Guitar Lesson Number 1

It's about time i have this free online guitar lesson like every Guitar blog should have.
I wanted to do this ever since geocities started to host free website for noobies like myself.LOL
So for you all that wanna take the next step after Air Guitaring, Get a guitar and start Real Guitaring with Music Star Academy's Free Online Lessons!!!!!

Step 1) Get A Guitar - Doesn't matter what type, acoustic? classical? electric? just get one. But don't get a toy guitar or something that looks like a guitar but not playable. Go to a guitar store and get an entry level or Beginner's guitar. It wont cost you much. When you get it, make sure you can have it in standard tuning. If you have a friend to tune ,good. If not get a tuner and ask the store guy to teach you.With the power of Youtube, find a guitar tuning video. Not that hard with a tuner.
Getting your guitar in tune is the first most important thing to do.

Step 2) Guitar Anatomy - Learn it, know what is what. Headstock, tuning peg , bridge , soundhole, bla bla bla. If it's on your guitar, get to know what it is called and what does it do. You're a guitarist , when someone ask you what does the black thing on the end of your guitar do? you answered " Huh? i also don't know" , what a shame. ROTFLOL

Step 3) Holding the guitar - Learn the position of holding the guitar, the important thing here is comfortability. Make sure you're comfortable, if it's not. You're probably holding it the wrong way. Then , Learn what your right hand and left hand do. Right hand for strumming/holding a pick. Left hand holds the chord on the fretboard. Leftys vice versa.



Step 4) Learn Them Chords - This step, you will need to spend some time doing them. A chart is provided here, learn to hold all of them/ memorize them. then try changing them, from one to another as much as you can. Know them by name. This is where separate the ones that have passion in learning the guitar or the ones that have none. It's not easy but hardwork and passion will get you through. The more the better for now. Print it out. Practice whenever you can.
numbers on the black dots indicate your right hand fingers exclude the thumb. The line on the left = to the 6th string on the guitar/thickest string.

Till Lesson Number 2

Cheers~~!! 

Teisco - Retro Space Guitars

It seems that since 1940's, people are already looking other ways to shape the guitar. If you don't do your homework, you might thought that electric guitars all looks like Les Pauls and Stratocasters and Telecasters. Wrong!!! You see lots of LP and Starts because they got very famous and common. The weird looking guitars all didn't make it, just like "why" Testament didn't make it to the Big 4 (Metallica/Megadeth/Anhtrax/Slayer..\m/).
SO here you go, TEISCO - Tokyo Electric Instrument & Sound Company . A widely exported brand to the USA as an affordable range of instruments(guitars/bass/keyboards/amps/drums) to the USA during  the 40's to the 60's.

They were known for the unique bodies and weird shapes. To me they look very awesome, later bought over by Kawai during 1968 if i'm not mistaken. In USA they were called Teisco Del Ray, now very rare and people are looking for it over the net. I think they are new reissues.Damn expensive. If you google Teisco's image sure alot photos show up.
The primitive bridge that cannot do intonation and the bigsby all looked awesome.
Looked abit like ultraman or maskman, you know those japanese drama for kids.

The niceeee thing about this babies are, the logo on the headstock. They are real metal logos, not waterslide stickers like guitars nowadays.So this badges not easy to imitate. Too good to be true. All these retro looking guitars sometimes got 4 pickups or 5 and got on off clickers for each, LOL. Seems like the Eastwood Guitars that Jack White uses.

Anyway, if you guys ever got a chance on these you might find the build and design are all very alien. Don't hassle to try these, sure very historical.

Freddie King - The Texas Cannonball

You guys might heard of BB King, yes a blues king. If you ask any one they might know him, famous. Albert King? ok, only 20 % of people answer yes to me. Freddie King? "who is that? which negara punya king? OMG, even some guitarist don't know about him. But also can't blame la, Freddie is not the famous one here. BB is. Ok, that's y i have this blog to introduce to you guys that missed one of Blues' greatest Guitarist of all time.FREDDIE KING. Rated 25th on the rolling Stone's Greatest Guitarist in the world. Also one of THE 3 KINGS in Blues.

He is also named "The Texas Canonball" , because of his size?
Famous for top hits like
"Have you ever Loved a Women" (not the Bryan Adams one,ok)
"Hide A Way Blues"
Also the first time i saw someone hang the guitar with his right shoulder only, normally we are taught to strap across, but he only hang there???
He was also the first to have a multi-racial band on stage performing on television and stuffs.

Born in September 3, 1934 Texas USA. Like any common blues artist's life, a hard one. Married during working on a steel mill. He have 6 children. Imagine that, so many to take care and you're on the road. Sure many problems. Died at the age of 42 of Heart failure.
His style was unique at that time, raw open tuning blues + screaming Chicago blues and a little favor from funk. Heros like SRV influence from him his signature hammer on and pull off style licks. He uses a thumb pick and his fingers to play the guitar hence result in aggressive and more creative impro than BB King & Albert King. Uses Gibson's with P-90 pickups.

14 albums , 20 years of Recording Life. He was rejected by Record companies a lots of time cause they said he was too much like BB King. But then proved to be one of Blues' Greatest Artist.

