Tone Report Weekly Issue 160 | Page 35

dollars and lost an entire weekend replacing the water pump in a Ford Taurus . I ’ m not suggesting you learn to do everything needed to maintain your guitar ( unless you want to ). But some basic maintenance will help you better understand how your guitar works and can save you on a gig . You can learn just about everything you need from The Guitar Player Repair Guide by Dan Erlewine . You can learn to do a full setup , perform fretwork , and replace pickups and other electronics , and more . Or you can also learn to do basic intonation , properly adjust pickup height , or tighten a loose jack or tuning peg . Even if you only read the book and never perform any of the work , you ’ ll be able to better communicate your needs to your local luthier .
We all know that you have impeccable rhythm and that it ’ s the drummer , bassist , or whomever else that is always rushing the beat . No one has ever become a lesser musician by honing their rhythmic skills so it can ’ t hurt to focus more on your timing . The first step is to spend some time each week practicing with a metronome . Sure , it ’ s boring , but so were the flash cards you had to practice in elementary school . Quick , what ’ s six multiplied by seven ? Don ’ t be tempted to use a drum machine with a more elaborate beat ( at least not all of the time ). The monotonous
tick-tock of the metronome is exactly what the doctor ordered to build your computer-perfect timing . Practice at a range of tempos and with both rhythm and lead playing . Also , record yourself playing along with the metronome and listen back . I ’ ve found that for rhythm playing , my timing is pretty damn good . When it comes to leads though , I rush the beat like a six yearold careening down the stairs on Christmas morning . Once you ’ ve done the metronome routine for a while , you can reward yourself and practice playing in rhythm with tap tempo delays , trems , and other effects . But again , record yourself and listen back with an open mind .
dollars and lost an entire weekend replacing the water pump in a Ford Taurus . I ’ m not suggesting you learn to do everything needed to maintain your guitar ( unless you want to ). But some basic maintenance will help you better understand how your guitar works and can save you on a gig . You can learn just about everything you need from The Guitar Player Repair Guide by Dan Erlewine . You can learn to do a full setup , perform fretwork , and replace pickups and other electronics , and more . Or you can also learn to do basic intonation , properly adjust pickup height , or tighten a loose jack or tuning peg . Even if you only read the book and never perform any of the work , you ’ ll be able to better communicate your needs to your local luthier .

BEAT IT !

We all know that you have impeccable rhythm and that it ’ s the drummer , bassist , or whomever else that is always rushing the beat . No one has ever become a lesser musician by honing their rhythmic skills so it can ’ t hurt to focus more on your timing . The first step is to spend some time each week practicing with a metronome . Sure , it ’ s boring , but so were the flash cards you had to practice in elementary school . Quick , what ’ s six multiplied by seven ? Don ’ t be tempted to use a drum machine with a more elaborate beat ( at least not all of the time ). The monotonous
tick-tock of the metronome is exactly what the doctor ordered to build your computer-perfect timing . Practice at a range of tempos and with both rhythm and lead playing . Also , record yourself playing along with the metronome and listen back . I ’ ve found that for rhythm playing , my timing is pretty damn good . When it comes to leads though , I rush the beat like a six yearold careening down the stairs on Christmas morning . Once you ’ ve done the metronome routine for a while , you can reward yourself and practice playing in rhythm with tap tempo delays , trems , and other effects . But again , record yourself and listen back with an open mind .
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