START – PAUL WELLER – LIVE – V festival 2010 – HQ video
Mar 13, 2011 Rock Bands
www.paulweller.com CHECK IT OUT paul weller , the jam performs live . The V Festival is an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the penultimate weekend in August. Organised by Metropolis Music and SJM Concerts, the event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in South Staffordshire. Although predominantly a rock music festival, a wide range of musical genres are accepted; in recent years pop acts have become ever more common. This year at V Festival there will be an increase of police from 5000 to 10000 due to the risk from “PERPS”. — Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Saxophone Blues Scales – if you Want to Play Blues, Rock, Jazz you Need to Start Here
Mar 15, 2010 Classic Rock
If you’re a saxophonist interested in playing any type of blues based music including rock and roll and even jazz then you need to use the blues scale as your number one tool to make things sound right.
A little history
If you want to investigate back to the beginnings of the blues as it came about in America just start with W.C. Handy, who was a black composer active in the early 1900’s when the blues form began to get popularized in large part because of his instrumental compositions “Memphis Blues” (1912) and “St. Louis Blues” (1914). Of coarse the blues oral tradition can be traced back to the mid 1800’s.
The blues scale
Because our western music has it’s roots in European classical music the music theorists needed to notate the blues scale as it was naturally played and sung into an understandable notation which could be analyzed and played by western trained musicians.
The simplest way to explain it’s theory is this:
Simply take the traditional major scale; C D E F G A B C and flatten the 3rd, 5th, and 7th. Now it looks like this: C D Eb E F Gb G A Bb C.
(Please look at the example on my website for the full musical notation). Notice the E, G, and B have been flattened, they are the 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the C major scale and flattening them makes the scale sound minor thus giving it the “blues” or sad sound as opposed to the “major” or happy sound.
For us sax players these flat notes are perfect to incorporate a “growl” sound to further emphasize that “bluesy” expression or make it a bit more nasty. Two other things to notice; the 3rd and 5th can be played as a flat or not but the 7th generally is only played as a flat and not the major 7th in this type of scale or musical genre. (for some audio examples please refer to the website version of this article).
So now our basic major scale of 8 notes is now a blues scale of 10 notes. There are other variations to this blues scale; the basic version for example is a 7 note scale: C Eb F F# G Bb C (the F# being the same as the Gb). Adding the D, E natural and A give us more musical possibilities and will not change the basic sound of the blues scale. Even adding a flat 9th ( D flat) was a favorite thing Charlie Parker did a lot and is a good way to jazz up your phrases.
The blues progression
Of coarse this is all just words and notes and theory. You have to apply it and in any blues music this is done over a musical progression thats 12 measures in length, thus the term “12 bar blues”.
We’re in the key of C so the first 4 bars will be the C chord. The 5th and 6th bars change to the 4 chord which is F (4th note in the C scale).
The 7th and 8th bars change back to the 1 chord (C). The 9th and 10th bars change to the 5 chord, which is G. The 11th and 12th bars change back to the 1 chord (C). There are variations in this 12 bar pattern and can be seen on the website version of this article.
When starting out you can get away with just playing the same C blues scale over the entire progression but try to emphasize 1 or 2 of the notes in the F and G chord to make things a little more interesting. For example, over the F chord play an F or an A note to emphasize the harmonic color of the chord a little more.
In conclusion
The blues mean different things to many people ranging from musical styles to a way of life or philosophy. The blues do have musical influences from Europe and Africa but it is truly an American musical form and tradition fully rooted in the black experience of the post-war southern United States.
I want to be clear that when I talk about the blues or the blues scale I’m not only referring to this type of musical tradition and style but include funk, R&B, country, jazz and pop. Like the old saying goes; The blues had a baby and they names it rock & roll and from there came just about every form of pop music in western history since that explosive time in the mid 1900’s
And so, I think it’s safe to say that the blues scale is easily one of the most used and important scales for all types of western popular music.
