• comprehensive guide to computer-based recording
• designed for guitarists
• topics include equipment, setup and recording techniques
• authored by M-Powered guitarist Chris Buono
• endorsed by M-Audio

The M-Audio Guide for the Recording Guitarist is a complete how-to resource for the guitarist who wants to take advantage of today’s creative hardware and software technology. Author and M-Powered guitarist Chris Buono provides a comprehensive gear overview—from microphones and monitors to software, controllers and recording interfaces that make it easy to connect your guitar to your computer. Featured topics include purchasing and setting up your equipment, making and optimizing connections, and recording final songs. It’s the only guide a guitarist needs to create high-quality recordings in the home studio.

There are a number of things that you need to know about a condenser microphone, so that you will also understand how it is able to give you the live sound that you want in your home. You have to know that this kind of microphone uses a capacitor. Although all microphones are known to work under the basic principle of having a diaphragm that receives music or audio and then converts this into an electrical signal, with the condenser mics, the diaphragm is placed in such a manner that it also acts as the capacitor. With this, the space between the plates inside the microphone is altered by the vibrations that are generated through the diaphragm. As a result, an electronic transducer is created, which is in turn is utilized in creating music. Encoded in these transducers is the audio of a certain recording that can then be extracted through different methods, one of which is through the condenser mics.

Another thing that you also need to know about a condenser microphone is that it needs battery or any other outside power source to work. This power source is usually provided according to the needs of the purchasers when it comes to professional microphones. If you want an output that you can really use, then you must make sure that you have a great source of power. You must also expect that the signal extracted from it is definitely stronger than the one acquired through the dynamic process. This results in the signal being more receptive and sensitive than the dynamics or what is inside the dynamic microphone. This is generally because there are two diaphragms being used in condenser mics, thus making them great at picking up even the indistinct and feeble sounds that will contribute to an exceptional live sound in your studio.

So if you are thinking of adding a microphone to the sound recording equipment that you have at home, then you must also consider getting a condenser microphone. This is if you want every nuance of the sounds that you are making with all your instruments to be picked up so that a great live sound can be created. Although this kind of microphone may not work for noisier musical endeavors, this will work perfectly for works that are of lower volume. There are many types of condenser mics available in the market and you can either buy them in bricks-and-mortar electronic stores or on the Internet. You must remember though that before you settle on buying a type of condenser microphone, you must first do some research and comparison shopping. This will ensure that you will get the best deal out of your purchase.

Most of the mics I’m discussing can also be found on Ebay at reduced prices.

If you plan to use your mic just for recording you’d be wise to look at “condenser” mics such as the Rode NTG-2 or the AKG C 2000 B. These are just two popular, but inexpensive mics made specifically for recording. This type of mic isn’t good for stage work because their sensitivity causes a lot of feedback and noise as you move around. Condenser mics usually cost more than most dynamic-cardioid mics, but you can purchase very good ones for less than $300. Again, check Ebay.

If you plan to buy a condenser mic for recording be aware that they require a separate power supply not always found on amplifiers and recorders. Be sure to get one if needed. A basic power supply shouldn’t cost more than $20-40 dollars. Your mixing board or recorder may have one built in. It would be labeled “phantom power.”

Some dynamic-cardioid mics are good for both recording and performance. Ask your dealer for a recommendation.

There are mics available which add more bright treble to your sound. These work well for singers with dull or “throaty” voices. And there are also mics which dull the treble and up the bass. These are good for singers with very bright, “tinny” sound, and not much richness or body. I suggest you google such search phrases as “microphones which boost treble” or Microphones which dampen treble and boost bass” etc.

Here’s a tip: If you have voice with a lot of bass in it, work a little farther from the mic. Singing very close to the mic head often adds unneeded boomy bass. Also, if you have a big, fat vibrato don’t stand too close the the mic head. Put some distance between you and the mic. If you don’t have much richness or bottom to your sound stand closer to the mic head.

There are hundreds of mics available which fit these two categories. Ask your store clerk to recommend one. Unless you are a serious professional you needn’t spend more than $300. on either type of mic. (Condenser mics can cost as much as $5000.) Prices for mics usually aren’t fixed, so check around (including the web) for the best prices.

Therefore quality audio recordings, free from background noise or disturbances can make the task of the transcriber easier and the costs of transcriptions affordable. The recording of the audio, whether it is done outdoor or indoor has to be of the highest quality, and for that to happen the recording equipment plays an important part in generating quality audio recordings.

