Posts Tagged ‘blues jazz’
Review of the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus
Like the Fender Stratocaster, the Gibson Les Paul has become a music icon, favored by guitarists in such differing styles as rock, metal, blues, jazz, and country. From Slash to Jimmy Page, the lovers of the Les Paul are everywhere. For us mere mortals, there’s usually a major drawback to owning a Gibson Les Paul. They don’t come on the cheap, unfortunately! The average street price of a new guitar is well over $2,000, which is hardly small change. What’s a Les Paul devotee to do?
Look out for the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus.
Aside from its trademark Epiphone headstock, an Epiphone Les Paul is a Korean-made guitar that plays, feels, and looks like a more expensive Gibson Les Paul without the expensive price tag. It even has the signature of the greatLes Paul on the headstock. So how does it measure up?
We played a transparent Blue Les Paul Standard Plus Top, and I have to remark that the review model has one of the most delightful tops I’ve in this price range. The figuring is absolutely beautiful, and is wonderfully supplemented by its creme-colored binding and chrome hardware. Aesthetically, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top is simply a killer guitar.
Having used a Gibson Les Paul Standard for quite some time, I was curious to take note of how the Epiphone Les Paul would measure up, and I have to admit that I was very impressed. The slim-tapered neck reminds me of the 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard neck and in many ways was much faster than my Gibson Les Paul Standard with a 50’s style neck. The rosewood fretboard felt great and the frets were smooth and well-polished all in all, but not quite as pristine as my Gibson Les Paul. That said, the fretwork is still very good, especially given the instrument’s low cost.
The alnico classic pickups deliver the classic Les Paul crunch out of the bridge pickup and a round, smooth tone from the neck pickup. I generally swap pickups out of new stock guitars and would likely do the same here. I think a Duncan JB and Jazz would sound wonderful in this electric guitar, but the replacement pickups would be more of a proclivity than a necessity. These pickups sound very good and might be what you’re hoping for without the need for replacement pickups. They did happen to make some noise a bit at high volumes, but not terribly so.
The trade-offs in a model like this guitar aren’t incredibly apparent. Epiphone saves money by using a veneer flame top glued to non-flamed maple. Similarly, where Gibson Les Paul Standard bodies are made from a single mahogany slab, the Epiphone mahogany body is laminated, as is the guitar’s neck. Still, these cost-saving decisions enable the guitar to weigh considerably less than their Gibson counterparts. For the cost you pay, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top is a beautiful sounding and effortlessly playable Les Paul for a minute fraction of the cost of the Gibson model.
Author R. S. Rasnick is the owner of Ray’s Guitar Shop, where you can find more reviews and choose your own Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus at the best possible price! Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/review-of-the-epiphone-les-paul-standard-plus-1292274.html
Posted in Learn to Sing | 
Tags: blues jazz, bridge pickup, chrome hardware, classic pickups, epiphone les paul, epiphone les paul standard, fender stratocaster, gibson les paul, gibson les paul standard, jimmy page, killer guitar, les paul, mere mortals, music icon, new guitar, quite some time, rosewood fretboard, smooth tone | 
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Piano For All – Robin Hall Piano For All Review
Many people believe that learning how to play the piano is extremely difficult and not everyone can learn how to play this classic instrument. However, Robin Hall tries to correct this belief by introducing a Piano For All course available in piano for all.
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Piano For All is a complete piano course that lets you learn how to play pop, blues, jazz, ballads, classical, and many other pieces on the piano. It also lets you learn how to play piano faster – you will not need to wait for years to see results, you will start noticing changes in your piano playing skill in months.
Robin Hall’s Piano For All course lets you start with popular chord-based rhythm style piano playing. This playing style is relatively easier to learn than any other style yet it sounds remarkably like real piano playing. This helps you pull off a professional sound almost instantly. Once you believe you sound great while having lots of fun you can take on more advanced chord and rhythm pieces in the blues, ballad, jazz, ragtime, and improvisation styles. How? Because Piano For All integrates learning and fun that encourages to continue learning more. Eventually, you will find yourself progressing to sight-reading classical pieces with Piano For All as a guide.
