"Guitar 101"
OK so you want to be a guitar player. Let me guide you here and maybe save you a little money in the meantime. The guitar is the only instrument in the grand scheme of things that can act as both a solo instrument or can accompany singers or other parts of a combo. It shares these qualities with the piano,the harp and the mandolin. With the exception of the mandolin the guitar is the most portable. The great thing about the guitar is you don't have to be a virtuoso to make real music and start having fun.
First order of business; Lessons or no lessons? With the music store well stocked with graduated beginner books and the internet there is a lot a person can do on their own long before they have need of a teacher. When I used to teach I always felt my"Stone Beginners" were really not getting their money's worth because it could take a student a half an hour just to form a simple "C" chord.
As a beginner there are seve!ral things you will be dealing with. Mechanical ability (the skill just making a chord) learning the language of music(it has terms all it's own) and the pain of developing your first set of callous. As well as learning how to use a pick.
Let me explain the difference in what type of guitars and their price range you'll find at your music store.
1) Electric 2) Acoustic 3) Classical. The price range of each of these can run from 200.00 to the price of a new car!
Lets start with the electric. For one it requires a totally different touch and approach and you have to have a lot of other stuff to go along with it just to make sounds.( an amp,chords,tuner etc) I would not suggest starting out on an electric
The Acoustic. Most people start out on one of these. Beginner models usually begin around 150.00 to 250.00 to get one that has a decent sound and a straight neck. With countries like China, Taiwan and South Korea and the cheap labour they have there the availability of well made inexpensive guitars has increased considerably in the last few years. The problem with the acoustic guitar is the strings are made of past very course brass and depending on how much you play this can cause a certain amount of pain while your fingers toughen up. I have met some who could not get past this and gave up.
The Classical, These guitars are made with a much wider neck, a slotted head stock and a wider body. The are made for classical music that is mostly solo. One of the differences between the classical and these others mentioned is that traditionally classical guitar is played without a pick. Another difference is the strings are softer .I have never seen a classical guitar suggested as a good beginner guitar but I will make that suggestion here and this is the reason.
With the softer strings it will be easier to form "clean" sounding chords and there won't be near the discomfort as with an acoustic.
That all being said. Try to buy as much of a guitar as you can afford. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to learn on a guitar that is just over the hill. All guitars can be adjusted and "set up" to play comfortably. The term "action" is something you'll get to know well. Action is the space between the strings and the fret board. the lower the action the more ease in playing.
Let take an inventory of what we are going to need to get started. Guitar,books,a good comfortable strap,picks(try several gauges and stick with the gauge that is the most comfortable) something called a capo(this is something that staps over the neck to change the key) a decent music stand. Ready to rock. Here is a crucial rule. BE PATIENT. Rome wasn't built in a day. Practice forming chords cleanly and moving from one chord to the next..example from "C" to "F" back to "C" then to "G".(F by the way is one of the most difficult chords to learn to play cleanly when you first start out)
When you can do this and do this thru the keys of D,G,A E and begin to use the relative minors to each of these keys.
then you are ready for a teacher. You have nimble enough fingers and a basic understanding of music and you also have something the teacher can work with. Rather than a over wet pile of clay now you are a ball of clay ready to be formed.
Next chapter: electric guitars amps and learning to jam
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Guitar 101
"Guitar 101"
OK so you want to be a guitar player. Let me guide you here and maybe save you a little money in the meantime. The guitar is the only instrument in the grand scheme of things that can act as both a solo instrument or can accompany singers or other parts of a combo. It shares these qualities with the piano,the harp and the mandolin. With the exception of the mandolin the guitar is the most portable. The great thing about the guitar is you don't have to be a virtuoso to make real music and start having fun.
First order of business; Lessons or no lessons? With the music store well stocked with graduated beginner books and the internet there is a lot a person can do on their own long before they have need of a teacher. When I used to teach I always felt my"Stone Beginners" were really not getting their money's worth because it could take a student a half an hour just to form a simple "C" chord.
As a beginner there are seve!ral things you will be dealing with. Mechanical ability (the skill just making a chord) learning the language of music(it has terms all it's own) and the pain of developing your first set of callous. As well as learning how to use a pick.
