4/4 School of Music

Earlier, we discussed how the thickness of your pick can impact your playing. This time, let’s take a look at the shape of the pick.

Rounded Tip Picks: These picks don’t "bite" into the strings and as a result, work great for strumming. The pick can glide over the strings without getting stuck on any individual string. The drawback is that picking individual strings becomes more effort.

Pointy Tip Picks: These are preferred by players who like to play fast, intricate lines. The point can "stick" to the string and greatly increase your accuracy and speed when alternate picking, string skipping, or tremolo picking. Fast players prefer these greatly!

Large Pick vs. Small Pick: This is a point of debate, but my opinion is that the larger the pick, the more you need to control. While it is easier to hold on to a larger pick, getting it to move fast takes more effort. The small "Jazz" picks are more maneuverable and once you get used to them, I find it hard to use anything else.

Having problems holding onto your pick while playing? Try using picks with either raised writing or holes through it. If your favorite pick doesn’t have either, try drilling a couple holes yourself (or use a hole punch if you’re strong enough!). There are glue-like products you can put on the pick to make it stickier, but I think that would really be the last resort. Who wants to clean glue up every time they play guitar?

Of course, there is a right pick out there for every player, so try them all out and find yourself the perfect pick!

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There are lots of different kinds of picks. Finding the right pick for you can make playing much easier!

Thin picks are great for strumming chords. They bend against the strings while you strum and have very little resistance. The downside to thin picks is that they bend and have very little resistance! This means they aren’t very good for doing fast single note runs. If your style is mostly playing chords, this could be a good fit.

Medium picks still have some give when you are strumming, but work much better for hitting individual strings. These are great when you are strumming chords as well as picking some individual notes out of them.

Heavy picks don’t have any give at all and that is exactly why they are perfect for fast picking. If you want to shred and play the fast lead parts, heavy is the way to go!

Besides how stiff a pick is, there are other factors you may consider. Larger picks are easier to hold on to. Smaller picks are more maneuverable. Sharp picks can dig into the string faster, and dull ones have a much more rounded tone. Try them all and find the one that’s right for you!

So you want to sing better?  But do you ever get overwhelmed with where to begin?  As a voice teacher I encounter new students who feel so inundated with information that they have a hard time focusing on just a few key elements of singing.  The good news is that there are little things you can do RIGHT now that will make a huge change in the way you look and sound!  So here they are…really put your full attention into these simple, yet vital exercises and hear your voice transform!

   1. OPEN YOUR MOUTH

Sounds silly doesn’t it?  Of course we open our mouths when we sing but surprisingly enough many of us barely do.  Even when we talk we hardly open our mouths!  When our mouth is restricted and closed up the vowels sound incorrect, we can’t understand the words, and the notes will sound like they are stuck in your throat.  We need to over-pronounce and over do it! Since we are not usually people who talk with a WIDE-open mouth, I tell students that if you feel funny trying to sing this way than you are most likely doing it right!  When you over-pronounce and open up the sound can come forth in much clearer and stronger tones.  Plus we can hear the words of the song better!  Not to mention you look great too!

   2. BREATHE IN THE RIGHT SPOTS

Pay attention to where you breathe in your songs.  Many times when we slow down and listen we find that we are taking a breath in the middle of a word!  We wouldn’t do that when we are talking in conversation so let’s try not to do it when singing.  A PHRASE in music is just like a sentence that we say.  We want to try to make it to the end so the phrase feels and sounds natural.  There are of course some exceptions to this rule when you have a very long musical phrase.   So always look for comas or rests.  These are great places to sneak in a breath!  Taking a breath in an awkward spot can make the song sound “choppy”.  So pay closer attention to where you take those much needed breathes.

   3. EXPRESS YOURSELF

When you are singing a happy song why don’t you smile?  When you are singing a dark, emotional song why are you smiling?  It is important to express yourself and put emotion into your face and eyes!  This isn’t just for actors or those who sing musical theater!  When you open up your eyes and eyebrows, and put expression into your checks and mouth, you sound engaged and interesting!  People are drawn in to what you have to say.  Even if you have an amazing voice yet look dull and bored, people will not enjoy listening to you or looking at you.  Put your mind, body, and emotion into the story of the song.  Whether it is happy, depressed, or fun…go there and your voice will follow!  This will also help number 1 become easier!

