Jay Gaulard

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Blog posts the fall under the Entertainment category. Read all I have written about this topic.

Must-Have Guitar Instruction Resources

I remember back when I was a kid in my old neighborhood. One of my neighbors used to sit on his back porch and play various Metallica songs on his electric guitar. He wasn’t great or anything, but it was fun to listen to him navigate the strings and chords for those songs. He was musically inclined, his brother was and their friend, the music teacher down in the middle school was as well. What a cool hobby for all of them to have – playing music.

I’ve thought about learning how to play guitar for a long time. It wasn’t until relatively recently that I actually did something about it. I guess the problem I faced and the reason I waited so long was that I had no idea where to begin. I didn’t think I’d appreciate shelling out all sorts of money for an instructor and I really didn’t know any anyway. It wasn’t until I found the mother of all guitar instruction – the Gibson’s Learn & Master Guitar DVD set. I bought that set in 2012 and have been staring at it ever since. I think I mentioned in my previous post that I played for a few months and gave up. Today, I’m back and I’m stronger than ever.

Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar and Hal Leonard Pop Melodies

Since I began this endeavor in 2012, I’ve had an open ear when it comes to eavesdropping on how others go about their own process of leaning this instrument. Surprisingly, I haven’t come across too many folks who follow the book and study method. Ninety nine times out of a hundred, students pick up a music book that simply tells them how to play a few chords to get through a handful of songs. Very few people know how to read music, much less know which guitar string is which and what notes are what. I was really shocked when I discovered this because quite honestly, guitar is an extremely difficult instrument to become even slightly proficient at playing and like anything else, the basics are absolutely critical.

I have tons of resources to help me learn. As I mentioned above, I have the Gibson package. That’s my home base; my primary learning source. That arrived with 20 DVDs that cover playing the very first string all the way through barre and power chords to fingerstyle guitar. That resource is absolutely jam packed with good stuff, methodically laid out and presented in such a way that if failure occurs, it’s only the student’s fault. Gibson even offers a web forum to visit for motivation. Personally, I wouldn’t even try to learn guitar any other way. And I haven’t even mentioned the supplemental materials yet. The additional resources are more in depth than the primary ones.

Here are a few of the DVDs.

Gibson's Guitar Method DVDs

Here are additional jam along DVDs, which are helpful when students get to the point of playing with others.

Gibson's Jam Along DVDs

And here is one page out of the supplemental materials. I just happen to be up to practicing the third and fourth strings.

Gibson't Learn & Master Guitar Supplemental Material

Guitar Power Chord Exercises

Beyond that, I have the Hal Leonard Guitar Method 3 in 1 book that offers all sorts of guitar instruction coupled with lots of exercises and songs. Because I want as many places to turn to as I’m practicing, I flip between the Gibson and the Hal Leonard books. This method is encouraged by both.

A few days ago, I got all jazzed up and ordered three books that are stuffed with various popular songs. Again, these songs were put out by Hal Leonard and are called Easy Pop Melodies. Each of the songs in the books correlate with a section in the Guitar Method book I just mentioned. These extra songs can really open up anyone’s game and make learning guitar some serious fun. As a matter of fact, I was just playing the beginnings of Fields of Gold by Sting. There are incredible songs in these books (that become increasingly more challenging to play towards the end).

Fields of Gold Guitar Sheet Music

When it comes to learning an instrument, music theory is a very important aspect to become familiar with. While both the Gibson and Hal Leonard resources cover pretty much anything I’d want to know regarding music theory, I decided to pick up some additional books. I just ordered:

Music Theory for Guitarists: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask (Guitar Method) by Tom Kolb

and

Guitar: The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists: Learn and Apply Music Theory for Guitar by Mr. Joseph Alexander

I’m really psyched about these two additional books because I’ll have the opportunity to study theory any time I wish. I won’t have to wait for the related section in my instruction books. I find this entire area so interesting and I’m especially motivated because of the simple fact that so many people quit shortly after they begin playing. I love to separate myself from the crowd by becoming good at things and if this is another way to do that, so be it. I’m fine with it. I guess the actual playing will be fun too.

Anyway, I just wanted to share some information about what I do for an hour every day. Engaging in something like this is a lifelong challenge, but one that’s so very rewarding.


I’ve Decided to Try to Learn How to Play the Guitar Again

I’ve been down this road before. I understand that playing the guitar is a true challenge, but I also understand that it’s one mighty satisfying reward. Not everyone can do it. Not everyone can even learn how to do it. Way back in 2012, I failed. I’m going to give it another try.

