11.29.2007

Things You Can Do to Become a Better Player Now! PART 2



Excerpt # 2 from Things You Can Do to Become a Better Player Now by Johh McCarthy


PRACTICE SMART Don’t practice what you already know, practice what you don’t know and what you need to improve on. What develping players tend to do is learn a few songs and then when they go into their practice session they work on the songs over and over again. Once you know something your muscle memory is already there. In all my years of teaching this is one of those things I tell students to look out for becuase this will slow the learning process down. When you are planning your practice sessions out think of the techniques that give you trouble or that you haven't even brought into your sessions yet or musical pieces you are not proficient at, set your goals to learn these in your practice sessions.


This is not to say that you would not on occasion go back and practice songs you know, epsecially if you're getting ready for a gig or if you're warming up. For the most part save your pieces that you play well for performing and practice your weaknesses. By making your weaknesses strengths you will become a better player!

11.28.2007

Jack of all Trades.....................


You know how the saying goes don’t you? Jack of all trades, master of none. Unfortunately that’s how many musicians end up. That’s how I was for the longest time. Learning scales, riffs, chops and any other technique that I could get my hands on. I was learning and working hard …. (This is where you pretend the Twilight Zone TV show music is playing) …. or was I. I’m sure many of you are like me, or how I was. You grab your favorite instructional book or DVD and you pick up where you left off yesterday, or the day before or you’re ready to move onto the next lesson. Whatever it is, you need to realize one thing. YOU ARE LEARNING TECHNIQUES.

You are learning scales, learning how to use these scales to begin to solo. You’re learning chords, learning chords to play rhythm patterns. You are learning hammer ons, pull off’s, bends and all kinds of neat, useful techniques. Now, I know how this practice works, been there done it, changed my view of it. Take the Minor Pentatonic scale for example. You run through the 5 positions, ok maybe you run through them maybe twice, then say to yourself “well I got that down, think I’ll get that tab of Crazy Train out and play it”. Then we spend the next half hour or hour going from excitement and anticipation to frustration. Setting the guitar down and waiting for tomorrow or even next week to try the same routine all over again. This is absolutely insane, doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

Techniques are so important, whether you are just starting or you’ve been playing guitar for 30 years. Practice should be slow and deliberate. When you are learning the basic open chords practice making each string in that chord ring out, practice another chord when you have the first one down, practice changing from chord to chord. If it’s hard to switch chords, then keep practicing, s-l-o-w-l-y. As time goes on your speed will pick up, this will happen naturally but you have to start slowly to learn how to properly make them sound. When you’re learning the Pentatonic scales the same applies. Learn one position at a time. After you learn the 5 positions then practice them …. everyday …. without fail. Slow and deliberate. Speed will come naturally. I’m not saying to run the scale 5 times and move onto the next one. I firmly believe in the use of a metronome. Turn that baby on and practice the A minor 1st position for 5 minutes straight, no breaks, no rests just practice the scale. 5 positions times 5 minutes equals 25 minutes. As you get better and by better I mean when you can play the scale at say 80 BPM then for 5 minutes, making each note ring clear and flow effortlessly through the scale then kick it up to 90 BPM, then 100 BPM and so on. It won’t take long and you’ll have smoke coming off your fret board. If you practice for an hour that still leaves 35 minutes to look at the Crazy Train tab and start figuring it out. The thing is you will have a much better grasp of things when you look at the tab and recognize the patterns that are being used and your fingers are familiar with those patterns.

I bet if you asked any musician, whether it’s John McCarthy, Freekbass, Mark Rizzo or Edie Van Halen I bet they would tell you that they consistently practice the basics that got them to the level of playing and entertaining they are at today.

