Danish native Schackinger is a great example of a guitar player with exceptional melodic control. Watch this video and you see someone brimming with confidence about his style and chops. Couple that with a winning tune, and you are in for a treat!

Steffen Schackinger: Site + MySpace + Facebook + Album

Some composers have long ditched being ‘pure to their genre’ and collaborated with musicians from all over. Sawhney is one example of someone who’s stepped out of the box critics have tried to put him in. Has not been smooth sailing for him though.

The first piece of music I’d heard by Sawhney is a track covered by Jeff Beck for his You Had It Coming album called Nadia [originally from Sawhney's Beyond Skin album]. It’s a beautiful track that screams and cries out of his guitar. Beck’s called Sawhney the ‘Stevie Wonder of the East’. [original version here]

Here’s Sawhney with The Eno.

There’s a quote from Carlos Santana on her MySpace page:

If I was to pass the baton to somebody, she’d be my first choice.

Just wanted to put that up front. This 24 year old South Australian is not an overnight sensation. I’ll lazy my way out and post another excerpt from her MySpace page:

I have been playing in different bands since I was 14 around Adelaide and my first support show was for Steve Vai when I was 15. I had the opportunity to meet and jam with Carlos Santana when I was 18 in my hometown. He invited me to get up and jam with him at soundcheck then later asked me if I would join him on stage that night to jam!

You may or may not have seen her performance from last night that had people going ‘Who’s that!!’ (myself included) so here it is. And here’s her appearance with Santana from 2006. But, this is the one that makes that quote from Santana…truth.

Rob Guz of M.A.N plays. [via blabbermouth]

Now that you’ve decided to learn to play the guitar, let’s look at the guitar types available out there for you. Essentially there are two kinds: the acoustic, or the electric.

The choice, however, is not so simple. Those two divisions have quite a few sub-divisions. Acoustic first.

Acoustic Guitar, without stirring up a scandal, basically comes in 5 kinds:

1. Classical Guitar

2. Flamenco Guitar

3. Steel String

4. Lap-Steel

5. Electro-Acoustic

Electric Guitar, on the other hand, can’t act alone. It needs help from its partner in crime, the amp. Electric guitar I can’t cover in a few lines, or even in a whole book. But you do need to know what makes up an electric guitar. Or how it works. There’s a great electric guitar review blog you can look at.

As I was saying, the amp is where the sound really takes shape and form. The right amp will have your electric guitar mouthing – “You complete me.” Thankfully, Amptone has got you covered on all things imaginable about amps. Mad props!

So, take a little time and decide what’s to be your main axe. Perhaps this is a good time to share what I own.  Since a lot of my upcoming lessons will likely feature any one of those guitars, it’s best to introduce them.

I own two electro-acoustics -

1. Yamaha steel string, my first in the US. Bought in 1995, I wanted something to allow me to fake an electric guitar as well. The cutaway helped me reach for notes beyond 14 and 15 frets a little easier. Plugged in to an amp, it sounds awful. But the guitar itself has beautiful sound. Most of all, I feel comfortable with it. Very important point, guys – acoustic guitars need to be picked up and played. You might feel the most comfortable holding and playing a $200 dollar guitar as opposed to a more expensive one. If the frets don’t buzz (you have to play all the frets and strings individually to test that) and if the sound breathes, you want that guitar.

Granted, Gibsons and Martins and Taylors are great guitars, and no one would be happier if you bought or owned any one of those, but the truth is – not everyone can afford it. More on guitar buying in a bit. I paid around $400 for mine 13 years ago. The same one wouldn’t sell for $100 now. Technology has advanced and the pick-ups are way better now. However, electro-acoustics served one purpose for me – reaching those high notes.

To give you an example of how my guitar sounds, listen to these two instrumental demos I wrote and recorded almost 7 years ago. With a nice set of D’Addario strings - I like them Xtra Light – the Yamaha got me the bell-like tone I like. Listening to these make me cringe a little but that’s because I can hear many, many things I would do differently, or not do at all. The mix is a little hot and the balance is not quite there. But they do just fine as demos.The second one, ‘Celebration’ is probably the fastest I completed a tune; it came, as if, pre-written. Anyway…

2. Some years later, I bought the above, an Ibanez Electro-Acoustic Nylon String. Cost me $279. It has done okay for me considering the number of gigs I’ve played with this. The pick-up’s better. Would I miss it if I didn’t play it anymore? Eh. At one point I learned Flamenco with this…even stuck a skin protector underneath so the right hand fingers tapping on the body wouldn’t damage it. It’s still there.

