Acoustic Guitar Secrets

Lots of musicians feel that getting signed by a recording contract is the ultimate goal. In some cases this can be true but generally it can be the start of a whole new bunch of problems that no musician could ever foresee or want.

Recording contracts are nothing more than a money advance to be recouped from record sales. If it doesn’t sell to expectation you still have to pay the money back somehow. Music companies are a business and they are there to make money not lose it. It is no different than going to a bank and getting a loan to market your music your self, except the recording companies have the methods to make the product sell, get airplay and distribute the product throughout the country or even the world. Recording companies loan you the money to make the music and get their money back by distributing it.  Typically artists make a small fraction on CDs- most of the money comes through merchandise and tours.

If you can get a recording company to get behind your music, that’s good. But beware of recording companies who try to influence and change your sound, often to the point of rewriting your songs and even changing members of your band or, worse still forcing you to record songs made by other peoples.

Here are some horror stories that can happen to musicians who get signed and think they are on their way to fill stadiums around the world.

Getting shelved!
A band gets signed; get some money advanced for recording. The songs are recorded and completed but the record company ‘shelves’ your act and you never sees the light of day but you can’t take your product anywhere else because you are already signed. Often you can't do live shows without giving money to the record company. This happened to Billy Joel who waited his five year contract out playing in piano bars.

The song gets changed.
After you write a song, the company usually comes in with their own producer and rewrites your work.” You started to make a hard rock album and you end up with a rap album with all your instruments removed and samples replacing them.  You thought you were Metallica only to end up like Jack Johnson. Then you have to go and promote something you really hate and your product is no longer recognizable.

Where did all the money go?
Beware the big advance of money, to make and promote your music. If it doesn’t sell you will have to pay the money back, with interest, just like the banks. How do you pay it back? Live gigs, touring, radio shows, shopping centres etc for the next ten years.  How do all those artists who make millions of dollars end up bankrupt? All the bills they didn’t know they had to pay. They had so much fun, they never watched where the money was going.

Where did my band go?
Quite often musical differences between band members and record companies are solved by replacing any member of the band who doesn’t agree with them. They are always trying to get work for their own players and artists who have already been signed. Quite often you will find all your guitar player’s work re-recorded by the studio guy or producer to fit in with the label’s sound or smooth over tensions within the band.

I thought I was a musician not a pop star.
Increasingly recording companies are trying to “cross media” any act in anyway they can. They will market you anyway they can, and they will get you to do things to increase your and their exposure any way they can. The company may make you do commericals or appear on American Idol. Many recording companies are just offshoots of the big media groups who control TV, radio, music, and the print media, and they will market you anyway they see fit to re-coup their investment in you. Most musicians have a short shelf life so companies want to get as much money as they can before people move on. (We’ve all heard of the sophomore slump!)

Remember that the music business is 95% business and 5% music. Try to go independent if you can, market yourself on the web at sites like Axebay and build your own presence in the world by networking in its guitar forums. The more success you have the beginning the more bargaining power you have to get what you want. If you do get an offer, get a good lawyer. You don't want to have to wait out your contract.

A band's first musical gig is an exciting time in a band's career. Many hours slogging it out in the garage or rehearsal room finally come to fruition with the offer of your first gig.

Today, most bands get started by sharing bills and gigs with our bands. Either way, the experience of the first gig should be enjoyable and exciting. You don’t want it to turn into a nasty experience with everything going wrong, which it will if you are not prepared.

Like Murphy’s Law says “what can go wrong, will go wrong.” Every musician in the world can remember the first time they performed on staged, so make it a good experience not a frightful mess.

First, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! No matter how many times you have performed your songs in the garage, when you get on stage it will all sound different, and, if you don’t know your part 110%, you will get it wrong. In the garage, you are in one small room and quite close to your fellow band mates. On stage, you can be separated a lot and you may not be able to hear the other guys or what they are playing. If you know your songs very well, you will be able play no matter what sound problems you have.

Second, be confident. Rehearse your songs in the order you will perform them especially if you are doing a short set. Make sure you practice the whole set just like if you were playing at the gig. This will alert you to any problems such as guitar changes, pedal set up changes, singers needing a “breather” that may make you look disorganized on stage.

Make sure your guitars have new guitar strings (but put them on at least two hours before you play and stretch them in), your drums have at least a new snare skin, check the condition of the kick drum skin too.

Make sure you have new batteries for pedals and especially tuners, and for any wireless systems you may be using. And don’t forget a guitar stand or two!! Have a spare lead close by even if you are using wireless system as it is a good back up.

If you are doing a gig with a bunch of other bands, make sure your accessories such as leads,  tuners , and microphones are clearly marked with your name or at least some special markings, it is strange how much gear goes “walking” at these gigs.

Create a song list for band members and have a few spares for other people. Make notes if you want any special effects done for you by the sound man. Each member should write notes on his or her list if they need to remember certain things such as pedal adjustments or guitar changes. Singers should use a “cheat sheet” and write down the first word of each line to jog their memory in case they get nervous. However, if you rehearse well, you won't need to do that!

Get to the gig early enough to be in no rush and bring as many as your friends as you can. Audiences generally have a ‘sheep’ mentality and if they see or hear a bunch of people making a lot of favourable noises they too will go along and get the vibe.

Enjoy your self and get the whole thing recorded on audio and visual mediums so you can show it to your family and friends and to your grand kids when your old! Either way, you will never forget your first music gig!

