Category Archives: Education

Tone Talks: Using The Pickup Selector

Source Tones

If you play electric guitar, knowing how to use your pickup selector is key to nailing the right guitar tone. In conjunction with the strings and technique, the pickup is a SOURCE of your sound.

In general, a bridge pickup position is brighter with a more forward midrange. A neck pickup position has more bass and less aggressive high end.

Which one you select is dependent on taste and artistic expression. Having awareness of your tone is essential to delivering a convincing performance. 

Through experience and acute awareness, you can manipulate your sound by flipping to the neck pickup to fatten up the signal; or flip to the bridge to bring some bite to the strum.

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The Art of Practice: Using a Timer

 

Maintaining a consistent and focused practice routine can be a challenge. You have to actively schedule time for practice. It is difficult to “find” one hour, 7 days in a row in the hustle of life. Every moment counts, so maintaining focus keeps you moving forward. A good mechanism for keeping yourself in check is using a timer. (and a checklist)

 

Using a timer allows you to give undivided attention to specific elements of your routine in small bursts. It is too easy for the mind to wander and fall into aimless “noodling” territory. 

 

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TONE TALKS: Audio Signal Chain & FX Pedals

What is signal chain?

In the audio world, it’s the path that a sound wave travels through. Let’s look at some examples!

Electric Guitar:

Ex 1. Basic E. Guitar

Guitar(strings>pickups)>cable> amp/speaker

Ex 2. E.Gtr in Live Sound or Studio

Guitar>cable>Tuner>VolumePedal>Boost>amp/speaker>Microphone & placement>Preamp>Mixer>PA system

These are basic SERIAL chains. That means the sound has no option but to travel through the volume pedal before the boost. Then through the boost before the amp. The sound can be altered and the next piece of gear only hears the altered sound(even if subtle). It is a series of sound events happening one after the other. 

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Is focus on technique integral to CREATIVITY?

Technique allows you to achieve a goal from the sense feeling vs the sense of thinking.

What is technique? Simply put, it is how you do something.

 

The mix engineer feels that a frequency adjustment is needed. Without having to pull the ol’ technical brain into the situation(which disrupts flow), the engineer’s technical ability is connected to the feeling. 

 

 

The only way to achieve this is to experience the practice wholeheartedly, and to develop an intense ability to focus the mind.

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Is DELAY the Best Effect?

Is delay the best effect?! Short answer is YES! Yes it is!

It’s an echo or copy.

 

Besides the fun and musical sounds it can make, delay is a great tool you can use to improve your musicianship!

It gives you instant feedback on what you just played. A clean digital delay will highlight nuances of your pick attack, your release of notes(when you mute), general dynamics, and timing. You will likely adjust your playing dynamic due to what you hear.

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The Art of Practice: 3 Fundamental Habits

A small core of productive habits can heavily alter your trajectory of improvement and natural growth towards your true uniquity.

 

  • Focus attention on your breathing.
  • Look away from your instrument to develop good posture, listening skills, and your sense of touch
  • Consistently follow through with every new concept you learn until fluent.

 

These three ideas allow for an in depth connection to the sound and flow of the instrument!

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The Art of Practice: Turn Off The Metronome

In the music world, its common knowledge that it’s beneficial to practice with a metronome. It can help develop consistency. However, many players find using a metronome difficult and irritating! (we’ve all been there!!)


If you are struggling to execute any basic isolated techniques such as pressing a key, left hand fretting & right hand picking/strumming, wrist strokes, rebound strokes, general memorization, etc.;
the metronome may not be useful in that moment.

The challenge is coordinating several moving parts

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The Art of Practice: Reduce Variables

Do you struggle developing coordination?

 

You are likely trying to do more than one new move at a time.

 

If your fretting hand chord changes are not comfortable, learning a new strum at the same time will be a risk. 

  • Do muted strums only(no chord), so you can develop your rhythm consistently without worrying about coordinating the fretting hand. 

If you cannot get the kick drum correctly placed 

  • remove your hand that hits the cymbals, hi hats, etc. and play only the kick and snare(backbeat).
  • After that is comfortable and consistent, stop hitting the snare and do the kick and cymbal parts only. Then go back to back beat only. Repeat until effortless, then combine.

On piano, make sure the left hand isn’t struggling before you assume the right hand is your problem. 

  • ***Take 2 minutes to isolate each.****** Then repeat for more time if needed.

This is about isolating problem areas, developing control, and getting out of the mindset of HOPING the part will work on the next repeat.

 

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