Good Riddance to the semester..

Hey guys, this is the 12^th post I am making for the blog. This marks the final post that I have to make to meet the requirements for the course I am taking. Regarding the future of the blog, I have yet to decide if I will be making more posts. Definitely I will be taking a break for the coming weeks due to exams and they are going to require my full concentration. There is a very good chance I will continue, perhaps not to write up a blog post, but for sure to record some more guitar covers as I love playing guitar and why not record a cover once in a while just for fun.

I have chosen to finish off my posts for the semester with a somewhat cheesy song for the last post. This band is probably one that needs no introduction as I am pretty sure all of you have heard at least one of their many singles, if not this one in particular. Green Day is one of the bands that have been credited with pioneering the pop-punk genre. They come from Berkeley, California and have been a band since 1987. Their breakthrough moment came in 1994 with the signing to a major record label, Reprise, and the release of their monumental album, Dookie. Over the years their sound has been evolving from a raw pop-punk sound to a more polished pop-punk sound. With every album they have put out, more and more of the songs from them have been featured on the radio.

The song I have covered by them is their ever popular single, Good Riddance (Time of your Life). This song has been covered by so many people on YouTube, has been the band’s encore song for so many of the shows they have performed and was even featured in an episode of Seinfeld and two episodes of ER. The song is a straight forward acoustic ballad with some violins in the bridge part of the song. For the guitar, the song is made up of a couple commonly used chord patterns; perhaps they are common because of how popular this song has gotten. The song is one of those songs that a person would begin learning the guitar simply to know how to play this song.

The first portion of the song is played by plucking out single notes out of the open chords. The intro and first portion of the verse follows a G, C and D chord progression. The second part of the verse and the bridge of the song follow an Em, D, C and G chord pattern. The chorus of the song is simply a repeat of Em and G 3 times but on the 3^rd time it ends with a D instead of G. Those are all the parts to the song and my listening to it you will be able to fit it all into place.

For this cover video I chose not to play along to the song and just played by myself. There are a few slip ups here and there but hey, I’m just a sloppy guitarist. I hope you all have enjoyed reading these posts on what I have to say and have enjoyed my covers. I hope you all will still follow along with what I post on my various social media sites and I will be sure to let you all know if I plan on posting any new blogs or covers. Thank you all for helping me out this semester by checking out all the things I’ve posted and please share it with your friends if you think they’ll enjoy it too!

Pendulum vs. Knife Party

Hey guys, hope you all have had a great weekend thus far. I’ve realized that I am a blog post behind for my course requirements so I’ve had to squeeze this one in before the one I put up this coming Tuesday. The post I put up next Tuesday will be the last one for the course and I have still yet to decide if I’m going to continue with the blog after the course. The band I’m featuring this week goes by the name of Pendulum. Pendulum is not only a live band but also a production duo and a DJ act too. It would have been more accurate to say they were a live band and production duo. The band has disbanded due to the production side of Pendulum wanted to pursue a new project called Knife Party and they have achieved success all around the world. Pendulum will not be putting out any more tracks or playing any more live shows with the entire band. Their DJ, El Hornet, still travels around the world playing DJ sets to sold out crowds under the name Pendulum.

Pendulum focused their production primarily towards Drum and Bass. They have also released a couple of tracks that included elements of House and Dubstep. They formed in 2003 in Perth, Australia. Pendulum had always mixed criticism when it came to the impact they’ve had on the drum and bass scene. Some people only got into drum and bass because of Pendulum. Their style of production was very clean and many of their tracks have caught the attention of listeners that never even know what drum and bass was. They in a way helped bring drum and bass to the mainstream which was further pushed when they began doing live band sets at large festivals all over the world showcasing their style of drum and bass. The other portion of the listeners claimed Pendulum nearly killed drum and bass as it was meant to be an underground scene and they were putting out poppy drum and bass tracks.  As I said earlier, the band no longer exists as Rob and Gareth went on to create Knife Party but they have hinted that Pendulum might come back to create a new album in 2014.

