Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Help a self taught seven year guitarist improve.

roachboy · 06-17-2004, 08:48 AM

i agree in general with ofkuo
here's what i have figured out so far, in summary version:

1. whatever you do, do not take the claims made about theory seriously--learn it, but use it for your own purposes.

2. improvise. improvisation requires a full arsenal of techniques--i have never been sure about the mythology that everyone who makes structures hears them in their head before they play--it seems to me a way to transpose a notion that music has to be scored from paper to a psychological level--i have been playing piano for 30 years and rarely hear things that i might do away from the instrument--but i would not worry about it either way. most of the music that happens is a direct function of the immediate relation to the instrument--sitting in front of it, moving into a curious kind of mental space, etc....

3. i find that it is important to fool around with conventional voicings in order to open up space for thinking in terms of lines rather than in terms of riffs--it started with dropping the thirds, building chords out of fourths, then onto more dissonant intervals. straight chords force you into thinking in terms of riffs or scales. since there are thousands of players who are straightjacketed by thinking in these terms--particularly guitarists--why would you want to go down that road if you are at a place where it is still a choice (rather than a habit)?

4. copying stuff that you hear might be good for ear training, but why would you want to make imitation into the center of your relationship to your instrument?

5. listen listen listen. what you can imagine is a function of what you understand as possible.

6. co-ordination will come with practice, which requires more a relationship with the instrument that makes it seem as though your are learning how to talk with and through it in a different language than one where you have some idea of a right way to play that you fail to manage. the second route makes practice seem like drudgery.

06-17-2004, 08:48 AM	#8 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	i agree in general with ofkuo here's what i have figured out so far, in summary version: 1. whatever you do, do not take the claims made about theory seriously--learn it, but use it for your own purposes. 2. improvise. improvisation requires a full arsenal of techniques--i have never been sure about the mythology that everyone who makes structures hears them in their head before they play--it seems to me a way to transpose a notion that music has to be scored from paper to a psychological level--i have been playing piano for 30 years and rarely hear things that i might do away from the instrument--but i would not worry about it either way. most of the music that happens is a direct function of the immediate relation to the instrument--sitting in front of it, moving into a curious kind of mental space, etc.... 3. i find that it is important to fool around with conventional voicings in order to open up space for thinking in terms of lines rather than in terms of riffs--it started with dropping the thirds, building chords out of fourths, then onto more dissonant intervals. straight chords force you into thinking in terms of riffs or scales. since there are thousands of players who are straightjacketed by thinking in these terms--particularly guitarists--why would you want to go down that road if you are at a place where it is still a choice (rather than a habit)? 4. copying stuff that you hear might be good for ear training, but why would you want to make imitation into the center of your relationship to your instrument? 5. listen listen listen. what you can imagine is a function of what you understand as possible. 6. co-ordination will come with practice, which requires more a relationship with the instrument that makes it seem as though your are learning how to talk with and through it in a different language than one where you have some idea of a right way to play that you fail to manage. the second route makes practice seem like drudgery. __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite