Guitar Instructions

The name Interlochen has long been synonymous with excellence in the arts and arts education, and the annual Interlochen Guitar Festival and Workshop is no exception. The Workshop is held every summer in August, this year from the 20th to the 22nd, on the storied campus of the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Widely known for having one of the world’s top high school fine arts programs for younger artists, recently Interlochen has begun offering classes and workshops geared towards adult students through its new College of Creative Arts. When this initiative was presented by current president Jeffrey Kimpton, Academy guitar instructor John Wunsch jumped at the chance to start a weekend-long guitar festival and workshop that would be geared towards the adult student population, as well as to a variety of musical styles. Participants at the Festival and Workshop have the chance to experience the exceptional tradition of excellence that has gained Interlochen its world wide recognition, something that had previously been reserved for high school, and younger, students. More »
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Though at first glance the look of the Gibson Zoot Suit SG electric guitar might be more reminiscent of ’60s era psychedelia than the zoot suits of the ’30s and ’40s, behind the name are some interesting construction twists certain to garner interest from players and possibly collectors. This new entry from Gibson USA has not started to ship yet, but is expected to carry an MSRP of $1,999 with a likely street price from retailers in the area of $1,199. The instrument comes in six color schemes: Rainbow, Black and Red, Black and Natural, Black and Orange, and Red and Blue. While certainly colorful, it’s interesting to note that they are not painted. Instead, the Zoot Suit SG is constructed from a number of laminated birch wood pieces (each approximately .075″ thick) dyed with a different color, given two coats of satin nitrocellulose lacquer, then bonded together to form the body and the neck. In addition to the cosmetic effect, Gibson claims that the construction method “…yields maximum sustain and resonance.” More »
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September 29, 2009, brings the release of Where The Wild Things Are, live concert material recorded before a sold-out audience at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2007 during Steve Vai’s Sound Theories World Tour. The performance footage will be released on DVD and Blu-ray with a music-only CD also available. The 2007 Sound Theories World Tour featured a band Vai called String Theories, comprised of Steve Vai with Bryan Beller (bass), Alex DePue (violin, keyboards), Ann Marie Calhoun (violin, keyboards), Jeremy Colson (drums and percussion), Dave Weiner (guitar and sitar), and Zack Wiesinger (a brief appearance during the show on lap steel and the tour’s solo opening act with Zack on electric guitar). Though the tour launched in conjunction with the release of the double-CD Sound Theories I & II, it was a standalone animal featuring a set list of both well known and not so often performed pieces from the Vai catalog, which might account for the upcoming DVD’s name, Where The Wild Things Are, that drops the Sound Theories main title connection. On August 7, 2009, I spoke to Steve Vai, technically about the upcoming release of Where The Wild Things Are, but having been an avid listener to Sound Theories I & II and viewer of Visual Sound Theories for the last two years, my main interest was how these three works serve as an argument for the Vai-ability of his catalog as composition. More »
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Electric guitar icon Les Paul passed away today, the result of complications of severe pneumonia, at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York. He was 94. Born June 9, 1915, as Lester William Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin, he later adopted the stage name Les Paul and, in addition to his contributions as a performing artist, played a major role in the development of the solidbody electric guitar, most closely associated with his namesake instrument, the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson Guitar’s best selling instrument. The only person with membership in all of the following: the Grammy Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Les Paul enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a recording artist, inventor and innovator, and a performer who, despite arthritis, permanent hearing loss and a heart attack followed by bypass surgery, for over 12 years maintained a twice-weekly performance residence at New York City’s Iridium Jazz Club until recently. His 2005 CD, Les Paul & Friends; American Made World Played, was a double-Grammy winner. More »
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Heavy Days, the newest CD from Mambo Sons, is a two-disc collection of songs steeped in the classic blues-rock tradition, but with the Sons’ own flair. They wield a veritable Mambo stew of influences, including early ’70s Stones, Mott the Hoople, Free, Cream and countless others. Heavy Days features the kind of music that used to get a lot of airplay and harkens back to the days of the classic double-LP a la Exile on Main Street. The bottom line: This is a collection of great songs that deserves to be heard. Mambo Sons are Tom Guerra on guitars and vocals, Scott Lawson on bass and vocals, and Joe “The Cat” Lemieux on drums and vocals, with very special guest Matt Zeiner providing Hammond, piano, clavinet, and Wurlitzer on several tracks. More »
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Modern Guitars columnist John Page continues his photo chronicle of the creation of a new piece of electric guitar functional art in The Story of 016, Part Two. Page, who co-founded the Fender Custom Shop and who has been a leading proponent of how and why the contemporary electric guitar can serve a dual role as both working instrument (functional) and the source of visual pleasure (art), has pursued a career in fine art after leaving Fender, creating a number of successful art gallery-level wood-based sculptures. After a hiatus from guitar building, Page re-entered the field in 2006 with his completely hand-built custom line, the P-1. The Story of 016 discusses how Page’s new twist on the P-1 incorporates his love of both finely built custom guitars and fine art. The client who commissioned the 016 asked Page if it could somehow serve as both a high-end guitar and a piece of art. “For me,” says Page, “this is the best of all worlds, mix my two great passions, guitars and visual art!” More »
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Four instruments sit at the head table in the pantheon of solidbody electric guitars that defined and continue to define the sound of rock ‘n’ roll and related genres: the Fender Stratocaster; the Fender Telecaster; the Gibson Les Paul; and the Gibson SG. Saiichi Sugiyama, in his Modern Guitars column, Vintage, chronicles his relationship with the Gibson SG: “The SG Sound.” Says Sugiyama: “Someone told me that Carlos Santana played “Samba Pa Ti” on his early ’60s SG Special. The harmonics on my SG sounded, to my ears, not dissimilar despite the obvious P-90 colouring of that tone. Eric Clapton said, when we were doing the research for the Christie’s 2004 catalogue, that the March 1968 “Crossroads” on Wheels of Fire was played on his cherry-red 335 – but, to be honest, I am not convinced. To my ears, it sounds like a mahogany guitar – his Firebird or more likely the painted SG known as The Fool.”
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Taylor Guitars of El Cajon, California, has announced the introduction of limited edition models in celebration of its 35th anniversary. Founded in 1974 by Bob Taylor (who at the time had not yet turned 20), Kurt Listug and Steve Schemmer and originally named Westland Music Company, by the end of its inaugural year the company could boast three employees, the production of six instruments, and having overcome several hurdles, including its original facility.

