"For No One" -- a somewhat obscure Beatles song -- first upload

dennisg
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Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:18 pm

To those who have posted a reply so far, thanks, everyone for the very kind things you said. You're very generous.

Tony: Yeah, you're probably right about the Chorus effect -- at least on this particular song. I just got the amp, love the effect, and have been playing everything with it. It would be far more appropriate for my second upload. Hey, maybe one day I'll give away the Taylor, and you can enter another 100-word contest.

Matt: I tend to like the more obscure Beatles tunes. I happened to be in my car listening to the radio a few days ago, and Ricki Lee Jones's version of the song came on. She did a great job with it, and it inspired me to try it for TG.

Michele: I know you've got a lot on your plate these days, so I really appreciate the fact that you can even take the time to watch the video.

Andy: Yeah, per your instructions, I found the not-so-secret camera setting that adjusted the color balance. By default, it's set on natural outdoor lighting, so I switched it to indoor lights. Yeah, the mic volume was too low. You can't really hear it too well when you play it back on the camera, so I didn't find that out until I uploaded it into iMovie on my Mac. First video. Live and learn.

Mark: Yeah, bad song to use the Chorus effect on. "Hitting the switch" to turn on the Chorus effect for the instrumental part is an interesting idea. I wish I had a switch to hit. I suppose that's why people buy stomp boxes.

Suzi: From what I've seen of your playing, you'll be doing this song at least as well as me within the first 30 minutes of practicing it. I PM'd you the solo arrangement. I'm not sure what my singing is inspiring you to do, other than clutch your abdomen. Anyway, I'd love to hear you sing. By the way, this is the kind of hygiene you can expect from a guy who works at home. My wife doesn't seem to mind.

Jay: No, it's a Kodak Zi8, the Kodak version of the Flip. And this is the first time I've used it for anything other than test footage. I debated back and forth on the Kodak vs. the Flip, and ended up choosing the Kodak because it has an external mic jack and SD card capability -- two important considerations. Once I got set straight on the color balance, the resulting video quality is excellent. Yeah, more and more Taylors on this site. In fact, as a new player, I'd never heard of Taylor until I came to TG and saw Bear raving about his Taylor. He's to blame. I also bought the Roland amp because of him. The guy is ruining my life! Video #2 should be coming up shortly. It'll be an instrumental. We can all be happy about that.

fjvdb: The instrumental riff was something I added last night because I thought all that 4-beat plucking got a little repetitious. To be honest, I thought mimicking the french horn part was going to be difficult, but it turns out it was pretty simple -- even for a hacker like me.

John: It is a nice song. The fact that you still feel that way after hearing my version is testimony to how gorgeous that song really is. See my original post for the chords.

- Dennis


wrench
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Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:32 pm

Dennis,

A very impressive first video. I enjoyed it immensely. Looking forward to the unplugged version. You know we're gonna talk you into it. Your singing was marvelous, and plants you firmly into a group I will never know.

For the requisite constructive criticism, I might suspect your right hand attack of the strings was a little tentative, maybe because of first video syndrome? You certainly know the song well enough to play it more firmly.

A great, great first video! Pizza point my friend!

wrench


BobR
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Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:47 pm

Hi Dennis,

Excellent choice, and the voice sounded real good. I can't seem to walk and chew gum never mind sing and play. Pizza for you. I thought you did a great job, but I'm with the others though on looking forward to the "unplugged" version.

Bob


hasben
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Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:56 pm

Good job Denny!!! Is the "G" for gonads? It takes a pair to post here and I am proud of you. As far as the voice, you did sound better-- no, more forcefull-- in Paris. Nice improv with the "horns". Take care buddy and keep it up.


reiver
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Thu Dec 17, 2009 7:14 pm

Thanks Dennis, that was great. Didn't know there were any obscure Beatles songs!

Thought you handled the instrumental part really well. It would have been easy not to bother trying it but it certainly paid off.

Love the guitar. I'm in the process of trying to buy a Taylor, but I'm incredibly indecisive - so much so that I had to buy a Tak as a 'stopgap'. I was seriously considering the GS6 Model, which has the same woods as yours. How would you describe the tone from the maple.....

Anyway - really enjoyed singing along to a great song. Thanks.

r


jdrdracing
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Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:03 pm

Good job, that was great!! I forgot all about that song. Thanks for the chords too. I can't finger pick it like you but I'm gonna try like crazy tonight! lol


Lavallee
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Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:00 pm

Hi Dennis, I thought that was a very good video, you are comfortable playing that song and whatever you say, I think you sing very well.

