Resound School of Music

Playing Guitar - Developing Strength and Endurance in Your Fingers

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:48:00 -0800

The easiest way to think about developing strength and endurance in your fingers for playing the guitar is to think of each of your hands as an Olympic athlete. Huh? Yep. If each of your hands were an Olympic runner and had an event to compete in, there are a few things your hands would have to do:

Train every day
Progressively work to improve skills
Celebrate each victory and then take on a new challenge every time a goal is achieved.

If we set up a strength and conditioning program for your hands, and you actually do the practice every day just like an athlete who wants to win, you will find your playing gets better really fast.

In order to play guitar, the first thing that must learn some endurance is your fingertips on your left hand. Your fingertips need to develop callouses so that your fingers can press the strings against the fingerboard and make the note ring in a crisp and clean sound. This means you must practice in a slow and steady way each day to allow the skin on your fingertips to grow and thicken into callouses. No matter how strong your hand is, if your fingertips hurt, you won’t want to practice!

The most effective way to work with your fingertips and avoid the discomfort of developing callouses is use the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th strings of the guitar. Even though these are thicker and heavier strings, and it seems like they are harder to press, they actually are more comfortable on your beginner fingertips. The wrapping on the string makes pressing them less intense than the 1st and 2nd strings.

Practice for thirty minutes each day in five-minute segments. Time yourself. Once you’ve played for five minutes, stop and rest your hand for a minute. This makes your practice much easier. It also allows your fingertips and your whole hand to build the strength and endurance you need without being so hard that you want to give up.

Make a fist in each hand and hold it as hard as you can. Notice while you hold that the harder you squeeze, the harder it is to do. Now let them go. Make fists again, but half as hard. Notice that because there is less strain on your fingers, hands and arms, you can hold these half-effort fists much longer with less discomfort. This is exactly what you need for great playing on your guitar!

The secret to building strength and endurance is steady effort without over-doing it. If your hand “gives out” in the middle of your playing, it needs a rest. Rest it. If you try too hard to push yourself through the pain or the weakness, this will create cramps and a tired hand. That won’t help you grow your endurance. By pushing yourself to the point that you have to stop, you make it so hard that your hand spends less time on the guitar! By practicing in short intervals, like the five-minute segments, you build up much more endurance.

Let’s look at the two different jobs in each hand. The right hand needs to be free to move up and down, and stay near the center of the guitar body. The left hand needs to be steady and strong on the neck, while free to move left and right across the neck. If you make those two motions happen at the same time, you can feel that your hands are doing totally separate things! This means you also must be relaxed enough for each hand and arm to be coordinated.

Try this for a moment: work your left hand really fast back and forth while slowly strumming the right hand up and down. Notice the challenge there? If you increase the speed in one hand, the other will automatically do the same. Why does this matter? If you overwork and use more effort than you need in either hand, you automatically begin to stress the other hand. This works against developing your hands. If you squeeze your left hand fingers too hard against the fingerboard, your right hand will tense up on the pick. If you hold the pick too hard while strumming or clench your right hand while picking individual strings, your left hand will tense on the neck. Both of these things will slow you down and will keep you from developing the strength and endurance you want.

Just like the Olympic athlete, you want your practice every day to be a challenge, but not impossibly hard. If you practice every day on something that is slightly harder than you can play easily, but something that you can feel yourself making steady improvement on, you will stick with it. Mentally and physically, this is the best way to develop your strength and endurance.

thanks to Richard J. Lin for the photo

How to Start a Band 101

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:58:00 -0800

Being in a band can be some of the most fun you can possibly have if you are a musician. Starting a band and making it work will be much easier if you ask the right questions first and organize your mind to get the end result you want.

By thinking about each of these ideas, and taking your time to answer the questions completely, you will have done most of the hard work up front. Creating this starting plan for designing a great band makes it much easier to achieve what you want.

What kind of band do you want to play in?

Is it casual and just for fun, or is your band something you want to make into a professional performing career? A group of people that meet one night each week in someone’s garage for fun is very different than a band that performs three times per week and makes recordings.

What size band are you thinking of forming? Is it a small group, like an acoustic duo, or large like an eighteen-piece polka band?

Do you already know what instruments you want in the band, or are you open to including an instrument you may not have thought of if the player is really good?

What style of music do you want to play? Do you want to play a wide range of song styles, or are you intending to perform one specific style that really identifies your band? Is your band instrumental, or will you include singing as part of the show

Do you want your band to perform regularly in public? If you do, how often would you like to perform? One public performance ever six months is far less work than one performance each week. Do you want to play the same songs for every show? The amount of time it takes to rehearse for a different set of songs for each performance is far more than the rehearsal time for doing the same songs at each performance!

Do you want to write your own songs or perform songs that you’ve got recordings for? Writing your own songs and learning them can take far longer than learning a song you’ve already heard. However, if you want to write your own songs, that’s important, so include that in your plan for how much time you devote to the band.

Once you’ve got all these questions answered, it’s time to consider the other people in the band. This part can actually be more important than any of the questions you’ve already answered. Remember, for every opinion you have about what you want in your band, every other person has their own! Consider that ever person you add to the band will have just as many opinions as you. The more people you bring together, the more planning you have to do. It’s also really important for you to communicate clearly about what you want so other players can decide if they will be happy playing in your band. They need to be able to have fun and enjoy themselves in it if they are going to stay and play well.

Now that you’ve got your ideas thought through and know what you want, here are the three most important things to consider when you begin adding players to your band.

How well do they play their instrument?
How well do you get along with them?
Do they want to contribute what you want them to contribute to the band?

These three questions will make more of a difference than any other thing in the success of a band. If you want the band to last and be a good experience for everyone in it, make sure that those three questions are always in mind. The longer the band stays together and performs, the more important the answers to those questions will be.

Now you’ve got all the critical questions answered, so it’s time to invite people to join your band. Do you already know some of the players you want, or do you have to find people you don’t know yet to make your band work? If you know them, ask them to join, and if they say “yes,” start playing together as soon as you can. This will get things rolling for your band so you can start having fun.

If you don’t know the players and have to find them, make a list of the instruments you need in the band and start talking to people you know about what you want to do. Find out who they know. That can be the best, fastest and easiest way to find people for your band. Musicians usually know other musicians, and they can also give you some information about the player ahead of time so you know a bit of what to expect.

If you have to advertise for players, there are many resources for this in local music papers and on the internet. Check in your area and see what’s available, then make a plan of how to keep track of people contacting you before to start inviting people. That will save you a lot of work as people begin contacting you to meet and audition.

Good luck and may your band always be a rewarding and fulfilling musical experience!

Guitar Gizmos Explained

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:24:00 -0800

Have you ever noticed how many gadgets are available for guitar players to make things about playing easier? A simple trip to the music store can make you add an hour a week to your practice time just to try to learn how to use your new stuff!

Do not fret… Just to make sure your practice time stays on your guitar and not on learning your gadgets and gizmos and accessory objects, here’s an explanation of all that gear, what it does and why it makes your playing and learning experience better.

Capo’s

A capo is a handy device for when you need to move a song to a higher key, but don’t have the chords or notes available in the new key. By clamping the flat part of the capo onto the fretboard against a fret, it makes all the strings shorter so they

sound higher. Think of a capo like the nut at the top of the guitar neck, but it’s a “moveable nut.” For every fret you move the capo down the neck, you raise the key of the song one half step. For example, if you are playing a song in the key of E and need to move it up to F, put the capo on the first fret. If you need the song in F Sharp, capo the second fret. If you need it in G, capo the third fret.

A “cut capo” is another type of capo that presses only strings 3, 4 and 5 (G, D and A in standard tuning) at the second fret. By using the capo on only those three strings, it allows you to change the voicings of all your chords. If you are a worship team player, you’ve probably heard many songs that use cut capo. The sound will be very familiar to you if you play a lot of Contemporary Christian music, which is where it is used the most. For beginners, there are advantages and disadvantages to using a cut capo, but if you are curious, give it a try! For some beginner players, the advantage is that it allows you to play complex chords with easier fingerings, or fewer fingers. For some beginners, this is also more confusing, so if you are still learning your chords and don’t want to have to rethink everything, wait a few months and try it again.

VoiceCapo (https://www.voicecapo.com) is an electronic capo that will hold your chords for you in a very interesting way. It fits on the first four frets of the guitar. Once you’ve played a chord, the VoiceCapo will hold those chords notes down, allowing you to move your left hand further down the neck and continue playing other notes, like a scale or a solo passage. The chord will hold until you move your hand back up the neck and strike a new chord. How this can benefit beginners is that it’s like having a second guitar player with you while you learn to “jam,” since you can solo over a sustained chord. You can also use it to help you learn more complex chords that your hand may struggle with as a beginner. To play the chord, you press and hold the buttons on the device and it holds down those strings. By using the Voice Capo this way, it will help your hand learn the shape and develop your strength before your hand would normally be ready to tackle more difficult chords.

Slides

A slide fits on one of the fingers of your left hand and allows you to make really smooth running sounds up and down the guitar neck. Because the slide is harder than your skin surface, the slide lets you move your finger across the frets without any discomfort while holding the string right against the neck for better sound. If you are trying to play a long and sustained sound that flows all the way up or down the neck, using a slide will make this sound much better than just your bare finger alone. These are available with lots of different materials including various types of metal, plastic, and glass.

String Winder

A string winder (orange plastic, lower left corner in photo) saves a lot of time when you are changing strings. The short end fits around the tuning key and the long grooved crank is the handle you grip. A winder helps you turn the tuning key much faster than you can do just with your hand. For taking strings off the guitar, put the winder on the tuning key, start slowly and make sure you unwind in the correct direction. You’ll hear the string get looser, and then it’s safe to speed up your unwinding. For putting a new string on the guitar, get the string set in the string post and wind until you hear the string get almost up to the correct note. Then take the winder off and bring the string up to tune with just your hand on the tuning key.

