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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Musical Fundamentals: A Beginners Manifesto
Musical Fundamentals: A Beginners Manifesto
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Frank
2204 posts
Apr 13, 2013
6:43 PM
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“I guess what prompted this question is that I find I am playing more or less the same riffs in the solos. For the three or four songs I get to do that's all right, but I would like to get better at improvising”.
Someone posed the question above a while back on this site, forgive me I forget who it was – but it got me to begin writing things down that have helped and are helping me get a little better at playing blues music via the harmonica.
These thoughts come from my personal studies and are not meant to be an authority on any subject or anything. I’m am simply expressing my personal opinions and I still strive daily to live up to and act upon any advise I may seem to be giving here.
So… my disclaimer is for you to take what I am offering in this essay with a grain of salt.
I am not an accredited educator; I am neither a Professional teacher nor player. I hold no music degrees and I have limited musical theory know how.
Hopefully you can now read this essay while having pity on me for being just another lost soul swimming aimlessly in music’s ocean of infinite choices and destinations :)
Also you are going to notice the repeating of the same ideals over and over again, but said in a slightly different way…I find this helpful for my learning style but it might drive you crazy!
One more Declaimer…I expect no one to understand my logic in this essay except me…Also when I refer to “you” I am actually talking to myself, so please don’t be offended in any way, shape or form :)
If you as a reader find anything offensive or controversial – please accept my deepest apologies…For the record,I consider myself a beginner in many many ways...Okay - Let’s begin :)
Musical Fundamentals: A Beginners Manifesto…
As you know, we improvise using simple meat and potato scales for playing the blues… Becoming very proficient, strong and accurate at using their chord tones can go a long, long way with improvising the blues too. Mastering chord tones gives the player a springboard to dive into improvisational waters. The more you practice these simple fundamentals the more you’ll begin to notice your “own style” preferences begin to emerge.
Build a strong foundation on the basic building blocks of music and you’ll be light years a head of the player who skims and rushes through them…By doing this, your not learning licks but really reinforcing your “ear” to recognize intervals and movement to ultimately solo freely. Keep at it and your ideals will become more cohesive, expressive and make better sense.
Another advantage of working hard on mastering fundamentals is gaining insight into the importance of following your musical ideals in order to make a musical statement. For now, keep your musical questions and answers- simple, logical and coherent - doing that makes it easier to listen to yourself as you’re playing in real time, which will help you keep track of your phrasing ideals and relate them to one another. You’ll be playing what you hear and making your own note choices.
Also, begin slowly building a repertoire of tunes that excite your spirit. The more closely you “study” a tune (notice I said study not memorize) – the more you will notice how they are built around the foundational fundamentals of music! Remember good improvisation is making a statement that has a logical string of ideals that sound like they belong together. Persevere and a personal style that has your thumbprint on it will develop over time.
Your rhythms will get stronger; your playing will become more speech like overtime as you begin to take advantage of using pauses and learn to give more space between your ideals. Time or timing will also need to be kept steady, make sure you can feel the groove and tap your foot to the pulse of the music to keep you centered. While listening to music you love, make a habit of really getting in touch with the steady pulse of the music. Timing mistakes never go unnoticed so it is one of those mandatory things to continually hone and master.
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 14, 2013 3:54 AM
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Frank
2205 posts
Apr 13, 2013
6:48 PM
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When playing blues – good phrasing awareness will help you sound more melodic, this can have a stronger impact on the listener. A fun way to make up phrasings and melodies is to think vocally – what you would say or sing, then play a facsimile of that through your harp. Thinking rhythmically can also give your musical statements a lot of interest and a sense of purpose.
You don’t want to get caught up in the memorization of licks in the pursuit of improvisational skills. Licks serve a purpose of giving you a ready made set of notes that sound great together, but avoid trying to force them into your improvisations; they will naturally find their way into your playing as you begin to hear them as part of the functional movement of the blues chord progressions. When a lick you learned begins appearing in your improvisations without effort on your part - that’s proof it is a part of what you’re naturally hearing as your improvise.
