John Stowell clinic

3 reasons why solo guitar is import

ant:
some jobs are available for one musician only- creating your own work
playing alone teaches you about chord-melodies, tons of resources available
best way to learn/retain chords is through arrangements- then you can use them
somewhere else
there's a whole world of guitar chords that most guitar players don't use- more pianistic
shapes
try moving back and forth between chords and single lines as part of a solo
do it informally- play for your friends/family rather than go right in to gigs- performance
mode in the background
Soloette guitar
hybrid picking gives you more control- keep attack of pick and fingers equal-
go up the scale with voicing
check out:
Steve Swallow
Kenny Wheeler
Gene Bertoncini
Kenny Poole
keep your right hand relaxed no matter what you do- his pick sticks to his index finger
playing relaxed: make a conscious choice to do it, be physically present, i.e. if you're
tightening up, tell yourself not to do it, keep it flowing.
start things as an intellectual choice, keep it consistent, and eventually it'll become part
of your approach
let chords ring more
building chord vocabulary- pick an area of the neck and then find all the notes you might
want in that area- goal is know what notes are available before you play
think about the top note of each chord when you're comping
time: when you're solo you can play out of time, over the bar line- lots of it is by osmosis
and playing with great drummers
metronome on 2/4
be very conscious when comping about where you place things
guitar duos & trios can be awesome- create a network of guitar player friends
Using Space:
leaving space can enhance conversation
breathing, listening to singers and horn players
feel the pulse & form of the tune
learn Stella/original harmony and some reharms
sing the melody to yourself as somebody is playing the changes to try and follow the
form
chromatic 2-5s- either way
pulling cadence reharms out of tunes and inserting them into other tunes
tonic diminished/Lydian #9- triad half-step below tonic chord
harmonic minor 3rd above key- both diminished and major
create an environment where it's fun to work on music
when you're out of school, build a network of musical friends to work on stuff with
the journey
create a playing approach that works for YOU
having the neck up at a higher angle makes pianistic voicing easier to play
if your body's telling you it hurts, pay attention to it.
play in a way that makes your body feel good
don't be afraid to experiment
Repertoire:
Jobim wrote 400, most people play 3- learn more!
create an original repertoire:
learn enough of what everyone knows
then learn some that NOBODY plays, and write some originals
modern repertoire
modulation makes tunes interesting
learning tunes: learn the melody and then find familiar cadences
everyone should have an internet presence
create opportunities for yourself to learn tunes- i.e. go to jam sessions
inspire yourself to push yourself
apply everything you're learning to tons of tunes
work with singers because it makes you play in other keys
how to deal with frustration:
try taking a break,
OR grit your teeth and play through it
try something different, meet a new player and have them show you something new
networking helps you creatively and makes you a living
traveling & playing- everyone should have that experience
teaching- engage who you're talking to and make it fun and interesting for them
you don't have to be famous to travel and play music- just have a network of friends in
many different places
when you go somewhere, you make connections with people that you wouldn't in the
first place
lots of follow-up- it's one person that says yes, and you GO. then, talk to a lot of people
to make it happen.
do whatever you can
freelance work is very detail-oriented
shoot for the highest level artistically- play the best you can no matter who shows up,
don't compromise quality for anything
when you solo, play like a composer. don't just play the changes- connect things
together
create a body of work that is your own- get recognition as a composer as well as a
player
collaborate with people and bounce ideas off each other
RECORD!
you don't have to finish writing a tune in one sitting
fretless guitar in tune- play where the fret USED to be
find his fretless recordings with b/