There are multiple brands of microphones used for recording audio such as, Audio-Technical, Sampson, Shire, and Rode, however what matters most is the ability of the microphones to reproduce the voice accurately without distortions. The microphones with a unidirectional cardioid pattern should be the ideal choice for recording interviews.

The microphone with heart shaped cardioid pattern captures sound which is in the front of the microphone and rejects the sound that is behind it, thus limiting room reverberation to the barest minimum when audio is recorded. The microphones with a condenser require phantom power, in a laymen’s term they need an external power source and the flat frequency plus the cardioid pickup pattern these microphones are built with, capture voice without distortions.

The unidirectional condenser microphone is a preferred choice of many television reporters, voiceover artist or radio station disk jockeys. An investment into a quality microphone for recording interviews will provide quality audio recordings, making the task of the transcriber that much easier in providing a clean and accurate transcript.

Before the Rehearsal

You should learn to play yourself alone all the parts or songs you have planned for rehearsals, and along with metronome. Be self-critic, to avoid making mistakes that you won’t be able to fix on the spot later on. Prepare all your ideas and write them out or record them, and even send them to your band peers, so they could be prepared to what you’re about to work on. If you have some solo spots, make sure that you don’t look for notes or options of how to play them on rehearsal. That really should be done at home. Make a loop of chord progressions you have to solo on and hit it. The only exception to this should be a complexly constructed solo that involves all band, though, that can be worked on alone, too. If you have in plan to make new songs on rehearsal, get enough sleep and try to warm up before, if you have time. Don’t be late for rehearsals, especially if you pay for rehearse time, have respect for time of everyone else in the band, and they will respect yours. Also try to make sure you take care of all important phone calls and potential distractions before the rehearsals, as well as other basic stuff such as changing strings and similar things. And of course, don’t go to rehearsals drunk or under some other influence.

During the Rehearsal

The worst thing that could happen on a rehearsal is when someone comes in really bad mood. It reflects on everyone else, and the music itself. If everything irritates you, find real reasons for that, and calm down. Don’t snap on your band peers, because they might not be the source of your bad mood. Negative energy issue can be a real band-breaker.

Set up your sound. I suggest you to study the physical nature of sound of your instrument, and learn how to make a healthy sound for rehearsals. Don’t allow yourselves to play in the noise. And make sure you don’t play too loud. If you don’t hear yourself well, and you hear that you’re in balance with drums, lower other instruments, or fix your frequency conigurations. Sometimes more noise occurs at bad equilizer settings than on loud playing. Be informed about making a good sound setting or have someone set it up for you. Have this problem fixed in the beginning because it will drive you to deafness and uncreativity.

When you’re working on your new stuff, be open to everyone’s opinion, even if your’re about to play the song you wrote yourself. Have everyone put a part of themselves in the song and listen to everyone’s idea, because they just might provide a bit to the song that you might have missed or hadn’t thought of before yourself. When some band members have to work on the part they play together and that doesn’t involve you, don’t make noise with your instrument, you’ll distract them a lot, and it can get on a nerve easily. Rather think about other ideas you can provide for the song.

Always. ALWAYS stop whatever you’re doing if you get some really great idea, and write it out or record it immediately, because no matter how good it might be, there is an enormously big chance that you will forget it. Don’t allow yourself that. I lost few of ideas that way, and I totally regret it. It is also advisable to record your whole rehearsal in some way, especially if you’re making new songs on the spot. You might find lots of potential material on those recordings.

When you fully practiced out a song with your band, and it is technically ready, don’t stay on playing it while stand and not move at all, or even worse, not move and only look at your guitar. Jump, move, dance, give your peers a deadly eyelook, play with your guitar behind your back, play with your guitar on the floor, play with your teeth, with your tounge, whatever. Just don’t stay on playing it with your mind. You should get to the point where you actually don’t even think about what you play. When you get to playing live, there is a certain problem that comes out if you don’t listen to what I just wrote, even more often if you play energetic music. The problem is that when you play, you turn the crowd on, and when you turn the crowd on, they turn you on even more, and you wanna do all the things you should’ve done and practiced on rehearsals, but you won’t be able to do them, or you will do them, but make tons of mistakes. Turn of your lights and get a small light show for your rehearsals. Feel and go into it like you’re on stage, in front of thousands of people! You’ll find this very interesting and amusing, and it will spare you of all the bad things on the stage. Even make a small choreography of your live shows if necessary, and go into details. See what might happen on stage, and try to work it out on rehearsals, before unwanted consequences can occur.

