Grab a Free Music Dial…

As a musical instrument player, we’ve got you covered this Holiday.

Here’s the deal… With ‘any’ physical Dial purchase from our Music Dials selection, you’ll receive a Free, Guitar Chord Charts Music Dial… Yep, that’s 100%! Off the regular price [a retail value of $14.99!]. It’s yours free when you purchase ‘any’ physical product from our Music Dials selection.

Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Mandolin, Banjo… You’re Dialed In!

Now Free With Any Purchase! The deal ends on Jan 1st.

Go to the Music Dials Website Here for Your Deal!

This Free Guitar Chord Charts Music Dial will be included with your order.

Heck, even if you want to buy just a Guitar Chord Charts Dial, you’ll get another one for free, to be used as a gift for a family member or a friend. It will be automatically included in your order.

Like all of our easy-to-use two-sided chart dials, this Guitar Chord Charts Music Dial shows you the essential information that contains 24 guitar chord charts. It provides you with…

* All 5 chord forms including fret positions in every key.

* All formulas for basic chord forms as well as all chord extensions including suspended chords, power chords, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords.

* Fingering for all the chords in all positions including extensions.

Forget those big fat cumbersome chord books or trying to find the right app. This is a complete guitar chord reference guide on a 2-sided movable dial… It fits right into your instrument case.

> Go to the Music Dials Website Here for Your Deal!

Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Mandolin, Banjo… We have a Dial for you!

Many uses include:

* Teaching tool / visual reference guide

* Learning to play all forms & positions for major, minor, augmented, and diminished chords

* Figuring out chords to songs by ear, jamming, improvising

* Songwriting

* Learning basic chord theory

Once you discover its many uses, our Music Dial Charts will become your permanent fixture in your musician’s library, as a lifetime music reference guide and your primary instrument-playing resource assistant.

Remember, even if you want to buy a Guitar Chord Charts Dial, you’ll get another one for free, to be used as a gift for a family member or a friend.

Dial into your Free deal here (click dial image)…

Now Free With Any Purchase! The deal ends on Jan 1st.

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 →

Using Guitar Chord Charts

Guitar chord charts…

Guitar chord charts are a systematic way to learn how to play chords on a guitar. To be able to read the charts, you must first know the different types of chords- major, minor, and dominant seventh. It is important to know what type of chord you are playing when reading the chart so that you can choose which finger numbers your will use in order from index (1) through pinky (4). For example, if you see a “C” on the chart and it says “3 3 3 4,” this means that your index (1), ring finger (2), middle finger (3), and pinky finger (4) will be used in order from left to right.

Guitar Chord Reference Dial…

The guitar chord reference dial is a device that is used to help guitar players learn chords and songs. The device displays the name of each chord, as well as its fingering and the strings that should be played. The beginner can also move their fingers around on the dial for quick reference to different chords.

A guitar chord reference dial helps many guitar players learn chords and songs in a more efficient way than trying to memorize every song note by note. Just by looking at it, you will know which string needs to be strummed, what string should be your ring finger, which one should be your middle finger, and so on.

Front shows 12 charts, each showing all the chord forms and positions for each major & minor chord. Back shows 12 charts, each showing all the chord forms and positions for each augmented & diminished chord. Also shown are the notes for 7th chords.

Forget those big fat cumbersome chord books. Take a look at a complete guitar chord reference on a simple easy to use 2-sided movable dial. Fits into your instrument case.

Jam On!
Ron Greene
Founder of the Music Dials Charts

What Are Chord Progressions in Music?…

According to Wikipedia… “In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice era of Classical music to the 21st century. Chord progressions are the foundation of Western popular music styles and traditional music. In these genres, chord progressions are the defining feature on which melody and rhythm are built.”

The sponsor of this Musician’s Blog is the Music Dials, which are effective at-a-glance visual reference guides for showing you the best sounding musical scale notes for playing solos and chords for accompaniment in every key.

Enjoy playing your instrument by watching and learning more here…

The Music Dials Charts Working Example

Paul McCartney Playing Live…

“Some of that natural reverb gets initiated by the stage sound itself, as things get pretty loud up there. Only Wickens wears in-ear monitors, as the rest of the band opts for Clair R4 sidefills and old-school Showco SRM wedges.”

That’s a quote from the interesting article that talks about the equipment used on Paul McCartney’s late 2017, eight night (3 hour gigs) mini-tour of New York City.

Many of us musicians understand what a good 3 hour show will take out of you… but, to do it eight nights in a row… that’s a damn workout!

Anyway, take a peak at this in-depth review of the type of gear Paul used on this mini-tour and discover some hidden secrets you probably didn’t know about.

