August 28, 2008
Guest Blogger, Music / Artists
No Comments
I don’t know if this happens on MySpace to everyone, but, the other night I got a friend request from the official BB King MySpace. I have no idea why, maybe someone out there knows how that all works. Maybe they pick someone at random. Anyway, I don’t care why I got the request because it made me goofy-happy.
I was very honored to have had the chance to see Mr. King in concert at a small venue a few years ago. The theater only holds about 1200 people and we were in the fourth row in the pit. My heart was in my throat the entire concert. To be sitting there, that close to a blues legend was just about more than I could handle.
BB is charming and magical and he did not disappoint. I kept thinking of all the music we love today and how it all really came from people like Mr. King who kept playing and writing no matter what they faced in their lives.
From rock and roll to rap, if you listen to the blues, it is all there. If you don’t get it, you don’t get music, plain and simple. I love the raw feelings and delivery that turn those basic three chord turn-a-rounds into thousands of songs in their own right. I love the hesitation, the crack of the voice, the smooth, deep resonance..I love it all.
If you look into their weathered faces and the way they caress their guitars, you know they share with us something timeless and beautiful–they make us feel.
I honor and thank all those musicians, some gone, some still with us, who blazed that trail and opened us up to a whole new world. I honor their lives, their generosity, and their brave souls. I honor their music, the music they made ours.
Lawana
August 25, 2008
Gear, News
No Comments
We added a ton of new links to Rick’s page. A complete resource for instruments, amps, cables, electronics, and other gear - the ‘Links’ page has most of the big name manufacturers in the business. If you’re looking for something specific, or just curious about what’s available in the industry, hop over and have a look around.
Click here to see the ‘Links’ page
Webmaster
August 5, 2008
Tips / Technique
1 Comment
A few of my advanced students have dreams of working in Nashville as studio musicians. Nashville uses a method called the Nashville Number System. The Nashville Number System is a shorthand method of writing musical arrangements that was developed by Nashville studio musicians based on the degrees of the scale (do, re, me, fa, sol, la, ti ..). It is a powerful tool in the written communication of music.
I am starting to teach this method which is well known in the recording industry. The Beatles, during a recording session in England, hired a Nashville pianist and asked if he wanted them to play the song for him to become familiar with it. The pianist looked at their arrangement and started jotting down notes. The Fab Four noticed that the pianist was jotting down numbers instead of chord changes and notes. To their surprise, he told them he was ready to record. He played it through the first time perfectly. The pianist was using the Nashville Number System.
Recording time is very expensive and this method cuts down on costs significantly. I am anxious to see how my students take to this method.
Rick
August 5, 2008
Gear, Music / Artists
No Comments
Well, summer is almost over and I know we have all been very busy, but it is getting to be that time when we all will want to cozy up with our instrument of choice. I found these strange guitars while surfing around and I wanted to share them. I guess there is a guitar out there for everyone.
Click here to see them:
STRANGE GUITARS
Rick
