Music and math

I haven’t had time to read the whole article yet but it looks interesting.

Secrets of a “guitar hero”

Eddie van Halen: How did you start playing guitar? What were the first songs you learned to play? Etc, etc… Sorry I’m not a big Van Halen fan but the Rolling Sone intrview is still interesting.

The Ventures friendly lead guitar war

When you’re talking about an instrumental group, like The Ventures, the term lead guitar has real significance. The late Ventures drummer, Mel Taylor, described it this way (paraphrasing): The Venture sound is rhythm–bass, rhythm guitar and drums– overlayed with a lead guitar melody, usually all the way through (at least one exception to this is the drum work in, for example, Caravan, which performs its own lead element). Which brings me to the main lead guitarists of the Ventures: Nokie Edwards and Gerry McGee. Listen to their different styles in the above-mentioned Caravan. I have to admit I prefer McGee’s version. Though the versions are about ten years apart (MecGee from the 90′s; Nokie from the 80′s; both in Japan by the way ) these two guitarists still use the same respective interpretations. I don’t know, I just find McGee’s version sharper, tangier; Nokie’s heads toward the country-western.

A different perspective of a Master Class

This shows Aaron Shearer attending as an auditor a master class conducted by Manuel Barrueco.

High drama of a Master Class

It is high drama, and nerve wracking. I attended a master class a few years ago  (though not as a player). I don’t have a video of it but I got these two old ones off of Youtube, from I think 1965 and 1986 respectively. They both were taught by Andres Segovia.

Thumb picks

If you’re a guitarist who uses a thumb pick in conjunction with your fingers (Chet Atkins, Gerry McGee of The Ventures) here’s a lot of types to choose from.

Remembering classic guitarist Arron Shearer

A short rememberance on the significance of classic guitarist and teacher Aaron Shearer by the Guitar Foundation of America. His two volumes of Classic Guitar Technique are probably the finest classic guitar method books out there. There is also Aaron Shearer’s two volume set, Learning the Classic Guitar (Mel Bay Publications).

Plight of the guitarist

Sad. How many guitarists end up this way?

The Ventures

It’s amazing the amount of publicity you get when you’ve been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Ventures have been performing for about fifty years now, and they’ve never been as famous as now.

On the Fox News Channel (Fox & Friends)

Post Inducted*

Some sites of interest:

Nokie Edwards (long time lead guitar for the group)

The Ventures

Gerry McGee (long time lead guitar for the group, alternating with Nokie)

*One of the two original founders, Bob Bogle, was evidently too sick to attend; Gerry McGee was also unable to attend (yeah, these guys are pretty old now; Bogle still records with them but doesn’t do any touring; McGee still records and tours).