Pickstroke

Pick of the Week - Complete Guitar Method

Tim — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:52:54 +0000

Dennis Wetzel’s Complete Guitar Method covers every aspect of becoming a great guitarist. This method has been carefully designed so that each book equally raises your music skills in all essential areas including: Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Reading and Writing Music, Music Theory, Harmony, and Improvisation.
All courses include video, mp3 audio, standard notation and tablature exercises, record and upload assignments for critique, and interactive support.
Complete Guitar Method is my Pick of the Week.

March Madness

Tim — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:54:31 +0000

Last year I celebrated March Madness by posting a new Guitar Pro file each day. I may do the same this year, I haven’t decided, I’ve been pretty busy. One thing I am going to do, though, is give away a free gift each Friday during the month.

I Have some pretty good gifts lined up too.

So, stay tuned. I’m getting everything lined up and we’ll be rolling soon.

Thanks.

Win An Epiphone Wilshire

Tim — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:34:23 +0000

Enter for your chance to win a 1970’s Epiphone Wilshire.

Entries must be made by February 28, 2009.

AND….

Stay tuned for Pickstroke’s next give-away which I’ll be announcing later this week.

Pick of the Week - Free & Easy Guitar

Tim — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:13:38 +0000

Aaron Gallagher has a new site and the name of it is Free and Easy Guitar. It’s a good looking site and I think it will do well. Here is a blurb from his front page:

While you are here navigating through the different options here at Free and Easy Guitar, I want you to know that this site was designed for each and every person who has ever wanted to learn the guitar but could never find the time, money, or patience to do so. My number one priority is to develop and execute different ways of teaching lessons, songs, and techniques that you can understand and replicate in your own living room, bed room, or even your own dorm room.

The site includes a chat room, forums, tabs and a mailing list to stay informed of updates. I believe Free and Easy Guitar will be a site to bookmark and visit regularly. So, why not click on over there, right now, and give them a digg or a stumble to help them get noticed.

On The Side (01-18-09)

Tim — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:54:16 +0000

Where have I been? That’s a good question. I think I’ve been meeting myself coming and going. Well, there’s no point dwelling on the past. Let’s move on into 2009! Here are some links to get us started.

The Custom Electric Guitar Blog is informative and enjoyable.

Free and Easy Guitar is a new site by Aaron and Matt. I think they’ve gotten off to a good start and deserve a few bumps from the Pickstroke audience. Visit them and give-em a thumbs up!

Learn2Strum is a fairly new site with instructional videos.

Learn Acoustic Guitar is a good looking site with some good articles.

MuseScore is a Free Music notation and compilation software. I’ve downloaded it and looked at it but I haven’t given it much time. If you use it and think it’s worthwhile then leave a comment and let us know.

Notepad is another free notation software. You have to get the Lite version.

Free Guitar Videos is just what it says. I think I’ve linked to this site before but I couldn’t find it in the archives so I’ll post it none-the-less.

Morphis is a good site. Lots of lessons here.

Bill Brutal Guitars offers instructional videos but you have to sign up.

How to Play Guitar Music is a good looking site. Some tips here for lefties!

Hang On

Tim — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:39:52 +0000

I apologize for not posting anything for a while but please bear with me. I’ve been working on my other site (I’ve installed a new theme and I’ve been trying to get it like I like it) and I’ve also been working on some other things for Pickstroke.

I’ve picked up some new sponsors and made some arrangements to have some guest writers so I’m excited about that.

Also, I’ve secured some other donations for Pickstroke’s next Giveaway! I’ll be launching that in a couple of weeks.

I also have a ton of new sites I need to get posted and several more Guitar Pro files.

I’m neck deep in things to do and the days just aren’t long enough. Please be patient and I’ll get everything geared up and going soon. Hopefully by the weekend.

A Stevie Snack Christmas

Tim — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:34:51 +0000

It’s 11:30 but it’s not too late for Santa to drop by. It is still Christmas day!
I just got an e-mail notice from Stevie Snacks saying he has posted five new backing tracks for our holiday enjoyment.
Thank you very much. That was the only gift I received today.
Merry Christmas!

On The Side (12-25-08)

Tim — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:50:06 +0000

Merry Christmas! Here are a few new links for your stocking…

I’ve received a few requests lately to exchange links so I’ll introduce those sites here and add them to my Links pages.

1. Audio Fanzine - Product reviews, videos and forums.
2. Guitar 123 - Online Guitar reviews/sales.
3. Guitar Player World - Lessons, Videos, Tabs and more.

Now….. more stuff!

Songstuff - Articles and a few lessons.

Normandy Guitars - Have you ever seen an aluminum guitar? If you like the track that plays on this site then see the next link.

Burg Blues by Brett Kingman

Rock-n-Roll Vintage - Lot’s to look at but not much that I can afford.

Easy Music Lessons - I believe the name says it all.

The Guitar Swamp - Tons of stuff to tickle your fancy.

Three Chord Guitar - Beginner lessons and tabs, all with Three Chords! Imagine that!

A New Poll

Tim — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:30:54 +0000

I’ve closed the last Pickstroke Poll and as you can see, Guitar Pro was the editor of choice. Tux Guitar came in second. I thought that was interesting. I guess I’ll have to play around with Tux a little more since it’s being used so much. I believe it will play Guitar Pro files, if I remember correctly.
Anyway, thank you for taking part in the poll. It was up for nearly three months and there were 57 unique votes so I think that offers a fair evaluation of who is using what when it comes to guitar tab editors.
Now, to the new poll.
I also maintain a personal blog, The Irvins, and it has kept me busy the last couple of weeks. Wordpress has released version 2.7 and I wanted to try it out so I decided to apply the update to my blog first to avoid possible disasters on Pickstroke. The upgrade was smooth sailing. I had no troubles at all (knock on wood) and I’m very impressed and pleased with the new interface.
I was using the same Theme on my blog that I use here on Pickstroke and I was (and still am) bored with it. Since I upgraded Wordpress I decided I might as well try out a new Theme as well. You can click on the link to check it out if you would like. I’m using a Magazine Theme on my blog and I like the way it looks. I also like some of the other features that aren’t available with the Theme I’m using here.

So, my new poll asks the question: Is it time to update the Pickstroke Website? By this I mean the way it looks. Would a facelift improve the appearance any? Are you completely bored with it? They say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and I have to admit that the site has served me well. I could keep it like it is and be pretty happy for another year but everything needs a face lift from time to time.

Let me know your opinion. Also, if you have any suggestions that would make the site more user friendly, those would be welcome as well. You can leave a comment here.

Thanks,

Merry Christmas

Pick of the Week - Graphic Guitars

Tim — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:48:35 +0000

My wife and I aren’t very decorative. We haven’t put up a Christmas tree, we have NEVER put up Christmas lights and there’s not too much hanging on our walls. There might be a total of six pictures of the kids scattered around the house and these are no larger than 5×7’s which sit on dressers or shelves in various places.
We’ve always thought about purchasing some prints or paintings to hang in the Living Room, or elsewhere, but have never gotten around to it. All that might change in 2009!
Graphic Guitars is a very nice site featuring the artwork of Paul Chase. He has some very nice guitar artwork. When you visit, be sure to browse through the galleries and not just the front page.
I wish I had discovered this page a month or so ago and I would have requested a print for Christmas. However, you don’t need a holiday to buy anything that’s guitar related! I do have a birthday coming up in January though. Hmmmm… “Hon, come look at these!”
Merry Christmas!