I also advise you to squeeze all the best from the rehearsal time. Don’t go in senseless jams (unless you know for sure they’ll benefit your bandwork), don’t have a cigar every 5 minutes, don’t get stuck in some non-music related chats for too long, don’t have too long breaks (though, they are useful sometimes, when you go way over the top and it really doesn’t make sense to push yourself too much, because nothing creative will happen) and most importantly, don’t wander off with your thoughts. Be there 120%, or at least 100%, and you’ll notice the difference.

After the Rehearsal

If you have the time, go for a drink with your peers and talk about everything you’ve done on rehearsals. Review all your ideas, and talk about what you could do next. Give yourselves some directions for next rehearsals. Fix all the other problems you have in between yourselves right here, and not during rehearsals. And have a good time, establish a great personal relationships. If you enjoy being with your band outside the band, you will enjoy it even more when you’re in the band. And everyone who’ll hear or see the band will notice that, and it plays a big factor of success.

Click here to view the embedded video.

How To Tune Your Guitar By Ear
by: Mike Hayes1. The very first thing you need to know is that learning to tune your guitar takes time.

Some things on guitar can be learned in minutes, some in days, and others in weeks, but tuning will sometimes take even longer, because you have to train your ears. If results come slowly or don’t seem to be making any progress, don’t be discouraged, just keep working at it.
2. It will help you to know that the ear is a very skilled instrument for taking in sound. Your ear hears four things in each sound: Pitch, Duration, Volume and Tone Quality. Pitch is how high or low the sound is. Duration is how long it lasts. Volume is how loud it is. Tone quality is the “character” of the sound. If we were to play the same pitch, at the same volume, for the same length of time on piano, clarinet, flute, violin, guitar, doorbell, or car horn, your ear could tell one instrument (or car horn) from another because of the tone quality. That’s because each instrument has a different “character” or “personality” of sound. You can prove you have this ability to tell one sound from another by listening to sounds without looking where they come from. The point I want to emphasize is that you already hear very well. Learning to tune your guitar is learning a new way of using your hearing.

3.The next thing to know is that when you are tuning your guitar you want to listen only to the pitch of the strings. The quality of the pitch will differ between two strings, and this may at first confuse your ear. You’ll mistake the difference in quality as a difference in pitch. For example when playing the first string open and the second string at the fifth fret, you may notice that the first string may sound ‘crisper’, while the second string will sound a little “darker” in quality. The darker quality of the string at first can be misunderstood to sound lower in pitch. (You may use different words to explain how the strings sound to you, but the idea is that the tone quality of each string will sound different). If you understand that the ear hears a combination of pitch, volume, duration and quality all at the same time, it will help you to filter out the quality from the pitch and overcome the basic problem of tuning.

4. The steps involved in tuning your guitar: The first step is to tune one string to a note from another source. You could use another guitar (one that has already been tuned), a piano, or somebody that know how to tune could guide you along.

A better source is a tuning fork. (It’s better because you don’t need anybody else around or any other instrument. If, for example you learn to tune to a piano, you’re going to have a problem if ever you need to tune and there’s no piano handy).

A tuning fork is a U shaped piece of metal with a stem on it. The fork is designed to vibrate at a particular pitch. You can get one that gives you the pitch of the first string on the guitar. (Look for one that has the letter E and the number 329.6 stamped on the stem).

To use the tuning fork you hold it by the stem, tap the U shaped fork against something solid, and place the stem (not the tip of the fork) on either the body, or the bridge of your guitar. (For electric guitars can place it on the pickup). You should hear the note which the vibrating fork produced. The note is the correct “source”.

You now adjust the first string to match the pitch of the tuning fork. You do this by finding the correct tuning gear for this string and then turning the gear slowly in one direction or the other. After about half a turn you should hear the string change pitch either up or down. This will tell you which way you have to turn the gear to tighten the string (to raise the pitch) and which way to loosen the string (to lower the pitch).

Now compare the sound of the string with the sound of the tuning fork. If the string is lower than the tuning fork, tighten the string to raise the pitch. If the string is higher than the tuning fork, loosen the string to lower the pitch.

