Tag: Twelve Notes & the Truth

Music to Relax, Spring has Sprung, Copland “Appalachian Spring”

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SpringWelcome to Spring everyone!

I know for those of you back East it was an extremely rough winter. In San Diego not so much we had our bits of rain and frost, but, also plenty of 70 degree plus days, as well.

(Shameless plug, “Sunny & 70“)

Thought I would honor the first day of Spring with Aaron Copland’s famous piece, “Appalachian Spring.” Beautiful melodies, lush orchestration and a pastoral setting of Americana, including his use of the Shaker tune, “A Gift to be Simple.”

Copland was a very innovative composer of the 20th Century, however, became known for and remembered much more for his ‘romanticized,’ settings of Americana which only accounted for a brief period of his compositional output. If you are interested try the following link for a different look into Copland’s work.

Who’s ready for summer?

Enjoy!

Randy Rhoads, 31 Years Gone, Still Influencing Guitarists!

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The Classic Randy Rhoads Poster
The Classic Randy Rhoads Poster

The first concert I ever went to was Ozzy Osbourne, January 4, 1982 at the San Diego Sports Arena. I remember it like it was yesterday. The only bummer about this show was that it was right after Christmas vacation from school. Since I was counting down the days until the show I was in essence counting down my vacation….

But, not only was it an Ozzy show, it was Ozzy with Randy Rhoads. Randy Rhoads the guitar legend who would tragically be killed in an airplane crash just over two months after this show. I can still picture the crushed students at my Junior High School wearing black armbands. That was the cool way to pay tribute to a fallen rock idol in those days. John Bonham and Bon Scott were two others so honored, I recall. I always cherish the fact I was lucky enough to see Randy live and my first concert!!

Randy was the first guitar hero to blend a classical approach with heavy metal. Most guitarists at the time were more blues/rock influenced. With only two studio recordings, “Blizzards of Ozz,” and “Diary of a Madman,” to his credit, Randy has left a huge legacy regardless. His influence still reaches out today 31 years after his death to new generations of guitarists.

RIP RR

“SATO,” is a cool song, maybe not one of Randy’s classics. I picked this video as it does a great job featuring him!

Iron Maiden’s Clive Burr, Tribute, RIP

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Clive BurrSad to hear the news that former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr passed away on March 12. He had been living with Multiple Sclerosis since the mid 90’s.

Wether you get Iron Maiden and their crypt keeper looking mascot Eddie, there is no denying their influence on Heavy Metal music. Clive was a big part of their early success.

Here’s to you Clive, RIP!

Live Music and Yoga in the La Jolla/Birdrock Area

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I recently hooked up with some cool people out in the Birdrock area at Riffs Acoustic Music. Riffs is a guitar store with a nice selection of guitars and music lessons. In addition to music they offer yoga classes. Not just yoga classes, but, live music yoga classes.

You might be thinking….’hmmm, how does that work?’ I kind of thought the same thing as I played a class for the first time in early March. I didn’t know if I would need to synchronize to the class movements and vibe or if ripping guitar riffs as they were working their body and minds would be a distraction.

Guess what, it works great! The reaction has been really positive from the class as the music offers an added element to the atmosphere. For me, I get to spend the morning in La Jolla a block away from the beach, playing guitar! Beach and guitar have always been two of my favorite things! There is not much, as far as, choreography etc., I just try to fit the vibe of the moment…mostly I just play!

Riffs was originally founded in Park City, Utah in 2010. Last summer, owner Steve Hart, opened their second location here in La Jolla. They are just starting out so make sure you get down there and check them out. The following link has all their information. Friday March 15, they are offering yoga with  full band performing Pink Floyd’s, “Dark Side of the Moon.” Should be a great experience.

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It’s been great to work with Shawna, Shannon and Steve at Riffs and look forward to more  in the future. For those of you in the area keep an eye out for guitar classes possibly in the future as we all work out our busy schedules and career endeavors.

The Guitar Gods Smiled Upon Me….

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While I always feel ‘crazy’ lucky to be a guitarist for a living….I had a nice little gift from the Guitar Gods this morning during my workout.

Every morning, I trudge out to get my blood flowing, trusty IPod always in tow, shuffling though 8000 or so songs! I like to shuffle, both for the randomness and the fact that with so much music I get  to hear stuff I would probably never pick or even remember that I own.

Anywho, first up on this sunny morning was Joe Satriani’s “Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing,” a classic to be sure. Followed by, Dokken’s, “Tooth and Nail,” with George Lynch’s extended guitar solo, Jimi Hendrix’ classic, “The Wind Cries Mary,” “Espiritu,” by the De Lucia, McLaughlin, Di Meola trio and capped off with, “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” Van Halen’s live version.

Good thing it was a short workout or the next song that may have popped up could have been my daughter’s Little Einsteins and ruined my Guitar Gods Smiling on Me theory.

Peace…have a great one everybody!

Guitar Practicing Tips – Blues Scale in Major

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Mike Slayen Studios Picks 2The blues scale is a great way for beginners to start improvising and an integral scale for all guitarists to have in their musical tool box. It is versatile and a bit forgiving in that it is basically a five note pentatonic scale with the added ‘blues’ note…the #4.

It’s easy to know which key to use the blues scale for a minor key. If you’re in A minor you play A minor blues, E minor-E blues…etc.

What is not so obvious is which major key to use the blues scale. Unless you are playing a straight ahead blues you can’t really use the same theory…G major= G blues, etc.

The answer lies with the ‘relative minor’ key. The relative minor is 3 half steps below the root of the major key. So the relative minor of C major is A minor. G major is E minor.

Once you know which relative minor you can rip away.

Here is a list of  Major keys and their relative minors commonly used in guitar.  A cheat sheet to get you started, but, you will NEED to know these intimately as part of your music theory repertoire!

Major key / Relative minor key(where to use your blues scale)

C/a

D/b

E/c#

F/d

G/e

A/f#

B/g#

Click here for more practice tips.

Music to Relax, Berlioz “Un Bal,” From “Symphonie Fantastique”

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In the past, I have written about relaxing music and what makes it relaxing. The words that I come up with over and over again are spacing and open-ness. Most of my previous posts focused on these traits in regards to the harmonies(chords) and rhythms.

In ‘Un Bal,’ Berlioz uses another technique in addition to these, orchestration. One of my favorite aspects of composing and listening to music is that of orchestration. The combination of instruments and timbres(sounds). When in the hands of a master, I believe, that even inferior melodic/harmonic music can be made great.

Berlioz often uses sparse groups of instruments including solos. When the music does get more dramatic he tends to feature the strings and woodwinds over the heavier brass timbres, of the later Romantics such as Mahler and Wagner. The use of a harp adds to the dulcet nature of the piece.

Enjoy!

The creator of the embedded video supplies some great commentary. For those of you trying to gain insights into classical music make sure you check out their other videos, as well.