SMG Guitar Lesson #2: The Five Octave Positions

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The following is an excerpt from my “Hello Guitar” Guide to Getting Started

* Note: occasionally in this post, you will see a lower case “b” next to a note name. This means that the note is “flat.”

Given any note or chord, there are only five positions on the guitar neck from which it can be played. This is an incredibly useful tool considering that there are over 3,500 chords and over 550 different scales that can be played on the guitar. Yet, everything you will ever do on the guitar boils down to understanding these five simple positions. These are the five positions from which a given root note is played with at least one other octave. (Root notes are the notes that define a chord or scale at its foundation. For example, in the C Major chord, the root note is the note C, from which, the rest of the chord gets its name.) In this book, I have labelled these as positions one through five. Add them to your warm-up routine and spend as much time as needed to get familiar with them. We’ll be using these positions quite a bit throughout this book as we learn how to construct numerous scales and chords. Position 1 occurs when the root note is located on the top, bottom, and fourth string. 

octave position 1 for guitar

Helpful Tips for position 1:

  • There is one fret in between the root notes on the first and sixth strings and the root note on the fourth string.
  • There is one string in between the root note found on the 6th string and the root note found on the 4th string
  • There are two strings in between the root note found on the 4th string and the root note found on the 1st string.
  • The notes on the top and bottom string of a fret are always the same root note.
  • In the open position, the notes E, F, and F# occur in position 1

SMG Poll: What is Your Favorite Electric Guitar from the 1960s?

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SMG Review: AweSome Musical Instruments’ Telecaster Hyper-Mod™ Control Plate

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FROM GOOD TO AWESOME

Innovative products are often conceived when seeking to improve upon an existing design. In the case of Thomas Wnorowski, he recognized that the tonal possibilities residing within his Strat copy fell far short of their potential, so he set out to do something about it. By replacing the standard pickup selector with a series of individual switches, he more than doubled his palette of sounds. Today Thomas boasts a number of mods for getting the most out of one’s axe, a patented Pickup Tone Multiplier™ (PTM) switching system, and a company that lives up to its name: AweSome Musical Instruments. We shared with Thomas a sad tale of a stock Telecaster that only offers three tones. Shaking his head with understanding, he sent over his Telecaster 2-pickup Hyper-Mod™ control plate to break us free from our tonal restrictions.

PRESTO CHANGE-O! IT’S A SUPER TELE!

The entire mod is contained in a single unit. A black acrylic control plate serves as the base for a stacked master volume and tone pot, and three toggle switches. The genius behind the mod, the PTM switching system, is mounted to the bottom of the plate and sits within the control cavity. This unit installs as easily as one can imagine with a solderless connector block replacing the time and trouble of traditional methods requiring soldering tools, a steady hand, and a good dose of patience. I literally had the mod installed within ten minutes and that’s because I took extra time to desolder the leads from the stock plate rather than just clipping them.

DOUBLE YOUR TONES – DOUBLE YOUR FUN

A standard Tele offers three tonal pickup options: bridge, neck, and bridge/neck in normal phase wired in parallel. With the Hyper-Mod™, three more possibilities are opened up allowing for the maximum number of configurations from this two-pickup setup: bridge/neck in reverse phase wired in parallel, bridge/neck in normal phase wired in series, and bridge/neck in reverse phase wired in series. With the newly modded Tele running through a Blackheart Little Giant Half Stack and a touch of reverb, I recorded some short passages to give you an idea of the expanded spectrum of sounds.

1. Bridge (stock)

2. Neck (stock)

3. Bridge/Neck Normal Phase Wired in Parallel (stock)

4. Bridge/Neck Reverse Phase Wired in Parallel (mod)

5. Bridge/Neck Normal Phase Wired in Series (mod)

6. Bridge/Neck Reverse Phase Wired in Series (mod)

THE FINAL WRAP

Be All That You Can Be is a slogan proudly promoted by the US Army. Were it not under their legal jurisdiction, AweSome Musical Instruments would have every right adopting it for their core business which turns the equivalent of guitar caterpillars into fully matured tonal butterflies (work with me here – I’m waxing poetic). I would really like to see the control plate offered in chrome, rather than the singular choice of black acrylic, as it’s more common to stock and I imagine there are others, such as myself, who simply prefer that look, but for the greatest tonal options from your Tele with the least amount of hassle, this is the way to go.