11.16.2007

The Gift of Christmas

Christmas is right around the corner. It always brings back memories of the first guitar I got back in the 70’s. I really don’t remember what kind of guitar it was but I do remember how exited I was when I unwrapped it. I couldn't wait until everyone was done opening their gifts to mess with it, so I race off to my room and started digging into the package. Opening the items that came with the guitar I found a tuning pipe and a 10 page book that told me how to tune it and the chords to “hits” such as Down in the Valley and On Top of Old Smokey. After spending all morning trying tune the guitar I was ready to learn the chords to the songs that were in the book. The chord shapes weren’t too hard to make but man, pressing down hard enough to make the guitar sound the chord when you strummed it sure was tough. I played that old guitar for many years. I had no idea that it had an extremely high action, was probably made out of ply wood and couldn’t hold a tune for more than a half hour. I didn't care at all, I had a guitar. My parents, when they bought it, probably had no idea what the difference between buying a guitar at the Gibson Discount Store and buying a Gibson Guitar was. Which brings me to the point of this post.
With Christmas coming up there is no doubt many young and inspiring musicians that are in the making this year. Here’s are a tip to help you Parents, Uncles, Aunts, Brothers and sisters out.
First of all we all know you don’t want to spend a small fortune, unless you want to, to find out that your little musician isn’t interested in the guitar after a month of playing with it and now would like to play the trumpet. But, there is something to be said about buying a decent starter guitar. Buying a guitar on eBay for $4.95 plus $45.00 for shipping is definitely not the way to go. You end up with 50 bucks wrapped up in an instrument that is more times than not, hard to play, hard to tune and is of extremely poor quality. However, there are many beginner acoustic and electric guitar starter packages out there starting for about $100.00 or not much more than that, put out by well known companies such as Epiphone, Squier, Ibanez, Washburn and Fender just to name a few. They also come with some better essentials than a pitch pipe and a 10 page book. Many of the starter packs will come with extra strings, an electronic tuner, strap and what is becoming even more important these days, an instructional video or DVD. The instructional end of the package is important because even if you don’t know a lick about music, you can still sit down with your child and help them understand some of the basics of playing the guitar. Heck who knows you may even find yourself picking it up and playing.
If I still had that old guitar today I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. But I would trade the frustration and the unknown that accompanied it. Finding a starter guitar with the right accessories and learning aides would have made all the difference in the world.
Author: sarge1875

11.15.2007

Which Artist Rock House is Working on!

OK to everyone who reads the blog, your going to get the inside scoop, a behind the scenes look, the art of the deal, the inside track!(that's why you should read the blog) on which artist that Rock House is secretly trying to secure for our next programs. Check it out this is way cool. We are very close and should be completed with a deal any day now to have Alexi Laiho founding member of the band Children of Bodom join Rock House's growing roster of talented young musicians.

Alexi is a monster guitarist and was recently feature on the cover of Guitar World Magazine along with Steve Vai and Zack Wylde. Alexi is the little guy in front, but his technique and playing are anything but little.

Alexi hails from Finland, he started playing when he was about 11 years old and has dedicated his life to creating music and developing his technique. He is known for his incredible six string momentum and melodic speed along with stern vocal strenght.

DEAL POINTS: If all goes well, we could be in the studio as early January 2008. He has basically agreed to the deal, it's just that we are now sorting out the use of the COB music for the backing tracks and working at integrating ESP Guitars into the mix. We're doing this for a few reason. One they can help the Rock House army grow, they make a custom Alexi guitar that we want as a give away for a Live Chat we'll do with him at some point and if they agree to handle his travel expenses we 'll produce an entry level DVD they can use for ESP guitar packs. In addition there is also the issue of Bea who is his manager that must travel with him. We have to sort out who will pay for her. I don't really think we should have to becuase he'll be with us the entire time. However, at the end of the day I think Rock House will end up having to do it just to keep things moving along. As you can see see a lot of stuff goes on behind the scenes to make these programs come together.

THERE's MORE: So while Joe P. is working on the front end to make all this happen, John McCarthty is fast at work with his team going over the music and picking out all the "technique goodies" and dveloping the examples that he is going have Alexi show you guys in his program.

Stay tuned to the home page http://www.rockhousemethod.com/ to see what the deal is finalized.

BASS PLAYERS AND DRUMMERS DON'T WORRY WE'RE THINKING OF YOU TO. ONCE THESE DEALS GO DOWN WITH THE GUITARIST, WE MOVE ONTO THE OTHER MEMBER FO THE BAND!

A Significant Day in Rock House History!

Today was a very special day in Rock House history, today was the day we actually had the opportunity to produce an instructional DVD for Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee Bernie Worrell.

For those of you who don't know who he is , Bernie is the person credited with creating the modern language for the Keyboard. He has performed on over 300 records for a diverse range of musicians including The Pretenders, Parliament, Buddy Guy, Robin Ford, Burning Spear, Talking Heads, Keith Richards and the list just goes on and on. Two years ago there was a documentary released on his life called "Stranger Here on Earth"

Bernie was, first and foremost, a chief architect of the music of Parliament and Funkadelic. On monster jams like “Flashlight” and “Aquaboogie,” he revolutionized the use of synthesizers. On trippier album cuts like “Tales of Kidd Funkadelic” and “Atmosphere,” Bernard flexed classical chops in a radically post-modern context and blew a generation of minds.

WHAT WE LEARNED AND WANT TO PASS ON RIGHT NOW!
Here is the a little a little sample of what we learned from Bernie today. This little bit of advice goes out to not just Keyboard players, but all musicians. The number one thing Bernie teaches is "LESS IS MORE." So many times during the production he wasn't playing anything to complicated or complex, the beauty was in how he was finding the spaces musically and filling this spaces sounds that fit with the tracks. He was more concerned with the over all sonics of the piece. He is thinking, "what can I add that makes sense but doesn't step all over the other musicians."

Many times as musicians we tend to want to play the most technically complex riff or we get into a setting and want to show off or just plan rip it up. Bernie kept hammering home LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN... it is the key to adding ingredients that work. be concerned with what the piece sounds like when it all comes together, not just your what your part sounds like.

