ACOUSTIC ISSUE 54 JUNE 2011

32

ANDY MCKEE

McKees playing certainly delivers the wow factor. But as he explains to Noel Harvey, what really counts is the feeling.

40 Tony White

38 Gerry Cott

Gerry Cott was guitarist of the Boomtown Rats. Now hes back, and lyrical solo acoustic guitar is now his mtier.

Dar Williams has built a career the hard way: out on the road playing for audiences the world over. She talks to Acoustic.

30 Dar Williams

28 Malcolm Holcombe

A man who believes that life on the edge is the only way.

43 Ruarri Joseph

This young player is making some serious waves.

UK LUTHIER CORNER

86 The Workshop
Russell Welton talks with Ivor Pickard
06 ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE JUNE 2011

Leann White

Alligators, Elvis Presley and the joys of home recording the man they call the Louisiana Swamp Fox tells it like it is to Julian Piper.

RETUNE YOUR EARS 23 Listen to

something new

Tina Korhonen

Guitar Techniques

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Gear Reviews
Acoustic keeps you up to date with whats hot and whats not in our gear reviews section.
54 Taylor GS Mini
Sam Wise nds out. A miniature Taylor with a (relatively) miniature price tag, but does it live up to the stature of the name?

CHECK OUT OUR TECHNIQUES SECTION!

Our different level specific techniques have something for everyone. Whether youre a beginner or advanced, we can help.
Acoustic Techniques

Biography
Raymond Burley is an accomplished classical guitarist, composer and arranger. One of his most recent projects was the album Double Vision - a collection of Giltrap pieces arranged for

Sight Reading

Techniques Skill Level

This is suitable for intermediate

RAymond BuRley Classical Guitarist

Skill Level: Intermediate

two guitars.

Let Ray help you improve your sight reading with some note finding exercises.

Welcome back to my column. Following on from the previous article, Im continuing with the hugely important topic of sight-reading and how best to improve it.

Note Finding

deadline to arrive at the next note or chord, but when sight-reading you may encounter a note or chord that you are unable to find in time and the rhythm will be interrupted while you search for it. As a starting point, its crucial that fingerboard knowledge is secure and confident. During the process of sightreading it can be very tempting to go back and correct an error that has occurred, but by doing this the error is compounded and the pulse is lost; time doesnt stand still and certainly doesnt go backwards. If you were playing in an orchestra or ensemble it would be unrealistic to expect the

A guitar teacher will often stress that, when sight-reading, maintaining the rhythm of a piece of music is much more important than playing all the correct notes this is sound advice. However, if the rhythms are the most important aspect of sight-reading, why do I suggest beginning the article with note finding? The answer is simple: the rhythm provides a

other musicians to stop and wait for you to catch up. Unlike the piano keyboard, where there is a clearly recognisable pattern of white and black notes, the frets on the guitar fingerboard all look very similar, therefore we need to start by establishing some fingerboard landmarks. Many guitars have position dots on the upper edge of the fingerboard; if your guitar does not have these you may find it helpful to add a tiny dot of correction fluid or sticky paper at the 5th or 7th fret as an aid to left-hand accuracy. Begin by choosing a landmark note pitch I suggest E as a number

of them can be found in the lower positions of the fingerboard. Obviously, if you are a player of less than intermediate standard it will be a waste of time and effort learning the notes in the higher reaches of the fingerboard at this stage. Judge the required range from the notes encountered in the more advanced pieces in your repertoire. Its essential that notes are identified by their letter names rather than just fret positions the reason for this will become Acoustic Techniques apparent very shortly. Find the Es; those up to and including the 12th fret are shown below:

58 RainSong H-WS 1000 N2

Biography
Chris is not only a guitar teacher but also a composer and producer having worked on many orchestrations for television and recordings alike. He has many years of experience in performance and helping others develop their playing potential to their best.

The Hybrid Series of new carbon- bre and glass- bre construction elements makes for a fascinating look.

Example 1 Example 1: Dont move on until you are able to locate these notes quickly and accurately. Set a metronome to crotchet (quarter note) = 60, ie one beat per second. Repeat the open 1st string E exactly in time with the metronome, and while you are doing this think where another E is found. Without interrupting the rhythm, switch to the new note. The metronome provides the deadline for arrival at the next note. Think now where a further E is located, and so on. If at any time you have trouble finding a new E, go back to a note played earlier. Try to avoid playing the notes in the same sequence each time. When the process is secure and accurate, continue the exercise by repeating each E just four times before moving, thus giving yourself less thinking time. Continue by playing each note twice and then just once. You can, of course, stretch yourself further by setting a quicker tempo. Once Es are completely secure, repeat the procedure using the note F. If you know where each E is found, F will be one fret (or one semitone) higher. As there are no open Fs, left-hand position shifting will be a little trickier. Continue by choosing another note: it could be F sharp or perhaps G. Initially, the closer to your original landmark note the better. Avoid taking on too many different pitches in a short space of time as the notes will quickly become confused and little will be achieved. Composer Skill level: Suitable for all

CHRIS GIBBONS

Chris helps you find the most efficient way to play any given piece, with fretting hand positions.

