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Last month, I talked about how to think like a piano player. That was all about harmony. Horns, too, are all about melody. What is melody? That is the part you can sing. BB King, even when he played guitar, was also singing. What a concept, right? Play things that…
Chicago great legend Marshall Brodien has passed away at 84 after battling Alzheimer’s since he was diagnosed in 2007. Brodien, who started out as a carnival barker for traveling freak shows then later established himself as a hypnotist, was probably best known for his 27-year run with The Bozo Show…
Wednesday, 06 February 2019 17:25

For the Guitarist Volume 8: Think Like a Piano Player

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“Hey man, I’m a guitar player…why would I want to think like a piano player?” Good question. It’s all about being more MUSICAL. What I am talking about is harmony. You can do a lot with different voicings. When someone tells your average guitar player “play a G Chord”, you…
Friday, 28 December 2018 21:37

For the Guitarist Volume 7: Less is More

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The more I play, the less I play. I think when you are a young player, it is natural to want to make a statement. The way many players do this is by playing a bunch of notes. “Look what I can do”, right? You run all over the neck…
Wednesday, 14 November 2018 19:09

For the Guitarist Volume 7: Songwriting

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I started playing guitar at age eleven, but I started my first band at fifteen playing drums. The reason why I stuck with guitar is songwriting. I wanted to write songs. The guitar is a good, self-contained unit, a perfect vehicle for writing. Singer/songwriters tend to either be piano players…
Everybody has a favorite guitar player…well, almost everyone. We have those licks we learned from our favorites. That’s how we get a vocabulary of ideas. For me, I have gone through phases. I played along with recordings of people like Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Allman Brothers Band. That gave…
Saturday, 15 September 2018 21:39

For the Guitarist Volume 5: Chords

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One of the first things we learn as guitar players are chords. You know…..here is a G…..here is a C and so on. But what are chords? Chords are harmonies. The notes in the chord come from the scale they are derived from. If we take the C chord, it…
Music Theory is often a touchy subject in the guitar world. A high percentage of players will tell you it isn’t necessary. I am one of those who clearly disagree with this philosophy. The more you know about music, the better. If all you do is learn a song, you…
Monday, 02 July 2018 17:02

For the Guitarist Volume 3: Solid State vs. Tube

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For the electric guitarist, there is a dilemma…tube amp or solid state. Both have advantages. Both have disadvantages. Opinions vary as much as people do. I have traditionally been a tube guy, but I will not bias this article one way or another. The first amplifiers were tube amps. The…
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Midsommer Flight to present free production of Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET, June 28 – August 4 in six Chicago parks

17 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Midsommer Flight, a company that has brought free performances of Shakespeare's plays to Chicago Park District parks since 2012, will…

LEAGUE OF CHICAGO THEATRES HIGHLIGHTS SUMMER 2024 PRODUCTIONS

14 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Chicago continues to produce some of the most exciting work in the country this Summer, offering a wide variety of plays…

Token Theatre to produce new play directed by Emmy winner Alan Muroaka

14 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Token Theatre, Chicago's Asian American theatre company, announces the company's first full production, ZAC EFRON, written by Artistic Director David Rhee, co-written by Managing…

Review: Murder in the Cathedral at City Lit Theater

14 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

I arrived at City Lit Theater’s MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL expecting a heavy, serious, doubtless thought-provoking but rather intimidating major…

Porchlight Shares Dates and Parks for its Free, Summer Concert Series: BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD, June 6 - August 6

13 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the return of its free summer concert series Broadway in your Backyard, now in its…

Dance and Sing to the Beat of Life with ‘Last Stop on Market Street’

13 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

Despite the fact that I have never read the Newberry Award-Winning children’s book called Last Stop on Market Street, I…

'Poor People! The Parody Musical' is rich in laughs

12 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

I’m amazed that it’s been 18 years or so since I first saw a Hell in a Handbag production. Though…

Review: The Thanksgiving Play at Steppenwolf Theatre

10 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

“Together we created this nothingness,” says Audrey Francis in Steppenwolf’s production of Larissa Fasthorse’s ‘The Thanksgiving Play’. Hot off its…

Bramble Theatre Company presents Festival of Unfinished Work June 26 - June 30

10 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Bramble Theatre Company, is proud to announce the third annual Festival of Unfinished Work at the new Bramble Arts Loft located on the second…

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD coming to James M. Nederlander this Fall

10 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce that individual tickets for the world premiere of the first ever touring production…

