to a single finger. You can play in any key. And that's just the beginning.

Combining systems means that you take your existing resources, be it a method book or whatever, and apply it to what open-D simplifies.

My system, as I say on my site, is 100% stand alone. I cover the basics of theory, tuning, strumming, scales, and then encourage the beginner to take flight on guitar. I've taught many students personally who do just that. The testimonials I get on my site say the same thing. But - if you have those other resources, by all means make use of them. They can still come in handy. So, dust off the books, and the guitar, and get playing in open-D.

Vocalists and Open-D Guitar

2009-02-14T15:32:00.002-05:00

There are some amazing singers out there, who should be playing guitar. I know many would love to do just that - sing and play guitar at the same time. But the guitar playing part of the equation, too often, is elusive.

You've got a great set of pipes. You deserve to be able to sing and play guitar at the same time.

Vocalists like you should give open-D tuning a try. Open-D and singing go together like a hand and a glove. Th reason is that, if you haven't quite got the manual dexterity standard guitar tuning requires, open-D is a terrific (and terrific sounding) substitute: Your starting point requires no fingers on the fretboard, basic major chords require just one finger on the fretboard, and many, if not most other chords can be formed off that one-finger starting point.

It doesn't get any easier than this.

On top of it all, open-D tuning provides an excellent visual aid for composition, if that's your bag (and it seems to be for many a vocalist). The basic triads are right at your finger tips; the modulations and passing chords a finger or two away.

Open-D tuning also happens to be very friendly to both acoustic and electric guitar, too. Stylistically, you go where you want with open-D as well, from folk to country to rock to blues and probably every other genre in between.

We're not talking about just a substitute simple strumming thing here, either. Open-D allows faster progress in all aspects of playing, I've found. Right hand (or strumming hand) progress actually can be faster because of the simplification of the left hand work. In my case, leads were absolutely out of the question until I made the flip to open-D.

For vocalists, then, who aspire to be singing guitar players, the advantages are many; I've mentioned just a few here. For a vocalist who has always wanted to play guitar at the same time, and perhaps experienced difficulty, I would urge them to consider reading up on open-D tuning to see if it might be an angle to pursue.

Nice Comments

2009-02-12T10:28:00.004-05:00

I like to re-print nice comments I get on my website; this one somehow slipped through the cracks so I'd like to post it here:

"I am writing primarily to thank you for your excellent
Guitar-eze program. It has truly unlocked the guitar
for me. For years, I've had the melodies and lyrics
for four original songs, and have been looking for the
right instrument with which to play and record them.
I had always had difficulty with guitar, until I
learned about your program. Thanks to it, I have been
able to write guitar accompaniments for my songs, and
I've begun practicing them with an eye toward
recording.

You have made a real contribution with this method,
and I can't thank you enough. I have a question: In
order to accelerate my progress, I'd like to take a
lesson or two (or more) with an instructor who really
understands and appreciates the value of open D, and
isn't interested in making the guitar more complicated
than it has to be. In other words, I want an
instructor who understands that I'm mainly trying to
learn my own songs, and that I see the guitar as a
means to that end rather than an end in itself.

If I lived anywhere near your part of Ontario, I'd
happily sign up for lessons with you, but I'm in the
Washington, DC area, I was wondering if you knew of
any instructors in DC, Northern Virginia, or Maryland
whom you'd recommend.

I greatly appreciate your assistance, and I am deeply
grateful to you for doing so much to help me and
others learn how to make music with the guitar.
Please know that you have created something of genuine
value with this product, and that the benefits of it
will be with me for as long as I make music."

Wow.

I really wish I had a network of instructors across the continent who would be willing to take on opportunities like this. One day, I hope. As the message says, a sympatico guitar teacher is worth his weight in gold.

I really like the fact he mentions "a lesson or two (or more)" - in my experience with open-D tuning, sometimes 1 or 2 sessions is all it takes for lift-off.

In the mean time, I probably should really get to work on those supplemental lesson packs.

Slide Guitar and Open-D tuning

2009-02-11T18:57:00.002-05:00

You probably don't need me to tell you that open-D tuning is terrific for playing slilde guitar. But I'll tell you anyway - open-D tuning is terrific for playing slide guitar.

