Should I learn to read music or just learn tab?

Should I learn to read music or just learn tab?

By Bryan Karijanian

Head guitar instructor

at

The Music Factory school of Music

Orange County California

The internet is filled with easy-to-read guitar tablature for just about every song ever written. Because it's simple format of just numbers listed on strings, it tells you exactly where to put your fingers. Within moments of looking at it, you can begin to sound out the song. So being a guitar player is there a need to learn how to read music?

With piano lessons you generally start right away learning to read notes on sheet music. There isn't really tablature for piano.You have to learn the names of the notes on the keyboard. So when you start guitar and discover tab, it can be a wonder why there would be a need to have to memorize that series of dots,lines,stems,and crazy symbols.

Tablature is a great tool for guitar and learning songs quick. It's meant for guitar. It shows you where the artist placed their fingers on the neck to perform the particular lick. This can ensure a finger efficient pattern. It also points out of all the guitar techniques used in a song like the bends, hammer-ons, and even pinched harmonics. However, there are some flaws that it presents. The biggest problem is that it shows you no rhythmic notation. There is no way determine what is played fast or slow. Secondly, it can't be shared by another instrument. So if you wanted to communicate your song to other musicians, they would not be able to read it on other instruments, or of course know how the rhythm goes.

Reading a musical piece in standard notation provides you with the rhythmic value of each note, it can be played on any instrument, and with detailed key information, a band can transpose keys if needed. But learning how read standard notation on guitar can be a daunting task for most. Unlike tab, it takes a lot longer to learn to read and memorize notes. It will take a considerable amount time to be able to pull up any song and play it using just standard notation. Also, on guitar, there are more than one place to play exact same note. Therefore a lot of beginners give up on the commitment to learn it for the "instant gratification" of tab.

Having the ability to read music has some huge advantages. First off, you will develop a much better sense of rhythm. That result can be seen very early in the process. Also, when you are sight reading music, you have to make quick decisions, have to foresight of what's coming next, and the endurance to complete the song exactly as written. Hyper focusing on those elements can make you a very strong musician, and probably improve other areas in life.

For a guitar player, one of the biggest advantages of learning to read music is it will force you to learn the names of the notes on guitar, and eventually over the entire neck. You can then develop the power to improvise sweet sounding solos in any key and any situation with ease. When you watch those players that just jam effortlessly all over the guitar, they have a keen sense of every note they are hitting. It truly provides a solid and proper foundation to enter the advanced stage of playing.

In conclusion, for the guitar or bass player, it's about learning both. When you combine a strong understanding of both tab and standard notation you are truly unlimited. You can follow the tab to interpret the emotion of lick, with bends etc, and the still strum out the correct rhythmic values of any song.

With guitar or bass lessons at The Music Factory in Costa Mesa, we encourage that combination. The curriculum is designed to teach note reading and music theory, in parallel with tablature, so you can start to play a lot of popular riffs right away too.

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How do I tune my drums? or The 5 elements of good drum tone

How do I tune my drums or the 5 elements of good drum tone

By Danny Thompson

 How do I tune my drums? If I had a nickle for every time I heard that I would be out paddle boarding in Hawaii and not writing this post. How to tune drums is a complicated and involved art form. Part of the problem is there is so much bad information out there and most drummers get frustrated with it that they just half ass it. Now there is no way I can cover all of the issues, techniques and tricks needed to properly tune here in one article. What I thought I would do instead is cover what I consider to be the 5 elements of good drum tone, in order of importance, and why I put them in that order. I'm sure there will be some disagreement from the drum community out there so feel free to comment on this one. One of the things I do to continually work on my drum tone is to remain open minded. My techniques and procedures with drum tuning have evolved over the years and will continue to do so. So here we go..

                                           The 5 elements of good drum tone

1) Tuning
     When I really look at everything this is where it starts. Many people I polled on this repeatedly said the player was everything. Now I agree that the player is very important but think about this fact. I would consider myself to be at the level of player that I know how to properly hit the drums. If I was playing a show today and the drums had old heads and were severely out of tune, it wouldn't matter one bit how well I hit the drums, they would sound like crap in the context of the song.
     Secondly, good tuning with new heads on a cheap drum kit sounds way better than a great kit with old heads and bad tuning.

2) Player
    Hitting the drums properly is a huge element of good drum tone. It's amazing what a bad player can do to a well tuned drum kit. Choking the drums with the way you hit is a very common mistake that drummers make. I would highly recommend you watch the JoJo Mayer DVD to see some great demonstrations of this. Certainly having exceptional technique, dynamics and proper grip are all going to impact the sound of the drums. The simple fact is that if you can't hit the drum in the center every time you are going to struggle with a good sound.

