jblaze- i can understand that being somewhat hard to decipher.....

on the guitar, you'll play an Ab note exactly the same as a G# note. If you have a very sensitive ear, you might feel that the Ab is a touch too sharp, or that the G# is not quite sharp enough. That's how it is, sadly. But due to theory, and getting things consistent and correct, you have to choose the correct one (usually Ab in a flat key, and G# in a sharp key- Although G# is also found in A minor, which has no sharps or flats in the key signature)

Notes, in music are very much context dependant. If you have a keyboard instrument of some kind try this...

Play a C major chord (C, E and G). Now just play the e and g you played.

Now play an Dm chord (D, F and A). Now just play the d and f you just played.

You'll the interval between d and f is the same as between e and g. yet you'll probably feel as though the e and g sounded "happier" than the d and f.

If you want, you can use the same chords, only hold onto the c and e, then the f and a. Same interval again, but they sound so different, put in different contexts.

In the same way, an Ab will sound different to a G#, due to the context you will find it being used in.

sparrow - You're welcome. :-)

Is this my shortest post ever? LOL...

The Local Person,

First off, I'm a huge theory buff, and I love to hear stuff like that...

Second, the part about how a violinist will lean a B towards a C, that's one of the best explanations I've ever heard! I never even thought about it that way! Also an interesting connection here is that a true violinist will never use symetrical vibrato... I'm thinking there might be a connection (though one of lesser value) here...

Whojackafibby - you are correct!

Austin - I got the info. from "Saucerful of Secrets", a great book about Pink Floyd. I'll post some more tidbits as I'm reading it, if you are interested.

Howdy all you Satch Fans!!!!!!!!!! I am inviting any and all of you to join our mailing list for the Premier Satriani Tribute band, Satch Fans Only (SFO). Just drop an email saying sign me up in the subject. You'll get news on upcoming show, and a link to the website SFO_ROCKS.COM (still under construction) for photos, videos, and mp3's of the shows. You can check out the band at: http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Satch_Fans_OnlySFO/

RIGHT! THAT'S IT! YOU GUYS GO TOO FAR...

I do not need to know about A# and Bb being different...dammit could things get any less user-friendly? I understand what you're saying, (I studied frequencies and all that in physics) but when you think about it, who is going to tune their guitar so that they have both an A# and a Bb (not to mention all the rest!)??? NOT ME.

Does that mean that Fb is different to E? And that there are not 12 notes but 21?!? Stuff that. Give me the ignorance I had previously. After all, IGNORANCE IS BLISS!!!

I found Steve Vai's "Flex-Able" today, got it for A$6. (@$3US) It has a different cover than the ones I've seen on the 'net, sort of a reddish tone with a stretched heart, unlike the picture of Steve with green thingies...looks legit...

Later, BEN

Clarky: I know what you're saying but I don't know why...oh I think you translated my "don't know where they go" as something else...I meant which notes the #s go on. I can figure them out, of course, but I don't know by heart which ones. I know what key/time signatures are and all that! I'm not just a mere rock drummer...

Cheers for being willing to help people however!

gruskada - It'd be cool if you could post other interesting stuff as you come across it.

Speaking of rock biographies, has anyone read Aerosmith's Walk This Way? It's a great book...it's written in interview format (kinda like a play), which is really cool because you can read how things happened from several different points of view. There are a lot of very sad (or funny, depending on your sense of humor) drug stories in the book. I'll stop rambling, though...I don't think there are many Aerosmith fans on T2J.

Matt or clone1.