When I have had students implement these simple techniques they are always amazed at how much louder, clearer, and confident their voice sounds!  So give it a try and start somewhere so your voice can soar!

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A "Capo" is a clamp that can be put over any fret of your guitar. Wherever you set it, that fret now becomes "zero" and you play your open chords relative to that. So if you have the Capo on the 1st fret and play an E Major chord, what you are actually playing is now one note higher (F Major). If you used the A, C and D shapes,  you would actually be playing A#, C# and D#. Using a Capo is a very easy way to play in different keys without having to learn a bunch of new chords.

One famous examples of Capo use is "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles. George Harrison clamped his Capo on the 7th fret of his guitar and used D, G, A7 and E chord shapes "relative" to the Capo. The result is that the guitar sounds very bright, happy and uplifting which adds to the optimistic message of the song. While the Capo is often used to "cheat" difficult chords, it can also be brilliantly used to aid creativity and explore new terrain on your guitar.

Do you need one? That depends. Some styles of music rely heavily on Capos (Country, folk, pop) and there will be songs that you might want to play that can only be done correctly using one. A lot of times you can get around needing one if you are good with your "Bar Chords," but the Capo sure would make things easier. They are also a lot of fun to play around with, even if you know tons of different chord shapes. And they aren’t very expensive either (around $5- $20 depending on which style you get) so you don’t have to invest much to give em a try!

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So you are looking to buy a set a drums but you don’t know what to get? If you’ve done an online search for drums, you’ve probably seen that there are thousands of parts and accessories! What’s the most important things to have first? We are here to help guide you through the basics.

If you aren’t sure whether you want to invest in a full set, you can at least buy a practice pad. These are small pads that don’t make much noise, but let you get used to the feel of hitting a drum. Great for practicing drum rudiments and working on stick skills. Even if you have a full set already, this is a great, portable way to practice. The Vic Firth Single-Sided/Divided Practice Pad is a quality product. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Vic-Firth-Single-Sided-Divided-Practice-Pad-447607-i1139989.gc

For younger drummers (age 4-8), a junior drum set is just what Dr. Rhythm ordered! Let’s face it, if your feet can’t reach the pedal you are going to have a hard time keeping a solid beat. While the junior sets are smaller and cheaper than the full sets, you can still expect to spend between $250 and $350 for a well made kit. Ludwig is a well respected drum maker and their junior set is no exception. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ludwig-5-piece-Junior-Drum-Set-with-Cymbals-500744-i1430314.gc

For full sized kits, you’ll find that most are priced without the cymbals (and the cymbals are pretty important), so don’t be fooled by low prices on one given kit. One of the most economical sets is the Sound Percussion Pro 5-Piece (http://www.guitarcenter.com/Sound-Percussion-Pro-5-Piece-Drum-Set-with-Chrome-Hardware-581099-i1455915.gc). While it may say Pro in the title, this isn’t really professional quality, but it has what you need to get drumming! For higher quality sets, turn to the names you can trust in percussion. Pearl, Yamaha, Ludwig, Gretsch and DDrum. Expect a basic shell set (minus the cymbals) to cost between $300 and $700. Top quality sets will probably start at around $1000. It’s worth noting that putting new drum heads on a basic kit can dramatically improve its sound and only cost between $40 and $100.

Cymbals (that usually aren’t included in the drum kits) are necessary! But you don’t need them all at once. A hi-hat is absolutely essential. What you’ll need is a hi-hat stand (http://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha-650-Hi-Hat-Cymbal-Stand-483425-i1421818.gc) and a hi-hat cymbal set (http://www.guitarcenter.com/Sabian-sbr-Hi-Hats-424112-i1527815.gc). After that, you can start adding various types of crash and ride cymbals to complete your set. Sabian and Zildjian are both high quality cymbal makers.

