John Denner

Welcome to The Official John Denner Website
John Denner

Brief Bio

My Name is John D Denner and I was born in the State of Connecticut where I received my degree in Marketing at the University of Hartford, CT.   Today I live on the Redwood Coast on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California.  Rather than bore everyone with a detailed Biography about my personal life I though I would just share a list of things that inspire me.   John Denner 

John Denner Hand Painting

Guido Daniele Hand Paintings

I love the these Hand Paintings by Guido Daniele who was born in Soverato, and graduated from Brera School of Arts in 1972, majoring in sculpture and then attended the Tankas school in Dharamsala, India until 1974.  In addition to painting hands, he developed a body painting technique, and his work has been used in advertising images and commercials, as well as fashion events and exhibitions around the world

Hand Painted Elephant

Hand Painted Elephant 

Hand Painted Dog

Hand Painted Dog

Hand Painted Cheetah

Hand Painted Cheetah

John Denner Genealogy

Genealogy

When it comes to your genealogy, your last name can reveal a lot about you and your family history.   Follow your surname and it can lead you to great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, and beyond.  

Ancestry makes exploring your genealogy easy. With billions of records at your fingertips and millions of fellow family history seekers to help, discovering your ancestors and their stories isn’t just easy, it’s a whole lot of fun. Every name you add is a branch that can lead to new discoveries about your family—start with names you know and watch your tree grow.

John Denner Hiking In CT

Hiking

I still have fond memories of hiking at the Sleeping Giant in Connecticut when I was a kid.  There’s something about being on the trail, feeling the wind brush against your skin and the sun beat against your back, that’s the feeling I find myself constantly going back for.  There are no rules to hiking, really. If you want to find inner peace in your life, hiking is a good way to find it.

John Denner Guitar Player

Playing Guitar

I’m not the best guitar player in the world but that never stops me from playing it everyday!

Here’s something many guitarists are unaware of: We are a special breed these days.

And I’m going to tell you why. Guitar is one of the only instruments that keyboard companies and sample library companies have a hard time duplicating in a way that can be played in a believable manner on keyboard.

If you want a guitar on your recording, you need to hire a guitarist to make it sound believable.

Why is this so? Because of the infinite amount of variations in which the sound of a guitar is capable! Guitarists have the ability to slur, slide, hammer, pick up and down, finger, tap, bend, whammy, vibrate, play with your palm, play with your teeth, use a slide and play with so many types of dynamics and articulations that they can’t be replicated successfully. These are the things that make guitarists so special.

We have all heard robotic music played by a computer. Many times, this is done on purpose. But have you ever heard a guitar sample? And tried to use it to replicate a real guitar? It is one-dimensional. Piano or basic string sections or wind instruments are simple. A drum is even easier. Saxes are a bitch. They also have job security—just like us guitarists.

Let’s talk about what you should be working on in your practice sessions to make them smile when they hear you bring the printed page to life and call back.

If you do not know how to sight read, you can still have a successful career in the studio, but you would be limiting the amount of work you could accept, so everything I am about to say holds true if you do not sight read. Or you are just reading this and are trying to better your soloing. Just learn the melody of the song you want to practice by ear first. Then add the suggestions in the following paragraphs.

In the studio, when someone puts a piece of music in front of you, the expectation, you would think, would be to play the correct notes. But you would be oh, so wrong. Sure, you’d better play the correct notes and in the correct timing; however, in reality you are expected to bring that piece of music to life using your magical guitar powers!

That is why most of the time all we get are chord charts and a note that says “solo here.” Many composers, arrangers and producers don’t know how to notate for modern guitar. And I don’t blame them. Imagine transcribing the Jimi Hendrix version of “The Star Spangled Banner”! Not in tab. In musical notation. I couldn’t do it, and I couldn’t read it. Not if I never heard it before. I’m sure someone has, and there are many fine transcription pros, but I have enough on my plate!

Here’s how you want to practice as a sight-reading, session-playing guitarist. Start by taking a piece of music and sight read through with no errors. Bring the tempo up. Push it. Now you’ve got the notes. Time to add the magic. Try playing the same music using all the articulations in your box of articulations. Try bending to as many notes as possible. Half-step bends, whole-step bends, or further. In tune. Slide from note to note. Add vibrato to the longer notes. Play the shorter notes staccato.

Transpose the song up an octave so it sounds like a solo. And avoid only sight reading in the first position. (Although the notes do sound the purer in that area and I tend to stick to the first position as much as possible on acoustic guitar or clean guitar playing).

Try tapping to any note that can be tapped to. You will be combining guitaristic technique while building a melodic sense. This can only help you when it is solo time.

My personal practice sessions start with a warmup of finger patterns. Next I sight read. After that comes chords and rhythm. Then I start my soloing. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Try and develop your strong points. Try and better your weaknesses. Articulations are the key, however, to making your guitar sing, and the reason no other instrument comes close to the versatility and range of creativity of which the guitar is capable.

I’m a session guitarist from New York, now living in Connecticut. I started playing at age 6, sight reading right off the bat. That’s how I was taught, so I just believed everyone started that way! I could pretty much sight read anything within a few years, and that aided me in becoming a session guy later in life. I took lessons from anyone I could and was fortunate enough to have some wonderful instructors, including John Scofield, Joe Pass and Alan DeMausse. I’ve played many jingle sessions, and even now I not only play them but have written a few. I’ve “ghosted” for a few people that shall remain nameless, but they get the credit and I got the money! I’ve played sessions in every style, from pop to jazz.

Ron Zabrocki – Guitar Word Magazine

John Denner Howard Stern

Listenting To Howard Stern

What more can I say about the King of All Media, Howard Stern?

All Things Denner Blog

The Official John Denner Blog featuring the People, Places and History of All Things Denner

Jasmina Denner on Fencing

Jasmina Denner on Fencing

Jasmina Denner On Fencing Jasmina Denner was born and raised in Skopje, North Macedonia before moving to Connecticut in 1990.Tell us about yourself – where did you grow up? How did you get to Greenwich? I was born and raised in Skopje, North Macedonia and moved to the...

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Bosch Chief Executive Volkmar Denner Steps Down

Bosch Chief Executive Volkmar Denner Steps Down

Robert Bosch GmbH said Chief Executive Volkmar Denner would step down at the end of the year (2021) after about 10 years at the helm to focus on research, and would be succeeded by the head of the automotive parts business unit, Stefan Hartung.Worlds Largerst...

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Adi Denner

Adi Denner

Introducing Adi Denner Adi Denner is an aspiring Opera singer, YA and Fantasy Author, and an Artist. Her passion for the arts emerged at a young age, making her explore all its forms- acting, singing, writing, drawing, painting and even cooking. Born and raised in...

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Denner Family Tree

Denner Family Tree

Genealogical data can be represented in several formats, for example as a pedigree or ancestry chart. Family trees are often presented with the oldest generations at the top and the newer generations at the bottom. An ancestry chart, which is a tree showing the...

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Wayne Denner

Wayne Denner

The Digital Ninja Speaker, Author and Trainer, Wayne Denner has spent over 21 years in the digital space using social media, smart phone tech and the internet to his advantage. This Digital Ninja speaks to 50,000 students (and their parents) & Businesses every...

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Denner Recipes, Tips and Tricks

Denner Recipes, Tips and Tricks

Meet Food Blogger Zoe Torinesi Looking for fresh ideas for a cozy dinner or just looking for something new? Well-known food blogger Zoe Torinesi of Denner Market inspires you every week with exciting but simple creations and useful kitchen tips and tricks for little...

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