Epiphone AJ-220ST Guitar

What do you think of the above photo? I just took it about 20 seconds ago and ran it through Photoshop for a bit of editing. I was going for that nostalgic look. I like it.

So anyway, yes, I failed at learning how to play the guitar back in 2012. When I began thinking about my previous experience a few days back, I was under the impression that I played for about eight months. The thing is, I wrote a bunch of posts right here on this blog about my learning and after looking through them two evenings ago, I realized that I had only played for about four. That was a disappointing discovery, but it was also heartening because it helps explain why I’m so horrible today. While I do remember some notes and I picked everything back up relatively quickly, my chords remain sounding like a dying hippopotamus. It’s not good. Although, I will tell that you just last night, I had a major breakthrough with playing those cords. It appears that the lighter I strum the strings, the more those same strings sing. And sing is the only word I can use to describe how pretty they sound. I”m just hoping it’s not one of those techniques that’s similar to a tennis swing or a golf swing. I was never quite able to master those.

I’m learning the proper way. When I first picked the guitar up all those years ago, I bought the best home learning course I could find. It’s the Learn & Master Guitar program put out by Gibson and taught by none other than Steve Krenz. Steve is a rather talented guitar player and a fantastic teacher. I have more than 20 DVDs that cover just about everything I would ever need to know. That set, combined with the wonder of the internet’s many instructors and how-to videos should bring me to a stage near you in no time. It should be fun.

I have about a week in so far this time. I’m really trying to stay positive and to put the hours in. It’s frustrating, but as long as I focus on those chords, which were the things that brought me down last time, I should be okay. I do see an improvement every single night I play. Plus, I’d like to get to the point of purchasing an electric/acoustic guitar, like I wanted to do in 2012. That’s the carrot dangling in front of my nose.

I’ll keep you updated, but don’t expect any video any time soon. Perhaps in about a year. It’s really embarrassing right now.

One quick note. I’d like to thank my good friend Seth, who, back in 2013, convinced me not to sell my setup. When I asked him, “Why do I need any of it?”, he replied, “Dude, every house needs a guitar.” Wise words from a wise man. Thanks Seth.


I’ve Given Up On Audio Books

I’m not sure when it happened. Probably about a year or two ago. I decided that I was finished with reading and that I would only listen to audio books for the rest of my life. What prompted this decision was anger at all the fake book reviews on Amazon. It seemed like everywhere I looked, except for the classics, I would read reviews like, “This book changed my life!” and “I wouldn’t be where I am today without this book.” When I got to “The pages of this book are wet from my tears.” I gave up. I determined that any and every single newer book on Amazon has an army of fake reviewers at the ready to trick and deceive. This is only my personal opinion, of course.

The problem was that I would buy books based on good reviews. I can remember getting almost all the way through Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” before I told myself that I had enough of the “go nowhere” story. Then, after about half of Dan Simmons’ “Hyperion,” which was awesome to start out with, I had to put it down. Even video reviews on Youtube seemed like they were somehow fake. Not everyone’s life can be changed from a book. There were simply too many people out there with the same sentiment. So that’s when I gave up on wasting my money. Plus, I discovered that by reading only the negative reviews after I had read the book, I’d find which ones were actually accurate. I agreed with almost all the negative ones. That’s depressing. One theme among these types of reviews went like this; “I wanted to love this book, just as so many of the good reviewers said they did…”

The reason I switched over to audio books is because, on Audible.com, you can return a book if you don’t like it. I thought that was perfect for me because of my apparent finicky personality. In the beginning, the audio books I listened to were awesome. I listened to a bunch of Star Wars ones, such as the “Darth Bane” series, that I really enjoyed. I also listened to “Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss, which is probably my favorite book to date. “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë and narrated by Thandie Newton was untouchable. Thandie Newton is probably the best narrator on the planet, which is probably much of the reason I loved this book so much. The audio book thing was really working out.

I found two huge benefits to listening to audio books. First, I could listen to them via my tablet in the car on the way to Jiu-Jitsu class. Because I was listening during my off-time, I could actually get more done. Also, I’m sure the narrator of these books reads faster than I do. I’m a very slow reader, and larger books take me forever to read.

The problems I found with this medium are definitely there. Through Audible.com, you get charged $15 per month and get one free book per month. The problems arise when you haven’t finished a very long book, such as “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand, and the credits keep piling up. The credits last in your account for only six months, so if they start to pile up, you begin to lose them. I didn’t like that at all.

Secondly, I did a lot of my listening in bed before I fell asleep at night. As Laura would sit there and read, I’d place my headphones over my ears and somehow ignore her until she turned the light off and did her own thing. I didn’t like that either. In the car is one thing, but totally ignoring someone at night is another.