I wrote this for the same demo. Again, with the right set of strings – I used La Bella because Dennis Koster, my Flamenco teacher, used them; and so do a lot of these guys – the a decent priced guitar can sound good enough to learn on. Recording it, however, can be tough as mic placement, which I knew nothing about those days, is a big deal when you want good acoustic sound. More on that at a later post.

3. I saved up and bought the Ibanez JS 100 9 or so years ago because I idolized Joe Satriani. And the guitar looked mighty sexy. Too bad I only played gigs with it, and no recorded entry exists, yet. Maybe the world is a better place because of that.

The best part is, there are tons of Satriani live shows you can look at to see what this guitar can do.

Let’s get to it, then. Which guitar is the one for you. The best way to approach this is: 1) What do your favorite guitarists play – Acoustic, Electro-Acoustic, or Electric.? Then 2) Make a couple of trips to the guitar store and try out all of them.

The common reasoning most teachers and others will give you is: Learn on an acoustic because it’s harder to fret them, so when you move on to an electric, it will feel easier. Now if you like a croc of shit, you’ll go for that. If you know for sure you’ll never play an acoustic, why bother with one?Another one is: buy guitar with higher action (larger distance of strings from fretboard) so your fingers learn how to take pressure. Again, ignore!

Tips on buying acoustic guitar:

What they say: a) Sweetwater b ) Musician’s Friend c) Let me Google that for you!

Mine are simple:

1) Take a friend who plays guitar, with you.

2) Pick out a guitar that feels good and sounds good to you.

Meaning: a) Sounds good when you play it. b) Sounds good when your friend plays it for you. You need to hear it from the opposite side.

3) Play every fret, every string all the way up the fretboard. Up means up to 16, 20, or 24 frets.

4) Don’t let the prices and brand names fool you. Not all brand named guitars will do it for you.

5) Don’t let anyone tell you that if it feels uncomfortable at first, you’ll learn to grow into it.

6) Find a sound proof room to play.

Tips on buying electric guitar:

What they say: a) Sweetwater b) Musician’s Friend c) Let me Google that for you!

My tip:

1) Almost all of what I mentioned as per acoustic guitars apply.

2) The most important, however, is – take into account how much you’ve budgeted for an amp. You’ll play yours through an amp most of the time. While your $200 will sound awesome on a Marshall amp, you’ll need to find that Pignose or Fender amp and play your guitar on them.

3) Again, have the sales person show you what sounds you can get out of the amp you can afford, not the expensive ones.

So, you’re asking: I’ve never played guitar, don’t have a friend to take with me. How the hell am I supposed to know what feels right or what doesn’t!? Well, the safest bet is to look at your budget, research some guitars within that budget (look for audio examples always), head over to store and try them out. Just put one on your lap and see how it feels. One of them will feel right. Then find out which sales person is cool and ask him to play something for you in different styles. If (s)he’s cool, you’ll get a free demo. Most guitar stores have pretty good return policy. Don’t like how it feels or sounds when you’re at home and playing where you will be most of the time when you practice, return or exchange it.

Guitar buying is not an art, and doesn’t have to a science. It has to be a good experience because you’re investing your time and money. Often times you’ll be unlucky and have a douche bag try to get you to buy something expensive, or make you feel stupid for buying a guitar you actually think sounds good. Walk away from douche bag and come back when (s)he’s not there.

I remember one time when a sales guy at Sam Ash in NYC turn off the amp I was trying out – I was on, at the most, 10 minutes – and ask, “Are you going to be getting one tonight?” I replied no, to which he said “Then you should come back when you will.” I did the right thing and went up to the manager to complain. The manager simply ignored me. It was 12 years ago and it doesn’t bother me anymore. All I’m saying is, don’t let anyone intimidate you. Don’t let some of these wannabe guitarists with guitar store tenure tell you what to do or buy. I’ve met some genuine nice folks in the same store after that, so the lesson is to walk way and come back when different group is working, or go to a different store. If that doesn’t work, buy online.

This is where I ask you for tips on buying guitar. Both electric and acoustic. I know for a fact that I haven’t covered all the basics of buying a guitar, but the point is to begin a conversation.

So, look forward to your tips, suggestions, recommendations, stories etc.

Eric Clapton demonstrating the various sounds on his guitar. [thx Bottletop]

There is never one way to play anything. Hand over your guitar to a person who’s never played the guitar before, whether a musician or non-musician, and watch how (s)he holds it and tries to play it. But guitar players who’ve adopted their own style bring us a sound we are not familiar with and that either unlocks something in you or offends you.