3) Drum head
      An old or dented drum head is going to make it harder and harder for you to keep your sound at an acceptable level. Proper drum head choice is also going to impact the sound. There are some heads that no matter what I do I am unhappy with the overall sound.

4) Drums and Drum shells
     Certainly a better quality drum, with all other factors the same, is going to sound better. However, there are high end drum companies that , in my opinion, don't design drums that sound very good compared to some cheaper kits of better design. Design being shell material, thickness, bearing edge etc. Just because a company is using some fancy, hard to find wood with special processes involved, doesn't mean it actually sounds good.

5) Environment
     The room has a huge impact on the final sound. The reason I put this at number 5 is that you usually don't have cont roll over this. In your home studio you can use some treatments to the walls to try and develop the right mix of ambiance and diffusion to have a great sounding practice room. This will inspire you Io play more for sure.

That's it. The 5 elements of good drum tone. For more info on drum tuning you can email me at the Music Factory School of Music.
Danny@themusicfactoryoc.com
also, you can check out my pod cast  thedrumtuningguru@libsyn.com

I want to learn guitar...should I buy an Electric or Acoustic?

I want to learn guitar...should I buy an Electric or Acoustic

This is a very common question when considering to play guitar. It commonly 

arises after your first trip to the music store, staring at that array of 

beautiful natural wooden acoustic guitars lining the walls. You picture yourself 

strumming soothing bright and glistening chords. But then, you hear the rocking 

rumble customer testing out a shiny sunburst painted electric guitar. He is 

shaking the walls with the distorted "Whole Lotta Love" riff. Cool! So, Where do 

you start? Is there a passage way or rule?

 Well, there really isn't a straight forward answer. When talking with other 

musicians and instructors, you will find there are plenty of opinions that can 

cause indecision. The best approach is looking at some advantages and 

disadvantages of both.



Acoustic guitar:

Advantages:

1. No amp needed. You can pull it out of the case anytime anywhere and play.

2. You can transpose any style song to a cool sounding "unplugged version"

3. Less money to spend on equipment amps and cables.

4. Produces a consistent nice tone. Most beginners have trouble setting good 

tones on amps. Your family may not enjoy hearing uncontrolled buzzy distorted 

feedback.



Disadvantages:

1. The Neck is a bit wider which makes it tougher to fret some chords.

2. Strings are thicker on acoustics so it takes some more push to produce clear 

notes.

3. Can't use it to play in a band or with a drummer.



Electric guitar:

Advantages:

1. The Neck is a bit smaller which can make it easier to fret and produce 

chords.

2. Strings are thinner, which can help make lead guitar parts using those 

wailing bends easier.

3. You can plug into an amp and play along with a band or ensemble.

4. If your main musical influence is rock or metal, you can reproduce the tones 

of your favorite artists.



Disadvantages:

1. Have to lug an amp around with you. You can bring acoustics anywhere, out of 

town, or to a friends house.

2. Have to spend more money on equipment.

3. Due to smaller neck and strings, your fingers may not develop as strong or 

fast as an acoustic beginner. 



My opinion is a beginner should learn the basics on acoustic guitar. I think 

it's the best way to build good finger strength early, develop good rhythm and 

strumming habits, and people tend to enjoy the sound of a acoustic guitar around 

the house..even if your just starting out.



If you are a rocker, and you really want to approach that electric style, I 

would say start on acoustic and after a few months then maybe switch to 

electric. Here at the Music Factory in Costa Mesa, we have some electric house 

guitars available to try. So once you get the basics down, your instructor can 

have you do a few lessons on the electric to get you prepared and consider 

before buying one.

 

In the end it's up to you. Do your research and follow you're instinct. If you 

have your heart set on a shiny new electric cause you envision yourself rocking 

out with your friends, go for it! That might just be the motivation you need to 

practice more and improve. 



When you come to the The Music Factory for a free trial lesson, it's a great 

opportunity to talk to a professional, weigh out your options and try out both 

types of guitars. 

Bryan Karijanian is an accomplished guitar player and instructor at the Music Factory School of Music in Costa Mesa ( Orange County) California.

www.themusicfactoryoc.com

x

Orange County’s Best Bets To Inspire Your Artsy Kids « CBS Los Angeles

Orange County’s Best Bets To Inspire Your Artsy Kids « CBS Los Angeles

Is it over? Exploring song endings with Bryan Karijanian

This blog has been written by guest blogger and guitar teacher extraordinaire at The Music Factory school of Music, Bryan Karijanian...

