These days I am truly amazed at the amount of ignorance that passes for credible fact in the media.  

Lies about the president’s status as a citizen;  the demonization of anyone of the muslim faith; the crowds that want to deny our constitution and our history of religious freedom; these are all indicators that a population is being kept ignorant, so that they can be led around by the nose.

In the sixties, people like Beck and Palin would not have been given the bully pulpit that they enjoy right now.   They simply would have been relegated to the lunatic fringe.

So my question for today is where are the protest songs, the rallies, the meetings of concerned citizens?   

If you are experiencing any kind of writer’s block, here are some things to consider:

Removing the middle class and keeping everyone scrambling to pay the rent, while the bread and circus distracts them from being actively involved in their own government.

Lincoln called our democracy the “great experiment”.   He wondered whether a people could actually govern themselves.   And watching the revered republican party become the party of the far right, the religious right, the lunatic fringe, you have to wonder if maybe we can’t.

Partisan politics have robbed our representatives of their ability to think, weigh, judge and act according to what they believe is right.   All these bozos are doing is trying to keep their jobs up there in Washington.

Which begs another question.   Given their incredible self serving record, why do we continue to send them back there?  

We have a president that inherited one of the worst shit storms in history created by an incredibly inept regime led by  the dimmest president in American history.

And Obama is being vilified for not fixing decades of short sighted greed and corruption in eighteen months.

And people are actually considering putting the Republicans back in the drivers seat?  

Are Americans turning into lemmings and running right off a cliff that they can see?

Whether you agree with me or not, there’s plenty of material out there for songs and recordings that could and should make an impact.

When I was coming up, an artist was judged on whether they actually had anything to say or not.   Corporations didn’t shove Katy Perry’s down our throats.

Come on, kids, let’s respond to this shitstorm of a world with our art.   It is our responsibility and our duty.

Someone read a letter from Karla Bonoff (www.bryndle.com/karla), who was in Bryndle with Kenny and whose first album for Columbia was produced by Kenny.   Then Wendy Waldman (www.wendywaldman.com) gave a wonderful and inspirational eulogy.   There was a calming and comforting meditation by Kenny’s spiritual guide as well as the Unitarian minister.    All in all a beautiful service.

As I looked around at all the faces, I recalled the last time that I saw Kenny perform.   It was at Kulak’s Woodshed (www.kulakswoodshed.com) in North Hollywood, there was a crowd of about 25 people and we were all enchanted with his show.  

I enjoyed it so very much, I actually bought a CD and you know how hard it is for a musician to buy another musician’s CD, when the idea of trade pops into one’s head.

But I wanted to convey my enjoyment and acknowledgement of his work, and the very best way to do that is to actually BUY the CD.

And on the way home from the gig, I listened to the CD in the car and really enjoyed it.  So much so, that I called him from the car and told him so.   He was humble and gracious and, I could tell, pleased to hear the reaction.

But think about the folks that were there.   A Friday night and 25 people showed up to hear him perform at Kulak’s.

Several hundred showed up for his memorial service and Kenny obviously wasn’t there.    So unless there is an afterlife and folks can look down and see that kind of thing, Kenny might not have known how very many people regarded him and his work so highly.

My thought is that, while it is  wonderful to show up at a memorial service honoring someone, how much  more wonderful is it to show up while they are actually here  on the planet performing and demonstrating your regard by your attendance.   The profound gift of your time to an artist you admire.

So whatddyasay?    The next time that a performer you admire is playing somewhere and invites you to the gig, or you just hear about the gig, how about actually turning off the boob tube, getting off your duff and going out there and attending the show.

I have not been to a live concert where I didn’t learn something; where I wasn’t enriched in some way; and where I wasn’t glad to have gotten out of the house and done something.

Think about it. 

What is going on?   How does anyone decide that their mythology will dictate how other people behave.

This brouhaha over gay marriage has me completely baffled.   My perception is that if you are a member of some religious congregation and you all decide that people of the same sex can’t get married within the confines of your beliefs, that’s okay.   Those folks can’t get married in YOUR church.  

Your church  is like your club, your place where you gather with like minded folks and within the confines of that group, you can call the shots.  You can say that you will be marrying no one of the same sex in your church.   But that’s as far as you can go with it.

Society is not a private club, it’s not an organized religion.  It is, in fact, an amalgam of all beliefs, concepts contributed by every single person in it.

You can’t be calling the shots for society, no matter what your personal religious mythology is.   The faith that you have in God is exactly that.   It’s faith, it’s not fact.    Faith can be a wonderful thing, but it can also lead you right off the cliff.

When someone here on our little planet tells you that he knows what God wants, means, says, he is simply wrong and probably insane.   That’s my first clue that a person is completely full of it.   When they tell me what god means.    That will buy you a ticket right out of  my world.

