MyGuitar Geek By 747 Band

What really is an audiophile? Wikipedia defines an audiophile (from the Latin audire “to hear” and Greek philos “loving”) as “a person dedicated to achieving high fidelity in the recording and playback of music.” There are those who disparage audiophiles as “a snooty-elitist bunch.” An audiophile-basher describes them as “persevering, misguided nerds who qualify for those silly hats with little propellers on top.”

I am an audiophile and proud of it, not because I am a more savvy music listener, or because my system is better than everyone else’s. I became an audiophile for the love of music. Let me give way to blue-blooded audiophile and Rizal Congressman Michael John Duavit (Jack to his audio brothers) who puts forth in an e-mail his own definition:

“Audiophiles are often misunderstood. Oftentimes we are looked upon as eccentrics who never seem to be satisfied with what we have; people who always seem to be on some upgrade path or relentless pursuit of vinyl records and silver discs. At the extreme, audiophiles may indeed seem utterly warped and obsessive of details an ordinary person would probably not detect. It would be arrogant to say that audiophiles have better acuity or that “true initiates” have a deeper connection to music in general. This would fail to justify the time and resources expended by audiophiles in their quest for better systems and more diverse libraries. It would be far more accurate to say that audiophiles simply give music more import.

“So what gets an audiophile’s juices flowing? Some say it’s the equipment; others say the music comes first. To me, it is something more universal. Most of us are born with five senses. For our basest of instincts, four of these senses — sight, touch, smell and taste — often combine for the most intense of pleasures: our first kiss, sipping fine wine, savoring a gourmet meal … But what about our sense of hearing? More likely, what we hear is filed away in our memory bank as no more than background music, thus relegating the sense of hearing to a lower tier in the hierarchy of senses. But wait! This is the soundtrack of our lives we’re talking about here. We must ask ourselves if this is really JUST background music or a treasure trove waiting to be unlocked.

“The sound around us never ceases, even while we sleep. We ABSORB it. It stimulates every part of our physical being. The effect of sound is primal. The effect of sound gets to the very core of our being, unfiltered and uncensored. As such, sound and music reach deeper into our humanity than any other art form through sheer sensual power that, for brief moments, even allows us to transcend temporal time and space. From the drums of tribesmen to the works of the great masters, music has always been central in celebrating the divine: the rhythms that can have thousands of people in one venue, on one dance floor, moving in unison. No other art form can affect us singularly or collectively as deeply as music does.

“For those who recognize this, sound and music take on a much higher significance. For those who appreciate their personal soundtracks, the music marks the waypoints while the equipment serves as the mode of transportation. Personally, I believe that one does not need to be an audiophile to experience any of this. In fact, it may be something that billions of people experience every day. I do recommend, however, listening to a really good system at least once in your lifetime. I have participated in three audio shows, and nothing excites me more than watching non-audiophiles’ eyes pop out of their heads when they realize the pleasure to be had through the sense of hearing. Therein lies true audiophile magic!

“So, think of your life as a movie, and ask yourself what you want your soundtrack to be. It is by no means complicated. Make it up as you go along. Share the music with your loved ones by playing something lively while everyone gets ready for work or school. Try dancing as well. It’s great for your circulation. When you get home, play something peaceful and mellow. Enjoy the sound and the silence. Go create your own soundtrack. Trust me; your life will be richer for it.”

The format I use for writing most of the music I teach is a variation on what are commonly called “chord charts”: Lyrics with the chord names written above them at the approximate point the chord changes.

This works fine for rhythmically simple songs. But when chords change at unpredictable times, I include some more information.

Number of Measures in Parentheses

In the following example, from Norah Jones’ “Be Here to Love Me”, the “(2)” means “play A for two measures”. If there’s no number in parentheses next to a chord, just play it for one measure.

E_________________ D _______________A (2)

Your eyes seek conclusion in all this confusion of mine

E_________________ D_________________A (2)

Though you and I both know it’s only the warm glow of wine

Dash Away! Dash Away!