Marc


dekotaj
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Fri Dec 18, 2009 12:19 am

Hey Dennis,

That was a great video. I'm with the popular vote on this one...would like to hear it straight up. But I thought you played and sang the song wonderfully well...make another one soon!


willem
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Fri Dec 18, 2009 8:05 am

Beefy Dennis,,good to see ya,,well i was never a beatle fan(more rolling stones) till i want to learn playing guitar and then i became a beatle fan, but must say i don't no a lot of them songs,,this one i don't but gonna study it because i like it,,you play it nice and inspirated me,,so i have put it on my list..man your voice,,,you sang beautyful,,AMP,,I also have a amp they call it ''acuostic amp'',can put the guitar in and a mice,,and have a chorus on it to so i understand you in that,,sometimes i like to use that,,, maybe when you don't use the chorus you can put on some reverb when you don't like the sound.. well, looking forward to see your next playing,,,,cheeeeeeese


dennisg
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Fri Dec 18, 2009 9:18 am

Here's a follow-up response to the next group. Again, thank you so much for the kind things you said. I guess it's universally agreed that people would like to hear the song without my amp's Chorus effect. I'll see what I can do about that.

wrench: I'm not sure if you don't sing because you think you have a lousy voice, you're tone deaf, or you can't coordinate the two activities -- but I honestly don't think any of those reasons should hold you back. Not quite sure what to do about the "right-hand attack" issue. Maybe it'll be better on the unplugged version.

Bob: Playing and singing simultaneously just takes practice. After awhile, you won't have to even think about it anymore.

hasben: This person made a reference to me singing in Paris. He's a friend of mine from Oklahoma who I introduced to TG, and he was referring to a time we took a bike trip through France, went to a karaoke bar in Paris, and, much to his amazement, I got up and did "Crazy little thing called love." It was the only song in English the entire night.

reiver: Obscurity in a Beatles song is a relative term. But notice that some posters in this thread weren't familiar with the song. You asked about the tone of maple, and not the aesthetics, so I won't go into that, other than to say its beauty makes me almost gasp every time I take the guitar out of the case. As for tone, I think it's a little brighter than other woods which, in my mind, makes it very suitable for fingerpicking. Watching many intermediate guitarists fingerpick, I often think the high notes get swallowed up because they're out of balance with the bass notes, which seem easier for less-accomplished guitarists to play. Maple will compensate somewhat for that. It's not the warmest wood tonally. I think rosewood and cocobolo are warmer and rounder. Also more expensive. But maple is a great wood for the way I play, since I do a lot of fingerpicking. Really, though, I think my 614 sounds great no matter what I do to it. For the difference in price between America and England, you might consider making a Taylor-shopping expedition to the U.S. I regularly go to a store that carries about 30 different Taylors, and play many of them every week.

jdrdracing: Note that I updated the chords. I had forgotten to list the G7 that ends each chorus. I hope its absence didn't confuse you if you tried to play the song. Also, it's a pretty easy song to fingerpick. Pluck once with the thumb, then use your index and middle fingers to pinch a couple of strings for 3 beats. Don't get bogged down in the instrumental part I added. That was just a flourish that's not critical to the song. Good luck. I would urge you to post your version when you feel somewhat confident in it.

Lavalle: My 14-year-old niece attends a high school for the performing arts in Los Angeles. One of her assignments was to sing a Beatles song. Since none of the kids knew anything about the Beatles, except for "Yesterday" and "Let it be," I suggested she go for a more unique song, and I played "For no one" for her. She loved it, sang it at school, and did an incredible job. Now, whenever she comes up to Seattle, I play it on the guitar while she sings it. She's a skinny little kid with a voice like Ann Wilson.

Nancy: I had mentally checked out on the song the moment I uploaded the video, but I'll see if I can get it up for an unplugged version.

Willem: I was a teenager during the British invasion of the '60s, and it seemed that everyone was divided between the Beatles and the Stones. The good kids liked the Beatles. The bad boys and slutty girls liked the Stones. (My allegiances were clear -- I liked the slutty girls.) And, of course, when you grow up in L.A. like I did, everyone loves the Beach Boys. At any rate, I didn't come to appreciate the Stones until later with their Sticky Fingers album. Having said that, my next video upload will be another Beatles song, although a somewhat more difficult one.

- Dennis


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