ANDY TIMMONS

Technical monster but feel-filled, too

1) A technique-based ‘I wish’

“The whole idea and application of economy picking and sweeping has largely eluded me for most of my playing career, even though some of my lines do include some of these techniques – it must have happened naturally. There is now much more awareness and instruction available for working on developing these techniques that I wish would have been around in my early years of learning. But as they say, ‘It’s never too late!’ I’m now working on these techniques daily as part of a practice regimen, so I will see if any of it works its way into my playing.”

2) A theory-based ‘I wish’

“Learning by ear is most assuredly the best way to obtain and retain music. I feel fortunate to a degree that there wasn’t an abundance of didactic material when I was growing up. I eventually took lessons, but I was largely self-taught from the age of five to 16. Someone showed me barre chords and the A minor pentatonic scale and off I went. I had my guitar and a record player. Occasionally, you’d see someone on TV – I loved Roy Clark on Hee Haw! – but I had to ‘earn it’, meaning figure out by ear what was on the recording.

“This realisation was fortified years later – if I would learn a song first by the chart, I would be reliant on the paper as opposed to when I took the time to learn it by ear. It internalised aurally instead of visually – and isn’t music largely an aural experience? Of course, some music may be more complicated than your ear is capable of ‘figuring out’, but always make an effort to get as much as you can, then check out the video or transcription.”

3) One music-related thing I wish I had done earlier

“I wish I’d have been a more ardent and disciplined practiser. I played all the time, but I wasn’t always practising. Big difference! Playing all the time is essential, of course, but also pushing yourself to learn new things consistently while also fortifying what you already know is a way to grow rapidly. I’m only now – at the age of 55! – becoming a good practiser. I’ll keep you posted how it goes.”