Guitar Werks.com: April 2007
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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Guitar Hero-A cool guitar game

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Was just surfing around on the Net, and i came across this quite cool guitar game called "Guitar Hero 2". From what i read, it is both available for PS2 and Xbox 360s, and the gameplay represents a cross between "Dance Dance Revolution"(Hey Mr Wonderful...Aye Ayee Aye,I'm Your Little Butterfly Remember?) and O2 Jam..

I did further research and found out that someone actually wrote a review about it. So here goes(courtesy of Pauline Go):

"Guitar Hero is a great music video game. The game is developed by Harmonix Music Systems, and it is published by RedOctane. The primary controller is designed to simulate the playing of electric guitar. Guitar hero was first released in North America on November 8, 2005. Then it was released in Europe on April 7, 2006.

The player must press the corresponding button according to the scrolling notes of a song. The player can also use the “Dualshock System” by pressing X, L1, L2, R1, and R2. The player will earn points for every note hit. Chords have twice the value of single notes. When the player hit ten consecutive notes, chords will count as one note. The player can temporarily double the score by using the Star Power. Using the Star Power effectively, the player can multiply his points up to eight times.

Player score are shown at the end of the song. The player can also view his longest note streak and accuracy percentage. Guitar Song is quite a complex game. The average song can usually have about 400 – 600 notes. The difficult song can contain up to 1000 – 2000 notes.

Guitar Hero
has over forty seven songs. Thirty of these songs are from the covers of the originals. The player can choose to be eight playable characters in Guitar hero. Six of them can be played from the beginning of the game. The rest of the characters must be unlocked as secret characters. Each characters have their own unique personalities and playing style."






Saturday, April 21, 2007

Bloggerwave--A 3rd Way to finance your Guitar

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I recently signed up with Bloggerwave,

Another very useful blog company that pays people to blog about product reviews etc.

Bascially, it works pretty much based on Opportunities, meaning offers to allow a blogger to write about that can fetch anywhere between $5-$50 per post depending on the advertiser.

Here's my review of Bloggerwave:

  1. Could potentially be the next big thing in 'pay to blog' services
  2. It has lots of bugs still (it is still in beta testing)
  3. Very simple, and creative interface.
  4. It has got very few opportunities at the moment for bloggers, as it is a new company.
However, Bloggerwave is willing to pay between $5-50per blog post, provided it has been approved and that it remains in your blog for 30days. After 30 days, it will pay you the money into your Paypal account.

On the whole, i see lots of growth potential with it. We just need to give Bloggerwave some time before it rapidly gains a huge following, and i believe it will be comparable to Pay-Per-Post. The best thing about Bloggerwave is that its criteria for acceptance is not as stringent as Pay-Per-Post, as it only requires that your blog to be about 3weeks old to qualify.



Friday, April 20, 2007

New classifieds to sell,buy, trade your guitar and stuff!

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I've just set up a classifieds section for any guitarist or person looking to sell or buy their stuff.. This is just an added convenience for all blog readers, so hopefully you can find your sales leads here!


Guitar-Werks Classifieds



Filed Under: [Resources]

Just how rejected this young generation feels?

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The face of Rejection




Ho Seung-Hui, shot dead 32 people before killing himself in Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech Shootings


Excerpt from the video message that Cho sent to NBC

"You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today ... Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off."

"You just loved to crucify me. You loved inducing cancer in my head, terror in my heart, ripping my soul."

"Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats. Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust fund ... your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough ... to fulfil your hedonistic needs."

"When the time came, I did it. I had to."


Eerie,evil,Rejected..

Just how warped has this young generation been influenced to do extremely wicked things, in this case psychotic Korean Ho Seung-Hui going around shooting and killing 33 people at Virginia Tech.(including 4 professors)?

In the manifesto that he mailed to NBC shortly before he started walking around killing his victims, Ho let out an angry tirade of profanities against the rich and numerous unspecified enemies. One such message that he made:


'You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience. You thought it was one pathetic boy’s life you were extinguishing. Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people.'


What could be the reason that motivated him to do so?

Rejection.

