The Boss PS-5 is a pitchshifter with contains several functions such as Pitch Shift, Harmonise, Detune, Tremolo Arm and Flutter. A good image and description of the PS-5 can be found here: http://www.bossarea.com/loadpage.asp?file=boxes/ps5.xml

The Balance control (and its small concentric control) vary in function depending on the mode of the pedal, and also on how you have connected the pedal.

In Pitch Shift mode it is possible to play chords and single notes. Try the same when you are in Harmonist mode and the sounds may sometimes warble a bit. The Harmonist mode on this pedal may be the weakest function.

The Detuned mode can give you a sound which may remind you of a chorus sound. It is possible to vary the amount of detuning you apply. Check my demo for detune mode at the bottom of page of this article.

 

Furthermore there is a Flutter and T-Arm function on the pedal. The T-Arm function simulates a Whammy bar sound of the guitar: You can press the pedal to mimick Whammy bar sounds, it is possible to Whammy down or up depending on the sound you would like to achieve. It is possible to recreate natural vibrato arm sounds, but it is also possible to create more artificial sounding effects. Whole step down tuning (like Pedal Steel Sound) are also possible and sound very close to the real thing. You may have to look at your playing technique to get the right feel for the pedal to sound natural.
The Flutter mode simulates Tremolo arm of guitar going up-or down and then coming back to neutral position while vibrating. Boss VB-2 does have a similar kind of sound.
Check out short video at bottom of this article which demoes some of those sounds:

 

If you found this article and the videos useful why not subscribe to the channel? Please do not forget to like and share the videos as well. Thanks!!
Eddie

For this article a few pointers about how to approach your scalestudies.

         New To Playing Scales?

When you are completely new to playing scales you should first learn more about scales, this so you know what you are playing. Learn about the framework of the scale, learn the pattern (memorise it!)
At this stage you should just play the scalepattern, try to use the right fingering, you should be able to get a smooth sound after you played the scale for a little while. Try to get used to the sound, play the pattern without thinking too much and just listen to the notes, get the notes to sound full and similar, make sure no notes are jumping out when you change strings, they should all sound equal and full.

Once you feel familiar with the given scalepattern move on to another pattern of the same scale. Most likely this scale will be in a different position, again get use to playing the pattern, make it sound good, memorise it and play.

Making music and improvising is not about playing patterns, the patterns are there just as a guide, you use the suggested pattern to make your own phrases, melodies, riffs and licks. Once you will get used to the process you will start to love what these patterns can do for your playing.

         Been Playing Scales for a while?

Okay time to look what we have here. How good are you at playing the scale anywhere? Playing it from any give note, not just the Rootnote. Can you play the scale over one string?
When you are not sure what I mean here look at your scalespattern again as a tool of inspiration for technical excercises: Start playing the scale over one string and play patterns using three or four (or maybe just two) notes at a time. Try this approach for all your strings. Why? Because playing on your bassstrings feels very different compared to playing over the thinner, melody strings such as the G, B and E. Get good with all your strings and the whole fretboard, your playing will start to sound so much better, you will also become freer (your overal goal!) at playing anything at will.
If you have only played your scales in position the approach I mentioned above will make a change in your playing. Once you start with it you may feel you can no longer play what you used to play, perfectly normal, stick with it and carry on as soon you will be able to play what you used to do before and even more!

Good Luck and enjoy!
Eddie

For this small article a few pointers about what you can do to make your coversongs sound better.

Most beginners will start out with playing songs they know, they may look for some tabs or get the chords for the song they would like to play.
Once you play through the chords you may feel there is something missing: The introduction to the song contains some single notes, is this little melody in your given tab, or is it left out to simplify the song? The chords are all wrong, or they seem to work but they do not sound anything like the ones being played in the song. Look again for another set of chords. Maybe the chords you have found are simplified, they may be in a different key from the original song. The original song my contain barre-chords, at the moment this may be too much for you yet, so the chords you may have found may not be playable for you at the moment. Look for a simpler version of the song which still reminds you about the sound of the original song.

Whenever you want to play a song by someone else, first listen to the original song, make sure you know how to strum the chords. In case you want to sing the melody as well, check if you can sing along with the chords, is the melody not too high? Maybe you need to transpose the song to another key for you to make it possible to sing along with the chords. Trying to sing a melody which is too high for your voice is not going to work, you will strain your voice by trying to sing in this manner. See if you can bring down the key and sing the same song again but now with the newly, transposed set of chords. The song will probably sound a lot better in this new key.

