Newsletter #1

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Fri May 22, 2009 5:32 pm

Here’s the first ever Totally Guitars Newsletter
 


 
In this issue you’ll find…
 
· What’s going on at Totally Guitars?
· Latest T.A.R.G.E.T. News…
· Information about the “lesson notes” found in the T.A.R.G.E.T. Program.
· Free lesson updates and more.
· The current T.A.R.G.E.T. song list (remember its growing)…
· *** SPECIAL: Q&A between members and Neil.





What’s Going On?
 


Welcome to the 1st edition of the Totally Guitars Newsletter. I’m Neil Hogan, and along with the TG Team, have set up this website to help people improve their guitar playing in a way unlike any other. We will be making this newsletter a regular part of how we stay in touch with our members.
 
The points above will give you a snapshot of the contents of each newsletter and normally have a headline for each particular section. This is the first newsletter so we’re taking care of the items that we feel are the most pressing first.
 
Here’s  some information about the latest happenings at Totally Guitars…




TARGET News
 


The TARGET Program was launched on April 29, during our 1st episode of TG Live! The interactive broadcast lasted over 5 hours and we had viewers all around the world. TARGET is a completely comprehensive guitar educational system that includes lessons for the entire range of acoustic guitar students: beginning, intermediate, advanced, and even extreme guitar players.
 
There are instructional videos starting at the very beginning with how notes are laid out on the guitar, moving into playing chords and strumming, which then prepare you to tackle tunes in the Song Library.
 
The Song Library has over 50 complete lessons on songs that are designed to help you progress as a guitar player. I don’t even need to mention that these are songs you know, love, and will have a lot of fun learning and playing.
 
I am working now on the advanced section where we take a look at mostly instrumental fingerpicking pieces. Recently finished are Classical Gas and Embryonic Journey.
 
The TARGET Program is also revolutionary as far as an online teaching system goes in that it is very interactive. There are many ways that I stay in touch and interact with my online students. We have an exclusive section in our Forum where I answer questions from members, as well as take requests for upcoming lessons.
 
This interactivity even reaches out to live broadcasts for our members where we play some songs, help resolve music problems, and generally have an online group get together in real time. These episodes are part of out TG Live! Series.
 
If you are serious about improving your guitar abilities I really encourage you to join our TARGET Program while it is still open. I can’t say how many students we will be able to handle but I know there will be a limit as to how many I feel I can work with. I want to be able to devote the same time and attention to my online students as I do for students I see in my studio every week.

Check out the TARGET Program here




Lesson Notes in TARGET Songs
 


Every song in he TARGET Program comes with a page of notes that goes over some of the things in the lesson, as well as a few trivial tidbits about the song. Here is an excerpt from the Lesson Notes to Angie.
 
Background
Angie, released on Goat’s Head Soup in 1973, was believed to have been written about Angie Bowie, but Keith Richards actually came up with the chord progression and title as he had just named his daughter Angela. Mick Jagger apparently rewrote the lyrics about his dysfunctional relationship with Marianne Faithfull. It was one of the Stones’ first songs to be recorded in Jamaica in late 1972, where most of the recording of Goat’s Head Soup was done. It was also the only Stones ballad that hit #1 in the US.
 
Instrumentation
One of the rare acoustic songs by the Rolling Stones, Angie is really a guitar duet with a straightforward accompaniment played by one guitar and lead fills by the other. The original recording also feature Nicky Hopkins on piano as well as some orchestration to stretch it out to almost 5:00.


Latest Free Lessons/TARGET Previews
 


The free lessons section is full of short lessons on some great songs, most of which include downloadable TAB. We also have a video section that has previews of lessons available in the TARGET Program. These previews give you a little taste of the complete songs in the program.
 
Some of the songs presented in the Free Lessons Section include:
 
Roxanne
Down On The Corner
Southern Man
Ohio
Good Riddance
Free Bird


Here are some comments we’ve received recently:
 


Closer To Fine
Awesome Video- by Jeff Ray, March 29, 2009
 
Neil,
 
YOU ROCK!!!! Video is great and I love this song. It's so up beat. Your site is so great and inspirational!
 