With patience and practice you’ll begin to easily comprehend and hear the famous – 1 1 1 1 - 4 4 - 1 1 - 5 - 4 - 1 -5- … twelve bar blues as it passes by in time and you’ll begin to solo freely over it and within it, making up phrasings that fit the Almighty Blues Progression with no problem! As you well know, that progression is an incredibly important aspect of blues tunes; the structure is so consistently solid and is a powerful musical framework to create off the cuff improvisational musical stories to.
For now, it is imperative to keep your melodies simple; simple enough that you can understand them and repeat what you played. They will get more interesting over time, don’t rush it – your goal for now is to attain a certain degree of mastery incorporating musical fundamentals. Continue to strengthen your ear slowly as well as your technical skills. There are no shortcuts for becoming a better harp player. Shortcuts will only cause stagnation, musical indecision and unnecessary ruts, thus retarding a player’s ability to progress beyond mediocre skills.
Your goal, I imagine, is to communicate music through your harp as easily as you carry a conversation with someone? When we talk to a friend –we’ll naturally and effortlessly edit ourselves in real time in order to keep our ideals pertinent and comprehensible; we do this for the sake of giving the listener a better chance of understanding our statements. Practice this same idea while you’re improvising and record your effort. Did your conversation make sense to you? – did you ask a musical question and answer it appropriately? Did you “talk” musically in a simple yet confident manner?
You want to listen for cohesive ideals in your improvisations. Is there a beginning and an end to what you played? Remember, we’re basically making up sentences, just as when we’re casually talking. Often there are spaces and pauses while we’re thinking of what to say next. Just like talking, when playing, you will want to punctuate certain ideas more forcefully then others and change up your rhythmic flow to make a more dramatic point.
You want to communicate your own unique, logically induced musical ideals. You want to tell your story, in the now, in the present – spontaneous magic! Just like your unique personality emerged over time, so should your improvisational style. You will begin to recognize your style preferences as you continue your musical journey. Your particular note choices and how you build on them to trace your ideas will begin to define your style. And if at all possible, try to keep it simple yet potent.
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 14, 2013 3:59 AM
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Frank
2206 posts
Apr 13, 2013
6:53 PM
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To play the blues does not require your imagination to think up the most elaborate musical lines ever conceived. With blues, it is just the opposite! In order to say something convincingly powerful or meaningful requires the discipline to keep things simple. Simple often does not equate to easy – it means using the least to make the most! Blues harp bullshitters are easily recognized by their refusal to master the fundamentals… and their shallow, weak -kneed playing confirms their lack of commitment to the foundations of music. Bottom line- you can fool yourself but not the audience!
When you have a lot of songs that you need to add harp lines to throughout the course of a day or night, your best bet is to get a few solid musical ideas flowing that can be elaborated on and toyed with rhythmically to give each song an identity. Identify your ideas and build on them just enough to enhance the song. You want to avoid mucking it up with a lot of nonsense doodling! Doodling may have its place, but it is not the best choice if you want leave a positive impression on someone.
You can improvise strategically when the fundamentals of music are more fully realized. Make sure that you’re listening to yourself in order to keep your ideas related to one another. Endeavor to make a mature statement… not an easy thing to do musically, but is worth the extra effort. Focus on making some important statements without bombarding the listener with a mish-mash of musical gibberish. Remember stay focused on a theme, a story line – communicate as effectively and efficiently as possible, which should help your audience get into the music!
Use pockets of time to pause now and then while playing, giving yourself an instance to ponder what you just played so you can logically relate to it. Your goal is to give others the greatest chance of being able to follow what you’re trying to convey through your musical emotions. Once you have a cool musical idea, direct your thoughts there so you can work within the original ideal…no need to rush off and cut it short – maybe you’ll want to repeat it , mess with its dynamics and rhythm, add a note or change its melodic shape a little. If you are able to keep your music poignant, direct and coherent- the better your musical message should be received, understood and remembered.
So play your feelings when improvising, reach deep within your soul and play in the moment – not what you memorized, unless those memorized licks come to you naturally (without you summonsing them) then they are no longer just a memorized lick, but are an actual part of your musical feelings and language and you can count on them to be there for you just like certain words are when you talk.
Practice, practice, practice is not a cliché. For your ear to develop its ability to hear the notes you want to play, then you should master to the best of your ability the basic fundamentals of music; at least master those fundamentals which correspond to being a solid blues musician. If you desire to spontaneously play good improvised music, then do not neglect or rush through the study of basic theory, exercise routines or building a studied repertoire of tunes you love. These fundamental things are your lifeline to great playing.