Tuners

An electric tuner is a great device for getting your guitar in tune if you struggle to do this by ear. You pluck the string and the tuner lets you know if your string is flat, in tune, or sharp. You only have to strike the string and make adjustments by what the tuner shows you until you’ve got the string in tune. Most tuners have a plug-in setting for electric guitar and a small sensor for picking up the sound of an acoustic guitar. Since tuners measure the sound by vibrations per second, they often can tune more accurately than your ears. Tuners have many different designs, sizes and prices ranges, so you can find one that matches just about any tuning need, and they also can be used for other instruments if necessary.

The "App Store"

OK…so this isn’t exactly a gizmo, but you can find many useful Apps for your iOS or Android Phone. Some examples include chord dictionaries, tuners, metronomes (all available in my favorite “Guitar Toolkit” for the iPhone or iPod Touch), 4-track recorders, amplifier emulators, and much much more. If you have one of these devices, it's definitely work looking at the apps available for the guitar!

There are many more guitar gizmos available than just these, some of which only serve as a distraction, some of which help you to make great music. The only way to find out which will help is to experiment. So have fun and let me know what you’ve tried and like!

thanks to |simon|, ternip, and Pete Prodoehl,for the pictures

How to Choose Your Drumsticks

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:59:00 -0800

Choosing the drumsticks that are right for you comes down to two criteria – comfort and sound. Firstly, you want a stick that has just the right weight and balance in your hand and is vibrant and responsive in relation to your playing tendencies. Secondly, it should produce the sound volume, dynamics and nuances you need for your music on both your drums, cymbals and any accessories you employ on your drum set.

For most drummers, finding their “true” drumstick is a many-years long process. It is very likely to be the same for you, but there are guidelines you can follow based on the style of music you play and your personal playing characteristics. Let’s take a look first at the different components of the drumstick and then discuss the combinations of them that are more likely to appeal to certain types of players.

A drumstick consists of four parts – the tip, the shoulder, the shaft and the butt. When choosing drumsticks, you will primarily focus on the type of shaft and tip on the stick.

THE SHAFT

Drumsticks are classified with a number / letter designation. The number refers to the thickness of the shaft of the stick. A lower number (ex. 2) is going to be a thicker shaft drumstick, while a higher one (ex.7) is going to be a thinner one. Obviously this is important in choosing a stick. While a 2 drumstick is going to be heavier and more physically demanding on your hands, it is going to be much more durable and will channel more of the energy from your arms down into the drums and cymbals. 2 and 3 grade sticks bring more volume to your playing. A 7 drumstick is going to light in your hands and very easy to play with, but they are not nearly as tough and will break easily in the hands of a heavier hitter.

The letter designation is more in relation to the type of music / player the stick is designed for. An “S” stick is designed for marching drummers and is a large stick that can only be paired with a lower number shaft. A “B” stick is well-suited for band players and most contemporary music is performed by drummers using a “B” stick in varying shaft thicknesses. “A” sticks are, by the book, designed for orchestral music but many drummers across many genres of music prefer to play with an A stick and again with varying thicknesses.

To give you some examples, a jazz drummer is more likely to use a 5 or 7 drumstick, and more particularly a 5A or 7A drumstick as they are lighter and more suited to finesse playing. A rock or pop drummer may also prefer the lightness of the 5 or 7 stick (more likely the 5) but will get more sound and durability out of a 5B or 7B stick ( 5B sticks are pretty much the staple for rock and pop drummers). 2 and 3 gauge sticks are those of choice for heavier hitters and often ones who are playing in more hard rock and heavy metal bands.

THE TIPS

The importance of having the right tip on your drumstick cannot be overstated. After all, it’s the very connection point at which the energy is transferred and its shape plays a pivotal role in the type of sound created. This is true of both drums and cymbals, but cymbals especially.

To begin, you will need to choose between wood and nylon tips. Wood tip sticks are less expensive and wood tips produce a warmer, whole sound on the drums and a less-marked sound on cymbals. Nylon tips sticks are slightly more expensive and give a more pronounced, strike-definitive sound on the drums and a much more “pingy” sound on cymbals. For most drummers, the type of sound they want out of their ride cymbal plays a large part in choosing wood or nylon tips. Both types are prone to damage if the player hits too hard, especially on the cymbals. Nylon tips can break off rendering the stick useless, while wood tips can chip to the extent they’re similarly kaput.

The shape of the tip is also integral to the sound created by the stick. There are four primary types of tips:

The first one on the left is the standard drumstick tip. It is the “jack-of-all-trades” drumstick tip and can work well in nearly any type of music. It is right in the middle of the spectrum, with the girth to generate enough volume and a gradual taper to be conducive to sticking nuances while still keeping volume up. New drummers are often encouraged to choose a standard tip stick as it is a nice and accommodating mix of all the tip attributes.

The second is the teardrop tip, and it is popular with drummers who are playing mid-volume music that swells and recedes throughout. The harder taper on the tip makes it more responsive in cymbal playing but there is still some width in the fat of the tip to make the drums roar when the music calls for it. Teardrop tip sticks can appeal to any type of drummer, from those playing jazz to those playing metal. All in all, it is very similar to the standard tip but offers greater cymbal definition and the ability to tailor your volume with the mood of the music.

The third is the round tip. This type of drumstick tip is popular with orchestral, jazz and contemporary drummers who rarely if ever have to compete for volume and for whom note clarity and definition are a primary concern. A round tip stick will offer very little in a return on investment when you put your arms into it and are much more fragile than its wider-tipped brethren. They are typically unsuitable for rock, pop and other players who need drum volume and cymbal “ping” to cut through the music.

The fourth is a barrel tip. Barrel tips, as you can imagine, provide a big sound when in contact with the drums and are commonly paired with lower number (2/3) drumstick shafts for hard-hitting drummers playing hard-hitting music. They produce a similar presence on the ride cymbal and are also the most durable tips. It is worth noting, however, that most drum teachers DO NOT recommend beginning with a barrel-tipped stick, even if the student is aiming to be a hard rock / heavy metal / trash player. They argue that it prevents them from understanding the dynamics of drumstick use and how the tip is correctly applied to cymbal and accessory work.

THE WOOD

Drumsticks are primarily made from three types of wood – maple, hickory and oak and the one that is best for you is often a reflection of how much oomph you need to hit your drums and cymbals with.

Maple is the lightest of the three woods and is therefore the most flexible and responsive. You really “feel” the drums and cymbals through maple sticks and they are accordingly a good choice for jazz and contemporary drummers.

Hickory is the most commonly used wood for drumsticks, likely because hickory is the wood of choice for most drummers. It is a nice hybrid between responsive and durable and it absorbs energy well. Hickory sticks appeal to drummers across all genres of music and, in fact, some drummers believe hickory sticks “age” better than others.

Oak is the strongest of all woods and, not surprisingly, oak drumsticks are the loudest, strongest and most durable drumsticks. They are great for transferring the power and energy of drummers playing loud and aggressive music, but be forewarned that they also give off much more vibration that can tax your hands and forearms. For those looking for durability and volume, however, an oak drumstick in a 2/3 B shaft with a barrel tip is going to be the way to go.

Lastly, one thing you should always do before buying a pair of sticks is to give BOTH of them the “Roll Test.” This involves simply taking the stick and rolling it along a flat surface. If it is not straight, you’ll know very quickly watching it as it freely rolls along. This is important, because a non-straight stick is going to be hindering you and your playing. Always give sticks the roll test before buying them.

This is only intended to give you some insight into what goes into choosing a drumstick for most drummers. Again, you should be trying, evaluating and rejecting many different types and gauges of sticks with different tip materials / designs on your way to finding your perfect stick. It’s not going to happen with the first pair you buy, and it shouldn’t. Most new drummers buy inexpensive lesser-known brand sticks in the beginning and try different types of them. They settle on one and then begin buying that particular style of stick from a more renowned manufacturer.

Picking Options for the Guitar

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:16:00 -0800

Many wise players have said, “Guitar is easy to learn, but hard to master!” This quote is especially true when we consider the right hand’s job in your playing. By using your fingers or a pick (also called a plectrum) you can create a wide variety of sounds and styles to suit any song you want to learn.

The most basic method for making sounds with your right hand is to use your bare fingertips on the strings, called fingerpicking. With your right hand fingers curved and thumb resting flat, place each finger and thumb tip on its own string. Each of your fingertips plucks the string up, while your thumb plucks down.

There is an endless variety of beats and patterns that you can use with fingerpicking. All five fingers can pluck at the same time to make chords. Alternating the thumb and fingers will make a “chord with a baseline” sound. The more involved the rhythm of the song, the more intense the job of the right hand in making all those sounds. A “simple baseline on the beat” up to a complicated pattern of “all five fingers working independently” is possible.

The simplest strumming method for bare finger playing is strumming all six strings up and down with the fingertips, or the more comfortable option of using the fingernails of the right hand. By curling your right hand fingers, and resting the tips of your fingernails on the string surface, your hand is automatically in the most relaxed position for strumming.

Another fingerpicking style for the right hand uses metal and plastic picks, worn on the fingers. The pick strikes the string and makes a louder, crisper sound than the bare fingers of the right hand. Usually fingerpicks are used in acoustic music styles like country and bluegrass, but ultimately it’s the player’s individual choice whether or not to use fingerpicks in the right hand. Any picking pattern that can be done with fingerpicks can also be done without them, but the sound of the string strike will be different.

