Guitar Secrets

[aliensporebomb]

I drive people nuts because I pick up instruments I can't play and play music on them. I probably couldn't get a gig on any of them but I'm serviceably good enough that I sound like I know what I'm doing. My friend Kevin scored big props with me by playing the keyboard part to the Hydravian song "This Time It's Personal" on a pump organ at a grange re-enactment exhibit. We did stuff like that all the time.

BUT, here's another "secret":

Have you ever bought a guitar and just played it as is without changing any of the hardware or electronics? It was good enough as it was? The stock pickups were pretty ripping? If you find one of those guitars get it and play the heck out of it.

Another thing: Zappa had this sprechstimme process with some of his music. Listen to his "The Man from Utopia" recording, there are a number of songs that is Frank scat-singing/half talking and then Vai overdubs single note jazz guitar lines over it. It's hysterical. Once you see what's happening there? START DOING IT YOURSELF!

I'll sit there with the guitar and enunciate sentences vocally and try to accompany myself on guitar single note wise. That's why some of my phrases are weird like 9s and 13s and so. It's easy to go "4-4-4-4" but it's more fun to play 9s and 13s and say things like "par-tially-reclining-g-force-lawn-furniture" and then apply that to guitar.

Try it.

[Infinite Ego]

I rarely modify any of my guitars.

[bear]

Since reading some of Goodrick's the "Advancing Guitarist" on scales and modes, I've become very conscious of picking positions where the placement of half steps is patently obvious so I'm more cognizant of them. Whole steps play faster but I can lapse into finger memory rather than thinking about the scales I'm in and intervals I'm playing. Not that I'm any good as a player since noticing, but maybe a touch better.

Assloads of time does help. I had piss poor ears and knowledge in college but lots of time not spent on classes but with a guitar and I sounded reasonably good back then.

[mfnickster]

My friend Kevin scored big props with me by playing the keyboard part to the Hydravian song "This Time It's Personal" on a pump organ at a grange re-enactment exhibit.

I would find it pretty difficult to play the organ pedals while wearing pumps. ;D

Hey T.M., any chance of getting an MP3 of "This Time It's Personal"?

[aliensporebomb]

And yeah, you need to get that time in. When I was younger when my friends were out partying I was sitting there with the guitar for hours, days, weeks.

The story I remember from those days of constant practice (and I didn't have a job at the time or was between jobs) was getting up in the morning, practicing for hours, eating breakfast, practicing for hours, eating lunch, practicing until almost nightfall then a friend and his date came over to say hello. I was still playing when they dropped by - they went on their date and I was still practicing and then they came back from their date and said hello again (and I was still playing) and then they went out to her car (they parked it here so they could go on their date in his car) and after they got done talking for an hour or so they both left and I was still playing for a few hours before I finally went to bed.

And that type of thing happened for literally months, years on end.

I was kind of a sad case. If I wasn't practicing or the band wasn't practicing or playing out I was thinking about it.

Bruce makes a good point about playing parts for other instruments. That's another story.