DianeB
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Posts posted by DianeB
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In Pat's upcoming release "MoonDial" (July 26, 2024), we'll hear Linda Manzer's new baritone guitar with nylon strings. Of course, it's not conventionally tuned, either. That's Pat. The man is always exploring.
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Tonight: Elkton, again with my pal Dave — now in view!
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And the Oscar goes to ,,, !
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Last night, my (well-obscured) guitar partner Dave and I played an 11-song acoustic set at an open mic in Elkton, MD, to an appreciative room of patrons. We opened with "Old Time Rock and Roll" and closed with "Long May You Run," more or less taking turns with vocals and solos. There were a couple of hiccups, but we had our moments, too.
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Just by chance, last night I came across a stunning documentary on ABC: “The Last Repair Shop”. As the closing credits rolled on screen, tears rolled down my cheeks. The redemptive power of music has rarely been so eloquently documented. It's justifiably nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film. Available on Hulu, Disney+ and YouTube. 40 minutes.
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From The Guardian:
A Höfner bass guitar bought by Paul McCartney for £30 in 1961 has been returned to the former Beatle after a global search to find the stolen instrument.
The distinctively shaped guitar, bought by McCartney before his rise to stardom and reportedly his favourite, was last seen around the time the Beatles were recording their final album to be released, Let It Be.
McCartney paid £30 for the bass guitar 63 years ago, equivalent to about £800 at today’s prices.
A search to find the missing violin-shaped bass, a German-made Höfner 500/1, was launched by the Lost Bass Project last year, and on Tuesday a student, Ruaidhri Guest, shared a photograph on social media of the elusive instrument…
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@Nancy Lawing That's a good question for Steve on the Live Lesson, Nancy. By now he's probably the only one with any video from the Ustream, or earlier, eras. The old link has long been broken, as IBM acquired Ustream years ago. But I managed to snag a screen shot from (I think) October 8, 2013. I had been watching for just a few months, the late Pete Huttlinger was his guest, and Steve picked me to win one of Pete's video courses. Pete said, "Way to go, Diane," and you know the rest of the story.
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Here's a 60 year flashback to the cusp of the British invasion. The Beatles' debut on The Ed Sullivan Show would be February 9. Each week, WGH, the principal AM station in the Tidewater, Virginia market, placed a stack of these wherever records were sold. The station DJs, of which there were about a half dozen, took turns choosing a newly released single they thought promising, the "Wax to Watch". I collected them from 1963–1965, asking my dad to steer us to a store where I could pick up the latest copy when we were out on errands.
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Seems like something from "Brain Salad Surgery" would have been appropriate: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/22/florida-man-play-guitar-brain-surgery
A video report from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2024/01/23/man-plays-guitar-during-brain-surgery-tumor-affil-cprog-vpx.wsvn
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I've been wondering about her! From Vulture and New York magazine, this link might be active only a short time. She has a brief Wikipedia entry.
Back in October 2020, months after Diondre Cole dared to inquire “What up with that?” to viewers at home, a pink guitar beckoned from the stage as Saturday Night Live returned to its normal studio programming. There, just off to the right and in the back of the opening monologue frame, was guitarist Maddie Rice making her debut as part of the show’s live band. Young, hip, and barely 30 years old at the time, the newest addition of the Saturday Night Live Band was notable for a few reasons….
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Watch Live Lessons on the Guitar Gathering YouTube Channel HERE. 7:00 pm Central Time US
2024 LIVE LESSON DATES
JANUARY
2nd – How to Make 2024 the Best Guitar Year Yet
9th – The Chords You Really Need to Know on Guitar
16th - Strum Like a Pro
FEBRUARY
6th – Creating Fills Between Chords
13th - From Real Book to Solo Fingerstyle Arrangement
20th – Guitar Progress Q & A
MARCH
5th - How to Choose Your Next Guitar
26th - The Belmont Guitar Ensemble
APRIL
2nd - Playing Sixths on Guitar
16th - Playing Sixths on Guitar Workout
23rd - Trevor Gordon Hall
MAY
7th - Collin Hill
21st - Allen Shamblin
Future dates and topics to be announced.
