IN
THIS ISSUE:
About
PLAY IT AGAIN SAM Play It Again Sam is located in Montpelier, Vermont, USA, and is an authorized musical instrument dealer for: Fender Epiphone DeArmond Peavey Tacoma Weber Alesis Ovation Deering
Washburn Applause Goodtime Danelectro Kawai Vega Roland Tascam Pearl DOD SansAmp Johnson Digitech Tech
21 Everyone's
Drumming LP Toca Dimarzio Mackie Dean
Markley Smokey
Amps EBow Dunlop Benson
Audio Shure Palmer Akai Trueline RhythmTech Vic
Firth Promark EMG
We now have three monthly guest columns! --Guitar luthier Chip Wilson from New Orleans --Harmonica virtuoso Richard Hunter in Connecticut --Ed Roseman on the coast of Maine handles music theory. For other musical tips regarding guitar, percussion, keyboards, PA, recording, and much more, see SOUNDADVICE, our archive of FAQ at www.guitarsam.com/soad/soundadvice.htm Do you have a special tip or trick? Email it to us! We'll publish our favorites, and give you credit for submitting it! kevin@guitarsam.com
We share our favorite music manufacturers, musical artists, music interest, and other sites.
--Dear Edly: I'm a rock and blues guitar player who has recently begun trying to study jazz guitar. I've begun working with modes as well. How do you play Fmaj7#11? I think the Fmaj7#11 calls for the lydian mode at the 5th fret and none of it sounds right. I'm not sure how to finger the chord which I think is FACEB. I'm also not sure if the F lydian is in the right position for the first note. Please excuse my ignorance. How do I play the chord and where do I play the lydian scale (is it at the 5th fret for F, being F majors 4th position ? --Edly answers: FACEB is correct, but remember that inversion is okay, and often necessary on guitar. Let's see: how to communicate fingerings via e-mail. Hmmm. Let's do NOTES, string by string, starting with the 6th. You find the frets! X means mute, or skip the string. Here are some possibilities: X F B C E A X F C E A B (a bit of a stretch for the first finger, if you've never done this kind of warped bar) X C F B E A X X A C E B (assuming the presence of a bass player, or merely not worrying about the missing root) F C F A B E (low and rich. Also good for folkier sound) Further, you could add the 9th (G) to the mix, and it would thicken the chord without significantly changing the flavor. X F A E G B (four string bar) That should get you going. In terms of your scale question, yes Lydian is the most obvious scale choice. Where you play it is up to you, as long as it comes out F G A B C D E F.
***See our interview with Edly from March 2000, at www.guitarsam.com/interviews/edly.htm --------------------------------------------------
Richard
Hunter...Harmonica
Q+A
If you have questions about harmonica playing technique, use of different keys, bending, blowing, maintaining and so on, send them to us at kevin@guitarsam.com, and we'll have harmonica virtuoso Richard Hunter provide an expert answer for you. --A reader asks: The Hering company in Brazil simply does not appear very keen on helping customers with after-sales services, and this is discouraging. And their new North American representative, Matias, neither has an e-mail address nor has he cared to respond to several of my telephone messages. On the other hand, Mr. Rick Epping responds promptly and comprehensively, and he is probably one of the most knowledgeable people in the field. I have a large collection of Hering and Hohner and other chromatics. I recently ordered a Hering Musselwhite IN C-TENOR, received the wrong key and I am stuck with it. I would like to send it to Hering for replacement with the C-Tenor. I also have half a dozen Hering chromatics played for 20-30 hours only. These need minor corrections --a reed replacement here or there.... I have also been given conflicting answers as to whether the Hering Baritone (chromatic, of course) is the exact same keyed harmonica as the 5148 in C-Tenor.... I am also interested in having the COVERPLATES of a couple of brand-new Chrometta-12's from Hohner chromed (made stainless steel). In my experience with dozens of Chromettas, the coverplates stain after about 15-20 hours of playing--and I am very cautious indeed, washing my mouth, even brushing my teeth, before every session of playing the harmonica. I would greatly appreciate any advice and suggestions when you can. --Richard answers: If you're having trouble with Hering, you're not alone. Their North American representative recently published notices on all the major Internet harmonica mailing lists (Harp-L, Harptalk, etc.) to the effect that he was terminating his relationship with Hering because they could, or would, not provide what he considered to be adequate service to their North American customers. I am not very keen on Hering instruments, but they are well-liked by certain players whose opinions I respect. As to their customer service, I will not comment further. Good luck on replacing your chromatic; you may need it. For repairs, I recommend that you use the services of one of the several excellent harp techs, such as Steve Pruitt or Bill Romel, currently servicing chromatics. I have used both Pruitt's and Romel's services, and they are well worth the money they charge for tuning, valve adjustment, and a variety of other repairs. (I especially like Romel's tuning work, which results in some of the sweetest-sounding chromatics around.) Romel may also be able to help you on the chrome plating you desire for your Hohner cover plates. Contact information for both these techs, and others, can be found at the SPAH website; there's a link to that site at mine.