A moving incident was told by Dr James Dobson about his friend Alice's daughter, who was only 3 years old when it happened:

"Alice's daughter always loved to hang out at their local playground in the evenings, and Alice would always bring her daughter to play there daily. Alice daughter, being very young, loved to befriend and follow a group of 5 year old children who also often played at the playground. Being still a very young toddler,she toddled after this group of 5 yr olds wherever they went. However, these 5yrs didn't really appreciate the company of Alice's daughter, and pretty soon, they found her a nusciance. So,they would always leave her out of their catching games around the playground, and Alice's daughter was always left alone.

Then one day, she came running up to Alice, and said "momma, i want a lollipop..and a lollipop now!". Alice, assuming that her daughter was hungry, brought out one stick from the house. However, her daughter said "momma!not one, but three lollipops!". By now, Alice knew that her daughter wanted to give the extra lollipops to her 'friends'.. So, rushing in to bring out a whole basket of lollipops, she gave it to her daughter. As Alice stood watching the whole scene, what happened next made her swallow her throat.

Her daughter ran up to that group of friends at the playground, and said to them "Here are your lollipops, they're all for you". The three 5 yr olds stared at Alice's daughter for awhile, and with a wide grin on their faces, snatched all the lollipops and ran away in different directions, with a mocking laughter from their mouths as they ran off."

This just demostrates to us how the youths of today try to yearn for acceptance from their family, and friends, but they are replied and challenged with remarks such as:


"You dumbass!Why can't you do well in school like your brother??"

and

"Hey bitch, you want to be our friend?Prove us by the number of times you have slept in bed with those guys!".

Even to the point of letting others abuse their bodies. Even to the point of being motivated by deep rejection and depression to kill others with a Glock and Walter semi-automatic pistol.
This generation of youths are always constantly feeling they can't leave up to their parents and friends expectations. What would have happened if the father said to his son :"Mr Wonderful, I've seen your school grades, but I still love you son because you're wonderfully made!"


Ho was described by teachers as a 'loner' and 'withdrawn' student who even one lecturer said he did not know "we had a Korean person who was in the English department and was male until I met him in class.".


I've experienced the malady of rejection myself before(but thank God I've found salvation in Jesus's mercy and accepting love), and I found out that what stems from within the heart, will ultimately show forth on the outside. If you breed a seed of rejection just because of one incident where you parents called you a 'Failure', and do not remove it, it will continue to grow, and grow , and it will begin to sink you into the depths of depression, and as it grows more, you begin to think of ways to end your life, and as it grows, you feel like the world owes you everything, and finally when that seed of rejection is fully grown.. WHAM! it brings forth death.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ"
Rom 6:23

This generation of youths need fathers who will tell and shower them with "I love you, my son!". This generation of youths need the right friends who will tell them "I accept you unconditionally for who you are, no matter how bad a failure you may be". This generation of youths needs upright mentors who will teach and instruct them "Broad is the gate to destruction and hellfire, but narrow is the way to eternal life"

But most importantly, this generation needs Jesus!

Who shall Jesus send to take His Good News to this lost generation?

Lord, send me..

Signed out,
John

How to re-string your guitar?

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Changing your guitar strings might make you feel a litte uncomfortable if you have never done it before, but it's really quite simple and should become a regular part of your guitar care routine. Before you do anything, first take time to make some personal observations such as:

1. Which way do you have to turn the tuning keys to tighten or loosen the strings?

2. How are the strings aligned from the nut to the bridge?

3. Which is the heaviest string?

Taking mental notes will probably save you some frustration and make the job much easier.

Below you will find some helpful steps to follow for changing your strings. Once you've changed your guitar strings a couple of times your confidence should begin to grow and you won't need to refer to these steps any longer. I like to remove all of the guitar strings in order to give my guitar a thorough cleaning, but you can remove and replace them one at a time if you prefer.

Guitar Care and Maintenance Tools:

- Needle-nose Plyers (to cut string ends)
- String Winder
- Soft Cotton Cloth
- Guitar Cleaning Polish (do not use furniture polish, oils, or wax)

REMOVING THE STRINGS

Acoustic Steel String Guitar-

1. Using the string winder , begin slowly loosening the string(s) until completely slack.

2. With the needle-nose plyers, carefully grab the string from the capstan (the part it winds around) and pull through the hole until it is free.

3. Taking the string winder again, use the cut-out at the end of it to grab the pin at the bridge. Gently pull the pin until it comes out of the hole.

4. Continue this process until all the strings are removed.

5. Clean guitar surface thoroughly.

Classic Nylon String Guitar-

Follow steps one and two above. When you come to step three, take your needle-nose plyers and carefully loosen the figure eight knot at the bridge. Pull the string free.

