Rick Lovallo Music

As I've said before, I make posts that apply to everyone, but hopefully are most helpful to those singer-guitarists just starting out, or who have only been doing this for a little while. In my previous post I talked about how to get a pick out of the body of your acoustic guitar after it's fallen in. Today's blog talks about picks in general.

For years every time I went into a guitar store I would buy a few picks of different thicknesses and materials. They are made that way for a reason: they produce different sounds. I probably have several hundred by now. There are flat picks and thumb picks. This post is limited to discussing flat picks.

Flat picks come in different thicknesses (usually measured in millimeters - MM) from thin, to medium, to heavy. Each produces a different sound because they affect the strings differently. Thin picks produce a sound that to my ears sounds “thin”. Mediums produce more volume, and heavies do too. The material matters. Many are made of some kind of plastic, and there are nylon ones, some made of bone, metal, stone, wood, or other materials. In addition to producing different sounds they “feel” different when you hold them, with some having a rubberized grip to make them easier to hold.

As you explore different picks you will discover some that produce the sound you like. You may like certain ones for your acoustic guitar, and different ones for your electric guitar. For the past several years I have used medium gauge picks on my acoustic guitars and on my electrics.

Try a bunch of different ones to see which sound best for you.

Stay tuned, and thank you!

For the first post of the new year I am passing along a tip I learned years ago, the usefulness of which I had to apply to my guitar pick today.  

Most of us have had our guitar pick slip off our fingers and fall through the sound hole into the body of the guitar. There are probably several ways to retrieve it, but only two come to mind:

1. “Shake and shake method”. I usually sit with the guitar on my lap for this. Hold the guitar by the neck near the headstock, and by the body near the end pin. Flip it upside down and shake like crazy. This method results in success on a very limited basis because the pick is bouncing around like crazy.  I don't use this one any longer.
2. “Pencil with eraser”. This is my chosen, and successful, method. While the guitar is on your lap gently shake it until the pick falls directly below the sound hole. This usually only takes a couple shakes or so. Then get a pencil with an eraser on the end. Press it through the strings until the eraser is pressed against the pick. Now here is the part requiring the most skill. While holding the neck of the guitar closest to the body (near the heel), and applying firm pressure on the pick with the pencil eraser, flip the guitar upside down, and pull the pencil away. If you did it correctly, the pick falls out. If it doesn't fall out, then practice, practice, practice until it does - which is what most of us do anyway to get better at all things guitar!

Happy New Year!

Stay tuned, and thank you!

As 2026 approaches I have been thinking about how my solo musical journey has progressed over the past seven years and what I want to do next year and beyond. 

Rehearsing new cover songs is always a part of my routine for getting ready for gigs, but I also like to periodically challenge myself and try other things.

So, for 2026 I am going to start writing more songs. I have dozens of songs started, but not completed, in my notebooks and folders. Time to get to work and finish them. Once they’re complete I’ll post them here on my website.

I also want to put on some shows with special themes (to be determined).

Expanding into more public venues is high on my list too.

I’m sure I’ll think of more things, but how about you? What are your thoughts about your musical journey for 2026 and beyond?

Stay tuned, and thank you!

In previous posts I’ve mentioned that I posted for the benefit of those just starting out on their musical journeys. The same thought applies to this post, although I’m sure some folks will find something here they can use.

As a solo acoustic performer who sings and plays guitar I have only two instruments – my voice and my guitar. Taking care of my guitar is relatively easy compared to my voice. More about guitar care in a future blog post.

Let’s talk about our voice. I never took voice lessons, but I have sung since I was a kid – at home (in the shower), at church, at family gatherings, in bands, and finally as a solo performer. With that said I would recommend taking voice lessons from a reputable voice coach if you can. It’s just a better and probably safer and more efficient way to learn how to sing.

Since I never took voice lessons I had to figure out things by myself. This involved a lot of trial and error – and some vocal strain - along the way.

