So who's a muso?

[Mong.]

I thought I'd make a thread for the musically talented (or not) among us. I started playing about half way through high school, I was fortunate enough to have an absolute tremendous teacher who taught me to appreciate good music and quality playing rather than a curriculum. That became problematic a few years later when I started playing in the jazz ensemble and the senior school stage band, but I caught up and was fortunate enough to tour a few times with the ensemble and with my teacher as a backing player in a band called the Jazz Hats.

When I got to year 12, I dropped out of my musical commitments quite a bit and never really recovered until about a year ago. I blame this on a nightmare day in 2008. We had just finished rehearsing in the school studio for the end of year school meeting, which was held annually at Hamer Hall at the Arts Center in Melbourne. It's a phenomenal sounding room, so I was bouncing off the walls with excitement at getting to rip some huge chords out of my Les Paul. My joy was short-lived. I propped my guitar against a bench so I could grab the hard case, and as I turned, I experienced a slowing of time as the Les Paul slowly began to fall towards the floor. I was 3m away and too far to save it. Long story short, my precious bounced off the floor and snapped at the neck. The bond between a man and his favourite guitar is strong, so that was pretty crushing.

I replaced it with a nice Schecter Tempest 30th Anniversary Special, but it's not the same. The Scheckie is a solid beast though, and it's been getting a pretty heavy workout the last year. It's paired with an Orange Rocker 30 and Epiphone Blues Custom valve amps, via a couple of MI Audio stomp boxes. There's something about ripping a huge chord on a cranked tube amp that just makes you feel better than every man, and that feeling is doubled when you play live. I'm champing at the bit to get back out there with a band and play live. A buddy approached me to get a small group together to play small functions, so with any luck, I'll shortly be entering the scary world of a (not very) professional musician.

Here's a pic of my main rig, if anyone's interested. The resonator is a Regal duolian with a National cone, it's a great guitar for slide and for busking.



What about the rest of you? I know Drubs and Jug play, who has a story?

 

[gthomas04]

HMM lets see. I followed about as much of that as the HP Geeks R Us thread. I gather you make a loud noise with a guitar? I could once play Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater on the black keys of a piano (apart from that I couldn't carry a note in a suitcase) so I guess this will need to be my only contribution in this thread.

 

[Johnus]

Most that I can hold a claim to is that I work the sound for a local theatrical group. Right now we're doing Shakespeare in the Park.

 

[Mong.]

Most that I can hold a claim to is that I work the sound for a local theatrical group. Right now we're doing Shakespeare in the Park.View attachment 476

Sound guys are the most under-appreciated blokes in the business. When your job relies on you sounding good, you want that guy on your side. I used to dabble in production, it's quite a good time setting up your board and then sitting back and thinking, "Damn, this sounds goooooood."

 

[Johnus]

I have to agree with you. For this current production 'tech' week started last Sunday. The actors were required to be at the park from 6:30pm to ~9:30pm for rehearsals and 4 days of the actual play.*
As the sound had to be setup and taken down each day, I had to be there from ~ 4pm to 11pm.
This has been my second out of doors play in 2 months. Just glad that Sunday's play ends this run!

* and seeing I'm there 1st and last, why not just give me the keys so I can open up the concessions, gates, toilets and storage room.(;-(

 

[Mong.]

I had a great opportunity to sit in for a few songs at a gig tonight. One of my good mates and a fella I used to play with invited me to play relief on a few old school classics, and I was happy to go down with my gat and oblige. It's a tough gig playing for hours in a house band, and I haven't played live to an audience in a decent while. We came on late at Bennetts Lane jazz club, and played some cool arrangements of 'Have Love Will Travel' and 'Roadhouse Blues'. I didn't realise I missed this, but jamming with your friends is way different to playing in front of a lively audience and much more fun. Mildly terrifying too.

 

[JugV2]

I love jamming and just playing for hours...I've got around 20 songs in my "oh hey I know this if you wanna play.." list.

Most recent addition is Love Me Two Times. It's a little tricky because of the jazz beat and triplets that Densmore threw into it, but after hearing an Aerosmith version that has none of that, I decided to reinvent the song in true rock fashion.

I'm becoming more dissatisfied with my cymbal sound so in the new year I plan to replace most of the brass with new stuff and see how that goes.

Over Christmas we should all have a bit of time to play so we plan to hire a music room for the day and get five or six people in there and just go nuts.

Oh and I am trying to learn Evermore, but man it's tough. It jumps around a lot in beat and I also don't quite want to learn to play a song I absolutely love because I think it will forever change the way I look at it.

Most played songs currently:

Green onions
That Blues riff (AKA Peter Gunn Theme, which is a good warm up song)
Stormy Monday (slow Blues)
Wish you were here
Gone away
Defy You
If I could change
Goat on the ceiling (Gold on the Ceiling)
Love me 2 times
Chemical Heart
Hard act to follow
Freak
Corduroy
S.O.F.T
Santa Monica
Down in the park
I’m on the outside
In The Flesh
Use By Date
Back in Black
Long as I can see the light
Dazed and Confused

 

[Drubbing]

I'm still pretty much a beginner / intermediate. There's some stuff I can do that's beyond my overall level, like strumming, rhythms and muting - but I just don't know enough tunes.

So I've paused my learning of new stuff, like A shaped barres, min and 7s, and blues/lead stuff, and just focussing on getting songs nailed. I bought an acoustic to do that, as most stuff I'm learning are acoustic arrangements anyway, and playing an acoustic consolidate my technique on electric. Progress is slow, work, kids etc.