You don’t need to become an advanced player to start improvising, keep your phrases simple, and sooner or later as you persevere in your practices – the development of your own personal style will begin to take shape. Slowly but surely incremental improvement will be recognized by you and others. The best players create powerful improvisational choruses by having full command over the elementary things of music! Think about that? The Masters take the simple and create the significant!
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 14, 2013 4:07 AM
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Frank
2207 posts
Apr 13, 2013
6:54 PM
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In the influential learning stages of improvising - simply keep your melodies and ideas sounding similar to short and sweet statements; play an idea – pause and elaborate on the framework of that idea. What you’re trying to accomplish is singer like phrasing… nothing fancy - just reasonable. Add a little rhythmic variance giving a few twists and turns in the journey. Always remain rhythmically aware to help give your phrases a pattern that is solid and played in time. It doesn’t need to be insanely fancy, just meaningful.
Though playing music is different then actually speaking or singing with words to someone, the metaphor is accurate and used as a reference for thinking about how to make a solo structurally sound. Think about the times when you were talking to some one and you kept repeating yourself to get the point across or simply reworded your thoughts so they could understand the subject better. Most of what I've written in this essay is in that category of the repetition of an ideal. That is an excellent way to assertively drive home a point.
But we also need to know when enough is enough; we don’t want to badger someone musically speaking either, because then were just an annoyance. “Guilty as charged” arrest me and throw away the key! So- to reiterate, repetition is a mighty good thing and to repeat ourselves musically is a great way to correspond, though doing it thoughtfully and respectfully will go a long way to being sincerely appreciated by the listener.
Then there is the person/player who just mindlessly rambles on without a care in the world for whether or not you understand what is being said/played… there seems to be no rhyme or reason to their story- just a mass of information that they needed to get off their chest while we politely stare at them as if we’re paying attention- while on the inside thinking, this person is nuts, a bore and full of hot air!
Let’s not fool ourselves… if we can’t play music while keeping an easy, interesting, solid groove going why would we think we are able to go to the next level musically. To by-pass obtaining fundamentally strong habits is to assure our playing remains impotent. This lack of discipline will keep one circling the same mountain of musical limbo year after year – then wondering why they can’t find their mojo or climb out of a musical rut!
Don’t be afraid to be an expert at keeping music simple, tight and uncomplicated. Especially when playing blues harp - the real power is in the tone, dynamics and rhythm of a strong but simple phrase idea. And you can concentrate and remain focused on that power- by keeping your phrasing chaos free, logical and literate.
How can we expect to rip into a sensible dynamic solo if we've never spent the time necessary to understand the ingredients to keep a good, strong solid groove going? Great solos are sprung from knowing, following and playing a groove. Find a groove, know a groove and play with a groove – before trying to catapult into a spastic solo while prematurely creaming your jeans along the way.
How can someone begin to build a solo with out a foundation? Learn to be able to interact with the rhythm sections groove; this will help give your solos wings to explore more interesting ideas. Don’t underestimate the power of taking the time to tap into the pulse of the music before trying to say something of musical significance. What’s great about the blues is its simplistic structure, the form seems innate or second nature and almost automatically logical and it is this very quality which makes it a great vehicle to practice and hone improvising skills.
Our ear seems to recognize the flowing motion of 12 bar blues rather easily and the famous blues scales are perfect to augment and embellish the chorus forms. The 12 bar blues are ready made sets of moving chord changes that require us as improvisers to be constantly and consistently prepared to play over them in the freshest way possible. Fresh = inspired!
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 14, 2013 4:15 AM
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Frank
2208 posts
Apr 13, 2013
6:56 PM
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One trick to achieve this and receive inspiration is by closely listening to a singer’s phrasing ideas and the story being told. Also try connecting to a singer’s heartfelt emotions and the bands dynamics being portrayed; this can help lead our improvisational ideas into fertile, heartfelt territory. Again, the blues singer is a great vehicle of inspiration to base improvisations after, as is the overall dynamic groove the entire band is laying down.