Thanks, Jeff
****************************************
Goodbye Blue Sky- by Dave, March 27, 2009
 
Neil, I love what you have done with this site, I know from first hand experience the work you have put into your indulgence, I am very thankful there are still good musicians like yourself that care about teaching and handing down the knowledge you have gained over the many years you have accomplished, in your love for doing what you do best, believe me it really does mean a lot to the rest of us. Thanks so much, keep working with us, and as usual; stay in tune, and play on my friend, play on.
 
FreeByrd



The TG Blog
 


The Blog is where we keep the latest information about what’s going on at TotallyGuitars. It is one of many different ways and places we stay in touch with everybody who visits the site.
 
A recent post-
Hi Gang,
 
We are about to start our TG Live! series for TARGET Members. We will be hosting 60-minute sessions, similar to our earlier Webinars and are looking for suggestions and thoughts about things you would like us to cover. The format might include a little instruction on a particular song or two, Q&A on technical issues (submitted in advance), a song to play along with, whatever… it’s up to you to help us create each episode.
 
Help us out with a couple of things, content suggestions (as above) and the best day and time for you to be able to join us online. Obviously we will not be able to accommodate everybody on this but we will record every episode and post them in the TARGET section a few days later.
 
Thanks in advance for your contributions!
 


Q&A for Neil
 


Hello Neil
 
I've been working my way through your beginner lessons on target and in the free section, and I've learned a lot from them. You've inspired me to start learning music theory, not just how to read music but also about scales/modes etc etc.
 
I've watched your videos on major 7th chords etc. and have a question about chord construction. I've had a look through a few books I have, and they are as clear as mud :S .
 
Firstly, I understand that a major chord is made up of the root, 3rd and 5th notes of its major scale...A major being A, C# and E, my question is do I use the major scale to construct all my chords, or do I use minor scales for minor chords, augmented scales for augmented chords etc - if so which scales make up which chords, or have I got it all wrong, as I said, I'm reading a few of my chord books and it makes no sense!
 
I hope the question makes sense and either Neil or someone on the boards can help me.
 
Thanks very much.
 
Joe
 
Neil’s Answer
 
Here is a case where I will have to muddy things up a bit in order to clarify. Both of your thoughts are correct. Having said that, the best way to think of chord formulas is that any numerical representation of notes refers to steps of the MAJOR scale. When we use numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 in regard to an A scale, they represent notes A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A. In the case of an A Major chord then, the formula 1-3-5 represents A-C#-E.
 
In order to represent a note outside the scale, we alter the number with a # or b sign. The formula for a minor chord then is 1-b3-5, where b3 stands for C natural. All chord formulas are based on this system where the numbers refer to notes in the MAJOR scale.
 
If that is perfectly clear, feel free to venture into the next paragraphs, if not keep reading until it is or proceed at your own risk. I'm reminded of the sign in the forest outside the witch's castle in the Wizard Of Oz, "I'd Turn Back If I Were You!"
 
Now to muck things up a little- Your second thought that minor chords are based on minor scales is also correct. The notes that make up a minor chord are 1-3-5 of the MINOR scale. You need to understand the differences between a major and minor scale and know that the 3rd is 1/2 step lower in a minor scale. Therefore, 3 in a minor scale is b3 in a major scale.
 
We could even expand this idea to include that diminished chords are 1-3-5 of a diminished scale and augmented chords are 1-3-5 of an augmented scale. This is true as well, assuming you accept the existence of such scales. Somehow I think the rest of this needs to be saved for a Sunday sermon...
 
SUMMARY- When using numbers to represent notes in a chord, each number stands for an exact step of the MAJOR scale. If a number is altered with a # or b, it represents a note outside the scale.
 

That’s all for this edition.
 
 
Stay tuned and in touch,
 
Neil
 
P.S. – Feel free to get back to me on the blog and on the forum to let me know what else YOU would like to see in this weekly newsletter!