Electric Guitar-

Follow the same procedure as described for an acoustic steel string guitar. However, if you have an electric guitar with a movable bridge you may want to take it to your local music store and have them show you how to do it safely. If the bridge is moved from it's correct position you will not be able to tune your guitar after restringing it.

RE-STRINGING YOUR GUITAR

Acoustic Steel String Guitar-

1. Bend the ball end of the string slightly and place it inside the hole below the bridge. Some steel string guitars do not have pins. When this is the case, just pull the string throught the hole.

2. Line up the string with any grooves in the pin. Insert the pin into the hole, making sure it is secure.

3. Take the other end and insert into the hole on the capstan.

4. Pull the string through leaving a fair amount of slack between the capstan and the bridge.

5. Bend the string at the point it comes through the capstan to keep it secure.

6. Watching out for your eyes, begin turning the key with your left hand. Once you get it started it may be easier to use the string winder. (For safety reasons, you might want to cut off any excess string. I usually wait until after they're all on to do this).

7. As you are winding, apply some tension to the string with your right hand to help keep it taught. Make sure you are winding in the right direction! On the bass strings you will be winding counter-clockwise (away from you). On the treble strings you will go the opposite direction.

8. Continue to wind each string until all the slack is taken up. Do not worry about tuning yet.

9. Cut off all excess string length.

Classic Nylon String Guitar-

1. Put the string through the top of the hole found just below the bridge.

2. Pull about 3 inches through.

3. Bringing the string up over the tie block, pass it underneath itself at the original point of entry.

4. Come down over the tie block again and wrap the end of the string around itself in a figure eight type pattern.

5. Insert the other end of the string down through the hole on the capstan.

6. Wrap the string around the back and then underneath itself in order to secure it in place.

7. As described above, begin turning the key with your left hand while maintaining some tension with the other until all the slack is taken up. With a classical guitar you will wind clockwise on the bass strings and the treble strings.

8. Keep the string as straight as possible as it continues from the capstan through the nut and down onto the neck.

9. You should not have any excess string length, but if you do, cut it off.

Electric Guitar-

Follow the same procedure as described for the acoustic steel string guitar.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Another Way to finance your guitar-Earn money for bloggging!

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Oh,

I just joined this program that pays you to blog about topics that interest you. Its call Blogvertise, and all you've gotta do is sign up. Then you wait for the admin approval of your blog, and if approved, the admin will send you a link and the task to do. In the task itself(a posting actually), you're expected to have at 75 words typed about the product, and to include at least 3 links.
Then you submit you blog entry back to admin for approval, and you must leave the entrythere for 30 days. After 30 days, Blogvertise will pay you accordingly to the tasks assigned.

Each task can fetch up to $10, so its quite worth it.

I'm still awaiting the admin's reply now..

Check out http://www.blogsvertise.com for more details

Signed out,
John

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Ok..i've found a very INNOVATIVE way to finance your guitar..

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Oh well! If you're planning to set you eyes upon buying a guitar soon but want to earn some extra income in the meanwhile, this may interest you.

I was just surfing blogs on Friday, and happened to chance upon the blog of this guy who says he's being paid to set the URL of this new search company to his homepage, and to use it normally like you would with Google.

Thought it was kinda interesting, so i thought would just check it out and sign up. Basically, the company is called SlashMySearch, and it is a new search engine that is paying people to use its services and promote it. They have a 3 tier revenue generating structure: You, the first level,
Your direct referrals(60% of their earnings), and your referrals referrals(20%).

It says that it pays you just for surfing activity on the net. So i tried it out, and guess what, within 30mins of surfing and trying their engine, my earnings increased USD$0.05cents just like that! So, i thought i was cool, and i referred another 3 friends, and 1 of them referred another 3 more, and just 2hours ago, my earnings shot up from $0.12 to $0.40 in just 1 hr of doing nothing!And it was continually increasing even up till hte point i wrote this (now it's $0.45cents)

So i made a calculation, and did an excel formula spreadsheet, and i calculated how much i could earn assuming the following factors remain constant:

1. Each hour a person surfs,he earns $0.25,
2. He surfs for 2 hrs daily..
3.My targeted direct referrals are 10 people for this month(level 2)
4.Each of my referrals refers 10 more referrals=100 referrals(10 X 10)(level 3 downline)


I would earn easily USD$405 in just one month.

