At the turn of the century, the lilting sound of the Hawaiian steel guitar captivated Americans fascinated with the tropical islands that were newly annexed by the U.S.
As Hawaiian steel guitarists started touring the U.S. mainland and the ukelele and steel guitar were introduced to the public at expositions.
Hawaiian steel guitar music grew wildly popular and in 1916, 78 rpm records featuring an indigenous Hawaiian instrument outsold every other genre of music in the United States.
The steel guitar was invented by a Hawaiian teenager Joseph Kekuku. It is played on the lap, and the guitarist plucks the strings instead of strumming them while running a steel bar over the frets.
Joseph's ingenuity resulted in a sonic transformation of music that would later become known as country, blues, and Rock 'n' Roll.
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In February 2015, Jim Irsay added one more such guitar to his collection: Les Paul's 1954 Black Beauty, a guitar that Paul had tinkered with over the years in his ongoing quest for tone. Irsay paid $343,750, including commission, for the instrument at an auction presented by Guernsey's in New York City.
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IN THE BASSMENT
Variety, they say, is the spice of life - and when it comes to bass players, there are as many different breeds as you can imagine. Rockers, folkies, prog wizards and many more besides all find themselves lured the low-end, each bringing their own distinct personality to bear on an instrument once described as 'a guitar, but with bigger balls'. Read on, friends, for a sample of the types of bassist you will encounter out there on the world's stages.
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"Written for the guitarist who has been playing for a while, but is seriously hampered by the feeling that they don't know what they're doing.
Guitar EncycloMedia
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"Bass EncycloMedia
is filled with practical and highly musical techniques and information that will benefit bass players of any style and ability level, especially those who have passed beyond the 'beginner' stage. This is a great addition to the library of every bass player. I am very impressed! " - Dr. Robert Cutietta, Dean of the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.
Dramatically improve your playing by easily learning all the chords, scales, arpeggios and modes necessary to improvise something uniquely different every time with every song. With over 323 pages,
Guitar EncycloMedia and Bass EncycloMedia
offer total fretboard knowledge in one book. They are as essential as your instrument!
Order
Guitar EncycloMedia or
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WATCH THIS
Remember the Fender Performer from the Eighties? What about the Fender Marauder, of which only 250 were ever made? If not, or even if you do, you might want to check out this enjoyable video: Top 5 Weirdest Fender Guitars Ever Produced.
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LEARN HERE
Learn How To Play 3 Jeff Beck Classics.
"Beck's Bolero" is a wonderful combination of colossal rhythms, a singable guitar melody, killer production and great performance. The song, which originally was released as a single in 1966, was composed by Jimmy Page; the original recording features Beck, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Keith Moon. "Let Me Love You" gives you a window onto Beck's creative blues playing at this time. "Scatterbrain," one of several standout tracks from the George Martin-produced Blow by Blow.
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GREAT GEAR
Japanese pedal juggernaut Boss has announced an entirely new pedal format: the 200 Series. This new line of effects pedal will launch with four different models, each of which boasts extensive customizability and control, with modern features like MIDI integration, sophisticated preset options, 32-bit AD/DA and internal processing, and 96 kHz sampling rates.
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ARTIST AWARENESS
Geddy Lee says he misses playing live with his Rush bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart. The trio brought the curtain down of their lengthy career when they played their final show together in Los Angeles on August 1, 2015 - the last show on their celebrated R40 tour. Since then, Lee has collaborated with Wintersleep on their 2016 track Territory and more recently released his Big Beautiful Book Of Bass. But asked if he misses touring with Rush, Lee tells The Chronicle Herald...
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