Musical Insights - The Art Of Development

One of the first words I learned upon starting guitar lessons was ‘noodling’, and the next thing I learned was exactly how frowned upon it was. 

It seemed to describe aimlessly screwing about on the fretboard while you’re supposed to be listening to somebody (usually, your guitar teacher). A tough habit to break, it should still be avoided in lessons as it’s pretty disrespectful to someone who’s trying to help you build skills, but it sure has it’s place. 

Everyone plays guitar for a different number of hours per day and for most, it’s less than we’d like. I’m all for disciplined practice, but I’ve heard on the grapevine some of us like to watch TV sometimes. You don’t have to have a guitar in your hands at the time, but if you don’t, you’re missing out.

DISCLAIMER: You know my rule about avoiding the words ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, but I’m going to break it here. This article is about the advantages of playing your axe whilst watching TV, and there’s a ‘right’ way to approach this ethos: if you’re practising, don’t turn on the TV. If you’re already watching TV, stick a guitar in your hands. This distinction here is the difference between distracting from serious technique progress vs getting what I call ‘free’, or extra time with your instrument.

Gross Commercialism 

In contradiction with the title, Netflix isn’t the best for this extended exercise due to its lack of adverts. This is all about developing your aural skills, or ‘inner ear’. Your ability to translate what you hear into patterns on the fretboard is an invaluable, yet sometimes overlooked, skill in music. I know players who can play anything in the world if given the sheet music, but seriously struggle with improvisation and melody recall/dictation - it’s a skill that everyone needs to work on. Think of it this way: if you could only speak words you had read and never any that you had heard, it’d severely limit your vocabulary. So sit back and wait for those ads.

There must be at least one advert without music, but I can’t think of it. Some use existing pop songs, others classical pieces and a lot of them will have jingles. First of all, find the key. This will come easier to some, but a good way is to start on a single string - say, G - and simply work up the frets until you get that ‘locking’ sound, one that feels sonically perfect. Then use your ears to figure out the melody. Is it pleasant and upbeat? Most likely major, so do your best to work out the intervals and then the phrases. They’re probably going to be short, which makes it easier, but this is countered by the fact that an advert won’t last long, so you have to be quick. Having said that, most commercials will repeat, so you’ll probably get another chance. Try and remember the key and pattern, so when you see it coming next time, you can play it like you were in the studio recording the jingle.

This exercise gets easier over time, can be really fun (and impressive, if there’s anyone listening), paradoxically keeping you on your toes whilst relaxing.

The A Theme

Again, I can’t think of a TV show that doesn’t have a theme, and these are often pretty simple as they need to be memorable. Learn them all. Not even the ones you’re watching. YouTube themes from all over: Pokémon, Breaking Bad, Gossip Girl, The Simpsons, Game Of Thrones (a great one, as it changes tonality), Six Feet Under, anything and everything. They’re short, modal and really fun to put your own style on. You can ornament, add vibrato and you can bring your own personality to it once you’ve mastered it. Personally, I don’t bother with themes that are snippets of existing songs (Friends, Scrubs, The (UK) Office) but feel free to try them out. This is good because you can spend as much time as you like with it, study the key and pattern. Pay attention to the instrumentation to give you a more accurate approach to replicating the sound. For example the legato cello on Game Of Thrones’s theme requires a softer approach than say, the assertive attack of The Simpsons’ melody. Note that neither of these themes use guitar, so you have to interpret and translate it onto our favourite six strings.

...and, Action!

You can further develop the idea by putting a film on. Two things here - firstly, don’t do this with a film you've never seen or one you’re interested in. A film you’ve seen a lot or a random one you care little about is best. Secondly, do it alone. If you’re widdling away in G minor when someone else is trying to watch a movie, you’re going to be unpopular fast. 

