5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting Guitar Lessons

5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting Guitar Lessons

When a beginner wants to begin their guitar lessons, s/he is always filled with lots of doubts and questions. Queries such as how many hours you’ll need to practice to get better to what is the best learner guitar (electric) that one can buy tend to cross the minds of beginners. But before you pay for a guitar lesson or make up your mind on whether you need one, below are some questions that you need to ask yourself.

How can I start learning how to play the guitar?

To begin learning how to play the guitar, you just need to pick up a guitar and play it. It’s as simple as that. However, if you want to become successful in playing the instrument, you need to create a program on how you plan to play. From there, consider getting a teacher to help you with your lessons or an online course, book or software. Also, set daily reminders of when you can be able to practice to ensure that you remain consistent.

What genre of music do I want to play?

Before you decide on what guitar to buy, you need first to ask yourself the type of music you want to play. There are different types of guitar with some being suited to a certain genre of music better than others. By settling on the type of music you want to play, it’ll be much easier for you to come to a quick decision regarding the type of guitar to get.

Should I have my own guitar?

Our simple answer to this question is yes; you should have your own guitar. This is very important as the program you create should involve regular practices which also means you need to have access to a guitar. While you can easily borrow from a friend, this may work against you especially when they need to travel with their guitar, and you don’t have access to one. Owning your own guitar also makes it easy to practice during your free time. Ensure that your guitar is easy to play so that you don’t easily get discouraged from playing.

Do I need to play regularly?

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. If you are learning how to play an instrument and what to achieve perfection, you need to be consistent and have regular practice sessions on a daily basis if possible. Regular practice doesn’t mean you have to play the guitar hours on end. It simply means that you should be able to spare some minutes daily to practice. This could be anything from as little as 10 minutes daily to 60 minutes if your schedule allows.

What common beginner mistakes should I avoid?

As is the norm with anyone learning a new thing, there are common pitfalls that can be avoided. When you are a beginner, it’s important that you don’t give up when things get tough. For one to improve their playing skills, it’s important that you record yourself and listen back so as to know the areas you can improve on. Also, ensure you take time and learn your guitar and how it is able to produce the sound that it does.

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Picking a Laptop for Artists and DJs

Computing considerations are very important in modern DJ and performance art.  As anyone with contemporary experience can tell you, not all computers and laptops are created equal, and many machines that are made for simple web surfing and social media posting won’t hold their weight under any considerable tasks volume.

Picking a laptop for artists comes down to a few simple considerations.  In this article we will break them down briefly and list a few resources where you can get more information to help make your decision.

Things to Consider When Selecting a Laptop for an Artist or DJ

#1 – What are your main tasks?

Are you planning on mixing music?  Doing graphic design for your artists graphics or flyers?  Are you only needing to play MP3s (like a iPod?).  These considerations will help you determine what you need from your machine.

For simple music playing, you probably don’t even need a full laptop.  Consider a taplet or even an iPhone.

For graphic design you will want a high powered machine.  As of 2018, you would want at least 4GB of RAM (and a SSD hard drive is preferable).

For mixing music you will want to bump this up even more, with 6GB of RAM, SSD Hard Drive, and a 1.6 GHZ dual core or better.

#2 – How will you be transporting it?

Weight and durability is a big consideration for the artist on the go.  DJs and other traveling artists will need transportability, while graphic designers don’t necessarily need that.

“Ruggedized PCs” are a special types of laptops that are meant for very volatile conditions (like those of army combat).  You might want something like this for DJs that work clubs and other places that have wild crowds.  It will be protection against inevitable damage.

#3 – Software Considerations

The broadest question that most people have about their hardware is actually that of software as well: Mac or PC?

This will come down to a few factors, include personal preference, current software use, and security.

Personal preference will probably be the biggest deciding factor, since many things are very common across both platforms.  Lots of activities are cloud based at this point, so operating system is somewhat irrelevant.

Your current software use will mimic your personal preference.  If you use Photoshop and have already purchased the MAC version of it, you will want to stick with Mac (not to mention Mac is much better with graphic applications).

Security is a simple one: Go for Mac.  It’s more secure, is subject to less vulnerability injections than Windows, and is generally just a more stable OS.