Finally, I began noticing that I was falling asleep while listing to the audio books. This wasn’t a problem at the beginning, but as the months rolled on, I found that I’d listen to one page and sleep through three chapters. That was highly annoying.

Because of these things, I’ve decided to give up on audio books and head back to paper ones. This time though, I want to do things differently. I want to read like an adult and read books that I can collect and keep forver. With this in mind, I recently purchased a hardcover version of “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas.

The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas - Penguin Classic

As I mentioned above, the classic books on Amazon seem to have legitimate reviews. The only thing people try to sell is which translation is better. For this latest purchase, I deduced that people really liked the Robin Buss translation. I also liked the look of the Penguin Classics hardcover, so I thought this would be a good place to start my collection. I have my fingers crossed that this new idea is going to work out.

By the way, if you don’t know anything about “The Count of Monte Cristo,” Take a look at the movie trailer on Youtube. I don’t use the word “epic,” ever, but that’s the only word I could think of after watching it. Incredible.

In closing, I’d like to say that the log cabin room remodeling is finally coming along. I’ve finished all the drywall and painting and I even installed a very nice floor. Take a look at our cat sleep on the sunny spot this morning.

Cat Sleep in Sunny Spot on Floor in Morning

Redoing this room was another motivator for buying and reading really nice books. The next step at finishing the room is to add trim and shelves all over the place. It’s on these shelves that I’ll store my book collection. Just ask Laura, I’m very excited about this.

Until next time, thanks for reading!


The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Guess what I did last night. I purchased the Kindle edition of “The Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien. I figured I needed to give myself a small gift for being such a good boy lately.

I finished reading my previous Kindle book, “The Mystery Of the Hidden Room by Marion Harvey” and found it just okay. While the author was brilliant in writing, I found the book to be kind of dragged out and unrealistic. It was like, “Ahh, the professor must have committed the crime!” “No, he didn’t because what you don’t know is that there is a hidden room around the corner!” The conclusion to the book was based on facts that weren’t laid out previously, so I couldn’t put any pieces together. I like mystery books that give me all the details and let my mind work in the meantime. Oh well. As I mentioned, it was okay.

But like I’ve said a million times, I really enjoyed reading “The Hobbit.” I’ve been planning on reading each book in the later trilogy and went on Amazon last night to purchase the first one. Funny thing – I found that each book was around $8.99, but there was an edition that has all three books combined for only $9.99. And I also learned that The Lord of the Rings isn’t a trilogy at all. It’s actually one long book broken down into something like 6 sections. Each title of the trilogy is included, but this collection is 1220 pages.

The Lord of the Rings - Kindle Edition on my Droid RAZR MAXX

I started reading last night and I can’t tell you the relief I felt when I cracked this thing open. Like I was telling my mother earlier, I had given Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” a try and felt like it was all work. I’m sure it’s amazing, but at this age, I feel like I’m entitled to enjoy stories, rather than laboring through them. And that’s what “The Lord of the Rings” offers me. A relaxing adventure. Something for me to read and get away from it all.

I’ll probably write short updates throughout the book. I’m hoping Youtube has more clips available than they had for the Hobbit. If so, things here on this blog will make a whole lot more sense.


Andy McKee – Common Ground

Back in a previous life, I played the guitar. Well, I was learning to play the guitar and I have to say, I was moving right along. I was up to chords and while cords can, and were, tricky, I was doing them and learning what I needed to learn. I began my guitar lessons in May of 2012 and ended them in November of the same year. First, I hurt my finger and then I decided to relocate my guitar and all the accompanying equipment to Florida. It’s been sitting there for a while, waiting for my return. I’ll pick things up again soon, I’m sure.

When I was learning to play, I remember looking all through all sorts of Youtube videos for inspirational guitar players to keep my motivation and spirits high. After searching for a while, I stumbled across three pretty awesome guitarists. Now, when I say awesome, I mean awesome. Not Metallica, sit on your back porch and jam, awesome, but more of a technically skilled and eye popping awesome.

The three guitarists I found were:

1. Joe Bonamassa
2. Andy McKee
3. Tommy Emmanuel

I’ll post videos of each of the three below and I think you’ll be quite amazed. It’s almost sickening how good they are and it is sickening to know that I’ll never be as good at anything in my life. Even if I was handed a hobby on a silver platter and had the best teacher, I’ll never be as good. Strange how that works.

