The Gibson Les Paul has great style, rocking hardware, and almost perfect tone. The maple top body is beautiful for the front. The back is made out of mahogany, as well as the neck of this instrument. Does this make the tone sound almost perfect? Or is it the burst buckers they put in these new Les Paul’s? Do they mesh with the rich wood put in this instrument? This instrument has a rosewood fingerboard, but I don’t know if this makes it special, because a lot of guitars have rosewood fingerboards. And with a scale length of 24-3/4’’, I believe this instrument has a lot to work with. But with all that said, the GIBSON LES PAUL has a heavy body, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s not very compact. All in all, with the tone that it brings out, I would record with this instrument, but I wouldn’t perform with it. I have never owned a Les Paul, so I can’t really say anything more on this instrument. But I’ve played some different models and I’ve felt the same with every one of them, so let me know if I’m missing any important spec’s or opinion’s on this legendary guitar.

On with the next one…

The Gibson SG is very lightweight, great tone, and very compact for the musician. With some original Les Paul spec’s, this instrument provides my need’s. The tone is just phenomenal, because of the burst buckers they provide like the Les Paul. The lightweight body style provides a story behind it. It looks like a weapon of some sort, which makes it easier to rock out, and feel free with this instrument. Everything is made of mahogany, the body, the neck, etc. With a similar fingerboard like the Les Paul, it’s made of rosewood, but that’s not the point. This instrument is very neck heavy, which makes it uncomfortable for some musicians. I’ve owned my fair share of Gibson SG models, and in my opinion they are the best Gibson to own. Why heavy guitar, when you can have a lightweight guitar just like the heavy one? I own a 1961 Gibson SG reissue. It’s an old school to new school type, and I love it. Like I said before, let me know if I’m missing any important spec’s or opinion’s on this wonderful guitar.

There you have it. I think it’s safe to say that the SG is my favorite. I want to be comfortable when I’m on stage and the SG provides that. I guess that’s why Angus Young, Tony Iommi love to play these guitars.
Give me your opinion.

SGA Instructor, Marc Price

This is was what I gave him…

The first thing I think when I sit down to practice is, “what do I hope to accomplish at the end of the practice session?”  Then, do these things relate to my overall goals as a guitar player?  This helps me to organize an effective practice session that brings me closer to my “big picture” goals, how I ultimately want to play guitar.  However, there are times (more often than I would like) that I simply do not have enough time to practice all the things I want and need to.  This is when I begin to think about practice in a slightly different way.  First, for me keeping my hands in shape is the key to holding ground as far as dexterity and endurance goes.

If I have 15-20 minutes to practice I turn on the metronome and practice scales, sequences, arpeggios.  I do this at a fairly slow tempo, as I am not really trying to accomplish anything more than to keep my hands (muscles) clued in to the fact that I am still going to require them to play guitar (as if they don’t know by now.)  For most people not playing or practicing for even a day or so will cause the muscles in your hands to lose synchronization, independence and lose “groove” or ability to play in the “pocket”.  This is what I try to avoid by playing scales & exercises with very limited time to practice.  Also, isolate any areas of your playing that are attempting make better.  For instance, if you are working on a particular passage in a song  that is 5 seconds,but, the passage is  2 minute in, do not waste the 2 minutes playing what you already know.   Fast forward to the part the section that is giving you trouble and isolate it.  This will make the most out of your limited time to practice.

If I have an hour or more to practice I will start to add things from the list below in order of importance to my goals.

Warm up:  Finger exercises at a slow tempo.  Not more than 20 min.

For example:

30-second trills for endurance and Left hand permutations i.e. 1234, 4321 for dexterity.  There are many more you can do but theses are what I start with.

Once my hand is warmed up I will move in to practicing scales, arpeggios applying sequences patterns to both ensuring that my hands will do as I ask in real time when I am improvising.  Again, depending on the time I have I may do this anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.  You should know at least one pattern for a major scale and one pattern for a minor scale.  Likewise, you should know one pattern for a major, minor and dominate arpeggio with a root on the 6^th & 5^th strings.  If you are able to do this move on the to the different patterns and modes of the major scale as well as major 7^th, minor 7^th arpeggio patterns.  After, I will typically do some improvisation with a backing track attempting to apply any new patterns or concepts that were just practiced.   After some time improvising I usually begin to hear ideas in my head that have not yet been worked in to my playing which gives me the opportunity to use some of the ear training that I have worked on by trying to get those ideas out of my head and on to my guitar!

Next, I will work on chords and rhythm guitar playing.  I may learn or construct a new chord or voicing of a chord I already know and then try to use in my playing.  I do not discriminate against styles of music.  I love country as much as rock as jazz, ect… so this helps in this category, meaning, if I learn or construct a new chord that sounds “jazz” I will try to place it in a jazz standard.  Like wise if I come up with something that sounds like it may fit in a tune I wrote I might try to place it there.  As always music and sounds are subjective so just use your ear and try to move your chord knowledge forward.