Solid advice from a a true musical legend! Look for Bernie's DVD early 2008.

Trailer from Bernie's Documentary "Stranger Here on Earth"

11.10.2007

Rock House Nominated for Award

Check it out , I just go this news from Brian Berk editor of Music and Sound Retailor

" Hey joe I wanted to alert you The Rock House Method series has been nominated for a Music & Sound Award for Best Instructional Book/Video company. We’d love to get a comment from you about it, 50 words or less, by Nov. 13. A photo is fine as well.:
Congratulations!
Brian Berk


How cool is that? I just can't beleive it, what is so exciting about this award is that this comes directly from the dealers and manufacturers they are the ones who nominate you. Other awards are based on magazine editors who give awards to company's who "wink, wink, nudge nudge" advertise. But this is honest to goodness and comes right from the store owners!

When we started Rock House in 2002 our mission was to create a unique system of learning that was engaging, self-motivated, fun to use and that offered the student on going web based lesson support. We never consider the efforts would result in nominations or awards. We’re honored to be considering for such and award!

Joe P.

11.06.2007

Picking Exercise from the DVD Learn Rock Acoustic by The Rock House Method

For Details about the full DVD program check

out the Rock House Catalog here

Playing Tips From Rock House

This Q & A comes from the "Ask the Teacher" section of http://www.rockhousemethod.com/. It’s loaded with great advice for developing guitarists. From the fundamentals of playing to sophisticated solos and modal techniques, there are priceless tips to take your skills to a higher plane.
Amps - Combo or Stack from Montana Prekker; Atlanta, GA
Q: Is a guitar amp head the same as an amp … only smaller or is there a bigger difference? I’ve heard the terms combo and stack but I don’t know what these are. I really want to get a new amp but I want to make sure I make the right choice. Thanks!

A: An amp that comes in an all-in-one unit that has one or more speakers as well as an amplifier section is usually referred to as combo amp. With this type of amp, you can just plug in, turn it on, and start ripping it up. An amp head is just the electronics section with no speaker. You need to plug the head into a speaker cabinet to make the sound come from your guitar. This type of amp is called a "stack" because you stack the head on top of the speaker cabinet.

Learning Scales in Multiple Keys, Don Hemmer; Salt Lake City, UT
Q:
First off I love your DVDs, they rock my socks, and they are a wonderful source of learning; I have referred your DVDs to many of my friends. I have a couple of questions that I hope you can help me with:

You play the natural minor scale in the key of E in your DVD. I have memorized that scale and all 5 positions as well as mixing the positions together and connecting them like Legos, but when I go to play in another key I get so confused and lost that I don’t know where I’m at in the scale when I’m improvising. Do you have any tips that will help me flow through the scales in any key without getting confused? I always choke and get stuck when it comes to different keys playing the natural minor scale. Please help me.

Do you have any practice suggestions or any suggestions at all on how I can play better leads and feel the solos? I know the natural minor scale in the key of E, but yet I can’t feel the leads and "speak" my solos.

A: Once you know the scales they are the same patterns no matter what key you choose, you just play them on different frets. I suggest that you now focus on the key of A and memorize all five positions in this key, since the two most popular keys are E & A. Here are the frets to play all five scales in A:
1st position - 5th fret
2nd position - 7th fret
3rd position - 10th fret
4th position - 12th fret
5th position - 15th or 3rd fret
Once you have the A and E scales memorized you should be able to get the other keys fairly easy by relation as follows:
B would be just two frets up from A
G would be just two frets down from A
D would be two frets down from E
F is just one fret up from E
As far as "speaking" with the scales, this will take some time and practice. Try playing the scales over progressions and start to use them as creative tools instead of thinking of them as scales. This will get you on your way to making that guitar talk!

Writing Songs 101, What Chords Go Together?Derek Kreider; Austin, TX
Q: I would like to attempt writing my own songs but I need a little help getting started in the right direction. This may sound like a dumb question but could you please give me a list of the chords that would work together in the key of A Major? Your help is greatly appreciated.

A: First, asking questions is not dumb—this is how we learn new information to help us grow! The chords in the key of A Major are as follows:A Major - B Minor - C# Minor - D Major - E 7th - F# Minor - G# Diminished
There is a chord scale that corresponds with any major scale that goes as follows:I - Major 7th, ii - Minor 7th, iii - Minor 7th , IV - Major 7th, V - Major 7th, vi - Minor 7th, vii - Minor 7th b5
The three principle chords are the I, IV & V. You can take this formula and apply it to any major scale to find all the chords that will be in that key. This does not mean that you can’t use other chords to create songs and progressions (most rules have some exceptions) they are just the chords that will fit best.
Have some fun and create a masterpiece!
Hope this helps, John McCarthy Creator of The Rock House Method