Flatpicking is the most popular style of guitar for the right hand, and crosses many styles of music. Flatpicking can be a simple as strumming a down-stroke on the beat, all the way up to an intricate, alternating “string-crossing” style using right hand muting. For beginners, the best way to start is to learn the straight down-stroke on the beat.

For any style of music you play, there’s a flatpick to match it. Let’s examine those picks in the picture a little more closely. As you can see, there are many different shapes, sizes and materials used to make flatpicks. This is because players have individual preferences for what feels good on their thumb. The larger picks are great for players with large or thick fingers. A larger pick is easier for beginners to use because it takes less effort in the right hand to hold a large pick. The three picks that have curves are designed for fast playing, like soloing or very busy string-crossing patterns. These each have a shape that curves around the thumb surface and a smaller, more pointed picking edge. Imagine as a beginner trying to hold the tiny, curved pick on the left in your hand. Yikes! Best to work up to that.

Pick differences also depend on the style of music. If a player is on an acoustic six or twelve-string guitar using medium or heavy-gauge strings, and does mostly simple strumming playing folk music, then the larger metal or plastic picks are a good choice. If the playing is very fast and intricate, like a speed-metal guitar solo on an electric guitar using light-gauge strings, then the smaller grooved graphite or nylon picks are a great choice because they allow the thumb to grip more easily and can move in and around strings with less effort from the right hand.

Here’s an easy way to get started with flatpicking to test your skills:

Strum straight down on the beat for a few measures. When that feels comfortable and easy, keep the same beat and alternate strumming up and down.
Starting on the sixth string, pick each string individually, using a down-stroke. Bring the pick back up by striking each string individually using an up stroke. Be sure to make the pick pluck the string, rather than just stroking in a sweep across the strings.
Starting on the sixth string, strike a “down-up” stroke on each string following this pattern: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

These short exercises can also be changed to use fingerpicking or your bare fingers. Keep working with these to challenge yourself. The more you practice picking, and each of the picking styles, the faster your playing improves!

Exercises for Improving Speed on the Guitar

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:57:00 -0800

Developing speed with relaxation will make your playing easy as you build your guitar skills.

The most important thing to know about speed in the beginning of your study is that being relaxed is the key to speed on the guitar. The second most important thing to know about speed is that it takes different skills in the left hand versus the right hand. This means different drills are needed for each hand to build speed and one hand may succeed faster than the other. As long as you know this starting out, it’s easier to progress.

Think about this for a second…you may have all the skills in your left hand that you need to move those fingers fast and accurately, but if your right hand technique is not as solid, your playing will still sound “off.” You could be fretting each note right on target, but if your picking is inaccurate, it won’t sound like your playing is correct. If you keep this thought in mind while you learn speed, it’s much easier to correct any problems.

Let’s deal with a couple of common problems before we learn anything in the hands. The key to speed is in these two things:

Give up trying to go faster. You actually can play faster than you think, but being mentally concerned about it will cause tension in your hands, arms and shoulders that will slow you down. If you don’t care about playing fast, it’s easy to do.
Give up trying to get the notes right. Be completely willing to play nothing but wrong notes for five minutes straight and laugh about it. When you don’t care about getting the notes right and just do the physical practice, you will actually play more accurately and have a whole lot more fun!

Now lets move onto some practice drills. This first drill is for your right hand. With your hand away from your guitar, wiggle your hand up and down like you’re trying to shake water off of it. Notice that your hand, wrist and arm are completely floppy and able to move fast with no problem.

Place your hand in front of your strings and do that same “water fling” again, letting your fingernails strum the strings. Make it sloppy and do not try to sound good at all. The worse it sounds, the better! Notice how relaxed you are and how fast your hand can move when you don’t care. This is the key to fast playing. Now place a pick in your hand and do the same thing again staying as loose as possible in hand, wrist and arm. Did you know you could strum that fast?

Now for you left hand... place your left hand on the neck and put your first finger at the 7th fret on the 4th string. Your fingers will be on the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th frets. Place your thumb comfortably on the back of the neck and let your arm relax as much as possible. Press all four fingertips firmly into the neck and then let go immediately. Do this a few times and put your attention on letting go fast.

Once you’ve got the feel of this move, do it twenty times and focus on keeping your arm relaxed. The more relaxed your arm and wrist are, the faster you can do twenty repetitions.

It’s time to use the those fingers individually. Press your first finger at the 7th fret. Add your second finger at the 8th fret, while still holding your first finger down. Add your third finger, and then your fourth finger. Your goal is to keep each finger against the neck as you add the next finger. Do the pattern again and check to see what else you can relax in your hand and wrist. If there’s anything tense, let the tension go. Repeat the pattern twenty times and let you hand move as fast as it wants to. Your fingers probably can move a lot faster than you think they can. Let your hand be completely free to move fast and make sure each fingertip strikes the string firmly. Remember, focus on relaxing, not on “trying to get it right.”

If you’re up for a challenge, do the same exercise again with the left hand, but add your right hand in a “down-up” picking pattern. Coordinating the two hands means shifting your focus to making sound. Play through the exercise with the two hands, and keep your mind on listening, rather than thinking about going fast. This is because you can hear the drill a lot faster than you can play it. Bet you’ve never thought of it that way! But it is true.

Now here’s the ultimate challenge… Since you can hear the drill faster than you can play it, imagine how fast you want it to sound in your head first, and then play it at that speed!

By always taking the effort off of “trying to go fast” and putting your attention on these simple ways to relax, you will develop your speed and your playing technique much faster.

How to Take Care of Your Drums

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:07:00 -0800

Without a doubt, drum sets are visually catching instruments and it is natural for a drummer to see his or her set as the apple of their eye. You will want to see to it your drums are well maintained so that both they appear and perform like new for years to come. In fact, if you take care of your drums they can retain their quality for decades.

Here are the 6 aspects and components of your drum set that you should pay constant attention to:

1. Storage

Storing and transporting your drums safely is the biggest single factor in preserving the quality of your drum set. It is all too common for drummers to neglect protecting their drums until an unexpected slip on a flight of stairs leads to a kick drum with a permanent gouge in it. There’s nothing worse than the feeling of seeing your pride and joy take a wound like that.

Spend the money to get a set of protective cases or bags for your drums, particularly if you’ve invested in a new drum set, but for a well-maintained 2^nd hand kit as well. If you’re going to be moving them often, hard shell or fibreboard cases are the way to go but will cost you a little more (fully worth it nonetheless.) Affordable protective bags will do just fine keeping scuffs and nicks off a drum set that only makes its way out of the house every once in a while.

The first time you drop a case and open it to find your drum without damage you’ll be so glad you invested in cases.

2. Bearing Edges

The first part of your drum shell you will want to become well acquainted with is the bearing edge. The bearing edge of a drum is the area at the top and bottom of the shell where the shell has been lathed to recess from the edge, creating the lip where the rim rests on the shell. An uncompromised bearing edge is ESSENTIAL to having the drum sound properly. Before placing heads on your drum you should inspect that bearing edge on both sides of the drum for any irregularities or, more commonly, any debris that may be sitting in the lip. Run your thumb around the edges of each bearing edge and feel for anything that is amiss.

If you have purchased a drum set, new or used, and the heads are already on the shells, REMOVE THEM and inspect the bearing edges – even if the drums are new. You want to be intimately familiar with your bearing edges and you should begin that process from the very moment the kit comes into your possession.

EVERY time you replace the heads on your drums, inspect the bearing edge. Clean it before refitting the rim and new batter and / or resonant heads. If you have reason to believe the edge is compromised, take it to a drum smith (ask your local music retailer for a referral if necessary).

3. Drum Heads

Just like strings eventually must be replaced on a guitar, a drummer must replace both the batter (top) and resonant (bottom) heads on each of their drums when they become worn and no longer capable of producing good sound.

Naturally, batter heads will have the need much more frequently than the resonant heads, as they are the ones that absorb the stroke of the drumstick. Over time, however, resonant heads will need to be replaced as well.

There are both visual and audible cues to a head needing to be replaced. The visual cues are obvious; if your head has an uneven surface, “soft spots” or is dented in any spot from an over-aggressive strike, it needs to be replaced. If the sound is not what it used to be – the tone is shallow and weak or it doesn’t resonate with the same duration and projection it did before – it needs to be replaced.

A kit with new heads looks sharp and restores it to its “new” appearance, but conversely a set of heads that are well-worn suggest a drummer who loves his or her kit and puts it through its paces. Know when it is time to invest in a new pair of heads, and inspect your bearing edges when you take the old ones off.

4. Drum Shells

Most drums are “wrapped” in a coloured epoxy material or lacquered with a hard shell finish. Either way, you will want to give them a cleaning every once in a while. This is particularly true when you’ve had them out in a club or jam space where they are exposed to smoke or splashes of any liquid. Don’t make the mistake of cleaning your drums with Windex^tmor any other conventional cleaning product. Some of them contain reagents that can discolour, fade or compromise the integrity of the finish on your shell. Instead, clean your drums with a very-diluted mix of warm water and basic dish soap from the kitchen. Dry them thoroughly and return them to their protective cases.

5. Rims and Hardware

The stainless steel components of each drum should be cared for regularly as well. Much of maintaining the rims and hardware of your drums is related to how you store your drums. Always make sure your rims and other steel components are completely dry before storing your drums, and NEVER STORE YOUR DRUMS IN AN AREA (ex – garage, attic) WHERE MOISTURE AND HUMIDITY MAY BE PRESENT.

This goes for any area or “jam room” where your kit may remain set up for extended periods of time. If your space is like that, go to the trouble of taking down your kit and setting it up new each time. In fact, you should do that for your whole drum set no matter what your practice and playing arrangements are. Your shells and hardware will be safe and secure all the time if you keep them in protective cases or bags and in a dry and temperature-consistent space.