The song I’ve picked by Pendulum is called Propane Nightmares. The song is very far from your typical drum and bass song as it feels more of a rock song until the beat drops but then it still sounds like a rock song. It has everything a rock song would; intro, verse, chorus, breakdown, etc… I play the song using a capo barring the 3^rd fret. The entire breakdown I give of the song will be relevant to the capo, so for instance a Gm will be referred to as an Em. The intro follows a progression of Em, B, C, G, B. It then goes into a somewhat of a chorus. I tend to believe this song has 2 ‘choruses’ as I wouldn’t know what else to call this part. The progression for this part is C, G, B, Em, C, G and B. From then it goes into the main hook of the song which is a riff starting from an E (really a G). I do not think my verses are right at all but I follow a Em, G, Em, G, Em, G, C, D pattern. The next part is the other chorus I was talking about and the progression is Em, C, D, Am. The rest of the song is pretty much a repeat of the parts I’ve already mentioned.

As always there’s a cover video I put together below. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages if you guve have not already! Oh, in the video there’s a slight buzzing at one point because someone sent me a text so I apologize for that. Check back the coming Tuesday for the next post and share the pages with your friends!

Rise Against sending out a prayer for the refugee

Hey guys, it’s Tuesday so I’m back with another cover. My apologies with the lack of postings on both my Facebook and Twitter pages but I’ve been caught up with so many other assignments for my other various classes. To top it all off, within five minutes of turning my guitar amp on this morning, I believe it blew through another fuse so I will not be posting an electric guitar cover today as I was meaning to. I’ve also changed up the song I will be covering as the one I had planned does not come through that cleanly on the acoustic unless I do some more tinkering around but I am going to be doing one by the same band either way.

The band I will be covering this week is none other than the explosive power house known as Rise Against. I have been following this band from very early on in their career and it has been quite something to hear them put out consistent great material. From very early on in their career they have found their signature sound and stuck with it. This sound is a common feature found in many punk bands but I do not believe any band executes it as well as Rise Against. In their early days they had more of a straight-up up beat punk rock sound. The appealing factor, for me at least, was the use of octave melodies and harmonies. They are found everywhere throughout their songs earning them a classification as a melodic punk rock band in my books. They have influenced my style of guitar playing immensely because every time I try to put together a song of my own I am always thinking ahead to the part of what octave melodies can I throw into it just so it can have that extra catchy hook.

Rise Against has gone through a handful of guitarists throughout their career. They are currently on their fourth guitarist. Every guitarist has in a way respected the band’s signature sound that they have come to be known for and contributed to the writing process by embracing that sound. The band’s lyrical content has always revolved around political topics and individual hardships. They are not afraid to criticize wrongdoings and always stand up for what they believe in. Every member of the band is a vegetarian and they have supported PETA’s mission in bringing awareness to the disgustingly unjust treatment of animals before they are made into our meals. They have opened up my eyes to it and is one of the main reasons I have been a vegetarian for the past seven years.

The song I have chosen to cover this week rather than the planned one is Prayer of the Refugee. In a nutshell, the meaning behind the song is a message against the practices America partakes in to fuel their capitalist society. The song has soft verses following a repeated guitar riff and explodes into aggressive choruses. The band plays the song in an E flat tuning but I play it in a drop D tuning since it is less work to tune just one string down rather than tuning all of them down. Refer to my blog covering the Billy Talent song if you would want to know how to tune down to drop D. The riff throughout the intro and verse simply involves playing a D# on the G string along with an F# on the B and switching the F# to an F. Listen to the song to figure out the rhythm but it’s fairly straight forward. The backing chord progression for the verses is D#, B, C#, G#, D#, B, F#, back to D# and then repeat. The chorus follows a similar progression involving D#, F#, C# and B but I am playing what I believe to be the lead octaves also in the key of D#. The bridge of the song involves repeating G# and F# three times and then going down to E and D#. Those are pretty much all the parts of the song for the rhythm section but in my cover I am playing mainly the leads, or what I think the leads sound like.

I’ll try to find time to purchase some new fuses for my amp as I would really want to do the next cover on the electric as I think it will come through better on it. Until then I hope you guys have an amazing week and keep checking my other pages! Share with your friends! 

