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If you are standing up to play, I feel like they are a must as it's nearly impossible to get the instrument off your belly / chest when standing without compromising your playing (i.e. holding the...

I've always loved when instruments have some play wear on them. The just look better and likely have had some good playing on them. I hate pick guards and often plant a pinky (and sometimes pinky /...

I'll be in the Boulder area for the next month and change. Happy to set something up for lessons and / or general jamming in a distanced way :)

Cell is 619-800-0804

I used to go to Guitar Center all the time when I was in high school and even in college. Mainly there to play guitars / amps / pedals I couldn't afford - but it was also a really steady source of...

Amazing Slower Downer is amazing. One of the best programs for music ;)

For super quick recordings to get the idea down etc, I just use my phone.

For songs that I'm working on and need multi-track, I use Logic X (~$300) with a Focusrite Scarlette 18i8 (~$500). I use...

What about starting with tunes you already know really well - like Mary had a Little Lamb or the Alphabet song? They are not tunes you're likely to hear in jam circles, but then again - the chord...

Hey guys - my band Shakedown String Band did a set virtual set at Huck Finn this year.

Here's the 3 song set which was recorded live at Go Ranch in Mount Laguna CA
...

Personally I write out chord charts with lyrics for all the songs I want to sing and put them on Google Drive. I'm not talking about going online, finding the tab / chord sheet, and just copying...

I assume you have tried the leather / grommets with no luck. But, if you place your finger anywhere on the string either above the nut or below the bridge, do you still get the drone? If no, then...

Personally, I'm very interested in a good, light CF mandolin for backpacking, hiking, and kayaking. I normally like F styles, but for this purpose, I would probably want to have an A style or a...

The only real solution is to tell them to quiet down. Playing louder than another instrument is just a cold war with notes. You'll all get progressively louder which will lead to playing harder...

Best way to kill anything that's too loud is the same as when you're in an argument with someone screaming at you - play (or talk) softer.

If all you do is continually increase the volume,...

Thankfully I'm by the beach - so the danger is much lower. But two of my very good friends who live more inland had their house burn down a couple years ago while they were sleeping. They luckily...

Hey all,

I'm looking to connect with fellow musicians up in Seattle area. My girlfriend and I are moving up there in November and, while she's got an office to go to - I'll be working from home...

Zoom / online vocal lessons are definitely a thing that works. I STRONGLY recommend Francesca at BugByte studios (https://www.bugbytestudios.com/). I took lessons from her for about a year and I'm...

Score Cloud might work for you. https://scorecloud.com/

The free version is for mono-phonic only (mostly single note playing or singing) the paid version is poly-phonic which is likely what you...

When my students have issues with fretting chords, I make them start by finding the specific problem they have getting a clean fretting then focusing on the smallest possible part of that issue until...

I have a listing on my site of chords and lyrics. Happy to share if you're interested. Note, while I wrote (or re-wrote) the charts, I obviously don't own the rights to these songs - these are just...

Three I didn't see above:

June Apple - Tim Connell and Eric Skye. Great duo and fresh arrangements

GOAT Rodeo's new album (This Ain't Our First) is also great (so is their first album).
...

Recently had a social distance gig for Jerry Garcia's birthday with my band Shakedown String band. It was a lot of fun and everyone was nicely distanced - so felt good doing it too. Figured I'd...

I don't care what chords you play provided you play in time, in key, and with heart.

Most chords with 4 or less notes are pretty easy to figure out on your own. I would honestly advise NOT to use a chord book and to effectively make your own. Take a college line notebook, draw 4...

Muse score (https://musescore.com/) is another option. It's mostly sheet music / standard notation, but they have a lot of folk tunes with lyrics / chords too. You need to search for them though -...

Musicians from the 60's - 70's are old school - there's no real question there IMO. I think these were old when I was in High School (late 90's) haha....Now when I heard Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and...