Conclusion

We hope this has helped a little bit with picking a laptop for your artists or DJ uses.  If you have any additional tips please go ahead and leave a comment or send an email to tips (at) vinylvulture.co.uk.

 

 

 

Proper Vinyl Storage
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Proper Vinyl Storage

It is a well-known fact that vinyl provides audiophiles the best music quality out of all the existing formats. Yet, you will find that they do not last very long if they are not handled or stored properly. Here are few tips to help you store your records safely and correctly. Keep in mind that these tips ensure that your records stay in the best possible condition.

  • Always Use the Sleeves – The record sleeves provide your Vinyl collection so much more than just beautiful cover art. They protect your records from the harmful elements that could eventually damage them such as dirt, dust, and direct sunlight. That being said, you should never store your records out of their sleeves as they could easily get damaged and scratched.
  • Keep them in Cool and Dry Place – Too much heat and humidity can easily render your music collection worthless, so it would be smart to store them in a cool and dry place. After all, you would not want your precious vinyl collection to get warped or to grow molds.

These are just a few basic tips to help you store your vinyl collection properly.

Review: Mac Demarco’s This Old Dog
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Review: Mac Demarco’s This Old Dog

This Old Dog, Mac DeMarco’s third album, is a great listen. If you are unfamiliar with his work, then this is probably a good entry point too. It marks a bit of change for the artist yet retains the flavor which fans have come to be familiar with.

The thing that you will probably notice upon first listening to the album is that it shows some significant signs of growth. The writing of the lyrics itself is a bit more mature, as the songs never seem to waste words. It is also noticeably sadder compared to the previous records. As DeMarco touches on some of his personal issues, mostly about his father, one could not but empathize. In addition to this, long-time listeners will also notice that there is less emphasis on the woozy guitar effects. One could even say that there is significantly more acoustic guitar here than in the previous two albums combined.

Mac DeMarco is perhaps known for his chill-out and laid back approach to rock music and life in general. Yet, for someone who lives in the moment, he was able to produce an album that feels timeless.

Reviews – October 2005

1984 “There’s A Wrinkle In Our Time” (Tramp)

Tramp Records is the brainchild of DJ and funk 45 collector Tobias Kirsmayer and on this latest release Tobias has done what he does best – digging deeper and deeper into as yet untouched archives to unearth worldly funk treasures for us all to enjoy. Well, this latest release is going to cause quite a stir as it remains relatively unknown within collector circles, so we’re reliably informed. Originating in Philadelpia and poorly distributed when first released, “There’s A Wrinkle In Our Time” faded quickly into relative obscurity. Opening with a mad “10, 9, 8 …” countdown, we are then treated to a heavy drums and bass garage-style workout with sparse wah-wah guitar and a 60’s-style protest vocal. The flip “Theme” is a new track, seeing the light of day for the first time – you get an uptempo, bass heavy rug-cutter with plenty of conga percussion that takes off at 100mph and doesn’t let up. Add into this a fantastic drums and percussion breakdown in the middle of the track and you’ll wonder why this gem remained hidden away for so long!

For more details of this and other Tramp Records, contact – http://www.tramprecords.com/

The Giallos Flame “Crime In The City” / Outpost 31 “Lone Wolf” (Meifumado)

This story begins on the Vinyl Vulture ‘Snippets’ forum when Ron Graham, aka Giallos Flame, posted up soundclips of some of his latest recordings. These were enjoyed by Dan of Meifumado Records who, quick as a flash, contacted Ron in order to discuss the release of his material. Although credited to two different artists, both tracks on this 45 were produced by Ron’s fair hands, issued under different pseudonyms in order to perhaps best demonstrate the musical diversity being generated in his Durham bedroom. “Crime In The City” is an homage to Italian Prog and Italian movie soundtracks, the result being a lo-fi soundclash of Goblin and tight, punchy downtempo beats. Wierd, wonderful and somewhat infectious music that makes you wonder if this was really recorded in 1972 and not as recent as last year… Over on the flip, “Lone Wolf” draws on more UK based influences, sounding like a long-lost Music De Wolfe recording session. Dan from Meifumado tells us that the influences for the Outpost 31 sessions include “Alan Tew and Telemusic” – how very true, but this track has a broader appeal that to just serious library-heads. We’ve heard that a 6-track EP from Outpost 31 is in the pipeline, so watch this space!