Canadian bands know what's up!

Hey everyone, how’s your week been? It’s gotten awfully cold lately, at least here in Toronto. Winter hasn't even begun and for your readers outside of Canada, some of you probably would never want to experience a Canadian winter. Just trying to set the spotlight on Canada for a bit before I introduce this week’s (yet again) Canadian band, blog post and guitar cover to go along with it…  Metric is one of Canada’s best known modern bands and have caught the attention of many fans from all over the world. I first heard of this band years ago when they put out their song ‘Monster Hospital’ back in 2005. I was not too fond of the band from hearing the one song but I decided to give them a chance and had a listen to a few of their other ones and followed their progression here and there throughout the years. Once I discovered their song ‘Combat Rock’, which happened to be an older song of theirs actually, I began to get hooked to their sound. I think I've just got some luck of discovering a song that I am not a fan of as the first one by every band.

Metric can be best described as an alternative band where electronica plays a very large role in their sound. It is not the type of electronica that people might associate with the present happenings of the electronic dance music scene but instead very limited synths that are just enough to give their music that extra kick. Their music is simple in nature, at least on their albums. I have seen them play in concert a couple of times and they tend to add more to their live show. The drums in most of their songs tend to follow a very steady beat with not too many fillings; it really serves its primary purpose of keeping their songs on track and not to be too distracting. In many of their songs, the guitar serves the purpose of maintaining the rhythm while the synths take the role of providing the melodies. The bass stands out in their songs because the guitar focuses more on the higher register to compliment the synth. This gives their songs a very groovy feel that tends to make you want to move more to the bass lines rather than anything else. Finally, Emily Haines is a phenomenal vocalist. She is criticized for her live performance since she alters the way she projects the song but in my opinion that just adds more to the uniqueness of the band. Listening to an identical replication of the studio version of a song might be remarkable but at the same time can be boring.

The song I have chosen to cover by them is their single ‘Gold Guns Girls’ off of their Fantasies album put out in 2009. This song stands out to me because it has more of an edgier feel than their other songs. The tone of the guitar has a bit of a vintage sound that really appeals to me. The bass really drives the song throughout the verses and into the chorus. The main guitar riff of the song that starts it off and is played in the backing of the chorus is simply an open A note played out followed by an octave up. The verses and bridge of the song follow a F, G and Am chord progression while the choruses follow a Am, F and G progression. That’s pretty much the entire song stripped down to a simple format.

I might start putting up more covers without writing up a blog for them on my YouTube channel so keep a look out there for more of them. I will put out a notice on both the Facebook and Twitter pages if I do though. I will still keep on doing the usual blog post/cover combo every Tuesday. Check back next week and share my other pages as well as the blog with your friends please! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Days go by for The Offspring

Tuesday, Tuesday, almost halfway to the weekend... This post will probably be the least substantial post out of the series since I am currently swamped with so many assignments and papers that I cannot afford to spend much time to talk about bands and songs that I like. I’m a huge procrastinator and it just seems the days go by; before you know it there’s another assignment and a due date just around the corner. As a forewarning, the guitar cover for this week is pretty sloppy; my apologies. I figured the song out in five minutes and I highly doubt it’s precise but it sounds fairly close. Enough with excuses though, let me introduce the band for this week: The Offspring. The Offspring have been around for as long as I can remember and they have always been putting out some of the catchiest material. One of the most impressive elements of the band in my opinion is how Dexter is able to hit those high notes singing all these years. Sure, the last couple years it has become shakier but that’s expected with age. However, he’s always been able to sing in such a high range and that is fairly uncommon for a punk rock band. The band is from Huntington Beach, California. Lead singer, Dexter and bassist, Greg K came to the decision to form a band after they were denied entry to a Social Distortion concert.

