~ Why Aren�t You a Better Guitarist? ~

[Tone Taster]

Sorry about that, it's getting late and I misconstrued your post. My Bad.

[Eric Iverson]

To quote Rodney King, "why can't we all get along...."

 

Sorry it's getting late and I miscontrued all the above posts...

 

Seriously, there's lots of people out there sharing information and we ALL have to pick and choose... but I think most of us still have a lot to learn! At least, when I see a musician playing in the subway, I go over and listen. In the process, I have made friends and even found an excellent guitar teacher, for a while! Of course, some of them are lousy... most are at least competent!

[Tom Hess]

fair enough

[Tone Taster]

Dang Tom, I noticed that you and Joe Stump are sharing guitar duties.

 

Now that is a preponderance of Shred !!!!

 

YOu guys must be tearing concert hall walls to pieces !!!

[A String]

Great playing Tom!

[Tom Hess]

Hi,

 

thanks guys. Yes I play in Holyhell with him, Its a great thing for us to play together. The two guitar team thing is very cool We are in preproduction now for the Record. The tour will follow right after tracking for the CD is done. We play HUGE venues in Europe, this tour we do with Manowar and Rhapsody is great! Most Americans don't understand how big Manowar is. In some countries they are as big as Metallica. They have sold many many millions of records and headlin every festival they play at. Like them or not, these guys are one of the biggest bands in all oif Europe. Rhapsody has also sold more than a million records. WE (Holyhell, Rhapsody and Manowar) are all on the same record company and managed by the same company.

 

Joe is a great player and a great guy too

[Tone Taster]

I remember I used to listen to Manowar when i first got into the underground metal scene.

 

 

I always thought that the tune about Guyana and Jim Jones was cool because they picked an interesting topic to raise awareness on.

[Tom Hess]

Yeah I used to listen to0 Manowar in High sChool, we had a metal radio station here in Chicago and they were on that a lot. My Dad took me to see Manowar when I was 16, I was blown away by Joey (the bass player and leader of the band) he did this bass solo that blew me away then. I decided someday I would do that (become a great player and tour all over the place and sell records all over, etc.) and now Joey is my manager! (The guy is extremely intelligent about so many things in the biz and actually in life too. He is a great mentor in a lot of ways.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Hi Tom, when you get a chance talk a little about the PA systems and monitoring systems you guys run into on the road. The large venue aspect interests me, I have played in some fairly large ones but not as large as the ones you are playing in. How are the stage conditions as far as hearing the entire mix? any problems? how do you hear your rig in with the whole mix? or are you always using instrument mix as well as vocal mix? Do you use in-ear monitors? do you like them? any drawbacks with them? anyway just stuff like that would be interesting.

[Tom Hess]

Our PA is among the biggest in the world. Manowar is in guiness book of world records for the loudest band ever in concert. We use the same PA and the same people to run it. a lot of it is cutom made. I'm inot the music and playing more than the gear really. We had in ear monitors worked perfectly most of the time, a few times we had to use the stage monitors and that was fine, we had a good monitor guy from Scotland. Actually everythin was smooth most of the time, we rehearse with all the crew so every detail is nailed down well in advance. The crew itself is amazing, these guys work sometimes 16 hours a day. They are just amazing!

[Rhino Madness]

Hey Tom,

 

What do you do with your amps when using in-ear monitors? I know Joe Stump is big on using cranked 4-input Marshall's; do you mike an off-stage cabinet or do you use a different live strategy for your tone? (I would guess that a cranked amp on stage would obliterate the in-ear monitors).

 

Thanks,

Rhino

[Tom Hess]

The stages in Europe are actually huge so the cabs are far away in the back from where we stand, plus the in ear monitors are great are really seal out most of the outside sound

[Rhino Madness]

Cool! That must be awesome to play on those stages!

 

Thanks,

Rhino

[musicalhair]

Hey Tom, welcome. I'm late in doing so, so I also apologize.

 

I actually disagree with certain aspects of your first article, but didn't post because I thought you were just "hitting and running" the forum.

