"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

Got started on my 1 guitar lick/day for a year "project" today.  The licks focus on one of seven different areas of study (alternate picking, arpeggios, sweep picking, string skipping, legato, string bending, and rhythm guitar); and, not surprisingly, utilize each one of the areas of study on a different day.  The other cool thing about this book is that it gives you a frame of reference, not only for the topic you're focused on, but also the style of music that day's lick is best suited for (the musical styles include rock, blues, jazz, metal, country, and funk).  I'm sure that, after a while, some of the licks will become repetitive, but the cover of the book says it's good for "developing, improving, and maintaining" technique, so some repetition is likely going to be par for the course. Spent the rest of my time in the studio tonight working on some scale & lead guitar lessons from one of the booklets that came with a Guitar World DVD.  Mos...

Another day where I got into the studio on the early side.  In a perfect world, I'd have some time in there early(ish) in the day, and then have an evening session as well.  That will be something I need to shoot for this week. Got some of the music imported that had been lying around.  The move last month really played havoc with my listening and importing.  Hopefully things will start to get back to something approaching normal.  As I type this, I'm realizing that there's another whole pile of newer stuff sitting next to the stereo in the studio.  Guess I'll have to get to that in the next round. Looks like my teaching here in Dubuque is starting up next weekend.  Our neighbor and his son want to start learning, and they will both have time to start lessons, we think on Saturday.  Time to get that cranked up again.  Guess I know where I'll be spending most of my free moments this week... that's right, in the studio, practicing and getti...

Got a little bit of the music I've picked up recently imported into itunes today.  I didn't sync the ipod yet, though, because I'd like to try and get a bit more of it uploaded tomorrow. Made it into the studio earlier in the day today, which was a good feeling.  What I wasn't expecting out of my studio experience today was a song idea, but that's exactly what I got.  Truth be told, I haven't thought much about songwriting the last couple of weeks, instead I've been more concerned with lesson binder stuff and the studying I've been doing. In other news, Ran into some people who were ready to start taking lessons tonight.  "Whenever you want to start teaching," they said... looks like I'm going to be doing that sooner rather than later.  In all reality, it might not be a bad idea to start up again in the next few weeks.  It'll give me a chance to test out what exists of the lesson binder on real people other than myself .  That mea...

I'll get the basic housekeeping stuff out of the way first. 1) Picked up Mechanical Bull , the new disc by Kings of Leon, today.    They have always been one of the bands that, for some reason, I can never remember which of their records I have.  I'm kind of hoping that picking up the new record will change that for me.  Side note, I just checked their discography, the records I/we don't have are the 2nd (2004's Aha Shake Heartbreak) and 3rd (2007's Because Of The Times ). 2) Part of tomorrow's project needs to involve charging (and syncing) the ipod.  Not only is the battery running low, but it has been a while since it was updated.  Come to think of it, I should probably look into what of the newer stuff has actually made it onto the ipod, as some importing is probably in order as well. The Mrs. works tomorrow morning, which will afford me the perfect chance to get into the studio early in the day.  I'm finding that, if I don't go chasing the ...

A few interesting things happened today that feel worth noting here: The first is this: I had something scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10 that has ended up being re scheduled until Monday afternoon.  What that means is that I end up having two (for sure) days that are wide open back to back.  So, yeah, I'll have a chance to get some serious music stuff done in that 48 hour time period. Flowing directly out of that little bit of information is this: I finally got what is at least the first round of magazine files set up and labeled.  There are 12 of them: - Fretboard Navigation - Workouts and "Ways To Improve" type articles - Lead Guitar, Scales, & Modes - Bass & Other Instruments (banjo, ukelele, etc.) - Folders & Handouts from when I took lessons - Specific Artist and/or Genre Studies - Songwriting - Guitar World DVDs & Guides - Rhythm Guitar - Acoustic Stuff - Blues That's 11 of them, the 12th has the other Goldmine books (Rock, ...

Today was one of those days where I felt like I was always running a step or two behind. I didn't get into the studio until late, and as such, had enough energy to keep going with the labeling and sorting of resources into magazine files, and not a whole lot else.  It dawned on me as I was sitting on the studio floor, putting away a few tab books that had gotten strewn about, that there are things on the bookshelf that might be better served in some of the files I've created. I got a little bit of playing in, too, though, it just wasn't as focused as I had hoped it would be when the day started.  I can definitely tell, however, that my increase in playing has started to pay off.  I'm back to that stage of feeling more comfortable with the guitar in my hands. The other thing of note that amused me today was this: The Seminary library was holding a book sale today, and the Mrs. picked up a music biography for me.  It was (of course) the Motley Crue bio from a few...