While they’re all good, I think the one I most identified with last year was Andy McKee. He has a very relaxed style that I’ve seen many people try to imitate. Not many have succeeded, but they’ve tried and done an alright job. If you decide to take a few moments to watch him in action, playing what I consider to be his absolute best song, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I initially wanted to include Andy’s video in my last post, but decided that it would be better to make a separate post that includes other players as well. But that’s not going to stop my buying his CD, called Dreamcatcher.

Andy McKee – Common Ground without Commentary

Tommy Emmanuel – Classical Gas


The Hobbit – The Movie

We watched The Hobbit movie last night and I just wanted to say a little something about it.

First, I think it was pretty good. I liked the animation for the most part and when compared to what I read in the book, the scenes were almost spot on. The movie was different than the book though and that makes me wonder if I read a shorter version of what else is available.

The movie offers much more in the way of character development than the book I read. Early on, they showed the struggle between the dwarves and Smaug, the dragon. I was a bit shocked at that, since I hadn’t read any such thing.

Also, there were scenes that were kind of “injected” in the movie that weren’t in the version of the book I read. There was much more of the being chased by the Orcs. And the wizard who was being pulled by the sled – I didn’t read about him.

Lastly, the movie ended after the eagle scene, which was only about half way through the book, which puts the producers of this movie in good position for the alleged following two. This one was well made though, I won’t deny that.

There is one area that I wish whoever makes these movies would change. Both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy had very unclear spoken word at times. I remember telling Laura that I had no idea what was going on when we watched The Lord of the Rings and I have to confess, I said that again last night during The Hobbit. There were scenes, such as when Gandalf was speaking with the elves where I didn’t understand one word that was said. At one point, I got up to make the pellet stove quieter in attempt to better hear what was going on. I even teased the idea of increasing the volume, but figured that wouldn’t work. It sort of makes me want to read the full version of The Hobbit, because those scenes were important to the background of the trilogy that follows.

And the Gollum scene – I didn’t get much of what Gollum said either.

Other than that, I had a good time. And maybe I partially blame myself for not having better hearing.

THE HOBBIT Trailer HD


The Possibilities Of Audible

I like to pride myself on my reading ability. I know how to. That is, I know how to read. Which is good because I really like to read stuff written by people all over the globe. Whatever my mood, I can pick up a good book and either enhance it or change it (my mood, that is). People have been doing this for thousands of years and I like to think I’m part of that club.

There is an increasingly prevalent problem creeping its way into my life though – and that’s finding the time to get any substantial amount of reading done.

Here’s the thing – I don’t curl up on the couch during the day to enjoy a good book. I don’t rest outside during the Summertime, leaning up against a New England stone wall learning about ancient Rome. And I certainly don’t have a beach nearby with an umbrella to situate myself under to do whatever it is I’m talking about. Do you want to know my reality? I plop myself in bed around 2AM after taking a Benadryl, only to read about 5 pages before falling asleep. I can talk the talk, but I feel like it’s time to get some work done.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about ways to work around my issue. I’ve considered the Kindle, but I can’t quite figure out how that would help me. I guess it would just make my few bedtime pages more expensive. It’s a nice idea though because the Kindle, or any tablet for that matter, is a really cool gadget. And gadgets are where it’s at right now.

More seriously, what I’ve been thinking about lately is a membership to Audible.com. Audio books. My mother’s been raving about these things for years. I’ve resisted, but to be honest, they’re starting to make sense. So far, I’ve thought of one good place to listen to books – and that’s in the car. I have about 2 hours worth of driving per week and if I can add that time to the time I usually read before bed, I might actually get something done. But with this comes another problem. The problem of me being cheap.

I swear, it costs $70 to fill my gas tank. No problem. It’s like $150 every time I go food shopping. I don’t think twice. Out to dinner? I don’t know, what is it, $50 these days? Regardless, I don’t think about these things, but when it comes to dropping $15 a month for an audio book website membership, I’ll hem and haw over it for months. I swear, it’s horrible. I do this with stuff I want to buy from Amazon all the time. I put items in my shopping cart for so long, they actually change price before I get around to deleting them. I suppose it’s good in a way. I’m not one to “waste” money.

But I really want to read more and this is the only thing I can think of to get it done. Working on the computer all day doesn’t exactly open much opportunity to accomplish this and reading while eating dinner is a pretty loser thing to do to a partner. Filling the void in my off time is what makes sense.

So, the question is this – is anyone who may be reading this a member of Audible? Do you like it? Or even more generally, if you listen to audio books, have they helped you get more reading done?

Now, I have considered that possibility of forgetting how to read by “listening” to books as opposed to actually reading them, but I quickly quelled the fear by reminding myself that I am doing more reading on the internet than I would have ever done if it was never invented. I’d probably be working outside and reading wouldn’t fit in my day much at all. But the way things are, I do read a lot during the day, albiet nothing of real substance.