Experience the full article on saxophone blues scales complete with music notation and audio sample and learn about important artists who made contributions to great American Blues and Rock & Roll.
Johnny Ferreira is an award winning saxophonist, international touring and recording artist. Advocator of saxophone music that rocks, jumps, and swings! For more articles, information, and music visit http://JohnnyFerreira.com
Tags: Blues, Here, Jazz, Need, Play, Rock, Saxophone, Scales, start, Want
Start Playing Rock Guitar – 5 Easy Steps To Get You Rocking Out
Feb 27, 2010 Classic Rock
If you love rock music, and have always wanted to be able to play some of your favorite songs on the guitar, but maybe you’ve found it difficult to get started, then here are 5 steps to help get you get going.
Step 1 – Choose Your Guitar & Amp
Of course, you can learn to play the guitar using any type of guitar, acoustic (classical/folk) or electric.
However, if you particularly want to start playing rock guitar, then an electric guitar is probably the best choice. The main reason for this is that guitarists in most rock bands use electric guitars, so from the start it’s going to sound more like the music you want to play (after all, you’re not looking to play ‘Greensleeves’, but more ‘Green Day’).
Another reason, which some people may debate, but I think that it’s just easier on the fingers to start learning on an electric guitar, and that’s less likely to put you off when you’re just beginning.
As for the amplifier or ‘amp’, to start off, you don’t need a huge stack, or a particularly powerful amp. A small practice amp (e.g. 10-20 Watts) can be sufficient to begin with. Most of these will have at least 2 different modes – ‘clean’ and ‘distortion’ (or this second one may be called ‘drive’). The distortion mode is really the one you want to use, as this is used to some degree by many rock bands, and is the definitive ‘rock guitar’ sound. Even if at this point you don’t know how to play anything, just plug the guitar in, select the distortion channel, and strum the open strings – chances are it sounds ‘rock like’ already!
Many music stores sell starter packages which include an electric guitar, practice amp and case, which can be great value when starting out.
Step 2 – Tune It!
An out of tune instrument can make even the best guitarist sound awful. Get into the habit of always tuning the guitar before you start playing or practicing. There are many different ways of tuning the guitar, but the most common one is called ‘Standard Tuning’, and this is the one used by most rock guitarists.
On this diagram of the guitar neck:
E -||–|–|–|–|–|– (highest-sounding)
B -||–|–|–|–|-X|–
G -||–|–|–|-X|–|–
D -||–|–|–|–|-X|–
A -||–|–|–|–|-X|–
E -||–|–|–|–|-X|– (lowest-sounding)
The lowest-sounding strings are shown at the bottom, and the highest-sounding at the top. The diagram shows the names of the notes for each string in Standard Tuning. Don’t worry if you don’t know the names of the notes, or can’t read music. The most important thing to begin with, is just to tune the guitar strings relative to each other. Let’s say we’ll tune relative to the highest E string (top one in the diagram).
Play the B string on the 5th fret (X in the diagram) and at the same time play the open E string. In Standard tuning, these should be the same note, so if they don’t sound the same, adjust the B string tuning until they match. Then carry on with the other pairs of strings. In each case you play the 5th fret on the lower string, against the sound of the open upper string. The only exception is the G string, where you play the 4th fret note – see the X’s in the diagram.
Step 3 – The Power Chord
Okay, now the guitar is in tune (at least with itself), so you can start learning some rock chords. Most people start off by learning the open shape chords (C, D, G chords, etc), then move on to barre and other more complicated chord patterns. This is a perfectly acceptable way to learn, but to play most songs, you usually need at least 3 different chords, and the most frustrating thing is trying to switch your fingers from one chord shape to another. With some practice, this becomes quick and easy, but there is another way to approach it, which only involves learning one pattern.
