RIP Eddie Van Halen

The first text & PM came in at 3:40pm today (Tuesday, October 6, 2020). Then my phone blew up....

EVH: One of the greatest EVER.

As I sit here, in between teaching guitar students and sneaking in business calls and trying to just do the gigs and not cancel the remainder of the day, I wonder how many people REALLY grasp the enormity of the impact Eddie has had on the world of guitar. And not just rock guitar, either; but especially rock guitar.

And the enormity of the impact his band, Van Halen, have had on the world of music. And not just rock music, either; but especially rock music. 

And I'm thinking that because I'm trying desperately to write something positive and educational and....of value. Value to everyone from the casual listener to the die-hard fans to the high level guitar shredders. Something useful, as Elon Musk would say.

And I will. And when its done, I'll post it here or, like Michael Jackson and David Bowie and Lemmy and Prince, I'll post it at Skinny Devil Magazine.

But I think I'm not going to write any more right now. I'm just going to go listen to Eddie play......

Mini SDML Songwriting Workshop

Howdy, folks!

This is a miniature version of the songwriting workshops I've been conducting for the past decade or so as an extension of our work at SDML Academy of Guitar. While each workshop is unique (due to the participants, their skill levels, knowledge levels, and interests), the foundation is the same as what I'll be using here (except here, for brevity, there will be no discussion of items like form, prosody, stylistic tendencies, timbrel concerns, texture, dynamics, interplay, time changes or key changes, theme & variations, and the like).

To wit: Our framework will be to explore....

1) Rhythm

2) Melody

3) Chord progressions & Harmonization

4) Lyrics & Literary Devices

Let's jump right in!

Jimi Hendrix at Monterey - a Guitar Lesson

(The following is an excerpt from the "supplemental lessons" page - September/October edition - for my guitar students. Many more song charts, video tutorials, video drills, text, info, and more available there AND at the official SDML Academy of Guitar website, where you can sign up for a free 60 day trial!)

JIMI HENRIX TRIBUTE

To only mildly over-simplify for brevity, it was his set at the Monterey Pop Festival (June 1967) that made Jimi an overnight sensation.

In tribute, I'm charting a few songs on his setlist from that show below, all cover songs. His opening song was the Howlin' Wolf classic "Killing Floor" (a classic 12-bar blues in A released in '64)), his mid-point song (5 of 9) was "Hey Joe" (the Byrds version was 1966), and he ended with "Wild Thing" (a song made famous just a year earlier by The Troggs)...so he was playing contemporary covers of the day, not classic covers. That is a non-trivial detail worthy of discussion in class!

As these are covers, they can also easily be contrasted with his writing style, which at times used simple structures like we see below (with an emphasis then placed on riffs, fills, licks, and the like), but at other times is far more complex (like "The Wind Cries Mary" from his first album, "Little Wing" - which we looks at last month - "Castles Made of Sand", and more).

Read more about the Monterey Pop Festival at the wikipedia page and more about Jimi Hendrix at his official website.....and see Jimi's Monterey setlist below!

"Killing Floor"

framed with a wicked high speed pentatonic riff, the structure is:

A - - - /A - - - /A - - - /A - - - /

D - - - /D - - - /A - - - /A - - - /

E - - - /D - - - /A - - - /E - - - /

"Hey Joe"

C - G - /D - /A - /

E - E7 - /E - E7 - /

repeat

"Wild Thing"

A - D - /E - D - /

repeat

Jimi's Monterey setlist:

1) "Killing Floor" - Howlin' Wolf

2) "Foxey Lady"

3) "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan

4) "Rock Me Baby" - BB King

5) "Hey Joe" - The Byrds

6) "Can You See Me"

7) "The Wind Cries Mary"

8) "Purple Haze"

9) "Wild Thing"

FREE GUITAR / BASS / UKULELE LESSON

HOWDY friends!

For those interested in guitar (or ukulele or electric bass.......or any of our workshops, from songwriting to improvisation to basic keyboard to social drumming and more), I thought I'd make this free mini lesson available so you can get a little taste of how we approach things! The GUITAR VIDEO IS AVAILABLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE (but the parts of the lessons are not on video, so be sure to read the entire lessons below)....or, if the video isn't displaying properly, you can view it HERE. 

ALSO....the BASS video is HERE and the UKULELE video is HERE.

If you are interested in lessons, contact me directly at sdmusiclab@gmail.com or visit our website for info on the system, instructors (me, Paulie, & JD), needs-based scholarship program, lessons options (group class, private lessons, real-time, pre-recorded, in-person, vitrtual, etc), and more: www.sdmlguitar.com 

Let's break in down into several areas. Several of these items will also be on the video below.

JULY Lifestyle Challenge

We do periodic lifestyle challenges that are always guided but very general. I thought I'd try something different this month. We all have huge lists of daily activities (from work to family to hobbies and more) and often the challenges we do get a tad overwhelming, even if well-intentioned.

So let's try a ONE GOAL PER WEEK challenge this month!

Pick ONE thing per week....hell, pick ONE thing for just this week right now and we'll worry about the rest of the month later!

Visit the May Lifestyle Challenge for ideas if you're new to this.

For me, I'll list them one for each of the 4 weeks of July:

1) I'm just going to try some new organizational tools in an attempt to weed out waste and increase my general productivity & presence. Thanx to my friend Eddy for a great "journaling" idea!

2) TBA

3) TBA

4) TBA

My bonus item: Having ONE gym day that gets heavier than other days (Wednesday, as of late). I go in earlier, do extra cardio, and try to do the regular resistance & body-weight work with some extra focus.

But our goal, remember, is pick ONE thing this week...and each week in July.

As always, you can leave comments on your goals below or contact me directly if you like!

Let's do it!!