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Q: I just wondered your opinion to the importance of sight
reading now so much music is tabbed, at the grand old age of forty one
I am trying to teach myself, reason being I should like to be out
playing again in a couple of years after a long time out & feel if I
can read it might give me an advantage over non readers if I am
looking for work in cabaret session situations etc... I am finding it
very laborious & frustrating, I am doing 45-60 minutes a day & making
slow progress, have you found reading to be to your advantage? Should
I just try & learn the basics to get by or go the whole way, I would
value your advice. - from John
A: I think reading is an important exercise but not crucial to your
musical development. There are plenty of successful musicians who
don't read. But having some reading capabilities can only make you
more articulate musically. The best thing for you would be to take
some elementary pieces and play them slowly without much pressure. You
might find this very relaxing and ultimately beneficial to your
musicality.
Q: As someone who took drumming lessons for a few years when I was
younger, I'm interested to know what your thoughts are with respect to
keeping time. Some of the time signatures of Sting's songs, for
example, are quite exotic (5, 7, 9, etc), and I wonder whether you
tend to count these as you play or just kind of go with the flow? I
find this even more puzzling in jazz because the bar lines tend to
'disappear' and it's easy to get lost. Any tips? - from Graham
A: I find the best way to approach weird time signatures (although
they are not weird to us because we have all listened to Weather
Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra etc for years) is to think of everything
as if it were in 2. For example, divide the bar with one backbeat
somewhere that feels comfortable to you and then don't think about it.
This backbeat could just be in your head but there nevertheless. The
other way is to count (but would you be counting if you were in 4/4?).
It's just a question of familiarising yourself with these rhythms
until they become second nature. Try practicing variations in 7 while
you are driving or on a bus. Same with 5, 9, 11 etc. I hope this
helps!
Q: I have question about how to use the metronome. I understand the
basics that if you have a song in 4/4 it means that each measure has
four beats. So if you play a whole note it lasts four beats, a half
note two beats and a quarter note one beat. But how about when it
comes to any of the other notes like an eight note, a sixteenth note
or a dotted quarter note, how do you play these notes with a metronome
as a lot of them naturally appears in between the beats. How do you
know if you've played a note that doesn't start on a beat at the right
time not to mention for the right amount of time, when the metronome
only plays quarter beats? - from Christoffer
A: This is a good point. To play an 8th note with a quarter note
metronome you need to place the note EXACTLY in between the metronome
beats. This is what playing with a metronome is all about. It's like
mathematics. Then it gets even more involved when you get a dotted
quarter note (or crotchet). The metronome is there to guide you, but
you must play with it. If for example you come in too early in between
the beats it will sound as if the metronome is coming in too late for
the next entry. Of course this is wrong and makes what you played an
error of judgement. Then you will see how hard it is to find that
sweet spot. The longer the gap between metronome beats (or the slower
it is moving) the more room for error and the harder it is. This is
why I think it is crucial to practice slowly which will ultimately
make you a better musician and more reliable with timing.
Q: How important do you feel the usage of vibrato is in your
expression of ideas when playing classical or electric guitar? Are
there any guitarists whose vibrato technique you admired or emulated
in your development as a player? - from Chad
A: I have never thought too much about vibrato. I am not a huge fan
because I like notes to be pure. If your intonation is really good you
don't need vibrato. One of the reasons I love Sting's voice so much is
because he doesn't use vibrato much at all. I am sure I use it but not
consciously.
Q: What is improvisation for you? Are you thinking in terms of scales
and modes that you learned? Why don't you sing on your CDs as with
Sting? You often overdub the melody over a second guitar, could you
sing those melodies? - from Fabien
A: I don't have much improvising on my albums because I believe
improvisation works better in a live setting. Composing and recording
are a more structured discipline to me. But there is about 25%
improvisation in the way I play some of these melodies. I like to make
short stories with my tunes, like songs. When we perform my tunes live
I like to stretch them out by trying variations. This is fun. I like
singing with Sting but I don't want to on my albums. Partly because if
I do people will talk more about the singing (which isn't as good as
the guitar playing). I can say what I want to say without words. Notes
are my preferred language. Chords are the adjectives.
Q: I am 31 years old, originally from Brazil, and for about 12 years
I've been playing the guitar. My focus has always been - from day one
- on writing my own songs and expressing my ideas through music. Music
is my deepest passion. But since I have always been interested in
finding my own sounds, as opposed to spending the necessary amount of
time working on technique and exercises, I find that my playing is
much less refined than it should have been for someone who has been
playing for as long as I have. To be quite honest, I consider myself a
relatively weak player. To make matters worse, I am left-handed but I
play regular right-handed guitars... just "upside down". In other
words, my low E is at the bottom and my high E at the top. Now, I find
it somewhat difficult to evolve, mainly because I can't find anyone to
teach me in the way I play. So my dilemma is do I keep going as it is
now or do I buy a normal left-handed guitar and start from zero again?
- from Marcelo
A: Definitely don't change the technique of playing upside down. Look
at it as an asset, not a hindrance. I know of two fantastic guitarists
who play the same way as you. One is Gus Isidore who has recorded
albums with Seal and the other is my old band mate Karl Wallinger from
World Party. I have always been fascinated with their approaches. Gus
is one of the best guitarists in the world and I am glad to say a good
friend. Playing upside down gives the instrument a unique quality. Use
it. Don't think of it as a problem anymore. I urge you. Sit down with
the bass and make yourself learn some tunes and practice them slowly
until it feels comfortable. Try using your ears to work things out.
Ear training is very important because those who play by ear always
have the edge, especially paired with reading. Please let me know how
you get on and bon voyage!
Q: I'm a guitarist of 20+ years and have a few students off and on at
times. Whenever I get questioned about how to incorporate the guitar
into group settings, I always tell them my best advice is to "listen
to Dominic Miller with Sting." At one point in the show it looked like
you were tapping out odd and even harmonics or something (close to the
12th fret of your electric). You had used one of your fingers to sort
of "bar" across one of the frets either your left hand and used
another finger on that hand to percussively tap something behind it,
and with your right hand you were tapping what looked like other
harmonics in front of the finger you had barred across the fretboard.
What were you doing? I've played a Chapman Stick for 10 years, and use
a lot of that same technique on guitar as well, but what you were
doing sounded fascinating. - From K
A: You may think I am the example to your students in the role of
guitarist in a band but I have always aspired to Lindsay Buckingham's
(Fleetwood Mac) playing. I think his parts always complement the song
in the best, tastiest and classiest way. In a nutshell, playing
ensemble is about making the people around you shine. The tapping
technique you refer to ('Never Coming Home' off the 'Sacred Love'
album) is exactly how you described it. I am tapping harmonics. The
left second finger on the seventh fret and the right index finger on
the twelfth. The third finger on the right hand is just making a dead
percussive sound. I have been doing this for years and haven't come
across it with other guitarists. However I think it is similar to the
Stick technique. On my 'Second Nature' album I do the same on a track
called 'Truco'. It can get fun with different tunings.
Q: I've been having trouble playing a F# and F#m I was wondering if
you can give me some tips on how to improve to play these type of
notes. - from Carlo
A: Try playing these chords open E and B strings (for the F#minor use
your thumb on the bass).
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