Finally...A Parker Guitar With Good Looks and...

Man,i was looking at a picture of a guitar over at The Rock House Blog and was thinking,man,this guitar looks like a Parker,but without the ugly cutaways,you know,ok....the handles/horns!I said wow,this is a Parker....cool :-).I have always liked the Parker Fly model.It has some great features...light,killer action,nice sound,and then the handles!I just could not go there/buy one.But now you have the Vernon Reid model,a Parker that,well,has an awesome,but in-your-face workhorse look.And some added goodies like a locking bridge system a piezo pick up and the Roland MIDI pick up.And i can already tell you the weight,action/playability and sound is gonna be awesome....it's a Parker!
http://www.parkerguitars.com/
http://rockhousemethod.blogspot.com/2009/05/living-colours-vernon-reids-specially.html

Tips On Playing Better Guitar...99 Ways

Guitar Player posted 99 tips,by some famous players,on playing better guitar.Here are a few of the tips titles...Renew,Sing, Sing, Sing,Dynamics,Room Miking,Relax,Get Sensitive,Get High,Expand,Move On,Dig Deeper....Get the details and more over at Guitar Player.
http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/99-ways-to/Apr-06/19444
Guitar Players Giveaway... http://www.guitarplayer.com/giveaways

Amazon Puts Out Their 100 Greatest Jazz Albums Ever List

Gibson L-5

Amazon,i guess recently,put out their idea of the 1oo Greatest Jazz Albums Of All Time.Well anytime you do something like this the fur flies!There are four guitarist included,but no Django Reinhardt or Wes Montgomery!The included guitarist are Pat Metheny,Grant Green,Herb Ellis and Bill Frisell.Again,this type of the best ever or the greatest,always brings about controversy.And not to include Django Reinhardt or Wes Montgomery?Go read the list,come back and leave your comments.... http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&ref%5F=pe%5F1130%5F12097460&docId=1000369991
In addition to the jazz albums there is also a 100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums of All Time...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_83555151_4?ie=UTF8&docId=1000354721&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-1&pf_rd_r=06RC5YN4KKRC675KSRDM&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_p=476118011&pf_rd_i=1000369991

Quick Music Fact...There Are Many Guitar Neck Shapes

There are many shapes when it comes to guitar necks.And this affects the feel,it's a personal preference when choosing the shape.Be aware of this when out choosing a guitar.The C and D shapes are popular.Some players like the V shape,to me the V shape creates hand fatigue.I prefer a C or D shape.

Quick Music Fact...Neck Scale Length Affects String Tension and Feel

Did you know the same gauge string can feel floppier or stiffer on another guitar with a different scale length!.009's will feel stiffer on a longer scale neck just as .010's will feel floppier or looser on a shorter scale guitar neck.
Gibson generally use a 24.75 scale length. Fender normally use a 25.5 scale length. Martin, PRS and several others use a middle scale length of 25. Fender Jaguars and Mustangs, and Gibson Byrdlands, have shorter-than-average scale lengths. A short scale length means that the strings are under less tension at a certain tuning, giving them a looser feel.You can put heavier gauge strings on a short-scale guitar to get a similar feel to a long-scale guitar (ie 10s or 11s instead of 9s). Longer scale lengths produce tighter string tension.

For The Curious...Greg Waters/G

Beautiful Hand Carved Portrait Guitars

Check these hand carved portrait guitars.I really like the dolphin carving.Go over and check out Jimmy's beautiful hand carved portrait guitars at MySpace.He does some beautiful work on Tele guitars....Fender :-) ...
http://www.myspace.com/spanktheplank

Soloing Over A 1-4-5 Blues Progression

This is a basic start up to playing a solo over a typical 1-4-5 blues progression.A lot of rockers just rip through the 3 chords using the same scale!This not not blues playing.If you listen to a good blues guitarist,you will be able to hear his licks change with each chord.He is playing a lick that is fitting to the chord being played!He is not just ripping away haphazardly!There is some thought and intelligence going on within his solo.This style of playing is close to jazz,just on a more related and basic way.The jazzers use the same concept,but take it to a more advanced and intricate level.We are talking chord/scale relationships here.This is just to get you started,and that can really be the hardest part.Not having a clue of where or how to start makes the initial move ever so complex,but it's not.
Let's take a 1-4-5 progression in the key of A,a popular guitar key.And remember this can be transposed to any key!Once you get a grip on this start to apply the same idea to other keys,and ones you are familiar with,will make it easier,like E or G or D.
OK,a 1-4-5 in the key of A is ...
//A /D /E // or A7 to D7 then to E7.And along with that you could color the chords D and E by playing them as D7add9 and E7add9.The ol' James Brown chords :-).So you have Adom,7 to D9 to E9 .To make the scale to play on the 1 chord/A7,let's play an A minor pentatonic,and you can play A minor pentatonic Blues scale by adding the D# or Eb note to the A minor Pentatonic scale.
Now,what to play on the D9 chord.Let's play an A Dorian mode or,same thing a D Mixolydian.This fits nicely with the notes in the chord.
And lastly the E9 chord.Let's keep this bluesy sounding :-).So let's play an E minor Pentatonic or an E minor Pentatonic Blues scale.
Take each chord and it's scale and play slowly starting off.
So the formula is...
A7 Chord > A minor Pentatonic or A minor Pentatonic Blues scale.
D9 Chord > A Dorian mode or D Mixolydian mode.
E9 Chord > E minor Pentatonic or E Minor Pentatonic Blues scale.
Remember...go slow and practice just one change at a time then 2 changes,then,all 3 chord changes.You will begin to hear the solo beginning to change with each chord change.This is so much cooler than just ripping all the time,with the same scale!

Remembering Shawn Lane...1963 to 2003

This guy shattered the frets,and he is an unknown to me till now.Shawn Lane passed in !963 but hopefully this guys playing will live on.His playing is tasteful but can be in your face and blistering too!His birthday would be this month,May.
Check him out...
http://www.shawnlane.com/