NJGuitarLessons.com - New Jersey Guitar Lessons - Bergen County Guitar Lessons - Guitar Teacher

Now Accepting New Guitar Students For The Remaining Summer and Fall Seasons !!!

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:48:11 +0000

Come One Come All !! Bring Your Guitars And Study With Me This Summer And Fall !!

I am accepting new students for study of guitar and music theory the remaining part of this Summer and this Fall. Please have a guitar of your own and if not call me anyways, as I have a few resources that I may use to find you a guitar to start out on. Students need not sign up for more than one lesson at a time. It will however take some dedication and practice on behalf of the student to aquire the skills necessary to become a profecient player of a guitar as it does with any instrument. I find that the youngest age that kids will be able to comprehend the actions and needed skills is 7 years old. I have also found that one lesson a week is best, in order to keep the interest of the student current and also the materials fresh in their mind.

Please call me A.S.A.P. to discuss the student’s musical goals and aspirations.

Ira Strum

Guitar Teacher

1 (201) 888 - 3584 cell …….. 1 (201) 489 - 1212 home

Important NEWS !!! Guitar Accessories and Musical Products Now Available !

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:48:03 +0000

As of today, I can suppy my students with most of their musical product needs.

I have opened a retail outlet called …. I. Strum Guitars . ( istrumguitars.com )

I have become a dealer of musical supplies and accessories for New Jersey and throughout the USA. Please contact me with your special needs. I can help you with purchasing a guitar to be used for lessons and will guide you towards what would be a good guitar (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, or classical guitar) to start with, or to upgrade to from your existing model. I can hand deliver the products or have them mailed to a location as well.

I am able to bring along to guitar lessons the ModTone effects pedals that you can “try before you buy”, and if an additional cable or cable patch is needed I can supply that also. The cables are in lengths of 10 feet and 20 feet - Just let me know what you’d like.

In addition to the products mentioned above, I will be a dealer of the Tune Tech TT-500 and Tune Tech TT-1000 clip-on tuners. These are chromatic electronic tuners that will help you with ear training and also the ones that I carry with me to lessons. Ask to try it out. It really makes tuning your guitar very easy.

Blues Singer’s Woman Permitted To Tell Her Side - from the Onion

admin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:57:58 +0000

Blues Singer’s Woman Permitted To Tell Her Side
September 16, 1998 | Issue 34•07

CLARKSDALE, MS–Ida Mae Dobbs, longtime woman of Willie “Skipbone” Jackson, called a press conference Tuesday to respond to charges levied against her by the legendary Delta blues singer.

Ida Mae Dobbs, woman of blues singer Willie “Skipbone” Jackson (inset).

“Despite what Mr. Jackson would have you believe, I am not an evil-hearted woman who will not let him be,” Dobbs told reporters. “I repeat: I am not an evil-hearted woman who will not let him be. To the contrary, my lovin’ is so sweet, it tastes just like the apple off the tree.”

Dobbs, accused of causing Jackson pain and breaking his heart by calling out another man’s name, categorically denied treating him in a low-down manner.

“He says he sends for his baby, but I don’t come around,” Dobbs, a brownskin woman, said. “He says he sends for his baby, but I don’t come around. Well, the truth is, I do come, but he is out messing with every gal in town.”

During the press conference, Dobbs also disputed an Aug. 27 statement made by Jackson, who compared her to a dresser because someone is always going through her drawers.

“My drawers have not been gone through by any man but Willie “Skipbone” Jackson,” Dobbs said. “Neither Slim McGee nor Melvin Brown has ever been in my drawers. Nor has Sonny ‘Spoonthumb’ Perkins, nor any of those other no-good jokers down by the railroad tracks. My policy has always been to keep my drawers closed to everyone but Mr. Jackson, as I am his woman and would never treat him so unkind.”

In addition to denying Jackson’s drawer-opening allegations, Dobbs disputed charges of unrestricted sweet-potato-pie distribution, insisting that her pie is available only to Jackson.

“I do not give out my sweet potato pie arbitrarily, as I am not the sort of no-good doney who engages in such objectionable behavior,” Dobbs told reporters. “Only one man can taste my sweet potato pie, and I believe I have made it perfectly clear who that man is.” Dobbs noted that the same policy applies to her biscuits, which may be buttered only by Jackson.

While most of the accusations levied against Dobbs relate to her running around town with other men, she does face one far more serious charge, attempted homicide. On May 5, 1998, Jackson was rushed to the hospital and narrowly escaped death after ingesting nearly five ounces of gasoline. Jackson claimed that Dobbs tried to murder him, serving him a glass of the toxic fuel when he requested water. Dobbs dismissed the episode as “an accident.”

