The Twang! Student Questions
steely Dan legend Elliott Randall returns to a long list of questions on the whys and whats of playing guitar
Two columns ago in issue 417, I began a piece based on ‘student questions’. Let’s resume where I left off. The same fellow whose questions I used last time gave me plenty more. In fact, there were 54 bulletpointed ‘free flow brainstorming’ issues, and I’ll address a few of these today.
The first concerns choosing songs to learn. I love this one, both as a teacher and as a musician. Teacher’s cap on first; here goes. Learn any piece of music that turns you on. If it’s something that has attracted your attention, then there must be something to it, right? The most important part of a student’s journey is the attainment of joy, so it makes sense to follow ‘joyous noises’!
Then, there will be pieces of music that your teacher will think can improve your overall performance as a player, both technically and by broadening your understanding of how to use your newly found licks/riffs/runs/chord progressions to work on the broader plane of music – globally, so to speak. One of the very best examples I can offer is a tune recorded by Bill Doggett called Honky Tonk. It is, in itself, a bible of all things blues and old-school rhythm & blues.The guitar performance by Billy Butler (Jerry’s brother) is truly the holy grail for all guitarists wishing to up their game in blues, R&B and rock. Strong correlation there.
Removing my teacher’s hat and donning the musician’s one, here’s my experience. When I was a teenager, the radio, TV, my guitar teachers and my friends’ record collections led me to discover and attempt to play many styles.All were enjoyable and some were much harder work than others.
Once I began playing nightclubs, the order of the day was ‘cover bands’: really the only way to earn while you learn, and with decent wages, too! So we had to learn dozens – maybe hundreds – of songs and perform them nightly.As luck would have it, the venues I played in NYC were mostly R&B oriented (we’re talking 1963 through 1969), and there was so much good music, it was obscene! We’d play six nights a week, each night doing six sets, and as you can imagine, its place as a ‘training ground’ was totally invaluable.
Upon joining bands that played original material (which for me began in 1966 and slowly moved into the primary slot), well, obviously, the bands’ repertoires were the first and foremost pieces to focus on. When a song is really well written, a player can choose to cement in their proper part(s), or in the case of certain musical projects, aside from playing important designated cues, the guitarist can ‘wander’, finding new and exciting parts for months on end. I am reminded of the music from the show Hair. The music is so well written that I could spend years discovering new( and still appropriate) parts. Anecdotally, Galt MacDermot, the composer, told me and the rest of the rhythm section: “If I ever hear you playing the same notes two nights in a row, I’ll fire ya.” Love than man!
Moving onto the next question: Why do I bother playing music? I can’t think of a better way of connecting with your emotions and expressing them. Whether it’s for pay or recreation (socially or by yourself), it’s one of the finest reliefs/releases that I can think of. You begin playing music for a reason or two – I’m sure those reasons still exist for you.
Is there any future in live streaming gigs? Of course. Through our lives ,‘ streaming’ has been sourced through radio and television. With the myriad technological advances, you can TV/ radio or independently stream your music via the internet.The more care you put into the presentation, the better it can become. Monetising such ventures is a separate discussion, and would certainly be several columns worth of ideas…