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Greg Koch Fender Guitar History
The Greg Koch Fender guitar began to take shape all the way back when Greg Koch was in the third grade. Greg cut out cardboard Fender Stratocaster guitars, then Koch used his sisters sewing machine pedal as a wah-wah. By watching, listening and copying what he heard on records he was able to advance quickly. Early on while playing his Greg Koch Fender guitar, Greg melded the blues, rock and country styles. Koch's Fender guitar playing style began to mutate. This continued by his playing in polka groups and blues-rock ensembles of his own creation. He even accompanied Elvis impersonators. Greg Koch studied jazz guitar for four years at the University of Wisconsin. His musical maturity playing with a Fender led to national attention as a fiery instrumentalist. Greg was "Guitarist of the Year" (92, 94-99). His playing style has been featured on numerous TV and radio commercials including Sprite, Sassoon, Bank One and Oldsmobile. Greg Koch utilizing his own tunes as a backdrop is one of a handful of guitarists that promote Fender, Guild, SUNN and De Armond instruments and tools. He created a unique clinic, in which he shares a wide array of tones, tricks and anecdotes with those present. Greg was present at the Summer NAMM 2000, to debut the Fender American Series Stratocaster. This summer music festival attracted large crowds and was a great success. Copyright © JJ PERSISTENT PUBLISHING, INC. PERMISSIONS TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in its entirety free of charge, electronically or in print, provided it appears with the included copyright and author's resource box with live website links. Jeremy Hier is the Business Manager and Webmaster of Best Guitar Deals Jeremy Hier is a freelance writer and regular contributer He likes to offer his advice and tips to consumers looking to purchase acoustic guitars and electric guitars
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Learn to Read Music Online If you or anyone you know wants to learn to read music, it's a lot easier to do than it used to be. The Internet gives us all access to almost unlimited information, and can deliver an incredible array of products and tools right to our desktops. Not surprisingly, there are some really clever products out there that can help you learn to read notes. How to Play What you Feel Many students think that being able to play what you feel is difficult. They believe you must have years and years of training in improvisation and theory. Ibanez SR400 Bass Guitar The Ibanez SR400 bass guitar is very comfortable to play. The neck is thin up at the headstock, you can move your hand along it well because of the necks finish. The SR400's neck at the back has a matte finish making it very easy to slide your hands up and down the neck. Its easier to play the higher frets because the neck is a bolt-on with a curve where the neck bolts. Writing Hit Songs There are a lot of factors to writing a hit song. First, you should focus on writing a good song. Once you've done that, you are not far away from writing a hit. Like most other things in life, it takes persistence, patience, drive, knowledge, belief and maybe some luck. Stop and think about your favorite songs. Really analyze them and figure out what it is that you like about those songs. Different factors may come to play here. Maybe it is the good beat, lyrics that hit home, a beautiful melody, something spiritual or patriotic, or maybe even that it is humorous. If you include one of these elements in your songwriting you are well on your way. If you combine two or more of these elements, you may have yourself a hit. A Good Beat Rhythm is important in music. I have to laugh and think of Jerry Van Dyke on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" years ago trying to play the banjo and sing, "I've got rhy-rhy-thm, I've got mah-mah-music..." But, unless you are very funny like Jerry Van Dyke, your audience is not very likely to stay with you. Your music not only needs to have a good beat, but must fit the genre of music you are trying to write. A Metallica beat in a George Strait type song may not get you very far. A song with a good enough beat might be a hit even with no melody and no lyrics. Remember "Green Onions?" Along with the beat is the tempo. Country music is easy to write (I did not say it is easy to write well) because it is about people's lives and everyday experiences. However, too often people write slow songs for country music, when in fact the industry is starving for upbeat country material like "Country Roads" and "Rocky Top." It is much harder to write a good up-tempo country song than it is a tear jerker. Lyrics in popular music can range from broken relationships to political issues, and just about any point in between. Those that tend to be the most popular are about situations you and I may encounter in our everyday lives; "Workin' 9 To 5," "I Just Called To Say I Love You," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "God Bless The USA" (which ingeniously incorporates spiritual, political and patriotic views). A beautiful or interesting melody can get you into the ranks of hit songwriter with no lyrics required. Going back in time to prove a point about beautiful melodies, you might consider songs like "Last Date" and "Sleepwalk." Songs with great melody lines are very easy to be found in many hit TV show themes like "Peter Gunn," "Hawaii 5-0," along with many of the 60's surfer songs like "Wipe Out." Well done humorous songs usually find an audience, such as Ray Stevens "The Streak," and Jerry Reeds "She Got The Goldmine, I Got