Hello and welcome to my first attempt at writing a guitar post for GuitarPlayerZen.com. To be honest, I don’t consider myself a technical player due to the fact that I am self taught and don’t know theory other than the basics. For the most part, I have relied solely on my drive and passion to create and perform music. So, for the last 20 years I have explored, mimicked, and created my interpretations of what inspires me as a musician.

For me, the discovery process is the most enjoyable and rewarding part of playing and composing music. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the end result and of course performing live and, or, solo with or without a band but, the most organic experience has always been creating… Reflecting back on all of my experiences, in direct observation of the different musical forks in the road I have taken over the years, it is obvious that life in general influences and shapes musical identity.

I have employed many different approaches in order to advance as a player but, as far back as I can remember, recording has been the key tool in my development. Recording identifies strengths and, or, weakness. From a composition standpoint, it provides the obvious, aiding in arranging and orchestration. Another key in my development was playing with musicians that had more experience in different styles like: blues, jazz, and experimental music… Opening my ears up to different styles expanded my musical pallet which in turn exposed me to a wider range of technique and musical diversity in general. In fact, I went to the extreme of laying down the electric guitar all together for approximately 10 years. This occurred after my first exposure to Michael Hedges. From that moment on, my view of the instrument completely changed resulting in leaving just about everything I had learned behind. I became fascinated with orchestrating the acoustic guitar and trying to project a sound that reflected multiple guitars being played at once. Learning and developing different classical and flamenco techniques became my course of study. More than ever my compositional approach became focused… I was learning and exploring new musical territory. Techniques such as dynamics, tension/release, and musical story telling were developing and becoming strengths. During that time period of my life I was doing only solo finger style acoustic steel string guitar composition. I truly had no interest in playing the electric guitar and, or, performing in band orientated music. Of course, I still loved listening to artists like Robert Fripp and Adrien Belew of King Crimson.

80’s shred was the spring board and inspiration which drove me to the guitar. The first two years of my development as a guitarist were centered on lifting songs by ear off of vinyl and copping licks from my favorites like: Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhodes, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Vivian Campbell. I lived in the “Wood Shed” and like many shredders, I ate, slept, and drank guitar. I had to have the right/perfect form because technique and proficiency was the name of the game. The goal was to be as fast and proficient as humanly possible. I was a typical lead player (fast with little rhythm playing strength). Once I started playing in a band my rhythm playing began to catch up with my lead work. It was at that stage of my musical experience, for obvious reasons, that I started to develop compositional skills. During that time frame I was always a student of the guitar and thrived on being better and faster. My practice time was what came first in life. I always exposed myself to situations that promoted growth. I worked on strength and agility. To be recognized as a proficient guitar slinger in the 80’s you had to have a really big trick bag (tapping, harmonic squeals, whammy bar acrobatics, speed, string skipping… etc.). So back then, I worked my ass off to develop my chops. I remember the countless hours of noodling and creating exercises in order to strengthen my playing. I even went to the extent of looking at my hands in a mirror in order to correct bad form and promote proficiency (everything had to look good too). I also became obsessed with odd time signatures and musical tension/release.

Approximately 6 years into my playing my direction started to change. My musical taste started to broaden with jazz/fusion and experimental music. Musicans such as Al di Meola, Robert Fripp, Stanley Clark, Frank Zappa, and John Scofield to name a few began to get my attention. I started paying more and more attention to diversity and slowly began trying different things. Eventually I found Hedges and as I said earlier, it changed my approach to the instrument completely. Eventually, I returned to playing the electric guitar and performing in a group environment. The process has been some what drawn out due to the numerous and lengthy breaks that I have taken over the years. I don’t have a regimented practice routine these days and haven’t for many years now. For the most part, I create and improvise. Progressive music and fusion are currently my passion. I thrive on diversity and exploration. For the most part I use the same tool I have always used, recording. Arranging, orchestration, and improvisation are what I focus on at this stage of my playing and career. One of these days I am sure I will venture back into the old “Wood Shed” for another round or two… I guess I will have to knock the dust off of the old metronome!

Remember: Eating frets every day is good for you…

Take care and good luck,

Paul Watson

Soul Objective

Paul on MySpace

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