Last Saturday I did a trio gig at Ronnie Scott’s. Didn’t really advertise it as I haven’t done anything like that – playing standards in a trio with bass and drums – for a really long time. It’s quite daunting for me to play trio as it feels really exposed and I’m responsible for so much more. But, that’s what makes it more rewarding when it does work.
Anyhow, I really enjoyed the gig. I hadn’t played with Sam Burgess, the bass player, for ages, and he was completely amazing. Playing with him reminded me of what’s good about trio with just guitar, bass and drums: you get a lot of space and freedom to mess around with the harmony; and, as the only pitch information that’s coming at you is from the bass, it means it’s easier to hear and interact with. The great thing about playing with Sam is that he puts a lot of stuff out that’s really interesting and creative in itself, but he also really responds to what you do too, with frightening immediacy.
So, now I’m thinking I’d really like to get a regular trio gig. Somewhere where I could do some playing on standards. I used to do lots of that ages ago but I’ve been doing mostly original music lately. It’d be nice to explore a bit of that for a while.
In my utopian dreamworld It’d be great to have a little weekly trio gig in a coffee house or a bar in West London. Maybe somewhere that’d be a good place for students to come down and jeer or whatever. A little more specifically utopian (if one can have gradations of utopianism) – wooden floors wouldn’t go amiss, and free to get in, near the tube, good food and coffee, jazz-loving owner, beer too… I’ll stop short of a helicopter landing-pad :)
So, maybe you can help me out? If you know of anywhere that could be as cool as this place, let me know! Or better yet, if you’re a regular, why not ask them if they’d be up for some live music. You never know. I’m off to make a big list and get scouring the West Side. There must be somewhere out there…
I’ve been saving bottles for a while now and yesterday I had a go at recording them. They’re pretty easy to tune. You just pour in water until you hit the right pitch. Here they are:
Below are some very small excerpts of the things I recorded.
The first track has a little bit of normal bottle shredding. In the second recording the audio is flipped backwards. In the last one I slowed it down a lot, changed the pitch and added some other gizmos in the machine.
My idea of an exceedingly good day would be to spend 48 hrs in a darkened room fiddling around with bottles, mics and laptop, and drinking copious amounts of coffee. Bliss…
Anyhow, I’m going to get someone round who can do some serious rhythmic damage on them soon.
Then it’ll be on to recording cats thinking.
**Should have thought of this before, but I’m off to YouTube to find some interesting music with bottles and water. Here’s one that springs to mind. [no pun intended]
Here are some of the weirdest search terms people have used to find my site. Why this is of interest, I don’t know. They just made me laugh so thought I’d post ’em up…
wasp cod piece
mike outram shredding
ted green sightreading
steve vai on obama
laura rossi giant
wet metronome time
does a minor key give everyone the blues
jazz improvisation technique mushroom
my baby’s bmi index
blackie lawless exploding codpiece live
clare teal solos transcribed
electric rubik’s cube
emily blossom from phantom of the opera
outram learning village
bass guitar from manchester called billy
improving process making a cup of tea
theo travis’ double talk – live pizza
the most powerful chords
exercises with what time is it?
techno dido’s lament
buttered crumpets pictures
suggested jogging 80’s playlist
videos on jogging properly
is my effects pedal broken
how to finish 12 bar blues
“marseillaise”+”hair shampoo”
electric levitation
resistance is futile electrical humor
flakes athletics cockney
bagpuss chords
Not sure I can help with any of that, but if there’s a place where one can hear a techno version of Dido’s Lament whilst ruminating on the construction of a wasp’s codpiece then I’m there. With bells on.
Can anyone throw some light on any of this? Does a minor key give everyone the blues? What is ‘Wet Metronome Time’? Has anyone transcribed a Clare Teal solo?
Today I registered for the Great Manchester Run. It’s a 10k run. I’ve NEVER done anything like this before, and the longest [in one go] I’ve run for has been for about 5 minutes. But, the guy who won last year did it in 23:20. So, if you follow my logic, that means I’m really close…
Seeing as I’ve got no gigs until February, I’m thinking I ought to have a B-plan of some kind. My career-guidance forum’s sage advice was to do some solo gigs. I’m inspired by the solo music that Theo Travis, Steve Lawson and Bill Frisell make using loops, and I find it inspiring to drift off into dreamland to try to imagine what music might be possible to make using looping devices. So I’m having a think about gear and what to get. Super – I’ll get to hear more of me, me, me. How can this be a bad thing? Don’t answer that…
It’s that time of year again. Maybe you’re thinking, ‘I’d like to have some guitar lessons’… [if you’re not, then there’s little point in reading on. I’d suggest going here]
I’ve been teaching for around 30 years now and it’s something I love to do. I started teaching because the guitarists that I liked when I started playing – Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Emily Remler – were really into teaching too, and part of their advice was that if you wanted to understand something then you should teach it. And so it’s just something I’ve always done, pretty much from when I first started playing. There’s something magic about sharing ideas about music. Ah, have I just talked myself out of a job there?
