Blues / Electric Guitar / Learning Music — No comments
15
Jun 11

Do I need a guitar teacher?

Many famous blues players were or are “self-taught.” They learned to play guitar by listening to other musicians play, or by listening to radio or to records (remember those big black disks?). They kept listening and kept trying to figure out how to make the sounds they heard with their own guitars. If they were lucky, a member of their family or a friend might show them how to play. Or they might live where they could see and hear a local player. Blues greats from John Lee Hooker to Buddy Guy have learned this way and you can’t argue with the results they achieved. They obviously spent many hours “woodshedding” to develop their skill. It took devotion, commitment, persistence, passion and perhaps some obsession with music. And, of course, some talent.

Nowadays, aspiring guitarists have a lot more resources to draw on. In addition to recordings in your preferred format, there are dozens of instructional books (often with a CD), instructional or concert DVDs, as well as the vast resources of the Internet. The YouTube website alone has thousands of short videos of performance or instruction (though the quality varies).

When I decided to learn guitar, I wanted to begin with a teacher. I thought this would make it easier to get off to a good start and avoid developing bad habits that I would have to unlearn. People differ in how they learn best, but working with a teacher has proved to be good for me. Most of the learning process is still in my hands (literally as well as figuratively), but I believe I’ve learned more and learned it better by having a teacher.

There are two principal benefits to me. While I am very motivated to learn, I still enjoy the “discipline” of having a regular weekly lesson to prepare for. I like having that “deadline” to help structure my time and help me maintain priorities among all the competing tasks and responsibilities. (I’m very curious and interested in a lot of things, so one of my biggest challenges is setting priorities and focusing on what’s most important.)

Even more important is having an experienced and knowledgeable musician to guide me along the path. Of course, Jim Goelitz, my teacher shows me how to play and demonstrates techniques, but he also can watch me play and advise me how to improve. He’ll suggest a better fingering or a very slight change in hand position to get a better sound. For me, it’s invaluable to have someone who notices things that I don’t. I can usually tell if I play a wrong note or don’t make a chord change in time, but he notices if I’m playing the right notes in the wrong rhythm, for example.

I feel very fortunate that I happened to find a teacher who is (1) a good musician, (2) a good teacher, and (3) a good fit for me.

I also draw on other resources: books, CDs and DVDs. Living in the Chicago area, I’m lucky to have easy access to a lot of blues clubs, live concerts and festivals. All of that contributes, but I’m convinced my playing would have developed quite differently without a teacher.

Blues / Learning Music — No comments
30
Dec 10

Learning from Listening to Music

When I was focusing on learning to write short fiction and took several writing workshops, the writer-teachers often expressed dismay that aspiring writers didn’t read enough good fiction. How could one learn to write without reading a lot?, they wondered.

If you’ve ever spent any time around young children, you know that one of their primary paths to learning is imitation. They pay keen attention to what’s going on around them and soak up every detail. It seems natural for them to “practice” the behaviors and activities they see adults doing–until they can do them as well.

Adults who want to learn any art form or creative activity would do well to remember the example of children. Instructional media, teachers and classes contribute to learning, but a key element is paying attention to good examples of the art one seeks to master.

Just as aspiring writers need to read, study and deeply experience good writing, so do aspiring musicians need to listen widely and deeply to the music they care about. Since I started taking guitar lessons, I’ve listened to music much more often than I used to–even though I’ve always enjoyed and loved music. Listening to music, especially blues by the masters, nurtures and encourages my love of the music and also helps me learn to play the music better.

Now that I’ve learned to play a little, I hear music in a different way. The more I know how to play, the more I can hear in the music I listen to. At the same time, I’m also trying to hear new things. What is that riff? How is the guitarist playing that passage? Could I play that?

My teacher has had me do Music Listening Analyses to encourage me to focus on certain elements in a song. In the process, I’ve listened to songs over and over. There is always more to hear. Even a relatively “simple” song has so much going on in it that it requires multiple listenings to absorb it deeply.