 

I similarly disagree with some ideas in this article. Specifically the idea about learning other styles. You may not "make ground" within your specific style of music at first if you say play metal but start learning Bossa Novas, but in the long run all your musical ideas do mingle together and you're vocabulary as a musician and your "vision" when approaching music will be broader.

 

Too many guitarists are not broad enough in their approach to playing and their understanding of music. They end up sound cliched and if they proceed to far down that path they seem to run the risk of seeing and hearing with "blinders" or just avoiding the awkwardness involved in learning new things in favor of what seems tried and true but is most often tired and safe. Exploring a range of styles can open up new sounds and ideas and introduce students to musics and playing styles they enjoy that they otherwise would never be aware of. If they can't use it in their primary style, that is not the fault of the style nor of the effort in that style nor in the teacher if one directs the student in new directions.

 

Only in the most narrow and limited circumstances can I see an exploration of "other" styles as a distraction and even then only temporarily with the long term benefit being obvious.

 

I know others in the thread have said similar things; and if you've conceded the point and I missed it, well please forgive me for bringing it back up.

 

Just like a history teacher isn't supposed to let the students write the syllabus, music teachers should try to give students the broadest set of tools to understand and play what ever may come their way. For the guy how wants to sing around the campfire it would be inappropriate to show what to do when seeing "figured bass", but the more ambitious the student the broader and all-emcompassing the approach by the teacher would have to be. That may be more about your first article than this one. In any event I don't see anything but a problem in the idea that one could be a good guitarist without there also being some proportional understanding of something outside their primary style. It seems at the very least that-- and some styles of music this is more true than for others-- narrowing stylistic focus narrows the options available in any given situation within that style. One thing that comes to mind-- well two things-- when I think of Blackmore is the Harmonic Minor scale and similarly interesting scales he uses and his blues influence. If he had remained in whatever style he started in, he'd not have brought these together. Very few if any blues players use the scales he has in his vocabulary and not so many "prog-melodic rockers" (or what ever we want to call people in that style) have his bluesy feel though they may have picked up on his scales and more.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, if you've already addressed this the sorry. I just felt the idea of avoiding other styles in the pursuit of some distant goal on a straight narrow road isn't really what it is about in the long run.

[Tom Hess]

You say it will be broader. We agree actually. The difference is I am focusing on those wanting to grow DEEPER. It is a subtle diffence in terms but is quite different in reality. There is nothing wrong with "Broader" But I do not believe, as you imply, that broader is always better, best. Certainly your point is absolutely correct for those people whose goals are benefited by it. But my point, again, is that given limited time (which is a real reality for most non professional musicians, one may need to make a choice between deeper and broader. (Or do a little of each). So, it comes done to a matter of outcome. If innovation is your goal, studying other styles becomes more important. If "Mastery" is your goal then growing deeper (not broader) is the better path - asumming one must make that choice due to limited time.

 

It has been my experieince (after teaching literally thousands of students) that most serious students choose mastery. This is neither right or wrong, simply a choice that many people decide upon. Certainly when I have students that have goals that require a much more broad focus of styles, then we study those.

 

I never implied that it was not good to be broad, only that it was needed unless your goals would directly benefit from it. Given a lot of time a student could do both. As I said, for most that time just isn't there.

 

I thank you for your post. This type of thing is why I am here.

[Tone Taster]

Hey Tom, In regards to point 12 in your first post, you mentioned studyin g Music Business

 

I found the Book Titled "Confessions Of A Record Producer" by Moses Avalon to be very sobering and edifying

 

I definitely need to up the game some more, though

 

Wow, i just checked and came back.

 

Looks like Moses has Waaaaayy upped his game since 1998 when i first got the book

http://www.mosesavalon.com/mdish.htm

 

(His name is a pseudonym--- I think I know who it really is)

 

I tell ya business wise, The key is asset protection.

 

Make sure you convey your stuff into a solid trust Organization and refinance your stuff through an LLC, so the property cannot be attached to you and be liened upon by a creditor/record company, etc . .

