Cool Tool - The Lap Steel - Part One

Intro to the Lap Steel.

Some great Lap Steel players...
Music by Ry Cooder - Ry Cooder
Pull up Some Dust and Sit Down - Ry Cooder
The Ry Cooder Anthology - Ry Cooder
El Rayo-X - David Lindley (Jackson Brown's slide player)
Very Greasy - David Lindley

Recording King Lap Steel

Stevens Slide

Electromatic Lap Steel

Goldtone Lap Steel

Cool Site - Guitar Connoisseur Magazine

Check out the inaugural issue of Guitar Connoisseur Magazine. Very cool format.

Cool Tool - The "African" Guitar

Bought a used Squier Tele for $119 and turned it into an "African" guitar. Same tuning, just put a skinny string (.009-.012) in place of the fourth string.

Tuning - E, A, D (up octave), G, B, E

Just the D string is changed.

Voicings played in the video...

xx5555 - Am7 (Ukulele tuning)
xx0212 - D7, xx4535 - D7, xx7778 - D7, xx10111010 - D7
x5423x - D, x10978 - G, x1211912x - A
xx0232 - D, xx0433 - G, xx0655 - A4

How I Played "Turn To You" by Justin Bieber

Here's the tune...

And here's the lesson...

..

Verse chords...

Capo 5th fret...

x24430 - Em4

x02200 - D2

Chorus chords (two takes of the Martin and two takes of the high-strung)

No capo

x35050 - C

x79080 - Em7

x35050 - C

x57070 - D2(add 4)

Bridge chords (no capo) - Am, Em, G, D/F#, Am, Em, G, D

Playing the B Chord - Part Two

Some voicings used in the video...

x2440x - B5

x24400 - Bsus

x24440 - B4

x24402 - B5

79980x - B

799800 - B4

x99807 - B/F#

079900 - E5, x46600 - C#m7, x24400 - Bsus, x02200 - A2

Capo second fret and B is played as an A

Capo fourth fret and B is played as a G

Playing the Bb or B Chord - Part One

Practice alternating between Bb and bunches of other chords...

Bb F Bb C Bb Dm Bb Gm Bb E Bb G Bb D Bb A etc

 Practice alternating between B and bunches of other chords...

B E B F# B G#m B C#m B D#m B A B D B G B F B etc.

100 Great Rock Riffs...

...played one right after each other. Live!

The Drop Two Chord - Lesson 32 (ii-V-I's)

ii-V-I chords starting with the root inversion Dm7 Drop 2 chord.

Some of the voicings from the video

x5756x - Dm7, x5546x - G7, x3545x - Cmaj7
x5656x - Dm7b5, x5546x - G7, x3545x - Cmaj7
x5656x - Dm7b5, x4546x - G7b5, x3545x - Cmaj7
x5656x - Dm7b5, x5646x - G7b9, x3545x - Cmaj7
x5656x - Dm7b5, x4646x - G7b5b9 (Db7), x3545x - Cmaj7
x5355x - Dm9, x5546x - G7, x3545x - Cmaj7
x5355x - Dm9, x5546x - G7, x3545x - Cmaj7
x5355x - Dm9, x4546x - G7b5, x3545x - Cmaj7
x5355x - Dm9, x5646x - G7b9, x3545x - Cmaj7
x5355x - Dm9, x4646x - G7b5b9 (Db7), x3545x - Cmaj7

My blog...
http://proguitarsecrets.blogspot.com/

Cool Site - The Perfect Rhyme Site...

In fact it's called...

Perfect Rhyme

For you songwriter's out there. I was looking for a site that did soft rhymes, you know ones that are close enough. Really open up the options.

Playing the F Chord - Part Two

Some alternate shapes for the F chord...

xx3211- F, xx3213- F2, xx3210- Fmaj7, xx3010 - Fmaj9, xx3013- F2,  xx3011 - F2, x33211 - F/C, x03211 - F/A, x33011 - F2/C, x03011 - F2/A, x03010 - Fmaj9/A, x33010 - Fmaj9/C, x33210 - Fmaj7/C

Extra Credit -
133011 - F2 (no 3rd)

Playing the F Chord - Part One

Practice alternating between F and bunches of other chords...

F C F G F A F E F D F G F E F A F D F etc

In the key of C (more likely neighboring chords) - 

F C F G F Am F Dm F Em F etc

The Drop Two Chord - Lesson 31 (ii-V-I's)

ii-V-I chords starting with the 2nd inversion Gm7 Drop 2 chord.

