Ambient music isn’t for everyone, but it is a great way to slow the mind down. It is also so fun to play, as I an’t rely on ‘stock licks’ and massive amounts of gain. It all is very slow, and evolves over time. Here are my 2 favorite ambient releases, like, ever. Brian Eno’s … Read more
The Journey of Learning
Embarking on a lifetime with music isn’t for everyone. It takes discipline. It means realizing you will never be satisfied where you are, and more concerned with where you aren’t. It means making time for practice and creativity in our busy lives. And it is a lot of fun. Guitar players have it easy. It … Read more
It is the Parents that Make Children Better Students
It still amazes me about some parents who bring their children to lessons, that they haven’t fostered any type of appreciation for music themselves much less with their children. The children of these types of parents do not even know what a guitar sounds like, much less what it is capable of, or the rich … Read more
Generative Music Apps
I love Brian Eno’s concept of Generative Music. Music that repeats, but never the same way. In other words, we set it in motion and it randomly generates. It usually focuses on a few keys, but it is something I can listen to hours. It is kind of like looping, but the patterns never repeat … Read more
Some Looping Devices I Use
Many loopers available allow you to switch between loops, so you can make an entire song over pre-recorded verse/chorus patterns. This isn’t the way I use loops though. While this idea might be fine for a 1 man band situation, or rehearsing ideas, it is the live manipulation of the loop which starts the creative … Read more
Cool Gift from a Student
This Fretbox, built by Virgil Guitars, was given to me by a student a week before he passed away. His passion for music was felt every time he came in to see me, and he remained enthusiastic about music throughout his sickness. Tom, thank you, and rock on with the greats you admired.
Collectives: What does it mean?
Here are some notes about my Collectives project from a few years ago: Guitarist and composer Dave Eichenberger has completed a unique project called Collectives. Simply put, this collection consists of 50 CDs which each hold an hour of improvisation. Each CD is completely unique, and has its own artwork as well as date and … Read more
It is the Sound That Matters…
So many guitarists work on technique these days, and I am no exception. I mean, the mechanics of playing- flying up and down the fretboard at faster and faster speeds. It is a young (mostly male) thing, no different than the runner trying to be the fastest or the weightlifter going with a few more … Read more
Company Affiliations
Much of what I do and how I make my music wouldn’t be possible without the help from these companies: Steinberger: I am a Gibson Artist, and am a fan of any of Ned Steinberger’s designs. Seymour Duncan: I use their pickups exclusively, and also write a blog for them. Brian Moore Custom Guitars: These … Read more
My Origins with Looping
Looping is just the repetition of small bits of sound, somehow manipulating that sound and then playing live music over the top. The original version used magnetic tape actually taped together to form a loop. These days, it is done digitally, with loopers able to record up to several hours of material. I originally got … Read more