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While reading about alternate tunings I was saddened to learn that musician George Winston died this summer, on June 4, 2023. He is best known for his solo piano compositions that helped define New Age music — although he preferred to describe his style as “rural folk piano”. He also played harmonica and acoustic guitar. I discovered George in the eighties and was fortunate to have a front row seat to see him perform in 2018. He was frail from his battle with multiple cancers, so I remember a poignant, graceful performance.
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Update: It's a real treat: even better than its predecessor because the time frame is more recent with better footage, it has fewer subjects, and they're all still pals. Delightful interviews with Russ, Leland, Waddy, Danny, and a number of the artists they worked with.
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Keep watch in your area for "Immediate Family," Denny Tedesco's follow up to "The Wrecking Crew". Now in limited screenings, it goes into general release December 15. Or watch at home. Waddy, Kooch, and the gang finally have their moment center stage.
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@Cuong Dang Hello, and welcome to the forum. There are several guitar courses available from Udemy, but if it is using the Learn and Master course materials, it might be doing so without authorization and illegally. We have witnessed a prior instance of this, and Legacy quickly had the course removed. It's possible that since that time, Legacy has authorized such use to someone, but you should verify that so you are not contributing to the practice.
Although Steve does not list the Blues or Fingerstyle courses in his store at this time, it's possible that he might still have a copy. You can ask by e-mailing him at: service[at]guitargathering.com. There is little demand for physical media these days, and the last I heard was that, as you report, Legacy has sold out of some courses.
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The file downloads fine for me.
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@AllThumbs Hello, and welcome to the discussion board! We should begin by noting that two editions of the Learn and Master Guitar course were published. One, the less expensive version distributed through retailers, does not contain the Bonus Resources book. This volume, still available separately from Steve, details the criteria, including bpm, for "You're Ready to Move On" after each lesson. If your copy of the course did not contain this, I strongly encourage you to obtain it.
The Lesson book only describes the tracks on the jam along CDs as either slow, medium, or fast, as you describe. These terms are arbitrary and have no fixed meanings. One of our devoted students measured the tempos to each of these tracks some time ago and collected the results; I have attached a PDF that tabulates them all.
If you would like to acquaint yourself with the terminology of tempo, this Wikipedia article is a good start. The traditional terms are not often encountered in guitar music outside classical and jazz genres.
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Hi, Jeff, and welcome to the discussion board. In the settings you describe, I suggest that your intro take into account factors such as where that song comes in the set (do you want a dramatic finish), the level of background noise from the audience (single notes might get lost), and how familiar the audience might be with the song (will they expect a certain lick).
Some common tricks are to strum over the opening chord during a narration; open with the last four bars of the chorus (if it starts with the verse), or the first bar, or first few bars of the first verse.
A good intro should blend well with the song and hint at what's to follow, so consider where the verse starts in the progression: on the I? the IV? the vi? Let your ear be your guide. If it pleases you, it will likely please your audience. I'm sure our gang will have other suggestions.
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Good to hear from you, Six! Don't be a stranger.
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Here are some videos of our guests performing. Walter Rodrigues (blue shirt), Ron Block (black shirt), Thomas Leeb (goatee), and Matt Thomas (blue shirt and glasses).
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Epilog
One more day on the road tomorrow. Almost home. At Deer Run, I mopped the floor, extinguished a fire, and took my turn in front of the fireplace. (Use your imagination, it will be more dramatic.) For now, I leave you with a final lesson learned, or more accurately, re-learned.
Our guest artists are phenomenal, inspirational, humble, world class musicians. But I can’t aspire to their level of play. I so look forward to hearing my fellow students perform. In them — in you — I can better imagine my future self. Yet of my two dozen companions this week, only five of us elected to play a song for the group. There was time for at least twice that number.
It’s ironic that so many of us who love to make music in privacy are so terrified of performing the very same music for others. No, it’s worse than ironic, it’s joy denied. I get it. Steve gets it: “You sit in front here and you freak out.” People, please: make peace with making mistakes. I have, because what matters is what happens along the way.
I knew my song would be shaky after three days of travel without rehearsing. But I reminded myself that two months ago, I couldn’t play a single note of it. It was getting better. In front of my teacher and my friends, I stumbled here and there, but I caught a little magic. You deserve some of your own. Give us what you’ve got.
