Secrets my guitar-professor told me..

[Wyatt]

After being out of music for like a dozen and a half years, I put myself through a self-imposed twelve week intensive guitar-boot camp..yeah, yeah, I know they say you can't make up for lost time..but I don't believe that until after I have given things a real hard shove!! 

So after a case of carpal-tunnel slowed me down long enough to think things over, I decided to make a list of all the things my guitar-professor had pointed out to me..ways to improve my playing. I figured that out of these things that were pointed out to me, for my playing and my writing, maybe some of them might help you, too.

These are in the order I wrote them..as close as I could remember at the time, to the order he gave them:

1) ..always play clean notes..every note clean.

2) ..play the song the same way every time..[if you are playing it a little different every time, maybe you need to finish the song]

3) ..legato, legato, legato..smooth transition between notes..do you use it everywhere??..no, of course not..but you don't want to leave home without it!

4) ..arpeggiate..if you insist on writing long songs, you use many techniques to maintain interest...[at the time I was studying jazz guitar--chord/melody].

5) ..Use chord voicing to underpin the melody, and as a textural element.

6) ..don't forget, sometimes a key change is just what a song needs..


..there you have it..something to chew on..these comments were tailored specifically to my needs at that time..but hey, who knows,  maybe I'm "a lotta like you". 

Wyatt

PS..after serving my self-imposed 12 week sentence, I decided to explore something on the fret-board that I never seemed to find time for back when I *was* playing..said au-revoir to guitar-professor, and took off for the road less traveled..and like the fellow said, "..and it has made all the difference."

[kara]

I think those are rules that apply to every musician, no matter the instrument you play.

The only thing that surprised me a bit is the fact you said that you studied jazz and '..play the song the same way every time..[if you are playing it a little different every time, maybe you need to finish the song]'

That's different of what they teach here in jazz school.
A jazz musician basically know the chord progression of a song, and will starting from that chart play & interact with the other musicians. The result of that is that a song is never played the same way twice...

k
 

[Wyatt]

Thank you for pointing that out kara..I can see how that might have been confusing.

I used to play a lot of folk/rock/blues..lots of late night jam sessions, played parties, and street music.

..coming back to guitar again, I wanted to fill in some of my gaps.

The course of study, [by Jody Fisher],  was in four parts:

1) Beginning ..basic chords and scales

 2) Intermediate..more complex chords and scales, with only the very slightest improv.

3) Chord Melody..solo technique

4) Improvisation..and lots of it..based on a lot of knowledge at that point.

I spent 3 months on chord melody..I was not writing jazz, but wanted to round out my guitar skills..I wanted to be able to weave the melody and the chords together.

..and so the advice pertained to my songwriting at that time..finish the song..be in it deeply enough to make all of those little decisions.

Thanks for your comments.

Wyatt

[NeoN]

Thanx for sharing them man

[kara]

Was that this guy : http://www.jodyfisher.com/

Quit some resumé he has !!

k

[Wyatt]

Was that this guy : http://www.jodyfisher.com/

Quit some resumé he has !!

k

kara,

..it is his course..his books, that my guitar-professor used.
..even though I was studying from the third book, I bought
all of them..I should spend more time studying

Wyatt

[Laguna Rising]

Thanks for the link and useful advice

Cheers

[Wyatt]

..a couple things I wanted to add to this:

..got an interesting tip from Martin E a while back..he told me to try relaxing the right wrist to get a more subtle, relaxed sound..and I tried it and it really did put a very smooth complexion on the songs I did that with.

..also I have found that varying the style of drumtrack can really make a difference in the flavor of the song..even with the same bmp, there is a big difference between a jazzy track and say a Latin track..sometimes with interesting surprises.

Happy pickin',

Wyatt

[Wyatt]

OK..I forgot to add this one earlier, but it bears mentioning:

Working on my song for the CD, I spent three frustrating weeks
trying to correct a timing problem..I knew something was wrong,
but couldn't quite hear what it was exactly, so I just kept laying
down guitar tracks..to no avail.

I even got to the point where I just figured, "Well cr@p, I can't
even play my own song"..I was about ready to hang it up..and
that takes some doing..

Then one day, I went in and listened to every track in the current
mix..and I found a glitch in the drum-track..yikes!! 

It was too easy for me to blame my playing and miss the problem.
After mixing down the drum track from a dozen tracks, and then
editing it for length, I should have double checked.


Measure twice; cut once.

Wyatt

[rharv]

That last post was worth the effort.

If something doesn't feel right it probably isn't.

 If the problem isn't in the first few places you look, keep looking. It won't fix itself, and sometimes we get real good at disguising the actual problem in spite of ourselves. ...And if you ever catch yourself forcing the feel/flow it's time to take a close look.

It's sometimes better to start over, rather than battle your way thru a recording; the life, feel and fun get lost and it can show to the listener.

The only thing I can add (being an old carpenter) is to edit with caution. Even if you measure twice, still cut it a little long. It's easier to take more off than it is to grow it back...

[Wyatt]

Yeah Bob,

I learned a lot on that song..
..it was worth losing a little hide.

..and I never could get that danged board stretcher to work.

Wyatt

[folderol]

A trick I find helps sometimes to winkle out the 'mysterious' problems is to play each track individually (they should all stand up by themselves to some extent) then in different combinations.

The other trick with MIDI files is to swap the instrument with something lake a piano, or vibraphone, such clean instruments can really sow up timing errors and chord clashes!

[Wyatt]

A trick I find helps sometimes to winkle out the 'mysterious' problems is to play each track individually (they should all stand up by themselves to some extent) then in different combinations.

I only wish that one had occurred to me sooner!! It was surprising to me how many little things I found that needed work, once I started doing that.

I also make it a point to de-noise tracks..even sub-audible noise add up when you have a lot of tracks.

The other trick with MIDI files is to swap the instrument with something lake a piano, or vibraphone, such clean instruments can really sow up timing errors and chord clashes!

Great idea..I'm going to remember that one.

It has been often difficult for me to nail down what was actually wrong..real nice to have some different perspectives to listen from to help sort it all out.

Thanks..

Wyatt