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| Moderated by: Richard Hefner | Page: 1 2   |
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| First post - General Guitar - Guitar - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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David Approved
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Hi, I just joined at ezFolk and posted my only three recorded works. I started trying to learn to play slide guitar--blues mainly--at the ripe young age of 45 and have learned most of what little I know over on the Big Road Blues discussion board. I posted my recordings here in hopes of getting some feed back and suggestions as to what to work on and how to go about it. I took lessons for nearly a month, but my teacher, though a heck of a picker, had a religious aversion to the blues. It just didn't work out. "Alone With My Thoughts" was my first recording, after a few months of playing. "Among the Leaves" was the most recent, after about three years. "Cold Track Blues" was somewhere in between. I play almost exclusively in open tunigs, mostly in D. The "Among the Leaves" recording was done on a three stringed Cigar Box Guitar with a buit in hand wound pickup. It was in open E. (Yes, it was made from a wooden cigar box.) The other two recordings were made with a Dean wood bodied resonator guitar with a built in pick up. I do have a late '40s or early '50s model Kay archtop that I usually keep in "standard" tuning, but I don't play it often. Mainly because I don't know any conventiaonal guitar music. I really don't know what style I play in, or anybody that I sound like. If anybody can identify it, I'd appreciate it. Its more like everytime I tried to play someone else's music it always sounded like the posted songs. So I finally gave up and just play what I feel. Don't worry about hurting my feelings. I know good music when I hear it, and I know I'm just learning.
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1four5 Approved 
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Hi David! Welcome to ezFolk! A HUGE THANKS for joining up! Your tunes are an inspiration for me, and reading your post gave me a big smile! We think alike, and your going to find out that ezFolk is all about finding your style, making up tunes, and sharing them with like minds, yet many different and interesting styles! "Among the Leaves" is fantastic! Knowing you did it on a 3 string home made guitar makes it even better! Like you, I'm a late starter as well (started at 43, I'm 44 now) and just in the last month started learning open tuning and slide. You're going to love it here, as things are very laid back. I for one am happy to see more blues guys show up! 
____________________ These are the good times! |
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James Connolly Approved 
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Hello David, happy to see you on board the folk train, i'm a newbie too but can tell you they are a friendly lot in here ! you might want to try some of the forum boards and messages, lots of good info in there - Guitar, Banjos, Ukes, etc. I find it very helpful. Will be checkin on your music !! James C
____________________ James (Seamus) Connolly http://ezfolk.com/audio/jamesconnolly http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/422/popmp3.php http://www.myspace.com/celticseamus |
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DrGalacticFloss Approved 
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Hey David welcome! I am new here too and realitivly new to recording and playing also. I love your music, i love the simplicity to it and the raw sound of your recordings. Alone with my thoughts, is fantastic you captured something on that recording that you just can't do in a big ol studio (please don't tell me know that that rain in the background was canned!) Are you using 2 mics when you are recording your slide playing? The signal is well seperated on "cold Track Blues" it almost sounds like you are pointing one mic at your picking hand and another more towards the neck.... This is somthing i have been thinking of experimenting with too. again great work!
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David Approved
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Thanks for the kind comments. Actually, the "rain" was my 120 gallon aquarium running. I had checked out a portable cassette player from the library--it must have been 20 years old--and just sat it on the coffee table in front of the couch where I was playing. I had no idea the built in mic would pick up the sound from the aquarium, but it sounded cool so I didn't try to redo the recording. On Cold Track, I had bought a Tascam four track recorder used from eBay. I plugged the Dean Resonator guitar directly into the Tascam, no amp or anything, and just started playing around with the riff that was going through my head. As I was playing it, the words starting coming to me. When I finished playing I plugged a cheap mic into the Tascam--again, no amp or pre-amp--and played track one back and spoke the words into track two. I know now that I would have gotten better results with a different mic or a pre amp of some sort. I actually gave the tape to a friend that could record it onto his computer as a mp3 file. He separated the voice from the guitar, but other than that there wasn't anything done to fancy up the recording. I've been gathering up used software and equipment so if any other "songs" ever come to me, I'll be ready to make a better recording. In the meantime I hope I can figure out how to use the equipment! Sheamrock and Dr. Galactic Floss, where do you have your music posted? What heading is it under? I have found 1Four5's music and it is some good stuff! Last edited on Thu May 12th, 2005 04:59 pm by David |
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James Connolly Approved
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Hey David, you got some pretty cool stuff going on there, my favourite is "Alone with my Thoughts" great effects and Woweee some mighty fine geetar playing, made me feel like kicking back ! Keep em comin man ! You got a real feel for the blues ! i dont know how to insert my web-page here but you can check out my stuff under James Connolly. check out "Hurricane Blues" you might get a kick out of it ! lol Have a good one ! James C.
