Replies

1. 
   Boss_Hog | Dec 10, 2001 05:56pm | #1

   *
   Since so many of you made suggestions and offered advice when we were thinking about getting my Son a guitar, I thought I'd let you know how things turned out.

   We ended up getting him a Morgan Monroe acoustic-electric. (It's an Ovation clone) It has the rounded back like the Ovation, but is very shallow in depth. We thought the shallower depth would make it easier for him to play until his arms get longer.

   We figured the acoustic-electric gave us the most flexibility. He can use it for practice without an amp, and it's very portable. But when he plays at church he can plug it into their sound system. And we figured we could spend more on the guitar this year if we didn't have to buy an amp.

   Carl is as happy as could be with the thing. We had some friends stop by, and he insisted that they come inside so he could show them the guitar and play for them. He sometimes goes over and opens the case as if he's just making sure the thing's still there. He gets it out and plays it several times a day - We used to have to twist his arm to get him to practice.

   So anyway, if he's happy, I'm happy. I really appreciate all the suggestions you folks made. Maybe one of these days we can record him and I'll post a .WAV file here so you can hear him.

1. 
   Mike_Gabriel | Dec 10, 2001 08:56pm | #2

   *Ron, Great news!!Now get him set up with some lessons, but make sure they're fun for him. Let him pick the tutor. The first thing is to make sure he can keep it tuned properly. Nothing is more frustrating to a student than playing correctly and having it sound like he's not. If he's reluctant to take lessons, pick a couple of songs HE wants to learn, and do a web search for that song's guitar tablature. Most formal music training starts out focussing on music theory and music reading. This method has bored many a budding musician into disinterest. If he learns 1 or 2 songs he likes early on, chances are he'll keep at it.FWIW, most active musicians(myself included) can't read sheet music. It's way overrated unless you're leaning towards classical music. Even if he were to progress toward being a session player, he'd be working off charts, not sheet.IMHO, #1 priority--tuning#2 --Learn something you like.#3 --Scales, chords, and theory will follow.I wish him all the best, if I can help in any way, e-mail me.Mike

1. 
   Boss_Hog | Dec 10, 2001 09:17pm | #3

   *Mike - He's been taking lessons since he was 6 years old - he's 10 now, and had outgrown the little "toy" guitar we bought him. As for "Let him pick the tutor" - That's one of the bad things about living in a small town. There's only one tutor in town, but she's nice and Carl really likes her. He's learning tuning, but hasn't developed an ear for it yet. I'm sure that will come shortly, as he sings with pretty good pitch. The people in the "praise band" at church have asked him to join them, so that helps keep him interested and excited. He can read sheet music now, but hasn't learned to do any chords yet. That seems odd to me, but I guess I'm not the teacher.

1. 
   Lisa_Long | Dec 10, 2001 09:33pm | #4

   *Hey Ron - did Christmas already come to your house? How do you get onto Santa's pre-release list? He never gets here until the 25th. :-)

1. 
   Mike_Gabriel | Dec 10, 2001 09:34pm | #5

   *Sorry for forgetting he's been playing awhile already! It's been a while since I read the last thread. Anyway, you're right to think it odd he hasn't learned chords yet in 4 year's lessons. Although it may be hard for him to get his young(short) fingers where they need to be, working on them now makes them infinitely easier as his fingers grow later. How about scales? The pentatonic scales are probably the most useful tool in popular guitar music. Specifically in A, A minor.I'm glad he's come this far with the focus on reading(and it IS a asset!), but he should definitely know some basic open chords by now.By tuning, I meant using an electronic tuner,or a tuning pipe- very few people have perfect pitch, don't sweat it.If his instructor is reluctant for some reason to teach chords, the tablature is an easy way for him to learn them(tablature gives exact finger locations on the fretboard). I'd encourage him to give some tab. of his favorite songs a looksee. Conventional music training starts with music theory and sheet reading and progresses to combining already learned notes at once. this is probably explains why he hasn't been taught them yet. Great in the textbook, frustrating in real life where musical interest has to duke it out with playstation, sports, etc.Mike

2. 
   Boss_Hog | Dec 11, 2001 12:04am | #6

   *Mike & Lisa -The guitar came in early, and we figured he may as well have it so he could use it in a couple of Christmas programs that are coming up. And, Carl had to pay for part of the cost of the guitar, so it wasn't all Christmas. As for tuning - He has an electronic tuner he knows how to use. The only problem is when he plays in the "praise band" and he has to tune it to the piano they use. no one has taken the time to teach him to do that up to now. The older people in the band have done that for him. BTW - What the heck is a "pentatonic scale" ??? And what's "the tablature" that you referred to ?His teacher is an eccentric older lady, which may explain why she hasn't worked with chords yet. She's kinda hard to talk to, so I gave up asking her questions. I don't think she moves along at a speed he's capable of learning at.

