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Every student realizes that guitar practice is important if they wish to become a better musician. Even so, many have trouble establishing a regular practice routine. Other
responsibilities have a way of squeezing them into a work-a-holic lifestyle, leaving little room left for personal pursuits. Even teens and children are over-stretched these days with school and other extra-curricular activities. So, what’s the secret to creating an effective guitar practicing schedule? The answer: MAKE IT YOUR PRIORITY!

That may sound simple to some and impossible to others, but it is absolutely imperative to becoming a good guitarist. Giving something priority simply means to put it before everything else in order of time and importance. Now, it’s always easier to set priorities when there is a desire to accomplish, or reach a specific end result. So, having a goal in mind when practicing the guitar, will help you to maintain your focus and provide a sense of purpose too.

According to the Scribner-Bantam English Dictionary, the word “Practice” means:

- to work or pursue as a profession
- to perform often in order to learn
- to teach by frequent repetition; drill

In order to make your guitar practice a priority, try thinking of it as you would your job or school work. By this, I don’t mean it should be a drudgery, but an important necessity.

Schedule a time each day to practice your guitar, and stick to it. Be firm in your decision. Mark it in your appointment book, or on your calandar. You will begin to notice an improvement in your overall ability when you practice the guitar on a regular basis. There will be times when you seem to leap forward, and other times when you don’t seem to be getting anywhere. But understand that the guitar is one of the most difficult instruments to become really proficient on, so you will need to guard against discouragement. I have a friend who plays piano, cello and violin. She decided to take up classical guitar and
confessed that it was the most difficult instrument she had ever tried to learn. So, you may want to keep notes on your progress for personal encouragement as well as an incentive to
persevere.

Commitment and determination are two of the most important keys to success in any pursuit. Talent and natural ability are a definite plus, but many talented guitar students lack discipline. In order to succeed, you must learn to cultivate and nurture your natural abilities through regular guitar practice. Skill is developed by continually honing, experimenting and perfecting your gift. Don’t just take it for granted, be willing to work hard. All great guitarists have this one thing in common- they made guitar pracitice a priority! So, get yourself started in the same direction by keeping these things in mind…

1. Make your guitar practice a priority
2. Establish a specific time of day to practice

3. Make a commitment to practicing regularly
4. Set short term and long term goals (make a note when reached)
5. Persevere through difficulty
6. Be determined to succeed

Above all else, enjoy playing the guitar and learning new things- have fun! Think of your guitar practice as an adventure. With so many different guitar styles and techniques, there will always be something else to discover. Life is short, so make some time to do what you love and be happy!

FREE Reprint Rights - You may publish this article in your e-zine or on your web site as long as you include the following information:

Kathy Unruh is a singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She has been writing songs and providing guitar lessons to students of all ages for over 20 years. For free guitar lessons, plus tips and resources on buying a guitar, songwriting, recording and creating a music career, please visit: http://www.abclearnguitar.com

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In most realms of the entertainment industry a producer’s main job is to make sure the finish product is more or less polished and ready for the mass media. The music industry at a certain time was no different. Recently, the role of the producer has become a lot larger and in some regards has started to include some of the duties that were primarily relegated to other notable positions. Twenty years ago when an artist was about to start a recording project they would hire a producer who would then be in charge of booking studio time and finding the right songs and back up singers to fit this artist style. Their final duty was to pick which of the finished songs should make the artist’s album. Skip forward to present day hip hop and you’ll see that a producer in most cases is not only the song writer but in a lot of cases the recording engineer as well. They write and produce the song from its inception to its final cut. Hip Hop has coined the term “super producer” and any producer who makes it to this elite level makes no less then $50,000 for each song they sell. In most cases the producer is even more vital to the success of a song than the artist who is recording the song. Below is a list of the top 5 producers in hip hop.

Teddy Riley - When you single handedly create a new sound you have to be considered one of the all time greatest. In the late 80s Teddy Riley created a sound known as the “New Jack Swing” which had artist lining up to hire him for his services. He was responsible for creating hit songs for Bobby Brown, Guy and Black Street. Teddy Riley is universally regarded as the first super producer.

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis - This duo is also known for a unique sound that they created in the early 80s! Creating hits for notable artists such as Janet Jackson, New Edition and Whitney Houston to name a few. The unique sound they developed while growing up along side Prince in Minneapolis Minnesota is credited for many of the hits in the 80s and 90s.

