Meh, I’m sure I’m not the only one whose experienced this :/.

Also, in a week or so I hope to be leveling up my video making ability considerably. Got a lot of content that o think you’ll all really enjoy . Well, at least I will!

I suppose once I get the vids rolling again I’ll look into making this blog more active as well .

It’s basically just me asking you people what you want to see from me! Guitar lessons? Bass lessons? ect..

I’ve also got like 4-5 instrumental songs nearly completed.. In addition to just the tracks to buy I’ll also be posting performance videos on youtube of each of them. You’ll be able to listen to em and decide of you wanna keep em .

Anyways that’s all for now, I’m out.

Though I never really burned out in the first place, but I’ve slowed down on my online adventures lately. After my last two videos I realized that I really enjoy making them! Here they are, part 7 and then 11 respectively of the epic 101 part series of 101 uses for a T-shirt! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HVYxBU2bj8 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBlp0XzZaOE

Boom.

I think what I am going to focus on now is presenting mini-”lessons” that touch on various aspects of playing the guitar and bass. I’ll provide tabs and audio examples of great finger exercises that have really helped me, and in other videos I’ll just talk about my approach to the instruments which I hope will be really entertaining but also informative. Another area of semi-expertise is that of recording! Now I don’t have a super tricked out-sound treated studio, but I still can get pretty dang good results(I must be doing something right!) so I’ll also share what I seem to know about all that mess.

The over-all goal though is to have a video series that basically outlines an approach to developing your own unique playing style from ground up. I imagine it’ll take many twists and turns along the way as I answer specific questions about things or just want to change things up .

Here’s the general idea of what I want to cover in semi-order:

Your goals with music. It’s important to have a general idea of what your goals are when you’re starting out as they’ll help you focus your time and money towards the right things early on.

Choosing an instrument to play.I’ll probably start out on this topic talking about the main differences between guitar and bass. The idea here I guess would be to help people who are “on the fence” make a decision. Though there’s nothing wrong with playing both .

Buying your first! Advice on how to go about shopping for your first guitfiddle/amp.

Developing technique. I used to be obsessed with the idea of being a virtuoso, now I focus more on playing cool riffs and composing songs, but still I think a solid technique that doesn’t limit you is important! So the beginning videos will mostly be about this I think.

Playing by ear/developing your inner ear.This kind of goes along with developing technique, but I feel it deserves its own category because it’s a very complex issue and kind of connects with all the other categories in strange..mystical ways.

Recording! So you’ve got some kind of guitar, some kind of amp…now you’ve written a couple of songs and you want to record them. I’ve got a lot to say on this topic, though by the time I’ve gotten to it they’ll probably have revolutionized the whole field of audio engineering. Durn kids and deyr digital contraptuns.

Well that’s all I can muster up for now. I’m several hours past my usual bedtime but I really wanted to get this post up .

Cya’ll soon on a youtube channel near you! www.youtube.com/themusicbucket

So, that’s what I’m going to teach about . One thing that stuck with me from the Steve Vai masterclass I attended a few months ago was something he emphasized: Take something you’re good at, then exaggerate it beyond all reason.

Basically, when it comes to developing your own creative “self”, or sound in this case, your best bet to fostering that is to focus on your strengths. It’s okay to be well rounded, but making that your goal results more in imitation rather than originality.

The first step I think is learning how to “just play,” and this applies to any instrument. It’s great to be able to read a piece of music, or to learn a song and play along to it. But so many times people are unable to just pick up their instrument and jam. In my next video(ETA soonish), I’ll show you some things that helped me be able to .

I also thought about how these common interests could be used as a business model to make extra $. I’m not sure all that the the organization would involve or what the final result would be, but here are some of the basic ideas:

Some kind of monthly/weekly video game event where people can bring their laptops and have a lan/console party. Now what this would start out as would probably just be some friends coming over and hanging out at my house.. but those friends could all come together and organize a huge lan party where people pay a small fee at the door then have access to super fast internet in some kind of entertainment center we’ve rented out.

Now here is where the online aspect comes in. Imagine a “brand” of association being attached to it(like mydeadxbox or something) that connects with an online community as well that could organize tournaments between different areas. Imagine a Milwaukee vs Birmingham halo Reach tournament .

I’m sure this kind of thing already exists, but I think it would be cool to create our own anyways.

Now the example I used here was that of video/computer games. But it could serve as a model for the structural organization of other services like education.

Food for thought!

I’ve been in my own bubble for awhile now, and I’d like to share why: BOOKS.

Been reading/rereading so many books lately:

Atlas Shrugged
Fountainhead
The Return of the Primitive
What the Dog Saw
Outliers
The Peace War
A Fire Upon the Deep
The Wealth of Nations

Now I -try- to focus on just one at a time…but I always end up reading a bunch all at once lol. Also, I’ve been brainstorming about my “wants” list…many of you made one when we started this owning life blog-army of justice but I didn’t for whatever reason. I’ll start writing it all down later tonight, and perhaps a bit later this week I’ll post a bigger update.

PEACE!!!

