I just gave my very first guitar lesson....

droolymutt · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 2:27 am Post subject: Re: You tune with a tuner, Chris?

Something else that is excellent for ear training is singing scales.

Once your guitar is perfectly tuned, play a Major scale, slowly, note by note, and sing each note after you play it.

It really makes you think about the intonation.

After just a few weeks of doing that for half an hour daily, I guarantee you will notice a marked rise in your sensitivity to intonation.

It will change your musical life. A whole shiny new World opens up when everything is in tune.

I promise.

bbchris · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 2:52 am Post subject: Re: You tune with a tuner, Chris?

Thanks Drooly! I'll try it NOW

questionnaire · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 640

Sorry to be argumentative, :blab

but although I agree with Drooly that persevering with natural tuning does improve your ears, tuners are really useful for tuning up in the middle of sets at hot, sweaty live gigs. All that twang, twang, plink, plink in the middle of a show sets the audience's eyes rolling, in my experience .... :ft

Steve H

bbchris · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 5:46 pm Post subject: Re: You tune with a tuner, Chris?

Steve - I totally agree with you - in gig situations QUiET tuning-ups are the way to go. The audience think it's 'wanky' for musicians on stage to tune-up aloud, rolling eyes etc.... It's bad enough getting sound-level right and checking pedals work without strings being tuned :banana

LarreeMP3 · Joined: 12 Apr 2002 Posts: 1935

Even in a noisy club! I just press my ear against the body of my guitar and I can hear it just fine!

droolymutt

I agree about using a tuner when gigging. That's not something an audience should be subjected to...

LarreeMP3 · Joined: 12 Apr 2002 Posts: 1935

Live tuning totally RULEZ!

Edited by: LarreeMP3 at: 6/13/03 10:20 pm

questionnaire · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 640

Yeah, Garcia often sounded out of tune to me, even on the studio recordings, as did a lot of the bands in the 1960s and 70s. Of course, people with cloth ears wouldn't have noticed would they? :bleh

Anyway, did anyone ever see that film "Bring Me The Head Of Jerry Garcia"? :cowboy

LarreeMP3 · Joined: 12 Apr 2002 Posts: 1935

Freedom of spirit. Ignoring rules. Jamming in the zone.

That's me!

droolymutt · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 12:17 am Post subject: Re: Grateful Dead? ....

Our bass player plays guitar in a Dead tribute band called BokaMaru....

Greatful Dead is a whole different ball of wax. It's all about freedom of spirit while playing, ignoring rules, and jamming in the "zone". It has it's merits.

Copious amounts of cannabis help the appreciation factor, or so I'm told.

Not my cuppa, but I do understand the attraction.

Edited by: droolymutt at: 6/14/03 1:21 am

questionnaire · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 640

Drooly, I know I'm being argumentative again :blab

, but I don't really call running up and down pentatonic scales - which is what Garcia tended to do - 'freedom of spirit'. It's excessively rule-bound. Virtually no unusual modulations or dissonant chords - nothing of much interest for me, I'm afraid, in the way that Coltrane or someone was interesting. I was around in the 70s, and I know that half the bands relied on the audience being as stoned as they were ..........

bbchris · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2003 7:11 am Post subject: Re: Grateful Dead? ....

Hmm I think you mean "Larree" !! Drooly doesn't strike me as a 'stoner'

droolymutt · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2003 1:08 pm Post subject: Re: Grateful Dead? ....

Steve, I'm just repeating what DeadHeads tell me about them. The only tune I ever dug was Long Strange Trip...(or whatever the title is..)

As I said, it's not really my thing, so I don't really have an opinion of my own.

And nope - not into drugs.

droolymutt · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2003 1:10 pm Post subject: Re: Grateful Dead? ....

ahhhh - Coltrane.... - I don't think there's a sane musician on the planet who would argue with you there...

LarreeMP3 · Joined: 12 Apr 2002 Posts: 1935

NOW we're talkin' "real" music!