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"MegaTapper News"
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In This Issue:
Other Issues of this Newsletter (Link to MegaTapper News Archive)
From the EditorThe Tappers Guild and Tappistry.OrgI've recently learned about a great new website, just for tappers. You might like it ....
News BitesLast Chance: Win a FREE Mobius TrueTapper 'Eclipse'!If you haven't entered the FREE DRAWING, you'd better ACT QUICKLY! TrueTapper 'Eclipse' Pix and Soundclips Plus great 'Runner-Up' prizes! Two lucky musicians will win the "Tapper's Library", consisting of five super music books: Jim Grantham's extensive "JazzMaster Workout", Daniel Schell's two-volume set "My Space" and workbook, Werner Pohlert's 500-page "Basic Harmony" which includes the "Basic Mediantic" and "Basic Tritonic" books as well, and finally a printed copy of our own "Easy Touch-Style Bassics" by Traktor and Henri. Tapper's Library - Description of Contents Plus one dozen more musicians will win a fabulous "Wiggling Hula Girl" which you can stick on the dashboard of your car, and as you drive along and play the radio, she will swing and sway to the radio (and the driving)! Wiggling Hula Girl Detailed Photo and Specifications It's easy to enter, using email, a letter, or our handy on-line form. And you can get a second chance to win by adding your email address, and you can get SIX more chances to win by listening to the songs in the Song Archive and making up new titles for the songs! Win a TrueTapper 'Eclipse' touchstyle instrument! Mobius Awarded New PatentIf we may be permitted to brag a little bit ... Mobius would like to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Utility Patent #6,359,203 for the Mobius MegStrap design ("Method and strap support assembly for holding musical instrument in upright position"), granted March 19, 2002. Mobius MegStrap Patent Details The MegStrap is a simple device, and quite delightful in the way that it supports a tapping instrument in the correct upright position. It's easy to put on and take off, it doesn't muss any costume, and it doesn't get in your way. Comfortable and stable, Mobius is proud of this new contribution to the emerging technology of the touch-style method.
Limited-Time Offer: Free Custom Gigbag with any TrueTapper InstrumentFor the remainder of 2002, and for a limited time in 2003, Mobius Megatar is giving away a free Custom Gigbag with all TrueTapper models. If you've been thinking about entering the world of touch-style, or about upgrading your tapping instrument, now is the time! Just purchase any TrueTapper instrument and get the $95 custom gigbag included free!
New: MaxTapper and ToneWeaver come Dual or QuadAren't musicians funny? We always want something different! Always thinking about some new sound, some better instrument, some different gear. Here at Mobius, we've had a number of people who wanted to get the MaxTapper with four Bartolini pickups instead of the usual two pickups, and then there are other musicians who want to get the ToneWeaver but with just two Bartolini pickups instead of the usual four pickups! And Now for Something Completely Different --
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The following website has nothing whatsoever to do with Mobius, nor with touch-style music. It's just a very interesting and engaging place to visit. Author Jim Sloman has a wide background: he's the developer of some commodity and stock market methods that are used by over 40,000 traders around the world. In addition, Sloman is a skilled guitarist, has published several self-help books and videos, and is currently developing a major motion picture.
But the wonderful thing about the "May You Be Happy.Com" website, aside from the unique and beautiful pictures, is the little quotes, most zenlike and insightful, and Sloman's ongoing Journal. He continually creates the most thought-provoking ideas. Visiting MayYouBeHappy.Com brings a breath of fresh air. Check it out and add it to your list of favorites, and if you like it, pass the info along to your friends --
Jim Sloman's "MayYouBeHappy.Com" Website
Ricky Wades In on MidiTapper!
How Tough is MIDI?
Ricky Wade is a Las Vegas bass-player performing in top venues with some of the biggest names in musical entertainment. Ricky was interested in the MidiTapper because of its synthesizer capability, and after he tried it, we asked if he'd be willing to make an audio demo of the touch-style technique, using the MidiTapper instrument.
