Steve Krenz
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Posts posted by Steve Krenz
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Great question. Using flesh is fine.
Nails will add volume and give you some tonal options you wouldn't otherwise have. But, if having nails is impractical for you then don't worry about it. Just use your fingers. The technique is the same either way.
Hope this helps!
The main thing is to keep learning.
- Steve
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Hey look who I found on the floor of NAMM 2019, our good friend and fingerstyle guitarist extraordinaire Trevor Gordon Hall!
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January 15th, 2019
Topic: Blues Guitar with Claudio Tristano!
Finalist of Guitar Center's Blues Master competition, Claudio Tristano, is an up and coming young LA-based guitarist turning heads with his fresh approach to Blues.
Claudio has shared the stage with Joe Bonamassa, Vince Gill, composed music for "Undercover Boss" and is quickly establishing himself in the west coast guitar scene.
Here's a couple of videos of Claudio.
Claudio with Joe Bonamassa...
Claudio with Vince Gill...
Great music, laughs, giveaways and more
Watch it live at 7pm Central tonight HERE
Great music, giveaways and more. See you there!
Make sure to subscribe to our Guitar Gathering YouTube Channel HERELearn all you can
- Steve
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Tuesday January 8th, 2019
7pm Central
Topic: Guitar Care & Setup with Greg Voros!
It's the beginning of a new year and time to check in with our good friend Greg Voros. Greg will be stopping by to talk about guitar care, setup and answering your questions.
Greg is the head of the legendary repair department at Gruhn guitar and has worked on guitars for some of the most well-known guitarists in the world.
PLUS, I'll be giving some easy to implement Tips for Guitar Learning Success This Year!
If you have any questions for Greg please write them below and we'll try to get to as many of them as we can.
Great music, laughs, giveaways and more
Watch it live at 7pm Central tonight HERE
Great music, giveaways and more. See ou there!
Make sure to subscribe to our Guitar Gthering YouTube Channel HERELearn all you can
- Steve
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Thanks Henk! And keep those pucks flying!
- Steve
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No disrespect to Popular Mechanics, but you know what I've found has a profound and immediate impact on my tone...
Practice.
(But I am a sucker for a pretty red guitar!)
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Wonderful! Learn all you can.
I am glad you’re part of our guitar family.
Kerp learning!
- Steve
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Hey gang, Just a reminder, you can go back and watch any of our live guitar lessons on our Guitar Gathering YouTube channel.
GUITAR GATHERING YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Make sure to subscribe to get notifications whenever we go live!
Learn all you can!
- Steve
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Just booked the man, the myth, the legend, Johnny Hiland and his band for the Guitar Gathering 2019 Thursday Night concert!!
Johnny and band will be playing and we'll have a few surprise guests as well.
Have you registered yet? http://www.guitargathering2019.com/
Just in case you might have forgotten how good Johnny is, here's a little reminder...
It should be an amazing time. See you at the Guitar Gathering!
Have you registered yet? http://www.guitargathering2019.com/
- Steve
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6 hours ago, Jusca said:
I'm still studying. I have been ill on and off since Oct. 2018 so my guitar playing has been pretty nil. I do find a few minutes every now and then to play a few chords and surprisingly I still retain the speed and grips, especially for barres which shocked me. I remember how hard I worked to get basic and barre chords down. I don't ever want to back slide so maintaining what I have is motivation for me to continue a little at a time. I hope to feel better soon. I'm half way through the course right now.
Jusca,
It's great to see you again. Yes, being sick can really limit your playing. But, as you've seen, it doesn't take too many days of consistent effort to be back making progress again.
Glad you're back making music again!
- Steve
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1 hour ago, ak0693 said:
Hello everyone! And thanks for your advices!
I slowed down to 40 BPM and not everything’s fine because now I can notice the tension building up and consciously let go of it.
First of all, welcome and I'm glad you're here.
When your hand is doing something comfortable and familiar there's no need to tense up. But when you start getting to the edge of your ability and your hand can't keep up with what your brain is telling it to do, it starts to tense up.
There is always going to be this increasing muscle tension as you approach the edge of your current ability. The good news is that the "edge of your current ability" moves. What is causing you tension and stress today at a certain tempo you may be able to play completely comfortably in a few months.
Tension is always something we want to minimize in our playing. We need to be ever aware of it and constantly try to consciously relax our hand as we get into musical territory where it wants to tense up.
Just keep working at it slowly. As you become more familiar and competent at doing the task at increasing tempos your hand will relax.
Hope this helps!
- Steve
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3 hours ago, IanD said:
Another one just added. I'm coming to Nashville!!! ?
Ian, I looked up your town Warrington. It looks beautiful! Let's have the conference there!
- Steve
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Updated. Welcome Ian!
- Steve
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The Deuce,
I'm sure I'll be back in San Antonio before too long. I'll get the word out when I get back there.
Keep Learning!
