Category: Guitar

Guitar Practicing Tips – A Secret to Changing Chords

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For you beginners out there learning to play chords you are going to love this!

So you’re struggling making that dreaded change from C to G!(or any tough change). What are your options….practice over & over & over…best option! Practice slow and keep your rhythm…great option. Get frustrated and throw your guitar against the wall…not recommended, condoned or liable if you do try it!!!!

The not so secret is if you keep practicing you WILL get it!

The secret is there is a ‘cheating’ technique, although it is not cheating because guitarists do this all the time. Even arguably the greatest rock song of all time Stairway to Heaven employs this method.

Use a strum that ends in an eighth note, i.e., 1 2+ 3 4+ where the numbers are strummed down and the +(ands) are strummed up.

On the very last strum, the up stroke of beat 4, take your left hand off the neck and strum the open strings. Use this ‘free time’ to get to the next chord on rhythm for beat 1.

So the strum would go 1 2+ 3 4-(open strum), 1 2+ 3 4-(open strum)

Try it out it makes life much easier to change your chords and sounds stylistically correct.

Good luck and keep at it…it WILL come!

Scorpions & Tesla in San Diego, Your Concert Review

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Really bummed that I had to miss out on the festivities this evening. The Scorpions have proven to be one of the best live metal acts over the years and the addition of Tesla as opening act is a bonus.

I was lucky enough to see the Scorps on their World Wide Live tour in 1984 supporting the Love at First ImageSting album.  To this day it was one of the best shows I’ve seen. I’ll never forget the energy they pack into a show. My favorite was the live version of Coast to Coast with the iconic image of Klaus Meine standing up on the guitarists’ legs while they were jamming. Of course Rudolph Schenker’s guitar slinging act throwing his Flying V way in the air, wonder if he has ever dropped one? He always seems to catch it. Let’s see the opening act back then was at the time a one hit wonder…Bon Jovi. Yeah I guess they did alright too.

Looking at the setlist there seemed to be a good mix of their classic late 70s-80s period as well as some of the 90’s-millennium music they’ve put out since. Personally, I would like less of the newer stuff and more of the old. Not to mention they don’t play any of their pre-Matthias Jabs music…for us loooong time fans.

 San Diego Setlist                                Click here for current setlist

Well…since I missed it I cant review the show…please feel free to leave your thoughts below if you made it…for all those of us who couldn’t.

Share anything you like about the concert… Tesla, Scorpions, setlists, the venue, the crowd, the vibe…your call.

Van Halen Week in San Diego – Concert Review

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Last night was the big show I’ve been looking forward to for basically 28 years.

It has always been a regret of mine having never seen the original Van Halen lineup with David Lee Roth, even though, I have seen them a handful of times with Sammy Hagar since.

After going to the concert last night my first thought is….I really wish I would have seen them with DLR back in the day!

The Bad:

They have lost their fastball. The show lacked a rockin’ forward motion that I have seen in their past shows. They have also had some recorded tracks in the background(unless they have musicians behind the scenes)

David Lee Roth is a nut job. Good to see him back in the band but he looked like he should have been in a Broadway show…and glad he loves dogs but didn’t really get the video montage of his dogs herding sheep.

The crowd! They should have started the show at noon cause I think everyone was asleep. I have never seen so many people sitting down at a rock concert. There are still plenty of bands in Van Halen’s age group that the fans are up on their feet.

The Good:

The sound!

I could hear all of Eddie’s guitar riffs and licks clearly and although Dave didn’t really have anything important to say you could definitely hear him.

The whole band sounded great, instrumentally!

Eddie played guitar the whole time…no keyboards (although as mentioned before they were recorded or played by someone behind the scenes)

The setlist was awesome! “Beautiful Girls,” “Romeo Delight,” ” Women in Love,” “Hear About it Later,” etc. It was great to hear lots of the old songs! View Setlist

I like the fact that they have dropped some of the Rockstar histrionics and focused more on the music.

Even with Roth’s antics it was good to see the original lineup together.

Smart idea to have Kool & The Gang as opening act. I think it made the concert more fun for the wives of all us guitar geeks.

The GREAT!

The greatest thing for me was to see Eddie! He looked and played really good. He has been through so much the last several years with the cancer, addictions and crazy cat lady pictures. He just looked healthy even put on some weight.

Beware of the Pick Gremlins!

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My friends we are facing an epidemic! It’s brutal some would say unnerving!

Cool Skull Pick
Cool Skull Pick

If you play guitar with a pick, you know what I’m talking about. You go to your local guitar store drop a few bucks and, in theory, have enough picks to last you for awhile.