It's so terrific, in fact, that I marvel at the guys who manage acceptable slide licks in standard guitar tuning (except you guitar gods out there - you guys can do anything!), something I've never managed. It's kind of a back handed compliment to standard, I know. But I see guys doing it, and I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that there is a small built-in open chord in standard, which would be the D G B - a G major triad, in an inversion. If they are not utilizing this to get a chordal thing going on slide, then they are sticking to single note slide leads, again an admirable undertaking, given the unorthodoxy of standard. That must take one heck of a lot of string damping.

Nonetheless, open-D offers all the convenience you could ask for in slide, on both acoustic and electric guitar. Single note leads are no problem of course, but as a bonus, let'em all ring, and there's no sweat - you get the sweet sound of a major chord! Want to hear the main riff from Dust My Broom the way Elmore James played it? Just slide up to the octave (12th fret) and hit the lick.

I have learned that electric guitar seems a lot more forgiving that acoustic when it comes to unwanted noises. I'm no bottleneck virtuoso, but I have learned a thing or two, and that is one of them.

Guitar-eze does not delve specifically into slide technique - maybe one day I will include a section, or provide some supplemental material at some point. Suffice it to say, for a slide guitar enthusiast, open-D tuning is a great place to start.

Guitar-eze www.easierguitar.com is back up and running

2009-02-10T10:45:00.003-05:00

We're back up and running at the mothership.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Web Site Down Temporarily

2009-02-09T12:44:00.001-05:00

Wouldn't you know it - just as I make a bunch of improvements to the site, with a whole bunch of new blog entries, the thing goes down. It's all in the hands of my service provider and hopefully will be up shortly.

Til then please e-mail me at info@easierguitar.com - I think that is still functional or try me at foxx.frank@gmail.com

Tuning to and from Open-D

2009-02-08T13:57:00.002-05:00

It's a relatively simple task to switch to and from open-D and standard tuning. I've done it for years, but then again, I went through a whole discovery process to get to open-D in the first place.

That was because of my utter failure as a guitarist in standard tuning. To this day, I'm hopeless in standard tuning, as proven a few weeks back when a friend handed me a guitar of his to try out. Yeah, I fumbled through a few first position chords and attempted a Chuck Berry lick or two, but true to form, I did not impress.

To get back to the point, I made the flip to open-D from standard through experimentation and some background research. I settled on this wonderful guitar tuning because of its marvelous simplicity, and the fact that I could actually get music out of it.

As I progressed in my new found tuning, I still periodically flipped back, just to see if there was any discernible improvement in standard (there never was). But I did learn to become adept at the re-tune and I would encourage anyone to give it a try. Contrary to popular belief, retuning a guitar is not a particularly arduous task; as a matter of fact, one of the benefits of open-D is that tuning the guitar to itself is actually simpler, because of the repetition of strings (D and A). Combined with the fact that open-D and standard tuning share the same middle A an D strings, retuning is not a huge stumbling block. I have even done it on the fly during gigs.

I would encourage anyone to try their hand at a re-tune from standard to open-D tuning and back again. I do it just confirm that I'm a hopeless guitarist in standard tuning. For you, there may be more useful reasons. :)

To Read or Not To Read - Music, that is

2009-02-07T13:47:00.002-05:00

Many of the guitar greats couldn't read a note.

I read somewhere that Stevie Ray Vaughan had to learn to read music when he recorded guitar parts for David Bowie's album Let's Dance, but never had a need for it afterward.

I personally read (elementary and highschool band), but have not found reading necessary in pursuit of my musical ambitions. The basics may come in handy for reading chord charts (at least what time signatures and bars are for). I promote the fact, on my web site, that reading music is unnecessary for learning and enjoying guitar.

So I guess my opinion is - "Nah, you don't need to be able to read music to enjoy playing guitar."

Picking Techniques

2009-02-04T10:36:00.002-05:00

Lately my picking technique seems to be improving by leaps and bounds, both with pick and fingers.

I've always felt my pickng/strumming (i.e. right) hand has been the stronger of my two. Weakness or lack of dexterity in the chording (left) hand is a typical stumbling block for many an aspiring guitar player, and I was no exception.

