Monday, December 31, 2007

New Year And Alternate Tunings

First off,
Happy New Year! Although Rawk U has only been operational for a little over a month, we have already received a positive response and we are getting feedback about how to do it better. I wanted to take this space to also talk about Alternate Tunings. This is when the strings of the guitar are not tuned to the standard, E,A,D,G,B,E. Some common ones are Open E, Open A Open D Open G and Open C. They are called "Open", because when the open strings are strummed they make the sound that one of those chords would make in first position on the guitar. For instance, if the guitar was tuned to open G, the strings would be tuned low to high,"D,A,D,G,B,D". These are the notes of a G major triad, which are G,B,D. You may be asking yourself even if you know the notes that comprise any of these open chords, what note does each string get tuned to? It would be a good question. Answer: First figure out the notes of your tuning. If you are using, open C, the notes you need to worry about are C,E,G. Okay now take each string, we'll go through it one by one. The low E will stay E, because it is one of the notes in the open chord. The A string will be tuned down to G,(Now this is important! it gets tuned down because that note is closest to the G note.) You just take the string and go to the closest note that you need in the chord. The D string goes down to C. The G string will stay g. The B string will stay b. And the high E goes down to d. The reason to use alternate tunings, is 2 fold. When you have an alternate tuned guitar, different combinations of notes are unlocked that are not accessable in standard tuning. Also, if you are playing slide guitar, in most of the open tunings it is possible to play chords with just one finger. Some examples of songs that use alternate tunings are, "Black Mountainside",(D,A,D,G,B,E), "That's The Way" (Open G), "Friends"(C,A,C,G,C,E), "Bron-Y-Aur"(C,A,C,G,C,E). All of those songs are by Led Zeppelin. Another more current band that uses Alternate tunings to great affect is Sonic Youth. The really tricky thing about a lot of their tunings is that they make up their own, so it can be really hard to decipher. Those Zep songs are a good place to start. Good Luck Rawkers!
-Danielelectric

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Remember When?

The first piece of music that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up? Im thinking its 1989, im thirteen years old, and im listening to "Little Wing", by Jimi Hendrix. It's crystal clear to me even now. The biting New York winter, the crystalline ringing of the bells in the intro, mirroring the chimes hanging outside my teenage bedroom window. Now we grew up with an authentic European castle at the end of our street(I know it sounds ridiculous)So, it was probably inevitable that I would become obsessed with a band like Led Zeppelin. A band that peddles so deftly in the trade of depicting heroic archetypes and spewing mysticism with such grandiosity was bound to entrance the mind of teenagers and young men(some women too!) the world over. I was walking through the streets of my small New York town one fall day in 1989, when I came across a cassette tape quietly laying on the storm drain. I ducked in for a closer look, this tape had some MILEAGE on it. I couldn't read anything on it. All I could see were the FOUR symbols. Those of you familiar with Led Zep 4,(The one with Stairway)know what i'm talking about. I knew nothing of the band at this point. I took it home, popped it in, and was just completely taken aback. The sheer dynamics, power, and lyricism of the band was something I hadn't experienced before. I tried learning some of those songs on guitar. I had been playing for almost three years at that point. It was UGLY. Those songs were dense, and had a lot of twists and turns for an inexperienced player. Not to say that it's impossible for a kid that age to play them( i have many students who can), im just saying it's really difficult to do it without guidance. As a guitarist, Page was coming at it from so many angles. Blues(slide guitar), Country(open tunings, and major pentatonics) plus eastern influences,demoed in a song like Kashmir. The more common current running through most of the songs and solos is his use of The Blues Scale. THE most common scale used in Rock Guitar. A great example of this is "Black Dog", just a straight up A Blues Scale. Allright, i have jumped around a bit, i hope my musings have been of some enjoyment/entertainment for you. Rock On Rawkers!
-Danielelectric

Friday, December 21, 2007

What Kind Of Strings Should I Use?