Blak Twang “Travellin” (Bad Magic)

Taken from the album “The Rotton Club”, Twang returns with a thumpin’ mix of hip hop raps and sazzy reggae beats and bass. The rhyme is very much in the style of ATCQ’s “World Tour” with Twang tongue- twisting his way through a lyrical postcard that name-checks just about every country in which hip hop is recognised (but begins and ends in Lewisham!). On this 12″ you get a First Man remix that drops the tempo to R’n’B jiggy-speed and adds a female vocal to the chorus. Personally speaking, the drop in tempo doesn’t suit Twang’s delivery, so we’ll be sticking to the original mix.

Reviews – September 2005

The Peas ‘Getting Some’/’Crazy Walk’ (Malo)

You record-making folks out there have been jolly good to us this month with lots of vinyl matter for gratis, and chief amongst y’awl has to be the wondrous Brother Lee, here under the guise of The Peas, with this super-duper-funky-few-minutes of a 45. Allow me to lapse into the vernacular for a moment and express the fact the ‘I’m really feeling this’ – as in enjoying it a significant amount, not pressing it against my silken cheek, you understand. Here’s a phrase for you; ‘special needs Meters’. Not one that I can lay claim to, but that just about says it, and if that special need you have is a tight as a gnat’s chuff Hammond & guitar carve up, then eyes down to find a copy. The lead track kicks off like Sergeant Pepper’s played on a Danelectro and them smoothes into a righteous groove that’s crisp and clear – lead all the way by a sharp and shrill riff backed by that patented Meters damped geetar picking that comes over so corn-fed it could have been reared by Bernard Matthews. There’s more gumbo stylings over on the flip with the slower paced, but nicely pleasing ‘Crazy Walk’ that has a feel of Harry Nilsson’s ‘Coconut’ about it. Some more of that snazzy guitar (I’m thinking Credence Clearwater Revival now), and lashings of Hammond help the track to meander along very nicely to complete what is a very welcome and pleasing 45 indeed.

To get yer mitts on one of these send a cheque for £5 (payable to Lee Skelly) to Brother Lee himself:

The Peas
35 Lancaster Mews
London
W2 3QF

Or drop him a line on brotherlee68@gmail.com

The Mike Lee Sound ‘Mike’s Bag’ (Dime)

I understand that this album has been out for a while, but I missed it, which I suppose means either I’ve completely lost touch with ‘the kids’, as I fear daily, or that you might have missed it too, dear reader. Anyway, more goodness from our friend Brother Lee and his mate Mike Stuart and their full time band. Now, if you’re like me and spend your time listening to cheesy retro sounds and often wonder why, oh why don’t youngsters out there form bands that play this type of thing anymore… well, they do, and here’s the evidence (but the youth of the culprits I cannot vouch for, as they are all extremely well skilled players on this offering). Let’s throw down some musical touchstones just for the hell of it shall we; KPM grooves, Santana axe solos, Jason Lindh flute, Hawkshaw Hammond – these guys have got the measure of it alright, and that’s not the end of it. I’ll sound like a wine taster, but I’m getting hints of the Fourth Dimension BBC LP and I am liking it very much sir! Put it this way, if the Sean Lee Ping Pong Orchestra bangs your clanger, then scurry along now and have a dabble with this, as this album covers a similarly wide array of bases, all of which are well within the boundaries of rather excellent record buying taste. Go discover while it’s still in the shops – or indeed I’m sure you can get one from Brother Lee at the address above.

The Mike Lee Sound ‘Spread It Around’/’Monkey Man’ (Dime)

I am indeed engulfed by faux-retro sounds to sooth my lug-holes, as here we have a fine 45 issued to accompany the above album. Its lovely – all dolled up to look like a vintage CBS orange label release, the lead track is a fly-ass pimp-tastic groove, heavy on the wah-wah and resplendent of Fender-Rhodes. For some reason as I am listening to it now, the track has made me come over all ‘Exile On Main Street’ as the parping sax begins to wash over me. Actually, I should have mentioned above that as the album spreads out the saxophone athletics become a key component of the sound, and it’s very much in that Bobby Keys style, rather than any lame-ass Grover Washington nonsense. Most pleasing. Over on the flip, ‘Monkey Man’ is a jerky wah groove with some Moody’s Mellotron, nice flute and rampant axe that stretches off into an Eddie Hazel ‘Maggot Brain’ solo that your mother would be proud of. Look, seriously, this is super stuff and it’s amazing to find that some fine fellows out there are touching all of your favourite musical reference points in a new way. Go buy!

