Self-Check: Do It Now

The follow-up to Melodic Sequences is coming, promise. I can't just leave you in limbo without demoing the concept I presented late last year (Dec 27 to be exact). Once you hear them in action I'm sure you'll be convinced of their melodic, compositional, and improvisational appeal.

But in the meantime I have an urgent confession to make...

I'm not a Shredder. I've tried to be one and would love to wantonly fly around the fretboard at uncharted tempos, but it just aint happenin'. Shame on me if this revelation makes me cry in cyber-public.

WAaannnnhhhHH

There, it's out. Done. Over. Kapput (do you know what that means? I don't).

The point of the honest paragraph above is that oft-dreaded self-checks are mandatory for any guitarist's progress (let's widen that to include all human beings, shall we?). I have given up trying to be a Shredder. Don't get me wrong, I love to play fast, and can pull-off (no pun intended, really) a few eye-popping licks here and there. But a frantic fretboard finagler I'm not.

So, What Am I Going to Do About This?

• I'm going to de-emphasize my weaknesses while accenting my strengths. Speed-playing is not one of my strengths. I can play fast, but by today's standards I'm a 'walker', not a runner. So I won't practice as if I'm a shredder because I've just admitted I'm not (I was always hopeful. But optimism simply doesn't prevail over honesty). Now, I'm not giving up sweep-picking and some other shred-techniques I love. I simply will no longer aspire to do them faster than I can. No tragedy, just bitter practicality. Speaking of bitterness...
• I'm not going to get bitter. Many people can 'out-play' me. Yet that doesn't make me any less special as a player. There are certain things, even many things, I can do that other players can't. Why? Cuz I'm me and they're them. And of course the opposite holds true. Come on, folks, it's about honesty here.
• Now that I've admitted who I'm not and accepted who I am, I'm going to run to the finish line (wherever / whenever that is). Now's the time to start being me. I've heard enough solos / watched enough videos featuring AWESOME guitarists with divine gifts, no kidding. I've entered enough contests to know who I am and what I can and can't do. I'm a composer, people. Here's one of my older songs. Song-writing has always been easy for me, give or take a few scratched-out chord progressions and melodies. I love soloing but always have had problems doing certain scale-based licks and (later on) sweep arpeggios. Why, because I'm not a virtuoso. I can play the thing well, don't get me wrong. But to be a virtuoso is different. This guy's a virtuoso. This lady is, too. And so is this kid.

Enough About Me. What's My Point?

My point is that Now's The Time (a great Jazz classic, btw) to self-assess and be the guitarist YOU were meant to be. Stop trying to play lead so much if you have enviable rhythm chops--focus on your rhythm. If you're heads + shoulders above the rest in that area without trying too hard, try harder and watch yourself start to levitate.

If you love Jazz but just don't get it as quickly as others seem to, maybe you weren't supposed to be a Jazzer. I'm sure your Rock will be jazzier than most, and that's always good (look at Steely Dan or the Doobie Brothers).

Conversely, if you are a Jazzer who drools over R+R leads but who can't seem to get that feel after all these years, don't worry about it. Stop taking your Jazz for granted and be the best Jazzer you can be. You'll be in good company: Kurt Rosenwinkle, Ben Monder, etc.

If you're an all-arounder who just can seem to be loyal to one style for all this time, don't. You're probably, like me, a composer who happens to have a guitar in his hands. Start writing your own work immediately (instrumental or not, doesn't matter).

That's really all I have to say today: be yourself on the guitar [hey didn't I say that here once before? Guess it's a recurring message I have for anyone playing / listening]. And, in order to be yourself, do that self-check soon. Then let me know how it's going.

-6SV