If you're new to touch-style, this audio demo will show how surprisingly easy it is to play a custom touch-style instrument, and if you're new to playing midi on your guitar or bass, the demo will introduce the 'Rainbow of Sounds' available with the MidiTapper.
This ten-minute demo has large files. The MP3 is the best quality, but the Real Audio will begin streaming and playing faster.
In the demo, Ricky demonstrates the fingering method used in touch-style play, how it can be used for glides and glissando, how to play single lines and chords, and gives some lively examples of two-handed touch-style play, using a variety of sounds and styles.
The Touch-Style Method and the Mobius MidiTapper:
Touch-Style & MidiTapper (MP3)
9 min55 sec 9.15MB 3 min
Touch-Style & MidiTapper (Real Audio)
9 min55 sec 5.97MB
Artist Contact: Ricky Wade can be reached at 702 822-2774 in Las Vegas, or via email at rockthegridman@lvcm.com Ricky regularly posts his upcoming gigs on the gig calendar at www.Tappistry.Org so if you're visiting Las Vegas, check out the schedule and go see Ricky Wade live on the MidiTapper while you're in town!
These days, Ricky Wade gigs using the MidiTapper Solo, which has six bass strings in the standard BassBottom tuning (just like any six-string bass), using the 'Uncrossed' string arrangement (see hand position in picture above). His melody strings are midi-equipped for a wide variety of sounds (including other basses, such as acoustic, slap, fretless, and synth basses).
He writes recently: "Hey, Mobius! The axe is sounding Great on the Gig. The bass has sustain without volume dropoff, and it rings out nice and loud. I'm using the MidiTapper exclusively on the gig, no other axe on stage!"
In the MidiTapper demo, Ricky was also using the MidiTapper Twin, which is strung with light strings on both sides (Bi-Melody Tuning), and with both sides midied. (Bass sounds are then available to either hand using bass patches in the Roland GR-33 synth or the Roland VG-88 V-Guitar system.)
Either way, you get a twelve-string Mobius touch-style instrument with dual-rail magnetic pickups and wide-range tone controls, plus the Mobius 'Photon-Midi' hex pickup, either one (on the melody side) or two (on both sides of the instrument which is tuned in 'Bi-Melody' tuning). We can also upgrade the dual-rail magnetic pickups to gold-case humbuckers or Bartolini pickups if desired..
MidiTapper is built of maple and alder and has the same clear tone as the TrueTapper Eclipse. You can play any gig using the magnetic pickups for a great sound. And our innovative 'Photon-Midi' hex pickup meters light itself to track the moving string. You will be surprised and delighted with the tracking ability of the Photon-Midi pickup with either the Roland GR33 guitar synthesizer or the VG-88 'V-Guitar' system. 
MidiTapper 'Solo' has a set of six bass strings and a set of six melody strings, with a 'dual-rail' magnetic pickup on each side. The Photon-Midi hex pickup is then installed on the melody strings with a 13-pin output, so you can easily cable up to the Roland GR33 or VG88. Layer strings on top of your guitar sound, or play horns, bells, flutes, and synth tones on your melody strings.
Introductory Price, for limited time only -- Only $1695 US
MidiTapper 'Twin' with two sets of melody strings, normally tuned in our 'Bi-Melody' tuning. With this tuning and the Twin's dual-rail magnetic pickups, you can now play guitar duos with yourself!
And since you also get Photon-Midi pickups on both sides, either side (or both) can layer strings, horns, bells, tubas, violins, basses, keyboards, sitars, glockenspiels, vibes, or drums. Want to play bass and melody? No problem, set either side to play synth bass, acoustic double-bass, slapped electric, or fretless. The ultimate gig machine.