It should be noted that for those of you with 3-pickup Tex-Mex or Nashville Teles, AweSome offers a mod that septuples (7 times!!!) your choices for a total of 35 possible tones.

DIRECT PRICE – $127.97 + shipping


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Guitar Zen: Good Times with Odd Times!

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As guitarists we are usually up for a challenge, one of the ways I really like to challenge myself is to wrap my head around odd times.

GET INTO THE GROOVE

There are many ways to take a simple riff and syncopate it in order to make it take on a whole new twist. Odd time signatures are not something that should scare off the average musician, after all we are just adding or subtracting beats to make the rhythm shift. The key is to feel the groove of the riff. Whether you are playing in 4, 5 or 7…. what’s going to give presence and power to the riff is getting in the groove. Any riff can be groovy no matter how technically involved it is, but to give it THAT groove, you have to really feel the pulse of the phrase and then give precedence to the 1 or the first note of the beat so that the vibe of the riff is distinguishable.

COUNT ON IT!

As guitarists we tend to count differently than drummers or even bassists because we do things like play a pick-up note, or come in half a bar later when dealing with odd times. Remember that music is a language all it’s own. As long as you emphasize the right notes in the segment, you will achieve the goal you are seeking and then afterward, everything will sync up.

THINKING DIFFERENTLY

Take for instance a simple 4/4 phrase and just chug any chord using quarter notes (CHUG chug chug chug, CHUG chug chug chug). Now lets put a twist on it and add a fifth quarter note then follow it with three quarter notes (so CHUG chug chug chug chug CHUG chug chug). We’ve now effectively played the same number of notes yet we have changed the emphasis of the starting beat. So you can see how (as Mike Myers so non- eloquently put it in the movie A View From The Top) It’s all about putting the right emPHASSIS on the right syLLABLE!

As you can see, shifting the tempo is really a matter of shifting your thinking to accentuate different notes. With this simple concept in mind, anyone can turn Metallica into Meshuggah. So bust a beat and shuffle your feet and once you do you’ll be having GOOD TIMES with ODD TIMES!!!

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SMG Review: EMG’s ST12 Prewired Drop-In Pickguard for Strats

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A LITTLE HISTORY

EMG, Inc. is well known throughout the guitar community as a leader in active pickup systems. What you may not know is that the company, which recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, originated as Dirtywork Studios, then Overlend, before settling on its current name, which is short for ‘electro-magnetic generator’. What you may also not realize is despite a strong reputation for active pickups, EMG also offers a variety of passive pickups. Included in these offerings is the ST12, a complete system designed to drop in to your Strat with minimal fuss.

MINIMAL FUSS…

The ST12 comprises two humbucking OC1 (open coil) pickups: bridge and neck. These are pre-wired and built into a choice of white or black pickguard. Controls include a 3-way pickup selector, master volume, and master tone. Installation is easily managed thanks to EMG’s Quick-Connect system.

With no soldering required and the only wiring requiring replacing the stock input jack with the included replacement jack, installation was a breeze. It literally took me longer to unscrew and pull out the old pickguard than to install the ST12.

