“Do I listen to Pop music because I am miserable, or am I miserable because I listen to pop music?”-John Cusack
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the second one, John. After all, how could Kid Rock’s new rip-off of Sweet Home Alabama NOT make you miserable?
At times, guitar players can be an egotistical bunch. Always desiring to be the center of attention. We want things done our way. We want to be in control of the musical situation. And we want to solo for at least 20 minutes each song.
Ok, so maybe it’s more like all the time. Don’t you dare sing during my guitar solo!
It may be predisposed in our nature to be musically selfish, but if we work towards increasing our awareness, we can really elevate our levels of musicianship.
“Listen a hundred times; ponder a thousand times; speak once.”
-Turkish Proverb
By sitting back and listening, we become more aware of our environment, and thus can more effectively react to it. You don’t need a million notes to get your point across. The bass player and the drummer are already laying down the vibe for the song. Now all it needs and all the crowd really wants is for that sexy crying-like guitar solo.
Or maybe the best complement to the piano player’s groove is some beautiful chord melodies laid nicely over the top.
It is amazing what you can learn by really listening. Quit trying to play so damn much and just sit back and appreciate what is going on around you!
A good friend Brian Lowe described his guitar work as being the “icing on the cake.” The drums, bass, and other instruments he described as the cake mix.
While you are working on your listening, why not check out this great post from audio jungle, 6 Web Apps that Will Get Your Ear in Shape.
Interval Ear Training can help increase your skill levels immensely, and if you aren’t working on it yet, why not start now! These applications and websites will really help out your playing!
Alright enough writing, time to listen what you have to say!
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6 responses so far ↓
1 Joel Falconer // Jul 20, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Thanks for the link to my post over at AudioJungle, Jeff! When I was a guitarist this was part of my “philosophy of playing”: I am not the music, just one component of it. Each source of sound in a band has their part to play and they should do their best to contribute to the end result, the song as a whole, rather than trying to dominate. It’ll only make them look stupid.
I’m a vocalist these days, but I still hold to this philosophy and try to make all the elements of the band work together to produce the best sound that we can. Good post!
2 Vinod // Sep 1, 2008 at 5:35 am
Dear Jeff, I fully endorse your views. If one can just master this wonderful Art of Listening (which is a free gift of Nature to each of us), one can learn the art of living itself.
It is said that music was invented to deepen this art of listening and my 10 years of experiments and experiences have proved that it is indeed true.
I invite you and request you to visit my blog (http://joyoflistening.blogspot.com) dedicated to educate people on this wonderful gift of life.
3 tina_gnr // Oct 9, 2008 at 12:53 am
gunsi su najbolji…gunsi are the best.
4 JB // Dec 11, 2008 at 10:57 am
This is the reason why I can’t find guitarists…to actually jam with.Their EGO!
They don’t listen,yet they “play”.
One cannot play truly if one doesn’t listen.
Period.
5 daveisaacs // Dec 23, 2008 at 8:11 am
Simple rule: ears first, fingers second = musician.
Fingers first = just another guitar player.
6 Jeff // Dec 23, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Good point Dave! It’s time to transcend just being a guitar player and really learn to realize that guitar is just a tool to express what is within ourselves
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