Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 20 Aug 11 - 12:21 PM

'.....the whole idea of a sinaround' is to include as many chunes & snogs as possible !! 8-)

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: ripov
Date: 19 Aug 11 - 08:53 AM

I thought the whole idea of a sinaround was to pick up the wrong key.

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: GUEST,Geoff Wright
Date: 19 Aug 11 - 07:59 AM

Non-tunes are a pet hate of mine in sessions.
By all means play a tune, but if the musicians in a session can't recognise the tune in a few chords or a riff, and you can't whistle it, you probably aren't playing a tune.

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 19 Aug 11 - 12:16 AM

If you listen to metal music you may wonder how things that are not bass guitars sound so bassy. The answer (on top of the use of drop D tuning, sometimes up to three semitones down) is that some amps and some effects pedals allow you to generate and blend in a note that is an octave below the note(s) being fingered. That is an octave divider, sometimes called octivider.

The sound hits you. That's grunt.

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 18 Aug 11 - 11:37 PM

I agree.

Richard, what is "the real metal octivider grunt"?

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: foggers
Date: 18 Aug 11 - 06:12 PM

Richard - I think you put your finger right on it very well indeed. I know exactly the kind of players Mr Happy is referring to, but whatever their starting place, if we want to keep acoustic sessions alive and kicking then we need to support and encourage their exploration of performing rather than send 'em scuttling humiliated back to their bedrooms.

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 18 Aug 11 - 05:15 PM

I suspect there is another reason. The bedroom guitarist has access to amps from well under £100 (I have for example a Vox DA20) that will emulate much bigger and costlier amps so long as you don't need balls to the walls volume or the real metal octivider grunt. But they have not got access to devices that will make their voices sound like their preferred singists. The budget pitch correctors start at about £300 and can sound nasty, and actually getting timbre corrected is a bugger without large cost and engineering skill.

It is largely ONLY folk music that takes the position "So - you don't have a voice that sounds like X or Y - figure out what you can do with the voice you have". It is also largely only folk that takes the position "So, you can't sing it in that key - try a different one".

These bedroom guitarists are largely conditioned through rock or pop music - and that is not about participation, but of top-down making markets for the masses. Where would Tin pan Alley be if people made their own music?

The fightback starts with each such participant - so get them to try to sing and applaud thier efforts.

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: GUEST,Johnmc
Date: 18 Aug 11 - 05:04 PM

I find this quite a serious subject in a way. It reminds me of the long journey people like me, starting as you did back then without anyone to help you, make to become "musical";
you are drawn to the music because of the guitar's sound. Your aim is to manage to reproduce some of the things you hear. There might be no thought of performing a song alone for many years; you will probably sing as you play, but only in your head.
      Some are happy to stay that way because of the satisfaction obtained by fingering a riff that's taken them ages to master. Indeed, they might not even have "rated" singing as something worthwhile. They are essentially accompanists at heart. Just out of place in the context of a singaround.

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: alex s
Date: 18 Aug 11 - 09:42 AM

I do fancy a sinaround - anyone else?

Subject: RE: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Aug 11 - 01:07 PM

It's because you can't play a riff without the guitar

Subject: Guest Guitarists, Riffs, no songs?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 17 Aug 11 - 11:28 PM

Many's the time at sinarounds, seshes, musical gatherings etc, someone from the 'audience' will ask to borrow a guitar, saying they play well.

Usually they'll play a riff or intro of some obscure pop tune but almost never sing anything.

Why?