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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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Guitar Zen: Breaking Up is Hard to Do!

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David Gilmour and Roger Waters buried the hatchet and performed together in 2010!

ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE

Starting a band is something that I believe EVERY guitarist dreams of achieving. The excitement and energy of 4 or 5 individual musical craftsman, or craftswomen, coming together in a balance of rhythm and harmony are essential in making music an art-form. This creative mixture from coming together also begins the process where each of the individual voices join together and becomes one sonic stream or single unified voice.

On the flip side, sometimes the voices no longer align. When the magic is missing, things start to fall apart. Band break ups can be some of the most traumatic emotional experiences that a musician will go through, often filled with drama and aggravation that can turn lifelong friends into enemies. When you look at some of the greatest bands, like Pink Floyd for example, and then think about the depth of artistry they created together yet for reasons we will never truly know, it just didn’t work out for them at some point.

KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE – DON’T BURN BRIDGES!

If the band should break up, it doesn’t have to mean the end of your musical career. Bouncing back into a stable creative mindset, you can really shape your own vision and go for it. But there are a few things to remember when breaking ties with your bros in the band. Here are a few tips to help you have a smooth break up:

  • Be upfront and be honest – There’s no reason to dance around the truth when it comes to a split. Just be upfront and let each member have their own opinions about how it all went down.
  • Don’t bad mouth anyone – No matter how mad that drummer made you or how many times the keyboardist told you your not in tune, you don’t want to burn bridges by talkin’ trash. Just let it go and get creative. The music community is smaller than you think and you don’t want to be know for being difficult or talking bad about others.
  • Take the power back – No matter what happened, it happened. Now it’s your time to dive back into your creative side and play your fingers off! The surge you’ll get from being expressive will amp you up and give you more confidence to do it on your own.

IN CONCLUSION…

Remember to stand up, dust yourself off and get ROCKIN’!

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Scott “SVH” Von Heldt is a staff writer for SMG. Scott has worked with members of White Zombie, Cirque Du Soliel and many others. In late 2008 he released the first book of his Mystic Art of Self-Discovery series entitled Mind Over Metal: The Musician’s Guide to Mental Mastery. Email: SVH@sharemyguitar.com

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