Blog Reflection

What I’ve done

I’ve gone over different guitar tunings, explained how to tune your guitar into that tuning, displayed the different styles of music that the tunings can be played in, and have shown examples of songs that use that tuning. I’ve also reviewed songs and have explained different guitar scales which are used to create guitar solos.

My best post and why it’s good

My best post was “Lets Learn Guitar Scales! (Major Scale)” because I feel that this post appeals most to readers. A lot of people who play the guitar pick it up for the sole reason of playing leads and solos and this post introduces readers into the world of guitar solos. At the end there is also a really cool guitar solo that shows what you could sound like if you apply these scales into your guitar playing.

What I’d like to improve on

I’d like to work on making my posts longer and putting more of my own detail and insight into my posts. My posts contain a lot more information than they do of my analysis and balancing out my information and analysis would make my blog posts better.

What I’ve learned about myself as a learner

I’ve learned that I try to finish my assignments too quickly and it messes up the quality of my posts. I need to put my time into my research, stop and think about it, then mix in my information with my own analysis.

Where I’d like to go

I’d like to add in more of my personal journey as I learn about playing guitar. I want it to have less information and show more of my thoughts and concerns as I learn how to play the guitar. In order to do this, I’ll have to plan time in my week to practice guitar instead of just practicing whenever I feel like it. It’ll have more appeal to new guitar players who are frustrated with the rate at which they’re learning. Maybe it’ll encourage them; knowing that they aren’t alone and its normal to have bumps in the road as they learn the guitar.

Lets Learn Guitar Scales! (Minor Scale)

Today, we'll be learning the Minor Pentatonic Scale. Its a very versatile scale, and is used commonly in jazz, rock, and blues. Many new guitar players learn this as their first scale, and I've heard of guitarists who only play the minor scale.The scale formula is 1 b3 4 5 b7 1. John Mayer is a well-known artist who has used this scale in songs like Vultures and Crossroads.

To play the minor pentatonic scale in the key of A, you can barre the fifth fret with your root note (A) being played on the sixth and first E string. Then place your forth finger on the 8th fret of the same string. Then move down a string and place your first finger on the fifth fret, and your third finger on the seventh fret. You can repeat this step for the 3rd and 4th strings. For the final two strings, place your first finger on the fifth fret and your forth finger to on the eight fret. The picture above (courtesy of justinguitar.com) diagrams the minor pentatonic scale.

I really like the sound of the minor pentatonic scale, and I'm using it to practice licks for improvisation. My favorite worship artist, Gungor, also uses this scale in a lot of his songs and I would love to replicate his riffs and licks and play them at church. My favorite song, Church Bells uses a wide mix of scales (predominantly this one) to make a beautiful worship song. The vocal melody also sounds like it is in the minor scale, which shows that you can use the minor scale on multiple instruments to make a beautiful blend of music.

Lets Learn Guitar Scales! (Major Scale)

Guitar solos; everybody loves them, they sound great; and are the only reason some pick up a guitar in the first place. Have you ever wondered how these people do it? Well this blog post will show you how.

Guitar solos are played on scales. Scales are a set of notes ordered by pitch. The first scale most guitar players should learn is the major pentatonic scale. The major pentatonic scale's pattern goes Root-2-3-5-6. It is the most versatile scale, and is often used to make chord progressions. The photo above highlights notes used on a pentatonic scale; you can change the key that your scale is in by moving up and down the fretboard. The video below demonstrates how a guitar solo can sound when using the pentatonic scale.

The pentatonic scale can be played by playing the third fret on the fifth and sixth strings, the second fret on the second, third, and fourth strings, and the third fret on the first string. The root note is played on the third fret of the sixth string, and the third fret of the first string. 

I am still learning the major pentatonic scale, but its a fun scale to play and I use it to play along to a lot of the pop songs I hear on the radio. The main challenge I face is in my speed of playing. I'd like to play it at a super fast speed (like the one heard in the video below) but I know that speed is something that comes with practice and experience. With a lot of hard work and practice, you will be able to advance in your guitar playing. Your skill is a reflection of your effort!