Here are the workings screen shot from Excel:

Myself (level 1)


Ave. $$ earned per hr

0.25
Ave.hrs surfed per day 2
Total $$ per day
0.5
Total $$ per month
15




Direct Referrals (level 2)




Signups

10
Total $$ per month-individual 15
Total $$ per month-all 150
Total Comm from Direct Lines 90




Referrals Referrals (level 3)




Signups

100
Total $$ per month-individual 15
Total $$ per month-all 1500
Total Comm from Down Lines 300




Total earned Per mth(USD) 405
Total earned Per mth(SGD) 611.55


Hows that just for taking a bit of effort to use the search engine and to promote it to your friends?

Plus its 100% completely free to join, so we have nothing to lose!

Why not check it out below?


Check out SlashMySearch



So, buying that Taylor guitar isn't a too faraway dream after all for you...


Signed out,
John

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Looking to buy a new guitar(but you have got no cash)?

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Ok..

So you're eyeing that Taylor Jumbo which costs $1200, but you have got no money to afford it right now. Or maybe you have got a savings plan all clearly laid out, but the possibility of buying it is only next year, after you get your Ang Pow money from Chinese New Year (especially if you're a schooling student..).

So what do you do?

Let me offer a very simple piece of financial advice tip for you. It sounds like a financial planning lesson, but truth to told is that we must all practise some financial wisdom!


Practise The Cookie Jar Concept!!!

"During the period of WWII, the concept of 'Cookie Jar' to save one's money emerged in England. Basically, as the English back then in the early 1940s were going through a horrific times like enduring the daily bombings by the German airforce, food was scarce, and commodities were very expensive. That was where families would set apart a portion of their wages daily, and put these savings into empty cookie jars and hide them in a safe place. If they wanted to purchase a transistor radio which may have cost GBP50 back then, they would accumulate enough savings in their cookie jars, which were often labelled with the name of the specific items they were intending to buy..."


And they bought the transistor radio when they had saved enough..

Sounds simple right? There's no rocket science to the Cookie Jar concept. Just plain old discipline. With a world that offers quick cash, quick satisfaction, quick money, quick success, the discipline of the Cookie Jar is often being overlooked. But if we would practise it, i guarantee you, that you can buy anything you want.


In our time, most people do not use cookie jars to store their money anymore. They use the electronic equivalent, which is the bank. But the sad thing is that even banks promote 'credit' in the form of credit cards, to give you cash to get instantly anything you want. And so without practising the 'Cookie Jar' concept, people rake up so much credit that they get stuck in deep debt.

So the solution to this is to practise discipline. If you really are setting your eyes upon a guitar to buy and have a one year savings plan, why don't you take the extra effort to deposit your daily savings into a one-year fixed deposit scheme at your bank? In this way, you practise the Cookie Jar concept, and besides, it earns you interest of anything between 1-4% per annum!

Note: I know of a friend who saved up $60,000 over 2 years using the Cookie Jar concept, just to buy his new Hyundai Sonata car, and guess what, he paid in COLD HARD CASH(imagine the notes he had to carry haha)!




It will pay off in the long run, and I think its well worth it to practise this age-old advice to save up for your Taylor guitar!



Cheers!







Rhythms and beats-- Training with the Guitar Metronome

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Besides learning chords and learning how to strum the guitar, a very useful tool for any beginner is also the metronome. The metronome is a device that will train your strumming to be in tempo with beat.

To start with, try learning the 4/4 beat first, which is probably the easiest beat to catch. Most living things survive on sync with the beats of their heart rhythms, so the 4/4 is the most natural beat the human body can adapt to. For a detailed guide to getting the 4/4 beat right, read the previous post I made in March about "Beginner-Guitar-Lessons-Strumming"

Also, i've found another free, very useful metronome tool to help you.Its called Metronome for Windows. It plays tempos from 40 to 340 beats per minute, so you may download it below.

Cheers!


Download Metronome For Windows Here.

Friday, April 13, 2007

How to sell your used guitar (and gear..)

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Three years ago, i bought a cheap, $150, Samwick electric guitar when i first started learning to play the electric.

About the beginning of last year, i sold it off to a contact of my friend for $100 as i decided to stick with the acoustic guitar.

