Nick

All of it apart from the page swapping + I have an internet connection on the machine and it's networked to another one. Biggest improvement was using an ASIO driver which seems much better. Here's a picture of something I'm doing at the moment and it runs quite happily while I'm online etc Obviously the more effects I use the more CPU is used but I probably wouldn't do a lot more than this normally

I'm becoming a big fan of Reaper and in their ENORMOUS manual there is a section on maximising XP performance It's on page 341 of the Reaper manual (9.3mb download)

Audacity is straightforward and basic Reaper is excellent - it is uncrippled shareware but has to be worth the $50 price tag after the Evaluation period. I am ploughing my way through the latest 365 page manual and it's really good but needs a little more work

I have a 4 string guitar. Well actually it's an old 6 string with only 4 strings on it which are currently tuned to DAAD and I use it to play Carey (Joni Mitchell) on. Usually brings a smile out of people as they see this rather battered guitar with a few strings missing. But they do like the result generally. It's because I didn't want to buy a dulcimer so I think I'd quite like a dulcimer

As in "How thick are you?" and "What shape are you?"? Picks I use whatever is in my pocket at the time (mostly Alistair's and my son's discards) so today for example: The Nylon ones are .60mm and 1mm and the red thing is very thick and solid it was a giveaway on a magazine and I play mandolin and bass with it. I used to have an incredibly thin Nylon pick which Alistair discarded which was really flappy which I liked - you could strum the guitar with incredible force but still get quite a light sound of it which was nice to accompany people with as the volume of sound was not that large. Unfortunately i think it was probably in the washing machine or a pocket somewhere!

Perhaps you could teach it to hum in tune? Or better still get two more fans and get them to hum in three part harmony

Try a copy of Reaper which is so much better than Audacity for what it offers Reaper It's been recommended elsewhere but it excellent

At Songstuff - it shows on my profile page but I assumed it would show against posts - it's not that important I just wondered

Roger McGuinn created a lot of the Byrds sound from playing lead on a 12 string Rickenbacker (Eight Miles High, Tambourine Man, Mr Spaceman etc) so it can be done and is distinctive I seem to remember that John Mayall used to play a 9 string guitar and Big Joe Williams was another - no idea what configuration of strings etc Completely off the subject but why is there no photo on my posts?

I have very small hands but... Here's a 1st to 7th And here's the octave 1st to 8th So it goes the other way. Seriously though I have occasionally been known to play chords on the bass that way round And here's 1st to 9th on my son's Ibanez - and both notes sound as proper notes!

Both - depends what I am playing. Some things I find easier to play because of the different angle that I hold the guitar when it is on my left leg and the different angle of my left wrist. I find it less of a strain with some barres and stretches to have the guitar on my left leg

My son has just got a Line 6 Pod XT Live - XT Pod - - and it's an impressive bit of kit. Lots of sounds provided and the ability to download stacks of extra ones online (about 48000 if I remember!). Good solid box for gigging and the ability to use in studio or via computer. Lot of them available via ebay and probably looking somewhere in the £150-£180 area to buy. New in the shops they are about £250ish. If you are interested in knowing more let me know and I'll get him to give you some more info

>>A big part of becoming a singer is getting over selfconsciousness. The sooner your friends get used to you singing, the sooner they will get used to you doing it. Agree with that totally. People that we know know that we sing so it's quite easy to do it. We had a couple of examples over Xmas. We had a party at home and had a sing and play there but also went to a party with some people that we know a little through my son being at school with their daughter (who plays the fiddle and writes songs and performs). At a certain point in the party we were asked to sing some songs and play some music which we did. My wife and I felt that it's actually more difficult sitting in a room with a bunch of semi strangers singing than 'performing' in a pub but once we got started it's no hassle and enjoyable and we had a pleasant hour singing and playing. And the reaction you often get is "I wish I had the confidence to do that..." and the answer is that you have if you choose to. It's only been in about the last year that I feel confident enough to do it but having got over that hump it becomes easier

The voice that I hear in my head is lighter than 'the real life me' - so much in line with you. Most of what you hear of yourself is I think via your bones rather than having the resonance that others hear when you speak/sing which I think is why there is such a gap between ones own perception of ones voice and others' Good stuff

