The Pulse #1 - Dynamics and Shred Lick

	In this issue @ And off we go ... @ What's New on IBreathe @ Pulse Bites: Dynamic Level Markings @ Eric's Shred 101-Lick @ Sizzling Hot Topics


	And off we go ... Hello all, and welcome to the first issue of 'The Pulse', iBreatheMusic's bi-weekly newsletter. I consider this first issue a general test. It's about testing our backend and giving you a first impression of what ThePulse is about. There will be lots of features added in the future, so stay tuned. If you experience any problems with the html or text version of this issue please let us know by either posting in the forums or by contacting us directly at ThePulse so that we can fine-tune the system to cater to everyone's needs. Furthermore, we would appreciate any feedback or ideas for the future that you may have regarding this newsletter. Let me assure you all that everything you suggest is taken on board and considered. Enjoy, Guni

New Articles on IbreatheMusic
Damper Pedal Guitar by Jon Finn When you push down the damper pedal on a piano, all notes you play continue to sustain until you lift the pedal. It creates somewhat of a "washy" or "ethereal" effect. Recreating that effect on guitar is much more of a challenge... Continue

You Didn't Try To Call Me... by Eric Vandenberg After all the licks and exercises here some things you should know about being "in the biz". This should be of interest for most of you, regardless of style and (pretty much) level... just some things to remember and pay attention to. Continue

The Dumb Tune Game by Mark French 'I play what I hear' is a statement that many aspiring guitarists have heard from players they idolize. A goal worth striving to attain would be the fingers performing sounds which the improvising soloist hears ... Continue

Your Hand is Your Band by Jamie Andreas Very often, we are not really sure of which fingers we are using for each note we must play, and we do different things at different times. Read all about the importance of fingering Continue

Picking Etude- The Moto Perpetuo / Perpetual Motion by Eric Vandenberg OK, after all the theoretical stuff and bunches of exercises regarding picking, let´s get to work and play a really cool "etude" which will help us to take our picking up a few notches... the "Moto Perpetuo" by Niccolo Paganini Continue


	Pulse Bites: Dynamic Level Markings Using dynamics in your playing is like salt and pepper in a soup. We mostly are concerned about the correct notes that we play. Even more important is how we play these notes in a given musical situation. It may be helpful to think of the most commonly used dynamic levels as ranging from softest to loudest on a scale from 1 to 10. Below are the dynamic level markings with their full terminology. 10 - ffff - fortissississimo 9 - fff - fortississimo 8 - ff - fortissimo 7 - f - forte 6 - mf - mezzo-forte 5 - mp - mezzo-piano 4 - p - piano 3 - pp - pianissimo 2 - ppp - pianississimo 1 - pppp - pianissississimo The most common range is between 3 and 8. Empowered with this knowledge we can now apply this information to our instruments. A few practicing ideas: - When playing on your own define 'the default' dynamic in your playing (somewhere between 5 and 6). This should leave enough room for playing a lot softer and a lot stronger. - Pick a scale, play it up and down while gradually moving up and down through our dynamic scale, from pianissimo to fortissimo and back. - Improvise with focus on dynamics only. You could just use one note. Try to create tension and release with using different dynamic levels


	Eric's Shred 101-Lick This is an excerpt from one of my songs, "Dreamer" (you can listen to the whole song at my website at http://www.ericvandenberg.com). The song and the way it's being played was inspired by Joe Satriani's 'Midnight'... I use less strings though. Hammer on the notes on the E- and A-string (basically P5-intervals) with your left hand, and tap the top note with your right. The chord-progression is fairly simple, make up your own variations at will. Sounds great with a clean sound, you might wanna use a bandana or a sock tied around the guitar neck to mute the open strings when you use distortion...


	Sizzling Hot Topics Unfamiliar Notation Questions http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=423 stage fright http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=418 Our Articles... what do you really think... http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=382 Listening recommendations http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=419 master the instrument http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=213


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