Go slowly. Do not turn the gear rapidly. Turn about a quarter of a turn and then compare the string to the tuning fork again. (You’ll have to strike them both again). You’ll probably have to repeat this process several times. When the string sounds close to the fork make smaller turns.

When you think the first string is in tune, use the following steps (one to five) to tune the rest of the strings. (Remember, you can only tune as well as your ears hear now. With practice, you can become a better tuner). The following steps repeat the process of matching one pitch with another. The difference is that instead of using a tuning fork you will listen to the string you have just tuned, and try to match the next string to this one.

1. Place the finger behind the fifth fret of the 6th string. This will give you the tone of the 5th sting. (A)

2. Place the finger behind the 5th fret of the 5th string to get the pitch of the 4th string. (D)

3. Place the finger behind the 5th fret of the 4th string to get the pitch of the 3rd string. (G)

4. Place the finger behind the FOURTH FRET of the 3rd string to get the pitch of the 2nd string. (B)

5. Place the finger behind the 5th fret of the 2nd string to get the pitch of the 1st string. (E)

About The Author

Mike Hayes is a guitar teacher, author, performing musician and session guitarist with over 30 years of professional experience. Mike’s methods are legendary and have earned the praise of top authorities in guitar instruction. He reveals his guitar secrets athttp://www.GuitarCoaching.com

Here it goes:

What is a chord inversion?
Unless you know chord inversions, which for this lesson I am assuming you don’t, the chords you are used to playing are all in “root position”. This means that the tonic of the chord is the lowest not (the bass note) of the chord. So, for example, in an Cmaj7 chord the bass note of the chord is C. But whenever a note other than the root (tonic) is the bass note, then the chord is an inversion. Make sense?

As you know, most chords are played with three or four notes on guitar. That means that besides the tonic, there are at least two to three other notes that can bee in the bass position. (For example a C major chord is C, E, G. Besides C there are two other notes that can be first. Cmaj7 is C, E, G, B. Besides C there are 3 other notes).

How to make chord inversions
There are three common chord inversions and they’re called first inversion,second inversion and third inversion. In first inversion the 3rd of the chord is the bass note. (It’s called first inversion because the 3rd of the chord is the first note after the tonic). In second inversion the 5th of the chord is in the bass. (Called second inversion because the 5th is the second chord tone after the tonic). And third inversion has the 7th as the bass. (Called third inversion because….well, you get the idea). Not so bad too far, is it?

The drop-two voicing
Before we look at how the three chord inversions are, this would be a good time to make sure you know what “drop-two” chord voicings are because we are going to use them to build or chord inversions to make them easy to play on guitar. So take a moment to learn more on drop-two chord voicing and them come back to this post and continue where you left of. If you already know what a drop 2 chord voicing is then just keep reading.

Playing chord inversions on guitar
Ok, back to the three Cmaj7 chord inversions. Ok. So the notes of Cmaj7 chord are C, E, G, B. So here is the standard Cmaj7 chord in root position with a drop-two voicing applied:

Now let’s see the first inversion. So let’s take the root note and send it to the back of the line. So the chord spelling for first inversion would now be: E, G, B, C. But that note grouping will be hard to play on guitar, so let’s also give it the drop-two voicing. So the new note order would be E, B, C, G.

Here is a graphical explanation of what we just did:

And that is how you play the first inversion on Cmaj7 on guitar: (This one is a bit of a stretch to play. But once your hands are used to it, it won’t be so hard)

To make the second inversion we will do the same process as the first inversion, only instead of starting with the Cmaj7 note grouping from root position, we will start with the first inversion note grouping BEFORE we added the drop to. So this is how we create the second inversion:

And here is how you play Cmaj7 second inversion on guitar:

For the third inversion we follow the same process, only we start with the note grouping of the second inversion BEFORE we dropped the two:

And here is how you play Cmaj7 third inversion on guitar:

There. That wasn’t too hard, was it? Now you can play and chord inversions you want. Just follow the process:
1. Write out all the notes of the chord in root position
2. Send the first note to the back of the line
3. Then drop the second note to the back of the line
4. Find the notes on the fretboard
5. Repeat the steps, only for step one start with the notes from your first inversion before you dropped the two.

Try figuring out other chord types like min7, dominant (7), 9th chords, and so on. Also, keep in mind for three note chords you will only have two inversions.

Play through the different inversions on your guitar and listen to how the different inversions have different sound qualities even though they are the came notes. This is why inversions are such a powerful tool to freshen up your guitar playing: you can create different moods by substituting inversions for root position chords in your playing.