Ear training may come next and is one of the most important things to me.  Early on I really put the time in on singing scales, arpeggios and identifying intervals and chord quality (major or minor) by ear.   I highly recommend this type of ear training if you have not done it before as it is very important and for me serves as a catalyst for what I do now which is transcribe tunes.  This is a great way for me to keep my ears sharp and use some of that early training I mentioned.  The great thing about this type of ear training is when you are done you can work on many different aspects of playing.  For example: timing and groove as it pertains to the song, technique if the piece is difficult and if you are really ambitious theory and song writing, as you can analyze the songs format, chord structure as well as chord scale relationships to better understand how others write music and construct solos.

Theory may come next after I have gotten the physical part of practice done.  For some (maybe you) this needs to come first as it may be more difficult to discipline yourself to practice theory after you have just played guitar which is favored by most rather than thinking about playing (theory) which is looked at as the “spinach” of music by some.  The other reason is that you may want to sure up some theory concepts before you physically practice in order to apply those concepts as you play your guitar.  Regardless of the order you decide to put this in to your practice session with theory you should be thinking about the structure and organization of music and how to better understand it.  Starting with learning and have a firm understanding of the cycle of keys, better know as the cycle of 5^ths and cycle of 4^ths.  Your understanding of this is absolutely crucial to developing a strong understanding of chord structure, scale structure and chord scale relationships.  Memorizing these cycle of keys should be first followed by chord and scale construction.  This is only the tip of the iceberg in regards to theory but as I mentioned is critical to further development of more advance theory concepts.

There are many areas of overlap in my practice as there will be in yours.  However, in the beginning you may need to isolate areas in order to gain understanding of a particular topic before you can create that overlap or it occurs naturally.

Happy practice!

He’s only 13 yrs old!!!

Before we get started there are some things that you should have in place before you even step foot in to a guitar store.  Some of the decisions you make before you buy could save you lots of $$$.  1) You should have a good idea of what your budget is. This will help you and the salesmen to get started in the correct price range.  2) Do a little homework.  You are off to a good start by reading this article, but you can also research the internet to get a good idea of the price ranges and choices you have with some of the popular household names for guitar e.g. Fender or Gibson.  3) Have a good idea what your level of commitment is for learning guitar. If your just starting out you are probably raring to go excited and motivated but understand that to some degree buying a $1500.00 guitar is like drinking a fine wine without developing your pallet to appreciate or even notice a difference from a $10.00 wine.  4) If you have the cash to buy, use it. Have you ever heard the term “Cash is king”…it is.  Music stores may be willing to give you a discount if you can buy with cash, further more if you ask to deal with the store manager your chances for a cash deal may be even better.

So, with some of these things in mind lets look at some things you can expect when buying a guitar.

All popular guitar companies like Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, to mention a few, have a line of guitar priced to meet anyone’s budget.  You will usually find a low, middle and high range in their pricing.  Generally speaking, each of these companies keep their prices relativity close in the low and middle range; they are competing for your business.  Over the entire spectrum, you can expect to see a price range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.

Let me break these down for you:

You are most likely to see these price ranges in brand name guitars.

• Starter Packs $150-$299
• Low range: $299-$499
• Mid range:  $499-$799
• High range: $800-up

(These prices vary depending on what music store you are in.)

As a professional guitarist and instructor, it is very difficult for me to recommend the low line guitar to anyone.  Although, if your budget does not allow for the mid range guitar or you are purchasing for your son or daughter and are not sure of their commitment, this may be a good place to start. Most of these companies offer what they call “Starter Packs” which usually includes all the necessary items to get started:  guitar, amp, picks, cable, strap etc…I would say the “Starter Pack” from anyone one of these companies would be good for someone ages 8-12.  By and large anyone above the age of 12 might see this type of guitar as a toy and not take the endeavor seriously.  So, if you plan on taking lessons which I HIGHLY recommend you may actually waste money by buying the least expensive guitar. On the other hand, if you decide to up grade or the person learning loses interest, you won’t be out too much money.

If you decide that the starter pack is not for you and are able to spend a little more money you can get a good guitar.  Fender has what they call a Mexican Stratocaster, which is made in Ensenada, Mexico.  These are good guitars for the money and seem to hold up well.  Similarly, Gibson has a line of guitar called Epiphone, which may be comparable to the Mexican Stratocaster.  Do keep in mind that even two guitars of the same make and model may feel and sound a bit different so have the sales person play a couple of guitars of the same make and model and compare similarly price but different brand guitars.  You will probably notice a significant difference in sound between all three of the guitars I’ve mentioned.

