Sampling in the age of YouTube. There’s something about squishing together all those YouTubers, many of whom would rank low on the funkometer on their own, that makes every one of them funkalicious. Maybe it’s just the music—everyone in earshot gets the funk on them, even the geeky shredder running through scales.
Strumming Archive is Coming
I spent the day (and a good chunk of the night) drafting the Strum Pattern Archive page. A lot of the time was spent learning about CSS and how to make tables—both new territories. I finally feel like I’m understanding all that code. I don’t have any content in the archive yet, but I’m almost finished with organizing the basic …
Note from Thailand
I just got an email from a former student, Emily, who’s in Thailand. It was in the form of a top-ten list of great experiences she’s had there. Here’s her number one: Bonfire on the beach, Tonsai: There were two guitars. I got to play a good guitar about half the time. “More Cat Stevens!” “What other Simon and Garfunkel …
Adding Videos of Strum Patterns
Over and over, visitors to this site say that their favorite thing about my chord charts is that many of them have strum pattern recommendations. This is a feature that’s practically non-existent in chord charts on the web. Lately, I’ve been toying with two ideas that I think would be a big benefit to people who find the strum pattern …
Press
I got some props at the popular Kid’s Music That Rocks blog for my contribution to Recess Monkey’s latest album, “Tabby Road.” Recess Monkey is Seattle’s awesome children’s music band, comprised of three elementary-school teachers and former indie-rockers. Music both kids and their parents can enjoy.
Rockabye Baby
Dilemma: Baby likes peaceful music. Mom and Dad like Nine Inch Nails. Solution: Rockabye Baby You haven’t fully appreciated AC/DC until you’ve heard “You Shook Me All Night Long” played by a music box.
Easy Guitar Songs for Kids
I teach kids as young as three years old to play guitar. One of the keys to teaching really little kids, besides knowing how to spontaneously burp, wiggle your ears, and listen to that orange/banana knock-knock joke 3,000 times without going AWOL, is choosing the right material. Kids this young can barely pick their own nose, so there’s no way …
Snow Day Shenanigans
Yesterday, Seattle had one of those rare once-every-five-years storms, covering the city with enough snow to ski on. My buddy Jake and I took full advantage, skiing about five miles around Green Lake and taking a pit stop at bar for an Irish Coffee. Here’s the footage. (YouTube Video)
Stand By Me, Wherever You May Be
In the midst of a hectic day, a student sent this video splicing together musicians from around the world as they perform “Stand by Me.” At this rate, November 2008 will go down in my history as The Month Beauty Kept Making Me Cry. I swear, I’m not usually a crier. Stand By Me If you have the time, watch …
New Business
I’ve followed every crisis in my life with a transformation. I was bullied in middle school until my parents finally transferred me to a different school, where I made friends and discovered my love for the theater. After a bad breakup with a girlfriend, I found a counselor who taught me how improve my relationships with everyone I loved. And …