Limited time introductory price: Only $1995 US
Ricky Wade is not the only person who can Open a New Universe of Sound. You can, too. Imagine having these sounds and hundreds more at your fingertips. Sound good? MidiTapper -- All the Sounds of the Rainbow! Want more MidiTapper info, big pictures, and more soundclips? They're here --
The 'MidiTapper' Series
Free Music Lesson: Left-Hand: Five Chords to Rule the World
Cocktail Piano made Easy!
Last issue, you saw how easy it was to play a minor seven chord up and down on your 'bass' strings. Now you'll see how easy it is to turn that simple minor seven chord into five different chords, and with these five types of chords, you can play nearly every song all the way through.
In last issue's lesson (Gordo Chordo), since some of you are playing your left-hand strings tuned in fourths, and some of you are playing your left-hand strings tuned in 'inverted fifths', we laid out these left-hand chords separately for fourths and for fifths tunings. We'll do the same thing here. First we'll present the lesson for fourths tuning, and then we'll present the same lesson for you folks playing with inverted-fifths in the bass strings.
Rooting Around (in Fourths Bass)
As mentioned last time, you'll probably find most flexible to lay out the roots on two adjacent low strings, as shown here:
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As you will see, this will enable you to play low roots, and will give you enough higher strings to play all the chords that we will need on these eight roots. This position will give you the lowest notes for your roots while keeping you out of the string damper at fret one. And lastly, the position chosen for these roots will always leave you with one string lower which will be handy later for grabbing the fifth to make lots of rhythmic things possible. So, if you need to, please review Graph A above and make sure you know where these eight roots fall on your fourths-tuned bass strings.
If you missed last issue's lesson, we started off with a C minor 7 chord, which you can see repeated here on Graph B below. Given the eight roots that we've chosen, the C-Root appears twice, so it follows that you can play the C minor 7 chord in either location.
In last issue's lesson, you learned to play this minor-7 shape on the roots of C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. If you haven't done that, do it now. All the rest of the lesson will be lots easier if you can easily find and play C minor 7, D minor 7, E minor 7, F minor 7, G minor 7, A minor 7, B minor 7, and C minor 7. Also, this exercise will give you a simple way to practice finding the eight roots. Please make sure you can easily find these eight chords before going on.
OK. Now look at Graph C and Graph D following, and you will see how simple it is to change the chord just a little in order to play the C dominant 7 chord (usually called just 'C7'), and the C Major 7 chord (abbreviated 'CMaj7' or 'CM7').
Now, as you might have guessed, first try playing the dominant 7 chord up and down on the roots, that is, play C7, D7, E7, F7, G7, A7, B7, and C7.
When you can do that easily, do the same thing with the Major 7 chord, playing CMaj7, DMaj7, EMaj7, FMaj7, GMaj7, AMaj7, BMaj7, and CMaj7.
Many years ago an article appeared in one of the motorcycle magazines. It was written by the guy who runs a school for the highway patrolmen who ride motorcycles. The writer explained how the secret to masterful control of your motorcycle at high speed is to practice very, very slowly.
That is, you ride your motorcycle as slow as you can, and try to make your swoops and turns into a thing of beauty and perfect balance. As you learn how to do that, you are training your body how to respond, so that when you're traveling too fast to think, your body knows what to do. That motorcycle advice would fit in here. Try to go from chord to chord by moving smoothly and making each chord note sound clear and sweet. Don't try for speed; try for beauty.
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Now that you can play a minor seven, dominant seven, and Major seven chord on any of the roots, you can -- with nothing more than this -- play almost any song in any fake book.
However, let's go just one step further.
Please examine Graph E below. Here you will see the Major 6 chord for the root of C. The first thing you will notice is that your first finger is not on the root!
In the preceding chords (Cm7, C7, CMaj7) your first finger was always on the root, but now on these sixth chords your second finger will be on the root. So give it a try. And once you can play C Major 6 (abbreviated CMaj6 or C6), then try playing it up and down on the eight roots. That is, play C6, D6, E6, F6, G6, A6, B6, and C6. Oh, you're cooking now!