During instrumental parts of a song, I’ll often “dash it out”. This example is the intro to Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”:

/ Em - - - / G - - - / D - - - / A - - - / x2

Each slash mark “/” marks the beginning of a new measure of music. A chord name represents the first beat of that chord, and dash marks “-” represent more beats of the same chord. So in the example, you play each of the chords for four beats. The “x2″ means you play the whole progression twice.

Here’s a slightly more complicated example, from the chorus of The Long Winters’ “Shapes”:

/ G - - - / - - A - / G - - - / - - - - /

Here the G chord is played for six beats (four in the first measure, and two in the second), the A chord for two beats (the last two beats in the second measure), and the G chord for eight beats.

Strum Patterns

I usually pencil strum patterns at the the top of my students’ music when I’m teaching them a song. But lately I’ve been typing them so that all the rest of you can learn the strums too. Strum patterns look something like this:

D D U U   D U

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

The lower line shows the beats of a measure. The upper line shows when to strum: “D” means strum down, “U” means strum up, and “B” means hit the bass note in the chord (the lowest-pitched root note). Remember to keep that right arm moving in a consistent up-down motion. Sometimes you’re strumming the strings, sometimes your pick is passing over them, but the arm keeps moving.

By the way, that example is what I call the “Folk Strum”. It’s used in tons of songs (not just folk songs), so if you just see “Folk Strum” at the top of a sheet of music, now you know what to play.

You also might encounter an “X”, “M”, or “d” above the beats. “X” signifies the dreaded “scratch” strum, which is hard to teach in person and harder to describe in writing. Basically, the karate-chop part of your hand lands solidly on the strings as your pick simultaneously rakes the strings, creating a percussive “whack!” It helps if you make an OK sign with your strumming hand. An “M” just means mute–let your hand come down onto the strings instead of strumming them. A mute can be used instead of a “scratch” strum if necessary. And “d” means an unaccented (quiet) down-strum.

Chord Guides

Many of the songs I’ve posted on my website use what I call Nanocharts (nano = small). They’re the quickest, most compact chord chart known to humanity…and I invented them. The royalties should be rolling in any day now.

Here’s what a Nanochart looks like for the A chord:

123

A: x02220

The bottom line shows you where you fret each string, 6th string through 1st when reading left to right. So in the example above, the “x” means to mute or avoid the 6th string. “0″ means open, and those three “2’s” mean to fret the fourth, third, and second strings on the 2nd fret.

The top line tells you which fingers to use–the finger number (1st is index, 2nd is middle, T is thumb, etc.) is written above the string it frets.

When chords are up on the tenth fret and above, I type every other fret number in bold for easier reading. I know, it’s ugly….

T 321

C: 8×1098x

Tablature

Here’s a good article on how to read tablature, the system of writing guitar music using six lines to represent the six strings, and numbers written on the lines to show you where to fret:

Yahoo! Music tallied up all of its music video plays this year and compiled the Top 10. It’s interesting to note that half of Yahoo! Music’s list of videos comes from new artists including Leona Lewis, Colbie Caillat and OneRepublic. Of course, favorite established artists—Mariah, Alicia Keys, Rihanna alsosecured spots on the list.

1) Alicia Keys “No One”

This Grammy Award winning song spent five weeks at Number One on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Because this single was so successful, her album As I Am entered the charts at Number One, selling more than 700,000—the second highest selling debut of 2007, and the highest for a female artist. The video performance features Alicia in some of her more glamorous looks as she plays the piano in various settings.

2) Mariah Carey “Touch My Body”

Mariah Carey scored her 18th Number One hit with this song from her album, E=MC2. Her video should be considered most entertaining on this Top 10 list, if not most comedic, as Mariah playfully created her own version—and in music video form—of the nerd romance.

3) Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love”

This new artist broke into the US scene last year after winning the reality show X Factor, the British version of American Idol. While the song was first released in the UK, her label felt the need to make a different video for her US fan base. So they taped her singing in the middle of New York’s Time Square about a guy who has repeatedly broken her heart. The record was the biggest single in her home country in 2007, not to mention, it topped the charts of 30 other countries.