Song Analysis - Last Night For a Table of Two

The third song from Mayday Parade's Monsters in the Closet is Last Night For a Table of Two. The song is in the key of B-flat major. The chord progression for the majority of the song is  B♭-Cm-F-A♭-E♭. The song begins with a riff using the previously mentioned chords. This riff is also used in the choruses of the song. The progression for the verses of the song are B♭-F♯-D♭-B♭.

I like the song; the passion can be felt in Derek Sanders' and Jake Bundricks' dual-vocal performance and the other instruments blend together very well. The band reminisces about a past relationship with a bitter ending (a theme visited quite often by this band)
Mayday Parade always has a way of adding their own twist to songs and differentiating themselves from bands with similar style, this can be seen 2:06 into the song in the break and guitar solo that precedes the bridge. One thing I would do differently is raise the pitch of the key from B♭ to C. If I had to complain about one thing, I would say that the instrumentation would sound better in the key of C, but Derek Sanders' vocal range shines in the B♭ range and he is an amazing vocalist in my opinion.    

Song Analysis - Girls by Mayday Parade

         

                   Girls is the second track off of Mayday Parade's album "Monsters in the Closet" The track starts off slowly with an acapella intro from vocalist Derek Sanders. About 30 seconds into the song, the rest of the band enters the song and displays the signature pop-punk sound that fans love.

        Personally, I enjoyed this song a lot. In my opinion, Girls is one of the strongest songs on Monsters in the Closet. It is a straight-forward rock song, with sustained verses leading up to a power-driven, hook-heavy chorus. Vocalist Derek Sanders carries the song with powerful, emotion-felt vocal hooks while drummer Jake Bundrick supports Sanders with well-placed vocal harmonies that makes Girls a fun song to blast through your stereo. The guitars in this song are also very well done, with Brooks Betts leading the rhythm section with a mix of major chords and power chords (C-E-Am-G) Alex Garcia's pentatonic leads shine in the choruses and the bridge of the song. Girls is a strong, straightforward song that fans of punk rock will enjoy.

Song Analysis - Ghosts

           For the next few months, I will be reviewing the recently released album Monsters in the Closet by Florida rock group Mayday Parade. Mayday Parade is a five-piece band consisting of: Derek Sanders, (vocals) Alex Garcia, (lead guitar) Brooks Betts, (rhythm guitar) Jeremy Lenzo, (bass) and Jake Bundrick (drums). In 2006, their debut EP Tales Told By Dead Friends sold over 50,000 copies without support from a record label. In 2007 their first full length album A Lesson In Romantics was released under Fearless Records and sold over 200,000 copies.
         

           
        
              Personally, I found this song to be very enjoyable and a good fit as the album opener. The song starts with Derek Sanders leading the vocal brigade in an acapella intro. 32 seconds into the song, Bundrick's drums are smashing; and the talented guitar duo of Alex Garcia and Brooks Betts enter the song, backed by Jeremy Lenzo's bass. In Ghosts, the band mixes well-written, power-pop rock with its signature, emotional- ballad style. Mayday Parade has created the perfect opener to Monsters in the Closet.

Where I got my info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayday_parade

Song Analysis - Thank You by MKTO

Taking a break from guitar tunings, this post will be an analysis and guide on the song "Thank You" by MKTO. MKTO is a pop group from Los Angeles, California. MKTO consists of singer Tony Oller and rapper Malcolm David Kelly. The group is signed to Columbia Records and released their first single "Thank You" in January 2013. The song gathered over 500,000 views in two days.

Classic is a pop song, featuring the usual pop "verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge" structure. The song is in the key of C, with the chords being C-G-Em-D. The song centers around rebellion and how the failure of the government affects our generation, which I find slightly amusing. While hearing this song, Lauryn Hill and Drake come to mind, with MKTO successfully incorporating singing and rapping into a sugary, roll down your windows and blast your stereo-pop song. MKTO is a good listen for folks who enjoy good, simple pop music with singing and rapping

http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/m/mkto/thank_you_ver2_crd.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKTO
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/songwriting/685816-elements-great-pop-song.html

Guitar Tunings Series - Part 3 (Drop C Tuning)

Drop C tuning is another alternate guitar tuning commonly used in metal. To tune your guitar to Drop C, tune all strings from Drop D down a whole tone (D to C, A to G, etc). Known bands who use Drop C tuning include: A Day To Remember, Black Veil Brides, Bring Me The Horizon, Confide, and Woe Is Me. All artists listed are well-known metal bands that have played songs in Drop C Tuning. 