“That place was so bad,” says Listug. “The roof leaked like crazy, and whenever it rained, the place flooded. It rained hard the night before we opened [October 15, 1974], so we spent the entire morning of our first day in business trying to get as much water out of there as we could.” Bob Taylor recalls the spirit of the company’s early days: “When it flooded, we’d take all the sawdust that we’d already swept up, and sprinkle it around the floor to soak up the water. It made the place even more of a pig sty. But it was fun. What did we know? We were just kids. Somehow, we’d skirted having to get real jobs. We didn’t have a boss, we were making guitars. What could be better?” More »
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Gibson Guitar will celebrate the life and contributions of guitar and audio recording innovator Les Paul during the month of September, 2009, with events connected to the anniversary of Paul’s 1953 #1 Billboard Pop Single, “Vaya Con Dios,” and the release anniversary of his 2005 album, American Made: World Played. Event details have not yet been announced. Gibson also plans to produce limited edition versions of the Les Paul Studio and Les Paul Standard electric guitars in honor of Les Paul, which could be available to consumers as early as November, 2009. “It is simply impossible to conceive what music would be like today if Les Paul had not lived,” says Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “During the month of September Gibson will celebrate Les Paul through various promotions and events insuring his legacy lives on. The Les Paul Studio and Les Paul Standard guitar remains the best selling guitar of all time and in honor of Les we will give fans the opportunity to purchase very special limited versions while enjoying numerous features and anecdotes about Les on the Gibson website…” More »
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Guitar Instructions: The secret to success in mastering the guitar

How many times have you not heard a beautiful song on the radio and wished that you could play it on a guitar. Well, you can. With the right guitar instructions anyone can learn regardless of age or current music ability.Getting to play the guitar need not be expensive or complicated if you know where to start. I have been there once, paying hundreds of dollars for personal tuition, DVDs and special software.There are a number of secrets you need to know before getting the proper guitar instructions to lead you to success.Let technology be your teacher. Due to the growth of the internet you can basically learn everything you need to know online. There is a catch, however. How do you sift the good from the bad that’s available on the internet.From a good set of guitar instructions you will learn how to hold and tune a guitar, how to pluck the strings correctly and how to read the guitar tabs. Once you have mastered the basics you can play virtually any song you desire. It is all within your reach. Techniques differ but chords and tabs remain the same.Online software allows you to learn at your own pace and repeat lessons without paying extra for it. Detailed guaranteed guitar instructions is available when and where you need it. There is absolutely no pressure on you to perform.With online guitar instruction software you can control your costs. For you to obtain the maximum benefit you need to choose the best online method possible. I am in a unique position to recommend the one program that has made me the guitar player I am today.

The one program i recommend has all the answers and solutions at a fraction of the cost of a personal tutor. The course is complete. All instruction is in picture, video and audio format. You are able to play along with countless Jam Tracks and plenty of extras are thrown in. I can confidently state that this is by far the most comprehensive guitar instruction available on the internet today.

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