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Do You LISTEN????


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Sharing what I posted today on my Michael Molenda Musician/Producer Facebook Page...

 

Hey, guitarists! Try this exercise. Instead of spewing massive quantities of notes all over a song intro, melodic riff, counterpoint hook, textural piece, or solo section, restrict yourself to playing less than ten notes and incorporating a huge chunk of silent space throughout the part. Think catchy rather than showy. Consider being a friend to the song, instead of grandstanding. Be a sensitive musician, rather than a LEAD guitarist. Just food for thought here. Give it a try and see if you dig the results.

 

Something else to ponder: It remains a mystery to me after all these years why so many guitar players go off vomiting rapid-fire fusillades of notes the instant a band mate or songwriter starts showing them a new tune. There's no "listening" it seemsâjust a knee-jerk physical reaction to "Oh boy, some harmony to blast over!" I'm not saying you shouldn't be that personâsimply that you should be the person that takes a breath, listens, absorbs, calculates, and FEELS before unleashing the onslaught. Have fun!

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Something else to ponder: It remains a mystery to me after all these years why so many guitar players go off vomiting rapid-fire fusillades of notes the instant a band mate or songwriter starts showing them a new tune.

That's a softball question. The answer is they've never listened to Miles Davis :)

 

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I am the lead guitarist in my current band, was the lead guitarist in the last 4 bands that come to mind.

 

I also sing and write songs. Musical clutter is a pet peeve of mine, up there with "phoning it in" and "playing it just like the record." The last one is especially peeving if you then play your lazy version of what you though the record sounded like. Ugh.

 

It has been my experience time and again that people just want a good groove and the chorus to be loud and clear. They are not worried about the details and those who are will find something "wrong" with you even if the dance floor is full of smiling faces.

 

The last lead guitarist in the band I'm in now would "practice riffing" while the singer was singing and/or play the same chords in the same position with the same strum as the singer.

Useless.

 

The "Rules" are simple.

1 Serve the Song

2. Whatever I do, don't do that

3. Serve the Song

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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  • 2 weeks later...

The lead guitar player is the one that determines how they will play their leads. He or she is the one that was hired to do so. The band can always make suggestions on whether or not the leads are too busy, too loud, too fast, too slow, out of tune, out of key, practice vs jams vs performances, [insert suggestion]. The same holds true for the drummer, bass player, rhythm guitar player, keyboard player, lead singer, writer, etc., issues will always come up and the band has to address them while enjoying the time they spend with each other. I would not play in a band that does not like what I do, or thinks that I don't listen. I tell them my philosophy up front and not to hire me if they want me to sing or play differently, as I would not enjoy it. I do listen to band and audience suggestions and will give them a try.

 

I'm a rhythm guitar player and lead vocalist. I can play some improvised lead guitar if needed. I like to improvise and arrange my songs and do not play them like the record. I have few rules...

 

1). The person singing the song will determine what song they want to sing

2). The key they will be singing it in

3). The arrangement

4). Everyone's instrument volume must stay under the vocals (lead instrument parts may be louder when they come up, if needed)

 

:cool:

 

 

Take care, Larryz
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Sharing what I posted today on my Michael Molenda Musician/Producer Facebook Page...

 

Hey, guitarists! Try this exercise. Instead of spewing massive quantities of notes all over a song intro, melodic riff, counterpoint hook, textural piece, or solo section, restrict yourself to playing less than ten notes and incorporating a huge chunk of silent space throughout the part. Think catchy rather than showy. Consider being a friend to the song, instead of grandstanding. Be a sensitive musician, rather than a LEAD guitarist. Just food for thought here. Give it a try and see if you dig the results.

 

Something else to ponder: It remains a mystery to me after all these years why so many guitar players go off vomiting rapid-fire fusillades of notes the instant a band mate or songwriter starts showing them a new tune. There's no "listening" it seemsâjust a knee-jerk physical reaction to "Oh boy, some harmony to blast over!" I'm not saying you shouldn't be that personâsimply that you should be the person that takes a breath, listens, absorbs, calculates, and FEELS before unleashing the onslaught. Have fun!

 

I am trying to limit my wanking, and actually am starting to feel the melody instead of ripping off some more notes. At 77 years old I am trying to learn the use of new different shaped picks and playing melody instead of trying to use speed to be impressive . One is never too old to learn I guess.........

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I listen!

 

As a kid, my guitar heroes were Andy Summers, Mike Campbell, Peter Buck, Elliot Easton, James Honeyman Scott and Robbie MacIntosh, Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, Billy Bremner and Dave Edmunds, Elvis Costello, Glenn Tilbrook, Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory, the various dudes in Wings and The Beatles, Keith and Brian and Mick and Ronnie from The Stones, Dave Davies, Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple and Gene Holder, Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, Hilton Valentine, Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont, Will Saergent, The Edge, Mick Jones, Paul Weller, Robbie Robertson, John Perry, Johnny Ramone, Richard Thompson, Marshall Crenshaw, Gary Sanford from Joe Jackson's band, Mike Skill & Coz Canler from The Romantics, Pops Staples, Steve Cropper, Jamie West-Oram, Johnny McGhee and all of those great disco and soul rhythm guitarists...

 

Some of those guys never played a solo. The songs were the important thing to me.

 

So, instinctively, no... I never start wailing on a song intro or when someone is showing me a song... I listen and try to do something that helps the arrangement and texture and mood, but I'm a singer-songwriter at heart, anyway...

 

 

 

 

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