PRIVATE LESSONS ON VIDEO

I now have the technology to record myself playing guitar on video, and send it to you in an email. You can then watch it on your computer, or even put it on your Ipod/Iphone.

If you're interested in doing a "virtual lesson" where I record short musical examples on video, please email me at karlstraub@hotmail.com to discuss what you're looking for, and how much it will cost.

A video lesson done this way could be structured in a variety of ways, just like a regular in-person lesson. Examples-- I could play a lick you're trying to learn, or a solo from a record. I could demonstrate a technique like string bending. I could also show how I might improvise in various styles, or over a certain chord progression, etc.
Don't be shy about asking for something crazy! Want me to play "Strawberry Fields Forever" the way Clarence White might have played it? No problem. The Bee Gees' "Nights on Broadway," played in a Norman Blake style? That could work. Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite," in Jeff Beck's psychedelic Yardbirds style? It might cost you, but sure.
Please note-- it doesn't have to be shot in the "point-of-view" angle. Some people find that camera angle offputting-- I can shoot it traditional style if needed. (If you are going to put it on your Ipod, you can have your cake and eat it too, though, because you can just hold the Ipod upside down.)
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MONK'S "'ROUND MIDNIGHT" ON TELECASTER

Here's a video of me playing a solo arrangement of Thelonious Monk's classic "Round Midnight". It's a little better played than the other version on the other blog, but this one is compressed a different way, quality slightly less, and plus I cut off because I couldn't decide where to go next. Otherwise, it's stronger-- this is the version I'll watch more when I'm preparing for the recording session coming up.

It's a mishmash of different sounds and influences-- There's a very lowbudget Ted Greene/Joe Pass counterpoint that crops up occasionally, but as you can hear I don't have the bass line developed. It's mostly just some roots here and there. I'm trying to make up for it by using Joe Pass's dictum that you should tap your foot when you play solo, because it really needs to swing all the time. Monk's advice to Steve Lacy, (and probably many others) was, "When you're swinging, swing some more." I'm trying to! I think this version, in spite of its flaws, swings more than the other one.

I also like the slightly dirty, but still brittle and trebly sound. It reminds me a little of some of the sounds on Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica" album. I got this sound by setting a Tube Screamer with no gain along with a Blues Driver, also no gain. (Also, a Z. Vex Super Duper Two-in-one.) The Tube Screamer can't really give you a completely clean sound, although the Blues Driver can, so together you get a little trash, a little twang. A nice combination-- whether you really need the Rube Goldberg pedal setup to get it, I don't know. Probably the amp turned up could get it, but I'm glad I don't have to turn up that loud. It allows me to keep the underground sound laboratory humming along by day, even though it's a residential neighborhood. (Essentially, if you're just willing to spend about 650 dollars on pedals, you can get this sound with your Fender Deluxe Reverb amp on two instead of four or five.)

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FOUL OWL ON THE PROWL

We used to do this tune "Foul Owl on the Prowl" in the Roratonga Rodeo shows years ago. Here's the clip from "In the Heat of the Night." As my brother Phil pointed out, the song's kinda like "Little Red Hiding Hood" by Sam the Sham-- Mark Noone used to sing that song with the Slickees. Nice chord changes-- listen up close, and you may hear something I stole and used in "Back in Love Again."

I guess, in retrospect, this is one of many ludicrous songs that taught me a little bit about chords. ("Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" being another one in that list.)
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