Now it seems, the older I get, the better I am becoming at various strumming and picking techniques, including, of all things, fingerpicking. It's only within the last year or so that I find myself being able to co-ordinate more than one finger at time on various strings - very much an impossible feat for me prior. How jealous I was of the kids (kids!!) who decades ago could pluck out the intro to Stairway to Heaven, while I was still stuck on that third-finger-on-the-third-fret G major chord my brother taught me when I was eight. Not only was I hopeless at the chord formation, there was no way I could get my right hand to do the (intricate) picking part.

Well, guess what? I can now play the intro to Stairway to Heaven. In open-D tuning. My God, it's beautiful. I mean I can really play it.

I believe things really started to come along for me when I stopped practicing guitar on my electric(s). I kind of forced myself to have an acoustic lying around for strummin' purposes. This in turn led me to strum and/or pick without a pick - as there wasn't always a plectrum handy.

Keep in mind, to that point, my acoustics stayed tuned to standard. Open-D was my electric specialty. Even on stage, when with the Highway Hepcats we would to an acoustic miniset, I was strummin' in standard tuning (no leads).

Finally, at home, many years after the Hepcats, I decided to retune my acoustic to the D-A-D-F#-A-D. This was revolutionary for me, and rather alien feeling for me, given my decades long standard tuning third-finger-on-the-third-fret G major chord experience. But as I got comfy with open-D on acoustic, and stopped having a pick around, lo and behold, my fingers started to get to work.

I'm no finger-picker yet, I must emphasize. But my new found capability combined with the sweet sounds of open-D tuning, makes me feel like a new guitar player altogether. I just have to move on from Stairway to Heaven, that's all.

Howdy TO - I'm on the way back

2009-02-02T13:51:00.003-05:00

After a 10-year stint away, my family and I are on the way back to our home town of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

We've had a terrific decade-long run in southwestern Ontario (Windsor, to be specific). But the time has come to return to our roots.

As I've mentioned in my site blog www.easierguitar.com , there will be absolutely no impact whatsoever on the operation of my popular open-D website.

One thing that has repeatedly come up has been the possibility of private guitar lessons in Guitar-eze open-D (which I have offered locally in the past). After careful consideration, the answer is: YES! SURE! WHY NOT? If you are in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and are interested in learning guitar the easier way, hit me with and e-mail.

Looking forward to the permanent move back, but just so you know - I am already in the Toronto area most weekdays. So let me know if you are interested in the lessons thing.

JumpKatz No More

2007-03-09T09:04:00.000-05:00

The JumpKatz folded as of the end of 2006. I am now pursuing a solo thing, both acoustic and with backing tracks. Of course, I'm always looking to jam, but forming a band does not rate high on my priorities for right now. The Katz were a four-year run, with hundreds of (paying) gigs. There will always be something else coming along, I'm sure.

http://www.easierguitar.com

Working on Supplementary Lessons in Open-D

2007-03-09T08:31:00.000-05:00

I've decided to take the plunge and develop supplementary lessons for my guitar learning system, Guitar-eze.

I've resisted doing this, as one of the primary marketing thrusts I've used is the simplicity of the program does not require it. I still believe this. In my 50-page book, which includes a CD with recorded examples, along with the Chord Book, there should be plenty to get anyone going on the system.

I believe also that my niche lies partly (or mainly?) in the "frustrated novice guitar player" category. Presumably these folks have had some previous background, either in books, online resources or guitar teachers. For the most part, they would have received a primer of some sort - and had little or less success than they wanted. For this type of candidate, what's included in my books should be more than adequate.

However...

I repeatedly get requests for "lessons". My guess is that people like the structure of a lesson path. It's sort of like the routine of heading to the music school every week at a designated time for a half hour. I can appreciate this. Offering lessons (which I plan to voice-record onto CD with printed examples, etc.) allows me to expand on certain points I feel could use it, and offer the encouragement students sometimes like and need.

I'm basing all this on my previous experience as a guitar teacher.

So, if lessons you want, lessons you shall receive. There'll be about thirty by the time they're all complete, along with a special 5-pack of "Kid-tar-eze" lessons for extra young or fragile beginners.

