It seems like there is something new every day to be challenged (if not flustered) by. Unless you are a 24/7 web geek, it might feel like you are permanently behind the development curve, always missing out on the latest technology that could miraculously catapult your band into super-stardom.

Probably everyone knows the movie This Is Spinal Tap. However, what appears to be funny coincidences on the screen are actually pretty accurate descriptions of touring musicians’ lives. Even though it's difficult to be amused by these accidents when you are playing the main role, there is no way to avoid them. Spinal Tap moments are an unavoidable part of the game, so better learn to cherish them.

One of the first things I mentioned was that I feel “tone begins in the hands,” that old adage a lot of players and tone connoisseurs refer to when trying to describe what it takes to make their tone. Today I’d like to expand on that time-honored statement a little further with the following proposition: If tone begins in the hands, where do phrases begin, and end?