Below is a chart made to assist in tuning your guitar to Drop C

California rock band Pierce the Veil released a cover of Bruno Mars' hit song "Just the Way You Are" This cover is played in Drop C. The first and second verse of this song features power chords and strong leads, with a chorus that slows down and plays octave chords. At 2:35 the band begins a breakdown to close the song, with chugging (open string playing) and leads played on the lower strings. 

Shown above are some notable bands who play in Drop C, (from top to bottom) Woe Is Me, Confide, and Pierce the Veil. Tune in next week for Drop A tuning!



Where I got my info 

http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/tuning/drop-c/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_C_tuning

Guitar Tunings Series - Part 2 (Drop D Tuning)

Drop D tuning is one of the most popular guitar tunings around. It is an alternate tuning, but it is only different from standard tuning (EADGBe) in that the bottom/thickest string (the thick E string) is tuned down from an E to a D. Drop D is commonly used in rock and punk music; and can also be used in metal, blues, and jazz. The video below demonstrates how to tune your guitar down to Drop D and how you can play your guitar in Drop D

Drop D tuning is popular because power chords can be played easily by barring the bottom three strings. In standard tuning, power chords are harder to play. Power chords in standard tuning are done by playing the bottom (E) string two frets down from the the fifth (A) string. Drop D makes guitar playing simpler and more convenient.The videos in this post demonstrate why this tuning is so popular. 

This second video demonstrates how Drop D is used in metal music. Metal commonly uses power chords and open string playing (also known as chugging) A lot of my favorite artists (John Mayer, Woe Is Me, Green Day) use Drop D tuning in their music. One of my favorite metal songs, "Fame Over Demise" is played in Drop D (as seen in the first video) John Mayer uses Drop D in jazz music, Woe Is Me plays various drop tunings in metal, and Green Day commonly uses power chords

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Where I got my info:
http://bit.ly/11qy08

Guitar Tunings Series - Part 1 (Standard Tuning)

Welcome to the greatest guitar blog ever made in your lifetime. This blog is here to inform new guitar players in the many ways a guitar can be played. This series of posts will cover different tunings that can be played on the guitar. 

Standard Tuning

This tuning is the one most commonly used by guitar players. EADGBe is another term that is used to refer to standard tuning. This refers to the notes played from the bottom string (thickest width) to the top string (thinnest width) This table from Wikipedia can help you tune your guitar. 

What makes the guitar such a unique instrument is the various tunings that it can be played in. Most songs on the radio are played in standard tunings. The standard guitar tuning is very versatile, and can play a wide range of keys, which is why it is referred to as standard tuning. You can use a capo to increase the pitch of the strings. 

Stay tuned for my next post! - "Drop D"

Here are the links to where I got a lot of my information. They are safe

http://bit.ly/lAN4zW 

http://bit.ly/ol486

PROJECT PLAN!

1. What do you plan to learn about, do, or make? 

I'm planning to learn about all things guitar-related. This includes history of guitars, guitar types, and 
different musical styles.

2. Why did you choose this as your project?

Guitars are awesome. I've been learning how to play guitar (electric and acoustic, specifically) 
for the past three months and I thought "Why not learn even more about guitar for a school project?"

3. Who is the audience of your blog?

Anyone can be the audience of my blog. This blog specifically appeals to anyone who plays guitar or wants 
to learn about guitars. This blog also can appeal to any musician or song-writer.

4. What purpose do you hope to accomplish for your audience?

I hope to inform. I hope for my audience to know more about guitars than your casual music observer. 
I also hope to inspire my readers to pick up a guitar and learn how to play too.

5. What types of posts can your audience expect to find as part of your project? 
The sky is the limit to types of posts! Most of my posts will consist of things like: History of guitars, 
descriptions of different guitars, descriptions of pedals, as well as examples of different playing
styles (ex. metal, country, rock) I will also post about the basic playing of guitar. I plan to post a series of 
guitar lesson posts. I also hope to post reviews of the guitar equipment that I own and will own in the future.