[Tom Hess]

You are so right, I switched over this year! ! I had been considering this for some time and am glad I did it. I really should have done this about 3 years ago. The tax savings for corp is just massive, in the past it wasn't so big of deal for me, however once I reached 6 figures the taxes just got rediculous! Corporation is the only way to go! I have found that besides this key, the other key is building a GREAT business team. I have an expanding team of partners now for various musical products I have. Team is where it's at! There is so much more money to be made going this route than trying to do it all yourself. There just aren't enough hours in the day to be as effective as a great team can be. I always look for new ways to expand the team. I'm planning to launch 8 new products in 2006 and another 11-14 in 2007.

 

 

If I knew 10 years ago what I know now, I would be in the 7 figure braket by now. But no big deal, things are good and growing well.

 

Back to your point about my point number 12. Yes most people are truly clueless about the business (even many of those that thoink they know it really don't understand how to use and leverage it). All of my "serious" students study business with me. I teach a music careers class that I offer only to them (not the general public) which is why i have not advertised it as of yet outside of my own circle of students. They (my students) love it, in fact several of my students I have made business partners with now. They learn from me (and sometimes I can even learn a thing or two from them) and we profit together with what we partner on. I wasted too many years trying to do it all myself - partnerships is the key in my opinion!

[LavaMan]

Nice article, but a little long. Being in the Army I prefer BLUF - Bottom Line Up Front. You make a lot of good points, but what does it really boil down to? TIME. You get better by playing more. And, I disagree that you should not compare yourselves to others - we as humans (especially men) are competive by nature and that often leads improvement in whatever we do - because we want to win. As an example when I first joined the Army a bunch of us soldier guitarists would challenge each other to learn songs...and I made big gains as a result.

 

Here's a layman's Top 5 to get better at playing guitar:

 

1. Commit to lifetime of playing guitar - don't put it down.

 

2. Play everyday - every little bit helps - 1-2 hours is preferable - more if you want more rapid gains. (If you ever read about some the great guitarists you will find that for a period of years they played 6-8 hurs a day or more - they became guitar junkies)

 

3. Get in a band as soon as possible - forces you to learn and rise to the musicianship of the members - if no longer challenged find another group of musicians. Go to blues/open mic jams if you cannot commit full-time to a band. BLUF: The more you play live the better you get - plus IMHO it is the best part of being a musician.

 

4. Use mulitiple tools to help you learn - Tab, Videos, instructors, college classes, electonic devices that slow the music down - whatever works. Learn what you like and don't give up.

 

5. Most importantly have fun and develop your own style - don't try to sound like someone else. We all have limitations - learn to play as best as you can within them - I have short stubby fingers for instance so there are certain things I will never be able to that someone with long fingers can...

[Phillydor]

Originally posted by Tom Hess:

 

Back to your point about my point number 12. Yes most people are truly clueless about the business (even many of those that thoink they know it really don't understand how to use and leverage it). All of my "serious" students study business with me. I teach a music careers class that I offer only to them (not the general public) which is why i have not advertised it as of yet outside of my own circle of students. They (my students) love it, in fact several of my students I have made business partners with now. They learn from me (and sometimes I can even learn a thing or two from them) and we profit together with what we partner on. I wasted too many years trying to do it all myself - partnerships is the key in my opinion!

I'm flabbergasted.

I take back all I said about your style being similar to Anthony Robbins and Amway.

If Guitar Player had any sense they'd hire you!

Partnerships is indeed the key!All this time I've been going BROADER when any fool can see I should be aiming at DEEPNESS. I've seen the light!

[Tom Hess]

Hi Philemec,

I am very pleasantly suprised to read your last post. I am really glad that you found something useful / positive from something I have posted here.

 

It is true that for some Broader is better for them, I prefer Depth (if I am forced to choose between them). I never mean to imply that the other path is wrong. My intent is to show that for ?many people" they choose the broader path when their real goal really is to go deeper. Many people often confuse "the goal" with "the plans" This discussion is about that. I wrote an entire article on that last sentence. I should post that here at some time (its another long one though) And yes you may find the "Robbins influence in me in that areticle too - ha ha.

 

Growing broader is also a great thin. If that is one's true goal, then I wish one the best of fortunes on that path.

 

 

To Lavaman, You made some good points. I don't agree with all of what you wrote. I think my position is already clearly stated in my original post, so I won't debate them with you here (I would just be redundant). But it's good for others to consider all of this, so I thank you for your contributions here.

