Guitar Musings

Can’t Remember?

I’ve heard and read many artists state that some of the best performances that they have given were ones that can’t even remember.  By this, I mean they give into the music/performance and go into a sort of trance, I guess you can say.  I’ve seen this in many guitarists that I admire from Eddie Van Halen to Bruce Cockburn and the result is usually a performance that strikes awe in my heart.  I say to myself, “how can I play like that?”

Let the music take control:

I’ll be honest, this is something that I still struggle with.  Two reasons:
1.  I want to remember my performance so I actively think about it while playing.  This hinders me because then my mind isn’t doing what it’s supposed to do; play the guitar.  The outcome is that I will either have a brain freeze and forget a passage or my playing because sloppy.  Either way, it’s a performance that I would rather forget rather than remember.
2.  I want it to be perfect so I over think and critique myself as I play.  Same result as above.

Play For Yourself:

Why is it that when we practice, we are at our best?  If I had a dollar for every time I said, “why can’t I play this now?  I was nailing it in practice…”  The reason is that when practicing, I’m playing for myself and no one else.  It’s just the three of us: Me, my guitar and the music.  Throw a crowd in there and the nerves kick in and all of a sudden the piece is harder than expected.  Why can’t we play for ourselves when we are in front of people?  For me, it’s that I don’t want to come across rude or narcissistic and I fear that the audience is judging me harshly.  But these notions are all conjecture and speculation that I have put out there with no real proof that it is true. I’m hindering my ability to play to my full potential.

Let the Music/Life Guide You:

A dear friend of mine Robin Easton (blog here), recently wrote a post suggesting that we should trust our hearts and trust life to teach us in life.   This can be applied to our playing as well.  Trust our experience, our training and our hearts when we play. Play for yourself and let your heart and music guide you into a great performance.  Note, that doesn’t mean that every note will be perfect,it might even be a bit sloppy but some of the best performances that I have ever witnessed weren’t technically great but the passion; the emotion was there.  The musician let go and let the music guide him/her into something that I felt privileged to watch.  This I suggest to you sounds scary to even me because this requires an act of faith and to embrace the unknown and dare I say relinquishing control.  But the idea of control is a myth because we can’t control things like if the PA goes out or if a crying baby is in the audience, etc… Giving in and letting go of the control is probably the biggest act of control that you will do.

Like that old cliche’ I’ve heard over the years: “Play like no one is listening.”

*Note: Thank you Robin for inspiring this post!

Been Distracted:

If you have followed Guitar Musings in the past, you have probably stopped reading the blog because there hasn’t been a post in months.  This has been for a number of reasons; some personal and others professional. Anyway, I’m trying to get myself back on track;  with my playing and my writing.  

Surround Yourself:

I have found that, even though I play for many hours, I don’t practice.  I’m just noodling on the guitar but not learning or polishing my craft.  Some of that has to do with me being a bit lazy/uninspired and not knowing what to do.  That is why I signed up for lessons with a local teacher and am completely excited for my first lesson.  I have heard great entrepreneurs say that if you want to keep the energy of your new venture going, surround yourself with other entrepreneurs.   Doing this will keep the energy up and you will be more likely to succeed.  I’m doing the same by surrounding myself with other guitar players.  Just the thought of playing on a regular basis has gotten my creative juices flowing.  I can’t wait.

Are you surrounding yourself with other players to keep you going?  Reading this blog or going to a guitar related forum isn’t the same.  We need to have the contact of other musicians.  Whether it’s a lesson, jamming with friends or just going to a concert, try feeding your guitar soul a bit and the music will begin to flow.

Hola music fans,

So everyone keeps asking me how the Guitar Contest went. In a nutshell, it was mixed. I did everything exactly the way I wanted to. I made some contacts, met some stars, I turned in a performance that the crowd got into, and I distributed over 600 copies of my CD to guitar fans. The one bad part was that while the judges all agreed that I had the chops (“I’d have to practice for 100 years to get those kind of chops” – Earl Slick) , they weren’t quite ready for the intensity. Their critiques sounded like something my parents would have said (which I’m actually OK with, rock and roll ain’t for the parents).

So needless to say I didn’t win the contest. But I accomplished what I set out to do and made a splash. To quote the editor of Guitar Player Magazine – “Yours will be the most watched video from the contest once we post them on Youtube.”

Here’s a video my wife shot of my performance.

For the record -

Judges:

Earl Slick (David Bowie guitarist)

Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson guitarist)

Elliot Easton (The Cars guitarist)

Steve Lukather (Toto guitarist)

Greg Hampton (producer, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford)

Host:

Brendon Small (Creator of Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse and Home Movies)

Prizes:

A bunch of gear and a magazine profile, no contracts or studio time

LInks

Hercules Guitar Superstar Vid
Unedited version of the performance (contains offensive language)

Came across the video below on YouTube. I’ve only flown with my guitar once and that was pre-911 when you could bring your guitar as a carry on. This is a fine example of why you need to invest in a good flight case and insure your guitars. I agree with the lyrics, they are liable and it sad to see that customer service is pretty much dead in the airline industry. This is a pretty catchy song too and well written. I don’t think this would have been as effective if it wasn’t so well written but it looks like he might get his claim fulfilled (see links below) after all the attention this song has gotten.

United Breaks Guitars Lyrics

I flew United Airlines on the way to Nebraska
The plane departed Halifax connecting in Chicago’s O’Hare
While on the ground, the passengers said from the seat behind me
“My God! They’re throwing guitars out there.”

The band and exchanged a look, best described as terror
At the action on the tarmac and knowing who’s projectiles these would be
So before I left Chicago, I alerted three employees
Who showed complete indifference towards me

Chorus

United, United
You broke my Taylor guitar
United, United
Some big help you are
You broke it, you should fix it
You’re liable, just admit it
I should have flown with someone else or
GONE BY CAR…
Cause United Breaks Guitars!

When we landed in Nebraska, I confirmed what I suspected
My Taylor had been the victim of a vicious act of malice at O’Hare
So began a year long saga of pass the buck don’t ask me
And I’m sorry sir your claim can go nowhere

So to all the airlines people from New York To New Dehli
Including kind Miss Irlweg who says the final word from them is no
I’ve heard all your excuses and chased your wild gooses
And say this attitude of yours, I say, must go

Chorus

Bridge:
Well I won’t say I will never fly with you again cause maybe
To save the world, I probably would but that won’t likely happen
And if it did, I wouldn’t bring my luggage
Cause you’d just go and break it
Into a thousand pieces
Just like you broke my heart
When United Breaks Guitars!

Chorus
Yeah United breaks guitars – End

Links:

http://davecarrollmusic.com/story/united-breaks-guitars (back story by the artist)

LA Times story on how Carroll might get some satisfaction from United.

A couple of days back; I attended a service celebrating the life of a friends son. I never met this person, yet I felt a connection and found myself getting emotional from time to time.   Throughout the service I heard how much he loved the guitar and music and was surprised by how we enjoyed the similar musicians and songs.  One song that particularly grabbed me was Joe Satriani’s “Always with you, Always With Me” that the played early on. This is my absolutely favorite Satch song and whenever hear it, I will now think of Jeff; a fellow guitarist.

The connection is that six string wonder that can frustrate the hell out of you and comfort you in times of trouble.