Let me explain the difference in what type of guitars and their price range you'll find at your music store.
1) Electric 2) Acoustic 3) Classical. The price range of each of these can run from 200.00 to the price of a new car!
Lets start with the electric. For one it requires a totally different touch and approach and you have to have a lot of other stuff to go along with it just to make sounds.( an amp,chords,tuner etc) I would not suggest starting out on an electric
The Acoustic. Most people start out on one of these. Beginner models usually begin around 150.00 to 250.00 to get one that has a decent sound and a straight neck. With countries like China, Taiwan and South Korea and the cheap labour they have there the availability of well made inexpensive guitars has increased considerably in the last few years. The problem with the acoustic guitar is the strings are made of past very course brass and depending on how much you play this can cause a certain amount of pain while your fingers toughen up. I have met some who could not get past this and gave up.
The Classical, These guitars are made with a much wider neck, a slotted head stock and a wider body. The are made for classical music that is mostly solo. One of the differences between the classical and these others mentioned is that traditionally classical guitar is played without a pick. Another difference is the strings are softer .I have never seen a classical guitar suggested as a good beginner guitar but I will make that suggestion here and this is the reason.
With the softer strings it will be easier to form "clean" sounding chords and there won't be near the discomfort as with an acoustic.
That all being said. Try to buy as much of a guitar as you can afford. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to learn on a guitar that is just over the hill. All guitars can be adjusted and "set up" to play comfortably. The term "action" is something you'll get to know well. Action is the space between the strings and the fret board. the lower the action the more ease in playing.
Let take an inventory of what we are going to need to get started. Guitar,books,a good comfortable strap,picks(try several gauges and stick with the gauge that is the most comfortable) something called a capo(this is something that staps over the neck to change the key) a decent music stand. Ready to rock. Here is a crucial rule. BE PATIENT. Rome wasn't built in a day. Practice forming chords cleanly and moving from one chord to the next..example from "C" to "F" back to "C" then to "G".(F by the way is one of the most difficult chords to learn to play cleanly when you first start out)
When you can do this and do this thru the keys of D,G,A E and begin to use the relative minors to each of these keys.
then you are ready for a teacher. You have nimble enough fingers and a basic understanding of music and you also have something the teacher can work with. Rather than a over wet pile of clay now you are a ball of clay ready to be formed.
Next chapter: electric guitars amps and learning to jam
OK so you want to be a guitar player. Let me guide you here and maybe save you a little money in the meantime. The guitar is the only instrument in the grand scheme of things that can act as both a solo instrument or can accompany singers or other parts of a combo. It shares these qualities with the piano,the harp and the mandolin. With the exception of the mandolin the guitar is the most portable. The great thing about the guitar is you don't have to be a virtuoso to make real music and start having fun.
First order of business; Lessons or no lessons? With the music store well stocked with graduated beginner books and the internet there is a lot a person can do on their own long before they have need of a teacher. When I used to teach I always felt my"Stone Beginners" were really not getting their money's worth because it could take a student a half an hour just to form a simple "C" chord.
As a beginner there are seve!ral things you will be dealing with. Mechanical ability (the skill just making a chord) learning the language of music(it has terms all it's own) and the pain of developing your first set of callous. As well as learning how to use a pick.
Let me explain the difference in what type of guitars and their price range you'll find at your music store.
1) Electric 2) Acoustic 3) Classical. The price range of each of these can run from 200.00 to the price of a new car!
Lets start with the electric. For one it requires a totally different touch and approach and you have to have a lot of other stuff to go along with it just to make sounds.( an amp,chords,tuner etc) I would not suggest starting out on an electric
The Acoustic. Most people start out on one of these. Beginner models usually begin around 150.00 to 250.00 to get one that has a decent sound and a straight neck. With countries like China, Taiwan and South Korea and the cheap labour they have there the availability of well made inexpensive guitars has increased considerably in the last few years. The problem with the acoustic guitar is the strings are made of past very course brass and depending on how much you play this can cause a certain amount of pain while your fingers toughen up. I have met some who could not get past this and gave up.