Dobbs, a short-dress, big-legged woman from Coahoma County, said it is not she but Jackson who should be forced to defend himself. According to Dobbs, Jackson frequently has devilment on his mind, staying up until all hours of the night rolling dice and drinking smokestack lightning.

“Six nights out of seven, he goes off and gets his swerve on while I sit at home by myself. Then he comes knocking on my door at 4 a.m., expecting me to rock him until his back no longer has any bone,” Dobbs said. “Is that any way for a man to treat his woman? I don’t want to, but if he keeps doing me wrong like this, I am going to take my lovin’ and give it to another man.”

Added Dobbs: “Skipbone Jackson is going to be the death of me.”

Dobbs said that until she receives an apology from Jackson and a full retraction of all accusations, he will not be given any grinding.

“Mr. Jackson says that I stay out all night and that I’m not talking right. He says he has rambling on his mind as a result of my treating him so unkind. He says I want every downtown man I meet and says they shouldn’t even let me on the street,” Dobbs said. “Well, I refuse to allow my name to be dragged through the mud like this any longer. Unless my man puts an end to these unfair attacks on my character, I will neither rock nor roll him to the break of dawn. I am through with his low-down ways.”

“Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry - a legend

admin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:30:28 +0000

Chuck Berry is an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s website, “While no individual can be said to have invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry comes the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together.” Cub Koda wrote, “Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is the first and one of its greatest early songwriters and guitarists, the main shaper of its instrumental voice and one of its greatest performers.” John Lennon was more succinct: “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.”

Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 in a “class” with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Plácido Domingo, Angela Lansbury, and Clint Eastwood. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Chuck Berry #5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.He was also ranked 6th on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included three of Chuck Berry’s songs (Johnny B. Goode, Maybellene, Rock & Roll Music), of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.

Chuck Berry plays “Johnny B. Goode” (live b&w tv)

The band Green Day covers “Johnny B. Goode” (live)

“Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry

Deep down Louisiana close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play the guitar just like a ringing a bell

Go go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Johnny B. Goode

He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track
Oh, the engineerswould see him sitting in the shade
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made
People passing by they would stop and say
Oh my that little country boy could play

Go go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Johnny B. Goode

His mother told him “Someday you will be a man,
And you will be the leader of a big old band.
Many people coming from miles around
To hear you play your music when the sun go down
Maybe someday your name will be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight.”

Go go
Go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go
Johnny B. Goode

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival July 2008- videos of Ira Strum

admin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:38:25 +0000

The Grey Fox Bluegrass festival has been ongoing for 32 years now. This year was the festival was held at a new location in Oak Hill, NY. Prior to the festival there is a long standing tradition of camping out and waiting “in line” for a good camping spot once the actual festival grounds opens on Wednessday for the 4 day (Thursday through Sunday) festival. On this line - called the “liner party” (or this year affectionately called “the Fox Hole”) there is a great sense of comunity. We all live together for a week in a hayfield on a friendly neighbor’s farm. During this time playing our instruments, cooking, eating, and getting to know each other takes up our time. Here are some videos of me at the 2008 Fox Hole.

Fox Hole daylight camp jam

Fox Hole evening tent jam

Fox Hole - an evening melody at dusk

Fox Hole sitting in front of the moon

“Hound Dog” by Elvis

admin — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:43:39 +0000

This tune is an all time classic from the all time KING of Rock ‘n Roll.

The chord progression is an easy one if you would like to learn it, just say so.

Its always a great crowd pleaser.

“Swing JAM” by Ira Strum

admin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:13:39 +0000

The video below is a session that I recorded back in 2006. I put down the tracts for “Swing JAM” by first finding a groove that I liked and then I played the heck out of it until it was in my head. I then recorded that part and proceeded to record a “jammy” part on top. At first I enjoyed the tune without any changes or effects to alter the sound that was taken from my guitar. Then I started fooling with the inner workings of the software that I use to record my music. Remember, I recored this with an acoustic guitar. There is just so much that can be done today with a home studio and a microphone or two. I picked out a few effects for the rhythm part and then something a little bit more funky for the melody. It turned this swing jam into something a bit more funkadelic and psychedelic. I hope you enjoy SWING JAM.

“Down By The River” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

admin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:40:34 +0000

This is a music video that is part of the concert that was given at Big Sur in Northern California at the end of 1969. The song “DOWN BY THE RIVER” is actually a Neil Young song (one of his own pieces) but here he is playing with his buddies David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash who at the time made up the band CSN - with Neil they were CSNY. Some of my students are currently working on this song because of its easy transition between two different chords for the rhythm part. Its one of of the best songs (in my opinion) to introduce the basics of free form improvising and jamming. There is a short segment at the end of the video with a hippy outside the show without a ticket - enjoy his interview also.

“DOWN BY THE RIVER” by Neil Young

Be on my side,
I’ll be on your side,
baby
There is no reason
for you to hide
It’s so hard for me
staying here all alone
When you could be
taking me for a ride.

