ALL sales of this EP will go to support Threshold Church missions. Specifically, our work in Costa Rica. There is a great group of young people in Orosi that are truly passionate about following Christ and sharing it with their friends and family! Threshold has been involved in Orosi for about 6 years now, and we want to continue to support our teams and the teams we work with in Costa Rica.

4 worship songs. Recorded simply at home. A bit raw even.

1. Your Name – written in June 2011. A song about the power of the name of Jesus.

2. Wine Red Stain – written in early 2010. This song was written about the internal struggle with the magnitude and weight of the crucifixion.

3. Free – This song was written a long time ago (10 years or so) and was performed at Warehouse 242. This is the first time it has been officially recorded.

4. Someday – Written by my friend Nick, used by permission. This is also an old song from Warehouse 242. Literally a sung prayer.

I hope you all enjoy! and thanks for the support of Threshold Church Missions!

This is a download only release, just click the paypal link, donate something ($5 min.), then click “Return to danhood77@mac.com” and you should be directed to the downloads!

If you have any issues, send me an email, and I will email you the link.

all songs recorded by Dan Hood, mixed by Patrick Boyd.

Православни иконииконописikoni

How’s your practice time? Mine is terrible…. I admit it… I usually practice what I need to learn for a given week/ or month. What about something new?

A couple of tips:

1. Always practice in tune! I can’t believe some of my students that come in and haven’t tuned their guitar in a week. No matter what you are doing, you are always working on ear training…

2. Keep your guitar out of it’s case at home… That way you are more likely to pick it up… That’s easy for some (like me) because I have a few guitars, so there are always a few sitting out…

3. Record yourself if you can… Gotta know how you sound… Just about every phone, laptop, iPod has recording capabilities already… Who cares about the quality… It’s only you that needs to hear that your guitar is out of tune, and what you thought was a cool “blues” bend was really a homage to a dying cat… : )

4. Work on something or someone new… I like to study other guitarists and chase their inflection, note choice, feel, and tone… This is the one I struggle with the most!! I don’t do this often enough… There are a ton of great guitarists out there…

5. It’s… Time… to… use… a… metronome… please?…

6. Remember, playing guitar is fun… I forget this one too… It’s FUN to learn a new way to improvise over familiar changes, or learn a cool AC/DC riff…

Cheers! and happy practicing. икониikoni

This is the basis of the Nashville Number system, and is quite handy when transposing songs and whatnot… Be careful when transposing whatnot…

Here are the “rules”… Remember, this is music… You are supposed to break the rules… BUT to break the rules in an interesting way, you have to know what they are.

First Chord – Major
Second Chord – minor
Third Chord – minor
Fourth Chord – Major
Fifth Chord – Major
Sixth Chord – Minor (relative minor)
Seventh Chord – Diminished

Boiled down further:

I chord – Major
ii chord – minor
iii chord – minor
IV chord – Major
V chord – Major
vi chord – minor
vii chord – diminished

What does this mean on guitar?

Example: Chords in the Key of C

C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim. Play these chords in sequence on your guitar… They all fit together nicely, no pushing, no pulling, like good little children…

Example: Chords in the Key of G

G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F#dim Remember, the notes we are using come directly from the major scale and its associated intervals.

Practice: Write out the Chords in several keys and practice playing each set of chords in sequence. Try using your barre chord shapes up the neck as well… I like to use my “root chord” as home base and hear how each chord sounds in relation to the root chord… Like this… G – Am. G – Bm, G – C, G – D, G – Em, etc… This tunes my ear to chord changes and really helps when transcribing music.

Cheers! Until next time… Happy practicing… вик услугиИдея за подарък

Playing guitar is largely based on patterns, so getting by without any theory knowledge is fairly common.

The basics:

W-W-H-W-W-W-H – This is the interval series in a major scale. An Interval is the distance between notes, measured in 1/2 steps.

Rule #1: There is only 1/2 step between B and C, and between E and F…

Rule #2: A major scale has to contain an instance of each letter of the musical alphabet (A,B,C,D,E,F,G)

Rule #3: “Fast learn rule 1 and 2″ (Karate Kid, influential movie of my childhood)

Example: The C Major Scale = C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C If you look at the intervals between each note, it follows the pattern stated above.

Example: The E Major Scale = E,F#,G#,A,B,C#,D#,E Sharp keys are fairly easy, just remember your rules!

Example: The F Major Scale = F,G,A,Bb,C,D,E,F Flat keys make you think a little bit. You really have to pay attention to Rule #2.

PRACTICE: Put down the guitar and write out the Major Scales in 9 keys. C,G,D,A,E,B (sharp keys) and C,F,Bb,Eb,Ab,Db (flat keys)

Practice these scales on your guitar in every position, from the lowest note to the highest note on your guitar.