____________________ James (Seamus) Connolly http://ezfolk.com/audio/jamesconnolly http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/422/popmp3.php http://www.myspace.com/celticseamus |
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David Approved
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Sheamrock, do you have any of your music posted on the ezFolk site where mine was?
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DrGalacticFloss Approved
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yeah hey David, on the home page there is a link to all the artists subscribed to EZ. I didn't see Sheamrock on the list but i might have missed it. Here is the quick link to my fumbullings..... http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/456/music.php the recording / gear thing almost kills me at times. It's still fun to a point but can really be frustrating at times too. I am sure it's like anything though with time it becomes second hand. once you get working with your new gear realize that the boost of quality can come at a cost of initial frustration. here is a link to an article on mixing that i wish i'd read before i started buying gear and went on the whole home recording adventure. Lots of really good articles on this site but you might want to start with this one if you are still thinking about gear.... http://www.audio-recording-center.com/article-pc-studio.html based on this article i am re-doing all my mixes, i just started adopting some of the principles here but man what a difference these guidlines can make! http://www.audio-recording-center.com/article-mixing.html
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David Approved
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Thanks that got me where I needed to be. Sheamrock is listed as James Connelly, just like he said. Evidently I can't read very well. I'll give those tunes a listen in just a bit.
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David Approved
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Great songs! It always amazes me to listen to different people's music. I mean, its all music, but there are just so many different ways to do it and they all reflect so much about the person that does it--when its done right. James, you have a really good voice for blues. It just has an open honesty to it. GalecticFloss, you really thump that ukelele like you mean it. There is a guy over on the Big Road Blues board that played guitar for many years, until arthritis in his hands made him give it up. He has now gotten back into music by modifying a ukelele into a three string slide instrument that he plays lap style. The versatility of those instruments is amazing. I'm glad you pointed me toward your music as I probably wouldn't have wandered over there. Looks like I'm going to have to do some exploring of the files on this board.
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1four5 Approved
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I have found 1Four5's music and it is some good stuff! Thanks David!  I wish I could say the same for my slide playing...but it's getting better. That's why I love your music. I've always dreamed of playing slide, and have finally started learning. I found out real quick that it's a lot toughter than it looks...but there is nothing in the universe (to me anyways) that sounds bluer than slide. I for one hope some more songs come your way!!! 
____________________ These are the good times! |
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David Approved
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Funny how this works. I was listening to those songs with 1Four5 out beside them and wishing I could play like that! One of the things that attracts me to the blues is that it has very little to do with technique, form, theory or any of that. Its all about the feel. There are two pieces of advice I've been given that I go back to all the time: * With slide its not as important what note you play as it is how you get to that note. Never start on the note you want to play, always slide at least a bit up or down to it. And never let your slide stay still--it should always be at least wiggling a bit. * You finally have to get to the point that you aren't intimidated by the instrument. I'm still working on that last one. Really good slide players will send a shiver up your spine. That's my goal, and I'm a long ways from it.
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1four5 Approved
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One of the things that attracts me to the blues is that it has very little to do with technique, form, theory or any of that. Its all about the feel. I think that's why I love the blues, because I play from feel and music registers in my brain in terms of emotion. I've tried to learn songs from TAB, and I tried books, but so far have never made it very far that way. It's like I have dislexia and somehow the dots and lines get all twisted in my brain...and it's a painfully long slow process. I give up every time and just start jamming how I feel. Once I found blues I haven't opened a book. I just like to listen to blues, get ideas, and then jam. Your slide advice is right on, and it's taken a concious effort to keep that slide moving! I've elearned that there are even fewer "rules" in slide guitar as far as chords and notes, and even more freedom for expression...yet at the same time is much less forgiving if you get sloppy. As for intimidation...yes, that happens all the time. That's whay I also play ukulele...with 1/3 less the confusion factor  . Oh yeah, I've also been fiddling around with open tuning and slide on ukulele with some really really neat results!