If you are concerned about noise in the house, electronic drums can save your sanity! Don’t get me wrong, if you need volume, you can plug into an electronic drum amp and bam! you are making serious noise. But for when you don’t need to be loud, you can put headphones on and lose yourself in a little drumming world. We prefer Roland electronic drums. Their quality seems to far surpass their competitors in this field. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Roland-TD-4K2-S-V-Compact-Series-Drum-Set-361186-i1750391.gc

Hopefully this has answered some questions for you. Good luck on your drum buying journey. Remember, your drum teacher is a great resource for ideas as well! Happy Drumming from 4/4 School of Music!

In the olden days, the only high tech tools people had to learn their favorites songs on guitar was their record player and their ear. Today, the options for guitar players are endless! Here are my top 4 choices.

1) Guitar Pro 6 is a Guitar Tab player for Windows/Mac/ and Linux that boasts being "A tablature editor, score player and backing band all in one." When you download GuitarPro song files (from sites like Ultimate-Guitar.com), you usually are given music for all the parts of the song, including melody, drums and bass! You can speed up or slow the playback so you can practice at slower speeds while you are learning the new tune. While its price tag of $59 may seem a bit high, the accuracy of its transcriptions and the massive song library online more than makes up for it. And the songs you download (after you bought the software) are all free. This is really helpful for guitar students! Visit their website to learn more: http://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php

2) Power Tab is a free tablature editor and score player that is very similar to Guitar Pro. You really can’t beat free! However, while Power Tab also has a very extensive online song catalog, the accuracy isn’t quite as consistent as Guitar Pro. Luckily you can listen to the tab’s playback and hear if its right before you invest time studying it. There often are several different versions for the same song, so try the ones rated best first. Power Tab also is an older program and I haven’t seen any updates for it in years but the good news is that it’s already a solid program and doesn’t need any extra frills. You can learn more or download for free here: http://www.power-tab.net/

3) The Tab ToolKit from Agile Partners is perhaps my favorite app for the iPad, iTouch and iPhone. This app lets you open Guitar Pro and Power tab song files right onto your device! I don’t usually practice in front of my computer, but my phone is always with me. The price tag of $9.99 seemed high to me at first for an app, but when you compare it to the $59 you would pay for Guitar Pro, it is almost a no-brainer! The only drawback is if you only have WiFi internet, you can only access new songs when you are at a hotspot (or on your home wireless network). But once you download a song, its there until you erase it. So you can quickly build an impressive tab library right on your device. Learn more here:  http://www.agilepartners.com/apps/tabtoolkit/

4) The Tascam CD-GT2 allows you to slow down difficult songs, loop sections or eliminate unwanted parts that are getting in your way. What I love about the CD-GT2 is that it focuses on a musicians most powerful tool: their ear! It can feel overwhelming to sit down with a song and try to figure it out on your own and that is where slowing and looping can really help. Take something that sounds relatively simple, loop it, slow it, and have patience! Figure out small parts. This is how so many guitar masters have learned their craft. Have your teacher help get you started. It’s extremely satisfying when you figure out a part on your own. You can learn more here:   http://tascam.com/product/cd-gt2/

Have fun and practice hard!

Wow!  These two young drummers are hot!  All of you drum students that think you need a full band to rock should definitely check out this video of two awesome drummers playing together as a duo.

Most of us love to sing even if it is just in the shower.  Did you know that singing can actually improve your heath?  Check out this great article I found here. It’s never too late to take voice lessons.  If you play guitar or piano already then you have a big head-start! Most people don’t realize that learning to sing well usually doesn’t take as long as learning to play an instrument well. What are you waiting for?

This free app for for iPhone and Touch users has a tuner, metronome, chord dictionary and videos.  More details at Gibson or download it here on iTunes

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Guitar players and other soloists will love this app!  It lets you slow down the speed of a song or solo on your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch without changing the pitch.  Back in the old days we would have to slow our records down to 16 speed and the guitar solo would sound like a bass solo.  You kids have it so easy these days Rock on!

iTunes link Capo 

Full review at AppCraver.com

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