It might have been things I missed
But don’t be unkind, it don’t mean I’m blind…
You see, it’s all clear, you were meant to be here
From the beginning— Greg Lake, “From the Beginning”
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Sunday dawned with the clouds giving way to sunshine, then back again. As Steve started the morning workshop, I settled into the press box with my reporter’s notebook, glanced around, and realized to my horror that I was the only one without a guitar. “Where’s your guitar?” Steve wondered aloud to the whole group. I buried my face in shame (!) and hurried to retrieve it. I thought we were here for the Cornhole.
Matt Thomas demonstrated how right hand exercises in DADGAD can give the left hand a rest while the exercise still sounds musical. As he explained “See how it sounds when we drop to the parallel minor, from C major to C minor?” it occurred to me to raise my hand and point out how that’s a Picardy Third in reverse. I kept my mouth shut, and my remaining dignity for the day intact.
Finally, announcements time: next year’s retreat will be October 17–20, 2024. Maybe, Christie Lenée again. The registration link is up. Guitars quieted, the lodge filled with the sounds of thumping staircases, rolling suitcases, and shouted goodbyes. We jotted our thanks in Steve’s memory book, messaged our photos back and forth, and loaded our cars — as the falling acorns tapped their gentle polyrhythm on the ground.
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The balmy temperatures have turned the season upside down: looks like autumn, feels like spring. It was so warm upon arrival that Deer Run had the AC on rather than the heat. I spent my first night balled up like an armadillo, then I remembered the spare blanket and space heater hidden behind the bunk beds. All better.
Steve started Saturday with a lesson on movable chord shapes. Thomas Leeb returned for a workshop focusing on polyrhythms, which figure prominently in his Michael Hedges-like percussion playing. As we recessed for lunch, fellow student Jim Felter and I slipped out to the back porch where I made another, cleaner pass at “From the Beginning” — and with him playing a duet with me. What a happy surprise.
Practice methods was the first afternoon topic with Steve. Bill Cooley used “Amazing Grace” to illustrate variations in progressions when creating arrangements. Then, the final, raucous, high-stakes final rounds of the GG Cornhole Championship. Last ones standing were the Pickups: David White (for the second year in a row) and partner Jim Nash. Best team name: “All Rights Reserved”, but I might be, ahem, biased.
After dinner, Steve presented the Cornhole trophy, and Vanessa’s granddaughter drew the names of the door prize winners. Prizes included subscriptions to Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Fishman pickups, and a Fender acoustic as the grand prize, carried home by a thoroughly deserving Bob.
He left a gig in Virginia Beach at 1:00 am, caught four hours’ sleep, then drove 742 miles to join us: Matt Thomas seems human enough, but it’s hard to believe. For the next 90 minutes he blew the roof off.
As we recovered in the warm night air, we didn’t need the fire pit. The rocking chairs on the front porch did just fine.
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Birdsong. Acorns dropping from trees and crunching underfoot among the leaves. A lilting melody wafts into the lodge from the back porch. Laughter from the dining room.
Amid the lessons and performances and animated mealtime gatherings, the small pleasures, easy to overlook, can found in all directions. Friday began with a workshop by Walter Rodrigues on arranging. As I recognized the approach chords and contrary motion, I silently thanked my theory teacher.
After lunch, Grammy winner Ron Block offered his masterclass on technique, which could be summed up as: touch. He related a story about Allison Krauss describing him to another guitarist who had to fill in: “When Ron plays, it’s like he’s either talking to a baby, or talking to Jesus.”
We adjourned to the Field of Honor for the first rounds of the Guitar Gathering Cornhole Championship. Details to be published elsewhere in Pseudosports Illustrated.
Our evening concert was a tour de force by percussive powerhouse Thomas Leeb. We dialed it back for the day over cookies, cake, and Paulette’s hot chocolate and apple cider.
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Serving Up Songs
in Guitar Open Talk
Posted
One more, this one from the Newark (Delaware) Arts Alliance open mic last month. A nice audience of about twenty. Probably as good a profile picture as I'll get.