The Classical, These guitars are made with a much wider neck, a slotted head stock and a wider body. The are made for classical music that is mostly solo. One of the differences between the classical and these others mentioned is that traditionally classical guitar is played without a pick. Another difference is the strings are softer .I have never seen a classical guitar suggested as a good beginner guitar but I will make that suggestion here and this is the reason.
With the softer strings it will be easier to form "clean" sounding chords and there won't be near the discomfort as with an acoustic.
That all being said. Try to buy as much of a guitar as you can afford. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to learn on a guitar that is just over the hill. All guitars can be adjusted and "set up" to play comfortably. The term "action" is something you'll get to know well. Action is the space between the strings and the fret board. the lower the action the more ease in playing.
Let take an inventory of what we are going to need to get started. Guitar,books,a good comfortable strap,picks(try several gauges and stick with the gauge that is the most comfortable) something called a capo(this is something that staps over the neck to change the key) a decent music stand. Ready to rock. Here is a crucial rule. BE PATIENT. Rome wasn't built in a day. Practice forming chords cleanly and moving from one chord to the next..example from "C" to "F" back to "C" then to "G".(F by the way is one of the most difficult chords to learn to play cleanly when you first start out)
When you can do this and do this thru the keys of D,G,A E and begin to use the relative minors to each of these keys.
then you are ready for a teacher. You have nimble enough fingers and a basic understanding of music and you also have something the teacher can work with. Rather than a over wet pile of clay now you are a ball of clay ready to be formed.
Next chapter: electric guitars amps and learning to jam
My Tele
I own a wonderfully beat up 1969 fender telecaster. It has all the look of a road dog bar band been played forever look. It plays and sounds like a dream. There is a story here. There was this guitar player I had known in Fairbanks for a number of years. He was what you might call a bit out of control ( he had a certain zest for particular substances if you get my drift) He was a strange looking guy. We used to call him 'Skellator" cuz he was bald on the top had long white hair and had spent so much time in dark bars either playing or bar tending that he was "Pasty"white. He looked like a walking Skellator. I saw him playing at this fest we were playing at as well and he had this old Les Paul and the old beat up Tele. I remember thinking how cool his tele looked and how if he ever wanted to sell it I'd like to buy it. All of this guys stuff was really old and really beat up. His PA was sold sometime in the late 70's. That was for all I know the last time he bought a chord. I let it past and went about my business. A year or two later I was in this pawn shop on 2 street and there hanging on the wall was that tele. I asked the gal what she wanted for it...300.00 bucks a totally killer deal.She had said she had tried to call him but the number he left was disconnected. Problem was I didn't have 300.00 bucks on me(I was rebuilding after a horrible divorce) I had 20.00 on me asked her if she would hold it for me till that Friday. She said she would. I made two payments and walked away with that guitar.As with any of this guys stuff it was beat to shit. I took the guitar up to my tech and had him replace the keys(I kept the old ones even though they didn't work) I had the frets replaced and new pick-ups installed.(keeping the old ones) Now what was funny is he and I shared the same bass player. Dave the bass player had a gig with him that friday and one with me that saturday. so I told Dave to let him know I now owned his tele...the next day Dave told me he was totally bummed now everytime he sees me he says.."Hows my Guitar Doing?"......dude it ain't and will never be your guitar again.....
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Feeling a little better today
I'm feeling a bit better today. Allison and I are going to take a walk thru one of the many parks here. It is nice to be able to do so considering that back in AK it's the dead of winter..and the only thing you can do is hang out inside. I am in no shape to play but God do I want to..I haven't been on stage in months...I miss it.
