Learning Zone

Lessons from the world’s greatest teachers and schools...

Talking with a guitar friend recently, we shared stories about one of our favourite guitarists, Steve Morse. Steve’s found fame in his later career through his tenure with rock legends Deep Purple but both of us love his playing in The Dregs and in his own trio. If you could amalgamate the core essentials of a rounded and a musically diverse guitarist into one person, Steve would be one of those beacons of excellence. He has it all; chops, theory, taste, broad stylistic leanings and is hugely adaptable. On top of all this, he’s a great guy and always helpful when people like my friend or I get to shoot the breeze with him.

Steve isn’t anywhere in this issue (sadly) but I bring him up as an aspiration for all of us who care about how we develop as musicians, and which key areas will make us relevant in the broadest of scenarios.

The first time I spoke to Steve was back in 1999 and it was a phone chat allocated for 30 minutes. We ended up in deep conversation for well over an hour and half! One of the things he said has stuck with me ever since and it was something along the lines of this: ‘How can you expect to be a good chef if you don’t care how you toss a burger on the grill?’ Basically, he was saying take care of the detail in your chosen pursuit, prepare well and you’ll reap the rewards. To us as guitarists, Steve’s observation means numerous things; know your instrument, practise with intelligence, know theory, be able to read music notation, have solid improvisational vocabulary, have a good time, know a stack of chords (just like George from Sultans Of Swing!), have an excellent fundamental technique, cultivate aural skills (can you hear the m7b5 difference between and dim7 chords?) and nurture a musical imagination so you have personality. It can seem a tall order but none of us is in music for the short haul, so treat your time wisely and be like Steve: care about the detail. Enjoy the issue!