The 10 Best Things about being a Guitarist

What are the 10 best things about being a guitarist – we’d love to hear your judgment!

 

10. CAPOS.............. Not cheating.  Honest.

Not cheating, honest.

Only know 3 chords? Buy a capo and you now know loads! The likes of Paul Simon, The Beatles, Oasis and James Taylor would’ve been lost without them.

9. Effects Pedals ................You can never have enough.

Whatever size, colour, function or shape, every guitarist should start amassing a ridiculous arsenal of effects pedals.  Like a kennel of kindly canines, they yap for your attentions, making it hard to choose which one deserves a precious 9V battery, which one to Velcro to the floor and stomp on.

Remember, a pedal is for a life, not just for Christmas.

8. The Bedroom Mirror............ Does my bum look big in this?

We wear our guitars every bit as much as we play them, so it’s important to consider how they look! Clearly little people should steer clear of 335’s, and the same might apply to a bigg’un and a Musicman Silhouette. Then there’s the whole world of colour to consider… all of which is impossible without a trustworthy length of reflective glass in order to pose in front of.



Oh yeah, and you can mime to AC/DC – Back in Black.

7. Guitar Cases............... Protection for your menace racquet.

Old, new, battered, borrowed, but rarely blue, your guitar case or gig bag is your guitar’s own personal bodyguard. A hard case must display the obligatory Musician’s Union ‘Keep Music Live’ sticker, plus at least one Gibson or Fender decal, depending on which way you swing. Customisation after that is essential. Airline stickers are only allowed if there’s a suitable Rock n’ Roll story attached.



6. Boiling your Strings............ Nobody does it, we promise.



Some old-school musos will sometimes try and wind you up by telling you that boiling your old strings is a great way to avoid shelling out for a new set. To be fair, old jazz bassists – apparently – used to practise this vile habit when it was relatively hard to obtain a new set, and they were expensive. But these days when you can buy a new set for as little as £4.99 and risking the wrath of the Boss by boiling your strings in her finest Le Crueset hardly seems worth the effort.



Neither nutritious meal, nor smart sonic strategy.

5. Your first decent guitar........ You begged for it.

You’ve been staring at it for two months; thumbed pages of a catalogue lay strewn around, in the hope that somebody, anybody, might just notice and feel unusually benevolent. If you’re of a certain age, that dream may come true. Those of a certain other age, however, will probably have to beg, borrow, scrimp, beg and borrow and save to get the necessary readies for the inevitable purchase. However you run home as if holding your baby for its life - and that first moment when you open the case and it’s actually yours, is one that’ll go down alongside your first kiss, your first born, and your first note-perfect solo to a packed audience.

4. Guitar Tuners............. Out of Tune is out of Work!!

What’s the most common thing for guitarists to get wrong? No, not becoming a drummer but their tuning. The one thing guaranteed to make you sound bad is dodgy tuning, so get a tuner – there so simple to use, and you’ll only ever have to buy one.

3. Small Shield-shaped pieces of plastic.... All hail the humble plectrum – pick, play, maybe even pull.

Walk up to the pretty barmaid, pull out your change and she spies a couple of picks – “You’re a guitarist then?” is the instant response as you slide safely to first base. They’re also quite good for playing the guitar too.

2. C, A minor, F and G....... Surely the chords God would choose.

The magic formula that instantly allows you to play a whole host of pop ditties. Guitarists of limited ability have forged highly successful careers after learning to shoehorn an impressive repertoire of these chords, and signing louder over the bits that don’t quite fit. Try it, anything from Bohemian Rhapsody, to Sam Cooke’s Wonderful World.



And if you learn to use a capo – well, the sky’s the limit.

1. Guitars..... Stands to reason really.

Admit it, how many of us have stared longingly at the amalgam of wood, steel and plastic, and felt something that goes far beyond any sort of normal desire, or craving.

Sometimes you’ll just stand for minutes on end, gazing at the contours on a vintage Strat; marvelling at the sheer simplicity of a Tele, or wondering just how deep the flamed maple of that Private Stock PRS can go. This isn’t an object, this is an obsession.

Then when you’ve exhausted the visuals, take it in your hands, feel it, hold it. What other musical instrument is so perfectly conceived for the human body. What other musical instrument evokes so much rock n’ roll history, and indeed, its entire future.

Now play it, even just a simple E major chord chimes, rings and fills up your senses better than the smell of fried bacon, following a night of opprobrious inhibition. But which one to play? The Strat, the Les Paul? Better take them all, just in case.