Playing songs is all a matter of doing it. You will find that the songs you started out with will sound so much better after you have played them for a few months. Once you have a repertoire of about 20 songs you will find that some songs will sound more natural for you to play and sing. Look at what kind of style these songs are and carry on playing more songs of this kind. It will make you understand the style better and you will also develop more as a musician, singer and guitarplayer. Once you feel you understand the style you have been playing for while it may be time to move on to another style to broaden your horizon and to keep up your interests in the guitar.

Good luck,
Eddie

The Boss VB-2 is a vibrato pedal which came out in the early 80s. It was the first primitive Whammy bar pedal of its kind which can mimick the vibrato-arm of a Stratocaster.
Among the controls are a Rate, Depth and Rise Time control. The Rate knob controls the speed of the vibrato, the Depth control makes the effect more noticeable. The Rise-Time can be applied when the effect is in Unlatch mode (more about this later) It controls the time for the effect  to come on when the pedal is being pressed down. This control is very subtle. On the whole the VB-2 is a primitive pedal, but used in the right way, it can be a very effective and creative tool. The effect can be switched on to be used at all times (like any standard Boss pedal) or it can be applied when being stepped on: Use the Unlatch mode and keep pedal pressed down to apply vibrato effect, once you take your foot off the pedal, the vibrato effect will be gone. Using the the VB-2 in this manner is great for mimicking vibrato-arm effects on chords or phrases or bends. There is a bypass mode, in this mode the signal is being bypassed without the VB-2 still being in the signal path.
The pedal does use a Boss ACA powersupply, when the pedal is daisy chained with other effects you are able to use a Boss PSA powersupply.

Comparing the effect with a Tremolo unit, the VB-2 is more crude and fuller in sound.Most Tremolo effects (or amplifiers) use variation in volume to obtain the Tremolo effect. The VB-2 uses variation in pitch, hence the pedal being more crude and less subtle in sound compared to a Tremolo effect.

The Vibrato effect is obtained in the VB-2 by varying the pitch of the sound: The pitch of your original sound goes down first before it comes back up again therefore it is possible to mimick the sound of a guitar with a vibrato arm first being pressed down before it comes back up again. Sounds which mimick the vibrato arm just holding up-or down are not possible. The VB-2 will always return back to original pitch, and this may be one of its limitations.

Guitar Players who use the vibrato-arm of their guitar regulary will enjoy using the VB-2. The VB-2 does not have to substitute your vibrato- arm, you can use it happily along with your vibrato-arm to create some extra vibrato effects.
Do not have a guitar with a vibrato-arm? No worries, the VB-2 may do the job of giving you the idea that you are using a guitar which does have a vibrato-arm.
Want any dive-bombing? The VB-2 may be a bit limiting on this side, the Boss PS-5 or PS-6 may be a better choice for you.

Happy Pedal Hunting.
Eddie

For this article a short brief about songwriting, what it is, when you can start with it and the process of various forms of writing.

A question I get often asked as a teacher is: “How long should I have been playing the guitar for before I can make a start with writing my own songs?” The question is simple to answer: You can start when you are able to put a musical structure together, this can be either a chordstructure or a melodic structure. A song is a musical structure which makes a statement. It can can be long or short: Three chords could form a song, sometimes two chords or even one chord may create the same song.

Writing songs is more about creativity rather than being a very skilled musician. The more you do it the better you will get at it. No need to know a whole lot of rules or conventions, just work with what you know.
Most people will start off with what they can do at the moment, once they get really interested in writing they want to learn more about theory and some general songwriting rules. Listening to music does help a lot, as the listening forms part of your learning process. The better you are at playing your instrument, the better you will be as a songwriter, although this is not always the case.

        Different forms of Songwriting:

 ~Writing and Performing on Your Own

Guitarplayers who write and play on their own, the early Bob Dylan during the early 1960s fitted this bill.
Writing and playing on your own does have its advantages: You can play whatever you want, no need to explain to other musicians what goes on in your song, you can also make them as unconventional as you want: Play 8 bars for first verse, second verse does contain 10.5 bars. Not saying you should work like this, but you could as noone will really be bothered about this as long as the song sounds good.
Changes are, people who start out on their own will, at some point, hook up with other musicians, and  during the process they will have picked up some music theory and their writing and playing will have improved over time.
Some songwriters will never develop any desire to play with a band and prefer to do it all on their own.

