ThE twang! On Growing
Whatever ‘genre’ of guitarist you are, you can always up your game. steely Dan legend elliott randall explains…
iended last month’s column with this quote: “Last seen, first hired.”That was a segue, my idea being to draw you in with that food for thought, then continue on with it for this month’s instalment.“Where is he going with this?” you might ask. I’ll tell you – this one is about moving forward. As you know, the way I see it, there are four major different guitarist groups: 1. Those who play strictly for their own pleasure and enjoyment – usually at home; 2. The ‘Weekend Warrior’, playing with a band or two, often in a garage, having a laugh; 3. The Semi-Pro – usually young, striving to make the big-time; and 4. The Dedicated Professional whose life is largely taken up in the pursuit of excellence in their art/craft, and gigs as steadily as they feel is practical.
No matter which of the four groups you fall into,‘upping your game’is an exciting prospect. So I’m going to offer my tuppence to each group in turn.
For the Group 1 guitarists, if you’re totally satisfied with what you’re doing and have no desire to move forward, okay, carry on enjoying.Want to get a bit better? Find a guitar partner or two to play with.A little jamming, some show and tell – surely the other player will have stuff they’re playing that you’d like to‘borrow’.Ask to be shown how it’s done. And vice versa. Of course, there is the thrill of interactive playing – way different than playing to a pre-recorded track. It’s making and sharing music in real-time. Can’t be bad! Then there’s the prospect of finding an inspiring tutor.
Group 2, you’re already playing with other people. Good. If there is more than one guitarist in the band, you might consider trading roles for some of the tunes. Rhythm guitarist switches to lead, and lead to rhythm. Each skill set has lots of fun aspects and challenges, and being able to take on both roles is such an advantage in the long run.You may wish to progress yourselves to Group 3 at some point. If you have further dreams and aspirations, then read on.
Now for the fun. Group 3, you are the ones this piece is primarily aimed at. So, you need