- Steve
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Hey gang,
Here is the official registration list for the Guitar Gathering 2019 conference as of January 2, 2019!
36 Registered
Clarke B. from Sisters, OR
Nadine B. & Guest from Brooklyn, NYDiane B. (DianeB) from Newark, DE
Eugene Callebs & Guest from London, KYMark C. from Versailles, MO
Andy C. (cookie) from Houston, TX
Ian D. from Warrington, United Kingdom
Steve D. from Gladstone, MI
Dwayne F. from Caddo Mills, TX
Paulette F. from Winter Springs, FL
Peggy G. from Raleigh, NCBob H. from Canton, OH
Mark J. from Minneapolis, MNCurtis K. from Coulee City, WA
Martin K. from Salt Lake City, UT
Patricia L. from Alto, MI
Jack L. & Guest from Cedar Park, TX
Brian M. from Milwaukee, WIKurt O'Neill from Laurel, MD
Greg O. (gotto) from Battleground, WA
Joan R. from Tamiment, PA
Dale R. from Gastonia, NCJohn S. from Kearny, NJ
Barbara S. (k9kaos) from Pahrump, NVChris S. from San Antonio, TX
Bob S. from Robinson, IL
Gerald T. from La Crescent, MN
David T. from Richmond, TX
Michael T. from Fredericksburg, VA
Reg W. from Georgetown, IN
David W. from Asheville, NC
Ken W. & Guest from Jacksonville, FL-
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Here are some tips for Session Four as you begin it...
And, here are some tips for Session Four after you've been in it for a while...
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10 hours ago, tjmeyers said:
I also do all of the scales patterns and pentatonic scale patterns in one position to help stop me from linking a pattern to a certain position. Ex: G - F - D etc. all in the 3rd position.
Yes, great idea.
- Steve
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9 hours ago, tjmeyers said:
Hello Ozy and welcome.
I am one of those oddballs. I am left-handed and play right-handed.
I write left-handed, in baseball I bat right and throw left. For darts I can throw with either hand. For archery I am strongly left eye dominant.
You will just have to try and see what works best for you.
Yes, great insights. Usually it's pretty clear, after some experimentation, which hand has the dominance - and to what degree that dominance has.
I brush my teeth and eat left-handed. Throw a ball and write right-handed. Can bowl with either hand.
So, my "handed-ness" is more right handed - but not exclusively.
But with guitar (since it is a two-handed endeavor) it's a bit more complicated.
Do some in-depth experimentation and you'll start to feel how playing guitar one way feels more comfortable and natural than the other.
- Steve
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1 hour ago, The deuce said:
Thanks for your advice guys, you have helped me make a decision. I will start session 10 and experiment with picks. Finger style really does interest me and perhaps will go beyond beyond session 10. I have become more aware of guitarist playing styles. This past Sunday at church, a rhyme guitarist playing with the worship team mixed finger style in with cord playing. I realize this isn't anything new but I haven't really noticed it before, loved what I was hearing.
I see you're from San Antonio - my home town! Go Spurs Go! (Although this doesn't seem to be that great of year for them.)
I would say, yes, continue to look at Session 10. Just get a feel for it. Don't let your one finger injury hold you back - just work around it as best as you can.
Don't worry about nails. Fingerstyle is more about getting your fingers to cooperate in moving independently.
It's a great style. Let me know if you have any questions along the way.
Keep up the great work!
- Steve
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Old Jock,
Congratulations on a great Christmas gift! It looks like a cool pedal with some probably great sounds once you find them.
Yes, there's always a learning curve and a lot of experimentation when dealing with multi-effects processors. There's just lots of menus, sub-menus and tweaking involved.
The pros are you get a lot of effects bang for your buck. If you've got the time and patience to tweak it, you can find some great sounds.
The cons are it's often hard to get to that great sound quickly when you need it - particularly in a live performing environment.
Zoom makes great stuff and the MS-50G looks like a premiere unit.
Let us know what you think of it when you get to know it better. Maybe do a "gear review" here on the board for it.
- Steve
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Ozy,
First of all welcome! It looks like you're starting to meet some of the gang.
Regarding Left and Right Handed-ness - I had answered this in a post on the old forum. Here are some thoughts....
Can the course be used for a left handed person and should I play guitar left handed?
Thanks for the email. I play guitar right handed so naturally I instruct right handed. I have taught many left hand players and the material is identical. The only difference is that the left handed player has to interpret the visual elements in reverse. This sounds a little more daunting than what it actually is. Left handed players quite naturally make the distinction and capture the material with the same speed and comprehension that the right hand players do.
Actually, when the material is presented on video, to a left handed player it will be an exact mirror image of what they will be playing. So, I have not found in my private teaching that left hand students have any problem applying the concepts to their playing any more than right hand students do.
Here's another thought. I have found in my personal private teaching that whether a player is left or right handed in their playing is not as cut and dried as "All left hand players play left handed". I have actually found in the course of teaching many left handed people guitar that usually just about half of left hand players actually prefer to play the guitar left handed.