“Days go by” is the name of the first single off the Offspring’s latest album that also goes by the same name. The song is one of those sing-along songs with lyrics that are very easy to remember. The guitar riffs give it a very surf-punk feel. The song starts off with an intro riff that is played in the key of E followed by another variation of that riff which becomes the main riff in the song. The chord progression for the backing of the main riff is E, D, A, E and the verse follows the same progression. The progression for the chorus is D, A, E, B with every second repeat of the progression dropping out the B and letting the E play out longer. As I said before, I did not spend that much time on this song so there more than likely will be mistakes scattered through the cover and I left out parts because of the song being a 2-guitar song. I will post the next blog and guitar cover up next Tuesday so check back then!


PS. For those of you who do not know the different guitar chords, here is a great site where you can find out the various ways of playing different chords!

Homegrown Talent Pt. 2!

Hey guys, it’s Tuesday which means here’s the next featured song review along with a video cover. This week I will continue to stick with the theme ‘homegrown talent’ by looking at actually another band hailing from Mississauga, Ontario. This band goes by the name of Billy Talent and they have achieved tremendous amounts of international acclaim. These guys, to those that have been following their career from somewhat early on, might seem that they have really exploded onto the international circuit in a very short period of time. In 2003, Billy Talent released the album that first drew the attention of the masses. Personally, I did not think much of the band when I first heard their song ‘Cut the Curtains’. In fact, I actually thought the song was pretty annoying. After being encouraged by many of my friends to give many of their other songs a listen, I was pretty blown away by the range of styles that appeared on the album. There are songs such as ‘The Ex’ and ‘This Is How It Goes’, which is actually the song I have covered. These songs have such aggression driven by the rawness of the guitars along with Ben’s powerful vocals. I have never been a fan of ‘screamo’ type music and angered a friend so much when I first referred to Billy Talent as a screamo band. Then there are songs such as ‘Try Honesty’ and ‘Nothing to Lose’ where they still stick to their aggressive assault but incorporate somewhat of a ballad feel that makes the songs appealing to a wider range of listeners as well as their main fan base. The way Ben and Ian blended their vocal harmonies together at first kind of bugged me but I believe it just took somewhat of a while to appreciate. Ian has a bit of a ‘whiney’ feel to his singing, and I hate describing it like that but it is the way it sounds to me. Nevertheless, the way they harmonize is amazing; definitely one of my favourite singer combos. The band has since then gone to produce a second and third album that have too succeeded internationally while keeping true to their sound.

‘This Is How It Goes’ is the first song I have covered in this series that is in a different tuning other than standard. Billy Talent writes all their songs in a ‘Drop D Tuning’. Drop D means that the low E string is tuned one step lower to a ‘D’ note. This can be done by tuning the E string with your finger placed on the seventh fret along with the open A string until they match. The song starts off with what will be used as the verse in the coming sections of the song as well. It is all single notes played on the A string following a progression of D, C#, E and F. The chorus I am not completely sure on but the way I play it is to start off ringing the open D chord and then barring the G, B and high E strings along the tenth fret. The next part of the progression is an A# chord followed by the same barring. Then an F with the barring now along the fifth fret and then the progression ends with a short riff stemming from an A note. The only other different part to the song is the bridge. Since I don’t know the names of the chords being used here I will break them down in a ‘fret(string)’ format, for example 5(b) means fifth fret on the b string. The chords for the progression are 7(g)6(b)5(e), 4(g)3(b)5(e), 3(g)3(b)5(e) and 2(g)1(b)3(e). This is by far probably the worst breakdown I have given of one of the songs in writing form so I am hoping the video might clear up some confusion and yes, I am aware I slipped up a couple times. Well that’s that for this week so check back for next week’s review! 


PS. I forgot to include that if you have been checking my 'Planned Covers' page, you would have noticed I was supposed to do 'Viking Death March' by Billy Talent instead. I liked this song more so I changed my mind, enjoy!

Homegrown Talent!