To write and play on your own and to keep an audience interested you do need to be very good, logical, since you are the only person who needs to produce all the sounds and singing. How long will an audience stay interested in listening to just one person? Try it and see how it goes.

~ Writing for a Band

This is a different kind of songwriting, although you could approach it in a similar way as writing on your own: Write traditional songs with strong lyrics and melodies and fit a bandarrangement around this song instead of just your own guitarplaying.
Apart from traditional songwriting a band will offer the writing guitarist other opportunities: There are more musicians to hold the chordstructure together, and not all players need to play the same chords. No need to write strong melodies (athough it does help if you can) you could also use sounds and effects to get a musical statement accross. As a guitarplayer who also sings, you may not need to play guitar all the time, just  sing and play a few odd notes (or chords) here and there since the rest of the band does carry the song (hopefully)

The songwriter who decides to work with the bandformat may need to know how to lead the band. If there is no bandleader as such the band may all work together on the songwriting, within the band there may be some musicians who provide the lyrics, others may take up the role of singing while the rest of the band performs the given music.

As a songwriter you may want to work on your own: Get the songs together first, demo them for yourself on a simple recording device, then try to form a band who will help with the perfomance of the demoed songs.
There are songwriters who will decide on using a different band for each new writing project, all depending on how the writer would like to work.

        Get Some Inspiration First:

After you have read the above you may get into the mood for some songwriting. Why not check out first what some of your favourite artists have done? Did they start out with a band straight away or was it first strumming guitars on their own? Often it does get you into the mood to read about how other musicians have travelled the path you may want to walk on youself.

Happy writing.
Eddie

When people take up guitar lessons a lot of time is spend on basics, matters a lot people could takle in their own time. Once you got to grips with some of the basics your guitarlessons will be more valuable and also more enjoyable since you are able to make music.

Before you take up guitar lessons try to learn some of the basic open chords such as G, Em, D, C and Am.
Go through some simple songs which use some of these chords. No need to get those chords to sound perfect yet but see if you can make them sound like a chord, be able to move from one to the other without too much trouble.

To help you with playing single strings get yourself a basic tutorbook. Most of these books deal with similar topics such as using your fingers correctly, learning to play basic, open chords, learning to read notes on the fretboard in the open and first postion. Most of these books do come with a CD, take the time to listen to the CD and make a start with what the book has to offer. No need, at the moment, to play any of the material perfect. It is all about making a start. Once you make a start with your guitar lessons you will treat the book in a different way, for now the book is just part of your playing materials.

Any of the above does take some discipline, for some people this approach will work, others may need more guidance for the initial start and the guitarlessons form part of making that start dealing with matters such as fingering open chords, playing individual notes on high E string and other ideas to get your started to play the guitar. The most important matter is that any form of learning and time spend with the guitar should be a enjoyable experience, something you look forward to do in your daily routine.

See you soon again,
Eddie

Ever wondered what makes one guitar so different from the other one? Is it the feel of the neck, fretboard, or is it the sound from the pick-ups? The answer is probably all of these elements.
If you have several Stratocasters, play something and record it (or put it on a loop) and listen back and be surprised how different (or similar) they can sound. Do this with the naked ear and you probably think they all sound the same as the differences are in the details. Why do these variations sound so different. The answer goes back to what I mentioned before about fretboard, neck, pick-ups and bodyshape.

The Stratocaster is probably one of the easiest guitar to modify since most of the parts of the guitar will come apart. Want to try a neck with a different profile? Just swap the neck for the one you would like to try and see how it feels like.
Playing different guitars makes you aware of how different they can feel and sound. By changing the parts you can get close to the guitar you really like. In a way it is an experiment because the “perfect” guitar simply does not exhist.

