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Bike Trip to the Heavenly Roof of the World – Leh, Laddakh

Abhinav — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:52:32 +0000

Hello everybody,

Regular readers would have noticed that the blog hasn’t been updated for quite some time now. And there is a reason for that which I would like to share with everybody.

Since past few weeks, I have been planning a bike trip to one of the most beautiful and dangerous locations on Earth – Leh / Laddakh – Heaven for bikers. After lots of researching and planning, I am glad to tell you all that everything is in place and I, with one of my office mates, will be embarking on this grand trip from tomorrow, i.e., 24th June, 2010.

The itinerary for the trip is as follows:

24th June, Day 00 - Reaching Delhi by flight from Pune 25th June, Day 01 - New Delhi - Manali 26th June, Day 02 - Manali - Keylong 27th June, Day 03 - Keylong - Sarchu 28th June, Day 04 - Sarchu - Leh 29th June, Day 05 - Leh (Sightseeing and Permits) 30th June, Day 06 - Leh - Diskit 01st July, Day 07 - Diksit - Leh 02nd July, Day 08 - Leh - Pangong Tso (Lukung) 03rd July, Day 09 - Pangong Tso - Tso Moriri 04th July, Day 10 - Tso Moriri - Pang 05th July, Day 11 - Pang - Keylong 06th July, Day 12 - Keylong - Kaza 07th July, Day 13 - Kaza - Recong Peo / Kalpa 08th July, Day 14 - Kalpa - Karcham - Sangla - Chitkul - back to Karcham - Sarahan 09th July, Day 15 - Sarahan to Narkanda/Shimla 10th July, Day 16 - Narkanda/Shimla - New Delhi 11th July, Day 17 - Flight back home.

I have already sent my bike to Delhi by train. As obvious, I won’t be able to update my blog during this period. But I promise, as soon as I am back, I will post the travelogue with photos as well !

For now, adieu!

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

Bike Trip to the Heavenly Roof of the World – Leh, Laddakh

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Bike Tour Of Central India

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Teaser Video Released

Abhinav — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:23:24 +0000

Warner Brothers have released a teaser video of the the final installment of the movie in the Harry Potter Series.

Take a look! It’s small but mindblowing ! Hope November 2010 arrives soon !

P.S. I am a big fan of Harry Potter and can’t resist following it even when there are no movies or books to follow !

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Teaser Video Released

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The Immortal World of Harry Potter (Download Deathly Hallows Ebook)

Wishing You A Colorful and Enlightening Diwali 2009!

Abhinav — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:47:26 +0000

I would like to wish all my readers a very Happy and Delightful Diwali!

Photo by celinamahek

This Diwali, enlighten yourself and everyone around you, eat more (and more) sweets, don’t sleep in the afternoon, fire a few crackers, send Diwali messages to near & dear ones (including your boss!), go to your terrace at night and discover the scenic beauty of lights around you and finally, impress the next-door girl with your new dress!

HAPPY DIWALI !

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

Wishing You A Colorful and Enlightening Diwali 2009!

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Many Many Happy Returns of Diwali!

Understanding Root Note – Your Ticket to Intermediate Guitar Techniques

Abhinav — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:52:37 +0000

This short lesson is completely dedicated to the concept of Root Note. It is very important to understand this concept as it will help you in learning the intermediate guitar techniques including power chords and barre chords.

What is Root Note?

Root Note is nothing but a bass sound which forms the chord. Since it is a bass sound, naturally it will be either on the sixth string or the fifth string.

The image on the left shows some of the root notes. The leftmost line represents the thickest (lowest pitch) string while the rightmost line represents the thinnest (highest pitch) string.

Each chord has a root note. It is the root chord which gives the chord its name.

For e.g. to play the G chord, the note on the third fret in the sixth string will be included. It is this note that gives the chord a distinct sound which is uniquely recognizable. How the power and barre chord are formed from the root note will be covered in the next lesson.

For now, just remember the various root notes and its locations on the neck.

Another thing to notice is that all the notes can be reached by just sliding the left hand up and down the neck of the guitar. Thus if you know the root notes, you can go from one chord to another just by moving along the guitar neck without changing the shape. So, you no longer have to remember lots of shapes for different chords.

Root Notes don’t apply to Basic Open Chords, or in other words, chords with open strings.

This is just a concept which you need to remember for now. It will be useful when we will try to understand power chords and later on, the swiss-army knife of guitar, the barre chords.

Things to remember:

Each chord has a root note which gives the chord its name.
Root notes are found on the fifth and sixth string of the guitar.
Chords having open strings are not built upon root notes.
Root notes are the basic concept upon which power chords and barre chords are built.

If you don’t understand everything in this post, don’t worry, the picture will get clearer once you understand power/barre chords.

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

Understanding Root Note – Your Ticket to Intermediate Guitar Techniques

More Guitar Songs

Which Guitar Technique did you Find Most Difficult to Learn? [POLL]

Abhinav — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:54:03 +0000

With the results of last poll out, it is time for the next poll!

Through this poll we are trying to find out what technique do students find more difficult while starting out with a guitar?

Is it chords, which require memorizing certain finger patterns and being able to change from one pattern to the another subconsciously.

Or is it tabs / leads which require dexterity of fingers so that it moves smoothly among the frets?

Choose your answer!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Let’s see what comes out!

If you are reading this in a feed reader or in your inbox, please visit the blog to cast your vote.

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

Which Guitar Technique did you Find Most Difficult to Learn? [POLL]

More Guitar Songs

Acoustic Guitar Rules Over Electric [Poll Results]

Abhinav — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:04:52 +0000

Last Month, I ran a poll asking my readers about their favorite guitar type.

The results are quite interesting and it really heartened me to see that people still prefer to start learning guitar with an acoustic version rather than an electric one.

Acoustic Guitar clearly dominated with 254 of the 411 people opting for acoustic while 63 people chose electric guitar. 82 people are good with both acoustic as well as electric which is a positive sign.

I have always told my readers to start learning with an acoustic guitar. This helps them to get a good idea about playing guitar and helps avoid getting wrong habits which is quite to easy to obtain from an electric guitar. Moreover, transition from acoustic to electric guitar is much simpler than the reverse way.

Another reason why acoustic is preferred is because it doesn’t require any setup. Just pick it up and start playing. The results also indicate that people tend to learn guitar usually to accompany their solitude rather than joining a rock band, at least among my readers. Either way, it is good.

I would like to have your views on this. Why do you think Acoustic has won over Electric? Is there any need of change for it? Post away in the comments section.

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

Acoustic Guitar Rules Over Electric [Poll Results]

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Back to Regular Posting after Small Break

Abhinav — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:10:21 +0000

Well, not that small really. Four months of inactivity is quite significant for a blog, ain’t it?

I have been very busy with my first day job at Tech Mahindra. Being a fresher, I had to undergo training for 3 months which meant putting invisible chains and locks on this blog! What with classes during the day and practice through the night, it was impossible to update the blog on a regular basis. I came to know the meaning of hectic life during that time. But my training days have been amazing and it warrants a post of its own. Maybe I might think of writing on that sometime later…

Moreover, my personal PC, the development server for this blog, also missed me all this time. Working from someone else’s PC for my blog felt like I was treating my daughter unfairly (yes you thought right: I consider my blog a female… somehow it helps me keep going… if you know what I mean!). Hence, I decided to pause for the time being and resume as soon as possible.

Now, I am into regular project work so life is not as hectic as before. I got myself a Dell Studio 15 laptop and I am loving it. Will write a post about my laptop too! With an unlimited Internet connection at my disposal, I am all set to give you all more songs to learn and practice!

Hope you all have been practicing your guitar with the same fervor as before. Let’s get started!

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

Back to Regular Posting after Small Break

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New Bandbaaja Section at Abhinav Sonkar dot Com

Abhinav — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:05:44 +0000

I am pleased to inform my readers that my friend and professional musician Mr. Padmanabhan N. S., popularly known as bandbaaja, has joined this blog as a Regular Contributor. As he is a very busy person, he has very kindly agreed to share all his guitar stuffs with the readers of this blog. I will be posting his works on a regular basis. Meanwhile, he will himself be posting occasionally in free time.

All his works will carry the logo shown here. I am sure my readers will be pleased to read all he has got to share!

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

New Bandbaaja Section at Abhinav Sonkar dot Com

More Guitar Songs

Become a Regular Contributor at Abhinav Sonkar dot Com

Abhinav — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:15:26 +0000

Photo by Snapr

AbhinavSonkar.com would be completing its first year come January 2009. She was born as a personal blog to showcase my talents and writing skills to the blogosphere. But the turning point came when I decided to publish chords of a song I had mastered on my guitar during my early years. I am glad I did. I could never have imagined the kind of response I received leading me to post more and more songs. After nine months readers have appreciated my efforts and love the blog.

You Can Also Contribute to the Community

My endeavor is to build a community where people can come to see and understand chords and tabs of their favorite songs and also share their own expertise.

Let me be clear on this. I do not intend to build a forum where anybody can come and post their information. At least not yet. There is the comments feature for all your doubts and queries which the experts here are more than happy to reply to. If you think you have something to share with the community in the form of chords, tabs, leads, lessons, tutorials and other general information, then I invite you to join in as a Regular Contributor. Let’s make it a better place for everybody.

What Does Being a Regular Contributor Mean?

It’s simple. If you are selected as a Regular Contributor, you would be required to post information related to guitar depending upon your interests and what you like most. Your posts will be in your name so you will get full credit for your work along with complete responsibility! Your name will be listed on the blog under Regular Contributors section along with a link to your website (if any).

In short you will be working for the community instead of just being part of it.

Ok, I am in! How Do I Apply?

If you have decided to join and start sharing your skills with the community, fill out the application form. Your application will be reviewed and correspondence will be done as soon as possible. For any queries and questions, contact me.

Thanks,
Abhinav Sonkar

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

Become a Regular Contributor at Abhinav Sonkar dot Com

More Guitar Songs

Welcome to Abhinav Sonkar dot Com Version 2 – Refurnished and Redesigned!

Abhinav — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:22:53 +0000

Regular readers would have already noticed the renovation of this blog which had kept me busy for quite some time in the past week. There were other things that had arrested my attention but I would allude to it in a different post.

The previous design had been in use since the start of this blog nine months ago. It was one of my favorites but the design and the space it provided were constricting the growth of the blog and hence I decided to look for a new design.

Now I am not yet financially sound enough to look for a unique premium design or hire a designer, so I started my search for a good free design that would meet the purpose of advertising as well.

Daniel Scocco from Daily Blog Tips has a nice collection of simple and SEO ready themes that seemed to be the perfect choice for my needs. I went ahead with Daily32 WordPress Theme and modified it to my heart’s content. I would like to thank my co-blogger and friend Shanker Bakshi for a wonderful header image which was earlier, the only low-point of the theme. He was kind enough to honour every whims and fancies of mine until I was satisfied!

To coincide with the release of the new design, I launched the mobile version of the site as well. Just visit m.abhinavsonkar.com on your mobile browser to get all the stuff. It is specially formatted for mobile devices.

Do pitch in with your comments and suggestions.

This is how the design should look to you. If you find any problems in your browser, please inform me below in the comments section.

AbhinavSonkar.com Version 2 - Refurnished and Redesigned

You can read the chords in correct formatting on the website. Click the link below to view the post on the blog.

Welcome to Abhinav Sonkar dot Com Version 2 – Refurnished and Redesigned!