Repeating a cool riff or a slick lick made up on the fly can work very well over the entire 12 bars and is another handy improvisational method to utilize too. As your techniques advance and your abilities to improvise get more creative, you’ll begin to appreciate more and more the never-ending possibilities of adding simple yet fun and interesting spur of the moment phrases to the 12 bar chord changes as they methodically groove on by.
Always strive to be tasteful in your note choices and remember more often then not, it is the simple recipes that are the tastiest of all. Remember you can create complex sounding arrangements using only a handful of notes. Like the old adage goes, “play smart not hard”…
After all, we are striving to sound good are we not? So – let’s practice sounding good, it’s worth the extra effort to keep things simple as opposed to being oblivious to simplicities inherent power! Studying and breaking down a Blues Masters music is a great way to become aware of how they are able to take a handful of choice notes from a scale and make them sound profound, important and larger then life.
They can do this at the drop of a hat because they've taken the time necessary to become extremely familiar with the inherent strengths of basic scales and the attractive attributes of simple chords, thus promoting their own musical vision, giving color and 3D depth to their notes like a master painter whose scene seems to brilliantly jump off the canvas. These great players have learned the wisdom in not over doing something musically - because it is not in their best interest to do so.
They want their voice to be heard, not over shadowed by useless musical extremes! They know how to take advantage of the simple things in music and turn them into seemingly difficult pieces of work. Their style is often defined by utilizing the same stylistic note choices throughout their careers. Using them in perpetually unique ways, satisfying their improvisational needs and desires along the way.
Don’t turn your nose up to a piece of work a Master Player has done which appears audibly easy, naively believing there is nothing to learn from it. The player who wants to truly progress in their musicianship will begin dissecting and learning those tunes, they often are the impetus to spurring on greater achievements for us as students. One will quickly learn the difference between just listening to those so-called easy songs compared to actually trying to play them accurately; those are two entirely different animals! In other words, a song can sound a lot easier then it is to play it. Don’t confuse something easy, with something that is not worthy of attention.
Don’t forget to appreciate the beauty of playing slow tunes too. Slower tempos can give your mind the chance it needs to hear changes, helping to practice playing things tastefully. You’ll also have a better opportunity to keep track of ideas and act on them; responding logically is more readily available at slower speeds.
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 14, 2013 4:23 AM
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Frank
2209 posts
Apr 13, 2013
6:59 PM
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Slower gives you the chance to concentrate and focus on creating music with purpose and play more confidently. You’re also getting some extra time to better familiarize yourself with notes this way! Analyzing slow tunes and getting to know them should also help increase bettering the execution of techniques. You will become more elaborate with your ideas; more interesting lyrical lines will develop as you remain true to mastering the fundamentals.
Speaking of fundamentals, let’s touch on chords again briefly. As you already know chords are made from scales. Keep in mind that these chords are powerful sounds to our ears because they fit the song or melody so perfectly. You can think of a simple chord tone as the homely neighbor girl who with the right attention can be a knock-out!
Approach the basic chord tones as the structure holding up the melody and propelling the rhythm. In other words, relating to them mindfully is an improvisational ingredient that should never be left out of the musical recipe. Of course listening to the great players that you love will help fill your ears and head with these important musical elements.
You’ll begin to take notice how these players can take a few notes and create some really nice rhythmic dances, then build off those ideas in developing some phrases that relate. By editing out unnecessary notes while playing in real time they are able to keep their solo sounding more logical from beginning to end.
They know how to use a handful of ideas to make an interesting musical point, rather then cram a thousand different ideas into one song. Too many random ideas only creates a mish mash of senseless reasoning, leaving the musical message to cluttered for a listener to understand and truly appreciate.
Restricting themselves to not playing as many ideas as humanly possible in a solo, doesn’t stifle their imagination but frees them to increase their musical ingenuity because they are required to discipline themselves and learn how to be very musical while keeping things relatively simple and uncluttered.
So as you start trying to keep things simpler, you’ll be given the freedom of making note choices based on what profoundly sounds good to you and the more your engaged in this activity- it is inevitable that a personal style will take root, emerge and ultimately bloom, since your learning to play what is chosen by your ear. You’ll be reacting to your musical tastes rather then over-reacting because of musical ignorance and arrogance!
