Dan's Guitar Blog

I had the incredible fortune to see the one of the legendary "Midnight Ramble" concerts last Saturday, hosted by drummer Levon Helm (The Band) at his home and recording studio in Woodstock, New York.

Expect a full write-up next week (after I get photos from Levon's people), but until then, let me emphatically state that you NEED to get yourself to Woodstock to see one of these shows. The atmosphere is informal (it's BYOB, and they put out food for guests), the surroundings are awe-inspiring, and the guest list is star-studded.

Saturday's show included a performance by Billy Bob Thornton and his band, as well as an impromptu appearance by Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes. Musicians are first-rate across the board (many commuting to the show from New York City).

Although tickets for the show are expensive - $150 a pop - it's a show you'll remember for the rest of your life. Attendance is limited to a very small number (we guessed 150 people), so there is an intimacy to the experience you won't find at other rock and roll shows.

Tickets to the "Midnight Ramble" events are hard to come by, but if you check LevonHelm.com regularly, you should be able to grab a few when they come available.

Doug S. writes:
"My guitar teacher is telling me that I need to learn to read music, and I don't understand why. I'm 44 years old, and all I want to do is learn to play acoustic guitar with my friends. Is it really that important for me to learn to read music?"

"Should I learn to read music" is a question I get all the time, and my answer always is "it depends". In my opinion Doug probably doesn't need to learn to read music, considering his age (chances are he's not going to take up playing music professionally), and his aspirations. There are many notable pop musicians who can't read or write music (Paul McCartney being a prime example) who have nonetheless written some fantastic, complex songs.

Having said that, I believe it's important for young guitarists to learn to read music as part of their early training. Although a 13 year old new guitar player may just want to bash through three-chord heavy metal songs right now, who knows where they'll want to take their music in the future. By learning to read music now, they won't limit themselves later in life.

For guitarists like Doug, learning to read guitar tab will probably be enough to allow them to enjoy playing guitar. For guitarists who'd like to learn to read music on their own, I highly recommend A Modern Method for Guitar Vol. 1 by William G. Leavitt.

If you're an adventurous listener, you should take a moment to download an mp3 of the Chemical Brothers' remix of Oasis' "Falling Down". The original track appears on Oasis' new album Dig Out Your Soul, currently slated for release in October 2008. The mp3 is available for direct download - no registration of any type is required.

To get a better perspective on how much the Chemical Brothers tinkered with the song, take a look at Oasis' original version of "Falling Down" on YouTube.

I personally actually quite enjoy the "Falling Down" remix, although I know it will perhaps not be cherished by most of Oasis' fan base. I'm curious to hear what perennial grump Liam Gallagher thinks of this version of his song.

Acoustic Guitar magazine has put together a very nice article on how to set up your acoustic guitar. The article includes instruction on:

• checking the neck for curvature
• adjusting the truss rod
• measuring the action of the neck
• filing down the nut
• removing and sanding the saddle
• filing the saddle to adjust intonation

Although perhaps a bit brief (before someone sands down the saddle on their acoustic guitar for the first time, I'm betting they'll want more than two or three sentences of instruction), this article gives a great overview for guitarists looking to get their acoustics into the best playable condition possible.

Related:
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How cool of an idea is this? Indie band Deerhoof has put the sheet music for their new song "Fresh Born" on their web site. The wrinkle? This is a song fans haven't heard yet, so despite the sheet music, no one really knows how their version of the song sounds. Deerhoof is encouraging you to download the sheet music, record yourself performing the song, and post it to the web. You can add a link to your version of "Fresh Born" from the Deerhoof web site. Eventually, they'll post their own version of the song.

Related:
Easy Song Tabs

Take a moment to watch (and be dazzled by) this video of acoustic guitarist Andy McKee playing "Drifting". McKee really takes the concept of using the body of the guitar as a rhythm instrument to a new level. Add some complex tapping and hammer-on techniques, and McKee ends up sounding like a three-piece band, instead of one guy with an acoustic guitar. Ambitious guitarists can even download the "Drifting" tab from McKee's web site (not for free - it's a hefty $19.95 for the four included tabs).

If you have a favorite YouTube video of a guitarist that deserves being featured here, leave a note in the comments, and I'll highlight some of the best videos posted.

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To help promote the October 2008 release of Tell Tale Signs, an album of unreleased recordings, you can now freely download Bob Dylan's "Dreamin' of You", a track from the pending album. The song itself is an unreleased cut from the 1997 recordings that produced the Grammy Award-winning album Time Out Of Mind. Both atmospheric and electric guitar-heavy, "Dreamin' of You" is definitely worth a listen.

There are a few hoops to jump through before you can download the mp3 - you'll need to head over to bobdylan.com to register, after which you'll receive instructions via email about how to download the song. It should take about two minutes of your time.

Related:
Easy Song Tabs
100 Greatest Guitar Solos

Classic rock fans know Nils Lofgren... the guitarist who has played in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, with Neil Young in Crazy Horse, with Rod Stewart, and alongside many others. Now, the guitarist has posted a series of video guitar lessons on his official site. The lessons are grouped into beginner and intermediate categories, and run about one hour each.

To make learning more fun, Nils uses his own songs to help illustrate the techniques he's teaching. So, not only do you get to learn the songs, but you get to watch Nils playing them live.

The lessons aren't free - they run $20 per one hour video. They're also about 200 megabytes each... very large files that require high speed connections and a good deal of patience to download. But the lessons, particularly the intermediate entries, provide good insight into the mind and playing style of Nils Lofgren. For a free sample of the lessons, take a look at the Nils Lofgren YouTube video.

Related:
Free Beginner Guitar Lessons

To help promote the October 13th release of the band's third album Symmetry, Keane have made a track from the album, "Spiralling", available on their web site as a free MP3 download. You'll need to register for the site, at which point you'll be provided with a link to download the song to your computer.

I've been a fan of Keane's catchy Britpop in the past, but this track doesn't move me. In fact, I can't say I care for this at all. I hear the influence of Fine Young Cannibals and Duran Duran, especially in the production. If this is representative of the rest of Symmetry, this is a new release I'll skip.

IGN.com has posted it's list of Punk Rock's 10 Mightiest Guitar Gods. The concept of "top punk guitarists" seems almost antithetical to the idea of punk music... most punk bands reject traditional musical proficiency. Fittingly, this list focuses on guitarists who have attitude and presence, rather than those with technical virtuosity.

Here is a summary of the list (visit IGN.com for the full article, which features profiles of each guitarist, with recommended listening for each).

• Lou Reed (Velvet Underground)
• Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls)
• Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith)
• Johnny Ramone (The Ramones)
• Steve Jones (Sex Pistols)
• Mick Jones (The Clash)
• Tom Verlaine & Richard Lloyd (Television)
• Robert Quine (Richard Hell & the Voidoids)
• Ricky Wilson (B-52's)
• Billy Zoom (X)

I was surprised not to see Brett Gurewitz from Bad Religion on the list. Any other guitarists they've missed?

Related:
Top 100 Guitar Solos