Tips and FAQ’s

If you have any tips or suggestions you would like to pass on to others or things that have helped you, then drop me an E-mail with the details and I will post them on this page (with your name of course).

“Tips for experts” was the only thing I remember seeing whilst visiting an early site during my quest for knowledge, the tip it was giving was, “always practice with your Metronome” I remember leaving the site feeling kind of cheated, somehow I thought I was fine with my timing, but I bought a metronome anyhow after much searching and advice taking. I played with the metronome running from then on and found tunes fitting together much better, so I was not as disciplined as I believed I was. There are a multitude of different types for sale online from a few pounds to expensive highly ornate types. I like the simple to start and stop variety

Basic tips on string changing and care.

Try to change your strings AT LEAST once every two months. If you are playing regular shows, you may need to change them more frequently.

How do I change my strings?

• Change your strings ONE at a time. Removing all of the strings at once can reduce the strength and life span of the guitar neck, as there is too much of a sudden stress relief on the neck.
• NEVER cut the strings to remove them from the guitar, especially if there is some tension left in them. Cutting a string can be dangerous, as the tension left in the string will cause the string to recoil. This can damage the guitar and you.

Which string do I change first?

• Always start with the 6^th string (or 4^th if you have a bass guitar). This is because the 6^th string (4^th) will wear in faster than the first (thickest) string and it will make life much easier to tune the guitar.

How do I look after the strings once the guitar is restrung

• WASH your hands before you practice. This will help prevent some of the oils, sweat and dirt from your fingers building up on the string surface and fret board.
• After every practice WIPE down the strings with a clean dry cloth. This will remove any debris from your fingers left on the strings. If the strings are damaged or have corroded, the string sound will be dull

 Tip’s To Improve Your Tuning.

• If you're having problems or are new to the instrument, a few minutes spent learning to tune each day will work wonders.
• Ask for a second opinion from someone you trust. "Am I in tune?" You might be surprised at the answer.
• An electronic tuner is good for keeping your instrument in the proper pitch, but it's a critical possession if you're going into a recording studio to do any instrument work
• An electronic tuner with some type of attachment to the instrument is essential for gigs where you need to tune while competing with a lot of background noise.
• A quality case cover will keep an instrument protected from the natural elements. An instrument transported or left in a cold or hot car and then opened in a temperature-controlled room is a guaranteed recipe for a half-hour of tuning problems.
• You may be a great technician, but let's face it, if you can't do it in tune then people probably won't want to listen.
• A cheap, inexpensive instrument that's in tune with good strings and good frets can sound fabulous in the right hands.
• Even the pros have difficulty tuning from time to time so don't get discouraged.

There is a wide range of capos on the market some good and others less than useful. I like many other guitarists seem to be in an endless search for the perfect one. There is a compromise between mobility (up and down the neck) and grip. For accompanying Irish music, especially in open tunings, you need both. Ideally, a capo should grip enough that the strings ring clear but not so tight that the strings are squeezed in to the neck and out of tune.  The criterion is more difficult to achieve with some capos because the neck is thicker near the body; the correct tension in one position is thus too tight in another. Adjustable capos are one way around this but then moving the capo along the neck becomes a big affair.

A good elastic capo is probably the best option; if you use it a lot, be prepared to replace it fairly regularly.  I currently use a very successful self-adjusting capo called QuickDraw, hand made by a small company in America. It is made of steel and coated in Teflon so it is very easy to move up and down the neck, it slide’s instantly into position even as you play. There are no screws to undo, no clamps to squeeze. The capo is made from ‘0’ zero friction Teflon and spring steel that moulds to the shape of the neck, and its low profile makes it nearly invisible. Your choices are no longer limited to rigid unwieldy clamps can pull your strings out of tune and out of line, occasionally dent the neck of your guitar, obstruct your playing, are hard to adjust or easy to misplace.

How to Install With your capo held at first fret position, turn the eye screw until the top of the eye just contacts with the end of the bar. Pull the eye screw over the bar.

Adjust If your string action is high you may need a few more turns of the eye screw

To play with open strings,

• Slide the capo over nut.
• Slide the capo to desired fret position.
• Leave the capo at first fret when not playing.
• During restringing slide the capo to convenient position to hold strings.
• To change keys, simply slide the capo into position
• When the guitar is stored, it is recommend to leave the capo at first fret position
• During restringing, the capo will conveniently hold loose strings in position

I always have one fitted to my Seagull guitar, which is, tuned CGCGCE. With strings detuned so low you really need a good stable capo, Shubbs are fine if they fit exactly the curvature of your guitar neck but I find this is a tall order with so much variation in neck profiles. The quick draw does not suffer from this as it has the flexibility and strength to fit any neck shape or profile. I saw Steve Cooney use one in concert recently, also Frank Kilkelly the author of ‘Accompanying Irish music on guitar’ if its good enough for these top players is sure good enough for me. Peace out Les

Below, I have tried to answer the most common questions visitors to this Web site may have. If you find that your question is not answered on this page, please E-mail me here enquiries@acousticfolkmusic.co.uk and I will get back to you. 

• Question.  Can I really record using my home computer with some gear attached, also which is the the best Sound card ?
• Answer. If you bought your PC/Laptop in the last eighteen months or so, yes you probably can, in fact I started out with a mini jack to neutric type male connector lead (which i made easily myself) with mini end shoved in the "line in" of my Celeron 333 PC's soundcard, the other end fitted my old Sennheiser mike, which had seen about fifteen years of spit and grime from the gigs. I used this set up for about a year recording all kinds of acoustic instruments and vocals. I used cakewalk software and used my hi fi as the speaker output from the PC. This (hardware) set up was almost no cost and admittedly low tech, but I learned a lot using it. There are so many real good options in sound cards/ audio interfaces, only a fool would try to choose for you, remember there has never been a better time to try audio recording yourself for very little outlay, in fact the choice of products is almost the most difficult part of getting started. Send me some more details about what you really want to be able to do and I will try to guide you more clearly... Les
• Question. Do you need a special guitar to try DADGAD or CGCGCE tunings, or can I use my standard guitar?
• Answer. You need only follow my tuning tips to de-tune you guitar to DADGAD, I used an old Yamaha acoustic I bought for £75 which I used tuned up (to standard EBGDAE) then de-tuned down to DADGAD before finally leaving it in altered tuning. Some Pro players use a slightly longer scale length guitar to help with string tension and intonation, but this is not really required during the learning stages, I still use standard guitars with no real problems....dont get to caught up in all the hype just have a go and enjoy your music......good luck from Ireland . Les