Guitar tone is one of the most complex things most guitarists will have to deal with. There are plenty of guitarists that want to look at a guitar and make a blanket assumption about the sound (or ‘tone’) it produces.

The truth is that the amp and settings are always more important than the guitar itself for creating sound! Today we’re going to discuss the ways in which the guitar itself does affect the tone, and use ear training MP3s to demonstrate the sounds.

Before we dive in – how big an impact do the amp and settings really have? The following example is the same guitar and the same equipment, just with the settings altered. You’ll hear that there’s a lot of tone variation possible without changing the equipment itself.

Warning: Some of the tracks on this page have loud distorted sections – do not turn your volume up too high, especially if listening on headphones!

The strong effect amplifier settings can have

Electric Guitars

When it comes down to the guitar itself, the most noticeable difference is going to be the type of pickups on the guitar. Most other aspects of the tone of a guitar can be adjusted or compensated for with the right equalizer adjustments (see the Frequency Fundamentals course for more information), and those are subjective tone differences.

Electric Guitar - Listen for the different types of pickup

The 60Hz hum created by single coil pickups, on the other hand, can be a desirable or undesirable component to the tone. Click to read the rest…

We’re very excited to announce the release of a new ear training album, now available to buy and download right here on EasyEarTraining.com.

It’s the first in a new series we’ve been working on, called “Unravelling Music”.

The Unravelling Music albums are designed to help you hear more in music – and learn the easy way: by listening to music!

If you’re somebody who wants to understand music, the CDs will help you gain that deep, natural insight into everything you hear – even if you couldn’t bear to look at another music theory book in your life!

The first album in the series is called “Introducing Intervals” and it’s a great introduction to the world of pitch and harmony ear training.

Introducing Intervals uses five all-new music tracks, created specially by site author and professional composer Sabrina Pena Young to introduce you to the key intervals of the octave – and much more! You’ll meet such topics as chords, timbre and rhythm along the way, all while enjoying great music in a variety of styles.

Develop your ears the easy way

The idea of the Unravelling Music series is simple:

1. Listen to great music
2. Learn how that music is constructed, by listening to special clips
3. Listen again, and hear much more

When you buy the album, you’ll receive 28 MP3 files (including the 5 specially composed full-length tracks), a detailed ‘guide book’ for the album which will help you plan your learning and get the most out of the album, and score PDFs to illustrate the examples used. (You don’t need to read music to benefit from this album though!)

From today, we’re offering Introducing Intervals as a digital download – which means you’ll get instant access to download the MP3 and PDF files when you buy the album. You can also view the music excerpts in score form at Noteflight.com, where you can view, print, and play them back – and even alter them, to explore the sounds.

Training on your terms

Introducing Intervals is designed for convenience. Once you’ve read through the track notes for a track, learning takes the form of simply listening. So you can put the tracks on your MP3 player, or burn them to a CD, and train wherever you are, whenever you like.

The guide book provides a lot of advice and information on how to learn with the album. But there are no hard and fast rules. The album is designed to be flexible, so you can focus on the parts which are important to you and make the most of your training time.

SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE To celebrate the launch of Introducing Intervals, we’re offering it at a special low price of just $9.99 – but only to the first hundred customers! Get your copy now to save 30% off the usual price! (Usual price: $14.99)

To buy Introducing Intervals, and download it instantly, just
click this button and check out with your credit card or PayPal:

If you have any questions about the album or the series, leave a comment below.

Are you a blogger or journalist who wants to know more about Unravelling Music and Introducing Intervals? Drop us a line!

This innovative new series explores musical training from conception to grave. Learn how music you heard in-utero affected your musical tastes today. Encourage musical creativity in your child or students with easy music tech tools and exercises. Discover how cultures around the globe use music in the classroom. Find ways to reach special needs children with the joys of sound.

The Music & Life series will help teachers, parents, musicians, and medical professionals understand how music affects the different stages of life. Practical advice and easy technology tools and musical exercises will help you apply contemporary science. Written by a music educator with over a decade’s experience, and a specialization in at-risk education and multicultural arts, the Music & Life Series will give you the tools you need to make the most of music in everyday life.

Click to read the rest…