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Stage Fright - July 18th, 2008 (13 minutes, 12 seconds)Abadcoverband asks, "Hey there, I'm new around here and loving the site. All the instructors are so talented and it really blows my mind that I was missing out on so much - I've had to pay high prices for tutors once a week and I've learned more in a few days here than in a month elsewhere. So thanks! :) So, on to the questions. The first one concerns scalloped frets - I'm considering purchasing the Steve Vai JEM 77VBK guitar, and I've noticed that the frets closest to the bridge are scalloped. Could you tell me a little bit about the pros and cons of scalloping, and the differences I would expect between a scalloped and unscalloped guitar? Second, I was wondering if you had any suggestions or tips to deal with improvising on the neck, and dealing with stage fright. I recently turned down an offer to join a friend's band as a lead guitarist because I'm really unsure if I could handle the spotlight and not just end up embarassing myself. Do you know of any ways to deal with performing in front of people or tips to work up to it? When I perform in front of friends I really feel the pressure and often times my mind goes blank and I mess up the verse. I've considered busking for some money downtown but again...I'm kind of a shy guy. If you had any tips for improvising a solo, say...a back-up measure to get me out of a bad situation - let's say I forget a verse, but I know in a roundabout way how it should sound - that would be great. Thanks for your time and have a great day! -Matt" View ResponseAmplifier Setup - October 10th, 2007 (2 minutes, 70 seconds)Merlin says, "Hi David, I am just new to the site and I can tell you I am already reaping the benefits. Your lesson technique is invaluable to the likes of me. One area that I have been very frustrated with over the years is the setup of amplifiers the dos the don'ts. quite simply the how to... Is there any chance that a lesson could be developed purely on this topic? I have a peavey studio pro which I can create sound from but feel that I have far from mastered its capabilities. In anticipation Wayne Pearce" View ResponseChords Structure - March 21st, 2008 (2 minutes, 14 seconds)Scopexs asks, "I have found chords in my chord book that can be identically fingered...C6 and the Am7. Both chords give the option of playing it with the D string fingered at the 2nd fret and the B string fingered at the 1st fret while the other strings are played open. What is confusing is why are the two chord structures the same and can be fingered the same yet are called by two different names. This is confusing when learning chords. Is there an easy explanation as to why two chord structures would be called by two different names. Thanks" View ResponseBridge - August 5th, 2008 (3 minutes, 23 seconds)Mclend1 asks, "My question is about the bridge, which on my guitar has the tune-o-matic part for adjusting the intonation and then there's further back, the metal bar piece that the ball ends secure into. What I'm curious about is the metal bar where the strings ends lie. It has two large screws for adjusting its height, and I wondered why or when would you ever adjust that or if you even need to? Does raising or lowering that bridge part effect the tone characteristics in any way? Is it generally tightened down to the body of the guitar or not, does it even matter that much? On classical/ acoustic type guitars the bridge is glued flat to the body for better resonance, so I wondered why electric guitars have a slightly different set up. As that's where the sound connects to the guitar, I guess it must do the same thing. I'm interested to know what the adjustments might do. Hope that makes sense. Thanks in advance, Matt." View ResponseChord Help Strumming Problems - August 2nd, 2007 (2 minutes, 50 seconds)Berwin, "I am having a difficult time with the C chord. My fingers are positioned correctly and no dead sound is apparent, it just seems to out of tune and just doesnt sound correct while I am strumming it. I have used been using a tuner and everything seems to be in tune. What am I possibly doing wrong?" View Response