You can certainly say that from reading the scriptures, this is YOUR interpretation of the words, but that doesn’t make it fact.   It makes it interpretation. 

One you are welcome to, but it doesn’t make it fact because you believe it.  It’s just what you have decided to believe so that you can get through the maze of life.  But it’s your mythology.  Further, believing it doesn’t give you the right to impose those beliefs on anyone else.

You are welcome to your beliefs.   And so is EVERYONE else.

If two people want to create a civil union in this society of ours, they have exactly the same rights as anyone else.   Any body can marry anybody.

Nothing bad will happen to the American family if there is more love and more commitment in the world.

Get over yourself.

As a musician/performer/composer or music lover, you owe it to yourself to see professionals such as these two work.   It reminds you of what is supposd to happen up there on the stage in the spotlight.

First of all, these two were utterly prepared, so they could relax in that knowledge and just be themselves, know full well that they were going to deliver the goods.

Be prepared.  It’s a big deal.   And it makes your shows so much fun…for you.

The other night, I went to a little gathering here in the valley.   I was told to bring my instrument and I thought we would be sitting around playing with each other, so I didn’t warm up, didn’t prepare in any way, and, if the truth be known, I’ve been in the studio recording the All Wood and Doors project for months and just haven’t kept up my practicing routine.

Well, they had a stage set up on the tennis court and a simple sound system and one light that was just to the right of the performers area.   When I went to perform, that light reflected into my glasses from the side and made them essentially opaque.    And because I hadn’t practiced, I needed to see the neck for the intricate stuff I was doing (probably another bad choice) and I flubbed some crucial guitar lines.  I was mortified.  I know that I play better than that, but I had let my routine slip and it showed.   Practice, dammit. 

Every day.    But I digress.  Back to Cheryl, Mark and the band.

Secondly, they had a stellar band, the Eli Bruggermann Quartet,and tho I didn’t get to talk to the piano player or the bass player, I did speak with the drummer, Steve Barnes, and the sax player, Kim Richmond (www.kimrichmond.com ), who could probably tell you the names of the bass player that I embarrassingly am omitting here.

But they played with such finesse, joy and chops that I knew that I had to go home and practice.  

The thing about great playing, great performing, great anything I suspect, is how easy it looks when it’s done by a pro.   It doesn’t seem like they are struggling on any level, just playing, not TRYING to play, but just playing.

All intent and execution seasoned with spontaneity and surprise.

You must go and see people perform.  It is as important as practicing; as important as performing yourself.  When you see and hear great artists, they inspire you to get better.  You suddenly aspire to do THAT yourself.

Go see live music.  Go to art galleries.   Expose yourself to art.  The rewards never stop coming.

My reason for going is twofold:  I want to support my new friend, and I have written a song that would be perfect for the Manhattan Transfer.   I determined that this song would be perfect for them by listening to a number of their cd's.   Always do your homework, so that you are pitching the right song to the right artist.   You don't want to try to sell computer chips at the fish market.

Getting songs to specific artists is, I believe, the best way to pitch a song.    Taking it to a publisher and hoping that they pick your song out of the thousands that they represent is just not the way to go, unless you already have something of a track record and there is some interest in your catalog.

My plan is to burn two copies of the song, one for Mark, one for Cheryl, and print out the lyrics and make a package for each of them.

I am going to go backstage before the show, just to announce that I am there and then after the show, present them each with a package. 

I have sent songs to artists before with no luck.   I have gotten with agents, song pluggers, and music directors but the only time I have had my songs recorded (and I have mainly four songs that have been bonafide hits and still make me money), is thru personal contact.

This is not to say that song pluggers, publishers and music directors don’t do their job.   They do.  But competition is fierce and the numbers are against  you.

So the personal contact gives you a leg up, and that goes for personal contact with the aforementioned song pluggers, et al.    You need to develop personal relationships with these people.

And I am not recommending faking it.   Find people that you genuinely like and want to work with.  It’s easy to develop a relationship with someone if you are actually fond of them.

So the short answer is develop personal contacts with people that you like who work in the areas of your expertise.

It got me to thinking about my own nascency as a recording artist.   My own first steps were baby steps in comparison.

Back then, few people had recording studios and they were very expensive.   Being able to get into one in off hours was my only hope when I was funding everything.

The first time that I was in there I produced some really pathetic recordings.  Those first songs were going to be my record.  I realized that I didn’t know everything and that I needed help.

I continued to record by any means possible and always considered the recordings as possible commercial releases.   I never went for demos.  I always had it in my head that whatever I was recording was going to be a master.

The thought process being, “I don’t know when I can get in here again, so I better make this count.”

But these days everyone has a recording studio of some sort.   And they all record and they all burn them to CD’s and put them out there.  There is no filtering system, so everything is getting released.   DJ’s are inundated with releases.  But that’s another column for another day.   Back to the demo question.

