Learning the Guitar can, initially, be a grind. There are scales to learn & memorise, finger strength to develop, concepts of music theory to absorb, timing & rhythm techniques to master, chords, songs, improvisation. The list goes on & on.
But.......once you have a handle on the fundementals, its time to consider making music. Yes, thats right. The whole concept of learning how to navigate through scales & chords, "in time" is about losing yourself in "The feeling",
Making music involves aspects of everything you have learnt, but now you have to include space, time & emotion.
To “connect” with a song or other musicians is a term that some may, initially, have difficulty in understanding & implementing, but when you are there, you will recognise the feeling.
The SPECIAL SAUCE is about musical freedom & this can be achieved by applying a few techniques, which I call:
THE THREE TEE's:..
TONE...TOUCH...&...TIME
Tone : is all about personal taste. There are plenty of artists that can be identified, simply by their sound. Think BB King, Angus Young, Ronny Jordan, Prince, Jimmi, Brian Setzer, Jeff Beck, etc. All these artists have a unique musical tone.
All aspects of your playing will take time & experimentation to master, but a key point to mention, is that effects do not generally improve anyones playing ability. Lots of Guitarists get caught up in "technology" or "effect peddles" & "instruction manuals", rather than investing time with their instrument, listening & studying the masters , theory, improvisation, timing, songcraft, etc.
"A good solid tone will resonate with other players and the audience alike."
Touch:
Your touch is a personal thing, it's the way you approach the instrument, the way you visualise the fret board & how you interprete a song.
Generally, the most common techniques available to enhance the Guitarist playing include:
Bends, Slides, Vibtato, Hammer on's & Pull off's.
Touch is a broad topic, but it also includes your sense of sensitivity, your sence of FEEL & where you fit into the groove, or pocket with the band or the song.
Time:
Can be seen as tempo, speed or BPM (beats per minute), but in this instance, Im referring to your attack or your angle of approach.
Consider George Benson's "Skatting" ability. he improvises with vocal sounds & words as he plays similar lines on his guitar. His musical phrases breathe & have a pulse, a beginning, a middle & an end.
The same may be said for how a Sax player expresses musical phrases. They consider their musical statements, like words, sentences & paragraphs.
Sometimes a musical sentence will be short & punchy & other times it will long & drawn out, but, the key ingredient is to be aware of the duration of space & breath.
Space between the phrases is equally, as important, as the musical notes & phrases themselves.
It's like talking. If you have something musical to say, do it with a "call & response" or "breath approach" for the best results.
Another, note worthy, person to mention is Frank Sinatra. No, he did'nt play guitar. His instrument was his voice.
What made Frank Sinatra, so recognisable, was his phrasing. He was an expert at coming in "on the beat", "before the beat" or "after the beat", which made his song lyric swing & flow like a conversation.
In regard to any form of soloing, nothing kills a situation, more than a musician "Noodling " with a never ending array of notes. They are not offering anything of value, musically, to the song, the audience or Band members alike.
That wraps up this blog on applying the "SPECIAL SAUCE" to your playing. Its an element of time you will need to apply to your playing to have it sound as individual as you.
I hope you enjoyed the blog,
Regards,
David
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