So it’s very important to practice efficiently and deliberately, staying focused in order to actually learn something that will stick permanently. To practice mindlessly is wasted time because the fruits of your labor will never be realized when needed the most – which is in a ‘real time’ playing situation. If you want to be a great musician, develop and strengthen the basics… The hardest, trickiest or most advanced things done poorly are the hallmarks of an incompetent musician. Master the basics and competence is a sure by product!
Remember to work on having a tonal range from thin to thick and everywhere in between. Learn to be expressive with one note and then you’ll have a reference point for adding emotional quality to other notes. Strive to say something powerful, expressive and dynamic with a few notes – exploring your tone and articulation while playing a simple yet colorful phrase. Find a groove using that simple phrase that feels good and keep it steady, maybe mess with the rhythm a little – be creative with it but simple enough not to lose your timing.
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 14, 2013 4:26 AM
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Frank
2210 posts
Apr 13, 2013
7:00 PM
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Continue to learn and practice tunes of artists you admire, remembering to study those tunes intelligently…Do this in order to increase your understanding of the foundational fundamentals of music and how they are a huge part of the structure and make up of many great songs. We want to communicate a musical message with qualities that the listener can appreciate and understand on a deeper level then words can express – a ton of formless notes blasted upon them usually won’t do this adequately.
For many, maturing as a musician is achieving the confidence to edit solos for attaining maximum musical results and being completely comfortable and satisfied experimenting with fewer notes to say something heartfelt and significant. These personal note choices that you seem to be drawn strongly too will create a deepening relationship with your musical ear and these preferences are the makings of a personal style emerging that you’ll begin to recognize as your musical approach. How you creatively use these particular notes will be unique to you and your sound will develop as you persevere, have patience – it will happen if you don’t give up!
Remember to enjoy your lifetime development of musical mastery. Don’t get caught up in a self defeating attitude of comparison to others who have what you've yet put in the hard work, effort and time to "earn". Skills were not handed to any player on a silver platter, they got theirs by doing the foot work, period! Concentrate on what you need to do - to experience what you admire in them. Do not give footing to faulty belief systems that squander your potential at becoming a giving, loving and happy musician.
Whether you have hobbyist desires or professional goals … fundamental mastery of music’s essentials will be the key to your musical magic carpet ride to express yourself with liberation, giving you the room needed to breathe deeply and move around your improvisations unencumbered.
To be obsessed with wanting to master everything music has to offer will keep most musicians bound by hopelessness and perpetual mediocrity. Yes, the more your capable of mastering above and beyond the fundamentals will add to your musical palette – but – biting off more then you can chew will only bog down your progress and magnify your self induced incompetence. So take your time to smell the fundamental roses, don’t rush or all you’ll get is a nose full of thorns!
Once you realize the enormity of theoretical concepts available, along with the multitude of musical choices to work with – It helps to humble yourself enough to realize that ten, twenty, fifty, even hundreds of years would not be enough time to become skillful in them all. We all must decide to study the things which will give us the best chance at being the artist/musician we long to be.
The Masters, the wisest of musicians, understand that making critical choices of what they will spend their time mastering is essential for them to personalize their musical visions and chosen style. The mastery of even one style of music can take a lifetime of dedication. So choose wisely what you focus on to master, because time is shorter then you think! Can you dabble into other styles for your enjoyment and enlightenment, of course – but know your strengths and weaknesses. Remain true to the notes, tones and sounds that make your ears stand at attention, in other words - dance with the one who brung ya!
You are your own boss as far as music is concerned – how you choose to manage musical decisions is your prerogative, making yourself ultimately responsible for any progress you gain or lack thereof. I think it is safe to say that you want to have fun making music – and by mastering the (Fun)damentals – you’ll be giving yourself an honest shot at succeeding with that goal. Record your progress; listen to your musical voice – don’t ever give up, have an open mind, keep your eye on the prize and your dreams will be realized in due time!
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 14, 2013 4:41 AM
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Frank
2211 posts
Apr 13, 2013
7:02 PM
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Make sure you continue to spend time listening to the players you admire and are attracted to at the time being – which should include bassists, vocalists, guitarists, drummers, horn players, pianists, etc… But equally as important, if not more so, is spending quality time listening to your own playing a lot too! Remember to listen with love though – this isn't a contest, it’s a spiritual journey of longing to connect with other souls by strengthening your own soul. Playing is a way to give of yourself, to share your emotions and feelings – it’s a release, a relaxation, a meditation, a joy!