Untold joy, compulsion, awe;



Ahh, guitars, we love you!!

Ellie x

The 10 Best Things about being a Guitarist

What are the 10 best things about being a guitarist – we’d love to hear your judgment!

 

10. CAPOS.............. Not cheating.  Honest.

Not cheating, honest.

Only know 3 chords? Buy a capo and you now know loads! The likes of Paul Simon, The Beatles, Oasis and James Taylor would’ve been lost without them.

9. Effects Pedals ................You can never have enough.

Whatever size, colour, function or shape, every guitarist should start amassing a ridiculous arsenal of effects pedals.  Like a kennel of kindly canines, they yap for your attentions, making it hard to choose which one deserves a precious 9V battery, which one to Velcro to the floor and stomp on.

Remember, a pedal is for a life, not just for Christmas.

8. The Bedroom Mirror............ Does my bum look big in this?

We wear our guitars every bit as much as we play them, so it’s important to consider how they look! Clearly little people should steer clear of 335’s, and the same might apply to a bigg’un and a Musicman Silhouette. Then there’s the whole world of colour to consider… all of which is impossible without a trustworthy length of reflective glass in order to pose in front of.



Oh yeah, and you can mime to AC/DC – Back in Black.

7. Guitar Cases............... Protection for your menace racquet.

Old, new, battered, borrowed, but rarely blue, your guitar case or gig bag is your guitar’s own personal bodyguard. A hard case must display the obligatory Musician’s Union ‘Keep Music Live’ sticker, plus at least one Gibson or Fender decal, depending on which way you swing. Customisation after that is essential. Airline stickers are only allowed if there’s a suitable Rock n’ Roll story attached.



6. Boiling your Strings............ Nobody does it, we promise.



Some old-school musos will sometimes try and wind you up by telling you that boiling your old strings is a great way to avoid shelling out for a new set. To be fair, old jazz bassists – apparently – used to practise this vile habit when it was relatively hard to obtain a new set, and they were expensive. But these days when you can buy a new set for as little as £4.99 and risking the wrath of the Boss by boiling your strings in her finest Le Crueset hardly seems worth the effort.



Neither nutritious meal, nor smart sonic strategy.

5. Your first decent guitar........ You begged for it.

You’ve been staring at it for two months; thumbed pages of a catalogue lay strewn around, in the hope that somebody, anybody, might just notice and feel unusually benevolent. If you’re of a certain age, that dream may come true. Those of a certain other age, however, will probably have to beg, borrow, scrimp, beg and borrow and save to get the necessary readies for the inevitable purchase. However you run home as if holding your baby for its life - and that first moment when you open the case and it’s actually yours, is one that’ll go down alongside your first kiss, your first born, and your first note-perfect solo to a packed audience.

4. Guitar Tuners............. Out of Tune is out of Work!!

What’s the most common thing for guitarists to get wrong? No, not becoming a drummer but their tuning. The one thing guaranteed to make you sound bad is dodgy tuning, so get a tuner – there so simple to use, and you’ll only ever have to buy one.

3. Small Shield-shaped pieces of plastic.... All hail the humble plectrum – pick, play, maybe even pull.

Walk up to the pretty barmaid, pull out your change and she spies a couple of picks – “You’re a guitarist then?” is the instant response as you slide safely to first base. They’re also quite good for playing the guitar too.

2. C, A minor, F and G....... Surely the chords God would choose.

The magic formula that instantly allows you to play a whole host of pop ditties. Guitarists of limited ability have forged highly successful careers after learning to shoehorn an impressive repertoire of these chords, and signing louder over the bits that don’t quite fit. Try it, anything from Bohemian Rhapsody, to Sam Cooke’s Wonderful World.



And if you learn to use a capo – well, the sky’s the limit.

1. Guitars..... Stands to reason really.

Admit it, how many of us have stared longingly at the amalgam of wood, steel and plastic, and felt something that goes far beyond any sort of normal desire, or craving.

Sometimes you’ll just stand for minutes on end, gazing at the contours on a vintage Strat; marvelling at the sheer simplicity of a Tele, or wondering just how deep the flamed maple of that Private Stock PRS can go. This isn’t an object, this is an obsession.

Then when you’ve exhausted the visuals, take it in your hands, feel it, hold it. What other musical instrument is so perfectly conceived for the human body. What other musical instrument evokes so much rock n’ roll history, and indeed, its entire future.

Now play it, even just a simple E major chord chimes, rings and fills up your senses better than the smell of fried bacon, following a night of opprobrious inhibition. But which one to play? The Strat, the Les Paul? Better take them all, just in case.