You know you bought a few of the cool ones with skull designs on them, a few heavy ones for fast picking and that one thin one for strumming some folk songs.

Get home and it’s time for a practice session. You start jamming then a distraction, maybe the doorbell rings. You put your new skull pick down in a precise spot on the coffee table so you remember exactly where you left it so you don’t lose it. You dispatch the salesman at the door only to return to your rockin’ out and cue the theme from “Psycho” as you look down and that shiny new pick is gone.

“What the heck!?, I left it right there on the coffee table…right there in the corner!”  Too late! …It’s gone…like a swimmer in “Jaws”, like a camper in Mike Myers’ neck of the woods, like one of Sigourney Weaver’s buddies in “Alien.”

Get a glass of water…Bam, another one gone! Go to the bathroom…ChaChing, your thin pick is gone! Picks disappear like crazy. Where do they go? It doesn’t make any sense.

Over the years I’ve come to one conclusion. There are Pick Gremlins amongst us. It doesn’t matter where you live or how careful you are with your picks they are gonna disappear on you.  You can even check your pockets and the laundry, but, they’re gone!  It’s the pick gremlins no other possibility.

For those of you who play guitar you KNOW what I’m talking about. For those that don’t…well you probably think all guitarists are nuts anyways.

Beware of the Pick Gremlins!

Van Halen Week in San Diego

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You probably know by now that I’ve dubbed this Van Halen Week in San Diego. Eddie, Dave, Alex and Wolfgang are coming to San Diego for the first time since DLR leaving the band after their “1984” tour. Unfortunately, as a kid I missed this last chance to see the original lineup although I saw them several times with Sammy Hagar.

San Diego
San Diego
Van Halen
Van Halen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now they are back touring the world again! Yeah, they are older and a bit kookier, but, no way I was going to miss them this time. Of course it still isn’t the original lineup as Eddie’s son Wolfgang has taken the place of original bassist Michael Anthony.

Eddie was my biggest guitar influence growing up and to this day, as well. The new album, “A Different Kind of Truth,” is sinking into my brain more and more as I catch the nuances that Eddie always supplies…crazy rock star or not the guy is an incredible musician.

The setlist looks great too. I thought they would go with a lot of their more poppy tunes but it looks like they have gone with a healthy mix of their hits, as well as, some of their more obscure classics.

I am really stoked to hear songs that I never thought I would hear live. “Women in Love,” “Ice Cream Man,” and my all time favorite Van Halen song, “Hear About it Later,” from the album, “Fair Warning”.

Seeing how it has been 28 years since they made an album and toured with David Lee Roth, I thought I would offer some historical perspective.

Things we never heard of:

Global Warming, carbon footprints, declining California Home prices, CD’s, cell phones, Internet, DVD’s, Taliban, Clinton, G.W. Bush,  Obama, ‘President’ Bush (The first one was still VP for Regan who was still in his first term when “1984” came out.), Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, Taliban, 911(may we never hear of another), DVR, reality TV, American Idol, Aerosmith reunion, flat screens, Wii, Like A Virgin,  boy bands, Grunge, Death Metal,  Satellite Radio, Derek Jeter, Brett Farve, High Definition, Van Hagar, bungee jumping, Fresh Prince, The Terminator….

Now that is a long time to wait for a concert…a wait that ends this Thursday!

Guitarslinger vs. the Toilet, When is a Guitarist not a Guitarist

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Click the link to hear Ennio Morricone’s great composition for the theme song of Clint Eastwood’s, “The Good , The Bad and The Ugly.”
It will help set the comical scene described below.

The stars were aligned today. My family was out of the house and I didn’t have any pressing projects it was gonna be just me and my guitar! A chance to work on some music, clear my mind and make everything right in the world…like a workout does as it releases endorphins.

So, what happens… an evil varmint toilet in our house sprung a leak. I had to take action. I had to put down the guitar and pick up a wrench.

The scene was like an old fashioned western dual, two determined gunslingers battling out! If you can imagine the camera focusing on me with a menacing look on my face then panning to the toilet staring me down…back and forth.

For most of you, fixing a toilet not a big deal…but…for a musician who’s brain likes creative projects better than manual ones it kind of is. Not to mention these types of projects don’t normally go too good on the fingers.

No music in today but the towns folk are all safe!..and the bathroom is all better too.

12 NOTES & THE TRUTH!

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Our music is based on 12 notes!

That’s it!

No more!

“12 Notes & the Truth!,” this blog,  focuses on everything those 12 little notes offer.

These 12 notes not only make up the music of every band and artist we listen to but make the world go ’round, as well.