You should try to remain aware of what others are hearing when they listen to you, recording yourself will help accomplish this. Are you enjoying your own playing, is it exciting you – hopefully your able to enjoy listening to the music you make! Since music is art for the ears, we as players want to be effective sharing our sounds with others. Do you feel confident with your music? Is it fun when engaged in music making or practicing? Hopefully so, for then you can experience some peace and tranquility! Music shouldn’t be a burden, cumbersome and dull – if it is, your reasons for giving time to its pursuit should be reevaluated don’t you think? A much wiser man then me once proclaimed “ The most pitiful thing a musician can do is oppress the enjoyment of his own music”!
Studying music is a noble activity in many ways, but in and of itself is not the same as actually playing music. So do study – but know that words and theory don’t inspire the listener to groove along and tap their feet, that will only be achieved by what you play. The way to mastery is not going to happen magically by reading about music or even having the skills to intellectually talk or write about it.
The player who can say something meaningful through their instrument is the one who does the steady work of patiently putting theory into practice, practicing and mastering at the least the musical fundamentals. These should equip you adequately enough to jump on a metaphorical “musical bicycle” and take off down the road – gliding through the changes of Blues Musical Terrains while having the freedom to enjoy the sights and sounds along the way!
Learning tunes is also a time honored way of giving more power to your musical training, especially if you transcribe them yourself and focus on what it is that makes the tune great! Learning tunes is not a waste of your precious time. It’s an exercise in discipline, which in the long run will develop your ears to think like a professional.
Playing and practicing to jam tracks if done intelligently can also go far in your musical growth. If you’re feeling spunky, attending live jam sessions will promote further musical maturity. And of course many players are then looking to join a band to continue their desire of becoming the best musician they can possibly be!
I should stress that it is useless to be in a hurry to get from point (A) to point (Z) – when it comes to grasping the many components that make up a genuinely competent blues musician. Rushing the process is futile and is sure to spoil your chances of acquiring real musical gains. Many negative and damaging consequences are the only results a player will reap from trying to cheat their way into musical excellence. So slow down enough to gain the composure to master something, to master one thing, before scurrying off to the next big thing you feel you must know to be considered cool – only to skim over it and superficially learn it, thus adding no real depth to you as a player.
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 14, 2013 11:24 AM
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Frank
2212 posts
Apr 13, 2013
7:04 PM
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A musician can be considered a strong player when they exhibit at least some form of mastery over a few components of fundamental musicianship. They can also be seen as a weak player when it is noticeable they struggle with command over basic fundamental musical execution. The point is this…If you’re more worried about trying to constantly learn something new at the expense of ignoring an older lesson that should have been mastered – you will find yourself going around the same mountain, year after year – perplexed at why your progress is flawed. It can be impossible to uninhibitedly express yourself musically when your confidence is short circuited by the lack of discipline to master something of fundamental musical significance.
To be rushed, or feel rushed, or to want something “now” when it comes to acquiring musical muscles is a sure path to musical malnutrition. In fact, the exact opposite is required to reap any meaningful and lasting effort from what you've sowed! The objective to having musical theory get deeply rooted in your bones is to stay in a learning moment long enough to benefit fully from its particular purpose. This process takes time, often a lot of time – learning music isn't a fast sprint – some learn quicker then others but all players need to take their good ole time when it comes to mastering musical concepts and technique.
Slow down – enjoy the experience of seriously comprehending the lessons music has to offer. It isn’t a rat race to the musical finish line; it is an adventure to be savored moment by moment, day after day, year in, year out. It is folly to get caught up in the belief that you don’t have the luxury to spend the quality time needed to master a fundamental musical stepping stone.
You deceive only yourself – if you strive for musical excellence but your musical foundation is built on nothing but half hearted attempts to master any fundamental musical pillars and cornerstones. There is no finish line to the journey of seeking out the companionship of music’s multifaceted faces. So chose a path, and remain focused while doing the work necessary to sincerely appreciate what that path has to offer.