And now we naturally come to the C minor 6 chord. Please finger it as shown, and once you can make Cm6 sing out clearly, please try it on the other roots. That is, play Cm6, Dm6, Em6, Fm6, Gm6, Am6, Bm6, and Cm6.
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Now that you can play these five simple left-hand chords, try playing them in several different ways. Try arpeggiating them in any way which pleases you. Or try 'comping' them.
Comping Chords
The word 'comping' is a slang word meaning 'to accompany.' For example, the sax player is taking a solo, and the piano player accompanies him by hitting full-figured chords in various rhythmic ways. The piano player is 'comping' for the sax solo. Or in a rock band, maybe the rhythm guitar is hitting four to the bar (or in reggae maybe he just hits the backbeats), while the lead guitar wails out, mon. In this case, the rhythm guitar is 'comping' for the lead guitarist.
One of the most useful 'comping' exercises is learning to play 'four to the bar'. It is amazingly versatile; it lays down a wall of sound for the solo (which is probably your right hand), and if you'll practice it so that you can play it nice and regular, you will have learned a lot about how to make all the notes sing and how to have good time.
Make no mistake. Comping four to the bar is, for most of us, not quite as easy as arpeggiating the chord tones. But the practice is well worth the effort. For one thing, it works remarkably well with many different styles of music, and never sounds 'old.' When you can play four to the bar nicely, you'll be well pleased, and your music will thank you.
For a great article about how jazz greats like Erroll Garner, Amad Jamal, and Django Reinhardt used 'four to the bar', and some great tips about how to play it and make it versatile, check out the article 'Four to the Bar' by Chicago-based double-guitarist Scott Stenten dated 16 August 2002, on the Tappistry.Org website's 'Articles Archive', here:
http://www.tappistry.org/articles/archive.php
Rule the World
As you will see in the upcoming third section of this three-part lesson, some of these chords that you have learned today will double for some other chords that show up from time to time. In other words, you've already learned some other chords already, and next time we'll show you how!
And in the third and concluding lesson on left-hand chords (Otros Chordos), we'll also fill in the last remaining chords that you are ever likely to need, and we'll show you a magical exercise.
But in the meantime, with just these five chords, you can rule the world!
Rooting Around on Bass Strings in Inverted Fifths
If you're playing an instrument whose bass strings are tuned in the popular 'inverted fifths' tuning, you can play left-hand chords just as easily. As mentioned in the last issue, you'll probably find it most flexible to lay out the roots on two adjacent low strings, as shown here:
 |
As you will see, this positioning will enable you to play low roots, and will give you enough higher strings to play all the chords that we will need on these eight roots. This position will give you the lowest notes for your roots while keeping you out of the string damper at fret one. And lastly, the position chosen for these roots will always leave you able to grab the fifth to make lots of rhythmic things possible. So, if you need to, please review Graph A above and make sure you know where these eight roots fall on your inverted-fifths bass strings.
If you missed last issue's lesson, we started off with a D minor 7 chord, which you can see repeated here on Graph B below. Given the eight roots that we've chosen, the D-Root appears twice, so it follows that you can play the D minor 7 chord in either location.
In last issue's lesson, you learned to play this minor-7 shape on the roots of D, E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. If you haven't done that, do it now. All the rest of the lesson will be lots easier if you can easily find and play D minor 7, E minor 7, F minor 7, G minor 7, A minor 7, B minor 7, C minor 7, and D minor 7. Also, this exercise will give you a simple way to practice finding the eight roots. Please make sure you can easily find these eight chords before going on.
Once that is comfortable, please look at Graph C and Graph D following, and you will see how simple it is to change the chord just a little in order to play the D dominant 7 chord (usually called just 'D7'), and the D Major 7 chord (abbreviated 'DMaj7' or 'DM7').