[Bluesape]

I for one, am much happier to see everyone playing nice again. We all have value we can bring here.

[Tom Hess]

I could not agree more!

[martianrebel]

Lots of great discussion here...

 

I strongly think that exposure to different styles of music is very important, however I find that I have a real shortage of the one essential ingredient...

 

TIME!!

 

I would love to get together with a different bunch of musicians every other week and my band every week to gain new ideas, take some classes and practice at home for a half hour every day, but let's face it, the day job and family take up a LOT of time. I can't say how many times my wife has come to me and said, "Spend some time with me! Put that guitar down! You've already had a 2 hour practice this week, why do you need to play ALL OF THE TIME???"

 

I believe that I wwould be a MUCH better guitarist if I practiced more.

 

I also think that it's important to focus on the real strengths that you possess as a guitar player and just add to those with the experiences you gain and lessons you learn, otherwise whatever makes you unique could get lost.

 

P.S. Shameless self promotion follows... PLEASE click on our link to our website, check out the link that says "CLICK HERE" and vote for us! Many thanks!

[outlawlebo]

your all dicks.... that guys thing was awesome....stop bitching.... thanks tom extreamly helpful.....

[Phillydor]

Originally posted by outlawlebo:

your all dicks.... that guys thing was awesome....stop bitching.... thanks tom extreamly helpful.....

 

....join...the...dots...who needs grammar anyway?

Excellent points bro

[Tom Hess]

I'm glad you liked my article outlawlebo, I think all the negative posts in this thread have stopped now, so things are cool and civil. I hope it remains that way and the discussion stays on the original topic (which it pretty much has recently so its all cool now).

 

thanks to all!

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by martianrebel:

I can't say how many times my wife has come to me and said, "Spend some time with me! Put that guitar down! You've already had a 2 hour practice this week, why do you need to play ALL OF THE TIME???"

I tend to get around that by practising while we watch TV. Hell, if I'm going to be sitting in front of the box, I might as well do something useful with the time, right?

 

I DO get the occasional filthy look though.

[Hardtail]

Originally posted by Kramer Ferrington III.:

Originally posted by martianrebel:

I can't say how many times my wife has come to me and said, "Spend some time with me! Put that guitar down! You've already had a 2 hour practice this week, why do you need to play ALL OF THE TIME???"

I tend to get around that by practising while we watch TV. Hell, if I'm going to be sitting in front of the box, I might as well do something useful with the time, right?

 

I DO get the occasional filthy look though.

I'll practice while watching the tube as well in the evenings. My wife is cool. As long as I spend time with my son, spend some time with her and all that stuff, she doesn't care if I practice.

 

My real problem is that in the evening, I'm just dog tired and finger exercises are about the only thing I have the strength to muster.

 

I only work 1/2 days on Fridays and there's no one home all afternoon so I really get some good practice in then.

 

Basically, I try to play the guitar, at least a little, everyday.

[Tom Hess]

Of course I don't know your wives, but I think in many cases women, (wives, girlfriends, etc) aren't really objecting to their man playing guitar, it is often time a feeling they have of feeling second to it (or other things). They usually don't communicate that in a clear way, so instead they are likely to complain about the practicing. I realize your own wives may not be this way and may have other reasons for saying what they do. In my own life, it's a bit different since my wife understands that it is my music that bought our house, sends our kids to private school, etc, But I have always made a point (almost daily) to reinforce the reality that she (and our kids) are number 1. As long as she believes that (which is true), there is never a problem with whatever I do musically. My guess is that i spend lot more time with my guitar than most of you do (since doing music, in some capacity, makes up most of the day - everyday.). Anyway, the point here is that making her feel that she is first in your life (and reinforcing that understanding daily) will go a LOOOOOOOOOONG way with most women. Maybe you guys already do that. Maybe your wives have other reasons for saying what they do, I don't know them so this may not apply to you. But it probably does apply to at least some of the "married" guitar players reading this.

[MILLO]

Originally posted by outlawlebo:

your all dicks.... that guys thing was awesome....stop bitching.... thanks tom extreamly helpful.....

huh?