Justin Bieber Feat. Ludacris – Baby

Standard Tuning:
Capo On 1st Fret

D Bm G A

[Justin Bieber]
Oh woooah, oh woooooah, oh wooooah, oh.
You know you love me, I know you care,
you shout whenever and I’ll be there.
You are my love, you are my heart
and we will never ever ever be apart.
Are we an item? girl quit playing,
we’re just friends, what are you saying.
Said there’s another, look right in my eyes,
my first love broke my heart for the first time.
And I was like…

[Chorus]
Baby, baby, baby oooooh,
like baby, baby, baby noooooooo,
like baby, baby, baby, ooooh.
Thought you’d always be mine, mine (repeat)

[Justin Beiber]
Oh, for you I would have done whatever,
and I just can’t believe we aint together
and I wanna play it cool the thought of losing you
I buy you anything, I buy you any ring,
and now please say baby fix me and you shake me til’ you wake me from this bad dream.
I’m going down down down down
and I just can’t believe my first love won’t be around.
And I’m like…

[Chorus]

[Ludacris]
Luda, When I was 13 I had my first love,
there was nobody that compared to my baby
and nobody came between us, no-one could ever come above
She had me going crazy, oh I was star-struck,
she woke me up daily, don’t need no Starbucks.
lyrics courtesy of killerhiphop.com
She made my heart pound, I skip a beat when I see her in the street and
at school on the playground but I really wanna see her on the weekend.
She knows she got me dazing coz she was so amazing
and now my heart is breaking but I just keep on saying….

[Chorus]

Now I’m gone,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
now I’m all gone.
Gone, gone, gone, gone, I’m gone.
[End]

Use the 6th in blues

Use the Major 6th when improvising blues

Here is a quick tip for those who are stuck in the pentatonic or blues scale, when playing blues leads. Try using the Major 6th (often guitarists will call it just the 6th, even though there is also a minor 6th, which is not used nearly as much in blues).

Let’s say you are playing in the key of A. If you play the A minor pentatonic backwards, the next note you arrive at is G. That’s a good one when playing blues, because it’s the minor 7th note, if we’re talking intervals. It’s a very strong note to end licks on.

Now, to find the 6th, just play the next available lower note – F#. This is the major 6th from the A major scale. It works great, because that note can be used in most minor and major scales, so it won’t sound very out there. In fact, if you listen to blues players like BB King and Clapton, you hear they do it frequently.

It’s probably not as strong as the minor 7th for ending licks on, but it works great as a lead-in note, or as a part of a good phrase. I use it all the time.

BB King example

Listen to the three notes at 0:13-0:14 into the video. That 2nd note is the 6th.

Clapton example

Listen to the notes at 2:34 into the video. Can you identify the 6th?

The 6th gives a slightly different sound to playing blues. I think it sounds happier, so to speak, or at least less static than the usual minor blues pentatonic. Use it to your advantage!

You can of course use the 6th in any kind of music; it’s not just for blues. Try it when playing rock or funk or whatever style you play – it really works for almost anything.

Interval Reference

Wikipedia – http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_(music)

In case you are interested in lessons from me on this subject, I do offer web cam easy guitar lessons.

Tube Mic Preamp

Tube Mic Preamp

The world of mic preamps is a large and confusing place for newbies. Questions inevitably come up. Should you get a tube preamp or solid state? Should get one with eq options on, compressor, class A, mono or dual preamp? Digital outs, phantom power, variable impedance? It can be confusing, to say the least.

I bought an ART Tube MP Studio Mic Preamp a while back, initially intended for voice overs on videos. I also tried it for my SM57 when miking my guitar amp.

This preamp is CHEAP, about as cheap as it can get. I knew it was not going to be stellar, but for 30 bucks, hey I’d like to try it, especially since I saw so many glowing reviews for it.

Well, I can’t say it’s a terrific preamp, and it should come as no surprise. Ever heard of the expression – you get what you pay for? Well, when it comes to this kind of technology, it is largely true.

On the good side, it does the job, and it made my microphone sound fine. Not stellar, but definitely not a bad sound. Lots of gain on tap in this unit, and the voice overs I made sounded quite alright.