Whether listening for an analysis or just listening, it’s important to pay attention to the feel of the music. Music isn’t an intellectual exercise, nor is it just a matter of good technique. The ultimate goal is for “technique” to fall below a conscious level and simply play out the feelings.

Since I started taking lessons, I’ve also gone to hear live music more often. I find it helpful to see what a guitarist is doing as I’m hearing the music. However, I often can’t tell what is going on even as I’m looking, because it happens too fast.

Before I took guitar lessons, I hadn’t given any thought to ear training, but it’s obviously as important to playing music as finger training. Fortunately, listening to music I enjoy is never an onerous assignment.

In a sense, listening to music is also a form of goal-setting. I don’t expect ever to play at the level of blues mentors like Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker or Hubert Sumlin. However, as I sail over the wide seas of music, they are like the North Star, a point of orientation that guides me and keeps me on track.

Blues / Electric Guitar / Learning Music — 1 comment
04
Oct 10

How long does it take to learn to play music?

The Zen answer is “forever.” That runs counter to our culture of instant gratification, which leads you to believe you could be a “rock star” overnight (just learn a few chords). I believe music is a spiritual path that one follows, ideally, without regard to any destination. I know of no creative activity that one can truly master. The great painters, writers, composers, musicians were always striving to develop their art and scorned the notion that they had “arrived”–regardless of any public acclaim they might have received.

When I started taking guitar lessons, I naively imagined that learning to play wouldn’t be as challenging as it has been. I don’t know if I had a specific time line in my head, but I didn’t realize how much there was to learn. Even after more than two years, it feels like I’m still at the awkward toddler stage, at best.

I recently ran across two different sources that mentioned a more proximate time frame. In a 2004 interview with Bill Wyman, Muddy Waters’ son, Big Bill Morganfield said that after his father’s death (April 30, 1983) he wanted to do a tribute to him. He bought a a guitar for himself and for his brother Joseph. “I knew my dad was great, but I didn’t realize how great he was until I tried learning how to play the same stuff he was playing,” Morganfield said. “It took me eight years or so to even get within the ball park of being good enough.” (This interview is one of the extras on the concert DVD Muddy Waters: Messin’ with the Blues [1974].)

In a 1994 interview with Guitar World, Hubert Sumlin said that he had been playing guitar for eight or nine years when he approached Howlin’ Wolf and wanted to play with his band. Wolf said he wasn’t ready. Sometime after Sumlin went home, he had a realization that he didn’t need to play with a pick. “I started playing with a lot more soul. I never used a pick again. My tone, my sound, everything happened right then,” he said.

I can’t even guess how my playing may have progressed after eight years (That’s 2016!). So much depends on how much and how well I practice each day.

In his book, Zen Guitar (1997), Philip Toshio Sudo (1959-2002) says that when beginning students ask how long it will take to learn, he tells them “as long as you live.” He adds, “The Way of Zen Guitar is learned day by day, minute by minute, second by second, now to eternity. There is no faster way.”

George Leonard drew on his knowledge of Zen philosophy and the martial art of aikido in writing his book, Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment (1992). He stresses that mastery “brings rich rewards, yet is not really a goal or a destination but rather a process, a journey.” He says the best way to move toward mastery is to “practice diligently,” but also to “practice primarily for the sake of the practice itself.”

I’m committed to the path of music and plan to continue playing guitar as long as I’m physically able to. I’ll do my best to accept that it will take “forever” and focus on the present moment and what I’m able to play in it and to play that with all my heart.

