Singing for the Seasons

I have been singing and playing guitar since I was 15 years young. At one time I aspired to really make it in the music scene like my mentor, Joni Mitchell. Well, I have/had about 1/100th of her talent, maybe less, but I do have a lot of her spirit. I think that's what really counts in music, or anything else. One doesn't have to have a lot of Talent, per se, but a huge Will and Desire to succeed in one's chosen niche.

I am one of those "Jack of all trades, master of none" types, having dabbled in painting, music, writing, dancing, and other crafty artsy kinda things for most of my life. Now I make my living as a graphic artist, mainly, while building an online store where unique gifts are sold. It is still in progress so it won't be mentioned here, but soon!

That brings us back to the singing, sort of. Around this time of year I start practicing my tried-and-true Christmas songs, including my favorites Silent Night, Holy Night, Drummer Boy, The Twelve Nights of Christmas, and others. Most every year I have at least one engagement where friends have asked that I sing at least the standards, if not some of my own compositions. There is something so Heavenly about Holy Night it gives me chills. Wikipedia tells us: "O Holy Night" ("Cantique de Noël") is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), a wine merchant and poet. Cappeau was asked to write a Christmas poem by a parish priest. It has become a standard modern carol for solo performance with an operatic finish." Indeed, it brings me to tears almost every time I sing it.

I love to write original songs about the solstice and other metaphysical events. The Solstice has been revered since time began and Man first understood the movement of the stars and the planets. This has been since the early Maya, and Egyptians, and Sumerians, and Essenes. Ancient civilizations recorded the movement of the Sun, Stars, Planets since recorded history.

This writer has had the great privilege of visiting Chaco Canyon in north-central New Mexico. It is home to the ancient Anaszasi Indians and the Sun Dagger Butte that records the exact time of the Winter Solstice through elaborate rock formations. It is quite fascinating. Go see it HERE.

Yes, 'tis the Season for Singing, and I will remember all that I have ever done, felt, seen, experienced and contemplated through the years as I sing my songs of joy, wonder, remembrance and celebration.

About Bass Guitar

A bass guitar is a stringed tool designed for playing the lower notes in a slice of music. In a ring or ensemble, the bass guitar mostly plays an accompaniment to the lead guitar. A bass guitar can be acoustical, semi-acoustic, or electrical and though related to a guitar, the bass guitar has a few leading differences.

Instead of the basic six strings of a guitar, the bass guitar mostly has four strings, though there are models with five or much strings. The four strings of a bass guitar are tuned to E-A-D-G from lowest to highest and are typically tuned with E at 41. 3 Hz. Though some bass guitars have no frets, most are fretted with 24 frets to attain a scope of at least two octaves per chain.

Guitar Playing Tips

A. Study the different forms of chords

Guitar chords present themselves in various forms. You should be familiar with the different forms so as to bring flexibility in to playing. One of the popular form of chords which is widely used in rock music is the "power chords" they are simply and heavy-sounding.

Teaching Is Learning

Can you really fully explain anything that you think you do well?

How much are you subconsciously doing and not realizing?

Do you actually know why you are doing a process or is it something that you have just always done?

Guitars back to play lead...

KEYBOARD killed the six string stars. Around five years back, recording got a little different at music studios in India. Many professional guitarists took backstage as the new age music directors like AR Rehman started sequencing songs on keyboard (or a synthesiser) that folded up as varied instruments. By then, the guitarist was relegated to the backstage, the music slowly dying on him. Even live orchestras where the singers performed, dancers with their ‘lively’ performances replaced musicians.

DJs with their stack of burned CDs also caused quite a rage. It was the beginning of an end for a professional guitarist. But, then these species haven’t given up yet. They are rising like the phoenix from the ashes. Guitarists are now finding opportunities to play live music at bistros, pubs and restaurants that is catching on among the yuppies. And if some industry sources are to be believed, music directors also are also calling them back to play original music pieces to get more ‘feel’ into the music.