Blog Time! This week, yet again, I bring you another song and a new cover. Well, this cover is not exactly new but I’ll get to that in a bit. Let me first introduce the featured band this week, illScarlett. illScarlett are born and raised right here in Mississauga, Canada. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this band perform countless number of times and they are one of the best live bands I have seen. They can play in a small room such as The Edge Studios to large capacity venues such as the Sound Academy to outdoor festivals such as the Freedom Festival. They just kill it every time; it’s incredible. They’ve even played at my school, Humber College, back in 2009. Unfortunately, I did not yet attend Humber at this time but to those that did see the performance, I’m sure it was a treat. I’ve found a video recap of that performance on YouTube, it can be viewed here if you want to check it out. illScarlett is a band that fuses elements of ska, punk and reggae into a package that is sure to please any listener’s ear. Their songs range from up-beat mosh-able punk songs to slowed down off-beat reggae songs that you would just want to kick back to. The song that I’ve picked by them is of course their anthem ‘Nothing Special’.

The song starts off with the intro backed by the typical ‘ska’ rhythm guitar the follows a D#m, A#, B, F# and A# pattern. This chord progression is used for the other three times the chorus is played throughout the song, as well as when the lead guitar plays the main ‘wah’ riff. There is a short octave fill between every transition of chorus to verse. The verses throughout the song are palm-muted with slight breaks in the chugging here and there. They follow a B, D#m, F# and C# chord progression. The transition back to the chorus is simply a B chord being rung out. The bridge or breakdown of this song follows a B, F#, A#, D#m, C#, B, F# and A# progression. This song was actually covered by the band I was part of in high school. Ever since everyone in the band figured out their part, we were playing this song at every show we played at because the crowd would always know and enjoy it. The video below is a cover played by my fellow guitarist band mate and I. I was almost certain my video would not have been anywhere close in quality and if I’m allowed to say so, I think we both sort of nailed our respective parts. Really good job on the cover and video work by one of my oldest friends and former band mate! (I’m not sure if he wants his name disclosed so that’s why I haven’t mentioned it lol.) Be sure to check out his other covers on his channel too! That’s all for this week, be sure to keep on checking back!

It's freezing outside

Hey all, it’s that time again. Another week; another song. Who else is thrilled about the freezing weather out there? It’s as if we’ve skipped right through fall. In order to bring back that long gone summer feeling, I’m going to pick another ska song and what better band to pick a song by than one that comes from California. The band is called ‘The Dirty Heads’. They hail from Orange County, California. The band might not be that well known to a few but they’ve got this one song that I’m sure many have heard on the radio like two summers ago. Maybe three, don’t remember. Even though the song is at least a couple years old, it is one of those songs that I believe will last the test of time. Does anyone remember Sublime? They are (or were, depending what way you want to look at it) the godfathers of modern ska and have shaped the sound that we hear today. RIP Bradley Nowell. I feel like The Dirty Heads really tried to capture that Sublime sound with the song that I’ve chosen.

The name of the song is ‘Lay Me Down’. The perfect imagery description of this song is definitely along the lines of being on a beach. The off-beat guitar, running basslines, bongo percussion to compliment the standard drums and the rap-like flow in the verses are stand-out features of this song. The song features a guest vocalist/guitarist that goes by the name of Rome. Rome has also been picked up by the surviving members of Sublime a couple of years back to fill in for Bradley as Sublime planned on doing a come-back tour and eventually a new album. In order to not bring outrage to their fans that believe Bradley should not be replaced or dishonoured, they have called themselves ‘Sublime with Rome’. Most of the fans have come to terms that if you want to see Sublime live again since 1996, this is the closest you will ever get to the real thing.

Lay Me Down is an infectious song because of how catchy it is. It does a great job at showcasing simplicity at some of its best points. The rhythm of this song is pretty much the general ska rhythm of mute, then strum. My take was fairly sloppy but I tried to save myself losing count by adding a swing feel at those parts. Didn’t work out too well, but oh well. The chord progression in the chorus and breakdown part is just G and Am. The verse progression is Em, Am and B.

Check back next week for the next post, enjoy the rest of the week!