People are always asking me this question. First thing figure out if the strings you need are for an acoustic or an electric. There is a pretty big difference. Electric guitar strings are made out of metal wound wire, where as acoustics usually use Bronze or Phosphor Bronze Wound strings. For the people that have been playing a while you know the difference between how it feels to play an acoustic vs. an electric. In general there is much more tension in the strings on an acoustic. This makes it much harder to play. I always try to get beginning students to start out on acoustic when possible. If you start on one, its like musical character building. Its incredibly difficult to go from playing electric first. Most students that only play electric are at a loss when they first pick up an acoustic, where as vice versa most students hit the ground running. This now brings us to what brand to use? My advice is to experiment until you find a brand that truly suits your sound. The two things to really consider are the life of the strings and the gauge. You want your strings to maintain their brilliance for at least a month. In terms of this, the only trash talk i will offer goes the way of all Ernie Ball strings. They sound good for about a week, and then they're toasted. I reccomend D' Addario strings. They are extremely consistent and last a REALLY long time. By the way, i am not sponsored by D'Addario in any way shape or form, i just like 'em. Okay Gauge, this means the thickness of your strings. Strings are generally denoted by the thickness of the high e string. For instance , "I use .10's" says joe rocker. This means that the high e string is a .10 millimeter gauge string. The thicker the string, the fatter and thicker the sound. Blues guys, like SRV used .13's. Thats super thick. Very hard to play strings that thick. But listen to his sound, its undeniably fat and huge. The vintage Fender amps he had didn't hurt either. A good place to start is with .10's. That's personally what i use. I find .09's to be to tinny and prone to breaking. But dont settle, find what works for you and go from there.
Good Luck Rawkers!
-Danielelectric

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

That's The Way- Led Zepp


Ok everyone, the awesome "That's The Way", by Led Zep from Led Zep 3.
Yet another song showcasing Jimmy Page's debt to country and blues music.
This song is not tuned to standard(aka normal tuning)
It is in an alternate tuning.(When the open strings of the guitar are tuned to the notes of a major or minor triad.)The tuning from low to high is D,G,D,G,B,D.
Good luck everyone!
-Danielelectric

Monday, December 17, 2007

Brother Ellis From Pony Pants Lesson Here!


watch as cheebie 2k from pony pants shows you the finer points of finger tapping.
he is going to be a regular contributor, so expect to see him back!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

New Lessons Here 12/12

Rawkers,
The new lessons have arrived! Very excited to announce our first lesson by Mr. Cheebie2k, aka brother ellis. In his first video he is teaching you his special two finger tapping technique. I have also posted brand new video lessons of "Breathe", by Pink Floyd, "Norwegian Wood", by the Beatles, "That's The Way" and "Babe Im Gonna Leave You", By Led Zeppelin. All of these videos are viewable below in the orange player. If you move the mouse to the bottom of the playing video all the other videos show up as tiles to choose from. Allright guys, Enjoy!

Friday, December 7, 2007

New Lessons Coming Next Week!

Hello Fellow Rawk Students,
We've got all new lessons coming next week from yours truly danielelectric. We will be fleshing out our collection of zeppelin lessons, and also adding a dash of Beatles. Another important announcement: We have taken aboard our first guitar instructor, not including myself. Please welcome cheebie2k aka brother ellis. He is of Pony Pants infamy. He will be getting down and dirty with some over the top two hand tapping techniques. Check back around tuesday.
-danielelectric

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The Claw


DSC01941
Originally uploaded by danielelectric
Philly Music Scene Circa 2007
There are a lot of great bands in philly right now. Pony Pants, Gang, Satanized, and Serpents of Wisdom, to name a few. This is from the night before new years 2006. During Pony Pants' set. I wouldnt be surprised if you start to recognize some of these bands names in the coming year. The scene here is really making some noise, like it hasnt in forever. There is a kinship between bands here, that not to be uber-lame but reminds me a lot of what i have read about seattle circa1989. The bands here in philly have an underdog spirit. The music of these bands is just as unlikely to get popular as Soundgarden, or Nirvana were back in the day.

New Player again Haha!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

new player

Sign Up!