Guitar-eze Site Re-vamp

2007-02-28T07:38:00.000-05:00

Please take a look at the revamped site. If I do say so myself, it does look a tad more sophisticated, and I have a testimonial and comment page.

I take comments from here too, so feel free to leave one.

Got to get more regular with posts here!

For Guitar Lovers of All Stripes

2007-01-14T13:00:00.000-05:00

Have this on my book site, but feel I should post here:

INTERESTING NOTE ON MY GUESTBOOK!!
If you take a look at my guest book, you will see an interesting entry, from Dec. 17/06. I just noticed it myself and thought I should comment, but first, here it is reprinted in its entirety:

"To the owners of this site: you guys have really outdone yourself, created a $1 book and selling it for $35, you can't learn how to properly play a guitar in open tuning, and you really are just exploiting people who gave up because their fingers hurt... hey, play me a major pentatonic scale in this tuning and then tell me how well it works compared to standard. oh wait, how about you tell me how to look as cool as frank foxx"

I will address these concerns step by step, as I feel it is important to do so.

1) "a $1 book selling for $35" - if you can find a book on guitar for $1, I would urge you or anyone else to buy it. Books of any type cannot be produced and delivered for a dollar, no way, no how. As I point out in my FAQs, even an e-book would cost you a lot more - to print on an inkjet costs about .25 per page, so a 60-page book such as mine (with chord book) would cost about $15, just to print out, and that doesn't include the price of paper. The CD I provide, alone, costs about $2-3, copied and put in an envelope! One thing I've learned from this site is - I'm definitely not getting rich off it.

2) "you can't properly play a guitar in an open tuning" - if that's the case, I guess Joni Mitchell, Keith Richards, Muddy Waters, Ry Cooder, Bo Diddley, Elmore James and I are not playing guitar properly. But gosh, we have fun at it.

3) "you really are just exploiting people who gave up because their fingers hurt" - fingers hurting tend to be the least of people's frustrations with guitar, in my experience. The difficulty is usually mastering all the fingerings and memorizing positions. Depending on how far you want to take it, and the quality of your guitar, your fingers can hurt like heck no matter what tuning you're in. I've never viewed teaching people to play guitar as an exploitation.

4) "play me a major pentatonic scale in this tuning and then tell me how well it works compared to standard" - well, I did just that. I've never had a use for a major pentatonic scale, but just to see, I transcribed one off a poster I have, and by golly - IT'S ACTUALLY EASIER TO PLAY in open-D, especially on the higher strings! Does one need to play a pentatonic scale in order to enjoy guitar? I'd never needed one in 20+ years, but just in case, they're there in open-D and very playable, as, I would imagine, any other scale out there.

5) "oh wait, how about you tell me how to look as cool as Frank Foxx" - ummm..... impossible!

Hope this answers all the issues. I will leave that entry in the Guest Book for all to see, but I will but in an entry directing readers to this blog entry for my response.

Thanks from Guitar-eze... oh, and any and I mean ANY questions and comments are welcomed and appreciated!

On Previous Post - Just Kidding, Honest!

2006-07-31T13:25:00.000-04:00

I was only joking on the last post, with regard to "snotty teenagers", etc. My daughter happened to standing over my shoulder, bugging me to go on the compu, so I told I was busy and let her read as I typed.

She is truly interested in guitar (and bass), but also truly doesn't want me to show her how, in open-D! I can always teach her in standard tuning. We have a slew of axes around the house also.

Guitar is the most wonderful instrument in the world, no matter how it is approached.

Thanks for the comments, well intentioned all.

I believe on the whole that young people are probably more open-minded to stuff like alternate guitar tunings, and the like. Experimentation happens to be the backbone of the way I play. Guitar-eze is the manifestation of my experimenting.

Love the comments.

http://www.easierguitar.com

Adults Don't Let Your Kids Tell You How To Play Guitar

2006-07-25T19:01:00.000-04:00

Those snotty teenagers, always thinking they know everything.

I have a fifteen year-old at home who wants to learn guitar, but insists, "my way" isn't "real guitar". Instead she wants me to pay for guitar lessons. For her!

Forget it kid. Learn to play in open-D like your old man.

http://www.easierguitar.com