I hope that was of some help. In later lessons I will talk about other ways to use inversions. Please post your questions to the comments section below.

Balancing Fun and Progression With Drum Lessons

Let me say this right up front – the drums, and any other musical instrument, should be “fun” above all else. If you are not having fun while playing an instrument, then being a musician probably isn’t for you. Sure there will be challenging times where you really need to focus on developing a few difficult techniques, but at the end of the day – it needs to be fulfilling to you. If you aren’t having fun, it’s only a matter of time before practices become a chore, and gigs become a hassle.

However, with that said – it’s also important that you look inwards to see the value of hard work and practice. In other words, the more you practice – the more fun you can have with the new and creative beats and fills you come up with. So, there should be a challenge, but in the end you should feel the payoff. You don’t want to be constantly working and never reaping the rewards, but you also don’t want to become bored due to the limited material you are able to play.

In the end I think all true musicians feel much better having put in a good practice as opposed to jamming around on older material. It’s that constant challenge that makes playing an instrument so much fun.

Essential Elements of Rock Drumming

As I see it, there are three key things to focus on when it comes to rock drumming lessons:

• Control - with the timing of a song, and with the dynamics of your drumming.
• Independence – using the various limbs you use to play the entire drum set.
• Groove - playing the drums musically with or without a band.

These three elements really build on each other, and are a foundation to any drummers ability to play with or without a band. Therefore, I feel any drum lesson or private practice should focus on developing these essential areas of drumming. In the end, they will make you a better drummer, and allow you to play in more situations with confidence.

A Simple Rock Drum Lesson Structure

Now, if you are anything like me and the thousands of other ADD drummers in the world, you probably have a tough time focusing for an extended period of time. The solution to this is to break up your practices into different blocks. This way your drum lessons never get repetitive.

For example, I like to practice in one hour sessions 4-5 days a week. So, I make a list of all the topics and techniques I want to cover, and split them into 20 minute blocks. Then I mix and match three of those blocks to make up my one-hour practice for each day – always moving on to the next three items each time I sit down at my kit. Every few days I will restart at the top, but as long as my list isn’t divisible by three… the repetition is never exact.

It’s also important to remember the “don’t practice while you play, and don’t play while you practice” rule. Essentially what that means is… don’t try to practice a drum-related technique during a band rehearsal or performance. Take your own personal time to do that. On the flip side, don’t jam with beats you have already mastered while you should be practicing. Leave that time for technique improvement, and mastery of new beats and fills. Keep these two aspects of drumming separate, and you will continue to develop as a musician while having fun along the way!

The first essential skill a drummer must know before anything else is how to hold a drumstick. This is something that most drummers do not take the time to actually learn; they will just grip the sticks any way they feel comfortable. This is not the right thing to do at all! There are specific ways to hold the drum sticks for a reason, so make sure you go over all the different variations. Whether you play traditional grip, matched grip, or French grip, there is a distinct way to hold the sticks in order to get the maximum bounce and response from your stick. If you learn this right early in your drumming life, you will be that much better off, as your practice sessions will become more effective.

One essential skill most drummers do not know is how to tune a drum set. You would be surprised how many students I get asking me how to tune a drum kit. The method isn’t really that hard, yet so many drummers never take the time to learn it. If you can tune your drum set correctly, your whole drumming experience will sound that much better. You will also get a further understanding for the instrument you are trying to master. Knowing your instrument is the first step in learning it.

Believe it or not, another essential skill drummers must learn is how to read sheet music. So many drummers do not take the time to even consider learning this. Understanding a little bit of drumming theory is the best thing any drummer can do for themselves; after all, drums are still music. Knowing how to read drum notation will get you a ton more gigs and jobs as a drummer. Musicians will appreciate you more too. But aside from all of this, you will be able to learn more quickly. When you are starting out on the drums, this is key, fast development. When you can read sheet music you can take advantage of all the free drum lessons and beats online. You will be able to learn more diverse beats. So before you decide to just improvise and ignore drum notation.

These 4 skills are a must for any drummer, beginner or not. If you learn these concepts correctly before you start practicing, your practice sessions will be much more effective. If you are a drummer who has been playing for years now, go back and see if you can cross each one of these off. If you can’t, then you better get practicing. I guarantee you will see an improvement in your drumming if you follow these steps