Failure to protect your drum hardware from these elements can result in oxidation and pitting of the rims, which will seriously detract from your drum set’s attractiveness.

6. Cymbals

Clean your cymbals regularly WITH PROPER CYMBAL CLEANING CREAM ONLY. Having bright, shining cymbals is a way of showing you care for your drum set and prolonging its newness. Further, clean cymbals will not have any residue in the grooves that radiate out from the bell to the edge of the cymbals. The sound and projection of the cymbal is generated in these grooves and you want them to be entirely free of any gunk. Cymbals are magnets for grime and nicotine residue from clubs and dirty jam spaces.

Clean your cymbals regularly and thoroughly with cymbal cleaning cream from your local music retailer.

Setting up a Drummer Survival Bag

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:23:00 -0800

As a new drummer, you’re going to learn that there’s a lot more to your instrument, componentry-wise, than your fellow musicians. It’ll become fairly clear the first time you have to disassemble your kit and reassemble it at a rehearsal space or perhaps even your first gig. There are many parts to a drum set, and it is often the smaller ones that either break or go missing. There is nothing worse than realizing just how integral that little piece is to your performance when it’s 7:30 in the evening and the music store is long since closed.

There are certain parts of a drum set that fail or become misplaced more frequently than others. Accordingly, it is wise for all drummers, from beginners to pros, to carry these replacement parts in a “survival kit.” Find yourself a small container of any sort that you can tuck into your stick bag, for example, and include the following items:

Snare drum batter head – Okay, this one might be difficult to fit in a “small” container but you could tuck it into the back of your cymbal bag. You really should, because the snare batter takes more abuse than any other part of your drum set and it is not difficult for an exuberant drummer to put a stick right through even the newest of heads. It goes without saying that should this occur and you don’t have a replacement head, the show or the rehearsal is pretty much over. Always keep a second snare batter head with you.

Snare wire retainer straps – these small, long nylon or fabric straps loop through either end of your snare drum wire housing and are the conduit for the tension required to create your desired snare sound. It’s surprising how often and how randomly they can become structurally compromised, usually by being stretched too much. They can be easily lost when changing a snare wire as well. Keep a couple of them in your survival kit at all times.

Cymbal stand wing nuts – these T-shaped nuts restrain your cymbals on the top of your cymbal stands and as such provide a fairly important service to your drum set. They can easily come off during transport of your hardware and if you are forced to set up without one or more of them you will have difficulty controlling your cymbal sound and / or risk damage to your cymbals. They are universal-fit, so when you purchase some back ups don’t concern yourself with buying the same brand as your stands. Carrying 3 in your kit is a good idea.

Cymbal sleeves – an important one. These clear plastic cylindrical sleeves rest on the threaded post at the top of your cymbal stand and provide a barrier between the precious metal of your cymbal and the potentially-harmful threaded steel of the post. Again, they can easily come off and be lost without your being aware of it when you are packing down your kit, and you don’t want to discover the loss of one or more the next time you are setting up. As they are just small plastic sleeves they cost very little for a 10-or so pack. Get one and keep a few in your kit.

Cymbal felts –These felt cushions sit above and beneath the port on your cymbal and provide a comfortable and safe buffer for your cymbal. Again, they can be easily lost when tearing-down or transporting your kit. Also cheap to buy a 10-pack of them and throw 3 or 4 into your survival kit.

Dampeners – There are many types of dampeners that can be applied to the batter or resonant head to take away undesirable overtones on any drum. Why it is important to carry some with you at all times is, despite how well the drum may sound in its home environment, you may find yourself with in a pinch at a venue or rehearsal spot. You need to quickly troubleshoot an overtone issue on one of your drums with no time to re-tune the drum. Putting a dampener on the head can often remedy the situation. Remo Moongels and Evans E-MADs are popular and affordable choices. Keep a pack of them in your kit.

Drum Key – A no-brainer really. Having a drum key with you at all times is a necessity. Preferably more than one to be honest. See to it two or three drum keys are in your kit at all times. Lose one, buy another.

A drummer survival kit containing these items will keep you in good stead every time you take your drum set out for rehearsal or a gig. Keep it stocked by replacing the items you use, and over time you’ll find you want to add other items based on your playing style and the particular components you tend to go through more quickly.

Warming up on the Drums

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:08:00 -0800

One of the things that you will quickly learn as a drummer is that playing your instrument well is much more physically demanding in comparison to other musicians. Drumming is a 4-limb realization of the rhythms in your mind, and applying them most effectively to the drumset in front of you involves 2 criteria:

Having established muscle memory in each of your 4 limbs, to the point that your body moves in a consistently efficient manner when playing the drums.
Naturalizing this efficiency and having it manifest itself in your playing with ease so that you can focus on the music exclusively.

The first comes from regimented practice, a necessity for all musicians and a critical component of your growth as a drummer. The second is achieved, in part, by “warming up” effectively before playing the drums. Being able to prime your hands, feet and trunk to the impending musical task is important. Here is, quite simply, the best warm up for beginner drummers:

TRUNK ROTATION

This calisthenics exercise is GOLD for drummers as a loose and flexible torso is essential for efficient movement around the drum set. Do it before beginning to play and notice how your midsection is loosened up nicely.

Hold your drumsticks in both hands with hands over top of the sticks at either end of the pair and at full arm extension above your head. Tilt your body backwards from the waist to the point where you can feel the pressure in your lower back and waist.
Like your upper body is the minute hand of a clock, begin to move your body FROM YOUR WAIST in a full circle, moving your torso slowly but deliberately in a full circle from 12 o’clock all the way around and back to 12.
Complete 5 rotations and then stop. Now begin 5 rotations in the opposite direction.

Feel free to do this extremely effective exercise as many times and as often as you like.

SINGLE STROKE ROLL WARM-UP

The single stroke roll is integral to any drummer’s technique, no matter what style they play, and is simple enough in its notational layout that even the most novice drummer can begin working with it. Conducting a consistent single stroke roll at a slow-to-fast-to-slow tempo progression around the drum set is the basis for nearly any drummer’s warm-up, from beginners to established professionals.

Begin on your snare drum, slowly playing the basic right-left /right-left /right-left stroking pattern that makes up the single stroke roll. Gradually increase your speed to the maximum level at which you can clearly and consistently voice the pattern on the drum. Once you’ve stayed steady at your maximum speed for a good 30 seconds or so (repeating the bar shown above), begin to slowly decrease your speed and progress down to the speed you began at. Spend 30 seconds there as well (this is important – do not look past the slow speeds on either end of the exercise. They are important to making your loose, relaxed and in complete control of your roll)

Now begin the exercise again, but count out the beats on your snare drum as you start slowly:

Now take the same bar and play it on the high tom-tom immediately above your snare drum. Then take it to the mid tom-tom on its right. Next play it on the large Floor Tom next to your right leg. Begin it again on the snare drum but play it at a slightly increased tempo and follow the same pattern across the drum set.

Once you’re comfortable with this exercise at a good speed you can take it one step further and really increase your dexterity on the drum set. Here’s how:

Play the same pattern that you just played, starting with 4 full measures on the snare (1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a times 4). Then do the same thing, but on your high tom. BUT INSTEAD OF TAKING IT TO THE MID-TOM, RETURN IT TO THE SNARE DRUM FOR 4 MEASURES. Do the same thing for the mid-tom – 4 measures on the snare to start, 4 measures on the mid-tom followed by 4-measures back on the snare. Then go snare-floor tom with the same method. Begin again with snare-high tom and increase your speed gradually.

Once you get good at this staple exercise, feel free to mix it up – go snare to floor tom to start, floor tom to hi-hat from there, hi-hat to mid-tom from there, etc. etc. You’ll find that you become very loose and adept at moving around the kit. Start to add in your kick drum on the 1's, 2's, 3's, and 4's: i.e 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a.

Practice this until you are very comfortable with the exercise and then get ready for a fun addition. Now add in your hi-hat pedal (left foot) on the "+'s." i.e. 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a. Once you've got this down, you will end up with this:

This is THE best warm-up exercise for beginner drummers, but remember – START SLOW and don’t move the tempo up until you’ve achieved complete control at any speed.

TRIPLETS WARM UP

Playing a triplet – RLR or LRL with a 1-2-3 feel – is an easy stroke roll for beginner drummers to both get a handle on and incorporate into their playing. Accordingly, it’s well-paired with the single stroke roll exercise to further warm you up and open up your hands to playing with dynamics and feel on the kit. We'll count the beat like this:

Follow the same method as you did for the single stroke roll warm up – RLR / LRL / RLR / LRL - starting slow on the snare and pumping out the triplets uniformly. Move up slowly to your maximum speed at which you can play the pattern consistently. Then move back down slowly to the starting speed.

Now follow the same pattern as given for exercise 1 as well, snare to high-tom, high-tom to mid-tom, mid to floor and mix it up.

Once you've got that down, work in the kick and hi-hat pedals in the same manner as before but this time with the kick pedal on the 1 and the 3, and the hi-hat pedal on the 2 and the 4, like this:

After you are comfortable with both of the exercises in this post you can have even more fun and expand on their effectiveness by alternating them – 4 bars of single stroke roll followed by 4 bars of triplet roll all over the drum kit. This is an excellent compound warm up exercise.

What are some other exercises that you use to warm-up?

How to Hold Your Guitar Neck Properly

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:09:00 -0800

Holding your guitar neck properly starts with your hand…but not on your guitar (yet). Let’s find out what really makes your hand work first.