Some of the voicings from the video

xx12121113 - Gm7, xx10121112 - C7, xx10101012 - Fmaj7
xx12121113 - Gm7, xx10121112 - C7, xx10101013 - F
xx12121113 - Gm7, xx12121112 - C9, xx10101012 - Fmaj7
xx12121112 - Gm6, xx10121112 - C7, xx10101012 - Fmaj7
xx12121113 - Gm7, xx10111112 - C7b5, xx10101012 - Fmaj7
xx12121113 - Gm7, xx10131112 - C7#5, xx10101012 - Fmaj7
xx11121113 - Gm7b5, xx10111112 - C7b5, xx10101012 - Fmaj7
xx11121113 - Gm7b5, xx10111112 - C7b5, xx10101012 - Fmaj7
xx11121113 - Gm7b5, xx11121112 - C7b9, xx10101012 - Fmaj7
xx13121113 - Gm7#5, xx11121112 - C7b9, xx10101012 - Fmaj7

The Drop Two Chord - Lesson 30 (ii-V-I's)

ii-V-I chords starting with the 1st inversion Gm7 Drop 2 chord. Some of the voicings from the video xx810810 - Gm7, xx8988 - C7, xx7968 - Fmaj7 xx810810 - Gm7, xx8988 - C7, xx10101012 - Fmaj7 xx810810 - Gm7, xx10121112 - C7, xx10101012 - Fmaj7 xx810810 - Gm7, xx10121112 - C7, xx10101010 - F6 xx810810 - Gm7, xx8988 - C7, xx7768 - F6 xx81089 - Gm7b5, xx8988 - C7, xx7968 - Fmaj7 xx81089 - Gm7b5, xx8988 - C7, xx10101012 - Fmaj7 xx810810 - Gm7, xx8978 - C7b5, xx7968 or xx10101012 - Fmaj7 xx810810 - Gm7, xx89811 - C7#9, xx10101012 - Fmaj7 xx81089 - Gm7b5, xx89811 - C7#9, xx10101012 - Fmaj7 xx5666 - Gm7b5, xx8989 and xx11121112- C7b9, xx10101012 - Fmaj7  xx5666 - Gm7b5, xx8989 and xx11121112- C7b9, xx14141313 - Fmaj7  Not in the vid, just thought of it now...  xx810811 - Gm7#5, xx8989 - C7b9, xx7968 - Fmaj7

The Guitar That Saved My Life

Do I have a tendency to overstate? I don't think so, maybe. But this guitar did indeed save my life. 

1974. When I was thirteen my world was rocked (non-musically) by the divorce of my parents. This announcement caught me totally off guard. My sisters were probably more attuned to tensions in the household and saw it coming, but not me. 

I had already been struggling with violent anger, depression and suicidal thoughts as a pre-teen. Teenage angst and a now uncertain future only amplified (pun not intended) these struggles.

Flash back a couple of months to my thirteenth birthday. My parents spent the heavenly sum of $300 for an Ibanez copy of a Gibson 175. This probably should've been my first clue of the impending announcement. The used Fender Mustang at the store had just sold. The Ibanez was my second choice. This was my first electric. 

I was getting serious about guitar. My father was thrilled by my new found interest in Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and Jazz. For me guitar was a distraction and an identity. Perusing the notes in my Junior High yearbooks clearly shows my identity as "Tom the Guitar Player". That was great, but because this was Indiana and I wasn't "Tom the Basketball Star". I wasn't attaining the popularity that I craved. Being blind in one eye and thus having no depth perception made it difficult for me to sink simple 20-foot jump shots. I was known as "Air Strahle" as in air ball.

Enter Stan Walker. Star of the basketball team who befriended me. Not sure why. Maybe because his older brother was a musician too. Maybe because I was a charity case. Help the unpopular kid move up a notch or two. I didn't care why or mind. That is until he invited me to a Christian meeting. Ah, this is how it's going to be. A friendship with strings attached.

I was a declared atheist. "I don't believe in God. I believe in science." I would tell people. Though admittedly science didn't adequately answer all my questions. Like what's beyond the edges of the known universe? What number is bigger than infinity? What is time? 

I begrudgingly went with Stan to a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting for junior and senior high students. To my surprise there weren't hooded monks sacrificing goats and pigeons to appease God and atone for sins. Just a bunch of kids in jeans and puca shells singing "Kumbaya". Not exactly "Giant Steps" but the guy leading the songs was playing an actual Gibson 175. Not a fake like mine. Pretty cool.