Now, as you might have guessed, first try playing the dominant 7 chord up and down on the roots, that is, play D7, E7, F7, G7, A7, B7, C7, and D7.
When you can do that easily, do the same thing with the Major 7 chord, playing DMaj7, EMaj7, FMaj7, GMaj7, AMaj7, BMaj7, CMaj7, and DMaj7.
Many years ago an article appeared in one of the motorcycle magazines. It was written by the guy who runs a school for the highway patrolmen who ride motorcycles. The writer explained how the secret to masterful control of your motorcycle at high speed is to practice very, very slowly.
That is, you ride your motorcycle as slow as you can, and try to make your swoops and turns into a thing of beauty and perfect balance. As you learn how to do that, you are training your body how to respond, so that when you're traveling too fast to think, your body knows what to do. That motorcycle advice would fit in here. Try to go from chord to chord by moving smoothly and making each chord note sound clear and sweet. Don't try for speed; try for beauty.
 |
Now that you can play a minor seven, dominant seven, and Major seven chord on any of the roots, you can -- with nothing more than this -- play almost any song in any fake book.
However, let's go just one step further.
Please examine Graph E below. Here you will see the Major 6 chord for the root of D. You'll notice is that it uses your little finger. But it's not difficult. So give it a try. And once you can play D Major 6 (abbreviated DMaj6 or D6), then try playing it up and down on the eight roots. That is, play D6, E6, F6, G6, A6, B6, C6, and D6. Oh, you're cooking now!
And now we naturally come to the D minor 6 chord. Please finger it as shown, and once you can make Dm6 sing out clearly, please try it on the other roots. That is, play Dm6, Em6, Fm6, Gm6, Am6, Bm6, Cm6, and Dm6.
 |
Now that you can play these five simple left-hand chords, try playing them in several different ways. Try arpeggiating them in any way which pleases you. Or try 'comping' them.
Comping Chords on Bass Strings in Fifths
The word 'comping' is a slang word meaning 'to accompany.' For example, the sax player is taking a solo, and the piano player accompanies him by hitting full-figured chords in various rhythmic ways. The piano player is 'comping' for the sax solo. Or in a rock band, maybe the rhythm guitar is hitting four to the bar (or in reggae maybe he just hits the backbeats), while the lead guitar wails out, mon. In this case, the rhythm guitar is 'comping' for the lead guitarist.
One of the most useful 'comping' exercises is learning to play 'four to the bar'. It is amazingly versatile; it lays down a wall of sound for the solo (which is probably your right hand), and if you'll practice it so that you can play it nice and regular, you will have learned a lot about how to make all the notes sing and how to have good time.
Make no mistake. Comping four to the bar is, for most of us, not quite as easy as arpeggiating the chord tones. But the practice is well worth the effort. For one thing, it works remarkably well with many different styles of music, and never sounds 'old.' When you can play four to the bar nicely, you'll be well pleased, and your music will thank you.
For a great article about how jazz greats like Erroll Garner, Amad Jamal, and Django Reinhardt used 'four to the bar', and some great tips about how to play it and make it versatile, check out the article 'Four to the Bar' by Chicago-based double-guitarist Scott Stenten dated 16 August 2002, on the Tappistry.Org website's 'Articles Archive', here:
http://www.tappistry.org/articles/archive.php
Rule the World on Bass Strings in Fifths
As you will see in the upcoming third section of this three-part lesson, some of these chords that you have learned today will double for some other chords that show up from time to time. In other words, you've already learned some other chords already, and next time we'll show you how!
And in the third and concluding lesson on left-hand chords (Otros Chordos), we'll also fill in the last remaining chords that you are ever likely to need, and we'll show you a magical exercise.
But in the meantime, with just these five chords, you can rule the world!
Contact us:
Mobius Megatar USA
Post Office Box 161
Weed, CA 96094 USA
http://www.megatar.com/
Business Office (530) 938-1100
Member Better Tapping Bureau
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