Ambulance ‘Witchi Tai To’ (Sea Records)

Apparently, everyone from Mark Wirtz to Lauren Laverne has been bigging up Liverpool’s best kept secret recently. Airtime from John Peel offers its very own stamp of approval and the hacks have been rightly encouraging on the strength of Ambulance’s latest 12″ from Sea Records, run by official ‘friend of VV’ Jim Cassius. Top banana of Jim to send this one through, as although I have confess to being a little ambivalent to the lead track – a sparse cover of the famous pop hit with more than a nod to the Pixies ‘Wave of Mutilation’ (Surf version) – go check it out – it’s true! Anyway, like I was saying, that’s all well and good, but in my mind that track completely dissolves into insignificance compared by the sheer attack of the ‘stormtroopers advance on the alien hoards to the sound of The Butthole Surfers’ sci-fi sludge-fest of ‘Over and Out’. This is indeed my bag! Minutes of Luftwaffe basslines and feedback that you could fry eggs on – this is what they want! Well, it’s what I want anyway, and the world would be a stranger and better place if this track got played by mistake on the Radio 1 breakfast show. Proof indeed that mind-expanding drugs are still rife in Liverpool. Good.

More info from: www.searecords.co.uk

Gumbo Ya Ya ‘Life In The Making’ (Humble Monkey)

All you folks down there in That London must get to go to record launch parties every other night of the week, but not up here in the wilds of the North East, so ligging out at the recent Humble Monkey ‘do’ was something of a red letter day for the diary, and tons more power to my man James Tarn’s elbow for having the sheer balls to make shit happen up here – truly the last place on earth that you’d expect Hip-Hop grooves to emanate from. Being my usual contrary self, with this 12″ I actually prefer the tit-bits rather than the main course, but rapid-fire rapper DPF leads the way on ‘Lastone-twothewaterhole’, which features a highly inventive wobble-board sort of groove and something akin to a sing-along chorus that does indeed make the track riotously catchy – check out the instro take and compare – it really sticks in your head. Now, this is a record of many parts, so we’re then off into the ‘Brit-jazz meets The Sweeney in the Cornmill Centre for a headspin’ vibes of ‘Little Penny’s Woes’. My favourite of the bunch. On to the other side of the platter, there’s more featuring DPF, with the truly frightening ‘Balaclavaman’. Getting mugged on the way back from the off-licence in Newton Aycliffe is every bit as scary as a drive-by in South Central, brother. Word. Time to lift the mood with some skankin’ then; ‘If You Didn’t Love’ serves to raise the spirits up to Ja with a few blissful minutes of deepest dub and also showcases another huge bucketful drawn from the well of righteous influences on which we can quench our aural thirsts. This is the first fruits from a very brave and worthy venture, so you should check it out at the earliest opportunity. It’s very good.
More info from: www.humblemonkey.co.uk

Jumbonics ‘Super Baxaphone’ (Tru Thoughts)

After releasing just one EP on splendid UK beat label Tru Thoughts, Jumbonics now return with their first long player. Overall, it is a mixture of new and old, combining dusty old beats and jazzy loops with some fresh, original instrumentation – played on both new and old instruments. There’s quite a distinctive, sometimes off-the-wall (and occasionally quite cheeky!) organ sound on most of the 15 tracks, generated by the Jem Jumbo Organ, a vintage Italian 1960’s keyboard from which the group take their name. Picking a few tracks to mention, the opening “Bubble Drop” and “Doing Time” sound like a collaboration between Jean Jacques Perrey and Wagon Christ in which dueling keyboards fight for wibble supremacy over tight electronic drumbeats. As the album progresses through tracks like “Soft Centre” and “Jezebel” we start to see the jazzier side of Jumbonics with the clever use of Blue Note style hip hop breaks and lazy jazz piano loops. But, before the Jazz Club-esque chin-scratching and posing becomes too serious, we are reminded of the lighter side of their music by the use of squiggly analogue basslines, cheeky organ riffs and space effects – my personal fave track “Jezebel” being the finest example of how all of these sounds come together so well. All in all, a good debut album that does what every good album should do – and not take itself too seriously.