I do write though, and if I can keep this going, perhaps my brain will forgive my laziness when it comes to reading. Whatever.

Please, if you have thoughts on this, leave a comment. I’d like to sign up for Audible, but am looking for a push. I want a few success stories first.

PS – I already looked on the town’s library website and they do, in fact, have audio books that I could listen to. The issue with that is for some of the good ones, there’s a waiting list and if it is available, it’s time limited. It’s a possibility though.

If you’re interested in how Audible works, check out this video. It’s pretty informative.

Audible.com Review


Online Book Clubs

I have been reading a tremendous number of books lately. When I finish a book, I am usually eager to discuss it with someone of like mind. I oftentimes run into problems with this.

Back when I was a kid, my mother would call me into her room and read me (seemingly) moving excerpts from the book she was currently reading. Since I had no idea what she was talking about, I nodded politely and walked away. That’s how I think many of my friends and family feel when I bring up certain topics.

Text On Page Of Book

This morning, I came up with a great idea. I would look around the local area for a good book club for me to join. I would enjoy nothing more than to read a book and then sit in on a discussion and share my views of the book. Unfortunately, all the book clubs I found locally are limited by age, race, gender and every other sub group you can think of. They are quite exclusive. I guess I agree with their approach. I mean, what group of 80 year old women wants a 16 year old boy sitting in on their book club? I learned that these things are really sliced and diced.

So, I moved my search online. I thought to myself, “Hey, there is everything else online, why not a book club?” I am happy to report that there are quite a few online book clubs. I haven’t found any with set times and dates for discussion, but one of the better ones has a good choice of books and a very active forum. This should take my mind off the rest of the world’s goings on. Perhaps one day I will even find a live book club…one with web cams and all that. Now, that would be something.

If you have any suggestions for someone like me, someone who is interested in discussing good books, please let me know. Thank you.


Napoleon Dynamite – Ending Scene

One of my favorite movies of all time is Napoleon Dynamite. I know, I know…either you love this movie or you don’t. I happen to love it and I’ll let you in on a little secret. The more you watch it, the more you notice. By the twentieth time, you’ll appreciate the movie a heck of a lot more than you did the first time.

There are many great things about this movie, but I think there is general agreement that the best part is the ending scene. A few things happen. First, there is a sort of closure. Second, there is a tetherball game, and third, there is some awesome music.

I happen to be a big 80s music fan, so it’s no surprise that “When In Rome – The Promise” is tops on my list. 80s fans love that song. Watch the video and I think you’ll agree.

When In Rome – The Promise

Another, but less known song is also in the ending scene of Napoleon Dynamite. This is the song that’s right before “The Promise.” It’s called, “Music For A Found Harmonium.” I’m not sure who wrote this song, but I find it very satisfying. There are actually many versions of this song on the internet, but one I really like is by the “Penguin Cafe Orchestra.” I think the organ gets a workout during this one.

Patrick Street – Music for a Found Harmonium

Basically, what happens in this final scene and the music they chose to use for it are my reasons for loving it so much. If you have anything to add, please leave a comment.


A Good Year

I am quickly coming to the realization that life if short. It’s taken a while, but now that I know, I plan on doing something about it.

I suppose I can do two things. Either I can find a way to extend my life, or I can change my life into something that’s worth living. I think I’ll go with option two because I don’t see much sense in extending something that I’m not in love with anyway.

I don’t want to get into a long rigmarole because I’m not sure I have enough time to write it, but be sure that I’ll write it someday. I’ll have all sorts of stories and advice for those of you who care to read. Someday. I’ll get to it I swear.

In the meantime, do yourself a favor and watch the movie, “A Good Year” with Russell Crowe. It’s a close tie between this and “Uncorked” for my favorite movie of all time. Both movies let me dream and that’s what I like to do.

We watched this last night. I got all excited and started looking at the filming locations online. Much of the movie was shot in the Luberon, in Provence, in the far south of France. If you’re looking for someplace to reassess, you should probably visit this area. It might suit you just fine.

While browsing through some websites last night, I did find something I’m interested in. Apparently, there are small outfits that give tours of the area. Very laid back. That’s just my style because I’m not one for walking city streets. I want to move to an area for a month at a time. I want to live there and then live somewhere else. When I find the place I don’t want to leave, I’ll say goodbye to the rest.

Check this movie out and after you do, please let me know what you think.

A Good Year Official Trailer #1 (2006) – Russell Crowe Movie