Recording - December 2014 - 50

5. All Ears
Tuning 'by sight' with a digital tuner is great in a loud
bar, but at home try a tuning fork. This forces critical listening and has been proven to improve your natural sense
of relative pitch. Don't have one? Go to www.123guitartuner.com and try the free online tuner provided there to
start tuning by ear. It will play a repeating guitar note that
you can tune to, one for each string, in any of seven tunings: Standard, Drop D, DADGAD, Low C, and several
open tunings as well. (See the screenshot.)

By Ben Long

For the holidays, how about trying something new with your axe?
Many guitarists fall into ruts, playing stale riffs for years on end. This can
be detrimental both to them and to those listening to them! If you want to
record something really great on your guitar, sometimes you have to "unlearn" the things you do all the time in order to make room for something
new. This holiday season, I'd like to suggest nine ways to do just that.
The practice of "un-learning" the guitar is simply doing things differently by
approaching the instrument in a new way. This breaking out of the old mold
can breathe life into your playing. With that in mind, here are nine fun tips
that can crush your boredom, get your "but I know how to do this stuff
already and I don't see the point" ego out of the way of your expanded creativity, improve the sound you're getting from your instrument, and rapidly
advance your playing. How's that sound?
1. Hold Me
Pick up the guitar! Simply holding a guitar in your hands increases familiarity. There's something about just cradling the guitar and noodling with no
goal whatsoever. This can even happen while laying on a couch. Jimi
Hendrix practically slept with his guitar and was constantly playing while sitting and laying down. After you've been doing this for a while, the guitar will
become part of you, and your hands will fall into place with greater ease.
2. TV Time
Get your eyes off the guitar and start playing without looking at your
fingers. This shift in focus puts more emphasis on listening and the kinesthetic learning (by feel) than on tying your technique to what you can see.
Turn the TV on and put it on mute. While playing, let yourself stare at the
sports scores, etc., while getting the smoothest runs you can from the guitar under your fingers. It's a great way to develop what I call a 'sonic
periphery' and become more of a natural player, and it works great when
combined with hint 1 above.
3. Get a Beater
Having a second guitar can be hugely helpful. Pawn shops can be a
goldmine for the well-worn axe. Not sure what you want? Need a hint?
My personal pawn shop prizes that I recommend you look for are 1980sera Yamaha acoustic guitars. These instruments have been a well-kept
secret for ages; they age well and tend to sound incredible. Whatever you
end up with, try keeping this spare guitar set up in a different tuning.
Which brings us to...
4. Open Tunings
Maybe you've been playing in standard tuning for a decade now. It's
time to branch out and discover some open tunings. These are sure to open
your ears to new possibilities as your old chord shapes will sound entirely
different-in some cases awesome and in other cases not so much. This
change forces you to listen and create chord shapes out of thin air.
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RECORDING December 2014

6. Jam With People
Practicing alone in an empty studio can get old and a
bit weird. Playing with others takes your listening to new
heights and can rapidly develop your skills. The more the
merrier! Join a casual jam or find those who seem to be
better than you; this is probably the fastest way to
improve on guitar.
7. Cover Songs
Let's face it-most people's musical tastes are very
conservative these days. They want to hear song ABC,
and they want it now! Give them what they want. If you
hope to play live, you'd better have a great batch of
covers and know them well. Put your own twist on a
standard song and make it more fun to play. You can
always write and play your own music and build up an
audience, but being able to play other folks' work convincingly is a great training tool.
8. Radio Ready
Another potent tactic for improving your guitar skills
is simply playing along with the radio. Go ahead and
pick a station. Chances are, that hip-hop song could
use a nice guitar solo! This method of practice can
really help improve your timing too, so go ahead and
strum along.
9. Travel With It
That's right! On your next trip, pack light but also
bring your guitar. There is something about being in a
new place that puts one in a different state of mind that
can make new ideas flow; some of my best material
was born while traveling. Not only do you meet people
way more easily, but other guitarists will likely join in!
Here's to a new year full of new inspiration and new
ideas!
Ben Long (long@recordingmag.com) is a guitarist,
recording engineer, and game and TV/film soundtrack composer. Learn more at www.noisebuffet.com.

http://www.123guitartuner.com http://www.123guitartuner.com http://www.noisebuffet.com

Recording - December 2014

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