Yeah, she could drag me
over the rainbow,
send me away
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river,
Dead, oh, shot her dead.

You take my hand,
I’ll take your hand
Together we may get away
This much madness
is too much sorrow
It’s impossible
to make it today.

Yeah, she could drag me
over the rainbow,
send me away
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river,
Dead, oh, shot her dead.

Be on my side,
I’ll be on your side,
baby
There is no reason
for you to hide
It’s so hard for me
staying here all alone
When you could be
taking me for a ride.

Yeah, she could drag me
over the rainbow,
send me away
Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river,
Dead, oh, shot her dead.

“Back In Black” by AC/DC

admin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:23:48 +0000

This music video is of a live performance of AC/DC opening up a concert in Madrid, Spain with the song “BACK IN BLACK”. Some of my students are working on this currently. It has a riff that is relatively easy and introduces the student to being able to solo over the rhythm section of a song.

“Back in Black” by AC/DC

Back in black, I hit the sack,
I’ve been too long, I’m glad to be back
Yes I’m let loose from the noose,
That’s kept me hangin’ about
I been livin like a star ’cause it’s gettin’ me high,
Forget the hearse, ’cause I never die
I got nine lives, cat’s eyes
Abusing every one of them and running wild

[Chorus]
‘Cause I’m back! Yes, I’m back!
Well, I’m back! Yes, I’m back!
Well, I’m baaack, baaack…
Well, I’m back in black,
Yes, I’m back in black!

Back in a band, I got Cadillac,
Number one with a bullet, I’m a power pack
Yes I’m in a band with a gang,
They gotta catch me if they want me to hang
‘Cause I’m back on the track and I’m beatin’ the flack,
Nobody’s gonna get me on another rap
So look at me now, I’m just a makin’ my pay,
Don’t try to push your luck, just get outta my way

[Chorus]
‘Cause I’m back! Yes, I’m back!
Well, I’m back! Yeah, I’m back!
Well, I’m baaack, baaack…
Well, I’m back in black,
Yes, I’m back in black!
Let’s go!

[Solo]

[Chorus]
Well, I’m back! Yes, I’m back!
Well, I’m back! Yes, I’m back!
Well, I’m baaack, baaack…
Well, I’m back in black,
Yes, I’m back in black-ow!

Aww yeah! Let’s go!
Keep on goin’! Yeah yeah!
Yeah… aww yeah yeah!
Here we go!

[Chorus]
Well, I’m baaack… (I’m back!)
Baaack… (Well, I’m back!)
Baaack… (I’m back!)
Baaack… (I’m back!)
Baaack… (I’m back!)
Baaack…
Yes, back in black,
Yes, I’m back in black…

Outta sight!

[Instrumental Conclusion]

“Mid Day JAM” by Ira Strum

admin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:36:11 +0000

This is the first guitar video I’ve made and posted to YouTube.com. Its a piece that I recorded in my home studio in 2006. I was fooling around one afternoon, noodling on my Martin guitar, and came up with tune that just kinda felt good. I decided that I would record the rhythm and riff part first and then go back and record the solo on top afterwards. I liked the result and I hope that you will too.

I just recently took the original “Mid Day JAM” and coupled it to a few pictures.

“Iron Man” by Black Sabbath (Ozzy)

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 06:17:41 +0000

THE ORIGINAL HEAVY METAL SOUND !!

Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne as the lead singer was one of the very first bands that can be considered HEAVY METAL. They used distortion and effects that added fuzz and screaming guitar licks that are the backbone of Heavy Metal today. The signiture sound of Ozzy singing and the “Iron Man” voice is instantly recognizeable world over. This is another guitar riff that I teach within the first lesson.

“Iron Man” By Ozzy Osbourne

Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all,
Or if he moves will he fall?
Is he alive or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
Well just pass him there
Why should we even care?

He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
Where he traveled time
For the future of mankind

Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfold

Now the time is here
For iron man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved

Nobody wants him
They just turn their heads
Nobody helps him
Now he has his revenge

Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron man lives again!

“Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:53:30 +0000

THIS SONG IS A CLASSIC ROCK ANTHEM !!

This is the first song that most anyone will learn on guitar. It is so classic that it defines what classic is all about - A great memorable riff and a beat that makes you wanna rock. I teach this in the first guitar lesson for my “Day One” beginners. Its not that hard at all and it still rocks hard after all these years.

“Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple

We all came out to montreux
On the lake geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didnt have much time
Frank zappa and the mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky

They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
But swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky

We ended up at the grand hotel
It was empty cold and bare
But with the rolling truck stones thing just outside
Making our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We make a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know well never forget
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky

“Bad To The Bone” by George Thorogood & The Destroyers

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:37:34 +0000

THIS SONG IS A ROCKER !!

