Get 'em While They're HOT! (or NOT hot, so to speak)

Better find the guitar tabs you need now, before they're gone, or illegal to obtain.

I don't know how far this is going to go. But the crusade against online access to music has tread into the territory of guitar education. I read this article on digg.com the other day, and the whole thing annoys me. To sum it up, websites that host guitar tabs and lyrics have been receiving 'take down' notices from the music industry lawyers.

I've been playing for 33 years. I have a 5ft. long collection of music books, each bought for one or two songs I wanted to learn to play. When the internet came along, so did OLGA (On-Line Guitar Archive). Volunteers tabbed out songs they knew (or thought they knew) how to play, and shared them. Some of them were correct, some were way off - but no one made any money off them, and I'd venture to say that these tabs keep our music alive.

As the internet grew, it became more and more expensive to keep these tabs available. Hosting costs money, and maintaining web pages takes time. Some the tab sites put pop-up ads and such to support the cause - all to become the next target for the music industry.

I've been on both sides of the fence as far as music sharing goes. I've downloaded some music before - many times stuff to ancient and arcane to find in a store. Much of what I've downloaded, I've already bought, but I'm too lazy to rip the CD. But I don't wholesale download new artists music, or even established musicians, as my sole source of music. Believe me, my CD collection is ridiculous.

But this is different - to write down your interpretation of how to play a song and share it on the internet does not, in my eyes, hurt the writer of that song. I use the 'walk a mile in my shoes' test - if it were my song, and I were trying to sell the music - downloading my music instead of buying hurts - but sharing the chords and lyrics to my song is great! Long live my song.

I don't know what we can do, but stay tuned. Maybe there'll be an e-mail campaign or something. But until then, share your tabs. Don't try to make money off them. But do share them.

- my $0.02 -

Why are my strings constantly falling out of tune?

I've always kind of 'winged-it' when sticking a new set of strings on my guitar. Little did I know there is a right way to do it. The key is making sure that as you wind the string around the tuning post on the headstock, the excess string that is fed through the hole in the post is trapped beneath the string windings as the post turns...

And that is one of the hardest things to explain in mere words. Internet to the rescue! There is a really good visual explanation at Fret Not Guitar Repair, and the last picture in the series says about everything you need to know in one little square. Check it out!

Hey, this's cool...

This is a place to hang out, talk about guitars, guitar accessories, tabs, tips 'n tricks, what have you. All guitar, all the time. I'm going to experiment with the look, but try to keep true with the content.

Let me tell you about me. My name's John, I've been plunking on that guitar for 33 years (not that you'd be able to tell, by listening, mind you). It's a hobby. So is writing. Hey, a blog about guitar? Why not? Combines the two.

I have a day job, but I'd like to make a little on the side. So I have an ebay store... eventually I'd like to fill it with reasonably priced guitar accessories, maybe some used guitars, and for the moment, a bunch of random eBooks. I also have a website that's in the early construction phases. I'd like to make it a bonafide e-commerce site, with educational material as a bonus. The way I see it, I'm making some returns on my passions. And as I go along, I'll share my experiences with you.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to blogging with you!