So, I had a couple of things from yesterday's post that I wanted to get done today.  They were: 1) Get some more magazine files assembled, and get them all labeled for my organizational purposes. and 2) Get some more work done on "Yellow Ledbetter." I got both things crossed off my list today.  The magazine files don't have the "Hello, My Name Is" tags on them, as we couldn't find them, but I've got some post-it notes labeled and in place.  Not the perfect solution right now, but it's at least a place to start with that aspect of organization. As for "Ledbetter," I really couldn't have asked for that to come together any better than it has.  The chordal fills have gotten a lot easier with just a few days of work.  The "interlude" and "outro" sections have fallen together easily as well.  Mind you, the outro is essentially the same as the verses, but still. The only thing that I need to do is slow down...

I know we were really only out of town for about thirty six hours over the weekend, but it felt so much longer than that.  Therefore, today wound up being a day for catching up with where I was at the end of last week, and plotting at least a little bit of the path going forward into this week. I spent a few minutes reconnecting with "Yellow Ledbetter" tonight, and a few minutes messing around with a couple of the songs from that Brandi Carlile songbook I picked up recently.  Both of those experiences went well, and they both have a definite place in this week's plan. One of the other, somewhat random, things I'd like to get done this week (preferably tomorrow) is to find some labels for my magazine files.  I think that thought first sprouted in last Friday's post, but since then I have discovered that the Mrs. has some "Hello, My Name Is" tags upstairs in the office that she isn't using, and to me those feel like the perfect mix of practical and...

I think I'm going in reverse order when it comes to Neko Case.  Her latest record is the first thing I have ever owned by her, and then today at B&N in WDM they had Middle Cyclone , her last record from, 2008.  Next on the list of her studio albums will be the one I've been looking for the last few times: 2006's Fox Confessor Brings The Flood . The only other stuff I found today at B&N was the latest issues of Guitar World & Guitar Techniques.   I tried really hard to find another record, but just wasn't able to come up with anything... and so of course, now that I'm home, I'm remembering all of the stuff I wanted to look for. We got back late, so there hasn't been any real time to dive into the studio tonight, but I did start reading the new guitar mags. Can't wait for tomorrow when things get back to something approaching normal.  The weekend was nice, but as I posted last night, I really, really missed playing, even if it was only fo...

Quiet day today for me , musically.  We're in the DSM for the weekend, which takes me away from my studio for a day and a half.  Not a big deal, really, but I didn't have time to really play at all before we left today, and now it's almost 10, and I'm  really missing it. That said, there have been a few articles and interviews that have caught my eye this week that haven't made it into the blog because I've been actually getting  my own work done.  Both tie in with Nirvana, and one of the two ties in with Counting Crows. The first is Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic reminiscing about the recording and 20th Anniversary edition of In Utero  that are coming out this fall.  It's a 40 minute interview, but it's totally worth the listen.  Here's the link to the interview: http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2013/09/09/220657501/dave-grohl-and-krist-novoselic-share-memories-unreleased-tracks-from-in-utero The other article was from Grantland, and com...

Another good day today! I got some of the piles squared away in the studio.  Nice to get some things put back into magazine files in some semblance of order.  Now I just need to hunt down some labels for the front of the files so that I can stash them all someplace a little more efficiently, and still know what ended up where. After that, I went back and forth between wanting to do some more work out of the Blues Goldmine book, and working on one of the songs I had picked out a few days back.  I had the backing riff to "I'm Tore Down" underneath my fingers for a while, but eventually went in a different direction and worked on Pearl Jam's "Yellow Ledbetter."  That song has always been one that has good karma for me.  I've never really dedicated myself to mastering it, even though it has long been on my list of things to learn.  And yet, every time I have picked it up, it has come together pretty well.  The solo included.  So, yeah, I played al...

Sometimes it's the little things that make the whole day.  Two of those today, actually. 1) Got that chord change ironed out that had been giving me a bit of grief the last couple of days.  All it takes is consistent work for things to get better.  I know this, on an instinctive level, but every so often, it's nice to have it proved to you all over again.  I can tell you what's different about this time than all the previous times, too.  I'm getting in the studio every day for at least a little while.  There's something about having an actual space for it that makes that easier to get done.  Maybe it's not feeling like you're taking up the whole living room when you sit down to practice.  Maybe it's being able to close the door and concentrate without interruption, I don't know, but either way, it's working. 2) Figured out something tonight regarding octaves and note names that I had either never taken the time to notice, or never had explai...

