Posts Tagged ‘music_and_movies’

14 August

Synyster Gates - The Best Modern Guitarist

Born on the 7th of July, Brian Elwin Haner, better known as Synyster Gates which is the name he uses on the stage, is the backup vocalist and the lead guitarist for Avenged Sevenfold, which is an American heavy metal/hard rock band. He had attended 2 different schools in California and later on also the Musicians Institute that is situated in Hollywood. H he had music flowing through his veins even though he did not graduate from this institute. He had taught himself the rudiments of music by reading books and viewing music videos prior to joining Musicians Institute.

This comes across a surprise since his father was guitar player and also a songwriter who had played with Frank Zappa. After bring in the Institute for approximately six months, Synyster, who prefers to use Schecter guitars and Bogner amps, received a phone call from The Rev of Avenged Sevenfold and was asked if he was willing to join that group as their lead guitarist. Preferring to pursue the career of a studio musician, Synyster forsake his education and joined Avenged Sevenfold.

He had joined this group when he was just 18 years of age and towards the end of the year 1999 Synyster joined this group. This happened just before Avenged Sevenfold’s 1st album titled `Sounding the Seventh Trumpet’ was recorded. Synyster featured on the re-release of the first album of Avenged Sevenfold, and also on their EP, `Warmness of the Soul’. Synyster also plays the piano for certain selected songs from time to time. The name Synyster Gates was thought by The Rev during the course of a drunken drive. Some of the members of his band alleged that Synyster had often thought of himself as too good a player for that type of band, but these thoughts were brushed aside by Synyster.

This renowned guitarist, along with The Rev had also played for Pinkly Smooth, a metal band. Since they wanted to devote all their time behind Avenged Sevenfold, both of them finally left this group. Synyster Gates has won quite a number of awards like the Total Guitar Magazine’s guitarist of the year award in 2006 and also the `Young Shredder’ award in 2006. He has also appeared in guest appearances in music videos like `The River’ (Good Charlotte), and Dirty Little Girl (Burn Halo). Synyster Gates is also endorsed by Schecter guitars and there are two different versions of his signature model.

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22 July

Online Bass Lessons: Learn In Just A Couple Weeks

Are you serious about wanting to improve you bass guitar playing? If you are, then one of the most productive things you can do is work on your scales. It has even been said that the level of your scale playing pretty much determines the level of your bass playing overall! I have designed these exercises to help you to develop a more accurate sense of rhythm and to improve the speed and agility of your bass guitar scales.

Bass practice with fretboard patterns should include things such as the use of sweep picking with the 3 note per string pentatonic scale in the rock or blues bass style. You want to be able to practice with many different scales patterns as possible so that you are able to execute the runs and licks and lead lines of a wide variety of bass players and style of music that you personally are interested in.

Beginner bass players should learn scales right away to save them years of time, trouble and frustration, but that most often never happens for them. Intermediate bass players have to have some patterns under their belt to even be at an intermediate level, however, they are usually the most frustrated players because they feel like they are getting somewhere with their instrument, but the are so held up with partial information that they can’t move beyond where they are at.

For instance, you’ve already heard about “slap bass” for sure. Slap is a very common technique and, because of the use in rock situation it has became one of the most popular technique in bass playing nowadays.

Besides, this will give you a chance to expand your instrument sound range, giving it more depth and compression. There are different variations of slapping the string. Slap bass techniques are commonly found in all types of music, but most notably in the funk, Latin and pop styles.

Even if you don’t end up going anywhere major with your new found skills, you will still feel great and be proud of yourself for learning something new. The bass guitar is fun, and adding these skills to your repertoire will help you to begin developing your own unique playing style.

Keep the end of the thumb of your left hand in the middle of the back of the bass neck. Keep your left thumb perpendicular to the neck. When reaching for notes, don’t let your thumb go parallel to the neck; shift position instead

So, now that you have the basic steps on hand position for playing your bass guitar. Now, what you’ve got to do is learn some other basic stuff, like scales, techniques and song. Be sure that you actually WANT to learn and don’t let the frustration discourage you!

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2 July

Guitar Lessons DVD: Have Fun While Practicing

Educate yourself! No matter what level you are at today, you can be and should be learning more. If you are currently studying with a teacher or enrolled in a music program at a high school, college or university, you are on the right track. If you aren’t doing this (or if you feel that your current teacher is not helping you enough in reaching your goals) I strongly recommend looking for a new teacher.