Once I had my own recording set up, I began to record songs several times, in different keys, at different tempos, even different time signatures, looking for the doorway into the song.

What I suggest to you is that you record your songs as you write them with just one instrument and one voice.  That’s a real song demo. Then listen for a while and see what suggests itself to you.

Don’t be afraid to make changes and don’t be afraid to leave it like it is.  Serve the song.

If you are presenting the song to someone else for their consideration, then the simpler you keep it the better, though there is another school of thought that you present the hit arrangement to the artist or producer and they fall in love with that and reproduce it with their artist.   That is a very rare occurrence.   Go with simple.

One other thing.   If you listen too much to your demo of the song, you may end up with a case of “demo-itis” that is difficult to get past.   You fall in love with what you’ve done and nothing else you record afterwards will do.

That’s when it helps to have some fresh ears give it a listen.   If the new person is not your mother and not enraptured, you’ve still go work to do.

How to Use an Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Tab

Using an acoustic guitar fingerstyle tab is the short and easy way to play the guitar. It’s sufficient to help you master the basics and gradually move on to studying the more advanced techniques for guitar playing.

The Basics of Finger Picking

Before you can read and play any acoustic guitar fingerstyle tab, you need to learn how to fingerpick first. Acoustic guitar playing is mostly used for playing classical, traditional, and flamenco music. People also like to use it for playing ballads. The standard rules for finger picking will always apply, however, regardless of the genre of music you’re interested in.

Nails or Fingers?

Some guitarists prefer to grow their nails long and use them for plucking strings. Whether you prefer to use your nails or fingers is fine as long as you choose something that you’re most comfortable with using.

PIMA

This is the foundation of guitar finger picking and you’ll see it used in most – if not all – guitar tabs.

P stands for your THUMB.

I stands for your INDEX finger.

M stands for your MIDDLE finger.

A stands for your RING finger.

Now, you will use your P finger (thumb) to play the fourth, fifth, and sixth notes (D, A, and E). The middle finger plays the B note, the I finger is used for the G note, and the A finger is used for playing the E note.

Don’t be in a hurry learning this style. A strong foundation is the key to developing proficiency. You need to know this system by heart in order to play any music using your acoustic guitar.

Charts and Patterns

It is also greatly advisable that you have the necessary chord charts and fingering patterns right next to your sheet music. This will ensure that you don’t inadvertently get used to the wrong finger patterns or use the wrong combination of notes when playing a particular chord.

Where to Find a Free Acoustic Guitar Fignerstyle Tab for Practice

The Internet is a good place to find free guitar tabs for fingerstyle play, but the tabs you get to download aren’t completely guaranteed to be free from error as well.

Tablature Websites

These websites generally offer a wide selection of free guitar tabs. Some of them may have been written by pro guitarists while others may be contributed by well-meaning but non-pro users.

Tablature Listings

These are search engines specifically designed to help with your queries and give you a list of sites that are most likely to have the tabs you’re looking for.

Belle regularly contributes to (www.sherwoodmusic.org) , where she writes about how to www.sherwoodmusic.org/guitar/learn-guitar.php) bass guitar.  She's also a frequent writer forSummer Jazz where you can read her thoughts on (www.summerjazz.net/jazzguitarchords).

Belief in yourself is the beginning of the whole thing.   You have to believe that you can do it.   You have to believe that you can and do bring something unique to the party.

Your journey as an artist is discovering that uniqueness and employing it in your art, but it all begins with belief.

And the belief doesn’t come from the audience, it comes from you.    The audience/public can certainly reinforce it once you’ve done the work but it begins with you and then it emanates out of you.

It begins in you.

And I believe that the way you create and sustain this belief, this confidence is to do the work.   You learn everything you can about your craft, your instrument, your tools and you work on it and at it more than you do anything else in your life.

The more you work on it, the more prepared you are to deliver it when the time comes.

I’ve talked about taking lessons before and I can’t stress it enough.  It doesn’t matter how old you are or how experienced.  Lessons will make you better, provide you also practice what you have been taught.

And you have to go out on that high wire.    No amount of practice makes you a good performer.   Being on the stage is where you learn to be on stage.   You have to play thousand different stages and situations and out of that will come experience and confidence that you can handle whatever shows up.

That being said, you can’t get there without the belief inside you that you can do it.   That’s where it starts.

And how do you believe in yourself?    I don’t know.

How do people believe that there’s a God and a heaven; Allah, the 86 virgins for martyrs?   Folks just do.   They decide to believe it.

If you can believe in that, you can certainly believe in yourself.   Make the commitment to yourself.   Say it out loud.  Write it down.   Put it up on your bathroom mirror.   Do whatever it takes to make that belief grow inside of you.

And it the words of Winston Churchill, “never, never, never, never, never give up.”