Tip: Use and electronic tuner to tell you what note you are playing, if you don’t know all of the notes on the fretboard.

Happy learning!
икони

I constantly hear guitarists hit “most” of the right notes when soloing in a pop tune and fish for other notes that might work in a particular section… Here is a quick way to get you into your familiar “minor pentatonic” scale form when playing “Major” sounding pop music…

LEARN YOUR RELATIVE MINORS:

They are easy… Just count up 6 notes in a particular scale and use that note to start your minor pentatonic shape.

Example:

If a song is in the key of “B”… (There are 5 #’s) then count up six notes (letters) you get G#…
If a song is in the key of “D”… (2#’s) count up to B…

So if a song is in the key of “B”, then start your soloing using notes from the G#m pentatonic scale…
Key of “D”… Use the Bm pentatonic scale…

Theory behind this:

The sixth chord in a major key is always a minor chord… These 2 chords are “relatives” they are very similar.

Example:

a “C” chord is spelled – C,E,G
an “Am” chord is spelled – A,C,E

any minor pentatonic scale “outlines” the notes of a major scale.

Example:

C Major Scale: C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C
Am Pentatonic: A,C,D,E,G,A,C the only 2 notes left out are the B and the F.

This is not entirely foolproof, but it is a good place to start soloing and creating parts in Major keys…

Blues tunes and Blues Rock tunes need to be approached differently…

Картини

What to do with this knowledge? Now each shape can yield 11 different chords, just by moving up the neck. This also includes Minor chords, Major 7 chords, Dominant 7 chords, minor 7 chords, Major 9 chords, Sus chords, and on and on…

Lead players benefit from this knowledge by gaining access to the higher strings in each shape. The next logical progression is creating parts and lines and even solos out of these shapes. Where to start?

The D shape is extremely versatile and can be used many ways and often isn’t discussed.

e–2— (F#) 3rd
b—3– (D) octave
g–2— (A) 5th
D-0—- (D) root

The D chord is “spelled” D, F#, A. On the guitar these notes aren’t “in order”. Only the “C” shape and the “G” shape have notes that would be considered “in order”. The fun thing with the D shape is that you can Suspend the 3rd both up and down (sus4 and sus2) very easily.

Dsus2 Dsus4
e-0—– e——3-
b—–3- b——3-
g—2— g—-2—
D-0—– D–0—–

Now we can move these shapes up the neck to get other chords and use this shape to create lead parts.

For Example: If we were to rearrange our fingers and barre the 2nd fret, we could use our pinky to get to the 5th fret on the high “e” string, thereby making a simple, but very open sounding D5 chord.

e——-5— (A) 5th
b—–3—– (D) octave
g—-2—– (A) 5th
D–0——- (D) root

This shape can then be manipulated very easily to create some interesting parts that are out of the way of the vocals, bass, and rhythm guitars. A simple way to do this is to lower the octave a half step.

e———5– (A)
b——2(3)— C# (D)
g——2—– (A)

This is especially effective over the “5″ (V) chord of any key. This then makes part of an “A” chord (A, C#) You can also hammer on the “D” octave to get some movement over other chords in a key as well. This particular position works best over a I IV vi V progression in any key. Just remember where your “root” is located. In this case on the “b” string.

For Example: This form in the Key of “G” would be here… Simply moving the “D” shape up to the 7th and 8th fret.

e———10– (D)
b—–(7)8—– (F#) G
g—–7——- (D)

There are also other ways to use this shape over different chord progressions…. Coming Soon…
икони

OK, well it has been an interesting year for me musically and professionally. I continued to learn (hopefully) and maybe even passed on a bit of knowledge as well.

Lessons learned for 2009:
1. It is really about the music. Do you just play a song, or do you live the song? That can be a difficult thing when you are playing covers, but always try and find time to write. I saw a student write her first tune at age 12. It was a heartfelt song about her friend moving away. It brought people to tears, and it is a really good song.

2. Tone is very subjective. It isn’t all about the gear the hands and your practice time have more to do with your sound then the latest OD pedal. A couple of different guys I have worked with this year have made HUGE improvements in their abilities due to re-examining their practice routines and practicing with intent.

3. I realized that the amp is one of the most important parts of the tone/expression equation. I found mine this year. I have a few for different sounds, but I found my voice this year.

4. Fast learn rule number 1. (I have always wanted to say that)

So, to the 5 people or so who read this thing (Thanks Mom) Happy New Year, and I hope that you can make some music this year that moves YOU. Music is really about communicating something that is difficult to put into words. I was fortunate enough to get to that headspace a couple of times this year, which is difficult (for me) when playing music is your job. And make sure to share it with your friends!