I prefer to be wise like the Buddha, and take the Middle Path. This is the one I have chosen, and I will describe it for you.

NEVER GIVE UP! Never say can’t. Never say I can’t. Never say someday. Never say if… If your IQ is higher than room temperature, if you have all of your fingers and if you really want to succeed, you can.

You should be able to play all the techniques of the guitar. Van Halen did tapping but not with all his fingers as others have done. He didn’t play finger style much either, but we still regard him as an important guitarist, the same thing can be said for Vai and many others. Classical guitar master John William’s probably doesn’t play well with a guitar pick (I am assuming this to be true, I have no proof of it), but he is considered one of the greatest classical guitarists alive today.

Skills like improvisation, songwriting and playing with a guitar pick or not going to be high on his list of skills to acquire. This is because classical guitarists generally don’t do those things - and don’t need to to be great at what they do. These players are great players in their own ways and they have spent many years developing their skills. Learning everything about guitar playing would have taken away precious practice time from the things they needed to focus on to reach their goals.

Chopin’s natural ability was his ability to improvise. He was the master, but he worked very hard to become the virtuoso pianist that he would later become. Chopin also was the master at small forms, but struggled with large scale forms.

To be GREAT means I have to be BETTER than everybody else. We already touched on this one above, but it is worth mentioning again here. What matters is reaching YOUR goals, not someone else’s goals. Who cares if you are or are not better than someone else? This is not the olympics. Music is the art of expression (or for some people, the science of entertainment).

Now I know I have to work on something very fundamental. I have to work on the behavior of my third finger, and change the way it reacts to it’s neighbor being used, the second finger. If I can get down to the matter with that degree of specificity, that degree of clarity and focus, I am in a position to cause major Vertical Growth. If I can change the way that finger is behaving in that situation, I will see many playing problems I am having in other pieces of music begin to “melt”, and eventually disappear.

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3 June

Tips and Tricks on How to Learn Guitar Fast

In today’s modern world, no one wants to spend time doing a lot of things. We are conditioned to have instant gratification. This applies to learning a music instrument. People want to learn the guitar but they want to learn it fast. If you want to be great at the guitar, it will take a long time to learn the instrument but there are ways to learn the basics fast.

Guitar players are very popular nowadays thus many people especially teenagers are interested into enhancing their musical talents. Mastering this art can very much rely on talent. However, if you put your heart into the learning process, you can find it easier to absorb the skills necessary in playing the guitar. Even if you are learning the guitar fast, you will be able to pick it up more easily because you will have a natural talent.

Nowadays, concerns on how to learn guitar fast has been facilitated by vast selection of instructional guides. You can even find systematic guides on how you can achieve the professional level of playing the guitar. Learning the guitar would definitely require you to understand the basics of how to use the instrument. This would definitely relate to handling the instrument while you play such as finger positions and producing simple chords.

The guitar that you will use for your lessons is very important. You should be comfortable in using your instrument of choice so that you can easily apply the ideas that you have learned from the instructional guides. A guitar that can last for a very long time is a great choice when it comes to giving the learning procedure a serious thought. However, if you just need to master a few tricks and only need to have the capacity to play some tunes, renting a guitar is a more plausible option.

Another key factor on how to learn guitar fast is to have someone teach you how to do the tricks. An instructor can help you learn some basic knowledge for you to explore on your own. Most people start their lessons by trying some simple chord patterns and asking out their mentor if they got it right. By this way, you can easily determine the methods that would produce the best sound and are very comfortable for your playing hands. However, you may want to pay your instructor generously in which could be a costly way of learning how to play.

Learning the guitar is hard work but there are many ways to speed up the process. The next time you are looking to learn the guitar don’t get dismayed by the fact it takes a long time. You can learn many of the basics of playing a guitar on your own and at your convenience. This is great for people who don’t have much time. So go get a guitar and start rocking!

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4 April

Eight Most Popular Guitars

There are literally dozens of guitar brands on the market, some good, some bad and some unbelievably excellent. If you want the best sound and quality, then it really does pay to choose a good brand name. You`ll pay more initially, but it`s worth it since you`ll just have to replace a cheap guitar pretty quickly. Going with an established name will pretty much ensure you`re getting great quality. If you`re serious about playing, then you should definitely take a look at one of the following guitars.