It is possible to build your own guitar from parts as a D-I-Y project. Another way (and much easier) is to get a budget guitar and to upgrade slowly some of the parts you feel are lacking in quality. The pick-ups may be the most obvious choice when it comes to changing parts. What about the neck?
Before you do anything with your budget guitar make sure the guitar is set-up as well as it can be to match your playing style. All too often these guitars do not get the time they need to play right. Most of these guitars end up with beginners and most people may play these guitars a little while before they move on to something better (and more expansive) A sloppy set-up will set any guitar apart from one with a proper set-up.
Guitars can play how you want them to be, any guitar, budget or top-notch. The magic lies in how you preform the set-up and how well you are at comparing your budget guitar to something of much better quality.

Once your guitar is set-up as you like it to play listen carefully to what is lacking: Are the pick-ups honky, microphonic, lacking any detail? Swapping the pick-ups will make a huge difference in the sound of the guitar.
What about the body and the neck? Play the guitar without any amp, and listen out how well the guitar resonates. Play some open chords, do they ring out or do they get dull very soon?

Guitar sounds how I like it but……………the neck may be a bit akward to play. As mentioned before, necks come in different profiles. Check what it is you do not like and look into a neck with a different profile.

Once you have upgraded most parts you may still not like the sound and feel of the guitar, but by doing all this work you have gained some insight in what creates the sound and feel of the guitar. Move on to next project or get happy with what you have? It is all up to you!

Happy modifying.
Hope to catch you soon again.
Eddie

If you have been playing guitar for about three to four years and you still only use the open postion this article is for you: Why not try playing your open chords in a higher postion to get some variety in your playing? Single string melodies in open position? Move them all the way up to the twelfth position and start playing them there.

Once you start to play in higher positions you will notice that the position of your wrist will be different, you will need to adjust how you hold the guitar. Using a strap is a good habit, it will help you to adjust your wrist position even without too much thinking. Keep your strap low enough so you can still move the guitar around, having the strap too low will cause some difficulty getting up to those higher positions. Yes I know, Slash places his foot on his monitor speaker to bring the guitar up when he reaches out for those higher notes, you could also have your strap a bit higher so you can actually reach those notes without too much bother.

It is possible to play your open chords in higher positions as well. The CAGED system, using barrechords of well-known open chordshapes, works wonders for doing so.
If you have never played your guitar in higher positions it may feel a little strange, but it is only natural since you are not used to playing up there. Try to get used to using the whole fretboard instead on just a few positions, it will help your music, musicianship and your guitar playing in general.

Have Fun and hope to see you soon again,
Eddie

Any starter or untrained guitar player will use their fingers in an uneconomical way. Let me explain what I mean: Most people will use three, or maybe even two, fingers of their fretting hand. The Pink is often overlooked, since it is the weakest in dexterity of all our fingers. My very first article on this blog was just about fingering and what you can do to overcome typical fingering issues.

I cannot stress enough that it is a must to use all your fingers, regardless of the style you are into. It may be obvious that people who want to get into playing fast guitarsolos will need to use all their fingers to help them along the way, but also the singer-songwriters who may mainly play chords on an acoustic guitar: The right fingering will make your playing so much better and easier. Once you get into the habit it is a joy for the rest of your life.

                      Typical Fingering Issues:

~ Not using Pink at all, because pink may be weak. Overcome this by working on excercises which focus on getting more dexterity in your pink.

~ Position Shifts: Often people loose the smoothness of their playing when it comes to moving from one position up to the next one on the fretboard. You can overcome this by playing scales which cover two ocataves over one or two strings. Most of the position shifts will be done by first finger: First finger moves up to next position, fingers will be ready to carry on playing in new position.

~ Keep your fingers down on fretboard at ALL times. Watch videos of guitarplayers who can really play and look at their first finger of their fetting hand: It will never NEVER leave the fretboard. Similar to driving a car, you never take your hands off the steering wheel.

~ Stringbending: Bend with your Ringfinger of fretting hand using your Index-and Middle finger to support the bend. I often see beginners who try to bend using one finger, and often they will  use Index or Middle finger. Yes it can be done, but using Ring finger will be easier. Again watch experienced guitarplayers to see how they do it.

                   Correct Fingering?

Yes it does not exhist, nothing is correct, there are always exeptions in what fingers to use and how to use them. There is something like “Common habits which works for most guitarplayers” You should try to get into these habits since it will help you. Once your fingering is neat and tidy it will become second nature and will help you with your playing and your music will start to sound much better.

Enjoy,
Eddie 

For this article a short sum-up what is meant by “reading music”, what it can do for you and your guitarplaying and what it cannot do.