Chip
Wilson...Guitar
Tech-Talk
Musician/luthier Chip Wilson lives in New Orleans, LA. Chip worked with Borys Guitars when master archtop builder James L. D'Aquisto served as a consultant, before opening his own business, Better Guitars. Better Guitars served as an authorized repair shop for most of the top US guitar manufacturers. Chip recently wrote a book review for Guitarmaker, the quarterly publication of ASIA. Chip is now primarily a performer in New Orleans, typically playing 25 to 30 gigs per month, as a soloist, sideman, and with his own band A Jumpin' Somethin'. His 1999 release "A Jumpin' Somethin" was nominated for Best Traditional Jazz CD By A Louisiana Artist by Offbeat Magazine, the most widely distrbuted Louisiana music publication. Chip is currently working on a new CD for release in 2000. "A Jumpin' Somethin" can be obtained online at www.louisianamusicfactory.com, or by contacting Chip at jumpinsomethin@aol.com --A reader asks: Howdy Chip! I've got a 1940 Candelas classical. Best sounding ax I've ever owned. I got it in Santa Barbara, CA last summer. Since I've brought it to Vermont it's developed (or maybe they were there and they got much worse) deep cracks in the top. They're long and appear to go right through the top. I assume it's from the drastic change in humidity. Anyway, I love this guitar and I'd like for it to stay in one piece. Until I get it fixed, what conditions are needed to keep the cracks from growing? The other question I have is about my Borys. I'm not sure how old it is, but I do know that the person I bought it from bought it used in 1989. The finish on the back of the neck is bubbling up like a sunburn. I showed it to Roger Borys, and he had never seen this phenomenon before, and said he'd refinish it. My father believes that there's something about the chemistry in my sweat that is reacting with the finish on the guitar. What do you think about my father's theory? --Chip answers: I welcome these questions from Bob Gagnon, a fine New England area guitarist with an excellent jazz CD called "Apple For The Teacher". These questions concern issues that any guitar owner should be aware of. Although there are good instruments being built from non-traditional materials, most of us still own guitars made from various species of wood. Even with a lacquer finish, wood varies in its’ moisture content according to its’ age, species, seasonal changes and climate changes as instruments move geographically with their owners. Northern winters (central heating and wood stoves) and Gulf Coast summers (New Orleans, the northernmost tropical city, is surrounded by water in the form of the Mississippi, Lake Pontchartrain and miles of bayou swampland) represent different ends of the possible humidity spectrums in the United States alone. In order to prevent radical or even normal extremes from affecting your guitars in the form of cracks, warped necks, and swollen tops, there are a few things that guitar owners should be aware of. North or South, keeping your instrument in a case with some degree of humidity control will help a great deal. In dry climates, a Dampit (ask your music store salespeople) or even travelers’ soap dish with several holes drilled in it and a damp sponge will do much to keep a case humidified. I used to use humidifiers in my house when I lived in the North, good for the instruments as well as the humans. I know people in the South who utilize silica gel packs in their cases for the reverse reason. When traveling, be prepared to do some action and truss rod adjustments on your instruments as the guitar body and neck changes. If your guitar becomes cracked anywhere for any reason, bring it to a trustworthy repairperson for repair. Your instrument was not designed to sound at its’ best or maintain its’ structural integrity with cracks in it. Regarding your second question: Weather, along with sweat, can cause different