MAXIMUM IMPACT…

Giving the ST12 a test run, I ran the axe through a Blackheart Little Giant Half Stack. The bridge pickup performed with clarity and leanness without ever sounding too bright or thin. True to the signature Strat sound, aggressive picking came through with punch and there was a quality to it that begged to be shifted into overdrive. Flipping to the neck pickup, the tone filled out with a round and heavy bottom end (for those of you who like that kinda thing…). The character came across more mellow but there was still a bit of that punch. Depending on your perspective, blending the two pickups could be thought of as rolling off the lower frequencies of the neck setting for a more balanced tone or inflating the bridge setting with fullness and a more dynamic frequency range. All in all, the ST12 offers three voices different enough from each other to provide versatility while maintaining familiar qualities that provide a cohesive palette of tones within a single unit. A standout quality at all settings is the clarity and quietness. Hum-free is a beautiful thing.

THE FINAL WRAP

If you’re looking to experiment with different sounds for your Strat and would rather spend more time playing and less time hunched over your work bench with your soldering iron – or worse, paying someone to do it for you – the EMG ST12 is worth a look. Not only can you maintain your stock pickguard as is, it will take you less time and hassle to install the entire unit than replacing a single pickup the old fashioned way.

The sounds are a bit on the generic side, but maintain some classic Fender Strat characteristics. For clean, clear, noise-free output, you can’t do much better than EMG.

Street Price – $189

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Practicing Guitar: A Labor of Love

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“Some of us want to be the next great guitar god, some are happy just sitting at home jamming along with the radio”

DIFFERENT STROKES TO RULE THE WORLD!

Practicing is different things to different people. Some people progress faster than others. Some have as they say, a “natural gift,” while others labor away hour after hour, week after week, month by month and only progress a little at a time. But no matter what, if you want to improve and get better, you have to put the hours in and practice. Now again, this is going to be different for all of us, since some of us want to be the next great guitar god, and some of us are happy just sitting at home jamming along with the radio, creating our own melodies, or whatever. We are all on different levels due to the time we put into it. I recently asked several guitar players of various skill levels questions about their practice routines and the time they have committed sharpening their skills. Here’s what I learned….

HOW MANY STRUMS DOES IT TAKE?

For the most part, the professional guitar players I questioned had a few things in common. Each had put in countless hours practicing to develop their skills and style. Playing till their fingers bled (really!), playing 10+ hours a day, every day, were typical responses. Most had come up with their own unique way of practicing. Some had developed different techniques to create their own sound, while others used different tunings. Some had taken lessons early on while others did not. Most felt that they had learned much of what they knew on their own through the dedication and countless hours spent practicing. Most also started creating their own music not long after starting to play the guitar. And while these individuals no longer spend 10+ hours a day practicing, it is very typical that they spend at least a few hours daily playing/practicing. Comparing it to the need to breathe, or (something I feel myself), the days I don’t play, I feel like something was missing or out of place.

LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU

Still, others have different practice routines. Some are limited to how much time they put into practicing/playing due to, well let’s face it…. Life! We all have different priorities. Not everyone can devote 10+ hours a day into playing/practicing guitar. A couple of different players I asked told me that they practice whenever they get the chance. Which varied as much as a few times a week to maybe once a month. Weekly lessons are an avenue some take (myself included) to improve our skills. But, even with lessons, if you don’t practice what you learned, you don’t get anything out of it.

IT’S NOT WORK WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN

Something that nearly all of the guitar players I questioned had in common….most felt like they were never really practicing. They all had an inner passion that drove them. Some to create, some the need to express themselves. While others just wanted to be able to play their favorite songs, or maybe even just to impress the hot girl down the street! Another thing many had in common… no matter how much they practiced/learned or played, there was always going to be more to learn. Another cool riff to work out, another driving rhythm or beautiful melody to discover. Which is something you can probably say about any musical instrument. But we are guitar players. Whether or not you view it as practicing or just playing it is a labor of love…. it’s what we do!

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The Beatles: Guitar Heroes – Revisited

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Here is the first in a series of guest posts by John F. Crowley about guitars owned by the Beatles. Last year we unleashed a new article each week. If you missed them then, have a look now and check out the guitars that made amazing music and read a bit about the fantastic history!