Dan

We thought of a couple of analogies that I thought were helpful enough to share.

One of these was to think of your scales and technique and theory like tools. Like wrenches and sockets or hammers and nails. When you go to fix something or make something, you just know what tool will work. This comes from experience and being familiar with the tools you have available to you. The goal is to create. If a tool doesn’t work, you put it down and pick up another one.
Do you tell a child they are wrong for painting shapes and colors with their fingers when there are perfectly good brushes available? No. At least I hope not. Same thing with playing guitar. Who cares if you are thinking “Dorian minor” or “Pentatonic” did the phrase speak to you or convey the emotion you were trying to communicate?? Did is “feel” right?

This was a big thing for my friend. He knew both sides. The “feel” side and the “technical” side. But how to bridge the gap? Last night, we made some great progress, and by the end of our session, he was playing things by instinct and feel and CREATING the music he wanted to hear…. Pretty cool.

Anyways, cheerio! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas. and happy picking!

Dan

This is the fun part. The choices in pedal land are RIDICULOUS!!! There are more Overdrive pedals than ever, all with there own take. It is easy to get sucked into this world, and forget to play your guitar! I have been there, and I think of the hours I have spent researching, buying and selling, listening to clips, and I wonder how much better I would be if I had just practiced more or written more tunes… Anyways, personal rant over. This is also a really fun thing to do, so do what makes you happy.

There are some basic sounds for Live guitar playing that need to be covered in most band situations. Clean, Crunch, and Lead. The studio is a whole different world. I won’t go there unless some folks ask.

Let’s talk overdrives only for now.

lo-gain, vs. high-gain, etc. all those terms are used to describe more crunch or less crunch. Decide what you like, then dial it back about 30% and you will have a good live tone. I am convinced that the bass has just as much to do with a good Overdrive sound as a good pedal or amp. Anyways, here are some styles of Overdrive to check out:

Tubescreamer style: smooth sound, added midrange, sorta lo-gain. Great with Fender style amps. There are a thousand variations on this circuit for more bass, less midrange, less gain, less compression…. blah, blah, blah. Some good ones to check out: Lovepedal Eternity and it’s variations. These pedals smoke. I don’t own one, but I have played through a Kanji and a Kanji 9. Wow, possibly the best I have ever heard… I use a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Mosfet model. I like this pedal a lot. Set up correctly, it is an awesome pedal…

Rat style: More gain, like a distortion, just super nasty and super cool. there are a bunch of these too.

Amp style: This is a weird category, but these overdrive pedals just sound more like your amp. Think boosted amp and you are there. I have a Box of Rock by Zvex that I like and a Timmy overdrive. These both respond like a good amp, they change when you change the volume control on your guitar.

Ones I like: Fulltone FD2 Mosfet, Timmy, Zvex Box of Rock, Xotic RC booster, BB preamp and various clean boosts that push my amp just a bit more.

A sample setup would look like this: Guitar that you like that you can get a bunch of sounds out of, because you practice that way (Remember??) — OD pedal —- amp. The 2 stage ones like the FD2 allow a clean sound (no pedal) light crunch (pedal on) and either a boosted sound or a more crunchy sound. super simple…

Guitar tone 102:

So, hopefully you have been practicing and getting used to the different sounds you can get out of the guitar. Now let’s talk about some gear.

First, the guitar:

This is it, this is your baby. The instrument with which you will create music. Buy the best one you can afford. Use generalizations to help you select your guitar based on the sound it is known for. Almost every guitar has been and can be used in multiple genres, but there are some basics.

Tele style guitar: 2 single coil pickups, bolt-on neck. Super popular for the twang in country music, but also used in indie rock and worship genres for its bite. I have even heard Jazz players use one.

Strat style: 3 pickups, 5 way selector. Widely popular for blues, but works well for just about anything in the right hands.

Les Paul style: Big, meaty tone. two humbuckers, usually a 3way switch. The wood has a lot to do with the tone. These usually have a mahogany body and a maple top.

Hollow bodies: These vary widely in tone. usually played by jazz guys.

Pick what you can afford. Buy used if you can. You will get more guitar for your money. Then take it to a repair shop and have it set-up with new strings. They will also be able to give any other advice on repair, or if you should return it! Find a good repair shop, you will develop a relationship with this person, as they will ALWAYS know more about guitars than you do. If they don’t, find another shop. I have been using the same guy for 14 years, and he is a very trusted friend. Click here for the shop I use.

Happy hunting! Next up: The wide world of AMPS!икони