Playing for Change - Helping Humanity

This is fabulous and I wanted to spread the love. This video was produced by musicians from all over the world to raise money for building schools in underprivileged areas.

It's the most creative thing I've seen in a long time. The sound is fabulous and the musicians each contribute to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Please spread the word and pass this blog address along to other fellow musicians.

Enjoy. You won't be disappointed.

Five good friends...

Hey, check out five old friends playing a song. Leave a comment on the YouTube site. Say something nice about the keyboard player.

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - The Real Deal

Since we've been talking about Hank Williams, I wanted to include this chord progression for you. A lot of musicians play it differently, but this is the way it's REALLY supposed to be played. So pay attention.

We're going to play it in C. If you want to transpose it to a different chord, that's fine. I'm only going to include one verse here, because they're all the same. Here we go...


Did you (C) hear that (Em) lonesome (Am) whip-poor-(G) will?

He (C) sounds too (Em) blue to (Gm) cry. (C7)

The (F) midnight (Fm) train is (C) whining (Am) low

And I'm so (C) lonesome (G) I could (C) cry.

The secret to giving this song the haunting sound it's supposed to have lies in the change to the Gm and the C7. It makes all the difference in the world.

Give it a try and see what you think. As always, feel free to leave your comments. I love reading them. If you have any questions, ask away.

The 7th Chords

Another chord family that you'll find helpful in making your music sound more pleasing is the 7th chords. These can be used in blues songs rather than the major chord to give it a signature "bluesey" sound. But they can also be utilized as a transition chord in rock and country.

They're most often used as a 7th of the major chord just prior to a change to the next chord. For example, if we go back to "Your Cheatin' Heart" we could alert the rest of the players that a change was about to occur by adding a C7 at the appropriate beat. Here's how it would look, starting at the beginning...

(C) Your cheatin' heart will (C7) make you (F) weep.
You'll cry and (G) cry and try to (C) sleep.
But sleep won't come the (C7) whole night (F) through.
Your cheatin' (G) heart will tell on (C) you.

That's a fairly simple explanation and example, but if you'll play around with it a little, you'll probably find a lot more opportunities to use those 7th chords.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, leave them below by clicking on that "comment" thing.

The Pesky "Off Chord"

Last time I mentioned we were going to talk about what is commonly referred to as the "off chord." I'm not certain if all musicians call it that. Music teachers probably have a "real" name for it, but the musicians I hang around with, who are professionals in the music business, have always referred to it as the "off chord." And if you're playing a gig, don't be afraid to ask, "What's the off chord?" because I guarantee you they'll know what you're asking. So what the heck is it?

In many songs, at the bridge or chorus, you will find a change that doesn't fit your typical 1-4-5 chord progression that's going on in the rest of the song. And if you're just starting out, it's easy to get confused and have no idea where to go. But after you read this, it will all become crystal clear, and in the future you'll know exactly what chord to use. Just think of the number 2 position. Remember that, because that's the key (no pun intended) to the off chord.

For example, if you're playing a song in the key of C (the 1st position), the number 2 position (the off chord) would be D. We're only counting whole steps here, not sharps and flats. If your song is in G, the off chord would be A.

Now let's mix it up a bit. What if your root chord is E? Since there's no note between E and F, you're going to have to move up to F# for the off chord. Make sense? The secret is to just move up two half steps in every case. If you're in the key of Bb, you skip the B major and go to C for the off chord.

Let's go back to our Hank Williams song and see where that pesky off chord comes in. It starts out in the key of C, and it's a 1-4-5 progression. The previous post has the progression for the verses. So, let's go to the bridge...

(C) When tears come (F) down

Like fallin' (C) rain

You'll toss a- (D) round

And call my (G) name.

And there you have it. It's as simple as that. (And you thought this was going to be hard.) So now you should be able to figure out the off chord way ahead of time without ever having played the song before by simply remembering to go up two half steps from your root chord.

As always, any questions, leave a comment.

Majors and Minors

If you're an experienced piano player, this will be old knowledge to you. But for beginners, it might be of some value in helping you get started. So, we're going to get down to the very, very basics here, and explain the finger positions for creating any major or minor chord on the piano. To begin, let's take a look at the keyboard and get our bearings.

You'll notice the black keys are arranged in alternating groups of two or three. These are the sharps and flats. Find one of the groups containing only two black keys. These will always be C# and D#. The white key, directly to the left of that pair is a C key. If you go up the keyboard to the next pair of black keys, the white key just to the left of the first black key is also a C key. Everywhere you find two black keys together, the white key to the left of the first black key is a C key. And from there, you can go up alphabetically. Starting with any C note, and continuing up the scale, the keys are D, E, F, G, A, B. And that's all there is to it. The black keys are the sharps and flats. The black key to the right of the C key is C# (C-sharp).

Major Chords

Now that you've gotten your bearings, let's make a chord. Chord formation for majors and minor is mathematical. Since you know where the C key is, let's make a C major chord. With your right hand, place your thumb on the C key. Now go up 4 positions, including the black keys. The first step is the black key (C#) the second is the white key (D), the third is the black key (D#) and the fourth, or our target for the 4th step, which is the E key.

Our next target key is the third position up from there, or the G key. And when you strike those three keys (C, E, G) you will be making a C major chord. Here's what it looks like.


C major chord



This mathematical formula (1, 4, 3) will work for any major chord you wish to create. Try it out. Experiment. If you want to make a D chord, you simply start at D (the key just to the right of C, also a white key) and go up four positions (including the black keys). Then go up three positions from there. You should end up with D, F# (a black key), and A.