The ART has decent features too:

• Provides Superior Preamplification for: Microphones, Instruments and Line Level Sources
• Analog VU Meter
• OPL Output Protection Limiter
• Hand-Selected 12AX7A Vacuum Tube
• Variable Input and Output Gain Controls

On the bad side? Noise. Bad noise. I don’t know why, but in one location, using a condenser microphone, the noise was acceptable for a video voice over. I later used the ART preamp for miking my amp in my studio, and boy – the noise was unreal. I could not dial it out. I tried many different ways, but in the end, a low humming noise destroyed any chance I had of making a good recording.

The tube in this preamp is more of a gimmick than anything else. It doesn’t do a whole lot to improve the tone.

In summary, if you want the cheapest microphone preamp you can get, just to boost your signal, this one might work for you. If you want low noise, excellent sound, look elsewhere.

If you are interested in a high quality, great sounding mic preamp that doesn’t cost a fortune, have a look at the

Golden Age Project Pre-73 Preamp.

This preamp is one of the better ones you can get at this price point, and it doesn’t have any of the noise issues that the ART tube MP preamp has. I will write more about the Golden Age Pre-73 later, as it is one killer unit if you are interested in getting great sounding recordings.

New John Hiatt Album – Open Road

New John Hiatt Album – Open Road

John Hiatt just released a new album yesterday. I bought it on iTunes the very same day, and I’ve been listening to it today.

I have been a fan of John Hiatt for a long time now. He is a tremendous song writer, and it’s always fun to check out a new album by him.

It is probably too early to give a good review after listening through to the album just once, but my first thoughts are the album could have had stronger tunes. The opening track Open Road is awesome, I really like it. After that, there’s quite a few non-memorable tunes. In fact, I felt the same way after his previous album Same Old Man, which also seemed a bit weaker than most of his work during the last 2 decades.

The production sounds sloppy too. I mean, I like dirty, down to earth, rough recordings, but there are some tracks on this album which sound almost too unpolished, if you know what I mean. A bit more strong vocal harmonies would have helped too, to make the tunes more catchy and melodic.

Lyrics are great though. Hiatt has an amazing ability to write interesting lyrics about every day life. Hiatt has his own style, and I find him quite unique as a songwriter and singer. If you haven’t heard him ever, you need to go check out the albums Perfectly Good Guitar, Bring The Family and Slow Turning. That’s Hiatt at his best, in my opinion.

However, I will give the new album Open Road more chances. You know how sometimes an album gets stronger the more you listen to it? Always give yourself enough time to really listen to new material.

You can have a listen on John’s Myspace page, and see what you think. I’d love to hear how you like the album.

Youtube comment of the month – February 2010

Youtube comment of the month – February 2010

Ok, I admit I don’t look like George Clooney or Cary Grant… so here are two funny comments, which share the award for February.

I am always entertained reading the youtube comments – and I do get a lot of positive feedback. Occasionally a few crappy comments pop up, but that’s no problem.

Hey, I can take it! My skin is pretty thick.

Its only the glasses that give the creepy vibe.

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIJxv3WJocU

ur a funny lookin’ fella

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQuVRnNfoeU

Shiloh – I Remember

Standard Tuning:

Intro:
Em C G D (2x)

Verse:
Em C G D (4x)

Pre:
C D (2x)

Chorus:
Em C G D (2x)

Waking up from the shock, still dying from the night before
So mad I can’t speak, but I keep coming back for more
Did you see me there (looking back at you), did you even care?

All the things you said to me, every lie that I believed
I can’t erase the memory, I remember
Cut so deep I can’t forget, loving you is my regret
I thought that I was over it, but I remember (I remember)

I wanna shut it all out, I wish that this was all a dream (a distant memory)
I try so hard to forget but it keeps coming back to me (it’s coming back to me)
I should leave I know (but I keep looking back) but I can’t let go

All the things you said to me, every lie that I believed
I can’t erase the memory, I remember
Cut so deep I can’t forget, loving you is my regret
I thought that I was over it, but I remember (I remember)

I should’ve known you’d take it all away, shoulda known you’d break my heart again
I should just forget it all but I remember

All the things you said to me, every lie that I believed
I can’t erase the memory, I remember
Cut so deep I can’t forget, loving you is my regret
I thought that I was over it, but I remember (I remember)

Website Award from Jemsite

I won an award from Jemsite

Website Awards are something I don’t win a whole lot of. The fact is, my website could use a face lift. I’ve been so busy with other things, and the task of making this place look a bit tidier has ended up on the back burner. So, winning an award is definitely flattering.