Dr. Dre - When it comes to the rap side of hip hop music there’s no debating the credentials of Dr. Dre. As one of the founding fathers of gangster rap in the early 90s this hip hop legend created a sound that to this day has never been duplicated. The fact that he charges $500,000 to $1,000,000 a song should say it all. I don’t think you can name any hip hop artist that hasn’t enlisted the services of Dr. Dre. Known as a perfectionist, there may be no other producer responsible for as many hit records as Dr. Dre. From his earlier accomplishments in hip hop during the 90s to his present discography which include Eminem and 50 cent, Dr, Dre clearly stands head and shoulders above all other hip hop producers.

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If you’ve ever looked at a flower garden, not only its beauty may have captivated you, but also its overall arrangement.

There may have been some tulips or roses combined with other flowers or plants.

You may also have stood there looking it over. Maybe you started on one side and your eye moved down or vice-versa. Now, music making is a lot like flower arranging. You combine different elements to make a pleasing whole.

It is a natural tendency of the human mind to create order out of chaos and art from nothing. What is pleasing to the listening ear is symmetry. The flower arrangement captivates, not only because of its great beauty, but because it has been composed and arranged to a pleasing whole - something the eye and the mind can grasp hold of and ponder.

We walk away with a sense of completion because someone took the time to bring order into chaos. Someone arranged varying elements to create art. Now this is what musicians do whether they realize it or not. But instead of flowers, we use notes and chords. Instead of a vase, we use musical form to hold the notes and chords.

Music is a more difficult art because the elements are not as easily put together. Music is slippery and ephemeral but when we learn to use the tools of repetition and contrast, we begin to put some order into chaos. Chaos is good and has its place in improvisation, however, for those who wish to compose their own music, it’s a good idea to learn the tools of the trade.

The flower arranger must know how to create a balance between color and form - the overall look and feel of the arrangement. The composer must also create balance but uses musical materials - chords, notes, phrases, etc.

Then he puts it together into a framework. A flower arrangement can be big or small depending on the size of the vase. Similarly, a new age piano work can be long or short depending on the amount of contrast and repetition used.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

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Is it really possible to conquer the guitar fretboard? Do you find the notes you want to find? Is tabulature cheating? Let me invite you to the guitar fretboard!

I suggest that you right now start to take command over your guitar. Usually when you are playing your first guitar sheet music melodies you will have to learn the notes in the first position on the guitar. To have a good grasp of these notes on the guitar I suggest that you learn them slowly and with concentration.

I usually begin by teaching the notes on the first string like E on open string, F on fret 1 and G on fret 3. On string two you’ll find B on open string, C on fret 1 and D on fret 3. With these notes you can play the song Mary Had A Little Lamb.

Using the previous notes the melody can be played as follows:

E D C D E E E D D D E G G E D C D E E E E D D E D C

I hope you recognized the melody. This kind of music notation doesn’t give any hints as to how the rhythm is to be played but you already know the melody, right!

Is using tablature cheating? My father taught me some interesting things about learning to read guitar sheet music.

My dad was the only guitar tutor in the town where I lived and he taught mostly classical guitar pieces. His young students, I was one of them, learned those first guitar pieces very rapidly because he used a system similar to tablature showing the frets and strings to play, along with the sheet music. Tablature wasn’t common back then. I remember somebody remarking that his system prevented the children from learning to sight read sheet music.

His reply was that if somebody really wants to learn the notes they will anyway!

I agree with that and I have found that if a pupil is not motivated learning guitar sheet music they will not advance in this area whether they play with or without tablature.

Do you think your fingers has anything to do with guitar playing? I guess you’ll answer yes!

A more important question is if the fingers you choose to use can have a bearing upon your guitar playing. Left hand fingering means which finger you use when playing a specific note.

Usually when playing the first pieces on the guitar on the first frets one plays the notes on the first fret with the index finger, notes on the second fret with the middle finger, notes on the third fret with the ring finger and notes on the fourth fret with your little finger.

Why mess up everything with this fingering stuff? Isn’t it possible to play every melody with your left index finger and forget about fingerings?

Well, of course you can play melodies with your index finger but your progress will be very limited beyond just playing easy melodies.

Besides you’ll have to move your hand all the time as you change frets and, most importantly when reading sheet music, you’ll have to look at the guitar fretboard all the time instead of looking at the sheet music.

The important thing when learning to play the notes on the guitar is to make a conscious effort to learn the notes and not to work on too many notes at the same time.