Some people have the idea that musicians and guitarplayers who can read music are high up the ranks of music making. My simple view is that reading is a communication tool which gets you musical ideas across. The ideal communication tool is to have someone around you who can show you what to play or how to go about things, since that is not really a pratical obtion people learn to read, and the reading is there to pick up new ideas or it is a way of telling what the orchestra is about to play.
Imagine the following situation: You enter a hall to play with about 15 other musicians, some are guitarplayers, some bassplayers, some are hornplayers who play Saxophone, Trumpet ect. There are even some people who play the piano. All those people are going to play a piece of music within the next 15 minutes.
The leader of the band hands out sheet music to each individual player. Each sheet is specific for each instrument.
Now that the leader has handed out the music, the orchestra is ready to play the next piece of music. All what is needed from the leader is to count off the tempo and the band is ready for take-off.

In the above example it is pretty obvious what the reading skills do for the orchestra: It speeds up the process of making music. If none of the above musicians would be able to read it would take the band leader a lot longer to get the music off the ground: The leader would need to explain what is needed from each instrument, how to play particular phrases ect. All of this is given in the music notation. Great, now the rehearsing can start.
Having the sheetmusic and being able to read does not mean the musicians can all do it on their own and will not make any mistakes. No, the bandleader will still need to guide the musicians in certain places where the sheetmusic fall short: Notatation can only do so much, and musical notation is an approximation of what the music sounds like. There is still a lot of scope for interpretation and individual expression and skill. Any good band leader will bring out the best in the musicians to get them to preform the music to the highest, possible standard.

Once you have read the above you may say: “I will never play in an orchestra of about 15 people”  “I will not really play any classical music”  “I will only play guitar for myself”
Once you have spoken out any of the above you may still feel: “Reading is not really for me as it does not apply to what I want to do”

Let us look at the next example: Let us say you picked up the guitar because you want to learn to play Rock. You bought your first guitar and amp. Both of them were accompanied with a book called: “Learn to Play 10 Classic Rock Riffs”. The book came along with a CD, tab. and traditional musical notation. You  first started listening to the CD, got impressed with some of those riffs, went to guitar and tried to copy what you heard………………………hmmm that actually takes some time: Need to listen, then find those notes on fretboard of the guitar and…………….Hang on there is a book. Once you start reading the book things become clearer, there is the tab which tells you where to put your fingers and there is the traditional notation which tells you about the rhythm.  After a few weeks you manage to play some of those riffs from the book quite well, you no longer need to look at the book to play those riffs. Well done!

From the above you can see that reading is not only traditional music notation. Tabalature and chordcharts all from a part of reading, they help you to understand and communicate what is going on musically.

                Advantages of Reading Music:

~ It gives the player a foundation of what music is about, how music works. It gives you an idea about rests, bars, staves, dots, repeatsigns ect. All things you do hear and cannot see until you put them into music notation.

~ It will speed up the process of making music together in ANY bandsituation.

~ Reading gives you the ability to play music you have never heard before.

~ Reading can be used as a memory aid, since it is on paper you can always go back to it and play it again at a later stage.

               Reading, What Reading?

When talking about reading I include traditional music notation, tabalature and chortcharts, since all of them will tell you what is going on in the music. All of these forms need some time getting used to. Chordcharts may be the easiest to get on with and traditional music notation may take the longest to learn. Once you can use any of them you will be using it for the rest of your playing life.

Most people will be introduced to tab and chordcharts when they are looking for instruction to play any of their favourite songs. Traditional music notation is usually included in any starter tutor book. The notes you are introduced to are taught gradually and will usually be picked up fairly easy by learners of any age.

If you have been playing guitar for a long time and have only been using chord charts you may be curious to learn about tab for solos or riffs or get into some basic music notation which introduces you to simple melodies being played on the E and B string of the guitar.

Once you have read all this remember one thing: Any musical notation is an approximation of the music. Musical notation in itself is a dead tool, you need to make it come alive with your instrument or voice.
Once you have learned a musical idea from sheetmusic it is a good habit to get into the feel of the music, forget about the notation, tab or chortchart, and just play to get into the music and to make it sound how you want the music to sound like. Beginners often forget this and keep looking at the music and do not really get into the feel of whatever they are playing. The endresult is the music, not the ability to read!

Have Fun and hope to see you soon again,
Eddie