Also, two years ago, i bought a $200 Marshall Stack Amp from Davis Guitars at Peninsula Plaza, and sold it off in Sept last year for $140 to a electric guitarist who saw my ad at Luthermusic's Classifieds.


Are you also keen to sell your guitar? or maybe it could be your digital effects pedal, or your limited edition Kapo..

Here are 5 very practical tips to note when selling your used guitar online:

1. Take a flattering picture of your instrument.

Since this is a used guitar that you are selling the buyer will want to see a clear picture of the condition of the instrument. Try not to conceal anything. Make the picture look good but don't try and deceive the buyer.

2. Write a compelling description.

Try and inject a bit of passion into your description without creating hype. Also, it is useful to tell the potential buyer why you are selling. Are you just tired of the instrument? Have you decided to sell your acoustic guitar because you are only interested in playing electric?

3. Decide how you will accept payment.

Don't forget that the buyer may live on the other side of the country. Do you want to wait weeks for a money order to arrive? One service that many people use is PayPal. You receive your money instantly and there is also a comfort level for the buyer as they can always use PayPal in the event of a dispute.

4.Figure out shipping costs(if any)

Make sure that you figure out what the shipping costs will be to various parts of the country. You need to also decide whether you will sell outside of your country. If you live in Singapore, will you ship to the United States or to Spain ? Also remember, that when you ship across borders there are custom and taxation issues. Are you paying this or is the purchaser?

5. Where do you want to post your ad?

You can use an online auction site like Ebay or a classified ads site like Kijiji, Craig's List or Guitars for Sale Online . If you use Ebay make sure you are clear on how the auctions work.If you live in Singapore, Luthermusic's classifieds is a very good classifieds source also.

What happens if you find a buyer through an ad in Craig's list and yet your auction has a week to run on Ebay and you have some bids. You can probably get out of the auction but just make sure you know what you are doing so that you don't find yourself locked in an uncomfortable situation.

Lastly, a very good channel of selling your guitar if you have it listed on a forum like Ultimate-Guitar.com. Trust me! I advertised this blog in that forum, and got like 102 hits in just one day..

Yup.Those are some key points to take note. If you have any extra suggestions or questions, feel free to comment.


Signed out,

John

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Kindly give your feedback..

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Dear reader,
I'm so glad that you are taking time to read this post. If you have been a regular reader of this blog, I so thank you for it!

I would really appreciate if anyone could just give feedbacks regarding the blog. Is the blog informative for you?Or do you think there's something that can be improved? Please do let me know.

As you may notice, the design has been changed again. I'm experimenting with trying to make the blog more lively, so pardon me if you think the color combinations are horrible(i have bad color combi!haha). Feel free to leave comments ok?

John

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

What if you are a left-handed guitar player?

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As read this, you may be wondering..


"All the lessons that I've learnt in the past have got to do with right handed guitar players. So what do I do if i'm a left hander?"

Glad you ask that!

A distinct and important group of guitar players are the left-handed guitarists.

The left-handed guitar is held with the freeboard in the right hand and picking done with the left hand. The strings are reversed, and the guitar looks like a mirror image of a right-handed guitar.

One thing you must consider is how available left-handed guitars are. Until recently, they have been pretty hard to find and you’re still going to have some trouble located a left-handed guitar is you’re set on one particular style.

However, good musical instruments manufacturers make no assumptions, and are not biased toward only the right-handed player. The left-handed player is equally dear to them. They make it a point to give this player many options and do their best to accommodate the left-handed guitar player. They are adding several new lines of left-handed acoustic guitars including 6 or 12 strings, either metal or nonmetal. Many manufacturers offer left-handed players the option of specially ordering a specific guitar. The price depends on a number of factors, including the quality of the acoustics, the material body and visual appeal. Those with finished necks and mahogany bodies are usually very expensive. Guitars manufactured by left-handed guitar specialists also cost more. Some manufacturers and music shops offer free lessons especially made for left-handed beginners.


Ok, so you need not worry. There willl always been an available left-handed guitar that you can ask from any local guitar dealer:- you just have to make a special request, and they'll be more than glad to help you...

Monday, April 9, 2007

Need to find guitar cords?

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Are you looking at how to play guitar cords, but do not know how to? For example, Am7, C#maj7, but you have got no idea how it works?