In 1993 by proclamation from the Texas Governor that  September 3, 1993, was declared Freddie King Day.

So for you Blues Dudes, go youtube now and search Freddie King, and jam along with The Hide Away Blues!!!

Online Guitar Scam!!!

2011, many many guitarist now don't really goes to a shop to get a guitar. Of course , the beginners will. Buying jump starts and all. Beginners just buy whatever the shop have.

 Then after awhile when they get more and more experienced, they will get guitars other than what the normal guitar shops can offer sometimes. High end/rare/vintage ???? all this guitars are rarely available in "normal famous retail outlets" .LOL .

These guitars are to be bought ONLINE.
TOKAI? Gerco? Orville? Edwards? Eastwoods? Hagstroms?
just to name afew. Yes the retail outlets are trying to get these in Malaysia.
Easy to say but not easy to do, It's complicated in business.

Ok, is buying online safe? This depends, if your seller is good then it's ok, you get what you paid. If your seller is a Con guy? You kena Con lor...
So for ebay buyers, pls check the rating of your seller. Power seller? ok.
1-2 rating? stay away.

This happen to one of my student. It's a near miss. Hampir kena Con.

This guy ad a Maison Japanese guitar, a Les Paul copy(white)

claimed a vintage, wan to sell for RM900 or trade.

My student decided to trade with his Quilt Maple topped SA Ibanez.(about 1.2k RM in price with this). Almost get the deal done, he will need to travel to KL and trade. Luckily his Sifu(Me) got to know it. 

Checked for him on this, saw the youtube demo, and hear this China copy LP sound (not fat/warm and it's flat all the way) and warned him about trading. Then later we checked on ebay and we found a Maison copy lespaul selling for RM590. Wat??? the same thing? he might bought it and regret having it and wanna con tarde others.... LOL

SO the moral here is, be very careful in buying online. Many faces of situations you might find. We have a few good Online sellers in Malaysia. Those you can trust cause they have been in business for some time.

Like Music Master/ Dead Eye Guitars/ and Music Star Academy(lol...self promoting)

Cheers~~!!

Tokai - The Japanese Guitars!

When i first saw a Tokai branded guitar, i was only 16. Went to my drummers place, it was a small place under the governments flat. His grandfather was a blues guitarist during the 70's, that's what he claimed. So i was like "Ya Ka?" until i saw a Humming Bird Electric guitar.

All busted up with no strings and rusty metal parts, i know it doesn't prove any blues history about his Grandfather but i was amazed by the guitar, it was beautiful.
Tokai is a Japanese brand way back to 1965, known as the legendary Tokai Gakki Co., Ltd. They were well known during that time and the 70's because i think they were the first to make replica's of the great guitars of the USA, Gibson/Fender. They too make acoustic guitars that replica's Gibson & Martin. So you think China people are good with these? Guess Japan did it first. People were getting Tokai's cause of the cheaper price tags. During that time, even if you replica something. The replica is still as good as the real one. The quality and the workmanships are all done by 100% Japanese and is close to 100% of the real thing. Not Like now, China can offer you a Fender Strat for RM350, and the result is too sad to explain. Everything is not right, cheapo components and cheap wood won't fuse a good or even decent guitar.

 Their factory was doing like the China guitar factory is doing now, produce guitars for Gibson then in their free time produce replica's. Cause the factory knows about the secret ingredients of the great. So do yourself and sell cheaper. Damn! no wonder they are called "Lawsuit Guitars".They also build the Metal frame guitar called the Talbo. I never tested it yet.

Don't know how these guitars sound. How heavy it is. Imagine performing with one of these standing for 2 hours. Fuuuu!

 Tokai was then build in Korea(around 1990's) and thus the price drop, then later now it is done in China, price down again.You can get the Vintage ones, which are now treated as collectibles and the prices are damn high, Try Ebay.I think you can get new Tokai's as they are now start manufacturing their old models in China, The Humming Bird for a cheap price. If i'm not wrong, i saw Tokai ads on Ultimate Guitar's website.

Music Master also have i think. Music Star Academy? well i was planning to get some for Melaka!! We'll just keep our fingers crossed.

Music Star Academy - 2 months Old

Yes, after 3 long years of waiting now Music Star Academy is born.
Founded by Dennis Yong @ Zabel Yong and Also Mr Teck Chai. We have been giving guitar lessons all over Malacca for more than 3 years now, we now have the power to manage our own school and shop.Ok cutting all the crap of how we did, i'm goin to tell you guys what are we all about.
First, we are a specialize school in giving you the guitar course you want, bored about classical guitar? acoustic guitar? We Provide Different Genre of Lessons. You wanna Shred? Do Jazz? Blues Slide Guitar? We can give it to you. And also we have Examinations for Rockschool Trinity and also LCM.
Used guitars/bass/amps are sold here, and we do buy them if you have any.
More stuff to come and more Guitaring to do. 2 Months now and we already have 30 students taking lessons. sold more than 3 guitars and have brought in more than 4 used gears.

Some sneak preview of Music Star Academy, come and chat when you are free.

Cheers!~~