It could be worse and be the other way round - you could love it and everybody else hate it! I don't particularly like my speaking voice but know that others do. Much of my work is on the telephone and I get comments back both directly and indirectly that people really like the sound of my voice on the phone. Perhaps 'learn to live with it' is the best advice and you may grow to like it. On the particular matter of the pitch of your speaking voice that is fairly easy to do something about as it is your choice where you pitch it. You probably pitch your voice low because in your head it sounds neither too light not too heavy etc etc whereas it sounds vey different to others. There is another thread - in this forum - where I posted a link to a book which could again be relevant as there is a section in there about exactly this topic and how to change it. I have no vested interest in the book but it just seems sensible and relevant. Until I heard my voice recorded I couldn't believe that the higher bit of my voice had the depth it had - in my head it sounded to me like I was singing like Tiny Tim and it was so light and horrible that I avoided it like the plague. It's now where I choose to sing a lot of the time now I have some idea what my voice actually sounds like to others! I, too, have a fairly deep voice and can speak quietly and mumble along in the gravel or I can choose to pitch it up and throw some life in it. I have also come to terms with my voice from a singing point of view and realise that with the right choice of song and some practice that I can produce a reasonable result that people seem to like listening to. Four years ago I wouldn't have sung a note in public and used to mumble along occasionally in the lower part of my voice in case anyone heard me. I have a million miles to go with my singing to get it where I want it to be but I'm at least at the stage where I don't mind people hearing me sing because any comments I get back are useful. I have enough confidence in myself now that I know it isn't the worst singing voice in the world. At the risk of being told that I have got the worst voice in the world here is an example of something I was practicing a while back - snippet of song because it happens to be accessible on my computer at moment in mp3 form (it's a bit wobbly as it's done cold in the spare bedroom at home - excuses, excuses!). It was a fair old journey and quite hard to get to the point of being happy to let people listen/potentially judge my voice but worth it so far. If I can get to here I'm sure you can.

I was just practising the bass part of one of Alistair's songs and realise that I do need to use it quite a lot in this - it's a good work out to keep it going for 4 minutes! -----------------------------------------------------------------6-5-3----------------- ---------------------6-4-3------------------------------------------------6-4-3------- -----3-4-6-4-3---------------6-4-3----------3-4-6-4-3--------------------------6--- -4----------------4-------------------6-4------------------4-------------------------- from Ten Things I Want to Do Before I Die - Alistair McIntosh

It was a lot of years ago and belonged to my parents. It mistook my finger for the bone I was holding and closed it's back teeth onto it before it realised it was me... Makes me wince to remember it. I'll show you the scar on Wednesday! (We had various dogs and a cat. No rodents. Some newts in the pond in the garden. No tropical birds. Hope that fills in the pet situation)

If you already own a guitar take it with you to compare was a good piece of advice I was given. Your memory will only tell you that it's different. The other thing I really notice on a guitar is the depth of the neck. Lots of guitars feel like big chunks of wood in my hand as I like a reasonably thin neck (not fingerboard width - I trust that makes sense) My son decided that he wanted an Ibanez JEM 7W because Steve Vai plays one. But he did have the good sense to go and try it first before buying it just in case.

A couple more thoughts and explanations based on my own experiences of starting to learn to sing - I used to record our weekly gathering in the pub and sometimes stuff at home just to see how it sounded. I still do - I have a tape of a gig that we did on Friday where I played with a couple of bands and I find it invaluable - though not always easy listening - to improve my playing and to try to eradicate some of the things that don't work. My wife is downstairs at the moment listening to two of the songs that she sang and brushing up on the harmonies where they weren't 100% for our next gig on Wednesday. She now finds it a really good aid where she used to listen before and feel like giving up! Accept that it probably won't be perfect - why should it be as you probably practice singing a tiny percentage of the time you practice the main instrument you play - but pick up on the things that are GOOD and build on them as well as the things that aren't; try not to listen as a whole (unless you are happy with it of course in which case where's the problem ?) and judge it as such ("Oh god it's all rubbish... <gloom>" ) but break it down into good bits and bad bits and work on altering or getting round the less good bits. On the positive side I can remember listening to a tape of me singing "The Water is Wide" and there was a line in that that I heard and my ears pricked up and I thought "that sounds good - if I sung ALL the song like that it would be ok" and it does wonders for your confidence to know that you can make a noise that is pleasant to the ear. The other thing about recording your voice is that it sounds remarkably different than it does to you. I have quite a deep voice and used to sing with the chest part of my voice mostly. Before hearing it recorded I THOUGHT that the part of my voice that was higher sounded 'light' and weedy and thin and so I would drop an octave on songs and sing in my comfortable chest voice. When I heard my voice recorded I was really surprised that the upper bit of my voice had a much nicer quality and depth than I thought and most of what I sing I now do in that voice rather than what I used to use. An example - Hark the Herald Angels sing is normally sung in G so that there is an E on the Hark of 'Hark the Herald Angels sing' bit. I have a choice of octaves to sing it in I can either sing it all in the lower part of my voice or sing it an octave higher (better!), or do what I used to do which was to sing it in a mixture of both and drop an octave as it came into the higher bit of my voice which you can get away with carol singing but sounds weird solo unless you are aiming for a yodelling effect. It was only when I realised that what I heard when I sang as I moved higher was much different to me than it was to those listening. Over the last year or two the useable top end of my voice has extended and become stronger and I tend to pitch songs to use a higher range than I used to. My voice goes from a D through just under two and a half octaves to G and whereas any singing that I used to do took place mostly in the lower octave and a half before, most of the things I sing I now choose to pitch in that higher octave. Learn to be a reasonable critic by setting reasonable comparisons and judge yourself accordingly not by Whitney Houston or Ella Fitzgerald standards. Oh and remember to breathe - I often forget and it makes my pitch wander all over the place especially at the end of lines unless I remember. And have fun. Now I enjoy singing there is something of a fervour to encourage others who are keen to sing but scared of trying to just go through that barrier and try it. I am very appreciative of the bunch of friends locally and people from elsewhere (eg Hull and Beverley) who have encouraged me when I was tentatively starting.