Untold joy, compulsion, awe;



Ahh, guitars, we love you!!

Ellie x

Video News on the Casio Privia PX-130 & PX-330

More Casio Privia News

Ok so here we go lets get things kicked off with a nice little video demo......

  So no you've seen the video do you want one even more?  The good news is we have them available to pre-order, the not so good news is that there probably won't be more than 100 available in the first batch.  With music stores accross the UK placing orders for their showrooms, and customers who have been savvy enough to pre-order it may mean a little wait for your new instrument.  So get one on order today to avoid delay.

 Look out for our videos and feedback from the Casio show on the 15th Setpember, we'll be tweeting and blogging from the event with photos, videos and snippets of info.

Click Here to Pre Order your Casio PX-330

Click Here to Pre-Order you Casio PX-130

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Beauty & The Bass by Ellie Deane

 Beauty & The Bass

by Ellie Deane

With endless documentaries, reality series and films abound such as School of Rock, featuring Jack Black, proving to little eyes it’s easy to be successful and the envy of peers with a guitar and music at heart, I’m sure it’s no surprise to hear that I took up the guitar at the age of ten.

After six years of playing guitar, four of which I’ve enjoyed playing bass, I’ve become accustomed to standing unperturbed at - almost - the butt end of all musician jokes (second to my drummer, of course!).

However, this is not only because I am primarily a bassist, but also because I am of the opposite gender to ‘real guitarists’, and might I add, ‘real drivers’.  I am oh-so-familiar with the surprised glare when I pass a vaguely musically intellectual comment other than “Wow, it’s pretty. It’s yellow,” or “Why do you want that? It’s got loads of scratches on it.”, on the original 50’s tele hanging proudly on the wall.  I too get excited when my friend offers me a lift home in the Bentley, but more to the point, when I see an original 1940’s Martin, or the 50’s tele I mentioned before.

Alas, I’ve learnt that I am not alone – far from it. Female musicians, and in particular bassists, have been setting paths for aspiring bass players for years, in fact, if you’re a fan of American Pop from the 60’s and early 70’s, you may not know it, but you’ll be very familiar with the work of session bassist Carol Kaye.

Born in 1935, Carol took up the guitar and became proficient enough to be teaching the instrument at the tender age of 14. Carol’s guitar repertoire included the rhythm part of Richie Valen’s La Bamba, before she stepped into the breach after a booked session bassist failed to show at a recording session.

Armed with her infamous Fender Precision Bass, and a pick, Kaye soon became the session bassist of choice, and worked with innumerable luminaries of the era such as The Beach Boys, Ray Charles, Simon and Garfunkel, Elvis Presley, The Doors and Joe Cocker.

Aside from Kaye’s huge recording legacy, in 1969, she wrote one of the first – if not the first, bass guitar tutorial books. Carol’s credited for numerous subsequent publications, which provided a structure for aspiring bass players with both relevant and graded material which soon became the template for instruction for the instrument – so it’s clear that the importance of this lady is massive.

 

   Carol Kaye recording in the Studio                             Suzi Quatro on Stage at the AIS Arena      

I couldn’t discuss female bassists, without mentioning this fine figure of a woman – Suzi Quatro. Born in June 1950 to an Italian jazz musician Father, and Scandinavian Mother, Susan Kay Quatrocchio bought a 1957 Fender Precision Bass, and soon formed an all-female band called ‘Pleasure Seekers’; however, it wasn’t until she played with the band, ‘Fanny’, did she start to receive national attention.

Her repertoire included touring with the likes of Alice Cooper in the 1970’s and it continued to grow until Suzi fronted her own band.

Her second single, ‘Can the Can’ hit big in Europe and Australia. Further hits included ’48 Crash’, ‘Daytona Demon’, and ‘Devil Gate Drive’.

Miss Q is now following a more sedate life, having written her autobiography, ‘Unzipped’ - you can hear her on BBC Radio 2 on Thursdays, where her current show, ‘Wake Up Lil’ Suzi’ is aired.

These two women mentioned are two of thousands, and as it becomes more acceptable for women to front bands playing guitar or bass, there is a growing market for women specifics. Luna, for example, make guitars and basses that are lighter and shaped for the woman’s figure.

There are loads of opportunities out there, and products available on the market, so if you’re a girl, and you’re considering taking up the guitar – or any instrument for that matter, whether it’s a guitar, bass guitar, ukulele or drums – Go for it! Show those guys what we’re made of!