My first memory of someone playing the guitar ‘wrong’ was Stanley Jordan. He is not so rough on his guitars. Check out these videos and marvel at their technique. If you know of a person I missed but ought to feature, please leave comment with a link.

Erik Mongrain.

Andy McKee. He has a following like you won’t believe. This piece is perhaps the most covered.

Bob Brozman.

Adam Fulara

Daby Toure. This one I shot in August at the African Guitar Festival.

And you thought guitars don’t like it rough.

Now some of you be whiners and may be watching these and saying: “I’ll never be like him, or like him becauseI don’t have enough this” or “My fingers are too short this and my ass is too tight that or my arms are not joined at the right.”

I have a special medicine for those whiners.

Now go fucking practice!

Guitarist Matthew Mills interviews Yngwie Malmsteen for Modern Guitars. Check out Mills’s work here.

For one, he is planning an album with several guest singers.

Santana talks about technology, music distribution, and a gadget he can’t without. (That same gadget is my favorite too!) but misses a crucial factor about making money with his music advantage he has over a lot of other bands.

Do you agree with him regarding music being free? His comparison, however, restricts us to thinking that the only method of music not being free is in the actual song being the only way to make money.

If you ask me, Santana has a better chance of giving away his music free and still make money. If you’ve ever been to his concerts (I have), you know his live performance is the shit! No one will dispute that, I’m sure. He will make money touring and with his merchandising, licensing tracks, selling live concerts.

Selling video/audio of live concerts, or selling while you’re in concert is a big opportunity for a lot of bands to make and promote their music. For bands like Santana or Radiohead…each concert is different because the experience is different. The concert goer remembers it as being special because they’ve had a good time with friends, family or whatever have you. Wouldn’t they like to own a piece of that experience? If you can provide that right there at the concert, you will make money.

Here’s how:

1. Use mobile commerce! Who doesn’t own a cellphone? During concert announce: “If you’d like to buy this live concert for $1.99…text – for example – livevideo – to the number. You’ll receive a link to download the concert when it’s available. If you like to get the audio – liveaudio.” You don’t need to fill out shit. Your phone number is it!
2. Sell merchandise! The giant screens during breaks could advertise merchandise and let people text to buy.
3. Have people vote or take polls! They’ll do it then and most likely won’t later. They’re in the moment!! AC/DC and Linkin Park involve their fans a lot. Why not do that on-site?
4. Let them download a free song from the upcoming album.
5. Let them record their comments and thoughts about the concert they just attended and upload them on a social site. How could that hurt?
6. What if you could tag yourself on the live video and let the cameras on the site find you and magnify you on the big screen? Mmmm…wouldn’t that be awesome!
7. I could sit here and keep coming up with these things all day. But then again, maybe I don’t know about it and bands are already doing it.

The point is…we all remember concerts because we use them as landmarks of our memories. You utter the word ‘Woodstock’ and it is bound to open up floodgates of thousands of pieces of history and memories made by every single attendee. Now if you’d attended either or both of the ’69 or ’94 concerts, wouldn’t you have liked to own a piece of that experience? Those two concerts, however, have been documented. What about the thousands that are memorable for different reasons but not documented and available for you to keep?

When I’d attended the 1995 Page/Plant concert at MSG, it was a big deal for me. What do I have from that event to tell my friends, family, or kids (when I have them…eventually)? Don’t you think I’d pay to download live video/audio of that concert for keeps? I’d pay for it because I paid to attend it, and I’d pay for it because I was there.

I’ll give you a personal example of how live concerts one attends take on a different level of meaning, if given the chance to have a sense of humor about it.

I happen to be part of a Grammy winning album.

Hear me out.

8 years ago, Carnegie Hall organized a farewell concert for Ravi Shankar. He was touring with his daughter Anoushka. It was a wonderful experience! I was taken by Anoushka who made pops proud. Months later, I learn that that concert was recorded live and went on to win the Grammy.

Which led me to joke: “I am on a Grammy winning album, you see. The crowd’s cheer and applause you hear between the performances…I am one of them!”

Newsflash: Wrote this post two days ago, but found out today that Metallica already does most of what I talk about here. Lesson: If you think you have a great idea, someone else probably has thought of it already. Perhaps Metallica is not the only band letting folks download concerts – no video yet, but can’t complain. The site has almost every single concert available for download, including tons of free ones. Don’t know how deep their mobile commcerce is, but they’re, I’m sure, on it. Have to give kudos to the band for this.