Not really apart from I play more scales with 'proper' fingering than I used to. Perhaps like a lot of people I'm self taught and have developed all sorts of bad habits over the years. Most of the music I play is fingerstyle stuff but have a legacy of not using all my left hand fingers properly when playing - especially if I do single string stuff (though I have never been a lead guitarist apart from odd jams here and there). So part of my effort at the moment is to 'unlearn' bad habits and replace them with better but I still have a tendency to use my first three left hand fingers at certain times rather than the fourth. On the bass it notices more with the larger stretches and greater pressure involved so it's just a thing of practice. The unfortunate thing from my end is that age is starting to catch up with my fingers. Years ago I was bitten by our dog on the main joint of the first finger of my left hand which has left a bit of stiffness in it and the little finger on my left hand is a bit sore on the joint so I may be getting a hint of arthritis which is a bit of a piss off. Taking up the mandolin though has been good as it is very different and because I had no preconceptions. I have started off playing scales and tunes and can probably already play faster on it that I can on the guitar. But even on the mandolin I'm battling against not using my little finger, but it's easier as I have less to unlearn!

A few thoughts from someone who came very late to singing (just under 50 years) and now enjoys it and will sing in front of people with no real concern: Start by singing easy and straightforward songs that you know. Then you can concentrate on trying to make a decent and accurate sound rather than struggling with the words and tune. Record your voice and get used to hearing it. If you are not used to hearing it it will probably take some getting used to but it is a very good objective way to get to know what it can do well at this stage and what it struggles with. The feedback you get from listening to yourself is incredibly useful. The book I mention further down also recommends that you record yourself so that you can see change over time. Sing in the car. I recorded the guitar accompaniment to 15 songs I wanted to sing onto a CD and practice them as I drive to work. No problem with others hearing you if you are bothered about that. I came across a book in the library with CD which I found useful which is called Roger Love - Set Your Voice Free. It's about £6 or £7 delivered and I found it very helpful and I think it made a difference to my singing. I'm currently encouraging my son to sing more (he's 15 and no mean guitarist) because it broadens your musical options. He's gone this year from not singing at all in public (he has a nice voice and a good ear but was typically teenage shy of exposing his voice to the world) to singing backing vocals live in front of an audience in our band on some songs and harmony lead vocals in another band he plays in. Once you have the confidence to do it it gets easier. We are lucky in that we run a local weekly music gathering in a pub near here and it's an opportunity for people to sing in a very unthreatening and supportive environment. If you can find something similar it may help. There is usually a range of abilities but singers are generally very encouraging to new singers as they know how hard it is to start. A quick search on the web suggest lots of places round Cardiff which might be suitable. There is a guy who came off and on for perhaps a year plus before working up to singing and now he always will when he comes. Perhaps the best thing that happened to me was to go to a club a couple of years ago where EVERYTHING went wrong. Through a combination of my nerves, surfeit of alcohol (big error) and acute self consciousness I forgot the words, forgot how to play the guitar and finally dried up and gave up in acute embarrassment. The people were very nice about it but I felt awful about it. The next day though I realised in the scale of things it wasn't too serious and that I had survived 'the worst that could happen' and that things could only get better. I am now always welcome back to that club if I visit and asked to sing. Having the nerve to just do it is the probably the biggest hurde. Once you've broken that it gets easier.

I'm working on more fluency, more creativity and more solid lines in my bass playing. Also started experimenting with slapping for a tune someone wants to play (you can't beat a good slapper). Also aiming to be able to play fluently in any key on the bass. Little finger also needs strengthening! On guitar I am trying to play smoothly an instrumental thing that I wrote which I find really hard to play. It's in an odd tuning (CGDGAD) and I'll post it here sometime over Christmas as I'm interested to know if it stands up as a tune/piece by itself or if it needs words. Teaching myself to play mandolin as well for a bit of a change. Next project is to experiment more with DADGAD and double dropped D tuning for accompanying session tunes. Then in February...

Latest band I am involved in - no music there yet but I'll update it when we have put some things there. Curragh - Celtic rock band

Instructions for mp3's from Audacity: Go to the LAME download page. - Lamenc download Under "For Audacity on Windows", left-click on the link "libmp3lame-win-3.97.zip" and save the zip folder to anywhere on your computer. When you have finished downloading the ZIP folder, unzip it and save the file lame_enc.dll that it contains to anywhere on your computer. The first time you use the "Export as MP3" command, Audacity will ask you where lame_enc.dll is saved. In case of difficulty, please view our more detailed instructions at the Audacity Wiki.

I bought a Squire Strat copy and 15 watt Marshall amp and it's been fine. I bought it from a local shop in York and it was decently set up with a decent action etc My son played it until he bought an Ibanez Jem and you can see and hear it being played on Youtube - there is a solo at 2:11 which suggests one can bash out a few tunes on it. Tremolo set up isn't fantastic but i think that is reasonably typical of cheap guitars. From memory the pack was something like £150 ish