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Topic: Pen and Paper = Practice? |
Chris Harvey
From:
California, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 9:45 am |
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I'm a mere newbie only playing for about 3 years of which mainly has been getting through the right hand and ironing out the basics. I've been focusing quite a bit now on getting out a pad of paper and pen and really analyzing the neck (to the best of my ability) and it has really proven invaluable and pulled me out of a plateau. I've toyed with it in the past but without the basic dexterity it was frustrating. From a recent post I have found some great material, but it sure helps to write it down as well.
Anyone else out there do this? I'm really try to move up to the next stage. |
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David Beckner
From:
Kentucky, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 10:05 am
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A piece of paper and a pen are the 2 handiest pieces of equipment you can own. I often find myself noodling around and out of the blue will find a lick I particularly like. If I write it down - saves from the "How did I do that " synndrome.
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Dick Sexton
From:
Greenville, Ohio
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 10:17 am Pen and Paper Practice?
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| It seems that there are differing views. I read two on the forum here, one, don't use tab. Two, do use tab. I guess there is one for every stage in between those two. For myself, a player who has no ambition at all of getting to play on "the big stage", but who is constantly improving, writes everything down. I put it in tab form, and it has become a history of sorts, in my learning process. Just this last week, I started to write out fill ideas. This morning I penned the 95th fill idea. All of which can be played in any key, not only forward but most backwards. All simple, all, anyone could easily learn to play. My goal is, two hundred fill ideas that I can use as I want where I need them. Some I can't remember(getting old) but I can go back and review them. I say write it down... Can it really hurt? |
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Chris Harvey
From:
California, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 10:28 am
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| Exactly. I'm really focusing on looking at my fretboard and opening up the mind. Relating theory to the fretboard etc. |
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 11:07 am
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Tab is great for writing down specific ideas, licks, arrangements, etc. I often use a short bit of tab on my set list for a fill-in gig or session to note an intro, or specific fill I need to play note-for-note.
I think most or all pro players have used pen and paper to analyze the neck from a theoretical standpoint. For instance, map out a blank neck chart filling in all the notes of the E scale on proper frets- E,F#,G#,A,B,C#,D#,E . Then you can compare anything you want to learn, different scale forms, chord formulas (for instance, E blues scale= E,G,A,A#,B,D,E Em7 chord= E,G,B,D) and instantly find the notes anywhere on the fretboard. Knowing how each pedal works (A pedal raises 5th and 10th string a whole step, B pedal raises 3rd and 6th strings a 1/2 step, etc.) allows you to see how avoiding pedals, or using them, gives you different patterns and phrasing for the scale tones.
I'm sure most of the pedals and levers were conceived and added through the process of mapping out the neck like this and thinking about what a certain new change would mean for chord tone/scale tone accessibility.
It's a great way to explore and visualize what your guitar can do! |
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Ray Anderson
From:
Jenkins, Kentucky USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 11:12 am Pen and Paper
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Mark van Allen has a 2 CD course in theory and Chord formation and he stresses the idea and point of writing down information. This opened a whole new way of thinking about the fret board where chord and note formations are. It is well worth the price and is simply fascinating and informitive.  |
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Chris Harvey
From:
California, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 2:19 pm
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Yep...ordered my book form Mark today!  |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 3:22 pm Just curious....................
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Isn't that sorta like writing out TAB........
before you can whistle a specific tune?
The answer to one's solutions lie on the neck. Learning the neck is where the mysteries lie hidden and where they await being discovered. |
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 5:52 pm
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Yep, Ray, but the thing is, you have to know what it is you're looking for on the fretboard to know where and how to find it.
Just as an example, let's say your band plays a simple tune with basic major chords, and you want to enhance or extend the chord sounds in your backup playing. If you know the chord families, the chord construction within the families, how to find extended/ substitute/ altered chords and build them from scale tones, and where those scales lie on your guitar, you have endless ammunition for being a more interesting, satisfied, and valuable player. Just knowing a few scales doesn't open all those doors- it's studying music theory and learning how to apply it to steel guitar.
And that's what I'm trying to teach in my courses.
Thanks for the compliments, Ray! |
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Chris Gabriel
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2012 9:26 pm Color Hearing
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It depends on your learning style.Sometimes I like to use the pen and paper to map out the fret board, and realize certain harmonies, or to get a broader overview, a bigger picture.
You can accomplish the same thing by sitting at your guitar, and finding the patterns with your eyes and ears. I think this could be better, as you acquire concepts in smaller "digestible" bits.
My favorite way of learning/teaching myself is tune by tune. I remember a tune I like and recreate it on my instrument from memory, or from a lead sheet, until it's just right. When I'm reading a Duke Ellington chart (for example), my knowledge of theory is useful. I find the idea of color hearing more useful "in the moment". Here's a cool link.
Synesthesia
read:Sound → color synesthesia
Chris |
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Dick Sexton
From:
Greenville, Ohio
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Posted 6 Feb 2012 5:17 am Interesting...
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Thanks for putting up that link, Chris... That gives meaning and substance to my often used quip, "Do It By The Numbers", a term gained from my military experience. A very interesting read...
I personally don't consciously see the notes I play as colors, but wish very much that I did... Maybe on another level I do.
Thank you...
Hum, some see fireworks in their minds, others just distant rainbows. |
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Chris Gabriel
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2012 2:28 pm No problem
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Yeah, I don't "see" the colors, but the more you listen, the easier it is to " hear" the color.
Glad you liked the link! |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2012 3:18 pm
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I mark up sheet music (in pencil) with the fret number and sometimes the pedal position if it's a tricky chord.
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Bobby Hearn
From:
Henrietta, Tx
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Posted 6 Feb 2012 5:25 pm
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| I just end up playing tic tac toe with myself... |
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