definitions, inspirations:

dB: decibel, a widely used measure of sound pressure levels

Ps. 98: make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; make a LOUD noise

AC/DC: let there be rock!

October 23, 2010

CIGRG, Ch 3: Rockin' the Double Stops

It took me a while to put this post together, mainly because I was trying to figure out how to embed the sound clip.  Many thanks to my amigo Nuno from the Guitar Noise forum for helping me out!

In Chapter 3 of the CIG Rock Guitar book, you will dive deep into some of the essentials.  You'll learn how to read chord charts and tablature, and a little bit about reading music:  time signatures, quarter and eighth notes, and rests.  One of my least favorite songs of all time, House of the Rising Sun, makes an appearance, and so do the tabbed-out versions of the rock shuffles from Chapter 2.  (You didn't look ahead, did you?)

As I've said before, you really need to read the text to fully appreciate the lesson; unfortunately David Hodge isn't in the room with you to explain things, but his writing is friendly and helpful!

A couple things came to mind while I was working with this chapter.

First, I wish the book came in a spiral binder so that it would lay flat, whether on a table, a floor, or a music stand.  Of course, that's not specific to this book, but to all lesson books.  I've got a few in this format and it really helps. 

Second, I noticed that in the introduction to each track on the CD, Hodge will say "chapter 3, example 10" or something like that.  Unfortunately, the book does not denote the example numbers anywhere.  There is a track number in the book so you know which one to jump to, but these do not match the example numbers.  For instance, track 13 is introduced as "chapter 3, example 21!"   If you're going back-and-forth with the CD tracks, it can get a little bit confusing at times.

And now, the cool part:

Toward the end of the chapter, Hodge gives a terrific introduction to "double stops," an easy-to-learn technique that is very common in rock music, for both lead and rhythm playing.  The "Double Stop Rock" lesson is a blast to play, and sounds killer!  I recommend taking your time here and really nailing this play-along track before moving on to the next chapter.

Here's a recording I made of myself playing this track, using a drum machine for the backing part.  I went from the "line out" of my amp straight to a Tascam recorder, then mixed the guitar and drums together in a free program called Audacity. 




I plan to incorporate double-stops much more often in my own playing! 

3 comments:

  1. Cool. Thanks for posting. Looking forward to my copy arriving today or tomorrow so I can get started with the book too.

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  2. Very encouraging to listen to what you've recorded. What drum machine do you use? I'm going out to get the book soon. Have you peeked at his new book, CIG to Guitar? Wondering how different it is from the Rock version you're using.

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  3. Many thanks guys.

    Kev, the drum machine is an old Alesis SR16. It's a pain in the rear to program, so I simply use the presets. I might change the drum kits for a different sound, but generally I don't mess with the patterns.

    I have not yet seen David's new Guitar book, but my understanding is that it is structured as if you were taking a series of acoustic-guitar group lessons with him. That could make it very different from the CIG-Rock book which is more focused on rock styles and techniques.

    There is a summary of each book on the GN site you can compare; I see that CIG-Rock has a whole section on soloing, while CIG-Guitar has only one chapter.

    http://www.davidhodge.com/the-complete-idiots-guide-to-guitar/

    http://www.davidhodge.com/all-about-the-complete-idiots-guide-to-playing-rock-guitar/

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