Jam On!
-Ron

(Courtesy of ProSoundNetwork.com and Clive Young Dec 7, 2017)

This article goes on to state…

“Watching a Paul McCartney concert is a lesson in irony. At their height, the 20-something Beatles played 45-minute sets, but 50-plus years later, at an age when most stars of his era are taking it easy, a Macca show clocks in at three hours.

As if to prove the point, Sir Paul did it over and over in September as he tore through eight sold-out shows around New York City, playing two nights a piece at Madison Square Garden; Brooklyn’s Barclays Center; across the Hudson River at Newark, NJ’s Prudential Center; and on Long Island at the newly refurbished NYCB Live Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.”

Guitar Legend John McLaughlin Retires

Jazz-rock legacy of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, John McLaughlin (age 75 at the time of this blog post) is retiring from touring.

Many of us musicians have known John as an esoteric monster on the strings. His departure from mainstream songs to introspective nuance has been instrumental (no pun intended) in providing for insightful creative considerations of arpeggiated themes in playing styles.

The article below mentions some fun highlights of McLaughlin’s final performance in Los Angeles at UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance at Royce Hall in December 2017.

Appreciations for John’s input in our wonderful world of music!

Jam On!
Ron

(credit given via: Richard S. Ginell released in sfcv.org)

Article December 12, 2017

“The 75-year-old English guitarist (now a resident of Monaco) has said that his The Meeting Of The Spirits tour would be his last in North America, and the concert at Royce — where he played way back in 1974 — was the last stop. Fellow guitar-slinger Jimmy Herring, one of the few McLaughlin acolytes capable of dueling mano-a-mano with the master, shared the bill…”

Read more about this John’s farewell tour here…

https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/none/guitar-legend-john-mclaughlin-retires-with-an-incendiary-farewell-concert

Bass Player Stranded in Tour Van…

Sometimes good ol’-fashioned parody deserves some place within the musician network. If you’ve been on tour before, you know that it’s important to keep your sanity by fooling around and playing fun pranks on each other.

Now, this article (below) claims more of a ‘tongue and cheek’ mention of a tour prank… akin to the Onion News.

In any case, many of us can totally relate to the lightheartedness of this matter.

Oh this poor bass player. (hehe)

Jam On!
– Ron

(via https://thehardtimes.net)

After 20 minutes of searching the venue for the van’s owners, Nunez and a few onlookers decided to take action. “We knew we had to act fast,” she said. “We tried to talk to him, but he seemed disoriented and would not stop looking at his phone…

Read and Enjoy it Here:
https://thehardtimes.net/2016/06/24/irresponsible-musicians-leave-bassist-hot-van/

Singer Songwriter, Merle Haggard died…

Merle Haggard sang his last song the day of April 6’th, 2016… he was just 79 years old. Born right outside the small town of Bakersfield in the high desert, north over the mountains from Los Angeles.

Many of Merle’s band members, the Strangers, were playing live with him on tour right up to the day of his departure. Some of these members had been with him for over 40 years! Merle himself was a gifted guitar player, mostly played a Fender Telecaster. He had the stories and voice to carry his message to the ones that appreciated his ventures. A real true freedom supporter!

Merle mentioned that… “the road thing is like a run-away train, once you’re on it you keep riding her to the end…”

Haggard wrote over 700 songs! Merle once mentioned that he had written so many songs from so many experiences, that he kept coming around stumbling all over himself. But, once in a while something very powerful would emerge as a new discovery about himself.

Jam On!
– Ron

(via FoxNews.com)
The Byrds, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Grateful Dead, Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams and Reba McEntire all covered his songs, while many others paid tribute to him in theirs. In the Dixie Chicks’ “Long Time Gone, which criticizes Nashville trends, the trio crooned: “We listen to the radio to hear what’s cookin’ / But the music ain’t got no soul / Now they sound tired but they don’t sound Haggard.”…

Read complete press release here:
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/04/06/merle-haggard-dead-on-his-7th-birthday/

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.

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

Songs Every Guitarist Should Learn to Play…

I recently came across a website that mentions the top 20 songs every guitarist should learn to play. Spending time at this site had me realizing that knowing many great tunes is a nice reference, indeed. However, I was further reminded that having a list of guitar ‘tabs’ is one thing. Yet, also having a great reference to how the chords are developed for each song, is a wonderful compliment.

So, take a look at the website (below) and maybe consider grabbing a Music Dial Chart or two, to make your guitar tab reading much easier.

Jam On!
-Ron

(via: Ultimate-Guitar.com)
This week’s traditional Wednesday Question saw the UG community debating the mater of songs that every guitar player should learn to play. Kicking things off with an all-time classic, we have Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.” Universally hailed as the tune with the greatest guitar solo of all time, it’s quite apparent why this one made the list…

Find the rest of the list of the top 20 songs every guitarist should learn here, and be sure to visit MusicDials.com to compliment your tabs!…

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/ug_news/top_20_songs_every_guitarist_should_learn_to_play.html