This piano course has 10 modules: Party Time / Rhythm Piano (basic), Shake.. Rattle ‘n’ Roll.. (blues and rock ‘n’ roll), Chord Magic, Advanced Chords Made Easy, Ballad Style, Jazz Piano Made Easy, Advanced Blues Piano & Fake Stride, Taming the Classics, Speed Learning, and Bumper Resource Book. It also has 200 video lessons to help you in every step of the way. The e-books are also embedded with 500 audio piano lessons to help cut the learning time in half.
Robin Hall gives interested students a plus by having Piano For All available in great payment options. You can choose to order one book at a time or you can choose to have the complete piano course on a CD-ROM. With Piano For All, you will not have to spend money, time, or effort on traditional piano lessons.
This author finds Piano For All and Robin Hall Piano For All Review very interesting. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/piano-for-all-robin-hall-piano-for-all-review-1007695.html
Posted in Learn to Sing |
Tags: ballad jazz, ballad style, blues ballad, blues jazz, classic instrument, classical pieces, how to play the piano, jazz ballads, jazz piano, learning how to play the piano, learning time, party time rhythm, piano course, professional sound, rhythm style, robin hall, roll blues, shake rattle, speed learning, video lessons |
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How to become a good speed guitarist
Right, now you’re playing guitar, but want to play at guitar-burning speeds? Are you awed by people like Kirk Hammett and Jimi Hendrix and the breakneck speeds they play at? If you’re just starting out with speed guitar, here are some tips and ideas for you to get good at it.
- Get comfortable: Always warm up before starting speed guitar practice. Find a pick you are comfortable with, and a comfortable position – one that is relaxed, not tense. Also find out how you prefer to attack the string – perpendicular or at a slight angle?
- Coordination. This is one of the most underrated aspects of speed guitar. Most people think you only need a quick left hand on the fretboard – but picking skills are vital, as you will see! Good speed Guitar Lesson needs a high level of coordination between your right and left hand.
Make sure your left hand is light on the strings, and does not need to move too much – use your wrist for most movements. A correct right hand technique involves correct picking, as we will see below. Don’t underestimate any of these components!
- Alternate picking. This refers to a technique involving quickly alternating the pick stroke upwards and downwards. The quicker your right hand can make these strokes, the quicker your playing will be. To practice alternate picking, simply use a guitar pick to play one note with a “down” stroke and the next with an “up” stroke. Play all notes in these motions. It is important to aim for clean, accurate notes first – try for speed later!
- Tremolo picking. A useful way to practice alternate picking is through tremolo. Simply put, tremolos are fast recurrences of a single note. Try and begin each of your lessons/practice sessions with tremolos. They really help warm up your right hand!
Playing tremolo is simple – pick any phrase and then triple each note. Try out a wide variety of styles using this method – blues, jazz, solos – the works. Be patient, and you’ll see the huge advantages this technique brings you!
- Chromatic exercises. This is another set of useful exercises to help you become a good speed guitarist. Chromatic exercises involve playing 4 consecutive frets, ideally with increasing speed. These exercises will also build your finger strength – a vital skill for speed playing. Use a metronome to chart your progress – begin with a speed of around 100-120 BPM, and slowly increase. Also, use variations within your chromatics to mix it up!
- Use a metronome. You can do hundreds of exercises to build your speed skills, but without actually using a metronome there’s no guarantee you’ll get faster. A metronome will help you measure your speed in definite terms – and this is always motivating! Most standard electronic keyboards are equipped with a metronome – or you can download free ones from the internet. Use it to increase the number of notes you can play per beat of the metronome.
- Focus on the music. Good speed playing is nothing without a sense of rhythm and musicality – don’t forget that! Listen to some of the greats to get a sense of how to blend speed with melody and rhythm. John McLaughlin, Frank Zappa, Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen are people you could listen to.
Now get shredding! Good luck!
Ron Wesley is a good Guitar player and he has a vast experience in Jazz Guitar Lesson. If you want to Learn Tabla and Guitar Please Visit here http://www.torrins.com/ Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/how-to-become-a-good-speed-guitarist-970161.html
Posted in Learn to Sing |
Tags: accurate notes, blues jazz, breakneck speeds, down stroke, Eddie Van Halen, Frank Zappa, good speed, guitar lesson, guitar practice, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, kirk hammett, left hand, play one, playing guitar, practice sessions, Ron Wesley, speed guitar |
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