Minor Chords

The minor chords are created in the same way, except the numbers change. A minor chord can be made by using the following numbers: 1, 3, 4. In other words, going back to our C major chord, if we wish to change it to a minor, we simply move the second note down one key. The first position is again the C key, the second note moves from the fourth position to the third, which gives us a D#, and the third key remains at the G key, since it's up four keys from the second position. Got it? If not, leave a comment and I'll get back to you with an answer.

Enjoy.

Back to basics - Tuning

Before you can play anything, and have it sound right, you need to make certain your guitar is in tune. There are a few different ways you can accomplish this.

First, if you have a piano handy, you can use the piano to tune your guitar. Start with the E string (the big, fat one). Hit the E key on the piano and then turn the tuning key on the guitar, while striking the E string, until it sounds the same. Continue through the rest of the strings, matching the piano key to the correct string.

A second method is to buy an inexpensive tuner that clips on your guitar. This is an excellent tool. It's not costly (less than $20) and will give you years of service and great tuning.

The third method, and the way us older dudes learned, is the manual method. This procedure will get your guitar in tune, but unless you have a note to match to the big E string, you may not be in actual frequency tuning (A440). Here's the procedure:

First, leave the big E string tuned where it is. If it's been tuned in the past, it's probably fairly close to where it needs to be. If you want to be more exact, you can go to http://www.looknohands.com/ (mentioned in the post below) and go to the Piano Room and hit and E note and match your E string to that. When you get the big E string where you want it, continue as described below to tune the rest of the strings.

Place your finger on the big E on the 5th fret (just a little behind it, between the 4th and 5th frets). Now, strike the E string and then strike the A string open (no fingers on the A string). If the A string sound doesn't match the E string sound (and it probably won't) simply adjust the A string with the tuning key until it matches. Then perform the same procedure using the A string (with your finger on the 5th fret again) to check the D string, and get it tuned. The rest of the strings are done the same way with one exception.

The B string is an oddball, and you're going to have to move your finger down to the 4th fret on the G string and tune the B to that sound. When you get that done, you move back up to the 5th fret on the B string to tune the little E.

When you're finished with all six strings, play a chord and listen to how it sounds. You might have to make some minor adjustments (very tiny movements of the tuning keys) in order to get that perfect sound you're looking for.

Note: If you've just put new strings on your guitar, plan on retuning it a couple of times. New strings stretch a bit and will cause your tuning to be off when they do. But after a couple of minor re-tunings, you should be good to go with only minimal adjustments needed occasionally. Temperature changes will also affect your tuning because the strings will expand and contract at different rates with a change in temperature.

If you have any questions, leave a comment. And if I've made any errors in this post, feel free to correct me.

How do you make that chord?

Have you ever looked at a chord sheet and found a bunch of chords you weren't familiar with? We all have. In the old days we just pulled out the old Mel Bay Chord Book and looked it up. But in today's digital age, there's an easier way.

A great site you can use for reference is http://looknohands.com Log in and choose either the Piano Room or the Guitar Room. The left column gives you the root chord. Click there, and then scroll through all the options to find that Bb diminished or whatever you're looking for. It will show you the finger positions for it, and you can even hit the little speaker icon to hear how it's supposed to sound. Enjoy!

Nice video technique

This is an example of a very creative video production done by my friend Rick Hempy at Thunder Ridge. He's also performing the song. If I'm not mistaken, Gary Roe ran the audio during the production. They're a great team. Take a look at it and maybe you can get some great ideas on things you can do with your own videos. Pay special attention to the lighting and the transitions.

After watching it, you may have questions about the production, or how you can get Rick and Gary to do a video for you. If so, contact Rick at rick.hempy@yahoo.com

Feel free to leave a comment.

Sound recording...

Sound recording can be a bit tricky for the novice, especially if there's a bunch of ambient noise going on while you're trying to record that perfect track. There's nothing worse than singing the final verse of a love song and hearing the neighbor's dog barking at the mailman. And they always bark at the very end, never at the beginning. We need a solution to that problem.

You can build a totally soundproof booth, but that can run into big bucks in a short amount of time. There are other, less expensive options, and you don't have to spend a fortune to greatly improve your results.

A friend of mine from SHEEMusic has put together a video on low-budget solutions for improving the quality of your audio recording. If you're wanting to create a music video for YouTube, check out the options she mentions.

Check it out HERE.

What do you play?

If you scroll down the page, you'll see a new poll that's just been added. Please take a moment and check the box(es) that apply to you. This will give me an idea of our readership and allow me to skew the posts more in that direction more often.

Thanks for taking the time to indicate your area of interest.

From Thunder Ridge

A couple of friends of mine, and fellow musicians, Rick and Gary, have set up a great video recording studio. They are both accomplished musicians. Rick is the video expert, and Gary runs the audio like a pro.

They were kind enough to produce this video for me. I hope you'll take 3 minutes and 48 seconds to watch it. We're planning on doing more, so if you have a special song you'd like us to do, leave a comment below.

This one is an old Roberta Flack tune, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Click the link on the song title or the piano keyboard to be whisked away to the video. Turn your sound up because the audio is a bit low. (I don't sing loud enough.)

And in addition, there are a lot more great videos performed by my good friends and fellow musicians and produced by Thunder Ridge Studios. Click HERE to go see a bunch more. You'll find everything from old country to doo wop. Enjoy!