I usually teach this song within the first lesson or two with my students that are “Day One” beginners. When the student can get the rhythm down without a hitch, I’ll help them with adding some of the hot licks that George uses.

“Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood

On the day I was born, the nurses all gathered ’round
And they gazed in wide wonder, at the joy they had found
The head nurse spoke up, and she said leave this one alone
She could tell right away, that I was bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
B-B-B-B-Bad to the bone
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone

I broke a thousand hearts, before I met you
I’ll break a thousand more baby, before I am through
I wanna be yours pretty baby, yours and yours alone
I’m here to tell ya honey, that I’m bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone

I make a rich woman beg, I’ll make a good woman steal
I’ll make an old woman blush, and make a young woman squeal
I wanna be yours pretty baby, yours and yours alone
I’m here to tell ya honey, that I’m bad to the bone
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone

Blues 101 - a humorous introduction

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:50:45 +0000

Blues 101

If you’ve ever enjoyed Blues music, you need to understand its fundamental rules. …..

Most Blues begin with: “Woke up this morning…”
“I got a good woman” is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, “I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town.”

The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it.
Then find something that rhymes sort of: “Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and she weigh 500 pound.”

The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch… ain’t no way out.

Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don’t travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain’t even in the running. Walkin’ plays a major part in the Blues lifestyle. So does fixin’ to die. Teenagers can’t sing the Blues. They ain’t fixin’ to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, “adulthood” means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.

Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or anywhere in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the Blues in any place that don’t get rain.

A man with male pattern baldness ain’t the Blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is.
Breaking your leg ’cause you were skiing is not the Blues.
Breaking your leg ’cause a alligator be chomping on it is.
You can’t have no Blues in a office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.

Good places for the Blues:

a. highway
b. jailhouse
c. empty bed
d. bottom of a whiskey glass

Bad places for the Blues:

a. Nordstrom’s
b. gallery openings
c. Ivy League institutions
d. golf courses

No one will believe it’s the Blues if you wear a suit, ‘less you happen to be a old ethnic person, and you slept in it.

Do you have the right to sing the Blues?
Yes, if:
a. you older than dirt
b. you blind
c. you shot a man in Memphis
d. you can’t be satisfied

No, if:
a. you have all your teeth
b. you were once blind but now can see
c. the man in Memphis lived
d. you have a 401K or trust fund

Blues is not a matter of color. It’s a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the Blues. Sonny Liston could have. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the Blues.If you ask for water and your darlin’ give you gasoline, it’s the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are:a. cheap wine
b. whiskey or bourbon
c. muddy water
d. nasty black coffee

The following are NOT Blues beverages:

a. Perrier
b. Chardonnay
c. Snapple
d. Slim Fast

If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it’s a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So are the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken-down cot.
You can’t have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.

Some Blues names for women:

a. Sadie
b. Big Mama
c. Bessie
d. Fat River Dumpling

Some Blues names for men:

a. Joe
b. Willie
c. Little Willie
d. Big Willie

Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Jennifer, Debbie, and Heather can’t sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

Make your own Blues name Starter Kit:
a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.)
b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi, etc.)
c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)

For example:
Blind Lime Jefferson, Jakeleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not “Kiwi.”)

I don’t care how tragic your life: if you own a computer, you cannot sing the blues.

Guitar Mastery - take a lesson …

admin — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:52:49 +0000

Duke Levine is a Guitar Master from Massachusetts. He’s played in many bands as an able sideman and also has had his fair share of his own musical projects. Currently he has put together a powerhouse of an ensemble that tours the East Coast playing dates in a variety of clubs that cater to true music enthusiasts - Blues fans to be specific.

Please enjoy the videos from his latest date at Banjo Jim’s in New York City.

“Beneath The Blue” ….

“Mansquito” ….

“Love & Peace” ….

“Didn’t It Rain” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

admin — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:44:02 +0000

This movie is a great example of how entertaining it can be when you mix two genres such as Gospel and Rock N’ Roll together. The video is of Sister Rosetta Tharpe singing “Didn’t It Rain” in 1964.

Have a listen. Have a look. Have Fun.

Keep practicing.

Happy Chinese New Year !!!

admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:46:10 +0000

Happy Chinese New Year - February 7th, 2008

The Chinese New Year is the second new moon after the winter solstice.

2008 is the Year of The Rat. (Current year is Year 4705 by the Chinese calendar.)

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal’s year would have some of that animal’s personality. Those born in rat years tend to be leaders, pioneers, and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, William Shakespeare, and Mozart were all born in the year of the rat.

Anyone who was born in the Year of the Rat is now either 1 or 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, 73, 85 or 97 years old.

Find out your Chinese Horoscope by the date you were born in the Chinese Calendar !!