Before I explain how I do it let me say that you must be very careful not to strain your vocal cords. If you are straining your voice when you sing any part of any song, then you are probably not singing in the right key for your vocal range. 

I do mostly cover songs and whenever I pick a new one to learn the first thing I do is try it in the key it was written in. If that key is too low or otherwise uncomfortable, I will use a capo to see if I can find a more comfortable key. For a solo acoustic performer who sings and plays guitar a capo is your best friend. My capo usually ends up at the first or second fret unless I want a really higher-pitched guitar tone. Even then I usually don’t capo up past the fourth fret. Do what works for you.

Let’s say you start in the key of “C” in the first position on the guitar, but that’s too low so you capo up one or two frets, but it still doesn’t feel right, then try a different key with or without the capo. Keep on experimenting until you find the key, with or without using your capo, that you feel most comfortable singing in for the entire song. You should experience no strain at this point which means you are in your “sweet spot”. 

There are a lot of articles, books, blogs, and videos out there that can teach you about singing – along with a good voice coach. But ultimately you have to figure it out by singing songs you perform in a manner that is relaxed and unstrained. 

BONUS TIP: Staying hydrated is key when you are a singer. Read up on the best ways to do this.

ANOTHER BONUS TIP: Record your vocals. When you listen to them you’ll be able to tell if you’re straining or singing in a relaxed, comfortable fashion.

As usual your mileage my vary with this approach. Good luck and have fun singing! 

Stay tuned, and thank you!

All of the experienced performers and players know this so I'm passing this along to folks who are just starting out on the musical performance journey, regardless of what instrument or instruments they play: Listen to different styles and kinds of music. Your ears will be enriched!

As I mentioned in Part I I've been listening to music since I was a young kid. I was exposed to Top 40 radio in the 50s and 60s, ethic music at home - primarily music performed by Italian or Italian-American singers like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and many others - and rock and roll.

In college I was exposed to all the great rockers of the time along with some classical music. As I grew older and got back into guitar I started listening to old-time country, instrumentals, modern country, modern rock, rockabilly, jazz, pop, blues, and pretty much anything you can think of including marches.

The different kinds and styles of music helped me to hear the different rhythms, melodies, time signatures, chord progressions and timbre of the songs. After I did this for awhile I started to notice that my phrasing on guitar was different on a given song than it was when I played it months or even years before. Wow! Musical growth - where did that come from? It came from a lot of different places, but it always comes from listening to music.

Put on your favorite songs and listen.

Stay tuned, and thank you!

I’ve listened to music all my life, from records my parents played on our HiFi when I was a kid to records I played on our HiFi until I moved out. I listened to the radio and later on my own stereo systems. I never had an 8 track player, but I collected and played cassette tapes and CDs, and now I stream SiriusXM. 

But with that said my question is how do you listen to music? I remember taking a music appreciation course in college. The professor said to be sure to hear the different instruments and how they fit in the overall mix. Most of what he played for us was classical music. It was a challenge with these pieces to sort out all of the sounds because there were so many different ones. He would say listen to the lowest sounds being made. What instruments do you think are making those sounds? Same comment for the highest sounds and all in between. Close your eyes and just listen he would say.

Fast forward to my mid-thirties when I seriously got back into playing guitar. Now it was blues, country, and rock and roll baby! My good friend and music mentor, Mark, had played trombone, then played guitar and sang full-time in a rock and blues band for close to ten years. He ramped up my music listening skill significantly. During our lunch breaks at the company we worked for we would grab a grinder – that’s New England code for what is known as a hoagie, hero, sub, or torpedo in other parts of the country – walk to his apartment nearby, and put some vinyl on the turntable.

He got me into blues and would put on whomever, crank it up, and say listen to the bass line. Listen to the rhythm guitar, listen to how the drummer and bass player are driving the grove. Listen to the lead guitar and how it’s treating the melody. Listen to the keyboard. Listen to the horn section. Same approach to classic rock and roll songs we listened to. I learned how to train my ears to hear the different instruments and how they added to the song.

