DarrenHayhurst.com » Learning

Melody Gardot

Darren — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 01:49:44 +0000

Melody Gardot talks about her life. Great interview. Check out this Jazz great.

Lady Gaga Interview on being an Artist

Darren — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:11:14 +0000

Here is a great interview with Lady Gaga.
She talks about Being unique and an Artist. I like her points about writing from a classical background. Nice to know high flying Pop artists have a solid classical foundation.

The intro is in German but the interview is in English…

Akon Interview on Recording Process and Songwriting

Darren — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:34:53 +0000

Akon Interview on Recording Process and Songwriting.

Its always great to hear how other creative people record Albums and Songs. Songwriting is such an individual art. Always great to watch and hear other artists techniques.

Missy Higgins Singer Songwriter Interview

Darren — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:22:21 +0000

Missy Higgins Interview. Singer Songwriter on how songs change and how they change for you.

This was recorded in 2004 after the release of the no. 1 album Missy Higgins The sound of White.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Music Theory 1 for Guitarists

Darren — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:56:05 +0000

Music Theory 1 for Guitarists! You can jump around through these lessons but I advise to follow them in order so you don’t have gaps in your learning. Have your Guitar in your hands and go through what your reading as you read it. So go pick it up and lets get started. I want to keep these lessons short and easy to grasp. If you have questions leave me a comment and I will help.

This is where it starts. Thick E string… From the open Fret to the 12th Fret. This is one octave. From the open string to the 12th fret you have 12 notes. They are… E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, and E again. REMEBER THIS!!! E and B have NO Sharps, NO #’s. This is important. Its not hard just remember it. E and B have no sharps. Play each of these notes and call out the names as you go. Starting Open, play each note sliding up one each time. E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, and E again. You have just played One octave. This is a scale, its called the chromatic scale and in my mind it is the most important scale to know. All other scales are created from this scale. All chords are created from this scale. In fact EVERYTHING in music is taken from this scale. In my mind it is the most important scale to know. As you will find out in the coming lessons this scale is very important to know. Seems easy just sliding up and down the neck but then Music Theory is VERY easy. A lot of intellectuals and music teachers make it seem hard and take you the long way around but music theory is VERY easy.

So does this make sence? 12 notes = 1 Octave. E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, and E again. Its called the chomatic scale. E and B have no sharps.

Now for the practice. This is an important scale and will be used more than you could ever imagine. Play it, up and down. Dont worry about how you play it just slide your finger up and down and learn the names of the notes. I cant stress how important it is to know the names of these and where they are. We will use it to name Chords, Scales, Start positions, Ending positions, so many different things.

Some points to help learn these notes… Open is E… The first dot on top of your neck is the 3rd (on most Guitars) This is G… The 5th is A… If you slide up 1 fret from the A your playing A#. If this seems really simple its cause it is. Music Theory is not hard at all. Its all very simple. Just take your time and make sure you practise.

If you think this is too easy for you thats great. Stick with this and you will learn more than you could imagine. With in a very short time you will be playing different inversions, modes, embelished chords, understanding Harmony and Theory and composing complex music. All lessons are this short and this easy. All Music Theory is easy. And this is all aimed for Guitarists. Remember at any stage if you have a question, chances are someone else is thinking it so ask here in the comments section and I will answer.

Cheers

Darren

P.S. Subscribe so you recieve the new lessons in your email.

Music Theory, A basic understanding for guitarists

Darren — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:07:36 +0000

For so many years now i am still amazed at how many Awesome Gutiar Players dont know anything about music. On so many occasions I have said to fellow axemen “Play the 6th chord” or “You play the 3rd” and im looked at like a freak! I get why they dont, and in many ways that is one of the reasons the guitar is such an awesome instrument to play. The guitar is tuned in 4ths and this basicly means you can learn a shape on the neck ie an “E” chord shape and then using a bar with you first finger, move it anywhere up or down the neck and play any other like shaped chord. It works with every shape chord “A” like double bar chords “A-” chords, what ever. The very cool part is it works with Scales, Riffs, Runs etc. What ever you can play can be moved to a new position and then play it in any key.
Now this is going to be the first of Many Many posts on this topic because it is huge and encompasses so much important information. I have taught this very same information to my all my students, purely because it is so important. I love to see them go from being a Riff playing guitarist playing purely by TAB and ear, to being able to compose, transpose and play what they actually hear in their head. I hope to use this to be able to do the same from you. I would how ever like your feed back on how clear it is to understand this information as I give it. The advantage of teaching one on one is that I can see when the light goes on for my students and move at thier pace. This information is by no way hard and I have taught it to everyone from 8 to 80, but like everything in life there are concepts to grasp and once you get them everything clicks. But sometimes those alone can be tough to get. If you want this information Subscribe so you can get the lessons as I make them. Understand that once you get this your playing and more so your understanding of “How” to play will explode. If your keen to learn how to write and take your playing to a new level subscribe and let me help. This is by no way new information but if its new for you it will blow your playing out to a totally new level.

Cheers
Darren

Lyric Writing understanding Structure

Darren — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:33:42 +0000

This seems to be a very common question. “How do I write Lyrics?” This is such an easy, yet difficult question to answer. Writing lyrics is Not hard. But it is so much more than just siting down and writing what comes out of your head. Today I want to talk not so much about the content of what you write but more about how you put your lyrics down, and more so what structure you use. I have previously written on this exact topic so check out a more detailed Blog on My Blogger Page. Basically, its the same as how you phrase your musical structure. When ever you write anything you create a feel and a flow. The trick is to understand how you can use this emotion and movement created by the structure to influence your listener. Check it out and leave me a comment if you need any more clarification. Enjoy How to Write a song Understanding Structure. Cheers Darren

Slash on Songwriting and the Importance of Playing Live.

Darren — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:25:29 +0000

This is a great video that helps understand the importance of play live when ever possible. He also looks at his style of writing and his approach to being creative.

Some of the important points I got from this video…..

1. The impotance of re-writing a song. Take the idea you have and get it down fast so you can come back at any time and re-work it.

2. Find the way that suits you best and get good at it. This is important because the way you go about doing something always affects the out come.

3. Playing live. This is something I always notice. The more you play live the better your playing gets.

Hope you enjoyed and got something that will help in your writing and playing. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Cheers

Darren

Learning

Darren — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:24:11 +0000

I have been a musician most of my life. I have been studying, performing and teaching for 3/4 of my life. The one thing I do well is gather and then pass on information. Though my main instrument is Guitar I share knowlage on all sorts of topics. Guitar, Theory, Software, Mixing, Producing, Performing, Creativity etc. To many to list here. Live your passions in life. My purpose is to Create and help others Create. Thier is no better feeling than waking up in the morning and knowing you work and you passion are one in the same.