Guitar Lessons and Theory

Focus

Any improvising musician knows how important concentration is. Let's talk about several things that may disturb your focus:

• The other musicians in the band. You don't play with them for enough time to get used to what they do, they surprise you from time to time, you have to listen to them more than you listen to your own ideas.
• The instrument. It's not comfortable enough, you have to fight with it. Or: there are some dead spots where the sound is buzzing or doesn't sustain and you avoid them. Or: the sound is not exactly what you want, you think more about the next effect you should use than about the next phrase of your solo.
• Disrespect towards the audience and yourself. You think: "They can't appreciate my music, I'll just do some fast licks, that's all they want. I'll keep my music for myself".

Being aware of the difficulties that are standing against the communication between you and your audience is the first step to make your act a real musical show. If you've got the gift of music, don't give up! You have the right to become a performing musician.

Virtuosi and Musicians

In the 19th century, the violin world was dominated by virtuosi. The overwhelming impact Paganini made on anyone who attended his concerts, convinced many violin students to follow his style. The trend crossed the strict domain of the instrument and more and more pianists tried to reach a certain level of virtuosity that will fascinate audiences.

It took about 100 years before violinists and pianists became musicians. In the 20th century, a long line of musicians started to think and feel what they were playing and serve the music. By that time, the fact that a violinist would be technically competent was implied.

The rock guitar stage nowadays looks more like the violin world in the 19th century. Most of the guitar-oriented albums sound as if the featured guitarist is doing his home-work. People crowd the concert halls to see (and maybe listen) the guitar virtuoso of the day. As Yngwie Malmsteen put it: "There will always be a large audience interested in virtuosity".

But there are still a few guitarists that reached that superior stage where great technique serves music. Among them: Mike Keneally, Jeff Beck, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Eddie van Halen, Ritchie Blackmore and Gary Moore. If you want to listen to real music and great guitarists, try this short list.

Rhythm Changes

Let's say you found a lick you are fond of. In order to be able to use it in any song, you'll have to transpose the lick in several scales until you get used to it.

Another thing is to play the lick in different rhythms. Let's take a very simple lick:

Now, play it in different ways:

Of course, you may play the lick at different tempos. A metronome may help.

So, take your favorite licks and play them as 1/8s, 1/16s and some odd measure partitions. In the end, you'll master them good enough to use any of them in any given piece of music.

Scales. When and Where.

Beginners should learn to play scales on simple chord sequences. Take again Band in a Box and choose at "Juke Songs Now" rock and blues styles. You'll see that blues, major and minor scales are enough. Usually, you don't even have to change the scale during the whole song.

The next step: play patterns you like in other roots. For example: you like a certain pattern in E-blues. Try to play it in Flat A, Flat B, Sharp C, Flat E, Sharp F.

Now, open Band in a Box and choose some jazz styles at "Juke Songs Now". You'll notice the chord sequences demand a more complex approach. You'll have to change roots during the songs or you'll have to play diatonic or melodic minor modes on certain chords.

The point is to practice on as many chord sequences as possible. You'll become a real improviser when you'll be able to create valuable melodic lines on any given chords sequence. To achieve this, you'll have to reach a point where you are so used to scales and modes that you don't have to think about them too much and they don't interrupt the musical flow of your improvisation.

Memory and Relative Hearing

All what was needed to recognize and memorize intervals was that they were given a name. Relative hearing is a question of memory. Once you heard and memorized a specific interval in a certain piece of music, you will recognize it anywhere else.

Let's take the following: MajorSecond.mid. What comes next? Was I thinking about: Sunshine.mid or Funky.mid? The point is: once I heard Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" and knew it starts with a major second, when I heard "Funky Town", I realized it starts with a major second too.

That's why it's so important to try to play on your instrument all the melodies you can remember. Listen to what you play, think about the intervals.

Another thing to remember should be chord sequences. The most popular chord sequences include the root (I), the fourth(IV) and the fifth(V) chords. The three chords are very easy to recognize in classic blues. Can you recognize them also in another context? Can you recognize them when they are only a part of a more complex chord sequence where they merge with other chords?

The ear, like the eye, has its memory. All you need is to be aware of it.