Rich Ford Guitarist Forum - Recent Topics

Backing Tracks Article

Traveling Bone SC — Fri, 16 May 2025 22:44:05 +0000

Thoughts? I'm presently volunteering in Big Bend National Park, TX and work 3 days on/3 days off so I have a good bit of time to practice my craft, playing acoustic electric guitar and singing, and incorporating customized backing tracks on my iPad. I realize some tunes simply sound better without backing them up with tracks. I'm always learning tunes while keeping in mind my goals. One of my goals is to play for veterans venues with a few coffee houses and bars along the way while im livinga nomadic lifestyle. I'm trying to keep a good balance of tunes but I'm not going to break my neck doing it. I'm getting tired of the same 3-400 tunes I can easily meddle through and truly at this point in my life, almost 66, I feel I have nothing else to prove to anyone but to myself (alternate tunings, difficult tunes that I like and should play at least for my own personal enjoyment). So many songs out there. Some stay popular for shorter periods of time than others and that's life. I'd appreciate anyone's input on this topic of using backing tracks, how and when, overuse, to include vocal harmonizer use. Criticism taken lightly. Rock on, Rich Ford! (I hope the link works)

https://www.karaoke-version.com/blog/1556-backing-tracks-vs-live-musicians-how-to-find-the-perfect-balance.html?utm_campaign=newsletter_kv&utm_source=bulk&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0&utm_content=custom_1

Sharing the mic - I don't normally do it, but glad I did this time. Check it out!

Rich — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:14:14 +0000

My next to last gig of 2024 and this was the closing song. A lady in the audience wanted to sing with me. I don't normally do this but the group she was with were very engaged and supportive, so I let her come up and close with me.

She did an AMAZING JOB with the cover of "Me and Bobby McGee" - Check it out!

Me and Bobby McGee

Newest Songs over the last couple of weeks - all from requests

Rich — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 16:32:34 +0000

Seems to me, if a song is requested, it could be a good one to learn. Over the last couple of weeks, I've been working on some great songs.

"Sunspot Baby" - by Bob Seger. Definitely one outside my wheel house, but not out of my ability - so I started it a few weeks ago after a request. Doing it Solo Acoustic requires a bit of 'adjustment' but it's coming along pretty good.

"Ballad of Curtis Loew" - by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It had been requested over the years and never tackled it - after listening to a few cover examples (sans Slide) - I added it and it's come out pretty good. In my rotation.

"I Just Wanna Learn a Love Song" - by Harry Chapin. This is a great 'Chapin' Story song. Not as well known as "Cats in The Cradle" (In my rotation) or "Taxi" (Not yet).. but this is a fun song to play. Haven't played live yet - as it's for a specific audience type. Can't wait to play it though.

"Red Solo Cup" - by Toby Keith. A surprisingly easy song to perform. The Intro is a G-D walk down while doing a 2/4 strum (G, F#, E, D - done on the High E String.. Then getting the tempo down for the lyrics as it's rather 'talking' instead of singing - but it's a fun song and will go over well in certain venues. Just started this one - so not quite ready for 'prime-time'

"Chevy Van" - by Sammy Johns. A one hit wonder but one everyone knows. It's got a pretty cool A,Asus2,Asus4 sound that makes it identifiable. Then just a D and an E... Fun to play fun to sing.

Check out the post on learning new songs - This is my process and it's very effective.

Anyone working on new material?

Learning a New Song. How to approach it.

RichFord — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 13:00:36 +0000

Over the last several years, thanks to gigging and requests, I've probably learned 150 new songs. In so doing, I've come up with a 3 step process in effectively learning them - to the point where I can perform them. This works for any genre, or song. Try it and let me know.

1. KNOW the Song!- Listen to the artist rendition of the song and listen to other covers of the song. Hear it from different angles. The point here is to 'hear' yourself playing it. Often times, original artist versions are full bands and can 'muddy' the song structure a bit for a solo artist - so by listening to other versions, you will hear different things that can lead to your own version. You should listen until you can sing along with it - getting the tempo, timbre, and feel of the vocals

2. Get a good chart of the song - There are multiple sources for the chords of songs, Chordie, Ultimate Guitar, or simply 'google' chords of a particular song. Work thru the chords first to know the changes - try this without the record first - for rough spots, listen to the recording and see if you can capture it - LEARN the song in the original key first - you can always change the key to fit your voice afterwards, but by learning the chords in the original key, you will be able to hear the fills and licks easier.

3. Play along with the recording - You'll need to do this in the original key but you will start 'feeling' how the song goes before you change keys (If you even need to). Play along and sing along with the recording.. Over and over until you have it down.

4. Turn off the record and go it solo. See how it feels - record yourself playing it and listen to yourself. This is HARD because you will hear your mistakes - but this will allow you to correct them or adjust as required.

Once you can confidently play the song without the artist or other covers you heard - go BACK and listen to the artist and covers and see how you do - Is your tempo too fast (my biggest problem)? Too slow? Chords not sounding correct, or changes not how you like them? Adjust at this point.

Be sure to take a few days off after learning it - and then go back and try it again - did you remember everything? Still some rough spots? Over time, the songs will become internalized - You're ready to go.

Have other tips or tricks?

