The Joys of Using Contemporary Technology and Electronic Musical Instruments

In an ideal situation, I would have a perfectly soundproofred and treated recording studio with a live room, a vocal booth, and a dead room. I would have the drum kit of my dreams in its own booth mic’ed up properly, and I would would have another room for guitars, a grand piano inside the live room, a rack of synthesizers, an orchestral room (with instruments), etc. I could go on and on about what I would like to have. Unfortunately, budgetary constraints would not permit this. I don’t have a million dollars to fund such things. Thanks to latest advances in technology, I don’t need too much equipment in my home studio.

I actually make a living with an electronic piano from the ’80s hooked up via MIDI, a couple of guitars, a condenser mic, a multi-effects pedal with modeling, a tube amp, a number of VST instruments, scorewriters and a DAW, an audio interface (that I should replace soon!), and other bits and pieces here and there that make noise. That’s about it. Thanks to VST instruments, I have access to great quality sounds that about 10 to 15 years ago I would not have such as orchestral sounds, horn sections, and drums. Many thanks to the people who have made home recording a lot more convenient!

At this point, I don’t have the funds for acoustic treatment or soundproofing, and so I have to make do with recording acoustically using a number of workarounds such as putting a thick comforter or blanket over my amp and mic for recording electric guitar old-school style, recording vocals during the “dead” hours of the day (or inside the car using my Zoom H4n). So far, I have been successfully recording acoustic stuff this way, not the most ideal thing in the world. However, these workarounds will certainly fail if I were to record acoustic drums. Not only will I have a lot of difficulty finding mics (which I don’t have) or the quietest pieces of hardware around, I will also be in trouble with my wife (who will most certainly wake up to the noise of drums) as well as the neighbors. I had experienced getting a phone call from an irate neighbor once when I was rehearsing with Jacob’s Ladder (about 15 years ago!), and I’m not going to have that kind of trouble again. And so, the solution for that would be MIDI capable electronic drums. I found this video that will explain better how electronic drums are advantageous over acoustic drums, fully convincing me that this is the way to go if I’m going to do drums faster rather than programming those parts (a tedious process, BTW):

Speaking of workarounds, even highly acclaimed bands like Haken (my son’s current favorite) use such techniques to record their albums. The next video shows how Haken vocalist Ross Jennings records some of his stuff:

As you can see, you can record vocals in an attic with some blankets, duct tape, and a good mic hooked up to a DAW. Of course, nothing beats a professional recording studio for the job, but workarounds like these augmented with today’s technology can deliver results that are pretty much close at the fraction of the cost.

These things, dear readers,  are only a few examples of the joys of using contemporary technology and electronic musical instruments.

 

Steve Dahlberg’s “Play Delta Blues Now”

People have to know that there’s more to Blues than the kind you hear from Stevie Ray Vaughn, Johnny Winter, and others who have excelled in the popular variant called Texas Blues. If you want to be able to play the Blues during the prewar period or sound like you’re from somewhere around the Mississippi Delta, Steve Dahlberg’s the man who can show you how to do that with his new course “Play Delta Blues Now”.

“Play Delta Blues Now” is an acoustic blues course that will teach you the essentials of how to sound like the Johnsons (Blind Willie, Tommy, Robert, etc.) or Charley Patton. Again, this is NOT your electric blues guitar course. You will NOT make your guitar cry like Gary Moore or go to a getaway like Robben Ford. It’s closer to playing classical guitar (except with blues notes, bottlenecks, open tunings, and an emphasis on the I-IV-V chord progression).

The course will be launched on January 29, 2014, 9 p.m. U.S. Eastern time. So, if you want to acquire what it takes to play the Blues on acoustic, go grab a copy of this course by going to the link below:

As usual, sheet music transcription in standard notation and guitar tab is by yours truly.

In other matters unrelated to “Play Delta Blues Now”, here’s Gary Moore, here’s “Still Got the Blues”, a song that my uncle Joe taught me how to play back in 1994 when I was in my 2nd year of high school:

Play Blues Now: New Steve Stine Course @ GuitarZoom

A few days prior to Christmas 2013, I was working long hours to complete transcribing the sheet music for this course while juggling other important tasks such as our church’s Christmas concert rehearsals, finishing my composition for the said concert, working on other projects, being a parent and homeschool teacher, graduate school stuff, and others. It was a tough time, and though I’m able to relax for now I do have other things that I have to complete. Anyway, going back to the course, this is a beginner blues course for guitar by none other than in-demand modern guitar pedagogue, Steve Stine.

