Optimal learning to playing independence and skill

[Brad]

Hi Brian,

First and foremost Happy new year to you and all of my active melody colleagues!
I have been a member now for a bunch of years and have always loved your lessons , your skills and your wonderful taste and your thoughtful manner.

While I have been a guitar player for many years, self taught like so many of us from the late 60s folk movement , I must confess I have always been frustrated by my lack of fluency , and a sense that I may have the ability to accompany myself on a song , play chords and a few not particularly creative licks but have never had any mastery of the instrument both from a technical and certainly creative perspective.

While all of us are aware of the old axiom that the only way to make it to Carnegie hall is practice, practice, practice, and are also aware that there are special individuals like Segovia, Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson , BBKing and others that have unique and special inborn talent ( who also spend or spent many hours practicing) .

I have found that I have enjoyed your lessons and have learned to copy your tunes. I am successful playing them but if I leave the guitar aside for a several weeks to a month or more, I no longer have the “finger memory” to play them. It seems as though all I have done is to memorize a particular tune which I can then forget.

So, the tough question I have to you from my perplexed perspective is how does one truly achieve independent creativity if not more mastery of this wonderful instrument? Should one turn to the basics, learn all foundational music theory, chord structure, learn where all of the notes on the key board are, how to play all major and minor scales, pentatonic scales ,chromatic scales ? Make all of this second nature in order to truly become independent and creative? Indeed is this the approach you yourself have taken to be able to play guitar by yourself, to perform , to play with others and to create your wonderful tunes and lessons?

I don’t know what my colleagues out there think and would also love to get their perspective. I must confess making substantive progress as a player is a serious challenge!

Many thanks,
Brad

Reply

[Michael L]

Hi Brad, from my admittedly limited perspective, I think it’s about using Brian’s lessons to lead you to a better understanding of the fretboard. Combine that with your listening experience for music of the genera you like and begin experimenting with ideas.

By learning Brian’s lessons and really going through the video teaching (maybe multiple times) you can begin to learn the various CAGED chord shapes, how the pentatonic (maj and min) fit over them, how the major scale fits over them, etc. This eventually builds a mental map of the fretboard and given a chord progression, you can then figure out a lead, or create a call and response tune, etc. This is how it worked for me. The key is to really “get” how Brian is locating the licks and scales in relation to the chords.

Hope this helps. I’m sure others will have guidance too.

[charjo]

Hi Brad,
I totally agree with everything Michael mentioned.
I would add the importance of triads and seeing how those triads fit within chord shapes. I was gobsmacked by Brian’s EP 485, Triads are the Answer, especially when Brian demonstrated some improvisation at !8:18 of the part 1 video. I think it’s the single greatest lesson Brian has created.
The ability to see those triads and to see the intervals within and around those triads is becoming key for me. That is coming on top of having a pretty good orientation to the major and minor pentatonics and major scale shapes as well as a reasonable facility with note names. All these things combined are starting to give me the knowledge to see licks around chord shapes, modify pentatonic boxes into various modes, represent chords as double stops, see the harmonized sixths and thirds, as well as recognize and create extended chords.
I think basic theory is helpful, ie. structure of the major scale, understanding keys as per the Circle of 5ths, and intervals and basic chord structure. Understanding borrowed chords and secondary dominants also helped answer a lot of questions for me.
The other important element is to develop a sense of timing and to start to hear the chords as they change. I don’t know how you do that other than doing and listening as Michael said.
It takes time and repetition but it can probably happen faster with some focused practice as Brian discusses in his latest lesson.
John

[CT]

Finding your own voice on the instrument should be every player’s goal, and it is more of a journey than a destination. Learning simple well-known songs is the gateway drug of choice. You can start by stylizing them to suit your own sense of rhythm, vocal ability/range and overall musicality. From there, learning chord progressions is a logical next step. Start out simple with two chord songs, then jump up into three chord I-IV-V, and on to I-vi-IV-V, etc.
1. Two chord song examples: Too many to list: Horse with no Name, Dreams (fleetwood Mac), etc
2. I-IV-V examples: Too many to list: Wild Thing, etc
3. I-vi-IV-V: Too many to list: Last Kiss, Stand by me, etc

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