Look closely at the photograph. Notice the position of the fingers against the thumb. Do the same in your hand. With the thumb straight, bring the first and second fingers to the pad of your thumb just above your knuckle joint. Press the three together and feel the strength and balance. Press into your thumb enough to feel the top of the bone. This is the “sweet spot” of your thumb. Relax your hand and look at that sweet spot so you have an accurate mental picture of it. It’s actually toward the side of the thumb. (Look at the “top-of-thumb” photo. You can see the sweet spot is to the side.)

Place the first and second fingers on your thumb again, but slightly raise or lower them. Press and notice that the balance and tension across the hand has changed. Move the first and second fingers higher or lower again and press together one more time. Do you notice that the more you move the fingertips away from the sweet spot, the more tension there is in your hand?

This is because the sweet spot is the exact balance point for all your fingertips to press against the thumb. The hand is strongest and most relaxed when the fingers and thumb press together there. Now add your third finger to press against your thumb. All three fingers press directly into the thumb and maintain an easy curved shape.

Press each finger one by one into the thumb so you can feel the strength differences of the first, second and third fingers. Each fingertip contacts the thumb at a slightly different spot and angle. The second finger is the strongest, and is the balance of the hand. This is important because you need to work with balance as you play to relax your fingers, hand, wrist and arm.

Grab your guitar and look at the back of the neck. Does it have a stripe running from the guitar body to the headstock (like the guitar in the photo)?

(That stripe, an inlay in the wood, is called a “skunk stripe.” Funny name, but serious job for our purposes.)

If your guitar has a skunk stripe, imagine the sweet spot of your thumb always running right along that center stripe as you play. This will keep your thumb in the best position to balance your hand, fingers and arm. (If your guitar does not have the skunk stripe, imagine on your guitar neck where it would be. Visualize the stripe on the neck until you’ve got the feel of it.)

The two main ways to hold the guitar are one leg crossed over the other (like the black and white photo), or one leg propped up on a foot stool.

In both pictures, the guitar neck is up toward the shoulder and the body slopes down. Keeping the neck high makes it much easier to play because your wrist stays straight. When your wrist is straight, it’s more comfortable for your hand.

Now it’s time to put the guitar in your hands! Place the sweet spot of your thumb on the back of the neck on the skunk stripe and your first and second fingers on the front of the neck, called the fretboard. Keep your fingers on the fretboard directly opposite the skunk stripe. Your fingertips will probably be on the third or fourth string, depending on the width of your guitar neck and the size of your hand. Curve your fingers and press your fingertips directly at the sweet spot of the thumb through the neck. By maintaining the feel of “fingers aim at thumb,” you keep the hand balanced and the fingers applying pressure in a firm and relaxed touch.

Press your fingers, hold to a count of three and release your finger pressure. You want to press the strings enough to make firm contact with the fretboard, but not so hard that you clamp your hand or feel clenching in your wrist or forearm. Press and relax to a count of three ten times in a row so that your whole hand, wrist and arm get used to the feel of your fingertips and thumb on the neck. This will make your hand and arm learn strength and relaxation right the first time.

Now let’s look at the space between the lower edge of your guitar neck and your palm. To keep your hand relaxed, you always want to maintain that space. Do not let your palm collapse onto the guitar neck. If you feel the neck contact your palm, let your palm drop and curve your fingers more to return your hand to the correct position.

This may seem like a lot to take into both your hand and brain at once, so working through this whole post two or three times will benefit you and your playing. The three most important things to remember for your technique are:

The sweet spot of your thumb is on the center of the back of the neck.
Curve your fingers and press your fingertips directly onto the string, aiming at your thumb.
Maintain a space between the bottom of the guitar neck and your palm.

If these three things are learned by “feel” into your hand, you will experience relaxed playing and a happy hand!

How to Take Care of Your Violin

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:48:00 -0800

If you’ve decided to take up the violin, congratulations! Learning to play a musical instrument is an incredibly exciting time for most students. Always remember that several different things can damage your violin if it is not cared for properly. Violin repairs can be expensive, but most repairs can be avoided with proper care and maintenance. That is why one of the first things you should learn is how to take care of your violin correctly.

The following six tips will come in handy when learning how to maintain your violin’s sound and appearance.

Store your violin safely. Always keep your violin in its case when you are not playing it. Do not leave it lying on the floor, lying across a chair, or propped up in the corner of your bedroom. Make sure that your case latches properly, and always double check that the case is latched before you pick it up by the handle—you wouldn’t want your violin to fall out while you carry it! Most preventable violin damage occurs due to improper storage.
Avoid extreme temperatures. Violins are very fragile instruments and they should not be left in very hot or very cold temperatures. This means that storing your violin case in the trunk of your car is not a wise idea. Heat can melt the glue and warp the wood, and constantly transferring the violin from hot to cold will eventually cause the instrument to break and fall apart.
Clean your violin properly. After each use, wipe down your violin and its strings with a soft cloth. It can be a piece of an old T-shirt or a non-abrasive violin cloth purchased from a music store. Pay special attention when cleaning rosin dust. (As you probably know by now, rosin is the substance that makes the hair on your violin bow sticky. Without the rosin's grip, the bow will just slide over the strings without producing a sound.) Rosin dust can build up under the violin’s bridge. Be very careful when cleaning the rosin out from under the bridge—the bridge can easily become crooked and harm your playing. Some people use a Q-tip to remove rosin. It is okay to polish your violin occasionally, but only use polishes made specifically for the violin.
Store your bow properly. Don’t neglect your violin bow! Always loosen the strings of the bow before you put it away. (If the strings are always tight, they will pull the bow out of line.) Wipe the rosin off of the bow before you put it away and be sure that you do not use the same rosin-covered cloth to wipe down your violin!
Use quality strings. Even if you have an inexpensive student violin, use quality strings. Cheaper strings can cause tension on the violin. The tension can result in cracks, warping and other violin damage.
Don’t ignore problems, even if they seem minor. Little problems can become big problems rather quickly. If you notice that something is wrong with your violin, tell your teacher and show them what is wrong. Even if they seem knowledgeable, you shouldn’t trust your parents or a friend to fix your violin because they may do more harm than good. Your teacher may be able to fix minor problems, but if your violin needs to be repaired you will have to take it to an experienced luthier— a stringed instrument repair person.

Warming Up on the Guitar

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:32:00 -0800

You may have noticed a few times that your hands do a much better job on the guitar toward the end of your playing time. That’s because once you’ve been playing for a few minutes, your hands and arms have “warmed up” and are able to move better.

Let’s define what “warmed up” means for playing. When your muscles begin an activity, they are usually a bit cold and don’t flow or move easily. The more you move your body, the more your temperature rises. This is good for muscles, because it brings the fluids into your muscles and other body parts that they need to move at their best. Cold muscles don’t move so well. This means when you start a physical activity, your body needs a few minutes of an easy movement before it’s ready to start playing full out.

When you first pick up your guitar, your hands aren’t warmed up on the instrument yet, so your fingers are not ready to move at their fastest, strongest or most relaxed. Fast, strong and relaxed are all good things for guitar playing, so having a proper warm up will improve your playing and make everything you play easier.

Before you pick up the guitar, in your left hand, make a fist and then spread your fingers out wide. Repeat this combination five times in a row to get some blood flow into your hand and arm. In your right hand, bring the tips of your fingers and thumb together, press and hold for one second and release them. Repeat that combination five time before putting a pick in your hand. Once you get both movements learned in your left and right hands, do them at the same time every day right before you pick up your guitar.

The best warm up routine for your practice on your guitar starts slow and gradually builds as your hands and arms relax and feel more powerful. Pick your easiest song to start. If you are learning drills or melodies that include individual notes in the left hand, put those drills first before anything that involves a lot of strength from the hand.

Since the rest of your body beyond your hands is also involved in your playing, your warm up has to include checking things like:

Am I sitting comfortably? Do I need to move slightly on my seat to get more comfortable or have my guitar positioned better?
Is my leg relaxed? (...especially if you use a footstool to prop your leg while you play.)
Is my back and my body posture comfortable while I play? Do my arms and shoulders getting more relaxed as I work through my five minutes?
Am I leaning my body on my guitar as I play, or am I supporting myself and holding my guitar correctly?

Let yourself get into the habit of asking these four questions every day during that five-minute warm up at the beginning of your practice time. You will find that within about two weeks of doing those mental checks during your first song of the day that all of your playing gets better and you relax faster during your warm up time.

If your daily practice sessions are thirty minutes, consider the first five minutes of that time your warm-up. That means that by the end of five minutes of playing an easy song or drill, you will notice your hands feel stronger and are playing more accurately than when you started.

If you know how to play chords and are working on a song that uses them, pick the easy chords to start with. Jumping right into a difficult chord that requires lots of finger strength and hand support can cause your hand to cramp. If you want to practice difficult chords during that session, start with the easy ones first! You don’t want to ruin a whole day of practice by drilling a tough chord or skill right away and cramping your hand within the first five minutes.

Design your practice routine to start with some hand drills off the guitar, add a slow song or exercise that uses individual notes in the left hand and easy strumming or picking in the right hand, and progresses to your more difficult pieces at the end. If you get into the habit of putting things in that order, you will always be warmed up properly by the time you need your hands to handle the challenging pieces in your study. Your hands will get stronger, your playing will improve faster and you will enjoy your playing much more if you follow that simple warm up and practice routine.

thanks to luppus for the photo

Exercises for Improving Your Speed on the Drums

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:25:00 -0800

Any good drum teacher will be quick to dissuade a beginner student who wants to find a way to become a speedy drummer quickly. Trying to become a speed demon behind the drum kit overnight is an unrealistic aim and can be detrimental to your growth as a drummer. As is universally known in music theory, “control is the gateway to speed” and refining your playing mechanics and technique MUST come before any aim to play drum parts quickly.

