In this article: Golden section and golden rectangles, the harmonic series and the model of its ideal behavior simplified, equal temperament and just intonation and a description of the beat frequency conflict produced by the deviations between simultaneous sounding of harmonic partials and prime frequencies and how it affects the tone and timbre of the guitar.
Guitar International magazine has assigned our past Western Illinois University (WIU) summer intern, Brady Lavin, as its new Managing Editor. He is finishing up degrees in Music Business and Accountancy at WIU. His past experience has included running Rock N Rolla, a music newsletter and entertainment guide. All advertising proceeds from the newsletter were used to promote music and education.
Transforming your basement from a place for storage into a useful home studio isn’t as hard as you may think. With the help of a few local contractors, some money from your savings and a bit of patience, you can have your own recording space.
Arizona classical guitarist Brad Richter just released American Landscapes a week or two ago, and it is already one of my favorite collections of mood setting songs. These pieces, which are mostly meditations on outdoor landscapes that speak to Brad, are perfect for that; they are incredibly detailed and meticulous in their composition and adventurous in their use of new and interesting techniques, so seriously music-minded people have a lot to chew on and digest. If heard just in passing by the casual music fan, however, they just sound incredibly pleasing to the ear.
It’s easy to stay in the box, to not explore and discover new ways of playing guitar or to come up with new ways to amp up your career aspirations. But, if we check out the way legendary guitarist Les Paul approached his guitar passion and life, I believe we can all take inspiration from “Rhubarb Red” and continually re-think or even out-think the challenges that we face in our music and our lives. If we emulate the life of Les Paul, we find ourselves on a path that reflects high-intensity curiosity, demands a “Can Do” attitude that’s followed-up with disciplined action – leading us to both small and grand success.
Jam sessions can be a guitarists best friend or their worst nightmare. I’m sure many of have stories of nights when a big-name musician was traveling through town and decided to sit in with us at the corner bar, making for an unforgettable night of music. But, there are also those jam sessions where the participants have spent too much time with a bottle of scotch or not enough time in the practice room, or both, and their 12 minute version of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” almost made us want to quit music.
Pete Townshend, who stopped blogging a while ago because he was tired of quotes being taken out of context, recently got back in the game with a post about a new box set of Quadrophenia. The box set is due out in October and will include the original album, remastered by Jon Astley, surround-sound mixes of some tracks by Bob Pridden, a bunch of never-before-seen photographs, and a slew of tracks that didn’t make it on the album.
A myriad of artists, including Beck and Snow Patrol, have contributed songs to a tribute album for John Martyn, storied British folk singer and guitarist.
McLaughlin has been a Godin player for years and currently plays a Freeway SA live and in studio, as well as a Godin Passion RG-2. This model features 2x Custom Godin Humbuckers, Godin High-Definition Revoicer, 13-pin capabilities and USB output for recording & direct computer access. The RG-2 also features a spruce body and highly figured carved flame maple top, along with synchronized resonance chambers in the body making it incredibly lightweight and resonant.
Koentopp Guitars has launched a new website showcasing its new line of handmade guitars. The new website incorporates beautiful pictures of Dan Koentopp at work as well as high definition pictures of each instrument from his line of Archtops, Classicals, and Electric Guitars. Dan makes it evident that each guitar is meticulously crafted by hand with the customer in mind from the very beginning.