Reverb Music

Traveling Bone SC — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 04:06:53 +0000

I guess I should have looked at the details and asked for more close-up pictures of the guitar I just received the other day from a seller on Reverb in Huntsville. I have a friend who is meticulous about ordering Yamaha guitars from Japan and other high-end guitars from various places. I should have followed his lead and paid more attention to what he was doing, asking for more detailed pictures and asking questions that make a difference when purchasing a guitar thousands of miles away. The inexpensive Martin I saw for sale I snatched it up thinking I was getting a good deal. I received the guitar quickly and it came to my house very dusty, slobber and sweat stains all over it, god-awful strings, and the weird thing is that the saddle was installed 180° opposite of what it should have been. The fretboard was disgusting. So the box was unplayable. I corrected the saddle and pulled off the old strings and put on a set of new. A meticulously cleaned the fretboard and body, neck, changed the transistor battery (8.6 VDC shipped installed in the sound hole). Tuned it up and it was okay. Then I noticed the fret bars were basically spent, having ridges under all six strings up to at least the fifth fret. I played it anyway hoping that it would sound okay and it did sound okay thanks to the Fishman pickup. After about 2 days of hitting it hard, the high E string started to buzz pretty bad around the first second and third fret. So I thought I could buy some time by putting in a little relief in the neck by tweaking the truss rod. I am limited on my knowledge but have watched enough videos to choke a mule. So I dig out my trusty 5 mm wrench and go to put it in the truss rod hole inside the sound hole and there is no truss rod. I shine a flashlight up in there and take a couple of pictures and send it to the seller in Huntsville complaining there is no truss rod. He immediately insults me, cursing me through the messaging on Reverb, telling me I am as dumb AF. Then tells me he has written albums with that guitar. Along with the frets worn down like someone took a hammer and chisel to them, I calmly ask for a refund through the website and he immediately declines it. A couple of things about this story, one is to know your guitar model really well. This particular model of Martin dx1 Custom was sold by Musician's Friend at the time. A lot of modern Martins, if not all to my understanding, take a special longer shanked 5 mm wrench to gain access to the truss rod end so as to adjust the relief in the neck. It's way down in there. I did not know that at the time. But he didn't have to curse at me. He could have told me that the truss rod was further down in the hole, something common with Martins. Two, I should have asked for more pictures so I could tell what shape the body, the strings, and the fretboard was in. I probably would have just saved my $450 and time. I had a dx1 before but it's been about 9 years ago and I can't remember what the guitar was all about. All I remember is that it sounded really good and played well. I guess in some ways it's my bad. I guess I'll deal with it. Anyone's thoughts are appreciated by the way. Life is a big old lesson to be learned. One big thing I have learned is I don't care what other people think about me and another is I treat people the way I want to be treated. This particular individual I dealt with owns a high-end guitar shop, too. I really wish we could have ended our relationship amicably.

Songs I Love & Want To Share

Traveling Bone SC — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 03:49:02 +0000

1) Laid back, very picturesque tune sung so well by a close musical friend from Elgin, SC, Carroll Brown. The tune centers around a laid back lifestyle in a coastal town in South Carolina.

https://youtu.be/gMrO5qHJPbE?si=UAFK9PQxdaOJIAPj

2) When I met Carroll Brown (CB), it was at an Irish pub in Five Points, a nightlife area frequented by University of South Carolina college students. At the time, I had just lost my wife to another man. I was heartbroken. I always requested this song for CB to sing all the while drinking Smithwicks and shots of Jameson to drown my sorrows. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/X_XkdINTQ3E?si=ePVCRMCzjpUK3vth

A Study in Cheap Guitars

Traveling Bone SC — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 14:04:04 +0000

Here's a link to a tune I uploaded I don't know, 12 years ago perhaps, of a Marshall Tucker tune I've always loved. A song off the beaten MTB path, if you will. Recorded on a cheap Android phone in a dingy apartment in South Congaree, South Carolina when I was dirt poor, paying child support through my nose, eating a lot of potted meat sandwiches and drinking my landlord's free liquor. Performed on a very cheap Epiphone AJ-45 ('64 reissue? Can't recall). I saw it hanging on the wall at Sims Music and snatched it up because of the color and pickguard design. It didn't sound all that bad really for an all laminate box but it did make an appearance when plugged in and mixed through a Roland Street Cube as you will hear. Toss on an old cowboy hat and dark sunglasses for effect as well. This season of my life I was performing a few gigs at a bar in Northeast Columbia, SC on a Thursday evening for $75. It was usually slow or no one there but it was great practice, right? One evening a bunch of motorcycle riders were having a meeting there and heard me play. The president of the club liked what he heard and asked me to play for their clubhouse meetings in Clarendon County, about an hour and a half drive away. I obliged several times and they liked it and I loved it. I posted the following tune at some point and the motorcycle club president told me that this was his new "theme song". I felt honored! Here's to The Carolina Rebels MC, CCC (Clarendon County Chapter (333).

https://youtu.be/JNPtxOgMyIM?si=2H3_jfE0HXsd4LvK

Collab with David Asbill

Traveling Bone SC — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 17:44:48 +0000

Below is a link to a video clip I created in hopes of getting some ideas for a tune that I seem to can't get over the hump on. I have limited time these days and I really want to get the ball rolling on this particular tune. No rush at all. Thanks for any insight or suggestions. I'm not a pro and I don't make money off of this stuff. Maybe this tune will evolve into something as time goes on. Key of C. As mentioned in the video I don't know the name of some of the chords although I used to I'm sure. If you need more in depth, hit me up here and I'll be glad to oblige. Let's see where this goes! Thanks again, Rich!

https://1drv.ms/v/c/640a05cdd8df3f02/EWxzmShTuKtHiaRYUlKG3AoB3JPQnS-JbtIhBC5NWEFIHA