Of all the shows on TV, there is some program that uses music that is not unlike what you compose.   So your first assignment is to find that TV show.

Secondly, watch the show until you are familiar with the style, the characters and the atmosphere created by the musical score.

Next write some music that would fit that TV show.   Once you have nailed the style, record two or three pieces of various emotional content.

Now read all the credits until you find  out who wrote the music for the show and who was the music director of the show.   These credits are always  there at the end of every single show.   If it goes by to fast, record it and slow it down, but find out who actually controls what music goes into the show.   Even write down who the editor is, because oft times, the temp music that the editor uses becomes the actual music used in the broadcast.

Google the music director, the composer and the editor, and while you are at it also google the production company and the producers.   Somewhere in your search you will come across mailing addresses and phone numbers.

Contact these people in the most gracious and sane manner you can and explain that you would like to submit some music.   Tell them that you realize that many people accost them with this request, but that you would still like to submit some music to the show.

You have to create some kind of connection with someone in one of these positions; some kind of relationship.  

This is not easy and may take several phone calls, letters and/or emails, but at some point, one of these folks will let their guard down and tell you how, who and where to submit.

Now make certain that you only submit two or three cues, and no more.   And further, make certain that these cues are the very best things that you have ever done AND that they are competive with what is on the show.

You are only going to get this one chance with each Music Director, Producer, or Composer.   If your music isn’t up to snuff, they will never listen to another thing from you.

And don’t pester them, if they like what you have submitted, they will contact you.

But don’t give up and don’t stop submitting.   Remember, Diane Warren has a career, so you can too.

Just listening to the NPR report on the drug wars in Mexico and it came to mind that this is the same kind of thing that was happening in Chicago in the 1920’s, during prohibition.

They made drinking illegal and, because people are people and will only follow laws that are just, created an underworld where the profits were high enough to warrant the risks of death and imprisonment.

During the prohibition, people actually went blind from drinking bathtub gin.    Once booze was legalized and controlled, that stopped happening.   Yes, you have alcoholics, but you would have them anyway.   Forbidding booze doesn’t make someone stop drinking, it only stamps the romantic lure of the forbidden on it.

Think about the Garden of Eden.   A paradise where everything is provided and all both of the people are healthy and happy and naked.    With one caveat.   Don’t eat the forbidden fruit.    If you don’t eat that fruit, I will take care of everything else, God said.

You KNOW what we did.   Apple pie, apple stroodle, apple juice, apple sauce, apple computers, etc..

If it didn’t work for GOD, why do we think it’s going to work for us?   

You cannot stop something by forbidding it.  It has never worked and it never is going to work.

Before  the Prohibition Act, no substance was illegal.  It was society that imposed the boundaries on substance use and abuse.  

Opium eaters were held in little regard, drunkards and drug addicts didn’t hold an elevated place in society, but none of these persons were imprisoned for doing what they wanted to do to their own bodies.

Then with the Prohibition Act, came illegal stills, speakeasy’s, and organized crime.   And it came because now that these substances were illegal, their scarcity increased their value.   Not to mention the fact that no taxes are paid on illegal earnings.

The same thing is happening again.  

It would not be economically feasible for these drug cartels to exist if drugs were legal.   One could purchase any grade of any drug and no exactly what they were getting.   There would be no more accidental overdoses, because people would know what they were ingesting.

Overdoses occur when someone thinks that they are ingesting a specific amount, but because there are no controls over the manufacture and distribution of these substances, no one knows for sure how much they are taking.

Now that booze is legal, you can see right on the label how much alcohol you are taking in.   It’s written right on there.   If you get drunk now,  it’s all your fault.    It would be the same with legal drugs.  If they overdose, it’s because they wanted to keep going, keep getting high.  

Further, with drugs legal and available at market prices, the crime that exists just to feed the expensive and illegal habit would also atrophy. 

Many people find my position untenable and say that I have no concern for the weak people that are addicts.   Not so.

I have concern for my fellow man, and I believe that tough love is part of that concern.   Personal responsibility is big in my world.   You make a mistake, you own up to it and you pay for it.

When Reagan was president, they did a big expensive study to determine the best way to deal with the war on drugs.   They determined that the legalization of drugs was the only sensible answer.   They elected to not release this information for fear of losing constituency.  Regan ( the president’s appointee to head the committee) came forward—after he was no longer in government service—and spoke at length about it.   Google him.  You’ll find the quotes.

We are our brother’s keeper, but we can’t go to the gym and work out and expect our brother to suddenly get muscles.  

Making drugs difficult to procure is not going to stop people from taking them and is not going to teach them the effects of drug abuse.   If folks want drugs, they’ll find them.   If the drugs are legal and available at pharmacies, then the addicts will know what they are taking and what happens after that is up to each individual.

Personal responsibility.    It’s the only way society will work.