Yesterday was a great starting point.  In its own way, it almost felt like a new beginning.  Today's vow was to spend more time in the studio than I did yesterday.  All told, a fairly simple goal to accomplish, especially having only clocked about a half an hour of actual practice time yesterday. Today, it wound up being about three times that.  I'd say that an hour and fifteen minutes of that hour and a half were spent with nothing but the 12 bar blues progression.  I ran it over and over, until the 7th chords that were rusty last night had about 95% of the rust knocked off of them.  Every so often, the slide backwards from the V to the IV still catches me, but I think that has more to do with wrist placement than anything else. I just really wanted to feel like I had the progression down cold before I started messing around with the licks and turnarounds.  This way it will be easier for me to work on the other thing I made mention of last night: ...

Well, with the CDs organized, all that remained was to put the studio to good use.  So tonight, for what felt like the first time in ages, I did. I started in with lesson #1 in the Blues Goldmine book.  It's all about the art of the turnaround, and my half an hour of playing told me more about where I sit right now than anything has in a while.  My fingers are sore, and I've got a list of a few things that have gotten rusty: 1) My barred 7th chords need a bit of work.  They're better than they were before I sat down to play tonight, but there were a few spots while I was running through some 12 Bar Blues progressions that I wanted things to sound a bit smoother than they did. 2) I need to work on switching back and forth between my rhythm playing and my lead playing.  In running some of the turnarounds, I was (again) a little bit slower on the uptake than I had been hoping to be. The next 5 lessons in the book are focused in on turnarounds in specific ke...

I got through all of the music today!  It's all sorted and organized into a system that not only works, but also makes sense to me.  Considering that this was the first task I attempted to finish off in the music room, almost three weeks ago , it feels awesome to have that part of things taken care of.  What's funny to me is that, when I say "all of the music," I mean all of the music I can find at the moment.  There are still things I know for a fact I haven't run across yet.  Still, that corner of the room feels finished to me, which is awesome, because it means I can finally move on to... Practicing & The Lesson Binder!  So, I've definitely got my base set for the learning process.  From what I had listed before: - The Blues Guitar Lesson Goldmine book - Vai's 10 & 30 hour workouts - Troy Nelson's Guitar Aerobics book - Transcriptions for "Red House," "I'm Tore Down," & "Yellow Ledbetter" I'...

Well, I had three goals heading into today, they were: 1) Get the rest of the music sorted out. I got all of the artists A-Z sorted and put into the racks and spinners.  I've got about 3/4 of a rack of empty space remaining.  I'm not thinking that all of the soundtracks and compilations will fit into that space, those will most likely be relegated to one of the boxes that I emptied out last night in my effort to get the entire alphabet onto the racks.  That being said, I am grateful for the extra space, if only because I know for a fact that there are a few random piles of CDs around the house still.  Oh, and there's one box of random stuff that the people helping me sort weren't sure what to do with... probably should've gone through that box first , but it's too late for that now.  So, yeah, if I can spend a bit of tomorrow getting the spinners exactly where I want them, and then sorting through the random box, all will be well in CD land.  Hopefully ...

So, today was one of those workman-like, productive, if un-spectacular sort of days.  I Put together the second of the CD racks this afternoon, and got both racks in place along what is quickly becoming the "giant wall of CDs."  Then, I got all of the CDs out of the three boxy holders that the Mrs. brought into the musical collection (they had been housing everything from Hendrix down through Duke Ellington), and got all of those CDs onto the new racks.  From there, I still have room to pull from the spinners that had the rest of D down through A. What does that all mean?  It means that I'm fairly convinced that everything that's left CD-wise will end up fitting into the spinners when all is said and done! It also means that I'm at the point again where things will be looking worse in the studio before they look better... but they won't be looking worse for much longer!  I'm hoping that by the end of tomorrow, all of the music will be sorted and organ...

Today was a fun hodgepodge of musical awesomeness.  Here's what happened: 1) My CD racks came today!  So far, one of the two is assembled.  They seem to go together really easily, and the metal they are made of is similar in nature to the CD racks I already have, so that's a win. 2) My Amazon order of Vai's Guitar Workouts (both the original 10 hour, and the updated 30 hour from '04) in handy book form from Guitar World also arrived today. 3) Went out wandering around the city today, and found the guitar shop that some of my sister-in-law's friends own.  It's a really cool shop that had a bunch of stuff I'd have liked to take home with me instrument-wise, and a couple of books that I did take home with me.  One of them was a Brandi Carlile songbook that had music for all of the songs from her first three records.  So, yeah, can't wait to start learning some of those. All told, a good day that could have used a bit more studio time, but that'...