That pattern is the ‘Power Chord’ pattern, and this can be used to play a large proportion of rock songs out there. Let’s look at the G power chord pattern:
E -||–|–|–|–|–|– (highest-sounding)
B -||–|–|–|–|–|–
G -||–|–|–|–|–|–
D -||–|–|–|–|5X|–
A -||–|–|–|–|4X|–
E -||–|–|1X|–|–|– (lowest-sounding)
In this diagram, the X’s show where to put your fingers (of your left hand usually) on the fretboard, and the number shows which finger to use where. So in this case, the first finger will go on the lowest string at the 3rd fret, then the 4th finger at the 5th fret, then finally the 5th finger at the 5th fret.
When forming this pattern, try to make each finger rest just behind the fret marker, and not be right in the middle, as this makes the notes sound more clearly (with less ‘buzzing’). Try strumming the bottom 3 strings with your right hand, while holding down this pattern on the fretboard with your left. That is a G power chord. If your guitar strings are in tune as in step 2, and you have a distortion sound, then that should really sound like a rock chord.
Step 4 – Shift It Around
Now for the best bit – to play some songs right away you can use this same pattern, but play different chords with it. So, keeping your fingers in this pattern (1st, 4th and 5th fingers), try sliding it down 2 frets to play an F chord:
E -||–|–|–|–|–|– (highest-sounding)
B -||–|–|–|–|–|–
G -||–|–|–|–|–|–
D -||–|–|5X|–|–|–
A -||–|–|4X|–|–|–
E -||1X|–|–|–|–|– (lowest-sounding)
it’s the same ‘L’ shape pattern as in Step 3, but you’ve just shifted it further down the fretboard. This is now an F power chord.
And now for another chord:
E -||–|–|–|–|–|– (highest-sounding)
B -||–|–|–|–|–|–
G -||–|–|–|–|5X|–
D -||–|–|–|–|4X|–
A -||–|–|1X|–|–|–
E -||–|–|–|–|–|– (lowest-sounding)
In this one, we’ve taken the original power chord from Step 3, and just shifted it across to start on the next string. This is now a C power chord. When strumming this one, try not to sound the bottom E string.
In all cases here, the pattern stays exactly the same, we’ve just changed which fret the 1st finger starts at, and on which string (E or A). Since the frets on the guitar aren’t evenly spaced, you’ll have to adjust your fingers slightly when moving it up or down.
This diagram shows where you have to start with your 1st finger to play different power chords:
E -||–|–|–|–|–|–|– (highest-sounding)
B -||–|–|–|–|–|–|–
G -||–|–|–|–|–|–|–
D -||–|–|–|–|–|–|–
A -||Bb|-B|-C|C#|-D|Eb|-E
E -||-F|F#|-G|G#|-A|Bb|-B (lowest-sounding)
so, for example, if you wanted to play a D chord rather than a C as we did above, then just start with your 1st finger on the A string at the 5th fret.
With this chart, and the chords to your favorite rock song, you can use the one pattern to play it all the way through!
Step 5 – Practice!
It will still take some practice so that you can form the pattern shown above, and move it around easily between frets. However, for now, there’s only one pattern to learn, and you can concentrate on making the notes sound clearly by holding them down firmly behind the frets with your left hand on the fretboard, and trying to strum only the strings you’re holding down.
Once you’ve got the hang of this shape, and can play it easily at different frets, then you should be able to play a few different rock songs. From there, the sky is the limit, there are many more techniques and things to learn as you progress with your guitar playing.
I know that this technique works well, as recently my 11-year old son came to me, and wanted to learn to play a song on the guitar called ‘Teenage Kicks’. He hadn’t really played guitar at all until then. I showed him the power chord shapes here, and within half an hour, he was playing the basics of this song, much to his delight!
Chris Davies is a guitarist with many years experience. To see a version of this article with accompanying pictures, and also see reviews on the best online guitar lessons and get FREE sample lessons from them, visit this site now: http://www.TheGuitarLessonReview.com/
Slash on ‘Slash’: How did it all start?
Feb 6, 2012 Classic Rock
Slash talks to Metal Hammer about the creation of his debut solo album, ‘Slash’