Bottom line is, at the end of the day we just want to play music as expressively as possible. We also love to hear it played and we enjoy talking about it at length sometimes. Though talking about music and theory, etc. can be fun and entertaining; head knowledge can’t guarantee to make you a better musician, especially when that knowledge is superficially practiced or rarely used when playing or performing. In other words, it is fine and expected to analyze music amongst peers. But again, make no mistake; there is a big difference between talking about music and actually playing! The ability and skill to exhibit strong execution of musical concepts speaks volumes – because we are “hearing” what all the talk is about. Doing it, playing it, sharing music through sound can be worth a thousand theoretical discussions and opinions.
There is an old saying, that we will become the type of player according to our practice habits. Practice mistakes, play mistakes…Practice with poor focus, play with poor focus. Though they are different sides of the coin and operate using different sides of the brain, the equation still adds up accordingly – A players practice habits will spill over into their playing, to either add to the strengths the player possesses or subtract from them.
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Frank
2213 posts
Apr 13, 2013
7:06 PM
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So the lesson here is take practicing as important as playing and when it comes time to play, lack of practice will not deter what it is you need to say. Getting good at your instrument and music is earned so don’t shoot yourself in the foot by being a poor student of how to properly use the gun. Do yourself a favor and try mastering something fundamentally important before trying to leap head first into a level of music and concepts that you have no business doing business with. We crawl before we walk and we used training wheels for a reason – reality is you aren't going to get good at music or playing the harmonica by traveling a road that is paved with bullshit!
You can jump the gun if you want and try to weasel your way to the head of the class, but the down fall to that approach is – the proof is in the pudding, and when you do go to play for an audience, the shortcuts you took will taint your playing and the lack of musicianship you render will stick out like a sore thumb! Why cheat yourself out of becoming as creative as possible through sloppy practice habits.
Enjoy the many hills and valleys of learning your instrument and music…Take the time to work on getting a tone that has the beautiful aspects of great singers. Take the time to infuse your body with a sense of rhythm while striving to make it as solid as possible. Continue to add tunes and repertoire from the players who speak to you like no others. And try to make the connection with how quality is of vital importance when it comes to musical intelligence and comprehension compared to quantity.
It’s a fact that you’ll learn more from spending sufficient time studying one tune then rushing to learn ten tunes. Likewise quality time spent to learn and master a musical concept will empower you as a player immensely - compared to trying to ingest and digest ten concepts just for the sake of being greedy to posses more info then your truly capable of handling. Music is not about knowing more and more and more of it. There is way too much to know, way to much to absorb, way to much for a mere mortals lifetime to uncover! Have you mastered a style of music, if not, why not?
There is a significant difference between quality and quantity when it comes to musical intelligence. The amount of musical information you need to learn is minuscule when compared to the necessity of actually being able to grasp and master the theory and concepts you are presently studying. The depth of your understanding concerning the simplest of musical concepts is paramount! Cramming the brain full of harder degrees of theory hoping you’ll uncover the magic bullet to musical excellence will leave you more lost then ever and most likely is an exercise in vanity for the average musician. Master music’s simplicity and the rest will fall into place accurately.
Practicing new ideals is challenging, requiring repetitive actions, plus carefully orchestrated focus and concentration - but can be fun as well…We practice to beef up our technical savvy and accuracy. Practicing music is basically time spent being intellectually aware of what you’re trying to accomplish. Keep these practices focused on results! The point of practice is to master the subject at hand in order to further our musical powers. It is said that – something is considered mastered only after it can be routinely executed effortlessly without having to think about what it is your doing.
Practice sessions help equip us with those musical necessities needed for expressing ourselves accurately at will, without our thoughts interfering and hijacking our concentration when we are in actual playing mode. Playing mode is when you let down your intellectual guard so to speak while trusting your emotions, heart, and guts to perform naturally and easily what you've been practicing. You want to let go of trying to control the musical situation and just let it happen and unfold as it sees fit.