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents The Enigmatist

09 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents The Enigmatist, an immersive and captivating experience of illusions, puzzles, and cryptology, written and performed by renowned magician…

Steep Theatre Announces Two New Shows for '24

09 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Steep Theatre will be back on stage in 2024 with two new productions that continue the company's tradition of bringing…

"Boy Genius" Orson Welles meets "War of the Worlds" author H.G. Wells in world premiere WELLS AND WELLES, based on true events

09 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

In 1940, the 25-year-old Orson Welles, previously known as a stage and radio actor, had achieved widespread fame for his…

1619: THE JOURNEY OF A PEOPLE to commemorate the arrival in America of the first African slaves and examine the peoples' progress since then

07 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre's 2024 season of four productions will open with the original musical 1619: THE JOURNEY OF A PEOPLE by Chicago writer…

One Fine Show: Beautiful The Carole King Musical dazzles Paramount Theatre

04 May 2024 in Theatre Reviews

Growing up our radio dial was tuned to one channel, K-Earth 101. In Southern California that station was the oldies,…

'Judgment Day' a Top-drawer Production That Will Leave You Laughing, and Maybe Changed for the Better

03 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

Crowds will flock to see “Judgment Day,” having its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. While many…

Panther In the Sky – “A Moving Tapestry of Grief and Hope"

02 May 2024 in Dance in Review

In "Panther in the Sky," playwright Lani T. Montreal masterfully weaves a tapestry of grief, resilience, and redemption through the…

IDENTITY PERFORMING ARTS PRESENTS FIRST INTL COLLAB May 17 &18 “Lights/9”

02 May 2024 in Upcoming Dance

A collaboration of Chicago dance and Germany lighting sculpture live on stage About the Program: This program, set within an…

PRE-BROADWAY WORLD PREMIERE OF DEATH BECOMES HER, 25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR OF MAMMA MIA!, AND THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY START TODAY!

01 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce the pre-Broadway World Premiere of DEATH BECOMES HER is now playing at the Cadillac Palace Theatre…

Blue in the Right Way's 'Women Beware Women' at The Edge Innovative… radical… courageous… confusing

01 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

Blue in the Right Way audaciously chose for their inaugural production a 400-year-old play, WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN, written in 1621…

Red Theater's 'Hamlet' at The Edge Off Broadway - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are… hilarious!

28 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

I think my favorite thing – well, one of my favorite things – about Wyatt Kent’s take on HAMLET is…

Review: Joffrey Ballet's 'Midsummer Night’s Dream' at Lyric Opera House

26 April 2024 in Dance in Review

Frolicking season is upon us once again and Joffrey Ballet welcomes summer with the return of Alexander Ekman’s “Midsummer Night’s…

Eerie, Human Mystery In Captivating ‘Jump’ by Shattered Globe Theatre

26 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

As the audience takes its seats we are greeted by an atmosphere of foreboding, a trestle bridge girder to the…

Review: Joe Turner's Come and Gone at Goodman Theatre

25 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

Director Chuck Smith returns to Goodman with another major August Wilson revival–“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”. This is the second…

THE GIFT THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2024-25 SEASON

25 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

The Gift Theatre is pleased to announce its 2024-25 season featuring Suzan-Lori Parks' masterpiece Topdog/Underdog directed by Shanésia Davis and the world premiere of Cygnus by Susan Soon He…

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD TO PLAY BROADWAY IN CHICAGO'S JAMES M. NEDERLANDER THEATRE SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 – FEBRUARY 1, 2025

25 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce that individual tickets for the world premiere of the first ever touring production…

Cast and production team announced for BrightSide Theatre production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, June 7-23

25 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Full cast and crew have been announced for BrightSide Theatre's upcoming production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, the rock opera that…

Chicago Opera Theater presents Chicago leg of the world premiere tour of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s newest opera Before It All Goes Dark May 25 & 26 at the Studebaker Theater

23 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Chicago Opera Theater (COT), Chicago’s foremost producer of new and reimagined opera, closes its 50th Anniversary season presenting the final performances of…

Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre announces 2024 season - celebrates local artists and two of the most significant Black female writers of the past 50 years

23 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Tim Rhoze, Artistic Director of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, has announced the company's 2024 season of four productions. The season will open with…

Comedy & magic collide in RIDICULOUS! with David Williamson, May 16-June 30 at Rhapsody Theater

23 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

David Williamson, regarded as one of the top magicians in the world today, makes his Rhapsody Theater debut with Ridiculous! Known for his tours…

 

 

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