Marriage
Not long before I left Fairbanks I was having a cup of coffee at this place called the "Two Street" station. The place was owned by a former Gospel outreach pastor named Danial. His son Nate was running it now and had been for quite some time. As I made my order Nate asked me what I had been doing musically lately. I told him that recently I had been doing mostly jazz. Nate related a story to me that really blessed me. I've known Nate his whole life. Having known his Dad since the late 70's. He's always been a really good kid. And a very smart one. During the late 90's I formed the Steve Olsen Band. and we became a regular performer out at the Howling Dog Saloon in Fox (just outside Fairbanks) We were a dyed in the wool classic rock band. Skynard,Stones,ZZ Top,the Doors...I love that stuff I never get bored playing Hendrix,Stevie Ray. I never was much of a Stones fan until I became a band leader and stated playing their stuff. They truly are the worlds greatest bar band. We LOVED the Dog it was and is one of the most fun bars to play at. It was to bad that in my last years in Fairbanks the management had decided to import more out of town bands to play there rather than locals. When we played there I had a killer guitar rig (the best I ever had) and a killer rythum section. My bass player was a guy named Dave who could play anything,from funk to punk. A great guy too. Always on time hell he never even drank much(i made up for that) my drummer was this lefty named Johnny who I had been playing with since I had returned from LA(on and off) the guy was a groove king who NEVER dropped a beat both of them were easily world class players. Thats what was odd about that little town in the interior of Alaska there were players there that could easily hold their own on any big time stage anywhere. They just seemed to like Alaska. Our shows at the Dog were always high energy no holds barred rock fests. Anyway Nate told me he had been dating his girlfriend for quite some time and remembered I was playing the Dog this one weekend. He decided to take her out to dinner then come see me. Turns out his girlfriend loved classic rock and Totally loved to dance. Well they came out that night and I was doing the rock thing,playing guitar with my teeth,behind my head standing on the tables running thru the crowd...making everybody go nuts. She had an exceptional time that night. Nate told me at the end of the night he proposed to her and today they are happily married. There are times when I hear things like that that I am so thank full to God for the gift he has given me. I got to play a small part of the birth of a family. Precious.
me and my guitar2
"ME AND MY GUITAR PART 2"
Sometimes I wonder what it is I do. I'm 54 I started to serious study and learn the guitar at 21. That is a lot of years. A lot of music. I have spent hours and hours in front of a TV with an amp a cup of coffee and a pack of smokes learning. Playing scale after scale learning everything from Joe Pass style chord melody to Joe Satriani. Frankly I was always that guitar player where the big time was always slightly out of reach. Yet dispite that the real joy was the honor and privaledge I felt in the gift God had given me. There are so many common folk who have nothing that they excel at. I used to walk around my home town and there was always someone who my music had touched in some way. I've had a difficult life at times but that is God's forging of the fire Each of us have our story to tell I tell my children that the story of their lives have yet to be written. Their symphony is just now being composed and someday hopefully long in the future it will be performed before that heavenly host.None of us look for hard times. The world is made of trials and trouble. There is always something. What I've always tried to do was not let those trials twist me. We are here to learn grow and give. I've been blessed in that eveytime I strapped on a guitar or fixed a meal for one of my mentally ill clients I was giving. When I left Christian music after awhile God let me know that even though I wasn't"Talking Bout Jesus" I was still using the gift. And getting better at it all the time. I never got rich, never made that much money at it but I felt like I was making my world a better place. Van Goeh only sold 1 painting in his life time. Yet could we imagine a world without his gift in it? So here we are after a life time in the frozen north and I'm here in the most facinating city I've ever lived in. I have had a band that has survived 25 years with out any of us members doing a thing to keep it alive. Yet my drummer who was in fact our manager over the years would continually get calls every 4 or 6 months asking if we were ever going to record or tour again. In 2006 we played Cornerstone and a guy came up to me and said he had worn out 6 copies of our 1st cassette. He was thrilled they were out on cd. 25 years..and I just spent 18 learning my craft...God does things like that. He maintains what the Bible calls a reminant of his people for the plans he has in the future. I am reminded of the prophet Jeremiah who got so discouraged he sat beneith a tree and complained to God that all his people had turned to other Gods...the Word of the Lord came to him and God said "Get up shake yourself because there are ar8,000 jews who have not bowed down to the image of Baal"...does this apply to me? I can't say but 25 years ago God gave me the name of my band and we were and still are called "Stevie and the SAINTS" if you look back at pics from the 80's we didn't even look like an LA band we looked like should have been here. In 2006 we started a new cd it should be out at some point soon...as the Word says...Isa 55:9 My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are my ways your ways. As the heavans are higher than your ways so are my ways higher than yours...God paints on a Galactic Canvas...we'll see what masterpiece he makes of all this.