Blues / Electric Guitar / Live Music Report — No comments
14
Aug 10

Magic Slim and the Teardrops

This was the third time I’ve seen Magic Slim and the Teardrops this year at Kingston Mines, but it was a special treat, because in the first set Magic Slim played a Fender Jazzmaster. This was his primary guitar on his early recordings, including my favorite album of his, Grand Slam (1982). In his hands (he uses a thumb and a finger pick), the Jazzmaster had a more twangy, stinging tone than does the Les Paul Classic that I’ve see him play before and which he played during the second set. (He doesn’t use effects pedals, but plugs directly into the amp.)

Magic Slim at Kingston Mines August 14, 2010

Magic Slim at Kingston Mines August 14, 2010

Magic Slim is a master of the shuffle. Many of his songs are based on this fundamental blues rhythm. Born Morris Holt on Aug 7, 1937 in Torrence, Mississippi, Magic Slim is one of the elder statesman of Delta-flavored Chicago blues. He was given his blues moniker by West Side Chicago bluesman, Magic Sam, a Mississippi friend. Magic Slim is no longer slim, but he’s still tall and he definitely still has the magic. There are guitarists who can play faster and with more flash, but very few who can convey the depth of feeling Magic Slim can with seemingly little effort.

At this performance, The Teardrops consisted of Jon McDonald (Fender Stratocaster and vocals), Andre Howard (electric bass) and Brian Jones (drums). They provided a solid rhythmic base for Slim’s singing and playing. During the second set, a trombone player joined the band (I couldn’t catch his name). Additional photos of this event are on Flickr.

I’m already looking forward to more Magic in September when the band returns to Kingston Mines as well as to Buddy Guy’s Legends.

Blues / Electric Guitar / Learning Music — No comments
11
Aug 10

Guitar Lesson

I started working up “Blues Break in ‘G’” on Monday. It’s the third of the songs in G in Kenny Sultan’s Introduction to Acoustic Blues (2001, p. 26) and is a continuation of “Step It Up And Go.” I went over it in my lesson today with Jim Goelitz. I was confused by a chord fingering that Sultan suggested, but Jim said the way I was fingering it was better. There are still some rough spots when I play the song, but it’s mainly getting my fingers used to slightly different patterns. The songs have a very different feel than those in E and A and overall seem easier.

We also talked about chords and Jim introduced me to the concept of “half-stepping” into a chord change. It’s something I had often heard in music and even played, but I wasn’t familiar with the term. It consists of leading in to a chord change by playing a chord a half-step (one fret) above or below the next chord. This adds interest to the chording.

Blues / Live Music Report — No comments
05
Aug 10

Harlem Avenue Lounge

August Lordy of ChicagoBluesBeat.com told me a few months ago that the Harlem Avenue Lounge was one of his favorite Chicagoland blues clubs. It’s just a few minutes from my house, but I just now made it there for the first time. I’ve driven by it a number of times, but I’m not sure I even noticed it. It’s not inviting from the outside. I was curious in particular about their Thursday night “Open Mic Blues Jam.” They have a house band play for an hour starting at 8:30 and then anyone who signs up can play.

The house band was much more impressive than I expected, especially guitarist Pistol Pete, who played with the speed and intensity of a Buddy Guy.

Pistol Pete with house band at Harlem Ave. Lounge

Pistol Pete with house band at Harlem Avenue Lounge

The first guest players I heard were hardly beginners. I couldn’t imagine getting up there myself in the near future, certainly not before I’d played for a while with other musicians. I plan to go back to hear more.

Electric Guitar / Learning Music — 1 comment
02
Aug 10

How much practice is enough?

As I perfectionist, I’m inclined to believe that no amount of practice is “enough.” More is always better. If your fingers are sore, it’s time to stop, but short of that, you can probably benefit from more practice.

When I first started taking lessons, Jim Goelitz, my teacher, suggested I practice twenty minutes, then spend ten minutes sitting quietly to let what I’d done sink in. I was to repeat this routine twice a day.

After a while, forty minutes a day of playing didn’t seem enough. There was so much I wanted to learn. Now I aim to practice at least sixty minutes a day. Sometimes I’ve managed to practice two hours in a day, but then there are others days when I barely manage thirty minutes. Sometimes. to my regret, the day gets away from me entirely.