The music went and led me astray

Hey, I’m back again with another song. As I told you all a couple posts ago, this time I am going to give a shot at a bass cover. To do this I find it only fitting to pick another Drum and Bass song. Actually, I’m going to label this song as Drumstep. Some genre enthusiasts, I’m guilty of being one, become picky with the way some songs are labelled. Still in the end a good song is a good song though, right? Drumstep is a sub-genre of Drum and Bass. It is roughly the same temp but does not feel like it because of the half time feel and it features elements that are commonly found in dubstep. The song I’ve picked for this one is ‘Led Astray’ by Friction. Friction is a big name in the Drum and Bass scene. He is ranked as the second best Drum and Bass DJ, not to mention has produced some anthems such as ‘Back to your Roots’. He also currently hosts his own Drum and Bass show on BBC Radio in London, England. ‘Led Astray’ has been met with a mixed audience response. A large portion of the listeners believe Friction has lost his touch with production and is beginning to try to appeal to the mainstream. An equal large portion believes the song is of quality production and enjoys it.

The song is built in a similar format as a rock song. There is an intro, which in this case can act like a verse. There is the main instrumental part which acts like a chorus. The song starts off with some violins which personally, I love when producers add violins into their production. It creates a really grand atmosphere. The grandness of the song then continues into the big sounding instrumental part. The tone of the synth is not exactly one I would expect to follow such a violin intro but it works for maintaining that big sound. The bass emphasizes the lead melody by playing the same thing but in a lower octave. The song is in the key of Cm. The entire song follows the pattern of Cm, G, G# and Fm. The instrumental chorus builds on that pattern by basing the melody on it.

Hope everyone’s dealing well with the stress of mid-terms and all, next one should be posted in a week; check back then!

Little Talks Cause Storms on the Airwaves

So, I just found out a day ago that a show by an Icelandic (that’s right, Icelandic) band that I have really gotten into over the last half year has sold out at the KoolHaus in downtown Toronto. It’s kind of bummed me out considering it’s a band I’ve really wanted to see since I’ve discovered them. In all fairness I only found out about the show a week ago so I sort of blame myself for not keeping track of when such amazing acts might be passing through town. They are mostly well known for their popular song that I’m sure everyone has heard at least once on the radio over the summer. The band I’m talking about if you haven’t guessed it yet (has anything famous ever come out of Iceland before?) are called ‘Of Monsters and Men’.

I’m not even sure how to go about describing their style of music. The song that I’m going to cover is sort of their odd song because it is a representation of their style but at the same time it’s not. The best way I can describe their music is folk. I never really thought much of folk styled music and never thought I really would but these guys have completely turned my opinion of it around. The song that I’ve picked is called ‘Little Talks’. It is nothing short of a sing along anthem. Songs tend to sound redundant if you pick a very commonly used chord progression like this song uses. However, this is probably the most wonderful utilization of this chord progression ever. The addition of the accordion and trumpet really make the song explode with energy and the steady beat on that kick drum will have one tapping their foot throughout the entire song. As I said earlier this song in particular does not really reflect their style as a whole. Other songs I would suggest to check out are ‘Dirty Paws’ and ‘Mountain Sound’. These songs are put together so well and they showcase a more folk driven sound. Lastly, the singers in this band are phenomenal; two voices that complement the other perfectly.

To play this song on the guitar using open chords you will need a capo and place it on the first fret. If you don’t have a capo, you can still play it using barre chords shifted up a fret from where you would have played them as if they were open chords. The chord progression for practically the whole song is A#m, F#, C# and G#. The verse drops the G# out and instead the C# is held for a longer count. That is all there really is to it for the guitar. I’ll aim for putting up the next post by the coming Tuesday so please check back then! Oh, and to anyone actually going to this concert I envy you so much.

 

"Oh no! All my Best Friends are Metalheads!"

Hey, I’m back again with the next installment of my blog. I’m still sick and my voice is still failing me so again I will not be able to do a tutorial style video. For this next blog however, let’s jump from the electronic music scene to some raw ska. Ska is a genre of music that came about from a fusion of punk and reggae elements. It embraces the fast tempo aggression that has made punk so appealing to young rebellious teenagers and the offbeat swing feel that characterizes reggae. Combining the two, you have loud in your face choruses and the verses tend to follow the off-beat style of reggae. Another key component of ska is the addition of instruments that you would not normally hear in a punk band. These are mainly brass and horn instruments and the impact they have on the music is substantial. They add another layer of melodies that tend to follow the vocal melodies or complement them. This allows the guitar to focus on the rhythm of the song rather than the melodies so the song does not sound as ‘empty’. The last distinguishing factor of ska is the bass. The bass lines always tend to be a catchy sounding ‘run’ of notes. By this I mean the bass does not just follow the guitar progression like in a majority of punk songs but instead sometimes follows a melody of its own. My personal description of basslines in ska is that it tends to make you feel like you are walking up and down a set of stairs.

