Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Diary: Shut Up And Play Your Guitar
Amazing playing week: big band UM Farmington Creative Arts Ensemble, duo with Gustavo Aguilar at Bates, Elliot Sharp's 60th at Issue Project Room, Who Killed Boo Boo? at INTAR, and New Music Tuesdays with Miguel Frasconi and Kingdom of Jones. So good to step outside the role of paper composer. Shut up and play your guitar! I will, but I'd also better sharpen my pencils.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Theory of the Day: Giant Steps again!
Giant Steps is not primarily a progression in thirds but a meditation on the triple character of an augmented triad. On a guitar, this is an easier way to organize the materials in a way that is fluidly tri-modal (B, Eb, G).
Monday, February 28, 2011
Diary: snow day at UM Farmington
Did a master class at UM Farmington. so much snow that classes were cancelled. But guitarists showed up anyway. The guitar as a system was the topic. Hope I influenced some young musicians. Jammed with Gustavo Aguilar-that dude is a monster.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Guitar Technique of the Day: EQ
Clarifying frequencies opens a spatial dimension in addition to wavelength consideration or opening up frequency spectrum.
EQ helps define the SIZE of the instrument and the sound.
Multiple stages of EQs is basic technique.
SHADOW metaphor
Because the guitar tone control is a low pass filter, the control doesn't have any effect on the low frequencies below the EQ's cut off frequency; it only effects higher frequencies above the cutoff frequency. Since most EQ is subtractive, an EQ after your guitar, before the amp, enables access to low frequencies for roll off (or boost too, but watch out) depending on the instrument, the amp, and the room/space you are playing in, and your ears. Get big ears. Grow golden ears.
...more to come for sure.
EQ helps define the SIZE of the instrument and the sound.
Multiple stages of EQs is basic technique.
SHADOW metaphor
Because the guitar tone control is a low pass filter, the control doesn't have any effect on the low frequencies below the EQ's cut off frequency; it only effects higher frequencies above the cutoff frequency. Since most EQ is subtractive, an EQ after your guitar, before the amp, enables access to low frequencies for roll off (or boost too, but watch out) depending on the instrument, the amp, and the room/space you are playing in, and your ears. Get big ears. Grow golden ears.
...more to come for sure.
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