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free sheet music and learn to play resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com.

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AFRICA is a continent of rhythm and dance. Before it was colonised by the European nations in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was divided into different empires and kingdoms. Each had their own traditions, songs and drums. The DJEMBE (jem-bay) was the drum of the the Mandinke people, from the great West African Mali Empire of the 12th century, situated in the present-day countries of Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Gambia. It has become the most widely played of all African instruments.

Today, as before, it is used to celebrate times of importance in village life such as baptism, weddings, full moons, harvest etc, and through the popularity of world music, it’s appeal is spreading on a daily basis.

The DJEMBE is a “goblet” shaped drum with a skin (usually goat) stretched over one end. It is played with the hands as part of a group of drums. The other drums in this group are cylindrical and have cow skin heads. Played with a large stick, they come in three sizes and are called the kenkeni (smallest & highest), the sangban (middle) and the dundunba (biggest and lowest). A bell is played at the same time, completing the ensemble.

Traditional West African Rhythms are normally “polyrhythms”. This means that there are 4 or 5, and sometimes even 6 or 7 different parts that go together to make each rhythm, and they are often accompanied by singing and a dance. Most rhythms are played for specific occasions, some are mask dances - others are played only at football matches!

Rhythms include: Kakilambe, Liberte, Dimbadun, Soko, Soca, Koukou, African Rhumba, Tiriba, Babobo, Yankadi, Kpanlogo, Yole, Cassa, Sorsonet, Mandiani, Doundounba, Fanga, Diagbe, Fankani, Marakadon, Soli, Abondon. - Plenty to learn, you see!

Other drums from Africa include: Sabar, Bougarabou, Frontonfrom, Atumpan, Apentema, Apetia, Bobo, Brekete, Atsimevu, Sogo, Kidi, Kagan, Kroboto, Totodzi, Kpanlogo, Oslama, Kete, Kurukutu, Sakara, Togo, Bada, Bata and Talking Drums.

For additional information on Drum Circles, click to visit the Natural Flow Drum Circles Page.

How to play the djembe.

There are three main notes played on the djembe.

1) The BASS, played with the flat of the hand in the middle of the drum - a deep “booming” sound. 2) The TONE, played with the bottom pads of the fingers towards the edge of the drumskin, fingers outstretched - a “thick” note. 3) The SLAP, played by striking the edge of the drum with the palm of the hand and allowing the fingers to “flap” into the drumskin - a “sharp, dry, cracking” sound. Like the tone, this takes a while to get right.

Most West African djembe rhythms are a combination of these three notes. The arm bends at the elbow and not at the wrist. This gives more power and greater control. Don’t forget to take rings off first!

The CALL is played by the lead djembe player. As the name suggests, it calls everybody into the rhythm, shows them where to start and at what speed they should play. It is also used to draw the song to a close, and sometimes to bring a change of rhythm in the middle of the song.

The other thing to bear in mind is the tempo, which can change dramatically during the song. Usually, we start slowly and speed up either gradually or at a given point. This is called the échauffement (literally “heating up”), and can result in some very fast playing towards the end!

Above all, the most important thing about African Drumming is to have FUN. You hardly ever see someone playing drums without a big smile on their face. It’s something you can do on your own, or in a group (or “circle”), loudly or quietly, fast or slow - it doesn’t matter. Once you get the knack of playing, you won’t want to stop. And the more you play, the better you’ll get.

So ENJOY YOURSELF!!

Rhythm Notation.

Traditionally, West African rhythms were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. More recently, various ways of writing down rhythms have been devised. All show the order the different notes are played in, but my favourite shows which hand to use as well. If you are left-handed, just change left for right. Here’s an example.

African Rhumba.

B - Right hand bass b - Left hand bass T - Right hand tone t - Left hand tone S - Right hand slap s - Left hand slap x - Gap

Djembe 1 b x T t B x S x b x T t B x S x

Djembe 2 x x S s x x S s x x S s T t S s

Dunduns - Only Dundunba and Sangban in this particular song.

D - Dundunba S - Sangban ☺ - Bell

D x x x S x S x D x x x S x S x

Bell x ☺ x ☺ x ☺ x ☺ x ☺ x ☺ x ☺ x ☺

Call - Djembe Ss x S s x S x s S x T t T t x x

Simon G Spare C/o Northfield Bungalow Farnham Lane Langton Green Tunbridge Wells TN3 0DJ 01892 862452 07905 469295 simon.spare@virgin.net

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