The Shaft." If you have a knack for both humor and music, you might make a fortune. Spiritual and patriotic songs, if they are well done and come out at the right time, are easy hits. Every time the U.S. gets involved in any type of world conflict, the songwriters get their pens out. Keep your ears and eyes open, and keep a shoe box to put your ideas for songs in. Every time you think of an idea for a song or a song title, write it down and drop it in the box. It could be your first, or your next, big hit. MP3 Music Subscription Services. A Good Deal? There's a reason Apple Computer dominates the legal 99-cents-a-download digital music scene: It does it right. Apple's iPods set the style and ease-of-use standards that other portable music players must try (so far unsuccessfully) to match. Its iTunes Music Store and iTunes software are equally unparalleled. Reasons to Ditch Your Guitar Pick Lately, I haven't been using my guitar pick all that much. I got this tab book of some good ol' Gatemouth Brown finger picking blues. I've been enjoying myself so much trying to get this fingerpick thang goin'." Just 3 Chords? No Way! A student wrote me an email about the lesson "Ocean Dreams." Here it is: Hip Hop History Rap music originated as a cross-cultural product. Most of its important early practitioners-including Kool Herc, D.J. Hollywood, and Afrika Bambaataa-were either first- or second-generation Americans of Caribbean ancestry. Herc and Hollywood are both credited with introducing the Jamaican style of cutting and mixing into the musical culture of the South Bronx. By most accounts Herc was the first DJ to buy two copies of the same record for just a 15-second break (rhythmic instrumental segment) in the middle. By mixing back and forth between the two copies he was able to double, triple, or indefinitely extend the break. In so doing, Herc effectively deconstructed and reconstructed so-called found sound, using the turntable as a musical instrument. Repetition is the Key to Learning Something Deeply Repetition is the key to learning something deeply. It works most effectively when you are isolating a small amount of material, because the object of your focus will be more specific. How To Overcome The Lyric Writing Hurdles That Are Keeping You Behind The lyric writing side of songwriting is known to create an enormous number of problems for some folks. No matter how hard they try, they are unable to write a single line that they can be pleased with. Why New Musicians (Rappers) Fail: Three Reasons and Solutions Despite the title of this article, the purpose of it is actually to HELP new emcees AVOID some common traps on their journey to learning how to rap better. You can come up with a million reasons why new rappers fail?or why any artist fails for that matter, but we've boiled the list down to three specific to new emcees. Establishing Your Mix Now that you've spent hours and days and weeks and months recording your musical masterpieces (and you've also read my article "Tips for a Great Recording Session"), you have arrived at my favorite time in the studio; The Mixdown. Jealous Again - Jealousy Among Musicians Jealousy ? do you feel it? Do you sense it in others? Does it hinder your relationships with other musicians? Does it sap your confidence? Does it block your creativity? Here are some questions to help you get clearer about the jealousy in your life. 5 Sure Fire Ways to Get Radio Play for Your ?Independent? Music! You have to find radio airplay time if you're going to be heard and we're not just talking the local college campus. The trick is called promotion. Now that doesn't mean you just put your press kit in an envelope with a demo and hope they take pity on you. Perhaps you call a station and they give you the standard pitch of, "Send it and if we like it we'll put you in rotation." After a few months of never hearing your music, you automatically think you're not worthy. How to Find Musical Ideas The Russian Composer Igor Stravinsky once said: " A good composer does not imitate; he steals." How to Create Backing Tracks If You Dont Play All the Instruments... or Any Congratulations! Your singing has become amazing, and it's time the world knew. You've also written some songs that are just kick you-know-what. They need to be recorded, MP3ed and put on the net ASAP. But you've got two problems. First, you can't afford a studio, let alone a band for all this stuff. Second, you don't play all, or any, of the instruments. Why Learning How to Improvise is So Important Imagine asking a beginning writer to write a short story from scratch. Our writer does not yet have much experience in writing but accepts the challenge and begins to plunge ahead. Music to Echo Your Mood In what way do the kinds of music (rock, rap, classical, instrumental, etc.) change or alter our mood and in what way do our moods effect what music we listen to? Avoid These 3 Common Mistakes - When Improvising Mistake #1 - Thinking about what you're going to play Buying A Guitar - Do You Know What To Look For? Buying a guitar is an important decision that my students have often asked me about. They want to know what they should be looking for. This is an important question because no two are ever exactly alike. There is a wide variety of types, styles, colors, makes, and models to choose from. The question is, which one is right for you? If you don't know what to look for when you're buying a guitar, you could end up spending a lot more money than you really need to. On the other hand, getting a "deal" may also get you a lemon. Following are some important questions to consider.
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