Ever wanted to know what goes on in the mind of a guitar player that is "in the moment"?
Meaning that she or he is simply soloing away, or strumming away on a particular tune, and we want to know what is "passing through" their mind?
Well, exactly that: musical ideas that are JUST "passing through".
It is almost as impossible to describe, as it is to believe, that a truly improvised guitar part is the result of extreme caution and plan!
Just as we improvise on what we know when we speak, we improvise on what we know when we play.
A great guitar teacher once explained this concept to me in simple terms. He said, "Jon, improvisation is what we do everyday when we need to explain a specific idea to someone. For example, you may need to improvise an explanation to tell your teacher why you were late to class".
Then it all made sense! He went on to say, "Just because you don't know every word you will say, you still explain your case based on what you know on the subject."
His words took on a very important meaning as my musical training went on. That explanation he gave me then, I compare to good wine now. It really got better and tastier with time. His bio and music can be checked out here.
Marc Vee
Another issue that we struggle with is the connection of plain music theory and guitar theory. Although these are synonymous of each other, the guitar is a different animal, if you will. Developing shortcuts around the fretboard has become a common practice of mine. This has become a way of life, a philosophy of some sort. Although we all learn in our own different ways, the goody bag of tricks that comes with learning some shortcuts is immeasurable. Check out some of these guitar shortcuts here:
Guitar shortcuts
Keep playing!
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