michael rays – Michael Rays

New Ebook! Guitar Odyssey 2: Talkin’ Dirty

Posted March 24, 2015 · Add Comment

I am happy to announce the release of my second ebook, “Guitar Odyssey 2: Talkin’ Dirty.” In this rocksolography (a practice-journal-but-so-much-more), I record my progress as I learn C.C. DeVille’s guitar solo on Poison’s “Talk Dirty To Me.” I also take several side-roads into music theory, rock trivia and, of course, poetry. GO2 sells for $2.99 […]

michael rays

New Invention! Guitar Player’s Caddy

Posted March 5, 2015 · Add Comment

Improve the feng shui of your practice area. BEHOLD the DIY Guitar Player’s Caddy! Here’s the how-to video:

michael rays

Zodiac Symbols for Guitar Players

Posted February 6, 2015 · Add Comment

The Chinese New Year begins February 19th, 2015. The Year of the Horse will end, and the Year of the Goat will begin. The twelve Chinese zodiac symbols are all animals (pig, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog). Since everything in the universe is related to the guitar, I got […]

michael rays

Pop! Goes the Theory – 11 Songs Using Only G, C and D Chords

Posted December 29, 2014 · Add Comment

If you know the G, C and D chords, here are 11 songs you can play in their entirety! NOTE: The last song, “Queen of Hearts,” actually has a key change at the end which requires additional chords… but you can still do a nice version with only 3 chords. Enjoy!

michael rays

BEHOLD: THE ESGATH26G SCALE!

Posted December 26, 2014 · Add Comment

Hi, I’m an 89A3444aerl-jazz. What are you? In the style of personal classified ads (remember those?), I have created the ESGATH26G scale. The ESGATH26G is not a musical scale; rather, it’s a shorthand method for guitar players to describe themselves using a string of letters and numbers. Here is how the ESGATH26G scale works, element […]

michael rays

The Best Guitar-Driven #1 Hit Is…

Posted December 13, 2014 · Add Comment

Guitar is a cornerstone of rock, but what about pop? Specifically, what about the pinnacle of pop: a Billboard Number One Hit? Using one my favorite reference books–Joel Whitburn’s “The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits”–as well as some Wikipedia lists, I looked at the many #1 hits over the years, from 1955 (when the […]