I face the same problem , but i've found a free guitar cord finder program you can download to assist you in finding chords. Nutchords is a free program to help you find the chord notations , as well as to assist you in alternative tunings.

It is a Zip file, so please unzip it before installation.


Download NutChords Here.

Friday, April 6, 2007

The 5 types of people who learn.Which one are you?

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In every activity that we do, we will always be at one level or another.

If you ask the usual Shea O' Neil obessed, 8year old basketball kid at your local basketball court what NBA means to him, he'll most probably reply that he wants to be like Shea when he grows up. However, if you were to ask Shea himself what NBA means to him, he would probably reply that basketballing is his life. Why? Because NBA basketballing has become the life that this basketball maestro walks, talks, and lives out.

It's the same way with people who learn the guitar. Which are you?

5 types of Learners

1.The Bummer

These people who are clueless and are at the bottom level. They are ignorant and just waste their time. These people have a dead end job that they hate. But they don't want to invest in themselves and in educating themselves.This is the person who just uses the Internet to waste time. Watching videos, chatting with friends, reading with email, surfing the net aimlessly so on. Basically, its just a pastime and a means of pleasure. They believe there is no way they can master anything because they think that they have no time or the resources. They think that world class guitarists are naturally talented and 'gifted', so they can't compare to them

My advice to these people:Stop making a fuss and get a life!

2.The Pretend- to-Be

These people have heard of how exciting learning the guitar is, and they often dream of learning the guitar to romantize their partners, and also how they can use it for fame and glory. Or they may also want to learn the guitar for a good cause(etc. a career). However, these people always say "I'm interested to learn guitar", but never ever dare lift a finger to do anything, because most of the time, they want results without sacrifice. And because of the excuse of not knowing where to start, they get lazy and never want to put an ounce of effort in. They talk alot, but never ever get anywhere.

My advice to these people:What are you waiting for? Get it going.

3.The Newbie

These people are actually on the track. These people have some knowledge and they have done their homework. They simply lack the technical know-how to get to where they want to be. They've bought guitar books and might have a few guitar courses under their belt. They tend to learn by observing others play, but in time they get overly confused while trying to learn everything, because they just want to get everything right the first time instantly. They may know how to play 2 or 3 chords, but that's all they'll stop at. However, they are heading in the right direction.

My advice to these people: Take things one at a time, and never be afraid to ask for help.

4.The Master

These people know what it takes to play good guitar, the sacrifice required, and have been doing so faithfully for a long time(Maybe even 5 years!). Along that path, they have acquired numerous skills, and have attained the level of 'skillful'. They have a guitar playing flair and skill that sets them apart from the ordinary learners. However, there comes a time where they think 'that's all there is to guitar", and so they get stuck in their usual rout of playing the G family, then doing some hammer offs here and there, and playing the same songs over and over. They have not come to understand that there comes a time where progressing in skills means being able to humble yourself, and starting anew all over again learning the guitar to gain insights and skills they've never knew existed in their fingertips, because they have not polished up small areas of their skills which need improvement.

My advice to these people: Swallow your pride, and start from the basics again.


5.The Giver


These are people who have mastered the guitar inside out for many years, and are role models of continual learners. They have attained a stage where it is almost impossible to even catch a single mistake in their rhythm and strokes, and have become synoymous with excellence. However, what sets them apart is that they continually invest their life experiences and skills back into the beginners, in hope that someone else will benefit greatly from their wisdom.

My advice to these people: Give back to society!



I guess i've been stuck in Master stage for way too long.. Need polishing in some areas of playing guitar, such as my timings.

What about you?

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Tommy Emmanuel-Aussie Folk Style

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Tommy Emmanuel on the acoustic guitar, playing "Amazing Grace" in his native Aussie fashion.

Do notice that with the acoustic guitar, there's more to than simply strumming and chords, but that there are a million and one tricks that can be incorporated into your playing!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Ahhh! Search Engines have finally found this blog!

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Just to sidetrack a little..

I found out that Google search engine has just successfully indexed guitar-werks blog on its search engine! So that means it is gonna be very easy to search for this blog from the search engine..

Just an update too..

I've just started work with as a receptionist with a telemarketing company two days ago, and guess my job scope?

-Hear customers scold me.
-and for me to scold them


That's right! I've got tons of customers making queries about SIA's Krisflyer Services, and i've got a couple of 'hard knocks', especially Singapore ones.