Reviews – August 2005

The Assemblers ‘Strung Up/Cabriolet’ (White label)

Its been a little while since a couple of ounces of freebie white label wax has popped through my letter box, and the fact that I don’t think that the experience has proven to be quite as pleasurable as this in the past requires that I remark upon it in the most glowing of terms, even though I’m not entirely sure what the name of the label will be when this one shows up in the shops. All I know for the moment is that it will be available through those Breakin’ Bread/Boombox label/distributor chappies. Anyway, what of The Assemblers? The press sheet is all very mysterious and elusive, but I happen to know that at least one of their number has been on TOTP as the ‘DJ cred’ behind some pop floozie or other, but thankfully for all concerned, that’s well behind him now and moving things forward with this succulent 45 definitely takes a real turn up the kinda streets you want to be heading along this summer. Yup, sunshine is the operative word on the lead track; although the opening delayed guitar riff actually made me think of the avant-rock stylings of the early Piano Magic records, before the crisp and insistent beat came in combination with some lush Motown strings, and right away morphed the feel of the track into something utterly different and infinitely more accessible. This track is just soooo pop-tastic it should be spread wall-to-wall all over daytime radio, given a fair and just world. Let’s Hope. Having said all of those good things about the A side, I do have to say that I really prefer the flip, but that’s probably because it has its feet firmly in the cheesy-beats camp. A frenetic mash-up of hundreds of the cheapest beats and samples from charidee shop heaven, all Swingin’ London, cheap nylon suits and 8-track cartridges blaring out from Mini Coopers…ah, yes – just the ticket! I’m told that this is a limited run of just 500, so don’t mess about – get one quick!

Reviews – July 2005

‘Soho Lounge Heat (Vol 2)’ (EMI)

Firstly, I really must thank the wonderful Ann Dawson at Boosey Media for sending me a copy of this disc, and its great to see that yet again Boosey are one of the few large media houses who are open to the suggestions of record collecting geeks wishing to see and hear the delights of ancient back-catalogue material out there on the streets again for punters to buy. More power ’em! Yes, Dickie Klenchblaize returns with the long awaited second volume of extracts from the archives of Boosey & Hawkes, plus also the related Cavendish Music and unrelated Amphonic catalogues this time too. I was a big fan of the first volume of this series, mainly because it saved you the effort of spending huge amounts of dosh on a certain Denis Farnon LP that most of the cuts were creamed from. Perhaps the only criticism you can have is that again, the pick is made from a mere three LP’s – damn good ‘uns, right enough, but perhaps a bit more variety would have been interesting. Anyway, it’s fair to say that much time and effort, not to mention love and affection has been heaped into this project, not least in convincing the behemoth EMI to release this second volume. The re-mastering work is exemplary of course, but as far as I can make out there is no vinyl issue to be had this time around – a crying shame. That’s two criticisms now, and that’s more than enough, as the actual tunes themselves are super-rare to obtain and utterly wonderful, with contrast between the more expansive material from the Syd Dale Amphonic LP and the punchier, gutsy riffing of the Cavendish platter, chiefly featuring compositions from our old friend Ray Davies, along with organ-meisters Steve Gray and Alan Hawkshaw. There’s an almost effortless flow of grooviness to be found as the disc progresses over its twenty five tracks, and by the time you reach the end (just after the appearance of the mighty ‘Leagueliner’), the excellence of the first cut has been matched by so many others, its easy just to pop the thing back on right from the beginning and enjoy it all over again – and that’s not something you can often do with compilations that are so often hit and miss – no track skipping or bonus beats, just good, honest listening pleasure, and that is to be warmly applauded, as is the sheer commitment to the cause of our Mr. Klenchblaize, whoever he might be. Highly recommended, but alas, why no vinyl??