With the mid price priced guitar you are usually getting a more quality instrument.   You will typically see better construction of the guitar and more quality hardware.  The hardware on an electric guitar is the bridge, pickups and tuners.  Most mid priced guitars from these companies are good guitars that you can stick with for a while.  I have several students that have been happy with this type of guitar for years and only up grade when they have really been bitten by the guitar bug and begin to consider guitar more than a hobby.  If you can afford a guitar between $499 & $799 and feel a strong commitment to learning the guitar you may want to consider this.

Guitarists that pursue music on a more serious level usually consider the higher priced guitar.  Simi-professional and professional musicians that play live in bands, make money from playing music or are very committed to the instrument are the ones that consider paying a $1000 or more for a guitar.  At this level all the elements of a guitar seriously come in to play for a guitarist.  The wood of the guitar, hardware, pickups the shape of the of neck all kinds of things that critically affect the sound…don’t get me wrong, all of these matter on the lower and mid levels, just not to such a degree.  I would definitely wait to buy an instrument of this level, as it is back to the fine wine analogy.

I would say that as a good rule of thumb if you are new to the world of guitar, sticking with brand names such as Fender, Gibson or Ibanez you will be dealing with companies that have built a good reputation for building guitars.  There are countless other reputable companies that do an exceptional job building a quality guitar, but the examples I use almost seem to be household names.

If you don’t know what the yips are the best way for me to explain is it’s basically you getting in your own way.  That faint voice in the back of your head that says “your not good enough” or right before a big solo “don’t mess it up” get VERY loud.  I feel if your not careful this voice could very easily take over.

Luckily I was taking some classes with Tim Bogert of “Vanilla Fudge” who immediately recognized what was going on and recommended I read this book.  With a little help from Tim and “The Inner Game of Music” I regained the confidence to play like a pro.

I think learning early on how to deal with high pressure situations and those little voices has made it possible for me to be a part of some really great projects over the years… yes, where every note is scrutinized.

Lennon & Mc Cartney said it best, “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends”.  I think at times we could all use a little help.  Check this book out, it really helped me to refocus, believe I was on the right path and get back in to the zone.

1) To start with, look to the things that first inspired you to play guitar to begin with.  I know that for myself, watching some of my favorite guitar players perform is highly motivating for me.  Soaking in the music and fire that comes from a guitarist that is in his/her moment of inspiration is extremely contagious. For me,watching my favorite guitarist would give me enough inspiration to practice for months.  Their performances etched in my mind I would continually draw on it for inspiration. Find that player(s)whom you admire, and let their music and playing be the spark for reigniting the fire inside of you.

2) Make sure you set musical goals for yourself and that you have a clear path to achieve those goals.  Having goals is essential to your progress and gives purpose to your practice.  You wouldn’t take a cross-country trip without charting out your direction.  If you did, you would very likely get lost, waste time and energy getting there and you are more likely to give up from your lack of direction.  Take a look at your musical goals and ask yourself, are you practicing things that will bring you closer to what you want from guitar.  Also, ask yourself “are my goals still relevant?”  Over time you may need to adjust your goals or change them completely. As time goes on you may find you want something different than you originally set out to accomplish.   Adjusting your goals is completely acceptable but be truthful with yourself.  There is a difference between modifying a goal and simply giving up, you’ll know the difference.

3) Find an experienced guitar instructor that is a good fit for you.  Great instructors are hard to find.  This may be the biggest challenge you may possibly face but will pay off in spades when you find one. A good instructor should keep you focused and motivated and help you to refine your goals as you progress.  A great guitar instructor will inspire you through times of frustration and give you the confidence to continue your quest of learning guitar. Great instructors will be interested in your advancement and growth as a musician and help you to see a clear path of how to get to where you want to be. *Beware of the burned out guitar instructor they will only add to your frustration.

4) Be sure to take time away from your instrument.  Take time away!  You may be asking yourself how is taking time away going to help motivate me to practice?  I have found that if you are on a serious practice regiment you are likely to become so close to your playing that you do not notice your progress.  Not being able to see your improvements will cause you to question your talents and become unfocused.  This will eventually dampen your desire to practice.  Scheduling a day every so often where you do not physically practice can be a good time for reflection on your playing and your evolution as a guitarist. For example, do you remember all the changes your face made as you grew from a young child?  Every time you looked in the mirror did you see a significant difference in the way you looked?  Of course not, change happens gradually.  It is only those times that you step away or outside yourself for a moment that you notice growth or change.

5) Find other like-minded musicians to jam with.  This will serve as a huge outlet for you.  The feedback you are likely to get may surprise you, which will only deepen your aspiration for becoming a great guitar player and motivate you to practice. Playing with other musicians is the time you can begin to implement all the things you have been working so hard at.There has to be a means to an end with practice.  What I mean is, you don’t practice just because.  The time you put into practicing usually serves to accomplish a bigger goal e.g. play with other musicians, writing and playing your own music, recording your music.  Jamming, writing and recording music are like the dessert of practice!  So, be clear on why exactly you are practicing the long hours so that you can more easily find the pay off.