4) Rihanna “Don’t Stop The Music”

For the “Don’t Stop The Music” video, the Barbados beauty adds viewers to the party’s guest list, taking them with her to the hottest club in the city.

5) Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown “No Air”

“No Air” came on the heels of talk of Idols failing to achieve the success of their predecessor Kelly Clarkson; namely, Taylor Hicks, Katherine McPhee and Ruben Studdard who reportedly lost their record deals. With her second single “No Air,” she came strong, especially as she got paired with young pop superstar Chris Brown. “No Air” led to a remake by a country singer.

6) Lil Wayne f/Static Major “Lollipop”

“Lollipop” is the lead single from Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter III album, the year’s highest selling debut that entered the charts with platinum sales. What made this video extra interesting was that the New Orleans rapper was already in celebratory mode, as if knowing the success it was going to bring.

7) Colbie Caillat “Bubbly”

The romantic video finds the singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat at a beach house with her male companion, gazing at him dreamily while playing her guitar at a bonfire. “Bubbly” at times felt like the lone true love song in a sea on records about heartache. Caillat’s following picked up its most momentum online and eventually lead to her record deal with Universal. She is also blessed to have the support of her father, Ken Caillat, who co-produced two Fleetwood Mac albums and Colbie’s featured hit.

One Republic “Apologize”

Everything happens for a reason. Before linking with super power Timbaland, OneRepublic was already signed to Columbia Records. But two months before their album was scheduled to be released in 2006, they were dropped from the label. Fortunately for the Colorado band, they had already began creating a buzz online and interest from other labels intensified, culminating with Timbaland’s Interscope distributed Mosley Music successfully signing the group. OneRepublic became the first rock band on the label roster. Their song “Apologize” first gained exposure on Timbaland’s Shock Value album and also appears on their 2007 debut Dreaming Out Loud. The video tracks a love triangle, adding additional layers to the song that tells a remorseful girlfriend that “it’s too late to apologize” for her wrongdoing.

9) Sara Bareilles “Love Song”

Singers don’t come much cuter than Eureka, California hometown girl Sara Bareilles, one of 2007’s most refreshing breakout artists. For this Number One hit, the UCLA alum delivers a video to match. Bareilles’ brings life to a vaudeville bar as she plays the piano while singing about her refusal to write some guy a love song on demand.

10) Rihanna “Take A Bow”

If the candid camera show Cheaters ever started an award special, Rihanna’s “Take A Bow” could be the theme song. On the track Rihanna digs her claws in deep on the male subject who has apologized for being unfaithful. She tells him not to pretend that he’s sorry, but to instead “take a bow” for his performance at convincing her that he was committed. If Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” was 2007’s female breakup anthem of the year, this track was 2008’s equivalent. It is befitting that both power ballads benefited from the song writing talents of Ne-Yo. “Take A Bow” reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and drew attention for its video that captures striking shots of Rihanna dressed in simply a black tank top, jeans and hills. Even a guy can’t help but laugh at the scene of the boyfriend running alongside Rihanna car, begging for another chance.

Source: http://philstar.com

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Captured

(Christian Bautista feat. Sitti)

I was captured the moment we met

Carried away with every word you said

It’s a mystery how you got to me

I fell in the spell of your charms

With your siren’s smile you caught me off guard

Just one glance took away my breath

Then you drew me in with your tenderness

You captivate my soul, I’m enraptured

You knocked me out and you locked me up

Stole my heart like a thief at love

Keep me here in your happy ever after

I’m captured

By the way just in case you care

I’m here to stay, I’m not going anywhere

I took a dive in your deep dark eyes

And I’m never coming up for air

I lost myself in this bond that we share

One sweet kiss took away my breath

Then you drew me in with your tenderness

You captivate my soul, I’m enraptured

You knocked me out and you locked me up

Stole my heart like a thief at love

Hold me tight in your happy ever after

Now you’ve got the best of me

No one else could hold the key

I’m captured

Just one touch took away my breath

When you drew me in I could not resist

You captivate my soul, I’m enraptured

You knocked me out and you locked me up

Stole my heart like a thief at love

Keep me here in your happy ever after

I’m captured

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