You are what you eat!!!

The old adage is certainly true when it comes to our bodies and overall health.
But did you know that this principle is very applicable to the music world, especially when it comes to developing your own personal style as a musician?

During the past several days around the studio, We've had an ongoing conversation. The topic: improvisation, particularly on the guitar.

When it comes to improvisation, and melodic playing, there is certainly no shortage of artists to choose from to find your muse. And there are many schools of thought, and resources available to "play like insert your favorite here." But what if you could get inside the heads of geniuses like Derek Trucks, Eric Johnson, George Benson, Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck, EVH, Jimi Hendrix, and a host of others (the list wouldn't fit here even if I had 3 weeks to write it and you had time to read it) to find out not only how, but "WHY" they played the way they did?

Certainly one benefits from the study of scales, arpeggios, and their various forms/locations on the guitar, as well as Chord Theory, and learning how to "play over the changes" as it were. But one thing we've noticed as we've tried to teach folks how to improvise is that all the vocabulary in the world won't help you communicate. Don't get me wrong, the theory/knowledge of the instrument is absolutely necessary, but ultimately is a means to an end. You can't just memorize a dictionary, you have to become skilled at building your own sentences. Your own ideas. Your "style", if you will.

So what does it take? What's the missing ingredient? Well, needless to say, Talent is paramount. There are many players, famous and obscure, who have never studied music theory, or taken formal instruction, who can make the most learned of any of us want to shut our guitar case and go into real estate. Their "ears" guide them through an unorthodox approach to their instrument, and arguably, the end result is much more "listenable" than many who can rattle off every key signature and diminished scale on the fretboard.

Certainly, natural ability is a needful thing. If you're reading this, chances are you're already on your musical journey. The talent for music often inspires one to endeavor to learn to play an instrument, like an inner voice that wants to get out. So lets just assume, for the sake of this blog, that you already have some natural ability. Check. Ok, what next?

The title of this blog says it all. One common thread that every great guitarist and songwriter has, regardless of how different their styles can be, is that they ALL LOVE MUSIC. They insatiably listen to it. They don't know why, they just do. It's in their DNA.



What goes in, comes out. We humans tend to be influenced in every area of our lives, from the clothes we wear, food we eat, houses we buy, the cars we drive, even the words we use. You cannot expect to be a great improvising musician and not listen (at great length) to folks doing that very thing.

I remember a period in my life several years ago, when I wore out a particular George Benson record. I mean I played it every day, all day, for something like 5 months. I never sat down and tried to learn a lick, or the songs. I just really liked the music, and had it playing in my home, office, etc all the time. Then it happened: I started sounding like George Benson when I played guitar. I didn't try to do it. It just happened. Sometimes, even when I didn't want it to. I would be at some rock gig, and out would come these little boppy, horn like lines. The thing was, I was just starting to "hear" that way. This was a big deal, because I hadn't grown up playing RnB, or Jazz, etc. I was a hard rock fan. I could play almost every tune on every Zepp record available. I did my share of showing off in the local music scene, ripping off fast solos and turning the amp up to 11. Of course I had a pretty advanced understanding of the guitar, and music in general at that time. I believe this phenomenon wouldn't have taken place (at least certainly not that extent) without that knowledge and technique developed in prior years, however, it took BOTH ingredients. Not just the chops, and knowledge, but I had to DIGEST a steady diet of Benson's tastiness for several weeks and months.

My advise to those of you trying to become a great improviser on your instrument is to listen to anything and everything you can get your hands on. The gig has changed with the advent of the internet. When I was growing up, you had to have a friend who had the records, or go out and buy it yourself. Now, there is an immense amount of music available at your fingertips on Itunes, Amazon.com, etc. And now free services like Spotify and Youtube make listening to music even easier to do. If you're not a HUGE music fan, you're not going to make the cut. Listening is everything.

Thanks for reading :)



Jim Beaver, Director at Jim Beaver's School of Music, shares his talent with the WNC area in a variety of capacities, including teaching nearly 1,000 private guitar students over the past decade, weekly duties as Musical Director at Faith Church International, various productions at the Flat Rock Playhouse, and countless performances at local listening rooms in the WNC area.

Jim Beaver's School of Music, founded in 2001 by Jim, is located at 810 South Grove street in Hendersonville, NC 28792. Seven different instructors offer private music lessons in a variety of instruments to the greater Western North Carolina area, including (but not exclusively) Hendersonville, Asheville, Fletcher, Columbus, Tryon, Lake Lure, Bat Cave, Arden, and the surrounding areas.

828-693-4056
info@jimbeaversmusicstudios.com
www.jimbeaversmusicstudios.com