Sometimes I wonder what it is I do. I'm 54 I started to serious study and learn the guitar at 21. That is a lot of years. A lot of music. I have spent hours and hours in front of a TV with an amp a cup of coffee and a pack of smokes learning. Playing scale after scale learning everything from Joe Pass style chord melody to Joe Satriani. Frankly I was always that guitar player where the big time was always slightly out of reach. Yet dispite that the real joy was the honor and privaledge I felt in the gift God had given me. There are so many common folk who have nothing that they excel at. I used to walk around my home town and there was always someone who my music had touched in some way. I've had a difficult life at times but that is God's forging of the fire Each of us have our story to tell I tell my children that the story of their lives have yet to be written. Their symphony is just now being composed and someday hopefully long in the future it will be performed before that heavenly host.None of us look for hard times. The world is made of trials and trouble. There is always something. What I've always tried to do was not let those trials twist me. We are here to learn grow and give. I've been blessed in that eveytime I strapped on a guitar or fixed a meal for one of my mentally ill clients I was giving. When I left Christian music after awhile God let me know that even though I wasn't"Talking Bout Jesus" I was still using the gift. And getting better at it all the time. I never got rich, never made that much money at it but I felt like I was making my world a better place. Van Goeh only sold 1 painting in his life time. Yet could we imagine a world without his gift in it? So here we are after a life time in the frozen north and I'm here in the most facinating city I've ever lived in. I have had a band that has survived 25 years with out any of us members doing a thing to keep it alive. Yet my drummer who was in fact our manager over the years would continually get calls every 4 or 6 months asking if we were ever going to record or tour again. In 2006 we played Cornerstone and a guy came up to me and said he had worn out 6 copies of our 1st cassette. He was thrilled they were out on cd. 25 years..and I just spent 18 learning my craft...God does things like that. He maintains what the Bible calls a reminant of his people for the plans he has in the future. I am reminded of the prophet Jeremiah who got so discouraged he sat beneith a tree and complained to God that all his people had turned to other Gods...the Word of the Lord came to him and God said "Get up shake yourself because there are ar8,000 jews who have not bowed down to the image of Baal"...does this apply to me? I can't say but 25 years ago God gave me the name of my band and we were and still are called "Stevie and the SAINTS" if you look back at pics from the 80's we didn't even look like an LA band we looked like should have been here. In 2006 we started a new cd it should be out at some point soon...as the Word says...Isa 55:9 My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are my ways your ways. As the heavans are higher than your ways so are my ways higher than yours...God paints on a Galactic Canvas...we'll see what masterpiece he makes of all this.
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Blue Breakers night club
"BLUES AFTER CHURCH SHOW"
For years there was a club callled "the Blues Breakers"on south cushman st, Blues Breaker was run the guy named Frank who was a big guy ,hardy laugh and the dumbest buinessman
I ever met.It was also the most fun I ever had because I love dives. The club held about 60 people max. It was right across the street from local strip joint and sundays were the strippers day off. I had a group that played a little bit of everything from classic rock,blues,jazz and even some metal. we did sunday nights hence the "blues after church show" My bass player at the time had a decent metal voice so we could do Priest,ACDC and METALLICA. The strippers loved metal. so as soon as they showed out came the hard stuff.Frand had made this drink called "the Blue Rumbler" I remember you drank it while it was lit.Me and the guys were sitting at bar when Frank decided to give it a try. He lights it up,swallows it down then opens his mouth and out comes shooting three feet of flame! He singes his eye brows and has to put out the flames with a bar towl!The band offered him 50 bucks to do that again. Franks credit was so bad with the vendors that he would have to wait for the first customers so he could have cash to hit the liqour store next door.Blues Breakers was a true late night club so when the city fathers desided to shorten the bar hours Frank went out of business. There are so many memories of good times playing there. I'll share a few here. The stage was all of about 3 inches high and not far from the front door.We were playing one night and this biker comes driving right thru the front door and stops right under my mic. I turn mid-song and shout "Born to be wild"!!! we bust into the intro while the bikers revs up his hog...you couldn't buy something like that.