Today was a day I'm really glad I've got the music room here in Dubuque .  It seems like it's the only place I can find much peace of late, and it's also helping me to get some work done. But before I delve into all of that , I want to take a moment to comment on some of the listening I've been doing lately.  I'm through the remastered version of Mellon Collie , and into the first disc of demos, rarities, and extras (out of 3).  What strikes me, from a songwriting perspective, and gives me hope at the same time, is just how much material they had that didn't make the final cut of the record.  In many cases, the demos are just as big and elaborately produced as the songs that made the record, and there was one for sure, "Ugly," that I'm shocked didn't make the record. So, I have everything from yesterday's post laid out on the work table, and before I went crazy adding more things to the pile, I figured I should sort through the cont...

So, one of the things I was hoping for with last night's exercise of purging the old hard rock stuff was that it would clear the way for me to take an objective look at what I have recorded that might fit in well with the long-discussed, but as yet unfinished power pop record I have up my sleeve.  It worked.  I sat down tonight and went through the various pieces of songs I've recorded for potential inclusion over the years, and with those, plus the 3 songs from Round 1 of the #STARTexp, and a couple of ideas I put in the "maybe" list, I wound up with 13 potential ideas for the project.  That's a pretty solid stable of ideas to start off with, I think. The other thing I wanted to get to today was a look through the magazine files full of resources I've set aside for the lesson binder project.   Here's some of the things I want to start with: - The Blues Guitar Lesson Goldmine book - Vai's 30 hour workout - Troy Nelson's Guitar Aerobics book ...

Sometimes the biggest steps are the hardest to take.  I took one tonight that I've been pondering for going on six months now.  I sat down in the studio, made a list of all the recordings from the hard rock record I had worked on in bits and pieces with a friend of mine from back home from 2005ish until early last year, burned all of the tracks onto a CD, and pulled them off of my recording gear.  As hard as that was to do, it needed to happen.  Here's why: 1) The project was (obviously) never going to be finished. 2) Subconsciously, I feel like it has been holding me back.  Not necessarily from the demos I was working on most recently, but just in general.  It seemed like, as long as it was there, I'd keep drifting back to it and beating myself up for not finishing it off.  With everything I've learned about myself and accomplished since the beginning of Round 1 of the #STARTexp, it has become increasingly obvious to me that I need to focus more o...

So, I promised myself two things today: 1) That I would get some of the extraneous piles either sorted and put away, or (if necessary) out of the music room entirely. and 2) That I would finally crack open that Smashing Pumpkins box set. Well, I got both things accomplished. First off, let me just say that the Pumpkins box is incredible.  There are detailed liner notes and cool photographs, and a TON of extra tracks from the era.  It's what a deluxe reissue is supposed to be.  I made it through the original (remastered) release today, listening-wise, and plan to get through the three extra discs tomorrow. Secondly, here are the pictures of the studio I promised in last night's post. The first shot is straight on, from the door, the second shows the organ (and the piles of CDs that still need homes), and the third shows at least a partial view of the closet... still too many piles in there for the moment, but if that's the last place that gets sorted o...

Well, everything that found a way to be a thorn in my side yesterday got solved today.  Here's what that all entails: 1) The second bookshelf got moved into the studio. 2) The turntable got hooked up. and 3) With the exception of a few piles of things that didn't fit on the shelves (and a couple of other small organizational things), the setting up of the studio is done and everything's in useable condition!  It's so great to have both the floor space to spread things out, and the table space to work on an individual project. I want to take tomorrow to see if I can't iron out some of those small problems before I post pictures, but all told, I'm really happy with how it has turned out. About the only thing that hasn't been finished off in there yet is, funnily enough, the first thing I started in on.  Yep, the CDs still aren't all put away.  However, two more CD racks that look to be somewhat similar to what I already have got ordered today, s...

I tell you what... this whole process of setting up the studio has had so many small hiccups.  Tonight, I switched out one DVD player for another when the right cables were tough to find, so that for sure is functional now. And then I got 99% done hooking up the turntable, only to discover that the power cable for my preamp is (for some unknown reason) not with the rest of my stereo stuff, so now that remains unfinished until I can locate the power cable.  It's been the last step in each thing that has tripped me up of late, it seems. Of course, in the process of getting all of that done, there's now a mess of crates and other things strewn all over the rest of the floor.  I really, really want to get the rest of it squared away tomorrow, which means putting together the big bookshelf for the library that can then be swapped out for the 4 shelf case that will fit into the closet in the studio.  I've put off assembling the bookshelf all weekend, because it seems t...