First and foremost, if you don’t own a quality digital metronome you need to get your hands on one immediately. Working with a metronome is a key part of a young drummer’s developing a steady and reliable sense of time. You shouldn’t need to be reminded that your primary duty in a musical performance is to be the beat on which the music is built, and this is true no matter what tempo you’re playing at. Working with the consistent meter of the metronome is the way to achieve this ability.

The single stroke roll is again an easy way and effective way to apply the principles of adding speed to your playing.

However, the method that will follow here can be applied to ANY rhythm or roll pattern you are learning on the drum set.

To increase the speed with which you can play ANY pattern on the drum set:

Using your metronome, find a Beats-Per-Minute (BPM) setting at which you can play the pattern comfortably over 50 counts (the pattern played 50 times accurately and on-tempo with the metronome)
Using either musical notation paper of any piece of paper, make a note of that speed and then add the next 7 BPM settings on the metronome, in increments of 2 BPM.

For example – imagine you can play a single stroke roll uniformly and comfortably at 88 BPM for 50 counts. This would be your speed progress chart:
88 90 92 94 96 98 100 102

Continue to work at each setting – NOT MOVING ON UNTIL YOU HAVE MASTERED EACH AT 50 COUNTS. Once you are able to play it at 102 BPM, you cross off the lowest BPM and add the next highest to the chart:
88 90 92 94 96 98 100 102 104

You now begin again but at 90 BPM and move forward. “But wait,” you say, “I have shown I can play it at 90 BPM.” Yes, but again “control is the gateway to speed” and this repetition will solidify your technique and control and further the effectiveness with which you can get to greater speeds. DO NOT skip these slower speeds, follow the chart the same way every time.

Once you can play your pattern with perfect consistency at 104 BPM, your chart becomes this:
90 92 94 96 98 100 102 104 106

This technique is a fail-safe way of ensuring you develop speed the right way, without sacrificing control or technique. Further, it will make playing at speed less physically taxing and allow you to play fast for longer periods of time. Follow it exactly and apply it to ANY drum pattern you are learning.

Lastly, another way of increasing your hand speed is to practice with larger and heavier sticks than you would use during performance. The increased weight and size will require more of your hands and forearm muscles and the muscle memory created will be more effectively applied to your playing when you resume with your standard sticks. This is because speed in large part comes from the responsiveness you can generate in your sticks. Don’t hold the sticks too tight, however, as you will be prone to “forcing them.” Remember, those fast drummers you look up to are having the stick do most of the work for them when they’re flying on the kit. You’d probably be surprised at how little tension they are applying to the sticks in their hands.

As a last word, it is important to keep sight of the fact that being able to play fast comes as part of being able to play cleanly and consistently. Aim for having perfect technique and endurance first, and playing speedily will follow much more easily and naturally.

Warming up on the Piano

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:48:00 -0800

When one thinks about warming up on the piano, what comes to mind? Scales? Arpeggios? Chords?

It is important to identify what “warming up” means. Exercises are often intended to help one warm up, but exercises are also intended to strengthen and train.

Unfortunately, the two words “warm up” are synonymous with exercising, and does not seem to be very popular amongst students, as it merely spells W-O-R-K. Therefore, many students do not warm up effectively, and is oftentimes not ready to practice or perform a given piece of music.

It is quite simple, actually. With my students, I usually ask them at the beginning of the lesson if they are warmed up. If they say yes, we usually go right into the piece. If not, I will encourage them to warm up.

But what does one do to warm up? If our objective is preparation, then that is what we should be concerned about.

A favorite preparation strategy would be to use the actual piece of music at hand as the warm-up. If one is trying to practice or perform a piece, why not spend a few minutes to start thinking about the piece before playing it? Why the need to play scales and other exercises when they are not a part of the piece you are trying to play? Why not use the existing material from the piece to “warm up”?

If preparing to practice, it is a very healthy habit to spend a few minutes planning one’s practice session before beginning, thereby mentally “getting their feet wet” before “jumping into the water”.

Bits and small sections of the piece can be used as warm up exercises that not only physically prepare the student but also musically. The beginning 1 or 2 bars is a very natural place to start. Especially before performing, practice “false-starting” the piece several times at the correct tempo is very helpful, repeating until the desired tone and phrasing is in place. If the student is feeling cold and slow, then have him/her start the piece at a slow tempo where the tone and phrasing may be expressed musically in time. Another good thing to do would be to play the strongest 2 bars (approximately) of the piece and compare it with the weakest 2 bars – this helps one to gauge how well he/she knows the piece, and will help to start the piece accordingly regarding the familiarity with a given piece.

When he/she is comfortable, one is officially “warmed up” and it is time to start!

thanks to woodleywonderworks and seriousbri for the pictures

How to Take Care of Your Piano

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:53:00 -0800

Whether you’re an accomplished pianist or a promising student that has decided to take the plunge and purchase your first piano, it’s essential that you understand how to take care of your piano. Always remember that in addition to being an instrument, a piano is an investment. Just as routine maintenance is required to keep an automobile running smoothly and safely, regular maintenance is important for your piano’s sound and appearance.

The following information should give you an understanding of what steps you’ll need to take to keep your piano sounding good and looking good.

Maintaining Your Piano’s Sound

Piano Technicians Guild - On average, registered technicians and non-registered technicians the same amount of money for a tune-up—usually anywhere between $50 to over $200. The average price seems to run between $75 and $125. It’s a good idea to ask for references with any piano tuner, registered or not.

Piano Regulation - Tuning corrects the pitch of a piano, but it is only one component of piano maintenance. A piano’s performance tends to decline over time due to the compression of felt, warping of wood, and other types of normal “wear and tear,” or even moving a piano from one home to another. A piano technician can restore the piano to optimal precision with a process called regulation. Regulation involves adjustments ranging from turning small screws to sanding down wood surfaces.

A piano does not have to be regulated as often as it has to be tuned. A piano that is subjected to normal will most likely need to be regulated every five to ten years. Pianos that are played very often may need to be regulated more often than those that endure normal “wear and tear.” New pianos and used pianos that have been rebuilt will probably need regulated after the first six months to a year of use because the new felts will still be settling. A “touch-up,” or “partial regulation” usually runs between $50 and $200 while a complete regulation may cost several hundred dollars or more.

Keeping Your Piano Safe from the Elements

Keep Your Piano in a Safe Place - Because temperature and humidity affect pianos, it’s important to place your piano in the right spot in your home. Try to locate your piano near an inside wall and away from heating or cooling vents. Drafty windows and bright sunlight can cause severe damage to your piano on the inside as well as the outside.
Pay Attention to the Air and Temperature in Your Home - Warm, moist and dry air all affect pianos differently, which is why piano technicians recommend tuning when the seasons change. Moisture can cause the piano’s strings to rust while heat can draw moisture from the wooden components of the piano and cause damage, so it’s important to pay attention to the air and temperature. Experts recommend that the optimum humidity of the room should fall between 45 to 60 percent while the temperature should fall between 18 to 21 degrees Celsius / 65 - 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Maintaining Your Piano’s Appearance

Your Piano is Not a Shelf - Many people make the mistake of displaying decorative items on top of their piano. Not only can this can cause unsightly scratches by damaging the finish, it can alter your piano’s sound or damage the lid if the object is heavy enough.

Dusting and Polishing - Pianos are furniture in addition to instruments, which means they benefit from periodic cleaning and polishing. Treat your piano like you would treat any piece of valuable furniture and clean it very carefully. It’s usually best to use a feather duster to remove dust from your piano instead of a cloth, which may cause the dust to be abrasive and cause faint scratches. Be sure to consult a piano technician for recommendations on which cleaning and polishing products are safe to use on a piano because most traditional furniture polishes can cause considerable damage. Avoid getting any fluids or polishes inside the piano.
Cleaning Piano Keys - New piano owners often make the mistake of wiping down their piano keys with a damp cloth or worse yet, spraying the keys with cleanser or water before wiping them. Again, avoid getting any fluids inside the piano—any tiny bit of fluid that trickles down inside the keys can harm the instrument. It can also make the keys slippery when you’re trying to play!

Thanks to Greene/Ellis for the photo

How to Take Care of Your Guitar

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:36:00 -0800

Taking care of your guitar is essential if you want to enjoy your experience of playing. A quality guitar that is well-maintained is easy to play and produces a consistently good sound.

The most important way to think of guitar maintenance when you are learning how to do it is “treat the guitar as if it were a baby.” If your guitar were a baby, there are a few things you would do for it’s safety:

Carry it with care and attention. That means no quick or jarring motions. Keep your eyes on where you and the guitar are moving or resting.
Watch where you walk while carrying it, being especially mindful of not banging it into things like edges, corners, pieces of furniture, etc.
Place it in its carrier, (such as a guitar case) gently, making sure not to scratch its surface.
Pack its travel case with all the necessary items for going away from home. For a guitar, these items are picks, a tuner, spare strings, a cleaning cloth, and a cable if it’s an electric guitar.
If it were to travel with you in a vehicle, you would place it in there in a way that assures it does not get whipped or bounced around while moving.
Keep it away from temperatures extremes and humidity.

Luckily, guitar strings don’t need to be changed as often as a baby! However, the most important part of the guitar to maintain frequently is the strings.

Tune up your strings every time you play. Keeping the strings in tune helps prevent neck warping, which can ruin a guitar’s sound. If a guitar is consistently out of tune, the string tension causes the neck to bend toward the tighter tension. This makes it more difficult to play and get into tune.

Tuning also helps the strings last longer, avoids breakage and alerts you to any loose tuning pegs or machine heads on the headstock. Since the tuning peg (the white peg protruding from behind the headstock in the photo) gets turned slightly every time the strings are tuned, they can wear out and become loose. A loose tuning peg can cause a string to break, slip out of tune or not get into tune at all. If the tuning peg is loose, get it changed right away and save yourself a lot of headaches.