There was a speaker that probably spoke about Jesus or something. I don't recall. The Gibson was sitting in a stand on stage the whole time. And there my focus lie. The recent college grad got up to lead one more song at the end of the meeting. Probably "Pass It On." (Not a reefer sharing reference mind you.) 

Afterwards I went up to the song-leader and asked if I could play his guitar. He probably didn't recall signing up for pimple faced punks playing his sweet guitar when he got into ministry but he relented. His worst fears were assuaged I'm sure when he saw how gingerly I handled his guitar. Like it was a Fabergé Egg. Then I played some Charlie Parker line or Wes Montgomery lick and he knew the guitar was in better hands. (His admission not mine.)

I guess I became a special ministry project of Paul's. He wanted to meet me after school and take me to McDonald's. This was long before Jeffrey Dahmer. But I was still a little weirded out and pretended to forget he was picking me up and caught the bus home instead. This happened twice before Paul successfully corralled me into a meal with an evangelistic message as dessert. Mmmm.

While sitting in a booth at the Nora McDonald's Paul told me about a God who was bigger than infinity, held the universe in His hand and started the clock and someday was going to stop the clock. Not sure if it was the smell of burning cow flesh or the truth he told me but it made sense. Somewhere between the fries and shake I gave my life to Jesus.

Flash forward 35 years. Paul is still on staff with Campus Crusade with kids in college, a home that needed repairs and ministry salary he called me and asked if I would be interested in buying (for a fair price) the guitar that his father gave his mother in the sixties. I gave him a more than a fair price because I wanted to keep the guitar in "the family". Besides it's the guitar that saved my life. In the picture above, my first electric (the Ibanez) and the Guitar That Saved My Life (the Gibson). The actual guitar. Thanks Paul.

The Drop Two Chord - Lesson 29 (ii-V-I's)

ii-V-I chords starting with the root inversion Gm7 Drop 2 chord.

Some of the voicings from the video

xx5766 - Gm7, xx5556 - C7, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx5766 - Gm7, xx5556 - C7, xx7968 - Fmaj7
xx5766 - Gm7, xx8988 - C7, xx7968 - Fmaj7
xx5766 - Gm7, xx8988 - C7, xx10101012 - Fmaj7
xx5766 - Gm7, xx8978 - C7b5, xx7968 - Fmaj7
xx5766 - Gm7, xx4556 - C7b5, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx5766 - Gm7, xx2314 - C7#5, xx7968 - Fmaj7
xx5666 - Gm7b5, xx4556 - C7b5, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx5666 - Gm7b5, xx4556 - C7b5, xx7968 - Fmaj7
xx5666 - Gm7b5, xx5656 - C7b9, xx7968 - Fmaj7
xx5666 - Gm7b5, xx5656 and xx8989 - C7b9, xx7968 - Fmaj7
xx5666 - Gm7b5, xx5656 and xx8989 - C7b9, xx10101012 - Fmaj7

Cool Tool - Jerry Jones Electric Sitar

Jerry Jones doesn't make guitars anymore. Bummer. Rogue doesn't seem to be making them either. Must not have been a big seller. Check eBay.

The Drop Two Chord - Lesson 28 (ii-V-I's)

ii-V-I chords starting with the 3rd inversion Gm7 Drop 2 chord.

Some of the ones from the video

xx3333 - Gm7, xx2313 - C7, xx2211 - Fmaj7
xx3333 - Gm7, xx2313 - C7, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx3333 - Gm7, xx5556 - C7, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx3335 - Gm9, xx2313 - C7, xx2211 - Fmaj7
xx3335 - Gm9, xx2313 - C7, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx3333 - Gm7, xx2314 - C7#5, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx3335 - Gm9, xx2314 - C7#5, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx3323 - Gm7b5, xx2314 - C7#5, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx3333 - Gm7, xx2333 - C9, xx2211 - Fmaj7
xx3333 - Gm7, xx2333 - C9, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx3335 - Gm9, xx2335 - C13, xx3555 - Fmaj7
xx3335 - Gm9, xx2325 - C13b9, xx3555 - Fmaj7

Giant Steps Harmonized for Solo Guitar

Using mostly Drop 2 chords and some Drop 3 chords. Basically just voiced the chords with the melody on top. Simple as that. Click on chart to see it bigger.

Gibson 175

Cool Site - Play DADGAD

Play DADGAD for the Celtics out there.