 Sometimes
people will ask me "Why don't you ever give lessons?" and my stock
phrase is, "I'm not done learning myself."
While that is true, I thought what would be slightly more useful than music theory or a technique/trick-lesson is to pass on some things that you won't find in books. For this first lesson, we'll look at why you should... Listen to other players As much as I love my guitar heroes, they're not the only things I listened to when learning (still learning) the guitar. You'll read it from other players and it still holds: listen to other instrumentalists. My small list of non-guitarists I love to listen to are: Jon Lord, Jimmy Smith, David Sanborn, Dr John and Oscar Peterson. With the exception of David Sanborn, they're all keyboard players. I love the sound of a Hammond organ. I think it's one of the best sounds ever invented. Jon Lord, I'd say, is my all-time favourite instrumentalist. He had it all: great sound, chops, taste and most importantly, great phrasing. I haven't heard anyone take a solo to better places than him. He's also The Master when it comes to improvisation. I don't think any guitar player can match him. Any bootleg from Deep Purple, you'll hear Jon Lord basically be the best in the band, right up until he left. Consistently Amazing - that's a feat to strive for. Dr John is terribly underrated. I think he's one of the most coordinated guys that's living. Just get All By Hisself: Live at the Lonestar and that should make anyone do a triple take at their speakers. Also, he's great for "History Helps" (knowing music). And that solo on Such A Night...wow. Sax players always know how to carry a solo. I still can't stop listening to Jimmy Smith's Back At The Chicken Shack. Stanley Turrentine is great throughout. I think one guy that gets too much praise is John Coltrane. I'm going to get hate mail out of this but John Coltrane's best stuff is up to Blue Trane. Things like Love Supreme are kind of too out there to a point where it's not really listenable unless you have ADD. David Sanborn I really like because you know it's him when you hear him. Most everyone sounds like a "sax player" except for him. And I'm not belittling sax players. Like I said, they all know how to carry a solo, much better than your average guitarists. I played along with Upfront for more years than I'll admit and it was a big help. Oh, and getting back to Jimmy Smith (because he really is a treat), have a listen to The Preacher from Live at Club Baby Grand vol1. The guy's on fire. Totally deserving of the title "Incredible". And last, just because my fingers are getting sore from typing, is Oscar Peterson. He's astonishing to listen to and that's a guy who knows how to carry a solo. Too bad he's gone. So there you go, Kids. The first of, maybe, many free guitar lessons from me.
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