To cut things short, this is an excellent course (in my biased opinion) for anyone who wants to know the nitty-gritty on the Blues. It covers the essentials of the Blues from the rhythm up to improvisation and soloing, making it a very complete course that will enable you to do what it says: Play Blues Now!

If you want to purchase the DVD and book, please click on the image above. Sheet music transcription by none other but yours truly.

Firestorm Guitar: New GuitarZoom Course by Steve Stine

Because of the great interest in learning how to play lead in an effort to be the next Yngwie Malmsteen or the next darling of Shrapnel Records or what have you, education regarding rhythm guitar playing is usually underrated or neglected. In many occasions, we often fail to realize that rhythm is the bedrock in which all genres and styles of music settle in. Well, this is no longer the case. Steve Stine addresses this concern with his new course called “Firestorm Guitar”, a very comprehensive rhythm guitar course. As usual, sheet music transcription and engraving was done by none other than yours truly.

Some of the interesting things that Steve teaches in this course include how closely related rhythm guitar playing is to playing hand percussion like maracas, the “ocean effect” or “organic strumming”, and figuring out appropriate rhythm patterns for any song. And so, if you’ve always wondered how you could become a better rhythm guitar player and you want to push your skills up to the next level, I highly recommend going to the GuitarZoom website and clicking on the graphic above to check out Firestorm Guitar.

Updates and Musings from the Last Two Weeks of September 2013

The past few weeks of September have been very interesting.

Last Monday, I completed my second day of school. I’m currently pursuing an M.A. in music education (applied music emphasis, piano) at the PWU School of Music. So far, so good it’s been very good. Despite experiencing anxiety (and messing up big time) when I played for the first time in front of my piano professor, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. This is because my second day with her was fruitful. I got my assigned work (scales from C to E, some Czerny, Beethoven, Bartok, and Tcherepin) and, more importantly, I learned aspects of my technique that need work, something that I probably won’t be able to observe on my own. I think I’m in good hands since my piano teacher is the romantic period piano expert at the UP College of Music. With enough effort on my part, I guess there’s a lot of things I can learn from her. She says my legato playing, fingering and pedaling can still improve. I just hope that I can play my assigned pieces at a respectable level come Monday. Time to go back to the woodshed I guess.

Fortunately, I’m still working with Steve Nixon as his music transcriber. Working with him is a great opportunity to improve my understanding of what jazz is. Seems like I’m getting some jazz education with Steve while I go improve my classical at PWU. Tomorrow, I’ll be submitting a jazz scale guide.

I also managed to finish the “Eucharistia” songbook for Barbie Dumlao and Springs Foundation, Inc. It’s always a pleasure working with them.

I’m waiting for new assignments from GuitarZoom. I just finished working on “Real World Soloing” and that one turned out to be good as well.

The highlight of last month is probably the concert entitled “Musicalitea in Unity”. It was a concert organized by the UCCP-LCSMC Liturgy and Music committee. It was held last 09/28/2013 at the PCU Auditorium. I performed an original composition called “Promises” for solo piano as part of my set. Prior to that, I performed an old favorite, “Hesus”, with Pastor Chaz Romero on guitar and Chay Innocentes on vocals. It was very fruitful. I felt very honored and happy as well afterwards as Rev. Leo Eva Rempola, virtuoso pianist extraordinaire, asked for a sheet music copy of “Promises” after hearing me perform it. Like most of what I hear from my performances, I don’t impress myself. Matter of fact is that I could probably improve my performance next time. Nevertheless, I’m happy enough that I plan to share recordings of the concert via Soundcloud, so watch out for those.

Until next time, please stay glued to this page. Thank you and God bless!

“I Miss You” by Shean Cleofas and Lenny Nabor

I remember some time around 2012 when I arranged this song for songwriter Lenny Nabor:

This version of Lenny Nabor’s “I Miss You” was interpreted by Shean Cleofas with arrangement by yours truly. I thought something that sounded like “Everything But the Girl” would suit the song well.

If there would be one thing I’d change in this present recording would be the dynamics. The piano overpowers everything else. I’d also make some changes in the overall mix, should I be given the opportunity to do so. So, Lenny, if you’re reading this, I hope you give me a chance to mix it. I just need a copy of the vocal track.

Apparently, Lenny has plans of working with me again on another song. I’m about to make a sample arrangement of a few bars for that new song. Let’s wait and see (and hear) what would happen next.