Cleaning your guitar is the next most important part of caring for it. Make sure you have a good cleaning cloth. A flannel cotton cloth, sometimes called a “chamois,” is a good choice because it’s durable and has a surface that picks up finger oil smudges and dust easily.

Wipe off your strings every time you play to assure any skin oils from your fingertips and hands are removed from the strings. A smudge build up on the strings creates extra friction and drag on your fingertips as they slide on the strings. Not good! Run the chamois cloth from the headstock down the full length of the string surface and back. Do this when you finish playing, before returning the guitar to the case or stand. Cleaning the strings like this each time you play will also help them last longer.

The wood surfaces of your guitar body also benefit from being wiped clean each time you play. Natural oils from the fingertips and hands can leave smudges on the guitar surface that build up over time. This is especially true on the fingerboard and the back of the neck. When there is a smudge build up on the neck surface, it creates a drag on your thumb and slows you down while you play.

If you have an electric guitar, pay attention to the 1/4” connection jack where you plug in your guitar cable. Since this jack is used frequently, it can wear out or become loose inside the guitar body, or at the washers and nut that hold the housing together on the outside. Once any of these parts become loose, the guitar may start to short out and have sound problems. Check the connection every time you plug in and listen to your playing for any sound drop-outs that indicate your jack is loose and needs to be tightened up.

If you have an electric guitar, it is also a great idea to educate yourself about your guitar’s pick-ups and switching options. Since these can vary greatly from one guitar model to another, and often have interesting sound capabilities that are distinct to your model, it’s worth whatever time it takes to learn about these for your guitar. The most important things to know are:

How many pick-ups does your guitar have?
What are the selector positions for each of the volume and tone knobs?
Do the volume and tone knobs effect which pick-ups are used, or do you have a selector switch for the pick-ups?

Since the answer to each of these questions has a major impact on your tone and sound production, it’s critical to find out those answers. Pick-ups, knobs and switches each have electronic connections inside the guitar. If any of them aren’t working correctly, neither will your guitar! You can find information about your guitar’s electronics, pick-ups, knobs and switches from the website of the company that made your guitar or any of the manuals that came with your guitar when you bought it.

Thanks to mistibluday for the photo!

A Beginner's Guide to Buying a Violin

info@resoundschool.com — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:49:00 -0800

Buying your first violin can be a lot of fun, especially if you are a beginner that is eager to practice and learn more. Many of my students and their parents ask for my advice when they begin violin shopping, so I created this Buyer’s Guide for Violin to help answer some of their most common questions.

Violin Categories

Beginner: Student violins are specifically made for beginners. They are often produced by machine as opposed to crafted by hand, providing lower quality but also a lower cost. They are affordable as well as good for students in the early stages of learning the violin. Inexpensive beginner viol ins usually range from $100 to $200.

Intermediate: Intermediate, or “step-up,” violins are made from better quality woods than student violins, and the workmanship is done mostly by hand as opposed to by machine. This results in a better quality violin that produces a better sound—at a slightly higher price. Intermediate violins usually fall in the range of $1,000 to $3,500 depending on brand and quality.

Professional: Professional violins are made from only the finest woods. They are created by hand with extreme attention to every minute detail of construction and appearance. Due to the relatively low number of violin makers with the skills needed (as well as the time required) to produce a violin of this quality, the price of professional violins is significantly higher than the price of intermediate violins. Professional violins are generally $5000 or more.

If the thought of buying an expensive violin scares you, you’re not alone. Many parents decide to purchase lower-priced violins to start. They can upgrade the bow, strings, and then the violin itself once they are sure their child will stick with the instrument.

Violin Body Materials

The quality of the wood used is the most important factor in a violin’s sound. Spruce is the only wood used for the top of a violin. It is strong enough to handle the heavy tension of the strings while still producing a resonant sound. Violin necks, sides and backs are usually made from maple, a wood that strengthens stability and enhances beauty. Maple is sometimes used for the pegs and fingerboard of student violins, and then dyed black to resemble ebony, which is found on higher quality violins. Ebony is a dense, dark wood that is strong but light enough to not make the violin feel top-heavy. Rosewood, boxwood and a few other exotic woods are sometimes used for violin pegs, tailpieces and chin rests.

Which Size Should I Get?

Like other stringed instruments, violins come in different sizes. If you are shopping for a violin for a child, make sure that you purchase the correct size. Older children, teenagers and adults will most likely use a full-size (4/4) violin but a violin that is too small or too big can cause pain and playing problems.

It’s a good idea to consult a violin instructor about which size to purchase, but there are several ways to estimate fit on your own. One method is to measure your child’s outstretched arm from neck to mid-palm and comparing the measurements to a violin size chart. Violin size charts are not set in stone, but they do offer a good indication of what size violin your child may need.

Buying New vs. Used Violins

A new violin can last a lifetime if is taken care of properly. If you purchase a new instrument, you won’t have to worry about repairs coming undone or old cracks re-appearing. A new violin is a good investment, but many experts believe that new violins of good quality actually improve with age. The wood will dry out even more than it was when the instrument was manufactured, and subtle changes to the varnish as it ages often improve a violin’s tone.

That is why, as odd as it may seem, a second-hand violin might sound better than a new one. For this reason, some people prefer to buy used violins. Many used violins have some slight dents or scratches, but unless the damage is severe it will not affect the tone. However, just because a violin is old doesn’t mean it is good.

Always look for a violin that is properly set up, meaning that every single part of the instrument is made and functioning correctly. Cheap, low-quality violins have been made for decades! Always check for obvious signs of damage—you may want to bring your teacher or someone who has been playing the violin for a long time to come with you to provide their input.

You can typically find used violins on Craigslist, in classified ads, at pawn shops or local music stores. Your music teacher might even know of someone with a used violin for sale. Whether you decide to buy new or used, always remember to “try before you buy.” Most music store owners will let you play an instrument before you buy it.

Have fun, and enjoy your new violin!

A Beginner's Guide to Buying Drums

info@resoundschool.com — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:22:00 -0800

The first thing that needs to be shared here is that most drummers begin studying and practicing the instrument on a practice pad set rather than a full acoustic drum set. The advantages of doing so are many, not excluding the fact that you won’t alienate your family and neighbours as you go through the very loud growing pains that accompany learning drum basics. They’re also less expensive, easier to set up and tear down, and the heads are more forgiving.

Hopefully you’ve started out as a drummer in the same manner, and are here with some experience behind you as you look at purchasing your first drum set. Here are some suggestions as you look at purchasing your first drum kit.

New vs. Used

A new drum set is going to have an out-of-the-box shine to it and you can rest assured that it is as solid and reliable as it’s ever going to be. The heads won’t have a mark on them and the hardware is going to be straight and true. The benefits of buying a new drum set aren’t hard to grasp, and don’t warrant going on at length about.

What makes a new drum set unappealing for many new drummers are the price tags commonly attached to them. They’re not cheap, and like any product “you get what you pay for.” If you want a reasonable quality kit that’s not going to look and sound like a child’s toy, you’re going to be looking at 400-500 dollars and that’s not including the hardware (stands, pedals, etc.) and cymbals you’ll need to complete it. You’ll no doubt be able to find “cheapo” kits that go for less than that, and some “complete” kits with hardware and cymbals that go for around $700. Steer clear, they’re poorly made and you’ll be in the market for a new one within a year or so.

Further, only consider buying a new drum set if you’re 100% certain you’re going to stick with playing the instrument. Sure, you can sell it used if you decide drums aren’t for you, but you’ll take a hit on the price you can fetch for it.

A used kit makes much more sense for most fledgling drummers. They’re priced competitively and there’s typically no shortage of selection online, in the newspaper or at music shops. Most will be sold “whole” – with the necessary hardware and cymbals and often with extras like sticks, books etc. thrown in.

The risk with buying a used drum set is that a good price may be a reflection of a flaw or damage to the drum set that is not immediately visible or apparent to you. Follow this checklist to be certain you’re not buying a sub-par or structurally compromised drum set:

If the kit is shown to you set-up, ask that you be allowed to disassemble it and inspect the drums individually. If the owner refuses, walk away – it’s likely they have something to hide. Look and see that the shell of each drum is perfectly cylindrical – both by eye and by feeling the exterior of it. Look at the interior of the shell through the head, and remove any coated drumheads that will prevent you from viewing it.
Remove the rim of each drum and inspect the bearing edges – the area at the edge on the bottom and top of the shell where the shell has been machined to recess from the edge and where the rim secures the head to the drum. The bearing edge can be nicked, but any major damage or unevenness to the edge should be a red flag. Old or weathered heads aren’t a big deal, but be aware you’ll have to replace them and a decent set is at least $60.
Look at the bass (kick) and hi-hat pedal on the kit and check that the beater shaft (kick pedal) is true and that both pedals work smoothly.
Examine the bushings (the “tightness” of the stands where the moving parts of each come together) of the cymbal stands. Strike the cymbal and listen for any vibration or other unwanted signs coming from the stands. Hearing anything amiss is a sign the hardware is on its last legs.
Lastly, do your homework on drum construction and components before shopping around. If you’re looking for a little better quality kit and are willing to pay for it, beware of sellers who are selling an average kit for an inflated price. For example, a poplar-shell CB 700 Brand drum set used shouldn’t be selling for $1000. Just be wary of scammers – a great idea is to enlist the help or advice of your teacher or a knowledgeable person when buying a used kit.

