Hi everybody,
I am studying in my Masters and I am currently doing a survey for my research paper. I am going to write a couple of questions and you can answer them here at the forum or email me your answers [email protected]. I hope nobody is offended by the questions and I am not stating what makes a better guitarist or musician.
1. In my experience as a guitar teacher, students tend to learn and visualize scale shapes instead of the notes. When learning your scales, do you learn the shape of the scale diagram or do you learn the notes?
2. How hard was it understand chord and scale diagrams?
3. Licks are like phrases that one must learn to understand a new languange. Do you know how to transpose licks and how often do you incorporate them into your playing?
4. What are your thoughts on learning how to sightread in the guitar? Could share your experience (good or bad)?
5. Some of the advantages of learning how to sightread are better understanding of key signatures, expand fretboard knowledge, efficient band rehearsals times, and it makes transposing licks easier. Knowing this information, would you dedicate more time into sightreading?
6. Is the fretboard hard for you to decipher? Elaborate on your method.
7. Through all my life I’ve heard of ‘cruise control’ while playing guitar. This essentially means that some guitar players just doodle without thinking what they are playing, what are your thoughts on this?
Thanks you for your help.
Welcome to the party.
From the top:
1 - The exam boards recognise that at higher Grades the student is likely to be playing a transposable shape rather than having learned a fingering sequence. Compare that with piano, where every scale has its own method. So, early Grades - notes; higher Grades - shapes.
2 - Very very easy. Stevie Wonder could get it right.
3 - Yes, and all the time when I'm playing electric. As most of my performance work is playing Classical then the overall answer is "Rarely" - we don't transpose licks in the classical world, we play the music that's written with a tasteful amount of ornamentation.
4 - If you can't sightread, sooner or later you will be laughed out of an audition without having played a note. Learn to do it now.
5 - Wrong starting point. The benefits of learning to sightread are that you can play anything that's put in front of you even if it wasn't written for the guitar. Ever seen Tab for saxophone? trumpet? violin? piano?
6 - No, not hard. Remember that electric guitarists have fret inlays to help them; I have no inlays on any of my four main guitars - classical guitarists are expected to know what the hell's going on.
7 - Sack them. They're not working hard enough.
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
Thanks!