____________________ These are the good times! |
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DrGalacticFloss Approved
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I would love to hear some of that slide uke! I realized the potential of this the other day myself. I say potential because i can't play slide but have always loved the sound and the story behind the old single man blues acts and how it became popular. I have songs that i wanted to use slide on but at this time i am just over inandated with guitar, uke, voice, writing, family blah blah blah. I do know a few folks here at work who play and i love to have them join me. The song Iraqi Gold, i had originally concieved it as a much more soleful blues piece with slide, but i just got my new recording rig / guitar processor rig and really got carried away with it. So i can definatly say to you David (and this comes back to what i was trying to convey earlier), don't sweat the gear. if the music is coming to you now just record it with your cassette deck and you can always come back to it later. The stuff you posted is really good because it is raw and full of emotion. Floss
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1four5 Approved
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I don't have any uke slide stuff in the works for recording...but it's coming eventually! My kit built uke is a tank, and I strung it with steel strings, and tuned to open D and it sounds great!!! Speaking of slide, I think not being able to play slide is a misconception that I had for a long time, thinking it was something totally different. It's not really. Just do it. The only difference is you have to go directly above the frets instead of between them. In March I got a wild hair and made a slide, and tried it, amazingly it worked with everything I knew, I just had to find places where notes lined up or play single notes. Then I tried open tunings and WOW! Like David said above, keep the slide moving and always slide into and out of them notes. It's much more about mechanical technique than it is about learning something you don't already know.
____________________ These are the good times! |
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DrGalacticFloss Approved
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Yep! I still got my Goya dreadnaught with the slightly bowed neck tuned up to drop D. I played around with it a couple months ago for a few hours, locked onto a little riff and couldn't seem to come up with anything else. At that point i decided that i was going to need some instruction and decided it would have to wait until other priorities were fullfilled. In hindsight i probably didn't give it enough time (4hrs seemed like a lot when i was only getting one little diddy down, but yeah 4 hrs aint a nuthin) i'll go back for sure, any good books / learning materials you could suggest? thanks Don
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1four5 Approved
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The only thing I've read on it is this tutorial here: http://www.bigroadblues.com/slide/index.html There is a list of sub courses at the bottom of the page. The main points I got after tuning open are the I, IV, V chords are on the open, 5th and 7th fret. The best places to work the slide for licks are the 3rd and 12th fret...And then it's listening to guys like David and experimenting from then on. One of the things that makes a difference to me is to think in terms of talking, and feeling rather than notes and chords when looking for riffs. I also made this picture to help me learn my way around open D tuning: http://www.ukeblue.com/opend.jpg Last edited on Sat May 14th, 2005 02:17 pm by 1four5 ____________________ These are the good times! |
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David Approved
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Thanks for that chart. I still don't know enough music theory to understand what it means, but I assume the letters indicate the places where viable notes in that tuning are located. One more personal observation: what you use for a slide makes all the difference in the sound. I only use a glass slide on electric--which I don't play often. On acoustic I use a very heavy bronze slide. Those thin metal slides they sell in most guitar stores have probably turned more people away from slide than anything else; and those thin copper water pipes are tempting, but should be avoided. You can go to a farm supply store--or most hardware stores--and pick up a brass or bronze sleeve bearing for a dollar or two. You might want to polish it to smooth the surface. A good fit on your finger is important for control. Many people just use a deep well socket (with straight sides). They come in all sizes and you can easily get one that fits. I don't like using sockets because I like having the tip of my pinky stick through for a bit more control.
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1four5 Approved
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You're more than welcome David! My first attempt at blues was learning a strumming rhythm, and then learning something called the pentatonic scale. I would record a rhythm loop, them play it over and over and play the scale notes for "leads". The first thing I wanted to know when I started working with open tuning, was where are all my lead notes? I'm not using them much yet, but am trying to learn them. I'm hoping to get better at fretting lead licks in between sliding rhythms...like some of the country blues guys do so well. As for theory, don't feel bad...I don't understand it either! One of my friends (who's played for 30 years) showed me were all the lead notes are One of the guys at our local music store told me that his favorite slide is made from bike handlebars! So far my favorite is a Dunlop Brass. I've got a pyrex glass but it's not as loud. I had a nice Dunlop chrome, but the crome peeled off! I love the sockets, but they can sure be heavy. I've hoping to make some of my own bottle necks soon, my wife is into stained glass, and has a cool little glass cutting band saw....I just gotta find some good bottles.
____________________ These are the good times! |
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banjo brad Super Moderator 
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David said:One of the things that attracts me to the blues is that it has very little to do with technique, form, theory or any of that. Its all about the feel. David, I always sorta thought that technique was what the blues is all about! In the blues realm, to me, feeling equals technique. into quibble mode: theory is there in all music, even though you may not realize it. The books and classes and stuff is just an attempt to verbalize it. When you play something that sounds right, there is a reason that it sounds right, and when you study theory, you learn why it sounds right. exit quibble mode Just an old curmudgeon trying to stir things up!  Keep on pickin'Brad
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
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| ezFolk Forums > Guitar > General Guitar > First post | |
