How do you develop a sound, a style? It could be by chance; it could be by eliminating all the things you do that come from things you’ve seen or heard; it could be by evolving things you already do into areas you haven’t thought about before; it could be by combining new things. Sometimes, though, we look to others for the answers of what to do, where to go, where to start.
Try this:
Where were you born?
What do you like to do?
Describe your day
Describe your first memory
Where do you like to be?
Who are your friends?
How’s your hair?
Any aches and pains?
Your favourite sensation?
What do you like to taste?
A good story you’ve heard?
What happened when you were five?
Who’s not here?
When did you hit your head?
What would you like your last thought to be?
Ever been high up?
Ever been underground?
Ever gone fast?
Ever lost it?
What do you have that no-one else has?
How can you do something you do differently?
Imagine something that can’t exist
Do you know anyone else with the same answers as you?
Thought not.
There’s only you that’s you.
Why not let us know about it?
Put it all in.
Great post, as usual!
It reminds me of the first time I read ‘The Advancing Guitarist’, mind-expanding and enriching stuff.
I often find thinking about non-musical influences a very useful way of delineating from standard ‘guitaristic’ mindsets, and remind me that there are often other aspects to my life besides that Yngwie lick I learned the other day etc.!
…and to follow from that, I think we can learn more about ourselves from the ‘bad’ instances – those dodgy or stressful gigs, or the times we lost our temper at something trivial, or missing a downbeat from the MD because we were carelessly thinking about someone…
It’s taking these situations and remedying them, rather than pretending to ‘carry on with perfection’ that I find bring the most weight to the identity and development of a musician (and, importantly, a well-rounded person in total).
Thanks, John!
Agree with you about learning the most from the ‘bad’ instances. And there are SO many for me. Maybe there’s another post, or several, lurking there. A series of pain :)
Part 1, coming soon!