* * *

SMG_Lennon_Rickenbacker_325

JOHN LENNON’S 1958 Rickenbacker 325

Purchased in 1960: 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri (5/8 scale, hollow-body electric). Serial No. V81: The Holy Grail of guitars. Lennon bought this “short arm” guitar, with a natural finish, gold pickguard and Kaufmann vibrato, on the Beatles’ first trip to Hamburg, after he saw jazzman “Toots” Thielmans playing a Ric model on an album cover. Later in 1960, in Hessy’s Music, Chris Huston of The Undertakers mounted a Bigsby B-5 vibrato and “bow tie” bridge (for more on this operation, click here). At the same time they replaced the “oven” knobs with new ones from Curry Electronics. Somewhere along the line, Lennon disconnected the middle pickup, and in September ’62 had it painted black. In his well researched piece Baby’s In Black, Peter McCormack tracked the job to a subcontractor, Mr. Derek Adams, and suggests the refinishing was part of Brian Epstein’s effort to spruce up the band’s look. But another source credits the refinish to coach painter Charles Bantam, who reportedly sprayed the Rickenbacker with black coach paint while the band took a brief holiday. Later inspection led Ron DeMarino (below) to speculate the finish had been brushed on! So perhaps we’ll sort out this point in time. At any rate, in ’63 Lennon changed the knobs again when he had some electrical work done by Burns of London.

‘LADIES AND GENTLEMAN…. THE BEATLES!’

Lennon played this guitar onstage and in the studio right through to the first Sullivan show (below) and the Carnegie Hall shows (2/12/64), then, except for a bit of work on Beatles For Sale, retired the beat-up workhorse. In 1972 he had it restored to its natural finish by Ron DeMarino of New York, who also replaced the tuners and cracked pickguard. (Read DeMarino’s account here.) This guitar may very well have made its final appearance during the Double Fantasy sessions, as producer Jack Douglas and Yoko Ono both confirm seeing it in the studio. There is also speculation that Lennon used this guitar on Yoko’s “Walking On Thin Ice” in December 1980, the last piece of music to which Lennon contributed. Regardless, as guitar aficionado Frank McLallen wrote: “That guitar . . . from Hamburg to the Plaza in New York City, and a national broadcast on the Ed Sullivan Show — doesn’t get any better.” This priceless instrument, recently displayed at the Lennon museum in Japan, is now owned by Sean Lennon.

CLICK HERE to revisit the complete series of Beatles guitar posts!

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SMG Guitar Lesson: Tips On Rhythm

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I have students all the time that ask me things like “How do you know when to strum up or down?” and “How do you develop good timing?”

Even for an experienced musician and guitar teacher, rhythm is still one of the most challenging things to teach. That’s because, while it may take just a few minutes to explain the basics concepts of rhythm, it can take years to really develop your sense of rhythm to the point where it becomes second nature.

Here are a few tips on how to develop a good sense of rhythm

  • Learn the note values of standard notation and learn how to pick apart and analyze rhythms. Learning even a little bit of the basics will get you pretty far.
  • Tap your foot while you play. Get to the point where you can feel the rhythm moving through your whole body. It really works!
  • Try alternating your picking up and down steadily like clockwork. If there is already a part of your body that is working like a metronome, then it’ll be much easier for you to keep up with the beat. If it worked for Stevie Ray Vaughan, it’ll work for you!
  • Take it slow at first. Playing a song very slowly at first when you’re first learning it helps to train your motor memory for when you’re ready to attempt playing it up to speed. Don’t sweat it, even the pros do this. Regardless of how long you’ve been playing or what level you’re at, every time you learn a new song it’s something that you’re completely unfamiliar with, so it’s ok to stumble through it a few times and take it piecemeal at first.
  • If there is a particular song you’re trying to learn, practice along with the recording of it. This will allow you to hear things you could improve on that you may not have otherwise noticed. You’ll also feel more inclined to learn the song from start to finish. (There are way too many people who can only play the intros to a handful of songs and nothing more. Don’t be “that guy”!)
  • Practice improvising along with jam-along backing tracks or “guitaraoke” tracks of your favourite songs. You can even jam along to random songs on the radio, creating your own guitar parts as you go. It doesn’t always have to sound great for you to learn something, so don’t sweat it – just do it! Improvising is a great way to improve your phrasing, timing, and delivery.
  • Practice playing along with a metronome. When we play music, we instinctively tend to get excited and want to speed up, getting faster as we go. While we may be having fun at the time, it tends to sound kind of amateurish. The metronome trains us to play with a steady beat. – This is especially important if you want get to the point where you can perform your music live.
  • Find a group of other musicians to get together and jam with. Make sure they are at your same level or, if you’re lucky, slightly more experienced but still in your league. There is no greater way to improve your musicianship than hanging around and playing with other musicians. You’ll also be held more accountable for your progress. It’s a lot harder to shrug off practicing when you know your buddies are counting on you to play what you agreed to learn for the next jam session.

