Guitar Virtuoso Jeff Beck Dies at 78

Jeff Beck playing guitarIn my humble opinion, one of the best post-60s onward rock guitar players of all time passed away.

Jeff Beck had a technique that stood out, to say the least. He had the ability to play any music style with expertise, yet his signature playing was hard to duplicate by other great players. It made him a stand-alone giant!

In his later concert days, it was beautiful how he introduced many bass players on tour, especially outstanding women bass players… Tal Wilkenson as one example comes to mind.

Beck died Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at the age of 78.

Jeff will be missed by a ton of fans. Yet, we’ve been privileged enough to have many of his recordings and videos to enjoy for the rest of the time we each remain on this planet.

Enjoy Your Music!
Best!
-Ron Greene

Jeff Beck playing with Mick Jagger

Credit is given: Rolling Stone .com article: Hall of Fame musician and former Yardbird guitarist [Jeff Beck] dies following a short bout with bacterial meningitis… By: Daniel Kreps, Kory Grow

As noted in this RS press release…

“Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, Beck’s Yardbirds bandmate who inducted the guitarist into the Rock Hall in 2009, wrote on social media Wednesday, “The six stringed Warrior is no longer here for us to admire the spell he could weave around our mortal emotions. Jeff could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless. Jeff I will miss you along with your millions of fans. Jeff Beck Rest in Peace.”

It further mentioned…

In 2009, 17 years after Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, he delivered one of the greatest induction speeches of all time when he reentered the Rock Hall for his solo work. “Someone told me I should be proud tonight. But I’m not, because they kicked me out. They did. Fuck them,” he quipped at the 1992 ceremony. “I couldn’t believe I was even nominated,” Beck told Rolling Stone at the time. “I thought the Yardbirds was as close as I’d get to getting in. I’ve gone on long after that and gone through different musical changes. It’s very nice to hear that people have been listening.”

Learn more insights about Jeff Beck in the Rolling Stone article, here…
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jeff-beck-dead-at-78-obit-1234659559/

Basic Music Theory

Hey fellow musicians… Ron Greene here,

There are a lot of decent basic music theory books, tapes etc. on the market these days, and many of them provide good technical content. However, most of the information in them seems to lack specific details that otherwise, really never get you to the point of playing your instrument.

For example, this free music theory publication does a good job of explaining Key Signatures and the history of music, yet, this subject might not interest you as much as getting your instrument out and actually getting down to the matter at hand… playing it! Continue reading Basic Music Theory

Gibson guitar company facing bankruptcy

If you’re like me you appreciate a good Gibson guitar. My favorite was a 1957 Les Paul Jr. single cut-away with a single P-90 pick up… it was a simple screamer!

Now it appears that Gibson is in some sort of financial trouble and could be on the verge of bankruptcy after over 115 years in business.

This article covers some of the details associated with this situation and some history of Gibson that you might be interested in…

Jam On!
-Ron

Credit given to B.J. Bethel, Dayton Daily News

“According to the Nashville Post, Gibson’s chief financial officer, Bill Lawrence, left after six months on the job and just as $375 million in senior secured notes mature and $145 million in bank loans become due, if they aren’t refinanced by July… The departure of Lawrence was seen as a bad sign for a company trying to re-organize.”

Read More Here…

https://www.ajc.com/news/national/gibson-guitar-company-maker-the-les-paul-facing-bankruptcy-after-116-years-business/OlaIEYdtLEv1rP92RvZFrM/

Notes on a Piano (keyboard)…

Now, we all know that the basic 1, 4, 5 note structures (with maybe an additional transition note/chord) can create a complete song… However, when you toss in randomness of notes it might take a little more time to complete the composition.

This video shows a keyboard prodigy that just might blow your mind!

You’ll soon discover how this gifted musician takes four randomly selected notes and compiles a complete symphony beyond what you’d expect on the piano… Very impressive and inspiring.

Jam On!

(Video credit to CBS News 60 Minutes)

“It takes Alma Deutscher just four notes and forty seconds to improvise an impressive short piano sonata right before 60 Minutes cameras. That alone is remarkable — but she’s also just 12 years old…

“While interviewing Alma at her piano, Pelley draws from a hat four cards with musical notes on them: B, A, E flat, G. She announces the four notes’ solfège names and considers them silently. Pelley waits, and the cameras roll.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/watch-a-prodigy-create-from-four-notes-in-a-hat/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab5j&linkId=44340477

How to play great sounding guitar lead notes…

Using the Music Dial Chart Guitar Solo Scales Dial…

Good solo or lead playing is a form of personal expression. Feeling, tone, phrasing and technique are all used to create a personal style. The ultimate goal is to play solo melody or lead notes that sound great when played with the rhythm accompaniment chord progression and which enhance the overall feeling of the song.

Start your learning patterns with the 4 basic and popular scales, used to play lead guitar for all styles of music, including… rock, pop, country, blues, traditional, jazz etc.

Dual Guitar Solo Scales Charts ebay

These scales include… Major scale, Major Pentatonic scale, Relative Minor scale and, Relative Minor Pentatonic scale.

On the Guitar Solo Scales Dial, select one of the 4 scales, depending one the key and style of music you’re playing.