Stuff I can play pretty well to getting there

Wild Thing (in my sleep) 3 fkin chords, how can you go wrong?
Bits and pieces of Acca Dacca
Coupla Crowded house songs
Coupla Travis
coupla U2
coupla Oasis
Brown eyed girl
Take it easy - Eagles
Lonely Boy - Black Keys
Few other bits and pieces, intros, riffs etc

It's not much for 18 months work.

 

[JugV2]

Mate it's not about how many songs you know it's about feeling the music and enjoying what you do.

I love playing Wild Thing, it's a complete improv song if ever there was one. Ever since Sam Kinison butchered it back in the late eighties it's open slather on that one.

 

[Mong.]

Some great tunes mentioned above! I keep a book of mostly handwritten arrangements for songs I've learned, mostly just chord charts and a few choice licks. Since getting back into guitar, I've been trying to develop my ears a bit more and rely less on tabs and sheet. I'm slowly getting to the point where I can step into a jam and play from ear, some of the old school garage rock like The Sonics is both fun and easy to pick up. I try to match up old school songs like Green Onions with scales to practice, and then improvise to learn fretboard position. It's a bit more interesting than just sitting around with a metronome.

Beginner, intermediate, advanced, these are all just words, Drubs. If you're enjoying what you're playing and expanding your knowledge, it really doesn't matter how technically proficient you are. Strive for tone, man! Have you worked on your improvisation much? A little bit of knowledge goes a long way once you start to go off the reservation, and eventually, you start to just know where to play in different progressions.

Jug, I feel bad for you dude! I guess cymbals are the drummers equivalent of stomp boxes. Never quite satisfied, always looking for something just a little different. How many do you have in your kit?

Also, Gone Away by the Offspring? One of the first songs I ever played with a band! I love the drum opening, the floor tom and ride combo is awesome. I could sing that high when I was fifteen too. :cheesy:

 

[Drubbing]

Mate it's not about how many songs you know it's about feeling the music and enjoying what you do.

I love playing Wild Thing, it's a complete improv song if ever there was one. Ever since Sam Kinison butchered it back in the late eighties it's open slather on that one.

Yeah, I took to that one. I mix up the strums as they come. it's still totally Wild thing, but I fill with mini rhythms/strums in underneath the main one.

Can't improv Mong, I suck badly. I can't find a melody from my scales, what's why I've fallen back on learning songs...

 

[JugV2]

Jug, I feel bad for you dude! I guess cymbals are the drummers equivalent of stomp boxes. Never quite satisfied, always looking for something just a little different. How many do you have in your kit?

Also, Gone Away by the Offspring? One of the first songs I ever played with a band! I love the drum opening, the floor tom and ride combo is awesome. I could sing that high when I was fifteen too. :cheesy:

I have all Zildjian brass.
10" splash
20" Heavy Ride
18" Crash Ride
16" Crash
16" China
14" HiHats

I'm really not happy with the crash ride, it's a shit cymbal and just a cheap bit of crap I got ages ago. I like the splash but I want something a bit lighter and brighter.

That's the exact same reason I like playing Gone Away...the intro is awesome as a lead in. Always liked Offspring and I am keen to play some more but the guitarist needs to learn it.

I use Green Onions as a warm up to get things flowing...can't go wrong with a bit of blues.

 

[Mong.]

Can't improv Mong, I suck badly. I can't find a melody from my scales, what's why I've fallen back on learning songs...

There's an exercise to try and getting better at creating licks from scales. Use a 12-bar blues backing track, and start by playing one note within your chosen scale over the first chord. At the second change, add a second note. Third change, add a third. By the time you get back to the top of the progression, you have a combination of notes. If you ever add one that sucks, don't change it. You have an opportunity to resolve the 'blue' note at the next change, and it adds a bit of colour to the 'lick-in-progress'. It's an exercise in expression rather than technical ability, and a good opportunity to practice your vibrato technique. If you learn (or make) one lick a day, after a year, you have hundreds.

I have all Zildjian brass.

My brother uses those too, a couple of his are really heavy which I like. They have a nice 'fat' sound to them.

That's the exact same reason I like playing Gone Away...the intro is awesome as a lead in. Always liked Offspring and I am keen to play some more but the guitarist needs to learn it.

I like that old school Offspring like Self Esteem and Can't Repeat. Fun to thrash about on them.

 

[JugV2]

Love Self Esteem. One song we have been playing recently is Defy You by Offspring. It sounds busy but most of it is just chord strumming there's nothing too fancy in there; the drums sounded flat out until I picked it all apart and realised it's a really basic beat with a half on the snare. Throw in a few rolls in the chorus and you're done.

One thing I have been doing, which I guess shows in the list of songs I have been playing, is trying to learn discipline. Metallica's Sad But True is a good one for this: you have no choice but to learn timing and to SLOW THE FUCK DOWN.

 

[Drubbing]

There's an exercise to try and getting better at creating licks from scales. Use a 12-bar blues backing track, and start by playing one note within your chosen scale over the first chord. At the second change, add a second note. Third change, add a third. By the time you get back to the top of the progression, you have a combination of notes. If you ever add one that sucks, don't change it. You have an opportunity to resolve the 'blue' note at the next change, and it adds a bit of colour to the 'lick-in-progress'. It's an exercise in expression rather than technical ability, and a good opportunity to practice your vibrato technique. If you learn (or make) one lick a day, after a year, you have hundreds.

Tried exercises a bit like that on the corse I'm following. The advice is if you hit a bum note, you're only one fret away from one that should work. But I find it dull practice. As much as I love rock, I've never been one to get a stiffy over the lead playing (although I have favourite solos). Give me Malcolm over Angus any day. I've always been a riffhead, I think rhythm playing is more my thing, at least for now.