For those of you who are into writing your own music – here is a cool technique that I use to come up with funky new rhythms

Remember…. there is absolutely NO quick fix, NO silver bullet, and NO substitute for practicing your guitar for hours on end. The more you put in, the more you’ll get out!

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SMG Review: Epiphone Limited Edition Riviera Custom Royale P93

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Getting down with the Epiphone Limited Edition Riviera Custom Royale P93!

EPIPHONE GUITARS

The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone was bought by Chicago Music Company, who also owned Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone was Gibson’s main rival in the archtop market. Their professional archtops, including the Emperor, Deluxe, Broadway and Triumph, rivaled (and some contend surpassed) those of Gibson.

OFF THE RACK

The Epiphone Riviera has a warm, vintage tone that is perfect for instrumentals or clean based styles.  A double cutaway, semi-hollow body gives this guitar the classic style that many guitarists have long loved and continue to play. The three P-90 single-coil pickups produce the raw tone that many blues and rock stylists seek. The P90′s traditional combination of high output and brilliant tone is still considered a favorite among many top musicians. The Bigsby tailpiece delivers superb vibrato and has been guitarists favorite for decades. A pearl white finish and gold hardware add a touch of class to the vintage design. The neck is not the fastest, but let’s face it, it’s not meant to be. The smooth comfortable action is very grippy and fits the hand nicely. The Ltd Edition Riviera Custom Royale P93 would be a nice addition for any serious musician looking for a classic axe.

THE SPECS

  • Double cutaway semi-hollow guitar
  • Laminated maple top Arched with hand-scalloped bracing
  • Sound post Laminated maple back & sides
  • Set mahogany neck
  • 1.68″ nut width C-shape neck Adjustable truss rod
  • 24.75″ scale length Rosewood fingerboard with mother-of-pearl inlays
  • 12″ fingerboard radius
  • 22 frets
  • 1-ply binding on fingerboard and body
  • Three Alnico V P-90 pickups
  • 3 volume controls 1 tone controls 3-way toggle pickup selector
  • Tune-o-matic bridge
  • Bigsby vibrato tailpiece
  • Gold hardware Grover tuners Pearl white finish

THE LOW DOWN

The Epiphone Riviera is an awesome, classic guitar that has powerful clean tone and perfect for blues, rock and country. With its smooth playability, you will get a lot out of this guitar. The three P-90 pickups will blow you away with all the clean tone combinations you can create. The Bigsby is always a great addition to any axe, delivering just the right amount of twang and vibrato. The semi hollow design makes this guitar light and comfortable. I found that the Ltd Edition Riviera Custom sounds best through VOX amplifiers. Test one of these babies out for yourself and discover the many brilliant tones you can create with this monster axe.

Pros: Bigsby tailpiece, P-90 pickups ,light weight, classic tone.

Cons: Thick neck.

Street price – $500 – $549

Till next week, thanks for reading and keep on shredding!

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SMG Poll: Who is the Most Influential Guitarist?

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