Since those days whenever I listen to music I automatically hear the different parts. This helped me when I performed in my old-time country music trio, and later as the lead singer and rhythm guitar player in my classic rock and blues band.

Now as a solo acoustic musician, whenever I perform a song I hear the other instruments in my head. The bass and drums are always there, and depending on the songs, the keyboards and horns too.

When you listen, you learn, and when you learn, you usually enhance your performance capabilities and listening enjoyment! Of course, we all hear things differently, so your mileage my vary as the saying goes, but listen and enjoy!

Stay tuned, and thank you!

This post is mainly directed to solo performers, just starting out, who sing and play guitar. 

Since everything in your signal chain affects the quality of your sound the ideal scenario is to buy high quality microphones, instruments, processors, PAs, cables, stands, etc. But when you are just starting out you may not be able to afford these because you are on a limited budget. 

For performing you’ll need a decent acoustic-electric guitar. In the past ten years or so the quality of entry level acoustic-electric guitars ($500 or less) has significantly improved, as has the quality of non-electric acoustic guitars onto which you can place a sound-hole pickup. Once you’ve priced out these options you may conclude that it makes more sense to go the acoustic-electric route rather than buying a sound-hole pickup for your guitar. Some guitars have a built-in tuner. If not, get a clip-on. Get the best quality hard-shell case or gig bag you can afford to protect and transport your guitar. Don’t forget a strap, picks, and extra strings.

BONUS TIP: Look for a guitar that has a pop-out battery box rather than one where the battery is in a bag or clip located inside the body of the guitar which requires that you loosen the strings to fit your hand in there to change the battery.

There are good vocal microphones out there in the $100 range-many are now on sale for less than that. Check out the Shure SM58 the old industry standby, and the Sennheiser e835 for starters. Review these and others online, and if you can audition a couple at a music store do it. Hearing what your amplified voice sounds like is the best way to judge. You’ll also need a mic stand. I prefer ones with a boom for the mic and a tripod base. 

BONUS TIP:  Check prices online (as well as the reviews), and at your local music stores.

There are tons of vocal and guitar processors out there at many different price points to choose from. Just know that some of the greatest solo performers of all time performed with only a mic for their voice and a guitar that was either mic’d up through the PA, or plugged into an amp. The stripped down approach may or may not appeal to you.

To amplify your voice and guitar there are a lot of choices at various price points. There are many variables to consider including wattage, speaker size and number of speakers, overall size and weight, plug in or battery operated. Do your research.

BONUS TIP: Try before you buy whenever possible. 

There is a lot more to be said on this subject, but in this post I wanted to hit some key points in an effort to help those folks just starting out. This is my opinion based on years of performance experience. 

I hope you found this post to be helpful, and your comments and questions are welcome.

Stay tuned, and thank you!

Welcome to my blog! I’d like to start by sharing a bit of my story — how I got here, why I do what I do, and what you can expect from this space moving forward.

One thing that has become very obvious to me over the years is that every musician’s journey is different. My musical journey began over 60 years ago, when I taught myself a few Beatles chords on the guitar at age 11. Like a lot of people, life took me in other directions for a while – a career in the business world and helping my wife raise our family. I didn’t seriously return to music until my late 30s. But when I came back, I came back for good.

Over the decades, I’ve played everything from old-time country and folk to classic rock and blues — first in bands, then, starting almost seven years ago, as a solo acoustic performer. With my bands and solo act, I have performed over 1,000 shows. These days, I play close to 100 shows a year across a mix of venues: assisted living communities, restaurants, cafés, vineyards, private parties, and more. I love connecting with people through music — whether they’re singing along to a Johnny Cash tune or just tapping their foot to a Jimmy Buffet, Tom Petty, or Beatles song on a sunny patio. I truly love bringing joy to people by performing their favorite songs!

In this blog, I’ll be sharing stories from shows, reflections on favorite songs, maybe some behind-the-scenes insights — and hopefully a few laughs along the way.

Follow me on Facebook for updates on what's going on in my musical world!

Stay tuned, and thank you!