The Lesson Loft — Guitars

[Gary Ladd]

Originally posted by gennation
Just remember, there's no one way of doing anything.

There's been a lot of great music by people who don't know jack about what scale they are playing, let alone why it sounds good.

But, there's also been a lot of great music by guys who woodshed until they die.

There's some people who are great at making music in one style only (or a genre), while there are olthers who can sit in anywhere regardless of the genre and ALWAYS make great music.

I think a lot of people get caught up in the what/when/why/how idea.

There's nothing wrong with learing a little or a lot...what is important is that you LISTEN.

Words of wisdom...

I'd also suggest slowing things down and focus on finding something worth "saying" with your riffage.

[Terje]

Originally posted by Gary Ladd
Total. Waste. Of. Time.

:freak:

:wave:

And yet you read it and replied...

[hutchtoo]

This is most definitely not a waste of time.

The Lesson Loft is a respectable treatment for GAS, which is what I get EVERY time I read the Electric Guitar forum.

[bardsley]

Look, I don't mean to put down Hendrix, because he's one of the greatest musicians who ever lived, and if all of us had as much musicality as he had in his little finger, well, we'd all be competing for gigs.
But I don't actually want to play like him (well, actually a lot of the time I do).
I want to play like Dave Douglas, or Chris Potter, or Bill Frisell, or Pat Metheny, or Dave Holland, or Charlie Haden, or Wayne Shorter etc.
Those guys have incredible ears, and I'd bet that 99% if not 100% of the times they perform, they're using their ears, and not thinking about theory at all. But, they sure got the theory down too, to get to where they are. Do you think that the kind of sounds that Dave Douglas gets came from him just picking up his horn one day and saying "I'll just play by ear", and magically the diminished scale entered his phrasing? No, he sat down over a period of years and said "I'm going to work on getting the sound of the diminished scale into my playing". I know they did this (well, not Douglas exactly, but certainly Potter), because I've talked to professionals who not only do this themselves, but have learnt from guys like Chris Potter, and Dave Liebman.
Yes, music is about the ears. But if you hear a phrase that you love and you transcribe it, and find that it's essentially an altered scale ascending in thirds followed by a diminished arpeggio and landing on the #11, how do you get that sound in your playing? Do you sit around doing what you've always done, or do you maybe say "wow, that altered scale sounds cool, maybe I'm going to spend a week experimenting with how it sounds over different chords, and how to make it work in different contexts". Maybe you'll find that it sounds bad a lot of the time, but you mind find specific instances in which you love the sound of it. Isn't that a good thing?

[coggins]

+1 bardsley

Theory helps you move from the specific (e.g. transcribed phrase) to the general (improv technique). This is how you can take from the greats without just copying them note for note.

Yes, it's all about sound, but most of us non-geniuses need a way to organise all the sounds we have heard so that we can play them again as appropriate. Once you use a concept a few hundred times it becomes part of your 'ear repertoire', and it will just come out naturally.

Sorry about my pronouns - it's a bit early in the morning....

[red|dragon]

Point,

Play scales to know your instrument, but not to make music.

[vote4dicktaid]

Originally posted by red|dragon
Point,

Play scales to know your instrument, but not to make music.

And yet, one shouldn't forget that scales are melody in perhaps its most natural form.

[Virgman]

It's all good.

[guitarviz]

I liked this thread and I thought it was useful. Thanks for starting it Terje.

I especially liked your comments on comparing music to language. I've heard similar analogies but always interesting to hear new takes on it.

[ultranet]

educational.. I could learn lots of things here

thanks for such post ppl