When using these patterns for Major or Major Pentatonic Key, emphasize the black notes on the Dial, which is the keynote or ‘tonic’ of the Major Scale.

For example, when playing songs in the Major Key of C, emphasize the black note, which is a ‘C’ note. When playing songs in the Relative Minor Key of Am, emphasize the black note, which is an ‘A’ note.

For ease of playing, first learn the pentatonic scale note patterns (black notes only on the Guitar Solo Music Dial). Then learn the major scales and relative minor scale note patterns (black & white notes).

With a little practice and experimentation, you’ll be able to hear and feel the different emphasis and sound when playing with the 4 different scale note patterns.

Playing Scales…

The first and last note of each scale is called the root note. The root note for major key scales is the black note on the Music Dial. The root note for minor key scales is also the black note.

To play each scale, locate the lowest root note on the lowest string. Play each scale note from the lowest to highest, ending with the octave higher root note.

Other Guitar Techniques…

Some of the techniques used in playing ‘hot’ solos include, string bending, hammering on, pulling off, sliding, vibrato, two hand tapping, harmonics, tone, distortion, sustain, etc.

Some of the approaches to improvising solos include, using scales notes to play the melody, using scales notes to play a solo different from the melody, using scales notes or chord notes to play repetitive riffs, using chord notes to play chord arpeggios for each chord in the chord progression… etc.

Enjoy exercising your individual artistic expression!

Jam On…
-Ron

Creativity and the Mad Genius…

Combining the left and right brain in songwriting, jamming and listening to music, promotes a deep and meaningful fascination. Where does creativity and mad genius start and stop? What do you feel and think when you are jamming… Are you a participant or are you the observer? This article gives more to ponder on this subject matter.
Jam On!
-Ron

Left-Right-Brain-Image-Music-Dials

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The Imprinted Brain by… Christopher Badcock Ph.D. via:psychologytoday.com)

Can You Be Both Mad and Creative?

How genes set the balance between autism and psychosis… A study of all major British and Irish poets born between 1705 and 1805 found a strikingly high rate of mood disorders, suicide, and institutionalization within this group of writers and their families. By comparison with the rate of manic-depressive illness in the general population, these British poets were 30 times more likely to suffer from manic-depression…
… read rest of article here:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201408/can-you-be-both-mad-and-creative

Pi and memorizing the music scale…

the Music Scale (using Pi)

Wow, this enhanced my ability to recognize the power of math and the musical scale. Incredible to learn that thirty-nine decimal places of Pi are enough to compute the circumference of a circle the size of the known universe with an error no greater that the radius of an hydrogen atom… Now, that gives one another way to ponder the depth of music!

Jam On!
Ron

music dial Pi symble

(by JUR re: Sciencedump.com)
This guy wrote a song to help him memorize Pi, since he can memorize music easier than strings of numbers. In his mind, he can hear the melody, and figure out the numbers…
See this insightful video here:
https://www.sciencedump.com/content/guy-creates-song-using-numbers-pi

Musician, before starting your digital (social) PR campaign, consider the following…

5 Things All Musicians Need Before Starting A Digital PR Campaign…

After reading this article on how to proceed with your musical marketing campaign, I was further intrigued with its simple, yet powerful suggestions and consideration to advance your musical career.
Jam On!
-Ron

music-marketing-online

(by: https://camilleainsworth.wordpress.com)

While all of these are important goals for musicians to have, and there is no doubt that a PR campaign can help artists to achieve them, many musicians decide to jump into this too early. Without the proper assets, the likelihood that you will actually achieve these goals from a PR campaign are greatly decreased.

In order for a PR campaign to truly be successful, you must have the 5 following assets…

… read more here ->
https://camilleainsworth.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/5-things-all-musicians-need-before-starting-a-digital-pr-campaign/

Possibly Glenn Campbell’s Final Recording…

Glenn Campbell is turning 75 and battling Alzheimer’s…

You may know this already but, Glenn played in a special group of studio and session musicians that jammed anonymously on many records in Los Angeles, California during the 1960s. Known as The Wrecking Crew – it backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history…
Jam On!
-Ron

glenn-campbell

(by:
Campbell has released more than 70 albums. He has sold 45 million records. He was in great demand as a session musician in the 1960s and worked as part of the studio musicians’ clique known as “the Wrecking Crew.” He played guitar on the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album, as well as on recordings by artists from Elvis to Sinatra. On top of all this, Campbell hosted his own weekly variety show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour

Read the rest of this article here:
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/neil-cossar/wichita-lineman-glen-campbell_b_4479036.html

Intro to Sound and Hearing…

I found a great resource for some basic foundations in the art of sound and sound engineering. Many musicians do a fair amount of their own production work in the studio and live… getting back to the basic via the Synposis of sound, is a good way to secure your understanding of how it relates to your work. You might find this site of interest and this page starts with… Vibrations via our Ears, Velocity, Waveform, Pitch, Intensity and more…
Ron-

ear anatomy

A waveform of a signal is a pictorial representation of the changes in the signal’s amplitude over a period of time. Imagine dropping a rock into a calm pond of water. If you took a picture of a cross-section of the water, that picture would be a graphic depiction of the amplitude of the water versus distance…
-> see more @ ->
https://www.recordingconnection.com.au/curriculum/audio-engineering/lesson-01