Anyhow, if you’ve come by this page and are curious, I offer this post below as a little introduction to what I’m about, my experience, what I do, etc. If any of this sounds like I could help then feel free to get in touch via the e-mail address at the end. Happy New Year!
~oOo~
I’m a professor at Trinity College of Music and The Royal Academy of Music. I teach Harmony and Theory at Guitar-X, and I’m on the faculty for the Jamey Aebersold Summer School in the UK. I’ve also taught for the Live Music Now scheme, The Purcell School, The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London College of Music, Middlesex University and most other UK conservatoires. I’ve directed group workshops on improvisation, performance and composition, and have given many guitar-specific workshops as well. I’ve written a monthly tuition column in Guitarist Magazine for the past 3 years. For a more detailed run-down of my experience in music education click here.
I studied with Mike Walker, Steve Berry, Peter Bocking, Martin Roberts, and briefly studied classical guitar with Fiona Harrison. I have a Masters Degree from Thames Valley University and a Fellowship of the London College of Music Recital Diploma.
Playing-wise, here are a few of the things I’ve enjoyed the most…
Also, I’ve gotten most of my experience from developing within long-term group projects; the kinds of groups where you get to do tours, record a lot, share ideas, work on finding a place within the band, learn lots of new music and so on. For example, with Martin Speake’s various projects I get to explore contemporary jazz, Indian carnatic influenced music, free improvised music, be-bop, and so on [listen here]. Here are some other groups I’ve gotten a lot out of [click on the links and go listen to their music, they’re all super]: Asaf Sirkis’ Messiaen-meets-Prog group; Issie Barratt’s insanely challenging Big Band; Pop/country singer-songwriter Rebecca Hollweg; The Tony Woods Project, Gareth Lockrane, Dylan Howe, Harvey Brough, Tim Whitehead, Karen Street, Jacqui Dankworth, anything involving this man, Jamie O’Donnell, Dave O’Higgins. The bands I played with in Manchester gave me the chance to play Brazillian fusion, Tower of Power songs, The Meters, James Brown, Zappa stuff, and bands that mixed it all together. Check out the discography for a more complete rundown.
There are also all the weird gigs where things go horribly wrong or bizarrely right, and I’ve done many of those too :) Like being utterly roasted on Giant Steps and the like; or having all my gear blow up mid-solo on stage at Brecon festival with Wayne Krantz watching in the wings; playing ‘Don’t Worry About A Thing‘ for 20 fighting inmates in a German prison; impromptu air-guitar lessons from world champion Zac Monroe; miming, nay acting!, in Charlotte Church’s magnum opus flick ‘I’ll Be There’; shredding for Prince Charles; gigs for 1 person; gigs where we were told to leave; gigs when I’ve been passing out; gigs when I’ve been WAY out of my depth, and so on…
So that’s some of the experience, good and strange, that might be of help to you.
My view is that musicality starts with imagination and my lessons aim at building on that. I’d rather improvise on root notes and be imaginative and musical than give you a huge list of scale options for a tune. Also, I believe that you should have some idea of what you want to do that’s based on your love of something musical, whatever it is.
Usually the kind of student I get has reached a block in their own playing or is perhaps overwhelmed by the many study-methods, books, etc., and would like to know how and what to practice to progress. I’m happy to teach anyone from beginner onwards. I can also help in preparation for entrance exams to Trinity College, The Royal Academy, The Guildhall or similar.
Anyhow, below are some things that I can help you with, and this might help you narrow down what it is you’re looking to work on.
Being more musical – Ideas to be more expressive.
Control of the instrument – right and left hand technique, getting a good sound, time, dynamics, articulation, fingerboard knowledge, hearing the fingerboard.
Knowledge of material – A theoretical knowledge of all material and various methods of organising this on the guitar including: scales, modes, arpeggios, rhythm, key centers, chords, chord-scales etc.
Manipulation of material – applying what you know, improvising, limitation exercises, drills, melodic construction, harmonic construction, comping, rhythmic manipulation.