Fender

This company is probably the best known when it comes to top of the line guitars. This is where the famous Stratocasters come from . . . the original guitars in this line are now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fender also produces custom guitars, many of which can be seen in the hands of famous musicians like Santana.

Gibson

Another very popular guitar brand is Gibson, running almost neck in neck with Fender for quality. This brand has pretty much cornered the upper levels of the electric guitar market, though they also produce high quality acoustic instruments. Among musicians who use Gibson brand guitars are Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and the Allman Brothers Band.

Yamaha

Well known as a musical company, Yamaha isn`t just a keyboard brand. They also turn out some great guitars that are sturdy and well suited to the life of a musician. Many of their designs are actually copies of more popular designs from the US, but they also have some original designs of their own that sell very well. It`s a brand name that is trusted, so many new musicians opt for this brand.

Ovation

These guitars are quite distinctive in how they look. With a rounded back and fibrglass body, Ovation guitars can`t be mistaken for any other brand. Besides the bowl-like back of the instrument, the sound holes are also different. Rather than one large hole, as other guitars have, these instruments tend to have groupings of smaller holes. Despite the odd looks, they are considered precision and provide great sound.

Martin

This brand is also known for its superiority in the world of guitars. Martins are usually more affordable than the top of the line guitars, but still produces excellent instruments. These guitars tend to be larger than the average acoustic guitar and are very popular among players who enjoy playing acoustic.

Alvarez

When it comes to acoustic guitars, Alvarez is certainly one of the first guitar brands that comes to mind. With over 60 years of experience in making precision instruments, Alvarez actually comes from a long Japanese line of well made classical instruments.

Jackson

Best known for the unique design of their guitars, Jackson instruments were originally meant to look like the Fender Strat, but quickly became a hardcore version made for rockers. The Jackson guitar line is usually associated with rock and metal music.

Guild

While perhaps not as well known as some of the above guitar brands, this is a good, solid company with years of excellent guitar making behind it. Guild is 100% American and has been around since the 1940`s. They are best known for making jazz guitars, but have since expanded into other areas, providing distinctive musical instruments and guitars.

There are plenty of different guitar brands to choose from, but if you want an instrument that will give you the quality of sound that you want and something that will last for a good long time, then it`s worth looking at the best in the business. The brands above are all top of the line and excellent guitars.

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22 January

Bass Guitar - What You Need To Know

The bass guitar is an instrument usually used in bands to add a deep, rich tone to music. These guitars can be both acoustic and electric, or a combination of both. There are 5 types of bass guitars available. These include the four string short, medium and long scale, the 5 string long scale and the six string long scale. The 4 string short scale bass guitar is the kind most normally used by novices. This is due to the fact that these guitars are slightly lighter and exceedingly common. The lighter weight of the guitar lets a newbies to become accustomed to the weight of the guitar while they learn. As it is simpler to study on 4 strings rather than 5 or six, most starters work with four.

When you first learn bass guitar, it is suggested that you take free online lessons, or be tutored by a friend or professional tutor. As the fundamental basics are very important when you learn the bass guitar, you should make certain that you are not snaring yourself into bad habits.

Once you have learned the fundamental basics, which include taking care of your instrument, tuning your guitar and learning the basic strings and note variants, you will begin to learn chords. Chords are a combination of notes played in a certain order or all at once. These chords are combined to become melodies which are in turned used in songs. Learning chords is a necessity to be able to master the bass guitar, so you will spend a great deal of your time memorizing and practicing the different chords.

Learning the bass guitar is a combination of finger memory and memorisation of chord patterns. In addition to this, it is having the ability to move your fingers in unison. Finger memory, or the ability to have your fingers automatically move to a desired chord free of error, is something that many musicians spend years surmounting. This finger memory allows a player to master extremely challenging runs, or series of chords. The harder the run, the more challenging chords are used within them.

Once you have overcame the basics of the bass guitar, chances are you will end up purchasing a new instrument. The guitars beginners use often have a less rich sound than a master’s guitar. When you purchase a guitar, you should balance your current skill with the skill you expect to be at six months from now, then buy a guitar that matches that skill level. Owning a guitar that is slightly more advanced than your current skill will cause no harm.

If you are interested in learning how to play guitar without a fretboard, it is advised that you convert an aging guitar to a fretless board, as this is much cheaper alternative than purchasing a high end guitar to learn on.

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