The TRUTH of the matter is that every institution and “system” that we have, is no more an aspect of the “real world” than anything else that is within the realm of possibility. Ten years ago, did the average person think it was possible to have a device that fits in the palm of your hand, yet does everything from taking high quality pictures/video to calling people and browsing the internet at high speeds(and so much more)? And yet now we have people buying iPhones and Droids and using them as a part of “everyday” life.

Now, what I want to do is a lot simpler than inventing the next smartphone. All my “dream” involves is becoming self-sufficient to the point where I don’t have to worry about my basic needs, and have enough free time to hang out with friends, play video games, talk about philosophy, and create music.

And from talking to various people, I’m finding out that this is “all” that most people want for their lives. The things they want to spend their time on vary, it may be fencing instead of video games, or dancing instead of music..ect.. but the basic idea is the same. They all have a strong sense of inner value, and define their own standards and don’t seek sanction from a society that has nothing to offer them except finding the lukewarm balance of working a job that is something they want to do and is also “practical.” The tragedy is that many will just buy into a hopeless mentality, they think they have to go it alone. They forget that there are thousands(millions?) of people like them who just want to live freely in a life that is beautiful. Where they are free to live life in a conscious, non-contradictory state of being and are free to pursue any passion to their highest potential.

So here is my proposition, and plea to all of you involved in this pwning life community now, and who will join it in the future: Let us not lose sight of the truth that our pursuit of all this is not in vain.  Hold to the conviction that your cause is just and good, and if anyone who seeks to discourage you with the notion of “that’s now how things are done,” remind yourself that there was a time when men thought that owning another person was how things were done. A time where oppression of the individual was the norm, where the richest of the rich didn’t have even a small fraction of the conveniences that our poorest have today. Remind yourself that “how things are done” has rarely been sufficient justification for anything that is good.

Let us make it our goal for the pwnage of what we want to accomplish to be self-evident, so that any naysayers may be made into fools by the very nature of our lives. Instead of being open conduits for society to ram its every undefined whim and standard through, our success will be defined as living a life consistent with our values. Our success will not be measured by how well we conform to the standards that sacrifice our individual persons to the collective or society, but by the rational observation that we have accomplished what we set out to do.

Don’t buy into the lies that our society has laid before you. Don’t try to measure up to the abstract nothingness that people promote as the ideal, yet do not understand. Hold to what you know is true, and if anyone seeks you judge you, ask them, “By what standard?” You don’t have to give other people, or society, a moral sanction to label you as a failure in any capacity unless you also hold the same standards as them. These trials are an adversary to be overcome, it will refine you, and make you stronger.

Good luck  .

Now if there’s a specific topic you want me to cover, I love taking suggestions, so lemme know on here or on the youtubes and I’ll be more than happy to address it(if I can!)

Now for the more general pwning life update: So, I did nearly all my laundry:

And check out the office now:

I need to be clear though. The office was largely cleaned up by my mom while I was away at college on Thursday. Coincidently, we had another massive ant invasion because of all the rain we’ve had recently(great timing right?) But I did contribute!

Anyways, it really feels great to have accomplished these small goals, and I hope it inspires you to get those little things done .

To be fair, this mess was a two-man effort between Will and I, but I really gotta do something about it. That’s a lot of desk space that I could be utilizing for productivity!

I’ve begun outlining the music lessons…and I’m thinking I’m going to have the first one out by this weekend! Also, I want to clean this whole room up and just re-organize…do all my laundry, ect…You guys keep me accountable on these aight? DEMAND EVIDENCE OF PROGRESS!!! I wanna start focusing in on specific goals now. Instead of just “practice guitar for 30 minutes”, it’ll be “practice sweep picking(NOOOOO) for 15 minutes, and create a new riff”.

So-

1) Clean office space/room/laundry
2) First music lesson by Saturday
3) Write down specific goals and show checklist next Monday.

Time to hit the hay .

My goal is to make this accessible to anyone, but useful and refreshing to those who do have a beginning-intermediate understanding.

The bulk of my knowledge comes from taking AP music theory in high school, and music fundamentals in college(basically a repeat of the high school course). But over the years various teachers/books have helped me apply that knowledge to various instruments.

Speaking of instruments, it is now time to reveal one of my crazy “world domination” goals . It’s true that every instrument is unique, but I think there is a universal way when it comes to -approaching- any instrument. The first part of this way is believing in your capacity to play anything. Without this you’ll never make it to the “trying” phase . And without trying, there won’t be any doing. So that being said, if you want to play an instrument.. stop thinking that you can’t or that it’s too late. Instead of these negative thoughts, imagine yourself playing whatever instrument it is perfectly, hitting every note. You could envision a stage in front of thousands, or just playing in a room by yourself. Also visualize how the instrument has become an extension of your body/mind rather than an awkward, clunky object.

This kind of visualization/meditation makes you excited to go pick up the guitar/bang on the drums/blow through a trumpet…even if you’re a complete noob, getting excited and -wanting- something is the first step towards mastery.

Basically one of my goals as an individual is to master this “way” and be able to teach it from experience!

Well, after that dose of musical zen, it’s time to go play some bass .