Do You Play Guitar?

[mrquincy]

I play piano, guitar, keyboard, bass, and drums...but I'm also a hobbyist producer transitioning into professional studio production. Much to my dismay, I'm arranging a song by a crap band for an indie film directed by an Emmy award winning compositor (the green screen guy). It's a bittersweet deal...I'm not supposed to release any details at all so believe it or not. Ha

As far as learning guitar...In my professional opinion, if you "learn" to play other peoples songs, that's fine, but you haven't learned guitar until you have expressed your feelings using the instrument in a unique way. Same goes for "guitar teachers". Anyone who says that there's a specific "way" to learn guitar is contributing to the annihilation of music as an art. I have never taken a music lesson, opting for art classes throughout high school and business classes throughout college...I don't feel that I have many songwriting peers local to my hometown, even among classically trained friends. All it takes is the patience to make some HORRID noise for 6 months until you start to find sounds (chords and progressions) that you like. If you like what you do, then you're doing it right. If you keep doing it that way and if someone notices your music, maybe you're good. That's part of how things work anyway.

I think if more musicians were visual artists first they would have a deeper appreciation for instrument technique...When you paint you don't read a manual...you paint and learn what you like...then paint again. Same with guitar.

I'm glad to see some fellow "geeks" getting excited about music !!!

EDIT: Just to note...I disagree with almost EVERYTHING guitar mike said. His detailed analysis is EXACTLY the reason music is a commercial machine and not an art form any more. I've written some of my best songs on guitars with old strings...and one particular song on a guitar that was MISSING a string. The absence of the string forced me to play the tune in a different way using a different string...and changed the song all together for the better. My guitar is dirty. Real dirty. But you can't hear the dirt for christ sake.

Edited May 1, 2009 by mrquincy

[iamtheky]

My guitar is dirty. Real dirty. But you can't hear the dirt for christ sake.

true that, Mr. Montgomery makes a strong argument that the dirt and scratches make it better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmqLUWPE6K4

[gUiTaR_mIkE]

mrquincy, your analysis of both my post and music are incredibly uneducated and simplistic, and I could only imagine the

quality of musician your ideas would create.

Your comment of the machine of music give you away - my post spoke to nothing more than what is needed to become and

stay a healthy musician, nothing about the music itself. I have had to deal with folks of your opinion that can't improvise,

comp, transition from one key to another, but think they have music locked down while barely communicating anything

musical.

Next time, why don't you speak for yourself and not flame another for their opinion.

[mrquincy]

Mike. Here's my music: http://gbadmin.garageband.com/artist/thedogfaceavenger

Let me know if you think the song "Rainbow Elephants". This is the quality of musician my ideals created. We didn't have any formal education when we wrote and recorded this last August.

Of course my argument is uneducated. My argument is that standards don't matter, it's about musical output. Education requires standards. There is no standard structure that is required to produce a quality piece, Rainbow Elephants is an example of this.

Do you honestly think Delta Blues artists like Mississippi Fred McDowell, Robert Johnson and Mississippi John Hurt had any kind of clue as to how to transition from one key to another using "educated" terms? Muddy Waters wouldn't have been able to play what he played without their influence, and without Muddy Waters...rock simply wouldn't be what it came to be during the 1960's through the 1980's. I think most people agree...these guys were important to what music has become. Did they successfully compose original music without necessarily knowing the ins and outs of composition? Absolutely, completely groundbreaking.

Edited May 27, 2009 by mrquincy

[pm*]

i want to learn it

i already know it little such

[Sp0iLedBrAt]

Yep, for over 15 years. I own three 6-string acoustic ones.