The best films are action and sci-fi, due to their non-diegetic music almost throughout, most of which will be consonant harmony. Something like a horror or thriller will be a little trickier as the soundtrack will be dissonant, jarring and played without any obvious time signature or tempo. If you want to try this exercise, stick on a Star Wars movie. Seriously. John Williams’ constant use of leitmotifs will allow you to memorise patterns and phrases, which will allow you to place them in different keys depending on the scene. Once you have the melody down, try figuring out the underlying chords. What mode is being used? Let your playing reflect the dynamic of the orchestration used (Imperial March vs Han and Leia’s theme). If you do that, try and play the counter-melodies and other parts of the orchestra - there’s not just one line. This can be done with any film score, and it’s a fantastic exercise for exploring the fretboard and developing your aural skills. 

This whole approach allows you to take it at your own speed. You can lazily find melodies on adverts or make an exercise out of a movie’s motifs - it’s up to you. All I’ll say is this: you haven’t lived til you’ve played along with the Cantina Band in Star Wars.

May the force be with you.

first written 12th January 2018

..and not one of them is performance, presence or even professionalism (cue sweary e-mails from disgruntled session musicians worldwide).

The first ‘P’ is practice. You can guess from there. 

This entry’s title is almost a misnomer, as there’s really only one ‘P’ - practice. It’s frustrating to have to put down my guitar, as I’m learning a rather tricky track right now, but this needs to be shared. We’re going to look at practising particular licks and pieces of music; we’ll look at exercises and whatnot later.

I’ve had a few students over the years who have complained that a track is too difficult. They use phrases like “it’s beyond me”, “I’m not there yet” or “they’re better than me”. As guitarists, we need to see these more as barriers to learning, which should be broken down with every ounce of strength we have. Here are some home truths that need airing in order to shatter these self-made falsehoods. 

Everyone - EVERYONE - Has Struggled

No guitarist, footballer, chef, lawyer, snooker player or artist woke up one day and suddenly discovered they were amazing at something - ever. It’s an unromantic truth, but everything from Andy James’ sweep arpeggio to Tim Henman’s serve takes thousands of hours of practice to master, and (sad news now) there is no shortcut. The good news is that everyone who is, or has ever been, awesome, has once been a beginner. It’s a step nobody can skip. Don’t be down that you’re not there yet - everyone has been an amateur at some point.

The (Rock) God is in the Detail

I tenaciously avoid words like ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ when referring to approaches to the guitar, whilst instead focusing on efficiency and effectiveness. This is why when learning something even slightly complex, there is no such thing as too much detail. The more complex a piece is, the further we need to delve into the intricacies of it. For instance:

I used to play this phrase a) starting on an upstroke and b) using only my first and third finger. This is a prime example of inefficiency and bad habits. I consulted a tutor and studied videos of it being played, and now play it ||: D U D U U D :|| and using fingers ||: 4 1 4 1 4 2 :||. Using this fingering allows the pick to flow naturally, and the new fingering means each finger is assigned to a fret, minimising effort. The point here is that it could be played the first way, but I’d be making more effort for myself and furthering bad technique. 

Don’t be afraid to really get into the nitty gritty of a piece. Study the notation alongside the tablature - both have important information. Watch videos of both the original and covers, to see how it’s performed up-close. Treat anything you get from the internet - especially sites where anyone can post - with caution; a lot of it requires interpretation and editing. Lastly, pay attention to the small things in videos. When playing fast licks and tricky lines, a player’s stance, where his thumb is or even the angle of his right hand might be incidental, but most likely are where they are because they make playing that much more comfortable. The bottom line is that if you’re serious about a piece, you’ll dive into it and treat it with the respect it deserves, to nail it.

Anything Is Possible

I know that sounds a little ‘High School Musical’, but stick with it. “Juice”, the instrumental by a certain Steve Vai is recorded and played at 204bpm. Playing it at that speed is so complex that I’ve only seen half a dozen covers doing it justice. Try playing it at 102bpm, it’ll get easier in parts, but still tricky. But you bring it down to say, 30bpm, you’ll most likely be note-perfect. Literally anything and everything can be played perfectly if it’s slowed down enough. Bring it down to a point where you make absolutely no mistakes, even if that means 10bpm. The build, build build. Nail it at 10, take it to 15, then 20, 25 and so on. Then sit back and hear the results. The hardest part of this exercise is focus; after you ace it at a snail’s pace, you’ll be tempted (as I always am) to blast it like an F1 car - don’t. That’ll ruin the clarity and finesse you had. Stay with it, stay building and stay focused. That’s the secret to playing any piece of music ... in the world.