The Key to Understanding 12 Bar Blues is in Lance Vallis’ “Blues Guitar 101”

One of the ways of understanding how many songs work in today’s contemporary context is knowing what exactly is a 12-bar blues. The latest project I was involved in is a GuitarZoom course called “Blues Guitar 101” by Lance Vallis. This new course features the basics of playing a 12-bar-blues, the form of the 12-bar blues, and a variety of ways of how to play both melodic parts/solos and rhythmic accompaniment.

Since I’m the one who had the task of transcribing most of the stuff that Mr. Vallis plays throughout the video, I do have some form of bias with regard to my opinion. It’s a very good blues course that features a lot of material that demonstrates Mr. Vallis’ prowess in improvising blues lines. He also offers a number of useful licks and phrases that you can instantly use in many blues jam situations.

If you want to get into the blues right away, I would suggest getting this course by clicking on the “Blues Guitar 101” graphic above. After mastering the various concepts presented, I suggest moving on to Steve Stine’s 96 Blues Licks.

Steve Stine’s 42 Days to Blazing Guitar Solos

About a month ago, I started working on what was once called Steve Stine’s “Essential Techniques for Guitar”. This is a compendium of pure guitar technique, teaching you the “how” of lead guitar soloing. After weeks of grueling transcription and completing the sheet music, GuitarZoom has released what is now called “42 Days to Blazing Guitar Solos”.

If you are at least an intermediate electric guitar player want to do everything from nailing famous guitar to creating your own solos from scratch, I suggest going to the link below:

Other than working on this course, I just completed transcribing another blues course and I’m working on a number of things simultaneously. Therefore, I can say I’m busier than a bee. I guess that’s it for now. I hope that over the next 42 days, you’ve transformed yourself into a guitar hero under Steve Stine’s tutelage.

A Little Update to My Life’s Story – A Summer in Review

I haven’t written for so long that it feels like this blog has become “dusty” and “moldy”. Apparently, I do have a lot of things to write about. I was so entangled with a lot of things that it’s only at this moment of time that I was able to write.

To list them all down, here are some significant things that have happened since the last entry:

1. A trip to Anawangin Cove.
2. A surprise birthday bash from the UCCP-MCCD Ministry.
3. Conducting a private crash course in music theory, composition and songwriting for a musically inclined Court of Appeals associate justice and his sons.
4. My first time preaching a sermon.
5. The formation of a new band.

Of course, there are other things that are bound to happen over the next few weeks, and I do hope I get the time to write about the stuff I’ve mentioned along with others in a timely fashion. So, I guess it’s time for me to return to finishing sheet music for an upcoming GuitarZoom course. I feel as though Dan’s already breathing down my neck.

*UPDATE: As of 6/19/2013, transcriptions for “Essential Techniques for Guitar” by Steve Stine have been completed. The course will be available in the market really soon.

Steve Stine’s Songfire Now Available

GuitarZoom, one of my long-term employers, has another very useful course for anybody who’s interested in learning new songs on the guitar in a fast and intelligent way. This new course is called Songfire. Written by GuitarZoom’s guitarist-in-residence and professor of modern guitar at North Dakota State University, Steve Stine, This new course offers a no-nonsense approach that could enable any guitar beginner into hearing how most songs work and then eventually learn them in the process.

Now, for those who think they can become instant virtuoso players with this course, you are mistaken. This course is NOT about gaining virtuoso technique in an instant (it takes years of hard work and practice to gain that). This course is more about being able to play many of the songs you hear and enjoy on your guitar in a fast way. This course is not about being able to play your favorite songs note by note, but it is more about being able to understand the underlying harmonic structure (chord progressions, etc.) based on what you hear. Upon finishing the course, you’d be able to listen actively to many pop and rock songs and be able to play through its chord progression in a matter of minutes.

Okay, maybe some will be disappointed that virtuoso guitarist Steve Stine released a non-virtuoso course. Well, that is not the point of Songfire. Songfire’s intent is to give learners the ability to hear music as a whole and be able to at least play a semblance of it, following along the chord progression WITHOUT reading notation or tab. B ear in mind that seemingly simple, sort of entry-level topics like those in Songfire could easily lead any beginning guitarist to be stimulated into getting deeper into the workings of music, eventually figuring out what most of us would consider virtuoso technique. The positive and pleasurable effects of being to successfully learn a new song can always lead to bigger things, musically speaking.

If you want to get access to the course, just click on the Songfire image above. As usual, sheet music and text by none other than yours truly.