Rudi

I saw Hayley Sanderson this year, and she had a coldish crowd to contend with. Not only did she sing many times better than I was expecting, she blew me away with the feeling and great song interpretation she had. Before the end of her set, I had decided she was my 'new' favourite singer. Hayley Sanderson is one of the 4 vocalists from the show Strictly Come Dancing. Prior to this my favourite had been John Bell of Widespread Panic. Before that, Dino Valenti of Quicksilver Messenger Service.

TapperMike said (on motivation thread) This is good stuff. Why is it good? Because its seldom discussed and we need to understand whatever we can about motivation. I dont get inspired to play as Mike does during/after an action movie, but... certain films have music in them that works brilliantly and these can inspire me. Sometimes I dont need to watch the movie, just think of the music (and the scenes). I may not end up creating anything, but just get a good workout. If I do create something, it will likely finish up very different from the music that inspired it. What is odd though, is that what I make can still invoke the film imagery. The films that have inspiring music (for me) can be any subject or mood. I sometimes choose to watch a DVD just because of the way the music works in it. OK examples of such films that do it for me are: Night of the Hunter - old B&W thriller with Robert Mitchum as a monsterous con man. The little girls song in the boat is strange & other-worldly. Mitchum's rendition of 'Leaning on the Everlasting Arms' as he passes the children's bedroom is oddly beautiful. Crocodile Dundee - Yes, really! The lovely theme as Dundee sees off the kangaroo hunters is so well placed. Its reprised when he kills the croc. Other incidental music is very good too. Even the main themes transition from bushmans music to the recognisable tune is very well crafted. The Untouchables. - The opening 'hunting' stabs as Robert DeNiro is shaved (viewed from overhead) is a great intro. The theme played as Ness meets the murdered little girl's mother is heartbreaking.

Am watching the Jimmy Herring one now. Thanks for that JIm. I love JH's sound.

Blue Bayou : Roy Orbison

Sorry, never experienced a major problem with this. As John said, practice will sort it out.

Maybellene - Chuck Berry

I keep a digital recorder handy (well, try to) for recording ideas on guitar. I keep a notebook which I use for lyric ideas. I usually write for 5 minutes at a time. It is always a jumble of junk. But reading back will always give me good usable ideas for actual writting.

Odd that you should ask this now. I have never had this problem in 40 years, until now. I think I know why 1. I stopped playing when I went on 2 weeks holiday. Habitual playing creates its own momentum. 2. My creative urge has diverted into photography. This will settle down eventually though I am sure. Other creative interests can distract you. Try to have fun when practicing. Try to combine it with composing (making riffs, make them challenging enough to need practice). 3. Dont lock your guitar away in a case / or anywhere its awkward to get at. Leave it out. If you dont want it leaning against a wall, get a stand. Better still, get a wall mounting bracket (like in music shops). Make your guitar easy to pick up ready for anytime you have an idea. Habits are easy to aquire. So try and make them good habits.

I cant help with sheet music. Your melodies: Chord patterns will need to take account of key. They will also need to take account of specific melodies, unless the melody is modal (just use notes of a scale with no extra sharps & flats). Riffs are generally part of the song. I am sure they could be used in other songs but that is veering towards plagurism IMO.

I use both. Though not at the same time. I fingerpick acoustics (classical nylon strung Camps & steel strung Fylde). I never use picks on these. I used to use a thumbpick, but now just keep one handy in case I break my thumbnail. I mostly use a triangular pick on my electrics (A Jackson Soloist & a Jackson Elite). The pick must match the gauge & tension of the strings. So I use a heavy gauge pick for EB Regular Slinky (Soloist) & a medium pick for EB Super Slinky (Elite). I do fingerpick the electrics for certain songs. 'Brown Eyed Girl' and 'Neighbourhood' for example. You must have a clean sound for this. If you use fingerstyle with lots of gain, it just sounds like a lot of mushy noise. Fingerpicking is harder to start with. But can be learned faster than you might imagine. Learn one pick and practice it for a couple of weeks. To start with you have to concentrate hard on each finger. In six weeks you hardly have to think about it at all. Pretty soon you can alter the pick at will for different shapes and timings (another couple of months). After 3 years of consolidation you can fly.......! Plectrums. A single pick is easy to start with, but when you get ambitious, you still need to put in lots of practice. Alternating updown strokes for every separate note (no hammer-ons or pull offs) is essentially a jazz technique. Its possible to play scales at max speed (at fast as your fastest up-down motion) after a lot of practice. This took me much longer than fingerpicking. You can play a lot harder with a plectrum (unless you have claws like a parrot). If you want to know how electric lead playing sounds using your fingers, listen to Mark Knoffler (This is not 'fingerstyle' though).

Prometheus. That sort of specific advice is just what I was looking for. Thank you. I have just bought a Planet Waves Custom one though. I have not tried it yet.

I think it just smells bad from time to time.

Gentlemen Start Your Engines - Grateful Dead

stage nerves can be a severe problem. Its something you can get used to with regular gigging, up to a point. A little nerves can keep you focused and attentive to detail. A lot of nerves is debilitating. Johns advice is good/ I would add a little more. Self consciousness is at the core of stagefright. You need to refocus on what you are doing in order to forget your self consciousness. If you can close your eyes and perform, that is ideal. Before you go on, focus on your breathing for at least 5 minutes. Take long deep breaths, similar to sleep breathing (overdo it and you will hyperventilate). When taking the stage, dont feel obliged to say anything. Talking at this point can spoil your composure. Just get into the groove of what you are doing. The audience? They are important but entirely incidental to what you are doing. That is the attitude.

the Wall - Pink Floyd

The love is still there. The context of that statement was rock as a speed & style competition. The statement is conditional. That not only cheapens rock, it cheapens music as a whole. Music is an art form, not a sport.

Tennessee Jed - Grateful Dead

I cant understand the point of these so called bands that comprise 5 singers and no instrumentalists. Everybody sings a line or two each and maybe then sing in unison (rarely harmonies) for a couple of bars.

Nice job Alberta

Lots of classical. Jazz. American rock. A little world music.

If the guitar action is already very low, it may well buzz when tuning down. I take it your guitar is steel strung? If so heavier gague strings will help a lot. If you have nylon (classical) strings then consider using higher tensioned strings.

The original guitar has double & treble wound Jackson humbuckers (noisey). The new active humbuckers are Seymour Duncan (noiseless).

Sliding Delta - Mississippi John Hurt

The best result I have had is to use the pick itself to provide the extra notes. It still sounds a bit wimpy with my sound setup, but can be heard ok. It works perfectly with more gain, but that buggers up my sound, so its a no-go. I'll give it a try on my next gig (next week) and report back.

The Modern Alchemist - Blodwyn Pig