Okay,
i have figured out the internet.
we now have 2 ways to subscribe to rawk u. We have a email subscription. Or you can get updates by our feed. Sign UP! Do IT!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Rock + or Roll

Ok last post of the week. Rock and roll by led zeppelin. This tune is using whats called a I- Iv-V progression. That is it takes the first, fourth and fifth chord in the key of a major. First being A, fourth d, and fifth e. It plays the a chord for 4 measures. The d for 2. Back to a for 2 more. Then e for 2 and then 2 measures of rest or playing nothing. This is known in the business as a 12 bar blues progression. It is the founding musical blueprint for all rock music. If youre gonna learn how to rock, you NEED to know about this. Listen to any Elvis, Chuck Berry or Little Richard song, you will hear this progression. So zeppelin called this song rock and roll because it defines the very sound of the genre, the 12 bar blues.
Try it on

Over The Hills

A total masterpiece from the album houses of the holy
this is a lesson that teaches over the hills and far away by led zeppelin. Take care in this song to make sure you pay close attention to the nuances of the hammer-ons, and pull-offs as they comprise the technical elements that are giving the piece its flow.
enjoy!

Black Dog!

My Rocking Friends,
Black Dog is up for your perusal. Be patient with the main riffs both part a and b as they are very "notey" and can be a handful. take it very SLOW.

Lemon Song!

As promised rockers,
here is another taste of zeppelin. try the lemon song on for size

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Bring it on home!

Okay Rockers,
Here it is, Bring it on Home, By Led Zeppelin.
A 12 Bar blues progression in the key of E.
The chords that it is cycling between are E, A, and B.

Monday, November 26, 2007

New Video Lessons Coming This Week

Hey Rockers,
We just filmed video lessons today for a bunch of Led Zep songs. By weeks end look for videos of "Over the hills and far away", "Black dog", "Rock & Roll", "That's The Way", "Thank You", "Bring it on home", and "Lemon Song". In each of the videos, we dont just play the song, we also slow it down and explain some of the music theory and techniques that are being utilized in that song.
All right until next time,

-Danielelectric

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

First Lesson UP!!

Guys,
Our first video is up.
very exciting.
It is a lesson that teaches you how to play "Friends"
by Led Zeppelin. Its using an open tuning which you can read
about in the last post. Take it slowly at first and have patience
as working in this tuning can be a bit disorienting at first
have fun!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Tune Up Guys!

hey people,
today i want to talk about Alternate Tunings.
Alternate Tuning is when the six strings of the guitar,
usually tuned E, A, D, G, B, E , are tuned to notes of a major or minor chord.
For instance, a popular one is called open G. In it, we are utilizing the notes of an
open g chord, tuned G, B, D, G, B, E. Two really cool songs that use this tuning are,
"That's The Way", and "Traveling Riverside Blues", by Led Zeppelin.
Alternate tunings offer different sonic and chord possiblities, since the normal
intervallic relationships that usually exist when the guitar is tuned standard
no longer apply. Just tune your guitar to an open tuning and let your hands wander,
you will find something unique and cool sounding.
Another tuning that Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin uses is a C6 tuning.
What is C6 you may be asking? C6 is a cmajor chord with an interval of a 6th in it.
In this case that note would be an A. So the tuning goes: C, A, C, G, C, E
Some Zep songs that use this tuning are: "Friends". from led zep 3,
and "Bron-Y-Aur", from Physical Grafitti. Open tunings can be found
often in blues music played with a slide. Many blues players prefer
these open tunings because it allows them the ability to play full chords with
just one finger because of the way the notes line up when the guitar is
in these alternate tunings.
Good Luck Rockers!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Hello Fellow Rockers!

Hello Everyone,
This blog is focused on the art of playing ROCK GUITAR!
It is our goal here at RAWKU to provide the most useful, direct,
and accurate Lessons and Tips on how to play rock music on
Guitar. The Lessons are going to have something for everyone.
Total beginner thru advanced tips for shredding on things like Jazz
and classical. In our infancy, look for a new lesson starting once a week.
As we grow here we're going to offer Guitar lessons from a variety of
instructors. And in the future, we look to be adding lessons in other instruments
such as Drums, and Bass. If your looking to learn just a few chords, or if you have
all the modes of the melodic minor scale under your fingertips, we can help YOU!
CHECK BACK OFTEN!
-DanielElectric