“12 Notes & the Truth!,” will cover anything and everything in music that strikes a chord

with myself and hopefully you, as well!.

Guitar music, pop styles, jazz, classical and the social issues attached to them all will be featured in the blog.

Expect a little high brow education,  low brow comedy and anything between that helps convey the world of music

in my head. Of course I will let you know what I am up to from time to time, as well, performances, projects, etc.

You can follow the blog:

from this site or on

Facebook: Mike Slayen Studios

Twitter: @mikeslayen

However you do follow come back early and often to check out “12 Notes & the Truth!” and feel free to comment on the posts.

From one music lover to another I will try to live up to these 12 notes and their truth.

Van Halen Setlist

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One more day and it will officially be Van Halen week in San Diego as the boys from Pasadena get set to play Viejas Arena June 14th.

For you San Diegans who have been wondering about the setlist check out the link below. It looks like they are fairly settled on their selections now. It seemed to flutter from show to show earlier in the tour. Most notably it looks like they are exchanging The Full Bug and Romeo Delight every other show. From time to time they throw a ‘new’ old classic into the mix. The last show, June 5, featured their first performance of Bottoms Up! since 1983.

Added bonus is Kool & the Gang will be the opening act.

Time to get excited San Diego!!

Van Halen Setlist

Kool & The Gang Setlist

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Guitar Practicing Tips- Keep it Out

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Have you ever been walking around your house bored and say, ‘Ooooh I am gonna practice my guitar?’ You find that it is in the case, tucked in a room you never practice in and a full stack of junk on top. You know, just like your gym equipment….’Maybe I’ll practice later…’

It happens to the best of us!

One way to avoid this is to keep your guitar out of the case, of course you want to make sure you find a safe spot for it. Also keep it in a room you frequent so you can pick it up at anytime. If it is staring you in the face you are more likely to pick it up. If you pick it up you can get in a quick practice session. If you get in a quick session who knows it may turn into a full blown practice session.

Keep your guitar out, keep it protected and keep it where you can easily pick it up at anytime!

Keep practicing!!!

Wedding Venues

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My original thought with this page was to list all the venues I have played over the years. After quickly coming up with a whole lot of venues off the top of my head, I realized that it would be an extremely long list and not really necessary.

What is important is that having played so many venues I’ve learned how  how to take care of all the little things needed for performance whether or not I have played at a particular site.  My experience  makes things easier for everyone involved; wedding coordinators, venue staff, myself and most importantly…YOU, to make your day special and easier on you…in essence the music will be one less thing to worry about!

Regardless, I thought it would be fun to post the original list of venues I came up with. The list is certainly not all , but a representative of wedding venues I’ve performed at throughout Southern California; San Diego to Santa Barbara, Coronado to Temecula, La Jolla to Palm Springs. ..

For those of you still looking for a wedding site perhaps this list can help give you some ideas.

Balboa Park-

-Japanese Friendship Gardens

-Prado (Rest. & Wedding Bowl)

-Museum of Man

-Café del Rey Moro

Bayfront Hilton

The Beach House

Birch Aquarium at Scripps

Calumet Park

Coronado Beach (on the sand)

Coronado Cays

Coronado Golf Course Clubhouse

Darlington House

El Camino Country Club

El Cortez Hotel

Embarcadero Park

Estancia Hotel

Fairbanks Ranch Country Club

Four Seasons Aviara

Georges at the Cove

Grand Del Mar Resort

Heritage Park

Hornblower Cruises

Hotel Del Coronado overlooking Coronado Bridge
Hotel Del Coronado

Hotel del Coronado

L’ Auberge Hotel Del Mar

La Costa Resort & Spa

La Jolla Cove Bridge Club

La Valencia Hotel

Levyland

Loews Coronado Bay Resort

Manchester Grand Hyatt

Martin Johnson House

Mission Hills CC-Rancho Mirage

Museum of Contemporary Art-La Jolla

Navy- Admiral Kidd Club

Navy- Submarine Base

Orfila Vineyards &Winery

Palm Desert Visitor Center

Ponte Winery-Temecula

Powerhouse Community Center

Paradise Point Resort

Presidio Park

Rancho Bernardo Inn

Rancho Bernardo Winery

Rancho Valencia

Rose Creek Cottage

San Diego Convention Center

Santaluz
Santaluz

Santaluz Clubhouses

Seagrove Park

Soledad Club

Summers Past Farms

Thursday Club

UCSD Faculty Club

Wedding Bowl -Cuvier Park

Wedding Bowl at Cuvier Park
Wedding Bowl at Cuvier Park