As confusing as this would seem. It seems that it has something to do with how "left handed" each individual student seems to be - the level of their handedness dominance. On a beginner, I can usually tell within about two or three weeks how their motor skill development is doing.
I generally start every brand new, never touched a guitar before, beginner (right and left handed players) playing the guitar right handed. (I do this for a variety of reasons, the largest being that left handed resources for the guitar are so limited. Almost everything for guitar is geared to playing right handed). For this new left handed beginner, if after three weeks they are still having great difficulty in getting their fingers to find the correct string when fretting a note then I would usually switch them to playing the guitar left handed. I flip the guitar and restring it in reverse or we try to locate them a left-handed instrument. We then start back at the beginning and after about a week of re-acclimating themselves to the instrument it becomes very clear which way is going to be preferable for the student to play.
Whether a left handed player should actually play guitar left handed is an issue of motor skill dominance regarding their "handedness". Often this hand dominance is not clear in the first week or two, but by week three it becomes very clear which "hand" is more dominant for these fine motor skill tasks. I wish it were as easy as "If you're left hand, you play guitar left handed" but I have not found it to be that simple.(and from another post...)
Choosing whether to play left or right handed as a left handed person depends on how dominant your handed-ness is.
Typically, I would generally start a learner out playing right handed and see how it goes. You'll know in about a week if it is working for you. If you can't seem to do anything correctly and you are having incredible trouble just getting your hand to finger the right frets then that's usually a good indication that you probably need to try playing left-handed. But it takes a week or two of wrestling with it to really see. Because everyone is slow at the very beginning. So you really need to get past the first week or two of solid effort to get a good feel for how your fingers are doing. If by the end of a week or two and you are still struggling with getting your fingers to finger the correct fret (even though in your head you know which finger you need to play) then try switching to left handed.
After you've done this, get a left handed guitar or re-string your guitar left handed and begin back at the beginning again. You'll have to go over the early things again, but this usually goes much quicker the second time. And within a week you are back to where you were and beyond.
After this 2-3 week process it will be abundantly clear which hand you should be using to play guitar and you'll have the rest of your musical life to thank yourself for this small investment of a couple of weeks to figure this handed-ness issue on guitar once and for all.Also, I would suggest not spending more than one week on Session 1 of the Learn and Master Guitar course. The real learning starts in Session 2.
I hope this helps.
Please let me know how it turns out.- Steve
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That's good advice!
I practice....
Major Scales in One Position
Major Scales: Three Note on a String - Playing normally ascending and descending, then in 3rds with hammer-ons and Pull-offs.
Pentatonic Scales: Up and Down in Each Form, Up 4 Pattern, 3 pairs of Strings, then connecting the forms up and down the neck.
Pentatonic Scales with Added Blues Note: Up and Down in Each Form
When I change keys I like to go in a circle of Fifths rotation: C - G - D - A -- E - B - F# - Db - Ab - Eb - Bb - F or a circle of fourths rotation: C - F - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db - Gb - B - E - A - D -G
Hope this helps!
- Steve
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Tuesday December 18th, 2018
7pm Central
Topic: Fingerstyle Guitar with Collin Hill!
Our very own, Collin Hill, will be dropping by to show some of his amazing fingerstyle playing, talk about his new project and show how to do harp harmonics!
Here are the harp harmonic exercises he will reference... Harp Harmonics with Collin Hill.pdf
Here's a video of Collin teaching harp harmonics...
Great music, laughs, giveaways and more!
Here are a few videos to get you familiar with him...
Watch it live at 7pm Central tonight HERE
Great music, giveaways and more. See you there!
Make sure to subscribe to our Guitar Gathering YouTube Channel HERELearn all you can!
- Steve
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On 12/10/2018 at 11:36 AM, colder said:
Looking forward to it!
Regarding the on-campus accomodations for those who choose that route, will they be the same as last year? Will they be available for the whole conference? Just wondering if I need to book a room for any nights - hotels can get expensive in Nashville
Colder,
Yes, they will be the same as last year and they will be available the entire length of the conference.
- Steve
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Live Lesson: February 5th - Modes & Creating Fills
in 2019 Live Lessons
Posted
Tuesday February 5th, 2019
7pm Central
Topic: Modes & Creating Fills!
So, what's the deal with modes? Many guitar players wonder if modes, and their exotic names, are the holy grail of guitar knowledge - the thing that separates mortals and guitar gods.
Well, let's look at them. I'll give you a much simpler way of looking at them than typically used. Also, I'll show how and when to use them.
Here's a handout for learning modes... Modes An Easier Way.pdf
PLUS, I'll give some helpful exercises on spicing up your fills with slides, hammer-ons and pulloffs.
Watch it live at 7pm Central tonight HERE
Great music, giveaways and more. See you there!
Make sure to subscribe to our Guitar Gathering YouTube Channel HERELearn all you can
- Steve