types of lacquer damage. Sudden temperature changes, especially from very cold to warm, cause lacquer fractures or “checking” when the wood and finish expand or contract at different rates. Very few people have such acidic sweat that lacquer becomes damaged, but it happens. Keep a laundered soft towel or rag available to clean your instrument after playing it. Good commercially available guitar polishes are also available to help protect your guitar finish. Routine maintenance is the key here. The damp sponge or humidifier won’t do any good when the water is gone from them. The cleaning cloth that is soaked with sweat isn’t doing what you wish it would. Do you like your guitar? Play it and give it a little help, and that effort will make a positive impact on your music. And that is what this is all about… ***A few notes: There was an error near the end of paragraph four of April’s column. “Right hand” should have read “left hand”…unless you play lefty, of course. Perhaps “fretting hand” would be politically correct…aww, the heck with that! ***I have a new e-mail address: jumpinsomethin@aol.com I am working on a website that will likely be up and running in June 2000: jumpinsomethin.com will feature info about my music and recordings, the instruments I built and use, interesting links and whatever other self-absorbed nonsense I happen to want to share with the world. Thanks to Kevin at guitarsam.com for the little jumpstart he gave me...
Monthly
Giveaway! This contest is over! The answer was, of course that Bob Dylan was "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again". If you're the first to email us with the correct answer to this musical question, you'll win your choice of an Akai GCF1 or an Akai KCF1. These are nifty little electronic keychain-style chord finders, for the guitar or keyboard. See the GCF1.
Send your correct answer to us at kevin@guitarsam.com Congratulations to Alice Coulthard of Georgia, for quickly providing the first correct answer to our question, which was: Q) Artie Traum once
had a musical duo with his brother. What is Artie's
brother's name? Alice won a copy of Artie Traum's new CD "Meetings with Remarkable Friends" (Narada) available at http://www.narada.com/index.htm "Guaranteed to Thrill You!"
Play It Again Sam ships worldwide! If you're outside of the 48 connected states, send us your zip code, and the items you are interested in, and we'll report to you what the best shipping options are. Past issues of the GuitarSam eZine are available at: www.guitarsam.com/ezine/archive.htm "I just wanted to let you know that I really like the way you have your Ovation Guitars advertised. Clear all the way through, easy to read, and having the prices right there is a super plus. I'm out looking for a new quitar and I have to say, you do have the nicest display so far. Keep up the good work." Judi
Lynn
Susan
Dave
Miriam
Kevin
David
Jim
John
Harry
Tom
Jay
Lynn
Carl
Diane
Bill
Frank
Jack
Scott
Face your amp and squeal some feedback to us about Play It Again Sam and the GuitarSam eZine! Tell us what you like, what you don't like, and send your thoughts to us at: kevin@guitarsam.com
Watch for our next issue of the GuitarSam eZine, due on June 5, 2000.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For
more theory than you can shake a 12-stave manuscript book
at, see 
Richard
Hunter is the author of "Jazz Harp", from Oak Publications.
Richard's recorded works include "The Act of Being Free in
One Act", which is the first full-length CD of works for
unaccompanied harmonica ever recorded, and "The Second Act
of Free Being", a CD that takes solo harmonica to a new
level. Check 
Our
newest feature is Guitar TechTalk, with
Chip Wilson in New Orleans. If you have
a question about guitar building, repair, or maintenance,
send it to us at Play It Again Sam...66 Main St...Montpelier VT 05602...Phone (802) 229-0295...Fax (802) 229-0755