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 15, 2013 4:25 AM
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Frank
2214 posts
Apr 13, 2013
7:09 PM
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Try to separate practicing and playing into two different disciplines, because they are! The Master Player is able to combine them if he or she desires to, but the average musician is wise to only “practice when they are practicing” and only “play when they are playing”…Your goal is to play with a freedom that doesn't seem or sound calculated. And this is achieved by intellectually analyzing and mastering theory, timing, tone, tunes and technique during your practice sessions. Then trusting fully the work you did will be readily available to support your improvisations when you play. The material you spend quality time on truly mastering will be the accessible musical tools that appear in your playing effortlessly.
As you continue to improve in your understanding of basic theory by the practical application of using it thoughtfully while practicing, you will discover the liberty of knowing what it is you are playing theoretically with out concentrating on it. This integration is a natural process that will be seen through the minds eye. You won’t have to think about it, it will just happen because of the dedication and time spent practicing and mastering fundamental musical concepts. These efforts will empower your confidence to freely play the music you hear in you head and heart.
You’ll be less fearful of improvising because you won’t be relying on licks to get you through a solo – but you’ll trust your ear to lead you to the next right note with which to expand on your own ideals. In essence a thoughtful improvisation will unfold, without the roadblock of having to be overly intellectual about what you’re doing. I know it sounds contradictory – thoughts without thinking, but this is an automatic off shoot of mastering musical concepts and techniques. You will get better and better at supervising the left brain/right brain tug of war which can create a poor performance. Mastering the fundamentals is a excellent way to begin teaching these two hemispheres of the brain to co-exist in musical harmony! The end, which only brings me back to the beginning :)
Last Edited by Frank on Apr 14, 2013 4:56 AM
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BronzeWailer
952 posts
Apr 13, 2013
8:10 PM
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I deleted and reinserted this post after the Manifesto because I realized I was unwittingly "playing over" Frank, which I strive to avoid...
Good one Frank!
The beauty and pain of music as I am learning is that it is an endless journey. But is sure is an enjoyable trip...
Just adding that my French teacher in high school had the same approach to memorization. He always emphasized "learning" rather than memorizing a speech. If you memorize it, you are more likely to stumble and get stuck. Things move more smoothly if you simply "learn."
My YouTube
Last Edited by BronzeWailer on Apr 13, 2013 7:09 PM
My YouTube
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tookatooka
3246 posts
Apr 14, 2013
3:31 AM
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Wow! Thanks Frank. I've read the first bit and will be coming back to read the rest later.
It's good of you to take the time to do this for us. I too tend to repeat myself a lot which is something I need to correct.
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Gerry
46 posts
Apr 14, 2013
5:34 AM
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Nice work Sir!
I've been teaching guitar for over 20 years and it's my experience that the most useful things a player can absorb (for any instrument) are..
Keys, Related Chords, and Scales.
Not just as a way to improve the physical playing but also as a way to communicate with other musicians, and as a way of getting the most info out of any teaching/ reading materials.
(Have to say a lot of harp-speak seems to play fast and loose whether things are major or minor.)
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Rgsccr
155 posts
Apr 14, 2013
6:04 PM
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Thanks Frank for a thoughtful and insightful analysis! There is so much goods stuff in what you wrote, and it is presented in an organized, logical manner. I'm the guy who initially asked the question a number of months ago. Since then I think I have been following many of the steps you suggest, and am noticing a lot of progress. As you suggest, I practice consistently - usually a half hour every day if not more. Later I play (as opposed to practice) for about that long. I have also been going to a blues jam every week which has definitely taught me a lot, particularly how to listen to the other musicians and try to fit what I am playing to the song. I also have been participating in Jerry Portnoy's lessons on sonic-junction.com. One thing I do that definitely fits with your advice, is to play "Juke" every day (I think I have played it over 300 times now). Not only have I learned it reasonably well, but, in doing so, have gotten better at the many different techniques that the song requires.
Again, thanks for taking the time to put this together - it certainly worth reading and coming back to from time to time no matter what one level one has attained. Rich Greenberg, Seattle
Last Edited by Rgsccr on Apr 14, 2013 6:06 PM
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mr_so&so
668 posts
Apr 18, 2013
1:41 PM
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Hey Frank, nice work. I'd like to have that download link, before this thread drifts away... Thanks.
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tookatooka
3260 posts
Apr 18, 2013
2:06 PM
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Yes it's a good read. I had to copy and paste it and print it off. I don't like reading too much from the screen.
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