3. 
   phil_eves | Dec 11, 2001 04:08am | #7

   *Tablature is the best method(short-hand, if you will) of writing guitar music,: it looks like a normal music scale with six lines representing the six strings and numbers( for finger positions on the frets) representing either the notes to be played or chords to be played. I have learned to read tab(very easy), now I have to go back to learn what actual notes on a scale they represent.I also have to learn more theory and what a pentatonic scale is etc.......

4. 
   Jim_Walters | Dec 13, 2001 02:54am | #8

   *I just bought some software called E MEDIA BLUES GUITAR LEGENDS...it's without a doubt the best thing going for learning. Although you should know your way around a fret board, I'll bet a beginner could learn from this series. There's an animated fret board that plays the tune showing bends/slides/hammers etc...displays notes in reg and tab plus plays the original music. I downloaded a trial from their website http://www.emediamusic.com and fell in love with it.......In the process of learning Crossfire by Stevie Ray Vaughan............great! All for just 29.00. Try it, beats the hell out of anything else I've ever tried. (books/tapes/ cd's etc.)

5. 
   Mike_Gabriel | Dec 23, 2001 07:16pm | #9

   *Sorry for the delayed response, been real busy here.Phil's definition of tablature is spot-on. It's a cheat, but it works.try: http://www.mytablature.com/Or just search for it-you can search by artist first, etc. There's a million tab sites.The Pentatonic scale like any other scale is an arranged sequence of individual notes that relate to one another. I've found it particularly valuable for improvisation. More so than any other.Improvisation is the ability that we judge guitarists by, and it really can't be taught per se, but the tools you need to improv riffs, leads, etc. are: A) a history of playing SONGS, and the residual memory of those progressions and leads.B) Scale use which gives you the ability to know what notes work, in whatever key your in, and what they will do to the feel of your sound.Go here: http://www.guitar.net/chops101/pentatonic/page2.htmlGood luck, anything I can do, I will.Mike

6. 
   kai_ | Dec 24, 2001 02:50am | #10

   *Mike, is this an example of tablature?Here we go - here's my version of the intro to Money For Nothing,+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+|------------6----------------------------------------------------------------||--7-7-5--7-5-7-5-3-3-0----7-7--3>s>5---0--3>s>5 5 5>s>3 0-------------------||--5-5-5--5---5-5-5-5-5----5-5--3>s>5---0--3>s>5 5 5>s>3 0-------------------||----------------------------------------------------------------------------|+----------------------------------------------------------------------------++----------------------------------------------------------------------------+|---------------8--------------------------------------------------------------||--7-7-5--5-7-7-7-5----0--7-7-3>s>5-0----------------------------------------||--5-5-5-8---------8-5-0--5-5-3>s>5-0--3>s>5-5-------------------------------||----------------------------------------------------------------------------|+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+An alternate ending used in concert down here in oz, ~ 1987 towards the end ofthe song. --> play as above until-v+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+|----------------------------------------------------------------------------||-------------------------3-2------------------------------------------------||-----------------------------3>s>5-5-5>p>3----------------------------------||-------------------------------------------3>h>5-3>h>5----------------------|+-------------------------------------------------------6-5-3----------------+This was from your first link (then Rock->Dire Straits).

7. 
   phil_eves | Dec 24, 2001 08:36am | #11

   *kai,...... yes that is tab for fingerpicking, and you can write chords the same way

8. 
   kai_ | Dec 25, 2001 12:36am | #12

   *Thanks Phil, but what is the 5 and 7, e.g.? TIA

9. 
   phil_eves | Dec 25, 2001 01:15am | #13

   *...those are the fret positions for your fingers to go to and depress the strings....one of the downfalls is the lack of info in this format for TIMING and beats per bar,or how long to hold the notes, BUT, the notation is very useful if you already know the tune.... the frets are counted from the barre at the top of the neck,i.e. from the head down towards the body of the guitar..

10. 
    kai_ | Dec 25, 2001 02:08am | #14

    *Thanks, now it makes sense!

11. 
    phil_eves | Dec 25, 2001 09:20am | #15

    *I had actually thought of the same method BEFORE I'd ever seen it because even then (five or ten years before I picked up a guitar for good), I was lazy, didn't want to learn musical notation and figured that system would work, NOW, if I'd only thought to develop and PATENT it!

12. 
    Mike_Gabriel | Jan 07, 2002 11:34pm | #16

    *Yep, lack of timing notation stinks, about as much as the lack of which finger to use for what fret, but that becomes self-evident as you try to play it. Some other things are included though, "h"=hammer on, "s"=slide to, and "p"=pull off.That tab is not just for fingerpick style, it simply shows left hand positioning, so any pick style would work. Also, chords ARE shown the same way. The only hurdle to jump to read tab is to realize that the scale shown is just passing time from left to right, therefore any positions shown in-line vertically are played simultaneously-as a chord. Occasionally you will see a chord illusrtated in a small box by itself, usually above the tab. That's provided so you can better isolate what notes are in what chord, and learn the hand position.

2. 
   Boss_Hog | Jan 07, 2002 11:35pm | #17

   *
   We got my Son a guitar for Christmas. See 1st post for more.