Guitar Strings should be changed whenever they start to look or feel rusty, start breaking, lose their tone and sound, or look dull. It is difficult to know how long strings will last as factors such as climate, how often (or not) you play your guitar, whether you are working in a band or just playing at home, all effect the longevity of your strings. Generally, when playing a full night with a band, strings will usually only last 3 – 6 gigs. After that, you risk the embarrassment of snapping a string during one of your glorious solos.

When changing strings, make sure to leave enough lack to ensure there is going to be 3- 5 turns of string around the tuning head. Do no not use too many turns or wraps as this leads to tuning instability and constant string stretching. Make sure you stretch the strings with care. Keep pulling and streching the guitar string and re-tune as necessary while you are connected to your guitar tuner. Remember that nylon strings will always take a great deal of stretching to remain in tune.

There are many great products that can help you. Two good ones are the Spertzel or Grover locking machine heads. They don't need turns or wraps at all since they lock the string in place.

A good idea on electric guitars with tremelo bridges such Floyd Rose types and also on Gibson style ‘tune o matic’ bridges is to change the strings one at a time. This stops the tremolo from going out of adjustment and ruing the whole set up.

Always keep your new strings as clean as possible by wiping them down after each playing and using string life products such as Fast Fret or Finger Ease before and after each playing session. It makes a HUGE difference on the life of your strings and length of a good string tone. You can greatly extend string life by also using strings brands such as Elixir strings, which add about 8 times to the life of strings. The downside is that these strings are also 3 times more expensive than normal strings.

A essential tool to have is an all in one string crank or winder or string cutter and bridge pin remover such as those made by Planet Waves or similar.

Choosing the right guitar for you can be quite an ordeal. You want it to look cool hanging from around your neck, but you also want it to be comfortable and unique. You see the many different types on television and that makes it even more difficult to decide. The first decision that you have to make is between an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar. Knowing a few things about both might help you to make and informed and educated decision.

The difference between an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar is simply amplification. An electric guitar needs an amplifier, but they are much easier to play. The electric guitar will cost more because you will have to purchase a good amp, and they both cost quite a bit of money. The acoustic guitar is more limited in shape and size because both shape and size make a difference on the sound that comes from the guitar. Therefore, you do get more of a selection when you choose an electric guitar. Although the electric guitar is easier to learn on, there are obviously limited types of music that you can play with it. So, if you learn with an acoustic guitar, you might find yourself a better musician in the long run.

An acoustic guitar does have choices as well. You can get a steel string or a nylon string guitar. A nylon string guitar is good for playing music styles such as classical, flamenco, and folk. The reason for the particular styles is that the nylon string produces a more tranquil sound. The steel string guitars are louder and you find that they gravitate more towards rock, country, and any other style that requires a louder, more crisp sound. The steel string is played with a pick while the nylon is almost always played with fingers.

Deciding between an electric and an acoustic guitar can be a moot point due to the option of buying a blended guitar. This type of guitar combines the ease of learning generally associated with an electric guitar and the rich sound of an acoustic guitar. The design and style of the blended guitars are also a combination of both kinds of guitars in that the body is similar to an acoustic guitar while the neck generally resembles the electric guitar style. Unfortunately, though, the blended guitar sounds much better when used with an amplifier rather than by itself.

One thing that is never a good idea is to bite off more than you can chew. You should master whatever you feel the most comfortable with first. For example, many people fall in love with the sound of a twelve-string guitar. This guitar is known for a rich sound that resembles two guitars playing at once. However, the twelve-string guitar would be frustrating and infinitely harder to learn before mastering a simpler six string guitar. You should also pay close attention to your own person preferences. If you want to be a rock star, and you love Aerosmith, buying a huge acoustic guitar would not be the wisest decision because you will hate learning to play. The same rule applies for the next James Taylor; don’t invest in an expensive amplifier if it is just not your style.

When most people set out to learn guitar few of them have the desire to want to learn how to play the bass guitar. I don't think many people know that the bass is the real heart and soul of good music. People feel the bass just as much as they hear it. This makes the bass guitar one of the most exciting instruments in all of music. For this article we will be taking a look at how to play bass guitar.

Learning the bass starts with learning the basics of the instrument. Make sure that you learn the names of the different parts and what those parts do. The basics start with knowing the names of the strings, how to tune your guitar, and then with learning the scales. All bass teachers would agree that you should start learning by playing a fretted bass guitar.

You need to get good with your fingers if you want to play bass. There are all sorts of different exercises you can learn to help improve your ability to play. Don't forget to take a few practices just learning how to hold it the right way and get the right technique down. If you don’t hold the bass the right way you will find learning to be rather difficult.

It’s important that you learn to play songs that you actually like. Learning is much more difficult when you are trying to play songs that you don't enjoy. At the same time these songs need to be relativity simple and easy to learn. If you pick songs that are too hard you will become frustrated and give up on playing all together.

How you choose to learn is up to you. Many people simply learn to play by ear. This is probably one of the best ways. However, it is still a great skill to be able to learn how to read some notes. There are some lessons and programs out there that can teach you how to play by ear, but you may want to take lesson directly from an instructor.

You may also want to consider learning bass online. There are a number of good tutorials that can be found or even some affordable lessons that you can take. This just happens to be something you should keep in mind.