Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Mo' Picks...

I can never have enough different picks; heavy picks, thin picks, cheap picks, expensive picks, red picks, blue picks, old pick, new picks.

It's the quickest way to change the sound of an instrument. Especially acoustics. 

Monday, June 10, 2013

Banjo Claw

Tracking banjo today...

Saw somewhere, probably on Youtube, a trick to lesson the scraping sound when playing banjo, use a pair of pliers to slighty twist the tip of the picks to make them strike the string more straight on and less along the edge.

Goodtime Banjo

Banjo Picks

Friday, June 7, 2013

A Rare Regret...

Even in Indiana in the 70's I'd heard of Ted Greene. I bought these two Ted Greene books...

Chord Chemistry and Modern Chord Progressions

... while I was still in high school. Both hugely influential on my growth. Once I was in college I picked up these two tomes...

Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing Volume One and Volume Two

... both deep and thorough treatises into single line phraseology. Not quite as influential on me, but still important.

And I bought his record "Solo Guitar".

Flash forward to 1983, and I'm jamming with some friends. One of the other guitarists told me he was taking lessons from Ted Greene. "The Ted Greene?" I asked and indeed it was the same TG that authored my now dogeared and well-worn books aforementioned. He told me he was taking lessons from him for $15 an hour. Really? I was charging $10 and hour myself. I should take lessons from him I said. I didn't.

Flash forward another ten years. Another friend was studying with him. Still only $15 a lesson. I should take some lessons. And again I didn't. So many great players studied with him. What skills and knowledge would I have attained had I shelled out a couple hundred bucks for some tutelage.

Well, now, post-mortum I can study with Ted a little through YouTube's amazing Ted Greene Archives` are an amazing collection of guitar lessons filmed by former students. Here's an example of one such lesson...