Fingerings and Positions

fret so the 1st finger is at the 3rd fret and you have a scale of Ab major in the 3rd position, one fret or semitone higher than G The open position uses open strings and thus cannot be shifted in this manner, and a new fingering must then be learnt for Ab major in the open position. So lets look at some options for the scale of G major in Ex 1. The first fingering option is using open strings; here the left-hand finger is the same as the fret on the tab: 3rd fret = 3rd finger etc. The second option is utilising the 2nd position. Look at the left-hand

Techniques Skill Level

Suitable for all players

Will you nd the tone equally as intriguing?

62 Ibanez JSA10-BK

One of the main hurdles the guitarist has to jump is evaluating the most effective left-hand fingering for a piece of music. Unlike a pianist, where each key represents a note and is immovable, for the guitarist playing C above middle C it can be found in three different locations: 1st fret, 2nd string 5th fret, 3rd string 10th fret, 4th string 15th fret, 5th string Logically, the decision of where to play is determined by the range of the melody the left hand is located where it can reach the bulk of the notes required and then extend into higher or lower registers via a series of shifts.

There are no hard-and-fast rules for this because each guitarist has a style which favours certain finger combinations, but there are certain precepts which provide an ergonomic basis for any performance. This first article in a series of six will look at the issues of when to play in position and when to deviate. So lets look at first principles Playing in position refers to placing the left hand so that the 1st finger is located at a particular fret; thus, in the 2nd position the 1st finger covers all the notes at the 2nd fret, the 2nd finger covers the 3rd fret, 3rd finger the 4th, and so on. Because no open strings are involved, the fingering pattern is movable, so shift up one

fingering and fret numbers; the 1st finger is always at fret 2, 2nd finger always at fret 3 etc. The third option is a special case. Here we are using extended fingering where the left hand is spanning up to five frets as opposed to four, as in the one finger per fret rule. This is ideal if, for example, you wish to play the notes very rapidly in groups of three using hammer-ons on the way up or pull-offs on the way down, with an extra stretch between the 3rd and 4th fingers on the 6th and 5th strings (see Ex 2).

Long-standing artist Joe Satriani has been with Ibanez for more than two decades. Will this signature guitar help you make your own Strange Beautiful Music?

114 acoustic magazine march 2011 02/02/2011 11:18 Ray Burley.indd 110

G major scale

66 Vintage V400MH

With more than just a few awards under their belt, the Vintage range seems to be going from strength to strength. Does the V400MH ex extra musical muscle?

70 Adam Black 0-5CE 12-String

110 acoustic magazine march 2011 Chris Gibbons.indd 104 02/02/2011 11:15

110 Duck Baker

116 David Price

This song will help you get familiar with the circle of 5ths

Improve your ngerstyle playing. This month: block chords.

Will this OM-sized 12-string with an entry level price tag charm the socks o our intrepid reviewer? David Mead checks into Hotel California

112 David Mead

118 Lin Flanagan

74 Gear4Music MDA 4012 N and AA 4006

David continues to unlock the mysteries of DADGAD.

Should you go classical? Lin o ers some advice.

If you have been feeling the pinch economically lately, or if you are on a real budget, perhaps these guitars may provide you with a solution.

114 Ray Gamble

80 Fishman Loudbox Mini 84 Fishman Rare Earth

Touch Me Lightly by Tobias Hume.

In a crowded marketplace, is the little Fishman Loudbox Mini the bonniest baby? Sam Wise nds out.

Special Features
44 First Songs
We all started somewhere. Brooks Williams asks numerous guitarists about which songs they learned rst.

We test three Rare Earth pickups from Fishman

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48 Historical British Ballads

Paul Brett reveals some of the songs that our ancestors sang.

91 Guitar In East Africa

Brooks Williams reports in from his time teaching in Africa.

92 12-string Corner
Kicking o a new regular feature Paul Brett takes you inside the world of the 12-string.

98 Arranging For Guitarists Part 2

Chris Gibbons continues to help you develop your arranging skills.

Rotosound Tru Bronze

An alternative acoustic guitar string to the 92/8 series. Comprising brass wire covers, these strings offer the resonant advantages of such coupled with considerable clarity and tone. www.rotosound.com

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JUNE 2011 ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE 07