The song I have picked is “All my Best Friends are Metalheads” by Less Than Jake. It is off their “Hello Rockview” album. The song is known for its catchy guitar intro that is repeated twice more throughout the song. The song is in the key of E. It is put together by different segments which are intro, verse, chorus, verse, etc..   The trick in getting that ska sound in the verses is that you really need to put the emphasis on the higher strings of the guitar rather than the lower strings. Also the strumming pattern has to be chopped up in order to give it that off-beat feel. The easiest way in my opinion of doing this is by using barre-chords. Barre-chords give a more full sound compared to power chords. To achieve the off-beat feel, you have to mute the strings when strumming down. This is done by either covering all the strings lightly with your left hand or by lightly resting the palm of your right hand along the strings as you strum down. You then strum up by letting the chord sound out but attempt to only strike the top four strings of the guitar but sharply so the sound really pops out. This is the technique I use and it’s essentially all to do with rhythm. Once you feel comfortable with the pattern it’s pretty simple. The chord progression for the verses is E, A, B and then switches to A, E, B. The progression for the chorus is also E, A, B with a short slide before the A. Hopefully this helps for whomever is interested in understanding how to learn to play a ska song. My friend has left his bass at my place for the last while so perhaps I’ll show how horrible I am at it in a coming video.

Bit of an Intro and "Love Has Gone"

Alright, so I am extremely late in hopping onto this due to coming down with a sickness, developing bronchitis and finally losing my voice. But whatever, life must keep rolling right? Bit of a cheesy introduction to my first blog post and to explain the purpose of my blog. My blog is entitled “let the music roll” because for me personally if the music stops, there will be a huge empty gap in my life. From a very young age, I have always had some weird fascination with sounds and sequences and how they form appealing patterns which led me to pick up a couple of instruments and experiment as I got older. To this day, I still have the same weird love for music but a much better understanding of it. I am no musical expert. I cannot read sheet music. I am not always certain why different aspects of a song work together as I found reading up on theory extremely boring. However, I am here to share my view on a few handpicked songs on why they appeal to me and a bit of an explanation of what might be going on in the song from a guitarist’s standpoint as that is my instrument of choice.

For my first song that I have picked, I look towards the genre I have come to love the most over the last four years. Drum and Bass is a form of electronic dance music hailing from the UK. I will not delve into the history and description of the genre as I would be able to write endlessly about it so let us jump right to the song and hopefully you will get the idea of why this genre is unique. The song I have chosen is called “Love Has Gone” by Netsky. It is off of his latest album simply called “2”. His first album had a more typical drum and bass sound. By typical drum and bass, I mean the sounds used in the production are very ‘fake sounding’. They are pre-recorded samples that producers tweak around with to try to make it into more of their own sound. The instruments do not sound genuine. With the latest album, Netsky has unveiled he will now be conducting shows with a live band as well as his usual duties as a DJ. Spinning a DJ set is the most common way for a Drum and Bass producer, or actually any electronic music producer, to showcase their material to an audience. Netsky was composing his second album keeping in mind he would need to re-create the songs live with the band while making them sound identical to how they sound on the record. In order to accomplish this, for this record he used synthesizers that had plenty of vintage sounds. These sounds were able to be tweaked as well a little in order for them to fit the mood and theme of the song being produced. Most drum and bass is simplistic and repetitive in the sense that it is on average a five minute piece made of a twenty second segment being looped over and over again with variations here and there. “Love Has Gone” is in the key of C# minor. It has a highly catchy melody made of single notes picked out of the C#m chord. Posted below will be a video of me doing a cover of the song for any guitarist interested in the way I would play the song. For future videos I will do them in more of a tutorial format but as my voice is still gone I will not even bother. ‘Till next time!