So, admittedly, not everything is set up the way I want it yet in the studio, but as some of the smaller things start falling into place in there, it strikes me that the only truly big things left are: 1) Getting the second bookcase in the closet. 2) Hooking up the turntable. and 3) Finding some sort of answer for the rest of the CDs. After that, it's all a matter of making small tweaks to the system to make things easier to utilize. With the bookcase and the turntable on tap for tomorrow, I spent an hour tonight using the studio for its intended purpose (music) for what was essentially the first time since we got here.  It was great.  With all of the stress and the frustration that comes along with moving and subsequently unpacking and organizing, the simple act of slinging an electric guitar over my shoulder and cranking up an amplifier was a much needed release.  Not too loud, mind you.  It was after 10, and I'm not sure yet who can hear me and who can'...

Another day in between rounds of the #STARTexp.  Got a few big things done in the studio today, and didn't really spend all that much time in there.  That said, here's what got done: 1) Got the music documentaries put on the bookshelf.  I really, really want to go and get the second bookshelf tomorrow, if only to get the rest of the boxes out of the closet and all of the magazines shelved. 2) Got the work table set up. 3) Got the TV and the DVD player (for instructional videos, music movies, and music documentaries) set up. Haven't tested it out yet, but that will no doubt happen tomorrow.  Even with that stuff on the table, there's still plenty of room for a notebook, a pen, and my tabletop music stand.  If I can steal even a few minutes in there before I go to bed tonight, I can get a few of the random crates and other things suitably stashed away.  Definitely on track to have everything squared away in the studio by Sunday. That's real...

Last day of Round 2 of the #STARTexp today.  This was a weird round, thanks to the move, but the 10 days or so of it that I had a chance to get things done were greatly productive. Got a chance to work in the studio again tonight, and today was the day that exemplified the statement that "it always looks worse before it gets better."  Some things got pushed into corners, other things look half done (in some instances because they are, in others, just because), but all in all it was a positive day.  Here's what went down: I went out and picked up a bookshelf tonight to start the organizing of resources.  The 5-shelf one I had was too big to fit in the closet, so a new 3-shelf one was put in its place.  Might swap the 5-shelf one for the 4-shelf one that's currently in the library, and thereby solve the bookshelf issue entirely, but we shall see.  On the shelf went the following: - Tab books - Technique & Instruction books - Songwriting & Prac...

Okay, so I didn't have quite the day I was hoping for when I got up this morning, but all told it was still a day filled with solid progress in the studio.  Still working on getting things organized, but I'm definitely getting closer.  Here are some updated photos of the way things look: and the other side of the room... It won't be long now until I can start putting the resource bookshelf together.  And once I get that into the closet, I ought to have enough space to get the work table moved in.  After that, the real fun begins! I've given myself a goal of Sunday for getting the studio set to rights.  Actually being in town all week should really help in that regard. All of the music is alphabetized, and most of it is even put away. I'm sure there are some random CDs here and there in the rest of the boxes, but I can always add those in as I come across them. And if I take out some of the doubles, that will open up some definite room in the rack...

Good day today.  Family was down to the new place to see how things are going.  They brought along one of my small victories of late.  There was a small organ that had been in the dinning room of my Grandma's house.  It was one of the things that I had said I'd take if nobody else wanted it.  Apparently nobody else wanted it, because it is now in my music room. The other thing I feel good about today?  I'm down to "H" and before on CDs.  So, admittedly, that's the good news.  The bad news?  I'm almost out of space in the CD racks I have.  I knew the Mrs. had a lot of music, but, wow... it's still awesome, though, because there's that much more to listen to.  I've got a plan for the rest of it in the meantime, though, so hopefully some of tomorrow can be spent finishing up CDs, and (hopefully) starting in on organizing resources. This week is going to be busy, but not "drive across the state three times" busy, so that should real...

Had a great final day up at the lakes today.  Great conversations with family.  The folks that live in Nashville spent a lot of time extolling the virtues of "music city."  They said that you can't go anywhere at any time of day without hearing some sort of live music.  I hope Dubuque can be a little bit like that for me.  I really want to step up my game in the next three years (hooray for a vague goal statement). Here's a bit more of a breakdown of what I mean: 1) On days I work, I want to practice at least an hour.  Double that for off days. 2)  I want to keep a detailed record of what I practice each day, including what went well as well as what needs improvement. 3) I want to find an open mic night to attend regularly. 4)  I want to finish an EP or a full length record for each year we're there. Maybe try the RPM Challenge in at least one of the three years. Good goals, for starters, I think. Getting closer to home.  Almost tim...