In late March 2010, I started keeping a log of daily practice time, so I would know how much time I was actually spending. My weekly average so far is 5.3 hours a week. There are some weeks when I’ve managed an hour a day or close to it.

I’ve read of musicians who play several hours a day. I wish I could make the time to play more, because I have observed that practice does make a difference. As I play songs over and over, I notice improvement. I can play more smoothly, with less stumbling. My fingers gradually take over and I don’t have to consciously micromanage their movements.

I aspire to make playing the guitar “second nature,” so that through repetition and practice it becomes essentially automatic, not requiring conscious thought. The most common example of this is learning to ride a bike. Once you’ve learned, your body “knows” what to do and you no longer have to “think” about what needs to be done.

Some aspects of playing are already approaching “second nature,” but I still need to extend that to things I haven’t even begun to learn. Learning music is a never-ending process. It’s a journey without a destination.

Blues / Live Music Report — No comments
30
Jul 10

Chainsaw Dupont at Nick’s Beer Garden

Chainsaw Dupont is the first musician I’ve ever seen take a cell phone call during a set. (It was a brief call and the band kept playing.) He played his blues loose, but raw, his Laguna electric guitar heavy on echo and reverb. Several times he asked someone in the audience for a beat and would use that as the basis for a song. He had mike problems, so it was hard to hear when he sang. Perhaps because of that, most of his numbers were instrumentals.

Chainsaw Dupont

Chainsaw Dupont at Nick's Beer Garden

His band consisted of electric keyboard, bass and drums. The bassist (Tom?) and drummer were outstanding. During the first set, a couple of young men carrying African-style drums came in the club and sat down to listen. Dupont asked if they were there to jam. I gathered that wasn’t their intention, but he invited them to join the band and they played along through the second set.

Nick’s Beer Garden on Milwaukee Avenue in the busy, trendy Wicker Park neighborhood is a typical long narrow storefront bar. The band was set up by the windows at the front. Patrons coming through the front door sometimes had to step around Dupont as he played. It didn’t seem to faze him.

This was the first time I’ve heard Chainsaw Dupont and I really enjoyed his playing. It was a fun show and I would definitely go see him again. Additional photos of him are here.

Blues / Electric Guitar / Learning Music — No comments
28
Jul 10

Guitar Lesson

At my lesson today, I suggested to Jim that we go back to Magic Slim and the Teardrop’s “Early Every Morning” (Grand Slam, 1982). We had started going over it two weeks ago. I asked specifically about chords and choosing voicings. He showed me several chords and ways of using them to create interest. In showing me the bass line for the song’s shuffle rhythm, he said he preferred to play the C7 chord at the 12th fret so that the notes stayed on the wound strings. He thought it sounded stronger than remaining at the 7th fret. That made sense to me.

Blues / Electric Guitar / Learning Music — No comments
28
Jul 10

Guitar Practice

This week I’ve focused on exercises and songs in the Key of G from Kenny Sultan’s Introduction to Acoustic Blues (2001). I’ve been practicing “Blues in G” (p. 23) for three weeks or so and am feeling more at ease with it and can play it more smoothly. I haven’t quite mastered the patterns in measures 6 and 11, but they’re getting easier. Compared to some songs earlier in the book it’s not a difficult piece, but there are new moves that my fingers haven’t quite gotten used to. My little finger, for example, doesn’t always make it from the first string to fret the third string reliably.

On Sunday (7/25), I started practicing “Step It Up and Go”(p. 25), which adds the C and D7 chord to the G chord. Again, it’s not that difficult, but my fingers are still getting the hang of it.

Meanwhile, I continue to practice scales, chords and the songs in E and A that I’ve learned. It’s frustrating to go back to a song and discover how unruly it’s gotten during the period of neglect.

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