Introduction I don’t really consider myself a songwriter. I spend most of my time as a musician in the sideman position. A role that keeps me busy learning other people’s songs, coming up with second guitar parts, and singing harmony. Despite my area of expertise lying outside of songwriting, I've still managed to write quite... Continue Reading →
Introduction This blog post is about improvisation, the concept of determinism, and what happens at the intersection of the two. My primary goal is to redefine what it means to improvise and to provide players with a clear way of doing it honestly. The post is set up in five chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) Determinism... Continue Reading →
This month’s blog post features a conversation I had with my friend Brett Staggs. In our talk, we discussed emotional musicianship versus academic musicianship by asking each other a series of questions. We documented our interaction in two ways: a written exchange we did via email, and an unscripted conversation we filmed with our iPhones. Also included... Continue Reading →
This is the story of my evolution as a lead guitarist. I've used audio and video recordings, and in some cases, full transcriptions to tell it. It's, basically, a guitar solo memoir. My primary purpose here is self-reflection. I want to be honest about who I am as a player and how I've gotten here so that... Continue Reading →
Talent, like everything else in the known universe, seems to arise from prior causes. Namely, genetically-guided brain physiology, and environmentally-guided thoughts and intentions. Talent, therefore, comes in part from the genes that give us life and in part from the life that our genes must navigate. Busy maximizing their own survival, our genes perpetuate themselves indefinitely by... Continue Reading →
If you guys are anything like me, then you probably struggle to maintain consistent practice habits. A recap of a typical week of practice may go something like this: Today I played for three hours but yesterday and Thursday I didn't play at all. Monday I had a long rehearsal with my band. Sunday I... Continue Reading →
In this blog post, I hope to clarify some misconceptions about the subject of improvisation. Since defining one's terms is the trench in which clarity lives and dies, I'll start there. Here is my definition: Improvisation is the act of synthesizing learned musical vocabulary with moment-to-moment, real time expression. A good analogy for improvisation is off-the-cuff... Continue Reading →
Playing guitar well lives and dies in the trench of your tone. Capturing the right sound is more than adjusting the knobs on your amp, though. Good tone requires that you be thoughtful about everything that has to do with making sound on your instrument: technique, amps, settings, guitars, pick-up selections, the weather, your mood,... Continue Reading →
Introduction In this post, I've compiled a list of advice for the gigging musician. It's divided into three categories: (1) equipment and gear, (2) repertoire development, and (3) band dynamics. As a bonus, I've included a gig day checklist and a video tutorial. Equipment and Gear You should probably ditch your tuner. How else are... Continue Reading →
I think of improvising as an intellectual challenge that is analogous to meditating. When I'm reading the chords of a song, or watching the hand of a chording guitarist and improvising at the same time, I am engaging in an activity that requires every bit of my attention, every bit of my know-how, and every... Continue Reading →
Chasing the Chords 