So basically...

You know the ‘P’ word, the trick is finding the best way to do it. Practising with focus and discipline will mean learning the tracks you want to master much faster, and the end result will blow you away. I’ve never met a student who wasn’t impressed by themselves after building up from a crawl to full-blown flying. Remember - anything is possible. Yeah I know - still sounds like I’m quoting ‘Glee’..

first written 9th January 2018

The chords, you can voice slightly differently to the studio version. You can vary the key and even rhythm to give the track a different feel or colour. However when you’re playing a song for a live audience, your true time to express your identity, individuality and interpretation of music as a whole, is the solo. 

As a new guitarist starting in out in the scary world of scales, chords and picks dropping down your acoustic guitar, soloing might be the last thing on your mind. As an amateur it may be something you do every time you pick up your favourite metal machine. To the former: it’s a bad idea to jump into twelve minute Woodstock-esque solos right now; your focus should lie on more fundamental aspects of the instrument, and indeed, the instrument (which I will go into). However, music is about expression so buying an Angus Young signature model to play AC/DC tracks will get you so far, but won’t allow you to feel ‘at home’ or develop your own style into something beautiful. It certainly won’t allow you to truly say something with your music. To the latter group of players, working on honing the soloing skills you know (and learning the ones you don’t) will allow you to really find your sound.

Sagacity In Solos

If you already haven’t, contemplate your favourite solos (not necessarily songs). Listen very carefully to them again and again, ideally through headphones to get the full mix, and work out exactly what you love about it. Are there certain notes that grip you? Listen out for any pedals, studio or other guitar effects used - note that these may be very subtle, so Google it if you have any suspicions.. Which pickup is he/she using? Are there pinch harmonics, right-hand tapping, vibrato, shredding or tremolo bars being used in a noticeable or even occasional way? 

Now focus on the musicality. The best solos are ones with a structure, building with rises and falls in both pitch, rhythm and dynamics. You’ll often find solos which start fairly low in register, moving delicately and then ending very high up the neck in a bend or held vibrato. It tells a story with meaning and purpose. There’s nothing more meaningless than a solo that is a mad flurry of notes played as fast as possible with no logic or concept. If you’re able, use manuscript paper or even tablature to write out the solo; it may allow you to understand more about what the guitarist is doing if you can visualise it. Note that your favourite solo(s) may not be ones you can play, but do make a point of seeking out your top ones. 

Implication Over Emulation

With good listening, attention and musical intuition, you should have identified (and written down for future reference) the aspects of the solo(s) that you especially enjoy, or even what draws you to the song as a whole. Now comes the important part. We all, inevitably, take traits from our heroes. We find we’ll ever-so-slightly dress, speak, sing, play or act like those we idolise - and that’s fine. What’s imperative is that we leave it there - you don’t want to be another Eric Johnson because there already is an Eric Johnson; as there is a Buddy Guy, Andy Warhol and Stephen King. As we’ll discuss later, your tone is in your touch, and not as much in the hardware as you’d think. Therefore by definition you will play and sound different to your heroes, but do make an effort to not fully replicate their sound - I can’t stress the importance of solidifying your own individual tone.

Let’s Get Specific, Bob

We’ve mentioned a few techniques that you will have heard in your chosen solos, so now it’s time to get our teeth into those. The articles that follow will delve deep into the art of each technique, how to build and perfect them and then eventually integrate them into your playing. Once armed with a selection of fine-tuned techniques at your disposal, you’ll find worlds opening up within your playing and especially writing.

first written 3rd December 2014