I just got back from Merlefest at Wilkesboro, the first one since Doc Watson died. We stopped in Asheville and had our pictures taken at Doc’s corner, where he used to busk. I even did a little picking there myself, but of course we are not really that good right now. The individuals are fairly strong, but we have not figured out how to make a song sound like we have really rehearsed enough. There always seems to be something that is just a tiny bit off. So far we have only played a couple of pig pickings and stuff like that however. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone wants to know how to play the guitar, but so few people are willing to do anything about it. They for the most part just sit around and talk about how they wish that they knew how to play the guitar. It is a very strange notion, and I find it funny that so many people want to learn the same thing, but none of them are motivated to actually doing it. So if you feel like actually getting out there and learning the guitar, I suggest you go to get guitar lessons in nyc. Read the rest of this entry »

Of course it has been about ten years since Sheila started to take piano lessons in calgary. We lived about ten miles North of the city and we found a place that gave her a great education. I would play my guitar with her all along, to help her out. I do not know anything about the piano, but her mother is a pretty good organist who was playing in a church when I met her. Of course that was in the 90′s. Now we have four children and all of them are musicians, so we have started playing a few little events in the area. Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of people want to do something new with their lives, but aren’t quite sure what they should do. They don’t think they have the time or the opportunity to take up something new. In addition, they don’t think they can afford what they really want to do. This couldn’t be more from the truth. Here are some tips to help you start a new hobby.

First, decide what you want to do. It could be anything from skydiving to playing acoustic guitars or going to see Europe. When you have a concete goal in mind, it is easier to lock in on what you can do to accomplish it. When you have a bullseye in place, you have a better chance of hitting it.

After figuring out what you want to do, you need to consider your financial situation.

I was just thinking about the technicalities of how to copyright music after listening to some very old folk and country music which I knew to date from before the age of music recording. In particular I saw that performers like the Carter family and Jimmy Rogers had copyrighted a lot of songs that they performed which were clearly traditional. I guess it is the music itself they are copyrighting instead of the songs that they are singing. In that event they could well have a good case, since no one really plays the same song the same way. I have a lot of different arrangements of traditional country and folk songs which I have piddled around with in my rather nondescript career as a kind of semi professional musician.

Mostly I play at parties with bands that are put together for specific events, although I have a couple of friends who usually play with me if their schedule allows. We like to play the sort of music you would hear if you went to see Doc Watson, well before he passed away earlier this year.

Anyone who has spent some time playing the guitar knows how important it is to make sure that the instrument is in tune. If you play the acoustic guitar, you will want to make sure that you have properly tuned your instrument before you begin playing. You can do so by ear, but it can be a lot easier to tune your guitar quickly if you use an acoustic guitar tuner. These devices help you get your guitar tuned quickly and easily, and you can feel confident that your guitar is properly tuned. Tuning by ear can sometimes lead to minor errors that will then have to be fixed before you play.

There are many different places where you can go to find a tuner, or anything else you need for your guitar. If you have a good local music shop, this should often be the first place you head when you are looking for musical supplies. A good music store should have a knowledgeable staff who can help you out and direct you to exactly what you need.

I am searching on Hotfile for a youtube downloader to put on my laptop. Right now I am working as a part time security guard at a large storage facility about 15 miles from town. I spend a lot of time driving around the lot in a golf cart, much of what I am guarding is piled up outdoors inside of a 10 foot high fence topped with razor wire. The place is about seven or eight acres I guess so it really does not take that much time to patrol the place. I probably spend about three quarters of my time sitting in a little gatehouse by the road. It is really boring and I need something to keep myself entertained. The other night I caught myself dozing off about half way through my shift. I figure I will put my laptop in my backpack and get some stuff I can watch when it gets really hard to stay awake.

No one ever comes to the gate during the night, although as it gets closer to morning you might have someone show up really early because they need to load up and get started on a job. The supervisor will tell me to expect that and someone else has to show up to make sure that nothing leaves the lot without authorization. I definitely would not try to steal from these people, they are really big on inventory control. I am supposed to read all of the invoices and check to see that nothing is on the truck that is not on the invoice. I really have no clue what I am doing though. I do realize that there is a lot of valuable metal inside some of the stuff. They have huge reels of wire that would be worth a lot of money as scrap aluminum or copper.

A friend of my uncle works for an Urban radio station and he helped me get hold of some older DJ equipment. I think it was supposed to be given away, but it is a few years old and pretty out of date compared to the most modern stuff like some of my friends have. I am going to try to get good fast so that I can start making some money working as a DJ or an MC making custom beats. My friend John told me where to get some custom beats on the internet and I am working with them so that I have stuff that is different from what other DJ’s use. There is all sorts of competition around here and of course I am just a junior high school kid who can not even get to a job without bumming a ride from one of my cousins. I have been practicing with the beats, changing them around until I like them and adding different samples. Of course I do not legally have the right to use some of the samples, but I think that I will be okay so long as I do not release a CD or have something played on the radio.