ALEX SKOLNICK
Thrash metal overlord turned tasty jazzer
1) A technique-based ‘I wish’
“The main technique that I wished I’d learned earlier is mental: achieving focus and clarity, or what is often referred to today as ‘mindfulness’. I was already in my late 20s when I discovered a great book by jazz pianist Kenny Werner – one of the best, in my book – Effortless Mastery, which deals with these concepts for musicians. That led to other enlightening materials, with care taken to avoid anything pseudoscientific or ‘culty’. Today there are great apps for your smartphone, such as Waking Up App by Sam Harris. John McLaughlin really set an example with his embrace of meditation and Eastern philosophy in the 70s, which I dove into and appreciated more as I got older. But as a young guitarist, I just wanted to rock! Ironically, the rock is the perfect metaphor for stillness, tranquillity, inner calm and strength.”
2) A theory-based ‘I wish’
“My hindsight theory relates to music theory itself and if written as an equation, it would be this: Music > Theory. In other words, music determines music theory, not the other way around. History is full of music theory taboos that later became acceptable to our ears, from a minor 3rd rubbing up against a chord with a major 3rd, a staple of the blues, to the tritone interval, once thought to be sacrilegious. The earliest musicians – probably cavedwellers who discovered sound-making in a manner similar to Kubrick’s apes in the opening scene of 2001: A Space
Odyssey – were not thinking, ‘Wait! The book says we can’t use this note in that scale!’ Yes, music theory is quite useful and recommended for some; I wouldn’t play the way I do without it. But that doesn’t mean it’s required for everyone. Whatever your musical trajectory, it’s most important to focus on sound first and theory later, if so inclined.”
3) One music-related thing I wish I had done earlier
“What I wish I’d done earlier is pursuing additional instruments, particularly piano. I did get a piano about 15 years back and just love getting lost in music separate from the familiarity of the guitar, as well as figuring out piano parts from recordings – film and TV soundtracks, classic tunes I grew up with, manageable classical and jazz pieces. I also have some percussion instruments and know some very basic drum beats, but, again, I wish I’d started much earlier. It took a while to figure out, but so many of my favourite guitarists play other instruments, too, from Pat Metheny composing on the piano, to Al DiMeola getting behind the timbales in concert, to Stevie Ray Vaughan playing drums occasionally, to Eddie Van Halen’s keyboard skills – drums, too – to the all-time master multi-instrumentalist, Prince.
“Though I wish I’d started sooner, having incorporated piano and percussion into my practice in more recent years has helped develop my playing, timing and composing invaluably. Better late than never!”