Sizes, Configurations

Most new drummers aren’t entirely certain which direction they’re going to move in as they find themselves as musicians. This is why the 5-piece drum set – bass drum, snare, drum, 2 rack toms and 1 floor tom – is the one most beginners buy. (And for the record many versatile and experienced drummers find that a 5-pc set is all they’ve ever needed.)

Most new beginner drum sets will be of this configuration, with a standard 18x22” Bass drum, 6.5x14” snare, 12x10” and 11x13” rack toms and 16x16” Floor Tom. This array of drums is a great starting point for one to explore their setup and determine which drums need to be added or omitted to suit their playing style and music.

Those moving more towards jazz and less-volume oriented music might be drawn to a smaller and simpler set-up with an 18 or 20” bass drum, one smaller rack tom and a 14” floor tom. Others compelled to rock might want to go with a thunderous 24 or even 26” bass drum or even a pair of them to allow the double bass playing that is characteristic of rock and metal music. These same folks might want to add more tom-toms to their set to allow for longer and more dynamic fills.

Cymbals follow the same logic. A “basic” kit will have the hi-hat cymbal with 2 crash cymbals and a ride cymbal. Jazz players and some others sometimes prefer to move their ride cymbal inside in place of the second rack tom and have just one crash cymbal above their hi-hat. The opposite end of the spectrum has the rock, pop, metal or fusion player sporting any number of crash cymbals along with accent cymbals like Chinese, splashes and gongs to paint their music more vividly. Remember that a larger diameter cymbal will produce a larger sound and feature a longer sustain and resonance.

Starting with a 5-piece kit and adding or subtracting as you grow as a drummer is the norm. For most, it is best to follow this path. Like most drummers, you find that your kit evolves as you do and is constantly changing.

A Beginners Guide to Buying a Piano

info@resoundschool.com — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:30:00 -0800

Not only is a piano a musical instrument, it's a large piece of furniture and a big investment. Deciding which brand and style of piano to buy can be a daunting process, and bringing your new piano home is an adventure in itself! This buyer's guide for piano should help ease some of your confusion.

Types of Pianos

There are several different types of pianos.

A concert grand piano is nine feet long, but grand pianos can range in length from five to nine feet. Grand pianos are usually more powerful and responsive than upright pianos, but they can be very expensive and they take up a lot of room. A top quality grand piano is an excellent investment if both money and space are no object, but in reality money and space are limited for most of us.

That is why most people buying a piano for their home choose an upright piano, which is also known as a vertical piano. They range in size from 36 to 51 inches in height, but all upright pianos require the same amount of floor space-about 5 feet by 2 feet. The largest type of vertical piano is called a studio piano and it is 44 inches or taller. Vertical pianos that are 39 to 42 inches tall are known as consoles, and the smallest type of vertical pianos is the spinet piano. Spinets are a popular choice thanks to their small size-they range from 36 to 39 inches tall.

Buying a Quality Piano

Many people give up on their initial enthusiasm towards playing the piano simply because they made a poor buying choice. The best advice anyone ever gave me is never purchase a piano because it is cheap (or even free.) A piano is a major purchase and in most cases, "You get what you pay for."

Pianos are complex mechanical devices with hundreds of separate parts. They are made from woods, felts and metals and while it's fairly easy to spot damage from the outside, it may be tough to tell whether a piano's insides are fine or if damage has occurred. Mason and Hamlin, Steinway, Yamaha, Bluthner, Seiler, Petrof and August Forster are typically good brands due to their excellent craftsmanship, but you may want to bring your teacher or an accomplished pianist with you before making a big purchase. A salesperson might be willing to say anything to make a sale!

New vs. Used

A new piano is not necessarily any better than a used piano, but there are several factors to consider. Some used pianos have been damaged and will need extensive repairs. The piano brand and model, its reputation, date of manufacture and its overall condition, along with many other factors, go into determining the honest market value of a piano.

All of these things mean it is difficult if not impossible for the average person to know what a piano is worth. If you are thinking about buying a used piano, you may want to contact a local piano technician for help in determining a used piano's current value as well as the cost of any repair or rebuilding that may be necessary.

A better quality used piano may be a wiser choice than a brand new lower quality piano.

Bringing Your Piano Home

Unlike a guitar, which neatly fits inside a case, bringing a piano home once you've bought it will take some effort. Not only is a piano incredibly heavy, it is easily scratched or damaged on the outside during transport and its intricate insides can be damaged during a move.

The best thing for you to do is hire a professional piano mover. Even employees that work for traditional moving companies do not have the expertise needed to move a piano. If no piano movers are in your area and you absolutely have to hire a regular moving company, have a piano technician on hand to supervise the "packing."

Pianos need tuned after moving, even if they are only moved a short distance. A piano can be jostled around quite a bit during transport, causing it to go out of tune. Moving a piano from one climate to another can also cause problems- humidity and temperature ranges can affect the piano. Some technicians recommend that a piano should sit in its new location for several weeks before tuning it to allow it to adjust to the new environment.

Buying a Keyboard

Some people opt for an electronic keyboard instead of a traditional piano. There are quite a few advantages to buying a keyboard over a piano, mainly that keyboards are transported easily and take up a lot less space. They do not need to be tuned and their volume can be controlled, two other things that are beneficial to a lot of people. Just beware of pushy salespeople that may try to pressure you into choosing a keyboard over a piano-they'll most likely avoid telling you the benefits of a piano or downplay them.

A few other things to consider:

Tone. Imitation is not necessarily a bad thing, but the sound of a keyboard will never be "the real thing." Even the best keyboards do not sound the same as a real piano.
Touch. Accuracy of touch is something that most piano teachers stress. Some keyboards are touch sensitive, but not to the degree of an actual piano. Most experts believe that even the best high-end keyboards imitate piano touch poorly.
Appearance. Most keyboards have no real cabinet and those that do often look plastic and artificial compared to a beautiful wood piano.
Investment. Purchasing a keyboard may be a good idea if you want to ensure that your child is going to stick with piano lessons for a long period of time, but the "bells and whistles" that most electronic keyboards offer cause some people to think of them as toys rather than instruments.

Thanks to Nantel Music for the photo.

How to Read TAB

info@resoundschool.com — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:27:00 -0800

Guitar tablature, or TAB, is a great tool for learning songs without reading music. TAB shows exactly where to find the notes of the song on the guitar neck, and if you know a few basics about chords, notes and left-hand positions, you've got everything you need to be successful with TAB.

There are no rhythm markings in TAB, so pick songs you've already heard. You must hear when to play the notes with the beat to make the song sound right. The TAB also does not show you which fingers on your left hand to use for each note, so make sure you know a few chords and basic left-hand technique before you try to use TAB.

Learning to read TAB is easy once you know how it fits with the guitar neck. TAB has six lines, one for each guitar string. Here's a sample for standard tuning:

The top line (marked "1" above) is your first string, high E, and has the notes that make the highest sounds. Each line get thicker, just like your strings, until the sixth string, low E.

The picture above helps your understanding and "feel" for TAB by getting the "sound" of the picture in your head. (Most TAB is printed with all six lines the same size and no string numbers.) The easiest way to think of TAB is: "low notes, bottom line, high notes, top line."

Standard TAB notation from a professionally published music book usually does not have any hints letting you know what's going on in the TAB because they assume you already know everything about how to read it.

It will show when the recording of the song uses an alternate tuning, like "Tune down one whole step" or "Tuning: DADGAD." Usually the altered tuning is above the TAB notation. Look for it because if you aren't tuned for that song, nothing you play from the TAB will sound correct.

Let's look at how to translate what's on the TAB into sounds. Here's a line of TAB from a guitar solo:

If we read the numbers starting from the left, we get "6th string/12th fret, 6th string/15th fret, 5th string/13th fret, 5th string/14th fret, 4th string/12th fret" as one four beat measure of music. The next item is the vertical line dividing the music into measures. Once we cross the vertical line, the beat starts over at "1." The next sound starts at "3rd string/12th fret, 3rd string/14th fret, 2nd string/12th fret, 2nd string/14th fret, 2nd string/15th fret."

Learning to mentally match "what you see on the page" with "what you hear in the song" is the most important step for learning to read and play TAB! Each guitar sound is an individual number marking the string and the fret for you to play. In the example above, the sounds move from low notes up to high notes across the page. "Seeing" these sound movements up or down saves a lot of mental effort and practice time.

It may not look that complex as you work your eye across the page to read the string and fret, but remember, the finger numbers are not given in TAB. You have to know that on your own! By "seeing" a line move up or down the guitar neck, it makes it much easier to read, understand and know where to put your hand to play the line.

Chords are easy to read and recognize in TAB once you've learned your basic block and barre chord forms and shapes on the neck. Here's an example of chords in TAB:

This "all the notes in one line" version is standard TAB. You may notice that this looks completely different than any block chord charts you've learned from in the past. Most of the time, we learn chords off of something like this:

These chord blocks show you the hand shape and finger positions on the neck for simple block chords. What makes these easy for most players is that the picture of the chord on the neck helps you memorize the hand shape easily. What shocks most players reading TAB is "the shape is gone!" Yes, and you must be able to see the chord shape in the "straight up and down" numbers.

The easiest way to train yourself to "see" the shape of the chord and the hand position from the TAB is to read the TAB away from your guitar! Read it and mentally break down each of the notes and chord shapes. If you can make a mental picture of your hand on the neck, it's easier to form the positions and movements you will need on the neck to play the song. As a beginner, take two-to-three days to read your TAB before playing the song and you will have a much easier time learning the song.

Good luck! TAB is a really easy and rewarding tool for the guitar, but it takes a few weeks to get good at reading, understanding and playing from TAB. If you put in the "reading practice" time before you try to play the songs, you will get all the benefits and huge pay-offs from TAB!

Thanks to Andy Kowalik for the photo.

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