The website Jemsite is a cool guitar place too. They have lots of members and plenty of interesting topics to read. I imagine the website must have started out being focused on Ibanez guitars, but there’s a lot more than just Ibanez on there now.

The Award

Jemsite contacted me and said:

… quite a few Jemsite members write to me to tell me about how much they enjoy your site and think its a great guitar resource. Thus, that has made to decide to award your site our new "Recommended Reading" medal (see below) and list you on our site’s Recommended Reading page.

I’m honored! Here is the award graphic. I would like one made out of gold sent to me though! Haha!

Jemsite
proudly awards
this site asRecommended Reading
Please vote for itin the community!

Vote for us!

Marianas Trench – Beside You

Standard TUning:

e|————————————————|
B|————————————————|
G|—–9———–8———–9———–9——|
D|—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9|
A|-7——-7—6——-6—0——-0—0——-0–|
E|————————————————|

When your tears are spent on your last pretense
And your tired eyes refuse to close and sleep in your defense
When it’s in your spine like you’ve walked for miles
And the only thing you want is just to be still for a while

Chorus:
E B
If your heart wears thin I will hold you up
C#m A
And I will hide you when it gets too much
E B
I’ll be right beside you
C#m A
I’ll be right beside you

When you’re overwhelmed and you’ve lost your breath
Whenthe space between the things you know is blurry nonetheless
When you try to speak but you make no sound
And the words you want are out of reach but they’ve never been so loud

E B
If your heart wears thin I will hold you up
C#m A
And I will hide you when it gets too much
E B
I’ll be right beside you
C#m A
I’ll be right beside you

E B
I will stay
C#m A
Nobody will break you

C#m-Eb-E-B-A
Trust in me, trust in me
Don’t pull away
C#m-Eb-E-B-A
Trust in me, trust in me
B
I’m just trying to keep this together
Cause I could do worse and you could do better

Tears are spent on your last pretense
And your tired eyes refuse to close and sleep in your defense

E B
If your heart wears thin I will hold you up
C#m A
And I will hide you when it gets too much
E B
I’ll be right beside you
C#m A
Nobody will break you

Lady Gaga Medley by GuitarTutee

Warning GT Fans : Do not be disappointed with this video. Not everything goes right in a gig, and too bad for us, our guitar mic did not function well during this gig at Batangas City. We went home terribly disappointed, vowing to shoot this Lady Gaga Medley(arrangement courtesy of Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo) using our own microphones. For the meantime, enjoy what you can.

First gig with JR on percussions!

Hockey Fight Song

Hockey Fight Song

A while ago, my friend Stefan in Sweden asked me if I was interested in adding a guitar solo to a "hockey fight song" he had written. This song was meant to be used by a hockey team in Sweden, and the thought of my guitar solo being heard by hockey fans and players everytime the team had a game must have appealed to my ego… so I did it.

I think it’s a great hockey tune. Lots of whoooo’s and distorted guitars. For the guitar solo, I used my Suhr Classic through a Line 6 Toneport. I think I used the SLO amp model, and I added some delay in Garageband. There’s a lot of distortion on this guitar tone, more than I usually use. I also tried to play a bit differently than I usually do, in order to get the solo to fit the tune. I am not sure how well it worked.

Here is the tune, for you listening pleasure (or not). BHC hockey song – it is hosted on Box.net.

Another thing, which I will write more about at a different time, it is absolutely possible to get good guitar tone from software modelers. The Line 6 Toneport and Pod Farm combination is really good, and I highly recommend using this for practice and recording. It is also very affordable, and gives you most of what you’ll ever need for home recording projects.