The Rumblers(my band) had it's own drink. The Mightly Untouchables one of Alaska's best blues bands played there as much as we did. Their leader walks in and goes"Frank whats the deal? Stevie's got a drink don't we rate?".Well Me and the boys sit and watch as the night goes on. The shot glasses began to grow and grow as Frank and the Dog mixed and matched this with that like a couple of drunken mad scientists. By motel time they had come up with something but they were to hammered to remember what it was. There was this one time these 3 "ladies" come in and we were in the middle of a particular hot set. They start dancing right away. One of the ladies could hardly stand up let alone dance. As I said the stage was only 3 inches high. This gal stumbles takes a nose dive head first into my drummers kick drum and passes out. I mean out COLD!!!!. Dave's going "Get that bitch out of my kick drum" we didn't even drop a beat. Her two friends grab her by the ankles yank her out of the drum and drag her across the floor all the while her head is banging up and down. They prop her up besides the juke box and there she stayed till closing time.
There was one time I show up and notice that all the bar stools were missing I ask Frank why we were sitting on lawn furniture his reply"I forgot to pay the IRS so they came an took them away.(he did get them back)
There was a time he paid the band in rolled quarters. It was a bad night. I told the guys"Look at it this way fellas,at least we got laundry money for the next 4 months.I was sad to see that place close. I had some really great times there. Last I heard Frank was a security man at a toilet paper factory.
For years there was a club callled "the Blues Breakers"on south cushman st, Blues Breaker was run the guy named Frank who was a big guy ,hardy laugh and the dumbest buinessman
I ever met.It was also the most fun I ever had because I love dives. The club held about 60 people max. It was right across the street from local strip joint and sundays were the strippers day off. I had a group that played a little bit of everything from classic rock,blues,jazz and even some metal. we did sunday nights hence the "blues after church show" My bass player at the time had a decent metal voice so we could do Priest,ACDC and METALLICA. The strippers loved metal. so as soon as they showed out came the hard stuff.Frand had made this drink called "the Blue Rumbler" I remember you drank it while it was lit.Me and the guys were sitting at bar when Frank decided to give it a try. He lights it up,swallows it down then opens his mouth and out comes shooting three feet of flame! He singes his eye brows and has to put out the flames with a bar towl!The band offered him 50 bucks to do that again. Franks credit was so bad with the vendors that he would have to wait for the first customers so he could have cash to hit the liqour store next door.Blues Breakers was a true late night club so when the city fathers desided to shorten the bar hours Frank went out of business. There are so many memories of good times playing there. I'll share a few here. The stage was all of about 3 inches high and not far from the front door.We were playing one night and this biker comes driving right thru the front door and stops right under my mic. I turn mid-song and shout "Born to be wild"!!! we bust into the intro while the bikers revs up his hog...you couldn't buy something like that.
The Rumblers(my band) had it's own drink. The Mightly Untouchables one of Alaska's best blues bands played there as much as we did. Their leader walks in and goes"Frank whats the deal? Stevie's got a drink don't we rate?".Well Me and the boys sit and watch as the night goes on. The shot glasses began to grow and grow as Frank and the Dog mixed and matched this with that like a couple of drunken mad scientists. By motel time they had come up with something but they were to hammered to remember what it was. There was this one time these 3 "ladies" come in and we were in the middle of a particular hot set. They start dancing right away. One of the ladies could hardly stand up let alone dance. As I said the stage was only 3 inches high. This gal stumbles takes a nose dive head first into my drummers kick drum and passes out. I mean out COLD!!!!. Dave's going "Get that bitch out of my kick drum" we didn't even drop a beat. Her two friends grab her by the ankles yank her out of the drum and drag her across the floor all the while her head is banging up and down. They prop her up besides the juke box and there she stayed till closing time.
There was one time I show up and notice that all the bar stools were missing I ask Frank why we were sitting on lawn furniture his reply"I forgot to pay the IRS so they came an took them away.(he did get them back)
There was a time he paid the band in rolled quarters. It was a bad night. I told the guys"Look at it this way fellas,at least we got laundry money for the next 4 months.I was sad to see that place close. I had some really great times there. Last I heard Frank was a security man at a toilet paper factory.
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