Here a transcript of what happened for one such case:

John: Helo madam, this is Krisflyer membership services, how may i help you?

Lady:I would like to know why ah, but why do i have to keep giving my Krisflyer ID when the customer service reps never ever call back?

John:Ma'am,its because we have to verify your identity and to assist you

Lady:What's the point of doing so? Why can't you just use the system and check for me my details?

John:Ma'am, you have to understand that I am just a receptionist, and i have to pass your details on to our cust service reps,so that they can process your request asap.

Lady(screaming..):THIS IS PLAIN STUPIDITY! WHY CAN"T YOU JUST USE THE SYSTEM WITH MY ID? THAT'S SO STUPID AND REDUNDANT YOU KNOW...

John: But Ma'am, you have to understand we're doing our best to speed things...

Lady(still screaming): THAT"S THE REASON WHY SIA SERVICE LEVEL HAS DROPPED SO MUCH THESE FEW MTHS. LIKE THAT STILL DARE SAY SIA HAS GOT THE BEST SERVICE. WHAT A JOKE! YOU KNOW WHAT?I'VE BEEN CALLING THE LAST FEW WEEKS, AND EACH TIME THE STUPID REPS JUST KEEP SAYING THEY WILL CALL AND THEY NEVER DO!

John: Okokkok ma'am..listen to what i've to say...(interrupted)

Lady(still screaming):LISTEN WHAT LISTEN?I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU. YOU BETTER BLOODLY PUT ME ON TO A CUSTOMER SERVICE REP NOOW!

John: But Ma'am, they are experiencing a high call volume, so please co-operate with us.

Lady(still screaming): CO-OPERATE? DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT TO DO OK!!ELOO, I AM THE CUSTOMER ,AND WHO IS IT THAT MUST BE HEARD?

John(frustration level 70%): Yes ma'am, you're the customer, and we take priority over our customers. But ma'am, if all you wana do is to shout your way, i won't be able to help you. Please listen ma'am, help me to help you.

Lady( screams till no voice): YOU KNOW THE WAY YOU TALK TO ME, YOU SOUND LIKE THE VERY IMPATIENT TYPE YOU KNOW THAT? AND YOU DARE CALL YOURSELF 'RECEPTIONIST'..YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M STARTING TO GET OFFENDED, AND IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PUT ME ON THE LINE FOR A REP NOW, I SWEAR I'M GOING TO WRITE IN A LETTER TOMMORROW MORNING TO THE CEO OF SIA, AND SAY HOW LOUSY THIS WORLD CLASS AIRLINE IS!!!!!

John(frustration level 90%):Ma'am, call me impatient, or whatever it is ok? but understand i'm here to help you, and stop messing things around for us and yourself OK? listen, i can put you on hold, but all our reps are busy, and i can only roughly assure you that they will call you back within the next 24 hrs.

Lady: 24hrs??? (hahahahah laugh sacastically), what lousy SIA is this?Looks like i'll just go ahad and write in the letter.

John: OK, you may. But let me offer you a proposal. They call you in the next 30mins ok?

Lady: next 30mins? YOU BETTER MAKE SURE NEXT 30MINS THEY CALL ME UNDERSTAND ANOT! IF THEY DON"T CALL ME BY 1030pm SHARP, I PROMISE I WILL SEND IN THE OFFICIAL COMPLAINT, DO YOU GET ME??

John: Yes ma'am

Lady: ok,make sure they call me. Wait wait wait..now i have another extremely frustrated Krisflyer member who wants to talk to you...(hands phone to her angry friend, and whole process repeats...)


See what I mean? thats my job scope.hahah..looks like blogging about guitar is better. But sometimes in life you just have to be thick-skinned. agree?

Monday, April 2, 2007

Visit to Swee Lee

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Went to Swee Lee Music Company last tuesday, and tested a high quality Cort acoustic guitar.
Swee Lee is a local singaporean music company, that has a diverse range of acoustics, electrics and bass guitars.



This is the Cort MR-727F Acoustic Guitar. It was surprisingly resonant for its price, and has crisp fretwork on the fretboard. It is made of Maple wood, and is currently going for a price of SGD$640.

Reasonable quality for its price.








This is a good guitar for beginners who have a long term usage aim in mind. More details can be found at http://www.sweelee.sg.

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