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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

The Claw

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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!

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