Most of the time we recognize and admire great song riffs and the intros, but forget to appreciate the classic endings. Its funny, we wait in suspense about how a books or movies are going to end. There are several different approaches to a great song ending. The possibilities are endless and here's a few: 

The Explosive Arena Rock Ending - Giving the listener the feeling of being at the show. The clashing of cymbals, pounding of bass drums and feverishly strumming of chords in unison. (AC/DC "For Those About To Rock") 

The Classic Studio Fade Out - That catchy sing-along chorus just continuing into eternity. (Fleetwood Mac "Don't Stop")

The Speed Up - The band kicks into overdrive and double times the songs meter into a fever pitch. (Guns and Roses "Paradise City" or Anthrax "Time")

The Abrupt Halt - Displaying the result of the bands great rehearsal ethics and tightness, syncing up a snap ending. (Rage Against the Machine " Bomb track")  

The Studio Mistake - Maybe a delay pedal still echoing catching the sound guitar player putting his guitar back in its case or a engineers incorrect timing to fade back in...or maybe completely planned "mistake". (Led Zeppelin "When the levee Breaks)

The Gospel Chorus - Taking it to church. Needs a large production budget to hire a 20 piece gospel choir, but brings the chorus to a whole other heavenly level.(Rolling Stones " Can't Always Get What You Want")

The Unsuspected Out of Key Chord - Maybe choosing a random minor seven flat five sharp nine chord to close the curtain on the listener. The Beatles "A Day In a Life" ends with what has been said to be the most famous final chords in music history. (The Beatles " A Day in the Life")

The Music Factory School of Music in Costa Mesa ( Orange County) California is the number one provider of private music lessons in the greater Southern California area.

www.themusicfactoryoc.com

Just because you play drums ( sort of) does'nt mean you should teach drums. (explicit)

This drummer came to our music school, The Music Factory, and took a free 30 minute trial drum lesson with one of our teachers. I wasn't the one doing the lesson but I heard bits and pieces of it. Guy wasn't horrible by any means but he definitely needed some work if he wanted to seriously play in a band or anything like that. So anyways, he does not sign up for lessons with us which is fine, maybe he didn't like the school or the teacher or we were too expensive etc. This happens and is part of the business. No problem. So a few days later I was out seeing our same drum teachers band play and I run into this potential student. We start talking about all kinds of things and he tells me about his new business he is starting. "What are you going to be doing?" I ask.  " Getting my drum teaching business going" He says. Are you fucking kidding me? You could barley play a fucking parradiddle and you are going to be a drum teacher?  Now by no means do I think I'm the greatest drummer out there or even close to the upper tier of people out there but I do take it seriously. I took lessons for years and still try to when I can. If you have been playing guitar for two years do you start teaching and getting paid for it? I don't see that happening very often but for some reason everybody who plays drums seems to think they are good enough to teach. Yes I know, the best coaches often aren't the best players blah blah but this is different. I run into this in music stores all the time as well. Instead of sending the student to a qualified teacher or school the person working the counter lines up the potential student for themselves. I'm sure there are plenty of people working at music stores who are qualified to teach but from what I'm seeing, and I've been around way more than most when it comes to music retail, it's the exception not the norm. 
Here are a few of my new qualifiers for teaching drums...
1) If you can't play an AC/DC beat at the quality of a professional drummer, along to a click track, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE LESSONS !

2) If you can't do a drum roll from open single strokes to a closed buzz roll and back reasonably smooth, YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS TEACHING!

There are a bunch of good drum teachers out there who have studied and put lots of effort into providing a quality product, please don't cheapen what they do by half assing it.
    Yes, I am pissed that I invested money into my music school and it is one of my businesses and I have to compete with some dude at the counter of a music store who can't read music but convinces parents that he's a good teacher. I think I have a right to be. I know it's a free market and all but music is still an art form and shame on you for not giving it the respect it deserves.
    If you are thinking of taking drum lessons, please seek out a qualified teacher. I don't care if their not from The Music Factory, just don't support someone who has no business taking your money.

Here are some other good drum teachers in the Orange County area that DO NOT work with the Music Factory.

Evan Kilbourn     @deadbeatdrums on twitter
Scott Reeder  scott reederdrums.com
Rob Ferrell  robertferrell.com
Chad friggin Wackerman!!!!
Evan Stone

If you would like info on the teachers and facility at the Music Factory
go to
www.themusicfactoryoc.com
   

Our New E- Book..A beginners guide to excelling in music. Click the link below to download..And feel free to share...

Thanks
Danny

https://files.me.com/musicfactory/cvy3dd