Music Gear for the Working Player This is one singer/songwriter’s take on gear and making the best use of space, on stage…
The Major Scale for Beginners
The Musical Ear & Cultural Mind Music comes from the heart and the soul. We are born with it and we add to it, all our lives. When we love, our heart sings. When we lose, we sing the blues. The major scale has been one of western culture’s base elements for a thousand years. […]
How To Host A House Concert
A Musician’s View I grew up in a time when a DJ was some old-time way of having a “record-hop”. I realize that a good DJ can be a fun experience but even DJ’s love live music. I saw a lot of great local musicians during my high school years because if we could get […]
British Blues & Long John Baldry
The British Blues Scene of the 1960’s I’ve always listened to a variety of music which I encourage you to do, as well. So while I was listening to Bob Dylan, I was also playing my guitar along with John Lee Hooker’s, double album, “Mad Man Blues” and James Taylor’s, “Sweet Baby James.” Still at […]
How to Tune Your Guitar
Tuning for the beginning player I was talking with one of my “brand new” students about getting together and she said, “…well my guitar is out of tune again…” I am reminded that an in-tune guitar is a happy guitar and a happy guitar leads to a happy guitar-player… So let’s all get in tune!
Beginning Fingerpicking Guitar
Fingerpicking a Folk song Fingerpicking: picking with your fingers; simple right? It can be harder than it seems but with a lot of practice, it can bring you a lot of enjoyment…
Rock & Blues Music, 1977
The Blue Northern Band on the coast of Maine Islesboro, Maine, in the mid to late ’70’s was a magical place. The Island Pub was in full swing, on Islesboro and the music scene throughout Maine had a large assortment of great musicians who all knew and helped each other. Once I was even a […]
Drop-D Tuning For Guitar
Why “Drop-D” Tuning? I have played in Drop-D tuning for many years and use it today, more than ever. It offers a deeper sound in the low end and lots of opportunities for moving lines and jangling suspensions and drones…
What Every Musician Wants
A Musician is Fortunate to be a Musician… With the holidays upon us I find myself looking back and taking stock in where I’ve been and where I am. As I ponder my good fortune at being a musician, I’m drawn to the question; What do musicians really want?
Country-Rock 1976
Tulsa Times; An Adirondack Band New York Country Rock I returned from Islesboro, Maine to Upstate New York , in the fall of 1975. Within a very short time Joe Allard, Thon Christiana, and I were playing music and looking to start a band…